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

Chapter 696 Empress Xia Revisited

People are always strange.

Many things that were originally perplexing, after a rash decision, seem to have been handled with remarkable smoothness, as if they had been carefully considered.

Pei Yuan changed his clothes and then packed his flying fish robe.

He refused Li Zhang's hospitality and tied the bundle containing the flying fish robe to his waist.

This flying fish robe is the real killer.

In an emergency, if he can't switch identities in time, Pei Yuan might be tricked and killed.

He was unwilling to entrust his safety to others.

After Pei Yuan came out, Li Zhang said to the few guards, "You don't need to take turns today. You are not allowed to leave here before the evening drum sounds."

The few soldiers didn't dare to raise their heads and responded in hushed tones.

Li Zhang then led the way, gesturing for Pei Yuan to accompany him.

After walking a short distance, Pei Yuan asked in a low voice, still uneasy, "Are those few Qing soldiers reliable?"

Li Zhang quickly turned around and respectfully said, "Reporting to Commander, they are reliable. These guys are all my men, we're in the same boat. Besides, they've helped us with things, so we have more hope."

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and reluctantly replied, "That's true."

There are sunk costs for every investment, and only when betraying someone do people weigh the pros and cons. These lowest-ranking members of the elite army, even if they wanted to make an investment, couldn't find a way to curry favor with others.

This time it was daytime, so Li Zhang swaggered off with Pei Yuan towards Zhuofang Garden.

On the way, Li Zhang explained to Pei Yuan, "Logically, there should be guards patrolling back and forth, but nothing usually happens during the day, so other departments and bureaus will borrow manpower from the guards."

"Many of the clean soldiers are borrowed after just finishing their night shift, often leaving them exhausted and miserable."

"Even those who weren't borrowed, filled with resentment, were too lazy to do much."

“At first, there were people who tried to manage it and help with the allocation. But they kept borrowing from this person today and that person tomorrow, and it became impossible to manage them. The Qing soldiers would also cover for each other, and if they were not around, they would say that they had been transferred to some other place.”

“There was a responsible eunuch in charge before, who would relentlessly investigate. As a result, before the eunuchs could figure things out, they were reported by people from various departments and bureaus.”

Pei Yuan was quite concerned about matters in the palace, and asked directly, "Why is that?"

Li Zhang laughed and said, "The various departments and bureaus have enough people. Borrowing people is just a way to shirk their responsibilities. They can't really find out where the people were borrowed from or how the work was done."

"If we really investigate, wouldn't we be turning the Jingjun's troubles into our own?"

"So, after that, no one bothered to interfere anymore. Anyway, they had a general idea of ​​what was going on and didn't dare to go too far."

“We’re going to the garden to do our business openly and aboveboard. Even if we occasionally run into patrols, they won’t cause any trouble. This huge palace is safe as long as nothing happens under His Majesty’s and Empress Dowager’s noses.”

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan felt much more at ease.

Li Zhang was different from other eunuchs because he had a nephew.

If something really happens, Pei Yuan will still have a chance to escape through the Qianqing Gate when the palace gates are not in a good position, but Li Zhang and his nephew will not be able to escape.

As Pei Yuan walked, he gradually felt that the road was familiar.

This time it was broad daylight, so we could see it much more clearly; most of the palaces on both sides were in ruins.

Li Zhang added, "No matter how beautifully this palace is built, its foundation is still wood, thatch, mud, stone, and tiles. Logically speaking, it should be properly repaired every three to five years, but with such a large palace, no one can take care of it all."

"Besides, it's been over a hundred years..."

Pei Yuan agreed with this; maintaining such a large and dilapidated palace would indeed be an astronomical expense.

He silently memorized the route, and when they arrived near Zhuofang Garden, Li Zhang whispered, "After the commander left last time, we tried to replace the guards here with our own people."

"The eunuch in charge here is named Wang Fang. This old servant will call him to come and pay his respects."

As he spoke, Li Zhang gestured to one of his godson who had come along.

The young eunuch quickly went to a low brick house, and soon a eunuch in his thirties hurriedly emerged from the house.

He glanced quickly at Pei Yuan, then at Li Zhang beside him. Seeing Li Zhang's signal, he was certain and hurriedly stepped forward to kneel and say, "This servant, Wang Fang, greets Commander Qianhu."

Pei Yuan felt somewhat awkward, unsure of what to say in this situation.

After all, my current actions are still somewhat inexcusable.

Fortunately, Li Zhang was sensible and directly dismissed Pei Yuan, saying, "Go ahead and get busy. The Earl of Qingyang has sent word that I will accompany the commander to see it."

Wang Fang was also a cautious person, so she didn't say much and respectfully retreated.

Upon arriving at Zhuofang Garden, Li Zhang looked at the tightly closed gate and smiled at Pei Yuan, saying, "Please wait a moment, Commander, while this old servant calls for someone."

