“Miss, Miss…” Xing’er called several times before Cui Yunchu finally came back to herself.
“Miss, what’s wrong? You’ve been distracted ever since we left the Wangyue Tower. Are you thinking about what Young Master Shen said?”
Cui Yunchu said nothing. She rested her cheek on one hand and stared at the four jars of wine on the floor.
Xing’er said, “The official selection is tomorrow. If the eldest young master can truly enter the Ministry of War, as Young Master Shen said, wouldn’t that fulfill the wishes of the Prime Minister and the Crown Princess? Why aren’t you happy?”
Cui Yunchu lifted her eyes and glanced at Xing’er. Her gaze was almost that of someone looking at an idiot.
“Oh, I know now!” Xing’er exclaimed. “Miss, are you worried that you won’t be able to repay Young Master Shen’s kindness? You don’t want to marry him, do you? But you’re afraid that with this favor hanging over you, it’ll be difficult to refuse him?”
Cui Yunchu leaned back, her tone languid. “Xing’er, if you’re not busy, go get your brain treated. Being this stupid all the time isn’t good for you.”
“…”
Xing’er’s face went blank. She pouted. “Was I wrong?”
Cui Yunchu snorted softly.
Why would Cui Yunchu be so hung up on repaying a favor? If she couldn’t repay it, then she simply wouldn’t. Besides, Cui Yunli was that old man’s son, not hers. If anyone was going to marry him, the old man could go marry him himself.
It was just a pity that Xing’er was as stupid as that blockhead Shen Zilan.
She lowered her head and wound the sash around her waist repeatedly around her finger. “How did Shen Zilan get into the Ministry of Personnel in the first place? How could officials from the Ministry of Personnel possibly obey his orders?”
He was merely another person relying on the protection of his family.
As for how he had risen so quickly through the Ministry of Personnel, perhaps he was the only one who didn’t know the reason.
“My silver hairpin—did he find it or not? He hasn’t even said anything about returning it to me.” Cui Yunchu frowned as she complained.
Xing’er said, “Shall I send someone to ask tomorrow?”
“No need.” Cui Yunchu turned her face away. “We’ll probably run into him at the official selection tomorrow. I’ll ask him myself.”
She tilted her head and gazed at the scenery racing past the window, her expression softening.
The wind seemed to carry her voice faintly: “Who asked him to meddle in the first place? What a nuisance.”
*
When she returned to the Cui residence, Cui Yunchu was clearly in an excellent mood. Humming a little tune, she instructed the gate servants to carry the wine back to Chuyuan for her.
But just as she stepped onto the covered corridor, she ran into the steward standing there.
Cui Yunchu acted as though she hadn’t seen him and walked straight past.
“Eldest Young Miss, Prime Minister Cui has returned. He is waiting for you in the study.”
Cui Yunchu might as well have been deaf. She continued on her way, forcing the helpless steward to hurry after her.
“Eldest Young Miss, the eldest young master is there as well. They’re both waiting for you. The Prime Minister has something to discuss with you.”
Cui Yunchu pressed the slip of paper bearing the birth details inside her sleeve and clicked her tongue. Her mood was no longer quite so pleasant.
She turned back, cast the steward a sidelong glance, then rolled her eyes upward. “Let’s go.”
She walked with her chin held high and her strides wide. Rather than going to meet her father, she looked as if she were off to inspect her grandson.
This was very different from her usual sluggish, hesitant manner whenever she had done something wrong. The steward couldn’t help stealing several more glances at her.
Outside Cui Qingyuan’s study, Cui Yunchu paused. She carefully rehearsed the sophistry and nonsense she would use in a moment, then cleared her throat and walked in with complete confidence.
But when she saw Prime Minister Cui seated upright behind the desk, radiating righteousness and wearing his usual stern expression, she still couldn’t help laughing.
She hurriedly covered her mouth, wanting to laugh but not daring to. Her eyes narrowed into crescents, and her shoulders shook. She looked like a monkey.
Cui Qingyuan and Cui Yunli both turned their gazes toward her.
Cui Qingyuan furrowed his brows. Cui Yunli asked gently, “Yunchu, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Why have you been squirming around like that?”
