Chapter 133

Here's what happened: Xue Jin'an's birthday was approaching, and Zhou Yushu went to Cui Zui to plan a birthday celebration for Xue Jin'an at Jiu Tian Yi. However, when he got home, Cui Pengfei found out about it and insisted on attending. He then enthusiastically took the gift he had prepared for Xue Jin'an and went shopping to pick out a nice package for him.

Still reeling from his failed imperial examination, the gift-giver, Cui Zhuo, remained silent.

“Grandfather, I just want to be a good official.” Cui Zhuo frowned, trying to object.

Cui Pengfei picked out a set of blue brocade robes, glanced at him upon hearing this, and said in a nonchalant tone, "With your level of skill, you should stay in the Hanlin Academy and compile books. Being sent to serve as an official outside the capital is just harmful to people."

Cui Zhuo felt a sharp pain in his chest. All the words he wanted to say were shattered by this piercing arrow. He silently lowered his head. What a proud son of heaven he was, now standing here like a pitiful dog in the water.

"Go and change into these clothes, let me see if they fit." Cui Pengfei handed him the clothes.

Cui Zhuo turned around in silence, but heard his grandfather's voice calmly behind him, "You can correct your mistakes. If you can't correct them in three years, then six. If you can't correct them in six years, then nine. Being an official isn't about writing with a brush or reciting from a book. Study hard at the Hanlin Academy. If you succeed, you'll become a good official. If you don't succeed, you'll become a good teacher. No matter which path you take, your grandfather will be proud of you."

Cui Pengfei's actions against Cui Zhuo were simply to prevent him from making mistakes when he was still immature. Officials can correct their mistakes, but often a small error can cost a life. Cui Pengfei had lived through the war years, and he knew all too well the immense suffering that incompetent officials could inflict on the people. On this path, sometimes inaction is action, and action is wrong.

If it were Cui Zui, Cui Pengfei wouldn't stop him from being sent out for training, because Cui Zui could handle it. But Cui Zhuo couldn't. He followed the gentleman's code of conduct, and a person who was too much of a gentleman was not suitable to be an official. Once he suffered a setback, he would fall into an abyss from which he would never be able to recover.

"I understand," Cui Zhuo replied, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Grandfather, I don't want to choose now. Can't I choose after I've learned it well?"

Cui Zhuo knew that as long as his grandfather was alive, the Cui family would be a thorn in the emperor's side. He, being born into the Cui family, would not be easily given important positions. If he wanted the Cui family to return to the power stage in the capital, he had to choose a side and fight for a "meritorious service in supporting the emperor."

Cui Zhuo is different from Cui Zui. The latter is not favored by the Cui family. Unless it is a crime that involves nine generations of relatives, such as rebellion, the Cui family will not acknowledge or care about anything Cui Zui does. However, Cui Zhuo is the direct descendant of the Cui family, the proper young master of the Cui family, and the most promising one in the Cui family. His choice is the choice of the Cui family.

Cui Zhuo lacked Cui Pengfei's boldness; he carefully considered his moves while looking at the chessboard, hesitant to place a piece on the still empty board.

To put it bluntly, Cui Zhuo wanted to wait for the right price to go. His idea was good: as long as he climbed high enough and demonstrated strong abilities, he would gain more attention. He wanted to stand out before choosing a side.

The idea was correct; Cui Pengfei had thought the same thing before going to the capital, but unfortunately, he encountered the Seventh Prince.

"By the time you grow up, there will be no place for you," Cui Pengfei said ruthlessly, not forgetting that Master Cen's student group was still eyeing them covetously.

Speak of the devil, and he appears. Cui Pengfei turned around and saw Master Cen and his apprentice selling candied hawthorns at the door.

Just as Cui Zhuo was about to greet Master Cen, Cui Pengfei, annoyed by his presence, sent him off to get dressed.

"It seems I've encountered some bad luck going out today." Master Cen rubbed his fingers together, shook his head with a sigh, and then devoured three hawthorn balls. He stepped inside and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Why do you still need to ask? Didn't you figure it out just now?" Cui Pengfei sneered. "I brought my grandson to buy clothes so he could attend my good student's birthday banquet."

"It's his birthday?" Master Cen was taken aback and subconsciously looked at his little apprentice Yuansheng beside him. Yuansheng blinked, paused for a moment, and then continued chewing hawthorn without a care.

Cui Pengfei turned his head and picked up the clothes again, not noticing the brief exchange of glances between the master and apprentice. He deliberately said, "You didn't know about this? That's right, you didn't even have an invitation. Don't worry, I will help you deliver my blessings to my good student."

“…Hehe, how could I trouble you, sir? I’ll go myself.” Master Cen looked at the clothes he had chosen, pretending not to know that they were for Cui Zhuo. “You’re in your seventies or eighties, but you have a good eye for clothes. You always pick the perfect clothes for young people.”

It was almost as if they were pointing their finger at Cui Pengfei and saying, "You're so delicate and pink, how old are you now?"

Cui Pengfei continued to laugh: "Perhaps it is precisely because of my high moral character and prestige that I have been accepted as a good student."

Master Cen continued to count on his fingers: "Oh dear, your fate is quite peculiar. Even a tortoise or a bastard couldn't outlive you."

...

The two old men, Yuansheng Jiuzhe, finished their candied hawthorns in a few bites, finding them quite delicious. Taking advantage of their master's inattention, they ran out and carried the entire haystack back. Turning around, they saw Cui Zhuo standing to the side, his eyes filled with mixed emotions as he watched the two men who were almost fighting.

"Here you go." Yuansheng kindly offered him one.

