The Beauty Within the Gates
Chapter 63
Their own people had shut the city gates and held things up for two full days, yet he still made it to the Eastern Capital.
The Crown Prince’s face turned ashen, dark and cold, with fury churning in his chest, leaving his heart aching with each suffocating swell. He had long known that his father, the Emperor, cared deeply for that adopted son, but he had never imagined such blatant favoritism.
The Crown Prince had just been punished and sent back to his fiefdom, and immediately afterward, a prince was summoned back to the Eastern Capital. What would the world think of such a move?
Was he truly intending to depose him and instead install that fatherless, illegitimate nephew as Crown Prince?
Perhaps the old man had lost his mind.
The Crown Prince was so furious that it felt as though smoke would burst from all seven orifices. He longed to storm into the palace and demand of his father: who, exactly, was his real son?
But the matter was already settled, and the current situation was entirely unfavorable to him.
What had happened in Fengcheng was already exposed. Jing Wang was no fool. He would surely trace it back to the Crown Prince. And who knew how he might accuse him before the Emperor? The mere crime of forging an imperial edict, if the Emperor seized upon it, would be enough to strip him of his position as Crown Prince.
Pressing his aching temples, he forced himself to hold on to a shred of reason. Now was not the time to lose control. He steadied himself, then turned to look at Pei Yuanqiu, who was still kneeling on the ground.
“Minister Pei, you may rise.”
Pei Yuanqiu had also heard the report. His heart was filled with shock. Never had he imagined that Jing Wang would actually make it to the Eastern Capital.
The Crown Prince lifted his eyes and glanced at the panic written across his face, suppressing his irritation as he asked, “Does Minister Pei have any good solutions?”
Now that Jing Wang had entered the palace and, setting aside minor concerns for the greater good, personally overturned the accusation of treason against the Xie family, preserving them. This, in turn, pointed the dagger directly at the Crown Prince.
At this point, there was no time to worry about dealing with Jing Wang. The priority was to protect himself. Pei Yuanqiu quickly regained his composure and said, “In my opinion, the Xie family does not have the imperial edict in their possession.”
Two days ago, that eunuch had just returned from Fengcheng. The Crown Prince had personally questioned him and confirmed that the edict had already been destroyed, and there should be no mistake.
Not to mention the edict, even the eunuch himself had now disappeared. If the matter were to be investigated, there would be no witnesses left alive.
But the problem was this: Jing Wang had publicly declared, in front of the civil and military officials at court, that the Third Young Master Xie carried an imperial edict, and the Emperor had not immediately ordered the Xie family to be raided and executed. Most likely, he already believed it.
It had been a forged edict to begin with. If they could fabricate one, Jing Wang could naturally do the same. As long as someone from the Xie family carried it into the palace, regardless of whose hand had written it, that edict would become the final piece of evidence.
And when that time came, the Crown Prince would be cornered, his life and fate entirely in someone else’s hands.
Thus, to the Crown Prince now, every member of the Xie family was like a blade hanging over his head.
The Crown Prince had naturally thought of this as well. It truly was a case of lifting a stone only to smash his own foot. Rage and frustration churned within him, grinding his teeth with hatred, yet utterly powerless. Irritated and restless, he turned to the messenger at his side and asked, “Whom did the Emperor send to the Xie Mansion?”
“Chen Hao.”
At least he was one of their own. “Instruct Chen Hao that under no circumstances is he to leave any survivors.”
“Rest assured, Your Highness. Chancellor Yuan has already given his orders.”
As for the remaining Third Young Master Xie, his men had searched for two days, yet it was as if he had vanished into thin air, without a single trace.
But since Jing Wang had asked the Emperor to send people to receive him, it meant the man must still be in Nancheng. “Send more men to search,” the Crown Prince ordered. He refused to believe they could not find him. No matter where he was hiding, they had to drag him out at any cost.
