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

Chapter 540 Who is this?

Seeing Pei Yuan didn't respond, Qian Ning's eyes flickered and he asked, "Brother?"

Pei Yuan was furious. If he hadn't been afraid that this was the imperial palace, he would have just punched the bastard three times.

Pei Yuan couldn't hold back his anger after all, and said sarcastically, "The commander really thinks highly of me. When I went to Liang Chu's mansion to take someone away, I only had to deal with some young and strong servants. If I go to Jiang Bin's mansion, I will not only have to break through the obstacles of the border troops outside, but also deal with the elite servants that Jiang Bin brought with him."

"Even if some people die, after dealing with them, I may still have to face a brave general who has gathered his strength and fought many battles."

"I don't mind dying, but I'm afraid my actions will be laughed at by the world."

Qian Ning felt a little uncomfortable when he heard this, but he still smiled thick-skinnedly, "Don't be too modest, my dear brother. If it were any other thousand households, I wouldn't be sure, but your thousand households usually deal with those evil cult monsters and gangsters, and some of them have extraordinary means."

"You said you couldn't do it, but I didn't believe it."

Pei Yuan became even angrier and simply remained silent.

Seeing this, Qian Ning added more pressure and said with a smile, "Besides, in this matter..., His Majesty also means this."

"It is better to solve the problem as soon as possible than to drag it out until everyone is embarrassed. My dear brother has always been loyal and dedicated, so I think he will not embarrass Your Majesty."

Pei Yuan didn't know how much truth there was in Qian Ning's words, nor was he sure whether Zhu Houzhao would be so heartless. But when he thought about Zhu Houzhao's character, he felt cold in his heart.

Now Qian Ning changed his name to Zhu Houzhao. No matter how angry Pei Yuan was, he couldn't refuse so directly.

He had to emphasize again, "I am afraid that I will not do a good job and will delay your majesty's important task. If Pei alone harms the country, I am afraid I cannot bear the consequences."

Qian Ning didn't care at all whether Pei Yuan could accomplish this. He still smiled dryly and said, "My dear brother, don't be modest. His Majesty and I are optimistic about you."

Seeing this, Pei Yuan basically confirmed the worst judgment he had made before.

What Qian Ning wanted was to detonate this matter in advance before Xuanfu responded.

If they could find a reason why Jiang Bin was faking illness, then the emperor and the court would have a good card in hand. Not only could they undermine the will of the internal and external border troops, but they could also use this as a handle to control guys like Li Cong and Shen Zhou.

If Pei Yuan failed.

This was just the excuse to throw Pei Yuan out as a scapegoat, and by punishing the main culprit, the anger of the border troops could be dissipated.

Pei Yuan was not sure whether this was what Zhu Houzhao meant, but Qian Ning’s desire to betray himself must be very strong.

First of all, through this incident, he could transfer all the conflicts to Pei Yuan and let Pei Yuan help him get through this disaster.

Secondly, Pei Yuan’s theory of ecological niche probably touched him, so he began to resist the rise of Pei Yuan, the Jinyiwei, from the bottom of his heart.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan felt extremely regretful.

He said those words to Qian Ning in order to prevent Qian Ning from dragging him into Beizhen and getting involved in the fights among those adopted sons and commanders.

Unexpectedly, Qian Ning underestimated the enemy and only thought that Pei Yuan might pose a threat, so he simply looked for an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, getting rid of Jiang Bin, Li Cong and others while stabbing Pei Yuan in the back.

As for Zhu Houzhao, Pei Yuan was still not sure whether his original intention was what Qian Ning said.

But Pei Yuan already regretted telling Zhu Houzhao too early and had taken care of the Luo Sect matter on his own.

Otherwise, if there was something wrong with the Luo Sect, Zhu Houzhao might not be willing to use himself as cannon fodder.

But now, in Zhu Houzhao's eyes, the top leaders of the Luo Cult have all been replaced by the Jinyiwei, the Western Factory and the Governor's Office are aware of this, and there are five hundred households controlling the key points of the five prefectures, hindering the Luo Cult from connecting with each other and causing chaos.

Pei Yuan's value dropped drastically in an instant.

At least it has changed from a very important bargaining chip to a bargaining chip that can be used to exchange interests.

Compared with the border troops in the city who may mutiny at any time, such a bargaining chip is not worth mentioning.

Seeing Pei Yuan's gloomy face and silent, Qian Ning asked persistently, "Brother, what do you say?"

Pei Yuan was silent for a while, then said unwillingly, "We must plan carefully and get things done, so that we won't be looked down upon by Li Cong and his people."

