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

Chapter 514 Zheng Wang's Evil Words
Upon hearing this, Chen Xinjian left quickly.

While waiting for Xia Ru, Pei Yuan asked Bi Jun, "When did you leave Beijing?"

Bi Jun replied respectfully, "In the fifth year of Zhengde, Eunuch Liu failed, and I didn't dare to stay in the capital, so I found an excuse to go to my godfather."

Pei Yuan looked at Bi Jun's age and asked, "How old were you when you entered the palace?"

Bi Jun replied respectfully, "I entered the palace when I was six years old, and have been in the palace for thirty-five years. I also spent two years guarding the palace with my godfather."

Pei Yuan's heart moved, "So, you should know a lot of people in the palace?"

Bi Jun seemed to understand what Pei Yuan wanted to say, and sighed, "There are many eunuchs in the palace, but few old eunuchs in the palace. It is a great blessing to be able to live to my age."

"Many of the people I knew in the past have long since passed away. Most of the people I met later were also for profit, so we can't say that we have any deep friendships."

Pei Yuan said "oh" and changed the subject without continuing the conversation.

Not long after, Xia Ru and his son arrived with trepidation.

Although his situation has indeed improved significantly since he received the help of this evil thousand households.

Zhang Heling no longer dared to suppress them openly, and other families began to wait and see cautiously. The news that had been cut off from the palace before could be transmitted from time to time.

But this Pei Yuan is really too terrifying.

The incident of Pei Yuan beating and humiliating Xia Zhu in front of Xia Ru would occasionally appear in Xia Ru's mind.

Yesterday, when he accepted the memorial on behalf of the emperor in the Lifanyuan as a relative of the emperor, he hosted the Japanese envoys for dinner.

Because he was often absent-minded, he was questioned by the Japanese envoy.

Seeing that the messenger was so attentive and polite, Xia Ru felt suffocated because he was an outsider, so he mumbled something about "having a friend".

The Japanese envoy was also shocked when he heard this. He never expected that there would be such rude and disrespectful officials in the Celestial Empire.

As for "having a friend" and so on, the messenger naturally understood what he meant.

This Japanese envoy was called Ryoan Keigo, originally a monk of Tofukuji Temple. As a monk of high status in Japan, daimyo and nobles often came to him for advice.

Therefore, I am very familiar with this language routine.

But Liao'an Guiwu really couldn't understand who could beat the Ming Emperor's brother-in-law in front of the Ming Emperor's father-in-law and still make people swallow their anger in silence.

Most of these Japanese envoys had the mission of gathering intelligence, so they were naturally very interested in such abnormal things.

So, under the guidance and flattery of Laian Guiwu, Xia Ru, an inexperienced fool, was easily tricked into revealing a lot of information.

Therefore, the messenger also knew Pei Yuan's name, and even joined in cursing a few times to make Xia Ru happy.

Xia Ru was very happy to hear this and couldn't help but drink a few more glasses.

It was just that I was drunk and confused at the time, and I didn’t remember anything except the sentence “Devil Pei Yuan”.

Therefore, when Chen Xinjian came to inform him that Pei Yuan had returned from Shandong, Xia Ru's heart immediately tightened.

Simply recalling being persecuted by Pei Yuan and Pei Yuan actually standing there are two completely different feelings of oppression.

How he now wishes Pei Yuan would stay in Shandong so that his days could continue to be peaceful.

But Pei Yuan came back just like that.

Xia Ru could only hope that Empress Dowager Zhang would die quickly, so that Empress Xia could take the throne and kill the traitor Pei Yuan. At the same time, he also asked his son Xia Zhu to go with him to help absorb the firepower.

Xia Zhu was helpless and collapsed, but there was no other way.

When he arrived at Zhihua Temple and saw the sturdy man sitting in the hall with his own eyes and felt the oppressive force looking at him, Xia Ru immediately felt that the fear he had been feeling for the past few days had materialized.

Pei Yuan smiled, showing his white teeth, and came down the hall to greet Xia Ru, saying, "I haven't seen you for a while. Is Earl Qingyang doing well?"

Xia Ru quickly forced a smile and said, "Okay, everything is fine."

Pei Yuan said "hmm" and waved his hand, "Quick, please sit down."

Glancing back, he saw Natsusuke.

The good brother of Queen Xia, upon meeting Pei Yuan's gaze, immediately bowed down obediently, "My boy Xia Zhu greets Captain Pei."

Pei Yuan praised him, "You did a good job last time. Although it hurt your face a little, hasn't the Shouning Marquis been much more honest these days?"

"Sometimes, you want to save face at the expense of substance. Is that right?"

Xia Zhu was a little flattered to hear that bastard Pei Yuan speak so candidly.

He quickly said, "Thank you for your teachings, Qianhu."

