Chapter 1302: A Scheming Mind (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

"My son is not convinced."

Cui Xiong openly talked back to him.

The next second, the teacup shattered beside his legs.

Cui Zhi's eyes were chillingly sinister: "Lord Cui, please speak!"

Cui Xiong stood up from the ground and looked directly into Cui Zhi's eyes without flinching: "Father just asked me who I was covering for. Now I want to ask you, Father, were you the one who knew everything from beginning to end?"

"You knew all along that Baojun's identity was not right!"

"If that weren't the case, why would Father ask such a question?"

"You even want to manipulate your own son?"

At first, Cui Xiong tried his best to control his emotions so as not to lose control and cause a real fight between father and son. However, after a few questions, he became angrier and angrier, and he could no longer hide his resentment. So he simply stopped hiding it.

Cui Zhi remained silent, wanting to hear what his son had to say.

Cui Xiong asked, "Who is she?"

Cui Zhi was taken aback by those three words, and in his anger, he laughed coldly, saying sarcastically, "Why are you asking this? What, you can't tolerate being manipulated by your father, but you can tolerate being manipulated by a woman of unknown origin?"

The atmosphere between the father and son became even more tense.

In the end, Cui Xiong took the first step back.

"Being able to play both sides doesn't always work. Father outwardly supports the king, but secretly he also gives Kang State a favor, turning a blind eye to it. If you think you can protect the entire Cui clan with this little bit of favor, you are being too naive about Kang State."

Cui Xiong knew his father's plan and arrangements, which were nothing more than this: his father would retire, he would take the throne, the Cui family would have a new head, and with the help of Er Mi in the court, all the old things could be put to rest.

But can we really turn the page?

Cui Xiong felt it was impossible to turn the tide!

My father has close ties with the Gods Society, which are difficult to sever. Moreover, the Cui clan is enormous; affecting one would have far-reaching consequences! Within the Qi state, there are other branches besides the chieftain's; they are also deeply intertwined. If the Kang state doesn't touch the chieftain's branch, can't it also touch the other branches? They are, after all, blood relatives, bound by blood; how can they be clearly distinguished? If one is harmed, all are harmed.

Kangguo's performance in this battle far exceeded expectations.

The allied forces of the southwestern countries lasted for less than a year at most.

This amount of time is not enough for Chen Youli to govern the river.

"Hmph, you're quite thoughtful. I had no idea my son had become so cunning. Even if I'm not the best, I've still outlived you by more than twenty years. You don't need to worry about me..."

Cui Xiong's plan was not wrong.

It can even be described as meticulous and thorough.

However, he was unaware of Cui Hui's true stance, and even less aware of the existence of his maternal grandfather, Cui Xiao. The Cui family's ties with Kang State were far closer than Cui Xiong had perceived. This closeness would allow the Cui family more time to change course and gracefully withdraw unscathed.

When this was mentioned, Cui Zhi became somewhat annoyed.

His father-in-law treated his son-in-law with utter contempt, never giving him a kind word during the time he had been under house arrest. Upon hearing that Cui Xiong was ill, he immediately summoned Cui Zhi to come and keep watch.

Is the old man afraid that the tragedy that happened to his mother-in-law will happen to Cui Xiong?

Hearing that Cui Zhi was confident, Cui Xiong said no more.

"Her son will ask his mother about her affairs."

Cui Hui, the mother, had an extremely good relationship with You Bao. Their relationship often resembled that of longtime friends, rather than mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Cui Xiong had previously assumed they were simply destined for each other, but stepping outside the immediate boundaries, the truth proved far more complex than he had imagined. Unable to convince his mother, he turned to Er Mi.

There's always someone in the family who can be of use.

Cui Zhi watched his son bow and take his leave, his blood pressure rising slightly.

But, as I said before—

There is only one qualified heir, Cui Xiong.

No matter how angry he was inside, Cui Zhi still had to grit his teeth and clean up the mess for the other party. The news of the assassination of the King of Qi could not be announced truthfully; he could only claim that he had fallen seriously ill due to excessive worry. And with Mei Meng's death in battle at that critical moment, Cui Zhi quickly came up with the perfect excuse: "It can be said that 'the Xiang River is cut off, the Wanwei Mountain collapses, pearls sink and break, jade shatters into pieces.'"

The king was devastated by the loss of his dear friend, his soul broken and his spirit broken.

His condition deteriorated within a few days, and he passed away.

When Cui Zhi appeared, the garrison commander, being a protégé of the Cui family, naturally sided with him. With the military power at their disposal, the news of the king's death did not cause unrest among the court officials. With the support of the ministers, Cui Zhi took charge of handling the king's affairs after his death and recommending a successor.

"Our lord has just passed away, and the matter of his successor..."

Cui Zhi did not want to get involved in the latter matter.

But the other officials didn't think so.

Someone said, "Lord Cui, a country without a ruler will descend into chaos."

Some people have their own agendas.

They wanted to choose an adult ruler from among the royal family.

