The night was pitch-black.
In the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, when Qi Huaying woke up, she heard Qiang Wei speaking with a maid, saying that Pei Yunng had arrived at the mansion.
Pei Yunng?
Qi Huaying was startled.
Her brother’s body was not yet cold; what was he doing here?
Qi Huaying threw off the covers and got out of bed, intending to head to the hall.
In the hall, Qi Yutai’s coffin was placed in the center, and all lanterns in the house had been replaced with white ones overnight. When the night wind blew, it felt chillingly morbid.
Qi Qing sat in his seat, his gaunt body wrapped in a black mourning robe, his expression dead and lifeless, making him look even more like a corpse than the person in the coffin.
Footsteps broke the silence, especially distinct in the night.
He lifted his eyelids, his murky old eyes finally settling on the person before him, as if struggling to recognize the newcor.
"Marshal Pei," he said.
Pei Yunng stopped in his tracks, his gaze sweeping over the coffin in the center of the hall, and then he said indifferently, "Minister Qi, my condolences."
The Grand Preceptor nodded, his expression neither grief-stricken nor sorrowful. After a long silence, he spoke calmly, "Just now, a servant said dical Officer Lu ca to the mansion and was taken away by you."
"You want to save her?"
Pei Yunng’s eyes turned cold: "You want to kill her?"
By the door, the guards were instantly on alert, fingers gripping the hilts of their swords.
Qi Qing raised his hand to stop the guards and then started coughing lowly. After a few coughs, he put the handkerchief away from his lips and heaved a significant sigh.
"He was my only son."
He said, "He was pampered and cherished from a young age, never having suffered much. I had hoped he would bring glory to our family, but I had not expected him to be so diocre and to have such a short life."
Qi Qing looked at Pei Yunng.
The young man before him was clad in black brocade armor, handsoly outstanding like a cold blade among the miles of soft red in Shengjing City, sharp, cutting, deadly to the touch.
It was a pity he was not his own son.
"Your father has better luck than I do," he uttered with a sigh, shaking his head, "Having such an outstanding son, the Pei Family’s future knows no bounds."
Pei Yunng responded flatly, "There’s no need for the Grand Preceptor to link with the Zhao Ning Manor."
"So, for a female doctor, you would abandon the Pei Family?"
Pei Yunng let out a mocking laugh.
With contempt, he said, "How can one abandon those with whom one has never been associated?"
Qi Qing didn’t say a word, staring intently at him. His rheumy old eyes suddenly beca piercingly sharp as he abruptly spoke, "Did you always know the reason behind your mother’s death?"
The incident of Lady Zhao Ning being killed by the Rebel Army had happened many years ago.
That was when Pei Yunng had started to have a falling out with Pei Di; this was a well-known fact.
The truth about that incident, known only to a few, had died with those involved. On the surface, Lord Zhao Ning had sacrificed his wife to quell a rebellion, a choice between morality and personal affection. It was only natural that Pei Yunng and his father drifted apart.
But Qi Qing trusted his intuition more.
Yet over these years, he had not found a single clue that proved Pei Yunng harbored any seditious intentions. At the royal banquet five years ago, Pei Yunng had thrown himself in harm’s way to protect the Emperor, thereby earning the royal family’s trust. Even if that trust was not absolute, the Palace Front Office’s position in the court was not to be easily shaken.
Over the years, Qi Qing had not refrained from advising Emperor Liang Ming to be wary of Prince Ning. However, Prince Ning was too good at masquerading; since Emperor Liang Ming’s ascension, several princes had t with misfortune. The Emperor, fearing public opinion, had allowed the tiger to return to the mountain, sparing the apparently weak and incapable Prince Ning.
Having failed to remove the roots after cutting the grass, they lost their pri opportunity. What’s more, he beca older and weaker by the day, and the Emperor grew increasingly dissatisfied with his control. Now the position of the Crown Prince, along with the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, was being suppressed by Emperor Liang Ming’s own ambitions.
Amidst internal and external troubles, and discord between ruler and minister, the Qi Family was no longer a united front.
And as ill-luck would have it, Yu Tai t with disaster at that mont.
"Are you here to warn on the Third Prince’s behalf?" he asked.
"No."
Pei Yunng spoke coldly, "I’m here on my own to tell you, don’t touch her."
He didn’t ntion a na, but the identity of "her" was implicit between the two of them.
Qi Qing’s face darkened slightly.
He scoffed, "Before Yu Tai’s incident, she was the only one who had close contact with him. It cannot be unrelated. Even if it is, this woman must not be spared."
The elder slowly continued, "If I wanted her dead, what would you do about ? Would you lay hands on ?"
Hearing this, Pei Yunng instead burst into laughter.
"Grand Preceptor is advanced in years; how could I possibly raise my hand against an elder?"
His gaze turned chillingly cold as he smirked mockingly, "The Qi Family has just lost a son, but there’s still a daughter."
Qi Qing’s gaze turned instantly nacing, "You dare!"
Pei Yunng laughed as he took two steps back, his fingertips gliding over the long sword on his waist.
"At the royal banquet five years ago, the Grand Preceptor saw kill. Why not try and see if your n are faster, or if my sword is quicker?"
"If you touch her, I will kill your... most beloved person."
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