Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 37 Pei Xi's Death Was Complex

Xu Shangxin returned earlier than expected.

The sun was just hanging on the edge in the distance, not yet completely set, casting a golden-red glow across the sky.

Dinner has been prepared at the manor. A servant came to ask Pei Xia whether she wanted to dine in the main hall or have it delivered to the inner courtyard.

When Pei Xi was still alive, he rarely ate in the lobby.

There are few people in the main residence.

His son was a wanderer in the martial world, and his adopted daughter had married Yang Xu at a young age. Only very occasionally would he invite Xu Shangxin to dine with him; otherwise, he would send her to the courtyard for a quick meal so that he could have more time to handle official business.

Pei Xia thought for a moment and then asked them to bring the dishes to the main hall.

Without needing to inform him, Xu Shangxin saw it and naturally understood that Pei Xia wanted her to have dinner with him.

She didn't even change her clothes. She just washed her hands, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Not going to the music academy today?" she said.

This sounds like a sarcastic remark.

But Pei Xia remained calm: "One trip can keep me healthy for several days."

Xu Shangxin didn't expect Pei Xia to answer so calmly. She hesitated for a moment and said, "You...you're quite restrained."

Pei Xia nodded: "Mainly because it's expensive."

"..."

No, it seems that all attempts to attack his face are unlikely to be effective.

Xu Shangxin gave up, rested her chin on her hand, and rubbed the small bowl in front of her: "Where are Pear and Xiuer?"

Pei Xiu was brought back by Pei Xia, while Lu Li returned with Xu Shangxin.

But none of them came.

Pei Xia explained, "They get special treatment."

Xu Shangxin tilted her head and looked up at Pei Xia. She realized that Pei Xia had something to say to her.

Actually, this should have happened a long time ago.

Xu Shangxin patted her chest, signaling to herself not to be nervous.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly peaceful past two days; the Pei family is currently facing a turbulent period.

Pei Xi has not yet been buried, but there is already a lot of preparation needed for the funeral.

The mansion has changed owners. Just like the day before yesterday, Pei Xia didn't even have a place to sleep. Her food, clothing, and daily necessities, including the maids who served her, all needed to be arranged.

Especially... there's also her marriage to him.

Although Pei Xia sometimes likes to talk nonsense, he can be quite shameless and act like a spoiled brat.

However, he never expressed his opinion on the engagement between the two of them, and judging from his behavior, he didn't seem very enthusiastic.

Xu Shangxin felt that he probably didn't want to marry her, but he knew that once the engagement was canceled, she would not be able to stay in the Pei family, and her studies at the academy would also be difficult to continue, so he kept quiet.

So, is this a sign that they're about to have a showdown?
Xu Shangxin took a deep breath: "If you have something to say, you might as well just say it. I'm listening."

“Brother,” Pei Xia picked up his chopsticks and gave her half a fish head, “you need to nourish your brain first.”

The fish head was placed on top of the rice, its eyes fixed on her: "Uh..."

Pei Xia picked up the other half of the fish head for herself: "I need to nourish your brain, I'm afraid you won't remember some things clearly."

As he lifted the cheek cover, he asked, "Liu Si, you mean Liu San's sister? Did she send you a packet of medicine last month?"

“Yes,” Xu Shangxin nodded, without even needing to recall, “Father…Master has been plagued by illness for the past few years and his spirits have been low. Xiao Si himself is also weak and has been ill for a long time. Since they are from out of town, they said they had a very effective remedy and sent me a packet.”

Pei Xia picked up her chopsticks and asked, "Did you fry it?"

"Fried."

"Did you give it to my father?"

"You drank it." Xu Shangxin paused, as if belatedly realizing what Pei Xia was saying. She quickly waved her hand and said, "Yes, I definitely brewed and drank it myself first, and tested the medicine on the master before daring to give it to him."

Pei Xi is the current prime minister. Since he is in poor health, he will definitely strictly control the food that enters the mouths of all parties.

Even if Xu Shangxin doesn't try it, someone else will.

Pei Xia lowered her eyes again and took a bite of rice.

If Xu Shangxin was fine after eating it, does that mean Pei Xi will also be fine after eating it?
Even if it really is a tonic, it doesn't necessarily mean it won't kill someone, right?
Old Pei is old and frail, and has a history of illness, so it is highly likely that he cannot tolerate the tonics.

Pei Xia thought for a moment, then reached up to cover her waist and looked at Xu Shangxin: "I feel like I've been losing out lately. Do you still have any of that medicine? I'd like to take some to help me recover."

"You, didn't you sleep on the back street that day? How come you still lost money?"

"It's a loss to sleep on the backstreet, you don't understand."

Xu Shangxin smiled sheepishly: "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. It was just one pack, and it's been over a month. It's long gone... How about I go ask Xiao Si for some more tomorrow?"

"Don't!"

Pei Xi is dead. If you suddenly go and ask for it, wouldn't that be blatantly telling the other party, "I've noticed you"?

Pei Xia put on a stern face: "This kind of thing shouldn't be spread around. I also have my pride."

It's a bit troublesome.

If you say that a packet of tonic medicine killed Pei Xi, that reasoning seems plausible, but the crucial medicine is gone, so how can we verify that?
Pei Xia held her chopsticks and poked at the rice in her bowl one by one.

Xu Shangxin watched silently, then suddenly asked, "You don't mean to think there's something fishy about the master's death, do you?"

When Pei Xia learned that someone in the academy had given Xu Shangxin a packet of medicine and fed it to Pei Xi, he instinctively felt that something was wrong.

But Xu Shangxin wouldn't think that there was anything wrong with Xiao Si's medicine in the past month.

Because she had eaten it herself, and because the imperial physician in the palace said it was a "sudden recurrence of an old illness."

To avoid causing a disturbance, Luo Xian had already nipped in the bud and prevented others from having any wild thoughts.

However, Pei Xia suddenly asked about the medicine she had prepared a month ago, which made Xu Shangxin wary: "I don't think I told you Xiao Si's full name, did I?"

Pei Xia removed her hand from her kidney: "Yes, I asked someone to check."

Xu Shangxin looked at Pei Xia and asked softly, "You suspect her?"

"There's no way around it. A packet of medicine was delivered more than a month ago, and Old Pei died not long after. It's hard not to be suspicious."

As Pei Xia stretched out her arm to pick up some food, she said, "When you're with her, have you noticed anything strange, like whether there are any decorations like wild animal teeth hanging in the dorm?"

That was one of the stereotypes that the people of Ling Kingdom had about the northern barbarian tribes.

Xu Shangxin shook her head. She was neither surprised nor angry. She simply said earnestly, "Xiao Si wouldn't do that. She is a very simple and kind girl."

“I was just asking,” Pei Xia laughed again, “Don’t mention it to her, okay?”

“…Hmm.” Xu Shangxin responded somewhat listlessly.

After dinner, the girl went back to her own yard.

Pei Xia sat alone in the chair wiping her mouth, the smile on her face slowly fading.

Something's not right.

Such an assassination attempt against the Grand Chancellor could not have been carried out without a contingency plan.

Sending Xu Shangxin a packet of medicine to kill Pei Xibu doesn't seem like a well-thought-out plan.

It was very difficult to get the medicine into Pei Xi's mouth.

Surely we can't risk exposing our spies in the Northern Barbarians by using probability-based kills?
Unless someone helps them.

If you were to ask anyone in the Prime Minister's residence, who could possibly have the ability to get the medicine into Pei Xi's mouth...

Pei Xia frowned and looked at the spot where Xu Shangxin had been sitting.

Surely it's not my older brother?
(End of this chapter)