Chapter 36: Idiot. Stop staring at what's going on in my bed. ...
It rained heavily.
The weather unexpectedly turned cool overnight, and the torrential rain kept falling. The tiles on the ground and roofs were pounding with loud noises. If it continued like this, there would probably be a flood.
Fortunately, after two or three days, although the rain did not stop, it tended to gradually become lighter.
Taking advantage of the fact that the rain was gradually subsiding, Pei Ji was summoned into the palace.
Emperor An had been extremely worried in recent months, attending court every day, reviewing memorials, and praying for rain. He was so preoccupied with these state affairs that he became completely ill. After a few days, he was still bedridden.
When Pei Ji came to pay his respects, Pei Yueting was serving inside with the prince.
"Your Majesty, I am honored to meet Concubine Rong and the Ninth Prince." He saluted respectfully and did not act arrogantly because of his kinship.
At this moment, he still knew who owned the world.
Emperor An waved his hand to signal him to stand up. Seeing this, Concubine Rong immediately said, "Then I will take the Ninth Prince with me and take my leave."
"Okay, you go and rest first, and Xiaojiu will stay for a while." Emperor An looked at her with relief.
"Yes, I will take my leave."
Pei Ji immediately smiled and said, "Farewell, Empress Rong."
The Ninth Prince was still young, just reaching Pei Ji's waist at this moment. In the past, when they met privately, he always took Pei Ji to play, and their relationship was extremely close. He would stare at him all the time and wanted to talk to him, but he didn't dare to because Emperor An was there.
Emperor An raised his hand to offer him a seat. Pei Ji thanked him and sat down. He then asked Emperor An about his health. "How is your Majesty? I see that you look rosy, which shows that you are in good health."
The emperor always paid special attention to his own health. He only nodded when he heard such concern. He did not say much about his condition. He just said calmly: "I called you here to tell you something. Guess what."
"Your Majesty, I am so humbled that I dare not easily speculate on your Majesty's holy will." Pei Ji looked extremely respectful and fearful. How could he guess the emperor's will at will?
But deep down he despised Emperor An's words and deeds.
Always let him guess, what is the meaning of it?
"You are always so cautious, completely contrary to the rumors out there. I just thought you, a domineering person, had been replaced by someone else." Emperor An chuckled twice. "But I am very relieved that you are so calm."
Pei Ji also smiled, knowing that the other party had something else to say, but he didn't say anything more.
After Emperor An finished speaking, the smile on his face faded and his expression became serious. "There is something I want to ask you to do. In recent years, Tianqi has been plagued by wars outside and disasters inside. The money has been flowing in, but it is not enough. You know what to investigate."
Pei Ji certainly knew.
The war was fought with the money from their generals, so His Majesty was naturally not doubting this. It didn't take much thought to know that he suspected that the Third Prince's disaster relief money had not been put into practice, so he wanted to investigate him and those who were corrupt at the same time.
Corruption has always been difficult to investigate. Handing it over to him is also giving him a chance.
"But as for the Third Prince..." He was a little unsure about Emperor An's attitude.
"Report to me first about everything you find out. I allow you to enter and leave the conference hall and the study room at will. No matter how big or small, you must find out everything." Emperor An gave him special honors.
Pei Ji nodded immediately, "I understand. If there is nothing else, I will arrange it right away."
Emperor An: "Well, by the way, send the Ninth Prince to Jingyue Palace."
"Yes, I will take my leave."
Upon hearing this, the Ninth Prince raised his feet and walked side by side with Pei Ji. Whenever he noticed that the other party was lagging behind him, he would deliberately stop and wait. After a few times, he knew that he did it on purpose.
He stopped immediately, unwilling to go any further, with a cold face, sulking silently.
"Ninth Prince?"
"Carry me."
Pei Ji raised his eyebrows in surprise, and the servants behind him hurried forward, "Your Highness, please calm down. If you are tired, I will send you a sedan chair!"
How could they dare to let Pei Ji carry him? This was something even their servants didn't dare to do!
"It's okay, let me do it." Pei Ji said as he squatted in front of him. The Ninth Prince hesitated for a moment and then lay on his back, but his spoiled attitude was gone.
The servants followed behind holding their breath, fearing that they would lose their heads if they were not careful.
"Uncle." The Ninth Prince called him softly, "Don't you want to play with me anymore?"
Pei Ji was stunned, "Why do you ask this, Your Highness?"
The Ninth Prince took the hair that fell to his chest and put it back. His little hands would occasionally wrap around it a few times before letting it go. He said sullenly, "You don't even talk to me, and you don't even come with me."
"Because you are a prince, the son of His Majesty, I have to be respectful in front of His Majesty, otherwise His Majesty will think I am domineering." Pei Ji also responded to him in a low voice.
