Chapter 17
After thinking it over, Qi Yu nodded in agreement.
She felt a growing curiosity about Zhao Wanyi. She had initially thought Zhao Wanyi was just an ordinary lady of the inner quarters, but the fact that she escaped from the bandits and then calmly recounted the incident afterwards showed that she was extraordinary.
There seems to be an innate sense of composure.
After leaving Zhao Wanyi's side, Qi Yu returned to the house, picked up Xiao Jin, placed it on her lap, and slowly drifted off into a daze.
Before she knew it, the night had deepened. Qi Yu heard a palace servant report that Madam Pei had gone to sleep after having her meal, and then belatedly realized that Wu Shiyan had not arrived at the estate.
She discovered Zhao Wanyi in the afternoon, and Pei Jin appeared two hours later. By now, Pei Jin might have already captured the bandits. Even if the messenger returning to the palace to report was delayed on the way, Wu Shiyan would have arrived by now.
Qi Yu asked the person who had returned to the palace to report the news, and upon learning that he had not yet returned, she became worried.
The palace servant said, "The servant who went to report to the Pei residence watched his companion walk towards the palace gate. There's no chance of anything going wrong near the palace. It seems His Majesty is too busy with state affairs to notice this small matter, which is why he was delayed in the palace. He'll probably be back early tomorrow morning."
Qi Yu put aside her worries for the time being; she truly couldn't understand Wu Shiyan.
Before she could think further, Pei Jin, accompanied by his guards, came down from the mountain and returned to the manor late at night.
Qi Yu sent people to inquire, but the news she received shocked her: the people on the mountain were not bandits at all, but remnants of the rebel king.
The remnants of the rebel king used this abandoned bandit stronghold as a hideout, which should be one of their bases in the capital.
Moreover, when Pei Jin and his group arrived, they didn't see anyone who had fainted. Instead, they found a pile of corpses, all of whom had been killed with a single cut to the neck, and the blood hadn't even splattered far.
Therefore, since everything was of great importance, Pei Jin borrowed a fast horse from the estate before dawn and returned to the capital to report.
This explains why the bandits went to such lengths to kidnap only Zhao Wanyi. It wasn't a threat to Pei Jin, but clearly a threat to Wu Shiyan.
They failed the first time, but tried again.
However, Qi Yu inexplicably felt that this matter was not just about Zhao Wanyi being kidnapped and then cleverly escaping.
Qi Yu put down Xiao Jin, who was almost bald from being petted so much, and got up to go to sleep.
The following day, before receiving any news, Qi Yu had a courtyard prepared for Zhao Wanyi.
After moving to a detached house, Zhao Wanyi touched the new hairpin she had acquired. It was just like her usual style—simple and unassuming.
But when you hold it, it feels heavy and has a cold, hard texture.
Who would have thought that she used this hairpin to kill everyone, stabbing them to death with a single blow, with only a few drops of blood accidentally splashing onto her.
Having unexpectedly learned the whereabouts of the remnants of the rebel king, she began planning today's events. She had always remembered the murder of Uncle Wu, who was driving in the suburbs that day, but regretted not being able to kill him herself.
This time she didn't delay any longer. After retrieving the hairpin, she went up the mountain and sneaked in.
Everything went smoothly at first, but unfortunately, he accidentally inhaled some of the sleeping gas and collapsed at the foot of the mountain.
She could only tell Qi Yu that they were bandits, since she couldn't contact or identify the remnants of the rebel king.
Pei Jin must have discovered and guessed her actions after he went up the mountain, but given his aversion to the actions of the remnants of the anti-king, he would probably go along with her story.
However, if this matter is exposed, Pei Jin will also know that she carries a weapon that can threaten people's lives, and will be more wary of her assassinating Wu Shiyan.
Qi Yu wasn't in the mood to feed the fish today, but life on the estate was so pleasant that it made her feel no pressure. So she followed her heart and calmly began to practice calligraphy.
