He fell silent for a moment, his eyelids drooping, and smiled with some indifference.
"I feel disgraced."
"Where’s the disgrace?"
"Father and son at each other’s throats, selfish and self-serving, indifferent to the death of a wife for one’s own desires..." He mocked himself, "Such an origin is no different from that of the Qi Family."
He said calmly, "I also loathe myself."
Lu Tong had never seen Pei Yunmeng like this; her heart softened.
"I don’t understand," she said.
"Haven’t you already guessed?"
Pei Yunmeng turned his head to look at her, his eyes brimming with bitterness, "The real cause of my mother’s death."
It was after his mother’s death that he began to realize.
If the abduction of his mother by the rebel army was a coincidence, then the subsequent deaths of his maternal grandfather, and his Uncle Yi Jia, planted a seed of doubt in the young man’s heart.
He sneaked back to his maternal grandfather’s house and through a confidant of his grandfather’s, he finally glimpsed clues in the letters his grandfather left behind.
Crown Prince Yuan Xi’s death was surrounded with suspicions, and the "accident" that claimed Qiu Hong’s life might have been Emperor Liang Ming’s doing.
His maternal family, being the "right arm" of the late Emperor, had secretly investigated the old case and ultimately brought disaster upon themselves.
Emperor Liang Ming, he plotted the death of his elder brother and then disposed of the former Emperor himself, sharpening his blade for the old court officials and executing them one by one, just like Prince Ning is doing now.
Lady Zhao Ning, his mother, might have sensed something, but she was always kind and simple-hearted, never suspecting that her bedside companion had decided to sacrifice her for the sake of imperial power.
It was not the rebel army at all; it was a test from Emperor Liang Ming for Pei Di. Pei Di passed with flying colors, making the "right" choice, watching his wife die at the hands of the rebel army, in the name of righteousness.
Emperor Liang Ming accepted this pledge of loyalty.
Zhao Ning Manor continued to prosper.
The Pei Family had a new lady, Pei Di had a new son, and his mother was gradually forgotten by all; when people mentioned her, she was just a vague shadow in the "righteous" chaos of the rebel army, eliciting a few sighs before moving on.
But he could not get over it, he was angry, and he harbored a grudge.
No, not just him.
His teacher felt the same, and so did Prince Ning.
Yuan Lang and Yuan Xi were close as children; with the suspicious deaths of his brother and father, the young-looking and seemingly mild-mannered Prince Ning volunteered to offer an ever-bright lamp at the State Temple for three years, but in reality, he was quietly gathering strength, investigating the old Qiu Hong case.
Pei Yunmeng still remembered the first time Yan Xu took him to meet the "idle prince," the young and amiable-looking man sitting in a chair, smiling at him and saying, "Oh my, still a young lad, so young. Can you endure the hardships?"
Prince Ning reminded him, "This is not an easy path to follow."
"Whether it’s easy or not, you won’t know until you try," he answered.
Prince Ning smiled, seemingly very pleased with his naivety.
"Minister Yan, I leave this young man to you."
And so, he had fellow travelers on this path.
Though it was a tough and perilous journey, he was not alone; he had his teacher, his comrades, and countless others working in the shadows. After years of pursuit, they finally achieved a result.
Even if it was a bit late.
"So," Lu Tong looked at him, "the two medical prescriptions you showed me before, were they ones the late Emperor had used?"
Pei Yunmeng nodded.
Lu Tong realized.
Those two prescriptions were originally tonics, seemingly nourishing and strengthening the body, but if mixed with gold dust, they would weaken the body over time, ultimately leading to death from heart failure.
In the Royal Family, where gold utensils were used, Emperor Liang Ming swapped out the ingredient in the medicinal diet, and with gold vessels, turned the tonics into a death sentence, consuming it daily, it’s no wonder he soon passed away.
"When I first joined the Medical Officer Institute, you snuck into the institute’s medical warehouse at night, was it also for this reason?"
"The former Emperor’s medical records never recorded this page, but the Medical Officer Institute’s medicine list still has it. I came to look for the medical prescriptions and didn’t expect to encounter you."
Thinking of that moment, Pei Yunmeng gave a slight smile.
