Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 515

Chapter 515: Blind Bear

Lin Shuyao disliked An Zhi and didn’t want to give way to her, especially since An Zhi had mentioned her unborn child. She had prayed day and night for a child but hadn’t succeeded. An Zhi, on the other hand, was quite pleased. “Unfortunately,” she said, “my carriage broke down a few days ago, so it’s difficult to change routes. Perhaps, Madam of Pei, could you move yours?”

An Zhi smiled slightly and said, “It’s not impossible, but my carriage is slow. Your Highness, please wait.”

After speaking, An Zhi lowered the curtain.

Just as Lin Shuyao was about to feel smug, she realized that An Zhi’s “slow” truly meant slow, because the carriage was blocking the middle of the road, and a growing crowd of onlookers was gathering.

A maidservant beside her reminded her, “Madam, that Madam of Pei is clearly deliberately making things difficult. If this place gets blocked, the Prince will scold you again. Perhaps we should avoid trouble?”

Lin Shuyao frowned, staring intently at An Zhi’s carriage. A quarter of an hour passed, and An Zhi’s carriage still hadn’t moved. Remembering Li Yao’s words, she could only grit her teeth and tell the coachman to take another route.

An Zhi, hearing the coachman say that Lin Shuyao had backed down, said smugly to Binglu, “I knew she couldn’t be tough. Even if she clung to the Wang family, it was useless. Her relationship with the Wang family was at most a superficial one.”

Binglu glanced out the carriage window and smiled. “This Princess Consort used to be your closest friend, but I didn’t expect it was all an act. If she hadn’t bothered you, Prince Mu wouldn’t have disliked her so much.”

Indeed, if Lin Shuyao had only distanced herself from An Zhi, An Zhi wouldn’t have turned against Lin Shuyao, and Li Yao wouldn’t have known that Lin Shuyao had liked Pei Yu. Even if Li Yao wasn’t entirely reliable, he would still have received the respect due to him; things wouldn’t have come to this.

Anyone with eyes could see who was doing better now—Lin Shuyao or An Zhi.

After the carriage left the street, they quickly arrived at the Pei Mansion.

An Zhi, being further along in her pregnancy, was increasingly susceptible to fatigue. She felt sleepy after getting off the carriage and went back to her room to rest.

While An Zhi slept soundly, something unexpected happened to Pei Que.

It wasn’t Pei Que himself who was injured, but rather the young Emperor, who had been too excited during the hunt, ignored warnings, and ventured deep into the mountains. He was scratched on the right leg by a bear, leaving three bloody welts on his pale thigh. The young Emperor wailed for a while in the tent and then fainted.

Pei Que and Minister Xu stood outside the tent, having just finished questioning their attendants.

“Your Majesty has suffered; let’s end the autumn hunt for now,” Pei Que said.

“So you just went back like that?” Minister Xu asked pointedly.

Pei Que turned to look at Minister Xu. “What does Minister Xu mean by this?”

Minister Xu took a small step forward, his heel slamming into the grass. “Even deep within the hunting grounds, guards had patrolled. A bear shouldn’t have been in the hunting grounds. And as far as I know, there were dozens of people accompanying him, yet the bear went straight for the Emperor. Don’t you think something’s a little strange?”

Pei Que certainly knew something was amiss, but this matter wasn’t easy to investigate, and the Emperor wasn’t in mortal danger. He also harbored some resentment towards the Emperor for trusting Yun Shengxing, so he was quite pleased. Since everyone was on high alert, the assassin couldn’t possibly succeed again; keeping the Emperor on edge was good, so he didn’t want to investigate.

However, since Minister Xu had brought it up, he couldn’t pretend not to know. “So, does Minister Xu think someone wanted to assassinate the Emperor?”

Minister Xu raised an eyebrow slightly. “Don’t you think so?”

“It does seem a bit strange, but it could also be an accident. After all, bears had appeared before,” Pei Que said. “Since Minister Xu thinks so, it’s indeed worth investigating. I’ll trouble you with this matter. I’ll go check on the Emperor. If you can find the assassin, you’ll be a great hero for our Jin Dynasty.”

Finding the assassin would indeed be a great achievement. But right now, there was only a dead bear and no other clues. Finding the murderer would be both difficult and time-consuming.

Pei Que had no intention of seeking credit or standing out. Since Minister Xu had brought it up, he’d let him investigate. He didn’t covet that kind of reward.

Minister Xu hadn’t expected Pei Que to be so indifferent. He only came to his senses after Pei Que entered the tent.

A servant approached to ask how to investigate, but Minister Xu glared at him. “How else can we investigate? Of course, we’ll investigate with all our might!”

He had raised the question himself, intending to involve Pei Que, but Pei Que refused, leaving him to investigate alone.

However, this was proving difficult, as there were too many suspects.

Embassies from five countries participated in this autumn hunt, and all five could be suspects. There were also the forces left behind by the princes who had vied for the throne during the late Emperor’s reign.

Minister Xu had shot himself in the foot. He pondered for a long time without finding a clear direction, clicked his tongue in regret, and turned to look at the tent, wondering if the Emperor had woken up yet.

When Pei Que entered the tent, the Emperor briefly regained consciousness, confirmed the bear’s death, and then fainted again from the pain.

He feigned concern, then stepped aside when the imperial physician checked the Emperor’s pulse again.

He was still just a child, not thinking far ahead, only concerned with whether the bear was dead.

After hearing from the imperial physician that the Emperor was alright, Pei Que instructed the physician to take good care of the Emperor and then left the tent.

Because of the Emperor’s accident, the autumn hunt ended early.

The evening wind was bleak, seeping into one’s neck.

Pei Que and his men packed their things, waiting to return to the capital at dawn the next day.

In his own tent, he called Shuo Feng to his side. “When the Emperor had his accident today, did you notice anything unusual?”

Although Pei Que hadn’t investigated with Minister Xu, if possible, he still wanted to know who was responsible so he could be on the safe side.

“According to those who followed, the bear charged so fiercely that no one could react in time. By the time they came to their senses, the bear had already knocked several people flying,” Shuo Feng reported. “That bear seemed to be trained. My men searched the area but couldn’t find any trace of it. I feel this matter needs to be investigated, starting with the Emperor’s close attendants. Master, should we investigate secretly?”

Pei Que waved his hand, saying there was no need. “Minister Xu’s men are already investigating. If you send others to investigate, they will inevitably be discovered by Minister Xu. This matter was initiated by Minister Xu; let him investigate. Since we thought of investigating from the close attendants, Minister Xu could think of it too. Let Minister Xu investigate.”

“Understood,” Shuo Feng said. “Then you should rest early. We’re returning to the capital tomorrow, and along the way, we’ll be accompanied by envoys from five countries. There will be many things that will trouble you.”

Pei Que hummed in agreement and dismissed Shuo Feng. He wanted to continue reading. Before Shuo Feng could leave the tent, a coquettish voice rang out from outside, making him frown.

“Gentlemen, Minister Pei’s tent is lit. Please inform him that I have something important to discuss with him.”