Chapter 78: The Truth. His Majesty knew that the Fourth Prince had ordered him to frame Pei Fu...
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I truly had no idea. I've never heard the Crown Princess mention it before. This is my first time in the palace, and I had no idea this banquet was for selecting a concubine! Please investigate!"
He Ruxi knelt down and begged for mercy, her forehead turned red from hitting the ground, but she didn't dare to stop easily. She didn't expect that she would encounter such a thing.
In the past at the He family, she was the one who instigated He Ruman to bully others. Unexpectedly, today she is the one who is being pawned!
It was obvious that Meng Wanxin had deliberately framed her. If she hadn't been reminded by the other party, she would never have thought of talking to that girl. It was clearly a trap, just waiting for her to fall into it!
The queen frowned the whole time. She was not satisfied with the prince's concubine. Although she was a concubine, it would be easier to control her if she came from an ordinary family, and it would also prevent all kinds of troubles.
But this He Ruxi, at such a young age, has so many thoughts on her mind that she has bewitched the prince to the point of bewilderment. She is truly a monster!
Hearing her say this, Meng Wanxin couldn't help but feel aggrieved. "What nonsense are you talking about? I told you back home that you should be cautious after entering the palace. This flower viewing banquet is for the selection of concubines, and you're saying I didn't tell you?"
"Crown Princess!" He Ruxi knew she couldn't explain herself clearly, so she continued to plead with the Queen, "I really didn't know Miss Zheng couldn't stand the scent of lilac flowers!"
Moreover, she sprinkled the floral water on her clothes before going out. She smelled the good smell, so she sprinkled some into the sachet. It was an unintentional thing, so why did it seem like she did it on purpose at this moment!
She suddenly thought of the maid who sprinkled floral water on her. She had never seen her enter the inner courtyard to serve on weekdays, but she saw her once today and caused her so much trouble. It was obvious that Meng Wanxin deliberately harmed her!
But no one believed her in this matter, and she was really helpless and couldn't express her pain.
"Whether it was intentional or not, it's a blessing that Miss Zheng is safe and sound. But if anything were to happen to her, I would definitely not let you off." The Queen looked at her coldly. "You can escape the death penalty, but you can't escape the punishment of life. From today on, you must go to the temple every evening for five hours."
When these words were spoken, naturally some people were happy and some were sad.
Meng Wanxin suppressed the smile in her heart. If she was punished to kneel like this, she would not even have the chance to sleep with the prince. If she arranged for someone to serve him now, the prince would definitely be satisfied with her actions!
He Ruxi thought much the same, but she knew she would fall out of favor if she did so. She was a favored concubine in the eyes of outsiders, but if even that favor was gone, how would she survive the next few decades?
But at this time, she didn't dare to say anything.
She had no family background and no one to back her up. If her parents were still alive, the Queen would have been a little wary no matter what. It was all He Zhi's fault!
Thinking of this, she looked at He Zhiliao with resentful eyes. If Pei Ji had not investigated and punished the He family, he would not have fallen to the point where he was bullied by everyone today.
Blame me?
He Zhiliao sat upright, staring coldly at her, seeing the resentment in her eyes clearly, but he couldn't help but raise the corner of his lips towards her. What's the point of resentment? Isn't she the one kneeling now?
The Queen naturally saw the hatred in her eyes. Although she knew it was not directed at her, she was teaching the other party a lesson at this time, but the other party dared to show such emotions under her nose, which clearly showed that she did not take her seriously!
"Someone, slap him!"
As soon as the queen said this, an older maid came up to her and slapped her several times.
The Queen raised her hand and said, "Take her away."
The palace maid immediately dragged He Ruxi away.
He Zhiliao looked at her miserable appearance, lowered his eyes and stopped looking. He was just slapped in the face and made to kneel down. He had often been treated like this before, and He Ruxi should also have a taste of this.
Seeing He Ruxi being taken away, Meng Wanxin knelt down before the Queen with a look of sorrow, "Mother, it's all because of my son's inability to discipline her. I just wanted her to be more careful when entering the palace, but I didn't expect that she would still cause trouble. It's all my fault."
"I know you are a sensible person. How can I blame you for this?" The Queen motioned for her to stand up.
Having said that, how shrewd is the queen?
