Chapter 228 The Past of the Eldest Princess
A mountain villa in the suburbs.
Hua Murong's second disciple knelt outside the door, carrying thorns on his back, to beg for forgiveness.
“Master, your disciple knows his mistake and begs for punishment. Your disciple did not intend to harm you and your fellow disciples. It was that old thief Shi Qianjiu who poisoned my wife and children, forcing me to replace Lei Zhenzi. Your disciple regrets it and begs for forgiveness. Please do not expel your disciple from the sect. Master, I beg you.”
As he spoke, he kowtowed again, "Bang!"
Hua Murong did not go out to see him, but said inside the house: "You almost killed all of us, leaving the Medicine Ghost Valley without a successor and falling into the hands of villains. My Ghost Valley's century-old reputation is ruined. How could I easily forgive you for such a family-annihilating feud?"
"What are the rules of Guigu? Seeing that you risked your life to save me, I won't kill you, but I'll sever your tendons, so you can no longer practice medicine and will be expelled from the sect. You'd better watch yourself."
"Master, please forgive your disciple. Your disciple truly knows he was wrong."
Inside the house, Hua Murong found it noisy and ordered his eldest disciple to go out and carry out the valley rules, severing his tendons, and then send someone to take him back to his family.
The bond between master and disciple has come to an end.
Second disciple: "Master, Master, I know I was wrong, please forgive me this time..."
The eldest disciple had only been gone a short while when the shouts faded into the distance.
Hua Murong picked at his ears, "Finally, some peace and quiet."
He waved for his other disciples to step down.
Despite his injured leg, Pei Huaiji stayed behind, shamelessly, as he still had things to say to Yun Zhaoxue.
As Hua Murong watched them leave, he leaned over and whispered to Yun Zhaoxue, who was calmly sipping her tea, "Girl, weren't you the one who secretly helped us yesterday?"
Yun Zhaoxue blinked and pretended to be stupid, "Yesterday? What secret assistance? I don't know anything about it. I went to the bamboo forest in the suburbs to pick him up. I wasn't at the inn."
"If it wasn't you, then who could it be?" Hua Murong wondered, muttering to himself, "Could it be someone arranged by that brat from the Xiao family?"
Yun Zhaoxue shook her head and remained silent.
He had traveled the martial world for many years and had never seen such a powerful hidden weapon as yesterday. Even the Tang Clan's hidden weapons, which were the best in the world, could not penetrate a person so quickly and kill them instantly.
In particular, the body of the giant python exploded.
Even the greatest martial arts master in the world couldn't do that.
Unless he's a reclusive master?
If the Great Zhou Dynasty didn't have such a master, it would be even less likely to be used outside of the Great Zhou.
He felt it was Yun Zhaoxue; she possessed holy water and, at such a young age, had superb medical skills, far surpassing his own.
No matter what you face, remain calm and composed.
Could she be a fairy who descended to earth to undergo tribulation?
That's why it's inconvenient to tell him. If that's really the case, then he shouldn't have asked so many questions.
Hua Murong exclaimed, "I never expected so many people to gather at the inn. It's almost like the six major sects besieging the Demonic Sect."
Pei Huaiji reminded him, "Master, the Demonic Sect is an evil and heretical sect."
Righteous people avoid mentioning the demonic cult; who would compare themselves to a demonic cult?
Hua Murong waved his hand dismissively, "It's just an analogy, don't take it so seriously."
Pei Huaiji, leaning on his cane, moved to sit on the other side of Yun Zhaoxue and asked with a smile, "Xue'er, you came here so early this morning, it can't be just to check her pulse, right? Did you come to see your second brother? Come back to Jiangnan with me, I'll have someone prepare a carriage, we'll go back tomorrow, or today is fine too."
"Touring West Lake together, you can take a painted boat to listen to the rain, stroll along the Su Causeway, pray for blessings at Lingyin Temple, and explore the plum blossoms on Gushan Island. If you like lively entertainment, the variety shows at Qinghefang Night Market are the most interesting!"
The Pei family has plenty of tea, including Dragon and Phoenix Tea Balls and Longjing Tea; you can drink as much as you want…
He listed the advantages of Jiangnan.
Mentioning tea, Hua Murong slapped him on the forehead, "Pregnant women should avoid tea. They can only drink it in small amounts, not too much. Have you forgotten everything I taught you before?"
"Oh right, I completely forgot. I'll be giving birth in a few months, right? I can drink it after the baby is born, right?"
"Xue'er, come back to Jiangnan with me. Lingnan is not good at all. It is sparsely populated, lacks resources, has a hot and humid climate, and is prone to malaria. Apart from the locals, those who are exiled there cannot adapt and either die of illness or die from overwork while clearing land..."
Yun Zhaoxue raised her hand to stop him from saying anything more. "I came here not to go with you, but to ask you not to call yourself my brother in front of outsiders."
Pei Huaiji was somewhat agitated, "Why? We were originally siblings with blood ties! We really didn't know you existed before. If we had known earlier, we would definitely have gone to the capital to recognize you."
"Because I cannot let my mother's reputation be damaged."
In ancient times, people valued reputation. The original owner cared about her mother's reputation. She couldn't go to the Pei family to acknowledge her as the original owner, thus confirming her bad reputation for adultery and immorality, and causing her to be despised by the world.
Pei Huaiji: "The people are all gone, why bother with those empty titles? The most important thing is for the living to be happy. Do you plan to never acknowledge us again?"
