Chapter 182 Ten Years Ago
The villa was farther from Tingquan Mountain than from the capital, so Pei Jing rode his horse quickly and arrived there before noon.
Since Pei Jing learned his life story and returned to Beijing, he has not been to Jinglian Temple until now. Firstly, he did not know how to face his mother, and secondly, he had to be on guard against Emperor Zhaowen. His attitude could not be different from before, otherwise it would easily arouse suspicion.
If the emperor had not sent a letter asking him to come, he would have had no reason to come here.
"I've heard everything that happened in the capital." Qinglian Lay Buddhist said softly, "I didn't expect you to go to such lengths for that girl."
"I didn't act on impulse."
Lay Buddhist Qinglian nodded. "Of course I understand. I saw it the last time you and that girl came to the nunnery. You put your heart into it. You've been stubborn since you were little, and you never look back on what you've decided. But... you should give an explanation to the Emperor."
Pei Jing's expression turned cold, and he raised his eyes and asked, "Did he pressure you to go back and apologize?"
Buddhist monk Qinglian shook his head slightly, stroking his Buddhist beads with his fingertips. "The emperor only asked me to advise you. After all, the Wei family has been operating in the court for many years. You should give them a way out and not block their own way."
A smile flashed in Pei Jing's eyes. It was obvious that Emperor Zhaowen didn't know about the alliance between the eldest prince Pei Yi and the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, and he thought that Dingyuan Marquis would become his father-in-law in the future.
"It's not time to break up yet." Qinglian Jushi was worried. "Your foundation is not stable yet. I'm afraid..."
"Don't worry, I know what to do."
"Then...that girl," Mr. Qinglian hesitated for a moment, "will she be willing?"
Pei Jing's expression was slightly gloomy. Thinking of Jiang Fei's excited look when she went out this morning, he felt a tightness in his chest.
Ms. Qinglian saw that he was in a bad mood, so she tactfully stopped asking questions.
In the afternoon, Pei Jing sat by the withered lotus pond, thinking about the first time Jiang Fei came to beg for lotus. He really should have strangled her to death that time to avoid disturbing him now. But he couldn't hit or scold her anymore.
Buddhist monk Qinglian stood by the window and murmured, "Another bad fate."
Pei Jing's ears moved slightly, and his eyes became even colder.
On the way back, they no longer hurried and walked very slowly. As the sky gradually darkened, Duan Jiu did not dare to urge them to hurry.
It wasn't until the road ahead was getting dark and if they didn't move on they would have to travel with torches that Duan Jiu whispered a reminder, "Your Highness, it's getting dark."
Pei Jing gripped the reins tightly and said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, "She said she would be back before dark."
I wanted to fly back immediately, but I was afraid that the place would be empty when I got back.
Duan Jiu looked at his prince's uncertain expression and cautiously suggested, "How about... I send someone back to the villa to check first?"
Pei Jing was silent for a moment, then suddenly gave the horse a squeeze and said, "No need."
By the time we arrived at the villa, it was completely dark.
The doorman heard the sound of horse hooves from a distance and opened the door early to wait.
Pei Jing dismounted and asked, "Is she back?"
The only person who could have caused the prince to personally inquire about it was Miss Jiang Er. The doorman said, "The young lady hasn't returned yet."
This sentence seemed to have pulled Pei Jing's spine out. His whole body went limp and he actually staggered a step.
But before Duan Jiu could offer his support, he slowly stood up again and said coldly, "Gather the men and return to the capital immediately."
Duan Jiu was shocked. He was afraid that this time the whole capital would be in chaos again. He had to find a way to stop the prince.
Pei Jing was already five steps away. Duan Jiu was about to catch up when the gatekeeper stopped him. "Guard Duan, several guards have arrived at the manor. The leader, named Zhang, has brought back someone and wants to see Guard Duan. He's already inside waiting."
Duan Jiu's eyebrows jumped. The guard named Zhang was the one he sent to capture the Taoist priest. It would be a good idea to use this to delay the prince in advance.
"Your Highness, Your Highness," Duan Jiu hurried after him, "The Taoist priest that Your Highness ordered to be captured has been brought back."
"First--"
"It is said that the Taoist priest did a lot of immoral things when Miss Jiang was a child." Duan Jiu deliberately made the matter sound more serious. "I didn't expect that after all these years, he still wouldn't let Miss go."
Pei Jing's footsteps suddenly stopped, a fierce look flashed in his eyes: "Where is the person?"
Duan Jiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "I'll have someone bring the person over right away."
When the Taoist priest was dragged into the courtyard, he was so scared that he was peeing and shitting. His Taoist robe was filthy and he had completely lost his previous demeanor as a master. He was kicked in the knee by the guard and fell to his knees.
The people who arrested him on the way had already told him that the one who wanted to see him was King Zhaoning, and whether he wanted to live or not, or whether he could live or not, all depended on his luck.
"Your Majesty, spare my life!" The old Taoist knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "I am innocent! I am just a paid job."
Pei Jing sat in the chair and slowly moved the teacup. "What did the Jiang family pay you to do?"
The old Taoist said tremblingly, "That was more than ten years ago. Madam Jiang came to me and told me that her second daughter had a very Yin energy in her destiny and would probably not live past the age of eight. She wanted me to change her second daughter's fate."
Pei Jing's fingers paused on the teacup, his eyes growing colder. "Go on."
The old Taoist's forehead was covered in sweat. "They... they bought a girl who was born at an inauspicious time and asked me to cast a spell to ward off disaster for the Second Miss Jiang. They used that girl to take the Second Miss Jiang's place."
"What did you say?!" Pei Jing stood up suddenly, and the teacup fell to the ground with a clang.
The old Taoist priest stepped back in fear and said hurriedly, "This, this, this is all Madam Jiang's idea. She..."
Pei Jing grabbed his collar before he could finish and said in a frighteningly cold voice, "I'm asking you, is the girl you bought called Jiang Rufei now?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The old Taoist nodded repeatedly, the cold sweat on his forehead dripping onto the back of Pei Jing's hand. "It's Miss Jiang Er! Madam Jiang bought her from a human trafficker back then. They said she had a special fate and could protect the real Miss Jiang Er from disaster."
Pei Jing's grip suddenly tightened.
He thought of the attitude of the Jiang family towards Jiang Rufei, their indifference after she was abducted, and the reactions of the two people when he said that she was not his biological daughter. It turned out... it turned out that she was not a member of the Jiang family at all.
Pei Jing's eyes flashed coldly: "What else? What did you do to her?"
The old Taoist swallowed hard and said, "I only tried to get Jiang Rufei to take the blame for Jiang Rulin. I have no regard for her life at all—"
With a "bang", the Taoist priest was kicked into the yard and spit out blood before he could get up.
Pei Jing's eyes turned to the other person he brought in.
The person was an old woman with wrinkles all over her face, and she was kneeling on the ground, trembling like a sieve.
"Your Highness, please spare my life!" The old woman kowtowed repeatedly. "I'm just an errand boy, doing honest business. I've never kidnapped anyone. That girl wanted to sell herself back then!"
The cold light in Pei Jing's eyes grew even colder: "Speak clearly."
The old woman was so frightened that she was shaking all over, and her voice changed. "That little beggar, no, Miss Jiang, found a human trafficker herself and said she wanted to sell herself. Although she was dirty, she was still beautiful after washing. It just so happened that she had a special fate, so I, the old woman, arranged for her to be sold to the Jiang family."
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