Chapter 375: The Pei Clan Is About to Be Entirely Annihilated!

A cyan line stretched straight from the wrist up to the elbow.

Seeing this, Lu and the two Pei girls' faces both changed.

"You two, get out of here right now!"

Lu scolded Pei Liuniang and Pei Shiniang.

Pei Liuniang was the daughter of the second branch, Pei Shiniang the daughter of the third branch.

Both girls were nervous and curious, but hearing the matriarch's command, they dared not hesitate.

They immediately helped each other and hurriedly retreated.

When everyone else had left, Lu seized Pei Jingzhe's arm and shouted in terror, "Eldest Son, when did this happen?"

"How could you possibly have one too!?"

"What on earth is going on!?"

Pei Jingzhe replied calmly, "My son was stationed on the frontier; according to father, this cyan line appeared on every male of the household five years ago. Only my son was away from the manor then, so we thought he escaped this disaster."

"But now that he's returned only a few months ago, you see…"

Lu's legs gave way.

"How could this be possible?"

Pei Jingzhe grabbed her, continuing, "Mother, this is Witchcraft Technique."

"It is also a thing that could wipe out the entire Pei household."

Duke Pei slowly lifted his own sleeve, revealing the cyan line on his arm.

"When this appeared five years ago, no one knew whether it was a plot or a coincidence."

"Only in the past two years did everyone realize that every Pei male bore this thing."

"It causes no pain or itch, nor any disease, yet in the past two years has the Pei family produced any new offspring?"

"When I first sensed this, I secretly searched the world for someone to examine it, and finally concluded it must be the Witchcraft Technique from MiaoJiang."

"But despite all precautions, we still couldn't prevent Jingzhe either…"

"Eldest Son, father and mother have failed you; we returned you but still couldn't protect you!"

Lu's face turned ashen as she clutched her eldest son, crying inconsolably.

"How could this happen… Jingzhe had already escaped, hadn't he?"

"Then what shall we do? And you said Li Qingluo might be the one to save our Pei family?"

Pei Jingzhe hesitated a moment, then said, "Mother, when the news of Grandfather's death arrived, there was not even a corpse, and Third Son vanished without a trace."

"Did you never wonder what they actually went through, or where they went?"

Lu opened and closed her mouth, able only to look at Pei Bu.

Pei Bu flicked his hand away, "She only knows about the inner‑household affairs all day; has she ever worried about the fate of the whole Pei family? About when I might die?"

Pei Jingzhe shook his head, "This matter is too strange to blame mother."

"Grandfather's actions over the years gave you some clues, but you never pursued the truth, did you?"

"Besides fearing the truth would be unbearable for the whole Pei family, we also hoped Grandfather could truly succeed in his scheme, letting the Duke Pei household rise again."

"But in the world, not every scheme succeeds."

"Grandfather's plan was probably already manipulated by others."

"However, my son was caught in the Prince's entanglement by Grandfather's scheme back then; although my son felt resentment then, now I think… it was likely Grandfather's way to safeguard his son."

Lu jumped in fright, her mouth agape, suddenly understanding.

"Everything Grandfather did was for our Duke Pei household?"

Pei Jingzhe: "Yes, and no."

"But just half a month after my son returned to the capital, he received a secret letter."

"By the handwriting, it was sent secretly by Third Son."

"Third Son said he would no longer be Pei's Third Son, but would spend his life atoning for Pei's sins."

"And the Pei family's curse can now only be lifted by the true legitimate daughter of the Li family, perhaps it can be broken and saved."

"Otherwise, the whole clan will be annihilated!"

"The letter also detailed that any Pei male aged twenty and above, counted from the day of the toxin, would live no more than seven years."

"Those under thirty would live no more than thirty years."

"All Pei males cannot bear this poison, nor can they produce offspring."

"What Third Son wrote cannot be false."

"These years he served Grandfather, and the witch happened to be the one who disappeared five years ago."

Pei Jingzhe stared at his mother, earnestly saying, "Mother, the days left for our Pei household are few."

