Chapter 293

Chapter 293 Brothers at Odds

“Lord Jing, did you come in a hurry after hearing the news?” Pei Yuanjun did not seem to notice Pei Yusheng’s stiff expression as he continued, “If that’s the case, you must have only heard He Mansion’s one-sided statement, right?”

“He Dayu has always been kind. How could he do such a thing?” Pei Yusheng was still explaining.

“What you see might not be the truth. Lord Jing, even though you trust him, you have to send someone to investigate it first. You directly brought it up with His Majesty, which could be considered a false accusation.”

Pei Yuanjun said lazily.

The two of them did not point out who was exactly guilty, but everyone present understood the meaning behind these words. Li Quan lowered his head, trying not to hear their words. He was not supposed to hear these words. It would be best if he did not hear them.

Now that he could not retreat, he could only stand quietly without looking sideways. He kept bending his waist and remained motionless, but his clothes were wet with his cold sweat.

Pei Yusheng was anxious by Pei Yuanjun’s question and said quickly, “Uncle Yun, someone really wants to frame He Mansion and deal with me.”

“Your Majesty, I said this because I was confused. If there is anything wrong, please enlighten me.” Pei Yuanjun stood up and bowed deeply to the silent emperor.

The emperor looked at him deeply, and his attitude softened. “Sit down first. I have my judgment on this matter.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Pei Yuanjun sat down again, leaning against the chair lazily, not caring about his image at all. He was the only one who dared to act like this in front of the emperor. Even the Crown Prince had to behave properly in front of the emperor, let alone Lord Jing.

Lord Jing was extremely aggrieved. He lowered his head. When he faced Pei Yuanjun, he was always at a disadvantage because of his father’s partiality to Pei Yuanjun. The emperor was smart, but why did he spoil a mere subordinate so much?

Pei Yusheng made up his mind that no matter who would take the throne in the future, he had to get the military power as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if he became the emperor, he would be controlled by Pei Yuanjun. He thought the emperor was too muddle-headed to give most of the military power to Pei Yuanjun.

The emperor said, “We’ll talk about it after the governor of the capital finishes the investigation. You can get up first!”

“Yes, Father.” Pei Yusheng was extremely aggrieved. He had rushed over so quickly because he wanted to gain the initiative before the Crown Prince came. But he still didn’t get a positive reply from the emperor, and it was all because of Pei Yuanjun. He thought Pei Yuanjun was too hateful, and he wondered if Pei Yuanjun was on the Crown Prince’s side.

Thinking of this, Pei Yusheng was terrified. If Pei Yuanjun was on the Crown Prince’s side, he would have no chance at all. Even if Liu Xiangshan stood on his side, it would be useless. After all, the military power in Liu Xiangshan’s hands was completely inferior to that of Pei Yuanjun. Moreover, he heard that some of Liu Xiangshan’s soldiers and generals were inherited from Ji Yongming’s hands.

A young eunuch cautiously came in to report, “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience.”

Pei Yuanjun laughed and said, “Here he comes. They came one after another. Both of them are quick.”

His voice was not loud, and he seemed to be talking to himself, but it made the emperor’s and Lord Jing’s faces darken.

The emperor said with a cold face, “Summon him in.”

Pei Yusheng retreated to the side. The Crown Prince strode in and also respectfully bowed to the emperor, his face a little pale.

The emperor said indifferently, “Save the formalities.”

The Crown Prince stood up straight and looked respectfully at the emperor. “Father, I heard that something happened to He Mansion, and it caused a huge commotion. Everyone in the capital was shocked, and many people threw rotten eggs and cabbage leaves at He Mansion. It affected the entire He Mansion, and no one dared to go out.”

“What?” Pei Yusheng almost jumped up. He really didn’t know about this matter. He Mansion’s people who previously came to him didn’t mention this matter. It could be seen that this matter happened only after he left.

Pei Luo’an said respectfully, “Father, this matter has blown up a lot. Just now, the governor of the capital came to my door and said that he might not be able to investigate this matter. He was afraid that the investigation would lead to something big. Because this matter involves the He Family, I have to come and ask for your opinion.”

“My opinion? What do you think my opinion is?” The emperor sneered and slammed his hand on the table, furious.

Pei Luo’an did not dare to stand still and quickly knelt down.

Since he had knelt down, Pei Yusheng also knelt down.

Pei Yuanjun smiled and lazily looked at the pair of royal brothers in front of him. A trace of maliciousness flashed through his eyes, but then he smiled brightly. He lifted his long and narrow eyes, and there was a bit of evil charm in them. His face looked even more beautiful.

But he didn’t move. He still sat there steadily as if he didn’t see the Crown Prince kneeling not far away from him.

“After such a thing happened, the two of you rushed into the palace one after another. Do you think that I know nothing?” The emperor was furious. He pointed at his two sons, shifting from one to the other.

