Chapter 63 Part 2

 

Feng Zhenping’s expression showed not the slightest hint of shame; instead, he grew even more earnest and said, “Don’t mention a mere five thousand taels of gold—as long as Master Pei Er is willing to show me this favor, whether it’s fifty thousand, five hundred thousand, or even more, limitless if need be, as long as I have it, I can give it up and share it with you.”

When he said this, his tone was solemn, with some unspoken implicit meaning.

Pei Xiaoyuan smiled. “What is it that would make Minister Feng spend so much money? I am all ears.”

Feng Zhenping did not beat around the bush. He poured wine again, turned to the northwest, and poured the wine on the ground. After drinking three cups in a row, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed solemnly.

After that, he turned to Pei Xiaoyuan and said, “The three cups of wine I just drank were to pay my respects to your ancestor. I also know that I am not qualified. What happened in the past was my fault. I invited Master Pei Er here today to apologize.

“Back then, when the turmoil was raging, I had fought with General Shenhu many times. He regarded me as a friend, but I was ruthless. Not only did I deliberately delay sending troops to rescue, causing the general to die for his country, but I also falsely accused the general of competing for merit. Although I deserve death, there is one thing I must tell you. Everything that happened back then was not my intention. Liu Ceye used the power of Chang’an to force me. If I only had this one life, it’s not a big deal, but I have many relatives. I cannot let my entire family, young and old, suffer because of me. I had no choice but to follow his orders, which led to—”

Feng Zhenping was very emotional. He said this in one breath, then suddenly stopped, took a breath, and looked at the opposite side. He saw the young man holding the empty cup that he had just drunk, slowly turning it around and playing with it. He looked calm, and did not have the reaction that Feng Zhenping was expecting.

“It’s true that on those days, Prince Ding was rising vigorously, with fortune fully on his side. There was no one who could take his place. I am but a petty and lowly person, unable to be as loyal and brave as your late honored father and protect the crown prince wholeheartedly—”

Two lines of hot tears flowed from Feng Zhenping’s eyes.

“Over the years, I have always felt heartbroken and regretful for what happened back then. Those things were not my original intention. I was coerced and had no choice but to do them. Prince Kang admired General Shenhu very much. He sighed in front of me more than once, hating himself for being too incompetent and unable to do half of his best for the general.

“Although the general is gone, his heroic spirit lives on. However, until today, people like Liu Ceye and Chen Sida still hold high positions and power thanks to the crown prince, but the general has not been vindicated yet! It’s fine for others, but I don’t believe that you are indifferent to this, too?”

Pei Xiaoyuan put down the cup in his hand, looked at the person opposite him, and said with a smile: “What if I am indifferent? What if I am filled with righteous indignation?”

Feng Zhenping wiped away the tears with her sleeve, stood up, walked to Pei Xiaoyuan, and said in a low voice: “Master Pei Er, you should have seen the current situation in the court clearly. His Majesty has only two sons. In the future, the crown prince will succeed to the throne, but how can he tolerate you? The first one to be killed must be you. Prince Kang is different. He has long admired you. When he learned that Prince Xin’an worshipped you as his teacher, he was very envious. If it were not for his status today, he would have come with me and personally pour a cup of wine for you so as to express his feelings.

“Prince Kang asked me to relay his words: in the future, should Heaven show mercy and he be fortunate enough to assume power, the very first thing he will do is to restore the name of General Shenhu, honoring him with a burial in the imperial mausoleum. He then will build a temple for him to be worshipped forever and his heroic name will be immortal. As for Master Pei Er, with your talent, being granted the title of marquis and appointed as a chief minister will not difficult.

“I came here today with utmost sincerity. Every word I’ve said is the absolute truth, and if there is even a single lie, or if these promises are broken in the future, may Heaven and Earth strike me down, and may I meet a miserable end!”

Finally, he swore word by word, gritting his teeth.

After listening to this, Pei Xiaoyuan remained silent at first.

Feng Zhenping watched his expression, speculating the possibility of achieving his purpose of this trip.

Since the first day that Pei’s son came to the capital and was employed by the emperor, Feng Zhenping had been thinking about how to win him over, or it should be said, how to win him over temporarily.

But he knew that this move was not very promising, and he was afraid of being noticed, so he was hesitant. It was not until after Prince Ning’s Qujiang Banquet that Feng Zhenping began to lose his patience. The death of his most beloved son was fine, but what made him most uneasy was that Wang Zhang, who was going to marry his granddaughter to Prince Kang, began to waver in his attitude.

Just a few days ago, when Feng Zhenping could not help but test Wang Zhang, he actually used the fate to shirk responsibility, saying that a master had read his granddaughter’s fortune some time ago and said that this year was not a good year for marriage, so he wanted to postpone the matter to next year.

It was no secret that the emperor disliked Prince Kang for his actions during the sinking of the ship. Feng Zhenping suspected that Wang Zhang wanted to change side and reconcile with Liu Ceye—although this was not very likely, it was not impossible. The Wang and Liu families had no deep hatred, only discord caused by the struggle for power in the past. Moreover, there was Grand Empress Dowager between the two families to act as a buffer.

If this speculation was true, once the Wang and Liu families join forces to support the crown prince, the hope of Prince Kang, who was already hated by the emperor, to ascend to the throne would become slim.

In addition, just yesterday, Feng Zhenping heard that the crown princess’s maiden family also wanted to win over Pei Xiaoyuan through marriage, and it even seemed that this move had the emperor’s approval. This made Feng Zhenping unable to sit still any longer.

