Chapter 98 You have too high expectations of me
Two or three months had passed since the Wen family was raided, and Empress Dowager Wen summoned Pei Yan to the Cining Palace for the first time.
At that time, Pei Yan had just left the court, and Jiang Shuyi was still lying in bed because of his brutality last night.
After Pei Yan changed out of his court robes, he came to her bedside and called, "Follow me to the Cining Palace, and come back to sleep."
Jiang Shuyi didn't want to go, she snorted: "I'm still not feeling well..."
Pei Yan's eyes dimmed at the cat-like sound, but soon they became clear again. He pinched Jiang Shuyi's fair face and coaxed her: "Zheng is also there today. Are you sure I can go alone?"
Jiang Shuyi opened her eyes immediately and sat up.
She glanced at the handsome and elegant Pei Yan, turned around and shouted outside: "Change clothes! Fang Chu, come and help me change clothes!"
*
When they arrived at the Cining Palace, Zheng Yuezhao was indeed there, but he was kneeling in the middle of the hall.
Empress Dowager Wen was sitting at the head of the table, staring at her with bloodshot eyes. If Nanny Wei hadn't stopped her, she would have gone over to tear Zheng Yuezhao to pieces. When she saw Pei Yan coming, she raised her head, her eyes red, and her voice trembling: "You, you knew that this bitch killed my brother..."
It was the first time that Jiang Shuyi saw the empress dowager like this. She looked almost collapsed. From the time she was bedridden and closed off to now, it had only been a few months, but she had looked haggard for three or four years.
Pei Yan didn't want Jiang Shuyi to be frightened, so he pulled her behind him and calmly ordered Cheng Shouzhong: "Pass my order on. Zheng has made great contributions in eliminating the traitors, and has served my mother with a kind and filial heart. She is loved by my mother and adopted as her daughter. Therefore, I will confer her the title of Princess Jiashan, with a fief of 300 households. The Ministry of Personnel will choose an auspicious day to hold the conferment ceremony."
Jiang Shuyi looked at Empress Dowager Wen whose lips were trembling and was completely confused. Was this the way Zheng Yuezhao looked that the Empress Dowager liked him?
Zheng Yuezhao had already turned to Pei Yan and kowtowed to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Pei Yan looked down at her and said in a deep voice: "This is my compensation to the Zheng family on behalf of my father. Now that the treacherous villains have been eliminated, there will be no more such unjust cases in the country from now on. Do you understand what I mean?"
Zheng Yuezhao's drooping eyelashes trembled slightly: "Your Highness...understood."
The culprit who killed her entire family has been executed, and the late emperor has passed away. His Majesty has now followed her wishes and given her generous compensation. From now on, if she wants to live well under the protection of the royal family, she must forget the injustice her family has suffered and cannot have any complaints against the royal family.
This is the difference between a ruler and his subjects. This is the best outcome.
After Zheng Yuezhao left, Pei Yan looked at Queen Mother Wen and said, "It seems that you didn't listen to my words of admonition."
Jiang Shuyi looked at Pei Yan in shock.
Admonish his own mother? Is this filial son crazy today?
Empress Dowager Wen could no longer care about anything else. She stood up and tried to rush over, but was stopped by Nanny Wei. She pointed at Pei Yan and said with gritted teeth, "She killed my brother! You let her be my adopted daughter! You, you have such a vicious heart!"
Jiang Shuyi finally realized something was wrong. It seemed like the mother and son had a falling out...
When the emperor and the empress dowager quarreled, she, as a concubine, should kneel down and advise the emperor to be filial and not to be angry with his mother; or she should leave tactfully, pretending not to see anything and not saying a word about it after leaving.
After all, you can't just stand there and watch the fun.
As for the former, Jiang Shuyi was not a virtuous concubine, and she had been on bad terms with the empress dowager for a long time. She did not want to persuade her at all, so she decided to choose the latter and get away with it.
She was about to quietly leave when Pei Yan grabbed her wrist. He looked over, his eyes slightly dark with a hint of command: "I didn't let you leave."
But Jiang Shuyi didn't want to watch this fun!
Queen Mother Wen was still roaring, and Pei Yan said coldly: "Cheng Fu, present the prepared things."
Cheng Fu clapped his hands in response, and immediately a young eunuch came in with a tray, on which were placed a dagger, poisoned wine, and a stack of white silk.
Empress Dowager Wen suddenly fell silent, her legs went weak and she fell to the ground.
Pei Yan said calmly, "I am doing this today for the good of my mother. My mother is righteous and did not vent her anger on Zheng because of her brother's death. Instead, she is willing to adopt her as her adopted daughter. In the future, history books will record that she is virtuous and intelligent."
Queen Mother Wen clenched her fists and shook her head: "I don't want this kind of reputation... I don't want it!"
Pei Yan said nothing more, raised his chin slightly and pointed at the tray: "Then mother, please choose one from here."
When Empress Dowager Wen looked over, she felt as if she was stabbed by the cold light of a dagger. She turned her eyes away in panic, then covered her mouth and burst into tears.
"If you are afraid of death, don't do anything that will kill you."
Pei Yan's face turned cold, and he warned her for the last time: "Today, I let you choose your own life or death. If you reveal anything in front of others in the future, you can only choose the food on the plate."
Empress Dowager Wen looked at Pei Yan with tears in her eyes, her heart full of regret and fear, and she couldn't help but burst into tears.
*
After coming out of the Cining Palace, Jiang Shuyi felt dizzy and as if she was dreaming.
She kept looking at Pei Yan's face, which finally provoked Pei Yan to say, "Ask whatever you want to ask."
Jiang Shuyi was not polite: "What happened between your majesty and the Queen Mother? Is it because of the quarrel over Wen Huan?"
"Fighting." Pei Yan repeated the word and chuckled: "Do you think this is called fighting? When I'm fighting with you, would I be willing to treat you like this?"
No, that won’t happen. It will just make her “violent”.
Jiang Shuyi cautiously probed again: "Then, does that mean we are done with each other?"
Pei Yan: "There is no favor between me and my mother. We are just using each other."
He tilted his head, looked at Jiang Shuyi's shocked face, and asked softly, "I told you that in addition to testing you, I also did many things that would make you angry, and this is one of them."
Jiang Shuyi looked at him blankly.
Pei Yan stopped. This was the palace road leading from the Cining Palace to the Qianqing Palace. Usually not many people came here. He gave a look and Cheng Shouzhong consciously led his men to retreat and not let any idle people get close.
When there were only two of them nearby, Pei Yan lowered his eyes and looked at her: "Jiang Shuyi, I am actually not filial. Your expectations of me are a bit too high."
Jiang Shuyi met his deep and serious expression and didn't know what to say.
On the one hand, she was surprised. Why did Pei Yan suddenly become unfilial? On the other hand, she was suspicious. What did filial piety have to do with her? He was not being filial to her. Why should she expect that?
"But I am not unfilial for no reason."
Pei Yan frowned and explained, "I know that everyone likes upright people. Although I am not flawless, I have never harmed anyone for no reason. My mother treated me very badly, even worse than your stepmother treated you. Even so, I am willing to support her until the end of her life."
"But the Wen family is the cancer of Dayuan and must be eliminated. If I want to eliminate the Wen family, I can't help but break up with my mother. If you are angry about this, I can comfort you. If you alienate me because of this, I will punish you."
He paused and added: "It's not the kind of punishment you like."
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