Chapter 237 He Smells Wrong
"That girl has been crazy ever since she was little, and her speech is all incoherent. What did she say?" Yao thought for a while, then suddenly said, "I remember now! She said she knew she was wrong and asked me to save her. She couldn't die, saying she had someone else to support. Hahahahahahaha."
Yao's laughter echoed through the cell, shattering into pieces. "Isn't that funny? She's a stinking beggar herself, yet she's still thinking about supporting others. Who knew she was so tough? After three days of fever, the fever subsided on its own, but she can't remember a single thing she said. You see, she's such a jerk. She can't survive without suffering."
Pei Jing exerted force with his fingertips, and the hardwood armrest was actually broken into pieces.
Yao's laughter stopped abruptly. She recoiled in fear, yanking the chain with a series of crackling sounds. "You said I could survive."
"Of course, today, you spoke very well and carefully," Pei Jing slowly stood up, "so you don't have to die today, and you can live tomorrow. Today, I, the king, will personally reward you."
He didn't look at Yao, but his eyes fell on a pile of torture instruments hanging on the wall. He picked up a pair of rusty iron pliers and rubbed the cold buckle.
The next moment, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly rang out in the cell, accompanied by incoherent pleas for mercy, which made the iron chains buzz.
Not long after, Pei Jing walked out of the prison, took the handkerchief from Duan Jiu, and slowly wiped the dirt off his fingertips.
"Give her medicine, don't let her die."
Duan Jiu lowered his head and agreed.
Pei Jing looked at the sky. The clouds were very low, and fine snow flakes were still floating. "What time is it now?"
"Three quarters past noon." Duan Jiu replied.
"It's too late." Pei Jing threw away his handkerchief and walked out. Snowflakes hit his robe, and a layer of snow fell. "Let's go. It's too late to go back. She will miss me too much again."
This time, Duan Jiu didn't even dare to complain, because he knew that the prince had been in a bad mood these days.
As the carriage entered the capital, its speed slowed down.
Pei Jing pulled the collar of his clothes closer. The unique musty smell in the cell mixed with the smell of blood clung to the fabric and could not be shaken off.
The carriage turned into a narrow alley. Pei Jing lifted the curtain and got out. He came out a moment later wearing a clean brocade robe.
When I returned to the palace, Jiang Fei was sitting behind the desk practicing calligraphy.
After the New Year, she asked Pei Jing to teach her how to write, saying that she was afraid Pei Jing wouldn't be able to understand what she wrote. Now she was holding the pen, concentrating on practicing each stroke, with the tip of her nose slightly wrinkled, and she looked quite competent.
Seeing him come back, Jiang Fei raised her eyes and glanced at him, "You're back."
Pei Jing walked over and took a look at her handwriting. Although each character was still bigger than a fist, it was indeed neater.
He raised his hand and rubbed Jiang Fei's head. As soon as his fingertips touched the top of her head, Jiang Fei paused and her nose twitched.
It was a strange kind of incense, light and fresh, different from the smell when I went out in the morning.
She caught a glimpse of Pei Jing's sleeves. Although it was the same black brocade robe he was used to wearing, and at first glance it looked no different, the pattern embroidered on the cuffs had changed, and it was no longer the one he wore this morning.
Jiang Fei raised her head and looked at him, "Where have you been?"
Pei Jing avoided her gaze, turned around to change his clothes, and replied, "I was delayed for some time in the palace."
Jiang Fei knew that Pei Jing was not feeling well these days, but she couldn't tell what exactly was wrong. When she asked him what was wrong, he always hugged her and said that everything was fine.
While Pei Jing was changing clothes, Jiang Fei walked out of the bedroom.
Duan Jiu was waiting in the corridor. He felt a little guilty when he saw Jiang Fei. "Miss, is there something wrong?"
"What have you been busy with these days?"
Duan Jiu remained calm and said, "There's a lot of backlogged matters after the New Year, and the prince has been staying in the palace for quite some time."
Duan Jiu's words were flawless and were obviously prepared in advance.
Jiang Fei knew that no matter how much she asked, she would not get anything out of it, so she said "hmm" and turned to go into the house.
When Jiang Fei entered the room, Duan Jiu breathed a sigh of relief, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his back.
