The main hall of the Pei Mansion was brightly lit.
Pei Shaoqing sat in the seat of honor, watching the middle-aged couple he had seen from afar during the day arrive together. They walked with hurried steps, the beautiful middle-aged woman's ample chest rising and falling with her gait, jiggling precariously.
As soon as they entered, the two bowed in unison. "Gongsun Yi of the Bazhou Iron Sword Sect, along with my humble wife, pays his respects to Lord Pei!"
"Sect Leader Gongsun, you have some nerve. Your beloved disciples attempted to assassinate me, an act tantamount to rebellion, yet you dare to show up at my door? What, are you planning to use your Martial Arts Cultivation to force me to release them?" Pei Shaoqing said, his face cold.
"This lowly one wouldn't dare!" Gongsun Yi adopted an extremely humble posture, keeping his head and back bowed. He spoke with the utmost respect, "A son's misdeeds are the father's fault. My wife and I raised them both. Though I am their master in name, I am a father in practice. For these wayward disciples to offend you, my Lord, is a result of my poor discipline. I am also to blame, and have thus come to your door to apologize and accept punishment."
"Hmph!" Pei Shaoqing slammed the table in anger, leaping to his feet and pointing at him. "Don't you dare think I'll let them go just because of this! Never in my entire life has this Young Master had a blade put to him, my life hanging by a thread!"
"My Lord, please calm your anger!" Gongsun Yi raised his head and looked at him. "I must ask that you first dismiss your attendants."
At this moment, Sun Youliang was the only one by Pei Shaoqing's side.
He waved a hand dismissively. "No need. This is my trusted confidant. Speak freely."
Sun Youliang's face immediately showed a look of being deeply moved.
Gongsun Yi took a deep breath, staring at Pei Shaoqing's face as he spoke slowly. "My wayward disciples have made a grave mistake, and I know they deserve to be punished. But as their master and father, I cannot simply watch them die. I am willing to offer you, Young Master, a piece of information about an Immortal Relic. I only ask that you spare their lives in exchange."
Beside him, Liu Yuheng pressed her red lips together. She knew just how much pain and psychological pressure her husband was under to say those words. This was supposed to have been his chance to revitalize the Iron Sword Sect, and now it had all come to nothing.
At the same time, however, she was gratified. She had never been wrong about him. Even if her Senior Brother sometimes acted against his conscience for the sake of the Iron Sword Sect, he was still the same loyal, passionate, and living, breathing man.
Sun Youliang's head snapped up to look at Pei Shaoqing.
Pei Shaoqing was also surprised. He hadn't expected Gongsun Yi to confess this to him just to save his disciples.
Gongsun Yi, who had been watching Pei Shaoqing's expression closely, saw this and thought, 'Just as I expected. Lan'Er already told him.' Amidst his disappointment, he also felt immensely fortunate.
Exchanging this information for his disciples' lives was an act of desperation, but it was also based on the assumption that Zhao Zilan, who had never suffered hardship and was naive to the ways of the world, might have already spilled the beans for any number of reasons after being thrown into the Jing'an Guard's prison.
He was lucky he did. Otherwise, not only would his beloved disciples have died, but the Iron Sword Sect would also be in grave danger. He had always assumed the worst of those in power.
At the same time, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness. Even as a dignified master of the Wandering Dragon Realm, facing a Young Master of the Marquis's Mansion like Pei Shaoqing, he could only hand over the treasure.
But having been harmed by power, he also came to fully realize its wonders. A certain understanding dawned on him. To revitalize the Sect, he couldn't rely on himself alone; he needed the support of the Court. If he could use this opportunity to get on Pei Shaoqing's good side, the situation might not be so bad after all.
Although Pei Shaoqing had been exiled for his mistakes, blood is thicker than water. How could his father truly ignore him forever?
Besides, if Pei Shaoqing hadn't "fallen" to Tongzhou, he wouldn't even have had the chance to curry favor.
"Willing to give up the location of an Immortal Relic just like that. Sect Leader Gongsun, your devotion to your disciples is truly moving," Pei Shaoqing remarked with a click of his tongue. But then his tone shifted abruptly. "I'll be honest with you. Your little disciple already confessed. She couldn't bear to see her Senior Brother suffer.
Just now, I was preparing to find Hundred Households Commander Zheng and, using tonight's assassination attempt as a pretext, charge your Iron Sword Sect with the crimes of defying Imperial Authority and murdering an official in an act of rebellion. Then I'd add the charge of harboring a co-conspirator to the Mo Mansion and offer to personally lead the troops to annihilate you.
I would have wiped you all out and taken the treasure for myself. But then you showed up at my door. This really puts me in a difficult position."
He wasn't just trying to scare them; he had genuinely been thinking that moments ago.
After all, if he wanted to keep the Immortal Relic for himself, he had to kill everyone from the Mo Family and the Iron Sword Sect who knew about it. Even if he couldn't kill them all, he had to brand them as rebels. That way, even if word got out, no one would believe a rebel's testimony.
Framing the Iron Sword Sect for rebellion and wiping them out simply because their disciples had offended him was extreme, but it fit Young Master Pei's persona of being ruthless, cruel, and arrogant. It wouldn't make Hundred Households Commander Zheng suspect his true motives.
But now, he had a better idea.
"Ah... You!" Liu Yuheng, who had been silent all this time, looked up in astonishment, her red lips agape. She stared at Pei Shaoqing, her face a mask of shock, fear, and disbelief.
