In the thirteenth year of her life, Cui Yunshu had a dream and learned that she wasn't transmigrating but had transmigrated into a book. In the book, her entire family would be exiled to Lingna...
Chapter 37
Cui Yuanjue felt like his head was about to explode.
It wasn't the dull, aching pain you get after a hangover.
It was a sharper kind of thinking, like someone was stirring his mind with a red-hot iron rod, turning all his thoughts into a pot of boiling, desperate porridge.
The study in the Eastern Palace was very quiet.
It was so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat, one after another, dull and futile, pounding against his sternum.
On the table in front of him lay a file.
This is a preliminary case file concerning corruption in the Grand Canal transport sector.
He recognized every single word on it. But when they were put together, they were like a swarm of living, black ants crawling around in front of him, burrowing into his brain, and gnawing away at his pitiful confidence and self-esteem.
The trail went cold in Yangzhou.
The official in charge of escorting the shipment died suddenly. The accounts were burned to ashes by an “accidental” fire. All the witnesses unanimously said that they encountered a once-in-a-century storm, the grain ship capsized, and all the official grain sank to the bottom of the river.[45]
Seamless.
A closed loop so perfect it's chilling.
But everyone knows it's fake.
The missing 300,000 shi of official grain was enough to allow the entire Second Prince's faction to speak with their heads held high in the court the following year.
His Highness the Crown Prince, Tang Jingcheng, sat opposite him.
He didn't speak, but simply stared quietly at the old locust tree outside the window, his brows slightly furrowed. The pressure emanating from him was like an invisible, heavy veil, enveloping the entire study and making Cui Yuanjue feel suffocated.
Cui Yuanjue's palms were covered in cold sweat.
He was twenty years old this year, and he became the top scholar in the imperial examination. He entered the Hanlin Academy and was appointed as the Crown Prince's tutor. He was the eldest son of the Cui family and the object of envy and jealousy of all his peers in the capital. He should have been the pride of heaven and a promising new talent in the Eastern Palace.[46]
But now, he feels like a piece of trash.
A useless, incompetent, pathetic piece of trash who can't even understand the case files.[31]
The Crown Prince entrusted this case to him, which was a sign of his trust in him and an opportunity for him to truly establish himself in the Eastern Palace.
But he disappointed the crown prince.
He betrayed that trust.
He wanted to speak, to say something, to offer even the least foolish suggestion. But his throat felt like it was blocked by a wad of cotton; he couldn't utter a sound.
"Yuan Jue".
The Crown Prince finally spoke, his voice as gentle as ever, yet revealing a hint of barely perceptible weariness.
"This matter is not urgent. You should go back to your residence first and think it over carefully; perhaps you will come up with new ideas."
This is consideration.
But to Cui Yuanjue, this was more humiliating than any rebuke.
He walked out of the East Palace like a zombie, the cold autumn wind blowing on his face, but he felt no chill.
He felt as if the fire in his heart was about to burn him to ashes.
...
By the time they returned to the Cui residence, it was already late at night.
He locked himself in his study, staring at the copied case file, like a wild beast trapped in a cage.
The door was gently pushed open.
He mistook her for a maid delivering late-night snacks, and without even looking up, impatiently yelled, "Get out!"
The footsteps paused for a moment, but did not leave.
A familiar scent, a blend of faint floral fragrance and a hint of ink, wafted over.
He suddenly raised his head.
It's Cui Yunshu.
His fourth sister.
She stood there, holding a small lantern in her hand. The dim yellow light outlined her face, which was almost too calm.
"Second Brother."
She called him.
"Why are you here?" Cui Yuanjue's voice was hoarse, with a hint of annoyance at being seen through in his embarrassment.
Cui Yunshu did not answer. She walked to the table and placed a heavy brocade pouch on the case file that was giving him a splitting headache.
"What's this?"
“Activity funds,” she said.
Cui Yuanjue was taken aback and opened the brocade pouch.
