The emperorâs army slaughtered their enemies.
The imperial guards secured Pei Jinâs manor while the emperorâs army fought Pei Zhangâs men outside.
âYour majesty, assassins are found hidden inside seventh princeâs manor,â the imperial guard reported.
The emperor slapped Pei Zhangâs cheek.
âYou dare to say youâre innocent?â the emperor asked.
Pei Zhang didnât expect ambushing Pei Jin would lead to him being framed. He lost a chess piece, the battle and everything. All his schemes failed. He couldnât kill Pei Jin and Pei Jinâs family. His father didnât trust him and he was at a disadvantage because he had no heir. Framing Pei Jin of treason was his last chess piece but it backfired and he lost pitifully.
Everyone believed Pei Zhang had planned to lure the emperor to Pei Jinâs manor. Afterward Pei Zhangâs men would kill the emperor, Pei Jin and Pei Jinâs family. Pei Zhang would have deceived the citizens of Dian Kingdom to believe Pei Jin committed treason and killed the emperor. So the citizens and court officials would have easily accepted Pei Zhang as their ruler.
The emperor didnât want to believe Pei Zhang wanted to kill him and Pei Jin, Pei Zhangâs flesh and blood. But the battle outside was enough to prove Pei Zhangâs guilt.
Pei Jin appeared weak and saddened that Pei Zhang betrayed him and their father. But the truth was Pei Jin had planned to use a crucial chess piece that night long ago.
Pei Jinâs plan started after Consort Laâs death. Consort La requested him and Yan Shi Ning to protect Pei Khan. If he wanted to protect his family and Pei Khan then he would need more guards at his manor. If he couldnât hide how strong he was anymore then it was better for him to âaccidentlyâ expose his real strength to Pei Zhang.
Pei Jin knew Pei Zhangâs guards spied on his manor in four directions. He asked one of his guards to strike one of Pei Zhangâs guards in the middle of the night so Pei Zhangâs injured guard could report to Pei Zhang what happened.
Pei Jin was amused at Pei Zhangâs smugness. It was amusing for a hunter to mislead a prey to think it outwitted the hunter.
Pei Jinâs next step was to let Pei Zhangâs guards see him sneak men and weapons into the manor so Pei Zhang would confidently report to their father in the palace. Their father had been suspicious of him long ago and he was certain their father would bring Pei Zhang to his manor to investigate. Of course he would let their father investigate and see Pei Zhangâs âtreasonâ.
If Pei Zhang didnât use Dian Thiâs son to try to kill Pei Jinâs wife and son then Pei Jin wouldnât have accepted Elder Maâs offer. Of course Pei Jin wouldnât spare anyone who dared to harm his wife and son.
Elder Ma had sent Pei Jin a letter, âthe salty fishes you raised have bred. Theyâre delicious, Iâll send you five hundred salty fishes first for you to savor.â
Salty fish was the Southern Jiangâs generalâs code name. Elder Ma sent five hundred salty fishes to Pei Jinâs manor while five hundred of the Southern Jiangâs generalâs men secretly sneaked into the imperial city. Elder Ma refused to stand idly after Elder Ma received news someone attempted to frame Pei Jin and kill Pei Jinâs family. The five hundred men were a precaution to protect Pei Jin and Pei Jinâs family.
Pei Jin hid Elder Maâs letter and knew five hundred men were excessive to protect him and his family. Elder Ma had intended for the five hundred men to eliminate his enemyâs army.
Pei Jinâs plan was disrupted by his fatherâs plan to act like his father was dying and the edict to make him crown prince. If his son didnât remind him what was important, he would have acted recklessly and used the five hundred men to seize the throne.
Luckily Pei Jin let go of his thought to seize the throne. So he waited for his father to die and if Pei Zhang sat on the throne then he would use the five hundred men to escort him and his family safely back to Southern Jiang.