Lu collapsed completely, sitting on the ground.

She wore a look of desperate sorrow.

She could only stare silently at Duke Pei and her legitimate eldest son.

By this count, Pei Bu has been under the toxin for almost six years.

And her legitimate eldest son Pei Jingzhe is now nearly twenty‑seven!

Lu and the two girls were ultimately not sent back to Jinling.

Only when the front hall worshipped Emperor Yan and the Empress did Lu's eyes swell into two walnuts.

The noble ladies beside her asked, and she forced a weak smile, "I didn't sleep well last night, and today I accidentally drank green plum tea; I just napped, and somehow ended up like this."

"I fear this appearance may offend the Son of Heaven, and my heart is terribly uneasy."

The noble ladies laughed, "You must be longing for the noble young master, aren't you? Don't worry, you'll see him soon."

Madam Lu's face showed a hint of eager anticipation.

If Xuan'er knew the family's situation…… it wouldn't be a question of whether there's a way to save her father and elder brother?

Just relying on that Li Qingluo…… upon thinking of her son's words, Madam Lu couldn't help but feel doubts piling up.

She simply could not believe that a Li Qingluo could save her entire Pei clan!

Li Qingluo accompanied Pei Lao Furen as they knelt at the very end of the crowd.

Although Pei Lao Furen once held a very high position, she had retired from the court for over thirty years, and now she holds no office and has no children or grandchildren in the government; therefore, by status, she and her granddaughter indeed could only kneel in the most insignificant spot at the very end.

However, Li Qingluo felt quite at ease with that.

Being able to follow along and catch fish by the water also meant no one paid her any attention.

"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has arrived——"

"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived——"

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived——"

The Empress Dowager, already nearly seventy, had resided in the Ning Shou Palace for over a decade and hardly ever appeared in public, yet this time she actually came as well?

Moreover, when did the Empress Dowager arrive?

Today, not a single person noticed the imperial phoenix carriages at the palace gate.

Everyone was greatly shocked and hurriedly shouted 'thousand years' and 'ten thousand years' several times each.

Li Qingluo took the moment when everyone looked up to sneak a glance at the Empress Dowager's direction.

The Empress Dowager looked just like an ordinary elderly lady.

She bore no particular dignity, her kind eyes and benevolent expression made her approachable.

If it weren't for Pei Wuniang, who is now the Noble Consort Jing, behaving obediently beside the Empress Dowager, Li Qingluo would have thought she was merely a fancy-dressed ordinary granny.

As for Emperor Yan, compared to the last palace banquet he looked much thinner; clearly he still bore a sickly appearance, yet he insisted on coming to fuss over the summer sacrifice ritual.

Only the Empress still bore that most noble and elegant aura under heaven.

Below the Empress sat the Crown Prince and his consort.

The Crown Prince was magnificent in appearance, resembling the Empress greatly.

The Crown Prince's consort had an outstanding demeanor, gentle and lovely.

Prince Jin, Princess Jin……

Even Prince Yun and his consort came!

However, the eldest prince claimed illness and did not come, and two of the younger princes also did not leave the palace.

Li Qingluo roughly glanced over everyone, and her eyes met those of the Princess of Nanping.

After kneeling for an unknown length of time, Li Qingluo's legs were about to go numb, when the Grand Eunuch finally announced the official start of this year's summer sacrifice blessing ritual.

Everyone followed Emperor Yan and the Empress, then moved in turn to the outside of Changle Hall.

Drums were beaten, bells rung, and horns sounded respectfully.

Flags were waved to dispel evil.

Offerings were made and incense burned.

The Imperial Guard also performed a magnificent display of the Fu Xi Eight Trigrams drum.

After the crowd dispersed, Li Qingluo's heart still lingered in the recent exalted emotion, so when the Princess of Nanping and Pan Li came to find her, she did not react right away.

"Lu'er, Lu'er?"

Pan Li shook Li Qingluo.

Seeing the two of them, Li Qingluo was naturally overjoyed.

