Chapter 84: You're Actually Planning to Rebel

Although Wang Wu was saved and Yan Sichen was heavily wounded tonight, not a single living captive was taken.

The Jing'an Guard also suffered quite a few casualties.

For Pei Shaoqing, not making a profit is equivalent to a loss.

Not to mention that he lost several subordinates this time.

This made him extremely furious.

When the fire is big, one must use a fire extinguisher to put it out.

"Madam, you have worked hard tonight; go back to the bathing room and rest early." After arriving home, Pei Shaoqing first said this to Liu Yuheng, then turned his head to look at Zhao Zhilan, who was walking at the very back, "Lan'er, come with me."

Zhao Zhilan looked at her teacher's wife in a panic.

"Young Master, is there something you need Lan'er for?" Liu Yuheng said with a beaming smile, "She is also exhausted tonight; why not let her go and rest? I can still hold on, and if there is anything needed, I can do it on her behalf."

"That won't do; I am calling Lan'er for the pleasures of the boudoir." Pei Shaoqing saw that Liu Yuheng intended to protect Zhao Zhilan and spoke directly to the point.

Last time, he took a crooked path and found a new way.

This time, he must take the righteous path and open up sources while reducing expenditure.

Neither Liu Yuheng nor Zhao Zhilan expected him to be so blunt, and both felt somewhat embarrassed and shy.

Liu Yuheng bit her red lips lightly and advised, "Young Master has the talent to govern the world and great ambitions; you should focus on nourishing your body and not overexert yourself in bedroom affairs."

"Madam, I am in a bad mood tonight and just want to seek pleasure." Pei Shaoqing's tone was somewhat displeased.

Sensing that his mood was off, Liu Yuheng could only be direct, "I implore you, Young Master, please wait until Lan'er has crossed the threshold before engaging in husband-and-wife relations."

"Madam, I think it would be better to ask for Lan'er's own opinion." Pei Shaoqing looked at Zhao Zhilan.

Liu Yuheng also looked at Zhao Zhilan.

Zhao Zhilan glanced at her teacher's wife, lowered her head, and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito's, "Lan'er will listen to the Young Master."

Liu Yuheng looked helpless and frustrated by her lack of resolve.

"Madam?" Pei Shaoqing wore a smile that was not quite a smile.

Liu Yuheng sighed, "Please, Young Master, show mercy to my little apprentice; she is delicate and weak, and cannot withstand such whipping."

"Rest assured, Madam, I have always been very protective of my women." Pei Shaoqing chuckled and said.

Other people's carriages only stand up and pedal.

Liu Yuheng thought to herself, if this is what he calls protective, how would he play if he weren't? Her face couldn't help but burn hot.

Pei Shaoqing didn't care what she was thinking.

He turned around and walked away directly.

Zhao Zhilan kept her head lowered, following him step by step like a pitiful quail.

Liu Yuheng shook her head as she watched the two walk away.

A grown daughter is hard to keep!

As soon as they entered the room, Pei Shaoqing picked Zhao Zhilan up amidst her exclamation and threw her onto the bed.

"Young Master, no, I haven't bathed yet."

"I like to eat high-end ingredients in their original flavor."

"I hope the Young Master will show mercy to Lan'er." Zhao Zhilan's cheeks were crimson, and she looked at Pei Shaoqing timidly while biting her thin lips.

"Good Lan'er."

"Young Master... please blow out the lamp first."

"I want to see Lan'er in the bright light."

The lamp flickered, and the bed swayed.

Finally, everything returned to calm.

"Meow meow!"

The voice of Li Jiangjun came from outside the window.

Pei Shaoqing immediately got out of bed to open the window.

"The Lord is mating again." Li Jiangjun poked its head in like a turtle to look at the bed behind him; through the hanging curtains, a woman could be vaguely seen.

Pei Shaoqing's face darkened as he slapped its head back, "That is called mating; what I am doing is called marital union."

"It's all the same." Li Jiangjun muttered, then remembered the real business, "By the way, Lord, my beloved concubine Black Pearl said that Yan Sichen has secretly snuck back into the city, and she has already arranged for a subordinate to keep a quiet watch on him."

"What?" Pei Shaoqing was shocked upon hearing this.

This fellow Yan Sichen was actually so bold; even though he had already escaped, he dared to make a return strike.

However, one had to admit that if the Cat Battalion were not spread throughout the entire city, he might have actually succeeded.

At the very least, he had not expected Yan Sichen to have such courage.