'I never imagined someone so vicious could exist,' she thought.
Even though Gongsun Yi had been mentally prepared, hearing this still sent a cold sweat down his back. However, he knew that the fact Pei Shaoqing was admitting this meant he had already abandoned that plan. He also knew what Pei Shaoqing wanted to hear.
Thoughts of revitalizing his sect, saving his disciples, and achieving fame flashed through his mind. Finally, he gritted his teeth and knelt. "Please, my Lord, spare my Iron Sword Sect! This lowly one is willing to retrieve the Immortal Relic and present it to you with both hands. From now on, the Iron Sword Sect is at your command, ready to serve you through thick and thin, to go through fire and water for you!"
Seeing her once-proud Senior Brother now kneeling at the feet of a mere boy, Liu Yuheng was deeply shaken, but more than that, her heart ached for him. She knew he was doing all of this for Lan'Er and Yebai, and for the Iron Sword Sect.
And the Iron Sword Sect was what her father had left behind.
"Senior Brother!" she cried out, her voice full of pain.
Gongsun Yi gave her a slight shake of his head.
"Excellent! Sect Leader Gongsun, please, rise." Pei Shaoqing laughed heartily, strode forward, and personally helped him up. "Since Sect Leader Gongsun is willing to help me acquire the Immortal Relic, you'll be saving me a great deal of trouble. Mingde, you will be responsible for coordinating with Sect Leader Gongsun. Not a word of this can get out. I was observing the celestial phenomena just now, and it seems the Mo Mansion is due for a bloody disaster tonight."
He wasn't surprised by Gongsun Yi's choice. The fact that he had coveted the treasure of a friend's family, regardless of the reason, already proved he was no benevolent gentleman. At best, he was a hypocrite, just like him.
"As you command!" Sun Youliang replied with a sinister grin.
Gongsun Yi's scalp tingled. He naturally understood Pei Shaoqing's meaning: get the Immortal Relic, and kill everyone in the Mo Family who knew about it to silence them. And Sun Youliang was the man assigned to help (and watch) him do it.
This would serve as the Iron Sword Sect's pledge of allegiance.
He had no other choice. Besides, he'd probably had similar thoughts ever since he first set his sights on the Mo Family's Immortal Relic. Gritting his teeth, he answered, "This lowly one obeys."
"Go on, then. The day the Immortal Relic is in my hands is the day your two beloved disciples are released from prison. Rest assured, they won't suffer any more while they're in there," Pei Shaoqing said with a smile in his voice.
Gongsun Yi immediately took his leave with his wife.
Pei Shaoqing watched their departing figures and said with a calm smile, "I didn't expect this bonus."
Since he could get the Immortal Relic through Gongsun Yi without lifting a finger, he naturally wouldn't need to take the risk of making a big move himself.
Moreover, using the prestige of the Marquis's Mansion to bring a Jianghu sect under his thumb would be of great benefit to him in the future.
Now that he had an official position and a background, he didn't want to be stuck in Tongzhou for the rest of his life. He wanted to advance, to climb the ladder of success, to wield power over the Court and command the Jianghu!
To do that, he had to increase his own power and expand his influence.
"Congratulations, my Lord, on securing the Iron Sword Sect's allegiance!" Sun Youliang's gaze followed Pei Shaoqing's, landing on Liu Yuheng's full, shapely rear. He said with a lewd smile, "That Lady Gongsun has hips as wide as a millstone. I wonder if Sect Leader Gongsun can handle it. If not, perhaps he could ask you, my Lord, to take over for him."
"What nonsense are you spouting? That's enough. Go back and rest. Keep a close watch on Gongsun Yi," Pei Shaoqing said.
'He never made a move on his subordinates' women.'
'Unless the subordinate offered up his own wife or sister.'
"Yes, my Lord. This subordinate will take his leave."
...............
"Senior Brother, you were wronged just now." After leaving the Pei Mansion, Liu Yuheng comforted her husband, her face full of heartache.
"Sigh." Gongsun Yi shook his head slightly, holding his wife's small, lightly calloused hand. "As long as we can save Yebai and Lan'Er, that's all that matters. It's just... to do so, I must wrong Brother Mo. The guilt is eating me alive!"
Liu Yuheng couldn't bear it either. She opened her mouth to speak, but in the end, just nestled against his shoulder and said softly, "No matter what you do, Senior Brother, I will always support you."
"Junior Sister," Gongsun Yi said, his expression moved.
Liu Yuheng smiled gently, then pulled away from his shoulder and said with a serious expression, "But, Senior Brother, you must keep your distance from that Pei Shaoqing. The way he looked at me from afar today was lecherous. He is not a righteous person."
Gongsun Yi's expression stiffened. "Junior Sister, you must have been mistaken. What kind of woman can't Young Master Pei get? Of course, I'm not saying you're not beautiful, but you're already a married woman, and much older than him."
He sighed again. "Besides, we have no choice now. We can only hope to use Pei Shaoqing's power to revitalize the Iron Sword Sect. Otherwise, when I reach the underworld, how will I face our Master and his wife?"
"Then maybe I was mistaken." Liu Yuheng suppressed her feelings of being wronged and forced a smile. 'Senior Brother is already exhausted. I shouldn't add to his troubles,' she thought.
Gongsun Yi pursed his lips and gently patted the back of his beloved wife's hand.