Pei Jie looked at Xiao Yi, who was pleading for Chu Mingzhu, and felt somewhat troubled. This man's ability to lead troops into battle was undeniable, but his taste in choosing a wife was truly indescribable!
Although he felt sympathy, the matter concerned military affairs, and he could not be careless. After a moment's pause, he gave instructions.
"Go and summon the guards on duty when they came in, and question them!"
Chu Mingzhu was confused and looked at Pei Jie with a blank expression.
Pei Jie glanced at Xiao Yi and said
"General Xiao, we are comrades-in-arms, and I don't want to make things difficult for you. Since you say your wife is naive and doesn't know how to identify spies, then I will call the brothers guarding the city to ask them how these people managed to evade our layers of checks."
If it was truly the brothers guarding the city who failed to find out, then it is because my subordinates, Pei Jie, are incompetent. Today, I will personally deal with them.
But if your wife intends to protect her, then don't blame me for being ruthless!
Upon hearing this, Xie Yushu felt somewhat guilty and hurriedly asked...
"But what constitutes covering up? I consider them my own brothers, so of course I have to put in a good word for them."
"They didn't realize those were Tatar spies, so it's not my fault. This person walked right under their noses."
Pei Jie was too lazy to argue with such a unreasonable person, so he closed his eyes to rest and waited for the city guards to come.
A short while later, three soldiers arrived. They were three of the men who had checked their tokens when Chu Mingzhu entered the city.
Pei Jie didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.
"Just now, the princess discovered more than twenty Tatar spies here. They all came in with this Lady Xiao."
Madam Xiao said she was deceived by them. Let's put aside whether she was deceived or not. I just want to ask you, when they entered the city, did you carefully check them?
Why were they allowed into the city without verifying their identities?
If it were just one person, I could forgive you, but there were over twenty of you, and you didn't even spot the flaw? You're all veterans of the Chu family, don't tell me that's all you're capable of!
Upon hearing this, the three men realized that the person Chu Mingzhu had brought in was indeed the problem, and they were greatly alarmed, so they knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
"It was a dereliction of duty on my part. My brothers and I did indeed follow the procedures for the inspection."
But when we asked those people to show their military registers and unit tokens, they said that when they went out on missions under General Xiao's orders, not everyone needed to carry their military registers; only the leader carried his token, which he had lost while fighting with the villains to save Madam Xiao.
The subordinates wanted them to wait while they verified the information with someone, but Madam Xiao impatiently said that we were not giving General Xiao face and were deliberately making things difficult for her. She even confidently declared that if they didn't believe her, they should go with them to find General Xiao to verify the information.
We thought that since we had just fought alongside General Xiao on the battlefield, and Madam Xiao spoke with such certainty, we assumed that she would never harm her husband, so we let them pass.
"Your subordinates have neglected their duties; please punish them, General!"
Pei Jie said with disappointment.
“You guys, all of you, go and get twenty lashes as a lesson.”
Seeing this, Xiao Yi felt a little guilty and said...
“I did this to take care of Xiao. I beg General Pei to be lenient. I am willing to take the punishment on behalf of my brothers.”
"Then they'll each get two fewer lashes, and you'll get the one they don't have to take."
Pei Jie agreed without hesitation.
"General Pei, what does this have to do with Brother Xiao Yi? He knows nothing about it!"
Pei Jie said coldly
"As long as you are his wife, this matter is inextricably linked to him!"
Xiao Chu Shi, what else do you have to say?
Obstructing the garrison from performing its duties, harboring spies to enter the city, disrupting the prince's mourning hall, and harming the princess—this alone is enough to be considered treason and collusion with the enemy.
Those who collude with the enemy and betray their country shall die!
General Pei!
We implore General Pei to show leniency!
We are willing to accept any punishment, we only beg General Pei to spare my wife's life!
Just for the sake of General Chu Wei's illustrious military achievements for the Great Qi.
My wife grew up without family to guide her, and she doesn't understand many rules. She didn't do it intentionally, and it's really not treasonous. She's just simple-minded. The Chu family line is dwindling; I beg General Pei to show mercy!
Xiao Yi had gone all out and brought out his last trump card: Chu Wei had a long history of military exploits, and Chu Mingzhu was not a spy in the subjective sense. Therefore, given Chu Wei's reputation during his lifetime, he should be able to save Chu Mingzhu's life!
Indeed, even among military generals, there is a mutual respect. Besides, death absolves one of guilt. Chu Wei's family had already paid the price for the mistakes he later made, but he had also fought for the Great Qi on the battlefield, shedding blood and sweat. Pei Jie still showed leniency, sighing as he spoke.
"Since you've mentioned Chu Wei, then this general will give him some face. Chu Mingzhu may be spared the death penalty, but she won't escape punishment. Take her to the yamen and give her sixty strokes of the cane as a warning to others!"
Chu Mingzhu was terrified when she first heard that she was to be sentenced to death. Before she could catch her breath, she heard that Xiao Yi had brought up her father and saved her from the death penalty. Then she heard that she was to be given sixty lashes.
This is the question: will she survive after being beaten with a large stick?
So she cried and said...
"General Pei, please spare me this time for my father's sake. I'll never come back. I'm going back to the capital, I'm going back right now. Please don't let anyone beat me up!"
Pei Jie snorted coldly, "Military orders are absolute. Do you think I, the general, am going to play games with you here?"
Guards, drag her away and give her a beating!
When Chu Mingzhu realized that pleading with Pei Jie was ineffective, she grabbed Xiao Yi's leg and yelled.
"Brother Xiao Yi, I'm a woman. Even if I'm beaten, I can still save face and live on. Why don't you beat me instead?"
Although Xiao Yi felt reluctant, he did not agree. The law was not a game. He had pleaded for leniency several times, and General Pei had given him face. It was really unreasonable for him to take the beating for Chu Mingzhu.
But it's one thing for someone to be stupid, but to be wicked as well. Her father could save her once, but he couldn't save her a second time.
Before Xiao Yi could reply, several men rode over at full speed. They not only kept Chu Mingzhu and Xiao Yi behind, but also sent someone to summon Han Zhongyu, saying that the matter concerning the military order needed to be thoroughly investigated.
When Chu Mingzhu heard that it was about military orders, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively thought of the military orders that she had altered.
"It can't be that matter, can it?"
She did that thing flawlessly, and so many days have passed, who could possibly know?
"We can't just take back a military order that's already been issued!"
Although Chu Mingzhu kept trying to comfort herself, she still couldn't stop trembling all over. The fear emanating from her heart made her want to struggle, scream, and escape from this place.
That kind of fear was unprecedented, emanating from her very bones. Even when Pei Jie accused her of treason, she had never felt it before. It was a fear that gripped her soul, a premonition of her impending death.
But now, she was forced to kneel in the courtyard, with no chance of escape, and could only cry helplessly, begging Xiao Yi to save her.
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