Chapter 69: Noble Consort's Resentment, The Emperor's Resolve, Conferring a Title (Seeking First Subscription)

Imperial Palace of Great Zhou, Imperial Study.

Several basins of ice were placed in the room, and palace maids held palace fans, gently waving them. A cool breeze drifted past, forming a sharp contrast with the rolling heat waves outside the room.

Emperor Jingtai felt refreshed and invigorated amidst it.

He was earnestly reading the memorial from Pei Shiqing.

Suddenly, a burst of light footsteps arrived.

He furrowed his brows.

It must be Wan Guifei; only someone as arrogant and domineering as her would dare to enter the Imperial Study without being announced.

Sure enough, a moment later, the beautiful and alluring Wan Guifei, with a rosy complexion and a graceful, elegant figure, walked in while holding the hand of a toddler who was just learning to walk.

A palace maid behind her was carrying a tray.

"The Emperor toils for state affairs all day long. Ying Er feels so sorry for you, his Imperial Father, that he kept pestering me to bring you some sweet soup." Wan Guifei spoke with a beaming smile and nudged her son, "Pay your respects to your Imperial Father."

Emperor Jingtai looked at his ninth son, who was ignorant and naive, and felt skeptical. Could a two-year-old child who wouldn't even initiate a greeting upon seeing his Emperor have such awareness?

This woman was truly stupid in an obvious way.

The Ninth Prince only reacted after being nudged by his mother and hurriedly bowed, saying in a milky voice, "Greetings, Imperial Father."

"Ah, little Ninth Son is so well-behaved." Emperor Jingtai's old face creased into a smile like a flower, and he praised Noble Consort Wan without reservation, "My beloved consort, you have taught your son well. A two-year-old child can be this filial, and so well-mannered."

"That is all thanks to the Emperor's merit. Because Ying Er has your dragon blood flowing in his body, he is so precocious and sensible." Noble Consort Wan smiled like a flower, handed the child to a palace maid, reached out to take the sweet soup, and walked toward Emperor Jingtai, "Your Majesty, let me feed you myself."

She placed the sweet soup on the desk, lifted her round, perky buttocks from under her skirt, and sat directly on Emperor Jingtai's lap, her eyes brimming with charm, "Your Majesty, I have gained some weight recently; you must not dislike me."

"My beloved consort is already slender; I like it even more with a bit of meat on you." Emperor Jingtai hugged her and laughed heartily.

"Hee hee, Your Majesty, look." Wan Guifei gave a playful smile, her slender fingers pinching the hem of her skirt to lift it. She was wearing no undergarments, and her snow-white, long legs were wrapped in a pair of black, patterned Ice Silkworm Silk stockings, which were extraordinarily seductive.

If Emperor Jingtai were ten years younger, his blood would have surged, and he would have pinned her to the table for a wild session.

But he was already over sixty this year; his heart was willing but his strength was lacking. He only felt annoyed by this little flirtation of Wan Guifei's and reached out to help her pull her skirt down.

"Alright, alright, beloved consort, stop fooling around. Quickly serve me the soup; I still have state affairs to attend to."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wan Guifei was a woman without much guile, and her smile was somewhat forced and resentful.

The Emperor was old.

But she was in the prime of her youth!

Yet, no matter how good the fertile land was, there was no one to plow it.

She could only waste her time in vain.

How Wan Guifei wished she could have a house full of visitors.

Instead of being ignored like this.

This mood of hers made Emperor Jingtai, as a man, feel displeased, but he did not show it, drinking the soup with a smile, savoring it.

"Oh, this is the memorial from the Weiyuan Marquis." Wan Guifei saw the memorial on the table and reached out to take it directly.

Every move and word of hers was an act of courting death, but the Emperor remained indifferent and even nodded, replying, "Indeed. The people sent to Tongzhou to verify things haven't even returned yet, but his confession has arrived first."

"Hmph! A father knows his son best; of course he knows the character of Pei Shaoqing." Wan Guifei curled her lips and put the memorial back, acting spoiled, "Your Majesty must severely punish Pei Shaoqing this time. He dared to deceive the Emperor; that is to despise the imperial authority and not take you, Your Majesty, seriously."

