Chapter 80 My Cousin Will Be Fine
Contrary to expectations, Pei Wu did not panic and flee or even beg for mercy. Chen Ling saw him calmly look around before saying, "Didn't the Prime Minister notice anything amiss?"
Chen Ling felt a pang of panic and sneered, "Stop playing games and think carefully about what you can do with your remaining time."
Perhaps anticipating that the die was cast, Chen Ling no longer concealed the truth from Pei Wu. His men were already lying in ambush outside, waiting for the peace treaty to be signed before Pei Wu's life would be over.
However, Pei Wu remained calm and said, "Prime Minister, take another look."
Chen Ling looked up impatiently, ignoring Pei Wu, and turned to call the Northern Yan envoy. It was then that he realized something was wrong.
Chen Ling didn't recognize anyone among the Northern Yan envoys. He had initially thought the Northern Yan envoys were being difficult and would arrive at the last minute, but now that the time had come, the Northern Yan envoys still hadn't arrived.
Chen Ling was furious: "You've attacked the Northern Yan envoy!"
"No," Pei Wu replied frankly. "In times of war, envoys are not to be killed. Why would I do such a thing?"
Chen Ling suppressed her anger: "Where is that person?"
“Naturally, we should first arrange a good place for them,” Pei Wu said. “If this peace treaty is truly a ‘peace negotiation’ as the Prime Minister says, I will naturally invite them over respectfully.”
"But if the peace treaty is not in the best interest of my Great Xia, I will have no choice but to send them back first."
However, when the time comes, a great war will break out, and the Northern Yan's attack may be even more ferocious. The agreed peace talks will ultimately be considered a breach of contract by the Great Xia, and the Northern Yan will naturally be furious.
Chen Ling looked at the crowd, raised his hand and called for help. Before long, Pei Wu heard the sound of orderly footsteps. Chen Ling had already sent people to guard this place.
Chen Ling's face was ashen: "Minister Pei, I underestimated you. You should set off as soon as possible."
Pei Wu calmly said, "Prime Minister, please open the door and take a look first."
Perhaps everything today surprised Chen Ling. After hearing Pei Wu's words, he was truly apprehensive. His subordinates hurriedly ran to open the door. As he had arranged beforehand, his men had completely surrounded the place. They were dressed in military uniforms, carrying swords, and each of them exuded a murderous aura.
Chen Ling's panicked heart calmed down completely. He turned around and sneered at Pei Wu: "Minister Pei, now that things have come to this, are you still going to put up a stubborn resistance here?"
He straightened his clothes, raised his head and said, "Guards, send Vice Minister Pei on his way."
His guards immediately drew their swords and stabbed at Pei Wu. At the same time, Pei Wu's guards also stepped forward to fight back. The two sides were evenly matched and remained deadlocked for a time.
Chen Ling then waved to the crowd outside: "Someone come here..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Ling heard another wave of voices, larger and more imposing. They moved swiftly and decisively, quickly surrounding the people Chen Ling had brought.
Overwhelmed by numbers, Chen Ling's men drew their swords, but hesitated to fight, while those nearby turned their gazes toward Chen Ling.
Chen Ling was shocked: "How could this be?"
The people surrounding them were all dressed in the military uniforms of the Great Xia Dynasty; they were soldiers of the Nanzhao Kingdom.
Chen Ling was not giving up. He took out his official seal, which was the symbol of his status. As long as he took out this, everyone would have to obey his orders. He was the prime minister and the one who could command the Nanzhao army.
However, his talisman was no longer effective; no one paid him any attention, and no one took him seriously.
Chen Ling angrily said, "I am the Prime Minister, you should listen to me. I now order you to take Pei Wu down."
Nobody moved.
The two sides are clearly divided; they are both people of the Great Xia, yet they are now at war with each other.
Chen Ling was too arrogant and didn't know how to win people's hearts. He naturally looked down on the Nanzhao army and never took them seriously. Little did he know that at crucial moments, the people of this land could be his killer.
Pei Wu never sat idly by and waited for his fate. As soon as he noticed that something was wrong with Chen Ling, he successfully persuaded Xue Zhong that he would help him at the crucial moment.
Xue Zhong was highly respected in Nanzhao. His decisions were equivalent to imperial edicts to those below him. Moreover, Pei Wu had a secret imperial edict. If Pei Wu and Chen Ling clashed, the Nanzhao army would obey Pei Wu's command. Originally, Xue Zhong might have been wary of Chen Ling being the prime minister and having a secret imperial edict, but this last obstacle was now gone.
