Chapter 82 Bait
The person on the couch was stuck in a cold and muddy swamp.
The rain was still pouring down, hitting the hood and cold official boots, making a dull and continuous sound.
In the dream, Pei Ji had just come out of the heavy, dark door of the Dali Temple.
The streets were deserted, with only rainwater gathering into streams, washing the cold cobblestones underfoot.
Slippery and bitingly cold.
Beside him, Jiang Xi was like a loyal shadow, holding an oil-paper umbrella for him, and the dim light swayed in the storm.
Just as he stepped heavily down the last step, something seemed to pull at the corner of his eye.
Instinctively, I glanced across the street at the dark, rain-sheltered corner—there was always a vague figure standing silently, holding an umbrella. It was a habit that had no reason but was deeply ingrained in me, and even this habit itself carried a tearing void and dull pain.
This time, the shadow of the umbrella was clear in the shadow of the corner.
A white figure stood quietly holding an umbrella.
The lower half of her skirt had already been soaked by the splashing rain, sticking tightly to her legs and feet, and its color had darkened.
Rainwater continued to flow down the ribs of the umbrella, forming small vortices at her feet.
The figure under the umbrella was extremely thin, and the outline of the shoulder blades was as fragile as a dead branch that would break at the slightest bend in the rainy night.
An inexplicable force pulled him forward. Unable to control himself, he stepped through the ankle-deep water, approaching the corner.
With every step, the water splashed coldly, but my heart felt as if it was being tightened by an invisible thread, accompanied by a strange sense of familiarity.
An unfamiliar panic gripped him. Closer and closer! He could even see the rain wetting a few strands of her hair on her forehead.
who is she?
He took a deep breath, and the cold rain poured into his nostrils, making his vision go dark.
Finally, I see it clearly!
In the rain curtain, that pale and beautiful face was raised, and the eyes wet with rain were clear, but also soaked with deep stubbornness and sadness.
"Pfft—Ugh!"
Pei Ji, whose face was clearly seen in the dream, suddenly bent down and a mouthful of blood spurted out without warning.
"Master Pei?"
"Master Pei!"
…
Anxious voices penetrated the rain curtain, one after another, the same person's voice coming from different directions.
Anxiously, repeatedly calling out to Cheng, the dream shook violently.
"Master Pei!"
"Master Pei?!"
The calling became clearer and more urgent, like thunder exploding in a chaotic mind.
He used up all his remaining willpower, trying to catch the pale face in the rain, wanting to shout out a name!
"...Luo...Zhao...Han!"
Pei Ji's eyes on the couch suddenly widened.
He gasped for breath, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his thin pajamas, sticking to his skin.
The severe colic made his vision black out, and he couldn't help coughing rapidly: "Cough cough cough!"
"Master!" Jingchen was so frightened by the huge noise that he jumped up from the beauty's bed. His face turned pale and he rushed to the side of the couch. "Master, how are you? Are you in pain again..."
Before he finished speaking, Jiang Xi's burly figure appeared like a flash of black lightning, arriving first and firmly supporting Pei Ji's violently trembling upper body.
He moved very quickly, holding Pei Ji's back steadily with one hand, and quickly reaching for the warm water on the low table next to him with the other hand and handing it to his lips.
"Master, slow down..." Jingchen's voice was shaking violently. He wanted to touch her but didn't dare. "The doctor said you absolutely can't use any force now. If the wound bursts..."
"Shut up!" Jiang Xi's low shout interrupted Jing Chen's trembling.
His eyes were like lightning, and he swept towards the door suddenly. The thick cotton curtain connecting the warm room and the inner room had been quickly opened a crack by a slender white hand. A familiar figure was about to break in, and happened to meet Jiang Xi's suddenly complicated eyes.
That moment of eye contact was as fast as lightning.
Jiang Xi nodded slightly and imperceptibly towards the figure who was about to lift the curtain and rush in, and his eyes seemed to convey some message.
"Jingchen!" Jiang Xi said decisively, "Go to the pharmacy in the back and see if the ginseng soup I prepared for the master is ready!"
"Now? But the master..." Jingchen hesitated instinctively. Looking at Pei Ji's face as pale as paper, he didn't dare to move.
"Go when I tell you to!" Jiang Xi's voice was as deep as iron, and he emphasized, "Master, I'm here! Go quickly!"
Jingchen was startled by the shouting. Glancing at Jiang Xi's serious eyes that showed he was definitely not joking, he didn't dare to ask another question. He gritted his teeth, turned around and ran towards the narrow door in the inner room that led to the small medicine kitchen.
Jiang Xi no longer looked in the direction where Jingchen disappeared.
He almost half-carried and half-supported Pei Ji to sit steadily, but his eyes glanced towards the door and the direction of the warm room. He cleared his throat, but then seemed to feel that he was redundant and simply fell silent.
He moved quickly, as if nothing had happened, and lowered his head to carefully feed Pei Ji some warm water.
