Pei Yunmeng’s study contained a wooden pagoda on the writing desk.
The pagoda was tall; every wooden block was personally carved by him with a dagger.
Few could enter his study, and everyone who did and saw the wooden pagoda would marvel at it, finding it strange that the Commander of the Palace Front Office, proficient in music, horsemanship, and archery, and not fond of drinking and merriment, would instead have such a peculiar hobby.
The first wooden block of his tower was piled up after his mother passed away.
Lady Zhao Ning was held hostage by the rebel army, and his father just watched as his mother died at the hands of the chaos, arriving too late upon receiving the news. Breaking free from the guards and rushing to his mother, he could only manage to cover the wound on her neck, the fresh blood gushing forth like a spring that could not be severed. She told him, "Ying’er... run... run..."
He always thought that her "run" was meant for him to escape from the chaos of the rebel army, not realizing until much later that "run" meant for him to flee from the Pei Family.
He did not understand.
His mother was dead, his uncle’s family was dead, and his maternal grandparents’ family were also gone. With the New Emperor’s accession, Pei Di was busy every day with things unknown. During that time, the Pei Mansion was always gloomy, Pei Yunshu fell ill from the shock, becoming depressed with no appetite.
He tried to make the small dumplings his mother used to make when she was alive, feeding them spoon by spoon to Pei Yunshu. By the last dumpling, Pei Yunshu’s tears had fallen.
"Ah Ying," his sister wept, "from now on, it’s just you and me."
From then on, it would be just the two of them.
The indifference of their father revealed its hints at that moment. Although he was only fourteen, he sensed that the consecutive deaths in his maternal family were suspicious. He attempted to urge his father to investigate, but Pei Di coldly refused and strictly forbade him from mentioning it again.
"Don’t bring disaster upon the Pei Family; just be a good Princely Heir," Pei Di warned, "Don’t forget, there isn’t just one son in the Pei Family."
Of course, there wasn’t just one son in the Pei Family; there was Pei Yunxiao too. Ever since his mother passed away, he had even heard of matchmakers coming to discuss remarriage with Pei Di.
Lord Zhao Ning, in his prime, couldn’t possibly remain a widower for life. People’s hearts change easily.
Thus, he coldly said, "Without the Pei Family, without the title of Prince of Zhao Ning, I can still take my revenge."
"Time will tell," he said.
Seeking the truth without any help was always extremely difficult. He learned a terrible secret from the surviving confidants of his maternal family: the deaths of his maternal family, his uncle’s family, and his mother were all linked to the death of the former Crown Prince.
His enemy turned out to be none other than the supreme ruler of today, and his own father, blood of his blood, had chosen glory over family.
It was a rainy autumn night, with utter silence around, and the cold rain pouring down. The young man leaned against the wall, listening indifferently to the urgent chirping of the crickets in the courtyard, each chirp resonating in the desolation of his eyes.
The path to revenge was fraught with innumerable dangers, with no end in sight, and he was alone, like an ant climbing a giant mountain.
Could he succeed? How could he succeed? The path ahead was uncertain.
When troubled in heart and mind, he picked up a branch from outside the door and with a silver-glittering dagger, he carefully carved it into a smooth wooden block.
Pei Yunmeng gazed at that wooden block for a long time, his mind made up.
As humans are born, so does the sun rise. The climb up the mountain is slow, the descent swift.
He was in the prime of his youth; why not seize the moment and capture the time? His mother’s death must not be in vain. As a son and daughter, if one could tolerate the grievance of family members, what difference would there be from beasts?
Revenge was difficult, as hard as reaching the skies, but small wooden blocks, accumulated over the years, could also form a towering pagoda.
To slay the heavens, one must first ascend to them. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
He placed the wooden block on the writing desk.
And so, he decided on revenge.
An elderly official from the Privy Council, who once had a friendship with his maternal grandfather, gave Pei Yunmeng a ring and told him to seek out a person in Su Nan. Emperor Liang Ming had engineered the former Crown Prince’s death in Qiu Hong and then eliminated all those who knew about it. There were always one or two fish that slip through the net, sensing danger and escaping in time. He had to bring the "witness" back to Shengjing as a "counterweight" for his revenge.
Thus, he took up his blade and went to Su Nan.
The travel was hard, with wind and frost on stranger roads. He had once lived a life of luxury, ignorant of worldly suffering, but once he set out, all he met were fellow travelers; with nights spent sleeping and days spent traveling, solitude was his only companion, traveling by boat and carriage from south to north, gradually coming to understand.
After enduring endless hardships, he found the "witness" and with great difficulty, convinced them to return to the capital with him. But when he turned around, he was stabbed in the back by the "witness," who alerted the imperial court, chasing him down a deadly path. When he thought he had no chance of survival, he encountered a "Little Thief" in the burial ground where he was hiding, someone who picked up corpses.
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