Chapter 264 His Origin Was Not His Own Choice
Pei Jing's smile remained undimmed. "Everyone in the world knows I'm Prince Ping's son. I'm just relying on my 'Fourth Uncle' for help. He pities me, having lost my father at a young age and suffering from illness, and indulges me a little. How could a lazy prince with connections to the royal family have the qualifications to covet the supreme throne? Why would they consider me a rival? There's no precedent for a madman sitting on the throne, right?"
Emperor Zhaowen's expression instantly turned extremely ugly. The word "Fourth Uncle" was like a slap in the face, so hard and painful that it was unbearable.
"How dare you!" Emperor Zhaowen's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. "Who allowed you to talk nonsense here?"
Almost everyone trembled with fear, except Pei Jing, who seemed not to notice the anger and even had a self-deprecating smile on his face.
"If I really want to fight, do I have the qualifications? I don't even have the qualifications to stand on the stage. Now that the eldest prince is in trouble, everyone is staring at me. Why?"
He lowered his head. "I didn't choose my birth. I was born to be a venomous snake that should always hide in the dark."
These words were neither soft nor harsh, but they pierced Emperor Zhaowen's heart like a needle.
All the guilt that had been weighing on my heart for years was brought up by Pei Jing's light words, and weighed heavily on me.
Before Emperor Zhaowen could speak, Pei Jing stood up on his own. His thin figure made the candlelight in the hall seem even more lonely as he stood there.
He took one last look at Emperor Zhaowen, his eyes were indifferent, as if he was looking at a familiar stranger, a little distant and a little disappointed.
Just this one glance made Emperor Zhaowen's heart suddenly shrink, as if something was tightly grasping it, causing him both sore and painful.
In a trance, he actually saw another pair of eyes in those eyes, and they had also looked at him in the same way.
The hall was filled with absolute silence. The empress opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but was shocked into shutting up by the unprecedented confusion and pain in Emperor Zhaowen's eyes.
Pei Jing turned and walked out.
Just as he walked out of the palace, a pale flash of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, illuminating the dark palace as bright as day, and then a deafening thunder rumbled across the sky.
The spring rain finally fell. At first it was a few sparse drops, but in a moment it became lines, crackling on the glazed tiles.
Pei Jing stopped and looked up at the sky.
This sudden poisoning was too much of a coincidence. The palace was in chaos, and the eldest prince, who should have been under strict supervision, had to suffer an accident at this critical juncture...
It seems that someone in this game can't wait to get the checkmate.
What he is most worried about now is not himself being trapped in the palace, but Jiang Fei.
If someone wanted to cause trouble outside the palace while he was away, he would be unable to do anything. Fortunately, he left Duan Jiu outside, so he could respond if anything happened.
…
Jiang Fei remembered that Pei Jing rode a horse when he left in the morning. Since the rain looked like it would not stop for a while, she sent someone from the mansion to wait at the palace gate with a carriage to avoid the inconvenience of riding a horse when returning.
The rain was drizzling outside. Jiang Fei listened to the sound of the rain and calculated the time when Pei Jing would come back.
Not long after, the guards who were sent out came back, and their faces were very solemn when they entered the room.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Fei asked immediately.
The guard replied, "I've arrived at the palace gates, and something's not right there. All the gates are locked, no one is allowed in or out, and there are twice as many guards at the gates as usual. I've asked around, and I've learned that the gates were sealed shortly after the prince entered."
"What about the wine? Did you see him?"
"No." The guard shook his head. "Duan Jiu is also missing."
Jiang Fei began to feel nervous and paced around the room a little anxiously.
"He doesn't usually bring Duan Jiu into the palace. He keeps Duan Jiu outside the palace so he can be available at any time. Today, either something happened in the palace and he made an exception and brought Duan Jiu into the palace in a hurry, or..."
She paused, her voice deepening. "Or Duan Jiu has also been apprehended outside the palace. Either of these two scenarios would be extremely disadvantageous to us."
The rain outside the window had gotten heavier at some point, and the wind was blowing the raindrops against the window frame.
Wen Zhu stood aside and said, "Miss, what should we do now?"
Jiang Fei was silent for a moment. "Wait, now we can only wait. The palace gates are closed, and there is no news. If we interfere now, it will only cause trouble for him. I will wait for him here."
…
At noon, Pei Yi finally woke up.
After the imperial physician's treatment, he was thankful that his life was saved, but the remaining poison in his body needed to be slowly removed and recuperated.
Emperor Zhaowen was already looking tired due to not sleeping all night, so he felt relieved when he saw Pei Yi waking up. He gave him a few instructions and went back to rest.
The Queen stayed in Chongli Hall to look after the matter and dismissed the palace maids. Then she lowered her voice and said, "This move is really risky. You really scared me to death."
"Mother, how can great things be accomplished without taking risks?" Pei Yi took a breath, a clear and fierce look flashing in his eyes. "Who is father? He has walked through the bloody road of succession. Ordinary tricks can't be fooled by him. If I don't use this method of putting my life at risk, how can I let him believe that someone is really trying to kill me?"
"But there's no need to use such a strong poison!" The Queen was still terrified. "The Imperial Physician said that if you were half an hour later, even a god wouldn't be able to save you!"
Pei Yi leaned back against the soft pillow, his breath still a little hazy, and said slowly, "That's why it seems so real. Father is used to seeing underhanded tactics. If the poison wasn't fatal, he would definitely suspect I staged it myself."
"The palace is in chaos right now. Anyone could be the murderer, except me. My lying here is the perfect excuse. Father will not let this matter go unresolved and will investigate thoroughly."
"But we can't find any real evidence, so we can't do anything to Pei Jing."
"If there is no evidence," Pei Yi chuckled, "then fabricate evidence."
In the afternoon, Emperor Zhaowen had rested enough and went to see Pei Yi again. He also summoned several princes and Pei Jing.
"Pei Yi's poisoning was by no means an accident," Emperor Zhaowen said in a low voice. "This matter must be thoroughly investigated. I have already dispatched my personal guards to search your respective residences."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the other princes in the hall, except Pei Yi, changed.
Whose palace didn't have some shady dealings? For example, secretly keeping concubines, keeping a few young prostitutes, or hiding some non-compliant items. Normally, the emperor would turn a blind eye, but if the guards uncovered it, they would inevitably be scolded.
For a moment, everyone felt insecure, even breathing lighter, but no one dared to refute.
Pei Jing sat in the chair, subconsciously stroking the jade ring on his hand. He seemed calm, but his heart was in turmoil.
Jiang Fei is still in the palace...
If the guards were to find out, it would be a crime tantamount to deceiving the emperor. Considering the fact that someone had sneaked into the palace last night and today, could it be that someone knew or guessed something and wanted to use this opportunity to bring him down in one fell swoop?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
