The Xuanwu Emperor spent the night at the Changchun Pavilion. Having been drugged with such potent medicine earlier, after washing up, he fell asleep holding Jiang Xinyue in his arms.
While he slept soundly, Jiang Xinyue remained wide awake.
She waved her hand in front of the emperor's eyes, but his eyeballs showed no movement.
After placing a pillow in the emperor's embrace, she carefully climbed out of bed and put on her clothes.
Outside the room, Xiao Xiangzi and Shuang Jiang were waiting with lanterns lit. "Your Highness, everything is prepared."
Jiang Xinyue nodded and followed the two of them outside.
Meanwhile, the Xuanwu Emperor lying in the chamber had opened his eyes, which now gleamed with a cold light.
"Your Highness, if the Emperor finds out about this... wouldn't it be problematic?"
"What's there to worry about? Shuang Jiang, only you, Xiao Xiangzi, and I know about this. If neither of you tells the Emperor, how would he ever find out?"
The imperial villa was surrounded by woods and flower gardens. In the quiet night, the sounds of insects and frogs masked Jiang Xinyue's footsteps.
After walking for some time, Jiang Xinyue stopped outside a garden.
Unlike the imperial palace, the villa didn't have guards posted everywhere. This garden only had a few servants and household staff who would change shifts and rest when their time came.
Jiang Xinyue carefully lifted her skirts and, taking advantage of the moment when the drowsy guards were about to change shifts, snuck past their blind spot.
Tang Shiliang cautiously glanced at the emperor hiding in the shadows, at a loss for words.
This... the Imperial Consort was being too bold, daring to visit a man's quarters at night. The emperor's face had grown darker than the night itself.
May the heavens protect the Imperial Consort!
Jiang Xinyue had been inside for a while now, while the emperor stood behind the flower bushes outside, both angry and somewhat worried.
There were no guards at the garden entrance, and the gate keeper had already locked the door. That fool Jiang Xinyue would probably be trapped inside.
When Xiao Xiangzi saw the main gate being closed, he anxiously said, "Your Highness, we..."
"Shh!"
Minister Pei's furious voice came from inside: "You worthless creature! Didn't I tell you to behave yourself and not cause trouble here? Are you a pig? Or are you deaf? You show such disrespect to your grandfather – are you trying to cause chaos?"
"Father!" A soft, weak female voice rang out, "Shuo has just regained consciousness and is covered in wounds. Please let me examine his injuries first?"
"You dare to cry?"
"It's all because you raised such a troublesome child that I lost the important Qin Province. When my eldest daughter-in-law passed away, not even three years had passed before you wanted to marry this widow. The family opposed it, saying her birth chart was inauspicious. I only agreed because I couldn't bear to see him depressed and lovesick in his middle age. I thought if he married you, fulfilling his heart's desire, he would focus on his official career. Who knew that after marrying you, you'd keep him distracted in the back chambers all day, completely wasting all my plans for him. You harbinger of misfortune, I should really..."
"Grandfather!"
"*cough* *cough* *cough*..."
A young man's passionate voice rang out from the room: "It's all my fault, grandson's fault. Beat me or scold me as you wish, but mother is innocent. She only loved father, what's wrong with that? If father wanted to dote on her, how is that her fault? Why don't you scold father instead?"
"If it weren't for father agreeing to marry a noble lady of equal status back then, abandoning my mother, why would she have been forced to marry a penniless man while pregnant with me? Why would she have suffered abuse, insults, and beatings in that household? Mother kept quiet about the Pei family to protect me and preserve father's reputation. That penniless man was killed by father too, leaving my mother to live as a widow with me for so many years. Whose fault was all this? Grandfather should know better than anyone."
So Pei Zhishuo had such a tragic background!
According to his words, his mother and Minister Pei's son had been in love and privately pledged themselves to each other, but the Pei family looked down on his mother's background and arranged for his father to marry a noblewoman of equal status – Pei Wu's mother.
Later, when Pei Wu's mother died of illness, her father didn't even complete the three-year mourning period before marrying his former love as his second wife.
While Pei Wu's parents were living in harmony, Pei Zhishuo's mother was discovered to be pregnant and suffered mistreatment from her husband's family, even abuse.
When his father learned of his first love's situation, he plotted to kill Pei Zhishuo's nominal father, and then married this ill-fated true love less than three years after Pei Wu's mother's death.
But following this timeline, Pei Zhishuo wasn't actually Pei Wu's younger brother, but her elder brother.
The Pei family must have deliberately understated Pei Zhishuo's age to cover up this scandal, claiming to outsiders that his mother was just an old flame that the eldest young master of the Pei family had brought home after Pei Wu's mother died.
To save face for everyone involved, they changed Pei Zhishuo from an elder brother to a younger brother.
Minister Pei's son was indeed devoted in love, but Pei Wu's mother was innocent, spending her entire life bound to a man who didn't love her, wasting her youth.
Unlike modern times, this era didn't have gender equality or the option of divorce when marriage became unbearable.
The family that matched the Pei family's status was surely also of high nobility, and would never allow their daughter to become a divorced wife, let alone agree to a peaceful separation.
No wonder the Princess of Ruyang refused to let her son marry Pei Wu, despite their mutual affection.
If the scandals of the Pei family's main branch ever came to light, it would drag their prince's residence into becoming the subject of public ridicule as well.
Pei Zhishuo's dislike for young women must also stem from his family influence.
Though pitiful, Jiang Xinyue could never tolerate him setting his sights on her mother.
Even the pitiful can have detestable aspects.
Letting him off easily wouldn't teach him a lesson; he would still harbor inappropriate thoughts about Lady Ruan if he met her again.
Grandfather Pei, challenged by his grandson, was so angry his eyes rolled back, pointing at Pei Zhishuo but unable to speak, his body trembling with rage.
He gritted his teeth: "Fine! Very well!"
With those words, he stormed off.
Jiang Xinyue quickly signaled Xiao Xiangzi and Shuang Jiang to hide better.
Soon, the woman's crying inside stopped, and she too left shortly after.
Only after the oil lamp in the room was extinguished and the servants had left and closed the door did Jiang Xinyue wave her hand. Shuang Jiang quickly handed over the box she was holding: "Your Highness, are we really doing this? Won't there be consequences?"
"What consequences could there be? It's just to teach him a lesson."
Xiao Xiangzi used a small knife to pierce the window paper, cutting a hole large enough for the small box to fit through.
Jiang Xinyue opened the box and reached through the window.
