Chapter 41
In the afternoon, Qi Yu had someone invite a female master who knew martial arts, who was naturally skilled in drawing a bow and arrow.
Wu Shiyan returned to Chengming Hall to handle state affairs, while she went to the palace's archery range, a place exclusively for members of the royal family to practice archery. However, since Wu Shiyan had no sons, the range was usually deserted except for Wu Shiyan.
Qi Yu led her people into the archery range without any hindrance.
On one side, she was intently listening to archery techniques; on the other side, inside the Chengming Hall, things were far from peaceful.
Pei Jin entered the hall and bowed deeply to Wu Shiyan, who was sitting at the head of the table with his eyes slightly closed, writing a memorial: "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"
Wu Shiyan remained indifferent, seemingly not taking Pei Jin seriously at all. He didn't even lift his eyelids, focusing solely on handling state affairs.
After all, with only eight days left, aside from the extremely urgent matters which he had already decided on early on, the rest of the memorials had already piled up like a mountain. Anyone else would have had to put in a lot of effort to handle them properly.
How could Pei Jin possibly be in such a hurry as to submit a memorial?
However, in reality, Wu Shiyan almost broke the pen in his hand.
"Rise, someone, pour wine for Lord Pei." Wu Shiyan left Pei Jin waiting for quite a while, finished reviewing the memorial in his hand, put it aside, and then spoke slowly.
Immediately, someone brought over the poisoned wine that had been prepared beforehand. In front of Pei Jin, they poured the wine from the wine pot into a wine cup, placed it on a tray, and then bent down to pick it up, standing quietly beside Pei Jin.
Pei Jin had already stood up. He glanced at them calmly, without a trace of fear on his face.
Just like his attire today, with his jade crown and indigo robe, he exudes a calm and refined elegance.
Pei Jin lowered his eyes to show respect, but what he said was enough to terrify anyone: "Your Majesty, I will only drink when I see a person."
Wu Shiyan asked in bewilderment, "Who do you think you are?"
Does he really want to die in A-Yu's arms, making A-Yu hate him for the rest of his life?
He, Pei Jin, is dreaming!
Pei Jin remained silent. Who did he think he was? He had addressed Qi Yu as "Madam" before this morning.
His Majesty treats the Imperial Concubine as a substitute, which means he doesn't really like her, right? But why doesn't he like her, and why doesn't he allow others to have any of her?
This possessiveness is utterly absurd.
Moreover, Qi Yu did not resist his approach and even liked to place her slender hands on his waist and abdomen. Has His Majesty ever treated the Consort so gently?
People at the time admired handsome young men, but Pei Jin had previously looked down on this and did not consider himself noble enough to deserve the title.
But compared to His Majesty, his appearance has some merits and is more to Qi Yu's liking, isn't it?
The hall fell into a tense silence after Wu Shiyan finished speaking.
Pei Jin's expression only became more respectful, but anyone could see that he was a stubborn, unyielding rock.
The eunuch holding the poisoned wine was almost out of breath. He didn't know why His Majesty would poison a highly trusted minister. Lord Pei seemed extremely respectful, but as a servant, he could clearly sense that Lord Pei was not truly obedient.
Even if it's well concealed, they're still unconvinced.
How dare he? That's His Majesty!
Wu Shiyan was so angry that he laughed. He sneered, and in the next instant, a jade seal smashed down from above.
With the force of thunder.
Of those who can personally lead an expedition, how many are truly stubborn and inflexible?
As the emperor, Wu Shiyan was willing to cover up Qi Yu's true nature to some extent, but he really didn't need to give Pei Jin any face.
Pei Jin had anticipated this, and without dodging or avoiding it, he withstood the fist-sized, angular square jade seal.
Even if His Majesty is in the wrong, a subject will not avoid him.
Pei Jin felt a sharp pain on his forehead. As the blood-stained jade seal rolled to the ground, several lines of thick blood of varying lengths slid down his forehead, around his brow bone, and dripped onto the ground.
However, Pei Jin didn't feel any pain at all; all he could think about was the sweetness of last night.
He gained an enormous advantage; a little bloodshed is nothing.
Wu Shiyan coldly said, "Get out of here."
The eunuch who was serving the wine put down the poisoned wine and quietly withdrew with the other serving eunuchs.
