As soon as Zhao Zhongfang and the carriage carrying the young painter left, Han Kerang's expression changed.
He turned to his subordinate standing nearby, glanced at him up and down, and said coldly: "Follow me!" Then he strode to an empty place near the city gate and stood there.
Pei Xiaoyuan followed silently and stopped in front of him.
"What's wrong with you? Zhang Dunyi said that you falsely conveyed the imperial decree last night and took the painter away from him?" Han Kerang started by questioning, with an unprecedented harsh tone.
On the way back, when his thoughts slowly withdrew from the strong emotions that had run wild last night, Pei Xiaoyuan's mind regained its calmness. He knew that he had made a big mistake and was ready to face it.
It didn't matter to him. He said it and did it. The only thing that made him feel guilty was that his action might implicate his boss who had always been very considerate of him.
"Yes." He admitted, "I was indeed not thoughtful at the time. But the deed has been done, and I will go to Your Majesty to confess my guilt. Whatever the consequences are, they are all my fault. If Your Majesty takes your anger out on the general, I will explain it to Your Majesty. This is all my fault."
After hearing this, Han Kerang realized that this was actually true. He was so angry that he could not vent his anger. He was dumbfounded and just raised his hand and pointed at the Pei family opposite him.
"You, you, how could you be so confused!"
He was really angry, and even more so, he was disappointed with the man. If the man in front of him was his own son, he would have been slapped in the face by now.
He put his hands away, put them behind his back, and walked back and forth under the city wall.
"It's too late! Do you think you can bear the blame alone? Can you bear it? When you were having fun outside with that little painter, I was called by the emperor and scolded to death! I gave you three days off so that you could go to mourn Madam Cui, but you! You actually caused such a big mess for me!"
He walked back to Pei Xiaoyuan and lowered his voice, "I tell you, Chen Sida is just hoping that I will be in trouble. He keeps an eye on my little piece of land, and on you, every day! As soon as Prince Yuwen came back in the morning, his son-in-law went to the Yuwen family's memorial hall! Finally, he got lucky this time. The prince himself was not clean last night, so he should not say anything and send the man away in a huff. Otherwise, with his energy of wanting to eat your flesh alive, wouldn't he cover up for you after finally catching you? If he screams out, everyone in the South Courtyard will know that you, Pei Xiaoyuan, falsely conveyed the imperial edict in order to compete with him for a handsome painter. How do you want the saint to deal with you? Where do you want me to put my old face? I was the one who brought you from that remote place to the capital! You did such a thing to me. Even if I have a mouth all over my body, I can't avoid the crime of negligence!"
Pei Xiaoyuan listened to the scolding and reflected on his behavior last night. He was indeed too reckless. At that time, he was impulsive and did not consider any other consequences except the thought of taking the person away.
"The general is right! Xiao Yuan knows he was wrong! Not only did he implicate the general, he also failed to live up to the general's high expectations!"
Pei Xiaoyuan bowed solemnly to Han Kerang, stood up, and walked away.
"What are you doing? Where are you going?" Han Kerang shouted.
"I will go to the palace to apologize. I will take full responsibility for whatever happens!"