Chapter 77

Chapter 77

…Did she notice?

Li Zhu’s heart, which had just begun to pound, settled back into her chest.

Pei Zhaoye’s origins were no secret.

Tan Rong knew, which was why he had tried to kill Pei Zhaoye. Tan Jing was even more acutely aware—otherwise, why would Tan Rong meddle and insist on eliminating his elder brother’s illegitimate son?

Perhaps the one who gave the order behind the scenes was Tan Jing himself.

His birth father.

At this thought, Li Zhu felt a sudden, illuminating clarity, immediately followed by a dizzying, painful sensation, as if she had been struck hard on the head.

“…What’s with that expression?” Pei Zhaoye frowned slightly. “You’re looking at me like a stray dog kicked by the roadside.”

The sympathy in Li Zhu’s eyes instantly froze.

If you can’t say anything constructive, it’s better to remain silent.

“If you don’t want to explain why you’re angry, we can move on. I only wanted you to tell me so I could understand what I did wrong and avoid upsetting you again.”

Pei Zhaoye had seen her angry and annoyed many times, but none of those instances combined were as frightening as this one.

It was as if she truly loathed him to the core.

To him, nothing was more terrifying than that.

As the banquet drew to a close, everyone finished their meals. Some prepared to ascend the back mountain for a panoramic view of Pingning County, while others borrowed ink and brush to write letters home, assuring their families of their safety.

While no one was paying attention, Li Zhu set down her bowl and chopsticks, leaning close to whisper in his ear:

“I’ve never found you embarrassing.”

“Whether you eat five bowls or ten, whether you are a formidable general or a bandit from Red Leaf Village, I have never once felt that you brought me shame.”

The girl’s gaze was clear, sincere, and utterly devoid of shadow.

“You don’t need to pretend for my sake. I don’t care what others think—I only care about you.”

Outside the hall, the rain was subsiding. Faint rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and streamed through the window, transforming her pupils into a soft amber.

Pei Zhaoye averted his gaze.

“I understand.”

Li Zhu tilted her head, looking at him. “That’s all? You’re remarkably calm.”

“That’s all. Stop staring.”

Why won’t he even let me look… Li Zhu kept her eyes fixed on him, as if searching for any hint of emotion in his expression.

Pei Zhaoye set down his bowl and met her gaze.

“You just have to make me hard, don’t you?”

“…………”

Li Zhu sprang up and retreated, staring at him for a long moment, unable to utter a complete sentence.

“You really are…”

“Am what?”

“…Well-fed and full of impure thoughts!”

With a flushed face, Li Zhu turned and hurried away without a backward glance.

Pei Zhaoye watched her retreating figure, a slow smile finally curving his lips.

If he was thinking lustful thoughts, it was because she had provoked them.

And she didn’t even realize what she was saying.

Just as he set down his bowl, Pei Zhaoye caught sight of two figures heading towards a secluded spot in the back hall out of the corner of his eye.

He narrowed his eyes.

It was Tan Xun and… Xue Daorong.

With the Xue family in rebellion, Tan Xun would never allow his mother to be implicated by their actions, so naturally, he would keep her by his side.

But judging by Xue Daorong’s expression… she must have recognized him already, hadn’t she?

“—Yuhui, tell me, is there something between that General Pei and Princess Qinghe? Are you truly determined to pledge allegiance to Princess Qinghe and become her subordinate official?”

Xue Daorong clutched Tan Xun’s arm tightly.

Tan Xun suddenly found his mother’s attitude rather peculiar.

It wasn’t strange for her to ask the second question, but why was she so concerned about the first?

He sighed and said:

“Mother, you usually show little interest in political matters, so I rarely discuss these things with you. But today, the Xue family’s ambitions have been exposed to the world. This matter concerns the safety of our entire family, so I will explain it to you in detail—please sit down, Mother.”

Tan Xun led Xue Daorong to sit in the pavilion in the backyard.

Xue Daorong held onto her son’s arm tightly the entire time.

“Great-grandfather compared himself to the King of Northern Yue, aspiring to be a warlord carving out his own domain. However, he also knew that the King of Northern Yue was a member of the Shen imperial clan; merely bearing the surname Shen garnered his regime support.”

“But the Xue family is different. Otherwise, Great-grandfather wouldn’t have hesitated until now, launching his rebellion only in his seventies. He feared that after his death, the Xue family would be purged. After much deliberation, he made a desperate gamble. With that motive alone, the Xue family was destined to fail.”

By this point, Xue Daorong was already in tears.

Tan Xun knew that, at this juncture, no matter how reluctant he was, he had to follow Li Zhu’s advice—there was no avoiding it. They had to make a clean break.

“Mother must also understand that although the Tan family had some local prestige over twenty years ago, our power in the court was extremely limited. The reason we now have disciples and old acquaintances throughout the court is due to the close partnership between His Majesty and our family. That is how we achieved our current standing.”

“The Tan family’s influence stems from imperial authority. If we betray His Majesty for the Xue family, failure would mean the annihilation of our entire clan, and success would brand the Tan family with infamy for generations. Mother, it’s not that I won’t act—it’s that I cannot.”

Xue Daorong stared blankly at her son.

She bowed her head and wept bitterly. “How… how could I not know? But they are my maternal family, my kin. How can I stand by and watch them march toward their doom without doing anything…”

Tan Xun’s eyes were filled with pain, but he continued:

“Mother asked me to choose between her and the princess. Of course, I could only choose Mother. But just as I would ask you to choose between the Xue family and the Tan family, no matter what you choose, it’s like having your heart ripped out. Mother, can you understand?”

By now, even if Xue Daorong wanted to vent her emotions, there was no one left to blame.

Who could she blame?

