Chapter 269: Daydreaming
Pei Jing raised his eyes suddenly. The sunlight from outside poured in through the door frame, dazzling his eyes. When he saw clearly, his heart skipped a beat.
Jiang Fei was standing there, holding a bunch of peach blossoms in full bloom in her arms. The pink and white petals were stained with a little spring dew, and her figure was outlined with a golden edge in the backlight.
He stood up almost instantly, rushed over quickly, and hugged Jiang Fei in his arms.
The bunch of peach blossoms was squeezed between the two of them, and the petals fell to the ground.
The two of them felt like newlyweds after a short separation. Pei Jing missed the person in his arms day and night, and they didn't stop until very late. Neither of them felt sleepy at all, but instead became more energetic as they stayed up late.
Jiang Fei lay on Pei Jing with her face pressed against his chest, and the two chatted casually.
"This wasn't the original plan. Pei Yi's move of poisoning himself disrupted my plan, so I had no choice but to take advantage of his strategy. Luckily, you're smart..."
Pei Jing was extremely relieved. "If you were caught, we would have lost this round."
Apart from her, he had nothing to lose.
Jiang Fei nuzzled his chest and asked, "Pei Yi, there's no way you can turn over now, right?"
Pei Jing hummed softly, his fingers entwined with her long hair, his voice lazily filled with satisfaction: "He's completely screwed this time. The emperor hates being schemed against the most."
"So what are you going to do next?"
Pei Jing was silent for a long time, but finally concealed the most crucial part.
He only said: "I haven't figured out how to do it yet."
He had to do something. If he didn't do it, he would never be able to feel at ease.
Because before this chaos in the palace, he had always been a little conceited and felt that he was capable of protecting her.
It was not until he was trapped in the palace that he suddenly realized that he was not omnipotent. There were times when he was restricted and powerless. There was someone who was always above him, and that person was the emperor.
Only by truly getting rid of that person will he have the confidence to say that he will protect her for the rest of her life.
Pei Jing stroked her smooth back with his palm, his eyes softening. "I've found a family for you in Qingxi Town, five hundred miles from the capital. They're a small family, surnamed Zhou. The old couple are both good people. Would you like to recognize them as your parents?"
Before Jiang Fei could answer, Pei Jing continued, "I'm not asking you to honor them, I'm just giving you a status."
Jiang Fei suddenly stood up, her long hair falling like a waterfall, "What do you mean?"
Pei Jing quickly pushed her down and hugged her tighter, "It's exactly what it says. With this identity, you won't attract criticism in the future."
Jiang Fei was skeptical about this. With Pei Jing's personality, he would not care what others thought. This was not in line with his personality.
But once the matter involved her, she was not so sure anymore, as she couldn't figure out this person's train of thought.
"Why has Emperor Zhaowen kept you in the palace these days?"
Pei Jing sneered, "He's afraid. He's schemed against others in the same way before. I wonder if he'll dream of his old friend asking for his life back."
Emperor Zhaowen had indeed not slept well these past few days. When he was awake he always felt that someone was trying to harm him. When he finally fell asleep, he felt even more restless in his dreams.
He met King Ping again.
Prince Ping still looked the same as he did in the study of the East Palace, holding a wooden talisman in his hand. When he turned to look at him, the smile on his face became even more intense.
He said, "After the New Year, the Emperor will grant me and Zhihe a marriage. Don't worry, my brother and sister-in-law will protect you and will never let you suffer any injustice."
The air in the study seemed to be soaked in honey. Prince Ping's voice was gentle and his eyes were sincere. It was the purest love that belonged to an elder brother.
If it were someone else, they might have been melted by this warmth long ago.
But Emperor Zhaowen's heart felt like it was being stabbed by ice-hardened needles, and dense and resentful emotions surged up, almost bursting his chest.
Why?
Why is it that Pei Jue, who is the emperor's child, can sit on the throne of the crown prince, while even the person dear to his heart is taken away by others?
Just because he was born two years later?
The scene suddenly changed, and he went to Prince Ping's mansion. The jade-like man was lying on the couch, dying.
In the end, he got everything he wanted, the throne, women, but no one would ever call him brother gently again.
"Why?" King Ping raised his head with difficulty, his eyes full of disbelief.
Emperor Zhaowen heard his own cold voice, "Brother, your mistake is... you trust others too easily."
He leaned over and snatched the wooden talisman from King Ping's hand.
"Don't worry." He took the wooden talisman into his arms and said softly, "I will take good care of Zhihe for you."
Then blood began to flow from King Ping's eyes.
At first there were just two thin marks, but soon they became turbulent and flowed down the quilt to the ground, as sticky as wet paint.
Thick blood tightly wrapped around Emperor Zhaowen's ankles, like countless invisible hands pulling him down. The blood gradually flowed over his knees and chest, and covered his mouth and nose at the back.
"ah--"
Emperor Zhaowen suddenly woke up from his dream and shouted hoarsely: "Someone come! Someone come!"
Meng Yuande limped forward, "Is the Emperor in a state of terror? Should we summon the imperial physician?"
Emperor Zhaowen's chest heaved violently, and Prince Ping's bloody face was still before him.
He lowered his head, and a strand of hair fell in front of his eyes. It was already frosty white, but the King Ping in his dream was still so young.
Emperor Zhaowen pulled back the brocade quilt and stepped barefoot on the cold gold bricks.
He staggered to the bronze mirror, which reflected an old and twisted face with sunken eye sockets and prominent cheekbones. Where was the trace of his former vigor and vitality?
The person in the mirror suddenly gave him a weird smile.
Emperor Zhaowen stepped back suddenly and fell to the ground.
From that day on, Emperor Zhaowen was plagued by nightmares every night. The imperial physician who came to treat him could not find the cause of his illness and only said that it was probably a heart disease.
Emperor Zhaowen was so furious that he killed two imperial doctors.
Due to poor eating and sleeping, Emperor Zhaowen's health deteriorated at a visible rate. Sometimes he could not even participate in court meetings. Most court affairs were discussed and handled by Pei Jing, several princes, and ministers.
…
It was late at night, and the windows of every household were dark. A waning moon hung coldly in the night sky, but its light could not warm the cold spring night.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from somewhere, followed by the sound of horse hooves and the clashing of armor, instantly tearing the tranquility of the capital.
"What happened?" Jiang Fei asked in a daze.
Pei Jing stood up and patted her soothingly, "It might be something in the palace. It's okay, just go back to sleep."
He put on his clothes, stood up and went out, and saw Duan Jiu hurried into the yard and whispered, "Your Highness, Pei Yi has escaped."
Pei Jing glanced at him and said calmly, "I understand."
He turned back to the room, walked to the bed, leaned over and kissed Jiang Fei on the forehead, "I have to go to the palace."
Jiang Fei woke up instantly and grabbed Pei Jing's wrist, "It's so late..."
Pei Jing placed a soothing kiss on her lips. "Pei Yi ran away. It's okay. I'll be back soon."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
