Chapter 63 Threat

  As they walked down the mountain, Min An was sweating profusely, his thin shoulders struggling to support Li Peinan's leaning body, almost staggering with every three steps. Li Peinan glanced at him and smiled slightly, saying indifferently, "You're so useless, it seems you haven't trained enough."

  A gentle warm breath brushed against his ear, causing Min An's ears to redden slightly. He pursed his lips and didn't respond, nor did he have the energy to argue about anything, and simply walked forward with Li Peinan. After walking for a while with his head down, he panted and said: "Let's take a break, okay?" Li Peinan smiled slightly, suddenly stood up straight, put his hands behind his back, and stood leisurely, as if he were a tourist strolling through the mountains to enjoy the autumn scenery.

  Min An knelt down with his knees bent and asked: "Is the young master all right?"

  Li Peinan said calmly: "The dizziness will pass once the blood rush subsides."

  Min An didn't have the heart to ask for proof of anything, after catching his breath, he moved his floating footsteps and slowly walked down the mountain. Li Peinan carefully saw that Min An's robe was slightly trembling, and fell behind with a bad heart, laughing, and didn't bully him again, walking to the side of the horse carriage.

  Min An's legs were trembling, but he still wanted to ride a horse back to the mansion. Li Peinan called him to get on the carriage, but he didn't listen, and after trying twice, he couldn't climb onto the saddle. Suddenly, he realized that his strength was being consumed so severely that he had to take the carriage back.

  On the carriage, Min Anlie fell to one side and leaned against the carriage to rest. Li Peinan lifted his left arm and asked: "Does it still hurt?"

  Min An rubbed his eyes and nodded. Li Peinan said, "When we get back, I'll help you reapply the medicine." Min An immediately perked up and replied, "It doesn't hurt anymore, the splint is very stable, no need to change the dressing again."

  Li Peinan didn't say anything, still holding Min An's injured arm. Min An's left arm was able to avoid the bumps along the way and not feel any pain, all thanks to Li Peinan's efforts.

  At this time, Li Peinan asked: "Before I came, what did you and Xiao Zhixin say?"

  Min An shook his head and didn't answer. Li Peinan continued, "You injured your arm but still asked Xiao Zhiqing to go hunting with you. You can't be so enthusiastic for no reason, there must be an ulterior motive."

  Min thought to herself, if she kept her mouth shut and didn't answer, it would be hard to fool the young master, so it's better to pick a few simple things to report to him and dispel his doubts.

  The plan was set, and Min An replied, "The king ordered me to go to the prefecture to listen for differences. I saw Lord Xiao in front of me, so I used the name of hunting to get close to him." He indeed drew closer to Lord Xiao's relationship, and the attendants and guards at the mansion witnessed it with their own eyes.

  Li Peinan raised his arm and beckoned to Min An, drawing his attention: "I am Xiang Zhiqin's superior, why haven't you come to curry favor with me?"

  Min An closed his mouth and didn't speak, thinking in his heart that he had avoided going to the government office just to eliminate your unique hobby.

  Li Peinan and Sheng Dao said: "After coming out of the provincial government's practice, just follow me to Western Xinjiang."

  Min An was surprised: "Why?"

  "Received merit and promotion for outstanding military service."

  "How can a public official arbitrarily control appointments? Wherever I want to go, they take me wherever they want?"

  Li Peinan saw Min An's tightly pursed face and couldn't help but smile: "I only need you, the court will certainly give me some face."

  Min An's mood suddenly slumped, as if he had been hit by a mallet and then kicked into a stinky mud pit, leaving him unable to recover for a long time.

  Li Peinan grasped Min An's arm and smiled slightly at his pale face: "I'm easily satisfied, why not try to please me."

  Min An hung his head in despair, thinking that after going around in circles, he would still end up in the clutches of the young master, making all his previous ideas and plans seem like a blind man lighting a lamp for no reason.

  Li Peinan touched Mian An again: "If you don't want to please me, the method of 'playing with me in the palm of your hand' is also feasible."