It’s just that his tall body just happened to block most of the view of the door.
Outside the gap in the door curtain, Luo Zhaohan's hand froze in mid-air.
The sudden shouting and violent coughing in the warm room just now made her heart and soul tremble, and she rushed to the door of the inner room without thinking.
The moment the curtain was lifted, the light inside was dim and only a vague figure could be seen swaying.
But just as she was about to step in, Jiang Xi's eyes, filled with silent restraint, were like an icy barrier, instantly freezing her movements.
She understood.
The hand that was lifting the heavy cotton curtain slowly lowered itself.
The air was filled with a thick medicinal smell, accompanied by the crackling sound of burning candle wicks, making the space separated by a layer of cotton curtains even more eerie and quiet.
The door curtain moved slightly.
Jiang Xi's figure quietly came out from the secret door on the other side of the inner room, and silently disappeared into the dark corridor at the other end of the warm room, without leaving even a trace of unnecessary footsteps.
The last barrier disappeared, and the road from the warm room to the inner room was completely open.
Luo Zhaohan took a deep breath, raised her hand, and this time steadily lifted the cotton curtain.
The remaining halo of light in the warm room illuminated the distorted shadow cast by the screen beside the couch on the ground, and also reflected the familiar yet unfamiliar profile of the person on the couch.
The candle flame was well protected, swaying beside him, making his pale skin almost transparent, and the dark blue under his eyes was an indelible dark color.
He half leaned against the pillow, his chest still rising and falling slightly due to the severe pain and screaming just now. His eyes were closed, but his brows were still furrowed in pain.
A thick layer of newly fallen candle wax has accumulated in the copper cup.
Pei Ji tried to stay awake, leaning against the huge elm bookshelf against the wall, his figure hidden in a deeper shadow.
The dark-colored uniform embroidered with silver dragon patterns made his face look unusually cold and pale.
Luo Zhaohan was only two steps away from him, standing quietly in a dimly lit area not far from the door.
The air between them was as thick as the condensed sea. Only the occasional crackling of silvery charcoal in the brass, animal-foot-shaped charcoal basin in the corner broke the dead silence.
"Master's injury..." Luo Zhaohan's voice sounded calmly, but it was still clear in the overly quiet space.
"It's okay." Before she could finish her words, Pei Ji's voice interrupted her.
"Compared to the arrow that pierced my right chest that year..." His words were abruptly cut off in the middle.
Luo Zhaohan's fingers hanging at his sides curled up almost imperceptibly. He didn't respond, but the fingers under his sleeves silently clenched a little.
In that tragic ambush, she deliberately blocked the arrow that almost fatally pierced his right chest.
She remembered the pain.
"Princess Liuyang is holding a palace banquet to select a husband," Luo Zhaohan raised his head and turned directly to the core issue. His gaze penetrated the dim candlelight and cast a glance at Pei Ji in the shadows. "From the beginning to the end, was this in line with the adults' plan?"
"Yes." Pei Ji's answer was as concise as a knife.
In the shadows, his silhouette seemed to move. "It's just a plan." These four words carried a weight of more than a thousand pounds.
"When Mr. Chu was young and studying in the southern border, he had a chance encounter with the then-concubine who was still a concubine, now known as Concubine Xinyi." Pei Ji's voice was flat and straightforward, without any emotional ups and downs, as if he was narrating a dusty file.
He straightened up slightly, walked to the charcoal basin, took the iron chopsticks, and casually fiddled with the newly added silver charcoal in the basin, adjusting the position of the charcoal blocks so that they burned more evenly and brighter.
The red glow of the charcoal fire illuminated his well-defined jawline. "Before the princess's marriage to the Western Di people, she faced a difficult situation. Master Chu, out of friendship, secretly sent a half-box of gold leaves to help her through the difficult situation."
The flames danced, casting a light of insight into Luo Zhaohan's eyes. "So, sir, please ask your respected teacher to write a letter, begging the princess to show some favor?"
"Yeah." Pei Ji didn't deny it. He picked up a piece of red-hot charcoal with his chopsticks and moved it to a more suitable position. His movements were precise and steady. "A favor must be returned, and it also needs to be done with the edge of a knife."
Luo Zhaohan keenly grasped a hint of doubt: "Princess Liuyang seems to have no affection for you, sir?" At the palace banquet that day, the princess's attention was more focused on General Yun Hui's son, and she was polite and distant to Pei Ji.
"Of course." Pei Ji's lips curled up ever so slightly, the curve so cold it was hard to tell if it was self-deprecating or something else entirely. "Princess Xinyi has always been very meticulous in her actions. She has already prepared a detailed directory of suitable young men in the capital for the princess's return to the capital. The man the princess has her heart set on is Lu Cong, the son of General Lu Dingfang of the Cloud Banner."
He paused, then tapped the charcoal chopsticks lightly on the edge of the basin, making a dull sound. "That young man is upright and honest, with a fiery temper. His family background, character, and even his way of dealing with people are completely different from mine. He's definitely not a good match."
