Chapter 52 Part 2

 

Qingtou poured himself a cup of water, took a sip, and started telling the story from the beginning, starting from how Miss Ye entered the county governor mansion, how they prepared for the wedding, how she terminated the engagement, and how she ran away. At that time, Master happened to receive a letter of appointment from the Jinwu Guard. He then ordered him to go to the capital first, while he went south to Luzhou to continue looking for her, but to no avail. Master had no choice but to go to the capital before the deadline of the appointment letter. Later, Qingtou met her by chance in the West Market, and Master searched hard again, finally found her, and finally took the young lady to Yongning Mansion.

Qingtou saw that the emperor was in high spirits and was listening to him attentively the whole time, even asked a question or two from time to time. He was so excited that he told him everything as he spoke.

“…Master is truly care for Miss Ye with all his heart, and he doesn’t ask for anything in return. And Miss Ye treats him just as well! When we just moved in a few days ago, she saw that there was a missing bed curtain in the room where Master lived, so she lent me ten thousand coins and asked me to buy the best soft gauze curtain for Master. I went out today to get the curtain, but I didn’t expect to be brought to Your Majesty—”

Pei Xiaoyuan was summoned to the palace and was led here in a hurry. When he arrived at the entrance of the waterside pavilion, he saw this scene. He was stunned for a moment and stopped walking.

Qingtou was holding a piece of cake in his hand while talking excitedly. He was unaware of his master until he heard the palace eunuch’s announcement behind him. He turned around and found that it was really his master who had arrived. He stopped talking and looked at the emperor.

The emperor glanced in the direction his minister came from and nodded.

Qingtou was overjoyed. He wiped his mouth which was stained with some cake crumbs, kowtowed to the emperor, got up from the ground, turned around and ran to greet people, whispering: “Master! Lord Pei has already told His Majesty that Young Master Ye is a young lady! It turns out that His Majesty is such a good person, understanding and reasonable. Not only did he not blame you, he said he will reward you!”

Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly raised his eyes and looked inside the door.

Several palace servants came in with candles in their hands to illuminate the room. Pei Xiaoyuan saw the emperor also raised his eyes and looked out. The smile on his face seemed to have not faded yet, but the two glances he shot at him seemed to come from the abyss.

Even though it was so far away, Pei Xiaoyuan seemed to feel a deep sense of desolation.

“Withdraw.” He looked at the emperor inside and gave the order.

Qingtou suddenly felt the solemnity coming from him, turned his head in confusion and looked at the emperor.

“Get out!”

When Qingtou heard his master’s low shout again, he was startled and hurriedly lowered his head and followed the palace eunuch away.

Pei Xiaoyuan calmed himself down and stepped inside. The emperor had already risen, and stood in front of his seat with his hands behind his back.

He walked up to the emperor, straightened his clothes, and paid his respects.

The emperor glanced at him coldly and said, “Follow Zhen.” Then he walked out of the pavilion.

The emperor walked very fast, followed by Pei Xiaoyuan. The monarch and minister walked one after the other, leaving the palace eunuchs far behind.

Without pausing for a breath, the emperor went straight back into the outer hall of Ziyun Palace, which he usually used to review affairs and hold court.

Seeing Pei Xiaoyuan also followed in, Yang Zai’en closed the palace door and stood guard outside the door himself.

The lights in the hall had already been lit.

The emperor stopped in front of the imperial desk, his back turned to Pei Xiaoyuan, standing still for a moment. Slowly, he turned around, his beard stirring as his gaze, dark and calculating, sharp like an eagle’s and fierce like a wolf’s, swept over the young minister standing behind him.

“Ye Xuyu, who is she?

“Is she Zhen’s daughter who was lost many years ago?”

The emperor asked this question word by word, almost gritting his teeth.

Pei Xiaoyuan was silent for a moment.

The emperor waited for a moment, but when he received no answer, he slowly turned around, raised his hand, and pointed at his face.

