"Pei Lie, the matter is settled, your opposition is invalid," Wang Youyou said.
Pei Lie knew this was his father's warning. He gritted his teeth and looked at the ministers, all of whom were full of anger but dared not speak.
It seemed that today's events could not be undone.
"Father, I hope you don't regret it," he did not believe that Pei Xi was as detached from power as he appeared on the surface.
He was probably hiding it deeply!
Wang Yan said with certainty, "I won't."
The two elders looked at Pei Lie with some guilt. Elder Sun advised, "This is your father's wish for the Fourth Prince, you should fulfill it for him."
"Is it really to fulfill Father's wish?"
Pei Lie questioned coldly.
The faces of the two elders stiffened.
Pei Lie snorted coldly, "You know yourselves why you agreed. I'm not exposing it to save you both face."
Elder Sun was enraged, "Pei Lie, how dare you speak to us like that?"
"No matter what, we are elders!" Elder Wu rebuked.
"Oh really?" Pei Lie sneered, "Disrespectful elders, I naturally don't need to respect the old and love the young. Others may not know, but I do!"
He took a step forward, forcing the two old men to retreat. He lowered his voice and said something that made both of them change their expressions.
"You're just afraid of death."
After speaking, he ignored their expressions and turned to leave with large strides.
Elder Sun trembled with anger, "Rebellious, rebellious, this brat!"
Elder Wu was silent for a moment, and then spoke with some helplessness, "But he's not wrong. We were forced by circumstances and had to compromise."
Both of them had also participated in the three-day sea trip.
The banquet was still ongoing, but for Pei Lie, it was no longer important. He left the royal palace without going home and went to the dungeon.
The heavily guarded dungeon was like a non-existent place to him.
"Shen Qingqing."
Shen Qingqing was startled and looked up. Seeing Pei Lie's gloomy expression, she couldn't help but ask, "Who has upset you?"
"The royal palace is holding a banquet and officially lists Pei Xi as the Fourth Prince."
Shen Qingqing smiled, a feeling of "as expected." "I knew it. Now, all his actions have a purpose."
She paused after speaking, as if she had just realized something.
"Pei Xi? Is that his new name?"
Pei Lie frowned, "You don't seem surprised at all?"
He had thought this news would be a bolt from the blue for them. He had been upset at the banquet and wanted to see their shocked expressions.
But he failed again.
"You knew his identity long ago?"
"Not exactly." Shen Qingqing hugged her knees, sitting next to Fu Jingshu, "I'm not a fortune-teller."
"Then how did you know?"
"Of course, he told me himself."
As soon as she said this, Pei Lie's face changed instantly. Seeing her relaxed demeanor, he was so angry he almost laughed.
"Are you crazy?"
Shen Qingqing raised an eyebrow, "I think you coming to prison to ask if I'm crazy means you're the one who's crazy."
Did he come here deliberately to scold her?
Pei Lie took a deep breath and said, "He told you everything, which means he doesn't intend to let you leave alive. Do I need to remind you of this?"
Of course not.
Shen Qingqing's face showed no fear or surprise, "I know."
"Then why aren't you panicking?!" Pei Lie couldn't understand. Was there really someone in this world who wasn't afraid of death?
Shen Qingqing retorted, "Then what should I do? Cry, make a scene, hang myself?"
She even looked up at the ceiling. There was no beam, so she couldn't hang herself. If she really wanted to die, she would have to take poison...
Seeing her seriously contemplating, Pei Lie was speechless, "You're not actually thinking about how to commit suicide, are you?"
Shen Qingqing naturally wouldn't admit she was spacing out, "No."
Pei Lie shook his head helplessly, but it wasn't the time to dwell on this. He forcibly brought the conversation back on track, "I'll ask you one question, do you want to leave?"
"Do you have a way?"
"Yes."
Shen Qingqing asked instead of answering, "If we leave, what about Pei Ji?"
"I have my ways."
Shen Qingqing touched her chin and guessed, "Let me guess, you plan to cooperate with Pei Xi and have him produce the antidote?"
Pei Lie froze, remaining silent.
Shen Qingqing became more certain of her guess, "And as leverage, you will use your team to help him ascend the throne."
Fu Jingshu suddenly said, "With Pei Xi's ruthlessness, the first thing he'll do after ascending the throne is to eliminate your three brothers."
"He can't," Pei Lie's calm tone hid a hint of dominance, "I will protect my two younger brothers. This is the only condition for me to support him in ascending the throne. If he dares to lay a hand on Pei Ji and Pei Xing, I can help him ascend, and I can also pull him down."
What a domineering statement!
But Shen Qingqing shook her head, "Perhaps the one who can't do it is you. What if the other party demands that the additional condition for you to support him in ascending the throne is to hand over the command of your army?"
Pei Lie had considered this possibility, but he would never agree to it.
"You will agree," Shen Qingqing seemed to see through his thoughts, "As long as you want to save Pei Ji and protect Pei Xing, you will definitely agree."
This was Pei Lie's undeniable weakness.
Pei Lie said with a stiff face, "Even so, I have my ways."
"I can help you."
"No need."
In Pei Lie's opinion, both Shen and Fu were in trouble themselves, and they wanted to help him? He glanced at the time and made a decisive decision, "You have one minute to consider. Tomorrow, I will arrange everything and take you out of here, out of H country."
"Here comes another one..."
Shen Qingqing murmured.
Pei Lie didn't hear clearly, "What?"
"Nothing."
Pei Lie glanced at her and continued, "You can rest assured, I am the eldest prince, and something like what happened with Zhao Qian won't happen. If I say I'll send you away, it will definitely succeed."
"But if you make a big fuss, you'll be discovered."
Pei Lie's lips curved into a sarcastic smile, "No, the banquet will continue tomorrow. Father wants to summon all the aristocratic families of H country to introduce Pei Xi to them."
Shen Qingqing clicked her tongue, "Such a grand gesture, it shows how much your father dotes on him."
Pei Lie just smiled sarcastically.
The few of them had grown up by their father's side, but they were not as favored as a later illegitimate son. He didn't want to dwell on this, so he shook his head, "Regardless, Shen, I don't want you to die here."
"Why?" Shen Qingqing felt their relationship with the eldest prince wasn't that good.
Pei Lie said gravely, "Pei Ji told me that on the island, it was you who saved his life."
"Right, have you interrogated Carter?" Shen Qingqing suddenly remembered this person.
"Interrogated, he's tight-lipped," Pei Lie had too many things to deal with recently and no time to deal with him. If he really pressed him, Carter would tell the truth.
"Then interrogate him again," she implied.
Pei Lie wasn't stupid. He just wasn't good at scheming, but his mind was just as sharp. He quickly grasped a terrifying speculation.
"You're not suggesting that Carter was instigated by Pei Xi, are you?"
"You seem very surprised?" Shen Qingqing didn't understand, "You know how ruthless he is. It's not surprising that he would act against Pei Ji, is it?"