Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Even though our own people closed the city gates and blocked the way for two days, the enemy still reached the Eastern Capital.
The prince's face was ashen, dark and cold, and his anger was swirling in his chest, causing his heart to ache. He knew that his father had deep feelings for his adopted son, but he didn't expect that he would be so partial to him.
The crown prince of a country was sent back to his fiefdom, and then he recalled the prince to the Eastern Capital. What did people in the world think of this move?
Did he really want to depose himself and make his fatherless bastard nephew the crown prince?
I'm afraid I'm getting senile and confused.
The prince was so angry that he wanted to rush to the palace to question his father, the emperor, who was his biological son.
But the matter has been settled, and it is not at all favorable to him at the moment.
The matter of Fengcheng has been exposed. Prince Jing is not a fool and will definitely suspect himself. He doesn't even know how he will impeach him with his father. If his father gets hold of the evidence of false imperial edict, he, the crown prince, will really be deposed.
He pinched his aching head, but he still had some rationality. He knew that now was not the time to panic. He forced himself to calm down and turned to look at Pei Yuanqiu who was still kneeling on the ground, "Master Pei, please get up."
Pei Yuanqiu also heard what the messenger said. He was shocked. He never expected that Prince Jing had really come to Dongdu.
The prince raised his head and glanced at his flustered look, suppressed his annoyance, and asked him: "Master Pei, do you have any good ideas?"
Now that Prince Jing has entered the palace, he has taken the overall situation into consideration and has personally reversed the Xie family's rebellion and saved the Xie family. As a result, the spearhead is now directed at the prince.
At this time, he was afraid that he could not take care of dealing with Prince Jing, and could only protect himself first. Pei Yuanqiu quickly calmed down and said, "I think that the Xie family does not have the imperial edict."
The eunuch just came back from Fengcheng two days ago. The prince personally inquired about it and confirmed that the imperial edict had been destroyed, so it must be true.
Not to mention the imperial edict, now even my father-in-law has disappeared. If we really investigate this matter, there will be no evidence.
But the bad thing was that Prince Jing openly pointed out in front of all the civil and military officials in the court that Xie San had an imperial edict on him, but the emperor did not immediately order a raid on Xie San's house, probably because he had already believed it.
It was originally a fake imperial edict. If they could forge it, Prince Jing could naturally forge it as well. As long as someone from the Xie family brought it into the palace, no matter who wrote it, the final judgment would be made.
By then, the prince would be in a passive position, with his life and death in the hands of others.
Therefore, the people of the Xie family are undoubtedly a sword hanging over the prince's head.
The prince naturally thought of this, and it really fits the saying that he shot himself in the foot. He was angry and annoyed, and his teeth itched with hatred, but he could do nothing about it. He was upset and asked the messenger next to him, "Who did the emperor send to the Xie family?"
"Chen Hao."
Fortunately, they were his own people. "Tell Chen Hao not to leave any of them alive."
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Prime Minister Yuan has already given instructions."
As for the remaining third son of the Xie family, his men searched for him for two days, but he seemed to have disappeared out of thin air, without any trace.
But since Prince Jing asked the Emperor to pick him up, it meant that the person must still be in his South City, "continue to send more people to search." He still didn't believe that he couldn't be found. No matter where he was hiding, he had to find him out at all costs.
South City is vast, rich in resources, with a large population, countless mountains and waters. If someone really wants to hide there, it may take a while to find him, and there is no need to search for him.
Pei Yuanqiu said, "It's not difficult to get him to show up." He looked at the prince, "Your Majesty's people will come to meet you, Your Highness, just open the city gate."
It's not like he can really fly. Now that people are at the city gate, are we still afraid that he will run away?
The prince was silent for a moment. Compared with falsely conveying the imperial edict and being deposed, what else could he care about? He looked up at Pei Yuanqiu and said, "Don't worry, Lord Pei. As long as your son doesn't cause trouble for me, I won't make things difficult for him."
"Your Highness is so kind, I thank you very much."
The prince was too confused to talk to him anymore, so he waved his hand and said, "Go down."
Coming out of the Prince's Mansion, the night wind blew and Pei Yuanqiu felt a chill on his back. He quickly walked out of the Prince's Mansion and just as he returned to his room, he saw Wang's maid standing at the door.
Not knowing why she came, Pei Yuanqiu paused and walked forward slowly, "Madam is back?"
The maid leaned forward and said, "Madam knows that you are busy these days, so she said she will not come back to bother you and wants to stay at the Wang family for a few more days."
How could Pei Yuanqiu not understand what it meant?
Ever since he came back from Fengcheng last time, Wang had been very dismissive of him. After making a fuss a few times, she went back to her parents' home.
