Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 655 Welcoming the bride
Yang Tinghe stroked his beard but did not reply.

Pei Yuan immediately knew when to stop.

Zhu Houzhao was able to become emperor because his father was emperor.

Yang Tinghe was able to stand at the pinnacle of the court because he defeated one enemy after another to reach this position.

Pei Yuan dared to overestimate his abilities and come to persuade such a powerful man because he firmly believed that his proposed solution would be beneficial to Yang Tinghe.

He still clearly remembers when he tried to persuade Commander Han with the plan of "using tax money to speculate on goods in Huai'an". Although Commander Han immediately saw through the lie and even exposed the matter on the spot when Pei Yuan asked Song Chunniang to come and collude with him, Commander Han still chose to accept Pei Yuan's plan in the end.

The reason is that Han Qianhu believed that regardless of Pei Yuan's motives, at least the proposed solution was valuable.

Han Qianhu valued this worthwhile plan and the benefits it could bring.

As for Pei Yuan's own schemes and his petty tricks... hmm? What does that even mean?
It was precisely because Pei Yuan had gone through such an experience that he had gained rich experience in dealing with these arrogant and extremely intelligent enemies.

Regardless of my motives or whether I truly intend to target Bian Xian, as long as this plan benefits Yang Tinghe, there's a high chance he'll adopt it.

These top-level political animals are now purely driven by self-interest.

The fact that Pei Yuan's untimely words were not refuted by Yang Tinghe meant that they had already achieved more than half of their goal.

As Pei Yuan relaxed, he was already thinking about how to deal with Zhu Houzhao later.

He already had a general idea in mind, but now was not the right time to persuade Zhu Houzhao.

Seeing that Pei Yuan remained silent, Yang Tinghe offered a suggestion of goodwill: "Tell His Majesty that the ministers have already reached a decision. If Shandong really encounters problems that cannot be resolved, then it will not be too late to discuss the matter of the emperor personally leading the expedition."

Pei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although Yang Tinghe's words were an excuse, they were still a way of giving Zhu Houzhao an explanation, compared to a cold rejection.

Yang Tinghe was able to make such a concession because he considered that the court's arrangements were very thorough and that Zhu Houzhao had little room for further intervention, so there was no need to make the relationship between the emperor and his minister too strained.

When faced with the "attack on the Imperial Censorate," a matter that challenged the ruling order, the entire court took a very serious attitude.

The clue can be seen from just one thing.

This time, the imperial court did not use the Tianjin Three Guards, which were closest to Shandong and easiest to mobilize, to escort the investigators.

Instead, troops were transferred from Beizhili and Henan Province because the three guards of Tianjin were under the long-arm jurisdiction of the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and there was a risk of losing control if there were any collusion.

The imperial court has essentially taken precautions against the worst-case scenario.

If a large number of Shandong people were to join the investigation team, thus dismantling the possibility of local powerful families banding together to fight against each other, this matter would hardly cause any trouble.

Even if they can't band together for mutual protection, some people might still rush to pledge their loyalty to the court and help find those rebels.

Afterwards, Yang Tinghe left the Zhonghe Hall and returned to the Wenyuan Pavilion. At that moment, there was no one in the pavilion except for a secretary named Fu Cheng.

Yang Tinghe tapped his knuckles on his desk a few times.

Fu Cheng glanced at Yang Tinghe, then quickly put down his pen and ink, went to the door, and lifted the curtain to peek inside.

Seeing that there was no one outside, only the personal guards on duty in the distance, he came in and asked Yang Tinghe in a low voice, "Your Excellency, is there anything you need me to do?"

Yang Tinghe slowly said, "Go and find out which Shandong scholars made the list in this special imperial examination, what their family backgrounds are, and what their foundations are. Get the information for me as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Fu Cheng immediately replied, "Please wait a moment, Your Excellency. I will send someone to gather intelligence on them."

Yang Tinghe glanced up at Fu Cheng and said in a deep voice, "Do it yourself, be quick, and keep it a secret."

Fu Cheng then realized that something was amiss and immediately took his leave to handle the matter personally.

After Yang Tinghe left, Pei Yuan found a eunuch on duty outside the gate and asked him to inform the emperor that he wanted to see him.

Pei Yuan told Zhu Houzhao somewhat nervously that the matter had not been accomplished, but it was not entirely unsuccessful either.

When Zhu Houzhao heard Yang Tinghe's almost non-existent concessions, obvious disappointment appeared on his face.

To be honest, he still had some expectations for Pei Yuan.

After all, Pei Yuan had always been able to come up with many useful things in the past and had repeatedly convinced himself.

