Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 64 Strategist (Part Two)

The flickering candlelight illuminated the Crown Prince's face, which appeared to be indistinct.

The prince held the letter close to the candlelight, but the greedy flame consumed it, and the letter quickly turned to ashes without a trace.

Three days later, in the dead of night, a fire broke out in the Eastern Palace. Some palace servants and eunuchs took the opportunity to cause chaos and attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince, but they were all killed on the spot.

Emperor Xiaowen, who had recently been on good terms with the Crown Prince, was furious upon hearing of this and ordered a thorough investigation of the palace. As a result, the investigation uncovered connections between the Prince of Wei and Empress Liu's associates.

Before Emperor Xiaowen could show favoritism, the Crown Prince took the initiative to speak out: "The Empress has always been kind and loving, and my fifth brother has always been close to me as his elder brother. He would never do such a wicked thing. It must be these treacherous villains who have committed this evil deed behind their master's back. They must not be let off lightly."

Emperor Xiaowen, seizing the opportunity, executed all these treacherous officials.

A palace purge resulted in the deaths of over a hundred people, almost all of whom were confidants of Empress Liu and Prince Wei. Prince Wei still had to be grateful to his kind-hearted elder brother.

In private, the King of Wei was filled with hatred, but in front of Emperor Xiaowen, he had to put on a face full of gratitude and shame: "It was all my fault for not disciplining him properly, which almost caused a disaster. Fortunately, my elder brother was unharmed. These bastards deserve to die."

The Crown Prince gently reassured the King of Wei: "Fifth Brother is still young and unaware of the wickedness of people. He has learned his lesson from this incident, and we will keep him under strict control in the future. We are brothers, and our bond is deep. We will never have any rifts over such trivial matters."

The King of Wei was so moved that his eyes reddened: "My elder brother has been so good to me."

The Crown Prince laughed and said, "We're brothers, why are you being so formal?" He then took the initiative to say to Emperor Xiaowen, "Father, with such an incident in the palace, there will inevitably be some rumors that could damage my fifth brother's reputation. I'd like to hold a banquet at the Eastern Palace and invite my fifth brother to make an appearance there. If the officials see the deep bond between us brothers, they won't gossip so much."

Emperor Xiaowen was greatly pleased and nodded in agreement.

With Emperor Xiaowen's approval, the Crown Prince hosted a banquet at the Eastern Palace, and all the officials who had received invitations attended.

At the banquet, the kind and benevolent Crown Prince personally escorted Prince Wei into the room. The two brothers clinked glasses, chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened.

Anyone with eyes to see could see what had happened. In this confrontation, His Highness the Crown Prince suffered negligible losses, while the King of Wei was severely weakened. Not only were his influence within the palace diminished, but his prestige plummeted. Those who had previously been observing the situation quickly sided with the Crown Prince. Those ministers who had secretly pledged allegiance to the King of Wei couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

The King of Wei accompanied his wife back to her parents' home and went into the study to talk with his father-in-law, whose face was solemn.

“I wonder who is secretly plotting against the Crown Prince,” King Wei said, his face contorted with rage after suffering a series of losses. “I will find this person and tear him to pieces.”

General Situ's face showed little emotion: "The Eastern Palace has a wise man, and the Crown Prince has been gaining the upper hand time and again. If Your Highness continues to have this temper of easily losing your temper and acting recklessly, you might as well leave the capital and go to your fiefdom as soon as possible."

The King of Wei was not afraid of even Emperor Xiaowen, but he was somewhat in awe of his father-in-law, who never showed his emotions, and immediately shut his mouth.

After a moment, General Situ finally spoke: "The Crown Prince is currently in a strong position. Your Highness would be better off avoiding his sharp edge and spending more time by the Emperor's side to fulfill your filial duties."

In terms of governing the country, none of the three Kings of Wei could compare to the Crown Prince. The Kings of Wei should have made the most of their strengths and focused their efforts on winning over Emperor Xiaowen.

