Cui Yunfeng immediately grabbed Cui Yunchu's wrist and whispered, "Don't go, I'm a little scared."
Cui Yunchu pulled her hand away and said sarcastically, "You have someone who loves you, what are you afraid of?"
"."
Didn't she already agree to give up her jewelry to ward off disaster? Cui Yunfeng's face drooped, feeling very helpless.
At this moment, Old Madam Cui, seated at the head, spoke, "Today, our Cui residence has received a favor from His Highness Prince An. Grandmother has already sent someone to Prince An's estate to offer a generous gift."
"Grandmother, Prince An is not at his estate. He is currently in Her Highness Consort Liang's palace," Cui Yunfeng said.
Cui Yunchu looked sideways at Cui Yunfeng's foolishly naive face, utterly speechless.
Cui Yunfeng, however, blinked and smiled slightly, though the rims of her eyes were a bit red.
Fine, it turned out she wasn't failing to understand; she was just playing dumb while knowing the truth perfectly well.
"Yunfeng, come to Grandmother's side."
Cui Yunfeng lowered her eyes, concealed her emotions, and slowly walked over to sit beside Old Madam Cui.
Old Madam Cui affectionately stroked the top of her head. "Yunfeng, His Highness Prince An truly treats you very well. Based on his actions today, this is beyond doubt."
Cui Yunfeng lifted her head, a faint glimmer of light seeming to shine in her eyes.
"But the Cui family absolutely cannot intermarry with the royal family again."
The light in Cui Yunfeng's eyes instantly vanished, and she stared blankly at Old Madam Cui.
Just then, Tang Qingwan's little maidservant came to report that her things were all packed, so Tang Qingwan stood up and took her leave.
After she left, Cui Yunfeng finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Why? Is it because Cousin is marrying the Crown Prince, so the Cui family cannot support two princes at the same time?"
"Grandmother." Cui Yunfeng anxiously grabbed Old Madam Cui's hand. "I told Xiao Yi long ago that the matters between us do not involve our families. Even if I am with him, I won't ask the family to do anything."
Old Madam Cui patted the back of her hand soothingly. "Silly child, a prince's marriage is never as simple as you think."
"You are a daughter of the Cui family. Regardless of whether the Cui and Tang families help him or not, your marriage to Prince An would represent both clans. You and the family are one entity, impossible to separate forever. Furthermore, the Emperor and the Empress would absolutely never agree to it."
The Emperor's original intention was to weaken the two clans; how could he possibly agree to let two of his sons marry daughters of the Cui family? The Empress would be even less willing to allow the Cui family to waver between the Crown Prince and Prince An.
"But Grandmother, I love him, and my heart aches for him." Xiao Yi's words from today suddenly flooded her mind. Cui Yunfeng felt that if she married someone else, Xiao Yi would truly go mad.
Old Madam Cui's heart ached for her granddaughter, but she had no choice but to administer a harsh dose of reality. "But if that happens, you will get your cousin killed. Yunfeng, could you bear to do that?"
Tears still hung on Cui Yunfeng's face, and she looked somewhat dazed.
Old Madam Cui said, "The Cui family already has your cousin. If we allow you to marry into the royal family as well, outsiders will gossip that the Cui family has abandoned the Crown Prince. Abandoning the Crown Prince is equivalent to abandoning your cousin. In the Eastern Palace, the Liu family is glaring like tigers watching their prey, and the Empress is by no means a lenient person..."
"Then there is the Crown Prince. He is indecisive and values power above all else. He would have no choice but to rely on the Liu family and bestow his favor upon Liu Wanting. How would your cousin have any way to survive?"
Tang Qingwan's situation was truly surrounded by tigers and wolves.
"Can't we... break the engagement? Cousin won't be happy marrying the Crown Prince either."
Old Madam Cui shook her head. "The Emperor will not agree."
"Besides, your cousin's engagement to the Crown Prince came first. How do you know whether she is willing or not? Yunfeng, everything has an order of first come, first served. You cannot just cut in line."
Cui Yunfeng sat upright on the small stool, her head bowed as she stared at the embroidered tops of her shoes, falling silent.
Her heart felt as if it had been shredded into countless pieces, hurting so much she could barely breathe.
"Is there... really no other way?"
"Be a good girl." Old Madam Cui leaned over, took her hand, and embraced her.
Cui Yunfeng's tears fell like rain, and she soon cried until she was gasping for breath.
Old Madam Cui also had tears in the corners of her eyes and instructed Nanny Li to help Cui Yunfeng down to wash her face.
At this time, only Cui Yunchu was left sitting properly in the room. "Is Grandmother planning to arrange a marriage for Yunfeng?"
Old Madam Cui nodded. "Your father already has suitable candidates in mind. Once your cousin is married, the marriages of you two sisters will be settled, and you will wed as soon as possible."
Hearing such urgency, Cui Yunchu knew that her father was not entirely confident about the political game between the Cui and Tang families and the royal family.
Rushing to marry the two sisters off seemed more like an attempt to sever their ties to the impending storm.
"I'm just afraid that Prince An will not let the matter rest easily."
Hearing this, Old Madam Cui frowned and remained silent for a moment.
"Grandmother, is there truly not a sliver of possibility for Yunfeng and Prince An?"
Cui Yunchu really did not want the tragic ending of her previous life to repeat itself.
Old Madam Cui sighed softly and shook her head.
"But Prince An is truly infatuated with Yunfeng. I'm afraid it will be hard to find another young man like him." Even though he was mad, one couldn't pick out a single flaw in how he treated Cui Yunfeng.
Old Madam Cui replied, "Grandmother knows, but Prince An is ambitious. He and the Crown Prince are bound to have a life-and-death struggle. If we marry Yunfeng off to him, it means that between your cousin and Yunfeng, only one can survive."
Both the palms and the backs of her hands were her own flesh; how could she bear it?
"Furthermore, Prince An's temperament is not like the Crown Prince's."
This was the most important point. Cui Yunchu was initially a bit bewildered, but looking at her grandmother's solemn face, she immediately understood.
The Crown Prince was easily swayed. Although he valued power, he lacked decisiveness. Even if he ascended the throne to become Emperor one day, the Cui and Tang families would still have room to maneuver with him.
Prince An, however, was different.
His methods were ruthless, leaving no room for retreat, and his mind was incredibly deep. His current good relations with the Cui family were nothing but a superficial facade. His love for Yunfeng now was real, but how could Old Madam Cui and Prime Minister Cui, who were so accustomed to the fickleness of human hearts, dare to entrust the future of both clans to a momentary feeling?
Prince An was cold and callous. Prime Minister Cui had no certainty of being able to mediate with him, so how could he dare to gamble with the lives of the Cui and Tang families?
In front of him, Cui Yunfeng was no different from a little white rabbit.
The fear was that a single general's success would be built on ten thousand rotting bones.
The Emperor's current wariness of the Cui and Tang families was a lesson from the past.