The heat from the charcoal basin rose slightly, blurring the boundaries.
Pei Ji's voice continued, without any emotion: "The princess once told the eldest princess frankly that I was gloomy and taciturn, with a heavy heart, and a lot of troubles that I couldn't explain. I was definitely not a good match for her."
Luo Zhaohan's eyes flickered! Everything that happened at the previous palace banquet connected together!
"So the reason why Your Excellency showed up at the competition that day and happened to face Master Lu, and didn't hesitate to display his martial arts in public, was actually a staged performance for everyone inside and outside the Imperial Garden to see?" In order to create a logical reason for the eldest princess to choose Pei Ji as her son-in-law!
"Necessary preparation." Pei Ji admitted straightforwardly.
Luo Zhaohan still had doubts in his heart: "Then the Changqing Earl and his wife..."
Her voice unconsciously tightened. "Such a shocking act as a public disrespect in the Imperial Garden, was this also within your expectations?"
In the charcoal basin, a piece of charcoal exploded, and tiny sparks flew everywhere.
"Bait." Pei Ji stopped fiddling with the charcoal fire and casually threw the iron chopsticks into the copper hook rack on the edge of the charcoal basin, making a crisp metallic collision sound. "Set up surveillance in the mansion for five days."
His eyes suddenly turned deep and cold. "My original intention was to wait and see, waiting for the secret sentries outside the mansion to find out who was pulling the strings that led us two elders out."
"Unexpectedly, although the elders acted absurdly, they weren't entirely stupid. Mother accidentally noticed something unusual outside the mansion gate. She smashed the former imperial kiln enamel teacup with the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" pattern in the main hall. Father, seizing the opportunity, feigned a fury and smashed the ebony plaque in his study, inscribed with 'Ke Ming Jun De'."
Those seemingly hysterical behaviors became reasons for trouble.
"They..." Luo Zhaohan widened his eyes slightly, and his heart was in turmoil.
"They thought I was trapped in a dead end." Pei Ji's Adam's apple rolled slightly. "So they didn't hesitate to destroy their family's reputation, willingly becoming a scoundrel and putting on a shocking show, rushing before the emperor to perform a ridiculous act of disobedience!"
His voice dropped, each word weighing heavily. "Only to disobey the imperial order with an even more bizarre and insane reason, so that the princess would have a legitimate excuse to refuse the marriage, thus, in disguise, saving me from my predicament."
Outside the window, the wind and snow started again at some point, and the rustling sound of falling snow was tapping on the window lattice paper.
"The world is truly unpredictable." Luo Zhaohan remained silent for a moment, ultimately letting out a barely audible sigh, a mixture of understanding and an indescribable complexity. "The eldest princess bitterly expounded on her family's disgrace before His Majesty and flatly refused the marriage, ultimately enabling His Excellency's planned escape."
Despite the twists and turns, the ending still went along the preset track.
In the charcoal basin, a piece of newly lit silver charcoal suddenly exploded with a "crackling" sound.
It not only illuminated Luo Zhaohan's cold brows, which were slightly surprised and emotional at the moment, but also illuminated the depths of Pei Ji's bottomless eyes.
There was no longer any cold calculation underneath, nor was there any pride in success.
Rather, it is the surging guilt and the complex and unclear feelings towards the person in front of him.
"You just said, King Jin?!" Luo Zhaohan's voice suddenly tensed.
"Yes." Pei Ji's answer was firm and without any hesitation.
Under the dim candlelight, his face was like an ice sculpture. "On the third day after the flower banquet incident, the Crown Princess came alone to the Dali Temple to request an audience."
Luo Zhaohan's eyes suddenly became sharp: "How did she know that the Lord was investigating this case?"
"She doesn't know." Pei Ji's fingertips tapped the edge of the rosewood table in a very regular rhythm, making a very subtle clatter, as if sorting out complicated clues. "She doesn't need to know who is investigating, she just wants a place to put the fatal evidence."
He raised his eyes, his gaze like the moon reflected in a cold pond. "She arrived in person, bearing physical evidence. Her expression was sorrowful, but her tone was firm: the mastermind behind the debacle at the flower viewing banquet was none other than the Prince of Jin. She was so determined that she was willing to pledge her life."
"Physical evidence?" Luo Zhaohan unconsciously leaned forward slightly, crossing the edge of the desk. "What is it?"
"There's a hidden story about Prince Rui." Pei Ji's eyes were cold and calm.
In the charcoal basin, a piece of silver charcoal peeled gently with a sound.
"The Crown Princess's brother entered the Imperial Academy at a young age. Prince Rui was also a student there at the time. He and the Crown Princess's brother had similar personalities and became close classmates. It was during his visits to the Crown Princess's brother's residence that Prince Rui met the Crown Princess, who had not yet entered the Eastern Palace."
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