Yun Zhaoxue gently shook her head, "No, you're wrong. I'd be even more unhappy going back to the Pei family. I heard your father remarried and has no shortage of children. What would I do back there? What would my status be? A concubine's daughter or an illegitimate daughter?"
I heard that Pei's first wife died in childbirth and he then married his sister-in-law. He must have had three wives and four concubines, so one more wouldn't make a difference.
Even though she was the legitimate daughter of the Yun family, the original owner was often bullied and schemed against. Going to the Pei family would be illegitimate and her status would be criticized. Who could be happy under such circumstances?
Moreover, she is not short of money; the national treasury is in her hands, and the Pei family's wealth and glory are not worth her attention.
As for his identity?
Although she was an exiled prisoner, she was still half royal blood; a merchant's daughter was far inferior to a princess.
She has no intention of acknowledging the Pei family.
Pei Huaiji was completely confused. "My father remarried? What does that have to do with this? Of course you went back as the legitimate daughter."
"The legitimate daughter? You want me to be registered under your mother's name?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Huaiji recalled what she had said earlier and finally understood what she meant.
"Are you mistaken about something? We're not blood siblings, we're cousins. You're my second uncle's biological daughter."
Yun Zhaoxue asked in surprise, "Your second uncle?"
Pei Huaiji nodded, "Yes! You must be my second uncle's daughter."
Forty years ago, Madam Pei gave birth to twins, who were considered an omen of bad luck.
Old Master Pei went to a Taoist priest to have his fortune told. The priest predicted that the Pei family would face annihilation in the future and advised the two brothers to separate and never see each other again to avoid the disaster.
The Pei family sent their youngest son, Pei Yan'an, to their friend's Xiaoyao Villa to learn martial arts and swordsmanship.
At the age of twenty, Pei Yan'an secretly went down the mountain to Jiangnan and returned to the Pei family.
They encounter the eldest princess, who has been sent by the emperor to Jiangnan to investigate a case of tax evasion by local gentry.
Those gentry and local officials colluded to falsify accounts, evade taxes, oppress the people, and seize their land.
The wealthy merchants indulged in nightly revelry, while the common people, displaced and starving, were forced to leave their homes and become refugees.
The princess's investigation offended the interests of local officials and gentry, who then conspired to assassinate her.
Pei Yan'an, who had just come down the mountain, rescued the eldest princess who had been assassinated and was injured. The eldest princess had met the eldest son of the family and guessed Pei Yan'an's identity.
Pei Yan'an fell in love at first sight with the beautiful and talented Princess.
The eldest princess persuaded Pei Yan'an to use the Pei family's influence and military power to help her investigate the case and find evidence of collusion between officials and businessmen.
The evidence was presented to the imperial court, which was furious and dismissed the relevant officials, confiscated their property, and exiled them.
As a result, the Pei family offended the bureaucrats and gentry, who then paid a large sum of money to have assassins from the martial arts world kill the entire Pei family in retaliation.
The Pei family, once the richest family in Jiangnan, has fallen from grace.
Even after the Pei family was revitalized, they could never regain their former glory.
Pei Yan'an went alone to seek revenge on his enemies, killing six patriarchs who were involved in the massacre of the Pei family.
Fearing for his life, the remaining family heads gathered more than a dozen martial arts masters to ambush him, setting a trap in advance.
Pei Yan'an, eager for revenge, fell into their treacherous scheme and trap.
The eldest princess led a group to rescue him, but they were too late. Pei Yan'an was seriously injured and barely alive. His left face was disfigured and he had lost his memory. The eldest princess made him wear a mask and stay by her side as a guard, mainly to protect him.
Later, the eldest princess was betrothed to Yun Xiuwen by the emperor. She signed an agreement with Yun Xiuwen, allowing him to take concubines and using her dowry to cover his debts. There was only one condition: she would not become his wife.
After listening, Yun Zhaoxue finally understood why the Eldest Princess gave birth to the original owner of the body—perhaps out of love or guilt.
"Xue'er, come to Jiangnan with your second brother. Don't go to Lingnan. The conditions there are harsh. Our family has the means to give you a good life. There's no need for you to suffer."
"I'm not suffering, I have enough to eat and wear, I'm doing alright. Thank you for thinking of me, but don't worry, I'll be going to Jiangnan soon."
Pei Huaiji's eyes lit up. "Really? How fast is 'soon'?"
"It's hard to say, maybe within three years."
"I've heard that things are not peaceful on the border recently, and the capital may not be safe either. If possible, let's move the Pei family's businesses to the south."
Pei Huaiji disagreed, "With the Xiao family army in the north, no matter how powerful Wanyan Zonglie is, he can't possibly reach the capital."
"The soldiers of Dajing are strong and well-equipped. Relying solely on fighting, they can kill a thousand enemies but lose eight hundred of their own. Without good generals to arrange their troops, no matter how capable the soldiers are, they are just a disorganized mess."
Pei Huaiji thought it made sense, having heard that the Emperor had appointed the Second Prince to take over the Xiao family army.
The second prince lacked the talent of a general, and he had almost no chance of winning against Wanyan Zonglie, the war god of the Great Jing Dynasty.
The people believed that the Great Zhou would not be defeated because they believed in the Xiao family army and the Xiao family's military secrets.
“Alright, I’ll go and send a message back to my elder brother and father, telling them to move the businesses in the north to the south.”
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