He then stepped forward and knocked on the door.

A woman inside asked a question, and Li Zhang recognized who it was and immediately said in a shrill voice, "Zhao Lezhen, open the door quickly. We've come to pay our respects to the Empress."

The sounds in the courtyard quieted down, and then a palace maid in her twenties, looking flustered, carefully opened the door.

She said somewhat timidly, "Eunuch Li, the Empress does not wish to see you."

Li Zhang glared at her fiercely and pushed her aside with his whisk, saying, "Get out of the way."

Then he turned back with a smile and said, "Commander, please come in."

Pei Yuan inexplicably felt like he was there to solicit prostitutes.

He cursed inwardly, thinking, "These lackeys deserve to die!"

Pei Yuan didn't dare to linger in front of Zhuofang Garden, so he brazenly lowered his head and barged in.

There was a young palace maid in the courtyard who was starting a fire and cooking something. When she saw Pei Yuan come in, she stared in surprise.

Pei Yuan vaguely remembered the young palace maid. He looked down at the haphazardly set-up stove and asked in surprise, "You still have to cook for yourselves?"

After all, this is where the current empress lives.

Although the Empress Dowager found a fabricated pretext to remove her from Kunning Palace, her title as Empress remained unchanged.

How dare these lackeys?

The young palace maid also remembered Pei Yuan's appearance. She looked at Pei Yuan in horror, her body frozen in place.

However, the palace maid named Zhao Lezhen, who had opened the door earlier, said cautiously, "This is all thanks to Eunuch Li's help."

Pei Yuan looked at Li Zhang, puzzled.

Li Zhang was secretly delighted and took the opportunity to explain, "Zhuofang Garden is located in a remote area, and the food from the palace is often already cold when it is delivered."

“It’s freezing cold now, and I was worried that Your Highness might have a stomach upset if you ate cold food, so I had several carts of charcoal brought over, and I also send fresh meat and vegetables over from time to time so that the palace maids can cook and eat them directly.”

"These two women are quite skilled. Even if they are not as good as professional chefs, at least they can provide the Empress with something hot to eat."

Pei Yuan glanced at the scattered tables and chairs around him, as well as some vegetables and meats.

Seeing Pei Yuan's gaze fall on the two water vats, Li Zhang quickly added, "We servants deliver water here every two days, just like always, brought from Yuquan Mountain by the Jingjun (Imperial Guards)."

Pei Yuan nodded slightly, then frowned and asked, "How dare the people from the Imperial Kitchen send cold food to the Empress?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhang chuckled and replied, "Perhaps it's because His Majesty hasn't inquired about the Empress even once in the past six months."

"The Empress Dowager ordered the Empress to move this place here, so it's inevitable that the people below will speculate about this and that."

Pei Yuan didn't say anything and strode towards the Empress's temporary residence.

The two palace maids exchanged a startled glance.

Li Zhang coughed heavily, and waited for the two women to look over before slowly saying, "Do what you're supposed to do." Pei Yuan arrived at the bedchamber and pushed the door open with force.

A quick glance around revealed that the Empress was not in the main hall.

Then, he went to the west side warm pavilion with familiarity, and saw a charcoal brazier burning in the west wing. On the somewhat old-looking bed, the empress was sitting with her knees drawn up, wrapped in a quilt and lost in thought.

No wonder she didn't notice what was happening outside.

Pei Yuan felt the temperature in the room.

Even with a charcoal brazier burning, it didn't seem as warm as being outside in the sun.

The only consolation is that in this slightly drafty and dilapidated palace, there's no need to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning.

When Pei Yuan saw that the dignified Empress was in such a sorry state, and that she was not even as comfortable as the singing girls in his own household, he felt a pang of sadness.

He wasn't afraid of being abrupt, and went straight up to the bed and sat down.

Empress Xia snapped out of her daze, her eyes darting around, and she immediately spotted Pei Yuan.

She looked at Pei Yuan in surprise, and before she could even call out, Pei Yuan came over naturally and sat on her bed.

As if burned, she quickly moved backward, wrapped in the blanket, and shouted, "You audacious scoundrel, how dare you come here!"

Pei Yuan smiled.

Seeing that Empress Xia's face was pale and cold, he couldn't help but reach out to touch it.

The moment he reached out, Empress Xia slapped his hand away.

Empress Xia clearly understood that given her current situation, she could not rely on the two palace maids outside.

She glared at Pei Yuan with fury and shouted, "You scoundrel, do you have no respect whatsoever for the law of the Ming Dynasty?"

Pei Yuan laughed heartily upon hearing this.

His hand swiftly slipped under the covers, and amidst Empress Xia's startled cry, he touched something, then pulled his hand out. "Was the Great Ming Law written down? How should this be judged?"

