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Chapter 545: into dungeon
Chapter 545: into dungeon
??Chapter 545 Into the prison
??The old emperor was so angry that one Buddha came out of his body and two Buddhas ascended to heaven. His cloudy eyes scanned the courtiers under the steps, and he ordered with a dark face, "Go and bring Pei Sanlang to me!"
??The eunuchs guarding the surroundings of the hall quickly lowered their heads, and ran lightly and quickly towards the side hall, carrying out the old emperor's order as quickly as possible.
??Inside the hall.
??Pei Yi was sitting on a chair, resting her eyes with her cheek resting on one hand.
??When the little **** saw this scene, he was stunned for a moment.
??The front hall has already turned upside down because of the fact that Mr. Pei is a woman, but Mr. Pei, the righteous master, is still dozing off as if nothing happened.
??The little **** couldn't tell what mood he was in.
?? Rao already knew that Mr. Pei was a criminal who deceived the emperor, so the little **** didn't dare to show any negligence.
?? After all, as long as you are not a fool, you can see how rigid the attitude of the Pei family is now.
??In the end, it is still unknown what will happen to the Pei family.
??In the palace, before everything is settled, who would not leave a way out for himself?
??With this in mind, the little **** quickly ran to Pei Yi's side, and lowered his voice to remind: "Master Pei, Your Majesty has summoned you."
??Pei Yi just closed her eyes and rested her mind, she didn't really fall asleep.
??The moment the **** stepped into the inner hall from a young age, she had already noticed something.
??However, since she still wanted to rest for a while, she didn't rush to open her eyes.
??Now, when the little **** called her, Pei Yi leisurely opened her eyes.
??She didn't make things difficult for others, she stood up without saying a word, and then walked towards the outer hall.
??The little **** buried his head deeply, bowed his body and followed Pei Yi lightly and quickly, respectfully, not daring to show any disrespect.
??As soon as Pei Yi's figure appeared in the main hall, everyone's eyes moved towards her involuntarily.
??Princess Yan Luoyu of Zhenguo has been glued to Pei Yi's body almost since Pei Yi's appearance. The eyes of the whole person move with Pei Yi's movement, without leaving her at all.
??The third prince Huo Yuan did the same, but his eyes were deeper and more complicated.
??The eyes of the two brothers Pei Xuanzong and Pei Xuanting also fell on their sister. Although the two brothers looked calm on the surface, they were sweating silently for their sister.
??Pei Yi calmly walked to the middle of the hall.
??When she saw her father kneeling on the ground, she froze for a moment.
?? Immediately afterwards, she lifted the hem of her clothes without saying a word, and then knelt down—kneeling beside her father, with her head bowed.
??Although this is indeed an attitude of conceding and admitting mistakes, everyone present found it ironic no matter how they looked at it. They really couldn't see the slightest sign of remorse and admission of the Pei family father and son—oh, no, they should be called the Pei family father and daughter.
??Seeing this situation, the old emperor was furious.
??The two brothers of the Pei family looked at each other, and then they walked behind their father together in a very tacit understanding, and then unanimously lifted the hem of the official robe, and knelt down.
?? Well, now, the entire Pei family knelt down and admitted their mistake.
??However, the expressions of everyone present were more subtle than one.
??No way, although the Pei family knelt down, it didn't make people understand the meaning of sincerely admitting their mistakes.
?? A group of officials couldn't help but secretly glanced at their colleagues who had a good relationship with them.
??After a brief eye contact, they all lowered their heads immediately in unison, and no one dared to continue to express.
?? After all, the scene is so tense now, whoever dares to discuss openly like this, whoever wants to be stunned by the royal family or the Pei family.
??The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense like never before.
??The air seemed to be frozen, and it weighed heavily on everyone's head, as if it could not be melted away.
??Princess Yan Luoyu of the Zhen Kingdom has mixed feelings in her heart.
