Chapter 73 Pei Lang in Trouble He Luochen reached out and snatched it, but couldn't believe it...
He Luoyun stretched out her hand for the palace maid to kneel down and apply nail polish to her. She had just raised it to admire it when she was startled by her younger sister who burst in.
She leaned against the soft couch, her pregnant belly protruding, and clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction: "He Luochen, what kind of state do you look in now?"
"How come you don't even know how to greet and announce your arrival?"
But He Luochen was now filled with anxiety and had no time to pay attention to these trivial matters, so he sent all the palace servants out.
"Sister! How can I not be anxious? Pei Lang has been detained in the palace for several days and hasn't returned!"
Even though He Luochen was so anxious that he was practically fuming, He Luoyun remained dignified and elegant: "Sister, you know His Majesty's temper. He doesn't allow the harem to interfere in important political affairs. Even I can't say more than a few words."
"But don't worry, Pei Lang is His Majesty's right-hand man, it must be a misunderstanding..."
After the palace maid who brought the tea slowly withdrew, He Luochen sighed with a worried expression: "That's true, but Sister..."
"He Luochen!"
He Luoyun's suddenly cold voice startled her, causing her to stop speaking abruptly. She looked at her elder sister with some confusion.
"You really are stupid, and you're not smart at all. Do you really think you're Pei Lang's wife now? And you actually came to me for him? You've lost your mind!"
After being harshly scolded, He Luochen opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.
"Sister, what are you saying?"
The eldest sister tapped the low table with a gloomy face: "If I hadn't been afraid of being overheard, how could I have said these things to you?"
"Have you forgotten what your father told you before you got married?"
"The purpose of marrying Pei Lang is to keep an eye on him, to keep a close eye on him."
"Now that Father's grand plan is about to succeed, why would you do something so foolish?"
Upon hearing this, He Luochen stood up abruptly: "Sister! Father did say that Pei Lang was also part of his scheme, but he never mentioned treason!"
“If it were anything else, it would only mean Pei Lang losing his official title, but treason is a serious crime that can cost him his life!”
"Furthermore... I am now Pei Lang's man, and if he is convicted, I will inevitably be implicated as well."
He Luoyun, cradling her pregnant belly, strolled slowly through the palace. Her long, trailing palace gown resembled a beautiful yet dangerous murder scene.
"Good sister, Pei Lang is a very cunning man. Do you think you are his match?"
“Even his father could barely keep up with him. Now that we’ve finally found his weakness, we’re going to crush him to death.”
He Luochen looked at her glamorous older sister in front of her, somewhat bewildered: "Sister, what are you talking about?"
He Luoyun walked to her side and comforted her, asking her to sit down: "The Emperor only suspects it now, and the evidence of Pei Lang's rebellion is not conclusive."
"Therefore, both Father and Sister need your help."
"As long as you leave these things in Pei's residence, in his study or bedroom, Pei Lang will die without a burial place."
Looking at the letter in her hand, which corresponded with a foreign land, He Luochen's hands trembled: "Sister, no, he is my husband..."
“I will go and beg Father. Pei Lang is not that kind of person. I will go and persuade him not to go against Father and ask Father to spare his life.”
"And elder sister, you are now pregnant with the prince. His Majesty will surely listen to you and plead for Pei Lang..."
He Luochen was so anxious that she wanted to kneel down and beg her, but He Luoyun sneered and slapped her hard across the face: "He Luochen, you are really bewitched."
"You say Pei Lang isn't that kind of person, but how well do you know him?"
"What kind of good person do you think a man is who would confine his pregnant childhood sweetheart to his quarters and even try to kick her out of the mansion?"
He Luoyun smiled sinisterly and pinched her sister's chin: "He's only nice to you now for the sake of the He family behind you. If he knew that everything was Father's scheme, do you think he would still treat you the same as before?"
Seeing He Luochen's sad and desperate eyes, He Luoyun didn't want to hide it from her. She pulled the pillow out of her palace dress and threw it on the ground.
"Look, this is the little prince you've been talking about. If you want to save Pei Lang, you'll be harming the entire He family."
"If His Majesty finds out about the crime of faking a pregnancy, how do you think he will punish me?"
He Luochen stared at the soft pillow on the ground, her lips pale. She never expected that her older sister's pregnancy was fake!
"Sister, you've gone mad! If the ten-month period ends and you still don't have a child, how will you explain it to the Emperor!"
He Luoyun chuckled and said, "I have already kept six pregnant women in my household. When the time comes, the boys who give birth to them will be my sons, princes."
"As long as you don't talk nonsense, it's flawless."
“He Luochen, think carefully, in your heart, is your father’s grand plan and your sister’s life more important, or is your husband more important?”
Upon hearing this, He Luochen collapsed to the ground in despair, never expecting that her own family would be so ruthless in their schemes against Pei Lang.
She remained silent for a long time, but then tremblingly reached out and took the forged letters.
With a crisp "crack," the teacup fell to the ground. Chun Tao quickly pushed open the door to check and saw that the teacup next to Lin Zhi had fallen to the ground and shattered.
"Miss, please don't move! I'll collect the broken porcelain pieces right away, please don't touch them!"
