EBE Chapter 904 The Emperor Wants to Sentence Pei Huizhou to Death!
Chapter 904 The Emperor Wants to Sentence Pei Huizhou to Death!
Just as he finished speaking, a burst of hurried and heavy footsteps was heard outside the yard.
Five figures rushed out like arrows, instantly blocking all of Pei Huizhou's escape routes.
The leaders were Xu Xian and Master Xi. They were both panting, with anger on their faces after being teased.
Following closely behind were the expressionless Bai Qi, Mu Guiying and Qin Liangyu.
The five of them surrounded Pei Huizhou.
Xu Xian pointed at Pei Huizhou's nose, furious.
"You're such a jerk, Pei Huizhou! I wonder where you'll run this time!"
Young Master Xi was even more direct. He clenched his fists, and his joints made a crisp "crackling" sound.
"Stop talking nonsense and beat him first!"
He rushed forward first and threw a simple straight punch towards Pei Huizhou's face.
Pei Huizhou subconsciously dodged sideways, but Bai Qi behind him had already approached and chopped the back of his neck with a precise knife.
Pei Huizhou stumbled forward awkwardly, and before he could stand firm, Mu Guiying's long legs swept towards his lower body with a sharp sound of wind.
Qin Liangyu blocked his evasive space on the left.
For a moment, the sounds of fists and feet hitting each other rang out densely in the yard.
Pei Huizhou's skills were extraordinary, and his lightness skills were outstanding, but facing the siege of these five people, he seemed to be stretched to the limit.
What's more, these five people are not ordinary thugs, they all come from the system.
Each of them is a veteran of many battles, they cooperate with each other in perfect harmony, and there is no gap between their moves.
Xu Xian and Master Xi were ruthless and cruel in their attacks, specifically targeting those places that were not fatal but painful enough to pierce the heart.
Pei Huizhou was quickly knocked to the ground.
Fists fell like raindrops, hitting his body with dull "bang bang" sounds.
"You'll play tricks on us!"
"Shame on you!"
"You are not allowed to harass our White Lady!"
Xu Xian and Master Xi fought and cursed each other, venting all their resentment for being lured away from the mountain.
Bai Lu stood at the door of the study, watching the scene quietly.
She didn't say anything to stop him.
People like Pei Huizhou really deserve to be beaten.
His appearance always brings malice and calculation, making people feel uneasy.
However, strangely, Pei Huizhou did not utter a single groan of pain from beginning to end.
He curled up on the ground, letting the fists and feet fall on him, only using his arms to protect his head.
His teeth were clenched tightly, veins popped on his forehead, and cold sweat trickled down his temples, soaking the stone steps beneath him...
What puzzled Bai Lu the most was his eyes.
Through the gaps between his fists and feet, Pei Huizhou's eyes were always fixed on her.
There was no pleading in those eyes.
No anger.
Instead, with a kind of stubborn madness...
Almost paranoid...
It was as if all the pain he was enduring at this moment was to prove something to her!
Bai Lu felt inexplicably irritated.
Seeing that there was more and more blood at the corner of Pei Huizhou's mouth and his breathing began to become weak, Bai Lu finally frowned.
If the fight continues, someone might actually die.
Pei Huizhou was an official appointed by the imperial court, the Minister of the Dali Temple, and a favorite of the emperor.
If he died here, it would bring huge trouble.
The emperor will definitely hold people accountable.
By then, not only Bai Qi and the others, but even I myself would be unable to escape responsibility.
Thinking of this, Bai Lu's cold voice sounded.
"Everyone stop it."
Xu Xian and Master Xi's fists stopped in mid-air. They gasped and stared at Pei Huizhou on the ground.
Bai Qi and the other two immediately withdrew their attacks, took a few steps back, and remained vigilant.
The yard suddenly became quiet, with only Pei Huizhou's heavy and suppressed breathing as the sound remained.
He slowly pushed himself up from the ground, his movements being extremely slow due to the pain.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, raised his head, and looked at Bai Lu with his dark eyes again.
His face was covered in bruises, his mouth was cracked, his clothes were disheveled, and he looked extremely miserable.
But he smiled.
"how?"
"Are you feeling distressed?"
His voice was hoarse and contained a hint of mockery.
Bai Lu's face turned cold instantly.
"I'm afraid you'll die here and dirty my place."