It wasn't silver notes, but a neatly stacked pile of gold leaves. The glint of the gold hurt his eyes.
"you……"
“Life in the Crown Prince’s Palace must be tough.” Cui Yunshu’s gaze fell on the case file. “Welcoming guests, tidying up relationships, smoothing things over—it all costs money. Second Brother, you’re straightforward and disdainful of this, but too much purity leaves no room for fish.”
Cui Yuanjue felt as if something had stabbed him hard in the heart.
His most secret, most unwillingly acknowledged predicament was revealed by her in such a casual manner.
"I don't want your money." He pushed the brocade pouch back, his voice curt.
Cui Yunshu did not go to pick it up.
Her finger lightly tapped the case file.
"Is the investigation into the canal transport case stalled?"
Cui Yuanjue's face instantly turned red.
"How...how did you know?"
"Is it that hard to guess?" Cui Yunshu's tone was as calm as if she were commenting on the weather. "The Second Prince always likes to start things from the root. The Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou is his man. The Grand Canal Transport Commissioner is his uncle's brother-in-law. Transporting 300,000 shi of grain by waterway would cause too much of a commotion. But what if it were consumed locally?"
Cui Yuanjue's mind went blank.
"What's the meaning?"
“Checking the ledgers and witnesses are both poor strategies.” Cui Yunshu’s voice was like a cold scalpel, precisely dissecting the hardest shell of the case. “Second brother, send someone to investigate whether the largest grain merchants in Yangzhou have changed owners in the last three months. Also, investigate whether the good-for-nothing son of that suddenly deceased escort officer has bought a new three-courtyard house in the best location in the capital.”
"Also, don't focus on grain. Investigate the salt. Investigate the whereabouts of the most recent batch of official salt from the Yangzhou salt fields. See if a large quantity of salt has been transported to the garrisons in the mountains where no grain is produced."
Cui Yuanjue was completely stunned.
He looked at his sister, at her eyes, which were as dark as an abyss in the lamplight.
Every point she made was like a lightning bolt, cleaving through the fog in his mind.
How did she know?
These things weren't mentioned at all in the case file! She never even left the mansion!
This is no longer considered clever.
This is... witchcraft.
"You..." He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
Cui Yunshu seemed oblivious to his shock; she simply pushed the brocade pouch filled with gold leaves forward a little further.
"Second Brother, those who achieve great things don't concern themselves with trifles. Money is just a tool. Use it to persuade those who are higher in rank and more senior than you. Use it to make those who run errands for you more dedicated."
“Remember this: when you stand in the Eastern Palace, you represent not just yourself, but the entire Cui family. The more firmly you stand, the safer our Cui family will be.”
After she finished speaking, she turned around, picked up the small lantern, and silently disappeared into the darkness outside the door.
Cui Yuanjue sat alone in the study, lost in thought.
for a long time.
for a long time.
He slowly reached out his trembling hand and picked up the brocade pouch.
It felt cold and heavy when I held it.
Like his current mood.
...
Council chamber.
The air felt like solidified glue, thick, heavy, and suffocating.
The final battle over the Articles of Association has reached a fever pitch.
All the minor details had been settled, except for the most crucial point, which remained stuck there like a fishbone, lodged in everyone's throat.
Operating rights.
"Outrageous!" Zhang Ge, the Minister of Revenue, his old face flushed red with agitation. "How can the Royal Company be controlled by a single family for ten years? What difference is there between this and handing over the national treasury directly to the Cui family? I resolutely oppose it!"
The second prince sat there without saying a word, but the cold smile on his lips already showed his attitude.
Cui Wen stood in the center of the hall, feeling his back completely soaked with cold sweat.
He could feel the scrutinizing, greedy, and hostile gazes coming from all directions. He was like a gladiator pushed into the arena, and his only weapon was the few light words his daughter had given him the night before.
