Denghuangtai

"We couldn't find out anything." Yuan Man frowned. "Our people received the news a little late. By the time they arrived, the Ding family's house had already been cordoned off by the Grand Minister's mansion. We were afraid of alerting them, so we didn't dare to go in. We just secretly inquired with the neighbors nearby. We only heard that Old Ding died suddenly."

"We need to investigate this matter further. If Old Ding is implicated because of us, we can't just sit idly by. We must take good care of Old Ding's family and relatives," Pei Qingyan instructed.

"I'll inquire about it when I get back," Yuan Man replied immediately.

"Forget it." Pei Qingyan thought for a moment and felt that since Yun Zheng was involved, it would be too risky for Yuan Man and the others to investigate. "I'll find an opportunity to investigate myself."

"That works too." Yuan Man's attitude changed immediately. "Now that the Grand Minister of Works is living in Xuandu Temple, it might be easier for you, my lord, to find him and inquire."

Pei Qingyan didn't notice the hidden meaning in Yuan Man's words; her attention was entirely focused on the literal meaning of the words, "He's at Xuandu Temple? Is he also going to become a monk?"

"My lord, do you think what you're saying is right?" Yuan Man shook his head helplessly. "He is the Empress Dowager's nephew, with a bright future ahead of him. How could he be forced to become a monk like you? There must be another reason why he lives in Xuandu Temple."

Pei Qingyan frowned, pondered Yuan Man's words for a moment, and then helplessly mocked himself, "He must have really lost his mind. What other reason could he be staying here? It must be that Empress Dowager Yun sent him to guard me and, incidentally, to humiliate me."

"Huh?" Wu Yong, who hadn't spoken until now, immediately became agitated upon hearing this. "He dares to insult the Lord? I'll tear him apart right now!"

After saying that, Wu Yong turned around angrily, his expression ferocious, looking like he was about to fight someone to the death.

However, he hadn't taken two steps when Pei Qingyan stopped him.

"return."

"Oh." Wu Yong hung his head and walked back to his seat. "Does Your Excellency really not need me to teach him a lesson?"

Undeterred, Wu Yong asked another question.

"Let's get down to business first. I have plenty of ways to deal with him."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong gave an "oh" and stood there with his eyebrows drooping in embarrassment.

"By the way, my lord, the Prince of Yan has also become involved this time."

Upon hearing Yuan Man's words, Pei Qingyan was immediately surprised. "Him? Are you sure? There must be some mistaken information?"

"Absolutely true." Yuan Man said with certainty, "I heard this from someone close to the young emperor. I heard that the young emperor recently obtained the tiger tally of the Prince of Yan's residence from the Prince of Yan. With this, the young emperor confronted Empress Dowager Yun and forced her to spare your life. My lord, the young emperor and the Prince of Yan made a brilliant move."

"This matter has nothing to do with me." Pei Qingyan didn't presume and said truthfully, "It was expected that the young emperor would protect me, but the Prince of Yan is not someone I can control."

"Then why is he doing this?"

Yuan Man was somewhat surprised and asked.

"I don't know." Pei Qingyan shook her head. She couldn't figure out why the Prince of Yan was acting so strangely. After a while, she simply gave up.

"Forget it, our current task is to find out who is behind the betrayal of the army. Whatever the Prince of Yan's purpose is, it is probably not in conflict with us, so let's ignore it for now. Since Yun Zheng has been ordered to guard this place, it is not safe here. You should leave first. In a couple of days, when my injuries have healed, I will come to find you at our usual place."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong immediately agreed and turned to leave.

Yuan Man remained seated on the round stool. "My lord, there is one more thing I feel I must inform you of."

"What is it?"

"I have heard that the Eldest Princess visited Empress Dowager Yun in the palace when you were imprisoned."

Pei Qingyan's eyes lit up with joy, thinking to himself: Mother still cares about me...

Just as she was feeling smug, Yuan Man's next words chilled her to the bone.

"I heard that the eldest princess advised the Empress Dowager to execute you as soon as possible."

As Yuan Man spoke, he observed Pei Qingyan's reaction. Although he hadn't followed Pei Qingyan for very long, he had personally witnessed Pei Qingyan vomiting blood because of the Princess's affair. Such heartbreak showed how important the Princess was to Pei Qingyan. It was precisely for this reason that he felt compelled to tell Pei Qingyan the truth. Otherwise, what if Pei Qingyan still harbored paternal affection for the Princess and was unguarded, potentially falling victim to her schemes later?

Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain.

"My lord, in the past, when the royal family needed the Grand General, the Eldest Princess was willing to marry him. But when the Grand Marshal got into trouble, the Eldest Princess was more eager than anyone else to sever ties with the Grand Marshal's mansion. This shows that there are not many people in the royal family who are affectionate and righteous; most of them are a group of cold-blooded and ruthless people."

"No." Pei Qingyan shook his head, his tone firm. "This matter needs to be considered carefully. Based on my understanding of the Princess, she is someone who always leaves room for maneuver in everything she does. She would never do something so drastic. She probably has her own difficulties."

After listening for a while, Wu Yong finally realized what the two were saying. He grumbled and shouted, "No matter how difficult things are for her, she can't just urge Empress Dowager Yun to execute the Marquis, can she?"

Seeing this fool explode like a cannon again, Pei Qingyan sighed helplessly, "Remember, some things are not necessarily as they seem on the surface."

"Well..." Wu Yong wanted to say something more, but Pei Qingyan stopped him.

"I'm still dizzy, you guys go ahead."

"oh."

This time, Yuan Man also stood up and walked towards the door with Wu Yong.

Just before the door opened, Pei Qingyan spoke again from behind, "Wait."