Chapter 29 I, Pei, am willing to be Your Highness's sharpest blade and most loyal dog.
A few days later, news came that Zhang Cheng had been murdered at home.
When the case involved the murder of an official, the Dali Temple immediately intervened. However, during the search of Zhang's residence, they found private letters that showed close ties with the Pei family, as well as twenty gold cakes stamped with the Pei family's private seal. All of these things pointed the finger at the Pei family of Hedong.
The next morning at court, several officials jointly submitted a memorial impeaching Pei Guyan for bribing examiners to secure an official position for his nephew, and further accused him of murdering someone to cover up his crime in order to protect himself.
This instantly made the nature of the case much more serious.
Several officials stepped forward one after another to second the motion, urging His Majesty to severely punish the offender in order to quell public resentment and serve as a warning to others!
This series of actions was even faster than she, the presiding judge.
The emperor was furious upon hearing this and ordered Pei Guyan to be escorted back to the capital for a joint trial by the three judicial departments, with Li Yuanzhao still serving as the presiding judge.
Pei Huaijin was also stripped of his official robes and imprisoned by the court.
When the guards stepped forward, he did not resist, but slowly raised his head and looked at Li Yuanzhao, who was standing to the side, with a complicated expression.
At this moment, he was finally convinced that this vast net was something she had laid for herself from the very beginning.
He couldn't escape at all.
Li Yuanzhao met his gaze, a faint smile slowly rising at the corner of his mouth, as if laughing at his slow realization and overestimation of his abilities.
Chen Yanqing felt somewhat saddened after Pei Huaijin was imprisoned.
Just a few days ago, he was a high-spirited new Left Remonstrance Official, but in just a few days, he became a prisoner.
Didn't Li Yuanzhao want him to be his son-in-law? Why isn't anyone speaking up for him?
The scions of prominent families who had previously been on friendly terms with Pei Huaijin now wished they could stay far away, fearing they would be implicated.
The only person who pleaded for him was the Third Princess, Li Yuanshu.
I heard that the matter even reached the Emperor's presence, and the Emperor reprimanded them severely.
Later, the Imperial Concubine rushed over, took her back, and confined her to her quarters, which stopped her from causing trouble.
After several rounds of joint trial by the three judicial authorities, Pei Huaijin initially refused to plead guilty, stating that the matter had nothing to do with him.
His attitude changed after his uncle Pei Guyan was escorted to the capital.
As night fell, Li Yuanzhao went to the Dali Temple prison.
Pei Huaijin was sitting against the corner of the wall, no longer the noble and aristocratic young man he used to be.
His hair was disheveled, his clothes were covered in stains and bloodstains, and his once gentle and warm eyes were now bloodshot, revealing a deep weariness and numbness.
The footsteps startled him. He slowly looked up and saw who it was. His face showed neither surprise nor resentment, as if he had expected her to come.
The jailer opened the cell door, and Chen Yanqing stepped forward and placed the sandalwood chair he had brought steadily in front of Pei Huaijin.
Pei Huaijin did not rise, but asked calmly, "Is Your Highness here to see the fate of this disobedient person like me?"
Li Yuanzhao ignored his tone, waved his hand, and signaled the jailer and Chen Yanqing to leave.
She walked over to the chair and sat down, looking down at him: "It seems your uncle said a lot of 'good things' to you."
Pei Huaijin gave a wry smile and didn't reply.
Li Yuanzhao suddenly leaned down, rested his elbows on his knees, and looked at him at eye level.
"What, you're just going to take all the blame like this? Aren't you supposed to be the most principled person? Are you willing to die here with this stain on your reputation?"
Her voice was soft, yet it was like a needle, precisely piercing Pei Huaijin's most vulnerable spot.
Pei Huaijin smirked. "Otherwise what? Isn't this exactly what His Highness wanted to see?"
“Indeed,” Li Yuanzhao readily admitted, tapping his fingertips lightly on his knee. “But why do you resent me? The person who bribed you is your uncle, and the person who threatened you with your mother is also your uncle. What does that have to do with me?”
Pei Huaijin suddenly looked up, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes.
She actually... knew everything.
On the first day my uncle arrived in the capital, he sent someone to deliver a message.
If he wanted to save his widowed mother's life, he had to admit to all the crimes during the joint trial by the three judicial authorities, taking all the blame for bribery and fraud upon himself.
The best course of action would be to write a confession and commit suicide in prison to truly quell this storm.
During those days, he couldn't sleep at night. On one hand, there was his mother who had raised him with great difficulty, and on the other hand, there was his clean reputation. In the end, he chose the former.
He gave a bitter smile. "Yes, this matter is ultimately the result of the Pei family's own actions. What does it have to do with Your Highness? I was being narrow-minded."
