Chapter 342 This situation is difficult to resolve.
The steward arrived outside the Hall of State Affairs in the shortest possible time, produced his Prime Minister's residence badge, and was then led inside. Upon seeing the Prime Minister, he immediately recounted the situation and then said, "Prime Minister, this time it may be difficult to handle."
The Prime Minister, having weathered many storms, showed little change in expression upon hearing the steward's report, only a slight furrow of his brow. Seeing this, the steward's panicked heart calmed considerably.
"Go to the Imperial Hospital and tell Physician Lou that I wish to see him," the Prime Minister said after a moment's thought.
"Yes." Although the steward felt that even if Imperial Physician Lou intervened this time, it probably wouldn't make a difference, he didn't dare say anything and turned to leave.
He rushed to the Imperial Hospital, presented his Prime Minister's token, and was led inside. Just as he reached the door of Physician Lou's study, it opened, and Physician Lou emerged looking anxious.
"Imperial Physician Lou." The steward bowed and stepped forward. Imperial Physician Lou stopped and glanced at him, then continued walking briskly without saying anything.
"Imperial Physician Lou." The steward didn't have time to think about why Imperial Physician Lou was acting this way, and jogged after him, saying, "My master invites Imperial Physician Lou to the Prime Minister's residence for a gathering."
Doctor Lou stopped again, looking at him with deep eyes, and said, "Go back and tell the Prime Minister that this time I am powerless to help."
After saying that, he strode away, looking very anxious. The butler frowned as he watched his retreating figure, understanding the intricacies of the situation. His worry deepened, and he too quickly strode away.
Imperial Physician Lou was a shrewd man. Last time, he listened to the Prime Minister and imprisoned Lou Qingyao at home because he was intimidated by the Prime Minister's power. However, this time, with the Prime Minister fighting against the Marquis of Anyuan's family, if he got involved, he would end up pleasing neither side.
The best option now is for him to neither side take his side and let Lou Qingyao do whatever she wants.
The steward hurried back to the Prime Minister's residence and entered the Prime Minister's study, where he saw Prime Minister Pei Chengkun, his eldest son Pei Hanming, and his eldest grandson Pei Qitang. He quickly recounted the process of summoning Physician Lou, then bowed and waited for the Prime Minister's instructions.
Pei Chengkun and Pei Hanming exchanged a glance and frowned after hearing his words. Pei Qitang, however, said angrily, "What does he mean? Does he want Lou Qingyao to sue him? Does he still want his position as head of the Imperial Medical Academy?"
"Shut up!" Pei Hanming roared. Pei Qitang shut up and didn't say anything, but his face still showed resentment.
Pei Chengkun frowned even more. He waved for the butler to leave, then looked sternly at Pei Qitang and said, "How many times have I told you to keep your emotions in check and to remain calm and composed in the face of adversity?"
Pei Qitang was still afraid of him, and stood up, saying, "Grandson was too hasty."
Pei Chengkun glanced at him but didn't speak. Pei Hanming glared at Pei Qitang and said, "Was this the idea of Marquis Anyuan or the Duke of Chu?"
The prime minister frowned and remained silent for a while before saying, "It should be the Duke of Chu."
"This... how should we deal with this?" Pei Hanming knew that Jiang Yu was not someone to be trifled with.
The Prime Minister frowned and remained silent, unable to come up with a good solution. Pei Qitang saw that both of them were frowning, opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but seemed unsure whether he should.
Seeing this, Pei Chengkun said, "Speak your mind."
Perhaps he has a better solution? He's just grasping at straws now.
“In my opinion, we should just kill Jiang Yu and be done with it,” Pei Qitang said matter-of-factly.
Pei Chengkun: "......."
Pei Hanming: "......."
Both of them looked like they had something on their minds and didn't want to say anything. He thought Jiang Yu was easy to kill. If Jiang Yu were easy to kill and capable of killing, he wouldn't have needed to say this; Xie Yun would have done it long ago.
"She's just a woman; even with bodyguards protecting her, taking her life wouldn't be difficult..."
"roll!"
Pei Hanming couldn't bear it any longer and roared at him. Pei Qitang didn't understand why his father was so angry; his method was clearly the simplest and best solution. Killing Jiang Yu would surely break Marquis Anyuan's heart, and he might even follow him in death. Why would he still oppose them?
"Get out!" Pei Hanming shouted angrily when he saw that Pei Qitang was standing there without moving. Only then did Pei Qitang leave unwillingly.
After he left, Pei Hanming said to Pei Chengkun with self-reproach, "It's because our son didn't teach him well. He used to be a smart child, but I don't know when he turned out like this."
"It's going too smoothly," Pei Chengkun said.
Pei Hanming sighed and stopped talking about Pei Qitang. He looked at Pei Chengkun and asked, "Has Jiang Yu discovered something?"
“That’s what I think too.” Pei Chengkun tapped his fingers on the table, then pondered for a moment before saying, “It should be related to the Heavenly Crafts Bureau.”
"Is she trying to cause us trouble so that we won't have time to deal with the Heavenly Crafts Bureau?" Pei Hanming asked.
“Probably.” Pei Chengkun sneered. “She certainly knows how to find a starting point.”
"Should we hand over Qitang?" Pei Hanming asked.
Even though he's his own son, he won't hesitate to give him up when it's time to let go.
But Pei Chengkun replied after hearing his words, "I'm afraid that even if we hand over Qitang, she won't be satisfied."
"This..." Pei Hanming's face showed panic, and then Pei Chengkun said again, "I'm afraid that the Emperor also suspects me."
"I don't think so?" Pei Hanming said nervously, "You and the Emperor have a long-standing relationship as ruler and subject."
"What if the Emperor finds out about your aunt's situation?" Pei Chengkun said solemnly.
In truth, over the years, Pei Tinglan had been like a firecracker ready to explode at any moment, existing within Pei Chengkun's heart. He feared that once the firecracker detonated, their Prime Minister's mansion would be utterly destroyed.
Pei Hanming stood up nervously and paced around the room a few times before saying, "You shouldn't have let Auntie become the Prince of Lingnan's concubine in the first place."
Pei Chengkun glanced at him. “Things aren’t as simple as you think. I come from a poor family and only got a decent job in the capital with the help of the Xie family. At that time, the Xie family had already cooperated with the old King of Lingnan. After your aunt was jilted by Jiang Jinglan and then committed suicide, the old King of Lingnan proposed to take her as a concubine. At that time, I was just an appendage of the Xie family and had no right to refuse.”
Upon hearing this, Pei Hanming let out a long sigh. Then Pei Chengkun continued, "At that time, I had only recently entered officialdom and had no understanding of the court situation, nor did I know the predicament of the Xie family and the Lingnan Prince's Mansion."
The Qin royal family has been suppressing powerful clans for years, trying to concentrate power in the hands of the royal family. The Xie family and the Lingnan Prince's Mansion are the first to be targeted, so the two families are cooperating to gradually achieve their goal.
At the time, even if he had known what was going on, he wouldn't have been able to refuse. Besides, if he had refused then, he wouldn't have the position he has today.
Pei Hanming didn't know what to say, and sighed again as he sat down in his chair. The room was quiet; both men were deep in thought. This situation was difficult to resolve.
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