Denghuangtai

Yuan Man and Wu Yong turned around and looked at Pei Qingyan.

Pei Qingyan pinched his brow, his expression grave, and pondered, "We should still send someone to keep an eye on the Prince of Yan's side."

"Didn't you say we didn't need to worry about him?"

Before Yuan Man could answer, Wu Yong, who was standing to the side, asked in a rough, simple voice.

"I didn't want to get involved before because I felt we had limited energy and didn't need to waste time on irrelevant matters. But then I thought about it again, and it all seems a bit strange about the Prince of Yan, so it's better to be careful," Pei Qingyan explained.

"I understand." Yuan Man immediately grasped the meaning behind Pei Qingyan's strange words.

The world appears peaceful now, but foreign enemies are eyeing it covetously, and powerful families are vying for power within the country, with some already showing signs of overshadowing the imperial court. The various feudal lords have an ambiguous attitude; faced with foreign invasion, they have neither offered troops nor strategies nor provoked any trouble. They appear to be living in harmony, but behind the scenes, they all harbor their own ambitions.

In particular, the new emperor is young, and there are probably many princes and nobles of the imperial clan eyeing the position of Weiyang Palace.

Since the matter concerning the Prince of Yan is rather strange, we must be wary of it.

"I'll make the arrangements as soon as I get back today," Yuan Man said.

With those words from him, Pei Qingyan felt relieved.

"Be careful when you go out," Pei Qingyan advised.

Yuan Man waved his hand, pulled the bewildered Wu Yong beside him, and opened the door to leave. Before closing the door, Wu Yong's voice came through the crack in the door.

"What do you understand? How could I not understand?"

Pei Qingyan shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly, thinking to himself, "This Wu the Giant, he's got incredible strength, but his brain is completely empty. He can't even concentrate on his studies. Sigh!"

As she sighed, she listened intently to the sounds outside. After a while, when she heard no clash of weapons, she finally felt relieved.

Pei Qingyan murmured, "Luckily, Yun Zheng didn't set up any defenses here..."

Before the words were finished, the door was pushed open from the outside with a bang. The door wobbled and hit the lattice door, then bounced back and forth.

"General Pei, this place is so lively so early in the morning."

Yun Zheng's voice came without any emotion.

Pei Qingyan sighed and rubbed his forehead, then got up from the ground. "What brings the Grand Commandant here so early in the morning?"

As she spoke, she walked towards the door. Originally, she had planned to pretend to be stupid as long as Yun Zheng didn't catch Yuan Fox and Wu Dage in the act.

However, just as she reached the door, she saw the two people who had just left. They were bound hand and foot, their mouths gagged. Upon seeing Pei Qingyan, they desperately shook their heads and sobbed.

"Grand Marshal, let's make a deal." Pei Qingyan turned to look at Yun Zheng, who was leaning against the door frame, and said decisively.

Upon hearing this, Yun Zheng sneered, his eyes flashing with coldness. "General Pei, the deal you made with me that day hasn't been fulfilled yet, and now you want to make another deal? What? Did you learn the Xiongnu's trick of getting something for nothing in the North?"

"hehe."

Pei Qingyan chuckled awkwardly and argued, "Didn't I not have the military tally on me at the time? How about this, you're a good person to the end, take the loss and release them, and I'll give you the military tally."

"Now it's in your hands?" Yun Zheng asked.

Pei Qingyan coughed lightly, "No."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Zheng's face darkened, and he waved his hand at the guards holding Yuan Man and Wu Yong, "Drag them away and take them to the imperial prison..."

Before he could finish speaking, Pei Qingyan rushed forward and covered his mouth, silencing him.

Yun Zheng's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Pei Qingyan. Pei Qingyan's warm palms gradually warmed his frozen face.

"Grand Commander, let's talk privately."

Pei Qingyan smiled obsequiously and pulled Yun Zheng into the house. Yun Zheng didn't struggle and obediently followed her inside.

"Say what you have to say quickly."

