Cui Qingyuan’s face turned ashen. “Lord Shen, you jest. My eldest daughter is already the same age as Her Highness the Princess.”
“That only means Prime Minister Cui married young. After living alone for so many years, you must be all the more in need of someone attentive by your side.”
“You—”
Prime Minister Cui’s face darkened like ink, his chest heaving violently. It was impossible to describe the emotions roiling within him.
The Emperor, too, only just recovered from his shock. “Lord Shen, have you perhaps not yet woken up?”
Shen Xiabai replied with righteous confidence, “Your Majesty, you are the most discerning of men. Prime Minister Cui clearly agreed yesterday and even accepted the Princess’s eight characters, which I had someone deliver to him. Yet today he suddenly refuses to honor his word. This plainly shows that he holds no regard for Your Majesty. He ought to be given a few strokes of the cane to teach him a lesson.”
He was bringing up the cane again…
The Emperor awkwardly fell silent, afraid that Shen Xiabai would seize on the matter and insist that Prime Minister Cui be beaten no matter what.
In truth, he was quite happy to see it happen. It was merely that Shen Xiabai’s reason was so far-fetched that it made him look rather undignified—as though His Majesty, the sovereign of the realm, were narrow-minded.
Prime Minister Cui opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly fell silent. It seemed he had realized something and remembered a certain matter.
So Yun Chu had known. She simply had not said a word, deliberately conspiring with Shen Xiabai.
Cui Qingyuan was nearly furious enough to die.
“Your Majesty, this old subject is already middle-aged, while the Princess is in the prime of her youth. Neither the Empress Dowager nor the Princess would agree to such a thing. Your Majesty must not listen to Lord Shen’s slanderous counsel.”
“So Prime Minister Cui means…” Shen Xiabai’s voice turned cold and eerie. “That the Empress Dowager and the Princess’s words carry more weight than His Majesty’s?”
“That is not what I mean at all! Lord Shen, do not put words in my mouth and twist my meaning.”
The veins at Cui Qingyuan’s temples began to throb, his face shifting between livid and black.
To drive an old fox who had spent years navigating the imperial court into such a state was a skill in itself—and Shen Xiabai clearly possessed it.
The other officials remained silent, standing off to the side and watching the spectacle.
Only Prince An behaved like a proper junior, occasionally chiming in to support Prime Minister Cui. Even the Crown Prince stood far away, keeping his mouth firmly shut.
Shen Xiabai cast a sidelong glance at Prime Minister Cui, his tone mild. “I certainly hadn’t noticed that Prime Minister Cui had grown old. Just now, when you were arguing with me, you sounded full of vigor. Clearly, you are still hale and hearty.”
Prime Minister Cui: “…”
The ball of fire in his chest was on the verge of exploding.
Prime Minister Cui let out a cold snort and no longer argued with Shen Xiabai. He merely said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, the Princess is in the prime of her youth, while this old subject is already halfway into the grave. It is absolutely impossible.”
“Why is it impossible?” Shen Xiabai cut in.
“I am speaking with His Majesty!”
“His Majesty hasn’t said that I’m not allowed to speak.”
Shameless! Utterly nonsensical! Right and wrong had been turned upside down!
Had Prime Minister Cui not maintained the manners expected of a statesman, he would likely have been unable to stop himself from cursing aloud.
The Emperor narrowed his eyes as he watched the two men quarrel, remaining silent.
No one knew what he was thinking.
But when he allowed Shen Xiabai to continue, the other officials gradually began to sense what His Majesty intended.
Could the Emperor truly be planning to agree to such an absurd matter?
The other officials had regarded it merely as a show, never believing there was any chance of it coming to pass.
Yet the Emperor’s attitude made them reassess the situation from the beginning.
It seemed everyone had forgotten one important thing: a princess who married into the imperial family could not at the same time sit in the position of prime minister and wield real power.
Shen Xiabai spoke at length. “This official believes that there has always been such a thing as a friendship between people of different ages. There are also no shortage of officials in court with young wives. As long as the two get along, age is no issue.”
Cui Qingyuan glared at him, his face turning livid as Lord Shen’s sanctimonious words poured endlessly into his ears.