Only Wu Shiyan and Pei Jin remained in Chengming Hall.
Wu Shiyan walked to a table to the side, where two cups of wine had already been placed, which were different from the poisoned wine from before.
Because he showed great mercy and gave Pei Jin a way out: "Pei Jin, I don't want to kill you. There are two cups of wine here, one is poisoned and the other is strong liquor. You must choose one. If you drink the poisoned wine, it will be considered that you know you are unworthy and commit suicide. If you drink the wine and don't die, I will let you leave the palace."
"Even so, I cannot keep you here. I will send you far away from the capital, and you will never have the chance to serve as an official in the capital again. Perhaps it would be better for you to be dead than alive."
For someone like Pei Jin, being far from the capital and relegated to a minor local official position was no different from falling into a quagmire, especially since he could have risen rapidly through the ranks.
Wu Shiyan still can't understand why Pei Jin would compete with him for A Yu.
Ever since that night at Hengwu Courtyard when he realized that Pei Jin already knew who was by his side, Wu Shiyan recalled the "Pei Lang" he heard outside the window when he went to find Qi Yu after waking up, and felt that Pei Jin was incredibly audacious.
Ayu could not possibly be at fault; the only one at fault is Pei Jin.
Pei Jin seduced A Yu.
Wu Shiyan couldn't help but feel a strong aversion to Pei Jin.
If it weren't for Master Pei...
Pei Jin said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your mercy."
He picked up the glass of wine closest to him, supporting the bottom with one hand and holding the glass with the other, and drank it all in one gulp without any hesitation.
Normally, the thing placed closest to the emperor is least likely to be poison, but Pei Jin didn't even choose that option.
Wu Shiyan didn't know which cup was the real poisoned wine. Seeing that Pei Jin hadn't been poisoned, he flicked his sleeve and said, "Get out of the capital as soon as possible."
Pei Jin cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, sir."
He took a few steps back, then turned and left the hall.
Outside the hall, Pei Jin walked to the side. He could no longer suppress the bitter taste in his throat, and black blood spilled from his lips. He took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped it until the blood became bright again, then stuffed the blood-soaked handkerchief into his sleeve.
Poison that penetrates the intestines is indeed potent.
Upon re-entering the palace, the eunuch who had been ordered to follow him out unexpectedly saw traces of blood between Lord Pei's lips and teeth, and his lips were pale. He assumed that he was vomiting blood because he was grieving for his future fate.
Since many ministers had met His Majesty and appeared so flustered, he simply ignored the past.
The eunuch stepped forward with a smile and gestured: "Lord Pei, His Majesty has ordered that you leave the palace via another palace road."
As for why they took this secluded palace road, His Majesty didn't say, but as eunuchs, they wouldn't speculate on things they shouldn't.
Pei Jin knew why this was—to avoid Zhaoyang Palace and prevent him from meeting Qi Yu.
Pei Jin nodded and walked towards the palace road led by the eunuch.
Even though a glance from others would reveal that he had been punished by His Majesty, Pei Jin's gait remained unchanged from when he entered the palace, completely composed.
Qi Yu's first day learning archery was not smooth; her hands were rubbed raw before she finally grasped the basics.
The palace servants had prepared a precious medicine for treating external injuries well in advance. It was a small box, lighter than gold, yet more expensive than gold.
Upon hearing that her master had said they would stop here for today, the palace maid hurriedly stepped forward to apply a thick layer of ointment to Qi Yu's face, but Qi Yu stopped her as she was about to wrap her in a handkerchief.
"No need, there's no injury at all."
After studying for an hour, Qi Yu's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat. She said, "I won't stay any longer. Let's go back to Zhaoyang Palace."
After leaving the archery range, Qi Yu boarded a sedan chair, and the group headed towards Zhaoyang Palace.
At the same time, two people appeared at the end of the palace road, which was rarely frequented by officials.
Qi Yu tilted her head, holding the handkerchief, and slowly looked over.
It turned out to be Pei Jin, who seemed to have just left from the direction of Chengming Hall. Instead of taking the shortcut out of the palace, he took a long detour.
What made Qi Yu keep staring at Pei Jin was that his condition was really not good; there was a large gash on his forehead, from which several thick streams of blood were flowing.
His face appeared even paler than paper.