She could tell at a glance that everything that happened today was done by Meng Wanxin, but no matter what the truth was, she had to protect the Crown Princess, so the one who would be unlucky was He Ruxi.
Although Miss Zheng's family background is not as good as that of the Meng family, she is the daughter of a fourth-rank official. She is more than qualified to be a concubine. She is the candidate that the Queen has long favored, and now it seems that she is also the candidate that the Crown Princess is satisfied with.
After temporarily handling the matter, the Queen went into the side hall and asked the imperial physician who was still treating her, "How is Miss Zheng?"
"There is no danger to your life. Just take some medicine and you will be fine. However, you still need to take some tonics on a daily basis to strengthen your body and replenish your vital energy, and the symptoms will gradually disappear." said the imperial physician.
"I'm glad you're alright. Notify the Zheng family to come and pick up Miss Zheng and take her back home," said the Queen.
What's it like to always be here with her?
Meng Wanxin thought for a moment and said, "Mother, why don't I go and see you off? It will also show my concern."
"Yes, go ahead."
After the queen finished speaking, she turned to look at the young ladies in the courtyard who were still nervous and at a loss. It was an unprovoked disaster that affected them, so she gave them some rewards and sent them out of the palace.
Once this matter was settled, He Zhile naturally should not stay in the palace any longer, so he was about to get up and say goodbye, but was stopped by Pei Yueting.
"Come and talk to me again."
He Zhiliao bowed to her, then carefully helped her leave.
Pei Yueting didn't really want to say anything to him. She was getting older and couldn't take care of herself. She would never go out unless there was something else to do. When there was a pregnancy in the palace, one had to be extra careful.
I just hope He Zhiliao can give her a ride so that I can feel more at ease.
"Go back and tell mother that I am fine and you can come to the palace to see me in a few days." Pei Yueting said with a smile. His Majesty has been ill and bedridden for some time and has not favored anyone, so the harem can maintain superficial calm.
In addition, her pregnancy is under the care of the Queen, who will not take action herself, nor will she allow others to frame her.
He Zhiliao nodded repeatedly. He knew that when a concubine was seven or eight months pregnant, her mother from her mother's family could come to the palace and stay with her for a while.
Although the Pei family is a noble and powerful family, they have many opportunities to enter the palace on weekdays, but compared with their daughter's short stay, it is nothing.
He Zhiliao did not enter Jingyue Palace again, but walked towards the exit of the palace. After thinking about it, he was still somewhat dissatisfied with Meng Wanxin's methods.
He thought that the other party would make He Ruxi suffer a lot of damage, but he didn't expect that the other party would just make her kneel down. What was the point of such a light punishment?
But he could no longer have any contact with Meng Wanxin. The Pei family had already broken off relations with the Queen, and had never been on good terms with the Crown Prince. If he got too close to them privately, people would inevitably think that the Pei family also wanted to support the Crown Prince, and was actually building momentum for him.
That won't work.
He didn't want to see the prince succeed to the throne.
The other side.
Ever since He Zhiluo left the house, Pei Ji went to the secret room under the rockery. Although he told Lin Feng that he would not listen to the truth and would only torture him, he had to listen to many inside stories.
The thief was a former assassin, and he was very skilled. If it weren't for a chance, I wouldn't have been able to find him. If I couldn't find out the truth from him, I would have been so disgusted that I would have died.
Lin Feng is a master at torturing people. The secret room is already dark and only has candles to keep the light out. As long as the candles are extinguished, after a period of time, the people in the secret room will not be able to distinguish between day and night.
Moreover, there is a wooden barrel with dripping water on his head, which falls on his forehead every day and night. The water with chronic poison has already rotted his scalp, but he is unaware of it because of the poison.
There was a cut on his wrist, which was cut to allow bleeding at a fixed time every day, and then bandaged and applied with medicine.
These punishments are not painful, but they can make people break down.
When Pei Ji walked into the secret room, Lin Feng was just about to bleed him, but when he saw him coming, he continued to do his own thing without stopping. With a muffled groan from the thief, blood rushed out from the hideous wound.
"Master." Lin Feng then saluted with his fists.
"Did he confess anything on his own initiative?" Pei Ji asked.
Lin Feng's expression froze for a moment, and he said with a guilty conscience, "He wanted to say something, but I didn't want to hear it..."
