Chapter 59

Pei Muheng returned to the study, quickly setting aside his worries about offspring. Since he and his wife were healthy, having a child was only a matter of time.

After spending four days in the capital, he finally completed all the accumulated official duties today.

In the Jin Dynasty, there was an office called the Tongzheng Department. The Tongzheng Department was responsible for transmitting messages up and down. Every day, reports from various places were sent to the Secretariat through the Tongzheng Department. The Secretariat reviewed, categorized, and sent them to the cabinet. After the cabinet officials reviewed and annotated them, the reports were returned to the Secretariat for final approval. The approved reports were either distributed to various ministries by the cabinet or transmitted to all regions by the Tongzheng Department.

Additionally, the Tongzheng Department often copied and sent important court affairs to various prefectures and counties in the form of official bulletins, posting them outside the prefectural government offices for public viewing. At the same time, official bulletins from various counties were also sent to the capital through the Tongzheng Department.

Officials of the third rank and above in the court have the right to preview official bulletins from the Tongzheng Department, and Pei Muheng was no exception. Additionally, he had some private channels to obtain more detailed and targeted bulletins. At this moment, the secret guard Wang Fan brought the day’s bulletins to his desk.

After reading them, Pei Muheng had a clearer understanding of the situation.

Prince Qin’s position was declining, and Pei Xun was already the nailed-down candidate for the crown prince, with many supporters in the court.

So, the Emperor using him as a pawn to balance Pei Xun?

Pei Muheng couldn’t avoid it, but he also wouldn’t allow himself to be manipulated. It was clear that his twelfth uncle would make a move against him. Handling this situation properly, and possibly even counterattack, required careful consideration.

Pei Muheng’s tall figure sank into the chair, his well-defined fingers lightly tapping his forehead. Based on his understanding of his twelfth uncle, he would undoubtedly try to seize the biggest weakness of Prince Xi’s mansion and deliver a fatal blow, leaving them defenseless.

The biggest weakness of Prince Xi’s mansion was his father.

So, what was his twelfth uncle’s weakness?

Naturally, Pei Muheng thought of last year’s Tongzhou case. At that time, he inexplicably received a letter asking for help, stating that the Tongzhou granary had been substituting inferior goods for good ones. Just as he sent people to Tongzhou, the granary caught fire, and all evidence was completely destroyed. At first, he thought it was the mastermind trying to cover up the grain exchange truth. But later events changed his perspective.

After the granary fire, the Crown Prince’s embezzlement case could no longer be concealed. The court quickly sent personnel to Tongzhou, and the case became known to everyone. The Crown Prince had nowhere to hide. After the Crown Prince was deposed, they used Chen Mingshan’s case of selling official titles to implicate Prince Qin.

It was a brilliant plan that killed two birds with one stone.

Naturally, he also secretly fanned the flames, but if he guessed correctly, the fire at the Tongzhou granary was definitely the work of his twelfth uncle.

If the fire was set by his twelfth uncle, who sent him the letter? And why did they specifically choose him?

This remains a mystery to this day.

Deputy Minister of Justice Liu Yue was Pei Muheng’s planted pawn in the court and also the chief investigator of the Tongzhou case. Before leaving the capital, Pei Muheng gave that letter to Liu Yue, asking him to find evidence of his twelfth uncle’s arson. It was unclear if he had made any progress.

“Have you been to Liu Yue’s residence?” Pei Muheng asked Wang Fan.

Wang Fan took a sachet from his pocket and handed it to him, “I have. Lord Liu returned the letter. After the granary fire, the officials and guards on duty that day were executed, and all the involved grain transport workers were sent to military service in Yingzhou. Lord Liu tried to compare everyone’s handwriting and fingerprints but still couldn’t find the person.”

“Military service? When did that happen?” Pei Muheng asked.

Wang Fan replied, “After the incident, those river workers were all detained in the Tongzhou Prefecture prison. After the Crown Prince was deposed, they were sent to Yingzhou.”

Pei Muheng felt something was off. “Find out who issued the order for military service.”

“Understood!”

