“Of course I remember.” Pei Qiancheng said urgently, “Don’t worry, elder brother. Ruhui hasn’t mentioned this matter to anyone. He won’t betray you.”
“He even told the Princess and the Empress, yet you say he hasn’t mentioned it to anyone?!” Pei Qiantong’s face turned ashen with rage. If this weren’t his only blood brother, he would have already killed him with a single palm strike.
Du Ruhui said, “I only told the Princess that someone intended to rebel. I didn’t reveal a single detail about Master Pei. You can rest assured.”
Pei Qiantong sneered, “Du Ruhui, you’re quite capable. With just a bit of talent, you not only married into the Wang family but also played my brother around your finger, making him disregard even his elder brother’s life and death.”
“Elder brother, I…” Pei Qiancheng had just said a few words when the former shouted angrily, “Shut up! I’ll settle accounts with you slowly later!”
All along, Pei Qiantong had been extremely protective of this younger brother. Even when he caused trouble, he rarely scolded him. This kind of harsh rebuke was the first time, leaving Pei Qiancheng momentarily afraid to speak further.
Pei Qiantong stared at Du Ruhui and said coldly, “Did you truly not tell the Princess about my affairs?”
“Every word Ruhui spoke is true, without any deception. Moreover, I can be certain that the Princess did not tell His Majesty what I said to her.”
Pei Qiantong’s eyes flickered slightly as he said coolly, “How can you be sure?”
“If she had told His Majesty, the Princess wouldn’t need to leave the palace, and Her Majesty the Empress wouldn’t need to disguise herself as a palace maid. So Master Pei needn’t worry.”
Actually, Pei Qiantong had thought of this point before, which is why he hadn’t rushed to change his plans. Over there, after pausing for a moment, Du Ruhui said, “If Master Pei gains power, could you spare the Princess and Her Majesty the Empress?”
Pei Qiantong said coldly, “You can barely protect yourself, yet you still want to plead for them?”
Pei Qiancheng heard the killing intent in his words and hurriedly said, “Elder brother, Ruhui is my good brother. Don’t hurt him.”
“I don’t need you to teach me how to do things.” As Pei Qiantong scolded him, Du Ruhui said again, “The Princess and the others are just women. Sparing them wouldn’t affect the overall situation. On the contrary, if Master Pei kills them, you’ll inevitably gain a reputation for slaughtering the innocent.”
Pei Qiantong smiled mockingly, “You truly have a silver tongue that could bring the dead back to life. Too bad, it’s useless on me.”
“Master Pei…” Before Du Ruhui could continue, Pei Qiantong had already said, “The Cui family is also involved in this matter. They made one request: to hand you over to them for punishment. Fortunately, I caught you today, or I would have broken faith with the Cui family. So instead of worrying about others, you’d better worry about yourself.”
Pei Qiancheng, not caring whether he would be reprimanded, grabbed Pei Qiantong’s sleeve and said, “Elder brother, Ruhui is my dearest brother. I beg you, don’t kill him, and don’t hand him over to the Cui family.”
“To accomplish great things, it must be done this way!” Pei Qiantong’s attitude was resolute and didn’t soften due to his pleading.
“Elder brother…” Before he could continue, Pei Qiantong had already said coldly, “Take him back immediately.”
Pei Qiancheng gritted his teeth and suddenly hugged Pei Qiantong tightly from behind, saying to Du Ruhui, “Run quickly! Quickly!”
This action greatly enraged Pei Qiantong, who shouted angrily, “Are you really going to oppose me for this person?”
Pei Qiancheng ignored his words and only urged Du Ruhui to leave quickly. Just as the latter was about to depart, Pei Qiantong revealed a sinister smile and said sideways, “Do you really think he can escape?”
Before Pei Qiancheng could understand the meaning of these words, Pei Qiantong had already shouted, “Capture Du Ruhui!”
With his words, several black shadows darted out from the darkness, wielding swords to block Du Ruhui’s path. Although the latter’s martial arts were decent, two fists couldn’t fight four hands, especially when he was unarmed. In the end, he was subdued by those black shadows.
“Take him back to the mansion.” After Du Ruhui was dragged away, Pei Qiantong grabbed Pei Qiancheng’s wrist with force and said in a cold tone, “You come back to the mansion with me too.”
After returning to the mansion, Pei Qiantong dragged him to the room where their parents’ spirit tablets were enshrined and said coldly, “Tell me in front of our parents’ spirit tablets, is what you did worthy of me, worthy of the Pei family’s ancestors?”
Pei Qiancheng knew he was in the wrong. He glanced at the spirit tablets and said quietly, “I just didn’t want Ruhui to die in vain.”
Pei Qiantong was furious and said hatefully, “Ruhui, Ruhui! You remember that he’s your brother but forget that I’m your elder brother. Are you only happy if you get me killed?”
“How could I harm elder brother?” Pei Qiancheng sighed, “The grievances between Brother Du and the Cui family back then, who was right and who was wrong, elder brother knows better than anyone. Since I consider him a brother, how can I watch him die unjustly? Moreover, elder brother has also praised his outstanding poetry and exceptional talent.”
Pei Qiantong said expressionlessly, “True, he has some talent, but for the sake of the greater good, he must be handed over to the Cui family.”
“Elder brother, you… how have you become so unable to distinguish right from wrong!” Pei Qiancheng said painfully, “You want to raise an army, you want to rebel—I say nothing about it, because the current emperor is tyrannical and lawless. He’s been here for less than half a year, yet he’s already made Jiangdu full of suffering people with no means of survival. Now he wants to move the capital to Danyang, causing havoc in one place and then going to cause havoc in another. Such a person doesn’t deserve to be a ruler. But what wrong has Ruhui committed? If you hand him over to the Cui family, he’ll surely face only death. Elder brother, how can you bear it?!”
“To accomplish great things, what does sacrificing one person matter?” Having said this, Pei Qiantong walked before him and said word by word, “You are not to interfere in Du Ruhui’s matter anymore, or don’t blame me for not remembering brotherly affection!” Having said this, he strode outside, ignoring Pei Qiancheng’s calls.
Pei Qiancheng paced anxiously. What to do? What to do?
Looking at elder brother’s attitude, he was determined not to release Ruhui. Sigh, it was all Ruhui’s fault. He had clearly told him to leave immediately, but he insisted on staying to help the Princess escape together. Now look what happened—he didn’t save anyone, but got himself trapped. Once handed over to the Cui family, death was certain. As his brother, how could he watch Ruhui die?
After long deliberation, he finally made up his mind. Save him! Even if it cost him his life, he must save Du Ruhui!
Looking at elder brother’s demeanor, the arrow was already on the string—he would act soon. He must rescue Du Ruhui before then, or once the Cui family took over, there would truly be no opportunity.
Over the next two days, Jiangdu was calm on the surface. If anything was worth mentioning, it was merely that dozens more commoners had starved to death. The authorities naturally wouldn’t report this, and even if they did, no one would care. Those who should enjoy themselves continued to do so, such as the one in Chengxiang Palace, who remained completely unaware that danger was approaching. He continued to appreciate the dancers’ graceful figures and beautiful dances amidst the incense filling his nostrils and the pleasant sounds of strings and woodwinds.