"You've come?"

The three of them, not having seen each other in a long time, found a quiet place to talk.

The Princess of Nanping eyed Pan Li and Li Qingluo suspiciously back and forth, then complained: "When did the two of you get so close?"

"Older sister now calls Little Sister Luoluo 'Lu'er,' oh my, you're quite scheming!"

The Princess of Nanping retorted at Pan Li, who was pretending to be Pei the Twelfth Daughter, full of sourness.

Pan Li embraced the Princess of Nanping: "Good Ping'er, are you still jealous? Before, I was in the wrong, always opposing you."

"But haven't they already turned over a new leaf, changed their ways, and now are on good terms with you?"

"Your friends are naturally also my older sister's friends, so I must naturally try to win over Miss Li as well."

Pan Li's few words soothed the Princess of Nanping.

After speaking, she also secretly winked at Li Qingluo.

Li Qingluo laughed helplessly and shook her head.

It seems Pan Li has put in a lot of effort lately; otherwise she couldn't have coaxed the little ancestor, the Princess of Nanping, into playing with her.

The Princess of Nanping affectionately hugged Li Qingluo and acted coquettishly: "Elder sister Luoluo, that's wonderful—I really didn't expect you to come too."

"These days I've been confined by my mother in the manor to study etiquette; it's been a long time since I saw you—do you know how much I've missed you?"

Pan Li said: "It's rare that we're all together; let's go hunting tomorrow."

"I heard there are many little rabbits and sparrows on South Mountain; they'll surely be easy to catch!"

The Princess of Nanping said: "Why wait until tomorrow? The Imperial Guard is about to set out for South Mountain; what are we waiting for? Let's hurry and join the fun now!"

Having said that, the two of them didn't wait to see if Li Qingluo wanted to go; they pulled her along and ran off.

Li Qingluo quickly instructed Ying'er to go inform her grandmother.

Que'er, Zheng Mama, and Sha Wu hurriedly followed after.

Upon hearing this, Pei Lao Furen merely smiled: "That's fine. This child acts all old and serious, lacking the demeanor a young lady should have."

"Let her spend more time with the Pan family young lady and the little princess, playing around; that will make her more lively."

Just as he finished speaking, a eunuch came over.

"General Pei, the Empress Dowager invites you to come and reminisce."

"I don't know... where has your eldest daughter gone?"

Nanshan Forest Farm.

The opening scene of the imperial guard is truly shocking.

With the drumbeats, it is said that a barrage of arrows is fired, which is no exaggeration.

Then, dozens of horses charged into the forest farm at once; amidst the booming sounds, the vanguard's horn soon sounded.

"Hit! It must be Commandant Cui!"

Li Qingluo immediately sensed something unusual, and whispered to Pan Li: "Commandant Cui?"

Pan Li replied softly: "He is the Seventh Young Master of the Cui family's main line. The Cui family's notorious prodigal son, who abandoned scholarly pursuits for the military and joined the Imperial Guard."

"He may look delicate and fair-skinned, but his skills are excellent."

"The young princess likes him very much."

Pan Li had just finished speaking when Princess Nanping excitedly grabbed Li Qingluo and shook her: "Luoer sister, let's also go to the forest farm! Come on, come on!"

Li Qingluo simply couldn't resist her.

The three of them didn't ride horses; they walked to the edge of the forest farm to scout the surrounding terrain first.

However, they had barely arrived when a shout came from behind: "Li Qingluo?"

"You really have the gall of a dog!"

"How dare you bring the princess and sneak into the forest farm; if anything happens to the princess, what crime should you bear today?!"

The newcomer was a young man they didn't recognize.

Li Qingluo didn't recognize him at all.

Pan Li immediately whispered: "He is the Second Son of the Zhong family's main line, Zhong Liulang. His wife is the Third Young Lady of the Qu family."

"Luoer, the Qu family is in dire straits now."

"Even Zhong Liulang, who loves his wife as his own life, now hates you to the bone."