Before coming to Nanzhao, no one knew what Chen Ling'an's intentions were. This was the emperor's last trump card for Pei Wu, but it was just a precautionary measure to prepare for a rainy day.
No matter what Chen Ling said, no one listened. The guards he brought were terrified when they saw so many people; they knew this was a death sentence. Unless absolutely necessary, they didn't want to take action.
Chen Ling was furious, went crazy, and became hysterical, but no one cared.
The fighting inside the room had ended at some point. Chen Ling's men had all been captured, and the few "Northern Yan people" inside dared not speak, hiding in a corner and pretending to be quails.
Chen Ling went mad, grabbed a knife and charged at Pei Wu. The guards behind him tried to step forward, but Pei Wu raised his hand to stop them. Just as Chen Ling's knife was about to stab Pei Wu, Pei Wu turned to the side and kicked Chen Ling hard.
The kick he received in the main hall a few months ago wasn't enough to keep Chen Ling lying down for long, but today's kick is enough.
Chen Ling's body had long been depleted by years of debauchery. He was kicked by Pei Wu and had no chance to fight back. His body crashed heavily to the ground, and the short knife clattered a few times before finally falling silent.
Chen Ling clutched her chest, rolled on the ground in pain, and then completely lost her strength. Her body trembled as she coughed heavily a few times, spitting out a few drops of blood.
Soon, someone rushed forward, pinned Chen Ling to the ground, tied him up with rope, and forced him to kneel on the ground.
Chen Ling's head was pressed to the ground, and he was unable to straighten up in a disheveled state. He could only look up at Pei Wu with great difficulty. Pei Wu looked down at him as if he were a dead object: "Prime Minister Chen Ling has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country by sending envoys to seek peace on his own. He shall be escorted to the capital immediately to await punishment."
Chen Ling's eyes were bloodshot: "Pei Wu, I underestimated you. I should have killed you when you sided with Song Pingzhang. And your cousin, aren't you afraid of retribution?"
Pei Wu said calmly, "My cousin is doing well. Prime Minister, you should take better care of yourself. The Empress Dowager doesn't have many days left either. It would be good for you and your sister to go together."
"As for my cousin, she will be fine. I'm sorry to trouble you, Prime Minister."
After saying that, before Chen Ling could resist, someone immediately took Chen Ling away.
...
At this moment, several men dressed in military uniforms knocked on Jiang Ru's door and said, "Young Lady Jiang, Vice Minister Pei and the Prime Minister invite you to Songshan Residence."
Songshan Residence is the house where Chen Ling has been staying these days. It's quite a distance from here, so Pei Wu wouldn't have asked Jiang Ru to go find him.
Seeing Jiang Ru's confusion, the others explained, "Once the peace treaty is signed, the Prime Minister will host a banquet at Songshan Residence. Young lady, please prepare quickly."
Jiang Ru said "Oh," and then said, "Then you guys go out first, I'll change my clothes."
The group exchanged glances, then suddenly drew their knives and rushed towards Jiang Ru. At that moment, several men in black appeared out of nowhere and immediately began fighting with them.
The sounds of fighting echoed through the tents, with sharp swords and blades clashing. Jiang Ru was surrounded but remained unharmed. Before long, all of them were captured alive and taken away.
It was thanks to Yang Zhaoyi's men, along with Pei Wu's own men, that Jiang Ru was protected so well.
After everyone was taken away, Jiang Ru sighed, "Pei Wu really guessed it; Chen Ling really wanted to kill me."
Chen Ling's troops were mostly stationed in Ning Prefecture, leaving far fewer to be stationed in the camp. Perhaps Chen Ling didn't take Pei Wu seriously at all, let alone Jiang Ru, so he only sent these few insignificant men to kill her.
If Pei Wu hadn't made prior preparations, these men would have been more than capable of killing Jiang Ru. However, Pei Wu had anticipated this, so he sent people to protect her beforehand. Therefore, these assassins were simply there to die.
Silence returned. Jiang Ru called to Pei Wu, who had summoned the guards protecting her, and asked, "Is Pei Wu alright?"
The guard immediately said, "Lord Pei is fine, young lady, there's no need to worry."
What a fraud.