Zhao Zhilan had already recovered, and upon hearing the voices, she asked delicately, "Young Master, who is it?"

"A servant; you rest well, I need to go out for a while." Pei Shaoqing slammed the window shut with a 'bang'.

"Ouch!" Caught off guard, Li Jiangjun, who had been pushed off the windowsill the moment Pei Shaoqing closed the window, climbed up and cursed, "How frivolous; looking at him, he doesn't seem like a ruler."

Pei Shaoqing first went to see Liu Yuheng to notify her to prepare for another encirclement of Yan Sichen, then went to see Wang Xianling to tell him that he still needed to ask that Saint Envoy to take action.

Although Old Wang was very helpless about this, he could only agree and continue to hoodwink the Saint Envoy.

…………………………

Yan Sichen knew nothing of this; he went straight back to the room he had booked at Hongbin Lou to sleep and conserve his energy.

Because he currently did not know where those three women were hidden by Pei Shaoqing, but those three women would definitely have to go home, and that was the opportunity he was waiting for.

Now he was in the shadows, so there was no need to rush.

At the fourth watch, as dawn was about to break, over a hundred crossbow bolts were fired simultaneously from all directions into the room where Yan Sichen was staying.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

The moment he heard the sound of something piercing the air, Yan Sichen on the bed woke up with a start; after dodging several arrows, his body shot into the sky, and with a "Boom—", he smashed a hole through the roof, landing on the rooftop amidst dust and debris.

Looking around, the surrounding rooftops were filled with Jing'an Guard in white faces and black robes, including Liu Yuheng, with whom he had already crossed swords; he was completely surrounded.

Pei Shaoqing stood with his hands behind his back on the roof of a building opposite Hongbin Lou, looking up from afar and shouting sternly: "Yan, you conscience-less thief, you have nowhere left to run, surrender now!"

"Pei Shaoqing!" Yan Sichen's eyes were bloodshot and nearly splitting, his face full of disbelief; he felt some unwillingness, yet also a touch of admiration, "Fine, fine, fine! In the past, I truly was blind and misjudged you. I never expected that even this 'returning horse spear' move of mine was within your calculations!"

"I admit I was a move behind, but if you think you can make me admit defeat just like that, keep dreaming! Bring it on!"

As his voice fell, waves of sinister black mist permeated from his body, his aura surged, his eyes turned scarlet as blood, thick blue veins bulged on his neck as if they were about to burst through his skin, and his face was covered in eerie scars.

"What kind of evil art is this?"

The Saint Envoy, holding a long spear at an angle, exclaimed upon seeing this.

"Never mind what evil art it is, evil shall not prevail over good," Pei Shaoqing said righteously: "All of you, attack!"

"Kill!"

In an instant, everyone charged forward together.

Liu Yuheng and the Saint Envoy were naturally the main force of the attack.

The others primarily served to provide interference.

"So it was you, this skulking rat, who pinned down Commander Zhou?" Yan Sichen said sinisterly while looking at the Saint Envoy, attacking him fiercely with one hand shaped like a claw.

The Saint Envoy brandished the great spear, "Just in time!"

Liu Yuheng, holding the Mo Tan Sword that Pei Shaoqing had lent her, turned into a streak of light from the side and stabbed toward Yan Sichen.

The chaotic battle was on the verge of breaking out.

The surrounding residents were terrified, but some bold ones still poked their heads out to look outside.

Yan Sichen's strength increased greatly thanks to the evil art.

However, being outnumbered, as his internal energy was continuously consumed, he soon fell into a disadvantage, being beaten back step by step by Liu Yuheng and the Saint Envoy, gradually finding it difficult to parry.

"Pei Shaoqing! Give me your life!"

Yan Sichen, who had been charging at the Saint Envoy again, suddenly turned to kill Pei Shaoqing, intending to capture the leader to subdue the rest.

Seeing this, the Saint Envoy's eyes flashed, and he deliberately held back.

But County Magistrate Wang took the initiative to fly forward to intercept.

Although the Saint Envoy found it hard to understand, he had no time to think about it at this moment and could only rush toward Yan Sichen again.

The two sides clashed again in the air less than ten meters from Pei Shaoqing, the rampaging Qi even stirring the long hair hanging over Pei Shaoqing's forehead.

Yet Pei Shaoqing stood quietly in place from beginning to end, motionless as a mountain, his expression unchanged, not even blinking an eye, which left his subordinates full of admiration.

