The servant, who had been listening with great interest beside him, suddenly stood up, his face a little pale.
Yu Feng was still immersed in his memories, unable to extricate himself, until he heard a "Master."
He immediately jumped up, scratched his head, and stuttered a bow, "Master."
Shen Xiabai didn't move, just looking at the two of them, making their scalps tingle and cold sweat drip down.
After a long while, Shen Xiabai suddenly asked, "Is there any news from the people sent out?"
"Not yet."
He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief...
He asked several times a day, and when he learned there was no news, he looked so relaxed, making it hard to tell whether he was anxious or not.
It was quite puzzling.
"What's wrong with Master?" the servant asked.
Yu Feng rubbed his chin, looking at the closed study door and said, "Master's heart is probably fighting a battle."
He began to pray in his heart, "I hope the matter of the Master and Eldest Master has nothing to do with the Cui family."
The master's suspicion about this matter was like a breach, letting all his emotions and thoughts pour out today.
If he wanted to take it back, it would probably be very difficult.
After Cui Yunchu returned to the mansion, she was cleaned up by Nanny Zhang and Xing'er, and went to bed early.
When she woke up, it was already the second day. The sound of pattering rain was in her ears. She lay in bed without moving, spacing out for a short while.
"You're awake?" The sudden voice startled Cui Yunchu. She turned her head and saw a head next to her out of nowhere, "Cui Yunfeng, why are you here?"
Cui Yunfeng, "You drank too much yesterday. I was worried, so I came to take care of you."
Cui Yunchu rubbed her head and slowly sat up, "Who told you I drank too much? I didn't."
When she bit him, she was sober, later she was pretending to avoid a beating, and then... she really fell asleep.
Cui Yunfeng nodded, said "Oh", holding Xiaobai in her arms, gently combing its hair.
Cui Yunchu immediately exploded, "Who told you to bring it to my bed?"
Xiaobai was scared out of its wits and immediately jumped down.
Cui Yunfeng was still a little reluctant, "Don't be so fierce, you scared it."
Cui Yunchu kicked Cui Yunfeng's butt, "You get out too."
She was all lovey-dovey with Prince An and didn't know where they went, not caring about her older sister at all.
Just as Cui Yunfeng was about to say something, Yun'er suddenly pushed the door open in a panic, "Second Miss, Second Miss, quick, an imperial edict has arrived from the palace, it's for you."
Cui Yunfeng was stunned, seemingly unable to react, "What did you say?"
"An imperial edict for marriage, Second Miss, go quickly."
Cui Yunfeng's heart beat fast. Remembering Xiao Yi's words yesterday, she immediately got out of bed.
Cui Yunchu watched her dart out of the room like Xiaobai.
"Yun'er, who came to deliver the imperial edict?"
"It's the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Presence."
The Emperor's man? Cui Yunchu frowned, feeling that this matter was quite strange. But by the time she got ready and arrived at the Songhe Garden, the Chief Eunuch had already delivered the edict and left.
The oppressive and heavy atmosphere startled Cui Yunchu.
She stood at the door, hesitating whether to enter, whether to step in with her left foot first or her right foot first. Following a furious roar from Prime Minister Cui, Cui Yunchu instinctively trembled, and retracted the foot she had just stepped in.
"You... bastard." A loud slap came from inside.
Cui Yunchu was stunned.
He actually hit her? Is he tired of living? Did he fall in love with someone else and no longer love Yunfeng's mother?
Thinking this, she quickly darted into the room and saw a scene like a slaughterhouse.
Cui Yunfeng fell to the ground holding the imperial edict, Old Madam Cui had a heartbroken and helpless expression, and Prime Minister Cui was furious, heartbroken, and his face was livid with disappointment.
"Father, it's daughter's fault. Daughter begs father to expel daughter from the Cui family. From now on, even if I fall ill or face disaster, I will not implicate the Cui family in the slightest."
Prime Minister Cui suddenly sneered and shook his head repeatedly, "Fool, you fool, do you think being expelled from the Cui family can save you from disaster? Do you know what the Cui and Tang families paid because of this imperial edict?"
Prime Minister Cui gritted his teeth in anger, "I really wish I could..."
He didn't say the rest of the words, flicked his sleeves, and left the Songhe Garden.