  Min An couldn't say a word, and all the way he was frowning, thinking of a solution. Li Peinan had already said everything he wanted to say, so naturally he wouldn't disturb him, letting him hide in the corner of the car, struggling with his thoughts.

  The horse carriage went straight into the mansion, Li Peinan reached out to lift the window curtain and looked outside, then put down Min An's arm and whispered: "Father's carriage has also arrived, you go back to your room yourself, remember one thing, if anything happens, I will solve it, you are not allowed to listen to Father's words." Seeing Min An silently not responding, he patted Min An's head: "Trust me."

  Min An only knew that even if he believed Li Peinan, he couldn't shake off the idea of breaking free from his control, so whether or not he answered was unimportant. Li Peinan vaguely guessed what Min An was thinking and slightly relaxed his surveillance, helping him down from the car while supporting his injured arm.

  Li Jingzhuo, who was standing on the high building, clearly saw the movement in the courtyard. He let out a cold hum and strode into the house with his sleeves fluttering behind him. Li Peinan didn't need to raise his head to know that his father's face was dark. He slowly bathed, changed into his clothes, drank a cup of tea, and then walked into the study.

  Li Peinan appeared before Li Jingzhuo with a neat and radiant appearance. Li Jingzhuo indeed looked displeased, coldly saying: "In front of many subordinates, you still have to help him get off the car, it's simply without any rules!"

  Li Peinan walked up to the main seat and sat down, raising his eyes to ask: "Didn't Father King injure his hand?"

  Li Jingzhuo's eyebrows were already cold enough, and at this time, he heard Li Peinan suddenly say a sentence, his expression didn't fluctuate in the slightest. "Hurt him? I'm afraid of dirtying my hands."

  Li Peinan smiled slowly: "Since you're afraid of dirty hands, Father King can't drink this cup of tea."

  Li Jingzhuo put down the teacup in his hand with a cold face. Li Peinan said, "The osmanthus tea was brewed by him, and the snow spring water was boiled by him. I like them very much and can't bear to finish them in one go. If Father King looks down on it, he doesn't even need to sit in this position. Every place in this mansion has his mark. Father King can leave after finishing speaking, and it's convenient for him."

  Li Jingzhuo sat down calmly and sneered: "You're speaking up for him like this, aren't you afraid of ending up in an awkward situation?"

  Li Peinan replied: "I can judge people accurately, I'm much better than Father King."

  Li Jingzhuo's face turned iron-green: "You just knew he would definitely stand on your side?"

  "I strive for myself, and he will naturally follow."

  Li Jingzhuo sneered silently, understanding his son's temperament and Min An's actions were within his plan. He inquired of the attendant who had returned to the mansion a step ahead, and the attendant said that Young Master was still speaking on behalf of his family's elder, showing that Min An was still under his coercion.

  Li Jingzhuo did not expect Li Peinan's persistence. If he continued to force his way, it might have caused the predetermined events to deviate. Li Jingzhuo thought carefully and decided to calm down in front of Li Peinan for the time being, without confronting Min An so obviously.

  Li Jingzhuo still didn't grasp Li Peinan's reaction, as early as several hours ago, Li Peinan had sent a secret letter to his trusted friends in the palace, calling on him to secretly take out Wu Ren's case file and destroy it, thus cutting off the threat to the king. Not only that, but Li Peinan also dispatched a team of guards to search for news of the mysterious sequence at Wu Ren's side, while also protecting Wu Ren, eliminating any further trouble from arising later on.

  Li Jingzhuo found out about Li Peinan's arrangement later, and by then it was already too late. He came today to discuss with Li Peinan the major and minor cases that had recently occurred in Chuzhou.

  Li Jingzhuo stationed in the county government office for one night, and dispatched personnel to carefully examine the case files, documents, and maps stored in the six departments, clarifying some matters. The two thousand guards stationed in Qingquan suburbs, occupying the mountain as king, cut off the imperial salt and iron camps' transportation, with the greatest loss being this route of Minzhou Zhujiashan's external dispatch. The military strategist hiding behind Peng Yinxin must be a person from Zhujiashan. The military strategist instructed Peng Yinxin to surround and suppress the Crown Prince's forces in the public hall, using those two thousand guards, showing that the military strategist used the "borrowed knife" tactic, which would benefit him regardless of which side won.

