Du Yanting was rendered speechless by him. He could only clench his fists and silently stare at him.
Lin Wei smiled. Just then, Emperor Chengqian stepped in to smooth things over. "Dear ministers, this is Minister Pei's family matter. Since he has already dealt with it, let's just let it go and not mention it anymore."
Lin Wei had deliberately brought up Pei Zhiyan's wife, Princess Nanyang, Liu Qingman, who was Emperor Chengqian's own sister. Naturally, Emperor Chengqian was pleased.
He gently glossed over the matter of the Du family's partisans impeaching Pei Zhiyan. As for the matter of Du Lingxuan's filial piety that Lin Wei had mentioned, Pei Zhiyan had already punished her, so there was no need to bring it up again.
After the court session, everyone had their own thoughts.
Pei Zhiyan walked down the steps of the main hall. After passing through the vermilion archway, Lin Wei caught up with him from behind. "Minister Pei, please wait."
Pei Zhiyan turned his head to look at Lin Wei and bowed to him. "Greetings, Lord Marquis."
"Are you going back to your mansion, Minister Pei?" Lin Wei asked him with a smile. But Pei Zhiyan replied, "There are still cases at the Supreme Court. I'll go there directly."
Lin Wei nodded and walked out with him. When there was no one else around, he said casually, "I heard that Minister Pei has taken another beautiful concubine. She must be a gentle and charming girl. Otherwise, she wouldn't have won Minister Pei's favor."
Pei Zhiyan's eyes flickered slightly, but his face remained calm. "She's very good."
Lin Wei's expression paused for a moment, but he still smiled. "Now that there are new people in Minister Pei's inner courtyard and you're always busy with official duties, you may not be able to take good care of them."
Pei Zhiyan lowered his eyes and pursed his lips slightly. He knew what Lin Wei was going to say. Sure enough, Lin Wei continued, "Why not choose a mistress to take care of the inner courtyard for you? Then you can focus on your work at the Supreme Court."
Now that Du Lingxuan had just been punished for her moral failure, the position of mistress would surely not fall to her. Song Ruotang had no family background. Lin Wei must have already investigated her and didn't think she could be the mistress. So, it seemed that the only candidate was Lin Yun.
But Pei Zhiyan shook his head and sighed. "Lord Marquis knows that I have a son, Pei Yu, in my family. He won't come of age for another year. I once promised the elders in the clan that I would wait until his coming - of - age ceremony to consider my own affairs. Otherwise, I would have no face to face his parents..."
Back then, the remnants of the previous dynasty resented Pei Zhiyan's father for sealing their underground bank. Taking advantage of the full - moon banquet for Pei Yu held by his parents, they rushed into the courtyard and massacred the entire Pei clan.
This included Pei Zhiyan's own parents. At that time, Pei Zhiyan, only seven years old, witnessed his parents fall in front of him with his own eyes. He wanted to rush forward, but was held back by Pei Yu's mother, who hid him in a half - filled lotus vat.
It was summer at that time. The lush lotus leaves covered Pei Zhiyan's thin figure, which was why the assassins didn't notice him.
Pei Yu's father had already been beheaded while covering their hiding place.
The scene was still vivid in Pei Zhiyan's mind. The assassins were coming very fast. He was huddled in the vat, only showing a pair of eyes as he watched Pei Yu's mother. When he saw that she was about to leave, he grabbed her sleeve. "There's still room to hide here..."
The little boy tried his best to shrink his body, eager to prove that he could make room for her. But how could two people hide in a vat half - filled with muddy water?
She just turned back and smiled. Looking at the one - month - old Pei Yu in Pei Zhiyan's arms, she said softly, "I'll leave Yu'er to you..."
After saying that, she hurriedly ran away in another direction, leading the assassins who had just arrived away.
After this incident, Emperor Chengqian was deeply pained by the tragic extermination of the Pei clan. He personally conferred the title of Marquis Zhenguo on Pei Zhiyan's father, Pei Heng, and the title could be hereditary. This was also to reward and protect the surviving Pei Zhiyan.
He could inherit the title and live a carefree life as a leisurely marquis for the rest of his life. Moreover, he had no family background left, only him and Pei Yu. The others were collateral branches, and the emperor wouldn't be wary of him.
But Pei Zhiyan managed to enter the Supreme Court through his own efforts and overcame all difficulties to become the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Pei Yu didn't want to come to the Supreme Court. Pei Zhiyan always remembered the kindness of Pei Yu's parents to him, so he wanted to give the title to him. That's why he recognized him as his son. Pei Yu was originally waiting to be a marquis.
But Pei Zhiyan didn't want Pei Yu to be criticized for having nothing to show for in the future, so he arranged for him to go to the Supreme Court so that he could keep an eye on him.
He just didn't expect that Pei Yu was too careless in his work, which gave him a bit of a headache...
Seeing that Pei Zhiyan had brought up the old account from nineteen years ago, Lin Wei didn't know what else to say. He couldn't force Pei Zhiyan to be an ungrateful person just for the position of mistress. It was just a year, and the Lin family could wait.
So he just sighed. "Minister Pei has been like a father since he was a teenager. It's really not easy."
He understood Pei Zhiyan. As a father himself, he naturally knew how difficult it was to raise a child. He still had a wife, but Pei Zhiyan was just a child at that time.
Pei Zhiyan didn't say a word. Lin Wei chatted with him about some other things and then left. After Lin Wei had gone far away, Pei Zhiyan turned into a side gate and left the palace through another path.
As he stepped out of the thick palace wall, a gentle breeze happened to blow over, seemingly carrying the breath of the melting snow in early spring, which made people feel refreshed.
Pei Zhiyan didn't go around to the front to find his own carriage. Instead, he walked on the street on foot. Now that the weather was getting warmer, there were more people on the street.
They had just finished the court session. The vendors selling steamed buns and buns had just set up their stalls. The white steam enveloped the vendors' faces, and the smell of various breakfasts wafted through the street.
Pei Zhiyan stopped in front of a bun stall. The vendor couldn't see him clearly through the steam and just smiled. "Sir, what kind of buns would you like?"
Pei Zhiyan thought for a while. The vendor enthusiastically listed the flavors of his buns. Finally, he chose two beef - filled buns.
When the vendor wrapped up the buns and handed them to him, he noticed that Pei Zhiyan was wearing a maroon official robe. He suddenly felt a bit weak in the knees. "I didn't know it was you, sir. I was rude just now..."
Pei Zhiyan waved his hand. "It's okay. You don't need to be so polite."
He was in a good mood. Holding the buns, he strolled around a few more stalls. Finally, an old woman called out to him. "Sir, buy a hairpin for your wife at home."
Pei Zhiyan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a bamboo basket in front of her. There were some wooden hairpins and hairpins in it. They were not precious things, but the craftsmanship was very delicate.
Pei Zhiyan stopped and carefully examined these wooden hairpins. He picked out a black wooden hairpin that was polished to a shiny finish. Just then, the morning light shone on the hairpin, and it seemed to have a faint red glow.
This hairpin was carved in the shape of a bunch of begonia flowers. The body of the hairpin gradually turned red towards the flowers, and then the color gradually faded towards the tip of the hairpin. At the top begonia bud, it was already milky white, like a snowflake floating on a delicate begonia flower. It was very delicate and unique.