Pei Ji chuckled helplessly, but didn't bother with him. He lowered his eyes to look at the thief and asked in a deep voice, "Who sent you here? Who do you belong to?"
This seems to be the same question, but it is telling the other party clearly that he has long known that this person is not just a subordinate of the deceased Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi had said at the beginning that it was common for the wealthy and powerful to train some assassins, but this assassin was extremely vicious and cruel, with extraordinary means, and was not an ordinary assassin at all. The reason why they believed Zhou Qi's words was simply because they wanted him to die in a natural way.
Even though he was shaking with discomfort, he still refused to say a word. Pei Ji was too lazy to argue with him anymore. Even if he didn't say anything, he was ready to get rid of him.
He looked at Lin Feng, "Have you had enough fun?"
Lin Feng knew that his master was deliberately sympathizing with him and taking the opportunity to let him vent, so he let him act recklessly. Otherwise, he would have used more powerful means to force this assassin.
He quickly replied, "That's enough. What are you going to do?"
"I have some poison given by Xixin." Pei Ji handed it to him, "Just use it on him. When Xixin comes back, he will put these little guys away."
Don’t be fooled by the fact that Xixin is gentle and kind, and gives all her patience to her little babies. Which girl would eat and sleep with poisonous insects all day long?
Lin Feng took the bamboo tube directly and shook it next to the assassin's ear. Even through the bamboo tube, he could hear the crawling sound of insect legs inside, which was chilling and creepy.
Even before seeing what was inside, the assassin was already nervous. Not only was he nervous, he also noticed the pain on his head and wrists becoming more and more intense, as if something blunt was sawing his flesh back and forth.
"These things are all good things from Miaojiang. Some of them like to eat rotten meat, some like to eat fresh meat. Naturally, blood is their favorite. Just think of it as using your broken body to do good things!" Lin Feng leaned close to his ear and spoke softly, like a ghost crawling out of the underworld, which was particularly intimidating.
"I, I said!!!"
"I said, don't want these things!"
The assassins are not afraid of death. Even the ordinary maids and slaves have sincere loyalty, but no one can withstand the long-term physical and mental torture.
Hearing him say this, Lin Feng immediately moved a chair over and asked Pei Ji to sit next to him. He asked thoughtfully, "Who ordered you to poison my Lord Zheng? And who told you to put those letters in my father's study?"
"How, how did you know?" The assassin didn't expect that the matter of the letter in the secret room would be revealed. He had obviously done that thing very secretly and carefully, and no one should have discovered it!
"Reply." Pei Ji reminded in a calm voice.
The assassins knew that they had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Even if they kept silent at this moment, they would eventually be forced to speak.
Moreover, if he really wasn't a coward, he wouldn't be hiding in shame, like a dog that has lost its home, which is ridiculous.
He chuckled, then said smugly and mockingly, "You don't know, do you? I was originally His Majesty's death warrior."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Feng suddenly turned his head to look at Pei Ji. This answer was so shocking. How could this be true?
But Pei Ji's expression was very calm and indifferent, as if he had already guessed the answer. Even his emotions were not high, as if he just wanted to know the answer.
The assassins are all nameless people. He has gone through many hardships to become your majesty's assassin. How glorious is that?
But the first task he received after becoming a death warrior was to put the letter into the study of Pei Mansion.
"You may not know that the future crown prince will have assassins secretly rewarded by His Majesty, and I was once rewarded to the Fourth Prince. He ordered me to put those letters in the secret room. I don't know the reason. An assassin doesn't need to know the master's reason."
"But I didn't expect that not long after, the Fourth Prince would be involved in a series of events. Emperor An also secretly recalled us assassins. The assassins who were recalled had only one fate, and that was death. How could I die?"
He found a scapegoat and escaped, living in hiding. He could only try his best to use his own advantages to survive, so he got close to the prince and stayed by his side to help him get rid of the thorn in his side.
He Zhiliao was not a thorn in the prince's side, but getting rid of him would make Pei Ji heartbroken, so he had to do so.
He didn't do a lot of things, but everything he did was bad. This was what he had to do as a death warrior, and he didn't think it was wrong.
Pei Ji didn't expect that so many things were done by a single assassin. It was really unbelievable.
However, it seems that when Emperor An recalled his assassins, the Fourth Prince knew that he could no longer easily seize the throne, so he was extremely nervous during that period and had to test the attitudes of the Fourth Prince and the Song and Yan families from time to time.
