The room was very quiet. Prime Minister Cui gazed at Shen Xiabai, remaining silent for a long time.
The Crown Prince, condescending in his status, poured tea for both of them himself.
In the eyes of him and Prince An, Shen Xiabai's proposal was practically a double blessing—given his power and influence, there was no shortage of young ladies in the capital clamoring to marry him. For him to take an interest in that reckless Cui Yunchu was already a stroke of fortune for her.
Prime Minister Cui's face was cold as he finally spoke, "What about the enmity between the Shen family and the Cui-Tang families, does Your Excellency Shen intend to let bygones be bygones?"
Shen Xiabai stared at him, saying nothing, his fingertips tightening slightly as he gripped his teacup.
After a long moment, he said, "This official has only one condition. Grand Tutor Tang has already retired from office. Once Cui Yunli has established himself at court and gained the ability to protect his family, Prime Minister Cui, you shall return to your ancestral home and live in seclusion. The grievances among the Shen, Cui, and Tang families will then be settled, and all animosity will be wiped clean."
The last few words were spoken very softly, Shen Xiabai's lips pressed tightly together, as if he were summoning every ounce of strength he had.
All he wanted was for Prime Minister Cui and Grand Tutor Tang to leave the capital—and then the past could be written off entirely.
Not just Prime Minister Cui, but even Prince An and the Crown Prince looked at him with shock and disbelief.
Shen Xiabai pretended not to notice, staring down at his teacup, and said flatly, "So long as Prime Minister Cui leaves the capital, as long as this official lives, I will guarantee the safety of the Cui family with every day I have."
This was the greatest concession he could make for her.
Prime Minister Cui hid the complex emotions in his eyes and replied coldly, "The Cui family does not need Your Excellency Shen to trouble himself over such matters."
He refused without hesitation, without a single moment of deliberation.
The warmth in Shen Xiabai's eyes instantly turned to icy coldness.
"In Prime Minister Cui's heart, she truly means so little that you wouldn't hesitate for even a moment before casting her aside?"
Shen Xiabai recalled what Cui Yunchu had once said about her situation in the Cui household. Looking at Prime Minister Cui now, he felt only fury.
Prime Minister Cui said, "Your Excellency Shen has spent years opposing the Cui and Tang families. How can I trust you?"
"How can I feel at ease entrusting my daughter to a man who holds hatred for the Cui and Tang families in his heart?"
Now everything may seem fine and good, but what about later? Once passion fades, will he remain as devoted to Yunchu as he is now?
The most undependable thing in this world is the human heart. He would not stake the future of the Cui and Tang families on Shen Xiabai's hands.
Especially when the man was once their enemy.
Shen Xiabai laughed coldly. "Prime Minister Cui certainly speaks in high-sounding platitudes. You truly are worthy of being a chancellor of the court."
"With the current situation at court and where the Cui family stands, you know full well what's at stake. Then..." His gaze shifted to the Crown Prince and Prince An, "it seems it comes down to choosing between the family and your legitimate daughter."
"Then there's no need for Your Excellency Shen to trouble himself. I already have a candidate in mind for my daughter's marriage. I suggest Your Excellency Shen show some restraint."
Shen Xiabai smiled, rising to his feet casually. "Does Prime Minister Cui mean Lord Zhou?"
"Then please pass along a message to Lord Zhou on my behalf. Last time, I showed mercy. If there's a next time, tell him to be careful on the roads—he might just lose his life."
"In regards to what I've said today, Prime Minister Cui may take all the time you need to consider. If you should change your mind, I am always at your service."
With that, Shen Xiabai bowed to the Crown Prince and Prince An, then turned and walked away.
His final words were not merely a threat to Zhou Yuanmo—they were a naked threat directed at Prime Minister Cui himself.
This time, neither the Crown Prince nor Prince An said a word; each found some excuse and took their leave.
Shen Xiabai boarded his carriage with a face as dark as thunder. Yu Feng furrowed his brow, utterly perplexed. "Master, if Prime Minister Cui doesn't even care for the eldest Miss Cui, then why would he refuse your proposal?"
He couldn't imagine that a father who could mercilessly force his daughter to kneel in the ancestral hall for two days and two nights in the dead of winter, without food or water, would truly have his daughter's best interests at heart.
