Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 477 It’s Not Too Late
When Pei Yuan entered the public housing, the Xia family father and son were already waiting inside.

Perhaps this place and this scene reminded them of some unpleasant memories. When they saw Pei Yuan coming in, they subconsciously stood up from their seats to greet him.

Xia Ru, the Earl of Qingyang, felt somewhat humiliated, but there was nothing he could do.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan was not arrogant this time. He greeted him with a smile as soon as he came in, "Please take a seat. How is the matter going?"

The two sat down, Xia Ru glanced at Xia Zhu, and Xia Zhu said quickly, "I did everything the Qianhu said. Zhang Heling didn't dare to take the land, so I knelt in front of the Zhang family's door and begged. Later, many people gathered around and watched. I don't know how it happened, but it actually alarmed the emperor..."

After Xia Zhu finished his vivid description, Pei Yuan compared the information obtained from Xiao Yan and said, "That's about it. As long as Shou Ning Hou is willing to stay quiet, others will not dare to rashly provoke you at this time."

"If you want to be safe, you can drag Lord Changning into this as well."

Pei Yuan said this and asked the two, "By the way, has the Queen contacted you?"

Just as the two were about to breathe a sigh of relief, their mood immediately became heavy again.

Xia Ru said worriedly, "Not yet. Those villains in the palace are used to changing their attitudes according to the situation. Now not only is no one willing to help the queen to tip off, but I heard that they are all on high alert, trying to find faults with the queen and wait to make merit in front of the queen mother."

"Now I am worried that the Queen doesn't know what is happening outside. Once she is bewitched by the treacherous people and fails to respond properly, it will easily lead to big trouble."

Pei Yuan heard this, suppressed his secret joy, and hesitated for a moment, then said proudly, "No problem, I will help. Let this thousand households arrange this matter."

Xia Ru looked at Pei Yuan in disbelief after hearing this, "Does the commander have people in the palace?"

How can this be?

Pei Yuan was just a small captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Facing the high-ranking eunuchs in the palace, he could only obey their orders. How could he have the ability to reach out to the palace?

What's more, now that Empress Dowager Zhang has made it clear that she wants to suppress the Xia family, even if she has some connections, she wouldn't dare to act rashly, right?
Pei Yuan put the Xiao family on the dining table without hesitation, "Xiao Jing, the eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, you should know, right?"

Xia Ru was shocked when he heard this, and asked quickly, "Is it the eunuch Xiao who went to the Ministry of War to transfer the Xuanfu soldiers a few days ago?"

Although Xiao Jing had extensive experience before, he mainly worked in the inner court and his name was rarely heard in the outer court.

It was during the Hongzhi reign that Xiao Jing entered the Imperial Household Department. However, the most influential eunuch at that time was Li Rong, the eunuch who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department. Under Li Rong's shadow, Xiao Jing was still not well-known.

Until the change in the Ministry of War some time ago, Xiao Jing cooperated with Li Hao in a straightforward manner to take the transfer order and transfer the Xuanfu troops to the capital.

It was then that the court officials noticed this decisive and capable old eunuch.

Pei Yuan said, "Yes, I will let Eunuch Xiao's people cooperate with you. With the help of Eunuch Xiao's people, we can try to secretly send some unimportant news to the Queen."

"Of course, if it's too confidential information, don't count on it. No one can guarantee the loyalty of those people."

"Saying good luck to each other shouldn't be a problem."

"We can try it in the early stages. Do you have any token? I can have someone send it to the palace first, so that I can gain the trust of the queen."

When Xia Ru heard Pei Yuan say this, he believed it a little.

Seeing Pei Yuan helping the Xia family so much, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Maybe what I said may be a bit presumptuous, but I really can't understand why Captain Pei is helping the Xia family so hard?"

The Shouning Marquis' family wanted to oppose the Xia family, firstly because of a land dispute, and secondly because of the tragic death of Zhang Zongshuo's wife, Xia, which made the Zhang family worry that the Xia family would retaliate if they gained power in the future.

This is an open enemy, and the two sides have conflicts that are extremely difficult to resolve.

The purposes and reasons of both parties are crystal clear.

However, this seemingly mysterious Captain Pei is completely unfathomable.

If the Xia family is really ruined by this person in the end, I'm afraid they will all become fools!

Pei Yuan said calmly, "Don't worry. The life and death of your Xia family is meaningless to me. I keep you because I still have a use for you. To be honest..."

Pei Yuan was just about to reveal something to Xia Ru when he suddenly noticed that there were Jinyiwei waiting outside the door.

Seeing this, Pei Yuan stopped talking and let the Jinyiwei in.

