Shocked! The salty concubine was spoiled by the cold prince

Chapter 160 Pei Yunqing is here too

Pei Yunzhao was living a life of drunkenness and debauchery in his private residence, unaware that Pei Xu had filed a memorial to the emperor to accuse him.

The emperor originally sent his son down to train him and lay a foundation for him. After all, Concubine Shu had begged him for so long, and he also felt that it would be a shame if his son could not even compare to one finger of Pei Xu.

Who would have thought that Pei Yunzhao, who would make a big splash if he didn't make any noise, would actually play a big trick on him.

"If you raise private soldiers, will your next move be to lead them to attack the Imperial City and force me to abdicate?"

When the emperor received Pei Xu's memorial, he became furious and threw the memorial in his hand away.

"This is truly my good son. Who gave him the courage?"

The eunuchs below were trembling with fear and dared not answer.

This topic is already very sensitive, and one could lose their heads if they are not careful. Moreover, His Majesty is now furious, so they dare not speak carelessly.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Even if you are still angry, this matter must be thoroughly investigated before reaching a conclusion. Otherwise, if the Third Prince has any unspeakable secrets, wouldn't it hurt the father-son relationship between Your Majesty and the Third Prince?"

Hu Dequan spoke with a stiff upper lip. He had been serving the emperor since he was a child and knew that the emperor was not a man who listened to advice. But now that the emperor was old, he began to pay attention to family affection.

Although the emperor was still angry, he did calm down after hearing Hu Dequan's words.

"You're right. Although the third child has been a bit naughty since he was young, he's not someone who doesn't know the rules. Perhaps there's something I don't know about. How about this? I'll send you to investigate. If it's really as Pei Xu said, then bring the third child back and keep him in the mansion. Don't move him anymore. If there's any misunderstanding, tell me when you come back."

The emperor naturally hoped that there was a misunderstanding, but he had also come out of the struggle for the throne, so it was impossible for him not to know what was going on.

He just hoped that Pei Yunzhao would turn over a new leaf and stop doing stupid things, otherwise he would disregard the relationship between father and son.

Hu Dequan knew that this was not an easy job. As long as it was not about the bad things done by the Third Prince, just talking about the disaster in Jinzhou City and Pei Xu's memorial, which one was not tricky?

But he had to go, and only he had to go.

The Third Prince's keeping of private soldiers is, to put it seriously, a crime of treason, which concerns the entire court. Your Majesty must express his stance, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to the ministers.

Hu Dequan was the emperor's trusted eunuch, and sending him over showed that the emperor attached great importance to this matter.

Furthermore, if the evidence is conclusive and Hu Dequan is there, Pei Yunzhao's life can be saved.

Even if the emperor was angry, he still wanted to save his son's life.

After all, he is old now, unlike before, when it didn’t matter even if his son died, as he could still have another one.

There haven't been any children born in the palace for many years. If something goes wrong with the third prince again, there will only be the crown prince, the fifth prince, and the eighth prince left.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will investigate this matter thoroughly."

Hu Dequan didn't dare to say too much. After all, he had seen it all these years and knew that the Third Prince was not a man without ambition.

He only prayed in his heart that the Third Prince was only raising troops and not doing anything else. Otherwise, even if the Emperor wanted to protect him, he might not be able to do so.

Pei Xu chose to submit the memorial at this time, certainly not to calm the situation.

He had heard about the disaster in Jinzhou City. Many people fled the city and many people died in the city. It must not be an easy task.

Pei Xu should be extremely worried, but he still has the mind to investigate the Third Prince. It can be seen that he is determined to suppress the Third Prince so that he can never get up again.

After all, even if the third prince falls, there are still the crown prince and the fifth prince.

The beauty presented by the fifth prince is very good at pleasing the emperor. Now she is the most favored among the six harems. If she is lucky enough to give birth to a son or daughter in the future, her status will probably reach a higher level.

The more Hu Dequan thought about it, the more he felt that this was a troublesome task.

"Okay, you don't have to wait on me anymore. Go back and get ready. We'll set off tomorrow."

The emperor waved his hand, as if remembering something, and said, "Bring the fifth brother with you as well. Brothers are better at talking to each other than you are."

Originally, it would have been more appropriate for the Crown Prince to handle this matter, but the Crown Prince had just been released from house arrest, so it would be better to stay by his side.

Although Hu Dequan was reluctant to let the fifth prince go with him, he had no right to refuse.

"Yes, this slave knows."

