Chapter 83

Chapter 83

When parents are alive, children and grandchildren should not live separately. In this day and age, it is common for multiple generations to reside together under one roof, often with three or even four generations. For a family like the Peis, where father and son live apart, it is already quite rare—let alone the father residing outside the main estate. Though those with keen ears and eyes may vaguely discern underlying reasons, and it is likely that the Duke of Dingguo, as the father, had failed in his paternal duties, strictly speaking, this could still be used to pin an accusation of filial impiety on Pei Yue.

In these times, failure in filial duty was a serious transgression, and one's reputation was of utmost importance. Upon receiving the news, Pei Yue's brow furrowed slightly, and he ordered the letter to be sent home. After a brief moment of contemplation, he returned to his seat and began drafting a memorial of self-defense.

The emperor was well aware of the events of those years. Over the past decade, he had first favored Pei Yue's elder brother, then entrusted Pei Yue himself with significant responsibilities, and had repeatedly praised Pei Yue's mother—his stance was evident at a glance. Thus, Pei Yue felt not the slightest panic, nor any awareness that he was facing serious accusations. Instead, he remained utterly unperturbed.

By the time he finished writing, it was nearly noon. Pei Yue blotted the ink dry and ordered the memorial to be submitted. He then summoned Chang Feng and instructed him to make a trip to the Duke of Dingguo's residence.

Since falling ill before the New Year, the Duke of Dingguo had been unwilling to leave the city and now resided within its walls. Chang Feng, naturally familiar with his whereabouts, rode swiftly to his residence. Upon stating his purpose, he was ushered into the study—only to unexpectedly encounter Zhe Liu.

Recognizing her as the young mistress's maid, Chang Feng was surprised but refrained from commenting. He followed the servant into the study and bowed respectfully. Before he could explain his errand, the man seated within snorted lightly, "What now? Is his wife sending someone over not enough? Must you come as well? Tell him to rest easy—since I’ve given my word, I won’t go back on it."

With that, he directly took up his teacup in the traditional gesture of dismissal.

Chang Feng, however, had not yet delivered his message and could not simply depart. Bowing in acknowledgment, he planted his feet firmly. "Your Grace misunderstands. The young master is on constant duty at the imperial palace and has made no arrangements with the young mistress. This humble servant comes on the young master’s orders to inform you of a major court matter concerning the Pei family today..."

At first, the Duke of Dingguo showed some interest, wondering if the couple had come separately due to some internal strife. But as he listened further, his brows furrowed deeply. "So what if he’s been impeached? I’ve already agreed to submit a memorial. What more do you have to say?"

The mention of this matter still irritated Pei Kun. He had never expected that his daughter-in-law, in just a few months, would have uncovered the family’s past affairs and even dared to openly use them to pressure him.

That maid of hers was remarkably articulate—*"In recent years, Your Grace resided in a suburban villa for peace and quiet, and after returning to the capital, unwilling to be disturbed and weary of the main estate, chose another scenic retreat to live in. Naturally, our household understands this perfectly, but to outsiders, it appears differently. Now, the young master is being impeached over this matter."*

*"Truly, an elder should live wherever they please. Our family owns many properties—you could move to a new one every month, and it wouldn’t matter. But these busybodies make trouble. Upon hearing the news, our young mistress immediately consulted with Madam Pei. Though the ancestors’ will stands, it is still necessary to invite you back to the main estate for long-term residence—otherwise, there may be further malicious rumors in the future."*

Every word was polished and proper, but how could Pei Kun believe that his daughter-in-law—who even logged a sip of tea in the household ledgers—would say such things? With a little thought, he understood Zhe Liu’s purpose perfectly.

Wasn't it just to pressure him, using the ancestors’ will, into submitting a memorial in Pei Yue’s defense? They had even prepared the reasoning for him.

For so many years, Lin Shi never revealed the fact that she was despised by her parents and nearly driven out of the household, and neither did Pei Yue. But given Ming Tang's way of doing things...

