Chapter 252: Strawbag's Advice
It was late at night, but the palace was still brightly lit with candles.
Zhou Xian tiptoed into the room and bowed, "Your Highness, Jiang Chengjin said he wants to see you for something important."
Pei Yi raised his eyes, "Jiang Chengjin? Who is it?"
Zhou Xian explained, "He's Jiang Bingshi's eldest son. He works as an eighth-rank clerk in the Taichang Temple. He usually makes a living by copying registers of carriages and horses. Actually, he's the brother-in-law of the Third Young Master of Wei."
Pei Yi finally realized what was happening. "Oh, that loser, what is he doing here at this hour?"
"He said he could help relieve your highness's worries. Would you like to see him?"
"Let him in."
Not long after, Jiang Chengjin followed Zhou Xian in and knelt on the ground as soon as he entered the door. "Your Highness, your humble servant pays respects to you."
Pei Yi sipped his tea leisurely, not even raising his eyelids. "I heard you can help me share my worries?"
"Yes!" Jiang Chengjin raised his head and said flatteringly, "I know Your Highness is worried about Prince Zhaoning's affairs. I have a solution."
Pei Yi paused for a moment, then finally looked directly at the unassuming official. "Oh? Tell me about it."
Jiang Chengjin crawled a few steps on his knees and lowered his voice to ask, "Your Highness, do you know that the woman beside Prince Zhaoning is the Xiao Cui that is being rumored?"
Pei Yi didn't respond, but nodded slightly, indicating that he should continue.
Jiang Chengjin quickly said, "To be honest, that woman's name is Jiang Rufei, and she is actually my second sister!"
"Oh?" Pei Yi paused holding the teacup and sat up slightly.
He glanced at Zhou Xian, who then asked, "Wasn't your sister taken away by Zhao Xingbang to be his concubine? How did she become a member of the Zhaoning Palace?"
Jiang Chengjin's face was filled with smugness, eager to take credit. "Your Highness, you don't know that this is just a cover-up. In fact, Jiang Rufei is not even a member of our Jiang family..."
Jiang Chengjin chattered about family matters, which made Pei Yi very impatient.
"Enough! Let's get to the point. How exactly are you going to help me relieve my worries?"
Jiang Chengjin shuddered with fear and said quickly, "I have a way to lure Jiang Rufei out. Then..."
Pei Yi smiled after hearing this and said, "If this is successful, you will definitely benefit from it in the future."
Jiang Chengjin's eyes lit up, and he kowtowed repeatedly, "Thank you, Your Highness. I will definitely fulfill my mission!"
After Jiang Chengjin left, Pei Yi walked to the window and looked in the direction of Zhaoning Palace. "Pei Jing, Pei Jing, this time I want to see if you can still protect your beloved."
…
After Jiang Chengjin went back overnight, he went to Old Lady Jiang's Songhe Hall early the next morning and mentioned that he wanted Jiang Chenglang to live back home.
Jiang Rufei likes the little fat boy. As long as he can control the little fat boy, why would he be worried about not being able to lure Jiang Rufei out?
"Look, now that Mother has gone to live permanently at the farm, the house is deserted and lonely," Jiang Chengjin said earnestly. "You've always loved Cheng Lang, don't you want him to be around every day? You're worried that Mother might teach Cheng Lang bad things, so why not leave him with me and let me teach him myself?"
Madam Jiang's face was sallow, and she raised her eyelids with difficulty when she heard this. "What good things can you teach?"
Jiang Chengjin choked, "Grandma, how could you say that? I'm Cheng Lang's biological brother. How could I possibly harm him?"
"Brother?" The old lady coughed twice, a rusty taste rising from her throat. "You've plunged headfirst into muddy waters, unable to protect yourself... yourself, yet you're trying to drag Cheng Lang down with you... I'm telling you... as long as I'm still breathing, I will never... let you cut off his escape route."
"Grandma!" Jiang Chengjin was also angry. "Cheng Lang is a member of the Jiang family. Don't you think about how much Jiang Rufei hates our family? You still expect her to be sincere to Cheng Lang? I'm afraid she will teach her child to hate our family, and then she will raise an ungrateful person."
The old lady was so angry that she coughed violently.
Jiang Chengjin continued, "Cheng Lang is the root of our Jiang family. What's the point of sending him to Pei Jing? Pei Jing is a complete lunatic. What good can we learn from him? Learn to kill and set fire to him?"
The old lady suddenly grabbed the medicine bowl and threw it at Jiang Chengjin. She didn't have much strength, and the bowl broke directly at Jiang Chengjin's feet.
“Get out!”
Jiang Chengjin took a few steps back with a sullen expression. "You have to agree even if you don't want to! I'll send someone to bring Cheng Lang back right away."
"You dare!" The old lady coughed heart-wrenchingly.
"I'm doing this for the Jiang family." Jiang Chengjin said confidently, "If Jiang Rufei dares not release me, I'll bring people to make trouble until she hands me over."
"You... you evil creature!" Old Madam Jiang was so angry that she was shaking all over and struggling to get up from the couch. "You are going to... destroy the Jiang family and cut off its roots!"
"Don't worry, Grandmother. Once I gain a firm foothold with the help of Your Highness, the Jiang family will only become more prosperous than before! But you, stubborn and unyielding, will ruin my plans sooner or later!"
The old lady was panting like a bellows. "If you dare... dare to send anyone, I will kill myself right here!"
Jiang Chengjin wasn't worried at all and said nonchalantly, "Just tell me what you're talking about. With your current body, you don't have the strength to die in a collision. Take good care of yourself and don't worry about family matters. If you really die in a collision, Jiang Chenglang will come back to offer condolences!"
He turned and left. Madam Jiang pointed at his back with a trembling hand, "You...you are...trying to kill me..."
Jiang Chengjin walked out of the door and stood in the corridor and ordered, "Go, send someone to Zhaoning Prince's Mansion to tell Jiang Rufei that the old lady is dying and wants to see Cheng Lang one last time before she dies. Ask her to..."
Before he could finish his words, a heart-wrenching cry suddenly came from the room: "Old lady——!"
…
In the study of Prince Zhaoning's Palace.
Pei Jing was holding Jiang Fei while they practiced calligraphy when Wen Zhu hurried in. "Prince, Miss, something happened to the Jiang family."
Jiang Fei raised her head and asked, "What happened?"
"Old Madam Jiang has passed away."
"What?" Jiang Fei immediately put down her pen. "When did it happen?"
Wen Zhu said, "Just this morning, I sent someone to verify. The Jiang family has already arranged white banners and set up a mourning tent, and the notices of death have been sent out. The Jiang family also sent someone to ask Jiang Chenglang to go back and pay his respects to the old lady."
Jiang Fei was silent for a moment. She didn't have any feelings for the old lady, but the dead are the greatest. Jiang Chenglang is the blood of the Jiang family. The old lady planned something for him. It was reasonable for her to see the old lady off.
She calmed herself down and said to Wen Zhu, "Send someone to bring Cheng Lang back. I'll ask him what he thinks first."
It was almost evening when Jiang Chenglang was brought back from the villa. His eyes were red, obviously from crying.
When Jiang Chenglang saw Jiang Fei, he threw himself into her arms. His small body made Jiang Fei take two steps back.
Pei Jing frowned and supported Jiang Fei steadily. His eyes fell on Jiang Chenglang's red eyes from crying, but he didn't say any words of scolding in the end.
Just silently step back a few steps to give them some space.
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