"Minister Cui," the Crown Prince said, looking at him, his voice gentle yet carrying a hint of pressure, "a ten-year term is indeed... a bit too long. How about we change it to a three-year period?"
This is a compromise.
It was also a test.
In a flash, Cui Wen's mind was filled with the image of his daughter's terrifyingly calm eyes and the words she had spoken.
“Father, what they want is a tangible, stable profit. What we want is an intangible, absolute time.”
He took a deep, deep breath.
Then, he raised his head and, in a tone that even he himself found unfamiliar, a tone of desperate resolve, said, word by word:
"Your Highness, Your Excellencies."
"Ten years, not a single day less!"
The audience erupted in uproar.
Everyone thought the Cui family would back down and compromise. No one expected them to be so firm on this point.
"Cui Wen! How dare you!" Zhang Ge shouted angrily.
Cui Wen ignored him, his gaze fixed on the direction of the dragon throne. Although it was empty, he knew that everything that happened there would reach that person's ears immediately.
"The Cui family can forgo profits!"
He dropped the first bomb.
"We can forgo the 30% stipulated in the articles of association! We only need... half a percent! That's enough for the thousands of people in the Cui family!"
The council chamber fell silent instantly.
An expression of disbelief appeared on everyone's face.
Free of charge?
All you want is power?
What is the Cui family after?
Cui Wen didn't give them time to think; he immediately threw out his final and most lethal trump card.
"Not only that! My Cui family is willing to pledge our loyalty here!"
His voice suddenly rose, echoing throughout the hall, carrying a desperate madness.
"If the 'Royal Maritime Trading Company' cannot bring a cumulative net profit of fifty million taels of silver to our Great Qin within ten years!"
"My entire Cui family is willing to confiscate all our property! I, Cui Wen, am even willing to offer my head as a sacrifice!!"
boom--
The entire council chamber seemed to have been struck by a thunderbolt.
Fifty million taels!
What does that mean? That's almost five years' worth of revenue for the Qin Dynasty's national treasury!
Everyone has gone mad.
They looked at Cui Wen as if he were a complete madman.
What an insane gamble!
They risked the lives of their entire family and their century-old business to gamble on a vague, astronomical future!
However, after the madness comes an uncontrollable greed that seeps out from the very marrow of one's bones.
Fifty million taels...
if……
What if it's true?
Even half a percent of the profit is enough to make them incredibly wealthy!
No one spoke anymore.
No one objected anymore.
Everyone's eyes turned red.
They were stunned by this enormous pie, a pie that had the lives of the Cui family staked on it.
...
When Cui Wen staggered out of the council hall, he felt as if he had been pulled out of the water.
It's done.
The charter has been adopted.
At the same time.
The Eastern Palace.
Cui Yuanjue respectfully presented the Crown Prince with a detailed investigation report on the corruption case in the Grand Canal and silver notes for the 300,000 taels of stolen silver that had been recovered.
The Crown Prince looked at the report, at the clear outline of the Second Prince's faction, and at the brilliant solution that could both recover the embezzled funds and serve as a warning to others without triggering a fierce factional struggle.
He raised his head and looked at the young man in front of him, who was much more composed than before. In his eyes, there was an unprecedented and undisguised appreciation and reliance.
“Yuan Jue, I… did not misjudge you.”
Cui Yuanjue's heart skipped a beat.
He succeeded.
For his family and for himself, he earned the Crown Prince's most precious trust.
As he stepped out of the East Palace, the autumn sunlight warmed him for the first time.
He pulled a small piece of paper from his sleeve.
My sister just sent it over.
There was only one line of neat, small characters on it.
"Second brother, congratulations. But this is just the beginning."
Chapter 40: An Ally Offers a "Grand Plan," But I'm the Infiltrator
The top floor of Yunjian Pavilion has never been so quiet.
The sweet, bustling, and luxurious atmosphere of the daytime has now settled and solidified in the cold air, like a faded oil painting.