Because the late emperor had an heir, recommending someone else instead of the heir would easily invite criticism. Cui Zhi's support was acceptable: "A country cannot be without a ruler for even a day, especially in these turbulent times of internal and external troubles. A ruler is even more needed to stabilize the hearts of his subjects!"

Cui Zhi chose to remain silent on all these topics.

If you really can't fool them, just pretend to faint on the spot.

He was already bedridden due to the death of his mother-in-law, and now he was forcing himself to stand up and preside over the king's funeral despite his weakness. Adding to this, the king was his ex-wife, so it's logical that he couldn't bear the multiple blows and fell ill. After this happened several times, the officials knew that Cui Zhi didn't want to get involved in this mess, so they could only send people to sound him out.

Cui Zhi may not join, but he must express his opinion.

Regardless of whether they choose a young ruler or an adult member of the royal family, Cui Zhi cannot express his dissatisfaction. Otherwise, if they choose a candidate and then Cui Zhi jumps out to say it's no good, wouldn't that just cause trouble? Cui Zhi also reassured them that it didn't matter whether the new ruler was a descendant of the late emperor or another member of the royal family, and then continued to be a hands-off manager.

Due to the special circumstances, the king's body was not kept in state for too long.

However, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, it was decided to carry the coffin to the burial site.

The officials of Qi State hastily summoned a male member of the imperial clan, over thirty years old, to succeed him as the new ruler. This new ruler, indulging in philandering at home, was nearly stunned by this unexpected windfall. He was sitting at home, and the throne fell from the sky! Could such a good thing really exist?

He hastily ascended to the throne and immediately bestowed titles upon the sons of the former ruler.

When the news arrived in the capital, several male favorites with children were still vying for power, hoping to install their own daughters as queen and rule from behind the curtain, indulging in the fantasy of being regents. However, the civil and military officials of Qi State at the front lines suppressed news of the late emperor's death, meaning that the moment the male favorites made their move, the new ruler had already been chosen. They were forced to leave the royal court and were taken into custody with their daughters.

It was less a form of protection and more a form of house arrest.

The first thing the new ruler did upon taking power was to send people to negotiate.

He said, "Let's postpone this battle."

Before the peace envoys had even stepped out of the city gates, Kang State sent envoys to offer condolences. Qi State was in mourning, so Kang State temporarily halted its attacks on Qi, focusing its efforts on attacking Qi's allies. Kang State's territory expanded daily.

The new leader regretted it just a few days after being put forward.

Once the novelty of being a king wore off, all that remained was endless trouble. He thought he had struck gold, but instead, he had gotten himself into deep trouble. The State of Qi had suffered heavy losses in the last battle, and now it had no soldiers, no generals, and no provisions…

How can we fight this battle?

Does Kangguo want to annex the southwest?

With a gentle slurp, you don't even need to chew.

The king wanted to use delaying tactics, first feigning weakness to gain space and time for survival, and then stabilizing Kang with benefits. He wanted to give them a few years to recover before planning other things. This idea could not be stated directly, so the new king had no choice but to approach Cui Zhi.

Cui Zhi continues to play the tai chi game with the new leader.

Don't ask, the answer is he's seriously ill and his brain has stopped working.

The new master was turned away twice and was about to go for a third time when he saw the condolence envoy sent by the Kang Kingdom. He immediately gave up the idea of ​​visiting and felt a surge of resentment at being fooled.

There's no other reason than that the envoy's surname was Cui, the Cui of the Cui clan.

Cui Zhi’s second son, Cui Mi!

For a moment, the mourning hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone, whether civil or military, had hatred on their faces, wishing they could kill Cui Mi in front of the altar!

"This envoy looks very kind."

While speaking, he kept glancing at Cui Xiong's expression out of the corner of his eye.

"You do look familiar. I remember seeing you at the banquet at Lord Cui's residence. Speaking of which, Lord Cui's two sons seem to share the same names as the envoy?"

Cui Xiong replied without changing his expression, "It is indeed my younger brother."

Cui Mi bowed to Cui Zhi and said, "Greetings, Father."

He then turned to Cui Xiong and said, "Greetings, elder brother."

The faces of all the officials and generals of Qi State, including the new ruler, were contorted.

He looked like he had swallowed a fly.

The Cui family, father and son, never mentioned that Cui Mi was loyal to Kangguo!

The fact that the three members of the Cui family openly admitted their relationship in public made everyone else look bad. Just because Cui Zhi's son went to Kang State doesn't prove that the entire Cui family also went to Kang State. It's nothing new for scions of powerful families to bet on multiple things; Cui Zhi has two legs to stand on, so why should he care which lord he serves?

Cui Mi didn't care about other people's reactions.

As he lit incense and offered prayers, other scenes flashed before his eyes, filling him with emotion—he had witnessed the death of the King of Qi in more than a dozen different ways, and he had also seen her future after she survived, but only in this case was his elder brother safe and sound.

Cui Mi respectfully handed the incense to the eunuch and then bowed.

He silently chanted prayers for the salvation of the King of Qi.

"Better to die a fellow Daoist than to die this poor Daoist."

