"General Pei."
A deep voice echoed from inside the hall.
Pei Jingheng immediately stood up, made a hand gesture to the secret guards lurking in the Imperial Guard, and then slowly entered the Golden Palace.
Xiao Yuchen sat upright on the dragon throne, with Fu Yu not beside him.
Fu Yu is always by his side, so why didn't she appear today?
Before Pei Jingheng could even react with surprise, he had just finished his greeting when the imperial guards grabbed his arm and forced him to kneel in front of the main hall.
"His Majesty!"
"General Pei, do you think that I have never seen through you from the beginning?"
Pei Jingheng's gaze froze for a moment.
"Your Majesty, I am filled with fear and do not know what I have done wrong to offend you!"
"I don't know what I did wrong..."
Xiao Yuchen sneered as he savored those words.
Everything that happened in Kunning Palace would reach Xiao Yuchen's ears.
Although he didn't have a system to rely on, the emperor, with his vast influence, could easily find out who made a small box of pastries.
"Don't think I don't know that you've tried to get the Empress's attention time and time again."
"How dare you covet my women!"
Sweat dripped from Pei Jingheng's forehead, but his expression remained largely unchanged.
He clung to a sliver of hope that Xiao Yuchen simply assumed he was in love with Fu Yu and hadn't noticed anything else.
"How dare this humble subject harbor improper thoughts towards Her Majesty the Empress? This humble subject merely..."
"He only wanted to use the Empress to plot against me."
Xiao Yuchen added casually.
Pei Jingheng's eyes widened in horror, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty absolutely did not..."
Before he could finish speaking, a human head rolled to his feet.
He was an informant he planted in the Imperial Guard.
His scarlet eyes were fixed on Pei Jingheng.
Xiao Yuchen rested his chin on his hand meaningfully, as if watching a trapped beast making a final, futile struggle.
Pei Jingheng gave a self-deprecating laugh and said with unusual calm, "His Majesty is incompetent and tyrannical, indiscriminately killing innocent people, suspicious and cruel, and killing without blinking an eye."
"With an emperor like you, the Le Dynasty will only become a living hell where people suffer and die."
"This humble subject had no choice but to do this for the sake of the world, for the sake of the people of the Le Dynasty so that they could live in peace and prosperity..."
"Oh."
Xiao Yuchen frowned sarcastically, "For the people, or for your own selfish desires?"
He waved his hand, and the Western Regions envoy immediately took out an account book and threw it in front of Pei Jingheng.
“General Pei, you have been embezzling funds, lying about military intelligence, and misappropriating military pay. You have also made a pact with the Second Prince that if any people from the Western Regions want to rebel, you will label them as spies and execute them in secret.”
"In return, the Second Prince will lead his army to harass the border from time to time, and fight a fake battle with you to deceive your superiors and subordinates. Am I wrong?"
"The ledger contains details of every transaction between you and the Second Prince."
The envoy from the Western Regions bowed to Xiao Yuchen and said, "The loyalty of all the city-states in the Western Regions to Your Majesty is as clear as the sun and moon. It is you traitors who are trying to confuse the public."
Pei Jingheng struggled to get up, only to see Cheng Ling draw his sword, press it against the back of his neck, and stomp him to the ground.
"Pei Jingheng, do you know your crime!"
"What crime have I committed? I just want to take back what is rightfully mine!"
Pei Jingheng raised his eyes with a ferocious expression, his gaze filled with nothing but irrational rage.
"Your things?"
A mocking smile appeared on Xiao Yuchen's noble face.
"You haven't actually believed the rumors, have you?"
Xiao Yuchen stood up with his hands behind his back and said slowly, "Empress Dowager, please stop hiding behind us. Take a look at poor General Pei. You've fooled him so badly!"
Empress Dowager Yu was 'held hostage' by two guards and walked out.
In order to counterbalance Xiao Yuchen, Empress Dowager Yu spread rumors that the late emperor had a son with a commoner woman during a private visit years ago.
After Xiao Yuchen ascended the throne, he frequently traveled among the common people without any apparent reason, seemingly searching for the illegitimate son who might threaten his throne.
Both of them were using this fictitious child to test each other. Whether they were able to fool each other is another matter, but they did manage to fool Pei Jingheng, who had been adopted by the Pei family since he was a child.
Master Pei was unable to have children. One day, after court, he found a baby boy near the city walls.
They raised him as if he were their own child.
However, after learning about his true identity, Pei Jingheng was not grateful for Master Pei's kindness in raising him; instead, he hated him for meddling in his affairs.
Since his birth mother dared to place him near the capital, it means his birth father must have been someone in the palace.
Perhaps, it is the emperor, the supreme ruler.
The Pei family's traditions cultivated his handsome and humble appearance, but could not change his dark and greedy nature.
Especially after witnessing Xiao Yuchen's path to seizing the throne, Pei Jingheng felt from the bottom of his heart that he could also become emperor.
It's just a matter of timing.
A suitable time.
Empress Dowager Yu smiled dismissively.
Even if she didn't trust Xiao Yuchen, there was Pei Jingheng...
He's not even half as good as Xiao Yuchen, yet he still dreams of becoming emperor. How ridiculous and foolish!
A series of booming sounds rang in Pei Jingheng's ears.
All his calculations, schemes, manipulations, and resentment turned into an utterly foolish joke at this moment.
Xiao Yuchen glanced at him.
Do you know why I didn't kill you immediately?
Xiao Yuchen's face gradually revealed a mad and sinister side.
"Because the most painful thing is not killing someone, but destroying their spirit."
"I will ruthlessly shatter your beautiful dream just when you think you are about to get everything."
Xiao Yuchen is a monster, a monster who can see through people's hearts.
He can kill dissidents in an instant, and he can also slowly torture the hearts of his enemies.
He drew a sword from a nearby guard and placed it in Empress Dowager Yu's hand.
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