As soon as they entered, Pei Qingyan released his grip. Yun Zheng was still unsatisfied but couldn't express it, so he could only pretend to be impatient and say something.

Pei Qingyan's lips moved, about to speak, when suddenly his expression changed drastically, and he pulled Yun Zheng aside. Yun Zheng didn't react in time, and was already pinned to the ground by Pei Qingyan. He looked at Pei Qingyan, who was pressing down on him and using him as a cushion, and was about to ask Pei Qingyan what he was up to.

Almost simultaneously, several hidden arrows pierced through the window and struck the spot where the two of them had just been standing, their fletchings trembling slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a dozen arrows rained down into the house.

Pei Qingyan, afraid of dying, didn't stand up. Instead, he crawled on the ground to the wall near the window to hide. Seeing Yun Zheng still lying there in a daze, he said impatiently, "If you don't want to die, hurry up and crawl over here to hide."

Yun Zheng remained silent, his face cold. He didn't want Pei Qingyan to act this way, so he crouched down and walked to Pei Qingyan's side. The rain of arrows, like a storm, suddenly stopped, replaced by the sounds of fighting outside the door.

Pei Qingyan had just been observing the guards in the courtyard and could tell that they were all veterans who had been through many battles. With them making a move, the assassin hiding in the shadows would most likely not be able to escape.

Sure enough, within moments, screams and wails could be heard.

Without the threat, Pei Qingyan immediately became interested, rolled his eyes, and mocked, "Even at a time like this, you still can't resist putting on airs, Grand Minister. Have you forgotten that no matter how much you try to maintain your gentlemanly facade, you are still that treacherous and ruthless sycophant? You are no longer the humble gentleman you once were..."

"Pei Qingyan," Yun Zheng brushed the dust off his clothes, "have you forgotten that you still need my help right now?"

The laughter abruptly ceased. Inside the room, Pei Qingyan cleared his throat. "Grand Commander, you see, I just saved your life. You should find a way to repay this life-saving grace, shouldn't you?"

"I am a treacherous minister," Yun Zheng said coldly, returning Pei Qingyan's earlier mockery.

Pei Qingyan, who had been struck by the boomerang, paused for a moment, then said with a forced smile, "How could you be a treacherous minister? You are a renowned minister throughout history, a loyal and virtuous prime minister, the kind of person for whom history should write a separate biography. Your name will be remembered forever, and your heroic image will live on forever..."

The first half of the sentence, though exaggerated, still made some sense. But the second half…

Yun Zheng's face grew darker and darker as he listened. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and, gritting his teeth, interrupted Pei Qingyan's ramblings.

Pei Qingyan.

"Please speak, Grand Commandant." Pei Qingyan was flexible and adaptable. For the sake of her troops outside, even if she had to go against her conscience and acknowledge a traitor as her father... she couldn't go against her conscience even a little bit.

She could reluctantly become Yun Zheng's uncle and acknowledge him as her nephew.

Fortunately, Yun Zheng didn't have the ability to read minds, otherwise, if he heard Pei Qingyan's thoughts at this moment, he would definitely be so angry that he would be enraged.

"Only one of those two can be released."

"What do you plan to do with the other one?" Pei Qingyan asked hurriedly.

Yun Zheng said coldly, "Stay here and be under my surveillance along with me."

"Um?"

Pei Qingyan was stunned. Although she also hoped that Yun Zheng could easily let go of the two subordinates, wasn't Yun Zheng's decision too hasty? If she were in Yun Zheng's shoes, and she was the one who was ordered to guard Yun Zheng today, she would not let the person who communicated with Yun Zheng go so easily. At least she would not put the person with Yun Zheng and lock him up alone, leaving him with nothing to do and no one to talk to.

"Are you going to choose or not? If you don't, I'll send them all to prison."

Seeing that Pei Qingyan did not react for a long time, Yun Zheng spoke up and threatened.

"Keep the thinner one," Pei Qingyan said decisively.

"No way." Yun Zheng refused outright.