Chapter 282: Grandmother and Brother, Siblings Finally Meet!

Li Qingluo looked at Pei Sanlang.

Seeing him close his eyes, tears fell in strings.

"Then what have I been bearing all these years, really?"

He cried and laughed, a trace of struggling confusion and bewilderment gradually appearing on his face.

Only then did everyone realize that what he had been bearing was so heavy.

The lives of all the sons of the entire Pei clan rested on him alone; no wonder he was always gloomy, for he had lived in the darkest side of the Pei household since childhood.

So he killed people.

He handled affairs for the crown prince.

He stirred up trouble everywhere in the murky waters of Jinling.

He turned a blind eye to, even tacitly allowed, the vicious people's massacre of the Twelfth Lady.

He merely wanted the entire Pei clan to survive in the cracks……

Zayina: "Sanlang, you don't have to be like this."

"I and your great-grandfather…… if we left, could you alone bear all this?"

"Now your uncle, and even all the sons of the entire household besides you, no one knows they have been poisoned; can you keep it hidden for them their whole lives, can you withstand all this fate?"

"Sanlang, this matter is too bitter."

"I and your great-grandfather have already suffered so much, and we have dragged you into the whirlpool of the entire Pei clan's fate, sinking to this day; we know we have been extremely cruel to you, but some secrets ought to be told to your grandaunt."

"She will not turn a blind eye, nor will she ignore the whole Pei family, right, Xiuzhen?"

Pei Lao Furen wore a grim face; hearing these nonsense words, she merely gave a cold smile: "This child has already been ruined by the two of you, and now you're pretending to be a good person here?"

"All the misfortunes of the Pei clan are brought by you, this demon woman!"

"You have bewitched my elder brother; otherwise, the Pei clan would not have taken such a dark path!"

"If it weren't for you causing trouble in the Pei household these years, how could your older sister have set her sights on all the sons of the Pei manor, using them as leverage against you?"

"Zayina, after all, it is your selfishness from back then that has brought the Pei manor to this state!"

"Don't hypocritically spout lofty words again, trying to drag me further into this abyss!"

Zayina let out a bitter, booming laugh.

"Indeed… indeed, Peilang is the one who understands you best in this world. He once said, if you knew that I saved his life back then, the price would be for the entire Pei clan to lie low henceforth, to continue his life by taking others' lives, you would surely not agree."

"He said that if that were the case, you would rather he, this brother, were truly dead than live like that…"

"But he is alive after all, Xiuzhen."

"He has lived another thirty-plus years!"

Pei Lao Furen, angry, couldn't help but want to rush forward: "I will kill you, Zayina—"

Li Qingluo hurriedly grabbed Pei Lao Furen: "Grandmother! Grandmother, don't act rashly—"

Li Qingluo was somewhat wary of those who practice the Witchcraft Technique; she feared that if her grandmother were slightly careless, she would fall under their influence, so she did not want Pei Lao Furen to approach Zayina.

Pei Lao Furen was panting with anger, while Zayina remained calm, showing no reaction.

Just then, the door opened; the physician who had entered first came out with a delighted face and announced: "Your Highness, you've awakened!"

Pei Old Duke awakened.

It was Luo Shenyi and Du Dafu working together, administering acupuncture, that pulled him back from the brink of death, albeit temporarily.

However, his life had already run out of oil and wick.

These years he had barely clung to life by relying on others' lives; now that the maternal and filial blood-worm insects are dead, his life naturally has reached its end, truly beyond rescue.

Upon hearing the news, Zayina was the first to rush in.

"Peilang—Peilang!!"

She threw herself into the Old Duke's arms, weeping, tears like pear blossoms in rain.

Old Duke: "Zayina, how… you too have grown old?"

He raised his hand to stroke her temples.

Where his hand touched, everything was already pure white.

Zayina shook her head with a slight smile: "Peilang, could it be that you disdain my aged appearance?"

Old Duke: "How could that be? I am nothing but a decrepit old man myself; even at my worst, you never despised me, so what right do I have to despise your age?"

"But… we have both reached the end, right?"

As Zayina lowered her gaze, tears rolled down in strings.

"Yes……"

"I'm sorry, Peilang; these years I have harmed you……"

The Old Duke sighed: "I don't blame you."

"Having said that, how much time do we have left?"

Zayina wore a dejected expression: "At most…… three days!"

Luo Shenyi and Du Dafu, upon hearing this, also silently nodded.

Luo Shenyi: "It seems you already knew his fate; three days is indeed the limit of what we can do."

Pei Old Duke: "Three days is already enough."

Zayina simply did not want to face it.

"Peilang! We still…… haven't finished anything; I am simply unwilling……"

Pei Lao Furen came out from behind: "Then what else do you wish to accomplish?"

The Old Duke trembled all over upon hearing her voice.

He lifted his head, incredulous, gazing at his own blood younger sister whom he had not seen in thirty years.

"Xiu... Xiu xiu?"