Shen Xiabai leaned against the carriage wall. The curtain swayed, and through the gap he could see the Crown Prince and Prince An walking out of the restaurant side by side.
He curled his lip into a cold smirk. "If he isn't here in the capital to see it with his own eyes, how could he ever rest easy?"
What Prime Minister Cui truly could not accept was his condition.
Cui Yunli's position was merely a temporary concern. At present, the Crown Prince and Prince An appeared to be on amicable terms due to the Crown Prince Consort and the Prince An Consort, but the real trouble was the conflict between the two of them.
The Crown Prince represented the future of the Cui and Tang families, while the Prince An's household held Prime Minister Cui's beloved legitimate daughter, Cui Yunfeng.
When it came down to it, he was worried that his legitimate daughter would become a casualty in the struggle for the succession.
That was why he had rejected Shen Xiabai's conditions without hesitation.
Prince An and the Crown Prince were bound to have a life-or-death struggle. How could he possibly feel safe leaving?
Yu Feng was angry. "There truly isn't a single ounce of room in his heart for the eldest Miss Cui, is there."
The master had gone this far for the eldest Miss Cui, yet Prime Minister Cui, her own biological father, treated her like this.
"Master, what are you going to do then? Are you really going to just sit and watch that old fool marry the eldest Miss Cui off to Lord Zhou?"
Shen Xiabai sneered. "If I've calculated the time right, Cui Yunli should be returning to the capital soon. He won't have time to bother with anything else."
...
Cui Yunchu was holding the luminous pearl she had taken from the Shen residence, lying on the soft couch and playing with it, grinning from ear to ear.
Beside her, Xing'er said, "Miss, if the Prime Minister comes back later, have you thought about how you're going to escape punishment?"
After all, it was such a huge matter. She didn't think Prime Minister Cui would simply let it go.
Cui Yunchu said, "Can you not ruin my happiest moments by talking about things that make me want to die?"
"..."
Xing'er looked at Cui Yunchu, thoroughly exasperated. "Miss, it's just a few pearls. You've already counted them for a full half hour—you're practically rubbing the pattern off them."
Cui Yunchu ignored her, bringing the pearl to her lips as if to bite it before thinking better of it and putting it down.
She wondered what biting a pearl would even feel like.
Closing one eye and keeping the other open, she held the pearl up to look at it. "When I was a child, all I ever dreamed about was having something like this. Now that I suddenly have so many of them all at once, I'm so excited I can't sleep."
What little girl wouldn't love pink, round, beautiful pearls? Who knows how much she had envied Tang Qingwan and Cui Yunfeng when she was small.
Later on, she couldn't quite remember whether she envied the pearls themselves, or what having the pearls meant.
Either way, no matter what it was—pearls or anything else—she had never had it.
Xing'er said, "But this servant doesn't feel like Miss is truly happy from the bottom of her heart."
There was always something a little forced about Miss's smile.
It didn't seem like the joy of finally getting what she had always wanted, but rather carried strands of wistfulness and melancholy.
Just then, Nanny Zhang burst through the door in a single bound, her eyes squeezed into slits with laughter.
Cui Yunchu shot her a sideways look and said, "What is it? Has my mother somehow come back from the dead?"
"Miss, what are you saying!" Nanny Zhang said. "It's wonderful news, the most wonderful news! What Miss has wished for has finally come true."
Cui Yunchu raised an eyebrow. "Someone's going to gift me a mountain of gold and silver?"
Nanny Zhang shook her head.
"The Emperor is going to make me a prince?"
Nanny Zhang shook her head again.
Cui Yunchu lay back with a bored air. "You may leave. Come back when you can start talking properly."
Nanny Zhang was grinning so wide she could barely close her mouth. "The Prime Minister got flogged!"
The moment her voice fell, the room fell briefly still.
After a stunned pause, Cui Yunchu suddenly sprang up with a jolt. "What did you say?"
Nanny Zhang said, "It's absolutely true. This old servant heard it with her own ears from the prime minister's personal attendant, who told Grandma Li of the old lady's household. He said that an official at court kept hounding him with accusations and insisted that His Majesty have him beaten with the rod before the matter could be settled."
