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

Chapter 692 Brute Force Kill of the Demon Queen
These bored women, confined to the inner palace, often became particularly concerned with matters related to themselves because they had little contact with the outside world.

This is especially true for many women who were raised in seclusion.

From secluded boudoirs to the deep palace, they faced the same mundane life day after day.

The only thing that could stir their emotions was their former family.

This is also why Empress Zhang valued her two younger brothers so much and was determined to protect them no matter what happened.

Besides her familial bond with her younger brother, Empress Dowager Zhang also lost the outside world because of the loss of the two marquises of the Zhang family.

All she had left was Renshou Palace and the small area nearby.

Therefore, Pei Yuan was very confident that as long as he mentioned the two marquises of the Zhang family, he could attract the interest of Empress Dowager Zhang.

Taking advantage of Empress Dowager Zhang's continued interest, Pei Yuan quickly continued, "I thought Father would say something about becoming a first-rank military commander. But Father told me that the greatest wealth and honor in the world belongs to the Marquis of Shouning and the Marquis of Jianchang."

“I was young at the time, so I asked my father if these two marquises possessed extraordinary talent, exceptional character, and unparalleled achievements?”

“At that time, my father was drunk and said to me, ‘These two are vulgar, shameless, greedy, short-sighted, and utterly useless.’”

The smile that had just appeared on Empress Zhang's lips froze.

No, is this what she expected?

Even the eunuchs and palace maids who were waiting to see flattery and praise couldn't stay calm.

Some of the more astute ones even started to back away.

Jiang Gui was the most flustered among them.

Firstly, he was Pei Yuan's second-hand henchman, and might be implicated in some way.

Secondly, Pei Yuan also promised to have a monk pray for his next life.

Jiang Gui's knees buckled, and he wanted to kneel down quickly, intending to beg for Pei Yuan's forgiveness before Empress Dowager Zhang could get angry.

But Pei Yuan continued in a deep voice.

"—Just because I have a good older sister."

The anger that had just gathered on Empress Zhang's body seemed to melt away in an instant, and the tense anger on her face relaxed instantly.

Although Pei Yuan couldn't see the change in Empress Zhang, he could clearly feel the atmosphere around him relax.

Pei Yuan felt much more at ease.

The bet was right!
Empress Zhang, known for her excessive support of her brothers, would go mad whenever her two younger brothers were involved in history.

Not only did she fight against heaven and earth, throw tantrums, and provoke the imperial court, but she even made her own son, Hongzhi, swallow his anger and silently shed tears.

This can be described as someone who has completely fallen into the self-pity of being a "brother-supporting demon" and is unable to extricate themselves, completely disregarding the gains and losses.

Given Empress Dowager Zhang's actions, if Emperor Hongzhi were a sigma man, he would have not only chopped off the two marquises of the Zhang family, but also Empress Dowager Zhang herself.

But did Empress Zhang's actions go unpunished?
Court officials impeached the two marquises of the Zhang family, relatives of the emperor impeached the two marquises of the Zhang family, and even palace eunuchs and servants could kneel before Emperor Hongzhi to impeach the two marquises of the Zhang family.

Empress Dowager Zhang did everything in her power to suppress all dissent and desperately tried to preserve the wealth and status of the two Zhang family marquises.

Has she not thought about how others will perceive her?
I've thought about it.

On the day Zhang Heling and Zhou Yu, the Earl of Changning, fought, Empress Dowager Zhou summoned her and spoke to her in a strange and sarcastic tone.

The bold courtiers even stopped calling her Empress and instead referred to her as "Zhang" in their memorials.

However, these dissenting voices did not force Empress Dowager Zhang to back down; on the contrary, they strengthened her belief in protecting the two marquises of the Zhang family.

The more she sacrificed for her two younger brothers, the more self-satisfied she became; the more self-satisfied she became, the more she wanted to defend this outcome!
Empress Zhang is not insane, but rather completely trapped in this logical loop from which she cannot extricate herself.

Even the questions posed only strengthened her resolve.

Empress Dowager Zhang had thought that her efforts would eventually be drowned out by endless opposition, but at this moment, she actually heard a faint trace of approval from the person in front of her.

This faint recognition was like a breath of fresh air I had never smelled before.

It made her eager to breathe more.

Pei Yuan paused slightly, raising Empress Dowager Zhang's expectations, before continuing his speech.

"My father made a boastful statement while drunk at the time."

"If he had such a good older sister, she would forgive him no matter what mistakes he made, protect him no matter what trouble he caused, lift him up to the top no matter how incompetent or immoral he was, and even stand in front of the world without hesitation to block the opposition of the whole world..."

