Chapter 27 Confession
The emperor looked at Pei Hong, whose mind was a complete mess, and said, "Prime Minister Cui's steward has already confessed. What else can Vice Minister Pei say? Could it be that your steward did it himself?"
Pei Hong looked at the sobbing Pei Hai, "I, Your Majesty, your subject,"
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Pei Hai trembled as he looked at Fu Sheng, whose body was covered in blood.
It wasn't that he was afraid of such a scene, but rather that he was afraid he would be the one to die at any moment.
Pei Hai crawled to Pei Shilang's side and clung to him tightly, crying, "Master, save me! I don't want to die! Master, save me!"
In an instant, Pei Qing's words came to mind.
“Pei Hai is not resolute and is not fit to be a great man. He is not suitable to stay by your side. Send him to the outer courtyard.”
Pei Hai had grown up with him, and their friendship spanned decades. Although his father had assigned him a new attendant, he still kept Pei Hai by his side.
He didn’t expect Pei Hai to die for him immediately like the steward of the Cui family, but certainly not like this!
Pei Hong closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "That's right, Your Majesty. I did not order Pei Hai to harm the princess. As for the powder and antidote, that's just nonsense."
Pei Hai immediately said, "Master! How can you say that! I was clearly acting on your orders!"
Pei Hong stared at him coldly, "Is there any physical evidence or witness testimony?"
Pei Hai, that idiot, must have been tricked by someone and done something stupid. Apart from the powder Zhao Wuji found, he probably didn't leave any evidence.
Based on these facts alone, His Majesty would not impose a severe punishment even if he were to punish the offender.
Pei Hai immediately stammered, saying that he had only obtained the powder from a man in black, and how could he possibly have left any evidence of such a shady matter!
Minister Pei said with an air of certainty, “Your Majesty, it is true that I have a grudge against the princess, but that was before I knew that my son had offended her. If all members of the Pei family were such petty people, the Pei family would not have stood for a hundred years.”
Just then, Cui Liu, who had been quiet to the side, said, "I have evidence."
Everyone immediately looked at Cui Liu.
He then pulled out a jade pendant that was entirely emerald green from his pocket.
Pei Hong looked at the jade pendant and a look of panic immediately appeared in his eyes.
Then, as if deflated, he turned to His Majesty and said, "Your Majesty, it was I who poisoned the princess. I was a petty person, and I beg Your Majesty to make the final decision."
That piece of jade was Pei Jinnian's personal jade pendant.
Each member of the Pei family's direct lineage received one jade pendant, with a different animal depicted on the back of each pendant.
Behind Pei Jinnian is the Qilin.
Could it be that Jin Nian wanted to kill Qin Jinzhi?
Pei Jinnian carries the fate of the entire Pei family on his shoulders, and is also his most beloved son.
Out of respect for the Pei family, His Majesty will not actually execute him.
In this way, Jin Nian's reputation and life can be preserved!
Prime Minister Cui never expected that Pei Hong would actually confess!
Fusheng has already died for him, and Pei Hong's confession means that the Cui family cannot escape responsibility, regardless of whether they were involved or not.
This is a blatant frame-up and slander.
Everything that seems reasonable is so bizarre!
The incident happened suddenly, and His Majesty immediately placed the two under house arrest in the palace, and there was no further news of them.
He had no connection with Zhao Wuji and could not possibly have framed him.
Moreover, having offended the current prime minister, does Zhao Wuji not want to continue his career in officialdom?
No wonder it is said that the Pei family, which lasted for a hundred years, was destroyed.
Since the passing of several of the Pei family's most outstanding talents, the Pei family has indeed lost its pillar of support.
All hopes were pinned on the young Pei Jinnian.
Besides valuing Pei Jinnian's talent and abilities, the Pei family's declining power was also one of the important reasons why the Cui family wanted to form a marriage alliance with him.
A situation where one side is evenly matched is not as good as one side dominating!
But Pei Hong really wasn't very capable; a jade pendant was enough to make him confess.
