The few of them fell into silence.
A moment later, Cui Yunchu drooped her head and returned to the praying mat. Sitting cross-legged, she rested her chin on her hands and stared at the memorial tablets on the altar, her face completely drained of life.
Cui Yunfeng hurriedly sat down next to her.
"Eldest Sister, are you alright?"
"I won't starve to death."
Yun'er felt extremely guilty. "Eldest Miss, Second Miss, how about I go to the kitchen and steal some food for you?"
Just as Cui Yunfeng was about to nod, Xing'er whispered a reminder, "We can't get out. The only reason we can even stand here is because my young lady made arrangements with the old maid guarding the ancestral hall in advance."
But it would be impossible to leave the ancestral hall's courtyard gates and bring things back inside.
Cui Yunfeng slumped onto the ground and helplessly waved her hand, dismissing both Yun'er and Xing'er.
"Eldest Sister, you are amazing. You have connections everywhere."
Cui Yunchu cast a sidelong glance at her. "Are you praising me?"
Before Cui Yunfeng could speak, she continued, "Usually in this kind of situation, I just assume it's a compliment."
The wind howled outside the window, and the air inside the ancestral hall was chillingly gloomy, making them shiver from the cold. Cui Yunfeng leaned against Cui Yunchu, her teeth chattering slightly. "Eldest Sister, let's hold on a little longer. The day after tomorrow is our cousin's return visit after her wedding; Grandmother will definitely get us out."
"..." Cui Yunchu suddenly turned her head and stared fixedly at Cui Yunfeng.
"What... what is it?"
Cui Yunchu said, "Father told me to kneel until the sun comes up. I don't have to hold on until the day after tomorrow. What, did he tell you to kneel here until you die?"
Cui Yunfeng was stunned.
She immediately sat up straight and thought carefully. "Father only told me to get out of his sight and come kneel here. He never said for how long."
Cui Yunchu lowered her head and picked at a small hole in the mat. "There you go then. Are you expecting him to come and invite you out?"
If it were in the past, Cui Yunfeng would definitely have done exactly that. Although her temperament was generally fine, she was born stubborn.
Cui Yunfeng slumped back onto Cui Yunchu. "Then I'll leave with you."
As Eldest Sister said, your body is your own; being stubborn is useless, and one must know when to yield and when to stand tall.
Time slowly passed. The two leaned against each other and dozed off, truly feeling both cold and hungry.
"Cui Yunfeng." Cui Yunchu nudged Cui Yunfeng. Taking advantage of Cui Yunfeng's grogginess, she quickly swapped the praying mats beneath them.
Cui Yunfeng looked at the mat that had a corner hollowed out. After a brief moment of silence, she leaned back onto Cui Yunchu and closed her eyes.
"Eldest Sister, you loved bullying me like this when we were young." Back then, the two of them were like a needle against an awl, completely unable to see any good in each other. They found it even harder to understand the bond of blood their grandmother often spoke of, feeling nothing but disgust and dislike for one another.
Cui Yunchu cast her a glance. "You wretched girl, you can't remember a single good thing I've done for you."
"Years ago, when you sneaked out of the manor and were chased by the big yellow dog from the neighboring courtyard, who was it that barked back at the dog? Why don't you mention that?"
Burying her face in Cui Yunchu's shoulder, Cui Yunfeng suddenly began to giggle.
"The way you barked at the dog was truly terrifying. Even the dog thought it had run into an even fiercer dog and ran away in fear."
"That's because..." After saying two words, Cui Yunchu abruptly stopped and turned her head to glare at Cui Yunfeng. "Who are you calling a dog?"
...
The two sisters huddled together for warmth, chatting idly. Cui Yunchu could still endure it, whether it was the hunger or the freezing cold.
But Cui Yunfeng was finding it hard to bear. Cold and hungry, she couldn't sleep at all, so she kept talking to Cui Yunchu. Cui Yunchu kept her eyes closed, but she answered every single sentence.
It was only during the brief moments when Cui Yunfeng dozed off that Cui Yunchu could get some quiet rest.
"Eldest Sister, I'm cold."
With her eyes closed, Cui Yunchu pulled her closer into her embrace. "It's almost dawn. Just hold on a little longer."
In the Pine Crane Courtyard, the room was silent and pitch-black. Old Madam Cui suddenly sat up from her bed and called Nanny Li into the room.