??She glanced at the four members of the Pei family who were kneeling on the ground with heartbroken eyes, and her mood was like a turmoil.
??It is true that she is reluctant to part with Pei Yi, but it is even more true that Pei Yi and the Pei family father and son despise the majesty of the royal family so much!
??The Pei family is no longer a loyal minister of the Great Zhou, they can't even be called powerful ministers—they are courtiers who want to usurp power!
??Yan Luoyu took a deep look at Pei Yi, and then turned his eyes away. The expression on his face could not help but be sad, but it was full of sullenness and ruthlessness.
??The third prince Huo Yuan, who was also standing in the front row, also had a complicated expression, but his emotions were much more reserved and complicated.
??He realized from a long time ago that the Pei family had great ambitions.
??He also knew Pei Yi a long time ago.
??Since Pei Yi stepped into the political situation, he has accompanied her almost every step she took.
??He could even say with a big face that Pei Yi was able to achieve the status he is today because of his silent efforts behind the scenes.
?? To him, Pei Yi is not just a sweetheart, but a special person to whom he has poured his heart and soul.
??He was never willing to give up on Pei Yi, let alone go against him.
??That's why he lowered his means to cry in front of Pei Yi that night, and said to Pei Yi in such a humble way that if the Pei family really turned against him, he would hand over the throne to Pei Yi.
??Those words are actually not the truth, but more of a strategy.
??He wanted to soften Pei Yi's heart.
?? After all, what woman would remain indifferent after hearing soft words like that?
??However, Pei Yi is Pei Yi after all.
??This woman hadn't changed her mind at all because of a tear or two from him as a man, and she had never believed the promise he made that night with tears—not at all.
??Huo Yuan looked down at Pei Yi who was kneeling in front of him with a particularly complicated mood, and his eyes fell on the other's back for a long time.
??Although she lowered her head, her back was straight. She was full of unyielding and stubborn strength, and she was not afraid of the power of the emperor at all.
?? How could Da Zhou tolerate such a person?
?? Huo Yuan felt dejected, and slowly withdrew his gaze that had been on the other party for a long time.
??No matter what, he will leave Pei Yi alive.
??He will keep Pei Yi by his side.
?? No matter how Pei Yi treats him or Da Zhou.
?? It doesn't matter what he will do to the Pei family or to Pei Yi.
??In short, Pei Yi is the person he truly loves, and the only person he has ever been attracted to in his life. He will definitely keep her by his side intact.
??Huo Yuan looked down at the ground, thinking silently in his heart.
??However, compared to the turbulent waves in the hearts of others, Pei Yi herself can be said to be calm.
??She might have been a little nervous before, but when her identity was revealed, she became extremely calm.
??Perhaps... This is called dead pigs are not afraid of boiling water?
?? Ah, bah bah bah, how can she talk about herself?
?? This should obviously be called Mount Tai collapsed before it changed color.
??Pei Yi evaluated herself silently in her heart, and couldn't help being amused by herself.
?? But at this moment, the old emperor on the high platform did not have Pei Yi's leisurely mind at all.
??He, an emperor, was openly despised by his courtiers, which was tantamount to slapping him loudly in the face in public.
??He is the Son of Heaven!
??How dare the members of the Pei family treat him like this? !
??The old emperor was so angry that his lungs were going to explode, and he announced with a cold face: "Put Pei Yi into the sky prison! Pei Shu, Pei Xuanzong, and Pei Xuanting will be dismissed on the spot and investigated!"
??The audience was shocked.
??All the officials changed their colors in an uproar.
?? It is not surprising that Pei Yi, as a woman who is a criminal and deceives the emperor, was thrown into prison.
?? But the key is that the treatment of the Pei family and his son is really... complicated.
?? Dismissal on the spot, of course, is an extremely serious punishment.
??But... this always feels like an indescribable weakness.
?? After all, dismissal does not mean leaving the center of power forever.
