The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 193 Private Interrogation

Li Huaijiang has done a good job in the first step; placing Zhou Chengye with Li Jiangui is better than placing him anywhere else.

And if he's lucky, Li Jiangui might even be able to get some information out of him.

After Zhou Chengye was taken away, the atmosphere inside the hall became much more lively.

Zhao Yu asked Li Jing in a low voice, "What about Zhou Chengye?"

Li Jing knew he couldn't kill Zhou Chengye, since Zhou Chengye had something on him that he wouldn't easily reveal.

Pei Du watched the whole thing, and then he heard Li Jiangui call his name.

This was his first public appearance as General Dingguo, and Pei Du stood up and said a few polite words.

Pei Mingjian's face was dark and gloomy as he waited for Pei Du to slip up. Han Yueru and Pei Xingzhi were also waiting.

But Pei Du didn't mention going back to the Pei family until he sat down, and Li Jiangui didn't bring it up either.

Seeing the Pei family members, Li Jiangui remembered his promise to Pei Du regarding Pei Du's mother's divorce.

Pei Du and Li Jiangui exchanged glances, seemingly understanding, and gently shook their heads.

There's no need to talk about this now.

Few people noticed their eyes meeting, so Li Jiangui decided to leave that aside for now.

Pei Du's welcome banquet was indeed attended by a large number of people. Shen Hanyu looked around and noticed a few unfamiliar faces, so she paid more attention to them.

Princess Yongning is willing to stay here today because the Empress Dowager is not here.

As the situation gradually stabilized, Empress Wang stood up and left under some pretext. Li Huaijiang watched Empress Wang's retreating figure and most likely knew what she was going to do.

Zhou Chengye had just been taken out, and before he could be imprisoned at the Dali Temple, he was taken away by Empress Wang's men.

"Who gave you permission to murder the princess?"

Zhou Chengye was somewhat surprised to see that it was Empress Wang.

"It was my greed that made me greedy, no one else."

Empress Wang sneered: "Everyone in the hall just now knew the truth, but they didn't say it outright. They were just greedy for money. Why would they use that deadly medicine?"

Zhou Chengye explained, "My medical skills are not good enough. I didn't know that it would cause physical depletion. I only understood it later."

Seeing that Zhou Chengye was still trying to argue, Empress Wang felt a surge of anger, but she held back.

"No one lives a life without flaws. If someone is really behind you, they must have something on you, such as what you did wrong, or your family."

As he spoke, Zhou Chengye's eyes flickered slightly.

Empress Wang saw the flaw in Zhou Chengye's eyes.

"The power I wield is no less than that of those who are loyal to me. If you have any requests, you might as well tell me the truth, and I may be able to help you."

If it really is Li Jing, then Empress Wang's words are not presumptuous.

Empress Wang didn't want it to be Li Jing. Li Jing had always been a good boy all these years, and she wouldn't have suspected anything if it weren't for what happened today.

Zhou Chengye wavered, but he still didn't dare.

"Mother, what are you doing?"

When Li Huaijiang appeared, she had been listening for a while. If Zhou Chengye was really that easy to confess, she wouldn't have bothered handing him over to Li Jiangui.

Upon seeing Li Huaijiang, Empress Wang rose to her feet.

"Why are you here?"

Li Huaijiang glanced at Zhou Chengye: "Mother, let's send this man to the Dali Temple first. He won't tell the truth, and if he stays here, he'll probably cause a lot of trouble."

Empress Wang looked at Li Huaijiang, "Huaijiang, do you know something?"

Li Huaijiang shook her head: "I don't know, I only know that this person wants to harm me."

She ordered people to continue escorting Zhou Chengye over, and Li Huaijiang did not tell the truth to Empress Wang's questions.

Empress Wang sighed: "If you had told me, I would have definitely helped you."

"I do not need."

Li Huaijiang turned and left. Li Jiangui had not yet suspected Li Jing. If Empress Wang got involved, things would really get chaotic. It was not the right time yet.

Li Huaijiang went out and came back, and Li Jing kept a close eye on her.

When Li Huaijiang arrived at Shen Hanyu's side, she said, "This welcome banquet was very well organized."

Shen Hanyu said in a low voice, "It's all so sudden, and we don't have any solid evidence to bring someone down. What does Your Highness plan to do next?"

Li Huaijiang held up his wine cup and said, "The best role Zhou Chengye can play is to first expose Li Jing's hypocrisy, but if Zhou Chengye keeps his mouth shut, it will be a bit troublesome."

"Your Highness should have interrogated him before arresting him, wouldn't you say?"

“Li Jing has something on him that I can’t tell him, and I’m still looking for it.”

Shen Hanyu nodded. This time it wasn't so sudden after all. It was Li Jing who felt it was sudden, as Li Jing's emotions had been quite volatile today.

Li Huaijiang's eyes drooped. So much time had passed since this incident, and it would take a lot of effort to bring down Li Jing now, but as long as the injustice could be redressed, it would all be worth it.

Shen Hanyu pondered that Lin Qiufeng was no longer of any use, leaving only what Shen Yanzhi had left behind.

"Is there anyone who knows Lizhou well?"

Shen Hanyu thought that if someone knew about it, they might be able to glean something from those few lines of text.

"How could anyone from Lizhou survive? Even the man you brought back from the border, though important, failed to access the crucial information about Lizhou."

After Li Huaijiang finished speaking, he still offered a few words of comfort to Shen Hanyu.

"Don't worry, everything will go smoothly after Yu Qi passes the palace examination."

If Yu Qi enters the court as an official and is favored by the emperor as she was in her previous life, it would indeed be a good thing for them.

"Your Highness is right."

Li Huaijiang and Shen Hanyu chatted for a few words before returning to their seats. Meanwhile, at the banquet, Pei Xingzhi walked towards Pei Du.

When Pei Du saw him, his expression turned cold, even though he had been talking to Xu Zhun.

"How have you been lately, brother?"

"You might as well just say it directly; I'm too lazy to listen to beating around the bush."

Pei Xingzhi sat down. "It's been so long. Doesn't my brother have anything to say to us? I wonder if my brother would like to go back to the Pei family for a visit?"

Pei Du suddenly smiled: "I said before that I would go back after removing you from the Pei family genealogy. Now it seems that the Duke still loves you very much."

Pei Xingzhi knew about this matter, and the clan elders came over at that time, but they couldn't persuade Pei Mingjian.

"Does my brother really want to come back?"

Pei Xingzhi was observing Pei Du's attitude.

“If you don’t want me to come back, then I definitely have to go back and see.”

Xu Zhun burst out laughing. This Pei Du, he just likes to step on people's wounds. He knows exactly what Pei Xingzhi is afraid of, but he still insists on saying it.

“Now that I have an official position and the Yu family backing me, who can stop me from going back? Pei Xingzhi, I’ve been away for almost a year, and you’re still no match for me. You don’t even have the ability to compete with me. Do you still have to rely on your mother crying to get what you want?”

Pei Xingzhi's expression changed, and he watched with great interest.

Pei Du would naturally not hold back when faced with someone who had tried to kill him time and time again, but it was also true that Pei Xingzhi was useless.

Pei Mingjian still hasn't managed to get Pei Xingzhi into the imperial court; Pei Du has taken the lead.