But judging from Pei Yuan's performance today, he doesn't seem to be doing very well.

He failed to convince himself in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and he also failed to convince Yang Tinghe in the Hall of Central Harmony.

Fortunately, Zhu Houzhao knew of Yang Tinghe's extraordinary strength and wasn't too disappointed. However, he still gave Pei Yuan a disdainful look and said, "I knew you couldn't do it. I should have gone myself."

Aside from internally cursing him, Pei Yuan didn't completely rule out the possibility of a fight, considering his future plans.

Before Zhu Houzhao could send him away, he quickly added, "Although I failed to persuade Grand Secretary Yang, I do have some immature ideas that may help Your Majesty realize your wishes."

Zhu Houzhao became slightly interested. "Tell me about it."

Pei Yuan said, "It's not ready yet. I need to think about it for two more days."

Zhu Houzhao's expectant gaze turned to disdain, and he waved his hand dismissively, indicating that Pei Yuan should leave.

Pei Yuan decided not to waste any more time here.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan intervened and managed to lure Zhu Houzhao away from the situation for a while. As a result, the court officials, being quite shrewd, quickly took advantage of Zhu Houzhao's absence and passed the resolution in court.

Once the matter was settled, the atmosphere in the entire court eased considerably.

The court officials left early, and other government offices, seeing that the higher-ups had set a direction, also breathed a sigh of relief.

The clear evidence of this is that when Pei Yuan returned home from the palace, he encountered Song Chunniang, who was away at her post.

Pei Yuan asked her with some doubt, "Aren't you supposed to be working at the West Factory?"

Song Chunniang said matter-of-factly, "The people to investigate the case have already been decided, and we from the West Depot weren't asked to send anyone. Since it's not my business, and it happens to be your wedding day, of course I have to come and see you."

Pei Yuan quickly guessed that the results of the morning court session had already spread while he was waiting for Yang Tinghe and exchanging answers with him.

When it comes to the degree of control over information within the palace, the Eastern and Western Depots would definitely be the first choice.

Song Chunniang looked Pei Yuan up and down and asked, "Today is your big day, do you want to get ready again?"

Pei Yuan forced a smile and shook his head. "They washed me quite well yesterday, and I didn't sweat, so I'll just leave it like this."

mainly……

Pei Yuan was rather pessimistic about whether the wedding would go ahead tonight.

Song Chunniang smiled and said, "Then I'll go to Chengqingfang with you. Maybe I can help you in some way."

As she spoke, she winked at Pei Yuan, "I have experience with this."

Thinking of his experience at Song Chunniang's wedding, Pei Yuan couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He thought to himself, "Luckily, I'm marrying Commander Han; Song Chunniang wouldn't dare to act recklessly."

Otherwise, she would have to apply her past experience to herself.

To be honest, the reason Pei Yuan was able to recruit Song Chunniang, a martial arts expert, was because he kept her hanging on by the nose by the beautiful Han.

Back then, Pei Yuan often drew pictures of cakes for Song Chunniang, promising that in the future, when he had meat to eat, she would definitely have soup to drink. On occasional blissful moments, the two would huddle together to eat cakes, dreaming of that wonderful day.

But now that Pei Yuanzhen is getting married, he doesn't seem too happy, and Song Chunniang doesn't bring up the previous topic.

The two of them went to Chengqingfang together.

The area was already decorated with red and colorful decorations, filled with a joyful atmosphere. Many Imperial Guards had come to help spontaneously; some were painting red paper on the corners of the streets; others were splashing dust off the road with basins of water; still others were making noise, gesturing, and seemingly making arrangements.

Upon seeing Pei Yuan arrive with his entourage, many people cheered and shouted, "The groom is here!"

Many of Pei Yuan's close confidants, who had shared life-or-death experiences with him, surrounded him and started clamoring without any regard for seniority.

Pei Yuan recognized many of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) officers who had gone south to help with the journey.

He immediately felt relieved.

It seems everyone has been safely evacuated.

In this way, even in the worst-case scenario, Pei Yuan can stop the damage to the investigation in Shandong.

Chen Tou Tie and Chen Xin Jian knew what to do.

Amidst the laughter and chatter, everyone noticed Song Chunniang following behind.

When the old men who had been around Pei Yuan for a long time saw that it was Commander Song, their smiles froze slightly, and they dared not utter another word.

Everyone knows about Pei Yuan and Song Chunniang's messy affair.

Although Song Chunniang held a wedding a few days ago, many people believe that the two people who got married were Pei Qianhu's mistresses.

General Song's wedding, which was more of a cover-up than a genuine attempt to secure a future for his children, was nothing more than a way to give them a better life.