Yan Sichen was soon exhausted, his shoulder pierced by the Saint Envoy's spear, blood spraying out; then, he was struck by a flying kick from Liu Yuheng, his body suffering a violent impact and descending rapidly, smashing into the ground with a "Bang—", blood splattering everywhere while the bluestone slabs shattered.

Before he could get up, the Saint Envoy had already descended from the sky and stepped on his chest, the spear tip pointing straight at his throat.

Liu Yuheng immediately stepped forward and sealed his dantian.

"Good!" Pei Shaoqing praised loudly with a smile.

Tapping his toes on the ground, he leaped down as light as a swallow, walked with long strides to Yan Sichen, and looked down at him from above, "Coming to Tongzhou to snatch people is the biggest mistake you have made. No matter who it is, if they dare to stir up trouble on my turf, I will never tolerate it! Men! Take him away for me; I want to interrogate him overnight."

"Yes!" Two Jing'an Guard immediately rushed up to lift Yan Sichen, shackled him on the spot with heavy chains, and kicked him in the leg, "Move!"

Yan Sichen stared fixedly at Pei Shaoqing with a face full of unwillingness before turning around without a word and walking away staggeringly under the escort of the two Jing'an Guard.

Pei Shaoqing turned his head to look at the Saint Envoy and said in a gentle tone: "Many thanks to you, Excellency, for your righteous assistance."

Of course, he had seen that this fellow had just deliberately let Yan Sichen rush toward him; he could understand this, but that did not mean he had to accept it.

This account would be settled another day.

"You are too kind," the Saint Envoy cupped his hands and said: "Since the matter here is settled, I shall take my leave first."

He then left together with the masked County Magistrate Wang.

A quarter of an hour later, at the Hundred-Household Office.

Pei Shaoqing sat high above, looking down at Yan Sichen, who was being held kneeling on the ground, and scolded sternly: "The Emperor has treated the imperial clan well; why do you intend to rebel?"

"How did you know?" Yan Sichen's face showed shock, and he stared at Pei Shaoqing in utter disbelief.

He was certain that Wang Wu did not know about this.

Could it be that Commander Zhou had been captured alive?

Pei Shaoqing was also stunned; no, I just wanted to frame you for treason to maximize my own credit, but it turns out you really were planning to rebel!

"You wanted to frame me?" Seeing his reaction, Yan Sichen understood instantly, but instead of being angry or denying it, he grinned, "Heh, that's right, this Marquis Heir has long had a heart of rebellion; I congratulate you in advance for another great achievement."

"Brother Yan, look, this makes me feel quite embarrassed," Pei Shaoqing smiled and said to the two subordinates holding Yan Sichen: "You two, step down."

The two bowed and turned to leave.

Yan Sichen rose from the ground.

Pei Shaoqing asked: "Did the Shu Prince participate?"

"No," Yan Sichen shook his head, but then his tone shifted, "But this Marquis Heir is willing to admit that everything I did was under the instruction of my father! It is not just me who wants to rebel, but the entire Shu Prince Mansion!"

Pei Shaoqing was stunned in place once again.

Yan Sichen was actually going to drag his own father into the water.

This... what a display of "filial piety."

But regardless of the reason why Yan Sichen did this, it was a great thing for Pei Shaoqing.

After all, the testimony of a biological son was more convincing.

"Why?" he still asked.

"Why?" The disheveled Yan Sichen laughed loudly, "Since I can no longer become the Shu Prince, this so-called Shu Prince Mansion naturally has no need to exist."

He knew he was on a path to death, but he was absolutely unwilling to let the bastard born of that bitch pick up a bargain for nothing.

And that father of his, who had always been biased toward that bastard.

"Damn it all, everyone come and be buried with me, the Marquis Heir!"

"If I cannot have it, no one else should even think about having it."

Watching the crazed expression of Yan Sichen, Pei Shaoqing realized that the original owner had actually been quite good to the Weiyuan Marquis; at the very least, he hadn't wanted to slaughter his entire family just because his relationship with his own father was poor.

"Then tell me about the details of the Shu Prince's rebellion."

"Fine, if there is anything I don't recount correctly, Brother Pei, you must help me correct it, hahahahaha."

Yan Sichen cooperated willingly, and Pei Shaoqing easily obtained the details of the Shu Prince's rebellion, finally asking about the one thing he cared about most: "Would you trouble yourself to tell me about that ghost you raised, Brother Yan?"

"Why not?" Yan Sichen revealed a playful smile and slowly began to speak: "Regarding that Lao Gui, the matter must be traced back to three years ago..."

(End of chapter)