On the other side, Madam Cui couldn’t help but ask, “Yunchu, is something the matter? Why do you keep glancing toward the door?”
Cui Yunchu snapped back to attention and covered it up, saying, “I heard that Eldest Brother might be returning soon, and I’m a bit restless.”
Madam Cui, hearing this, stroked her head with relief. “The matters at court are for your father to handle. You needn’t worry about them.”
“Didn’t you mention before that you wanted to marry? Recently, I haven’t heard a word about it. Have you found someone in your heart?”
Cui Yunchu shook her head.
Her original goal had, in a roundabout way, been achieved. As for marriage, that had always been a fabricated excuse.
“I suddenly don’t want to marry anymore. The noble young men in the capital all look down on me,” Cui Yunchu said with a faint smile. “Grandmother, if I never marry in this life, would you be angry?”
Madam Cui was unconcerned. “The Cui family is vast and wealthy. Whether you marry or not, we can still support you. Before I close my eyes, I only hope you find your own peace.”
“……”
She’d gotten her hopes up for nothing. She’d thought Grandmother had agreed.
Cui Yunchu leaned back in her chair, gazing at Madam Cui. “But what if the person I want to marry can’t be found?”
Madam Cui replied, “I can’t find him either.”
Old Madam Li quietly chuckled from the side.
“Old Madam, Old Madam, the Chancellor has returned.”
As the door curtain was lifted, Cui Qingyuan, clad in his official robes, walked in slowly. Cui Yunchu immediately sat up straight, her eyes fixed tightly on him.
Madam Cui asked, “Is there any resolution regarding Li’er’s situation?”
Cui Yunli was the eldest son of the Cui family.
Cui Qingyuan nodded. “Thanks to the Crown Prince and… the Prince of An, the Emperor has agreed. The imperial decree has already been sent. It should take at most half a month for him to return.”
“Excellent, excellent, excellent.” Madam Cui wept with joy. “My Li’er can finally come home.”
When he had left the capital that year, he was barely a youth. Now, years have passed, and everyone has worried about him alone in a distant land.
Unfortunately, the Emperor needed to leverage the Cui and Tang families, so he had to keep a card up his sleeve to control both families.
The two youths had been sent away from the capital for years, like hostages.
“He should have been married with children by now, if he had stayed in the capital.”
Old Madam Li handed her a handkerchief as Madam Cui wiped her tears. “If only Little Sheng could return someday as well.”
Tang Qingsheng, a year older than Cui Yunli, had also grown up under Madam Cui’s care.
Cui Xiang remained silent.
For Yunli to return, the Cui and Tang families had already paid a considerable price. If not for the collapse of Tang Taifu’s position and his retreat from court, the Emperor would never have allowed either family’s heir to return to the capital.
Unless he also withdrew from the imperial court, there was no possibility of Qingsheng returning.
Cui Yunchu clutched her teacup, drinking one cup after another as if parched.
She had no deep memories of Cui Yunli. She couldn’t say she liked or disliked him—it was all a matter of the Cui family’s greater interests.
As he and Yunfeng shared the same mother, he naturally favored Yunfeng. When they were children, he had often scared her, though he never truly hurt her. Still, to Cui Yunchu, he was merely a stranger by blood.
“By the way, has there been a final verdict on Minister Shen’s matter?” Madam Cui’s voice suddenly rang out.
A sharp “crack” sounded in the silent room. Everyone’s gaze instinctively turned to Cui Yunchu.
“……”
She opened her mouth, spit out a tiny piece of broken porcelain from her bite, and set down the chipped teacup.
Madam Cui said, “Child, why would you bite that? Did you hurt yourself?”
Cui Yunchu shook her head and gave an awkward laugh. “The teacup must have been too old—not very durable anymore.”
That was a cup from Madam Cui’s dowry, used for over a decade.
Old Madam Li quickly ordered someone to remove it. Cui Yunchu placed her hand on the armrest and absentmindedly began pulling at the tassels on the tablecloth.
Chancellor Cui spoke, “The Emperor wants to protect him, but the pressure from the Gu family and the Empress Dowager has forced a temporary postponement. Saving him is no easy task.”
If it were only the Gu family, it wouldn’t be too difficult. But the complication lies in the Gu family relying on the Empress Dowager, who is the Emperor’s biological mother.
“Today at court, I advocated for Shen Xiabai to be executed, which further stirred the Emperor’s resolve to protect him,” Chancellor Cui frowned. “Tomorrow, I’ll have someone submit a memorial demanding the Emperor replace the head of the Imperial Prison. That way, the Emperor will be even more anxious than us to exonerate that young man.”
