Chapter Forty-Two: Making a Move

Pei Zhao was also well aware of the gravity of the situation. Not daring to talk back, he still stubbornly maintained, "The Fengyu Firm was established by me and a few of my brothers."

"Who? Whose households do they belong to?" Pei Fei demanded.

"I cannot betray my brothers."

"Very well, see if I don't break your legs."

After quite a while, Pei Fei gave Pei Zhao a severe beating, though he stopped short of breaking his legs—he was, after all, his own biological son.

And Pei Zhao proved to be fiercely loyal; no matter how hard he was beaten, he refused to reveal who the other brothers were.

Assuming they must be scions of other Duke households, Pei Fei did not press further. Asking was useless anyway; the matter had long since moved past the point of the Fengyu Firm.

Pei Fei summoned his eldest son, Pei Xuan, the Heir of the Duke of Ningguo, along with his bruised and swollen second son, Pei Zhao, to formally deliberate on the matter.

"Father," Pei Xuan said, "things have reached this point. Whether Second Brother's actions were right or wrong no longer matters. He Chong'an walked out of the Zheng residence, personally escorted to the door by Zheng Bangcheng, and they addressed each other as uncle and nephew. I hear the Zheng family has lent the He family one hundred thousand taels. The He family can no longer turn back."

Pei Fei cast a cold glance at Pei Zhao and said, "If one hundred thousand taels could buy the He family back, I would disburse the silver right this instant. You unfilial wretch."

"How was I supposed to know? How could the He family dare?" Pei Zhao retorted.

A man like Pei Zhao only knew how to bully others by abusing his family's influence.

Most factions, unwilling to offend the Duke of Ningguo's estate over a minor sum of money, would simply back down. This led Pei Zhao to the delusional conclusion that here in the capital, he, Second Master Pei, was omnipotent.

In reality, however, the Marquis of Wuning's estate refused to back down, directly escalating the conflict.

This was no longer just about money.

It was a political clash between the old and new nobility, leaving Pei Zhao completely out of his depth. He had no idea what to do.

He could only resort to stubborn defiance.

"Shut your mouth," Pei Fei snapped. He then turned to Pei Xuan: "Xuan'er, what do you think we should do?"

As the heir, Pei Xuan was different from Pei Zhao. Having topped the imperial academy since childhood, he had served as an imperial bodyguard before being transferred to the Imperial Guard. If everything went smoothly, decades later, he would occupy Pei Fei's current position.

Therefore, he was never a stranger to political maneuvering.

"Since the He family cannot turn back, we must crush them completely," Pei Xuan stated. "On one hand, we strike at the Marquis of Wuning. I hear the Marquis's days in Xihai are far from easy; we shall make them even harder."

"That is easily done," said Duke Ningguo Pei Fei. "I will issue the orders right now. Starting today, all logistics and supplies for Xihai will be subjected to the strictest scrutiny."

The Bureau of Military Affairs held command over all military forces across the realm. The logistics of garrisons everywhere fell under its jurisdiction. Admittedly, given the vast expanse of the empire, the Bureau could not manage every minute detail, yet major expenditures required its review and formal approval, as well as that of the Ministry of War.

With a single word of strict scrutiny from the Duke of Ningguo, the Xihai garrison—already struggling—was destined to be denied its logistical supplies on time.

"On the other hand, we must question Second Brother," Pei Xuan continued. "Have him lay out the details clearly so we can see if there are any aspects we can exploit."

"Second Brother, speak," Pei Fei commanded.

Pei Zhao muttered under his breath, "Didn't you just tell me to shut my mouth?"

"Hmph!" Pei Fei let out a cold snort.

Instantly terrified of spouting further nonsense, Pei Zhao laid out the entire sequence of events between himself and He Chong'an from beginning to end.

Pei Xuan immediately made his decision. "Then we shall use the case of Pei Zhixiao. Have Pei Zhixiao's family lodge a complaint at the Shuntian Prefecture office. A sixth-rank military officer murdered in broad daylight outside the capital—such an occurrence is shocking. It is a major, grave case that must be handled with the utmost strictness and severity."

