Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 798 - 749: Alliance, Hidden Guard

The three brothers of the Li Family all looked at Prime Minister Pei, their expressions ambiguous.

Prime Minister Pei acknowledged his loss, his face puffed with anger as he lightly coughed to hide his embarrassment.

Seeing an opportunity, Prince Luling clasped his hands towards Prime Minister Pei, "I wonder, dear in-law, for what reason have you summoned our family?"

The words "dear in-law" were clearly an attempt to draw closer.

Prime Minister Pei, having found a way to step down, spoke seriously, "Indeed, as the palace undergoes turmoil with the Emperor’s unexplained death, I have always suspected a conspiracy lies within. However, I have been struck down by a stroke, making travel difficult. I could only invite you, Prince, to assist. Though you have no title, your status remains free."

Li Xingmao said, "Prime Minister, the Emperor had issued a decree forbidding our family from returning to the Capital on our own accord. How are we considered free?"

Li Xingsheng chuckled, "Does the Minister perhaps have a way to restore our freedom?"

Li Xing’an squinted slightly, "If the Prime Minister has something to say, speak plainly. There’s no time for riddles at this hour."

Prince Luling also remarked, "The Prime Minister should speak freely."

Prime Minister Pei responded, "Naturally, there is a way. The Emperor was your nephew, Prince, and by bloodline, you are closer to the Emperor than the current Regent King, Prince Xiangyang. With the Emperor’s passing, as a member of the Imperial Family, you should return to mourn the Emperor. I will submit a report to express your intentions, and wouldn’t that allow you to openly return to the Capital? Then, your family can come and go as you please, with no one daring to question or stop you!"

Prime Minister Pei previously opposed the presence of the Li family in the Capital due to Prince Luling’s high prestige; aside from the late Emperor Li Can, no one dared to stand on equal footing with Prince Luling.

Prince Luling was constantly at odds with the Pei Mansion.

After Li Can banished Prince Luling, Prime Minister Pei enjoyed a few peaceful days.

But the good times were short-lived.

The Yu Wen family quickly overshadowed the Pei Mansion, becoming favored by Li Can.

If Prince Luling was a cunning fox, then the Yu Wen family was a wolf, biting whoever it came across.

In the court, the Yu Wen father and son aimed to dominate everything, leaving no room for others to speak.

After many years as Prime Minister, when had Pei ever suffered such an indignity?

In a fit of rage, he fell ill.

Now that Li Can is dead, with the muddle-headed Empress Dowager, the Capital is teetering on the brink of upheaval. For the sake of the Pei family, Prime Minister Pei shamelessly made amends with the Li family.

In such a situation, it was only the Li brothers who could straighten out the chaotic court management.

Li Xingmao and his brothers anticipated that the Prime Minister would have such an idea.

Their expressions were not overly surprised.

Prince Luling felt the same, "Oh? If that is the case, it’s not impossible. I will rest at the Wei Mansion, awaiting the good news from the Minister."

.

Prime Minister Pei was efficient in his actions.

That evening, at the first hour, the Luling Prince and his sons, staying at the Wei House, received the Empress Dowager’s decree, delivered from the Pei Mansion.

The decree stated that the Empress Dowager permitted Prince Luling to return to the Capital to mourn Li Can.

This decree should have been sent to Zhen An Prefecture.

But as the Li family was already in the Capital, Prime Minister Pei had it delivered to the Wei House.

Prince Luling glanced at the imperial edict, then set it aside.

He flicked his sleeve, smiling at the Wei family and his three sons, "Well now, from this day forth, our family can come and go openly."

The Wei family was overjoyed. Being able to return to the Capital openly, does it mean that the Li family might soon be restored to their status?

.

As Prime Minister Pei obtained the Empress Dowager’s decree and headed to the Wei Mansion, a group of horseback riders holding a Special Pardon Token hurriedly left the South City Gate, headed towards Zhen An Prefecture overnight.

In the Yu Wen family’s study, Yu Wenbo stood in front of a map of the Zhao Country, squinting at the area of Zhen An Prefecture.

He sneered, "This time, we absolutely cannot allow Prince Luling and his sons to return to the Capital!"

Yu Wen Zan, standing beside him, said, "Father, there’s something peculiar that strikes me."

"What is it?"

"Isn’t it strange how calm the people sent to Zhen An Prefecture have been? The messages sent to us have become fewer and lately none have come for three months."

Yu Wenbo sneered, "Messages or not, it doesn’t matter. In a few days, the Li family will be forever buried in Zhen An Prefecture!"

Yu Wen Zan furrowed his brows, focusing on the position of Zhen An Prefecture on the map, deep in thought.

.

The ten assassins dispatched by the Yu Wen family encountered an ambush on a forest road twenty miles from the Capital.

