Chapter 118

 

“Prince Consort, please spare my life! For the sake of our past serving in the same court—I’ve always shown you the utmost respect—please spare this wretched life of mine!”

As soon as Wei Juren opened his mouth, he began pleading for mercy, his forehead knocking against the ground with a desperate thud. He humbled himself to the extreme, speaking while tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

“I had no choice before—I was merely following orders. But now, Liu Ceye and the Crown Prince are both dead, my entire family has been wiped out. Prince Consort, my lowly life is worth no more than dirt. From now on, I just hope to save my life, and I will be satisfied. I beg Prince Consort to have mercy! Over the years, I have secretly accumulated a lot of wealth outside. If Prince Consort does not disdain it, I am willing to offer it all to you!”

Pei Xiaoyuan’s expression was calm.

“You called me here just to hear you say this?”

He stood up, turned around, and walked away.

“Please stay, Prince Consort!”

Wei Juren pounced and crawled behind him.

“There is another thing…”

Wei Juren looked up and met Pei Xiaoyuan’s gaze. He was still somewhat hesitant and stammered.

Pei Xiaoyuan continued to walk to the door. At this time, a hurried voice came from behind him: “No one knows the truth about the Beiyuan Incident better than me. My father was personally there. I just… I don’t know if Prince Consort still wants to know now…”

Pei Xiaoyuan’s hand that was opening the door paused in the air for a moment, then he slowly turned around.

“Tell me everything you know.

“Tell it like it is, without any embellishment.”

Wei Juren’s heart finally settled down a little. He quickly responded, calmed himself down, and began to tell the story.

“On the eve of the Battle of Beiyuan, the late emperor was critically ill. Crown Prince Jingsheng urgently summoned your esteemed father to lead the troops back to the capital on the pretext of protecting the capital. Prince Consort must have understood the purpose of his move, so I don’t need to explain it. At that time, the emperor, who was still Prince Ding, was on his way back to the capital, while Liu Ceye went to Yuanzhou.

“Crown Prince Jingsheng was the legitimate heir to the throne, and the order was issued in the name of the late emperor—naturally, your esteemed father would obey them. Given his influence, along with the troops he brought back, if he had not been stopped in time, even though Prince Ding had built a strong reputation and had men at his side, to… to go a step further would not have been easy…”

As Wei Juren spoke, he carefully observed the expression of the man before him before continuing, “Yuanzhou is not far from where your father was stationed at that time. Liu Ceye was sent there precisely to deal with this matter. He had originally colluded with Chen Sida, intending to have him stage a mutiny and seize military control from your father. But even though Chen Sida had pledged allegiance to Prince Ding, he still feared your father’s authority, and with so many fiercely loyal warriors under him, he hesitated to act. Time was running out, so Liu Ceye, knowing that your father had always placed righteousness above all, devised a new plan—to lure enemy forces in and use them to tie your father down.

“However, this plan was different from the last. If it failed, not only would it fail to restrain your father, but it could cause chaos in the border—consequences far beyond what Liu Ceye alone could bear. So, he sent a messenger through the night to the emperor, informing him of the new strategy and seeking his approval. My late father… my late father was the one who delivered that message.”

He raised his sleeve and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“My father caught up with the emperor on the road. At the time, the emperor was staying at Prince Chen’s residence on his way back to the capital. After delivering the letter, my father awaited a response. At that time, the emperor was surrounded by many of his advisors and generals who had fought with him before, including the two brothers Lu Jinghu, the current prince consort of the Grand Princess, and Lu Jingchen, the general of the Imperial Guards, as well as Han Kerang, who was the emperor’s confidant at the time! My father waited outside for some time before Lu Jingchen came out and personally conveyed the emperor’s orders: the plan was to proceed, no matter the cost. Even if it meant eliminating your father, he was not to be allowed to return to the capital!”

Pei Xiaoyuan looked calm and composed, as if he was listening to something that had nothing to do with him. However, a faint shadow was gathering in his eyes. If one looked closer, they could see that the corners of his eyes were slightly red.

“This is the truth. Every word I said is true. Although you have never seen Prince Chen who welcomed the emperor, you must know that he is the former owner of your Yongning Mansion. It’s a pity that he was killed a few years ago. Otherwise, if you don’t believe me, you can go and confront him.

“Master Pei, Liu Ceye certainly cannot escape the blame for your father’s death. You are right to regard him as your enemy. But if it were not for the instructions of the emperor today, how could he dare to make such a big decision on his own? As for my father, he had to follow the situation in order to protect himself. My father has always had great respect for your esteemed father.

“The real culprit of the Beiyuan Incident back then was none other than the current emperor! Minister Liu and my Wei family were merely pawns driven by his will! Our two families were loyal to him. For years, we stood at the forefront of everything for him, shielding him from countless storms, bearing endless infamy. Even if we had no merits to our name, we at least suffered for his sake. Who could have foreseen that one day, he would turn on us so ruthlessly, bringing destruction on both our families…”

The desperation and fear in Wei Juren’s expression gradually faded. As he spoke, his voice choked with emotion, and his eyes gleamed with resentment.

“In the early years of Qiande, when he had just ascended the throne, the whole country was in turmoil and the treasury was empty—how our Liu and Wei family toiled to stabilize the court, I won’t even mention that. But let’s take the Xifan war that you, Master Pei, fought a few years ago as an example. If it weren’t for Minister Liu and my Wei family doing everything we could to raise money and food for the court, ensuring stability, swallowing our pride before the likes of Wang Zhang for the sake of unity, how could that war have been won so smoothly? Now that the matter is over, the hunting bow is cast aside, and the hounds is slaughtered! He clings to old thing from the early days of the Crown Prince and Liu’s family, pressing us further and further. Our so-called palace coup—what choice did we have? It was merely a desperate struggle for survival.

