Her words elicited Pei Zheng’s astonishment.
“Your Excellency Pei, you should think carefully. If you fall out with Prince Hao, every crime you committed can be reported to the Ministry of Justice. If you are punished, not only will you lose your black official’s hat[1], Prince Hao will also lose credibility as well. After all, you are his adoptive father.” Su Xi-er replaced the coldness in her eyes with a bright smile.
Pei Zheng was dumbstruck as each statement sent him reeling. Why does Su Xi-er know all of this? Did Pei Qianhao tell her? Could this unfilial son of mine already have investigated me a long time ago?
He looked towards Pei Qianhao again. “You actually investigated me?”
Pei Qianhao placed his cup of tea down. “This Prince has never investigated you. As long as you didn’t hinder this Prince, I would turn a blind eye to all your actions in court.” He then looked at Su Xi-er, noticing that she was silently observing Pei Zheng.
It was at this moment that Lady Pei dashed in. The guards at the entrance hadn’t stopped her, thinking that she might be able to get the furious Pei Zheng to leave.
“Prince Hao, Lord Pei is still in a fit of anger and is muddle-headed. Please don’t take his rash actions to heart.” Lady Pei kept apologising, even pulling Pei Zheng to the side and advising, “Lord, let’s go back. We are all family; why do we have to be at loggerheads with one another? Don’t let others see us as a joke.”
Pei Zheng ignored her words and broke free of her grasp. He looked straight at Pei Qianhao and asked, “Today, I want a promise from you. With your influence currently at its peak, you only need to raise a finger to wreck the entire Pei Family. Are you still going to care about us, or are you going to let it decline? Which is it?” Pei Zheng was getting anxious.
The officials are already starting to doubt me, and are no longer willing to be controlled by the Pei Family.
When Lady Pei heard Pei Zheng’s words, she was even more anxious and immediately said, “Of course, he will care about us! His surname is Pei!”
Pei Qianhao stood up and walked towards Pei Zheng, stopping right in front of him and coldly replying, “If you don’t collaborate with Xie Yun, this Prince will naturally not leave the Pei Family in the lurch.”
“Lord, you heard that, right? Prince Hao won’t abandon the Pei Family. Don’t be anxious anymore; let’s quickly go back to the residence.”
Su Xi-er could no longer continue watching, and instructed the guards outside the main hall. “Guards, send Lord Pei and Lady Pei back to their residence.”
The guards were also unable to continue standing by, and had only been waiting for the order before they came into the hall and gestured towards Pei Zheng and his wife.
Pei Zheng still wanted to say something, but his wife tugged at his sleeve. “Lord, don’t be rash anymore! Once you take a step on the wrong path, there’s no turning back!”
With her reminder, Pei Zheng calmed himself down. I have really gone foolish in my rage. Pei Qianhao possesses numerous incriminating evidence on the Pei Family; we can’t offend him.
However, he was someone who treasured his reputation. Hence, he angrily flung his sleeves and turned to leave with Lady Pei closely following behind.
Soon, the noisy main hall quieted down.
Su Xi-er quickly went to pull on Pei Qianhao’s hand. “You have suffered so many grievances, yet you haven’t paid them back for every single one; it doesn’t seem like you.”
“Your heart is hurting for me?” Pei Qianhao’s eyes were smiling as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Su Xi-er lifted her head and earnestly looked at him, softly saying, “A-Jing, you are my man; how can you suffer any grievances?”
Whoever hurts him, I will definitely return the favour a hundredfold!
“Su Xi-er, I am well aware that Pei Zheng only raised me up to use me as a chess piece, but unless there was no other choice, I wouldn’t make a move against the Pei Family.”
“And you still say that I’m kind. You are the kindest person here, but I cannot accept what you have said. If Pei Zheng dares to harm you, I won’t let him off.”
Pei Qianhao pinched her cheeks. “Alright, we’ll listen to you for everything.”
Before meeting her, I had never expected that a woman would say that her man is not allowed to suffer any grievances.
At this moment, Feng Changqing walked into the main hall and bowed as he passed a letter to them. “Princess Consort, a letter from Nanzhao.”
Su Xi-er left Pei Qianhao’s embrace to take the letter, quickly opening it to read its contents. It’s half worrying but half joyful.
1. Also known as ‘wushamao’. An image and a Wikipedia article for your reference.