"Rest assured, beloved consort, I will certainly let him know what it means to not deceive one's sovereign and father." Emperor Jingtai nodded.

Wan Guifei was immediately all smiles.

Pei Shaoqing, oh Pei Shaoqing, you are done for.

A eunuch walked in silently with his head lowered and reported, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Liu requests an audience."

There was only one Eunuch Liu in the palace.

That was Liu Hai.

"Summon him." Emperor Jingtai said concisely.

"This servant pays respects to the Emperor and the Noble Consort."

"Liu pays respects to the Emperor and the Noble Consort."

Liu Hai and Liu entered to pay their respects.

Emperor Jingtai said, "Grant them seats to speak."

Someone immediately brought over two small stools.

Liu Hai was calm and unhurried, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"This servant thanks the Emperor for his grace." Liu was incredibly excited, but he only dared to let one-third of his buttocks touch the stool, his waist and back straight, yet his head lowered.

Emperor Jingtai looked at Liu Hai with calm eyes.

Liu Hai said slowly, "Liu, report what you saw and heard in Tongzhou to the Emperor truthfully."

"Yes!" Liu responded, stood up immediately, and began with his head lowered, "Your Majesty, I shall start from the first day I arrived in Tongzhou..."

He repeated what he had told Liu Hai.

"This is impossible! How can this be!" Wan Guifei stood up excitedly and cursed without any decorum, "How could that good-for-nothing have such strategy and courage? There must be something fishy about this!"

She could not accept it; she had not expected that her suggestion to send people to verify would instead solidify Pei Shaoqing's achievements.

Liu kept his head lowered and remained silent.

"Your Majesty!" Wan Guifei looked at the Emperor.

"Beloved consort, stay calm." Emperor Jingtai looked at Liu Hai and asked indifferently, "Liu Hai, what do you think?"

"This servant thinks there are two possibilities." Liu Hai stood up and answered in a measured tone, "One is that Pei Shaoqing had a sudden realization after being banished to Tongzhou and turned over a new leaf; the second is that he was always like this, but had intentionally hidden his light in the past.

And I personally lean more toward the second possibility, because even if one turns over a new leaf, it would never be as if he had become a completely different person in just a few short months."

Emperor Jingtai nodded slowly, then immediately asked another question, "Then why do you say he is like this?"

"This servant dares to offer a personal opinion." Liu Hai had thought about this on the way here, "He intentionally self-soiled in the past because the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion held too much power, and as the male heir remaining in the Capital, it was not appropriate for him to appear too outstanding.

Now that he is far from the Capital, in a vast world where much can be accomplished, there is naturally no need to continue the pretense, and he can display his talents as he pleases."

It is called staying behind, but in reality, it is being a hostage.

The reason Pei Shaoqing was able to leave the Capital was because Nalan Yujin gave birth to a son at the beginning of the year; otherwise, no matter what method he used, he would never have been able to go to Tongzhou.

"Pei Qing even submitted a memorial asking Me to punish him for his failure to discipline his son, haha, in My view, he has taught him quite well." The Emperor picked up Pei Shiqing's memorial and smiled without warmth, a monstrous rage brewing beneath his calm exterior.

Liu Hai knew what the Emperor was thinking.

It was nothing more than suspecting the father and son of the Pei family were putting on an act.

But he did not think so.

He then said: "According to what this servant knows, Pei Shaoqing's mother passed away due to illness caused by him, so he has never been favored by the Weiyuan Marquis since he was young. After he reached adulthood, the bond between father and son became even thinner than paper; this point does not seem to be fake."

"Therefore, this servant believes that the Capital is a cage to him, but the Marquis Mansion is the same; being banished to Tongzhou was likely his own choice."

"Oh?" The Emperor changed his sitting posture; Liu Hai held the Secret Guard in his hands, so the intelligence he knew was more accurate.