Qian Ning's eyes moved and he asked, "Then according to what you said, when do you plan to take action?"

Pei Yuan felt secretly resentful when he saw Qian Ning was so persistent and insisted on asking him a definite answer.

He thought for a moment and said, "If you can give me five days to prepare, I should have a good chance of severely damaging the arrogance of those border troops."

Qian Ning interrupted without hesitation, "Five days is too long."

Pei Yuan and Qian Ning looked at each other, and their gazes gradually became fierce.

Qian Ning grinned and said decisively, "Just three days. In three days, I want to hear the news that you broke into Jiang Bin's mansion."

Then, he added in a serious tone, "His Majesty is also watching you."

After saying this, seeing that Pei Yuan was still staring at him fiercely, Qian Ning's fake smile moved for a moment, then he stood up proudly and walked out.

When he was about to reach the door, he said to the person in front of it, "Wait until the shift change tomorrow morning, and send him out together with the Jinyiwei who are off duty."

The man outside the door answered, and from the sound of his voice it was Qian Yong who had just returned from his shift.

After Qian Ning gave instructions to Qian Yong, he left with his personal soldiers.

Qian Yong watched Qian Ning leave, then turned back to look inside the door and came over to close it.

When the door was closed, he smiled and said to the people in the room, "I will not disturb the rest of the captain."

Pei Yuan picked up the porcelain bowl on the table that had been drained of lamp oil and smashed it against the door, shouting angrily, "Get out!"

Qian Yong shuddered in fear when he heard the sound of the porcelain bowl exploding.

Qian Ning, who had walked a little further away, also heard the sound of the porcelain bowl breaking and the words "get out".

He turned around, a sneer flashed across his face, and then he left on his own.

Qian Yong also snorted twice in dissatisfaction, no longer paying attention to Pei Yuan, the moody guy, and planned to go back to sleep.

Pei Yuan slowly calmed down in the room, and the expression on his face became calm.

Attacking Jiang Bin's mansion is definitely a dead end, but fortunately, there is still enough time to solve this problem.

Now that we have the promised three days, there is still some room for maneuver.

Overall, this matter is a crisis, but it may not be impossible to take advantage of the situation and gain great benefits.

If things can't be done, the worst that can happen is that you run away.

I don’t care if there is a flood.

After a long while, Pei Yuan got up gently, first leaned against the door to listen to the noise, then gently opened the door and looked outside.

The enraged Qian Yong had long disappeared.

Furthermore, even if Pei Yuan had not deliberately provoked him, Qian Yong understood from the words of his adoptive father Qian Ning that the two sides no longer had the value of supporting each other.

If that’s the case, why should Qian Yong try to please this person?
Pei Yuan was still a little worried when he saw that no one was watching. To be safe, he released a few mice from his pocket and went to check in the nearby houses. The guards who had been rotated in several rooms were sleeping soundly, and even Qian Yong was snoring.

Pei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He decisively stepped out and gently closed the door.

He looked at the sky and roughly estimated that it should not be midnight yet.

There is still most of the night between now and tomorrow when the keys to the imperial city are opened.

What happened today made him realize very strongly that he could no longer stay in the capital.

Regardless of whether things can be resolved in three days, he must be prepared to evacuate in time.

Faced with the current dangerous situation, Pei Yuan has some general ideas, but it is still extremely unclear whether things can be accomplished and how much benefit can be obtained.

Perhaps it was this strong mentality of "the worst that can happen is running away" that made Pei Yuan bolder.

He decided to take advantage of this rare opportunity, take a risk with Li Zhang, and see if he could deliver the first secret letter to the queen.

We should lay a foundation today so that if we really need to promote the plan in the future, we won't be in such a hurry and have no idea where to start.

Pei Yuan remembered that Li Zhang, who had just left, mentioned that he would lead the Jing army to patrol tonight.

When Pei Yuan came, he deliberately memorized the nearby roads. He went through them roughly in his mind and identified several nodes that the patrolmen might pass by.

Then he tiptoed towards that place in the night.

Pei Yuan walked between the palace walls as nimbly as a cat. When he was unsure about some places, he released a few mice to explore the way.

After dodging several patrols and sentries, Pei Yuan finally saw Li Zhang's hunched figure among a group of clean soldiers.

Pei Yuan hid in the shadows. He first used a mouse to attract the attention of some Jing soldiers, then flicked his finger and threw a tiny piece of silver towards Li Zhang.

Li Zhang looked old, but his reaction was not slow. He actually reached out and caught the silver when it was about to hit his thigh.