A man with his face covered by a black cloth stood with a sword in the middle of the road.

Without a word, he charged at the assassins from the Yu Wen family.

"Who are you?" The ten assassins found the roadblock strange.

Judging by this man’s fighting style, they had never met before.

Yet the masked man remained silent, focused solely on attacking the ten men.

This angered the ten assassins, "Everyone, attack! We can’t let him block our way and delay our time!"

The ten attacked the masked man with lethal intent.

But the man was not flustered.

His swordsmanship was both fast and fierce, and his movements were extremely agile.

Not a single one of the ten men was his match.

In less than half an hour, all ten men had fallen to the ground, unable to rise.

The masked man discarded his sword, dusted off his sleeves, and walked towards the horse tied in the woods, riding off in the direction of the Capital.

The evening wind blew coolly, and soon a light drizzle began to fall, soaking his hair and washing away the smell of blood on him.

.

The Emperor had passed away, and the Imperial Palace was filled with solemnity.

The place where Li Can’s spirit was kept was not in Tianming Palace, but in a slightly smaller palace near the Empress Palace.

Tianming Palace was now occupied by the new Emperor.

However, according to ancestral custom, the new Emperor could only officially ascend the throne on the first day of the New Year.

The era name and title would also be decided at that time; for now, Li Can was referred to as the late Emperor, and the two-year-old new Emperor as the current Emperor.

Li Yuzhu and Li Yuwen had been trapped in the palace for almost a month.

The paint in the Empress Palace was toxic, so they accompanied Empress Cui to move to a smaller palace courtyard.

Mu Yuanxiu and Pei Shenyan were also detained, as they were outsiders and could not move freely within the palace. The Empress Dowager ordered them to be confined in a corner building, used specifically for detaining offending eunuchs.

Fortunately, the two were only detained and not treated as criminals, allowing them to move freely up and down the two-story corner building.

But it was still akin to imprisonment, save for the ability to switch rooms.

The building had three rooms on each floor.

The two had nothing to do, so they took turns moving between the six rooms, becoming intimately familiar with each brick in the walls.

Fortunately, there was no one watching them, so although not free, they lived in peace.

Empress Cui worried that the two might become melancholic from confinement and sent them some books, writing tools, and a chess set, along with a guqin, flute, and pipa for their amusement.

Before marrying Li Yuwen, Pei Shenyan had always been weak and sickly, unable to run or jump, and never practiced horseback riding.

He would stay indoors all day, occupied with books, practicing calligraphy, or playing the qin.

From a young age, he developed a quiet temperament, content in a room with books, a writing set, and a qin for years.

But Mu Yuanxiu had grown up in the countryside.

He was the kind to venture out regardless of wind or heavy rain.

Pei Shenyan sympathized with and worried for him.

However, after being confined together for a few days, Pei Shenyan discovered that Mu Yuanxiu was not as he had imagined; he too was patient.

Moreover, Mu Yuanxiu knew no less than Pei Shenyan.

From discussing ancient and modern times to playing music and games, he excelled in everything.

Pei Shenyan was overjoyed, finding a kindred spirit, constantly engaging Mu Yuanxiu in discussions, chess, or musical duets.

Thus their days passed without monotony.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed.

One day, a strong wind began to blow starting from morning.

The weather turned cool.

Pei Shenyan said that playing chess on a cold night was a torment for the fingers, so he retired early and urged Mu Yuanxiu to sleep early as well.

Mu Yuanxiu, sitting under the lamp, turned two pages of a book. After seeing Pei Shenyan fall asleep, he extinguished the lamp.

But he did not sleep; instead, he went to the window on the second floor, broke two of the horizontal bars on the window, and jumped out through it.

Below was the palace’s moat.

A small boat was docked in the river.

When Mu Yuanxiu jumped down, he landed precisely on the boat.

He took the small oar in the boat and rowed towards the opposite bank.

In the darkness, there was no one in that place.

Mu Yuanxiu climbed ashore and walked into the market ahead.

He found a horse and rode towards the South City Gate.

.

The next morning, Pei Shenyan woke naturally and, upon turning over, saw Mu Yuanxiu descending the stairs with half-wet hair.

Pei Shenyan sat up, puzzled, "Yuanxiu, you are up early. Huh, why is your hair wet? Did you wash your hair early in the morning?"

Mu Yuanxiu touched his rain-soaked hair and smiled slightly, "I wet my hair while washing my face."

"Oh... ah, how did your clothes get torn? They were fine last night. Where did you snag them?" Pei Shenyan pointed at Mu Yuanxiu’s sleeve.

On the light green sleeve were two neatly cut slashes, and upon closer inspection, they were stained with traces of blood.