“…Thank you.” Cui Zhuo looked at the half-finished haystack, hesitating to speak.

Yuan Sheng became wary, "I've already given you a skewer."

"One is enough, that's enough," Cui Zhuo quickly explained. "But... is it okay for you to eat so much candy?"

“It’s alright. If Master wants to kill me, I’ll burn a letter to the Ancestor and ask him to take him away for two days. He can come back to me when he’s not angry anymore,” Yuansheng said abruptly.

Cui Zhuo: "...Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Yuan Sheng pondered for a moment, and just when Cui Zhuo thought he was going to retract his previous statement, he heard him say with a bright and cheerful smile, "It's okay, I heard that my ancestor is particularly good at leading people away, he will be fine."

Cui Zhuo: "..." This isn't a good idea!

What's wrong with you two, master and disciple? And why is your ancestor always thinking about taking people away? Is this a proper ancestor?!

In short, under Cui Zhuo's suspicious gaze, Master Cen and Yuan Sheng also joined the birthday celebration.

Zhou Yushu quickly learned of the addition of a person. He frowned. He didn't really trust anyone other than himself. He only trusted Cui Zui because he had recognized Xue Jin'an as his apprentice. After thinking for a moment, just in case, Zhou Yushu simply changed the original family birthday celebration into a private birthday celebration.

Zhou Yushu brought in Feng Yinshou, Minister of Revenue; Zuo Mengchang, Minister of Works; and Xu Pingchuan, Minister of War. These three had cooperated with Jiu Tianyi anyway, and they were all smart people, so there wouldn't be any problems letting them in.

Cui Zui somewhat disagreed with Zhou Yushu's approach. Just as Zhou Yushu distrusted Cui Pengfei and Master Cen, Cui Zui also distrusted these three ministers, even though he had personally negotiated the cooperation between Jiu Tian Yi and others. Or rather, it was precisely because of his contact with them that he knew how difficult these three ministers were to deal with.

Feng Yinshou appears upright but is actually shrewd and cunning; Zuo Mengchang appears dull but is actually clever, as can be seen from his division of profits with the Ministry of Revenue. Xu Pingchuan appears reckless but is actually shrewd; his ability to squeeze money out of Minister Feng is a testament to his skill.

These three people are currently all royalists. The only one who seems to be biased is Minister Feng, after all, his youngest son is the eldest prince's study companion and offended the second prince at the New Year's banquet.

The existence of Jiu Tian Yi is too important; it's basically their base of operations, and Cui Zui dares not let anyone who isn't one of his own people in.

Cui Zui has one advantage: when he can't make a decision, he doesn't overthink it but directly seeks out someone who can. Cui Zui went to the palace and revealed the entire plan for Jiu Tianyi's birthday celebration to Xue Jin'an.

Xue Jin'an agreed to let three ministers in. Knowing Zhou Yushu and Cui Zui's concerns, he simply made the nature of the birthday celebration clear. He directly sent out invitations to the people attending the birthday banquet, and also wrote one for the eldest princess, the third princess, the third prince, and the sixth prince.

Xue Jin'an didn't want to make a big fuss about the original owner's birthday; he figured the four of them getting together wouldn't cause any trouble.

Generally speaking, one should write an invitation in advance to invite people. Xue Jin'an's last-minute invitation was somewhat impolite, and those who were particular about etiquette might even feel that he was disrespectful. However, those who received the invitation all gladly went to Jiu Tian Yi.

Not only did they go, but there were also more people.

The eldest princess brought Xiao Tai Le, the third princess brought the fourth princess, and the sixth prince brought the fifth prince—the fifth prince had forcibly attached himself to the group. He didn't know where he got the information from, but he waited on the sixth prince's usual route out of the palace, then staged an accident to extort money from the sixth prince, taking advantage of the sixth prince's guilt to force his way out.

Only the Third Prince came alone. Seeing that his brothers and sisters had all brought people, he clicked his tongue and said to Xue Jin'an, "Xue Liuguang originally wanted to come with me, but I didn't agree. I can tell that you two don't get along."

The Eighth Prince was the only one who stayed by the Third Prince's side after the Third Prince became lame, even more attentive than before. He was practically living in the Mingde Courtyard. His attentiveness even moved Consort Xian, who became much closer to the Eighth Prince.

On the contrary, the Third Prince remained lukewarm towards the Eighth Prince.

"He looked me up and down, but I couldn't see what he was thinking. He just wanted to climb over me to get ahead." The Third Prince hadn't even eaten yet, but he had already drunk half a jar of wine. His cheeks were flushed, and he pulled Xue Jin'an down to sit and talk, seemingly drunk.

He rambled on and on, saying so much that he couldn't even remember it all. But as Xue Jin'an was about to leave, he smiled and toasted him, saying, "Seventh Brother, only you don't treat me like a fool."

Xue Jin'an remained unmoved. He withdrew his hand and said coldly, "Third Brother, you spilled wine on my hand."

Whether the Third Prince heard him or not, he reached out to grab Xue Jin'an and tried to get him to drink, shouting, "We won't leave until we're drunk!"

Xue Jin'an grabbed his head, picked up a jar of wine, and poured it down his throat until his eyes went glazed over. He said, "You're drunk. You can go back now."

The Fifth Prince crept over silently and listened for a while: "..."

He watched Xue Jin'an turn away without a word, then looked at the Third Prince, who was drunk and unconscious with his head slammed on the table. He couldn't help but twitch his lips and said sarcastically, "Yeah, right. He doesn't treat you like a fool; he treats you like a fool from the start."

The Fifth Prince remained seated, eating and drinking until the party was almost over. Then, he approached Xue Jin'an privately and said, "Happy birthday."