Nancheng was vast, rich in resources, and densely populated, with countless mountains and waterways. If someone truly wished to hide within it, they might not be found in a short time. And in truth, there was no need to search at all.
Pei Yuanqiu spoke up, “It is not difficult to make him show himself.” His gaze turned toward the Crown Prince. “Since His Majesty’s people have come to receive him, Your Highness need only open the city gates.”
He was not capable of flying or vanishing into the earth. Once he reached the city gates, how could he possibly escape?
The Crown Prince fell silent for a moment. Compared to the crime of forging an imperial edict and the risk of being deposed, what else was there left to worry about?
He raised his head and looked at Pei Yuanqiu. “Minister Pei, rest assured. As long as your son does not cause me trouble, I will not make things difficult for him.”
“Your Highness is magnanimous. This minister thanks Your Highness.”
His mind in turmoil, the Crown Prince had no desire to continue the conversation. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed him. “You may leave.”
As Pei Yuanqiu stepped out of the Crown Prince Mansion, the night wind swept past, leaving his back chilled. He quickened his pace out of the mansion. The moment he returned to his own courtyard, he saw a servant woman from Madam Wang’s courtyard standing at the door.
Uncertain of her purpose, Pei Yuanqiu slowed his steps before approaching. “Has Madam returned?”
The servant woman bowed slightly and lowered her eyes. “Madam knows that you have been busy these past few days, my lord. She said she will not return to disturb you for now and wishes to remain at the Wang Mansion for a few more days.”
What did that mean? How could Pei Yuanqiu not understand?
Ever since his last trip to Fengcheng, Madam Wang had been displeased with him at every turn. After several quarrels, she had simply returned to her maiden family.
Madam Wang was the biological sister of the Right Chancellor’s wife. The moment she went back, not only did the Wang family know, but Chancellor Yuan would have heard of it as well. By now, it had likely even reached the Empress’s ears.
Everyone was watching his disgrace, waiting to see how he would resolve it.
Pei Yuanqiu said nothing. The servant woman continued, “Madam also said that a distant relative from the Third Young Madam Wang has just given birth to a baby boy. The child’s father has already passed away, and the widowed mother cannot survive alone. If my lord has the time, Madam asks that someone bring the child over for you to take a look…”
He and Madam Wang had been married for many years, yet she had never borne him a child. Marrying her had already been a climb beyond his station, and he could not take a concubine. But a household could not be without an heir. In their younger years, Madam Wang had tried many remedies, exerting herself in every possible way. When it became utterly hopeless, she turned to the idea of adoption.
But he already had a son of his own. Why would he need to adopt?
“Tell Madam to take good care of herself,” Pei Yuanqiu said, ignoring the servant woman’s expression as he pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The moment the door closed, the exhaustion on Pei Yuanqiu’s face surfaced fully. He sat cross-legged on a cushion as a young servant poured him a cup of tea. “Master need not worry. The young master is safe.”
After last night’s search of the mountains, Pei Yuanqiu naturally knew that they were still in the valley below. As important as Xie San’s life might be, it was not worth sacrificing his only son.
He lifted the teacup and drained it in one gulp. As he raised his head, his gaze fell upon a memorial tablet placed on the desk before him, which was his first wife.
A wife who had shared hardship with him.
The year he left Fengcheng, his household had been so poor they could barely make ends meet. Before departing, he had said to his wife, “Wait for me to return with money.”
But in this world, there were far too many capable men, and he had been buried among them. Without power or influence, how could he have established himself so easily?
He had worked as a caretaker, labored with his bare hands, yet earned only a pittance. Then, by chance, he caught Madam Wang’s favor and leapt from a lowly horse groom to the Wang family’s son-in-law, who wouldn’t be tempted?
In the end, a man’s life amounts to nothing more than a handful of yellow earth. The only thing that can be left behind is an ancestral legacy passed down to future generations.
And so, he abandoned his wife and child, climbed into a powerful family, and devoted himself to bringing honor to his ancestors. Over the years, he had not disappointed himself, rising to the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, building a foundation for the Pei family.