??On the contrary, officials may be reinstated at any time after dismissal—and there are countless examples of this, whether in the current dynasty or in the previous dynasty, or even in all dynasties.
??If an emperor wants to show his majesty, the real best punishment is to drag the four members of the Pei family out in public and behead them, and sentence the whole family of the Pei family to be beheaded!
??However, everyone knows that this is impossible.
??The Pei family is too powerful now.
??To be precise, it is the Pei family who holds a lot of military power.
??Different from other countries and even many imperial courts in history, the Pei family is not only a family of powerful ministers with heavy soldiers in their hands, but also a family of quasi-imperial power who may abolish the emperor at any time.
??Because, although the Pei family is still subject to the Great Zhou in name, the military power of the Pei family is actually not subject to the imperial power.
??The soldiers and horses owned by Prime Minister Pei, including the soldiers and horses led by the eldest son Pei and the second son Pei, all have the title of "Pei Family Army".
?? This group of soldiers was completely recruited by the Pei family, and they were also completely trained by the Pei family, and all kinds of materials such as military pay were also completely handled by the Pei family.
??This also caused extremely serious and terrible consequences-this group of soldiers only obeyed the orders of the Pei family, and no one in the royal family could order the Pei family army, not even the current emperor.
?? It can be said that the Pei family army is completely opposed to the regular army of the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
?? Under such circumstances, which emperor dared to directly attack the Pei family when he was full?
?? It is no exaggeration to say that as long as His Majesty the Emperor dares to order the beheading of the Pei family now, the 30,000 Pei family troops stationed in and outside the city will immediately mutiny, and the capital will surely be bleeding and lying dead for thousands of miles.
?? Not only that, but the Pei family's influence—to be precise, the Pei family's influence in the military camp—has already expanded beyond the capital.
??For example, Yongzhou, a place where the Great Zhou was thriving—this kind of important military town guarding the throat of the northern part of the Great Zhou—has already leaked like a sieve, and who knows how many soldiers among them are actually Pei family.
??Once a murder occurs in the Pei family in the capital, this group of soldiers from far away will definitely mutiny on the spot under the banner of revenge for the Pei family!
??This kind of situation will definitely cause the situation of the Great Zhou to change, and even fall apart and cease to exist!
?? And all this is by no means alarmist.
??Dazhou is now full of uprisings everywhere, and the reason why it can maintain the superficial unity is to a large extent relying on Pei Xiangguo's military strongman skills.
??In other words, Pei Shu is completely a symbol of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
??Da Zhou needed Pei Shu.
??Once Pei Shu falls, the separatist forces lurking everywhere will spring up like mushrooms after rain, and then they will be like a prairie fire, which cannot be controlled.
Therefore, even though many courtiers gritted their teeth with hatred for the arrogance of the Pei family, many of them endured it silently—because everyone knew that at present, or before the birth of other military and political strongmen, Pei There must be nothing wrong with the statement, and neither must the Pei family.
??Under this kind of tacit consensus, a very delicate political situation has arisen-someone is always secretly plotting to kill the Pei family, but there are always people who secretly release water for the Pei family at the last critical moment.
?? In short, they want to kill the opponent but dare not kill them, want to make a move but dare not make a complete move.
And the current emperor of Dazhou is in this kind of dilemma-although he is so angry that he wants to cut the Pei family into pieces, but he really doesn't dare to push the Pei family into a place of eternal doom, so he has no choice but to make a superficial A tough but practical penalty decision that leaves a way out.
For example, the treatment of Pei Jiasanlang - she was sent to the sky prison, but her head was not beheaded immediately, let alone dismissed from her official position. There is a lot of mystery in it. In the future, there is an opportunity to exonerate Pei Yi, but there is also a hidden opportunity to execute Pei Yi.
In short, what will happen to Pei Yi in the future depends entirely on the future status of the Pei family. If the Pei family is safe, then Pei Yi will be safe; The sin of the head.
??But in any case, at least the old emperor has let out a bad breath on the surface.