"I never imagined I could still see you in this life; in that case, elder brother, I would have no regrets..."

"Pei Lao Furen's entire body had been filled with anger, but the moment she saw Pei Lao Guogong in his death‑ridden, exhausted state, his head a snowy‑white mess, her anger instantly drained."

"Elder brother!!"

"After Pei Lao Furen shouted, she herself burst into tears, unable to speak."

"Li Qingluo quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe her grandmother's tears: 'Grandma, do you want to go over? I'll support you.'"

"Pei Lao Furen nodded, took the handkerchief, and, supported by Li Qingluo, came to the bedside."

"Elder brother, why... have you come to this?"

"At this point, Pei Lao Furen could no longer utter any reproachful words."

"Why didn't you tell me all these truths back then? No matter what, I will stand by you! All these years you've suffered so much, yet what have you gained? And you've harmed so many lives!"

"Old Guogong: 'I know, I am ashamed before the ancestors of the Pei family and before the people of the world… but I, I, the Pei clan, have done right by the Duan clan! It is the Duan clan that owes us!'"

"After saying this, Pei Lao Guogong looked toward Prince Su, who was leaning in the crowd."

"Prince Su, do you say that what this old official has said is right or wrong?"

"Prince Su: 'Yes.'"

"The old guogong couldn't help but laugh 'hahaha'."

"I never imagined that Duan Changyan could also have a son who distinguishes right from wrong!"

"It's a pity, but everything is already too late..."

"Pei Lao Furen: 'Elder brother, what exactly have you done?'"

"The old guogong slowly closed his eyes: 'After I died and was reborn, my heart filled with resentment and hatred, so these years I have been secretly plotting, thinking about how to utterly destroy your Duan dynasty!'"

"It's just that my body is weak, so I could only make long‑term plans; that's why I raised Sanlang to be my hand."

"Even the rapid growth of the Lotus Sect these years has been aided by the Pei family's influence working behind the scenes."

"I sent Sanlang to the Eastern Palace to feign allegiance to the crown prince and work secretly; even the servants thought we were the crown prince's faction. As long as we help the crown prince ascend, the Pei family can rise again."

"But actually… I know the crown prince is nothing more than another Duan Changyan."

"He possesses deep scheming, both civil and military talent, is the legitimate heir, and his strategies are no inferior to Emperor Yan's; indeed, he is the most qualified crown prince candidate for DaLiang."

"But even if he ascends, how would he not abandon the Pei family just as Emperor Yan did?"

"So, the former crown prince's being framed and committing that great mistake was actually my doing!"

"To overthrow the Duan dynasty, I cannot allow a second Duan Changyan to take the throne; I would rather the next emperor be a fool, a mediocre nobody, so that the Duan dynasty would gradually rot from within and destroy its own foundations."

"By then, whether it is the Lotus Sect or any other sect, toppling the Duan clan would be no easy task?"

"Outside the door, Pei Sanlang heard these words and his face turned pale inch by inch."

"He knew that if even a single word of this leaked, the entire Pei family would be utterly doomed."

"And yet his great‑grandfather personally said all this to Prince Su… could he be intending to abandon the Pei clan?"

"Is it a sudden remorse on his deathbed, feeling he has done everything wrong?"

"What, then, are all those dark years of his own?"

"Old Guogong: 'These years I have indeed secretly cultivated my own power; originally… I was only one step away, needing merely to prop up any useless prince as a puppet to topple DaLiang within another twenty years…'"

"It's a pity we hadn't accomplished any of that before others seized our lifeline."

"Zhaina's sister gave all the sons of the Pei family a poisonous gu."

"Truly, man's schemes fall short of heaven's—hahaha, hahaha… how is this not my karmic retribution?"

"If I had simply raised troops and rebelled back then, perhaps we would still have ended up with the whole clan implicated, but it would be better than this wretched state!"

"Living in misery, being controlled in misery… I have become a wretched evil spirit."

"Hahaha, hahaha… it's all retribution, retribution unsatisfying!!"

"Zhaina, seeing her beloved in such agony, could only cling to his arm and continually soothe him: 'Pei Lang, don't be like this, Pei Lang… I was wrong, I truly was wrong… Pei Lang!!"

"The two gazed at each other sorrowfully, clearly finally regretting what they had done over these years."

"Pei Lao Furen could no longer bear to watch this scene and turned her head away."

"Li Qingluo couldn't help but ask: 'What exactly is this silk‑drawing gu? And why did Zhaina's sister do this? What is her true intention?'"

"Zhaina looked at the old guogong."

The old duke nodded, and she then slowly replied: "The so-called silk‑pulling elixir is a supremely toxic Miao remedy refined from over a thousand poisonous insects."

It is also a secret formula unique to my school; only the headmaster can possess and master this exclusive recipe.

"Li Qingluo: 'So your sister is now the head of your sect? Is she colluding with the Lotus Sect, or is she currently serving beside the crown prince?'"