Yet fate did not follow his wishes. He had no more children under his roof, only the son he had once abandoned.
Even if the boy refused to acknowledge him, he had no other choice but to make plans for his future.
Everyone in the realm knew that the Emperor had only one son, the Crown Prince. His birth mother was the Empress. The empire would inevitably fall into his hands.
Yet at some point, the situation had quietly begun to change. And today, with Jing Wang’s entrance into the palace, everything he had once assumed was completely overturned. A different plan began to take shape in his mind.
Fortunately, he had not dragged his own son into this.
If one day the Emperor were to change his mind, if the Crown Prince were to fall from favor and Jing Wang ascend, the Pei family would still have a chance.
On his end, he could not afford the slightest slackening. The future was unpredictable. He was not as foolish as Xie Daoyuan. At critical moments, the greatest taboo was losing one’s composure.
The Third Young Master Xie had to be eliminated. “Select a few reliable men. Lure him down from the mountain first.”
—
With a blade pressed against the girl’s throat, Pei Qing forced his way into a farmhouse on the opposite hillside.
The door creaked open. Inside, a middle-aged farmer turned at the commotion. Seeing the scene before him, he dropped to his knees in terror, repeatedly begging, “Spare me, heroes, spare me…”
The group had come this far only to find a place to rest, with no ill intent. Minzhang went in first to scout the place, then returned and gave Xie Shao a slight nod.
Xie Shao stepped forward to the man, his tone polite. “We are travelers passing through, hoping to borrow a place to rest our feet. I ask for your convenience, Uncle, to clear out a few rooms and prepare some food. I will pay in full.”
With a gleaming blade pressed against his throat, how could he refuse? The farmer trembled as he said, “If you don’t mind the humble place, heroes… please, come in.”
Only then did Pei Qing withdraw the knife.
Freed, the girl quickly moved aside, though the fear had yet to leave her face.
There was only this single farmhouse in the area. Pei Qing had already guessed that the girl was nothing more than an ordinary villager, though she was surprisingly strong; the cut on his arm was not shallow.
After ushering them inside, the farmer remained standing at the threshold, speaking with forced politeness. “Please, heroes, have a seat for a moment. There’s tea by the stove, please help yourselves to quench your thirst. I’ll go prepare some food right away…”
Though it was merely a farmhouse, caution was still necessary. Walking at the rear, Pei Qing turned and followed him out.
After only a few steps, the farmer suddenly turned his head and glared at the girl, who still stood there, too frightened to move. He barked, “What are you standing there for? You’re mute, not deaf. Go clean up some rooms for the honored guests!”
The girl hurriedly nodded and rushed forward. Having been frightened by Pei Qing all the way here, her legs had long since gone weak. She stumbled and fell to the ground.
The farmer flew into a rage. He rushed over, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her up, cursing as he did so. “Useless thing! Can’t do anything right. I raised you for what? You damned wretched girl…”
Just as he was about to drag her forward by the hair, he turned and found a blade pressed against his neck.
His body stiffened, his face draining of color. “H-hero… we can talk this out…”
“Let go.” Pei Qing’s eyes were filled with disgust. “In my life, I detest most those who bully women and children. Beasts and vermin are no worse than you.”
The farmer hurriedly released his grip. “I… I’ll let go…”
—
After several days spent in the wilderness, they had finally found a place to rest. Although the Crown Prince’s men had yet to track them down, they likewise had no way of learning what was happening beyond the mountains.
By his calculations, Wangye should have already reached the Eastern Capital. If nothing unexpected had occurred, people would be sent to Nancheng to receive them today.
Once that news spread, the Crown Prince would not be able to sit still.
Ever since they entered Dongzhou, the Crown Prince had spared no effort in casting a dragnet. Yet in the end, Jing Wang had still slipped past his vast forces and reached the Eastern Capital right under his nose. How could the Crown Prince swallow such humiliation?