Half an hour later, the person who had delivered the message to Wu Shiyan yesterday returned first, and Qi Yu called the person to her.
This man's name was Fu'an, and he was a junior eunuch in the Zhaoyang Palace.
Fu'an said, "This servant saw His Majesty before the sun had set yesterday, but His Majesty was unpredictable in his reaction to this matter and simply told this servant to leave. This servant was confused and stayed in the palace."
"Until Eunuch Tian, who was by His Majesty's side, came to find me, he called me a silly goose, gave me some pointers, and told me to take a nap and come back to report to Her Majesty as soon as it was light."
"Besides that, Eunuch Tian didn't say anything else."
Naturally, Wu Shiyan's attitude was also unclear.
Qi Yu said, "Well done, go and collect your reward."
Fu'an thanked the reward with a beaming smile.
Qi Yu thought to herself that she would stop caring about Wu Shiyan. He was not ambitious at all, and she didn't know what he was worried about. He couldn't even come up with any ideas.
It must have been Tian Wenshan who guessed Wu Shiyan's intentions and sent Fu'an away.
If Tian Wenshan knew that Qi Yu was making such a accusation against him, he would surely cry foul, for His Majesty had clearly said so.
After the eunuch left, His Majesty turned around and said, "Let him go back."
He hurriedly sent the eunuch back to the imperial estate to report, but the palace gates were already locked, and he could only wait until the next morning.
Not long after Fu'an left, Qi Yu heard from the servants that Pei Jin had come to the estate again.
After all, Madam Pei was still here, so Qi Yu understood.
This time, he was ordered by the emperor to investigate the remnants of the rebel king, and Wu Shiyan entrusted him with the entire task of handling the matter.
Pei Jin wanted to see Zhao Wanyi, so the palace servants led him to Zhao Wanyi's courtyard.
A short while later, a palace maid came to report to Qi Yu that Zhao Wanyi wanted to invite her over.
Qi Yu put down the book in her hand and went to Zhao Wanyi's residence with a lot of doubts.
As soon as she reached the door, she heard Pei Jin's cold, hard voice: "Let's leave aside the matter of the remnants of the rebel king for now and return to the Pei residence."
Zhao Wanyi's voice was thin but resolute: "No."
"I promised Her Majesty that I would stay at the mountain villa."
Qi Yu thought helplessly that it was clearly Zhao Wanyi who wanted to stay, but she didn't want to offend Zhao Wanyi, so she went in and said, "It was I who asked Madam Zhao to stay. Lord Pei, Madam Zhao has gone through such a great ordeal, you should care for her more, instead of being so harsh. Madam Zhao is a woman, and she also hopes that her husband can be considerate. If you act like this, anyone else will be heartbroken."
Zhao Wanyi lowered her eyes, her lips curving slightly.
Pei Jin was willing but unable, and stiffly agreed.
He recalled unpleasant memories: Zhao Wanyi's younger sister was young but had a terrible temper.
Because he made her memorize an article, she realized that perhaps she felt that pushing him out at the time was not enough to vent her anger. The next day, she took the initiative to bring her nanny to confront him. Since he was a head taller than her at the time, she even had her nanny lift her onto a chair so that she could look down on him and give him a lecture full of classical allusions.
He was perfectly capable of walking, but when he saw that she needed to stand on a chair to look down at him, he found it particularly amusing, so he stayed to listen to what she had to say.
The vivid image of her haughty and arrogant demeanor in my memory is no longer clear, but I do remember how her words captivated him as a child, leaving him speechless.
Afterwards, I realized that Zhao Wanyi was right; her sister was indeed a prodigy.
Seeing the Consort's nonchalant and accusatory manner today, Pei Jin suddenly realized that it matched his memory.
It's no wonder Zhao Wanyi insisted on confirming that this wasn't her sister before she could truly give up.
If it were him, he would also ask for clarification.
