The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 199 Zhou Chengye confessed

"You traitor!"

Pei Mingjian cursed, but he couldn't stop Pei Du. Even the Emperor favored Pei Du and agreed to his idea.

As he watched his daughter's memorial tablet being carried out, tears welled up in Old Master Yu's eyes.

"Let's go home."

Grandpa Yu looked at Pei Mingjian. Agreeing to his daughter marry Pei Mingjian was the most regrettable decision he had ever made. If he had discovered Han Yueru's existence earlier, his daughter would not have died at such a young age.

Pei Du's sorrow was no less than that of Old Master Yu. Shen Hanyu followed behind them and looked up at the sky.

The weather is great today, and it will get even better in the future.

As Pei Du walked out of the Duke's mansion, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

"You go back first. I need to go to my maternal grandparents' house to settle my mother down. Be careful on the road."

Shen Hanyu nodded; Pei Du did indeed need some quiet time at this moment.

"Take care of yourself too."

After saying that, Shen Hanyu got into the carriage; she had other things to do today.

In the Imperial Study, Li Jiangui finished dealing with state affairs and wearily pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Did anyone bring it?"

The chief eunuch beckoned, and immediately someone came in, holding someone down.

Zhou Chengye was taken out of Dali Temple this morning. He thought it was someone from the Crown Prince or Princess Huaijiang. He never expected to see the Emperor when he opened his eyes.

Li Jiangui glanced at him. "Zhou Chengye, a native of Fangcheng, has only one mother left. After getting married, he had a son. A year ago, all your relatives suddenly disappeared, and then you went to the East Palace. Later, you went to Princess Huaijiang's residence."

Zhou Chengye trembled with every word Li Jiangui spoke.

"Looking across the entire Dayong, there is no one with more power than me, Zhou Chengye. If you are willing to tell the truth, I might be able to help you."

Li Jiangui wasn't stupid; he knew that Li Huaijiang was hinting at something—that Li Jing was involved, and that Zhou Chengye might even be one of Li Jing's men.

For Li Huaijiang's sake, and also for Li Jing's sake, Li Jiangui must get to the bottom of this matter.

Therefore, he did not let anyone interfere in Zhou Chengye's case, but interrogated him personally.

The chief eunuch stepped forward and said, "If your family members are being held hostage, as long as you are willing to tell the truth, the Emperor can protect your family. You should be able to tell the difference between what is more important and what is less important, otherwise you wouldn't have refused to reveal who it was when you were arrested."

Li Jiangui wasn't in a hurry. He waited quietly for Zhou Chengye to explain. As long as Zhou Chengye was sensible, he would know who to side with.

Zhou Chengye pursed his lips. Indeed, seeking help from the Emperor was the best option, especially since the Emperor had already spoken.

“I…this humble citizen is willing to confess.”

Li Jiangui perked up a bit and listened to what Zhou Chengye had to say.

"My family members are all with His Highness the Crown Prince."

This one sentence alone confirmed that Zhou Chengye was Li Jing's man.

"What did he make you do?"

Zhou Chengye swallowed hard. "I entered the Eastern Palace a year ago and haven't had any other matters to attend to until later when His Highness asked me to take care of Princess Huaijiang's illness."

"Did he instruct you to tamper with Princess Huaijiang's medicine, hoping to kill her?"

Zhou Chengye nodded and then shook his head: "No, His Highness did not say that he wanted to kill Princess Huaijiang. He only said that Princess Huaijiang should remain weak. I used those medicines, but I cannot guarantee that they will not harm her life."

Lee Geon-kyu couldn't quite describe his feelings. Lee Kyung was someone he had personally mentored, and now she was even going to lay a hand on her own sister.

"Was the Crown Prince responsible for the incident involving Princess Huaijiang's previous physician?"

"This humble subject doesn't know, truly doesn't know. I only received orders to treat Princess Huaijiang, and I know nothing else."

"When the Crown Prince asks you to do things for him, do you all use your relatives as leverage?"

Zhou Chengye lowered his head: "I don't know about others, but this is how I am."

The more Li Jiangui asked, the more disheartened he became. How did Li Jing turn out like this?

The chief eunuch asked in a low voice, "Should we summon His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"No rush. Take Zhou Chengye and, with my decree, bring his family out. As for the rest, let Li Jing come and talk to me himself."

Zhou Chengye was overjoyed, never expecting that he could bring his family back so quickly.

Li Jing only received the news when the chief eunuch led his men to the East Palace.

"how so."

Li Jing had calculated everything correctly, except for the fact that Li Jiangui took this matter so seriously.

"Your Highness, this can't be kept secret any longer, what should we do?"

The chief eunuch was almost at the door with his men. Li Jing stood up and said, "Bring Zhou Chengye's family over, get them ready, and prepare to go to the palace to apologize to Father Emperor."

Zhao Yu was very worried about whether Li Jing could return safely. Li Jing told her not to worry, that Li Jiangui would not kill him.

The chief eunuch spoke to Li Jing politely.

"Your Highness, this servant is acting on His Majesty's orders to release Zhou Chengye's family."

Zhou Chengye was being held back, and he dared not look up at Li Jing.

"Alright, I'll have them released right away."

Li Jing had already made preparations and released Zhou Chengye's family.

When Zhou Chengye saw his wife, children, and mother, he couldn't help but choke up.

"Chengye." The old woman stepped forward, wanting to touch Zhou Chengye, but was stopped from getting close.

"Mother, take them back first and find a place to live a good life."

Zhou Chengye himself can't go back, and he doesn't know how long he will be sentenced to.

The old woman glanced at the people coming from this direction; they were all wealthy and powerful. She could only lead her people away first. In any case, her life was saved.

"I want to go to the palace to see my father."

The chief eunuch smiled and said, "Okay."

Li Jing instructed Zhao Yu to handle the affairs of the Eastern Palace, and then he went to the Imperial Palace to apologize.

"They went to the palace?" Li Huaijiang put down what she was holding; she was unaware of everything that had happened in the imperial study.

"The steward brought Zhou Chengye to the East Palace. Someone saw them outside the gate, so something must have happened."

Li Huaijiang was quite surprised. "Could it be that Zhou Chengye has revealed Li Jing this time?"

Lee Geon-gyu is a man who doesn't tolerate any wrongdoing. If Lee Kyung doesn't explain himself properly this time, he won't have a good outcome.

"Most likely, otherwise the Crown Prince wouldn't have rushed to the palace."

Li Huaijiang wanted to go to the palace, but since Li Jiangui hadn't summoned her, she decided not to go.

"Keep an eye on him and see if Li Jing can get out of the palace."

Because it was unknown how much Li Jiangui had investigated, and Li Huaijiang could also guess that Zhou Chengye was just a minor figure who could not shake Li Jing's position, as long as Li Jing had a proper reason, he could successfully escape.

"Your Highness, the results this time were unexpectedly good. Doesn't this also show that His Majesty still cares about you? Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of investigating?"

Li Huaijiang twitched his lips. What was the use of caring now? If only he had cared more about his elder brother back then. If he had investigated his elder brother's affairs more carefully, his elder brother would never have turned out that way.