"Then he would be willing to die."

Pei Yuan, unsure of the timing of his words, boldly stole a glance at the Empress Dowager.

The beautiful woman swayed, her eyes moist, clutching her sleeves tightly, almost moved to tears.

Yes, that's true.

Who wouldn't be moved by their own actions?

Pei Yuan's words struck a chord with her, hitting every point where she felt self-satisfied.

After years of persevering through various doubts and criticisms, Empress Zhang finally received external recognition. Pei Yuan's strong feedback allowed her to successfully elevate herself.

At this moment, Empress Dowager Zhang finally understood what had always made her feel that life was missing something.

Without an observer, without a third-party perspective, without a heart that understands her efforts, who would know about them?
How can she get feedback, nourish herself on a spiritual level, and provide herself with emotional value?
Empress Dowager Zhang carefully observed Pei Yuan, feeling a pang of regret.

If this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard hadn't been so young and robust, easily attracting criticism, Empress Dowager Zhang would have wanted to castrate him right now, so she could hear such comments more often in the future.

But soon, Empress Dowager Zhang abandoned the idea.

How sincere are these words coming from a eunuch? They are far more convincing when heard from an outsider.

Pei Yuan's praise, at this moment, undoubtedly represented her sense of social recognition.

Although Empress Zhang was satisfied, she still wanted to hear more.

But given her status, how could she openly ask someone to praise her?

So she feigned displeasure and said, "Absurd. Do you think this is a good thing? From the previous dynasty to the present, countless court officials have made things difficult for me because of this. How dare you, a mere commander, make such a presumptuous statement?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan immediately bowed deeply in trepidation.

Empress Zhang had a kind of emptiness that came from having exhausted her skills, a feeling of being lost and adrift.

Is this kid really that clueless?
She couldn't help but press, "What do you have to say?" Seeing that Empress Dowager Zhang was losing her composure, Pei Yuan became even more astute.

He had, well, I mean, he had achieved resonance with this beautiful woman.

Having grasped the situation, Pei Yuan became much more composed in his response.

He said firmly, "I have nothing to say, because I strongly disagree with this."

Empress Dowager Zhang smiled with satisfaction.

This is what she's been waiting for!
So, Empress Dowager Zhang pretended to be calm and said, "Then tell me about it."

Pei Yuan spoke in a clear and respectful voice, "The ministers in the court are also human beings, and so am I. So let me speak about some matters of common human nature."

"What I think is that these people spout such strange and absurd ideas is because they don't have a sister like that. If they did, they'd be too happy to be spouting such grand theories."

"At least that's what I think."

"I don't know if what I said is correct."

The beautiful woman laughed heartily and said confidently, "I think that's absolutely right too!"

The logic is simple: just replace them with Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling, and see if they live happily or not.

Human nature is selfish, so how can that be refuted?
Pei Yuan immediately pressed his advantage, saying, "Your Majesty, please observe: they felt something was wrong at one time, but now they feel it's right. Doesn't that mean their reasoning is completely unreasonable?"

Empress Dowager Zhang was somewhat confused. The reasoning seemed plausible, yet it also sounded rather strange.

She felt something was right, but also something was wrong.

Before Empress Dowager Zhang could figure it out, Pei Yuan concluded, "So, since what they're saying makes no sense, why should Your Majesty care?"

This time, Empress Dowager Zhang did not hesitate and immediately praised, "Well said!"

The moment those three resounding words were uttered, Empress Dowager Zhang felt a surge of comfort.

Unexpectedly, he not only received unprecedented external recognition from this small household, but also found a theoretical basis to support his behavior.

At this moment, she no longer had any intention of dealing with this commander of the Imperial Guard.
The resentment I felt before because Pei Yuan offended the Marquis of Shouning seemed to be nothing more than that.

Empress Dowager Zhang had already considered letting the matter drop, but she still couldn't help asking, "Since you understand right and wrong and know reason, you should be on good terms with the two Marquises of Zhang. Why are you deliberately making things difficult for the envoy from the Marquis of Shouning's family?"

There was no trace of accusation in his words; it was entirely accusatory.

Pei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. Just based on the word "difficult," the harm caused by the last incident had been reduced to the level of a mere punishment.

As long as I can explain myself, the biggest problem in entering the palace this time will be solved.

But a wicked youth like Pei Yuan is not so easily dealt with.

Now that he has the opportunity to manipulate this domineering empress dowager who favors her brother, Pei Yuan can use his silver tongue to devise another plan.

