Fu Li had told Pei Zhaolin everything that had happened in the Fengyi Palace just now in detail.
When the Black Armored Army presented the portrait of the young disciple of Master Chaojuzi to Pei Zhaolin, the moment he saw it, his mind went blank for an instant.
He thought he was seeing things and repeatedly rubbed his finger over the spot of the small mole.
Apart from the overwhelming shock and confusion, a faint sense of grievance welled up in him.
The deputy general beside him was still reporting, "This woman never showed herself after she became Master Chaojuzi's disciple. This portrait was drawn according to the description of a mountain villager who carried stones. According to her age, she should be Master Chaojuzi's young disciple."
"Calculating her age, it matches Miss Cui's..."
— "Let me go!"
Zhu San realized that their young lady's identity might have been exposed by him, and without hesitation, he threw out all the silver needles in his hand!
The silver light traced tens of thousands of cold lines in everyone's sight, weaving into a seamless net from top to bottom.
Before the tips of the needles reached, the strong wind had already cut people's faces painfully.
Pei Zhaolin remained calm and waved his sleeve to deflect all the silver needles.
The silver needles all fell to the ground. Zhu San turned around and tried to escape, but was stopped by the quick - reacting deputy general and Fu Li.
Zhu San frowned tightly and directly threatened, "The imperial concubine is waiting for me!"
"Without my permission, no one can take away Doctor Chousan."
Pei Zhaolin stood there, still holding the scroll between his fingers.
The faint red mole on the neck seemed to be branded on his heart.
Pei Zhaolin put away the scroll, and behind him came Zhu San's angry shouts.
By now, what else didn't he understand?
Pei Zhaolin let out a low laugh, a laugh uglier than crying.
It turned out that from the very beginning, she had deceived him with just one sentence "homeless".
In the end, she was actually the head of the Qinghe Cui Clan?
A daughter of a noble family, a young disciple of Master Chaojuzi, and also had a fake identity, Jiang Wu?
Pei Zhaolin suddenly clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
The anger of being deceived and the grievance of being kept in the dark were all pent up in his chest.
It was as if being crushed by a huge boulder, and even his heartbeat became dull.
But when the anger burned to its extreme, a scene suddenly flashed through Pei Zhaolin's mind.
In the Cui Clan Academy, he had angrily grabbed her by the neck and only let go when she was on the verge of death.
In the prison, he had wanted to kill Jiang Wu several times.
Just a little bit, just a tiny bit...
Pei Zhaolin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his eyes were blood - shot and terrifying.
Anger, confusion, grievance, and fear all mixed together, intertwining into a sour pain in his chest.
Pei Zhaolin stared intently at the person in the scroll.
"Tangtang..."
"You've hidden things from me so painfully."
—
Jinsheng Mansion.
Before Cui Jintang even pushed open the door, she felt that the atmosphere in the courtyard was not right.
Even the guards who were constantly patrolling around were nowhere to be seen.
She pushed hard, and the door creaked open.
At a glance, she saw A Xun kneeling on the gravel path in the courtyard.
Standing in front of A Xun was someone Cui Jintang never wanted to see in her life.
The man's hair and beard were all white, but his eyebrows and eyes were as sharp as an old sword. The corners of his mouth, which were always tightly pursed, had two deep grooves.
After seeing who it was, he snorted through his nose before speaking. His voice was full of energy, "Cui Jintang, you've got a lot of nerve!"
Cui Jintang rolled her eyes in annoyance.
She quickly stepped forward, helped A Xun up from the ground, and replied indifferently, "Why does the Great Elder have the time to come to the capital?"
The Great Elder tapped his walking stick on the ground, making a thumping sound.
He scowled and didn't look happy at all. "You still have the nerve to ask me? I'm going to ask you, why did you remove Cui Zhu from the list of candidates for the imperial consort?"
"Does the Great Elder really not know?"
Cui Jintang glared at him sideways. "Letting Cui Zhu, with that face, go for the draft. Is the Great Elder afraid that the emperor won't know your intentions?"
She sneered. "If you're so eager to whisper in the emperor's ear, why don't you do it yourself?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the Great Elder immediately raised his hand and swung it towards her face. "Presumptuous! Who gave you permission to talk to your elders like this!"
"Slap!"
Cui Jintang couldn't dodge in time and took the slap head - on.
The red handprint made A Xun burst into tears.
Facing the Great Elder, A Xun was extremely frightened. She trembled and stood in front of Cui Jintang, glaring at him in an attempt to intimidate him.
Cui Jintang closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath.
The Great Elder flung his sleeve and began to lecture, "Do you really think everyone is stupid and only you are smart?
"Are you the only one who can see that Cui Zhu looks similar to the current imperial concubine? Can't others see it? If our Cui Clan doesn't do this, how can we make the emperor trust our Cui Clan?
"You are the head of the Cui Clan now. Everything should be for the prosperity of the Cui Clan!"
The Great Elder frowned. "Your father even sent you to Zhujin Mountain to be a disciple of Master Chaojuzi. Can't you even see such a simple thing? I had to come here in person!"
After saying that, the Great Elder sat down on a stone bench beside him.
He had spoken too quickly just now, so he took a couple of breaths to catch his breath. "Let's forget about Cui Zhu's matter for now. I heard that the top two students in this autumn's academy have not yet become disciples of others. Among them, there's a young man from the Chu family who has a marriage contract with you..."
"I've already discussed canceling the marriage with him!"
Before the Great Elder could finish speaking, Cui Jintang interrupted him anxiously. "Great Elder, don't interfere in this matter!"
The Great Elder's reaction was rather calm, but his eyes were bulging extremely. "I've met that young man. I'm very satisfied with him, and I've already sent people to Yihe to find the rest of his family.
"Chu Yingfeng is also willing to marry into the Cui Clan. In the future, after he becomes an official in the court, he will first seek official positions for the disciples of the Cui Clan."
Cui Jintang felt suffocated. "Does the Great Elder regard me as a tradable item?"
The Great Elder turned his head away and said righteously, "I'm doing this for the good of the Cui Clan! Besides, that young man has good character and a steady personality. It was also the marriage arranged by your father before he died. What are you dissatisfied with?"
Cui Jintang closed her eyes and let out a cold laugh. She shook her head, then pulled A Xun and turned around.
Zhu Er met her gaze and immediately drew out his long knife.
The Great Elder scowled and glared. "What, do you want to kill me now?"
Cui Jintang stood at the courtyard gate and said indifferently, "Zhu Er, send the Great Elder back to Qinghe unharmed. From now on, anyone who leaves Qinghe without my order..."
"Kill."
The Great Elder shook his head and said, "You're still just a hot - headed child."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless men wearing the totem of the elephant bird and holding swords emerged from all around.
Cui Jintang frowned.
Then she heard the Great Elder say calmly, "I've brought three thousand guards with me on this trip."
Cui Jintang immediately turned around, her whole body trembling.
She was furious. "If the emperor finds out, we'll all die!"
—
In the imperial study.
The emperor watched coldly as the secret letter was slowly burned to ashes.
There was a killing intent in his eyes.
The Great Elder of the Cui Clan not only brought troops into the capital but also secretly met many scholars and officials.
Was this... a rebellion?