Hu Dequan left with a heavy heart, his mind full of complicated emotions.

He really didn't know what to do on this trip to Jinzhou.

Pei Yunqing seemed very relaxed. He packed his bags the next day and came to find him.

"Eunuch Hu, my father asked me to go with you to Jinzhou City. I'll trouble you to take good care of me along the way."

Pei Yunqing spoke bluntly, but what he said was true.

He had never left the imperial city in his life, let alone relying on carriages and horses instead of modern tools.

It took them nearly a month to travel the distance that would take a day on a modern high-speed train, and that was even at full speed.

Pei Yunqing was in great trouble. When he arrived in Jinzhou, his face had turned pale.

Gu Jiaorong and Pei Xu did not go to see him when they learned the news.

Now they are busy with disaster relief and resettling refugees, so they don't have time to take care of them.

Besides, they came here not because of the earthquake, but to thoroughly investigate Pei Yunzhao's raising of private soldiers. Pei Xu only needed to ask Fu'an to send the evidence over, and he would not care about anything else and let them do whatever they wanted.

Fu'an was efficient. Hu Dequan had just arrived in Jinzhou City and had not yet met the third prince when he saw the evidence sent by Fu'an.

Although Pei Yunqing always knew that Pei Xu had evidence, he didn't know that he had collected so much evidence. It was obvious that he wanted to kill Pei Yunzhao before he was satisfied.

However, this is not a bad thing for him.

If he could get rid of Pei Yunzhao, his path would be easier.

As for the killing of brothers, he didn't care. He was not the original Pei Yunqing, and Pei Yunzhao was not his real brother.

Moreover, even in modern times, it is not uncommon for brothers to fight fiercely over family property.

He was born into a wealthy family. His father had other children besides him, including children born to a mistress. Although his father had left a will early on, no one was willing to follow it.

Such a huge family fortune has to be divided equally with the mistress's son. No child born to the main wife would be willing to accept this.

Although he was only 20 years old at that time, he had the same idea.

Not to mention that now, he has lived in this era for so many years and knows deeply what it feels like to have power.

The imperial power is within his reach, and he will never give it up.

"Eunuch Hu, since Brother Xu really has evidence that Third Brother is raising an army, we can't just deal with it perfunctorily. Otherwise, if Brother Xu is dissatisfied, he will definitely make a scene and let everyone in the court know. After all, he is a righteous man and will not tolerate any sand in his eyes."

What Pei Yunqing said was true, but what he didn't say was that Pei Xu might not be satisfied with just letting the matter go.

He understood his father's thoughts very well; he didn't want his sons' hands to be stained with their brothers' blood.

But this is impossible. His father came this way, and he should know it very well.

It’s just that his father is really old and has begun to pay attention to family affection.

To be honest, such an idea seemed ridiculous in Pei Yunqing's eyes. Since he had chosen this path, he should not regret it or be soft-hearted. Being soft-hearted was a taboo.

Pei Yunqing's methods would only be more ruthless than his, and he would never care about the father-son relationship.

"Your Highness the Fifth Prince is right. However, I am at a loss as to what to do. I wonder what your opinion is?"

Hu Dequan had served the emperor for so many years, how could he not understand his thoughts? He did not express his thoughts directly, but tried to test them.

Although he and the fifth prince were not on the same line, the fifth prince was closer to the emperor. They were father and son, and he was just a servant who had served the emperor for many years. If anything really happened, the emperor would naturally protect the fifth prince, not him. He had to find a way out for himself.

Pei Yunqing knew his plan after hearing what he said, but he did not expose it. For some things, it is wise to see through them but not say them out loud.

What's more, he also needs Hu Dequan's help.

"Eunuch Hu, I think if we openly question Third Brother, he will never admit it. Brother Xu is busy with disaster relief and probably won't have the time to come. Why don't we investigate quietly? If we can confirm that Third Brother is raising an army, it won't be too late to question him then."

Pei Zuoqing not only wanted to confirm that Pei Yunzhao was raising troops, he also wanted to swallow up the entire barracks in one gulp.

The crown prince is now legitimate, but he has no capital, which is really disadvantageous to him. If the third prince falls and he gathers the third prince's power, he will have even greater capital.

Hu Dequan felt that the fifth prince was not a good person, but he was already in a difficult situation.

"The Fifth Prince is right. Let's do as he says."

Hu Dequan sighed and thought to himself, I hope the third prince is not too confused.

The two hit it off immediately, but Pei Yunzhao still didn't know he was in danger.