Song Zongqi, who has always been loyal to his friends, has treated them well, so it's not good for anyone to hurt their feelings at this time.

Fortunately, at this moment, Yun Buxian heard that Pei Yuan had arrived and quickly came out to greet him.

Upon seeing Pei Yuan, Yun Buxian said with relief, as if he had escaped death, "Commander, you arrived just in time. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know what to do."

After Pei Yuan returned to the capital, he immediately sent someone to inform Yun Buxian.

Unexpectedly, when Yun Buxian wanted to ask Pei Yuan for instructions on what to do next, he learned from an old friend that Pei Qianhu had gone to the former Song Zongqi’s house to fool around.

Upon hearing this, Yun Buxian could only silently return and continue with his own affairs.

This morning, I simply couldn't delay any longer.

When he went to find Commander Pei in person, he heard that Commander Pei had entered the palace.

This made Yun Buxian panic.

It was almost noon, and Pei Yuan should go to pick up his bride!
If they anger Commander Han, none of them who helped prepare for the wedding will be able to get away with it.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan finally arrived at the crucial moment.

Yun Buxian didn't care about anything else and hurriedly pulled Pei Yuan into the mansion to change clothes, preparing to go to welcome the bride.

Pei Yuan gritted his teeth and stopped dawdling, quickly changing into the auspicious clothes he had prepared beforehand.

Yun Buxian hurriedly asked from the side, "Would the commander like to ride a horse or a sedan chair?"

Thinking about the potential embarrassment of returning empty in the sedan chair, Pei Yuan said, "Let's not ride horses, let's take the sedan chair."

Yun Buxian waved his hand in acknowledgment.

Immediately, several burly men from the Imperial Guards, dressed in festive attire, carried over two large sedan chairs.

Pei Yuan got into the sedan chair, surrounded by a group of soldiers, and headed towards Zhihua Temple.

On the way, Yun Buxian muttered to himself.

"Commander, for this wedding, I have had the east wing separated from the main courtyard of Zhihua Temple. I have also opened a new gate in the east wing so that we can pick up Commander Han directly from there."

Although Zhihua Temple had been made the headquarters of the Zhenxie Thousand-Household Office by Pei Yuanzheng, such a joyous occasion still needed to be kept under wraps.

Pei Yuan responded absentmindedly.

Then, remembering something, Xiang Yunbuxian asked, "Didn't Commander Han say anything when he saw you making such a big move?"

Yun Buxian could guess what Pei Yuan was thinking and gave a direct answer, "No."

Pei Yuan hummed in agreement.

His feelings were complicated at the moment. Although he thought that it was very likely that Commander Han was afraid of the terrible consequences and therefore dared not break off relations and expose the matter, he still had a little bit of expectation in his heart.

The sedan chair soon arrived at the street in front of Zhihua Temple.

The Imperial Guards were already looking around at the alley entrance. They heard the drums and gongs in the distance and saw two large sedan chairs being escorted by their cheerful colleagues.

They immediately greeted him with smiles, while some ran quickly inside to report the news.

Soon, the three centurions, Sikong Sui, Tantai Fangtu, and Cui Bohou, who had been waiting impatiently, led their men out to greet them.

The three of them congratulated each other, and then the Nanjing Imperial Guards who had accompanied Commander Han came forward to ask for a congratulatory gift.

Yun Buxian waved his hand behind him, and several strongmen carried forward several baskets. Inside the baskets were small pieces of loose silver wrapped in red silk.

The Imperial Guards cheered and rushed to grab the reward money.

Those who held slightly higher positions, such as captains and lieutenants, looked down on the three or five taels of silver. Instead, they crowded around the sedan chair, offering their congratulations with laughter and cheerful chatter.

After Vice Commander Pei married Commander Han, there were no more disturbances in the command post. Many of the older officers in Nanjing began to lower their guard and re-evaluate this ambitious and pioneering vice commander.

Pei Yuan took a breath and tried to calmly step out of the sedan chair.

Then, he whispered to Sikong Sui, who had leaned closer, "Where is Commander Han?"

Sikong Sui laughed and replied, "Commander Han is already dressed in her wedding gown and is just waiting for Commander Pei to arrive."

Pei Yuan's body stiffened, and he stared at Sikong Sui with wide eyes in disbelief.

"Really?"

Sikong Sui teased again, "Is Commander Pei confused with joy again? Isn't today your special day?"

Pei Yuan's heart was in his throat.

He quickly strode towards the east courtyard.

Several Imperial Guards dared to ask for lucky money, but Pei Yuan shoved them away.

His heart was pounding, and he couldn't believe the happiness he was feeling right now.

(End of this chapter)