When Jiang Fei returned to the house, Pei Jing had already changed into casual clothes. When he saw her, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Fei patted his back gently. "What happened?"
Pei Jing said nothing, just held her in his arms and sat on the chair, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
The words Yao said pierced his heart like needles. She was so young at that time, and she was still thinking about him and couldn't even get enough to eat.
His heart ached so much that it was about to explode, and his fingertips began to itch again. He wanted to kill all the people in the Jiang family, but he had told her that she didn't like him killing people, so he didn't kill them.
The person in his arms is his weakness and also his rule. Pei Jing can only hold her like this, suppressing all the surging anger and love in his arms.
"Nothing, I just went out for too long and missed you."
…
Pei Jing was present as usual when the palace was discussing matters.
The court officials were discussing endlessly, either reporting the disaster or arguing about the reform of the grain transport system.
Emperor Zhaowen listened and glanced at Pei Jing.
He had been sitting by the window these days, but he didn't bring the notebook he always kept in his hand. He supported his head with one hand and stared absentmindedly out the window. The lines on his face were very tense, and anyone could see that he was in a very bad mood.
Just as they were talking about the impending spring floods in various prefectures and the need to dredge rivers in advance, several ministers started arguing over who should take the lead in supervising the work.
The Grand Minister of Agriculture said that the Supervisory Office was short of staff and that more clerks should be sent. However, the Supervisory Office said that the duties of each department had already been determined and that rash interference would only cause more trouble.
For a while, the dispute was so intense that no one could even agree on which main streams should be cleared first.
Emperor Zhaowen was so annoyed by the noise that he asked loudly, "What does Prince Zhaoning think?"
Everyone stopped and looked towards the window.
In fact, some ministers had wanted to ask Pei Jing for his opinion a long time ago, but because of his bad mood, they did not dare to provoke him easily.
Pei Jing turned his head slowly upon hearing this, his eyes still showing a bit of confusion as if he had just come back to his senses.
The court officials thought he was probably not listening and were about to repeat it again when he spoke in a very calm tone.
"The Huai River's tributaries are the most severely silted. Last autumn's floods already breached three embankments. The Chief Engineer should lead 5,000 soldiers to silt up the river, with a deadline of three months. The Secretariat should select three officials with expertise in water conservancy and assign them to the Chief Engineer's command. This will not overstep their authority, but will still fill the gap."
He spoke slowly, but explained the manpower, time limit, and deployment of personnel clearly, and even reported the location where the Huai River burst its dike last year.
There was silence in the hall for a moment, and the look in Pei Jing's eyes was different again.
What a pity, what a pity! Madness can be cured and there is always a possibility of improvement. Unfortunately, he is not the emperor's legitimate son, and ultimately he has no chance of becoming the supreme ruler.
After the court was dismissed, Emperor Zhaowen kept Pei Jing.
"Why have you been like this these past few days? Did you have a quarrel with your family?"
Pei Jing lowered his eyes and said in a flat voice, "I love her so much that I don't have time to quarrel with her. She is also very attached to me and will let me not quarrel with her."
Emperor Zhaowen choked up. He shouldn't have brought up this matter. It made him feel sick.
He quickly changed the subject. "Forget it, let's not talk about that. Although you've been absent-minded during the court meetings these days, you've been able to grasp the key points clearly, which shows that you're not really slacking off. I'm thinking of giving you a real job. Do you have any place you'd like to go?"
Pei Jing didn't hesitate and refused directly, "I don't want to go anywhere."
Emperor Zhaowen choked again, knowing his temper, he was too lazy to persuade him anymore, so he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, go ahead."
Pei Jing bowed and took his leave, his figure disappearing outside the hall.
Emperor Zhaowen looked at the door and sighed, "Among all my sons, he is the best in terms of talent."
Meng Yuande, who was serving nearby, heard this and said, "If that's the case, why is the emperor still sighing?"
Emperor Zhaowen said sadly, "But look at his personality. He doesn't seem to be willing to sincerely assist the boss."
Meng Yuande's face showed his usual respectfulness, but his hand under his sleeve trembled almost imperceptibly.
He had served the emperor for many years, and the meaning of his words was clear. Even though Prince Zhaoning was very talented, and even though the eldest prince had angered the emperor because of the Tieshanfang incident a while ago, the emperor's heart still leaned towards the eldest prince who was not outstanding.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