He had not been so careful in his previous life, so when he later counted his sins, he even found one of them, disrespecting the emperor. Only then did he suddenly realize that when it came to the royal family, rewards and punishments were all grace from the emperor.
In his previous life, the Pei family was defeated, so the Ninth Prince was also neglected. He was given a title of king and land at an early age and was driven out of the palace.
How could he avoid it accidentally in this life?
The Ninth Prince was somewhat dissatisfied with his answer and retorted in a low voice, "But uncle, no matter who my father is, you are still my uncle, and this cannot be changed."
"Of course I won't change." Pei Ji said, "Outside, we are king and subject, inside, we are a family, and that will never change."
The Ninth Prince silently pondered the meaning of his words. He knew that this was the best strategy, but he still felt that this method was a little sad.
Why should a family be divided into inside and outside?
"Uncle, would it be better if I became the crown prince?" He knew that this sentence was extremely disrespectful, so he leaned close to Pei Ji's ear and said it.
The faint breath made Pei Ji's scalp numb, and he felt as if he was falling endlessly. He didn't know what expression to make for a moment.
Is it worry or joy?
My thoughts were flying uncontrollably. Even though it was still a distant thing, I was already thinking about how to pave the way for him.
"If you have this intention, you must pay for it. The difficulties and dangers involved are beyond your imagination right now." Pei Ji said in a low voice, "If it's just a whim and you're considering these feelings, I can only tell you that there's no need for this."
The Ninth Prince hugged his neck tightly, silent and thoughtful.
Although he was still young, and far behind his older brothers who had made great achievements and accomplishments in the previous dynasty, he was still speaking like a child in a bad temper.
But the royal family's descendants have never had real children.
Those ambitious royal brothers were all fighting for the same goal, a chair, and were ready to fight to the death.
He knew that if he wanted to sit at the top of the millions, he would have to work harder and harder than his brothers, and the Pei family would do their best to help him.
"I understand." He replied softly.
Pei Ji also responded.
Almost no one can resist the temptation of that supreme chair. Even the court officials hope that the prince they support can ascend to the throne. Everyone wants to be second only to the emperor.
The Ninth Prince is still young now, and he may still hesitate, but one day he will be able to taste the taste of power, and naturally he will go to the chair without any persuasion.
The prerequisite is of course... he has to be willing.
Pei Ji carried the Ninth Prince on his back as he shuttled through the streets of the harem. This time he did not deliberately avoid him, after all, it was His Majesty who personally allowed him to enter the harem.
Pei Yueting, who learned about this, went to the palace gate to greet him in person. Seeing the Ninth Prince lying on Pei Ji and refusing to get down, he almost reached out and twisted his ear.
"Mother."
"You are so stubborn, it's only your uncle who spoils you." Pei Yueting scolded, looking up at Pei Ji, "Yunzhou, come to the side hall and have a cup of tea. His Majesty has spoken, the Empress will not blame you."
Pei Ji nodded, "Okay."
Tea and snacks had been prepared in the side hall. She lived alone in Jingyue Hall and there were no other concubines of lower rank. Logically, Pei Ji should have been able to relax a little, but he couldn't help but think of the false accusation against his elder sister in his previous life. Looking at the palace maids in the hall, he felt that each of them was suspicious.
Pei Yueting couldn't help feeling suspicious when he saw him constantly looking at the palace maids.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?" she asked softly.
"That's not the case. I just think that there are so many people serving Her Majesty, and it might be difficult to discipline the palace maids." Pei Ji laughed, as if he was joking.
Pei Yueting also smiled, hiding his handkerchief. "It's exactly as you said. A few days ago, one of my men stole something, so I immediately investigated thoroughly and dismissed those who were dishonest. The Internal Affairs Department sent over quite a few new people, and Xinyi and the others have them under their care."
"Xinyi and Danzhu are reliable and prudent. With them by my eldest sister's side, mother can feel more at ease." Pei Ji said.
The servants who were born and trained by the Pei family are naturally trustworthy and have some skills.
"How are you and your husband?" Pei Yueting started to worry about him again. "You've been married for several months, and there's not a single thing going on. Aren't you afraid of other people's gossip?"
Pei Ji chuckled nonchalantly, "If they're gossiping behind my back, I'd better not listen. Naturally, those people won't dare to say such things to me."
Pei Yueting wanted to twist his ears. She frowned and said, "You've been messing around like this all day long. It's a good thing I care about you, otherwise I would really despise you!"
"He loves me deeply, so naturally I feel the same way." Pei Ji chuckled. His little mute is so nice!
"I don't know who looked down on me before. I heard from my mother that you drove me to Qingyuan on your wedding night. Pei Yunzhou, you are really shameless - no, you haven't... Pei Yunzhou yet!" Pei Yueting tasted something.
If she gets pregnant, it will rain red rain from the sky!