??He stood on the high platform, looked down at the Pei family kneeling below like ants, and shouted contemptuously: "Retire!"
??After the words fell, the old emperor shook his sleeves, turned and left angrily.
??The guard of honor who followed him hastily chased after him with long fans, all of them looked nervous, for fear that they would offend the emperor at this time.
All the courtiers shouted "Farewell to Your Majesty", and then quickly exited the hall with serious expressions - no one dared to stay to watch the jokes of the Pei family at this time, and no one would foolishly join in at this time Go up and ridicule the Pei family.
??Even Princess Yan Luoyu, who now regards the Pei family as a thorn in her side, just gouged out the Pei family father and son, then turned and left.
??The third prince, Huo Yuan, stood behind and stared deeply at Pei Yi for a moment, then walked out of the hall slowly with a solemn face.
??The four members of the Pei family still knelt in the hall and did not get up, as if they were giving the old emperor a lot of face.
??But soon, Ouchi guards quickly walked into the hall.
??They were walking vigorously at first, but when they came to Pei Yi, they immediately became friendly, and they didn't dare to be contemptuous at all—even if they might have been contemptuous before, they don't dare to have it now.
??Because the relationship between the Pei family and the royal family is too delicate now, no one can say for sure what will happen in the future.
??For a powerful group like them who appear to be in line with the royal family but actually fall on both sides, it is better to leave a way out for themselves.
?? "Master Pei, please follow us." The guard said respectfully.
?? Now they actually feel very embarrassed when they call Pei Yi.
?? Call someone "Pei Gongzi", this is obviously wrong.
?? You can call someone "Pei Niangzi", which doesn't seem right—after all, Pei Yi is still wearing an official uniform, and she can't tell that she is a woman.
??Then we can only call "Lord Pei" for the time being - anyway, His Majesty the Emperor today only ordered Pei Yi to be sent to prison, and did not say that he would be dismissed from her post.
??As for the embarrassment of others, Pei Yi understood from the hesitant tone when the other party called her.
?? But she didn't want to say anything more, because she really preferred to be called "Master Pei" rather than being called "Ms. Pei".
??Pei Yi leisurely stood up from the ground, and then patted the dust on her knees that didn't exist.
?? And her father and two elder brothers also stood up at the same time—they looked like they were saying: I always kneel with my daughter/sister, or who is here to play a "blind date between monarch and minister" for you?
??Pei Yi bowed to her father and brother, then turned around and followed the guards.
??From the beginning to the end, she didn't say much.
??The main reason is that under such circumstances, she doesn't need to say anything.
??The guards saw all the interactions of the Pei family, and they didn't dare to slack off in their words and deeds. They became more respectful and kind.
?? Everyone is not a fool, as long as they have a little political sense, they can smell it—the royal family wants to attack the Pei family, but the Pei family also wants to attack the royal family.
??Under this delicate atmosphere, Pei Yi realized that her situation had also become very delicate.
Just like now, she is obviously a bully who has committed a serious crime, but a group of guards who escorted her let her walk in the front—no one dared to walk in front of her, the attitude was so respectful, it was amazing Speechless.
?? Walking out of the palace gate, someone led the horses and let the leading guards get on the horses and walk.
??But the chief guards all refused in fear.
??Although they didn't say the reason, Pei Yi understood it very subtly—because she is currently a political prisoner and cannot ride a horse, so these chief guards dare not ride a horse either.
?? In other words, none of the group of guards present dared to go over her head—in name, it was to **** her, but in fact it was more like escorting her to the prison.
??The road from the imperial palace to the sky prison is not very far. A group of people walked on both feet, and it took about half an hour to arrive.
??The moment Pei Yi arrived at the dungeon, Lord Qiu, the chief in charge of the dungeon, stood on the steps of the gate to welcome her.
??This scene really made Pei Yi feel a little bit fanciful—she didn't seem to come to jail, but to inspect the situation.
