Chapter 46 Pei Yanchi
Qingfeng was also unhappy to hear this. "Do you think it's easy for my husband to take a fancy to someone? And you dare to steal him away?"
Then he asked, "My lord, what shall we do next?"
Xiao Ling thought for a moment and asked Qingfeng, "Who is Ye Jing on good terms with?"
"I heard that he and the heir of the Duke of Xing have a good relationship."
"Pei Yanchi, the heir of the Duke of Xing?" Xiao Ling asked.
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling smiled slightly and said, "Go and invite Prince Pei here."
Pei Yanchi was sparring with his men in the training ground when he suddenly heard a servant come to announce that the Prince of Shou'an had invited him.
She paused for a moment, then went back to her room to bathe and change.
Pei Yanchi arrived at the Ministry of Personnel, looking puzzled. What had brought him here?
Could it be that my biased father is embezzling military funds and is about to be dismissed from his post?
If that's the case, then it's good news.
Upon seeing Xiao Ling, Pei Yanchi smiled, bowed, and sat down.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
"You're too kind, cousin. Please have a seat," Xiao Ling said.
Pei Yanchi's mother was Princess Lanling, the half-sister of the emperor and Princess Jinyang.
Therefore, Pei Yanchi and Xiao Ling are cousins.
However, Princess Lanling was born out of wedlock; her birth mother was only Consort He of the late emperor, and her social status was not high.
After Consort He's death, Princess Lanling was raised by the Empress Dowager for a period of time, and they were quite close.
Although she also married the Duke of Xing, she did not have the same standing with the Emperor as Princess Jinyang.
Xiao Ling and Pei Yanchi are the same age, with Xiao Ling being one month older than him.
The two had a good relationship when they were young, but after Princess Lanling passed away, the Duke of Xing remarried.
Pei Yanchi gradually faded from the royal family's view.
Xiao Ling was in poor health and went to Wan'an Mountain, so the two of them had less contact.
When it came time to appoint a crown prince, the Duke of Xing submitted the name of his second son, born to his second wife.
This has really stirred up a hornet's nest.
Although the emperor treated his half-siblings indifferently, he only allowed himself to see them that way.
The emperor would not tolerate anyone who offended his younger siblings.
An imperial edict was immediately issued, appointing Pei Yanchi as heir apparent.
When the Empress Dowager found out, she was displeased and brought Pei Yanchi to live in the palace.
As soon as he arrived at the palace, the Empress Dowager discovered that Pei Yanchi was dressed in thin clothes even in the dead of winter, and the sleeves were too short.
The Empress Dowager was immediately enraged and issued an edict rebuking the Lady of Xing for being unvirtuous and unfit to be a mother.
From then on, the Duke of Xing completely disliked the emperor and volunteered to lead an expedition to defend the border.
Before leaving, Duke Xing divided his family property.
The courtyard where his father used to live was given to Pei Yanchi as his residence.
Although the mansion only had three courtyards, Pei Yanchi was still quite comfortable living there compared to struggling to make a living under his stepmother's control.
He just needs to be wary of the occasional sabotage that Lady Xingguo will put in his way.
Once, when Xiao Ling returned from the mountain, he heard about his story in the Empress Dowager's palace, so he took the Crown Prince with him to see him.
When we saw his mansion, it wasn't exactly deserted; it was practically bare.
The two were angry and went back to tell the emperor and Princess Jinyang.
The next day, the emperor sent people from the palace to take care of Pei Yanchi, while Princess Jinyang sent a large amount of gold and silver.
He personally went to the palace to warn those who came from within, threatening to send them back to the inner palace to serve their punishment if they did not behave properly.
They also contacted Headmaster Fu of the academy and arranged for Pei Yanchi to study there.
Pei Yanchi was genuinely grateful to Xiao Ling and the Crown Prince.
Every time Xiao Ling came down the mountain, she would take the time to check on him and see if he was doing well.
"I've been too busy with official duties to visit you lately. How have you been?" Xiao Ling asked.
Pei Yanchi smiled and said, "That's good."
I don't go home often from the academy either. The people in the mansion and the palace are watching me very closely, so she has nowhere to start.
Xiao Ling laughed and said, "I heard you sent a great beauty to your father's Northwest Army?"
Pei Yanchi lowered his head awkwardly and said, "You already knew that?"
