Cui Yunfeng looked this way and that, finally realizing that something was off about the atmosphere as well.
Tang Qingwan shot her a glare.
She had not stopped talking the entire journey. How Prince An had managed to put up with her was anyone’s guess.
Cui Yunfeng pressed her lips together and sat in the corner. For once, she was being honest with her silence, not uttering a single syllable.
Both women looked at Cui Yunchu.
“Yunchu,” Tang Qingwan said, “I’m sorry. I admit, I did have my own motives in this matter.”
“Cousin, you were acting for the good of the family. What right do I have to blame you?”
She had even been willing to abandon her own child. Cui Yunchu did not possess such resolve. How could she possibly compare?
“Yunchu.” Tang Qingwan lowered her eyes and reached for Cui Yunchu’s hand, but Cui Yunchu pulled away.
“Both of you, get out. I want to be alone for a while.”
Tang Qingwan had no choice but to leave the carriage with Cui Yunfeng.
“Cui Yunfeng,” Cui Yunchu said softly, “tell your dog to wait for me. I’ll remember this.”
“…”
Cui Yunfeng stared at her in shock, completely at a loss.
Tang Qingwan knew that those words had been meant for her as well. She paused, glanced back at Cui Yunchu, and climbed out of the carriage without saying a word.
Cui Yunfeng refused to give up. “Eldest Sister, I…”
Cui Yunchu raised a hand and shoved her out.
“…”
“I’m the one who told you! Shouldn’t you be thanking me?” Cui Yunfeng complained, looking aggrieved.
“Cousin—” She turned back, hoping to complain to Tang Qingwan, but Tang Qingwan walked past her without even looking aside. At the end, she glanced back and added, “Yunchu’s words—remember to pass them on to your prince. Having you is truly his good fortune.”
“…”
“I think so too,” Cui Yunfeng muttered indignantly.
After exchanging a few brief words with Cui Yunli, Cui Yunfeng fell silent. Though he was her biological elder brother, they had never been close. She left Tang Qingwan to speak with Cui Yunli and hurried back to the carriage.
Standing beside the carriage window, she secretly lifted a corner of the curtain—only to meet Cui Yunchu’s ominous gaze.
Cui Yunchu reached out and smacked her several times on the head. Cui Yunfeng’s hairdo was knocked crooked.
Cui Yunfeng looked so aggrieved that she was practically on the verge of tears.
“Eldest Sister.”
She treated her so well. How could Cui Yunchu treat her like this?
Cui Yunchu cast her a sidelong glance and cursed, “Idiot.”
Cui Yunfeng immediately broke into a smile. “Eldest Sister, you’re unhappy because you’re worried about Lord Shen, aren’t you?”
Cui Yunchu turned her head away awkwardly and said nothing.
But Cui Yunfeng spoke earnestly. “Eldest Sister, Grandmother said that you suffered a great deal when you were young. So if you truly meet someone you love, I sincerely hope you can live a happy and peaceful life.”
“The Cui family owes you far too much. Whether it’s Father, Cousin, or the family as a whole, I don’t want any of them to stand in the way of your future. Eldest Sister, you’ve always been a free-spirited person. I believe you’ll make your own judgment.”
Cui Yunchu pressed her red lips tightly together and looked at Cui Yunfeng.
Cui Yunfeng smiled faintly. “I was raised by Grandmother, after all. I’m not quite as foolish as you think.”
When she married Xiao Yi, she had already said that whether it brought blessing or disaster, it would be the result of her own choices. She would accept it all and would never implicate the family.
Her father might show favoritism, but she could not be selfish. She could not disregard the bond between sisters.
She rose onto her tiptoes and smiled at Cui Yunchu with shy sweetness.
“Eldest Sister, marrying Xiao Yi already caused you to kneel in the ancestral hall, and it implicated the entire family.”
“If I, a woman who has been cast out of the family, were to interfere in your marriage as well, then I would truly become the scourge of the Cui family.”
“Grandmother said the Cui family cannot treat you this way. It would be far too unfair.”
After an unknown length of time, Cui Yunchu slowly raised a hand and stroked Cui Yunfeng’s head.
“For your sake, I’ll spare your dog’s life.”
Cui Yunfeng protested, “Stop calling him your dog all the time. He’s my husband, at least.”
Cui Yunchu’s eyes reddened as she arched a brow. “What about the day at Nanfeng Pavilion, when you climbed onto the table and called him a dead dog?”
Cui Yunfeng fell silent.
“You even grabbed Bai Ye’s hand and kowtowed to him. I didn’t say a word about that.”
Cui Yunchu seized Cui Yunfeng by the ear. “Are you looking for a beating? Say one more word.”