Lin Zhi's expression was not good either. She clutched her chest, feeling uncomfortable, as if something terrible had happened.
Seeing Chun Tao return, she slowly asked, "Did you ask the servants who delivered the food today? Has anything major happened in the manor?"
A few days ago, the three of them, master and servant, noticed that the food being served was getting worse day by day, and they all began to have doubts, feeling that something was wrong.
Chun Tao lowered her eyes, hesitant to speak, but Lin Zhi felt uneasy seeing this.
"Chuntao, just tell me. What is there that I can't hear now?"
But Chun Tao opened her mouth, then sighed, "Miss, please don't make things difficult for me. Today is an odd-numbered day, so I'm sure the Second Young Master will come and tell you."
Ever since Pei Mingli took the last letter, the two agreed that he would come over on odd-numbered days. There were only three people in the courtyard, master and servant, so even if they wanted to keep it a secret, they couldn't hide it from him in the future.
Moreover, Lin Zhi had no intention of hiding it from the two girls at all; they were the only two people she could trust now.
Upon learning that Pei Mingli was not dead, the two maids reacted exactly like her. Fortunately, Pei Mingli often took care of them, so their lives wouldn't be too difficult.
"Second cousin, why are you so late today?"
Lin Zhi, wrapped in her cloak, waited until after sunset before Pei Mingli arrived. He usually arrived shortly after noon.
However, Pei Mingli's expression was unusually grim today: "Azhi, the plan has changed. Perhaps I will have to take you away from the capital in a few days."
Lin Zhi unconsciously covered her nearly eight-month pregnant belly, utterly puzzled: "Why? Didn't we agree to leave after the baby is born?"
"Cousin! What happened?"
Pei Mingli frowned deeply and told him everything he knew: "Now Pei Lang is probably in trouble. He has been implicated in a rebellion, and I'm afraid the Emperor has long been wary of him and has already imprisoned him."
“If you were to stay here, you would also be implicated. Fortunately, you are only a concubine. Even if you disappear and change your name, no one will be able to find you.”
"But He Luochen probably won't be able to escape so easily. However, she is a member of the He family, so perhaps the He family will try to protect her."
Lin Zhi's mind was completely blank, and she was unable to think normally. Before she could even speak, her eyes were already stinging with tears.
How could that be?
"Cousin, I can't leave. If I really leave, it will confirm Pei Lang's guilt."
“He wouldn’t do such a thing! Even in front of the Emperor, I could defend him to some extent.”
But Pei Mingli's gaze towards her was incredibly complex: "Azhi, compared to Pei Lang, even though Pei Lang and I are half-brothers, you are much closer and more important to me than he is."
“You are my sister, I can’t just abandon you, but Pei Lang, I can’t help you for either reason or emotion.”
Lin Zhi was so anxious that she almost tore a hole in the handkerchief in her hand, and her expression became stiff with panic. "There must be a way... He Luochen won't just watch Pei Lang get hurt!"
"Even though Prime Minister He and Pei Lang are at odds, he won't abandon Pei Lang just because his daughter will be implicated!"
"Cousin, I beg you, even if I have to leave, I want to wait until Pei Lang is alright before I go, okay?"
Pei Mingli frowned as he looked at the pitiful Lin Zhi. Her slender figure paired with her protruding belly made her look utterly pathetic.
"...Fine, since you insist on this, I don't want to make you suffer."
"But the situation is changing every day. If we wait until Pei Lang is truly beyond saving, I will take you away no matter what you say!"
Watching Pei Mingli leave with those words, Lin Zhi slumped onto the stone bench. Despite the warm sunlight shining on her, she felt a chill run through her body and trembled.
I was on tenterhooks for several days, but there was still no news. Pei Mingli hadn't come for several days either.
Lin Zhi was filled with anxiety, but woke up in the middle of the night clutching her stomach. A sudden, sharp pain in her abdomen made it impossible for her to fall back asleep. She gently comforted her child, "Don't be afraid, baby, Mommy's here..."
"Grab him!"
The faint noise from not far away made her pause. She quickly got up and got off the bed. Sure enough, Chun Tao and Xia Ying had also heard the noise. One helped her up and the other ran to the door to listen.
But as soon as Xia Ying reached out, she didn't expect that the tightly locked door would be easily opened!
But after just one glance, Xia Ying hurriedly closed the courtyard gate again, her face pale and flustered: "Miss, there are many soldiers in armor outside the gate. They've caught the servants who were trying to escape by climbing over the wall..."
Lin Zhi raised her hand to signal her to be quiet. Through the crack in the door, she could only see an unfamiliar servant carrying something in his arms. When several soldiers pulled at it, the thing was scattered all over the ground.
He Luochen, who arrived late, changed his expression upon seeing it: "What is this thing!"
"This servant is usually my husband's confidant. I don't know why he's in such a panic and running away today."
Lin Zhi frowned upon hearing this, as she had never seen this servant before.
The servant boy immediately began kowtowing, pleading, "Madam, spare my life! This is something Lord Pei instructed me to keep safe!"
He Luochen reached out and snatched it, but covered her mouth in disbelief: "This is... a letter exchanged with a foreign land... My husband really wants to rebel!"
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