“Prime Minister Cui is an outstanding man, as everyone can see. He holds the position of prime minister, has a dignified appearance, and retains his refinement despite his years. As for whether he has a hard life or not, everyone here has witnessed that for themselves. Aside from his age, one truly cannot find a single fault with him.”
“Besides, a man who is a little older will ultimately know better how to cherish and care for someone. He would be the perfect match for the princess.”
Age was Cui Qingyuan’s only flaw. If she married some young man from another family, that fellow would be riddled with flaws from head to toe.
“Furthermore, what young master could achieve as much as Prime Minister Cui? If the princess married him, she would become the lady of the household and receive an honorific title. Looking across the entire court, what young master could possibly compare?”
The civil and military officials who stood farther away cupped a hand behind their ears, while those nearby stared at Shen Xiabai’s eloquent mouth, utterly transfixed.
They were not merely impressed. They could not help wondering how Lord Shen’s mouth had been made so marvelous.
In short, there were only benefits and no drawbacks. He could turn the dead into the living—and make the whole thing sound genuinely tempting.
Cui Qingyuan was not a silver-tongued man, and he was no match for Shen Xiabai when it came to shamelessness either. He could only stand there stiffly, so furious that his head was spinning.
“If that is the case, then would Lord Shen not be even more suitable than this prime minister?” Cui Qingyuan said coldly. “You are still young, yet you have already risen high in the court, and your methods are exceptional. You would be even less likely to bring shame upon the princess.”
“This official will not do,” Shen Xiabai replied. “My life is not hard enough. I am afraid of dying.”
Prince An’s eyelid twitched. He murmured to the person beside him, “Why do I vaguely remember him saying before that his life was hard?”
The person beside him hurriedly retreated several steps and shook his head, terrified of being dragged into the matter.
“Did he not?” Prince An raised a brow. “Could I have remembered incorrectly?”
Prime Minister Cui gave a cold laugh. “A man capable of overseeing the Office of Prudential Punishments claims his life is not hard enough and that he fears death? If that were true, he would have been unable to stand here long ago!”
Shen Xiabai said, “Then this official still cannot do it. My beloved and I made a vow before Buddha long ago. In this life, we will have only each other. Should either of us break that vow and marry someone else…”
Everyone waited for Shen Xiabai to finish, but he suddenly stopped. Looking at Prime Minister Cui, he flashed a dazzling smile.
“The things we swore on our fathers, and the amusing stories about our children, are not something I should share with Prime Minister Cui.”
“You—you—you—”
The Crown Prince silently stepped forward two paces, afraid that Cui Qingyuan might faint so he could catch him.
Cui Qingyuan was a man of immense authority in court, someone who could remain expressionless even when the emperor flew into a rage. Yet today, every trace of his composure and dignity had been swept away.
Prince An tilted his head and added, “If I remember correctly, Lord Shen’s father has already been buried for more than a decade.”
Shen Xiabai slowly cast him a glance.
Naturally. Otherwise, why would he bet on his father?
“When my beloved is happy, she can bet on whatever she likes,” Shen Xiabai said. “I’ll bet on whatever she bets on.”
Prince An nodded and let out an “Oh,” then straightened up.
A broken pot paired with a cracked lid—those two getting together could only mean Heaven was finally showing some sense of justice.
Shen Xiabai said, “In short, I simply feel that the princess and Prime Minister Cui are extraordinarily well matched—a perfect pair, one might say.”
The emperor: “…”
He glanced at Prime Minister Cui, who looked as though he were about to faint, and closed his eyes.
It was no lie that Prime Minister Cui had retained his youthful charm. His prime minister did indeed possess an exceptionally refined and handsome face, but as for his age…
Never mind whether the Empress Dowager would agree to Xiao Lan taking him as her husband—even if Xiao Lan merely called him “big brother,” the emperor would find it mortifying.
Shen Xiabai clearly had no idea when to stop. He continued, speaking at length, “If Prime Minister Cui were not still hale and hearty, he ought to have retired long ago and withdrawn to the countryside. Since he refuses to do so now, I presume it is because he looks down on the princess’s reputation. To show such contempt for imperial authority is a serious offense, Your Majesty. He should be punished with fifty strokes.”
Fifty strokes.
Every civil and military official present, the emperor included, twitched at the corners of their mouths.
Lord Shen wasn’t trying to arrange a marriage at all. He was clearly aiming to get Prime Minister Cui killed.
