"Sir, the doorman came to report that someone is looking for you outside."
Zhao Wei paused as he lifted the lid of the cup and looked up at the boy who came to report: "Did you say who it was?"
"It is said that the handsome young man came here some time ago, but he was alone this time." said the servant.
"Just say I'm not here... wait, let him in." Zhao Wei put down the cup and sighed in his heart.
After the servant left, Zhao Wei stared at a certain place in a daze, with regret and guilt flashing across his face from time to time. After hearing the footsteps outside the door, everything immediately disappeared into thin air.
"Sir, are you here today to look for an old friend?" Zhao Wei looked at the young man in blue in front of him, and thought to himself, they look alike, but the one has a warm smile on his face all day long, as gentle and amiable as the spring breeze in March, while this one is also smiling, but his heart is like a sharp sword about to be unsheathed, which makes people afraid.
Pei Che said: "That's right. May I ask, Master Zhao, do you really not remember that old friend?"
Zhao Wei smiled bitterly: "Prince Pei, why do you have to ask again? If you believed me, you wouldn't come to my house again. The people who followed me these days were sent by you, right?"
Pei Che was shocked in his heart, but he remained calm on the surface: "I don't quite understand what Master Zhao said."
"Let's be frank," Zhao Wei didn't say much on this topic, and said directly, "I do know your father, but the late prince is so handsome, who in Liangjing doesn't know him?"
"Although there are many people in Liangjing who know my father, there are very few who would leave 500 taels of silver for the temple to perform rituals. Master Zhao, do you still remember Master Wuchen?"
After hearing this, Zhao Wei could no longer hide his surprise and asked, "Have you been to Tzu Chi Temple?"
"It's you!" Pei Che stared at him sternly. "Fortunately, God has mercy on me and doesn't want the truth to remain buried in the sea. When I returned to Beijing to report on my work, the official road ahead was flooded, so I changed my route and went up the mountain, and saw the Ciji Temple."
"No wonder there are rumors that you were drowned in the flood. Someone must have seen you, and you haven't returned to Liangjing yet." Zhao Wei muttered to himself. When he first heard about Pei Che's death, he couldn't tell what he felt in his heart. Only he knew that among these mixed feelings, there was also an emotion called relief. He denounced his own meanness, but he couldn't stop the spread of this emotion.
"You must be sorry that I didn't die, right? Because as long as I die, no one will investigate what happened back then." When he was young, he thought his parents' death was an accident, but later on, his grandmother's change made him feel that there must be another hidden story behind it.
At first, he suspected his second uncle and his friends, but later on, various proofs showed that it was not them. Then he suspected many other people, but in the end, he gave up because the incident happened so long ago and there was no evidence. Unexpectedly, he would pass by Tzu Chi Temple and get close to the truth by accident.
"I was indeed wrong about what happened back then. I do feel very sorry for what happened to your father and his wife, so I left some incense money to comfort their souls in heaven." Zhao Wei sighed. A single misstep could lead to eternal regret. The change in his mind back then had brought him a guilty conscience all these years.
Pei Che was furious when he heard him say this: "You admit that you killed my parents? Do you think that a few hundred taels of silver can redeem your sin? My parents have no grudges against you, why did you do this!" He wanted to ask something from Zhao Wei, but he didn't expect Zhao Wei to confess directly! He thought that Zhao Wei was just an insider.
Zhao Wei was a little surprised at Pei Che's rage. When he realized what Pei Che meant, he immediately explained, "Prince Pei, you misunderstood. I am not the murderer who killed the late prince."
"Then what did you mean by what you said before? If you didn't kill my parents, then who did it?" Pei Che glared at him.
"It's a long story, but I can guarantee that I didn't harm your parents."
Pei Che sneered, not really believing what he said. If he hadn't done anything, why would he need to atone for his sins
"What is your relationship with the virtuous concubine in the palace?" He suddenly changed the subject.
Zhao Wei was shocked and stood up suddenly: "What did you say?!"
"Prince Pei, please be careful with your words!" Zhao Wei's face changed completely. He looked around and found that there was no one around. He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I have nothing to do with the Empress Xianfei, so don't make random guesses to avoid damaging the Empress' reputation and causing the Emperor to be furious. Prince Pei, what good will that do you?" Zhao Wei threatened in a low voice.
