Chapter 269: The Monkeys Scattered and the Emperor's Grandson Became a Puppet

"Put away your condescending attitude. Since the imperial decree has been issued, you and I are strangers. This is the last chance for you to save face. Next time, if you dare to come to Ning'an Garden, try it. I will expose you for leaving your post to cover up your whereabouts in order to treat the concubine's daughter. I want to see whether you, Marshal Pei, will lose your integrity in your later years!"

When Wu said this, her patience with Pei Laoshuai had reached its lowest point. However, when Pei Laoshuai heard this, he did not get angry but laughed instead, and even spoke in a slightly threatening tone.

"Okay, you'd better tell it now. I want to see what will happen to your son and daughter if I, as a father, get caught!"

When hearing this, Mrs. Wu really didn't expect it.

As the father of three siblings, he had never given them fatherly love or a good face since they were young, but at a time like this he actually wanted to threaten himself with the lives and future of the children, he said with a sneer.

"No wonder Zi Su would rather die than give up anything from the Pei family. Now it seems that he is really wise and decisive. The three siblings are all willing to leave the Pei family. Do you think such a trivial matter can still threaten them?"

"What do you mean? What do you mean you don't want anything from the Pei family? What did he do?"

"What did he do? You will know in a few days. Now it is time for you to leave. If you don't leave, I will call for help. If your whereabouts are revealed, no one will be able to protect your delicate Aunt An and your sickly daughter. Have you thought about it?"

Wu's threatening tone made Marshal Pei return empty-handed.

He wanted to stay and get to the bottom of it, but he was really afraid that Wu would give up and call for help. No matter what, the three children had military merits, and even if his situation was leaked, there would always be the King of Han.

But Aunt An and Pei Zixing at home had no way out. When he thought that they would still depend on him for the rest of their lives, he could only leave quietly.

But when he left, he was not happy.

Because he has been here for so long and has not found any trace of the witch doctor, and there are only a few days left in the six-month deadline, he is now very anxious.

Should I continue waiting and searching here?

Or should I turn back, at least I can take one last look at my daughter?
Both made him a little undecided, so he was furious when he came and extremely worried when he left.

But this is the retribution for his sins, and no one can interfere.

Only after he left did Mrs. Wu heave a long sigh of relief. She had a feeling that Marshal Pei had lost some of his former sharpness. She didn't know what he had been through, but in her eyes now, it didn't matter even if Marshal Pei died immediately.

We are strangers now anyway, and half a lifetime of bad fate has finally ended.

Thinking of this, she stopped worrying about it. She let the nanny come in and help her wash up, then she fell asleep quietly. She slept particularly soundly. In her dream, she returned to the time when she was in Xuanzhou, living the carefree life of a girl in the boudoir.

But this time it was different, there seemed to be an extra young man with a bright smile.

On the day of the return visit, the Geng family was bustling with activity. The father and son were promoted. This good news was not only a happy event for the Geng family, but also for the Jiang family. Therefore, when the return visit was made, Jiang Shihui's face was also full of joy, and he happily congratulated his father-in-law and eldest brother-in-law.

The two of them glanced at him and gave him a subtle reminder.

"Your future is not limited to this, just go for it."

Jiang Shihui was not stupid. He quickly realized that his brother-in-law or the princess might have been behind this, so he just nodded silently and did not say anything else.

Seeing how cautious he was, Geng's father and son couldn't help but reveal some satisfaction in their eyes. What they hated most was the arrogance of those who took advantage of the situation. Of course, they were happy to see that their son-in-law was so motivated and had good vision.

Therefore, the family reunited and had a happy return dinner, during which they also talked about many recent state affairs.

Compared with the tranquility of every household in Xijing City, the East Palace at this moment has an atmosphere of decadence.

Ever since the death of the counselor, people around the prince had noticed some problems. Some of them distanced themselves from him without leaving a trace, some took sicknesses and wanted to avoid the chaos, and still others used methods to be transferred to other places in a dignified manner. In a word, the East Palace, which was once full of splendor, became a bit desolate in an instant.

The prince himself had never paid much attention to these matters before, so it was not surprising that one or two people left. After eight or ten people, or even some capable people around him, wanted to leave, he did not think of ways to retain talents. Instead, he became even more decadent, drinking to drown his sorrows every day, and even gathered people in the East Palace to visit prostitutes.

By the time news of this incident reached the palace, it was already the end of June.

It was the hottest time in Xijing City. The old emperor's health was not good to begin with, and he became even more furious after hearing the news. It was said that the imperial hospital had to go in and out many times before his condition was stabilized.

As a result, when the old emperor got a little better, he did not recuperate but severely reprimanded the crown prince. He also issued an edict to deprive the crown prince of his title, named him King You, and sent him to Youzhou.

Such a big change made the summer heat even more obvious. The East Palace was unable to withstand the anger from the old emperor. On the contrary, Princess Qinghuan, who was always full of power in the eyes of everyone, has been very well-behaved recently.

Firstly, she was rarely seen walking around, and secondly, there was no unusual movement from the court officials related to the princess!
So for a moment, those who originally wanted to change their minds and join the princess seemed to be thinking that perhaps the old emperor had other more important candidates in mind, so they counted on their fingers and sorted out the old emperor's descendants again, but in the end they couldn't pick out four, five, or six.

Instead, some people deliberately directed public opinion to the eldest grandson born to the Crown Prince and the late Crown Princess.

Suddenly, those headless flies had someone to pledge their loyalty to.

In any case, from the perspective of etiquette, the eldest grandson had a much more legitimate right to ascend the throne than the princess, and the old emperor had often given the eldest grandson some rewards before. Now, in such an environment, he was taken advantage of by someone with ulterior motives, and that person was Song Shiye, the head of Prince Chun's Mansion who had not appeared for a long time.

He started planning after the Crown Princess died, and it has been more than half a year.

Although some people were beyond his plan and were not recruited, 60 to 70 percent of the people who had been loyal to the Eastern Palace were still willing to switch to his name, or to the name of the eldest imperial grandson whom he "strongly supported", and thus blatantly confronted the Princess's Mansion.