After leaving Yuchun Palace, Pei Qianxue did not go to Zhang Palace, but directly returned to Pei Mansion.
He had previously taken Xuan Cavalry to the north for disaster relief during the New Year, and the rest was postponed. Today was the last day. After today, he would have to resume court duties tomorrow. In addition, there was a lot of backlog of official duties.
The Prime Minister of the Great Yuan led all officials, with countless daily tasks. Coincidentally, it’s just after the New Year, and in just a few days, the pending matters have piled up like a mountain, and it’s headache-inducing to look at them.
But Pei Qianxue was very methodical in his work and never panics.
He was not a workaholic like Emperor Yuan, who didn’t take a break all year round and still issued orders on New Year’s Day.
One should know that disaster relief was a long journey, a journey through wind and snow. What’s wrong with adding a few more days to the rest time after rushing to deliver the supplies back and forth? Pei Qianxue would be happy to add half a month more.
If Zong Luo saw it, he would definitely praise it.
Work overtime when you should, rest when you should, never rest when you work overtime, and never work overtime when you rest. Reject useless overtime, reject 996, and daring to confront the slave owner, this was the model and example for workers. (TL: 996-refers to a working time system that “starts at 9 a.m., gets off work at 9 p.m., and works 6 days a week)
As for work, no matter how much, it had to be piled up to work on working days, and absolutely not touch it during rest.
After returning to the mansion, Pei Qianxue didn’t even look at those affairs that were transported over. He ordered the book boy to boil a pot of fragrant tea that was newly tributed from the Western Regions, and walked to the quiet room with his hands behind his back.
The furnishings in the quiet room were particularly elegant, mainly in tan color, and everywhere was filled with a quiet and elegant atmosphere. On the low table were various bottles and jars of fragrance products, and a five-stringed zither lay horizontally opposite the purple incense burner.
Everyone knew that the Prime Minister of the Great Yuan liked elegance, and he was proficient in all kinds of Qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, especially good at tonality.
The culture of burning incense in the Great Wilderness was even more long-standing. Nowadays, most of the nobles in various countries have the elegance of blending fragrances. After various spices were ground into powder and combined into the incense burner, different incense were burned on different occasions, all of which have clear rules.
In the past, Pei Qianxue had to burn incense and cleanse his hands before playing the zither.
But today Pei Qianxue did not blend fragrances.
He directly ordered the servants to take the prepared calming incense and light it, shook off his sleeves, sat in front of the five-stringed zither, closed his eyes for a moment, and then started to play the zither.
The melody was not very smooth, but rather brought some sluggish and low notes in the quiet room, wandering in the frost-beaten bamboo forest, sweeping up the rustling bamboo leaves, making the little boy waiting outside the door couldn’t help but look sideways.
People often say that one’s true feelings were naturally revealed through the zither.
On ordinary days, when Pei Daren played the zither, he mostly played some calm and slow tunes, like the lofty melody of mountains and rivers. But today was slightly different, as if a thousand words and feelings have nowhere to be expressed, adding complexity to his sorrow and melancholy.
The reason for this, only Pei Qianxue himself knew.
His heart was not at peace.
It’s clearly still winter, and the biting cold wind blew past the bamboo in front of the Pei Mansion.
A few days ago, some frost had fallen, coating the bamboo leaves and joints with a layer of shiny ice crystals, and also adorning the eaves.
When the wind blew, the eaves dripped water, but the bamboo forest remained still, only the sound of the wind hitting the papered windows could be heard, rustling.
Gradually, the sound of the zither began to rise, as if piercing the sky, and as if venting something. Then it slowly fell, repeating a passage over and over again, sounding mournful, and finally returning to silence.
When the song ended, Pei Qianxue still had his eyes closed, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
What is he running from? What is he afraid of?
At this time last year, when he heard the news of Jin Yu’s death, he was extremely grieved.
So when he learned that Jin Yu was back, he was so overjoyed that he wanted nothing else.
Unfortunately, people were greedy. Once they have something, they want more.
As a subject, Pei Qianxue was not unaware of what this meant.
Jin Yu was so highly favored by His Majesty that he was almost certainly the Crown Prince of the Great Yuan, who would inherit the foundation of the Great Yuan and become the new emperor.
His Majesty’s health had not been good these years, and perhaps after the Witchc Sacrificial Ceremony, he would start to transfer power to Jin Yu. Once he unified the world, he may even consider abdicating in the future.
And the person Pei Qianxue was loyal to would change from Emperor Yuan to his former close friend.
If he were just an idle prince, it would be fine, but as the heir to a dynasty, it was obviously not feasible to have no descendants.
No matter whether Jin Yu accepted it or not, knew it or not, as long as Pei Qianxue said it, it was an act of disloyalty.
Moreover, it was clear that Jin Yu’s feelings for him were clearly only friendship.
Playing the zither was originally intended to calm the mind, but the result was that the more he played, the more restless he became.
Everything was like a ball of wool, tangled and rolled into a ball, which couldn’t be sorted out or cut off.
Unable to think clearly, Pei Qianxue simply got up and left the quiet room.
The servants had already prepared everything for him.
After Pei Qianxue bathed and cleansed himself, he changed into a set of nightclothes and went straight back to his bedroom.
For some reason, after sitting in the quiet room for a while, he felt a bit sleepy.
Even though it was still early in the night, Pei Qianxue would usually read a book or finish a painting he hadn’t completed earlier at this time.
However, after taking a bath today, his eyes were as heavy as a thousand pounds. As soon as his back touched the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.
In a daze, Pei Qianxue seemed to be in a dark and cold palace.
Outside the palace, the wind and snow were heavy. Through the window lattice, he could vaguely see the raging snowstorm and a lonely figure kneeling in the snow.
The prince in white was kneeling in front of the palace, his exposed neck was frozen red, and the joints on the back of his hand were protruding, as beautiful as a fallen plum.
Looking from a distance, the falling snowflakes covered his entire back, almost freezing him into a snowman.
Jin Yu?!
Pei Qianxue was startled, just about to speak, but heard ‘himself’ say, “Your Majesty, the Third prince has been kneeling outside for a whole day.”
It was then that he noticed the hoarseness in his own voice and the action of kneeling on the ground.
The palace was still silent.
In the next second, something came smashing down from above, hitting Pei Qianxue’s forehead and rolling to the ground.
Spread out, it was a bright yellow imperial edict.
Pei Qianxue and ‘Pei Qianxue’ both instinctively looked up. When they saw the writing on it clearly, they were immediately stiff.
This was a clear death sentence, clear and concise, with all the details listed clearly, all of which were excuses for punishment, especially bestowing Zhanlu to commit suicide.
After a long time, a voice sounded, “All those who pleaded, Zhen did not let them see tomorrow’s sun. You are the only one who spoke up and pleaded, and still managed to save his life so far.”
