Chapter 77 The Emperor's Gaze
Pei Wanqing followed Ding Quan all the way to the main hall.
The moment she entered, she couldn't help but hesitate.
She has no right to refuse, right?
She originally wanted her father and aunt to save her, but now it seems that this is just wishful thinking.
The emperor's order cannot be disobeyed.
If the king wants his subject to die, the subject must die.
Besides, she is just a weak woman.
"Miss Pei, His Majesty is waiting for you." Ding Quan reminded.
"I know." Pei Wanqing nodded.
She exhaled and slowly walked in.
…
Only the old emperor was left in the hall.
It seemed that he had been waiting for a long time.
Pei Wanqing saluted and then raised her head.
This was the first time she looked the Emperor in the eye.
The old emperor was thirty-five when he ascended the throne, and it has been twenty-four years now.
All in all, he is fifty-nine years old, almost sixty.
His skin was loose and there were wrinkles between his eyebrows that were difficult to hide.
From the lines on his face, you can tell that he doesn't like to laugh.
His body was already skinny and shriveled, and the dragon robe he wore looked empty.
Only those eyes, a little cloudy but carrying the majesty and unfathomable depth of a king.
"Don't be nervous, I just want to talk to you." The emperor said softly.
Pei Wanqing was disgusted by his old and frail appearance, but she had no choice but to kowtow and said, "Yes."
"I heard that you were involved in a murder case?" The emperor fiddled with chess pieces in his hand, motioning her to come forward.
Pei Wanqing carefully moved forward and sat next to the table, "Your Majesty, this is all a misunderstanding!"
"Those wicked people were greedy, so they killed each other... I am innocent."
She was eager to defend herself, but she broke out in a cold sweat.
The old emperor stroked the white chess piece in his hand, "Really?"
"I have received the evidence submitted by Kaifeng Prefecture today. You were the one who orchestrated all this, intending to harm the Pu family."
Pei Wanqing's heart skipped a beat. She raised her eyes to beg for mercy, but she noticed that he didn't even lift his eyelids when he said this.
It can be seen that His Majesty the Emperor actually does not care about the truth of the matter at all, but deliberately said this to scare her.
She calmed herself down before speaking, "Your Majesty, this is not what I want. I hope you can understand."
"Since Kaifeng Prefecture has said so, it must be the truth of the matter."
The emperor spoke slowly, pointing at the chessboard, signaling Pei Wanqing to make her move.
Pei Wanqing looked flustered. She grabbed a chess piece, hesitated for a moment, and then randomly picked a place to put it.
Since the emperor didn't give her a chance to argue, why did he say this? Was he forcing her to submit?
"I've read quite a few of your poems... During the poetry gathering, you swore you were truly worthy of them, but it's clear that they weren't yours."
"The poetry you wrote two years ago was a complete mess. I'm afraid the Pei family's literary fortune has ended with Pei Hancai."
The emperor brought up this matter again, and Pei Wanqing really couldn't understand it.
"Your Majesty, why do you bully me like this?" Pei Wanqing bit her lip and finally showed weakness.
The emperor sighed, "So you're admitting defeat? You're just being childish!"
"..." His tone of voice was extremely doting, but to Pei Wanqing's ears, it sounded indescribably disgusting.
He was simply too old for her, and she could hardly imagine sharing a bed with him.
Maybe she'll even spit it out.
"You've been meddling with the Pu family's business, scheming against them, but unfortunately you can't outsmart them!"
The emperor spoke with a smile, but the vicissitudes of life in his eyes made Pei Wanqing uncomfortable.
"I'm not curious about where the plague recipes you handed over came from. These are what the people of the world need, not me."
"I have been on the throne for over twenty years, and I have the capital to be willful. The woman I want will not be able to escape."
He reached out and pinched Pei Wanqing's face, "Tender. The wrist is also, the skin is also."
As he said this, he started laughing.
That weird laugh, coming from the chest, was scary.
There was a hint of panic in Pei Wanqing's eyes.
She wanted to escape, but when she turned around she found the door of the hall closed.
The old emperor just calmly watched her panic.
"Don't worry, I said, I'm just talking to you."
The emperor sat back in his seat and took out the piece she had just placed.
"If you want to play chess, you have to be serious." He waved his hand, motioning Pei Wanqing to sit back down.
Pei Wanqing stood beside a pillar not far away and didn't dare to get any closer.
The old emperor did not force her, but said, "I know you don't want to enter the palace."
"But you are the daughter of destiny, and I am the chosen one. You are destined to be my woman."
"Have you begged your father to end this marriage?" He seemed to suddenly remember to ask.
"Haha, Pei Hancai is such an old fox... He stole the treasures used to suppress the bandits."
"I've known about this for a long time. Corruption and embezzlement of state funds are serious crimes!"
"Oh, your aunt, my beloved concubine, I already knew about the incident of framing Concubine Ru."
"They are both too disobedient and not smart enough."
"As soon as I showed a hint of displeasure, someone handed a knife to me."
“Some things, when they are no longer needed, are thrown away.”
He seemed to be telling a joke as he listed the Pei family's life-threatening ropes one by one.
When Pei Wanqing heard him say these words, she felt her bones and blood go cold and her hair stand on end!
In both lives combined, her interactions with the emperor were very few.
She had never been so confronted with the unfathomable terror of an emperor.
She felt like she had glimpsed into an abyss, and if she wasn't careful, she would fall into it!
In the final analysis, their Pei family is only surviving by relying on the favor of the king.
Whenever the emperor was unhappy, their good days would be over.
My aunt and father have worked hard their entire lives, yet now they are being abandoned like trash...
If she disobeyed the order, the Pei family would face death.
"I don't want to threaten a little girl like you."
"If it's not something you and I agree on, it would be too boring."
"But you should think carefully about what you really need!"
Pei Wanqing was trembling on the spot, she didn't know how to react...
This emperor, who had lived for nearly sixty years, was like a monster! She simply couldn't defeat him!
Pei Wanqing felt like she was nailed to the spot.
She didn't even dare to cry or shout.
The deep fear that came from her soul made her feel at a loss.
"As for Lao Jiu... he's a good kid. You two... are not meant to be together!"
He said these words with a smile and called out, "Ding Quan!"
"I'm here!" Ding Quan walked into the room without looking around.
The emperor waved his hand and ordered, "Send Miss Pei out of the palace and take good care of her!"
"Yes!" Ding Quan responded with a smile, as if he couldn't see Pei Wanqing's pale face. "Miss Pei, please."
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