Their situation would only grow worse than before.
If even an imperial edict could be forged, then with the Crown Prince’s temperament, he would stop at nothing to eliminate them completely. Even if every gate of Nancheng were opened, there was no guarantee they would be safe.
They could not take the city gates.
The only safe option was to take the same route as Wangye, by entering the Eastern Capital through the hidden passage.
If he could think of it, Wangye could think of it as well. What they were gambling on now was the Emperor’s attitude toward the Xie family. If the Emperor believed in them, then by tomorrow, a troop would be sent from the back mountain to receive them.
As long as they could hold out until tomorrow, they would know the outcome. For now, all they could do was conserve their strength and recover.
The farmhouse deep in the mountains was crude, with only three rooms in total. The farmer occupied one, the girl another, leaving just a single vacant room.
To make the most of the limited space, Wen Shuse took a quilt and went to the outer room on her own that night, lying down on a pile of dry straw and yielding the room to the others.
—
Pei Qing’s injuries were not light, especially the slash the girl had given him.
She had likely never seen strangers before. When she suddenly saw armed men come up the mountain, panic drove her to strike first, and that was how Pei Qing’s arm had been cut.
After Xie Shao cleaned the wound and applied Wei Yun’s medicinal salve, he was in the middle of bandaging it when Pei Qing suddenly leaned closer and whispered, “I saw everything.”
The remark came out of nowhere. Xie Shao didn’t understand and glanced at him.
Pei Qing wore an expression that suggested he had seen through it all. Noticing that the others in the room had already fallen asleep, he cast a glance outside as well, then lowered his voice and revealed a “secret.”
“Brother Xie, there’s no need to boast. To be honest, none of the three of us believed a word you said before. So, what if you’ve never touched a woman? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, now that you’ve got a wife, she’s not going anywhere. First time’s unfamiliar, second time you’ll get the hang of it…” Seeing Xie Shao’s brows slowly knit together, and his expression darken, he hurried to finish in one breath, “It’s obvious you were kissing your wife for the first time, who does it as roughly as you did…”
“Ah…!” Before he could finish, Xie Shao mercilessly gripped the wound on his arm. The pain made tears spring to his eyes, and he clenched his teeth, begging for mercy. “Brother Xie, Brother Xie, spare me…”
Xie Shao yanked the white bandage tight, and Pei Qing sucked in another sharp breath.
Then Xie Shao turned and pushed the door open, stepping outside.
Out in the courtyard, his little wife had fallen fast asleep, clutching her bedding. After days of hardship, she had finally found a dry place to lie down, able at last to stretch out her limbs. Even on a bed of straw, Wen Shuse felt comfortable.
Still half lost in her dreams, she was suddenly lifted into someone’s arms. Thinking they had been discovered by pursuers again, her drowsiness vanished in an instant. “Husband…”
Before she could fully wake, she heard a loud bang beside her. Her husband had kicked open a nearby door. Carrying her inside, he set her down on a bamboo chair, then strode to the bed, grabbed the farmer who had long since been startled awake, and dragged him all the way back to the room they had just left.
Another bang.
Inside, before Pei Qing could react, Xie Shao tossed the man toward him. “Perfect. You watch him tonight. Don’t let him try anything.”
The poor farmer hadn’t even had time to put on his shoes. Hauled straight out of bed and thrown here in a daze, he shrank into himself at the sight of Pei Qing’s fierce expression, trembling as he stammered, “Hero, I… I haven’t done anything…”
Pei Qing’s temples throbbed, his face turning an ugly shade of green.
—
Wen Shuse had no idea what had just happened. She sat there blankly for a moment before seeing her husband return.
Before she could even ask what was going on, he bent down again, scooped her up together with the bedding, and placed her onto the bed in front of him. “Sleep.”
This time, Wen Shuse finally understood.
If he had shown this kind of determination when fighting for a bed back at the Xie Mansion, there would have been no place left for her at all.