  The second thing is that Li Jingzhuo secretly met with Old Lady Ma early in the morning, comforted and persuaded her, and Old Lady Ma swore on the spot to persuade her son Ma Kaisheng to leave the Peng-Ma party camp and turn around to be a witness, exposing the entire Chu State corruption case.

  Old Lady Ma has set out for the outer mansion of her second son in Changping Prefecture.

  The third thing is that the investigation of Zhu Jiazhai's military teacher has been stuck in a stalemate. From Minzhou Zhu Jiazhai to Chu Zhou Qingquan County, you need to pass through 12 large and small checkpoints along the way. If the Zhu family passes the checkpoint, they must show their route certificate, and the patrolmen at the checkpoint and Li Peinan's sentry post will issue a household registration booklet for comparison, which can also be used to catch him relatively easily. However, in the past 20 days, the sentry posts have not reported any news that can prove that the Zhu family has passed the checkpoint and entered Qingquan County.

  Li Jingzhuo had his doubts: "The first two Zhu family members could be tracked down through the documents and routes of the lower officials, but the third one didn't leave any clues, it's as if he vanished into thin air. If this continues, it will be extremely disadvantageous to us."

  Li Peinan bowed his head to examine the various gazettes brought by his father, thought for a moment, and finally picked out a method that the Zhu family could use to deceive. "He must have changed his name, Father can investigate which people suddenly appeared in Qingquan County within these twenty days, and investigate one by one, surely some clues will be found."

  Li Jingzhuo hastily summoned his attendants and guards to distribute the tasks. In the following half day and night, hundreds of runners were dispatched to compare the household registration books with the residents of each household, one by one checking those who had returned to the county town this month.

  After finishing the official business, Li Jingzhuo mentioned private matters. He asked Li Peinan to take good care of Xiao Zhiqin and not let her get hurt while trying to capture the pheasant, nor suffer from cold treatment afterwards. Li Peinan only responded with a hum, without continuing the conversation.

  Li Jingzhuo saw Li Peinan's reaction and said coldly, "You are indifferent to the truth by an inch, you will inevitably have to pay it back to Min An by a point."

  Li Peinan silently watched his father for a long time, seeing that his cold and stern face did not soften in the slightest. Suddenly, he said: "Father, your current suppression of me is no different from when my uncle forced you to marry twenty years ago."

  What you don't want done to yourself, don't do to others. Li Peinan never spoke grandly, but what he said, Li Jingzhuo understood.

  Li Jingzhuo sneered, "How could there be no distinction? When I married your mother, I was a commoner with no hope of entering the imperial court. Now that you have received a noble title and land, you have grand ambitions, and compared to my situation back then, who knows how much more prosperous and powerful you will become! If I don't seize this opportunity to overthrow you now, should I still expect it from your next generation?"

  Li Peinan replied calmly: "The king still has a second son who can be cultivated."

  "What about him?" Li Jingzhuo sneered, "With or without him, it's all the same."

  Li Peinan asked: "Why?"

  Li Jingzhuo remained silent and expressionless.

  "Because Queen Wang did not receive the Emperor's favor, can't even clothes gain the Emperor's recognition?"

  Li Jingzhuo took a sip of tea before responding, "Don't bother justifying the actions of our predecessors!"

  Li Peinan knocked on the armrest of his chair: "I only laugh at Father King's foolishness." His father king did not look at him, nor did he answer. He continued to finish what he had to say: "Father King was obsessed with Mother Queen and did not end well. I saw Father King's spirit injured since childhood, so I vowed that I must not follow in Father King's footsteps. The biggest difference between me and Father King is that I can protect the people I love."

  Li Jingzhuo slammed the teacup onto the table and shouted, "Nowadays, sons can mock their fathers, it's simply upside down!"

