Chapter 262 Is Jiang Rufei Really Dead?
Inside the palace, a minister wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The prince..."
"Shut up!" Emperor Zhaowen slammed the table again, "Continue the discussion!"
The atmosphere of the meeting was completely ruined, and Emperor Zhaowen had to glance outside the hall from time to time.
Pei Jing was seen standing with his hands behind his back, looking quite relaxed and carefree. The spring was chilly and the wind made his clothes flutter, but he did not look embarrassed at all. Instead, he looked like an ink painting.
"This bastard..." Emperor Zhaowen gritted his teeth, but was helpless.
Pei Jing has had this madness since he was a child. It can't be cured, and it can't be awakened by scolding. We can only let him act hysterically.
The meeting was finally hastily dispersed.
Emperor Zhaowen returned to his bedroom, leaned on the couch and rubbed his eyebrows.
Maybe it was because of his old age, but he had been feeling heavy lately, and he felt exhausted after a little movement. Just now, when he was discussing matters, he had to drink a cup of ginseng tea to keep himself going.
"Pei Jing is a child who is as smart as me. What a pity."
"Your Majesty." Meng Yuande couldn't help laughing, "Your Highness is still young, and his character may not have settled down yet."
Emperor Zhaowen snorted, "That's true. I don't have his habit of showing off. He's eager to announce every little thing between husband and wife to the world. I wasn't as ostentatious as him back then, but it does sound pitiful."
Meng Yuande smiled and agreed with a few words. After Emperor Zhaowen rested, he went to Chongli Hall where the eldest prince was imprisoned and stayed there for half a minute before returning.
As soon as he came back, he heard the eunuch say that the emperor woke up after a short sleep and asked where Meng Yuande had gone.
As soon as Meng Yuande stepped into the inner hall, a scrutinizing gaze fell on him.
When he looked up, Emperor Zhaowen was half leaning on the couch, and the dark circles under his eyes were darker than before, obviously he had not slept well.
"Where did you go?"
Meng Yuande's heart trembled. The palace was full of the emperor's spies. He could not hide the fact that he went to see the eldest prince. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I went to Chongli Palace."
Emperor Zhaowen said nothing, his eyes grew darker.
Meng Yuande continued, "The eldest prince had sent word earlier that he was feeling unwell and was crying and demanding to see the emperor. I went to take a look. Did the emperor not sleep well again?"
As he spoke, he took a porcelain bottle from a box beside him and poured out a pill. "The imperial physician instructed that you can only take three of these tranquilizing pills a day. This is the last one for today."
Emperor Zhaowen took the pill and swallowed it with warm water. Not long after, his eyelids began to droop and his breathing became regular.
…
At the Dingyuan Marquis’ Mansion, the Marquis’ wife was crying bitterly.
"Mingzhen, please save her. No matter what she does wrong, she is still your sister."
Wei Mingzhen lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the wrinkled cuffs of his sleeves. "Mother, when she killed someone, did she ever consider that Jiang Rufei was also someone else's daughter?"
"Ciying is still young," the Marquis' wife choked up, "She was just confused for a moment, blinded by her own foolishness and made a mistake. But Jiang Rufei is already dead, and the dead cannot be resurrected. Do we really want the living to pay for the dead?"
Whenever Wei Mingzhen closed his eyes, the scene he saw later when he went to Jiang's house to pay his respects appeared before his eyes.
The three coffins were neatly placed together, two of which had been burned to charcoal. The Jiang family members pushed him out crying. Although he only saw it once, it seemed to be engraved in his heart.
He really couldn't connect the corpse with that cheerful girl, nor could he believe that Jiang Rufei was gone just like that.
"You are my brother! You should think of a solution, even if it means going to the Imperial Guards Prison to see what happens."
Wei Mingzhen did not respond and broke free from the Marquis's hand.
When I turned to leave, the crying behind me became more urgent, piercing my ears.
Jiang Rufei...is she really dead?
The snow outside is almost melting, and the sound of melting ice is rarely heard in recent days.
Wei Ciying scratched the thirty-seventh mark on the wall of the cell, which meant that she had been imprisoned for thirty-seven days.
At first he cried and cursed, but later his voice became hoarse, his strength was exhausted, and his heart died.
They really didn't want her anymore. What family affection was that? In the end, it was all about weighing the pros and cons. No one was willing to gamble the family's future for her, a murderer.
Just like in the previous life, parents and brothers are just a short-term fate. They seem close, but when they reach a fork in the road, they will eventually go their separate ways and no one will stop for the other.
The only surprise was that Jiang Linyuan had someone pass in a note yesterday with only two words scribbled on it: "Wait for me."
Wei Ciying buried her face in her knees, her heart felt like a frozen stone, heavy and hard.
The light in front of the cell door flickered, and she looked up. It was the jailer passing by on his routine inspection.
She raised her head and said, "Brother, I want to see King Zhaoning."
The jailer didn't even pause, "I've told you so many times. The prince said that when you are executed, you will see it for yourself."
…
Pei Jing has been very busy these days and usually comes back in the evening.
The candlelight outside the tent had gone out, and the two of them lay down in the bed. Pei Jing pulled Jiang Fei into his arms, his voice a little tired.
"Although Pei Yi has been confined and appears to have lost power, the complex underground forces have not moved much. He can't put all his eggs in one basket. He still has many people in the court who support him."
"There is Marquis Dingyuan behind him." Jiang Fei said in a low voice.
Pei Jing's eyes were half closed. Every time he came back these days, he would talk to her about something. One reason was that he was afraid that she would stay at home and have wild thoughts, and the other was that he was afraid that she would worry. Fortunately, the current situation was relatively stable.
"Marquis Dingyuan is a smart man. He has nothing to do with the bank's affairs. He has been very low-key recently. He is temporarily avoiding the limelight and waiting for the storm to pass."
It was still chilly in spring, and Jiang Fei tucked him in, "I heard Jiang Chengjin was imprisoned."
Pei Jing grabbed her hand, placed it on his lips and kissed it, "Well, Zhou Xian was arrested, and they pushed all the blame onto Jiang Chengjin. The Jiang family... the Jiang family..."
The voice of the following words became lower and lower, and finally dissipated in the steady breathing. He actually fell asleep.
The wind outside the window gradually died down, and only the sound of Pei Jing's heavy breathing remained inside the tent.
Jiang Fei listened to his breathing and felt sad. He was really exhausted these days.
The next morning, as soon as Pei Jing got up, Duan Jiu was already waiting for him in the corridor.
Seeing him come out, he immediately stepped forward and whispered, "Your Highness, there was some unusual movement outside the palace last night. It wasn't an assassin, and no combat took place. It seemed they were trying to gather information, but were turned back by the secret guards."
Pei Jing turned his head and glanced towards the bedroom. Jiang Fei was still asleep inside. He turned his head and asked, "Whose is this person?"
"It's not clear yet. Could it be that someone doesn't believe the young lady is dead and is here to find out the truth?"
Pei Jing frowned slightly.
The fight for the throne has nothing to do with Jiang Fei, and those fighting for power and profit may not care about her life or death.
Most of the people who care so much and even take the risk to find out the truth are members of the Wei family. After all, Jiang Fei’s death is related to Wei Ciying’s case.
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