He was startled and was about to shout.

But suddenly I remembered the person in the palace tonight.

Then, without making a sound, he said to the surrounding Jingjun, "I heard the movement of rats. Don't be careless. Send a few people to check it out."

Upon hearing this, several nearby Jing soldiers reluctantly walked a few steps away with their lanterns.

Li Zhang also pretended to take a few steps towards the direction where the silver came from.

Then, his eyes quickly found Pei Yuan hiding in the shadows.

Li Zhang pretended to walk towards this side casually. Pei Yuan didn't care whether this guy was reliable or not. With the psychological bottom line of "the worst that can happen is to run away", he simply whispered, "Can you contact Queen Xia as soon as possible?"

Li Zhang did not answer and hurried back.

Just then, the Jing soldiers who had gone to look for rats came back with lanterns, and Li Zhang led the dozen or so men to continue patrolling forward.

Pei Yuan didn't know what Li Zhang meant, so he could only follow from a distance.

It was not until these clean troops reached a secluded place that they dispersed and rested tacitly.

Li Zhangcai walked slowly towards Pei Yuan again in the dim night.

When the two of them looked at each other, Li Zhang alertly paid attention to the movements around him, and said quickly in a low voice, "This clean army will not be able to return to the harem for rotation until the beginning of the yin hour. I can try to get you in, but can you wait until then?"

Pei Yuan was surprised. He didn't expect Li Zhang to be so brave.

He thought that he was crazy to ask Li Zhang, whom he had just met, to deliver the letter for him. But he never expected that Li Zhang would not take it seriously at all.

Even though Pei Yuan didn't plan to take any risks, he couldn't help but ask, "How did you get in?"

Li Zhang looked at the Jingjun in the distance and said, "Most of these young eunuchs are my godsons. I can leave one of them here and you can take his place."

"Manlong and Ma Xi are also on patrol today. These two eunuchs in charge are also our people."

"Then you can ask those who stay outside to follow them. When I come out for inspection again at noon, I will replace you."

Pei Yuan was a little bit incredulous when he heard this plan. "This is too bold, isn't it? Is it okay?"

Li Zhang answered confidently, "It's not a big problem."

Pei Yuan thought about it and felt that sometimes the garrison of the imperial palace was just a makeshift team.

These guards have been on duty here for generations, and there have been no problems for several generations, so of course they don't take defense seriously.

In other words, outsiders don't know the real situation and have too many filters for the Forbidden City.

Wasn’t the “stick-beating case” that happened a few years later about a eunuch named Pang Bao who brought a man into the palace, then rushed into the Prince’s Ciqing Palace and beat everyone he saw?

Things became even more outrageous during the Qing Dynasty. There was a man named Wang Kuer who sold steamed buns in the Forbidden City for more than two years relying on a badge he picked up.

Not only did the princes and ministers who attended the court love to eat it, but the empress in the palace also praised it.

Later, when Wang Kuer passed by the Palace of Tranquil Longevity carrying a load of steamed buns, Emperor Xianfeng was stunned.

Who is this?

However, although Li Zhang’s plan was good, now was not the right time.

The time between now and noon is too long, and Qian Ning will definitely pay attention to his subsequent movements. Pei Yuan has no way of explaining where he went during the hours he disappeared.

Moreover, Li Zhang might not be able to make thorough preparations in such a hurry.

Pei Yuan could only say, "I have to leave the palace at dawn. Even now, I don't know if I can hide my secret escape from those who are watching me."

"Please perfect your plan first. It may come in handy in the future. This time I'm looking for you to help me deliver a letter to Queen Xia."

As Pei Yuan spoke, he took out the letter that contained the mystery of Zhu Houzhao's life and handed it to Li Zhang.

After Li Zhang took the letter, Pei Yuan warned, "This letter is about a lot of trouble. Find a trustworthy eunuch who can't read to deliver it to the queen."

"Wait for the Queen to open it and then tell her to burn the letter."

Li Zhang glanced at the envelope in his hand and said in a deep voice, "I understand."

Pei Yuan added, "Although this letter is troublesome, it does not leave any trouble. If the situation is not good, you must cut off the trouble in time. If necessary..."

"I will take good care of your nephew."

Li Zhang did not show any strangeness after hearing this, but smiled and said, "I am not afraid of trouble. The one who is most afraid of trouble in the palace is Queen Xia."

"Even if there is something shameful in the letter, does Queen Xia have to go to Queen Mother Zhang to tell her?"

(End of this chapter)