Pei Muheng took out the old letter from the sachet and was about to read it when Huang Wei’s soft voice came from outside the corridor, “Is Young Madam here to see Third Master?”

Xu Yunqi’s gentle voice came through the rain, “I have something to discuss with him. Is he busy?”

Xu Yunqi had never voluntarily come to the study before. Pei Muheng feared Huang Wei might neglect her and immediately raised his voice, “Huang Wei, please invite my wife in.”

Even if Pei Muheng hadn’t instructed, Huang Wei wouldn’t stop her. He was well aware of the couple’s affection for each other, and he immediately nodded and respectfully brought her in. Wang Fan bowed to Xu Yunqi and then left.

Xu Yunqi, wearing a cloak, supported herself on the antique shelf as she walked in.

“Third Master… I hope I’m not disturbing you,” she said, still smiling.

Pei Muheng stood up to greet her and indicated for her to sit on the luohan bed opposite him.

Xu Yunqi untied her cloak, and Pei Muheng took it and placed it on the screen. He looked back and asked, “Are you cold?”

Xu Yunqi had something on her mind and couldn’t care less about the cold, so she shook her head. Still worried, Pei Muheng called for Huang Wei to bring a charcoal brazier and sat beside her on the other side of the luohan bed.

Xu Yunqi only realized the study was a bit cold after removing her cloak. Pei Muheng saw her hugging her arms and gently took her hands in his, warming them, “It’s raining outside. Why did you come over?”

Xu Yunqi was not one to visit the study without reason.

Pei Muheng looked at her tenderly, rubbing her cold hands to warm them.

Remembering the purpose of her visit, Xu Yunqi unconsciously pulled her hands away. Pei Muheng’s eyes flickered slightly. As he was about to speak, Huang Wei led the servant, who was carrying the brazier inside. The breeze they brought in knocked a letter off the desk.

Pei Muheng had nothing to hide from Xu Yunqi, and hearing she was coming, he hadn’t thought to put the letter away. Seeing the letter fluttering down, he quickly reached out to catch it. Xu Yunqi noticed the familiar handwriting flash before her eyes and suddenly exclaimed sharply, “Third Master!”

Her voice suddenly rose sharply, startling Pei Muheng. He caught the letter and immediately turned to look at her. “What’s wrong, Yunqi?”

Xu Yunqi’s heart was pounding. She got up abruptly, rushed towards Pei Muheng’s hand, pried it open without a word, and took the letter.

The letter had a line of scribbled writing, and Xu Yunqi couldn’t discern the content, but she recognized the handwriting as her grandfather’s. Her eyes filled with a sudden rush of tears. With reddened eyes and furrowed brows, she asked aggressively, “Where did this letter come from?”

Her voice was trembling.

Pei Muheng was shocked by her reaction.

In the entire year they had been married, Xu Yunqi had never cried or even frowned. She was always calm and composed, even the night her true identity was revealed. But now, her entire demeanor was tense, her eyes filled with unease and urgency—this was a first.

Pei Muheng squinted at her as if something was about to dawn on him.

“I received this letter on the third of September last year. It came from the direction of the Tongzhou granary. Yunqi, do you recognize the author of this letter?”

Xu Yunqi’s fingers gripped the letter tightly, and her well-defined arms couldn’t stop trembling. She and Pei Muheng were married last October, and the letter reached him in September. This meant that her grandfather might have heard about her marriage to Pei Muheng and wrote this letter for help. It was truly a case of searching high and low only to find it effortlessly. How could she only realize this now when she should have known earlier? Tears welled up in her eyes.

Xu Yunqi, with red-rimmed eyes, answered him, “This is my grandfather’s handwriting.”

Pei Muheng’s pupils constricted sharply in complete disbelief. He retook the letter and read its contents, finding it incredible. “Didn’t your grandfather fall off a cliff three years ago? How could he be in Tongzhou and write such a letter? Yunqi, what is going on?”

There was no need to hide anything anymore.

Xu Yunqi looked at the misty rain outside; tears fell like broken beads.