Compared to your brother, you should rest in peace.

If it were any other messenger coming to offer condolences, their lives might be in danger, but Cui Mi was as at ease as if he were home, swaggering in and out without a care in the world. He had just sat down to take a sip of tea when a hand snatched the teacup away: "Brother, my tea."

He was very thirsty after his long journey.

"Don't drink yet, answer first."

Cui Mi could only abandon her unruly, limp posture: "What does Big Brother want to ask? Everything else is fine, Sister-in-law, please don't ask."

Cui Xiong was momentarily speechless: "Er Mi!"

Cui Mi pleaded earnestly, "Brother, please wake up!"

Cui Xiong said, "I should at least ask her clearly what I've been to her all these years. Has she never had a single sincere thought for me?"

"You're just unlucky."

Cui Xiong: "..."

Cui Mi sighed: "Take my advice, brother. She is not a qualified matriarch, and it would be a waste of her talent to be a matriarch. If I may presume to say something, elder brother, you need a virtuous wife, someone who is not much different from you in terms of intelligence and is willing to regard you as the most important person in her life."

Even the eldest brother wouldn't make it into that person's top ten.

Cui Xiong opened his mouth: "...But..."

He didn't intend for her to be a mere matriarch, nor did he plan to confine her to the inner quarters. Couldn't Ermi see that?

After all, they're brothers, and they understand each other's thoughts without saying a word: "Of course I can tell! But the one you've got your eye on is different. I'm really afraid you'll end up with her one day..."

In terms of cunning, the older brother is more shrewd than the other.

But when it comes to decisiveness, the eldest brother is far superior.

Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. If an ordinary girl had spent these years with the older brother, she would have fallen in love at least once, if not secretly. But he abandoned her so easily. The difference between them was too great! How could the older brother compare? A forced relationship is not only not sweet, but may also be poisonous!

Cui Xiong looked at his younger brother, who in turn looked at the ground.

at last--

Cui Xiong chose a roundabout way to achieve his goal.

"When I ask, you just need to say yes or no."

Cui Mi raised an eyebrow.

Did the older brother think that this would allow him to find the other party?

That's too naive.

After three rounds of questions, Cui Mi realized that he himself was the naive one.

Cui Xiong had a rough idea of ​​You Bao's true identity, which put him at ease. Seeing his younger brother's complicated expression out of the corner of his eye, he said, "I'm different from Father. Don't worry, I won't let personal feelings affect important family matters."

Youbao may be a key part of the Cui family's transformation.

"...Now I understand why you would..."

Cui Mi swallowed the rest of his words.

He had always been puzzled as to why his elder brother met such untimely and varied ends in so many future scenarios. Now, he realized that he had no one to blame but his elder brother for being too cunning, and for the fact that the opponents he had provoked were the least likely to fall for his tricks...

Cui Xiong's eyes widened in confusion: "What?"

Cui Mi said earnestly, "Being sincere can save your life."

"Am I not sincere enough to you, brother?"

How many troubles did Cui Mi suffer on his own?

He hadn't even asked Cui Mi why he had joined the Kangguo camp!

"Er Mi, weren't you originally loyal to Lady Zhongli? There's been no news of Lady Zhongli's whereabouts from the front lines, what are you doing..."

Cui Xiong thought that Zhongli Fu had been captured by Kang State, so he simply surrendered to Kang State, and Cui Mi was also brought into the Kang State camp.

He wasn't too surprised by the result.

He had long suspected that Zhongli Fu had a connection with Kang Guo, and that his father had secretly made a deal with Kang Guo through this person.

Cui Mi forced a forced smile.

"Well... it's a long story..."

Seeing that Cui Mi was unwilling to elaborate, Cui Xiong did not press further, and his heart, which had been hanging in his throat, finally settled down: "I was worried about the future of the Cui family, but I didn't know that you had this connection with Kangguo. With this connection, your situation will be much easier in the future."

Cui Mi knew immediately what his elder brother was worried about.

He continued with a smirk: "Brother, there's something I haven't told you yet."

"What is it?"

"Don't we have a maternal grandfather?"

“We naturally have maternal grandparents.”

It can't be that the maternal grandmother gave birth to the mother, uncles, and others all by herself.

"I only recently learned that my maternal grandfather is a prominent figure in the Kang Kingdom's court. Your worries are nothing to worry about." With these connections, the Cui family has ample time to extricate themselves unscathed!

The words struck Cui Xiong like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

"How is that possible?"

The Cui family, with its impeccable lineage, had long been secretly colluding with Kang Guo.

No wonder his father laughed at him back then?

So Father already knew all along?

Cui Mi whispered, "I only found out recently, and—my maternal grandfather is planning to ask my father for either you or me..."

They all share the surname Cui, but their ancestors were different.

"Ask you?"

Cui Mi emphasized, "And you too."

In the future he envisioned, his father was nearly furious.

Regardless of which future is possible, the relationship between this father-in-law and son-in-law will not be good.

|ω`)

Tomorrow is the 31st, time to get busy!