"Your Majesty, do you know that the Fourth Prince ordered you to frame the Pei family?" Pei Ji thought that since Emperor An would recall the death squad, he would definitely interrogate them before dealing with them.
As expected.
The assassin said, "Of course I know. Although we are following the Fourth Prince, we are still his majesty's assassins."
Lin Feng fell silent again, with great panic filling his heart.
If Emperor Lian An knew that the Fourth Prince deliberately framed the Pei family but did not step forward to stop or resolve the issue, then he would be condoning his shameless behavior and would be keeping the matter in his heart. If he disliked the Pei family in the future, he could expose the matter at any time.
Then wouldn’t it be a foregone conclusion that the Pei family is colluding with foreign races?
Lin Feng didn't understand what Emperor An meant. Could it be that he also wanted to get some leverage over the Pei Mansion? But the Pei Mansion had always been loyal to Tianqi.
"I haven't done much since becoming a death warrior, but every one of them is related to people like you..." The death warrior said with a laugh. The powerful and wealthy families have such sinister intentions and never stop harming people.
"Master..." Lin Feng looked at him with some embarrassment, not knowing how to deal with this assassin.
"Deal with it more cleanly." Pei Ji said in a deep voice and left the dark room.
Lin Feng was very sensible and did not torture him anymore. He dealt with the assassin neatly. After drinking a bottle of bone-dissolving powder, he disappeared completely. However, the fragrance of the bone-dissolving powder and the rotten smell in the dark room made people feel uncomfortable.
After he had packed up, he hurried out of the dark room. He had to return Xixin's treasures as soon as possible. It would be annoying if they were lost.
Pei Ji came out of the dark room and went straight to the study. He took out a clean piece of rice paper and began to write, writing down all the inside information he knew.
From this point of view, whether in the past life or this life, it was the Fourth Prince who framed the Pei Mansion.
Emperor An knew the truth but pretended not to know, which was also a driving force behind the incident.
If they had not fully supported the Fourth Prince in this life, he could barely understand why the other party did this. After all, they had different positions and the opponent deserved to die.
But in the previous life, knowing that Emperor An intended to train the fourth prince as the crown prince, the Pei family had been wholeheartedly planning for him. Even the other party's superficial behavior of traveling around the mountains and rivers was done with the help of the Pei family.
The Pei family lent their all, the Song family offered advice, and the Yan family wiped out political enemies... The three families forcibly pushed the fourth prince, who usually pretended to be a carefree wanderer, to the throne!
What on earth is he dissatisfied with that he has to do such a thing as abandoning the donkey after it has served its purpose and discarding the dog after the rabbit has died?
But Emperor An knew about it.
Knowing that the Pei family was framed, he still put the blame on them, forcing He Zhiliao to beat the drum to report to the emperor before he could see him. Even then, Emperor An did not conduct a thorough re-investigation.
If you want to accuse someone of a crime, you can always find a pretext.
It was obvious that he saw the Pei family becoming increasingly prosperous and was afraid that it would be difficult to control them in the future, so he simply crossed the river and destroyed the bridge.
What a tactic to cut off the firewood from under the cauldron. What a ruthless imperial family!
Pei Ji sneered repeatedly and finally set the paper on the table on fire. Let them pay off the debts of their previous lives one by one in this life!
“Dongdongdong——”
"Master, Zhengjun is back." Yuanrong stood outside the study and reminded in a low voice.
Pei Ji blinked his eyes with some sadness, opened the door quickly and walked outside. His long and strong legs took a long step, and it seemed that he arrived in front of He Zhiliao in just a few moments.
He suppressed the annoyance in his heart and slowly opened his arms towards his sweetheart. Then he saw He Zhiliao let go of Chun Jian's hand and ran towards him.
Pei Ji lifted him up with a little effort, and walked inside by holding his hips as if no one was around. He asked with a smile, "Did anything happen in the palace today?"
Pei Ji asked this because he wanted to hear about him, but there was nothing about him today, so He Zhiliao just said a few words and passed the matter over without saying anything else.
He put his arms around Pei Ji's neck, his bright face flushed, his eyes full of smiles and love, but he narrowed his eyes when he smelled his scent.