  Li Peinan sat up and raised his hand, saying: "Your Majesty, please calm down, there are still attendants outside the door, don't lose your dignity."

  Li Jingzhuo snorted and lifted the hem of his robe, then sat back down in his seat. Li Peinan looked at him and said: "At present, Father is not letting up on his harsh words, so he must be thinking about how to deal with Min An again. Apart from this matter being able to get Father hooked, I really can't think of anything else that would make Father move in the past ten days. Father has said that he will help me ascend to the throne, but there is still no movement. The Empress Qi Lian in the palace has been frequently summoning Father, and she must have already developed feelings for him. Why doesn't Father just follow her wishes and take another concubine?"

  What Li Peinan said was not a rumor, but how could Li Jingzhuo let his son control it so clearly and mock himself? He followed the etiquette to meet the Empress in the palace, sometimes had to send some gifts to appease her in order to calm down the disputes between different factions, and got her consent relatively smoothly, making his policies implemented quickly. If he went through the old way of discussing with high officials from three provinces, it would often take a whole ten days to reach a unified opinion.

  Li Jingzhuo tried twice to win over the empress dowager and achieved double the effect, after which he followed this old example. Whenever something came up, he would first present precious gifts to the inner palace and receive a response within half a day. He asked himself if his actions were blameless and worthy of his deceased wife's spirit, but he couldn't guard against his son turning this into a romantic fantasy and directly throwing it in front of him.

  Li Jingzhuo suddenly stood up again, and Li Peinan said coldly: "The king's reaction is so great, it can be seen that he has not forgotten his mother, and he must also understand the taste of forcing someone to his side."

  Li Jingzhuo was repeatedly ridiculed and could no longer maintain his dignity, so he grabbed the teacup on the table and threw it at Li Peinan: "You unfilial son dare to treat your father like this, do you believe that I will strip you of your title right now?"

  Li Peinan raised his hand to steady the teacup, placing it on the table. The hot water splashed onto his hand, but he didn't mind. "Everything I have is earned with my own hands. Even if Father Emperor takes it away, I can still get it back. On the other hand, Father Emperor's handling of state and family affairs is a mess, and after all these years, there's still no improvement. This shows that Father Emperor needs to worry about himself."

  Li Jingzhuo's sleeves were shaking with rage, and if there was a sword in front of him, he would definitely draw it out to strike Li Peinan. For years, Li Peinan had yielded to his father the king, even avoiding him by going to the western border; now, for the sake of his own heart's desire, he could not help but resist a little.

  He changed into casual clothes and stood outside the door, listening to the movements in the study. His brother's words were all taken in, despite not being very approving of Li Peinan's methods, he couldn't help but think a good word for him in his heart.

  In the study, Li Peinan stood up and stared at his father, not caring about his father's furious anger. "If Father forces me to let go of Min An again, I will definitely find a way to get the Empress Dowager to come after Father."

  This move is indeed vicious and effective against Wang Ye. Li Peinan will stop at nothing to get things done, so we need to be extra cautious in the future.

  Li Jingzhuo gazed coldly at Li Peinan, and in his eyebrows and eyes, he faintly found the spirit of his late wife. In the end, he extinguished his anger and silently sat down in the chair, his face ashen to the extreme. After many years, he still couldn't forget Xiao Bing's expression when she spoke coldly and indifferently, her slender eyebrows slightly raised, her eyes gazing at something behind him, not looking at him, but making him remember her disdainful appearance. At this moment, Li Peinan's reaction was exactly the same as hers.

  Li Jingzhuo said with a smile: "How could I be looked down upon by two people in a row?"

  Li Peinan said: "If Father Wang takes a step back, I will naturally be able to show respect to Father Wang."

  Fei Yi heard the commotion in the study and walked in, also greeting Li Jingzhuo. Li Jingzhuo's old wounds were reopened, and he still felt a bit downhearted, sitting silently as he received two bows without saying a word.