The Duke of Dingguo, now in his fifties, controlled vast wealth. Thanks to his standing, he still lived a carefree life, valuing his dignity above all. Just imagining that one day the entire capital would know that, as the eldest legitimate son, he was deemed inferior to Lin Shi and her two children in his parents' eyes made his face burn with shame. In the end, he relented.

But why did Pei Yue send someone again so soon after his agreement? Pei Kun was displeased and spoke harshly. Seeing that Chang Feng was here for the same matter, he dismissed him once more.

Chang Feng hadn’t expected the young mistress to act first. He didn’t bother explaining that the young master had merely sent him to relay a message—not expecting any defense from him—he bowed and withdrew, pondering whether to return and inquire about what the maid sent by the young mistress had said.

Leaving the Pei family’s drama aside, with little happening in court these days, the impeachment of Pei Yue—given his high rank—naturally became a major issue. As the Grand Secretaries were running the government, the memorial reached them. Minister Ming scanned it briefly, saw it involved Pei Yue, and set it aside: "I must recuse myself."

Pei Yue living separately from his father was an undeniable fact, and each Grand Secretary had their own stance. Seeing that Minister Ming, overseeing the Ministry of Rites and thus the most qualified to speak, had resolved to remain silent, Chief Grand Secretary Yu made the final call: "Let His Majesty decide."

While the emperor had not attended court for some time, he was not indifferent to state affairs. His illness was severe, often leaving him exhausted. On the advice of the imperial physicians and the urging of the Empress Dowager and the Empress, he focused on recuperation, merely ordering that major court matters be reported to him promptly.

When the Grand Secretariat’s message arrived, the emperor was reclining on his bed, chatting idly with the Empress. Waving the messenger away, he lifted the bowl of medicine, drained it in one go, and set it aside. Turning to the Empress, he remarked, "It seems Pei Yue has offended quite a few people lately."

The Pei family’s dispute was no recent matter—it had spanned over a decade. That it was brought up now clearly indicated someone’s displeasure with him.

The Empress handed the empty bowl to a servant, leaned forward to wipe the emperor’s lips, and smiled. "Indeed. Even in the palace, I’ve heard that security in the imperial city has tightened recently. Young Master Pei has detained several people, and there must be no small amount of resentment in private."

Pausing briefly, she continued, "Setting aside Young Master Pei’s affairs, Your Majesty should also carefully consider the matter of the heir apparent upon your return to court after recovery."

The moment the emperor fell ill, whispers of conspiracy spread. The emperor himself did not want his sons to know too much about his condition, likely because the succession remained undecided, leaving minds unsettled. Pei Yue’s heightened security in the imperial city was merely a response to the emperor’s wish to conceal his illness. Married for years and childless, the Empress had no stake in which prince ascended the throne and thus spoke frankly.

The emperor frowned slightly and nodded. "I understand." Picking up the memorials, he pondered how to reject them when a soft knock came at the door. A eunuch entered, presenting another memorial.

Unfolding it, he found it was from Pei Kun.

At first, the emperor frowned, but as he read on, he began to laugh. Setting aside thoughts of a formal response, he simply said, "Deliver the Duke of Dingguo’s memorial to the Censorate and tell them that if they have nothing better to do, they should stop meddling in other people’s family affairs."

As the words came out too hastily, once the person left, the Emperor immediately coughed heavily several times, his face growing flushed.

The attending eunuchs and palace maids immediately busied themselves, while the Empress, her face filled with concern, stepped forward and sat beside the Emperor. She fed him half a cup of warm water, and seeing his complexion improve slightly, she asked, "Would Your Majesty care to rest?"

"No need." The Emperor felt his spirits were better today than in previous days. The occasional cough was no major issue. After soothing the dryness in his throat, he smiled and said, "Old Pei Kun finally shows some fatherly concern, knowing to defend his son."

