Chapter 316 Death's Date
Shen Yanzhou was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and politely declined, "Thank you, Your Highness, but unfortunately I'm quite full from dinner and really can't eat anymore."
Pei Siyan twisted his sleeve, took a piece from the plate, and chewed it slowly. "It tastes good, it's just that you didn't eat it!"
"Yes." Shen Yanzhou lowered his head and lowered his eyes, his back involuntarily tensing up.
Those pastries were brought by Dou Wenyi for the Crown Prince; how could he possibly eat them?
The conversation between the two naturally and clearly reached Dou Wenyi's ears, and she couldn't help but smile. Pei Siyan must have done it on purpose.
His actions were just too childish and ridiculous!
At this moment, Eunuch Anxi brought in a pot of wine.
Pei Yunche knelt down with a thud, staring intently at the wine jug, his face ashen. He knew the Crown Prince was determined to kill him.
Why did he suffer such a crushing defeat?
When he learned from the eldest princess that Emperor Muzong intended to pass the throne to him, he was excited all night. Later, he secretly told his mother, Consort Yun, about it.
When his mother learned of this, she was initially overjoyed, just like him, but she quickly regained her composure. That day, she personally cooked a feast for him and chatted with him about many interesting things from his childhood.
He knew his status was lowly and he was no match for the Crown Prince or Prince Duan. He always kept to himself and never fantasized about rising to the top. But Emperor Muzong's imperial edict completely ignited his ambition.
He had thought his mother would advise him to let go, but she calmly said, "Don't worry, I won't be a burden to you. Do whatever you want. Born into an imperial family, no one can escape the consequences. Success or failure, it's all just a matter of life and death."
Consort Yun understood perfectly well that as long as she lived in the palace for one more day, Pei Siyan could use her to force Che'er to submit to him!
She hoped he would give it a shot, "Che'er, you were born extraordinary, I believe you can become the master of the Great Zhou."
After that, she ordered the head servant of Prince Duan's residence to find a way to bring the deadly poison into the palace, and to keep it a secret from him.
Such a big matter was reported to him immediately by the chief envoy, but he did not hesitate for long before acquiescing to it.
It was his selfishness and desires that led to his mother's suicide!
He sacrificed everything, so why did he only get a cup of poison in return?
After Pei Siyan ate a few pastries, his sharp gaze fell on him. "Tell me about it while I still want to hear it."
Pei Yunche swallowed hard, knowing that all was lost. "Father has misled me!"
"Is that so?" Pei Siyan asked with a half-smile.
"How did you persuade the Emperor?"
Pei Yunche shook his head. In fact, the person who persuaded him was not himself, but the Eldest Princess.
"I told him about you faking illness after falling off the horse. Also, he suspects the little miracle doctor is one of your people..."
Dou Wenyi was slightly taken aback, so Emperor Muzong felt that the Crown Prince was deliberately preventing her from treating his legs, and all of this was just an excuse.
Emperor Muzong's attachment to power had long since reached a point of madness, and he was unwilling to admit that he was already old and incompetent, which led to widespread discontent in the court and a gradual decline in his authority.
Pei Siyan took a sip of tea, pointed to the wine pot on the table, and said slowly, "Your mother died after drinking this Cui Tao wine. She protected you her whole life, and in the end, you knowingly allowed her to take her own life. You are worse than an animal, unworthy of being a son!"
Pei Yunche suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, as if those words had pierced his last shred of dignity.
"Worse than a beast?" He suddenly chuckled softly, his expression chilling and sinister.
"Your Highness, tell me, in this cannibalistic palace, who isn't a beast? Didn't Empress Wen choose to commit suicide for your sake?"
He stood up unsteadily, pointing to the pot of Cui Tao tea.
“When my mother drank it, she was more lucid than I was. She knew that only after she died could I fight without any scruples! She only wanted her son to become king, but I couldn’t even fulfill her last wish.”
He threw his head back and burst into laughter, his eyes filled with madness and malice, as he looked toward the screen. "I even sacrificed my love, so that she would always think I was a despicable and shameless hypocrite."
"Fourth Brother, you're just lucky. Heaven is unfair!"
Shen Yanzhou's breath hitched. He looked down at his nose, then at his heart, wishing he were invisible.
Dou Wenyi's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously looked at Pei Siyan outside the screen.
But his expression remained unchanged, calm and composed. He simply ran his fingertips lightly along the rim of the teacup, as if listening to a story that had nothing to do with him.
"So, you agreed?" His voice was unreadable.
"Granted?"
Pei Yunche laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke, but tears mingled with laughter as they rolled down his cheeks.
“What right do I have to refuse? That was the path my mother paved for me with her life! She said… she said my Che’er finally has a chance! Every day she spent in the palace, she longed for this day to come.”
His voice choked with sobs, and he was almost incoherent. The cruel memory that he had deliberately forgotten had clearly tormented him to the point of being emaciated.
"She said...no regrets."
The hall was deathly silent, save for Pei Yunche's heavy breathing.
"And what about you? You don't regret it either?"
After a long silence, Pei Siyan finally spoke, his voice as cold as ice.
"I gave you a chance. If you had behaved yourself, you would have been the incomparably noble Prince Duan, and Consort Yun would have gone to your fiefdom with you to enjoy your old age. It was you who overestimated yourself and underestimated me!"
"I had anticipated your and the Princess's schemes long ago. You brought this upon yourself, driving yourself into a dead end and betraying Consort Yun and Xiao Liu."
"You dare to drag other innocent women down with you? You're no match for a man!"
He suddenly stood up and walked step by step toward Pei Yunche, looking down at him condescendingly: "You were not defeated by me, you were defeated by your own greed and stupidity. Did you think that the Emperor's decree was the golden rule?"
"In his later years, he became senile, changing his orders from morning to evening, and corruption was rampant in the court. The Great Zhou has suffered under his rule for a long time! And you and the Eldest Princess are just pawns on his chessboard."
Pei Yunche collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, his lips trembling, but he could no longer utter a single word.
Pei Siyan's words were like a dull knife, slowly torturing him with each and every one of them.
This shattered his last remaining illusions.
"Back when I was in the Cold Palace, your mother helped me. I will give her a proper burial and treat Xiao Liu well."
"This 'Emerald Waves' is yours!" Pei Siyan said with a complicated expression and a hint of regret in his voice.
Pei Yunche closed his eyes in despair, clenching his hands tightly.
Eunuch Anxi stepped forward silently, filled a cup with fine wine, and respectfully handed it to him.
The wine cup was ice-cold.
Pei Yunche opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the expressionless Pei Siyan, past the silent Shen Yanzhou, and finally glancing at Dou Wenyi behind the screen.
He suddenly tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