  Li Peinan called the attendant to prepare tea and went to invite Xiao Zhongqing to accompany him, first leaving the study. Fei Yu and his father, Wang, had nothing to say to each other anyway. Seeing Li Peinan leave, he followed immediately after. The two of them moved to a quiet room on the second floor to talk, and Li Peinan instructed first: "When I'm stabilizing Father Wang, you must take care of Min An and not let him suffer any losses."

  Unable to get what he wanted, he hastily agreed. Li Peinan followed with a warning: "Min An, you must be careful, don't try to manipulate things behind my back."

  Fei cleverly shifted the attention: "The young master is wrong, Min An has already liked someone else." As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Li Peinan, who was known for his swift and decisive actions, standing still in front of the table, with his pen hovering in mid-air, unable to write a single word, as if frozen by some divine power.

  Li Peinan took a moment to clear his mind and connect the dots, then looked up and asked: "Xuan Xu?"

  He nodded slightly.

  "Min An stays in the Hanguan to practice martial arts every day, how can he suddenly like another man?" The key is that man named Xuan Xu, who has never appeared in the Hanguan before. Li Peinan asked himself, if he had been keeping such a close eye on Min An, how could he have let him develop feelings for someone else?

  Fei Yi smiled faintly: "You'd better ask Young Master Shi yourself, after all, I've been away from the Shi Manor for a while."

  Li Peinan put down his brush, and the ink stained a large area of Xuan paper. As he watched the ink spreading on the snow-white paper, his thoughts also began to wander, almost out of control.

  Fei Yi told Li Peinan about the information he had gathered on Xuan Xu, whose original name was Zhu Si, a scholar who had recently returned from his travels and had a wealthy family. It wasn't until a moment later that Li Peinan replayed Fei Yi's words in his mind, clarifying a thread: "You're saying that Xuan Xu has only just returned to the county town?"

  It's not a trivial matter. Li Peinan said coldly: "This person's return is somewhat strange, and we must investigate thoroughly once again."

  Fei Yi Da said: "It's not suitable to put it in the government office for trial, it's better to take it to the Crown Prince's mansion."

  Li Peinan glanced at Fei Yi: "Why don't I catch him and you interrogate?"

  Fei Yi raised his hand and gave Li Peinan a respectful salute, saying lightly: "Such a serious crime, how can I, an idle person outside, intervene? If you want to interrogate, the young master can be harsher, I fully support the young master's decision."

  Li Peinan sneered: "You're just making a good calculation, inciting Min An to hate me."

  Fei Yi added with even more courtesy: "If the Young Master is unwilling, I will naturally take over. Although I don't have the Young Master's methods, there are still one or two ways to make Xuanshu strip off his disguise and speak the truth."

  Li Peinan said calmly: "It's not your turn to interfere with Min'an's private affairs."

  Fei Yi raised his hand slightly: "This is even better, let's leave it to the Crown Prince then."

  Li Peinan called out to Fei Nian who was about to leave: "If something happens later on, you'll also have to bear some of the blame."

  "Good."

  The two of them stood there exchanging information, from birth to this moment, for the first time reaching a consensus: deal with Xuan Xu, protect Min An, and temporarily set aside the matter of their father king injuring Min An's left shoulder.

  Xiao Zhiqing, who was summoned by Li Peinan, had just woken up from the military doctor's hands and had to tidy up her clothes to accompany King Chu Nan. She went upstairs, washed her hands with incense, brewed a new pot of tea for Li Jingzhuo, and chatted with him.

  Li Peinan took advantage of the opportunity and sent Lijun to invite a theater troupe, then walked into Min'an's bamboo house.

  Author's note: I'll be returning to my mom's place from the 6th to the 8th for a family celebration, so updates are not guaranteed. Please don't wait for updates, and apologize for any inconvenience caused, bowing in respect.

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  Thank you, breathesky2007, Rong Yaya, Qizi, Zhu Erduo 2, Wo Shi Meimei 4, Yu Guo Tian Qing 5, chris7blue, Mo Qing 2, Xiao Piao, and H de Dilei (*^__^*)l3l4