Even though Ningfu is almost a hundred kilometers away from here, it would take two days for news to reach them, so there's no way they could know what's going on with Pei Wu.
Jiang Ru couldn't make things difficult for others, so she could only wave her hand and say, "Alright, alright, you can go now."
Although they said they had left, Jiang Ru knew they were still guarding the vicinity. Chen Ling might strike again, so they had to stay until Pei Wu returned safely.
Jiang Ru could only stay inside the tent and couldn't go out. Even the food that was delivered to her had to be tested for poison. This was really excessive for Jiang Ru, but it was all Pei Wu's order, and she couldn't say no.
Pei Wu had considered it. Rather than sending Jiang Ru to an unfamiliar and unsafe place, it would be better to keep her in the Nanzhao camp. At least the Nanzhao army was guarding the area, and even if Pei Wu's men were ineffective, they would still attract patrols, making it safer.
Jiang Ru couldn't go to Ning Mansion either, as that place was on the border between the two countries and, according to Pei Wu, was very unsafe. He refused to take Jiang Ru there, so Jiang Ru had no choice but to stay here and wait for Pei Wu.
After enduring an extremely difficult time, two days later at noon, Jiang Ru was making pancakes on her bed when she suddenly heard several rapid hoofbeats. Considering the distance between Pei Wu and Ning Mansion, it was obvious who was making those sounds.
Jiang Ru jumped up and hurriedly ran out of the tent, only to be intercepted by the guards waiting outside.
The guard, with a wooden face, addressed Jiang Ru in a businesslike manner: "Young lady, Lord Pei has ordered that you are not allowed to go out at will."
Jiang Ru even suspected he was faking it. She widened her eyes and said, "Didn't you hear the sound of horses' hooves? Your Lord Pei is back."
The guard seemed to listen attentively for a moment, then shook his head: "I didn't hear anything."
The sound of horses' hooves was indeed a little soft, but it was getting closer and louder, loud enough for Jiang Ru to hear. She emphasized, "Listen again."
The guard continued listening, then shook his head earnestly: "Young lady, please don't make things difficult for me. I really can't hear you. If Lord Pei returns, I will naturally let you out."
Jiang Ru stared at the guard for a long time before finally confirming that he really thought she was going to run away and that he hadn't heard the sound of hooves at all.
Jiang Ru glared at him coldly for a long time, but the guard only gave her a cold profile. Jiang Ru simply stopped walking and stood at the entrance of the tent. She had a strong feeling that it was Pei Wu.
Finally, the sound of horses' hooves grew closer, and the guard heard it too. His ears twitched, but even though he heard it, he still didn't believe Jiang Ru's words.
Based on the horse's speed, Pei Wu wouldn't be back until at least tonight, or at the earliest evening, so it couldn't possibly be Pei Wu.
The two held their own opinions and waited for the person brought by the horse's hooves to appear.
Not long after, the sound of hooves stopped outside the camp. Then the horses stopped outside the camp, and the sound turned into footsteps, as if they were running quickly towards Jiang Ru. When they were about to get close to her, the footsteps slowed down and turned into walking.
Finally, a figure appeared near the camp. He was dressed in a black robe and stood tall and elegant. Pei Wu strode slowly toward Jiang Ru.
The guard's gaze drifted to Pei Wu, and he nervously swallowed.
It really was Pei Wu.
Jiang Ru had just said that this was Pei Wu, and he thought she was bluffing him, since it was impossible for Lord Pei to come back at this time. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be true.
The guard, fearing that Jiang Ru would tell Pei Wu, quietly moved back a little and hid.
Suddenly, he heard a whoosh of wind and Jiang Ru ran past him. Pei Wu had anticipated this, so he didn't go any further but stopped where he was. When Jiang Ru got close, he was given a bear hug.
Jiang Ru threw herself into Pei Wu's arms, her eyes filled with undisguised joy: "Pei Wu, you're back."
Pei Wu nodded, and was about to gently pat Jiang Ru's back, but his fingertips only brushed against her sleeve before Jiang Ru quickly moved away, stood up straight, tilted her head back, and her eyes seemed to sparkle like fireflies: "I've been waiting for you for so long, are you hurt?"
The sensation seemed to linger on his fingertips as Pei Wu asked blankly, "What?"
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Author's Note: Um, I've been a bit busy today, so the update will be shorter. I'll see if I can write another chapter later tonight. If there's an update tomorrow morning, I'll make up for it.
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