Chapter 247: with translation of chapter title

A Zi lay on the floor of the prison, her expression peaceful, her complexion deathly pale, looking as if she had just died.

"What is the cause of death?" Mu Yuanzhi asked the coroner.

Coroner: "Preliminary judgment: sudden illness, specifically chest obstruction."

"Sudden illness?" Mu Yuanzhi eyed A Zi's body suspiciously.

Gu Rongjin: "She's been healthy since childhood, with no familial hereditary disease, let alone chest obstruction... so sudden..."

Gu Rongjin, Mu Yuanzhi, and the Qilin exchanged a glance; the three of them thought roughly the same thing.

After the coroner left, the Qilin said: "She might be faking death to escape! Last time she made a human-skin mask to absorb the plague; this woman loves to put on an act."

Anyway, he doesn't really believe in sudden illness; dying this quickly and conveniently is too coincidental.

Mu Yuanzhi likewise nodded; the matter is too suspicious.

She narrowed her eyes, staring at the corpse before her, feeling it still seemed alive, just asleep.

Gu Rongjin: "Just leave it for a few days; normally, holding one's breath or using some drug to feign death won't exceed twenty-four hours."

"Good idea!" Mu Yuanzhi agreed.

The Qilin originally wanted to say, "Why not dissect her? That would guarantee she's truly dead!"

But then he thought, that's a bit inhumane; he's not that cruel.

What if she really is dead?

Mu Yuanzhi returned to her room; a figure flashed out, she turned on guard, and the person emerging from the shadows was Pei Shangnian.

"You're quite capable, managing to slip past the guards and come over here?" Mu Yuanzhi observed that Pei Shangnian had recovered well, his complexion much improved.

It's been half a year; he should have recovered by now, otherwise his foundation would be too weak.

"Ah-Zhi younger sister..." Pei Shangnian bit his lower lip, looking at Mu Yuanzhi with a troubled expression: "I heard my mother consort has arrived?"

So he just wants to see his birth mother?

Mu Yuanzhi: "She's in the prison; if you go and sit in jail, you'll be able to see her."

"Prison?!" Pei Shangnian exclaimed in shock.

He anxiously grabbed Mu Yuanzhi's hand: "Ah-Zhi younger sister, what crime did my mother consort commit? Release her and lock me up instead, okay?"

Mu Yuanzhi glanced at Pei Shangnian's hand, pushed it away, and said: "It's your mother consort who wants to spend a few days in jail to reunite with your older brother; however, your older brother has gone to find your crown prince brother."

After processing that, Pei Shangnian skipped over Pei Shangling and asked firmly: "So in a few days you'll release her?"

"Exactly; by then she'll fend for herself—we don't have the spare funds to keep idle people." Feeding so many soldiers is already a strain; the military provisions are almost gone.

If it weren't for previously detaining Pei Shangnian as a pretext to press the attack, we wouldn't even keep this money-losing Pei Shangnian.

Upon hearing that, Pei Shangnian finally felt relieved, but then began to worry about another matter: "Ah-Zhi younger sister, will Ling older brother be alright going to see the crown prince?"

It's not that he distrusts the crown prince; it's just the current situation.

"Whether something happens or not is none of my concern." She didn't care.

Pei Shangnian's brows furrowed even tighter upon hearing that.

How did these siblings end up like this?

They used to be so close, but now there's only hostility and indifference...

No matter how I think about it, it's all Pei Yunxi's fault!

If it weren't for Pei Yunxi meddling, how would they have come to this?

Ever since he learned that this younger sister had repeatedly tried to kill him, Ah-Zhi younger sister, he no longer felt any affection for the so-called younger sister.

What does "blood thicker than water" even mean? Can it outweigh the affection they've grown up with since childhood? Blame him for realizing too late; he should have shown Ah-Zhi younger sister more concern earlier.

"Ah-Zhi younger sister..."

Pei Shangnian still wanted to speak, but Mu Yuanzhi turned and shut the door, also telling him not to bother her again.

Pei Shangnian stood there, feeling dejected.

"Who?!"

The candles in the room suddenly went out; a figure flashed in through the window, and Pei Shangyan warily drew his waist sword.

"It's me, elder brother crown prince."

Pei Shangling in the shadows was like a ghost, but Pei Shangyan lowered his guard and sheathed his sword.

"Did you come to turn yourself in, Fourth Brother?" He sheathed his sword, his steady voice carrying the authority of the heir apparent.

Pei Shangling stepped forward a few paces; it seemed he hadn't seen this older brother in a long time, to the point of feeling somewhat estranged, as if an invisible barrier prevented the two brothers from drawing closer, and that barrier was clearly erected by his older brother.

"Crown Prince Elder Brother, what did Father Emperor's secret edict say?" Pei Shangling got straight to the point.

Pei Shangyan's complexion changed at those words; he clenched his back teeth and pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Why aren't you speaking? Is it hard to say?" Pei Shangling's heart began to turn cold.

Pei Shangyan still didn't speak; he turned to open the hidden compartment, took out the secret edict, and handed it to Pei Shangling.

Pei Shangling reached out to receive it, feeling it weighed a thousand jin, making it hard to breathe.

The crown prince elder brother not speaking, he could already guess, but...

When Pei Shangling opened the secret edict, his heart pounded like thunder.

Pei Shangyan stood opposite, waiting for his brother to finish reading the secret edict.

Pei Shangling felt as if struck by lightning; his hands gripping the secret edict trembled, his gaze darted back and forth across it, his eyes filled with disbelief and despair, as desolate as the vast desert.

Father Emperor really intends to kill him...

Without asking for reasons, without giving him a chance to explain.

Why?!

He is Father Emperor's own son! A son raised at his side!

Why, without even giving him a chance to explain, do they label him a traitor?

You still say it's not important to the Father Emperor?

Pei Shangyan simply couldn't bear to see Pei Shangling like this; his younger brother had just turned twenty and had never experienced any major storms, yet suddenly he faced this drastic change, and Pei Shangyan worries he will collapse.

"Lao Si, the Father Emperor only issued a secret edict, not made public; surely he also left you a last chance—go back……"

"Go back?" Pei Shangling sneered, cutting off Pei Shangyan's words, questioning him: "Go back to die?"

What has he been insisting on all along?

Just wishful thinking.

Why does he have to endure so much suffering?

He's truly stupid to the core!

Ah Zhi and them are the ones who see things most clearly; this court is already beyond saving, and under the rule of cold-blooded fools it will sooner or later fall apart, the state will cease to be a state!

Pei Shangyan's brows were tightly furrowed; he seemed to disagree with Pei Shangling's words, yet could understand, feeling more sympathy; he really wanted to do something, but, like the current situation, he was powerless.

"Lao Si, don't be impulsive."

"I'm not being impulsive, Crown Prince Brother; I've never been as calm as I am now." Pei Shangling wasn't hysterical; the stormy waves in his heart instantly turned into calm winds and still waters.

Pei Shangyan's hand silently rested on the sword at his waist; seeing this, Pei Shangling smiled: "Crown Prince Brother, are you going to execute me by imperial order?"