Husband, Be A Gentleman Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

The following morning Yan s.h.i.+ Ning woke up refreshed.

In contrast Pei Jin woke up frustrated. Yan s.h.i.+ Ning was smiling mockingly at him and his frustrations calmed.

‘Wife, you can hide at the start of a month but you’ll be caught before the middle of a month,’ Pei Jin said.

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning didn’t refute Pei Jin’s words. Instead she glanced in all four directions. She was satisfied they were alone and spoke softly. ‘Big brother, who do you think sent the a.s.sa.s.sins?’

‘Wife, you’re home,’ Pei Jin said. ‘You don’t need to be weary at home.’

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning remembered everyone inside Pei Jin’s manor were within control of his palm, she realised she worried pointlessly. ‘Big brother, what do you think?’

‘Wife, what do you think?’ Pei Jin asked.

‘Anyone is possible,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said.

‘Why?’ Pei Jin asked.

‘The a.s.sa.s.sins attacked the emperor and the princes,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said. ‘It looks like they wanted to kill the Dian Kingdom’s emperor and heirs and cause chaos throughout the Dian Kingdom. If that’s true then who are the Dian Kingdom’s strongest enemies?’

Pei Jin nodded in agreement. ‘That’s a possibility.’

‘But there’s a flaw in that logic,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said. ‘Diplomats from Dian Kingdom’s strongest enemy kingdoms attended the banquet. If they sent the a.s.sa.s.sins then there’s no reason for them to risk sending their most talented ministers and warriors.’

‘Um, you’re right,’ Pei Jin said. ‘Besides imperial father wouldn’t allow diplomats from enemy kingdoms to enter the palace without having them followed to find out if they were planning an ambush.’

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning glanced in all directions and she smiled. ‘You and your father share that same trait.’

‘Of course, we’re father and son after all,’ Pei Jin said. ‘If they won’t sent by an enemy kingdom then who do you think is the culprit?’

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning shook her head. ‘I’m not certain. But I think that anyone else is a possibility.’

‘Who else?’ Pei Jin said.

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning thought Pei Jin looked like he was in deep thought. ‘Big brother, I think you know who the suspects are.’

Pei Jin nodded his head. ‘But I want to hear your thoughts since my little lion loves to solve mysteries the most.’

‘I think the first suspect is seventh prince,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said. ‘Even if he saved the emperor, who can be certain it’s not a ruse to escape suspicion? He and the crown prince are the strongest candidate to become emperor. If he saves the emperor then his bond with the emperor would be stronger than the emperor’s bond with the crown prince. Also, the a.s.sa.s.sins attacked the emperor, the crown prince and big brother. But the a.s.sa.s.sins didn’t attack him. It’s possible he wants to earn the emperor’s grat.i.tude and if the crown prince and big brother died during the attack then he’ll have less threats.’

Pei Jin poured tea into two cups. ‘Indeed seventh brother is a suspect. But if they were sent by seventh brother, he wouldn’t leave a trail to trace back to him.’

‘I thought about that too,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said. ‘It’s also a possibility someone wants to frame seventh prince.’

‘Alternately, he purposely ordered them not to attack him to make him less suspicious,’ Pei Jin said. ‘Mixing truths and lies together is a tactic seventh brother likes to use to fool others.’

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning remembered when she attended her first banquet in the palace, she wasn’t familiar with the surroundings and accidently b.u.mped into Pei Zhang. He looked at her condescendingly and his cold arrogance made him hateful.

Pei Jin noticed Yan s.h.i.+ Ning was frowning while he drank tea. ‘What are you thinking?’

‘I don’t like Pei Zhang,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said. ‘I think he’s a dangerous person.’

‘More dangerous than me?’ Pei Jin teased.

‘No, big brother is a lot more dangerous than him,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said.

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning spoke truthfully. Although Pei Zhang was cold hearted and wasn’t someone a person could easily befriend, Pei Zhang wasn’t as dangerous as Pei Jin. Because Pei Jin’s gentle and kind act allowed other people to dare to come closer to Pei Jin with their guards down.

