Chapter 59: Ending. Pei Ji was actually somewhat relieved that the little cicada couldn't chirp...
The one who is clingy is Pei Ji, and the one who suffers is He Zhiliao.
The consequence of being stuck like this was that the food had already become completely cold. He Zhiliao got up with an empty stomach, staring at Pei Ji with an extremely resentful and aggrieved look.
"I'll ask them to heat up the food." Pei Ji said with a satisfied look on his face, "Let's have some snacks first."
He Zhiliao hurriedly grabbed him. Although he had not eaten dinner and was extremely hungry at the moment, he did not want to eat the exquisite and delicious meal.
Pei Ji held his fingers and kissed them. "What's the matter? Don't you want to eat it, or do you want to eat something else?"
He Zhiliao nodded slightly. He was feeling thirsty and tired at the moment. He didn't want to eat the food that required him to pick it up from the plate. He wanted to eat noodle soup.
"I'll let them do it." Pei Ji said as he got up, dressed, and woke up Chun Jian who was keeping watch.
Harumi knew his taste best, so he immediately went to the small kitchen to get busy.
Soon two bowls of noodles were served, one bowl of clear soup noodles, garnished with a few slices of fresh vegetables and a poached egg, and the other bowl was Pei Ji's shredded pork noodles.
He Zhiliao drank the whole bowl of noodle soup contentedly. Her whole body was warm, but sleepiness soon came over her again. She stretched out her hand and threw herself into Pei Ji's arms. Once she closed her eyes, she ignored everything.
The next day.
Pei Ji was exhausted yesterday, so he naturally didn't want to go to court today. At most, he would be criticized a few times, but I guess His Majesty doesn't care about that.
Because the palace examination is imminent.
Logically speaking, since the matter has become so serious, it should be thoroughly investigated before the palace examination is held. However, Emperor An wants to conduct it now, simply because he wants to uncover the hidden facts during the palace examination.
Changing the test papers and scores is just a low-level method, which will be discovered as soon as the palace examination comes. But there may be more sophisticated methods, where there will be nothing wrong with the scores, but they will be exposed during the palace examination.
Pei Ji always felt that the Fifth Prince's methods were too despicable and stupid. If he was smarter, he would try to win over people with real talents and skills. With his status as a prince, it would be easy for him to win over some capable people.
But he is so stupid that he has to use such despicable means. If all the princes in the royal family are like this with defective IQ, it is better to hand over the throne to someone else as soon as possible.
[The assassination case has not yet been determined. Perhaps it was done by those princes. Your Majesty, why don't you mention it again?]
After listening to Pei Ji's analysis of the cheating, He Zhiliao thought again of the incident in which Pei Ji was injured by the assassin, as well as the incident in which Pei Su was injured. The patrol camp had been investigating for several days, but there was not a single clue!
Could it be that once an injury has occurred, it should be forgotten and never mentioned again?
Whoever the man is, he will feel sorry for him. If one of them is injured, two people from the Pei family will be injured. He Zhiliao naturally feels resentful.
Pei Ji felt a little nervous, but his face was extremely serious as he said, "I will urge the patrol camp to give us an explanation no matter what."
He Zhiliao nodded repeatedly, that's how it should be!
Seeing how serious he was, Pei Ji couldn't help but laugh. "Of course I won't suffer such an injustice without saying anything. I think the patrol camp will have a result soon. Don't worry."
Pei Ji smiled at him. He knew that his injury was a self-directed act, and the matter had been easily pushed onto others. He was just waiting for the evidence to be slowly released.
As for what happened to my brother, you don't need to think too much to know who did it. Your Majesty knows all these things, but he has never mentioned them because of face. Besides, they have not made any big mistakes.
But since my beloved is so anxious, it’s better to get rid of this matter as soon as possible.
After leisurely finishing his breakfast, Pei Ji had to go to the palace. The palace examination was the emperor's business, so naturally, the court officials had to go to the palace and do their work according to the procedures.
He Zhiliao sent him away and went back to the house to read. It was cold outside and he really didn't want to leave the warm room.
Because of the palace examination, the entire palace seemed as silent as a lonely city, wishing there was no movement at all.
As soon as Pei Ji arrived at the Censorate, Liu Linfeng immediately came over to talk to him about the palace examination. It was not something unusual, he just wanted to gossip with him.