He Guangquan was very perceptive. When he learned that the palace had sent Hu Dequan and the fifth prince, he knew that there must be something fishy going on, but he had not received any news yet.

Although he was the one who supervised the construction of the barracks, the power was not in his hands but in the hands of the third prince.

Now the Third Prince is immersed in singing and dancing, indulging in pleasure, how can he think about so many things?

He Guangquan pulled him out of the land of tenderness, and she still had a face full of hostility.

"He Guangquan, what's wrong with you? I finally had a few days of peace, and you come to torment me again. If you have nothing to do, go to the barracks and take a look."

Pei Yunzhao looked like a naughty child, leaving He Guangquan speechless.

"Your Highness, if I had nothing to do, I wouldn't bother you. But now that Hu Dequan and the Fifth Prince are here, I want to ask you, what did you do?"

He Guangquan thought that there was nothing wrong with him, and the problem lay with Pei Yunzhao.

Pei Yunzhao sneered when he heard this.

"What can I do? I stay in this house every day and haven't gone anywhere. Didn't you say that? I offended Pei Xu and told me to keep my tail between my legs and not hang around him anymore. Besides, there's nothing in this place. Even if I wanted to go out, there's no place for me to have fun."

Pei Yunzhao had long wanted to stop staying here. Although he didn't have such freedom in the capital, he enjoyed it very much.

Not to mention anything else, just look at the beauties in his backyard. Any one of them is better than the ones here.

"If Your Highness didn't do anything, then why would Hu Dequan and the Fifth Prince come?"

He Guangquan couldn't help frowning. He didn't think that the old eunuch would come here for no reason, let alone the fifth prince.

"Since Your Highness has nothing else to do, why not help Prince Su with the disaster relief? At least you should let the people know that not only the Fifth Prince has arrived in Jinzhou City, but also the Third Prince."

What He Guangquan said was true. Since there were two princes in Jinzhou City, and the fifth prince was a restless person, the third prince had to go out and show his face to let people know that Pei Yunzhao was also here.

Pei Yunzhao's face darkened when he heard this.

"You want me to interact with those untouchables? He Guangquan, are you crazy?"

Pei Yunzhao came here with no intention of working. He just wanted to wait for Pei Xu to finish his work before going back.

Pei Xu was quite sensible and hadn't bothered him these days.

He thought that life would go on like this, but he didn't expect that He Guangquan would ask him to take the initiative to help.

He Guangquan flicked his sleeves lightly and said lightly, "Your Highness, I am not crazy. It is really wrong for Your Highness to come here and enjoy yourself. Since His Majesty asked you and Prince Su to help with the disaster relief, Your Highness should do it properly even if it means pretending, instead of living a life of drunkenness and debauchery like you are now."

He didn't stop Pei Yunzhao in the past, firstly because Pei Yunzhao had indeed offended Pei Xu, so it would be better for him to stay away from him; secondly, Pei Yunzhao was in such a stubborn state that he would not listen to any advice at all.

But things are different now. The fifth prince is here. If Pei Yunzhao continues like this, it would be better for him to stay in the imperial city from the beginning.

"I'm not going. If you want to go, go by yourself."

Pei Yunzhao knew that He Guangquan was telling the truth, but he just wasn't happy about it.

He was born a prince, a descendant of the emperor, and was born to enjoy life, not to do these dirty things.

Anyway, there are people who do these things for him, so why should he ask for trouble?

He Guangquan had known his attitude for a long time and was not in a hurry.

"Your Highness, when I came here, the Queen told me that if Your Highness insists on doing so, then I can leave Your Highness and become a free and unrestrained person from now on, letting Your Highness do whatever he wants. However, if the throne is far away from Your Highness, Your Highness should not blame the Queen."

Concubine Shu actually knew that her son was a good-for-nothing, but she had only one son, so she had to grit her teeth and support him.

If Concubine Shu had a second son, Pei Yunzhao would have been abandoned long ago.

Pei Yunzhao had been under the strict control of Concubine Shu since he was a child, and he had been hearing the words of letting him fend for himself since he was a child. He had long been unwilling to hear it, but he was still immature and had to rely on his mother, so he had no choice but to obey.

"Okay, I'll go over, but if things go wrong, you can't point your finger at me and scold me."

Pei Yunzhao was still very confident in his own abilities, he knew that he was not cut out for work.

He Guangquan had already expected him to say this, and just raised his hand and made a gesture.

"Your Highness, please."