In earlier years, no one knew what he was thinking, picking fights with the blameless Lin Shi, all for the sake of a concubine. After that concubine died, it wasn’t long before he had Pei Yue with Lin Shi, yet he neglected him completely. But this time, at least he acted somewhat appropriately.

Seeing the Emperor had stopped coughing, the Empress did not press further and simply agreed, "After all, it’s his own flesh and blood."

"Indeed..." The Emperor fell silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "Let’s hold a small court assembly tomorrow. Have the eldest prince and the others attend as well. I’ve been feeling better these days, and staying away from court indefinitely isn’t right."

Minor court sessions normally included only key ministers, while imperial princes and nobles participated solely in grand assemblies. The Emperor’s words seemed casual, but the Empress instinctively glanced at the imperial crown with its dangling beads on the nearby stand before gently suggesting, "Have an extra bowl of snow pear soup tonight. It’s made from the paste I prepared last year—relieves dryness and stops coughing."

The Emperor made no secret of backing Pei Yue, and Pei Kun had submitted a memorial himself, stating that he simply preferred the quiet of his villa. His wording was rather sharp, with phrases like, "With so many estates, one lives where one pleases. If your whole family crowds together, is it because you want to? No, it’s because you lack the properties to do otherwise." Such remarks were infuriating to read, yet impossible to refute.

After all, the Pei family truly owned numerous estates, each with its own scenic charm. The reasoning that one might wish to change their mood was perfectly reasonable, making the critics look petty by comparison.

By morning, news of the impeachment had spread, but by evening, the matter had been settled. Envoy Zhe Liu made a trip to the Duke of Dingguo’s residence, not only securing a project subsidy from Ming Tang but also receiving a reward from Mrs. Pei, scoring a nice little windfall.

As she managed Ming Tang’s business affairs, her monthly wages were already high. With this unexpected windfall, she promptly ordered extra dishes for the whole staff, spreading the joy.

As the others laughed and bantered, Ming Tang sat in the study, reading Pei Yue’s letter. As she dipped her brush in ink, she imagined Pei Yue's expression while writing these words, and couldn’t help but smile.

When she snapped back to attention, she noticed an ink blot had already stained the paper, beneath which her brush had unconsciously traced the characters "Pei Yue."

The ink was still wet, glinting faintly in the candlelight. Ming Tang paused, set the brush aside, and picked up the letter. Just as she was about to crumple it and toss it into the wastebasket, her hand hesitated—instead, she slipped it between book pages and placed it to the side.

Paper didn't come cheap—this was just being frugal.

When it came time to write about herself as requested, she found herself at a loss for words.

After much deliberation and and still no inspiration, Ming Tang glanced around before finally picking up her brush: *Lately, I’ve been occupied with reading newly published novels. Compared to the usual vulgar books, the plots are rather entertaining. A brief summary follows...*

Pei Yue, upon receiving the letter from home and gauging its thickness with slight anticipation, read it from start to finish: "......"

The contents indeed made no mention of Pei Ze and were related to Ming Tang, yet he still felt somewhat slighted.

Ming Tang remained entirely unaware of his thoughts. Today was the first day of the Pei family kindergarten’s expanded enrollment, and she and Mrs. Pei had, for once, accompanied Pei Ze to the school courtyard together.

The turmoil at home had not affected Pei Ze in the slightest. All he could think about was his excitement of finally having classmates to study with, so much so that he had woken up early, eager to attend.

Knowing his classmates lived outside the estate and would take time to arrive, he restrained his impatience, understanding that going now would mean seeing no one.

Mrs. Pei watched him and couldn’t help but sigh. "Seeing A Ze so excited, if we had found him classmates earlier, perhaps he wouldn’t have resisted lessons so much these past days."

No sooner had she spoken than Pei Ze looked up at his elders and tentatively asked, "Having classmates is a happy occasion. Don't we get a holiday to celebrate?"