Wang and the wife of the right prime minister were biological sisters. When she went back, not only the people in the Wang family knew about it, but also Prime Minister Yuan. It is estimated that the news has now reached the ears of the Empress Dowager.
Everyone was watching his joke, waiting to see how he would end up.
Pei Yuanqiu didn't say anything, and the maid continued, "Madam said that a distant relative of the Third Grandma Wang's family had just given birth to a baby boy. The child's father had passed away, and the widowed mother and orphan could not survive. If Master Pei is free, she will have someone bring the child over for you to take a look..."
He had been married to Wang for many years, but Wang had no children. Marrying her was marrying up, and he could not keep a concubine. But he could not be without children, and when he was young, Wang had thought of many ways to have children herself. When she saw that there was no hope, she thought of adopting a child.
He already has his own son, why would he adopt one?
"Let the madam take good care of herself." Regardless of the maid's expression, Pei Yuanqiu pushed open the door and entered the room.
As soon as the door was closed, Pei Yuanqiu looked tired. He sat cross-legged on the futon. The servant beside him poured him a cup of tea. "Don't worry, sir. The young master is fine."
When searching the mountain last night, Pei Yuanqiu naturally knew that several people were still at the bottom of the valley.
Although Xie San's life was important, he could not sacrifice his only son.
He picked up the teacup, tilted his head back and poured the tea into his throat. When he looked up, he saw a tablet on the table in front of him. It was the tablet of his first wife.
She is considered a poor wife.
The year he left Fengcheng, his family was barely making ends meet. Before leaving, he said goodbye to his wife, "Wait until I come back to make money."
But there are too many capable people in this world, and he is buried among them. He has no power or influence, so it is not easy for him to gain a foothold.
He had worked as a porter and sold his labor, but the money he earned was very little. Later, he accidentally won the favor of Mrs. Wang and jumped from a horse slave to become the son-in-law of the Wang family. Who wouldn't be tempted?
In this life, a person is nothing more than a handful of earth when he dies. The only thing that can be left behind is the ancestral heritage passed down to future generations.
So he abandoned his wife and children and married into a wealthy family, determined to bring honor to his family. Over the years, he lived up to expectations and became the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, laying a solid foundation for the Pei family.
Unfortunately, it did not go as he wished. He had no more children and only the son he had abandoned was left.
Even if he doesn't recognize me, I have no choice but to make plans for him.
Everyone in the world knows that the emperor has only one son, the prince, and his biological mother is the queen, so the future of the country will definitely be in his pocket.
He didn't know when the situation started to change quietly. Until today, when Prince Jing entered the palace, it completely overturned his assumptions and he came up with other plans.
I'm glad I didn't drag my son into this.
If one day the emperor changes his mind, the prince falls out of favor, and Prince Jing takes the throne, his Pei family will still have hope.
He couldn't be lax at all, as no one could predict what would happen in the future. He was not as stupid as Xie Daoyuan. The most taboo thing at a critical moment was to lose patience.
The third son of the Xie family must be eliminated. "Choose a few reliable people and lead them down the mountain first."
Pei Qing held the knife against the girl's neck and entered the farmhouse on the opposite hill.
The door of the farmhouse was pushed open. A middle-aged farmer inside turned around and saw the scene. He was so scared that he knelt down and begged for mercy, "Please spare my life, please spare my life..."
Several people came here just to find a place to settle down and had no ill intentions. Min Zhang went in to check around first and came back, then nodded to Xie Shao.
Xie Shao walked up to the man and said politely, "I'm passing by here and would like to borrow a place to rest. Please be kind and vacate a few rooms and prepare some food. I'll pay for it."
The knife was pointed at his neck, how could he refuse? The farmer said tremblingly, "If you don't mind, please go ahead."
Pei Qing then let go of the knife in his hand.
The girl was freed and quickly stood aside, but the fear on her face did not fade away.
There was only one farm family nearby, and Pei Qing had guessed that the girl was just an ordinary citizen. She was quite strong, and the wound on her arm was not shallow.
After letting the people into the house, the farmer stood outside the door and said politely: "My dear friends, please sit down for a while. There is tea on the stove. Please quench your thirst first. I will prepare food for you..."
Although this is a farmhouse, we must be on guard. Pei Qing walked at the end and turned around to follow him out.
After walking a few steps, the farmer suddenly turned his head and stared at the girl who was still standing there and was afraid to move forward, and scolded her: "What are you standing there for? You are dumb, not deaf. Why don't you go and clean up the house for those heroes?"
The girl nodded hurriedly and hurried forward. She was frightened by Pei Qing all the way, her legs had already gone weak, and she accidentally fell to the ground.
The farmer was furious. He rushed over, grabbed her hair, and pulled her up, cursing, "You are always a nuisance, what's the point of raising you, you damned girl..."