"You?!" Empress Xia's eyes reddened.

She gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to shed a tear.

Pei Yuan's hand unexpectedly slipped under the covers again, groped around haphazardly, and then quickly withdrew.

He stared at Empress Xia. "How about this? What's the ruling if it's written in the Great Ming Code?"

Empress Xia trembled all over, whether from anger or fear, she didn't know. She pulled off the phoenix hairpin from her hair and gritted her teeth, saying, "You wicked scoundrel, I'll fight you to the death."

As he spoke, he was about to approach Pei Yuanzha.

Seeing that she was really going to fight, Pei Yuan pretended to stuff his hand into the quilt again. Empress Xia screamed in fright and forgot about fighting Pei Yuan. She desperately wrapped the quilt tightly around herself and moved around on the bed to avoid him.

Seeing that he had frightened Empress Xia, Pei Yuan smugly withdrew his hand, then continued to reach out and touch her face.

Empress Xia felt incredibly humiliated, but she could only submit to their will, just like that night.

Pei Yuan's hand landed on Empress Xia's face.

Empress Xia's face was cool, like a smooth piece of cool jade.

Pei Yuan gently stroked it with his warm palm.

After only a few touches, Empress Xia finally couldn't hold back her tears and they flowed out from her red eyes.

Her eyes were very stubborn, but tears involuntarily wet Pei Yuan's palm.

"It's a bit chilly," Pei Yuan commented, making conversation as if he had nothing to say.

He felt a pang of pity and couldn't bring himself to do it.

Then, Pei Yuan asked shrewdly, "Has he not come to see you yet?"

Empress Xia clenched her teeth and ignored Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan's gaze fell on Empress Xia again. The quilt she was wrapped in was quite thick, but when he touched it just now, he could feel that it wasn't very warm inside.

Pei Yuan looked around and casually said to Empress Xia, "It's too cold here. I'll see if I can find someone to help you repair the drafty parts later."

After saying that, Pei Yuan simply moved his buttocks back a little, sitting closer to Empress Xia.

"However, once it's fixed, you'll have to be careful when you're burning charcoal. This thing needs some ventilation."

Pei Yuan spoke, but Empress Xia did not respond.

Turning her head, she saw that Empress Xia's gaze was fixed on her boots draped beside the bed.

Pei Yuan looked embarrassed.

She quickly pulled off her boots and socks and threw them under the bed.

Empress Xia's eyes widened even more when she saw Pei Yuan put his big feet directly on the bed.

Pei Yuan secretly sniffed, somewhat puzzled. He had stayed at home last night, and Jiao Xiaomei had made sure he was dressed very neatly. His clothes, shoes, and socks were all new, and his feet didn't smell at all.

Thinking back to the night he had taken a nap in this bed with Empress Xia, Pei Yuan felt that Empress Xia was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Didn't I do even worse things back then?

Seeing Empress Xia's disdainful look, he couldn't resist the urge to tease her, and deliberately said, "It's freezing cold, how can the Empress not show any consideration for this humble subject?"

As she spoke, she tried to shove her bare feet into the blankets.

Empress Xia couldn't help but exclaim in shock and anger, "What are you doing?"

As she spoke, she quickly pressed the blanket down tightly, not giving Pei Yuan any chance to take advantage.

Pei Yuan laughed and crossed his legs.

He then untied the bundle from his waist, inside which was his flying fish robe and several other pastries that were almost crushed.

"Here, it's for you."

As Pei Yuan spoke, he placed the pastries on Empress Xia's bedside.

Empress Xia narrowed her eyes as she looked at the exquisite pastries.

Pei Yuan, fearing she might misunderstand, quickly explained, "Don't overthink it. The Empress Dowager summoned me today for a case. I tried to get to know her, and she didn't seem too difficult to deal with."

Empress Xia's gaze remained fixed on the pastry, and she simply said coldly, "Is that so?"

Pei Yuan followed Empress Xia's gaze and glanced at her a few times. He didn't believe that the Empress, who had been pampered for so long, couldn't let go of these few snacks after half a year of hardship.

He asked tentatively, "You don't actually think I'm in cahoots with the Empress Dowager, do you?"

Empress Xia's gaze returned to Pei Yuan, noticeably more wary.

Pei Yuan had planned to have a proper discussion with Empress Xia about cooperation last time, but he was too busy getting excited and didn't get to talk about serious matters.

This time, when they wanted to discuss serious matters, they gave Empress Xia this impression instead.

In this way, it would be even more difficult to gain Empress Xia's trust.

Pei Yuan glanced at Empress Xia, who was wrapped tightly in the quilt, a few times, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the bed.

Empress Xia became increasingly vigilant, carefully observing Pei Yuan's every move.

(End of this chapter)