Did Lord Pei Drop His Horse Today - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Minister Pei, what do you think of the Prince Regent?”

In the Imperial Study, the Young Emperor smiled, eyes narrowed, polishing a sword by the window.

I was kneeling on the floor, trembling.

“I observe him daily. The Prince Regent is upright and incorruptible, without fault.”

“Oh?”

The Emperor lifted the sword and slowly set it against my neck, using my collar like a rag, dragging it back and forth.

“Is that so?”

“Of course not!” I declared righteously. “It’s all a disguise by the Prince Regent, meant to blind everyone. I must not have dug deep enough. Give me a little more time, and I’ll definitely catch his fox tail!”

The Young Emperor laughed.

“Then I’ll give you one more month.”

His sword inched even closer to my neck.

“If your impeachment doesn’t bring him down, you’ll be the one who dies.”

I swallowed, and by the time I staggered out of the Imperial Study on shaking legs, I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face.

What did I ever do to deserve this!

A year ago, my twin brother Pei Feng was promoted from Pei County to the capital and appointed as a Censor. But to our utter shock, the night before he took office, someone poisoned him, leaving him paralyzed.

The sudden blow threw our whole family into chaos.

But my brother lay in bed and stopped us from making a fuss.

“I know someone who can cure this poison, but it will take time. Ah Ning, tomorrow you will go to the capital and take up the post in my stead.”

I pointed at myself, blank. “Me?”

Pei Feng said this office could not be lost.

Once he recovered, we would switch back quietly without anyone knowing.

I thought so too.

We look very much alike, and since childhood we often played at swapping identities. Pretending to be him for a while wouldn’t be a problem.

After I went to the capital to assume the post, letters quickly arrived from home.

Good news! They found a Divine Physician, and Pei Feng’s poison was cured!

Bad news: only one foot could move.

Two months later, the other foot could move too.

Another two months: your brother’s butt can move! He often does rehab exercises in the courtyard-surely he’ll be as good as new soon!

The image was too vivid for me to bear.

And so I kept up the act for a full year.

I was on tenterhooks, afraid that one misstep would get me killed.

To preserve my own neck, I didn’t impeach anyone the entire year.

You’re good, I’m good, everyone’s good.

But I overlooked that as a Censor, if I can’t impeach anyone, I’m worthless.

The Emperor finally noticed this fish that slipped through the net.

He told me to find the Prince Regent’s faults and impeach him hard.

If I couldn’t bring him down, at least I had to strip his power.

Understandable enough-the Emperor has been on the throne for only a year, and the reins of government are all in the Prince Regent Fu Nanwei’s hands. It seems that despite their amicable facade, there’s long been friction.

I originally thought this task wouldn’t be hard.

Who is Fu Nanwei?

On the battlefield at sixteen, ennobled at twenty, and now, at merely twenty-five, the all-powerful Prince Regent.

With such status and rank, how could there not be something shameful?

Impossible.

But to my surprise, after secretly investigating for half a month, I couldn’t find a single fault.

Fu Nanwei doesn’t covet wealth or lust, doesn’t form cliques, doesn’t abuse connections.

His only hobbies are practicing martial arts and painting.

But from the Emperor’s tone, even if he has no faults, I still have to find some.

I tilted my head to glance at my collar, which the Emperor’s blade had sliced into a long gash.

That damn thing was the new garment my mother had just sent up.

The more I thought about it, the more aggrieved I felt. Crying as I walked out of the palace, I wasn’t watching where I was going and slammed into someone, flying to the ground with stars in my eyes.

When I came to and looked up, I saw Fu Nanwei’s face.

I’d been so possessed by the thought of impeaching him that the words tumbled out: “Hey! You don’t watch where you’re going-I’ll impeach you!”

Fu Nanwei looked down at me from on high. “Who exactly doesn’t watch where they’re going?”

I turned and realized I’d been trampling the flowerbeds; the gardeners’ eyes were about to bore holes through me.

“Make it a minor report, a minor report…”

I tried to get up, but lost my balance and nearly fell again.

Fu Nanwei instinctively reached to pull me up, but by bad luck grabbed my collar-making my already-ruined outer robe even worse.

Just then the Emperor came strolling through the garden with his ten-year-old little sister and ran right into us.

The Little Princess cried out, “Royal Uncle… hit Lord Pei, he hit Lord Pei!”

Huh? Well, since you’ve said so-

I clutched the hand Fu Nanwei was about to withdraw, wearing a look of terror. “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me!”

Fu Nanwei: “…”

The Emperor chimed in, “Royal Uncle, what grudge do you bear against Minister Pei, to go this far?”

Without another word, he held Fu Nanwei responsible and ordered him to take me back to Prince Regent’s Manor to recuperate. When I was healed, we would attend court together.