“Why didn’t you answer? Did you know that you couldn’t hide it any longer?”

The emperor’s hand that was pointing at him was trembling slightly, and he sneered to himself. The sound of his laughter was like the cry of an old owl in the night deep in the ancient forest, which made people shudder.

“No wonder Zhen felt she looked familiar the first time Zhen saw her! No wonder she cried so sadly when she saw that painting! Zhen was so stupid that Zhen didn’t even think about it at the time!

“More!” The emperor’s eyes lit up, his breathing became rapid, and he began to walk back and forth in front of Pei Xiaoyuan.

“If it’s not her, how could the murals in the West Hall be painted so realistically and vividly! When Zhen saw the painting, Zhen almost thought it was her mother walking down from the wall!

“Not only that! If it’s not her, who else would dare to force Zhen to take the medicine? Apart from Hao’er, Zhen’s Hao’er, who else in this world would dare to do such a thing!”

Because of extreme excitement, the emperor was trembling all over.

“Heavens has eyes and finally returned Zhen’s daughter back! She is still alive! Is that right? She is Zhen’s daughter! You’ve known about it a long time ago, but you kept it from Zhen, haven’t you?”

Pei Xiaoyuan remained silent.

“Tell Zhen! As long as you tell Zhen, Zhen will forgive your crime of deceiving the emperor! Not only will Zhen not punish you, Zhen will also reward you! A huge reward!”

The emperor’s answer was still silent.

The emperor waited for a moment, anger gradually showing on his excited face, and suddenly, with a bang, he slammed his hand on the table.

“Kneel down!” he shouted.

Pei Xiaoyuan knelt down slowly.

The emperor could no longer suppress his anger and gnashed his teeth, “You’re such a daring kid! You’re still wet behind the ears, and you dare to do this without telling Zhen! Even if you don’t say anything, Zhen have plenty of ways to deal with you!”

He strode up to Pei Xiaoyuan who was kneeling on the ground, stretched out his hand which was as thin as an eagle’s claw but had once wielded blade and drank blood, and grabbed Pei Xiaoyuan’s collar and forced him to look up.

“Tell Zhen! Is she Zhen’s daughter, County Princess Zanxing, Princess Shouchang?”

The emperor looked down at Pei Xiaoyuan and asked again word by word.

Pei Xiaoyuan met the emperor’s bloodshot, lion-like eyes. While hesitating, he suddenly saw the emperor’s face gradually turn blue, and the hand that had been holding his neck and making his breathing stagnate seemed to loosen.

He immediately stretched out his arms, supported the emperor whose condition turned worse, and brought him to the couch.

“Your Majesty is not feeling well. This minister will go and call the imperial physician first.”

After he had settled the emperor, he turned around to leave, but the emperor grabbed his arm again.

The emperor’s five fingers were still incredibly powerful, squeezing Pei Xiaoyuan’s arm bones so hard that they felt as if they were about to break.

The emperor’s ragged breathing filled the silence, his voice rasping as he spoke through clenched teeth, “Pei family’s son! You dare to tell Zhen that she is not Zhen’s daughter?”

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at the emperor again.

At this moment, facing the emperor’s aged face, pallid with ashen color, it was so difficult to deny it.

“Tell Zhen. Zhen knows that you know everything.”

The emperor’s voice already sounded a little weak.

Pei Xiaoyuan froze for a moment, and finally, under the emperor’s gaze, he took a few steps back and knelt solemnly.

“As Your Majesty said, she is indeed Your Majesty’s princess, the little County Princess Zanxing who was lost before.”

He said respectfully.

The emperor stared at him for a moment, and suddenly, a light of unbelievable ecstasy radiated from his eyes. He sat up suddenly from the couch and slapped the edge of the couch several times with his palms, making a banging sound.

“Great! It’s Great! Zhen knew it! Zhen’s feeling was right! She is really Zhen’s daughter!”