It was not surprising that Pei Ji would go to that dark room. After all, the other party had always wanted to know the mastermind behind the scenes. Today, he seemed to have gotten the result, and he was even willing to get emotional to coax him.
"Tired." He Zhiliao said softly, burying his head in his shoulder at the right time, looking like he didn't want to do anything.
"Then I'll accompany you to take a nap and call you for dinner, how about that?" Pei Ji patted his back gently, suggesting that he could rely on him completely.
He Zhiliao was so clingy that he insisted that Pei Ji take a nap with him.
He didn't know what Pei Ji had heard in the dark room. He only knew that the other party was in a bad mood. He couldn't say a complete sentence to comfort him, but he could do things to comfort him.
Pei Ji took off his outer clothes and told his servants to cut them up and throw them away. He then put on clean inner clothes and lay on the same bed with He Zhiliao. The two of them talked in low voices, and soon Pei Ji fell asleep. On the contrary, He Zhiliao, who had been complaining of being tired, was particularly energetic.
He does take a nap, but it's always after lunch.
Things that happen within the courtyard would never alarm other courtyards. He Zhiliao guessed that the result of his question must be very bad, which is why he was so tired.
He tiptoed down, dressed neatly, and walked out, calling Lin Feng who had been guarding the dark room. He must know what had happened.
"Zhengjun, are you looking for me?" Lin Feng was a little surprised. Wasn't I taking a nap with Zhengjun?
He Zhiliao nodded, glanced into the house, made a few angry expressions, and then when Lin Feng raised his chin, he immediately understood.
"You mean, I'm unhappy, so I want to ask you what happened today?"
He Zhiliao nodded with satisfaction.
Lin Feng pursed his lips, not knowing whether he should tell him about this. This matter was considered a court matter. Although he had never concealed these things from Zhengjun before, telling him about the fact that he was framed by the prince would probably only add to his troubles.
He subconsciously looked at Yanhua and Xixin, wanting them to help persuade him, but the two girls were not stupid.
Yanhua said directly, "Don't be so confused about this. Who has the final say in our courtyard? If you're still racking your brains to figure it out, it only shows that you're stupid."
He Zhiliao nodded. He liked to hear this.
If we were to ask who has the final say in the entire Pei Mansion, it would naturally be the Madam.
But if anyone has the final say in their small courtyard, it must be the righteous ruler in front of them.
After all, the master has to treat her as his most beloved person, so how dare his subordinates disobey him?
Lin Feng had no choice but to tell the whole story of the secret room. At the end, he begged for mercy: "If I ask, you must protect me."
"Yeah." He Zhiliao nodded in agreement very generously.
He thought the truth would be unbearable to hear, but he didn't expect it to be so disgusting.
Although he had only been in the Pei Mansion for a year, he knew that the Pei family had always been loyal.
When his father retreated from the front line to the court, Pei Ji immediately took over, defending Tianqi against foreign enemies, taking back the city and the territory belonging to Tianqi, and protecting the people.
But they didn't expect that Emperor An would actually indulge the princes in such evil deeds. Fortunately, those false accusation letters were found and destroyed by Pei Ji. If Emperor An really remembered them in the future and caught them off guard, wouldn't the Pei family be in trouble?
If that happens, I'm afraid that even if I go to the emperor and beat the drum to report the incident, it will be difficult to make Emperor An take back his decision!
It is said that emperors are ruthless, but to be so ruthless, he is clearly a cold-blooded and heartless monster.
Pei Ji would be sad, knowing that the Apocalypse monarch he loyally protected was so unable to distinguish right from wrong, anyone would be heartbroken!
Chun Jian and the others were so shocked that they dared not speak. Who could have imagined that the court was so turbulent and that the princes and the emperor would collude to frame loyal court officials?
"The emperor is ruthless and it is difficult for loyal ministers to be loyal." He Zhiliao said this with difficulty.
He turned and walked into the house. He had to get back to him quickly, otherwise he would be angry when he woke up.
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The author has something to say: He Zhiliao: "It's so abominable!" [Angry][Angry][Angry]
Pei Gouzi: "Stick! Draw energy!" [scatter flowers][scatter flowers][scatter flowers]
Next up is "Marrying a Sickly Man to Get Married." Who wouldn't like it? It's delicious, right? [Cover your face and peek][Cover your face and peek][Cover your face and peek]
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