"The Crown Prince told me. But I think your idea is excellent."
The reason why the Wan family dared to openly target you was because of your biased father.
This move was enough to keep her busy.
If she were to take action against the person you placed beside the Duke of Xing, it would inevitably cause a rift between the couple.
"If Wan offends your father, she will not have a good end."
Pei Yanchi smiled faintly and said, "Cousin, you see through it, but don't say it out loud."
Xiao Ling laughed and said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
He poured Pei Yanchi a glass of water and asked, "Are you on good terms with Ye Jing, the heir of the Marquis of Guangping?"
Pei Yanchi nodded: "We're just getting along normally, not really close."
He excelled in martial arts at the academy, and we often sparred together, but that was all.
After all, he's been to the battlefield, and his experience in combat is far superior to ours.
"Do you know about his relationship with Chen Jiatao?" Xiao Ling asked.
Pei Yanchi reached out and took the teacup in his hand:
"Chen Jiatao? Oh, the illegitimate son of the Vice Minister of Rites?"
"Um."
"That guy looks effeminate, I don't like him."
However, Ye Jing took good care of him. When someone bullied him in martial arts class, Ye Jing always helped him out.
What happened between him and Ye Jing? What's going on?
Seeing that he still didn't know, Xiao Ling glanced at Qingfeng.
Qingfeng said, "Young Master, cough, um, Ye Jing and Chen Jiatao are friends."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yanchi's cup slipped from his hand, spilling tea all over himself.
The finest celadon cup rolled a long way on the wooden floor.
Seeing this, Qingfeng quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped Pei Yanchi's face.
Pei Yanchi, however, disregarded the tea spilled on his clothes, frowned, and said with a look of disbelief:
"No way, who told you that?"
Xiao Ling calmly said, "Qingfeng saw it with his own eyes, and of course, others saw it too."
Pei Yanchi's mouth was wide open, big enough to fit an egg.
Seeing this, Xiao Ling told him to take a break.
After a while, Pei Yanchi recovered, wiped his clothes, and poured himself another cup of tea.
"So you're shocked? Didn't you notice anything before?"
Pei Yanchi shook his head: "No."
"However, now that I hear what you've said, and thinking back on what happened before, it seems that the two of them are a little off."
Then he looked up at Xiao Ling and asked, "Cousin, why are you asking this? Did they offend you?"
"Yes, you've offended me. You need to do me a favor."
"I'll follow my cousin's instructions," Pei Yanchi said.
"Three days later, the court will be on holiday. You will invite Ye Jing to room number three in the Tianxing Building."
"Take good care of them when you arrive; don't worry about anything else."
Pei Yanchi looked completely bewildered: "Cousin, you need to come up with a plan."
I don't want to be caught unprepared.
"When the time comes, we'll find an opportunity to leave the two of them alone in room number two."
Pei Yanchi nodded in agreement.
After Pei Yanchi left, Xiao Ling instructed Qingfeng:
"At the academy, arrange for those who bullied Chen Jiatao to host a banquet for him in three days at room number two of the Tianxing Building to apologize to him."
Qingfeng accepted the order and left.
After leaving the yamen, Xie Yuntang returned to his residence and went to find Xie Yunyu.
"Big brother, what brings you here?" Xie Yunyu asked.
"I heard something today that I'm worried might affect Tianxinglou's business, so I came to tell you."
Xie Yunyu's heart skipped a beat when she heard Xie Yuntang's words.
Could it be that the waiter at Tianxing Tower let something slip?
Xie Fu really needs to be taught a lesson for how to manage people.
Xie Yuntang, oblivious to Xie Yunyu's expression, continued speaking to himself:
"My colleagues told me today that they saw two men on the second floor of Tianxing Tower last night..."
Well... in short, they're both gay...
I'm worried this matter will affect Tianxinglou's business, so I'm informing you so you can make some preparations."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yunyu gave a twitching laugh:
"Okay, I understand. I'll handle this."
Xie Yuntang nodded in agreement.
"That's good. I'm fine now. Little sister, you should get some rest."
As soon as Xie Yuntang left, Xie Yunyu covered her face and collapsed onto the chaise lounge.
Good heavens, this is never going to end.
When will this end? How can we completely cover it up?
Xie Yunyu picked up the book beside her and covered her face with it.
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