"Old Madam." Nanny Li hurriedly lit a candle.
"I'm listening... has the wind picked up outside?"
Nanny Li nodded. "The wind has indeed picked up. It looks like it's going to rain."
Old Madam Cui frowned and put on a coat as she got up. "It was perfectly fine during the day. How could the weather change so suddenly? Yunchu and Yunfeng are kneeling in the ancestral hall; who knows how much they are suffering from the cold and hunger."
"Come, let's go check on them."
Nanny Li quickly stopped Old Madam Cui. "Old Madam, it's already this late. Your body cannot withstand the exertion."
"No, I can't set my mind at ease."
Nanny Li earnestly advised her, "With the Eldest Miss there, nothing will happen. The Eldest Miss has always been clever; she probably prepared food and bedding well in advance. Moreover, the old maid at the ancestral hall received your instructions long ago to turn a blind eye, so please rest assured."
In the past, every time Cui Yunchu was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall, the old maid guarding it would come to report. Therefore, Old Madam Cui was very clear about the little tricks Cui Yunchu played.
She indulged them, and even forbade the old maid from speaking nonsense in front of Prime Minister Cui.
Nanny Li helped Old Madam Cui lie back down. "Rest peacefully. If anything goes wrong with the two misses, that old maid will come to report."
Old Madam Cui sighed. "It's just that Yunchu has been wronged." Her heart ached for her.
"To think that, in the end, the one who causes the least worry would actually be Yunchu."
(Time rewinds to last night.)
After Shen Xiabai entered the palace, he headed straight for the Emperor's imperial study. When he arrived, the Crown Prince was also there.
The Emperor's gaze first fell upon Shen Xiabai's hands. Seeing them empty, his expression immediately darkened. "He refused to sign?"
After paying his respects, Shen Xiabai stood up straight and nodded. "Yes."
"What audacity!" The Emperor slammed his hand angrily on the desk. Beside him, the Crown Prince immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.
Shen Xiabai cast a sidelong glance at the Crown Prince, then reported back neither haughtily nor humbly, repeating Prime Minister Cui's exact words.
The Emperor sneered repeatedly. "Rules and etiquette! This Great Liang is my Great Liang. I am the rules and etiquette! Since when is it a mere subject's place to refute me?"
The Crown Prince said, "Please quell your anger, Imperial Father."
The atmosphere fell silent for a few breaths before Shen Xiabai slowly spoke, "Cui Qingyuan is, after all, the prime minister of the nation. He indeed holds the responsibility to advise the monarch."
"That is also something I bestowed upon him. Without me, he is nothing."
The Emperor's face looked ugly. Having his decree rejected was a tremendous humiliation for an emperor. More importantly, he couldn't even touch the man.
Neither the Crown Prince nor Shen Xiabai said a word.
The Emperor slowly calmed down and sat back in his dragon throne, though his face remained ashen. "Crown Prince, what do you think of this matter?"
Xiao Chen clenched his hands inside his sleeves. He raised his eyes to sneak a glance at the Emperor's expression before saying, "Prime Minister Cui has always been rigid in his ways. He values rules and etiquette and doesn't know how to be flexible. Tomorrow, your son will speak with him again..."
Under the Emperor's deep, cold gaze, he swallowed the last few words back down.
"Doesn't know how to be flexible? I see him as an extremely cunning old fox. He clearly just doesn't want the Liu family to grow stronger and threaten the power of his Cui family."
The Cui family was currently considered the Crown Prince's in-laws. The Emperor's dissatisfaction with the Cui family inevitably made the Crown Prince tremble with fear.
And the Emperor was indeed dissatisfied with him as well. "From what you just said, you intend to discuss it with him again?"
Xiao Chen took two steps back and lowered his head, not daring to utter a word.
The Emperor raised his voice, his fury uncontainable. "You are the Crown Prince!! This empire belongs to our Xiao family, not his Cui family! If he refuses to sign, you should be thinking of how to eliminate that treacherous official, rather than begging for his approval. Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes, of course," the Crown Prince stammered, dropping to his knees.
The Emperor's chest heaved violently with rage. He finally withdrew his cold, ruthless gaze. "You are so cowardly, and you have taken a daughter of the Cui-Tang family as your principal wife. When the day comes for you to sit upon the Dragon Throne, will you not be completely at their mercy?"
