The King was naturally unwilling. "But no one can say when your mother will wake up, so how can her words be believed?"
He glanced at Shen Qingqing, his eyes full of suspicion.
Shen Qingqing’s expression was blank. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Pei Lie, your son. You must believe him, right?"
The King snorted coldly.
Judging by his expression, he didn't even believe Pei Lie.
Pei Ji was somewhat helpless and advised, "Father, don't be like this. Eldest brother was indeed wrong before, but he has always regarded you as the most important in his heart and has never failed your trust."
The King said coldly, "He knows himself whether he has or not."
After this incident, his trust in Pei Lie had already fallen to the bottom. He even couldn't help but suspect that Pei Lie's so-called filial piety before was all faked.
Pei Ji couldn't bear to see his father and elder brother fall out and earnestly said, "Father, Eldest brother is currently contemplating his mistakes. He must know he was wrong. Just..."
"Enough," the King said with a stern face. "I don't want to hear it. Your second brother is back for a rare visit. You have so much free time, talk more with him."
Pei Ji looked at Pei Xing helplessly.
He gave him a look, signaling him not to say more.
"Father, since Eldest brother said Mother will wake up tomorrow, let's wait a little longer," Pei Xing said calmly and steadily. "It's only a day anyway. What do you say, Fourth Brother?"
Pei Xi smiled. "Of course, we can."
Since the parties involved had said so, the King naturally wouldn't insist. His mood was also very complicated now, and he really wanted to know if the Queen would wake up.
He waved his hand, looking a bit weary. "I'll go back to rest. I'll hold a welcome banquet for Pei Xing tonight. You brothers talk well."
"Understood, Father. You rest well."
With both sons looking at him with affectionate concern, the King felt very gratified and pleased, then turned and left.
Pei Xi warmly greeted Pei Xing. "Second brother, you must be tired from the journey. I'll escort you upstairs to your room so you can take a bath and rest."
Pei Xing was indeed a little tired, so he nodded. "Okay."
As soon as the two left, Shen Qingqing looked at Pei Ji. "Your second brother seems a little different from the rumors."
Pei Ji shook his head, hesitating to speak. "Actually, I don't know..."
"What do you mean?" Shen Qingqing didn't understand. "Your second brother, you don't know?"
Pei Ji looked around. There were servants coming and going, and it wasn't convenient to talk. So, he led Shen Qingqing and her husband to a pavilion in the back garden.
It was quiet here, with a gentle breeze blowing, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.
Shen Qingqing tapped the stone table. "Can you tell me now?"
Pei Ji sat opposite her, had servants serve two cups of tea, and instructed, "I want to talk with Miss Shen here for a while. Tell others not to come and disturb us."
"Yes."
The attendant quickly withdrew.
Now, this place was completely quiet.
Pei Ji took a sip of tea, seemingly contemplating where to start. Shen Qingqing was a little curious.
"It seems that your second brother is quite a man of stories."
"Mm."
Pei Ji put down his teacup, finally finding an entry point for the story. "My second brother, he was completely different from how he is now. He was like… a hot-blooded youth. Acts of righteousness and helping others were always on his lips."
"He was like that?"
Shen Qingqing found it hard to imagine Pei Xing, as he was now, talking about acts of righteousness and helping others.
It was completely unlike him.
Pei Ji sighed. "Yes, so I said before. The current second brother is entirely different. Don't be fooled by his approachable appearance; he has arrogance in his bones. Very few people can get close to him."
"Women too?"
"...No," Pei Ji stammered, but he still answered.
Shen Qingqing touched her chin. "When did he start to change?"
Pei Ji sank into memory. "...It was about five years ago."
At that time, a disaster occurred in the city that Pei Xing now managed. A factory caught fire, which also spread to the tall buildings next to it.
That great fire raged for three days and three nights.
There were countless casualties.
Pei Xing, upon hearing the news, immediately led his men there. The King had not agreed at first. He had countless ministers under him and didn't need the prince to go personally.
But he was headstrong and even went secretly without telling his father.
When his father found out, he was already gone.
His father was furious but couldn't call him back at the last minute, so he had to send people to follow him, to protect him, and to rescue the civilians.
Everything was going smoothly. Pei Ji returned from traveling abroad and even went to help.
But no one expected a sudden accident. Pei Xing's head was severely injured. When he was sent to the hospital, he almost stopped breathing several times.
Pei Ji was extremely anxious at the time but could only pray to heaven.
Fortunately, a mysterious person appeared. Pei Ji still remembered that person, dressed in black, as if born of darkness and dissolved into it.
He wore a silver mask from beginning to end, revealing only his eyes.
Those eyes seemed to hide a dark abyss.
He saved Pei Xing.
"You believed him when he said he could save someone?" Shen Qingqing asked.
Pei Ji wiped his face. "I had no choice. Second brother was already in a critical condition, and the doctor had given the final ultimatum..."
He was just unwilling to give up and wanted to try one last time.
If death was the outcome either way, then at least let this man try again, perhaps a miracle would happen.
And then a miracle really happened.
Pei Xing really came back to life.
However, after this awakening, he never spoke of the past again. He became much quieter, but he was still as close to Pei Ji and the others.
It was just that his personality had changed, and he didn't like to interact with outsiders.
"Later, Father said that the city was saved by Second brother, so it should be managed by him. This way, Second brother had his own affairs to attend to, and he returned even less often."
Pei Ji held his teacup, feeling a bit regretful.
Among these two brothers, the eldest brother acted as a second father and always managed him, but the second brother was different. They were close in age and always played well together.
Although the second brother was always a bit chuunibyou.
Now...
"Are you biological brothers?" Shen Qingqing thought about the subtle expressions of Pei Xing and Pei Ji when he brought up the Queen's awakening.
Pei Ji was surprised and happy.
Pei Xing, however, quickly regained his composure after being surprised.
Pei Ji looked at her in astonishment. "You saw that? Second brother and I are not born of the same mother; we are half-brothers."
Shen Qingqing understood and couldn't help but sneer, "Your father is quite a philanderer."
Pei Ji was a bit embarrassed and couldn't help but defend his father. "Actually, Father didn't intend to, but Second brother's mother had a drunken one-night stand with Father..."
Under Shen Qingqing's sarcastic gaze, he couldn't continue.
As a man himself, he knew that so-called drunken one-night stands were just excuses. When a man is truly drunk, he can't do anything.