Mr. Qiu respectfully led the way for her at the side—he also did not dare to walk in front of her, but followed her very respectfully, to be exact, a little behind her side not far away, and respectfully said road.
??Pei Yi could see this subtle situation clearly.
?? And these officials, big and small, who work in the sky prison, naturally see it more clearly.
?? Their immediate boss, Mr. Qiu, has personally sent a signal to them—this Mr. Pei has a lot of background, so he can't move!
??Everyone has to serve Mr. Pei well!
??Who dares to be disrespectful to Mr. Pei, then wait to be taught a lesson by Mr. Qiu!
??Under this silent suggestion, all the jailers looked at Pei Yi with both respect and fear.
??Pei Yi was in it, and she saw the expressions of these jailers out of the corner of her eye, and her mood became more and more subtle.
?? "Please, Mr. Pei." Mr. Qiu bowed his body and said in a low voice.
??Just the respectful "four words", if it weren't for being in the prison at the moment, people might think that Mr. Qiu is leading Pei Yi into some high-level place.
??However, the fact is that Mr. Qiu is respectfully asking Pei Yi to go to prison.
??However, compared with other cells, this cell is extra spacious and clean, and has a skylight with plenty of light.
??The cells are also equipped with beds, tables and chairs, and even pens, ink, paper and inkstones.
?? Seeing this situation, Pei Yi couldn't help taking a deep breath.
??She had heard people say earlier that the situation of different people in prison is different—not every cell is dark and damp, and the cell of a senior official may be like a tavern room.
?? Master Qiu saw that Pei Yi did not enter the cell for so long, and thought it was because she was dissatisfied with the cell.
?? Mr. Qiu was afraid that he would offend the girl of the Pei family at this critical juncture, so he hurriedly said in a respectful and respectful voice: "If Mr. Pei thinks there is something more to buy, just ask."
??Is there any reason for Pei Yi to push this kind of benefit out?
??She put on airs and said coldly: "Let's do it for now, someone should come and arrange it for me later."
??When Mr. Qiu heard Pei Yi's tone, his mood was extremely complicated—look at how tough the Pei family is, how rich and powerful they are.
??However, no matter how well equipped a prison cell is, it will always be a prison cell, so it is not dare to go beyond the general basic specifications.
?? For example, the door of the cell is very low.
??Pei Yi had to lower her head and bow her body to walk in. This arrangement was unavoidably aggrieved, but as long as I thought that the doors of the thatched cottages in the countryside are often so low, I felt balanced.
??Pei Yi wandered around the cell leisurely, and then lay down on the bed.
??The jailers guarding outside the cell looked at each other and couldn't help talking in low voices when they saw this situation.
?? "What did Master Pei do?"
?? "I just asked, it seems to be..."
??The jailer turned his head to look at Pei Yi who was lying in the cell with taboo, and then pulled his colleague away, before he dared to continue in a low voice: "Our Lord Pei seems to be a woman."
??As soon as these words came out, everyone in the room was shocked.
??Everyone subconsciously looked back towards the cell, and then turned back full of fear.
?? "Then Mr. Pei is a criminal deceiving the emperor?"
?? "Isn't it?"
?? "Then why do you think Mr. Pei can still sleep now?"
??Master Pei in the prison didn't show any fear or panic at all. On the contrary, she was very leisurely, and she was still lying on the bed to rest her mind.
??Such a calm attitude, as if they came to the cell to experience their demeanor of handling cases-it doesn't look like a criminal at all.
?? "Did you forget what his last name is?"
?? Someone reminded in a low voice.
??Everyone was enlightened immediately.
??Master Pei's surname is "Pei".
?? Just one surname, and no one dared to provoke her.
??The Pei family, that is a well-known existence in the capital.
?? Others may be beheaded, but it may be a completely different situation if it falls on the Pei family.
??So this Mr. Pei really doesn't seem to need to worry.
??(end of this chapter)