Cui Yunshu sat by the window.
She didn't look at the ledger.
She simply looked out the window at the pale moon, half-hidden, hanging against the dark silhouette of the distant imperial city.
Like an unclosed eye in death.
She won.
In the imperial court, the "Company Articles of Association" that she had painstakingly written was finally finalized after Cui Wen gambled with the lives of his entire family.
In the Eastern Palace, her elder brother Cui Yuanjue, with the clues and money she provided, brilliantly solved the case of corruption in the Grand Canal, leaving an indelible mark on the Crown Prince's heart.
In the business world, Yunjian Pavilion's business was booming, and the Second Prince's plan to undermine the government's foundation turned into a self-humiliating joke.
Everything went as she planned, even better than she had imagined.
She should be happy.
But she couldn't feel it.
She just felt tired.
A kind of weariness that seeps out little by little from the very bones, carrying a chill.
She was like someone who had walked a long, long night road and finally saw lights in the distance, but she also knew that beneath those lights was not a warm home, but another, deeper, more unpredictable darkness.
She picked up the teacup on the table; the tea had long since gone cold.
She doesn't like drinking hot tea.
The one rolling lightly was not the leisurely type of guest.
The footsteps were steady and powerful, each step like a drumbeat, carrying an irrepressible, almost bursting excitement and exhilaration.
Cui Yunshu did not turn around.
She knew who it was.
Apart from him, no one dared to barge into her private rooftop room, which was never open to the public, without prior notice.
The door was gently pushed open.
Tang Pu walked in.
He changed out of his military uniform and into a dark civilian outfit, but he still couldn't hide the fierce blood and sharpness he brought back from the battlefield.
The anger and usual frivolity were gone from his face.
Instead, he wore an expression of solemnity and reverence, almost like that of a pilgrim. His eyes, in the dim light, shone eerily bright, like two burning, ghostly blue flames.
"I am coming."
He spoke, his voice low and trembling slightly, a tremor he himself was unaware of, caused by excessive excitement.
Cui Yunshu slowly turned her head and looked at him.
"sit."
Her voice, like the cold, thin moonlight outside the window, was devoid of any warmth.
Tang Pu did not sit down.
He walked up to Cui Yunshu and carefully placed the long, heavy object wrapped in black brocade that he had been holding onto the huge round table that was big enough for three or four people to sit around.
That posture didn't look like it was placing something down.
It's like worshipping a sacred artifact.
“Princess,” he took a deep breath and said in an unprecedentedly solemn tone, “I believe the time… has come. Today, I have come to invite you to convene a top-level strategic meeting concerning the future of our ‘great cause’.”
Cui Yunshu's eye twitched violently.
Looking at Tang Pu's fervent face, which was filled with the fervor of "I want to do something great," she suddenly had a very bad premonition.
I'm too lazy to guess.
She looked at him without speaking, but nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.
Tang Pu received tacit approval, and his spirits instantly lifted.
He reached out and, with an almost trembling gesture, slowly untied the layer of dark brocade.
Inside was a huge scroll made of fine parchment.
He rolled up the scroll on the table and unrolled it little by little.
A colossal, incredibly detailed map of the entire Qin Dynasty, covering its entire territory, filled the entire desktop.
Cui Yunshu's pupils suddenly contracted.
That's not an ordinary map.
It was covered with countless marks, arrows, and tiny handwriting in red and black ink.
Mountains, rivers, passes, garrisons...
Everything was clearly visible.
What made her even more uneasy was that she saw that all the locations of "Yunjian Pavilion" branches across the country were circled with a small, bright red flame symbol.
Tang Pu's finger tapped on the map like a red-hot branding iron.
His voice, trembling with excitement, was as if he were reciting a magnificent epic.
"Princess! Master strategist!"
He no longer calls her Cui Yunshu.