“Third Master, I’ll tell you the truth. My grandfather was a famous doctor. I traveled with him all over the world since I was a child. Three years ago, he sent me back to my hometown in Jingzhou and went alone to Xizhou to collect herbs. Three months later, we heard that he had fallen off a cliff. I was devastated, and while sending a letter to my mother who had just entered the capital, I packed up and went to Xizhou with Yinxing to search for him, but found nothing. Later, my mother heard about my grandfather’s death and sent someone to bring me to the capital. I accidentally discovered the rescue signal my grandfather left in the capital’s suburbs. For the whole year afterward, I searched everywhere for traces of my grandfather. Even after marrying you, I never gave up, until… until I accidentally heard about the legend of the Thirteen Needles…”

Then, Xu Yunqi told Pei Muheng everything about her plan to sneak into the Imperial Medical Office and the involvement of Imperial Physician Fan.

Listening to the end, Pei Muheng’s eyes were dark and unfathomable, and his tall figure stood motionless like a mountain.

Old Master Zhang was involved in an old case from thirty years ago. What kind of case could force the head of the Imperial Hospital to commit suicide?

Pei Muheng’s intuition told him that it couldn’t be unrelated to the Emperor and Empress.

This news was so shocking that Pei Muheng found it hard to handle.

Having navigated the court for many years, Pei Muheng quickly calmed himself and refocused on Xu Yunqi.

So, this seemingly carefree girl in front of him, who always wore a smile, was actually bearing an overwhelming amount of pressure alone.

The first thing Pei Muheng felt was a pang of heartache, quickly replaced by anger and frustration. He grabbed her trembling hands, his gaze as hard as iron, “We’ve been married for a year, and why didn’t you tell me sooner? It’s been three months since you heard about the Thirteen Needles from the old maid, yet you haven’t shown any sign of it. Xu Yunqi, you really are…”

Pei Muheng looked at her red eyes but couldn’t bring himself to scold her. He just glared at her, unable to let go of his anger.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on this. Xu Yunqi grabbed his arm, tears in her eyes, and softly asked, “Third Master, I came to the capital in October of the year before last, and my grandfather sent you this letter for help in September of last year. This means he was held captive for a whole year. Maybe he is still alive. Tell me where this letter came from, and I’ll go find him…”

“You’ll go find him?” Pei Muheng’s anger had reached its peak. He tightened his grip on her hands, forcing her to take a step back.

“Xu Yunqi, are you still planning to bear this burden alone?” he squeezed out the words through his teeth.

This was the first time he spoke to Xu Yunqi in such a harsh tone. His eyes were so stern that Xu Yunqi shivered. She sighed deeply. “Third Master, my grandfather has been involved in a catastrophic disaster. I fear this case will implicate Prince Xi’s mansion and even interfere with your quest for the throne. It’s not that I want to handle this alone; I have no choice. At worst, it will be the death of my grandfather and me. If it implicates the mansion, I can’t atone for it.”

“This is also the reason I came to see you today. That’s the situation, Third Master. Think it over, and I can leave without involving you…”

Xu Yunqi’s voice trembled as she spoke the last sentence.

After all, they had shared a bed for a year. Last time, she could pack up and leave without hesitation. Now, she felt a bitter, swelling pain in her heart. She didn’t make the decision alone; she left it up to him.

When Pei Muheng heard this, his mind roared with anger.

She indeed came to propose separation again.

He was furious. “Let me ask you, have you ever considered me your husband?”

Pei Muheng pinned her hands to her waist, almost pulling her whole body into his embrace. Xu Yunqi, forced to lean against the small table, angrily retorted, “If I didn’t consider you my husband, why would I do such things with you…”

Pei Muheng laughed sarcastically, his eyes cold and full of disdain. “The kind of husband you can say goodbye to at any moment?”

Xu Yunqi was speechless.

Pei Muheng’s gaze moved inch by inch over her face, from her furrowed brows to her tearful eyes and trembling shoulders.

So, this was how she looked when she cared about someone.

It was the first time he had seen it.

Pei Muheng felt a pang of sour pain in his heart, admitting that he was outraged today. “I get it now. Whether it’s your mother, father, half-siblings, or even me, your husband, none of us matter to you. The only people you truly care about are that girl and your grandfather.”