"I didn't know you were so affectionate, Master Zhao. You don't have a wife or concubine yet, so I guess you're still thinking about the love you had back then, right?"
Zhao Wei was a little embarrassed: "I don't know how Prince Pei knew about that, but please don't continue talking about it. The past is gone like dust, there is no point in talking about it."
Pei Che looked at him and saw that he seemed to have aged a few years in an instant. He knew that he was just as he said and had not forgotten the love they had in those days.
It was by chance that he knew about this.
At that time, he found Zhao's mother's name from the Zhao family's household register, and then found the Li family based on this name. The Li family was originally a minor official. Lord Li married into the wealthy Zhao family and married his sister to Zhao Wei's father. When Zhao Wei was seven or eight years old, Master Zhao passed away, and Zhao's mother took Zhao Wei to live with her uncle, and then met the current concubine.
The two grew up together and spent every day together. When they grew up, Zhao Wei fell in love with his cousin. The Zhao family was rich, and although they had lost their head, Zhao Wei was smart since he was a child. When he grew up, he would take over the family business and it might be even bigger. After thinking about it, Zhao's mother mentioned this matter to her brother.
Lord Li felt sorry for his sister, an orphan and a widow, and thought that the Zhao family was wealthy and powerful, so he also had the idea of marrying into the Zhao family. He made a verbal engagement with Zhao's mother, and would propose marriage after Zhao Wei grew up and took over the business.
Not long after the Zhao family moved out, Lord Li was promoted for his advice. With his promotion, he had more contacts, and was surrounded by powerful families. Gradually, Mrs. Li became dissatisfied with the marriage.
Although the Zhao family was wealthy, wealth meant nothing in front of the powerful. Her daughter was both talented and pretty. Although she was not as good as the Feng family's daughter, it was not considered too high a marriage for her to marry into a wealthy family. How could she condescend to marry a merchant and become a merchant's wife
After she had this idea, she took her daughter to various banquets. By chance, Miss Li saw Pei Shijie, the prince of the then Duke Zhongguo. No one could compare to him in terms of wealth, status, character and appearance. At the first sight, Miss Li fell in love with him.
Unfortunately, before she could make any move, Pei Shijie and Feng Anxue became a couple and said that she was the only one in his life. Miss Li was secretly sad. At that time, someone introduced Mr. Li to the third prince. For the future of the family, Miss Li entered the third prince's mansion as a concubine. Later, Mr. Li was promoted again, and she also became a concubine.
Poor Zhao Wei was looking forward to marrying his cousin every day and worked hard to improve himself, but what he got was the news that his cousin was already a married woman.
Lord Li knew that he had let him down, so he prepared to marry his concubine's daughter to him. Zhao Wei disagreed, and the concubine's daughter secretly found a good match and married Pei Shiyuan, the concubine's son of the Duke Zhongguo.
The relationship between the Zhao family and the Li family gradually faded, but during festivals, Zhao Wei would still send a few truckloads of gifts to maintain the affection between uncle and nephew. But a few years ago, they fell out over a business deal and severed their relationship.
Pei Che heard these things from the elders of the Zhao and Li families. Because the Third Prince is now the ruler of the world, those who know these things are very secretive. If someone hadn't let the secret slip because of drinking, no one else would have known.
Ever since he figured out Zhao Wei's clue, Pei Che's mind has been filled with speculation. There are many people involved, and each of them is suspicious.
One is the Third Prince and Concubine Xian. When they were fighting for the throne, Pei Shijie was on good terms with the Fourth Prince. Wouldn’t they take action
The second is Pei Shiyuan and Aunt Pei. They are eyeing the position of the crown prince. As long as Pei Shijie is dealt with, the Duke Zhongguo's Mansion will be within their reach. Wouldn't they be tempted
Third, Zhao Wei seems to be so affectionate. What's wrong with him helping his cousin clear the obstacles
No matter how hard Ren Peiche thought about it, he couldn't figure it out. He finally decided to come and ask Zhao Wei, who was the only person who could confirm that he was at the scene of the incident.
(End of this chapter)