Pei Ji said: "Stop staring at what's happening in my bed."
"...you're just a chatterbox." Pei Yueting was too lazy to entertain him any further. "We've had our tea and snacks, let's go!"
"Okay, I'll go." Pei Ji stood up immediately.
The Ninth Prince stopped pestering him because he had something big to do and couldn't continue to act like a child.
Before leaving, Pei Ji did not forget to collect some good things from Pei Yueting, and naturally they were all rewards from Concubine Rong.
The weather returned to normal, and civil and military officials resumed their duties in court. Emperor An gradually recovered from his illness and began to handle state affairs.
Pei Ji had an extremely convenient time doing things in the previous dynasty, but it was a bit difficult to investigate corruption. After all, this matter involved a wide range of issues, and it would be a fantasy to get to the bottom of it.
But he knew what Emperor An wanted to know, so he would naturally take people to investigate thoroughly. Even if he had the Pei family to rely on, he had to cultivate more forces of his own.
The Left Censor could sense that he seemed to have other arrangements. He saw that Pei Ji was working more seriously than usual and investigating various matters more clearly. In less than a month of working in the court, he had already developed some temperament.
"You... no matter what you investigate, you must remember one thing: in the previous dynasty, a small move would often affect the entire body." The Left Censor reminded in a low voice.
This not only tells him to be extra careful, but also tells him to be extra careful.
Pei Ji instantly realized that he seemed to have entered a dead end and should go back the way he came and take another alley.
Now that the drought has passed, the Pei family continues to donate as usual, and the refugees at the city gate have gradually dispersed. The movement of people in the capital has returned to normal, and it has become particularly convenient for some people to leave the city.
Pei Ji asked his confidant to go to the East in person, and he was bound to find some clues. As for Zhao Chenghui, he naturally had people planted there.
Those who do great things do not pay attention to trivial matters.
As long as he can accomplish what he wants, protect the Pei family, and ensure smooth sailing, he will try his best no matter how evil the act is.
At this time, the third prince and Zhao Chenghui also responded to the call and returned.
The severity of the disaster in the East was witnessed by all of the previous dynasty. Although the Third Prince had neglected his duties, he was ultimately doing his best for the people. The censors did not criticize him too harshly, but they also did not speak too highly of him.
Naturally, he had no chance of becoming the crown prince at this moment.
Coming out of the Shangshufang, the Third Prince quickly caught up with Pei Ji. He whispered, "Why did you let Zhao Chenghui go?"
"Your Majesty makes the decision on personnel. I am merely proposing a proposal. Your Majesty is the one who makes the final decision," Pei Ji said. "The Third Prince has been exhausted from the journey. It is time for you to return home early. Your wife and children must be very worried about you."
"Pei Yunzhou! How about you trust me for once?" The third prince looked at him seriously, as if he was trying his best to win over a useful person.
Pei Ji frowned slightly, "I don't understand what you are talking about. I am only loyal to His Majesty Tianqi."
Under normal circumstances, these would just be simple words.
But at this time, the third prince had just returned from the East. Not only did he not receive the proper rewards, but the matter of conferring him the title of Crown Prince had never been mentioned again. Of course, he was anxious.
As long as he can secure the throne of the crown prince, when His Majesty passes away in the future, he will be the king of Tianqi.
He understood Pei Ji's words as meaning that only by becoming a king could he gain his loyalty.
He was angry, but had to admit that the Pei family was the one he should win over the most if he wanted to become the crown prince or king.
"Pei Yunzhou, if the Pei family helps me, I will protect Concubine Rong and her child. You should know that with my identity, I have the best chance of becoming the crown prince." The third prince deliberately lowered his voice and spoke.
The more Pei Ji listened, the funnier it became.
I've long known that the Third Prince is a fool, but I didn't expect him to be so naive and stupid.
Did he even know that this was Emperor An's palace? Did he even know who was in charge of the world at this moment? He dared to say such a beheading statement right here. Even if such a person supported him, he would be removed from office.
He remained unmoved, and even kindly reminded him, "Your Highness, please be careful with your words. I have no interest in what you have to say. I will take my leave."
idiot.
Pei Ji sneered in his heart. The emperor's ears and eyes were everywhere in the palace, and he dared to say such things shamelessly. He was indeed a prince who was brought up in pampering and was ignorant of the ways of the world.
It makes people laugh to death.
When he returned to the Pei Mansion, he told his father and brother all of this. Even though Pei Ding was usually calm and composed, with a face as cold as ice, he couldn't help but sneer.
"If he becomes the emperor, Tianqi will probably suffer."
Even He Zhiliao nodded his head in agreement. It was really like inviting a wolf to be a guest. He was tired of living.
Pei Ji smiled and touched his head. Did you understand? Your little head is always shaking.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Little Zhiliao: I rarely appear [poor][poor][poor]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