Pei Huizhou staggered to his feet and walked towards Bai Lu step by step.
Every step he took seemed like he was enduring great pain, but his back was straight.
"Bai Lu, you are such a smart woman."
"Smart to the point of being... almost ruthless."
"You don't care about me at all, and you don't trust me at all..."
Pei Huizhou was a little disappointed.
But he didn't know what he was disappointed about.
He stopped a few steps in front of Bai Lu and looked at her with complicated eyes.
"You only believe what you want to believe."
"The Queen Mother...she doesn't trust you at all."
"She's hiding a huge secret from you."
"And you, willingly let her keep you in the dark, even letting someone beat me for her..."
Xu Xian and Master Xi were about to step forward again, but Bai Lu raised her hand to stop them.
Bai Lu looked at him quietly, without any emotion in her eyes.
"Are you finished?"
"Just get out of here when you're done."
Pei Huizhou looked at her calm face, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
Instead, there was a deep sense of disappointment and gloom.
He seemed about to say something, but at this moment, hurried footsteps were heard from outside the door.
A shrill voice broke the deadlock in the courtyard.
"Master Pei! Master Pei, you are here!"
A middle-aged eunuch in the uniform of an eunuch hurried in, leading a few young eunuchs.
The person who came was Li, the chief steward beside the emperor.
Manager Li saw at a glance the people confronting each other in the courtyard, as well as Pei Huizhou, who was covered in wounds and in a miserable state.
His expression changed for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.
He walked quickly to Pei Huizhou and bowed respectfully.
"Hey, Master Pei, what's wrong with you?"
Manager Li's gaze swept over Xu Xian and the others, and finally landed on Bai Lu's face. He shuddered with fear, probably guessing what had happened.
Oh, I shouldn’t have asked!
Pei Huizhou seemed not to hear his words and continued to stare at Bai Lu.
Seeing this, Manager Li had no choice but to cough dryly and raise his voice.
"Sir Pei, His Majesty has summoned you to the palace immediately to discuss an important matter."
"We've been looking for you for a long time."
When he heard the word "Your Majesty", Pei Huizhou's eyes finally moved.
He slowly withdrew his gaze from Bai Lu, turned around, and curled his lips at Manager Li.
"Thank you, Manager Li."
Manager Li waved his hands quickly.
"Don't dare, don't dare."
He carefully supported Pei Huizhou's arm and asked with concern:
"Master Pei, is your injury... serious? Do you need to call a doctor?"
Pei Huizhou shook his head, his voice hoarse.
"It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious."
As he spoke, he looked at Bai Lu deeply again.
The profound meaning in that look makes people feel cold in their hearts.
Then, he limped out the door, surrounded by Chief Steward Li and the young eunuchs.
The tense atmosphere in the yard eased slightly only after their figures completely disappeared outside the door.
Xu Xian walked up to Bai Lu and asked worriedly:
"Bai Lu, are you okay?"
"This Pei Huizhou is such a lunatic!"
Mr. Xi also said indignantly:
"I think he deserves a beating! If I see him again next time, I'll beat him up!"
Bai Lu shook her head, looked in the direction Pei Huizhou left, and fell into deep thought.
The Queen Mother doesn't trust her...
The Queen Mother is hiding a huge secret from her...
Before she could think about it, Pei Huizhou had just left when the empress dowager's carriage arrived.
It seems like the time has been calculated.
When the palace maid announced the arrival of the Queen Mother, Bai Lu was still a little dazed.
She asked Xu Xian and the others to leave and waited alone in the main hall.
Soon, the Queen Mother came in supported by her maids.
She was wearing a simple palace dress today and her makeup was very light.
"Bai Lu."
The Queen Mother dismissed the palace maids around her, and only the two of them were left in the huge main hall.
Bai Lu stood up and saluted.
"See the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother stepped forward quickly, held her arm, and signaled her not to be so polite.
"Aijia...I have something to say to you."
There was a barely perceptible tremor in the Queen Mother's voice.
She avoided his gaze and didn't dare to look directly into Bai Lu's eyes.
This appearance was exactly the same as what Bai Lu had seen at the dinner table before.
Bai Lu's heart sank little by little.
She looked at the Queen Mother without saying a word, waiting for her next words.
The Queen Mother took a deep breath, as if she had made a great decision.
