Chapter 353 But is the Crown Prince willing?
The butler sighed inwardly, then said with a bitter expression, "Lu Peichen is dead, but not because of his argument with Jiang Chengye, but because of Ren Guanfei's harsh words... He died."
...
The room was silent. After a long while, Pei Hanming finally found his voice and asked incredulously, "Who is Ren Guanfei?"
The butler glanced at Pei Chengkun cautiously and said with a forced smile, "Ren Guanfei is the cousin of the Earl of Qingshan. Although he is only the Earl of Qingshan's cousin, the Earl of Qingshan received favors from the Ren family back then, and the two families have a very close relationship. Ren Guanfei is a playboy who often uses the names of the Earl of Qingshan's mansion and the Crown Prince to act arrogantly and domineeringly in the capital."
In other words, it won't be easy for Uncle Qingshan to get rid of Ren Guanfei at this time.
Pei Hanming was extremely disappointed. He stared at the butler and asked, "How did Ren Guanfei and Lu Peichen get into a fight?"
The butler carefully observed Pei Chengkun's expression and saw that his face was already clouded with anger. He could only grit his teeth and continue, "On his way to the Lu family, Jiang Chengye encountered Ren Guanfei and Xiang Xinping, the half-brother of the Marquis of Chengen, fighting. He went up to inquire and then took the two of them to the Lu family."
Jiang Chengye promised Ren Guanfei five hundred taels of silver and even gave him 200 taels as a deposit on the spot, instructing Ren Guanfei to charge into battle, and then…”
"Fool!" Pei Chengkun didn't even need to hear what happened next; he already guessed the gist of it. His meticulously planned scheme had completely failed.
"Has Jiang Yu already gone to the Lu family?" Pei Chengkun asked.
"Yes," the steward replied, "The Duke of Chu and Minister Tong of the Court of Judicial Review arrived at the Lu family together."
Upon hearing this, Pei Hanming panicked and quickly looked at Pei Chengkun, asking, "Father, what should we do?"
Pei Chengkun frowned and glanced at him. Pei Hanming immediately shut his mouth, but he was still extremely anxious. Others might not know what was going on, but he knew perfectly well the cause of Lu Peichen's death. If the cause of Lu Peichen's death were found out, it would be an even bigger problem.
He watched Pei Chengkun cautiously, waiting for his decision. He saw Pei Chengkun with drooping, aged eyelids, calmly tapping his fingers on the table.
Tap tap tap...
The rhythmic tapping of fingers on the table was unsettling. Pei Hanming wanted to ask several times, but opened his mouth and then closed it again, afraid of being scolded. After what seemed like an eternity, Pei Chengkun's voice finally rang out:
"Let Ren Guanfei take the blame for Lu Peichen's death."
“Even if Ren Guanfei agrees, the Duke of Chu will still make a fuss about it,” Pei Hanming said worriedly.
If he were Jiang Yu, he wouldn't let this opportunity slip by either.
Pei Chengkun glanced at him, thinking that his son's ability to think of this was not without merit. He said, "Let the Crown Prince handle it."
Pei Hanming's eyes widened. "Your Highness... are you willing?"
Pei Chengkun sneered, "Do you think Jiang Yu will let him off the hook if the Crown Prince doesn't step in? Rather than waiting for Jiang Yu to set a trap somewhere, the Crown Prince should just step forward. That way, the Emperor might even praise the Crown Prince for his sense of responsibility."
Pei Hanming nodded, but he still asked, "But is the Crown Prince willing?"
“He has no choice but to agree.” Pei Chengkun said, standing up and walking out. Pei Hanming quickly asked, “Where are you going?”
"I want to see the Crown Prince." Pei Chengkun said this and returned to his room. He whispered a few words to the steward, changed into a black robe, and walked into the secret passage.
Walking through the dark passage, Pei Chengkun's expression remained calm, but his heart was far from it. He disliked the dark tunnel, which made him feel like a rat in a tunnel.
This secret passage had been built many years ago, but he had only walked through it a handful of times. And on those few occasions, many were because of Jiang Yu. He had never imagined that one day a woman would pose such a great threat to him.
After exiting the secret passage, he found himself in a secluded courtyard. He went to the study in the courtyard and sat there waiting for the Crown Prince and the Earl of Qingshan to arrive.
He didn't have to wait long; the study door opened, and Earl Qingshan and the Crown Prince walked in. Both of them looked grim, clearly knowing what had happened.
The Earl of Qingshan managed to maintain his composure, but the Crown Prince, upon seeing Pei Chengkun, angrily retorted, "Is this what you, as the Prime Minister, do? What did you summon me for? To clean up your mess?"
"Your Highness," Qingshan Bo called out to the Crown Prince in a low voice, then said to Pei Chengkun with a forced smile, "The Crown Prince is young, I hope the Prime Minister will forgive him."
Pei Chengkun's face remained expressionless. He rose and bowed to the Crown Prince, saying, "Your subject greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The Crown Prince wasn't entirely brainless; he had simply been blinded by anger. Seeing Pei Chengkun bow to him, he awkwardly helped Pei Chengkun up, saying, "I was just a little anxious; I hope the Prime Minister won't take offense."
Does Pei Chengkun mind? Of course he does. He came from a poor family and passed the imperial examination. He thought he would rise to prominence from then on, but after meeting the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital, he realized that all those years of studying had only given him a chance to talk to them.
His humble origins were his greatest source of pain. Therefore, he was most sensitive to being looked down upon or disrespected, even if the person was a prince.
Having weathered many storms, Pei Chengkun naturally wouldn't let others know his most private thoughts. Seeing the Crown Prince apologize to him, he nonchalantly bowed to the Crown Prince again, saying, "Your Highness, you flatter me."
The Crown Prince was quite pleased with his attitude, a smile on his face, and walked to a tea table to sit down. Pei Chengkun and Qingshan Bo sat to his left. However, before sitting down, Qingshan Bo carefully observed Pei Chengkun's expression and, seeing that he seemed genuinely unconcerned about the Crown Prince's offense, breathed a slight sigh of relief.
After the three sat down, there was a moment of silence before Pei Chengkun spoke first, "We invited His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Qingshan here to discuss how to resolve our current predicament."
The Crown Prince seemed not to hear him, and reached out to fiddle with the teacup in front of him. In any case, the Prime Minister and the Earl of Qingshan would handle all the problems, so there was no need for him to worry.
Seeing his expression, Qingshanbo frowned, wanting to offer a word of advice, but remembering the Crown Prince's temperament, he ultimately swallowed his words. Then, looking at Pei Chengkun, he asked, "How does the Prime Minister intend to resolve this?"
In truth, Lord Qingshan didn't want to get involved, since the matter was caused by the Prime Minister's eldest grandson and had nothing to do with him. However, he and the Prime Minister were in the same boat, and both he and the Crown Prince relied on the Prime Minister, so he couldn't ignore it at this time.
Moreover, the matter also involved his cousin, Ren Guanfei. It could be said that if it weren't for Ren Guanfei's interference, Jiang Chengye might very well have already been convicted of murdering a high-ranking official. This was a perfect opportunity to strike at Jiang Yu.
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