Just as Cui Yunchu had predicted, Cui Yunfeng cried hard for a few days. Once she had cried enough, she gradually stopped making a fuss. Although her spirits remained low, she was very well-behaved when it came to eating and sleeping.
Cui Yunchu never tried to comfort her. She only stayed silently by her side doing her own things when she cried the hardest.
Cui Yunfeng asked, "Big Sister, I'm crying so sadly, why don't you comfort me?"
Cui Yunchu shot her a glance. "Comfort you with what? Congratulate you on finally jumping into a fire pit?"
Knowing there are tigers on the mountain yet insisting on going there—should I comfort her for finally getting her wish and smashing her head against the south wall?
"..."
Cui Yunfeng said, "You are right to keep your mouth shut."
She was afraid she wouldn't be able to resist slitting her own throat...
Every word from Cui Yunchu felt like she was asking her why she was still alive.
Cui Yunchu nodded. "I think so too."
Cui Yunfeng lay back down on the bed. Cui Yunchu looked at her from the corner of her eye and couldn't help but say, "The reason you cry is that something unbearable has happened. No one's persuasion will work. As long as there is someone by your side when you are crying your heart out, even if they don't say a word, you won't feel so terrible inside."
Cui Yunfeng sat up and looked at her. "How do you know?"
"..."
Cui Yunchu rolled her eyes. Was she just unhappy unless she picked at her scars?
"I never cry. I gained this experience from watching you cry."
Counting the days, the two of them had been staying in the courtyard for quite a few days, but there was still no movement outside. Old Madam Cui had not come to visit Cui Yunfeng, and Prime Minister Cui had not lifted Cui Yunfeng's confinement.
Cui Yunchu was getting a bit restless, but she felt it would be pitiful to just abandon Cui Yunfeng.
Fortunately, she had stopped crying now and could even speak a few words.
Cui Yunchu rested her chin on her hand in sheer boredom, feeling that if this went on, she would grow mold. "Cui Yunfeng."
Cui Yunfeng was equally listless.
"It's not a solution for you to keep hiding like this. You can't be locked up forever. Why don't you think of a way, beg your father for mercy, and say a few soft words."
Cui Yunfeng raised her head and glanced at the crowd of servants guarding the door to prevent her from escaping. She lay back down and shook her head.
"He refuses to see me."
"Can't you think of a way?" Cui Yunchu said helplessly.
Cui Yunfeng said, "The only way is for me to pretend I don't want to live anymore."
"..."
Life is precious. It's not easy to live to this age, so could you please not talk about dying at the drop of a hat?
What if the King of Hell hears it too much and takes it seriously?
She glared at Cui Yunfeng in displeasure. "Do you have no other way? Does it have to be so extreme?"
"No."
Cui Yunchu's heart died.
"Cui Yunfeng, it's a good thing you are Cui Yunfeng. If you were Cui Yunchu, you would have died eight hundred times already."
Thinking of her own clash with Prime Minister Cui a few days ago, Cui Yunchu immediately felt that Cui Yunfeng still had some self-awareness.
It was bad enough that her brain worked slowly, but she was also incredibly stubborn.
Most importantly, she was the one being dragged down and suffering the consequences.
Cui Yunchu's waist ached a bit from leaning over. She stood up and moved to lie down on the soft couch. "If my mother were his sweetheart, there wouldn't be anything I couldn't accomplish."
She stroked her lower abdomen and sighed.
"If all else fails, I'll just go back." With her personality, she just couldn't stay put.
"One shop. You promised to stay with me."
Cui Yunchu was speechless. "So if you're locked up for a year or half a year, I can't leave?"
"Why is your money so hard to earn?"
Her eardrums were about to burst, and her patience was almost exhausted.
"Miss." There was a sudden knock on the door, and Xing'er rushed into the room anxiously. "This is bad. Old Madam Cui was overcome by a fit of anxiety and anger, and she fainted."
Cui Yunchu was stunned for a few seconds before instantly springing up. "What did you say?"
She had been perfectly fine; how could she suddenly faint? And what was this about anxiety and anger?