She took Bai Lu's hand and asked her to sit down, while she sat on the chair next to her.
"Bai Lu, I know you are a smart child."
"Some things can be kept secret for a while, but not forever. If I don't explain it to you clearly, I'm afraid that Pei Huizhou will try to sow discord between us!!!"
"About Shen Lanhua... and about your mother Zhao Bingyu... I have decided to tell you everything."
A helpless look appeared on the Queen Mother's face.
"Actually...I've been keeping this secret from you because I don't want you to get hurt."
"Because... because of your mother, Zhao Bingyu, she... she doesn't love you at all!"
"She asked Shen Lanhua to come here because she wanted to kill you... She no longer loves that idiot Bai Yansong. She even hates him. You are the daughter of the person she hates the most... She wants to kill you... Oh... I'm sorry, child..."
"I'm afraid you'll collapse after knowing the truth and won't be able to accept it."
"That's why I killed Shen Lanhua to silence her and tried so hard to cover it up in front of you."
The Queen Mother said everything in one breath.
After she finished speaking, she looked at Bai Lu nervously, waiting for her reaction.
She anticipated that Bai Lu would be shocked, angry, and in pain...
However, Bai Lu's reaction was beyond her expectations.
There was no trace of emotion on Bai Lu's face.
She just listened quietly, her eyes as calm as a pool of deep water.
Just when the Queen Mother thought she hadn't heard clearly and was about to say it again, Bai Lu suddenly raised her hand.
"The Empress Dowager."
Bai Lu's voice was very soft.
"You don't have to say any more."
The Queen Mother was stunned.
"Bai Lu, you..."
Bai Lu looked at her, a faint smile slowly appearing on the corner of her mouth.
"I believe you."
"This is enough."
These four simple words made the Queen Mother's eyes red instantly.
She stared at Bai Lu blankly, her lips moving but unable to utter a word.
Bai Lu continued:
"You are the Queen Mother. You have your considerations and your difficulties."
"As for my mother's matter, no matter what the truth is, it's no longer important to me..."
She never expected love from the beginning.
Sure enough, she was overthinking it.
If her father doesn't love her, how can her mother love her?
The choked emotions were like water, bitter and indescribable, and Bai Lu lowered her head.
"Let the past be the past."
"I only know that you are the one who treats me well now."
"I believe in you, and I will no longer be shaken by anyone or anything."
She did not say whether she believed what the Queen Mother had just said, she just said that she believed in the Queen Mother as a person.
Sometimes, trust has nothing to do with the truth.
It's just a choice.
Bai Lu chose to believe the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother looked at the woman in front of her who was so insightful that it made her feel distressed, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions.
She had prepared a lot of words and countless plans to deal with Bai Lu's intense reaction.
But now, none of this is needed.
The Queen Mother's tense nerves finally relaxed completely.
She let out a long sigh and felt relaxed all over.
"Good boy...good boy..."
The Queen Mother held Bai Lu's hand, and the tears in her eyes finally couldn't help but fall.
She knew she had made the right bet.
Bai Lu is much stronger and more open-minded than she imagined.
It took a long time for the Queen Mother to calm down.
She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and a relieved smile appeared on her face.
"Stop talking about this."
"I came here today and there is another thing I want to tell you."
Taiti's expression suddenly became serious.
"It's about Pei Huizhou."
Bai Lu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why did the emperor summon him? It can't be a good thing, right?"
The Queen Mother nodded, her voice lowering a little.
"You're right."
"The Emperor...wants to kill him."
This news shocked Bai Lu's heart, but she did not show much surprise on her face.
Considering the emperor's personality and the recent commotion Pei Huizhou has caused in the court...this result doesn't seem surprising.
The Queen Mother continued, "Pei Huizhou has been cultivating his own faction in the Dali Temple for years, and his power has grown steadily, which has long drawn Your Majesty's dissatisfaction."
"More importantly, he's colluding with the Turks! The situation is now out of control."
"Internal strife is fine, but selling out the country...that is unacceptable to His Majesty."
"He's brought General Shi along with him... He's already incredibly successful among the people. If he adds another powerful general to the mix... it will threaten the Crown Prince's position."
"Your Majesty might have wanted to spare his life in the past, but now that things have developed to this point, His Majesty knows that if he spares his life, the Crown Prince will also die. He will never allow such a thing to happen."
Bai Lu was silent.