“Eldest Sister, I was wrong.” Cui Yunfeng admitted it at once.
Cui Yunchu glared at her, her eyes slightly red, though there was not the slightest trace of anger in them.
“Eldest Sister, it wasn’t easy for him to yield this much for your sake,” Cui Yunfeng said seriously. “Don’t forget what we once said. Perhaps he is the only person in your life who will regard you as dearly as his own life.”
“He cannot bear to abandon you, a person no one else cares about. You should cherish him too—the person who cares about you more than anyone else.”
Cui Yunchu maintained her smile, but a faint glimmer of tears appeared in her eyes.
“Eldest Sister,” Cui Yunfeng declared, patting her chest, “you can marry into his household without worry. I’m Princess An, and I’ll stand behind you. If anyone dares mistreat you, I’ll hold a banquet at Prince An’s residence and make sure she never leaves.”
On the imperial court, Prince An rubbed his nose. He felt a little itchy, as though he were about to sneeze.
Once all the departments had finished reporting their respective matters, Shen Xiabai suddenly stepped forward. He was just about to speak when Cui Qingyuan beat him to it.
“Your Majesty, this old subject has something to report.”
Shen Xiabai raised a brow, glanced at Prime Minister Cui, and leisurely returned to his place.
The emperor noticed the little exchange between them and said calmly, “You have leave to speak.”
Cui Qingyuan said, “This old subject’s eldest son has been away from the capital for several years. Now that he has returned, he has been past twenty for several years already. Men his age have all married and fathered children, and it pains this old subject greatly. Therefore, I selected a well-bred and learned young lady from my mother’s family. Their betrothal has already been arranged, and the wedding is tentatively set for after the New Year.”
“…”
The emperor looked at Prime Minister Cui several times, his gaze stunned. Then he gave a soft, “Oh.”
Shen Xiabai also raised a brow and looked at Cui Qingyuan in surprise, amusement spilling from his eyes.
His A-Chu was truly mischievous.
“And what exactly does my esteemed subject mean by this? Do you want me to grant the marriage?” the emperor asked, arching his brows.
Cui Qingyuan froze.
The Cui family faction, who had been preparing to lend their support, froze as well.
Something was wrong. This was not what the prime minister had instructed them to do.
“Your Majesty… agreed?” Cui Qingyuan asked with a frown.
A sense of unease stirred in his heart. Everything was going far too smoothly—so smoothly that it made him panic.
“If not, then what?” The emperor lifted the corner of his brow. “Your children’s marriages need not be reported to me in the first place.”
“…”
Prime Minister Cui’s brows drew together so tightly they were nearly knotted.
He returned to his place and cast Shen Xiabai a sidelong glance.
Shen Xiabai was perfectly gracious. “Prime Minister, have you finished? If so, it is this minister’s turn.”
For every hundred officials, there were a hundred and twenty who sensed that something was wrong. Yet Cui Qingyuan could not put his finger on it, so he gave a slight nod.
With a faint smile, Shen Xiabai strode forward. “Your Majesty, this minister was ordered to select a husband for the Second Princess. I now have someone in mind.”
“Oh?” The emperor showed a trace of interest.
The empress dowager pestered him about it every day, and he was thoroughly tired of it. He only hoped to settle Xiao Lan’s marriage as soon as possible.
Cui Qingyuan looked at Shen Xiabai strangely, while the other officials all hunched their heads, terrified that the matter might fall upon them.
The Second Princess’s ill fate was no joke. Her previous two husbands had both died in freak accidents, as though they had been summoned one after another by the King of Hell. Who would not be unnerved?
That was precisely why the empress dowager was so anxious.
Although Xiao Lan held the exalted status of a princess, no one truly dared to marry her.
Shen Xiabai’s voice was deep and powerful. “I acted on His Majesty’s orders to search the court for a man with a hard enough fate to be paired with the princess. In the end, my efforts were rewarded—I truly found someone.”
“Prime Minister Cui Qingyuan has been a widower for more than a decade. He has successively outlived his principal wife and his concubine, and to this day has no women in his household. His fate is every bit as hard as the princess’s, making him an excellent match.”
The moment those words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent. Everyone stared at Shen Xiabai in shock, dumbstruck, as though they had to be hearing things.
Prime Minister Cui felt a rumble overhead, as if a bolt of lightning had struck from a clear sky. His usually dignified, impassive face was filled with astonishment.
Prince An and the Crown Prince looked as though they, too, had been struck by lightning.
Shen Xiabai’s smile did not change as he looked at Cui Qingyuan. “What is it? Could it be that Prime Minister Cui is already betrothed? You never mentioned it just now.”
“...”