Pei Jin saw Yan s.h.i.+ Ning gritted her teeth and he smiled. ‘If you could choose to marry seventh brother or me, who would you choose?’

Heavens! Yan s.h.i.+ Ning thought Pei Jin was asking her to choose between a dangerous man and a more dangerous man to marry.

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning picked up a sweet bun and tucked it in Pei Jin’s mouth. ‘Eat!’

Pei Jin happily ate the sweet bun. ‘Who else do you suspect?’

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning felt like talking to Pei Jin was like walking in different directions, from jests to sincere conversations.

‘The second and third suspects are the empress and the crown prince,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said. ‘They could have sent a.s.sa.s.sins to frame seventh prince. Big brother, think about why it’s strange the a.s.sa.s.sins attacked the crown prince and big brother but didn’t attack seventh prince. It’s a possibility the empress and the crown prince wants other people to suspect seventh prince. It’s a pity if they sent the a.s.sa.s.sins, they wouldn’t have antic.i.p.ated seventh prince would risk his life to save the emperor.’

‘But to frame seventh brother by directly attacking imperial father wouldn’t benefit the empress,’ Pei Jin said. ‘If seventh brother didn’t protect imperial father… what would be the consequences? Supporters for seventh brother and the crown prince are strong on both sides. If the empress knows when victory is uncertain, she wouldn’t use that tactic.’

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning realised Pei Jin understood everyone in the palace as much as he was familiar with his fingers.

‘Who else?’ Pei Jin asked.

‘Someone from Huang Guo’s manor,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said.

Pei Jin’s forehead creased, he didn’t expect Yan s.h.i.+ Ning would also think people from Huang Guo’s side were suspects.

‘After the a.s.sa.s.sins were captured they killed themselves,’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said. ‘To train a.s.sa.s.sins to be loyal and protect their master’s ident.i.ty, their master needs to be someone who is powerful enough that the a.s.sa.s.sins would be scared to betray them. I did think about Consort La being a suspect. But Consort La’s relatives doesn’t have powerful connections.’

Pei Jin shook her head. ‘Wife, that’s a naive notion. Even if Consort La’s relatives doesn’t have powerful connections, thirteenth brother could become emperor and her relatives will gain more power. There are some people who are willing to gamble once for the biggest gain.’

‘Big brother, do you suspect Consort La?’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked.

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning felt that Consort La was a gentle and sincere person and the loveable fool Pei Khan would struggle to become emperor.

‘I wanted to say that you shouldn’t dismiss someone if they don’t have powerful connections,’ Pei Jin said. ‘Because sometimes a person purposely make themselves appear like they have no powerful connections to hide their powerful connections.’

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning thought Pei Jin was alluding to himself and she was curious if he secretly built powerful connections. ‘What about big brother?’

Pei Jin held Yan s.h.i.+ Ning’s hand and his finger wrote yes on her palm.

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning raised her head and looked closely at Pei Jin’s expression. In that moment the wind rattled the window.

‘Wife, it appears you’re fooled again,’ Pei Jin said.

Yan s.h.i.+ Ning heard Pei Jin’s laugh until he was breathless and her heart pounded angrily. She couldn’t believe earlier she was willing to give herself to an expert liar.

Pei Jin felt that Yan s.h.i.+ Ning was truly angry. He pulled her onto his lap and hastily consoled her. ‘I was teasing you. You were right about Huang Guo. He could have sent the a.s.sa.s.sins. Think about it, I wasn’t armed but the a.s.sa.s.sins were armed and they didn’t injure me. But if he sent the a.s.sa.s.sins, it’s strange why the a.s.sa.s.sins didn’t attack seventh brother.’

Pei Jin hugged Yan s.h.i.+ Ning tightly. She ignored his shameless hands on her body and listened to his persuasive reasoning.

‘Big brother, if everyone is capable then who is the culprit?’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked.

Pei Jin nibbled Yan s.h.i.+ Ning’s earlobe and blew in her ear. ‘Wife, you forgot someone.’

‘Who?’ Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked.

‘Your husband,’ Pei Jin said.

End of Chapter Twenty-One