Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Chapter 111 Requesting an Imperial Decree to Return to the Capital

A few days later, Pei Wenyu received an imperial edict to return to the capital, and Lin Zifeng came out to see him off.

Lin Zifeng complained, "You brat, when did you request permission to return to the capital? You didn't even tell me."

Pei Wenyu didn't know what to say, so he could only helplessly say, "I'm leaving. Be careful here, and remember to watch your mouth and don't talk nonsense!"

"Also, remember to stay put during my absence and don't do anything you shouldn't!"

Lin Zifeng found these words inexplicable, feeling both helpless and somewhat amused: "Do you really take me for a child?"

"Alright, alright, be careful!"

Pei Wenyu nodded to indicate that he understood, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries, Pei Wenyu left.

Pei Wenyu rode at full speed and arrived in the capital three days later.

Upon entering the capital, Pei Wenyu immediately returned to the palace to report the situation to Xue Huaiyu.

Soon, he arrived at the door of the Imperial Study. The eunuch at the door saw that it was Pei Wenyu and let him in. As soon as Pei Wenyu entered, he stepped forward and respectfully bowed: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

When Xue Huaiyu saw Pei Wenyu arrive, he said calmly, "No need for formalities!"

The eunuchs and palace maids around him wisely withdrew, leaving only Xue Huaiyu and Pei Wenyu in the imperial study.

Xue Huaiyu then asked, "Is what you said in your letter true?"

Pei Wenyu also realized that the letter Xue Huaiyu mentioned was a letter Zheng Luoqi wrote to the emperor in her own name, and Xue Huaiyu knew the contents of the letter.

Pei Wenyu respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I dare not speak rashly."

"So you're saying the Wen family might assassinate Consort De on the day of the sacrificial ceremony? How do you know that?" Xue Huaiyu asked Pei Wenyu with a puzzled look.

"Your Majesty, to be honest, during my trip to Xuzhou, I also learned some things about the Wen family through Wen Yixuan. The Wen family actually harbors rebellious intentions. Wen Yixuan appears to have been sent by the Grand Commandant to monitor Zheng Luoqi, but in reality, he has other purposes." Pei Wenyu immediately knelt down and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect after speaking.

He continued, "According to my investigation, the Wen family planned to assassinate Consort De on the day of the sacrificial ceremony and then frame the Prime Minister. I also found out that Grand Commandant Wen was colluding with a Jianghu organization, and Wen Yixuan was the person in the Wen family who was in contact with the Jianghu organization. Sending him to Xuzhou was just to avoid the Emperor's eyes and ears."

"In fact, the Wen family has been using that organization to secretly cultivate a large number of concubines. By sending these concubines to the backyards of other important officials, they can easily gather information about those officials."

"If the Grand Commandant were to obtain information about those ministers, wouldn't all those ministers be forced to side with the Grand Commandant's faction? The consequences would be unimaginable. That's why I wanted to return to the capital immediately and personally inform the Emperor of this matter."

Xue Huaiyu frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "In that case, have you found out the exact location of that organization?"

Pei Wenyu raised his head and replied solemnly, "Liangzhou!"

Xue Huaiyu's face darkened as he analyzed the situation. The prefect of Liangzhou was a man of Grand Commandant Wen, and Liangzhou was close to the border. Grand Commandant Wen had been in charge of military affairs in the Great Xia Kingdom for many years. Since he harbored rebellious intentions, he must have also raised a private army, and it was no less than that of Prince Gong. Grand Commandant Wen had been on the battlefield, and the only military officer who could compare with him was General Pei.

Xue Huaiyu took a deep breath, looked at Pei Wenyu, and said, "This matter is of great importance and we must not take it lightly. Do you have a plan?"

Pei Wenyu lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Your Majesty, I think we need to make preparations in advance and arrange more people around Consort De to protect her safety. I volunteer to take charge of Consort De's safety, after all, she is my cousin, and I don't trust anyone else with this matter."

Xue Huaiyu nodded slightly in agreement: "Alright, as you say. Also, I will send people to keep an eye on the Grand Commandant, just in case. As for Liangzhou, after the matter is investigated, we should not act rashly for the time being, so as not to alert the enemy. We might as well pass some information to the Prime Minister first, observe his reaction, and then make a more careful plan."

Xue Huaiyu had other plans in mind; he wasn't in a hurry to eliminate the Wen family immediately. If the Wen family fell, wouldn't the court fall into a situation where the Prime Minister held absolute power? Although the Lin and Chen families were currently his strong backers, their power was not yet enough to rival the Prime Minister.

The Wen family is still useful; they can be used to restrain the Prime Minister, and at the same time, they can make the Grand Commandant and the Prime Minister fight each other. If they can both be severely injured, that would be even better.

"Young Master Pei, you don't hold an official position yet, do you? By imperial decree, Young Master Pei, your martial arts are superb, and you possess the style of the old General Pei. You are hereby granted the title of Imperial Guard General!" Xue Huaiyu said as if he had suddenly remembered something.

(The Imperial Guard General is one of the military commanders of the three offices of the Imperial Guard: Imperial Guard, Imperial Guard, and Imperial Guard. Unlike the Commander of the Imperial Guard, whose jurisdiction is much larger, the Imperial Guard General is only responsible for the area within the Imperial Palace.)

"Your Majesty, I thank you! Long live the Emperor!" Pei Wenyu kowtowed in gratitude.

................

night

While Pei Wenyu was resting in his room, suddenly, a sharp arrow flew straight into his window.

Pei Wenyu was startled awake by the sudden noise and quickly got up to go to the window to check the situation.

Pei Wenyu found a letter tied to the arrow. He carefully took it off, opened it, and found that it was written to him by Zheng Luoqi.

Zheng Luoqi plans to send someone to assassinate Chen Xianlin and then frame Wen Taiwei. She entrusts Pei Wenyu with the assassination task.

After reading the letter, Pei Wenyu's face darkened, and he gripped the letter tightly with both hands, his anger evident.

Without hesitation, Pei Wenyu threw the letter into the brazier and watched it gradually turn to ashes.

Xuzhou at this time

"My lord, will Young Master Pei really listen to us?" Bo Yu asked, puzzled. He didn't think Pei Wenyu would be controlled by the poison and then kill Chen Xianlin.

"No!" Zheng Luoqi said calmly, "He definitely won't be able to do it the first time, so we have to help him out!"

Zheng Luoqi smiled slightly. She knew that Pei Wenyu wouldn't dare to make a move, and might even protect Chen Xianlin. As for the assassination plan, it was just to pin another label on Grand Commandant Wen and give the emperor a reason to weaken his power. Besides, whether he could actually kill the female lead was another matter entirely.

Zheng Luoqi has sent people to assassinate him before, but she never succeeded.

Pei Wenyu's disobedience this time presents a good opportunity to teach him a lesson and let him know that this official's ship is not so easy to disembark from.

Zheng Luoqi saw through Bo Yu's thoughts and smiled slightly, saying, "Don't worry, I've already made all the plans. As long as everything goes according to my plan, Pei Wenyu will obediently listen to me." As he finished speaking, a sly glint flashed in his eyes.