Chapter 407 What can I do if I don't look ahead?
"What are you doing?" Pei Chengkun released his grip on Madam Hui's arm, straightened up, and looked down at her, growling impatiently and angrily.
Madam Hui flinched in fright, but thinking of her son in the Jingzhao prison, she raised her head and looked firmly at the man she had relied on for decades, her voice choked with emotion as she said, "Mingqian has been arrested. Please, Kunlang, save him."
Pei Chengkun looked down at her, feeling an indescribable sense of frustration, anger, and helplessness. He took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the anger surging within him, and said, "Mingqian is my own son. If I could save him, would I not? Would I just watch him die?"
"Then, Prime Minister, go and save them!" Lady Hui prostrated herself on the ground and sobbed. Her voice choked as she continued, "The engagement we made when we were young, you just broke off like that. I cried my eyes out at home, but I didn't utter a single word of complaint against you. I just waited foolishly..."
Later, you sent me to the capital. I abandoned my family and relatives back home and followed you without any status or identity. I stayed in that small courtyard on the outskirts of the city for more than twenty years, and gave birth to Mingqian for you. Afraid of causing you trouble, I didn't even dare to acknowledge his surname as Pei, and only dared to use my maiden name..."
She lay on the ground, her sobs growing more heart-wrenching, her fingernails digging almost into the cracks in the floor tiles. "I've never wanted any of your wealth or glory in this life, I've only raised our son, hoping he would amount to something. Now he's been arrested, Kunlang, for all the suffering I've endured these past decades, for all the way I've been with you and raised our child without any status or recognition, please save him! I beg you..."
Listening to her complaints, which were actually full of resentment, Pei Chengkun could no longer suppress his anger. He looked down at Madam Hui and roared, "Do you think my life has been easy all these years?!"
Pei Chengkun's voice boomed like thunder, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. "If I hadn't studied hard for ten years and passed the imperial examination, and carved out a place for myself in the capital amidst the bloodshed, would you have been able to peacefully guard your little courtyard? Would your family have been able to gain any respectability through me?"
"It's true that I broke off the engagement back then to curry favor with the Xie family! But without the Xie family's influence, where would I get my current position? Where would your son get the money to hire famous teachers and get into officialdom? And where did you get your current title of Lady of the First Rank?"
He leaned down and pointed at her, his voice filled with suppressed anger, "I don't think I've treated you badly, much less Mingqian! What's with your crying and wailing now? Do you really think good things in this world just fall from the sky?!"
Pei Chengkun's chest heaved violently, his heavy breathing still carrying lingering anger and an indescribable weariness. Madam Hui trembled with fear, kneeling on the ground, neither daring to cry nor utter a word; she had never seen Pei Chengkun like this before.
Having vented his emotions, Pei Chengkun felt much better. He let out a sigh of relief, then bent down and grabbed Madam Hui's arm, pulling her to her feet. This time, Madam Hui dared not disobey, and stood up with his help, but her body trembled so much she could barely stand.
Pei Chengkun helped her sit down, then looked down into her eyes and said, "Although you live in the inner quarters, you should know that I am not on good terms with the Duke of Chu."
He paused after speaking, staring at Madam Hui, waiting for her reply. Madam Hui, now somewhat clear-headed, nodded blankly and said, "Mingqian has spoken to me about it."
Pei Chengkun gave a satisfied "hmm" and moved to the chair opposite her. "The feud between me and the Duke of Chu is no ordinary one. It's either her death or my death."
Lady Hui looked at him in shock and fear. Even in the inner quarters, she knew that the Duke of Chu was favored by the Emperor. After Ma Mingqian became an official, he requested that she be granted an imperial title, so she would sometimes attend gatherings of ladies. Those ladies spoke of the Duke of Chu with a mixture of envy and caution, afraid of saying the wrong thing and offending someone they shouldn't.
Therefore, she knew how terrible it was to be an enemy of the Duke of Chu.
At this moment, Pei Chengkun's voice rang out again, "The Duke of Chu must have known about my relationship with Mingqian, so he insisted that Mingqian was the one who assassinated her, with the aim of striking at me."
"Is there any hope for our son?" Mrs. Hui asked tremblingly.
When Pei Chengkun saw her bewildered and helpless state, the anger in his heart suddenly dissipated, leaving only a deep sense of exhaustion.
He softened his voice and said, "There's no way to save him."
"But...but..." Madam Hui didn't know what to say, and began to sob again. Only now did she truly understand that men were unreliable. If she were capable, why would she have come to beg him like this?
Pei Chengkun finally felt a pang of pity. He stood up and stroked Madam Hui's disheveled white hair, saying, "Although there's no way to save Mingqian, I will make arrangements for you and your grandson. Zheng'er is a bright child; with proper upbringing, he might even surpass Mingqian in the future."
"But...but..." I want my son to live.
But she dared not say what came next; it would be useless anyway. All she could do now was listen to him and pave the way for her grandson.
"Don't go back yet. I'll have someone bring your grandson out right now. You can stay in the courtyard I've arranged for you for a while. Once things have calmed down, I'll send you out of the city." Pei Chengkun said in a deep voice, "Just wait patiently. I'll make all the arrangements and I won't let anything happen to you."
Madam Hui nodded through her tears. Pei Chengkun patted her shoulder and called the butler to take her out. Madam Hui stood up shakily and staggered out the door, looking like a walking corpse.
The steward followed behind her, sighed, and said, "Madam, the Prime Minister is also suffering. He wouldn't have refused to save the Second Master if he hadn't been forced to. The political situation in the court is volatile, and one wrong move could lead to utter ruin. If the Prime Minister falls, you and Young Master Sun won't fare any better. Young Master Sun is still young, and his future depends entirely on you. You must take care of yourself and look to the future."
Madam Hui gave a stiff, bitter smile. "What else can I do if I don't look ahead?"
The butler sighed, shook his head, and said nothing more.
.........
Chu State Duke's Mansion
Jiang Yu lay in the bathtub with her eyes closed, thinking about what was to come. She would definitely have to meet the Emperor tomorrow, but she couldn't mention framing Ma Mingqian. She needed to produce evidence, and a complete chain of evidence at that, showing that Ma Mingqian had indeed sent someone to assassinate her.
The reason, of course, is that Ma Mingqian is the Prime Minister's son. The fact that Ma Mingqian is the Prime Minister's son couldn't have been discovered by Prince Rui himself; he discovered it on his own. Prince Rui still wants to remain a prince who doesn't participate in court affairs...
By the time she had sorted everything out, the bathwater had gone cold. She stood up, and Dongshuang, who had been watching over her, immediately draped a bathrobe over her shoulders. Back in her room, she picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Prince Rui, recounting what she had done next.
"Send it to Prince Rui's residence." Jiang Yu handed the letter to Xia He, then leaned back in her chair and let Dong Shuang dry her hair.
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