Li Quan calmly looked at the Crown Prince and Lord Jing. Then, he looked at Lord Yun, who was smiling brightly and seemed like he was watching a good show. Lord Yun behaved the most improperly. But the emperor ignored him. The emperor only saw his two sons, who were kneeling on the ground. Li Quan sighed in his heart.

Some things had actually been preordained long before!

No matter how the process went, there was only one result. It seemed that he could make a decision now…

“Father, I’m terrified.”

“Father, I am extremely terrified!” Pei Luo’an and Pei Yusheng panicked.

“Why are you terrified? What else don’t you dare to do? Tell me, do these things have anything to do with you two?”

The emperor said angrily and was very disappointed. He had thought highly of the two sons. Other than the Crown Prince, he valued Lord Jing the most. But they really disappointed him.

First, the officials submitted reports to criticize the Crown Prince. Now, it seemed that the same thing would happen to Lord Jing. It seemed that the two of them were fighting openly. They had no fraternal love for each other at all. This whole thing was like a slap to the royal family.

“The matter with Crown Prince’s Mansion is not over yet, and now there is He Mansion’s matter. No matter who is involved, I will have people investigate it clearly. You two had better not interfere. If I find out that this matter is related to you two, I will not spare you!”

The emperor warned.

“I won’t dare!”

“I won’t dare!”

The Crown Prince and Lord Jing hurriedly answered. At this time, they no longer had any thoughts of scheming against each time. They only thought about how to get away from this. The two of them could not take the emperor’s anger.

The emperor said impatiently, “You two can leave!”

Pei Luo’an and Pei Yusheng both stood up and carefully retreated backwards to the door. Then they turned around and left the imperial study.

When they came out of the imperial study, they wiped away the cold sweat on their forehead. The two of them were flustered as they irritated the emperor. This was completely different from what they had expected before entering the palace.

When they met each other’s eyes, they still had to put on a smile. Fortunately, as royal family members, they were good at pretending. Although they wanted to kill each other, they could still pretend to be close brothers on the surface. Pei Luo’an even asked with concern, “Second younger brother, what is going on with He Mansion? Do you need my help?”

If Pei Luo’an did “help”, the entire He Mansion would probably suffer. Lord Jing said with a forced smile, “Thank you, Your Highness. It’s not a big deal. The truth will not be concealed. Even if someone behind this tried to make it true, it is still not true.”

Pei Yusheng believed Pei Luo’an was the one behind this matter. He thought Pei Luo’an must be revenging him for the matter last time.

“This thing went on like this. I wonder if Third Young Master He is really innocent or not!” Pei Luo’an sighed as if he also felt that this thing was strange. But to Pei Yusheng, his words were full of ridicule. At this time, Pei Luo’an was still pretending that it had nothing to do with him.

He regretted that he didn’t have much evidence and didn’t react quicker last time. Otherwise, the Crown Prince would not get away with it so easily.

The two of them appeared to be very intimate on the surface, but they wanted to stab each other to death in their hearts. Suddenly, they heard a lazy voice from behind them, “Crown Prince, Lord Jing, have you two figured it out?”

They looked back together and saw Pei Yuanjun stepping out from the imperial study leisurely. Seeing him, they couldn’t help but feel resentful. Pei Yuanjun was only a lord whose status was lower than theirs, yet he actually won their Father Emperor’s favor even more than they did. How could they endure this?

Nevertheless, they had no choice but to endure it because Pei Yuanjun could win the emperor’s trust.

Pei Luo’an first greeted him respectfully, “Uncle Yun.”

“Uncle Yun!” Pei Yusheng also greeted him with a smile. Then, he continued with a worried look, “I don’t know what’s going on. I will go back and find out. If He Mansion is really to blame, I won’t let them off the hook!”

Pei Luo’an nodded in agreement. “Second younger brother is right. Even if a Prince breaks the law, he shall be punished like commons.”

“That’s good. I’m now leaving the palace for West Prison. His Majesty wants West Prison to take over the matter if you can’t find out the truth. Lord Jing, you haven’t been to West Prison for a long time. If you have time, you can go and take a look.” Pei Yuanjun said, locking his eyes on Pei Yusheng.

Pei Yusheng’s expression changed slightly as he thought of West Prison. He hurriedly shook his hand and said, “I’ve been a little busy recently. I’ll go there after this period of time. Uncle Yun, I have to trouble you during this period of time.”

After saying that, he bowed to Pei Yuanjun and left the palace in a hurry.

Pei Luo’an said, “Uncle Yun, I will go first. I have to tell the governor of the capital to investigate the cases impartially.”

“Farewell, Crown Prince!” Pei Yuanjun said politely, but he did not move at all. Pei Luo’an had to reply, “Uncle Yun, thank you!”

After both of them left, Pei Yuanjun walked out with his hands behind his back. His expression slowly turned cold, and his gaze was malicious. The young eunuchs on both sides lowered their heads like statues. They felt like even the air around Pei Yuanjun was cold, as if he had an evil spirit.

His aura was far stronger than that of the Crown Prince and Lord Jing…