Cui Yunchu glanced at Cui Qingyuan and pretended to compose herself. “Nothing. I’m perfectly fine.”
Cui Yunli was holding a chart showing the distribution of officials throughout the court. Clearly, he and Prime Minister Cui had been discussing tomorrow’s official selection.
Cui Yunchu glanced at it, and the smile in her eyes faded somewhat. For some inexplicable reason, she felt slightly uncomfortable.
“How have your preparations been going, Big Brother?”
Cui Yunli gave a slight nod. “They’re coming along.”
“Oh.” Cui Yunchu lowered her head a little, suddenly listless. Her smile gradually cooled.
Cui Yunli was a member of the Cui family. His career should have been Prime Minister Cui’s concern from the very beginning.
Cui Yunchu cursed Cui Qingyuan inwardly for putting on such a false front.
She couldn’t explain what exactly was bothering her. It wasn’t as though she disliked the Cui family—not quite. But when she examined her feelings closely, she seemed to feel that Cui Qingyuan was getting far too much out of this.
That man cared so deeply about what had happened back then. If he went through with this, wouldn’t he be suffering terribly inside?
There was really no need for him to do so.
“I heard a matchmaker came to the residence today. Was it you who met with her?” Cui Qingyuan suddenly asked, interrupting Cui Yunchu’s thoughts.
“Ah… yes, something like that happened.” Cui Yunchu nodded.
Cui Qingyuan raised his eyes and stared at her. Cui Yunchu stared back.
After a moment, Cui Qingyuan frowned. “And then?”
He was waiting for her to continue.
Cui Yunchu said, “Then she left. She went home, and I went out.”
“…”
The corner of Cui Qingyuan’s eye twitched. He was clearly displeased.
This wasn’t the first time he had heard Cui Yunchu answer in such a disjointed manner, but her languid tone and utter lack of concern carried an unmistakable disrespect that he found unpleasant.
“Little Sister,” Cui Yunli said gently, breaking the awkward exchange between father and daughter, “the matchmaker came today on behalf of whom? Who sent her?”
“Well, she certainly wasn’t here for me.” Cui Yunchu flicked her sleeve and broke into a smile.
Prime Minister Cui’s expression eased. “Which family’s young lady?”
Cui Yunchu put on a shocked, incredulous expression. “Prime Minister, what do you mean by that? Could it be that you… are willing?”
Prime Minister Cui’s brows drew together. “Marriage is a serious matter for one’s children and must be handled with caution. Since they sent someone to propose, regardless of whether we agree, we should at least give them an answer.”
Cui Yunli also said, “If Little Sister won’t even say which family’s young lady it is, how can Father make a decision?”
Cui Yunchu glanced at Cui Yunli and cursed inwardly.
They really think they’re arranging a wife for you.
They’re arranging your mother!
What an idiot.
Both father and son watched Cui Yunchu, waiting for her to continue.
Cui Yunchu seemed to find it difficult to speak. In a low voice, she said, “It’s… the Second Princess, Xiao Lan.”
The study fell unnaturally silent.
The surprise in Cui Qingyuan’s eyes froze for a moment before sinking into deep contemplation.
He exchanged a glance with Cui Yunli. Father and son fell silent, their minds filled with complicated thoughts.
This was no small matter. Cui Qingyuan asked Cui Yunchu again, “Whose orders did the person who came here carry?”
Cui Yunchu’s eyes shifted slightly. “Apparently, she was acting on… someone’s orders from His Majesty.”
Shen Xiabai had acted on His Majesty’s orders to arrange a marriage for the princess. In a broad sense, what she had said wasn’t exactly wrong.
Cui Yunchu considered it inwardly and decided that she had been quite clever today.
But to Cui Qingyuan, her words meant that this was the Emperor’s intention.
Cui Yunli asked, “Father, what does His Majesty mean by this?”
Cui Qingyuan said, “Your uncle-in-law has withdrawn from court. After finally weakening the influence of the Cui and Tang families, His Majesty is now eyeing the Ministry of War because you have returned to the capital.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Since ancient times, a man who marries a princess cannot hold real power or enter the imperial court.”
The emperor naturally wanted to eliminate any possibility of the Cui-Tang family rising to prominence again.