He recalled the details carefully, the smile on his face growing wider, "In other words, even My Weiyuan Marquis, who is ever-victorious in battle, has been deceived by his own son? Looking at it this way, this young Minister Pei is truly quite interesting."

"It is far too interesting," Liu Hai echoed.

Pei Shaoqing had actually been acting for over a dozen years.

And he was truly willing to go to such lengths; which person with a normal brain would dare to do the things he did? Yet he did them while clearly being in his right mind.

It shows his audacity is heaven-defying and his temperament is extraordinary.

Wan Guifei's pretty face flickered with uncertainty; if Pei Shaoqing actually had a brain, would he have deeper calculations regarding the matter of beating his own nephew to death?

She must send a letter to her father as soon as possible.

"I have always rewarded merit." Emperor Jingtai grew spirited and said with a booming voice: "Pei Shaoqing has merit in killing the bandits; promote him to Jing'an Guard Trial Centurion, enfeoff him as Pingyang County Baron, grant him a fief of three hundred households, and bestow gold and silver upon the Jing'an Guard of the Tongzhou Hundred-Household Office. You handle the details."

"Additionally, the Weiyuan Marquis has taught his son well and has great merit to the country; specially bestow a plaque with My own calligraphy reading 'Loyal and Brave Serving the Country' to be sent to his residence in the Capital and hung in the main hall."

"Your Majesty!" Wan Guifei was shocked and said urgently: "Promoting Pei Shaoqing to Trial Centurion is already an exceptional promotion, how can you enfeoff him with a title so rashly? I beg Your Majesty to retract the order, otherwise, the imperial court will be shaken."

The titles of nobility in Great Zhou are divided into five ranks: Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron.

The bestowal of titles is very restrained, so even the lowest rank of Baron is full of value.

Even Liu Hai and Liu were shocked.

The Emperor was being far too generous.

He is worthy of being the ruler of a nation, full of boldness.

"No more words, My mind is made up!" Emperor Jingtai's tone was resolute; he held a very tight grip on the imperial court, and no one could overturn his decision. "The Mysterious Sect is a heart-and-bowel ailment of My Great Zhou; Minister Pei killing the Kaiyang Holy Son is of great significance, so he deserves to be enfeoffed."

Since Pei Shiqing and Pei Shaoqing are at odds as father and son.

Then he must vigorously support Pei Shaoqing.

Firstly, in the eyes of outsiders, this shows he is bestowing great favor upon the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion, putting pressure on Pei Shiqing; secondly, when reducing his military power in the future, he can use the son to control the father.

"Your wisdom is unmatched, Your Majesty!" Liu Hai bowed and said in a soft voice: "This servant will immediately send people to the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion, the Northern Frontier, and Tongzhou to proclaim the decree."

"Also, publicize Minister Pei's achievements to the world in the court gazette," Emperor Jingtai instructed.

Liu Hai replied: "Yes, this servant understands."

"My beloved concubine, Ying Er looks tired; you take him to rest," Emperor Jingtai said to Noble Consort Wan.

Even if Wan Guifei were any stupider, she would know this was to send her away, so she forced a smile and said: "Yes, Your Majesty."

She then stood up and left with her son.

"Liu Hai, have your people keep a close watch on Pei Shaoqing and Pei Shiqing for Me," Emperor Jingtai said coldly.

Liu Hai immediately responded: "This servant obeys."

"Who was guarding the door just now?" the Emperor asked.

Before long, two young eunuchs ran in, terrified, and knelt on the ground, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Drag them out and beat them to death," Emperor Jingtai waved his hand.

The two young eunuchs had not yet reacted before they were pinned down and dragged out, instantly falling into a panic.

"Your Majesty! Spare our lives! Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty! Please show mercy!"

Emperor Jingtai kept a cold face and turned a deaf ear.

When Wan Guifei arrived, the two did not dare to stop her, nor did they come in to announce her; for these two points alone, they deserved to die.

Even if the reason they dared not stop her was because he had shown extreme favor to Wan Guifei, that was still not allowed!

(End of chapter)