"Look!" He pointed heavily at the capital city. "Ever since you proposed the 'joint-stock company' strategy, successfully turning the emperor's suppression into our advantage and binding the entire court to our cause, I have been pondering day and night the deeper meaning behind your next move!"
"In business, you dealt a heavy blow to the Second Prince, cutting off his source of wealth!"
"You helped your brother achieve merit in the court and planted our most reliable pawn in the Crown Prince's heart!"
"All of this is exactly as you predicted, step by step, dismantling the old order and clearing obstacles for our 'great cause'!"
Cui Yunshu listened without expression.
In my mind, however, I've already started frantically refreshing the screen.
Brother... I just want to make some money, save my life, and incidentally, help my brother get ahead in the Eastern Palace so he doesn't get beheaded along with us!
What grand undertaking?
What clears away the obstacles?
What exactly is in your head?
Tang Pu was completely unaware of her inner thoughts; he was completely absorbed in his own imagination and grand plans.
His fingers traced a path from the capital city all the way to the East China Sea.
"Look here!" He pointed to the azure sea, his voice filled with fervor, "'Royal Maritime Trading Company'! This is your most brilliant move! On the surface, we handed over the fleet, but in reality, we exchanged ten years of operating rights and a military pledge of fifty million taels for absolute, uninterrupted control over this fleet!"
"This isn't some merchant fleet; it's clearly our...private navy!"
Cui Yunshu felt a chill creeping down the back of her head.
A private navy?
All I wanted to do was assemble a fleet and run away! How did that become a private navy?
"And here!" Tang Pu's finger landed on the "Cloud Pavilion" branches marked with flame symbols. "You've opened shops in every state, every prefecture, and even every important pass in the Great Qin! Before, I only thought you were doing it to make money. It wasn't until the time you sent warm clothes to the Northern Border that I suddenly realized!"
He raised his head and looked at Cui Yunshu with the gaze one would give a god.
"This isn't a shop! This is clearly our intelligence network spread across the country! It's our military outpost! Our armory!!"
"puff--"
Cui Yunshu almost spat out her herbal tea.
She desperately tried to hold back, picked up her teacup, and pretended to drink water to hide the distorted expression on her face that was about to break down.
military depot?
armory?
That's a warehouse, buddy! It's filled with flour and cream! Are you suggesting that future soldiers charge into battle carrying a cake in one hand and a cream puff in the other?!
"Therefore!" Tang Pu's voice reached its climax. He lay sprawled on the map, like a lion about to pounce on its prey. "Princess! Strategist! All the groundwork has been laid! Now, I implore you to issue the first phase of the 'Great Cause' action plan!"
He took out another thick booklet from his pocket and solemnly placed it on the map.
Five large, flamboyant characters were written on it.
Memorial on Pacifying the Nation and Establishing a New State
Looking at those five words, Cui Yunshu felt as if her eyes had been stabbed.
She didn't even need to open it; she could guess what was written inside with her toes.
How to use the ships of the "Royal Shipping Company" to transport soldiers.
How to use the shops in "Yunjian Pavilion" to transmit intelligence and stockpile food.
How can we use the money earned from Cloud Pavilion to recruit soldiers and forge weapons in a remote, mountainous region far from the emperor's reach?
This is a detailed, step-by-step, logically sound document that even outlines the rewards and honors bestowed upon various officials after the uprising...
A complete, utter, and utterly insane...
A plot to rebel.
It's over.
This is completely over.
Cui Yunshu felt as if the blood in her body was about to freeze. The string of "reason" in her mind finally snapped with a piercing buzz.
She looked at Tang Pu's starry eyes, which seemed to be saying, "Praise me quickly!" and "Give the order quickly!"
The elegant, dignified noblewoman within her, dressed in fine clothes, finally broke down. She ripped off her hairpin, her hair disheveled, knelt on the ground, and frantically pounded the floor.
"Help! I just want to run away! I just want to be an ordinary landlady, collecting rent every day, drinking tea, and reading storybooks!"