As long as the emperor is determined to depose the crown prince and establish a new one, the King of Wei will have the last laugh.

King Wei exhaled a breath of stale air and nodded: "Father-in-law is right."

……

“King Wei has suffered repeated losses and must be resentful. In terms of political affairs, King Wei is inferior to His Highness the Crown Prince. King Wei’s advantage still lies in the Emperor’s favor.”

"Once the Emperor decides to depose the Crown Prince, the Eastern Palace will be in trouble. Your Highness the Crown Prince must take precautions in advance to avoid being caught off guard and at the mercy of others."

"Only when power is in one's own hands can one be secure."

Under the bright candlelight, Pei Qinghe picked up her brush and wrote the letter in one go. After finishing and sealing it, Pei Qinghe gave it to the messenger of the Beiping army: "Please give this letter to General Meng." This letter would be mixed in with General Meng's letters and sent to the Eastern Palace together.

This is the fifth letter she has written to His Highness the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince never replied to the letter, yet he repeatedly ordered the Beiping army to send grain and gold, which was enough to show his attitude. Very few people knew about Pei Qinghe, the Crown Prince's strategist hidden in the shadows.

Even Madam Feng only thought that Pei Qinghe had written a letter to General Meng, never expecting that Pei Qinghe had stirred up trouble in the palace and the court without leaving Pei Family Village.

"Qinghe, something bad has happened." Madam Feng rushed in, her face full of worry: "It's getting windy outside, and it's going to rain soon."

"The winter wheat has just started to sprout ears. If a torrential rain comes at this time, it will be terrible."

Before the words were finished, a clap of thunder rang out. Accompanied by lightning, a strong wind quickly arose, followed by a torrential downpour.

Fortunately, the thatched hut was repaired before winter and can barely keep out the wind and rain.

Pei Qinghe braved the rain and walked around the village. She instructed everyone not to leave their houses until the rain stopped. She made sure the firewood in the brazier burned brightly and brought out the cotton quilts that had been prepared to keep warm.

"Zhao Hai, Fang Datou, you two will stay in the stable tonight."

The two nodded in agreement.

After marrying into the Pei family, Zhao Hai became devoted to them, taking meticulous care of the mules, donkeys, and the newly purchased oxen every day.

Warhorses were even more precious. The newly built stables were spacious and clean, and the warhorses ate bean fodder and drank warm water, receiving better treatment than people.

Fang Datou yawned and nudged Zhao Hai with his remaining arm: "You're really lucky, kid. You have a wife and a daughter."

Zhao Hai chuckled.

Actually, Bian Shulan is already pregnant. It's still early in the pregnancy, so it's not advisable to announce it yet. In a few months, she might be expecting a big, healthy boy.

He never dared to dream of such a good life before.

This heavy rain lasted for two whole days before it stopped.

The first season of land reclamation was already hopeless. Now, with this torrential rain, it's uncertain how much grain can be harvested.

Fortunately, a granary had been built in Peijia Village, and it was filled with grain. The sense of security that one wouldn't go hungry was truly wonderful.

Li, trembling, went to the granary and sighed to Lu, who was sitting in front of the house, "Thanks to Qinghe, so much grain was brought in. Otherwise, I don't know how many people in Peijia Village would have starved to death this year."

Young Master Shi sent people to deliver grain twice, and the Beiping army sent people three times. Wasn't it all because of Pei Qinghe's reputation?

Madam Lu kept her head down, sewing shoe soles, without even looking up: "Now that she's the head of the Pei clan, she has to shoulder heavy responsibilities. These are all things she should do."

Fang braided her granddaughter Xiao Wan'er's hair into a smooth braid and smiled as she continued, "That's not how it works. Qinghe is capable and talented, and we benefit from her success. There's no question of right or wrong. We all have to appreciate this kindness."

Lu didn't say anything nice, but a smile had already crept onto his lips.

(End of this chapter)