After Xia Ru sat down, Pei Yuan signaled Bi Jun, who was standing beside him, to step back, and asked Chen Xin to guard the door.

Xia Ru was a little frightened when he saw the situation, and he looked at Pei Yuan carefully.

But Pei Yuan asked slowly, "Marquis Shouning has not come to harass you these days, and the hatred of killing your daughter in the heart of Earl Qingyang should be let go."

Pei Yuan's words made Xia Ru angry, "You!"

Seeing Pei Yuan looking over, Xia Ru was still annoyed and said, "Captain Pei, don't go too far!"

Pei Yuan nodded and said calmly, "Very good, you didn't forget."

Then he continued, "I think the Marquis of Shouning will not forget such a big thing, and Empress Dowager Zhang will definitely not forget it either."

"After all..., the other daughter of the Earl of Qingyang is still under the nose of Empress Dowager Zhang."

Pei Yuan's words immediately made Xia Ru's face look ugly.

Only then did he suddenly realize it.

Where does the so-called peaceful days come from?

If Pei Yuan hadn't plotted against Zhang Heling before leaving, how could that guy have gotten along peacefully with the Xia family?

Xia Ru's daughter was beaten to death by Zhang Heling's son who was drunk.

Even if Xia Ru is willing to endure humiliation and live, I'm afraid the Zhang family won't dare to rest assured.

The Xia family still has a queen.

In order to avoid future troubles, they would definitely try to get rid of Queen Xia again.

Once Queen Xia is deposed, Xia Ru and his son will definitely not have a good ending.

Xia Ru realized the problem. But Pei Yuan asked again with a fake smile, "I haven't seen you for a while. Is Earl Qingyang doing well?"

This time Xia Ru was silent for a long time and did not answer.

After a while, Pei Yuan, who was sitting at the head of the table, said firmly, "If you want to live well, you must sideline the Queen Mother and kill the Marquis of Shouning!"

Before Xia Ru could answer, Xia Zhu couldn't help but ask, "Qian Hu, tell me, what should we do?"

Xia Zhu had already understood Pei Yuan's hint. His fear of the tragic ending made him subconsciously want to ask Captain Pei for help again.

Although Xia Ru also understood that his family had no chance of coexisting with Empress Dowager Zhang and Zhang Heling, he still sighed helplessly, "Captain Pei, Empress Dowager Zhang is the biological mother of the current emperor. Who can do anything to her?"

Pei Yuan said confidently, "Don't worry, the Queen Mother is just a woman in the palace. As long as we kill Zhang Heling first and cut off the Queen Mother's minions outside the palace, it won't be so easy for her to do anything she wants."

Xia Ru shook his head upon hearing this and said, "I understand what Captain Pei means, and I also know that the Xia family is irreconcilable with them. But as long as Empress Dowager Zhang is still here, who can do anything to Zhang Heling?"

"It would have been fine if it was just a minor incident in the past, but if it really involved Zhang Heling's life, the emperor would not dare to disobey his mother, and the court officials would certainly echo the queen mother."

Pei Yuan said calmly, "This matter has already been planned by the Qianhu. It's not your business to worry about it."

Pei Yuan finished speaking and asked Xia Ru, "Your family is a foreign relative and has a close relationship with the royal family. I guess you know a lot of palace secrets, right?"

Xia Ru shook his head cautiously upon hearing this, "The Queen is not the kind of person who talks too much."

Pei Yuan said calmly, "I just heard an old story and wanted to verify it with the Queen."

Xia Ru said, "Pei Qianhu, please tell me. As long as I can use my Xia family's services, I will never refuse."

Pei Yuan said slowly, "I heard that there were rumors during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong. It was said that Empress Dowager Zhang was jealous and did not allow Emperor Xiaozong to touch other women. The officials were worried that Emperor Xiaozong would have no descendants, so they wrote to him many times to ask him to choose a concubine, but they were all rejected by Emperor Xiaozong."

"Later, Xiaozong's grandmother, Empress Dowager Zhou, gave two of her maids, Zheng and Zhao, to Xiaozong, and told him directly that these two women were to bear offspring for the emperor and that he must not be rejected."

"Later, Zheng became pregnant and gave birth to a boy, who is now the emperor."

Pei Yuan finished speaking slowly, raised his eyelids, looked at Xia Ru and asked, "Is this true?"

Xia Ru quickly said, "There have been rumors about this for a long time. There was a Wucheng Guard named Zheng Wang who claimed that his daughter served the Empress Dowager in the palace and later gave birth to the crown prince. His daughter also sent him some clothes through a eunuch named Liu Lin and a palace maid named Huang Nv'er."

"Later, the news spread widely, and even Emperor Xiaozong knew about it, so he personally dealt with the matter."

Pei Yuan asked, "How did Emperor Xiaozong deal with it?"

Xia Ru said, "Eunuch Liu Lin was executed, and the palace maid Huang was sent to the laundry bureau."