Unfortunately, things have changed, and he no longer has the same mindset as before. He won't dwell on the past like Zhao Wanyi, fantasizing about killing his master to avenge himself. Some things should be let go.
After a short while, Pei Jin argued, "Your Majesty, that maid Yuelu is still worried about my wife at the Pei residence. Not only is she disturbing Your Majesty by staying here, but in a few days, my wife will also need to go to the clinic for a check-up and to take her medicine. Perhaps I could take my wife away today to avoid troubling Your Majesty again."
Qi Yu looked at Zhao Wanyi; this matter still needed to be discussed with Zhao Wanyi.
Zhao Wanyi naturally disagreed: "Yuelu is used to chattering around me, and I also want a few days of peace and quiet. Besides, how could I not know that I would be disturbing Your Majesty? Therefore, I will only stay for three days. After three days, I will return to the Pei residence. During this time, it will not delay anything."
Then, with tears welling up in her eyes, she said, "These past few days, Pei Lang has been busy with the remnants of the rebel king. It's all official business. Even if I return to the manor, I won't see Pei Lang much. So what's the difference between staying at the Pei manor and staying here?"
Pei Jin took Zhao Wanyi away precisely to keep an eye on her and prevent her from having the opportunity to appear before His Majesty until he found the new blade she had acquired that could slit throats.
Only the two of them knew the truth about this matter. In other words, once Pei Jin got busy, no one would be able to guard against Zhao Wanyi anymore.
For example, how much effort did Zhao Wanyi put in to escape from the temple by avoiding the maids and guards? How many times did she go to the temple to add lamps and pray for blessings before seizing this opportunity? When he was off guard, she disappeared.
If he were not in the mansion under normal circumstances, Zhao Wanyi could simply dismiss the servants to avoid being seen.
With him around, he would use the pretense of concern to send servants to check on what the lady was doing, so that she was really in the Pei residence and not somewhere else.
While Zhao Wanyi clashed with Pei Jin, Qi Yu pondered the situation from the sidelines.
Suddenly, she spoke up: "His Majesty will not be coming for the next few days."
In Qi Yu's mind, Pei Jin didn't want Zhao Wanyi to stay because he was afraid that Wu Shiyan would steal her away from him. But not letting Zhao Wanyi stay for three days was too cruel.
How could he disregard his own wife's wishes?
Pei Jin paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Then we shall do as Your Majesty says."
He will indeed be busy these next few days, and staying by Qi Yu's side is the best decision.
Qi Yu couldn't help but laugh.
She was right.
With this matter settled, Pei Jin needed to continue investigating the remnants of the rebel king, and he also needed to present the whole story to His Majesty within a few days for His Majesty to review. Therefore, he took his leave without delay.
Before leaving the room, he heard a palace maid suddenly say, "Madam Zhao, your hairpin is about to slip off."
Hairpins are heavy, which is inconvenient. Moreover, the craftsmen who make these hairpins are men. They are useful, but they don't care how heavy they would be when worn on the head.
Zhao Wanyi put the hairpin back in.
Pei Jin turned around as if he had a premonition, and firmly memorized the appearance of the hairpin.
Although he didn't know if Zhao Wanyi had ever had this hairpin before, her personal maid must have known, and Yuelu was still in the Pei residence.
At the same time, Qi Yu's gaze also fell on the hairpin.
This must be the hairpin Zhao Wanyi used to stab the bandits yesterday, but the end of the hairpin is not as sharp as expected. Instead, it is slightly blunt and thicker than an ordinary hairpin, making it easy to slip off.
How could she have managed to wound the bandits with such a hairpin?
"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong with me?"
Qi Yu shook her head slightly, thought for a moment and said, "I want to give you more useful hairpins."
It needs to be sharp, so it can be used for self-defense.
Zhao Wanyi was stunned for a moment before she realized what it meant.
She told Qi Yu yesterday that she was using a hairpin for self-defense when she got splattered with blood.
A note from the author:
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