"M-Miss." Xing'er nudged Cui Yunchu's arm, snapping her out of her self-amusement.
At the corner, a master and servant were standing there, both looking at her as if she were a very strange person.
The man stood tall and straight, blocking the last ray of the setting sun.
The smile on Cui Yunchu's face could no longer be forced. She hung her head, her tone sarcastic. "I've tried so hard to comfort myself, so why must everyone rub salt in my wounds at this exact moment?"
If there was anyone Cui Yunchu least wanted to see right now, it was Shen Xiabai.
Or rather, anyone who brought her nothing but oppression and gloom instead of happiness and joy.
It was like having a freshly bandaged wound brutally torn open by someone who then threw salt on it. But when it came to Shen Xiabai and Cui Yunchu, it was like he ruthlessly trampled on that salted wound all over again.
Torturing the wound until it festered dreadfully.
She could ignore those who disliked her and treated her coldly, but the destructive impact of Shen Xiabai's appearance at this moment was enough to make her break down.
Liked or not, at least she was wealthy and didn't have to live the life her concubine mother spoke of, selling children and starving. But the man before her had put an end to her good life.
As Cui Yunchu laughed, her tears began to fall.
She couldn't stop them at all.
She was in her own home! How could the heavens hurt her like this?
"Are you here to take my life?" Cui Yunchu asked, then crouched down and began to cry.
It wasn't her usual posturing. She didn't look up to peek at anyone's expression; her crying was suppressed and sobbing.
Shen Xiabai's thin lips pressed tightly together. After a long moment, he said, "I came to discuss political affairs with Prime Minister Cui."
Given the situation just now, it hadn't been appropriate for him to go in, but he had heard everything.
He never expected that his sudden appearance would cause Cui Yunchu, who had just been smiling and so optimistic, to break down and cry.
Was it the coincidences of these past few days? Had he been too harsh on her, causing her to lose control like this?
Cui Yunchu buried her head and waved her hand at Shen Xiabai. "Just go."
Today, she truly had neither the mood nor the energy to bicker with him.
For some reason, Shen Xiabai stood there, unmoving for a moment.
He lowered his eyes to watch the girl crouching on the ground. In his mind was the image of her maintaining her smile as she walked step by step out of Prime Minister Cui's courtyard just moments ago.
Her smile had been very fake, but the question she asked, "Have you ever regretted giving birth to me?", had been so cautious.
His eyes slowly darkened, and a sudden surge of emotion welled up in his heart, an indescribable feeling.
Cui Yunchu only broke down briefly before quickly adjusting her mood. She rubbed her eyes vigorously and stood up from the ground.
Although her eyes were still very red, a smile was back on her face. "If you won't leave, I will. What's so great about you anyway."
Walking past Shen Xiabai, she suddenly stopped. "Let me tell you, you are not allowed to breathe a word of what happened today, or I won't let it go."
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes and, unprecedentedly, let out a soft "Mhm" from his throat.
In the past few months, this was the most harmonious and peaceful moment Cui Yunchu and Shen Xiabai had shared upon meeting.
It made Cui Yunchu feel a bit unaccustomed.
However, her face was covered in tear stains, making her look both pitiful and comical.
Beside him, Yu Feng gently bumped his master's arm and whispered, "Eldest Miss Cui doesn't have a handkerchief on her."
At a time like this, offering a silk handkerchief for her to wipe her tears, along with a few words of comfort, would be an absolute killer move.
In the storybooks, that was exactly how poor scholars won the hearts of wealthy young ladies.
Shen Xiabai frowned and shot a displeased glance at Yu Feng.
Meanwhile, Cui Yunchu had already brushed past him, still muttering under her breath about having to spend tonight in the ancestral hall.
The weather was too cold; it would be quite a suffering.
Yu Feng sighed and whispered, "Master, everyone says the daughters of the Cui family are noble, but who would have thought that Eldest Miss Cui, who has always been so arrogant and domineering outside, is actually so pitiful on the inside."
"Master, you treated her like that in the past, and she always just smiled. But today she cried so sadly. Master, do you think you went a bit too far with how you treated her before?"
Shen Xiabai remained silent. The last trace of the afterglow completely faded, and his face was immersed in the darkness, his emotions indistinguishable.
After a long while, he finally said, "It's getting late. Let's go."
Did he go too far?
The matter with the Wang family's son, as well as many details of their interactions, automatically surfaced in his mind.
It seemed she wasn't actually at fault.
It was the original sin of the surname Cui that had colored his perception of her.
How could a young girl survive if she didn't put on airs, act domineering, or stay fiercely optimistic?
Unlike those sheltered ladies who became trapped in resentment and fell ill from depression, she had actually grown up to be quite formidable.
The young girl walking toward him, clutching her chest and comforting herself, had been as hot, warm, and optimistic as the sun.
The corners of Shen Xiabai's lips unconsciously curled into a smile, but in the next instant, remembering something, it vanished without a trace.
Was he some sort of hideous monster? She had already comforted and coaxed herself, yet upon seeing him, she suddenly broke down and wailed.
Yu Feng's internal thought: Master, is it possible that you just bullied her way too harshly?
Anyone running into the person who constantly bullied them at such a critical juncture wouldn't be able to help but break down.
The Study.
"Lord Shen need not waste his breath. I will not sign or seal this document."
Prime Minister Cui sat upright behind the desk, his attitude extremely unyielding, exuding the majesty and arrogance steeped from years in officialdom.
Shen Xiabai's expression was equally solemn, showing not a hint of timidity. "Prime Minister Cui, promoting the son of the Liu family is the Emperor's will. Do not forget that this Great Liang is the empire of the Xiao family."
Prime Minister Cui smiled. "If that is the case, then His Majesty can simply make the decision directly. Why must he insist on going through me?"
The Prime Minister held the power to oversee the Six Ministries. According to the rules, all important documents and appointment decrees had to be submitted by the Six Ministries, approved, signed, and sealed by the Prime Minister, and then presented to the Emperor for the final decision. Only then was it considered proper and legitimate.
This was also the reason why the Emperor was so anxious to eradicate the Cui family. The ruler and his minister had already grown estranged, and the Cui and Tang families had countless old subordinates.
If the Cui family didn't want it, some official documents wouldn't even reach the imperial desk, or the promulgation of decrees and orders would repeatedly be hindered by Prime Minister Cui.
As long as Prime Minister Cui refused to cooperate, his imperial authority would be provoked.
More importantly, many matters could not bypass the Six Ministries or bypass Cui Qingyuan as the Prime Minister. Otherwise, the disciples of the Cui and Tang families would immediately jump out and accuse the actions of being against the rules and the law.
Even the Emperor had to care about the hearts of the people, the hearts of the officials, rules, and laws.
And the transfer of officials in the court had to be recorded in the annals of history. The Emperor naturally had to consider his reputation. If the Cui family perished, it would be recorded as the Cui family abusing their power and bullying their sovereign.
Conversely, if the Liu family perished, it would very likely be seen as the Emperor acting dictatorially, disregarding etiquette and law, and favoring sycophants.
The Emperor would not easily tear up all pretenses with Cui Qingyuan over this matter.
But in truth, Prime Minister Cui had never before refused or opposed any of the Emperor's decrees or appointments.
This was the first time.
All for the sake of his newly married niece, who was calculating every step and walking on thin ice.
She had already endured so many grievances for the sake of her family. How could Prime Minister Cui continue to sit idly by and allow the Emperor to elevate the Liu family without restraint, making Tang Qingwan's situation even more difficult?
