Chapter 290 Living is the harshest punishment
Duke Wen trembled violently and knelt on the ground with a thud. “When imperial power changes hands, blood is always shed. If it weren’t for your maternal grandfather’s planning, you wouldn’t be where you are today.”
At this moment, he only prayed that Old Madam Wen could live a little longer. After all, with her around, Pei Siyan would not allow the Wen family to be wiped out.
Seeing this, Wen Yannian had no choice but to kneel on the ground.
Pei Siyan walked straight over without looking at them, picked up a stack of joss paper, lit it, and threw it into the fire, but the memorial was still in his hand.
Duke Wen and Wen Yannian exchanged a glance, suppressing their fear as they stepped forward. The firelight reflected on their pale faces. "...Your Highness, we also regret what happened back then. We have wronged Empress Wen, but the real culprit behind this terrible mistake is His Majesty."
Dou Wenyi squatted down sadly to the side and threw some paper money into the mixture.
Pei Siyan's tone was calm and slow, "Tell me in detail, while I'm still willing to listen. Don't make up any more stories in front of the Empress Dowager."
Duke Wen clearly sensed his murderous intent, and a chill ran down his spine. He had no choice but to recount the events of that year truthfully.
It turns out that the old Duke had come up with the underhanded trick of having an affair with another man at his birthday banquet in order to force Empress Wen to submit to his demands.
They prepared an actor who looked very much like Prince Pei Guanlan for her, and hid him in the side room, even burning aphrodisiac incense inside.
Of course, the old Duke was not so muddle-headed as to ruin his daughter's reputation.
He only wanted to create this misunderstanding to frame Empress Wen, thinking that by having this leverage, he could control Wen Wan and force her to compromise.
Unexpectedly, the person who entered that room in the end was actually Pei Guanlan!
Wen Wan lost her composure upon seeing Pei Guanlan, bursting into tears. She felt deeply guilty, believing that she had not only poisoned him with her own hands but also caused him to miss the opportunity to become emperor.
Pei Guanlan, on the contrary, gently persuaded her, saying that he didn't blame her, and even expressed his willingness to rekindle their relationship...
Wen Wan was drugged and became delirious. Before losing consciousness, she resolutely pierced her arm with a gold hairpin. Pei Guanlan was enraged by her fierceness, and the two argued, which was interrupted by Wen Jingchu.
What happened after that was out of control.
In the chaos, Wen Zhisui and Wen Yannian had no choice but to knock Wen Jingchu unconscious and hurriedly send away the 'actor' arranged by the old Duke. In order to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, everyone in the Duke's mansion who knew about this matter was silenced, leaving only Wen Jingchu.
They made a mistake.
After returning to the palace, Empress Wen fell seriously ill and never recovered.
Only then did they realize that the person who came that day was Pei Guanlan.
However, it was Wen Jingchu who leaked the matter to Consort Tan, who then joined forces with the Eldest Princess to accuse Empress Wen of having an affair, causing a huge uproar.
Finally, rumors even circulated that Pei Siyan was the son of the Prince Xian!
The Prince Xian was a thorn in Emperor Muzong's side. When he learned of this, he was furious. He sent people to search for the Prince Xian and to investigate the identity of the Crown Prince. He also summoned Wen Jingchu to a private meeting.
Afterwards, in order to protect Pei Siyan, Empress Wen had no choice but to die to prove her innocence.
Not long after her death, the husband kingdom also passed away with resentment.
There are no winners in this struggle.
As the night deepened and the dew grew heavy, all the joss paper they had prepared had been burned to ashes. The flames gradually died down, and the tranquil lakeside returned to darkness.
Pei Siyan seemed unconvinced, staring at the desk in silence for a long time.
Dou Wenyi felt a deep sense of oppression. She thought that Dou Bochang had become shameless to the extreme for the sake of wealth and status, but she never expected that the old Duke would personally set a trap to frame his own daughter for the sake of the Wen family's future.
His actions were utterly outrageous and disgusting!
How ridiculous!
The Wen family was corrupt from the root, which is why the two brothers, Wen Zhisui and Wen Yannian, were so despicable.
They knew perfectly well that the Empress's reputation was of paramount importance, yet they still became accomplices of the old Duke, betraying their own sister.
At this moment, Pei Siyan suddenly let out a series of cold laughs, his eyes as cold as knives, "Even now, do you still think you are completely without fault?"
Over the past ten years or so, Duke Wen and Wen Yannian have not lived with peace of mind, especially after Pei Siyan gained control of a large army. On the one hand, they hoped that he would ascend the throne, and on the other hand, they worried that their secrets would be exposed.
Now that all the secrets have been revealed, Duke Wen feels a sense of resignation, as if he's given up on everything.
"Your Highness, what's done is done, and we've long regretted it, but the person is gone, and there's nothing we can do about it!"
Wen Yannian looked grief-stricken. "Your Highness, you shouldn't blame us. It was Emperor Muzong who truly drove Empress Wen to her death! You should hold him accountable!"
"Shut up!" Duke Wen shouted repeatedly.
"Do you want to incite His Highness to commit patricide? If His Highness does so, he will suffer far more harm than good and be infamous for eternity!"
Dou Wenyi glared at them angrily. "You don't need to change the subject and shift the blame. Doesn't Your Highness understand this simple principle? Everyone has their own destiny, even the Emperor is no exception."
Pei Siyan has a thousand ways to make an old man who has lost feeling in both legs die in agony.
Pei Siyan glanced at them coldly, his voice unusually calm as he clearly pronounced the future fate of the Wen family, word by word.
"The Empress Dowager has never been buried. She and Emperor Muzong were such a mismatched couple that they could not be buried together. The people of the Imperial Observatory have already found a blessed place for the Empress Dowager in Mount Mucang. The scenery there is beautiful and the terrain is dangerous, making it very suitable for building an underground palace. Uncle, Uncle, you should stay in Mount Mucang and build the underground palace for the rest of your lives."
"Furthermore, I will relocate all members of the Wen family back to their ancestral home in Longyou, so that they may never return to Tianning City."
——
When I returned to Wutong Garden, it was already late at night.
Pei Siyan held her and tossed and turned on the bed for a while, but still couldn't fall asleep.
Dou Wenyi knew he was upset, and gently stroked his scarred back. "Your Highness, what are you worried about?"
Pei Siyan hugged her even tighter. "Yi'er, should I tear the entire Wen family to pieces?"
Dou Wenyi sighed. Hatred is a double-edged sword.
The Wen family successfully provoked his murderous intent, but he still showed leniency and did not punish them harshly.
If it were anyone else, the country has its laws, and the family has its rules; there are legal grounds to handle these matters.
If he doesn't let go of his obsession, he will only be hurt by hatred.
"Your Highness, haven't you already made the right choice?"
"Yeah?"
"What they crave most is power, but they will never have the chance in this lifetime. Living is the most severe punishment!"
The Duke of Wen and others spent their entire lives striving and plotting, only to end up as bricklayers guarding the tomb of Empress Wen. Such punishment would only drive them mad.
Pei Siyan's tense expression relaxed.
Fortunately, she was not close to the Dou family's blood relatives, so they had no opportunity to frame her, and she would not be blinded by false kinship like her mother.
Most importantly, he would never be as stupid as Emperor Muzong!
He and Yi'er will definitely be as loving as ever and grow old together. They will never repeat the mistakes of Emperor Muzong and his mother.
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