After Wang Fu Mu sent news to Pei Jin about his fatherâs plan, Pei Jin realised he had evaded a deadly storm. His fatherâs plan also gave Pei Jin an opportunity to make Pei Zhang suffer for harming his wife and son.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Pei Jin and the five hundred men waited for Pei Zhang to take the bait.
Pei Jin understood Pei Zhang well. Pei Zhang would have died long ago if Pei Zhang wasnât Consort Muâs son. Pei Zhang would never be as intelligent as Pei Lam. Without Consort Muâs guidance, Pei Zhang was useless. So Pei Jin wanted to lure Pei Zhang at night. Pei Zhang couldnât seek Consort Muâs guidance at night.
Pei Jin was amused how fast Pei Zhang ran to the palace to report to their father about men and weapons hidden in his manor.
While Pei Zhangâs guards were running to Pei Jinâs manor, the five hundred men were sent to hide in Pei Zhangâs vulnerable manor.
Xiao Zai was exceptional at mimicking other peopleâs voices. The general who ordered the emperorâs soldiers to protect the emperor and kill the traitors wasnât the real general, it was Xiao Zai mimicking the generalâs voice. The real general was killed by one of the five hundred men long ago.
Pei Zhangâs guards would want to protect their master. So it didnât matter whether Pei Zhangâs army was approaching Pei Jinâs manor to attack the emperor or not, the guards would attack the emperorâs army to protect Pei Zhang.
Pei Jin expected the battle between Pei Zhangâs men and the emperorâs men. But he didnât order the five hundred men to attack. So the loud battle cries Pei Jin heard meant news of the battle was spread to Huang Guo and Huang Guoâs army joined the chaos outside Pei Jinâs manor.
Everyone inside Pei Jinâs manor were focused on what was happening outside and lowered their guard against Pei Zhang.
Pei Zhang grabbed an imperial guardâs sword, killed the imperial guard and held his father hostage.
âSeventh son, what do you want to do?â the emperor asked coldly.
âImperial father, you forced me to do this,â Pei Zhang said. He held the sword closer to his fatherâs throat. âEveryone stand back!â
Pei Jin signalled for everyone not to make any sudden moves.
âSeventh brother, let go of imperial father,â Pei Jin said.
âNinth brother, I underestimated you!â Pei Zhang said resentfully. âYou hid your real capabilities well for many years!â
âSeventh brother, even now youâre still stubborn,â Pei Jin said.
âImperial father, you betrayed me first so you canât blame me for betraying you,â Pei Zhang said. âImperial father, you loved tenth brother. Tenth brother is dead but you still treat me unfairly. You forced me to do this.â
Pei Zhang in his state of fury and resentment didnât notice how close the sword was to his fatherâs throat.
Pei Jin saw drops of blood dripped down his fatherâs throat. âSeventh brother, let go of imperial father!â
Pei Zhang looked down at his fatherâs throat, he was startled to see blood and loosened his hold on the sword.
The emperor elbowed Pei Zhangâs chest while Pei Zhang was distracted and freed himself. He stabbed a sword through Pei Zhangâs stomach.
Pei Zhang didnât know what happened. He felt pain in his stomach, vomited blood and died with his eyes wide opened.
Everyone gasped except the emperor who held a blood stained sword in his right hand.
Pei Jinâs heart farewell Pei Zhang, âseventh brother you finally know what happens if you oppose father.â
Suddenly Pei Jin remembered his imperial uncleâs memories of his father, âXiao Jin, your imperial father was a general when he was young too. When an enemy general held him hostage, he freed himself and killed the enemy general.â
Pei Jin didnât know how he felt about Pei Zhangâs death. If Pei Zhang truly wanted to kill their father then Pei Zhang wouldnât have been unguarded toward their father and given their father an opportunity to kill. But if Pei Zhang wanted to convince their father to believe in their innocence then Pei Zhang shouldnât have threatened their father. Pei Jin looked curiously at Pei Zhangâs eyes, he wondered what the last thought of people who dared to threaten their father was.
***
End of Chapter Seventy-Eight