“Master Pei, when you were summoned to the capital at the beginning of the year, I knew that the emperor wanted to use you to deal with Minister Liu. Now that it’s all done, with the lessons learned from the past, how can he still tolerate you? Not to mention, you assassinated Prince Kang—”

Wei Juren realized that he had slip of tongue and hurriedly stopped.

However, this was indeed what he thought in his heart.

Prince Kang died suddenly, and it was not Liu Ceye or Wei Juren who did it. The most likely culprit was naturally Pei Xiaoyuan.

He secretly peeked and noticed that Pei Xiaoyuan had a cold and wooden expression, and showed no intention of shirking the responsibility of the murder. This made his thoughts more certain and he became even bolder.

Originally, with Pei Xiaoyuan as prince consort, there was the fear that if the princess won him over, bringing up these past matters would be no different from courting death. But if it was Pei Xiaoyuan who had killed Prince Kang, then the story would be entirely different.

This was also the reason why Wei Juren wanted to meet him.

Feeling reassured, he continued, “I followed Liu Ceye for many years. He prided himself on his cunning and deep foresight, once suppressing Wang Zhang and Feng Zhenping so thoroughly that they had no choice but to join forces against him. Yet now, I finally understand—those so-called powers he wielded were nothing more than the scraps that the emperor allowed to slip through his fingers. Everything was determined by his will alone. In front of real power, all schemes are worthless. In the end, we are all merely puppets in his hands, our lives and fates dictated by a single thought of his. Now, the Crown Prince has taken his own life, and Prince Kang is dead. This is an opportunity—an opportunity that stands right before you, Master Pei! Don’t you want to seize it?

“You came to Chang’an, enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens, all for the sake of revenge. As for me, I was merely serving my master. There is no deep-seated hatred between us. The Liu and Wei families, great clans of a hundred years, may have suffered such a massacre, but even now, among the provincial generals of the outer regions, there are still those who have ties with us and can be won over. If you spare me this time, not only can I summon them for you and place them entirely under your command, but when the time is ripe, I will also be your witness.

“Should the need arise, I will stand forth and raise my voice for you before all under heaven. With just cause, the world will rally to your side!”

Pei Xiaoyuan’s face twitched slightly as he heard his voice trembled with excitement, as if he could already see himself rising again from the ashes.

He turned, opened the door and walked out.

“Master Pei! Prince Consort Pei! Please believe me! I will do my best to help you. I will be of great use to you…”

Chen Shao, who was waiting outside, signaled the two men hiding in the corner to restrain Wei Juren who was about to follow him out. The voice stopped abruptly.

“What should we do with this person?” He followed and asked in a low voice.

Pei Xiaoyuan walked slowly in his boots, took a few steps, stopped, and stood for a moment.

“Don’t keep it. Send it out of the city as soon as possible. We can’t keep it here for long.”

He spoke.

Chen Shao nodded, drew his sword silently, pushed the door open and slipped in. The dim light in the woodshed flickered for a moment in the brief interval between the door opening and closing, and then quickly returned to darkness.

There was a slight rustling sound behind, as if someone was kicking hay with their feet, and then everything became quiet again.

He stood alone in the courtyard of this shabby alley for a while, and finally walked away.

The moon had set and the stars was slanting.

It was almost dawn when he returned to the government office. In the rustling morning breeze, a lantern with a tiny candle still lit inside was hanging above the door of the Jinwu Guard office that had been left open all night, swaying.

He walked towards the door somewhat absent-mindedly, then suddenly realized something, stopped, then raised his eyes.

Han Kerang and a few others were hurrying out from behind the door. His expression was solemn, brows slightly furrowed, as though deep in thought about his next destination. Suddenly, his gaze landed on Pei Xiaoyuan, and his steps halted.

Pei Xiaoyuan quickly gathered his wandering thoughts and quickened his pace. At that moment, Han Kerang stepped over the threshold, meeting him at the steps in front of the door.

After the coup, Han Kerang took full charge of the city’s martial law and the pursuit of criminals. He had likely gone several nights without proper rest. In the dim morning light, the exhaustion on his face was all the more evident.

He looked at Pei Xiaoyuan, and his gaze paused on Pei Xiaoyuan’s eyes, which were slightly bloodshot.

Although Pei Xiaoyuan had a special status because he married the princess, his rank was still far lower than that of the third-rank general opposite him—let alone the fact that he was technically Han Kerang’s subordinate. He was about to perform the formal salute, but Han Kerang raised his arm to stop him and asked him where he had been tonight. Hearing Pei Xiaoyuan’s response—that he had first accompanied the princess and then left the palace to assist in the night patrol—Han Kerang gave a small nod. “These past days, both inside and outside the palace, have been a mess. Staying by the princess’s side is your priority—everything else is secondary.”

Then, shifting the subject, he continued, his gaze settling on Pei Xiaoyuan once more. “It’s just Wei Juren is still at large,” he said, his words measured.

“It’s unlikely he managed to flee the city that night—he’s probably still in hiding somewhere. If that’s the case, the West Market is a likely spot. I heard that you have some connections with the scoundrels in the West Market. I want you to mobilize them to search for him—it might just double our chances. We were looking for you tonight for this very reason.”

Pei Xiaoyuan agreed and said he would arrange it himself.

Han Kerang nodded and looked away.

“His Majesty has awakened. I am about to go to the palace to report the situation. You can come with me.”

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