Was it because of Cui Yunfeng? That shouldn't be. It had been about ten days since the imperial decree for the marriage. Even if grandmother was depressed, her reaction time would be way too long.
At this moment, Cui Yunfeng no longer cared about her house arrest. The two sisters hurried to Songhe Garden.
Not only Prime Minister Cui, but Tang Qingwan was surprisingly there as well. Old Madam Cui leaned back in her chair with a doctor standing by, evidently having just woken up.
The atmosphere was terribly oppressive. No one spoke, yet it felt as if the sky was falling.
Cui Yunchu was so nervous that her palms were sweating. She first checked on Old Madam Cui, and only after knowing she was fine did she manage to steady her mind.
Could something have happened to the Cui family? Please no, she hadn't even lived a good life yet in this lifetime. Was she going to be exiled?
Cui Yunfeng, who loved to cry the most, hugged Old Madam Cui, her tears falling uncontrollably. "Grandmother, what happened to you?"
Old Madam Cui gently wiped away her tears and shook her head. "I'm fine, don't cry."
Cui Yunchu's gaze, however, was fixed tightly on Tang Qingwan. She was now the Crown Princess and wouldn't have come for no reason.
"Cousin, has something happened?"
Prime Minister Cui spoke up first, "Now that you've seen your grandmother, you should go back."
Tang Qingwan opened her mouth, but upon hearing this, she remained silent. Her eyes were red, and her entire person carried an obvious exhaustion.
Cui Yunchu did not dare to defy Prime Minister Cui, but Cui Yunfeng did. "I won't leave, Father. I'm not a child anymore. What is there that I cannot hear?"
Old Madam Cui also waved her hand. "Qingyuan, Yunchu and Yunfeng are no longer young. They should hear about some things."
Especially Cui Yunfeng, who would marry into Prince An's Mansion in the future. Being so naive and innocent wouldn't do.
Prime Minister Cui remained silent, which counted as tacit consent.
Tang Qingwan spoke slowly, "A disciple of my father used his name to bully others. After getting drunk, he spoke insolently and humiliated a lady from an official's family. Unable to bear the humiliation, the lady jumped off a building and committed suicide. Now, the Censorate is sending a barrage of impeachments, demanding he be punished."
Cui Yunchu was shocked to hear this.
None of the people who could become a disciple of the Grand Tutor were stupid. How could they do such a thing?
Such behavior, let alone from a disciple, was something probably only street thugs would do. Even the most bastardly official knew to cherish their reputation. Moreover, the one humiliated was a lady from an official's family.
Who had eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall to have a death wish?
"Where is Uncle?"
Tang Qingwan lowered her head, her voice slightly choked. "He has already been taken to the Department of Penalties."
Into the hands of Shen Xiabai.
Cui Yunchu felt as if struck by a bolt from the blue, leaving only one word in her mind: Doomed.
The Emperor had made his move against the Cui and Tang families.
Cui Yunfeng also asked, "Cousin, you mentioned he used his name to bully others and spoke insolently. Just how severe was it?"
She wanted to see if she could be of any help.
Tang Qingwan said, "That disciple's words were extremely arrogant. He said our Tang family's power overwhelms the heavens, and half of the Great Liang court is dictated by the Cui and Tang clans. With his mentor backing him, he would have nothing to fear even if he committed murder."
But the truth was even more exaggerated than this.
He even proclaimed that Grand Tutor Tang had said as long as the Crown Princess gave birth to a legitimate eldest son, they could support the imperial grandson to ascend the throne. The imperial surname of Xiao was merely a title; Grand Tutor Tang was the true wielder of power.
By then, he too would have the merit of supporting the new emperor.
The Emperor had always been deeply suspicious of the Cui and Tang families. Such boastful and shameless words from that disciple were no different from a death warrant.
It gave the Emperor the opportunity to strike.
Cui Yunchu was left utterly stunned by these words. The mastermind behind this scheme intended to drive the Cui and Tang families to their absolute doom. Even if the Cui family somehow managed to emerge unscathed, her uncle's life would undoubtedly be forfeit.
Cui Yunchu cast a cautious glance at Prime Minister Cui. "Was it... the Emperor's doing?"