After the Jinyiwei came in, he glanced at the Xia father and son in the room.

Pei Yuan understood and motioned him to come forward to answer. The Jinyiwei quickly came over and whispered to Pei Yuan, "Captain, the Left Commander Xiao Yan is outside asking for an audience."

Pei Yuan was stunned. Why was he here?

Pei Yuan looked at the Xia family father and son, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Mr. Qingyang, wait a moment, there are some things to be dealt with in the Qianhu Office."

Although Xia Ru was somewhat unhappy about being left out, he had the news just now as a foundation, and his family was just in time to ask Pei Yuan for help, so he quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay, Qian Hu will handle it himself."

When Pei Yuan saw Xiao Yan, he saw that this guy had his head hung down and looked very sad.

Pei Yuan asked curiously, "Brother Xiao, what happened?"

Xiao Yan said sadly, "After you left, I went to see my uncle and happened to bring up your matter. I mentioned your damn plan."

Pei Yuan thought to himself, don’t!
I'm about to start negotiations with the Xia family, so you guys just need to wait for me to sell it. Why are you joining in the fun now?
Pei Yuan said quickly, "I was confused for a moment. After all, it was the result of many years of hard work by Eunuch Xiao. I am an outsider, so how can I be qualified to covet this credit?"

Xiao Yan sighed and looked up at the sky at forty-five degrees.

After a long while, he said, "My uncle really can't bear to let me go!"

"He also knew that the Queen Mother was a narrow-minded person and that she could no longer stay in the palace. She would either go to Nanjing or to keep vigil for the late emperor."

"But this is the result of his many years of hard work!"

Pei Yuan was a little puzzled. What else was there to say? Hadn’t he already rejected it before?
Pei Yuan asked directly, "Brother Xiao, didn't you disdain my method? Why did you bring it up with Eunuch Xiao again?"

On Xiao Yan's face, which was looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, a spark of crystal light flashed and then slid down.

"My uncle said... these are the loyal followers he has accumulated after serving four emperors. Anyway, I already have a son, so he plans to let me castrate myself and enter the palace to take over his connections and foundation."

When Pei Yuan heard this, he couldn't help but clamp his legs together and hold his breath.

Eunuch Xiao is really a ruthless man!
Xiao Yan turned to look at Pei Yuan, tears already flowing from his eyes, "I have no other choice, so I told you all your methods, trying to persuade my uncle to bet all the resources on the queen."

"But my uncle is just like you said. He thinks the queen is a very smart person. She can see that our Xiao family is desperate and has no feelings for us."

"Even if the Queen has the opportunity to become the Queen Mother in the future, she will only look down on us for not making a decision earlier, and may not really return much benefit."

"So what?" Pei Yuan asked curiously.

Xiao Yan held it in for a long time, but finally said it out loud, "So, you still insist on castrating me."

Okay, Pei Yuan has roughly understood it.

Xiao Yan then said, "I now remember the things you persuaded me to do at the end, so I have to tell you about your method of standing up for us and gaining greater benefits."

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Yan and asked, "And then?"

Xiao Yan wiped the tears from his face and said, "Then, my uncle actually agreed."

Pei Yuan felt uneasy and said, "Don't agree. I'm going to make an offer to the Xia family."

He wanted to ignore Xiao Yan, but was afraid that it would ruin things at the last minute. Pei Yuan's confidence came from the fact that Xiao Jing's departure from the inner court would inevitably cause Xiao Jing's followers to fall apart because they lost their backbone and hope for the future.

Rather than bear this loss in vain, it is better to give the investment queen a helping hand, and maybe you can get infinite returns in the future.

After all, Pei Yuan was not persuading the Xiao family to rebel, he was just flexibly choosing the next master.

What's so difficult about this for an old eunuch who has served four emperors?
Even if the Xiao family is unwilling to use Pei Yuan's hand to gain greater benefits, this way of dealing with the aftermath is completely logically sound.

The Xiao family could not resist such temptation at all.

Pei Yuan only needed to package the Xiao family up as a favor to the Xia family without the Xiao family knowing, in exchange for tying the Xia family to his chariot.

But what Pei Yuan could not have imagined was that castrating Xiao Yan and sending him to the palace really became an option for Xiao Jing.

This is really hard to deal with.

The Xiao family still has a way out.

It’s just that this retreat is a bit tragic.

Fortunately, after hearing what Xiao Yan meant, Xiao Jing was very interested in his previous proposal.

There is still a possibility for the two sides to continue cooperation.

Pei Yuan asked Xiao Yan in a depressed tone, "Why would Eunuch Xiao agree? What did he say?"

Xiao Yan said, "My uncle said your analysis is correct."