The Imperial Prison was the Emperor’s sword. Only with Shen Xiabai in charge could the Emperor hold decision-making power; otherwise, he would be trapped in a web of balancing power between various factions.
Madam Cui nodded. “That’s good then. Minister Shen saved our Yunchu; we must not repay kindness with enmity.”
Chancellor Cui frowned. “Mother, but back then, we already…”
Madam Cui shot him a glance, and he fell silent. “That was in the past. I owe his mother a favor. One thing is one thing—don’t mix them together.”
Chancellor Cui said, “But we have been resented and opposed by her son for so many years.”
Cui Yunchu counted the tassels she had pulled off, but her ears were pricked up like antennae.
Grandmother had ties with Old Madam Shen as well.
What were they hinting at? Did it have something to do with the Shen family father and son’s incident back then?
But what did Old Madam Shen have to do with it?
Chancellor Cui didn’t stay long before leaving.
The gloom that had been stuck in Madam Cui’s heart seemed to ease, lifting her spirits.
Cui Yunchu had spent the whole day in Pine Crane Garden, but now she said she was tired, so Madam Cui let her return to the Initial Garden to rest.
When she returned, Old Madam Zhang was tallying up all of Cui Yunchu’s assets, grinning from ear to ear. “Young miss, you’ve amassed quite a treasure of gold and jewels, and you even have shops now. Once you find a good husband, you’ll be able to marry in style.”
Cui Yunchu walked past the glittering pile of gold and treasure, then collapsed onto the soft couch.
“Young miss—”
“Why are you so talkative?” Cui Yunchu frowned. “Where’s this good husband? Where? Find me one right now, or don’t come back today.”
“……”
Old Madam Zhang looked at Xing’er.
Xing’er shook her head, indicating she didn’t know what was wrong with the young miss either. In any case, she had been acting strange ever since she came back from prison.
The next day, the Crown Prince’s residence sent someone, saying that the Crown Princess was bored and wanted Cui Yunchu to keep her company.
Old Madam Zhang looked at the listless Cui Yunchu and grumbled, “Our young miss is the one who really needs company.”
The Crown Princess was surrounded by admirers—unlike her young miss, who had no one to console her.
Cui Yunchu lay slumped over the desk, glancing at Old Madam Zhang through the bronze mirror. “Can’t you break that habit of yours?”
“……”
“Young miss, your language is becoming quite crude,” Old Madam Zhang muttered.
In truth, Cui Yunchu didn’t really want to go.
Being with Cui Yunfeng was easy and relaxing. But dealing with Tang Qingwan brought an involuntary pressure—her gaze was too penetrating, too perceptive. It only took a moment of carelessness for her to see through one’s thoughts, leaving you feeling as though you were standing naked before her.
Tang Qingwan was still in her confinement period and hadn’t left her quarters. When Cui Yunchu arrived, the Crown Prince was feeding her congee.
The room was filled with maids and elderly servants.
Cui Yunchu wanted to ask: If you keep so many servants, why not put them to work? Were they simply hired to watch the two of you open your mouths and gaze at each other all day?
Looking at them, Cui Yunchu even suspected the Crown Prince might just throw away the bowl and start devouring Tang Qingwan's lips with his own.
“…”
She had read too many romance novels, and now it had given her, an untouched maiden who had never even properly held a man’s hand, such sordid thoughts.
She gave a light cough and curtsied. “Crown Prince Brother-in-Law, Crown Princess Cousin.”
The Crown Prince turned to glance at her, acknowledged her with a gentle hum, then quickly returned his gaze to Tang Qingwan.
Cui Yunchu could only stand there and watch the two of them finish that entire bowl of porridge…
As if they had no hands at all!!
Suddenly, a familiar male murmur seemed to echo in her ears again—vaguely familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
Irritation flared up inside her.
When the Crown Prince ladled another half bowl and prepared to feed Tang Qingwan again, Cui Yunchu strode over in three quick steps, snatched the bowl from his hands, tilted her head back, and downed the porridge in one gulp.
“It’s finished. Crown Prince Brother-in-Law, no need to feed her anymore.” Cui Yunchu wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and slammed the bowl heavily onto the table.
The Crown Prince’s brow furrowed.
Cui Yunchu was, indeed, far too insolent.
Tang Qingwan waved a hand dismissively. “All of you, leave now.”
All the attendants in the room withdrew. Tang Qingwan then turned to the Crown Prince. “You, as well.”
Once everyone was gone, Cui Yunchu asked, “Cousin, what was it you summoned me for?”