Pei Yuan asked, "What about Zheng?"

Xia Ru paused for a moment and said, "Emperor Xiaozong said that he had already made the decision and did not mention it further."

Pei Yuan asked again, "Where is Zheng Wang?"

Xia Ru said, "Zheng Wang was arrested and imprisoned. Because of this case, he was assigned to the Fujian Division of the Ministry of Justice and was under their jurisdiction. Later, in the 18th year of the Hongzhi reign, he was released by the Minister of Justice Min Gui himself because of the death of Emperor Xiaozong."

Pei Yuan heard this and asked Xia Ru, "Since Emperor Xiaozong personally inquired about this matter, then eunuch Liu Lin and palace maid Huang Nv'er are both involved, right?"

Xia Ru said, "Naturally."

Pei Yuan continued, "Since Liu Lin, who delivered the message, was executed, and Huang, the daughter who delivered the gift, was punished to go to the laundry department, then why was Zheng Wang, the culprit who spread the rumor about the prince's origin, not punished but imprisoned? Moreover, he was released by Min Gui as soon as Emperor Xiaozong died?"

"What's more, the emperor only said that Zheng was sentenced, but he didn't mention how he dealt with her in the end, right?"

Xia Ru was silent for a moment and said, "It's not good to speculate on this kind of thing."

"In the second year of the Zhengde reign, Zheng Wang was indignant and started a commotion again. A man named Wang Xi broke into the Dong'an Gate and threatened to report the Queen Mother's imprisonment. The incident was a big deal, so the court arrested Zheng Wang and took him to the Ministry of Justice."

"At that time, Min Gui had already retired, and the new Minister of Justice was Tu Xun, and Zheng Wang was eventually executed."

Pei Yuan asked Xia Ru, "Why is Zheng Wang so bold? He was punished by the late emperor, but he still dares to come and say these nonsense?"

Xia Ru sighed, thought for a while and said, "I know what Qian Hu meant. But the general trend cannot be violated. There is absolutely no possibility of changing the emperor and the queen mother now."

"Even if this is true, it doesn't make any sense. The Queen Mother is the legitimate mother, so whether the child is her biological child or not doesn't matter to her. The Emperor is already the ruler of the world, so how could he want to let his life experience be in turmoil?"

"Emperor Xiaozong could tolerate Zheng Wang, and important officials like Min Gui might also understand the importance of the matter. But when it came to the Zhengde Dynasty, why did Zheng Wang have no chance to survive?"

"There is no possibility of this kind of thing causing any more trouble."

Pei Yuan listened calmly and said, "It doesn't matter. The truth of this rumor is not important. What I want to use is the rumor itself."

Xia Ru was confused by what he heard, but as a relative by marriage, he knew some taboos.

I couldn't help but remind him again, "This kind of thing that alienates the flesh and blood of the royal family cannot be done carelessly. If something goes wrong, the emperor and the empress dowager will be furious, and I'm afraid no one will be spared."

Pei Yuan nodded perfunctorily, then looked at Xia Ru with interest and said, "Can you ask the Queen for me if she knows anything related to this?"

Xia Ru was shocked when he heard this, "This..."

He quickly said to Pei Yuan, "The queen lives deep in the palace, and she is served by palace maids and eunuchs. Who dares to speak nonsense? I'm afraid she doesn't know anything."

Pei Yuan still smiled and said, "It's okay, just ask. No matter if she knows or not, just give me a reply."

Xia Ru could no longer sit still. Sweat began to form on his forehead. He looked at Pei Yuan in confusion, "Captain, what do you mean by this?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "It doesn't matter. Just do as I say. Ask the queen for me and ask her to give me a reply."

Xia Ru's throat was dry from nervousness, and he pleaded in a panic, "The Queen cannot get involved in such things."

"Don't get involved?" Pei Yuan's face suddenly darkened. He stared at Xia Ru and growled, "In order to protect your Xia family, I have to fight with the current queen mother and the most powerful foreign relative, and you tell me that you, the Xia family, can't get involved?"

Xia Ru wiped the sweat off his face and said quickly, "That's not what I meant."

Xia Ru also understood that there was no room for compromise with Empress Dowager Zhang.

Even if they wanted to compromise, the Zhang family would definitely wipe out the Xia family, which had produced a queen.

But this matter is of great importance. Once the emperor or the empress dowager finds out, it will definitely touch their sore spot.

No one can imagine what will happen then.

Pei Yuan said to Xia Ru in a tone that would not brook refusal, "Write a secret letter immediately and ask the queen about this matter in your name. I will have someone reliable deliver it to the palace."

"If this matter is exposed, I, Pei Yuan, will live and die with your Xia family."

"If our plan is finally accomplished, I hope that your Xia family can share my prosperity."

(End of this chapter)