He raised his hand, pointed at Pei Xiaoyuan and ordered: “Quick! Bring her into the palace—”

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly stood up and said, “No, no, Zhen will go see her myself! Where is she now? Is she still at your house? Zhen will go pick her up myself!” After saying that, he hurried out.

“Your Majesty!”

Pei Xiaoyuan turned around on his knees, facing the emperor who was walking quickly outside.

“Your Majesty just asked this minister many questions, but this minister didn’t hear Your Majesty ask why she returned to the capital a long time ago but didn’t want to find Your Majesty to identify herself?”

The emperor seemed to be pinned by something and stopped at once.

Pei Xiaoyuan stared at the emperor’s back and continued, “This minister dare to say that the princess may not be willing to return to the palace to recognize Your Majesty now.”

It was like piercing a huge hornet’s nest. The emperor turned around suddenly, and all the excitement and joy on his face disappeared. He stared at Pei Xiaoyuan with his eyes, and asked in a terrifying tone, “What are you talking about?”

“As Your Majesty knows, she has already entered the capital. If she was willing, why would she wait until now without telling Your Majesty who she is?” Pei Xiaoyuan said in a restrained yet respectful tone.

As he answered, the emperor’s face twisted slightly and he just stood there, motionless.

For a long while, there was no other movement in the hall except for the emperor’s increasingly heavy breathing.

Pei Xiaoyuan still knelt on the ground, waiting for the emperor’s wrath.

“You took her out of the city to the west last night. Where did you go?” the emperor suddenly asked.

Pei Xiaoyuan did not answer, and there was no need for him to answer. A look of realization quickly passed through the emperor’s worried eyes, “Did you take her to Zhaode Mausoleum?”

Pei Xiaoyuan kowtowed to him as a tacit acquiescence.

The emperor’s face turned pale, he glared at him and said with trembling voice: “You little devil of the Pei family! You kidnapped her out of the palace at the fourth watch last night, just to make her go against Zhen, right? She is Zhen’s own daughter! It’s bad enough you’ve hidden this from Zhen for so long, but now you dare act behind Zhen’s back in such a way! Zhen, Zhen—”

The emperor’s entire body began to tremble along with his voice. He glanced around wildly, then, disregarding the heat, grabbed a nearby gilded white-bronze incense burner, still steaming with smoke, and threw it at Pei Xiaoyuan. The incense burner hit the side of Pei Xiaoyuan’s forehead, then bounced to the ground, rolling away, and the burning charcoal inside and the incense ball scattered all over the ground.

Instantly, Pei Xiaoyuan had a cut on his forehead, with flesh torn and blood gushing out.

His face did not show any panic, and he did not even blink as he said, “Since Your Majesty has summoned this minister to question, this minister will say one last thing. Still ask Your Majesty to allow this minister to finish.”

He kowtowed respectfully to the emperor once again.

“The princess holds deep, unwavering love for Your Majesty, her heart is as clear as bright moon. Yet, as to why she is unwilling to return to the palace, Your Majesty surely understand this better than this minister. This minister deserves thousand deaths for his offense, but this minister begs Your Majesty, no matter what, please don’t push the princess too hard.”

He had already changed into his official robes before entering the palace. After he finished speaking, he stood up from the ground, untied the golden belt around his waist, and took off his scarlet official robes. Finally, beside his official hat, he folded his clothes neatly on the ground, leaving only a white robe on his body, standing in the hall.

The emperor panted heavily, his voice like a dragon: “Someone come!”

Yang Zai’en had heard the noise in the hall a long time ago, and was even more startled by the unusual movement of the incense burner falling to the ground. At this time, he rushed in and saw that Pei Xiaoyuan’s forehead was bleeding profusely, instantly staining the collar of his shirt red. He couldn’t help but tremble with fear.

“Throw this traitor who has no respect for his elders and deceives the emperor into prison!

“No one is allowed to see him without Zhen’s permission.”

The emperor hissed these words, as if squeezing them out from his chest.

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