"Even before the results are out, I heard that His Majesty is not in high spirits. Many candidates are excellent on paper, but they are clueless when asked about the palace examination." Liu Linfeng whispered, "Have you also heard that there are some fake candidates among them?"
Pei Ji chuckled, "If you compare them to before, they are naturally inferior. It all depends on how Your Majesty handles them."
Liu Linfeng felt a little embarrassed when he was suddenly praised. "My Lord, you have been busy and loyal these days. I have seen it all."
"Have you made up your mind?" Pei Ji looked at him in surprise, but it was within his expectations.
"I think it's a good thing to repay a favor." Liu Linfeng was very firm in his thoughts. He knew better than anyone that it was his ability that allowed him to pursue a career in politics in the first half of his life, but he would have to follow Pei Ji closely in the second half of his life to have a future.
And it was precisely because of Pei Ji's unintentional leadership that he was able to come to the fore. Otherwise, he would have had to wait for an unknown amount of time in the Censorate. A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in, and he has foresight.
Pei Ji didn't say anything more. He naturally had the ability and capacity to protect the people around him. Even if he couldn't be made a marquis or a prime minister, it would not be difficult for him to rise to a high position.
Since Liu Linfeng was so tactful, he naturally wouldn't be polite.
What's more, this person is a Jinshi who passed the imperial examination two years ago. Although he comes from a poor family, he is more than qualified to be a secret aide.
Pei Ji thought that Emperor An could survive today's palace examination, but he didn't expect that the emperor would be completely furious in just the morning.
Without him having to ask specifically, someone passed the news to his ears.
After imprisoning those who had falsified their answers, Emperor An called out the names of the students from the back to the front, and then from the front to the back, and there was a certain order for who answered the questions, left or right.
When answering from back to front at first, most people still had some difficulties and their answers were a little far-fetched, but you could barely tell that they had tried their best. It was just that they were nervous and lacked talent, which matched their test scores.
But when we asked the questions to those who were in the middle level, their answers were completely nonsense!
"Investigate! Lock up all these idiots! Find out who is trying to shake up my dynasty!"
"You're using a bunch of idiots to fool me! Do you think I'm dead?"
When Pei Ji was summoned to the side hall next to the palace examination, he heard this angry roar.
When an emperor gets angry, millions of people die. There's a reason for that.
Even though Pei Ji was a little nervous at this time, the matter was not yet settled, so he naturally did not dare to easily offend Emperor An.
Lian Zhong, the second-in-command eunuch who was guarding outside, hurried in to report and was soon invited in again.
When Pei Ji entered, he saw the minister who planned this matter standing in the side hall. When he saw Pei Ji coming, he took a quick look and knew that they were saved.
"Your humble servant pays respect to Your Majesty."
"You've come at the right time! If anyone dares to cause chaos to my former dynasty, I will never let him off easily! I order the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice to work together to immediately investigate this matter thoroughly. The emperor is guilty of the same crime as the common people!" When Emperor An saw him, it was like he had found his backbone. He felt more at ease using this newcomer whom he had promoted himself.
Based on the existing evidence, Emperor An had long known who had the ability to disrupt his previous dynasty. When he said this to Pei Ji, he was telling him that he could go ahead and do it.
With Emperor An's permission, Pei Ji would certainly not be polite anymore and immediately took the order and left.
The officials who were originally in the side hall were also dismissed by Emperor An. They hurriedly caught up with Pei Ji and tried to say something to him, hoping that it would not affect them anymore.
Pei Ji saw through their intentions at a glance and asked calmly, "Did any of you participate in cheating in the imperial examination?"
"Of course not. I've been working here for over a decade, why would I do this?"
"Of course. We, the Ministry of Rites, are loyal to Your Majesty, and those candidates will eventually come to our Ministry of Rites or the Hanlin Academy. Who would be willing to cause themselves this much trouble?"
"absurd!"
They were all old ministers, so they naturally knew what to do and what not to do, or how to do it, so they scoffed at Pei Ji's questions.
Pei Ji ignored the expressions of these old foxes and continued to ask, "Have all the gentlemen been released from the Ministry of Justice?"
"right!"
"You caught it."
"You put it there."
Meeting their accusing eyes, Pei Ji felt like laughing for some reason, "Then what are you gentlemen still worried about? Haven't I already released you all?"