"Who wants to do anything big with you! My ally is a traitor, and he even thinks I'm his boss! I can't take this anymore! Destroy it! Just do it now!"
However.
On the surface.
Cui Yunshu slowly, very slowly, put down her teacup.
She stood up, walked to the table, and gently stroked the cover of the book "Memorial on Pacifying the Nation and Establishing a Nation" with her slender fingers.
On her face was the same unfathomable, calm expression that Tang Pu was familiar with, as if she knew everything.
Under Tang Pu's expectant and burning gaze, she finally spoke with difficulty.
"Yuanzhi".
For the first time, she called him by his courtesy name.
Tang Pu's body jolted violently, his cheeks flushed instantly, and he was as excited as a boiled shrimp.
"You...are thoughtful and capable of undertaking great responsibilities."
Cui Yunshu, against her conscience, managed to squeeze out a compliment.
"but……"
She changed the subject.
Tang Pu immediately held his breath, like a primary school student waiting for the teacher to correct his homework, nervously listening to the supreme instructions of the "chief strategist".
“You only see one side of the story, not the other.” Cui Yunshu’s voice was ethereal and otherworldly, as if it came from the heavens above. “A towering building rises from the ground. Our foundation is not yet solid.”
"Foundation?" Tang Pu asked, puzzled.
“Yes.” Cui Yunshu’s finger gently drew a circle on the map. “The company is newly established and people’s hearts are not yet settled; the court is rife with intricate entrenched factions; although the Northern Border has the will of the army, it is not yet a coherent system. To start an uprising now would be a castle in the air, which would collapse at the slightest push.”
"Then... what should we do?"
“Take it slow and steady.” Cui Yunshu uttered four words, each one like a block of ice striking Tang Pu’s burning heart. “To fight external enemies, we must first secure internal stability. Your task now is not to stare at this map, but to lay a solid foundation for our ‘great cause’.”
"Please give your instructions, Master!" Tang Pu knelt on one knee, his expression solemn.
Cui Yunshu looked at him, her heart already numb.
She casually pointed to a mountainous area on the map and said listlessly, "Go, survey the terrain and draw more detailed maps. Go, contact your old comrades in the army; don't promise them high positions or generous salaries, just establish good relations. Go, use the money we earn to build bridges, pave roads, provide relief to displaced people, and win back the hearts of the people..."
She was too tired to continue.
She just wanted to get rid of this big shot as soon as possible.
However.
Upon hearing this, Tang Pu showed no disappointment whatsoever; instead, his eyes shone even brighter.
He suddenly raised his head, looked at Cui Yunshu, and his voice was filled with sudden realization and immense admiration.
"I understand! I understand!"
“I almost missed the strategist’s profound meaning! You mean that the real ‘great undertaking’ does not lie in conquering cities and territories overnight, but in the slow and steady work of cultivating the people’s hearts and minds and building a solid foundation!”
"I was too impatient! I only thought about the flowers and fruit, but forgot about the sowing and cultivating! Thank you for your guidance, sir!"
After he finished speaking, he kowtowed heavily on the ground.
Then, he stood up and carefully put away the "Memorial on Pacifying the Nation and Establishing the State," as if it were some kind of peerless martial arts manual, without even glancing at the map again.
"Rest assured, sir! Yuanzhi, I will go and lay the foundation! I will not fail you until we have built an impregnable fortress!" [5-1]
Before he finished speaking, he turned and rushed out like a gust of wind, just as he had come.
The private room fell silent again, as if dead.
Cui Yunshu slowly, very slowly, slumped back into her chair.
Looking at the map on the table covered with "treason" markings, and at the pale moon outside the window, she suddenly felt that her life was like an absurd joke that would never end.
She reached out to pick up the cup of tea that had gone cold.
But her hands trembled so much that she couldn't even lift a small teacup.
It's over.
She thought in despair.
I think... I really can't turn back now.