Just as he was about to drag her forward by her hair, he turned around and saw a knife against his neck. The farmer's neck froze and his face changed. "Okay, man, let's talk it over..."
"Let go." Pei Qing's eyes were filled with hatred. "I hate people who bully women and children the most in my life. Beasts and rats are no more than this."
The farmer quickly let go, "Let go, I'll let go..."
After spending a few days in the wilderness, they finally found a place to settle down. Although the prince's men couldn't find them for the time being, they also couldn't get any news from down the mountain.
According to the schedule, the prince should have arrived in Dongdu. If nothing unexpected happens, he will send someone to Nancheng to pick him up today.
Once the news comes out, the prince will definitely be unable to sit still.
Since entering Dongzhou, the prince has spared no effort in setting up a tight net, but in the end, Prince Jing still managed to evade his troops and made it to Dongdu right under his nose. How could the prince swallow this humiliation?
Their situation will only become worse than before.
Even the imperial edict could be forged. Given the prince's character, he would kill them at all costs. Even if all the gates of South City were opened, they would not necessarily be safe.
The city gate cannot be accessed.
The only safe way is to follow the same path as the prince and enter the Eastern Capital through the secret passage.
He could think of it, and the prince could think of it too. What they were betting on now was the emperor's attitude towards his Xie family. If the emperor believed in his Xie family, he would send a team of people from the back mountain to support them tomorrow.
As long as we can get through tomorrow, we will know the result. What everyone needs to do now is to conserve their energy.
The farmhouse deep in the mountains was very simple, with only three rooms in total. The farmer occupied one room, the girl occupied one room, and the remaining room was empty.
In order to make better use of the space, at night Wen Shuse took the initiative to carry a mattress to the outer room, lay on a pile of hay, and gave up the room.
Pei Qing was seriously wounded, especially the one he was stabbed by the girl.
The girl may have never seen a stranger before. Today, she suddenly saw someone going up the mountain with a knife in his hand. She panicked and took the initiative to cut Pei Qing's arm.
Xie Shao cleaned his wound and applied Wei Yun's golden wound medicine. As he was bandaging it, Pei Qing suddenly leaned in and whispered, "I saw everything."
Xie Shao didn't understand the nonsense and glanced away.
Pei Qing had an expression that saw through everything. Seeing that everyone in the room had fallen asleep, he glanced outside the room, lowered his voice, and told him a secret, "Actually, Brother Xie, there's no need to brag. To be honest with you, none of us three believed what you said before. If you haven't touched the young lady, then you haven't touched her. There's nothing shameful about it. Anyway, you have your sister-in-law now, and she won't run away. The first time is raw the second time is familiar..." Seeing that Xie Shao's brows were slowly frowning and his face looked a little strange, he quickly finished in one breath: "It can be seen that this is the first time Brother Xie is kissing his sister-in-law. Who is as rude as Brother Xie..."
"Ah——" Before she could finish her words, Xie Shao pinched the wound on her arm without mercy. She was in so much pain that tears came out of her eyes. She gritted her teeth and begged for mercy, "Thank you, brother, please spare my life..."
Xie Shao tied the white gauze in his hand tightly, and Pei Qing took a breath of cold air again.
Xie Shao turned around and pushed the door open to go out.
The young lady outside the house was sleeping soundly with her quilt in her arms.
Finally, he found a dry place to lie down and stretch his legs. Even though it was just hay, Wen Shuse felt comfortable.
I was still in a dream when I was suddenly picked up by someone. I thought I was being chased again and woke up halfway. "My dear..."
Before she could come to her senses, she heard a "bang" beside her ear, and the man kicked open a door next to her, then came into the room and put her on a bamboo chair. He then went to the bed, picked up the farmer who had already been frightened awake, and dragged him back to the room he had just been in.
There was another "bang" sound. Before Pei Qing inside could react, he suddenly threw the person in his hand towards him. "That's great. Watch him at night. Don't let him play any tricks."
The poor farmer didn't even have shoes on. He was picked up from the bed and thrown here. When he saw Pei Qing's ferocious face, he was so scared that he shrank into a ball and kept saying, "Good man, I didn't do anything..."
Pei Qing's forehead twitched twice and his face turned green.
Wen Shuse had no idea what was going on. She sat there blankly for a moment, and then she saw her husband come back.
Before I could ask him what was wrong, my husband bent down again, picked him up along with his blanket, and put him on the bed in front of him, "Go to sleep."
This time Wen Shuse finally understood.
If he had used this skill to snatch the bed back at Xie's house, there would be no place for me.
Oh, my dears, here I come~ (As long as it's past nine o'clock, I'll continue to give out 100 red envelopes~)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