The old foxes didn't say anything, but just stared at him silently. It was obvious that they were a little dissatisfied with his arrogant attitude despite being a subordinate, but since he was in power, they could only glare at him.
"My lords, please return to your duties as soon as possible, so as not to delay the work at hand and be held accountable by His Majesty." Pei Ji bowed to them and left quickly.
After enduring for so many days, Pei Ji was no longer willing to endure it.
He took the imperial guards arranged by Emperor An and went directly to the Fifth Prince's mansion to arrest people.
At the same time, Yuan Ming from the patrol camp finally found some clues. They arranged for the coroner to dissect the bodies of the deceased soldiers and found more powerful evidence inside.
Soon, the rumors spread.
"I heard that the assassination was arranged by the Fourth Prince!"
"Are you sure? Is this true? Why would a prince like him assassinate an official?"
"I heard that it was Pei Si who was being domineering, and the Fourth Prince couldn't stand it and wanted to kill him. He didn't expect that it would also implicate the Song and Yan families. That's why he left late that day!"
"You're talking about this! I thought you were talking about Master Pei's incident! Have you found out who did it?"
"Isn't Pei Si going to arrest someone?"
"It's five—"
Rumors were like wings. Pei Ji had just taken the fifth prince away, and the fourth prince was also involved. It was hard not to suspect that the two of them were fighting each other, using the lives of court officials to hurt each other.
If this is true, it is simply against the will of heaven!
The fifth prince was still cursing when he was taken away. He had always looked down on Pei Ji because of his pride and status, and now that he was captured by him, he was naturally filled with hatred.
"Fifth Prince, since you have so much strength, why not save the curses for your Majesty?" Pei Ji listened and saw that he was just repeating the same few words, so he blocked his mouth without any hesitation.
The fifth prince whimpered twice and could not utter any more words, but he still refused to be quiet and continued to rush around.
The fifth prince was quickly brought to the council hall, naturally because he was the mastermind. The other participants had long been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice because of Pei Ji's madness, and had never come out since then.
Pei Ji stepped forward and pulled the cloth from the Fifth Prince's mouth. He then heard the Fifth Prince begin to complain aggrievedly, "Father! I am innocent! I absolutely did not do this. It was Pei Ji who deliberately framed me! He was also extremely disrespectful to me!"
Pei Ji was unmoved by his slander and didn't even look at him. If Emperor An believed his words, he would not be here now.
really.
Emperor An ignored his words and just stood up and walked in front of him. The Fifth Prince fell silent instantly and dared not say another word.
Emperor An looked at him with his eyes lowered, and just as the Fifth Prince was about to raise his head cautiously and ask something, a loud slap instantly landed on his face.
“Snap—”
"Rebellious son!"
"I have high hopes for you, but you are so impatient that you even commit fraud. I am really disappointed!" Emperor An scolded.
He never cared about the princes forming cliques and was happy to see them fight for the throne. After all, he would die one day, and the throne should naturally go to the capable one.
But he didn't die!
I can't wait to make trouble in front of him!
"Your Majesty...your son..." The Fifth Prince looked at him timidly, unable to even utter complete sentences.
"Cheating in the imperial examination is a serious crime. You dared to form a clique and commit fraud. You must have accepted bribes and should be executed according to the law!" Emperor An looked at him coldly, "But you are the heir to the royal family. How can I bear to see you die?"
The Fifth Prince saw hope again. Despite his swollen face, he looked up at Emperor An and said, "I know I was wrong! I hope your Majesty will save my life. I will do my best in the future and never do these things again. I will be obedient and sensible—"
"Pass on my decree. From today on, the fifth prince will be adopted and is no longer my son!" Emperor An said coldly.
The fifth prince felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.
What did he hear?
"Father? Father, I am your son. You can't give up your son!" The fifth prince burst into tears. He was his mother's only hope. How could he fail at this time!
How could he be willing to be someone else's child!
Peng Tongmin did not dare to move easily and could only stand quietly, waiting for the next order from His Majesty. He did not believe that His Majesty would be willing to give his son to someone else to raise.
Emperor An angrily rebuked, "What are you standing there for! Hurry up and pass on the order!"
"Yes." Peng Tongmin didn't dare to delay any longer. He glanced at the fifth prince and left in a hurry.
Pei Ji still stood there, pretending he hadn't seen anything that had just happened, fully demonstrating what it meant to be blind.