“You are willing to die for your grandfather, but have you ever thought that you are already married? Even if he is in trouble, Prince Xi’s mansion can protect you. Have you ever thought about staying for me?”

It was as if a misty rain enveloped her, making Xu Yunqi feel as if she had been thrown into a desolate wilderness with nowhere to go or as if he had cornered her with no way out. She looked at him blankly, her tears gradually turning to frost, and softly spoke without a trace of warmth, “Third Master, you speak as if… I am very important to you.”

Her tone was mocking, “We were married by imperial decree; you were forced to marry me. Do you remember the three rules we set on our wedding night? Why should I believe that I am important to you, important enough for you to face life and death with me?”

Xu Yunqi spoke in an icy tone, a coldness ingrained in her since that great fire and her abandonment by her parents fifteen years ago, which had made her wander the world alone and helpless.

She had finally shed her veneer of gentleness, revealing her true nature.

Good.

The three rules of the wedding night whipped at Pei Muheng’s mind, extinguishing the fire of anger in his heart. His indifference and coldness towards her back then had now become a chasm in their relationship. The understanding and tact she once had now became stumbling blocks to their mutual connection. The rules were set by him, and she had followed them to the letter. Now, what right did he have to blame her?

Pei Muheng finally tasted the bitterness of his own making, the pain of unattainable longing. “I’m sorry, Yunqi. It was my fault in the past, and I have nothing to say,”

Pei Muheng admitted his mistake straightforwardly and then solemnly said, “Today, I want to tell you, whether it’s your medical practice or your grandfather’s troubles, it does not conflict with my quest for the throne.”

He admitted that he had never considered giving up his ambitions for Xu Yunqi and never would. In his view, having power and influence was the greatest way to protect his wife and children, a man’s ultimate responsibility. When he sat in that position, the court would be under his control, and the rules would be set by him.

Did he need to care about a minister’s opinion? Life and death, all would be in his hands.

When facing difficulties, Xu Yunqi’s first thought was to solve them alone, without involving others. But he wasn’t like that.

“If there’s a problem, we solve it. When facing difficulties, we overcome them together, not think about separating. Yunqi, I understand your experiences have made you self-reliant, but as your husband, I can’t accept that.”

At this moment, Pei Muheng had completely calmed down. He released her hands and sat on the luohan bed. Holding the letter, he tapped his fingers lightly on the small table and pondered, “Your grandfather’s matter has already become entangled in court politics. I cannot let you handle it recklessly. From today on, I’ll take over. You just wait for the news.” His tone was firm and unquestionable.

Xu Yunqi listened to those words and felt somewhat empty inside. After a moment of silence, she smoothed her dress and slowly sat on the luohan bed. At this moment, her grandfather’s safety was the most important. Since Pei Muheng wanted to take over, she didn’t stop him.

“I am grateful for your help. My grandfather and I have always communicated with secret codes. If you need my assistance, please let me know.”

Pei Muheng couldn’t help but laugh, albeit angrily. “Xu Yunqi, this is my responsibility, not just helping out.” He corrected her, “Try to trust me and wait peacefully at the mansion.”

Xu Yunqi understood his implication—that he was reproaching her for treating him as an outsider. Arguing with him at this time was meaningless. She wisely pressed her lips together and remained silent.

Pei Muheng saw that she finally stopped arguing and tugged at his collar, letting out a slow breath.

The study fell silent, and the sound of rain outside grew louder, creating a dripping noise on the terrace.

Xu Yunqi was momentarily dazed, but her gaze gradually focused. She noticed the piles of documents on his desk, realizing he still had official duties to attend to. Not wanting to disturb him, she quietly glanced at his somber expression and softly said, “Third Master, it’s getting late. I’ll head back now.”

Pei Muheng didn’t respond to her statement but instead asked, “Why did you decide to come clean today?”

Having kept it hidden for so long, suddenly being open with him made Pei Muheng uneasy.

Xu Yunqi’s heart skipped a beat, and she glanced at him. That glance made Pei Muheng feel a sense of unease. He immediately sat up straight, his eyes intense and predatory, “What else are you hiding from me?”