Not to mention just kowtowing to apologize to the dead, even if he was asked to kowtow to Pei’s son himself—if this could achieve his goal, Feng Zhenping would do it without hesitation.

He now urgently wants to win over the son of the Pei family first, and have him work with him to deal with the Liu family and the current crown prince.

As long as the Liu family was unstable, Wang Zhang would naturally go back to find Prince Kang.

As for Pei’s son, it was impossible for him not to know what role the Liu family played in the Battle of Beiyuan. The hatred between him and Liu Ceye was impossible to resolve. If he wanted to overthrow Liu Ceye, it would not hurt him to have an additional helper like himself.

The future emperor would be either the crown prince or Prince Kang. If he was not a fool, he should know which one was more beneficial to him.

Of course, he may have a third option, which was to plot a rebellion. But if that day really came, it would be the chaos that Feng Zhenping was looking forward to. He was originally a military general. Although his power was being slowly limited by the emperor, there were still some old subordinates who obey his orders in the local area. The more chaotic the situation, the more he could be useful. As stable as he was now, everything seemed to be under the nose of the emperor in the Taoist palace. Feng Zhenping felt powerless as if his hands were slowly tied up by ropes.

He stared at the young man in front of him, and after a moment, he heard him calmly said: “Prince Ashina took five thousand gold from you, and it seems there’s no need to return it for the time being. Do whatever you want to do. If it’s within my authority, I will not obstruct it.”

Feng Zhenping was overjoyed and whispered, “If I take any action, I will let you know in advance.”

He bowed to the person in front of him, then turned around and left in a hurry without stopping.

After a moment, Chengping walked inside with brisk steps, poured a cup of wine for Pei Xiaoyuan, and presented it with both hands.

Pei Xiaoyuan glanced at him and didn’t take it immediately.

Chengping kept looking at him, his eyes that usually always smiled, now sparkling with excitement like a wild beast about to pounce on its prey.

“Brother Jun Yan, I know you want revenge. However, no matter whether it’s the Crown Prince or Prince Kang who succeeds to the throne in the end, you will not have a good ending.

“I advise you to make other plans as soon as possible.

“No matter what, I will help you, whatever it takes.”

Chengping spoke these words slowly and in an unprecedented serious tone.

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at him for a moment, took the wine that Chengping had been holding in his hand, drank it all in one gulp, then put down the cup with a bang and patted him on the shoulder.

“Go back to sleep early.

“I’m going back too.”

He left Chengping and walked away.

This night was the earliest time Pei Xiaoyuan returned home recently.

He came out of the tavern and returned to Yongning Mansion, which he had not lived in for three days. When he went in and walked to the courtyard that separated him and her by a wall, he saw that the light on her side was off.

Pei Xiaoyuan stood in the path for a while.

He knew that it was impossible for her to turn off the lights and go to bed so early.

His intuition had long told him that what she said this morning meant that she would never come back here. However, he still seemed to find it hard to believe, and until now, he still hadn’t completely come to his senses.

He just stood there at the moment, not knowing what he was expecting.

Suddenly, he heard a clattering sound of footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw that it was his servant coming with a lantern. When he saw him, his face turned sad and he said that he didn’t know what happened during the day. The eunuch named Yang and the guards who had lived in their house for a few days had left and taken away all the things in young master Ye’s room, including brushes and paints, leaving only the maids and servants.

“I chased them to ask, but they wouldn’t tell me. What happened? Did young master tell you? She doesn’t live here anymore, so where is she going to live?”

She was a princess. The only princess of the current emperor, Princess Shouchang.

Pei Xiaoyuan had this thought vaguely in his mind, but he said nothing. He just walked towards his courtyard and lit the lights inside. Qingtou followed him in and continued to ask when the young master would come back.

“She has something to do and won’t be coming back here.”

Pei Xiaoyuan didn’t sleep at all last night and now felt tired and exhausted. He was annoyed by the servant’s questioning, so said those words and then sent the servant out.

But Qingtou didn’t leave. He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead hard: “I know!

“Could it be she’s angry?

“I wanted to tell you this during the day! Last night, I told the young lady that you don’t want the curtain. She was very unhappy and asked me if I told you that she asked me to buy it. I said you knew, and guess what? She immediately asked me to burn it! If I hadn’t said no, ten thousand coins would have been gone in a flame! Three chicken eggs can be bought for one coin in the West Market now. Ten thousand coins means thirty thousand chicken eggs! Eggs give birth to chickens, and chickens give birth to eggs. I don’t know how much they can be sold for! Heaven! She wanted to burn it without blinking an eye!

“Master, it’s all your fault! You made her angry! She bought you something because she was doing you a favor! Just use it, why do you have to go against her?”

Ever since this little guy had been rewarded by the emperor, he had become more self-satisfied, and as a result, he didn’t show respect to Pei Xiaoyuan as much as before. At this moment, his tone of voice actually carries a hint of blame.

Pei Xiaoyuan froze for a moment.

His previous perception of her seemed to have always been stuck on the scene in the Ganliang County Governor Mansion where she refused to marry him. He never thought that she would have any other possibilities towards him. Even the few intimate interactions they’d shared since arriving in Chang’an had all been initiated by him, and there were reasons for that.

He knew that she trusted him, and after he discovered her identity, she had no secrets from him. But he had never imagined that she would develop feelings for him.

However, at this moment, because of this servant’s words, when he recalled the emperor’s angry expression as if he wanted to kill him, and what she said before she left this morning, he couldn’t help but be stunned.

Could it be true that she had come to like him, and when he knew it clearly, she had already say goodbye and left.

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