Emperor An stood in front of the table again, his eyes fixed on Pei Ji, who had been exceptionally quiet. "You, you did a good job on this matter. Is there any reward you would like?"
Emperor An asked this, but he was actually calculating inside. He kept looking at Pei Ji, wondering how to respond if the other party asked for too much.
Pei Ji didn't want it. He shook his head and said, "I work for Your Majesty. Everything is at Your Majesty's command. If Your Majesty really wants to reward me, why not reward me with the title of Imperial Chef?"
"Imperial chef? What do you want an imperial chef for?" Emperor An laughed. "Did Concubine Rong say that the chef in the Pei Mansion is very popular with you? Do you want to replace him?"
Pei Ji said frankly: "My master loves delicious food. He didn't even have a good meal in Jing'an Marquis Mansion before. Now that I have the chance, I want to satisfy him."
"I've never met this righteous prince before. If you have the chance in the future, you can bring him into the palace and visit Rong Fei more often." Emperor An said, "If you don't want anything else, I will naturally satisfy you with this little thing. Go ahead."
"I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty."
Pei Ji was about to leave when Lian Zhong came in to report that Yuan Ming from the patrol camp wanted to see him.
He naturally knew why Yuan Ming came here at this time, so he subconsciously slowed down his pace, and sure enough, he heard Emperor An calling him.
"Pei Aiqing, please stay for now. This matter ultimately concerns you."
"Yes." Pei Ji immediately stood aside.
Yuan Ming came in hurriedly, told Emperor An his discovery in a panic, and presented the evidence he had found.
"Who is the assassin?" Emperor An asked in a deep voice.
Yuan Ming was silent for a moment, as if preparing himself mentally, before he said in a deep voice, "I have already investigated and found out that the Fourth Prince was the mastermind behind this!"
"presumptuous!"
"I dare not speak nonsense. All the evidence has shown that it is true, and the coroner has also found a token engraved with the Fourth Prince's seal inside the body." Yuan Ming said as he handed over a thumb-sized gold bead with the Fourth Prince's seal clearly engraved on it.
Emperor An knew a little about the interests and hobbies of his adopted sons, and that golden bead happened to be the one he had once awarded to the Fourth Prince.
Emperor An suddenly felt a headache. A lot of things had happened in the past few days, and even two princes were involved. What's more, these were not small matters!
Pei Ji lowered his eyes and stared at the tip of his shoes. There was something even more troublesome.
Yuan Ming continued, "Also, I have already investigated the assassination of Minister Pei. Yes, yes..."
"Hurry up and tell me!" Emperor An frowned and scolded.
"It was done by the Fifth Prince!"
After Yuan Ming finished speaking, he also trembled with fear. He naturally did not expect that this matter would involve the prince, or it was within his expectations. However, he still felt afraid when facing His Majesty at this time.
It’s the fifth prince again.
Emperor An closed his eyes and felt extremely tired for a moment. He didn't even have the strength to speak. But the person involved and his brother were right here. How could he ignore them?
"The Fifth Prince is no longer my prince, but has become the heir of the prince. You can deal with him as you wish!" Emperor An said, turning to look at Lian Zhong. "Pass on my decree. The Fourth Prince has behaved improperly and is confined to his residence from today. He is not allowed to leave!"
"Yuan Ming has done a good job on this matter. Effective immediately, he will be appointed as the Left Lieutenant General of the Patrol Battalion."
Yuan Ming's face lit up with joy, and he immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
The people in the hall quickly retreated to the point where Pei Ji was left. He was silent for a moment, and then had to say goodbye.
Emperor An wanted to say something to him, but even as an emperor, he felt inexplicably ashamed at this moment, so he had to wave his hand to signal him to leave.
Pei Ji came out of the council hall and went straight out of the palace.
The Fourth Prince was inexplicably confined to his house, and the Fifth Prince was directly adopted as the heir of Prince Xiaoyao, and would soon be assigned to Prince Xiaoyao's fiefdom. These two events instantly turned the entire harem upside down.
"How could the Fifth Prince be heir to Prince Xiaoyao? He was born at the cost of my life! He is your only son! Your Majesty, do you really not even have the slightest consideration for me?" Concubine Shu closed her eyes, a trace of determination in her eyes, and her rosy lips parted slightly, "I want to see Your Majesty!"
