Five minutes later, Pei Baisheng, who hadn’t even managed to leave the base was forced to his knees once more in the royal disciplinary chamber. Several men restrained him, twisting his arms behind his back as his head was pressed firmly to the ground, leaving him immobilized in a kneeling position.
Pei Ningyu studied Pei Baisheng with keen interest, searching for any resemblance between their features.
“Does he look like that beta?” Pei Ningyu asked Yin Xishu.
Yin Xishu followed Pei Ningyu’s gaze, scrutinizing Pei Baisheng. Truthfully, he had never met Pei Baisheng’s beta mother, but the young man bore an unmistakable resemblance to General Pei, clearly his father’s son.
As for Pei Ningyu. The base’s renowned genius officer, famed for his beauty, possessed a striking allure that rivaled even the empire’s most celebrated omega pop star. His fierce, captivating looks seemed almost like a sudden mutation, bearing no resemblance to General Pei or Pei Xu.
Before Yin Xishu could respond, Pei Ningyu answered his own question with a cold laugh. “Hah. He does look a lot like Pei Xu, though.”
“Equally disgusting.”
The venomous words spilled out without hesitation.
Yin Xishu interjected, “Ningyu, didn’t you still need to meet with Admiral Pei? Surely such an important matter shouldn’t be delayed.”
A glint of something unreadable flashed in Pei Ningyu’s eyes. “Making sure Pei Xu recognizes him at first glance is just as important.”
Pei Ningyu’s slender, bony fingers pressed lightly against Pei Baisheng’s forehead cold and delicate. The resemblance between Pei Baisheng and Pei Xu was uncanny. Seeing him kneeling like this, Pei Ningyu almost mistook him for Pei Xu himself.
The sight of that face transferred a fraction of Pei Ningyu’s resentment toward Pei Xu onto Pei Baisheng. The latter’s gaze felt like an affront, provoking Pei Ningyu to dig his sharp nails deep into Pei Baisheng’s skin. “Don’t look at me!”
It made Pei Ningyu feel pathetic like a pitiful wretch who could only vent his frustrations by tormenting some lowborn with a familiar face.
He was nothing but an inferior, a powerless failure, a coward trembling under paternal authority.
The realization was unbearable. “I said don’t look at me!” Pei Ningyu snapped.
Pei Baisheng had no choice but to lower his eyes, his gaze fixed on the ground even as Pei Ningyu forced his head up. The submissive posture soothed Pei Ningyu somewhat.
He realized his emotions had spiraled out of control especially over someone so beneath him. He shouldn’t be like this. Pei Ningyu knew it only exposed his own weakness.
After a long silence, he finally steadied himself, his voice tight and devoid of inflection. “Pei Baisheng, you sneaked in here earlier to steal military secrets, didn’t you?”
“If I hadn’t been vigilant, the Crown Prince’s frontline battle plans might have been leaked because of you.”
Pei Ningyu continued, “Under the latest espionage laws, that’s punishable by execution.”
The blatant threat struck Pei Baisheng as absurd. If he were convicted of espionage, wouldn’t Pei Ningyu also face punishment for carelessly exposing classified information?
Even someone of Pei Ningyu’s standing wouldn’t escape unscathed a leak scandal could easily be weaponized by political rivals, destroying his career in an instant.
Pinned to the ground and unable to move, he still struggled against his restraints, veins bulging on his arms. Twice now he’d been toyed with, teetering on the edge of losing patience and reason, yet he forced himself to remain composed. “Second Young Master, I don’t know how I could have leaked any secrets.”
Pei Ningyu: “Perhaps you did.”
Pei Ningyu: “How long was the investigation period for leaks again? Twenty days of confinement?”
Pei Baisheng had no idea what game they were playing perhaps simply tormenting him for amusement.
People like Pei Ningyu had no bottom line when it came to seeking momentary pleasure. They would relentlessly provoke others, wearing them down until they finally bared their teeth in self-defense. Then, they’d have justification to break every bone in their body, spinning yet another tale of “those lowlifes attacked first.”
Even Pei Ningyu’s flawlessly handsome face now seemed utterly repulsive in Pei Baisheng’s eyes.
His hatred for the high-and-mighty Pei Ningyu, who took such delight in toying with him, burned fiercer. The muscles in his jaw tensed as he gritted his teeth, a shadow of darkness flickering across his expression.
Pei Ningyu mused to himself: “Twenty days isn’t enough to teach a beta’s whelp a proper lesson. How about two months?”
Yin Xishu smirked at Pei Baisheng as he replied to Pei Ningyu: “Your decisions are always so perfectly reasonable.”
Pei Baisheng’s jaw clenched instantly, blood vessels spiderwebbing across the whites of his eyes.
Yet to escape sooner, he had to feign terror. Perhaps he had some talent for acting even the trembling of his lips was perfectly timed.
“As long as I don’t have to go to prison, I’ll do anything.”
Pei Baisheng lowered his eyes, bowing his head deeply.
It wasn’t that he feared offending Pei Ningyu. But judging by how Pei Ningyu treated “lowlifes,” if he wanted to remain at the base.
He’d best ensure Pei Ningyu lost interest in him.
Pei Ningyu sneered: “Don’t think I don’t know what’s in your heart. You resent this, don’t you?”
“You think because we share the same father, we should be equals?”
Suspecting Pei Baisheng’s wolfish ambitions, Pei Ningyu spared no effort in continuing his threats: “If you don’t want to be imprisoned, you’d better obey me properly.”
Pei Ningyu: “I promise you won’t ”
Pei Baisheng swallowed his rage: “I’ll obey. I’ll do whatever you say.”
Pei Ningyu hadn’t expected such docility. The stream of insults poised on his tongue stuck in his throat further berating would only make him seem overly harsh.
After a long silence, Pei Ningyu released his face with a dismissive flick. “I always said you were better at reading people.”
Mocking the spineless Pei Baisheng inwardly, he couldn’t be bothered to hide his contempt: “Don’t be afraid.”
“I just want to give you the opportunity your wretched beta mother never grasped.”
“Come,” Pei Ningyu found Pei Baisheng utterly pathetic, crumbling so easily under intimidation, “You now have the privilege of dining in the Pei family’s main hall.”
He wondered how Pei Xu would react.
Who knew?
It would certainly be entertaining.
Pei Ningyu suddenly paused, remembering something: “Ah, Yin Xishu. Go to Xu Sidu’s residence and deliver something for me.”
Pei Ningyu: “Remember to photograph Xu Sidu’s expression for me.”