Pei Yuanxian then said, "Your Majesty, I went to Shandong this time because I was summoned by Bian Xian, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, for questioning."

Empress Dowager Zhang was somewhat surprised to hear this. "You were summoned to Shandong for questioning?"

Pei Yuan was somewhat puzzled by Empress Zhang's tone, but still answered truthfully, "That's right. When I was investigating a case of collusion with rebels, I offended some local powerful families in Yanggu."

"Later, the Zhang Feng corruption case broke out, which attracted the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief Xiao Chong to investigate. As a result, Xiao Chong and the censors and officials who followed him were all killed on the way to investigate the case."

"The court was furious about this and once again dispatched Bian Xian, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, along with officials from various departments and several military circuits, to Shandong to thoroughly investigate the matter. The wealthy people of Yanggu heard that Bian Xian had set up an office in Dezhou to handle cases, so they went to file a complaint against me for some of the things I had done back then."

Pei Yuan paused deliberately at this point, "At the time, I was so eager to investigate the case that I acted hastily and made some oversights."

Empress Dowager Zhang smiled knowingly upon hearing this.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard's work consisted nothing more than severe torture and corruption.

Her two younger brothers did the same thing quite often.

In the past, when Empress Zhang faced the court officials, although she maintained a high and mighty demeanor, she would still feel a headache and a guilty conscience when she thought of her disappointing family.

She was always afraid that the ministers below her would submit another memorial impeaching her family.

Although Pei Yuan's status was even lower, Empress Zhang could easily crush him.

But after discovering that Pei Yuan was no better, Empress Zhang felt inexplicably relieved without that moral pressure.

Pei Yuan continued, "There seems to be no progress in the investigation over there. I heard that I, as one of the emperor's henchmen, have offended a local powerful clan, and that's why they've been so enthusiastic. So they've summoned me to Shandong for questioning."

"After I arrived in Shandong, I truthfully told the censors about the situation at that time. Unexpectedly, some of my testimonies implicated Bian Xian and even led to the discovery of clues about Bian Xian's collusion with the bandits in Bazhou and Prince De."

"Therefore, Bian Xian could only be temporarily suspended from his post and await instructions from the court. My position was awkward, and I was also a criminal under investigation, so I was imprisoned in Yongqing Temple by the officials handling the case."

"I am imprisoned and involved in multiple cases within Shandong Province, so I have had no opportunity to meet with the messenger from the Marquis of Shouning. Under such circumstances, how can you even speak of putting me in a difficult position?"

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Zhang's expression was a mixture of anger and amusement.

After a long while, Empress Dowager Zhang finally spoke and asked, "Pei Yuan, you just said that you were summoned to Shandong by the border official as a prisoner?"

Pei Yuan thought to himself, "Didn't I already answer that question?"
But he still answered honestly, "Yes."

Empress Dowager Zhang then asked with a cold laugh, "You also said that you were imprisoned in Yongqing Temple afterward and couldn't even see the envoy of Marquis Shouning?"

Pei Yuan thought about it carefully and didn't see any problem, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "That's true."

Empress Dowager Zhang sneered, "Then why did His Majesty say you went to Shandong to investigate the case? And that you were there specifically to keep an eye on this case for him?"

Pei Yuan was shocked.

What the hell!

The big shot tried to cover himself up, but ended up exposing himself!

How could Zhu Houzhao be talking about his own affairs with the Empress Dowager?
Pei Yuan quickly thought about the two key elements: "investigating the case in Shandong" and "keeping an eye on things for him".

What could possibly concern both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor simultaneously was not Zhang Feng's corruption case, or the life or death of Xiao Chong and the censors; rather, it was the case of Zheng Wang, the heir apparent of the Prince of De, spreading seditious rumors.

Judging from the few words Empress Zhang revealed, she deeply hated and was extremely concerned about Zheng Wang's seditious remarks.

Judging from the fact that Zhu Houzhao used him as a cover, it should be that Empress Dowager Zhang strongly requested that the Embroidered Uniform Guard also be dispatched to Shandong to quickly resolve the issue.

However, from Zhu Houzhao's perspective, he had already dispatched the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and even the two top eunuchs of the Eastern and Western Depots. Sending the Embroidered Uniform Guard would seem unnecessary.

Moreover, the mutual restraint between the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the four outer armies was a deliberate act by Zhu Houzhao. At this time, there was absolutely no need to send Qian Ning or any other important figures to Shandong. So, after learning about Pei Yuan's situation in Shandong, he casually remarked that there were Embroidered Uniform Guards in Shandong, and he probably even mentioned his own name.

(End of this chapter)