Chapter 160: Usurping the Throne

Before long, Ji Jiaying was helped into the room. She had ridden hard and fast all the way back. Battered by the freezing wind, her complexion was no longer smooth and radiant, but a raw red covered in broken capillaries, and her hands were swollen with chilblains. She had been weeping ever since she stepped through the door. Upon seeing Pei Yuan, she was overjoyed. With a thud, she fell to her knees at his feet, crying bitterly, “Your Highness, please save me! I don’t want to betray my country, and I don’t want to die! I know I was disrespectful to you before, and I treated my sister poorly. I already know I was wrong. I’m just a foolish, opportunistic person. I’m kowtowing to you here to beg your forgiveness, but please save me! Pei Xiao must never ascend the throne. He is a monster in human skin! If he succeeds, Great Zhou is finished!”

Pei Yuan frowned slightly and signaled for someone to help her up. “Give her a seat. Have some tea and speak slowly.”

As for Ji Jiaying, Pei Yuan had only ever disliked her. Her past behavior was far from pleasant, but to call her truly malicious would be an overstatement. Bao Ning cherished family ties; though she didn’t like this older sister, she had never intended to relentlessly hound her or drive her to her death. Furthermore, that they had married at all was an accidental twist of fate for which they actually had to thank Ji Jiaying’s initial scheming. Consequently, Pei Yuan’s attitude toward Ji Jiaying was as flat as water—neither close nor hostile, treating her like a stranger.

This exact attitude only made Ji Jiaying panic more. Terrified to stand, she kept kowtowing and apologizing, “Your Highness, please be magnanimous and forgive me. I know my wrongs now, and I’ll never dare to do it again. In the future… in the future, can I call Bao Ning ‘Sister’? I will return everything I owed her over the years. I’m just a bit stupid, but I’m really not that evil… I beg you, Your Highness, save me! Save Great Zhou!”

Pei Yuan and Su Wei exchanged a look, both finding it hard to believe.

They were well aware of how overbearing and arrogant Ji Jiaying used to be. What on earth had changed her so drastically, turning her into such a timid, cowering person?

Su Wei personally stepped forward to help Ji Jiaying up, saying gently, “Madam Ji, you don’t need to be afraid. Whatever it is, just speak freely.”

Ji Jiaying sat on the stool, covering her face as she wept bitterly. “Your Highness, Pei Xiao… he poisoned me. He forced me to seduce General Feng and sleep with him. The poison is called the ‘Twin Lotuses’ (Bingdi Lian). It is planted inside a woman’s body, and if she sleeps with another man, the poison passes to him. This poison kills! Pei Xiao threatened that if I didn’t do as he said, he wouldn’t give me the antidote. He sent me to the General’s estate, telling me to pretend I was seeking refuge. General Feng fancied me and didn’t reject me… and so I committed the sin!”

She wept even harder. “But I was terrified, and I regretted it… I knew it was wrong. I didn’t dare go back to see Pei Xiao. I was afraid he would kill me or make me do even filthier things. I noticed someone scouting around the General’s estate, and thinking I would take a gamble, I went to find him. I told him who I was, and then I came here…”

Su Wei asked anxiously, “How is General Feng now?”

“I don’t know,” Ji Jiaying said blankly. “Probably just like me. General Feng refused to form a faction with Pei Xiao, so Pei Xiao won’t let him off.”

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing arms covered in mottled scars. There were large patches of red rashes and blisters, many of which had already ulcerated and festered, looking exceptionally horrific. Even Su Wei couldn’t help but gasp at the sight.

“Fetch Doctor Le. Take her down for treatment and ensure she rests well,” Pei Yuan ordered. He then turned his wheelchair toward the door. “General Su, come with me to see the First Prince.”

……

On the very day Pei Yuan had woken up, he had sent men along with Le Xu to fetch Pei Che back.

At the time, they faced fierce opposition from A-Chou. She stubbornly believed that the one who had sent troops to massacre Qilian Mountain that day was Pei Yuan. Convinced of his malicious intent, she had nearly fought to the death with the retrieval squad. It was only when Pei Che heard the commotion outside and came out personally that, after listening to Le Xu and Su Wei’s persuasion, he agreed to return with them to Dai County.

Pei Che’s health was much better now. He had lost his right arm, but strength was slowly returning to his left hand, and he was learning to write with it.

He was intelligent and patient. In just half a month, his writing had already become quite decent.

Ignoring A-Chou’s hostile glare, Pei Yuan was wheeled to Pei Che’s side by Su Wei. He quietly watched his brother finish writing an entire rendition of the poem Spring Dawn .

Pei Yuan asked, “It’s still winter. What made you think of this poem?”

Pei Che smiled gently and replied, “The New Year is coming. Spring arrives right after. The river ice will melt, the swallows will fly back… spring isn’t that far away.”

Pei Yuan nodded. He was naturally a man of few words, even toward the older brother he grew up with. Bao Ning had once taught him to make small talk when meeting people, but he could never quite master it.

After a moment of mutual silence, both men spoke at the same time.

Pei Yuan asked, “Do you miss Mother?”

Pei Che asked, “How is the war progressing?”