Her mother's family had long been defeated, so she was completely focused on how to gain the favor of His Majesty and indeed neglected the Fifth Prince. However, a son's status is due to his mother's status. If she could become a noble concubine in the future, the Fifth Prince's status would naturally be comparable to that of the King of Qi and the Fourth Prince.
But now, she is about to lose her only hope!
Concubine Shu hurried to the council hall. As soon as she arrived, she saw Deguijun there.
Peng Tongmin said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, please go back. Your Majesty is busy with state affairs and cannot see the concubines at this time."
"Please tell the emperor again, I do have an important matter to discuss with His Majesty. It's a matter of great importance, so please tell the emperor!" Deguijun was a little anxious.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you." Concubine Shu bowed gracefully. "It seems you and I both have something important to ask of Your Majesty. Eunuch Peng, please go in and pass it on!"
Peng Tongmin looked at them in embarrassment. His Majesty had already instructed that no concubines who came to invite him today should be seen, especially the two in front of him.
Degui Jun and Shu Fei naturally understood that His Majesty would probably not see them, but if they left like this, they would probably not even have the chance to beg for mercy in the future!
Lord Degui weighed the pros and cons. The Fourth Prince had always been very secretive, but this time he was inexplicably charged with this crime. He had specifically inquired about it, and found out that the Fourth Prince did not assassinate Pei Ji, so it was obvious that someone had framed him.
You are under house arrest for now, and you can plead for mercy later when Your Majesty is in a better mood. Wasn’t the Third Prince also released not long after being under house arrest?
Thinking of this, he wanted to leave.
Unexpectedly, Concubine Shu actually knelt down and kowtowed, tears streaming down her face. "Your Majesty, please forgive the Fifth Prince. This is the only prince I have. Please consider my mother's family's loyalty and spare him for now! Your Majesty!"
Deguijun frowned slightly. Concubine Shu had always been favored, and he didn't know if her pleading would be of any use.
As for the Fourth Prince... he will find another way.
Pei Ji returned to the mansion quickly, followed by the imperial chef that His Majesty had promised him, as well as the reward as compensation.
"This royal chef must be a good cook. It would be disrespectful to leave him in the small kitchen, so we'll place him in the front yard. If you want to cook privately, just tell me and I'll take care of it." Pei Ji said softly.
I was also afraid that he was too shy to speak to the front yard easily.
He Zhiliao nodded excitedly.
【Can I enjoy his cooking for dinner?】
"Of course, since he has just arrived at the Pei Mansion, he will definitely show off his special skills. The food will definitely be delicious. You should eat more then." Pei Ji pinched his face and said, "He has been in better health recently, so the meat has been retained."
He Zhiliao also nodded. It didn’t matter to him whether he was fat or not. As long as Pei Ji liked it, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
【Is everything settled?】
【There are rumors everywhere, and I don’t quite believe them.】
This is what he cares about most.
Pei Ji smiled and nodded, "Of course, the imperial edict will be passed to the palace first, and we will receive the order soon. The fourth prince is under house arrest, and the fifth prince has been appointed as the King of Xiaoyao, and will go to his fiefdom soon."
[Assassinating an imperial official is just a matter of house arrest? ]
He Zhiliao was a little angry. Could it be that as the emperor's child, he could be so tolerant?
[Today he is trying to assassinate you. If he were to assassinate His Majesty tomorrow, would he be able to just brush it off by simply confining him to his home?]
[This is clearly bullying us. The prince's life is life, but the minister's life is not life? ]
[No wonder these princes are all as stupid as pigs. Having such a father is naturally a sin!]
Pei Ji stared blankly at his little mouth opening and closing at an extremely fast speed. If he blinked even a little, he would probably miss what he said.
At this moment, Pei Ji was actually somewhat glad that the little cicada could not squeak, otherwise if someone heard these words that would get him caught and beheaded, it would be truly a rebellion!
Just being injured makes him so indignant...
No wonder in his previous life, he was able to beat the Dengwen drum with his frail body, and the drumstick weighed twenty kilograms.
He Zhiliao was very angry, and his anger continued until he learned that Deguijun had sent someone to deliver a gift.
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The author has something to say: Pei Gou: "My dear... how dare you say that!" [covering your face with laughter and tears]
Little Zhiliao: Me! If my husband doesn’t say anything, I’ll say it all! I’m so brave! [Hug][Hug][Hug]
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