Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 605

Chapter 605: Imperial Edict

An Xu, concerned about the child in his wife’s womb, wanted her to walk to the corridor, but she refused.

“This is the temporary palace; the Empress Dowager’s eyes and ears are everywhere. I’m not going anywhere; I will stay by your side.” Huiping looked up at the sky, seeing the sun emerge from behind the clouds, and said softly, “How can Zhi’er and the Empress Dowager talk for so long? If she does not come out soon, I’m going to rush in.”

“Did Zhi’er not say it’s only half an hour? If it’s over, we will rush in.” An Xu’s temperament was very similar to Huiping’s; both were impatient, which was why their marriage was so harmonious.

Huiping nodded, calculating the time while looking around the temporary palace. In terms of grandeur, the temporary palace truly could not compare to the imperial palace; no wonder the Empress Dowager was so unhappy living there.

“Sigh.”

Huiping sighed for the Pei family, then thought of their impending downfall and how the An family would had to keep a low profile from now on.

Just as she finished sighing, the door to the bedchamber opened.

Seeing Chunlan helping An Zhi out, Huiping’s heart finally settled. She hurried forward and asked, “How did it go?”

“The Empress Dowager’s merciful; let’s go fetch Pei Que.” An Zhi smiled at her sister-in-law, then turned to Jinxi, who had followed them out, and said, “We will trouble Eunuch Jinxi to come back to the capital with us.”

Hearing this, Huiping was very happy. Although she did not know what price An Zhi had paid for Pei Que’s safety, it was good that he was alright.

An Zhi, worried about Pei Que, urged the others to hurry.

Meanwhile, in the dimly lit prison, Pei Que was strapped to a wooden frame, his clothes torn by a long whip, revealing horrifying streaks of blood.

“Smack.”

A basin of cold water was splashed on Pei Que.

Yun Xingbang, holding a long whip, circled Pei Que twice before stopping. Pointing at Pei Que, he angrily demanded, “Pei Que, do not think you can protect the rest of the Pei family by remaining silent! Once you die, the rest of the Pei family will not escape death. Your wife and your daughter will become government prostitutes, violated day and night by other men!”

Minister Xu sat in a dimly lit corner, his eyes frequently glancing at Pei Que. He had witnessed countless such interrogations, but only Pei Que had remained completely silent from beginning to end.

Unable to get a reply from Pei Que, Yun Xingbang swung his long whip and lashed out at him. Seeing Pei Que’s upper body twitch a few times, he continued, “Pei Que, if you confess all of the Pei family’s businesses, we will release the Pei family, and your wife and children. Otherwise, your woman will become the dirtiest woman in the entire capital! But do not worry, when I pamper An Zhi, I will definitely enjoy it!”

“Pah!”

Pei Que spat all over Yun Xingbang; his left hand, which was slightly better, was already clenched into a fist.

He was not afraid of death, and he was not necessarily going to die.

Although he had not expected Minister Xu to be so cunning, Pei Que had already made preparations to guard against the Yun family and the Empress Dowager.

Pei Que trusted An Zhi.

But he could not tolerate Yun Xingbang’s words.

Yun Xingbang stared at the spit on his clothes, cried out “Ah!”, and raised his whip to strike, but was stopped by Minister Xu.

“Minister Yun, that’s enough.” Minister Xu rose, stepping from the darkness into the candlelight. His cunning face remained expressionless. “If you hit him again, he will die.”

If Pei Que died now, they would both be in trouble.

Yun Xingbang reluctantly lowered his hand, turning to call two jailers to fetch him some clean clothes.

Minister Xu walked up to Pei Que. He was not as tall as Pei Que, so he looked up and said, “Why are you insisting on this?”

Pei Que lowered his head, too lazy to look at Minister Xu.

“Even if you might have some leverage over the Empress Dowager, so what?” Minister Xu smiled disdainfully. “At this point, the Empress Dowager will not keep you alive. And what if you have leverage? Just kill the entire Pei family, and nothing will happen. As long as you are willing to hand over all six departments of the Pei family, I’m willing to send An Zhi and your daughter to live somewhere no one knows them, out of respect for Wenjuan.”

Hearing this, Pei Que chuckled.

Xu Wenjuan was a good person, but Minister Xu was not. It was precisely because Xu Wenjuan was a good person that Pei Que lowered his guard against him, never expecting that Minister Xu would even use his own daughter.

“Xu Wenyong, if Xu Wenjuan knew everything you’ve done, what do you think she would think?” Pei Que asked with a laugh.

Given Xu Wenjuan’s personality, she’d probably fight him.

Minister Xu’s expression froze. His love for his daughter was genuine, but his desire for power was far greater.

For the sake of his imperial ambitions, a little familial affection meant nothing, and besides, once he ascended to the throne, his daughter might not even hold a grudge.

Minister Xu turned and picked up the branding iron. Looking at the red-hot iron and then at Pei Que’s battered body, he wanted nothing more than to pierce a hole through Pei Que with it.

But before the branding iron could even touch Pei Que, the prison warden arrived, saying that Madam of Pei, accompanied by Eunuch Jinxi, had come to read the Empress Dowager’s edict.

Upon hearing this, Minister Xu was so surprised that he quickly went to look at Yun Xingbang.

Yun Xingbang was also puzzled as to why the Empress Dowager would issue an imperial edict, but he felt nothing would happen because the Empress Dowager hated Pei Que even more than he did.

The two of them left the imperial prison together, and after hearing the Empress Dowager’s edict, their faces grew increasingly grim.

“This is impossible!” Yun Xingbang exclaimed first, looking at Jinxi in disbelief. “Jinxi, are you forging an imperial edict? How could the Empress Dowager possibly change her sentence for Pei Que?”

Jinxi cautiously replied, “You can see the edict for yourself. It was written in the Empress Dowager’s own handwriting; you should recognize it. Uncle, the Empress Dowager said you definitely do not believe the edict, so she wants you to go to the temporary palace immediately. She has something to tell you.”

Yun Xingbang confirmed the edict was real, but he still refused to believe the Empress Dowager would suddenly change her mind. Hearing An Xu order the jailers to release the prisoner, he spread his arms to block An Xu’s path. “No, release him! Who knows if you kidnapped Jinxi? I ​​need to see the Empress Dowager!”

An Xu had no patience to waste with Yun Xingbang. He took a large step forward, bumping into Yun Xingbang’s chest, causing Yun Xingbang to stumble back several steps.

“How Minister Yun seeks out the Empress Dowager is his own business. I’ve brought the imperial decree, so the jailers must release the prisoner first. If you can obtain another decree to arrest him, then feel free to come to the Pei Mansion to arrest him.”

With that, An Xu’s fierce gaze swept over the jailers, frightening them into looking at Yun Xingbang and Minister Xu.

Yun Xingbang, at a loss, also looked at Minister Xu.

Minister Xu had heard the contents of the imperial decree—the beheading had been changed to exile on Huludao. It seemed Pei Que truly had significant leverage over the Empress Dowager.

Since that was the case, he had no choice but to release the prisoner first.

After Minister Xu nodded, a servant from the Pei family followed the jailers into the imperial prison.

An Zhi sat in the sedan chair, having just eaten two bites of bread. Her stomach still felt unwell, but thinking of seeing Pei Que soon, she forced herself to stay awake and drank a large gulp of warm water.