Pei Yuan leaned back into his chair, relaxing his body, and answered first, “Right now, it’s a stalemate, but there should be movement soon. By my count, the messengers Chunyu Luan sent to borrow troops should be returning. Whether they retreat or not will be decided in the next two or three days. When the time comes, it will either be a brutal battle, or everyone will head back home and pretend nothing happened.”

Pei Che smiled. “Which one do you hope for?”

“I hope the war breaks out.” Pei Yuan stared at him with dark, intense eyes. “Chunyu Luan hit me with two arrows and nearly left me to die in the snowy mountains. He also kept me away from home for so long. If I don’t teach him a lesson, wouldn’t all the blood and sweat spilled during this time be for nothing? I must take his head and annihilate his army to appease the hatred in my heart!”

Pei Che asked, “Aren’t you afraid of losing?”

Pei Yuan replied, “No. Because I will definitely win.”

Pei Che saw the feral wildness and confidence in his brother’s eyes. Even though Pei Yuan was currently seated, it did not diminish his formidable aura in the slightest.

“Why did you ask about Mother just now?” Pei Che set down his brush. Having spoken for a short while, the ink on the paper had dried. He slowly rolled the paper up as he spoke, “I’ve been in Dai County for so long, yet you’ve never mentioned Mother. Why bring it up out of nowhere? Has something happened in the capital?”

“Yes.” Pei Yuan cut straight to the chase, revealing the truth. “The Emperor is critically ill and on the verge of passing. Pei Xiao has aligned with Dong Yushu to usurp the throne. Great General Feng Huchang was sabotaged and is now bedridden, unable to preside over matters. The Empress’s influence is weak. Although the Shen family holds five marquisates within a single clan, their actual power was stripped away piece by piece years ago. They hold empty titles now and won’t hold out for long…”

Looking at Pei Che’s increasingly solemn expression, Pei Yuan leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Big Brother, you are the Crown Prince. You must go back.”

Pei Che remained silent for a long time before closing his eyes. “What can I do if I go back? I am nothing but a useless person now.”

“If you say that, how heartbroken Mother would be.” Pei Yuan gripped his brother’s left hand, emphasizing every word, “She has been waiting for you. She is completely isolated and without aid right now. Can you really bear to shrink away in a corner of Dai County, watching Pei Xiao break her spirit and devour the Shen family until nothing is left? You are the true Crown Prince. You were raised with a prince’s education since childhood and earned the love of the people. How can you hand the empire over to treacherous officials and rebels?!”

Pei Che’s eyes gradually grew moist. “Fourth Brother, I cannot convince myself. For the past year, I stayed on Qilian Mountain like a cripple, leaving the entire mess to you. I wasn’t there when you walked on thin ice; I wasn’t there when you were beset by enemies on all sides. But now, with the throne right in front of us, I suddenly appear out of nowhere. How am I any different from a thief? You possess the talent to govern the empire as well. This position shouldn’t belong to me; it rightfully belongs to you.”

Pei Yuan suddenly laughed. “What nonsense are you talking about? I never knew you were such a fussy person before.”

Pei Che said, “Every word I just spoke comes from the bottom of my heart…”

Pei Yuan interrupted him, “I’m not trying to be polite with you either. To tell you the truth, I did think about that seat once, but now, I don’t want it anymore.”

Pei Che was baffled. “Why the change of heart?”

Pei Yuan replied, “Because you can’t raise chickens in the imperial palace.”

“……” Pei Che stared at him, utterly bewildered. “Huh?”

……

Pei Che departed anyway. The following morning, escorted by a cohort of nearly a thousand soldiers and accompanied by A-Chou, he set out.

Pei Yuan wrote a letter to Noble Consort Zhao, who was staying behind in Linfen, to borrow her troops.

Noble Consort Zhao had always maintained an attitude of staying out of trouble, which was why she had petitioned the Emperor early on to take Pei Yang to their fiefdom—shunning the vanity of the capital just to live out her later years in peace. But such a dream was nothing but an illusion now. Pei Yang had gone to the capital to attend to the ailing Emperor and was now trapped in a dangerous predicament. If Noble Consort Zhao still did nothing, Pei Yang would surely die. She was a clever woman and would understand this logic; she would undoubtedly put forth all her effort to support Pei Che.

Pei Yuan could already imagine the look on Pei Xiao’s face when the time came. Pei Xiao probably believed Pei Che was long dead, right? That was why he dared to lay out such a scheme, thinking everything was foolproof.

Once Pei Che surfaced in the capital with the garrison troops from Linfen, the real show would begin.

Standing on the city watchtower, Pei Yuan watched Pei Che ride away until the contingent finally vanished at the edge of the horizon before he turned to leave.

Just as he stepped onto the ground, Su Wei came rushing over, his expression a mix of tension and excitement. “Your Highness, word from the scouts ahead—the Xiongnu reinforcements have arrived! It’s a massive force coming from the east. It is estimated they will reach the walls of Feng County tonight to join forces with Chunyu Luan.”

His eyes were shining. “Your Highness, care to guess who the commanding generals are?”

Hearing his tone, Pei Yuan instantly had an answer in his heart. Without voicing it, he simply asked, “Who is it?”

“Chanyu Nazhu’s trusted general, Meng Jia, and General Wei Meng!”

Sansukini: The last 4 chapters will all be posted next week. And Ruyi’s Comfortable Life ends this week. Time flies so fast!

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