Li Yuanzhao leaned down slightly, his gaze lingering on the man's blood-stained face for a moment. "Judging from your appearance, are you planning to accept your fate?"
Pei Huaijin raised his head and looked directly at Li Yuanzhao.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice bitter and hoarse: "I have no way to repay the kindness of being born and raised."
Li Yuanzhao then curled his lips into a sneer, his tone full of sarcasm, "You can't even protect your own life, yet you dare to dream of protecting others? How laughable."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "You don't really think that your uncle will treat your mother well just because you're dead, do you?"
"A woman with no husband, no children, and no one to rely on—in the deep, secluded mansion of the Pei family, how many ways could she possibly die quietly?"
Pei Huaijin's face turned deathly pale instantly.
Yes, he's dead. How long can his mother live?
If my uncle could tell me to commit suicide, how could he truly treat my mother well?
"Besides, your uncle has been in charge of the Pei family for so many years. What have he been doing behind the scenes? Do you really not know?"
Li Yuanzhao leaned back in his chair, his tone full of mockery, "I never thought you had such a title of talented scholar, yet you were so stupid that you dared to hand over the Pei family to someone like him."
Pei Guyan was so eager to force Pei Huaijin to die because he had too many dirty deeds to be investigated.
If someone isn't quickly scapegoated, these powerful families will eventually expose them all in order to protect themselves.
Pei Huaijin was certainly aware of this.
His grandfather, Pei Yun, was once the Grand Tutor, and his father was the Minister of Revenue before his death.
After the deaths of the two men, the Pei family gradually declined.
His uncle had been working hard for over twenty years, but he still couldn't get into the center of power.
As a result, the Pei clan's influence in the court weakened, and they were suppressed by other powerful clans without any power to fight back.
His uncle, as governor, controlled the salt lakes and the grain transport in Hedong.
In order to maintain the Pei family's outward glory and curry favor with other powerful clans, they inevitably had to do some shady things behind the scenes.
Although he never inquired about it, he had vaguely heard about it.
Normally, this matter could be resolved by asking someone for help or secretly.
But now the eldest princess is pressing her relentlessly, and even her uncle has been imprisoned.
If this is discovered, the Pei family will naturally be doomed.
At that time, not only would my mother be unable to survive, but the Pei family would also be implicated.
Is there really no other way?
Looking at the person in front of him, Pei Huaijin suddenly realized that she was the only one who could save him.
He himself may die, but he cannot abandon his mother or the entire Pei family.
The person in front of her has the ability to protect herself and even help him bring down his uncle, allowing him to gain a foothold in the Pei family.
As if grasping at a last straw, he slammed his knees heavily onto the ground and knelt down in front of Li Yuanzhao.
"I truly regret what I said by Qujiang Pool that day. I beg Your Highness... to lend a helping hand, to save my mother's life, and to rescue the Pei family from this dire situation. I am willing to pay any price as long as Your Highness is willing to help."
Li Yuanzhao laughed at this moment, and she stretched out her toes to lift Pei Huaijin's chin.
"I initially took a liking to you because I thought you had some use. But now... you're nothing but a discarded son of the Pei family, why should I waste my energy saving you?"
Pei Huaijin's face flushed red instantly, and humiliation and struggle flashed in his eyes.
But he didn't flinch. Instead, he stepped forward humbly and grabbed her sleeve. "I, Pei, am willing to be the princess's consort. I was blind before. I beg Your Highness to give me another chance!"
Li Yuanzhao's eyes held even greater sarcasm. She calmly withdrew her sleeve and said coldly, "But now, I no longer need a prince consort. What I need... is a dog that can bite for me."
Pei Huaijin's fingertips froze in mid-air. His pride as a once-renowned scion of a prominent family in the capital wouldn't allow him to continue pleading, but...
In the end, he decided to take a gamble: "If Your Highness can protect my mother and the Pei family, I, Pei, am willing to be Your Highness's sharpest knife and most loyal dog."
Li Yuanzhao raised an eyebrow, "Most loyal?"
Pei Huaijin replied, "I know what Your Highness wants. If Your Highness helps me this once, I am willing to help Your Highness...go that far."
Li Yuanzhao stared at him for a long time, then suddenly chuckled and got up to walk towards the prison door.
"Then let me see your loyalty. The three judicial departments will conduct a joint trial in three days. You should know what to do then."
Pei Huaijin watched her disappearing figure in the darkness, then suddenly kowtowed heavily.
Hearing the sound, Chen Yanqing, who was outside the prison gate, suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.
This woman is truly insane; he actually forgot about that because of how much time they've spent together.
Seeing that he hadn't followed, Li Yuanzhao stopped impatiently. "What? You want to go in and relive the experience for a few days too?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yanqing shook his head frantically and quickly followed.
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