Cui Yunchu shrank to the side like a quail. Only when the person left did she dare to step forward to help Cui Yunfeng up. The injury from that slap was simply shocking.
She never thought that one day, her father would hit Yunfeng so hard.
Cui Yunfeng stood blankly, her body tottering, tightly clutching the imperial edict in her hand.
"Grandmother, what did father mean by those words just now?"
Old Madam Cui shook her head, "The matter has come to this, it's useless to say more. The imperial edict has been issued, you should just prepare for the wedding with peace of mind."
After saying that, Old Madam Cui also got up and left, her back looking indescribably desolate.
"Eldest Sister," Cui Yunfeng grabbed Cui Yunchu's wrist, "What exactly happened? Grandmother seems very disappointed."
She could understand her father's fury, but what about grandmother? Grandmother had always doted on her, why was she like this too?
Cui Yunchu's mind was still in chaos, what could she know?
At this moment, the butler walked in with a few maids and old women, "Second Miss, Master said, for the next few days, you should stay in the courtyard with peace of mind. Without Master's permission, don't go out."
This was house arrest.
Cui Yunfeng was shocked.
From childhood to adulthood, she had never seen her father so angry, even wanting to lock her up.
"Eldest Sister, I'm scared, can you stay with me?"
Cui Yunchu: To be honest, I'm even more scared than you.
If Cui Yunfeng was treated like this, if it were her, wouldn't she be beaten to death with a stick?
"Then will you let me sleep on your pink quilt?"
Cui Yunfeng, "I'll give you a shop."
"That works." Cui Yunchu pulled Cui Yunfeng back to the Maple Garden.
Cui Yunfeng hugged the imperial edict and cried for a long time.
Cui Yunchu sat on a chair, resting her chin on her hands, watching Cui Yunfeng, who had thrown herself on the bed and was crying her eyes out, and couldn't help but sigh.
"The imperial decree has been issued, your marriage with Prince An is a done deal, why are you still crying?"
Cui Yunfeng, "I disappointed and broke the hearts of father and grandmother, I'm so sad."
Cui Yunchu, "..."
In her opinion, Cui Yunfeng lived a very conflicted life.
When weighing the pros and cons, since a choice has been made, one should be magnanimous and decisive.
Cui Yunchu wasn't someone who knew how to comfort others, so she just lay on the table and watched Cui Yunfeng cry.
Cui Yunfeng cried until she was tired, turned to look at her, "I gave you a reward anyway, can't you comfort me?"
Cui Yunchu was almost falling asleep. She looked up and saw it was almost dark.
She stretched and said, "Comfort is useless. When you're tired of crying and have no energy left, you won't want to cry anymore."
She had experience.
In other words, the slap wasn't on her face, comforting her was of no use at all. She could only wait until the person who was beaten didn't hurt anymore, and the wound scabbed over, then it would be fine.
Cui Yunfeng's eyes were swollen like peaches.
Yun'er and Xing'er brought food into the room. Cui Yunchu didn't even ask Cui Yunfeng, but started eating by herself. Yun'er watched anxiously.
The Eldest Miss looked... not very reliable.
"Eldest Miss, why don't you persuade my lady to eat something too."
"She's not hungry," Cui Yunchu said.
When she is hungry, she will naturally eat. If she refuses, she just isn't hungry enough. Try starving her for three days and see if she eats then.
Cui Yunfeng immediately wept even more miserably, deeply hurt by Cui Yunchu's callous attitude.
After finishing her meal, Cui Yunchu asked Xing'er to clear the dishes. She then leaned against the table and simply continued to watch Cui Yunfeng cry.
It wasn't that she didn't want to console her, but rather that she genuinely had no idea what was causing such bitter tears.
The imperial decree was something she had willingly sought. Now that her goal was achieved, shouldn't she be happy?
Why was she crying? Was it because of their father's slap?
But when she made her choice, could she truly not have anticipated how their father would react?
When a person has a clear goal, the journey to achieve it inevitably comes with both sacrifices and gains. It was just like her own ambition to climb the social ladder and marry into power; so many people had mocked her for being delusional and cursed her as a scheming vixen.
If she had cried over every insult, she would have gone blind from crying by now.
"Yunfeng, there is no way to have the best of both worlds in this life. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Flawless happiness does not belong to anyone, especially not to people from a family like ours."