"That's it?" Pei Yuan was a little surprised. "Doesn't he understand that I am the one who will take the credit for your Xiao family in front of Queen Xia?"

Xiao Yan said helplessly, "I also told my uncle, but my uncle said you are right."

"He also told me that no matter how much I hated it, it would not change the fact that this was a plan that maximized my profits."

“Since the correct result is there, whether we can get it depends on whether we use the right method.”

Pei Yuan sighed, wishing he had talked to Xiao Jing before.

Talk to smart people...

It’s much easier to cheat.

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Yan with some displeasure and complained, "You should have understood this. I have worked so hard for nothing."

But there's no point in complaining now.

Pei Yuan asked Xiao Yan, "What does your uncle mean by asking you to come to me?"

Xiao Yan asked sullenly, "My uncle said that since Captain Pei has turned my contribution into everyone's contribution, then your benefit should be turned into everyone's benefit."

Pei Yuan was silent for a moment, then reluctantly replied, "Okay."

After that, he asked Xiao Yan, "Do you need a written agreement?"

Xiao Yan said, "No need."

Pei Yuan was a little surprised, "Oh? Why are you so generous?"

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes and said, "Be sincere. I can't beat you."

Pei Yuan sighed for a while and said, "Okay, from tomorrow on, let Xiao Tong work with me. No matter what happens in the future, I will not treat you unfairly."

Although Xiao Yan's re-entry gave Pei Yuan another person to hold him back, it also made it easier for Pei Yuan to directly control Xiao Jing's power in the palace.

Overall, it doesn't seem to be a bad thing.

Xiao Jing's departure will allow Pei Yuan to gain some allies in the palace other than Lu Ting and Gu Dayong. These people may not be in power, but they may come in handy at some point.

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Yan and saw that he didn't look happy, so he asked, "Brother Xiao, you don't have to enter the palace anymore, so why are you so sad?"

After hearing what Pei Yuan said, Xiao Yan's face seemed to be covered with a mask of pain. "The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Thinking about how you, a bastard, got so much good things from our Xiao family for free, it's more painful than being castrated."

Pei Yuan was speechless and patted his shoulder. "Come with me, it's not too late."

Xiao Yan was confused by what Pei Yuan said. Seeing Pei Yuan walking towards the East Courtyard on his own, he had no choice but to follow him.

He was just planning how to make Pei Yuan bleed heavily to make up for his mistake when he was led by Pei Yuan into the court where he usually handled official business.

There were two people sitting in the hall. When they saw Pei Yuan coming in, they both stood up and greeted him.

Pei Yuan introduced these two to Xiao Yan, "One is Xia Ru, the Earl of Qingyang, and the other is Xia Zhu, the hereditary commander of the Jinyiwei."

Xiao Yan's eyes swept across the two of them, first wondering which one of the Earl of Qingyang was, and then wondering where this Jinyiwei commander came from.

Then, he suddenly came to his senses and realized something.

Both of them have the surname Xia!

Then Xiao Yan understood instantly.

The Xia family! Queen Xia's Xia family!
Then, Xiao Yan began to think quickly. Pei Yuan had just thrown an unrealistic plan at him and was driven away by him, so he immediately made an appointment with Queen Xia's Xia family here.

What does it mean?
Thinking about Pei Yuan's incredible methods since he met him, Xiao Yan felt a chill running up his back.

He was about to ask Pei Yuan what he wanted to do.

Then Pei Yuan introduced Xia Ru and Xia Zhu, "This is the Left Commander Xiao Yan, the nephew of Eunuch Xiao. I didn't lie to you just now, did I?"

When Xiao Yan heard this, he was even more shocked.

So what was that bastard Pei Yuan saying to them just now?
Pei Yuan seemed to have guessed what Xiao Yan wanted to ask, and said lightly, "Since you are not too late, let's talk about it. Um, about those things about assisting Queen Xia."

Xiao Yan immediately glared at Pei Yuan.

He had already understood that the bastard had sold out the Xiao family.

Pei Yuan glared back without feeling guilty, and reminded her, "Don't forget what I told you when I went to your house."

Xiao Yan thought for a long time before he understood what Pei Yuan meant.

Pei Yuan was telling Xiao Yan not to forget that he had to take the lead in this matter in order to obtain the greatest benefit.

In other words, this bastard not only planned to sell himself secretly, but after I found out, in order to ensure Pei Yuan could get a good price, not only could I not say a word, I had to cooperate with him?

Just as I was thinking about cooperating, Pei Yuan spoke up, "Why don't you say hello to the guests?"

Xiao Yan was about to explode when he heard this.

He is not human!
(End of this chapter)