Back then, he was looking for the prescriptions from before the former Emperor’s death, and she was searching for Qi Yutai’s medical records. Both were eagerly searching and coincidentally collided at that moment, each with their own ulterior motives and thoughts. During a brief interaction, an unspoken understanding halted any further steps, and neither proceeded a step forward.
Unexpectedly, today, so much time later, they finally opened up the conversation.
Lu Tong asked, "You’ve been working for Prince Ning all this time; what exactly do you do?"
"Many things," Pei Yunmeng answered. "At first, it was just finding people, clues, and then I went to the Palace Front Office. Things are much more convenient within the Imperial City."
"Was the protection during the palace banquet also part of your plans?" Lu Tong inquired.
That year, Pei Yunmeng was promoted so rapidly because he risked his life to protect Emperor Liang Ming during a royal night banquet. Because of this, he swiftly became a Commander of the Palace Front Office, invoking countless envious eyes.
"It’s a matter of gain and loss," he said, laughing it off. "Wasn’t it you who said, revenge is always dangerous?"
Lu Tong kept silent, only thinking of the day when they first met in the dilapidated temple in Su Nan. Although he seemed nonchalant, threatening her with a dagger, his body was actually covered with wounds. She remembered a scar that was deep and long, running down his back; indeed, it was very dangerous.
She asked, "When you went to Su Nan back then, was it also for this reason?"
"I was looking for people. The death of the former Crown Prince implicated many. Some received a tip-off and fled in advance. The Emperor wanted to silence them, and my task was to find them and bring them back to Shengjing."
He spoke casually, but Lu Tong could hear the difficulties hidden in his words.
Intending to lighten his mood, she joked, "Is this considered setting things right amid chaos?"
Pei Yunmeng shook his head.
"Actually, I didn’t have such grand ambitions at first; I just wanted revenge."
He simply couldn’t accept his mother’s death and wanted justice. But the person he was up against was the most prestigious in the world, making the hope of revenge seem especially faint.
As time went on, step by step, he climbed to higher positions, the number of people involved grew, his burden became heavier, and he gradually lost control. If not for meeting Lu Tong — encountering another self in this world — he would have almost forgotten what he initially vowed to take back and how he looked.
So it turned out to be a desperate and mad gamble.
"Lord Zhao Ning was actually not completely wrong," he said indifferently. "After all, I carry my mother’s blood, and the Emperor still has his suspicions of me. Back then, he single-handedly saved my life."
Certainly, this protection might have been because he was the Pei Family’s heir. And after the Rebel Army incident, Emperor Liang Ming had great trust in Pei Di, which is why he lived for so many more years.
Pei Yunmeng gave a self-deprecating smile: "He must regret it very much."
The one who once protected the Pei Family ultimately left and turned his blade against them. Pei Di, who had sacrificed everything for the Pei Family, in the end, his wife and children also sacrificed him for the Pei Family. Such is the cycle of karma.
Lu Tong extended her hand, covering the back of his hand.
He suddenly returned to the present from his recollections.
"You’ve done very well," she said.
Warmth spread from the back of his hand. Once upon a time, these hands that confronted him with a dagger now held his, offering gentle consolation. He lowered his head, speaking in a soft voice.
"My origins and actions are not honorable, so I didn’t want to tell you," he said, clasping her hand in his own. "But if you want to listen, I can slowly tell you everything."
"Okay," Lu Tong turned her face to look at him, speaking earnestly, "actually, you should have told me earlier. You know, I’m good at killing and hiding bodies. If I had known earlier... If I knew back in Su Nan, I would have definitely found a way to help you kill your way back to Shengjing."
Pei Yunmeng looked at her; she was dead serious, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
He had thought that revealing such an awkward past would be difficult, but it turned out not to be the case. Those past schemes, calculations, humiliations, and tears now seemed like events of the distant past. The hatred blurred, and he could no longer clearly remember the taste of the grief from even longer ago. Perhaps the scars still existed, but they would heal eventually.
All was in the past.
"Lu Tong," he lowered his gaze, kissing the forehead of the woman nestled by his side, "tomorrow, I’ll take you to meet my mother."
Lu Tong looked up.
"Let me meet your parents and siblings too."
They would become each other’s new family.
She was taken aback for a moment but then smiled: "Alright."
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