The emperor's face darkened. "Vice Minister Pei poisoned the princess, harboring wolfish ambitions. He is to be imprisoned in the Court of Judicial Review, dismissed from his post, and investigated. Prime Minister Cui has failed to manage his subordinates properly; he is to be suspended from his post, confined to his residence for three months, and fined one year's salary."
"Your subject obeys the decree!"
The two were taken away by the Imperial Guards.
The emperor looked at Zhao Wuji and said, "As expected of a talent personally promoted by me, you have investigated the matter thoroughly in just one day. Do your job well, I will soon have important matters to entrust to you."
Zhao Wuji respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I will certainly live up to your expectations."
"Step down."
After everyone left, the emperor went to the empress's palace.
Qin Jinzhi was playing chess with the Empress when she saw His Majesty arrive. The Empress immediately scattered all the chess pieces on the board, saying, "I'm not playing anymore."
Qin Jinzhi immediately widened her eyes, "Hey, Grandmother, you're cheating! I'll win right away!"
The Queen said haughtily, "What do you mean by winning? You just regretted several moves. I was letting you win."
Qin Jinzhi immediately sat down on the ground, acting like a child throwing a tantrum, "Grandfather! You be the judge! Grandmother is cheating!"
The emperor laughed heartily upon hearing this, "I don't care about either of you. You're both terrible chess players and you're both cheaters."
Qin Jinzhi turned around and said, "Grandfather said you're a terrible player!"
The Queen snorted, "You're a terrible move too."
Qin Jinzhi gave Feiyan a look behind her, and Feiyan immediately stepped forward. "Your Majesty, it's almost time for Miss Liu to perform acupuncture on you. Let's go prepare."
The Empress nodded upon hearing this, "You two can play."
He got up and followed Feiyan into the palace.
Qin Jinzhi leaned back lazily in her chair. "Have Vice Minister Pei and Prime Minister Cui finished packing?"
The emperor sat down in the empress's seat, his face calm. "Prime Minister Cui had a loyal servant who had already died for him. Pei Hong confessed his crimes as soon as he saw the jade pendant. What is the origin of that jade pendant?"
Qin Jinzhi popped a sour fruit into her mouth. "That's Pei Jinnian's jade pendant."
The emperor was taken aback. "How did you know that the servants in the Cui household possessed Pei Jinnian's jade pendant?"
"I gave it to you, didn't I?"
The emperor was even more puzzled, "How do you have Pei Jinnian's jade pendant?"
Qin Jinzhi laughed out loud after hearing this, "Grandfather, how come the old man who pretended to be senile has actually become confused these past few years?"
The emperor snorted coldly, "Who can know what you, you little devil, are thinking?"
Qin Jinzhi raised an eyebrow. "Yesterday, Pei Jinnian wanted to see me, so he went to the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion and left a jade pendant as a token. I only replied to him and didn't return the jade pendant."
The emperor laughed heartily upon hearing this, "You wanted me to block the news in the palace from the beginning so that no one would have time to react. When Pei Hong saw Pei Jinnian's jade pendant, he thought it was his son trying to harm you. In order to protect Pei Jinnian, he confessed his crime as soon as he saw the jade pendant."
Qin Jinzhi nodded.
"Pei Hong is Pei Qing's youngest son. He has no great ambitions but has been deeply loved since childhood."
With a brilliant and talented older brother supporting him, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should be living a life of leisure and wealth.
However, such a person is destined to be soft-hearted, and judging from his past performance in court, this is indeed the case.
The Pei family did not want to fade into the power struggle, so they put Pei Hong in charge after Pei Qing's eldest son had an accident.
This also destined Pei Hong to become the weakness that would be used to eliminate the Pei family!
The emperor looked at the child he had personally raised, his face beaming with satisfaction and pride.
"How come you're Qin Ye's granddaughter? You should be my bloodline."
Qin Jinzhi put her hands behind her head and looked up at the sky, saying, "If I were your bloodline, you would kill me first."
The emperor was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.
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