She could only blame the Xue family for their boundless ambition—her great-grandfather was not satisfied with being the chancellor, nor was the Xue family content with wielding power in Jiangzhou. They even sought to become king!

After crying her eyes out, Xue Daorong finally forced herself to accept this reality.

Yet, reminded of Tan Xun’s earlier comparison, she couldn’t help but press further:

“You compared my difficult choice to your own difficult choice between me and the princess. Yuhui, are you truly so enamored with Princess Qinghe? Enough to abandon your aunt and nephew, and support her in such a shocking endeavor?”

Tan Xun pursed his lips, suppressing his sorrow, and replied solemnly:

“I am willing to serve Li Zhu as my sovereign, first, because I truly do not wish to be her enemy. Even if we cannot be husband and wife, I still want to secure an opportunity not to become her political adversary.”

“Second… Mother, can’t you see? The princess has provided relief for the famine in Jiangzhou, established the Refugee Army, and against all odds rescued prisoners from the Wuhuan people. Compared to Shen Fu, only under her rule can Nan Yong have hope of reclaiming lost territories, and the Tan family can remain subjects of Great Yong, not North Vietnam.”

“Rest assured, even though you spoke disrespectfully to the princess today, she will not hold it against you, nor will she take it out on me. However—I have resolved to follow the princess, Mother. Even if not for your own sake, for the sake of my future, please treat her with the utmost respect from now on. Do not ever utter such words again.”

Tan Xun knew that only by speaking this way would Xue Daorong truly take his words to heart.

Sure enough, after hearing this, the woman across from him became clear-headed.

His future.

The Xue family had rebelled and brought about their own downfall—there was nothing she could do. But she could not let Yuhui’s future be ruined as well!

Still—

Xue Daorong recalled the man she had seen at the banquet earlier.

Tears streaming down her face, she asked with a mix of hatred and fear, “Yuhui, you still haven’t answered me. That General Pei and the princess…”

Tan Xun nodded slowly.

“Though it has not been publicly declared, they are already husband and wife. Why are you so concerned about their relationship, Mother?”

Xue Daorong looked at her oblivious son, filled with secret regret.

If she had known it would come to this, why had she ever targeted that child back then? And having done so, why had she been unable to finish the job, leaving this disaster to haunt them today?

Princess Qinghe was known for her magnanimity, but that General Pei—he did not seem like someone to be trifled with.

Having endured such torture that day, how could he possibly let her, or her Yuhui, off the hook?

“How could I not be concerned! Yuhui, you must be wary of him. Since you’ve decided to follow the princess, you must ensure you gain more favor in her eyes than he does. Otherwise, he will surely…”

“—Surely what?”

A voice, seemingly from nowhere, sounded behind Xue Daorong, startling her nearly to death.

Pei Zhaoye glanced up at Tan Xun:

“The princess sent me to deliver a message to your mother. You’re not needed here—wait outside.”

Tan Xun’s face turned cold, as if he wanted to say something, but out of respect for the princess, he held back and retreated seven paces outside the pavilion.

“I lied. If the princess had a message, she would deliver it herself. Why would she need me to relay it?”

Pei Zhaoye shifted his gaze back to Xue Daorong, whose expression was a mix of terror and dread.

“It seems you know who I am. Of course—the ‘greeting gift’ you left me was so distinctive, how could I not recognize you at a glance?”

“…What do you want?”

Xue Daorong’s face was taut, determined not to show weakness in front of the son of a courtesan.

Pei Zhaoye leaned against the pavilion railing. Though he looked unwell, the cold gleam in his eyes was still intimidating.

“I don’t want to do anything, and for now, I have no plans to harm your son. I’m only advising you not to entertain any ideas about the princess—conversations like the one today are not something a subject’s mother should have with the sovereign her son serves. Do you understand?”

Not long after Pei Zhaoye returned, Changjun had told him about the conversation between Xue Daorong and Li Zhu earlier that day, behind Li Zhu’s back.

Both Changjun and Xuan Ying had long been enduring the Tan family.

In the past, when the princess was weak and had no support, they had no choice but to endure.

But now that the princess was her son’s sovereign, how could she be allowed to shout at the princess and act as if nothing happened afterward?

Xue Daorong’s face showed no emotion, but inside, she was in turmoil.

…His words sounded as if he were purely seeking justice for the princess, with no intention of seeking revenge for himself.

Did he truly not plan to hold her accountable for the torture she had inflicted on him?

Full of suspicion and on high alert, she said:

“You and Yuhui both serve the princess—you as a military official, he as a civil official. Military officials in the field are subject to the control of civil officials. Yuhui is kind-hearted and holds no hostility toward you, but if you intend to harm him…”

“I am the princess consort. Who said I serve the princess alongside your son?”

Pei Zhaoye interrupted her impatiently. He had heard their conversation clearly—why pretend otherwise?

“Anyway, mind your own business and show respect to the princess. Otherwise…”

He had intended to say, “Otherwise, I’ll make things difficult for Tan Xun.”

But on second thought, such a threat would likely have little effect on this lady.

Changing his words at the last moment, he smiled faintly and leaned in:

“Otherwise, I’ll take a loss and, on behalf of the princess, take your son as my concubine. I’ll be the principal, he’ll be the secondary—two brothers serving one wife. It would make for quite a tale, don’t you think, Mrs. Xue?”

Xue Daorong: “…”

What had she just heard?

Her son as a concubine!

…This is… utter moral decay! Is there no law in this world?!

“Mother!”

Tan Xun, seeing from a distance that Xue Daorong had turned pale and slumped to the ground in fright, rushed over immediately.

“Pei Zhaoye! What did you say to my mother?!”

Pei Zhaoye did not answer, only flashed a malicious smile before turning and walking away.