"This is a bad idea. How can we report such a matter to the magistrates?" Pei Zhao immediately objected.

As mentioned earlier, most noble families, and even most scholar-official families, had always considered it a point of honor never to set foot in a yamen.

There were two interpretations for this. On the positive side, it meant there were no lawbreakers in the household. Alternatively, it meant that when problems arose, the family could handle them internally without troubling the authorities to meddle in their affairs.

"Can this possibly be the same?" Pei Fei felt a throbbing in his temples. There was only one title of the Duke of Ningguo, which was why he had somewhat spoiled the second son, letting him do as he pleased. He had never imagined, however, that over the years, his second son would turn out like this—ignorant of everything.

"You think this is still one of those petty messes you usually stir up? This is a political struggle."

"This is only the beginning. The He family is merely a pawn."

"No matter the means, the He family must die," Pei Fei said with a ferocious expression.

The course of action was thus settled.

As Pei Xuan and Pei Zhao stepped out of the study, Pei Xuan asked, "Second brother, there are no outsiders here. Tell me the truth—who really owns the Fengyu Firm?"

"It's mine. Even though others have a stake in it, I hold the controlling share, otherwise I wouldn't have stuck my neck out for it," Pei Zhao replied with absolute finality.

Which was, in a way, the truth as well.

Because the master behind Hu Tu, upon realizing the situation had blown out of proportion, had immediately sent Hu Tu to deliver the deed of all the Fengyu Firm's assets to Pei Zhao.

The message was that he had never expected the matter to escalate so severely, implicating his brother, and requested this modest gift serve as an apology.

The entire Fengyu Firm possessed assets worth hundreds of thousands of taels; if the coal briquette business could be entirely monopolized, it would scale to over a million.

For the sake of this wealth, Pei Zhao would never betray his brothers.

Pei Zhao believed that no matter how the situation developed, he had already struck it rich.

He simply had no idea how high a price the Pei family would ultimately pay for this affair.

Pei Xuan stared at Pei Zhao for a long time, as if seeking confirmation, before finally nodding and dropping the subject.

******

Wang Jianzhi, the Magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture, had attained his *jinshi* degree in the thirty-fifth year of Jiacheng. It had taken him over a decade of grinding hardship to reach the post of Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate.

Yet sitting in this position, he found things even more difficult.

Case in point: the moment the drum outside sounded, he had no choice but to ascend the judgment hall to hear a case.

Upon taking the plaint and glancing at it, his head buzzed with a loud *hum*, and he nearly broke out into curses.

"An Imperial Guard officer is dead. Why come to Shuntian Prefecture? Go to the Bureau of Military Affairs!"

He instantly wanted to kick this troublesome burden away.

Yet before he could even transfer the case to the Bureau, an official dispatch from the Bureau arrived.

*To the Magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture:*
*Lieutenant of the Sixth Rank Pei Zhixiao has long been renowned in the camp for his steadfast dedication to duty and incorruptible integrity. Urgent reports from the Capital Garrison this month indicate that Pei Zhixiao was assassinated and killed in the western suburbs of the capital. The capital region is the exemplar of the realm; for such violent felons to openly slaughter a state official is an outright contempt for imperial law and a provocation against the court’s foundations, which absolutely cannot be tolerated. Within ten days, the suspects must be apprehended. If no substantive breakthrough is made within ten days, this Bureau shall thoroughly investigate your yamen for dereliction of duty. You are ordered to swiftly capture the true culprits and vindicate the innocent to pacify the minds of officials and deter the unruly. Should there be the slightest error, this Bureau will show no leniency.*

Wang Jianzhi felt his head ache even more.

After all, as the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture, while he might not know the intricate details of matters within the capital, he had heard enough. He was well aware of the feud between the Duke of Ningguo's estate and the Marquis of Wuning's estate.

This was clearly a power struggle among the nobility—why drag him into it?

He was just about to pass it upward to the Ministry of Punishments or the Court of Judicial Review—any department would do—when, before he could even finish drafting the official document, directives from all the ministries arrived in succession.