However, Pei Jin didn't take the wound to heart at all, remaining calm and focused on walking forward.
They didn't wipe it off, nor did they apply any medicine.
His figure approached from afar.
Suddenly, Pei Jin swayed slightly, as if he could no longer bear it, but he still steadied himself and stepped aside when he saw a nobleman from the palace passing by.
Qi Yu rubbed her forehead, feeling a pang of sympathy. After passing Pei Jin, she called Pei Jiu over and whispered, "Quickly deliver this bottle of medicine to Lord Pei."
As Pei Jiu took the ointment and prepared to leave, Qi Yu called her back and handed her a clean handkerchief.
Qi Yu's sedan chair did not stop.
Pei Jiu jogged toward Pei Jin with her things in her arms, and only when she got close did she speak up, "Lord Pei, please wait a moment."
Pei Jin stopped, turned around and listened, but actually he was openly looking up at the beautiful figure sitting in the sedan chair. Only after the sedan chair turned a corner and disappeared from sight did he say, "Thank you, Miss Pei Jiu. Your Majesty is grateful for my mercy. My injury is nothing to worry about."
When he caught a glimpse of the palace servants in Zhaoyang Palace out of the corner of his eye, Qi Yu was all that remained in his mind.
The injury on his forehead was quite clever; he merely pretended to be overwhelmed and swayed for a moment, which won Qi Yu's pity.
Your Majesty's methods are crude. Between them, Your Majesty's only advantage lies in the fact that one is the ruler and the other is the subject.
Pei Jin had no intention of rebelling. He shared the same ambition as His Majesty: to restore peace to the world. His Majesty was cleaning up the mess left by the Wu royal family, while he was atoning for the sins of the people for the sake of his bloodline. Therefore, he was conscientious and diligent in handling every case, striving for clarity.
In recent years, half of the Pei family's wealth has been distributed to orphanages in various places, and a group of people have been specially employed to conduct follow-up investigations to ensure that those who are truly in need benefit.
Pei Jiu handed the items to Pei Jin, saying, "This servant has noted them down and will certainly relay them to Your Highness."
Then he neatly dressed and left.
Pei Jin received the handkerchief, but was reluctant to wipe it. Under the eunuch's subtle scrutiny, he still followed his heart, folded it neatly, and placed it in front of his chest.
He sighed.
He needs to get through tonight and should head to his post tomorrow. Otherwise, he fears that if he stays even one more day, the eunuchs will embellish what he saw today, and His Majesty might kill him.
Chengming Hall.
Lord Pei was unharmed, and the eunuch who arranged for the poisoned wine knew that the remaining cup was poisoned.
His Majesty truly intends to kill Lord Pei.
The eunuch took the remaining cup of wine away, not daring to let the poisoned wine linger in the hall. Since Tian Wenshan wanted to see him, he poured the poisoned wine into a potted plant with fallen fruit in front of the house, thus cleaning it up.
As he was about to leave, he saw a squirrel nimbly run onto the potted plant.
This was a squirrel that had accidentally wandered into Chengming Hall. The eunuch recognized it but didn't move. He thought that since it was an animal, he might as well poison it.
However, the squirrel picked up a small fruit that had fallen on the surface of the soil in the potted plant, put it in its mouth, and perhaps tasted the alcohol, because it swayed slightly and then quickly spat it out and ran away.
"How is that possible?" the eunuch exclaimed in astonishment.
This is a deadly poison; a single drop can be fatal.
Not to mention fragile little creatures like squirrels.
The eunuch was certain that the fallen fruit was covered in poisoned wine and should have been poisoned the moment the squirrel put it in its mouth.
A cold sweat broke out on the eunuch's forehead. If this cup wasn't poisoned, how could Lord Pei have drunk poisoned wine and been unharmed?
He suppressed his shock and went to Tian Wenshan, but dared not show the slightest surprise.
He felt that he had prepared the wrong drinks, turning both glasses into strong liquor, and if this got out, his life would be in danger.
After being punished, Tian Wenshan rested quietly in his room. He noticed that the eunuch's reaction was different from usual, so he kept it in mind. After the eunuch left, he signaled someone to keep an eye on him.
Tian Wenshan sensed an opportunity to redeem himself. If he didn't quickly regain the Emperor's trust, Li Chang would surely suppress him.
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