Chapter 57: Rebellion

Jiang Jingchen saw how brazen Pei Ji was acting and shouted, “Guards!”

But after shouting several times, still no one appeared, and a sudden panic rose in his heart.

The eunuch Yu had been killed by Mo Ying with a single slash just earlier—he had long disliked that eunuch.

“Pei Ji, are you planning to rebel?” Jiang Jingchen asked nervously as he met Pei Ji’s unflinching gaze.

He knew Pei Ji controlled everything behind the scenes, but never imagined he could come and go through the palace so easily, and without alerting a single guard, catching him completely off guard.

Pei Ji dusted off his robe and raised his eyes: “Was I not clear enough in my actions?”

Having played this childish game of pretend with him for so many years, he was truly bored of it.

Now that the words were out in the open, what else did Jiang Jingchen not understand?

“Pei Ji, you treacherous rebel, aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?”

He said righteously but conveniently forgot how the Jiang family had seized the kingdom from the Ning family in the first place.

“I have never feared what others say. By the way, the Emperor still doesn’t know how he died, right?”

Jiang Jingchen’s breath caught at this, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

Then, from nearby, a calm voice said, “I killed him.”

“You… how dare you!” Jiang Jingchen’s hand trembled faintly as he pointed at Pei Ji, never expecting the Emperor’s death was his doing.

Pei Ji said nothing. Mo Ying leapt forward, pressing Jiang Jingchen’s hand onto the table, and with no hesitation, the blade in his hand chopped down.

A gruesome scream echoed in the hall as half a finger fell bloodily to the side.

Jiang Jingchen stared at his severed finger, face pale, pain radiating from the fingertip throughout his body, making him shiver uncontrollably.

His eyes were full of hatred as he sneered, “Pei Ji, the military token of the Divine Strategy Army is in my hand. At my command, you will never escape.”

Saying this, he pulled a token from a hidden compartment and clenched it in his hand.

Pei Ji lowered his eyes: “Is that so? You say it’s in your hand—then what is this in mine?”

He said teasingly, waving the token in his hand.

Jiang Jingchen looked over, then lowered his head to look at his own token, muttering, “Impossible, this can’t be. Yours must be fake.”

That token was clearly real. How could he also have one? Could it be Jiang Huaiyue? She tricked him—she sided with Pei Ji from the very beginning. Damn her.

“Truly won’t cry until you see the coffin,” Pei Ji said casually, “Mo Ying, take him down.”

Mo Ying stepped forward and effortlessly subdued Jiang Jingchen, forcing him to kneel before Pei Ji.

Jiang Jingchen struggled to rise, but Mo Ying stomped hard on his back, pinning him down.

“Pei Ji, you treacherous villain, despicable and shameless! You kill me, but history will record your name with eternal disgrace.”

Pei Ji was completely unmoved by these words. In his mind, Jiang Huaiyue’s delicate face appeared, and he asked, “Where is the antidote for the gu poison?”

Jiang Jingchen sneered, “Ha ha ha, Pei Ji, Pei Ji, are you really concerned about my imperial sister? You must know why I sent her to you.”

Since he was bound to lose, no one was going to have a good time.

Jiang Huaiyue shouldn’t think she could live safely just because she sided with Pei Ji. That would be a dream. Pei Ji wouldn’t spare him after learning everything.

Pei Ji smirked lazily, “So much nonsense.”

Trying to mock Pei Ji, Jiang Jingchen got his jaw snapped off with a crisp crack by Mo Ying.

After summoning someone to take Jiang Jingchen away, Mo Ying and a few others began searching through the hall.

Suddenly, thunder rumbled in the sky. Within moments, large raindrops began falling, soaking the ground.

Pei Ji, cloaked in a dark cloak, stood at the doorway, tilting his head to gaze at the pitch-black night, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

Decades had passed. The deceased relatives would not return just because he had avenged them. The living suffered day and night, wandering this filthy world. Sometimes, he truly did not understand the meaning of living.

Meanwhile, Mo Ying, searching everywhere, finally found a small porcelain bottle in a hidden spot. He examined it carefully, then came to Pei Ji’s side holding it.

“Your Highness, it’s found,” Mo Ying said, presenting it with both hands.

He knew the prince was looking for this item on behalf of the lady, so does that mean the prince has accepted the lady as his wife?

Pei Ji glanced sideways, reached out and took the item, slipping it into his sleeve. Just as he was about to give some instructions and leave—

Mo Ying suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Your Highness, it’s Fuyao and Yuqing.”

Strange, wasn’t the prince supposed to have them guarding the mansion? How did they suddenly come to the palace? Could something have happened at the mansion?

“Your Highness, it is your subordinate’s incompetence; the lady is missing,” Fuyao knelt before Pei Ji and solemnly took responsibility.

She never expected that the lady’s earlier request for her to taste some food was actually to lower her guard.

---

Time rewinds to nightfall.

Jiang Huaiyue handed freshly baked snacks to Qiuchan and gave her a glance.

Qiuchan understood and nodded, then took a piece that had no medicine added, eating it as she walked over to Fuyao.

“Fuyao, these are newly made by the lady. She said we should try them to see how they taste.”

Qiuchan, as usual, held the snack before Fuyao.

“I find it a bit sweet. Try some?” Fuyao frowned but still took a bite.

Fuyao wanted to refuse, but seeing this, Qiuchan urged, “If you don’t eat, the lady will be upset.”

Hearing this, Fuyao recalled that the lady often liked making snacks for her to taste, so she thought nothing was wrong and took a piece.

But after swallowing half the snack, she suddenly felt dizzy. Since she had trained in martial arts for years, she managed to resist the poison’s effects, but she quickly realized what was happening.

She was about to call for help, but unexpectedly, Qiuchan quickly grabbed a plate and smashed it on her head, knocking her unconscious.

“She should still be alive,” Qiuchan trembled, having never done such a thing before. She reached out and checked Fuyao’s breath.

Feeling she was only unconscious, Qiuchan relaxed.

Jiang Huaiyue came over, and Qiuchan whispered, “My lady, she wasn’t completely out before, so I hit her once.”

“No problem. Put her on the table; we’ll leave now.”

The two lifted Fuyao and laid her face down on the table, then took the prepared travel pack and climbed out the window to the backyard.

Since the last time when she went to find rice balls and crawled through the dog hole in Ayuan’s courtyard, Jiang Huaiyue had been thinking she needed to arrange an escape route in advance.

Luckily, they found a dog hole in the backyard, hidden and not easy to spot.

“My lady, I’ll watch for you. You go first,” Qiuchan said, holding the luggage and vigilantly looking around.

Without wasting words, Jiang Huaiyue quickly crawled out.

Fortunately, neither she nor Qiuchan was overweight, so crawling out was easy.

After leaving the mansion, Jiang Huaiyue put on a veil and, together with Qiuchan, merged into the bustling market, then headed toward the place she had arranged with Wanwan.