Chapter 330: A Tangled Mess

evening.

Cui’s family kept some food for us.

Nice to meet you.

Jiang Miaomiao got another meal as she wished.

Because she wanted to get to know Uncle Cui better.

To understand this matter is comprehensive.

You need to understand the appearance, preferences, temperament, and even food tastes.

Naturally, eating is also a point.

See if he can eat with A Niang. If their food preferences are completely different, their personalities will probably be quite different as well.

Jiang Ziyan lowered his head and ate in silence.

He ate it very seriously, almost one grain at a time.

Because of his sister's conspicuous appearance, Cui Xiang actually invited them to stay for dinner.

I shouldn't have stayed. I just visited to say hello, took my things and was about to leave.

One is that they are not familiar with each other, and the other is that Cui Xiang seems difficult to get along with.

It would be somewhat awkward to stay for dinner.

All that needed to be said has been said.

Jiang Ziyan wanted to say something to break the overly quiet atmosphere, but when he thought that Prime Minister Cui might have a rule of not talking while eating, he gave up.

When I had almost finished eating, I looked up and saw my sister staring at Cui Xiang.

But Prime Minister Cui was actually in a daze.

No wonder it's so quiet.

Jiang Miaomiao put the food into her mouth while stealing glances at Cui Xiang.

I heard from my mother about the Cui family's situation.

There are three brothers in the Cui family.

The third son, Cui Ling, is the prince's tutor, but now he only teaches the princes and grandchildren to read. In fact, the emperor does not give him any real power.

He himself does not like to fight for power and profit.

In addition, the Cui family already has two elder brothers who hold high positions of power.

When the water is full, it overflows; when the moon is full, it wanes.

That's enough.

Although Cui Ling was well-read and knowledgeable, he actually had no obsession with becoming an official.

The emperor insisted on appointing me to this position.

He had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

The royal children were difficult to teach, and they couldn't be taught too lightly or too harshly, so he didn't force them and just let them do what they wanted.

Instead of becoming a famous teacher, he became close friends with the princes and princesses.

If the emperor knew about this, he would probably consider replacing him.

The second son, Cui Mao, was the Minister of Revenue, in charge of Daliang’s money and grain, a very important position.

Whether it is a company or a country, those who are in charge of financial affairs are people trusted by the higher-ups.

But everything has two sides.

He held a high position of power and was highly regarded by the emperor.

It also means that your every move will be paid special attention to by the emperor and even magnified.

Therefore, the Cui family members acted very cautiously.

Apart from the second and third brothers, the most respected among the three brothers is the eldest brother Cui Yan.

It can be said that it is not an exaggeration to say that she worked hard for the emperor until her death.

He is obviously in a high position and has great power, but at his age he still can't even solve the problem of marriage.

He is on par with Mu Yunji.

Although there were people who wanted to curry favor with him lining up for several blocks, Prime Minister Cui remained indifferent.

The position of Mrs. Cui Xiang has remained vacant.

The higher your position and the more powerful you are, the more people will propose marriage to you, and the more difficult it will be to make a decision.

If the family is of high status, there will be suspicion of a marriage between powerful people, and the emperor will be wary.

If the family background is low, people will think that the two families are not a good match.

Even the emperor thought over and over again about arranging a marriage for him.

Of course, the emperor actually hoped that Prime Minister Cui would not marry, be free from all ties, and serve him wholeheartedly.

It's like working cattle and horses.

The boss is eager to buy you out.

Jiang Miaomiao felt that this workaholic who was not interested in women must have a rather dull life.

The result is really quite plain. The decoration of the house follows the Cui family's usual style, which is simple and generous.

There are almost no particularly luxurious decorations.

Although it is not luxurious, it is quite elegant, which fits his style as a scholar.

Not only is the decoration simple, but the food is also quite bland.

The dish is a combination of meat and vegetables, all of which are steamed with seasonal vegetables and meat.

It just has less salt and oil, so it tastes a bit bland.

"Miaomiao, this is the meal specially prepared for you by the kitchen. Eat more if you like it." Cui Yan said as he started to pick up food for the little girl.

He could see that the little girl had a strong taste for food and these dishes might not suit her appetite.

But it is not good for children to eat too much of those.

So I didn't plan to change the dishes.

Look at the little girl, even though she didn't like the food in front of her, she still ate it obediently without wasting any food.

This is a good habit.

It shows that her family taught her well.

For some reason, the more I look at her, the more I like her. She is a very well-behaved and smart little girl.

No wonder his mother praised the child so highly in her letter to him.

Especially in recent days, I have received letters from my mother one after another.

Everyone is talking about two things: urging marriage and urging childbirth.

She also asked him to give birth to a granddaughter like Miaomiao.

Her words were full of love for the little girl, and she wished she could turn her into her granddaughter.

No one knows his mother better than his son. How could he not know what his mother is thinking?

Cui Yan once thought his mother was crazy.

He said he would never marry in this life.

It’s not that he really doesn’t want to marry, but he doesn’t dare to marry for fear of hurting others.

That spring day many years ago.

He made an appointment with his friends to go out for an outing and boating on the lake.

I happened to see a young man being harassed in the street.

When his friend told him this, he thought his friend was dazzled.

I've only heard of bullies molesting decent women, but this is the first time I've heard of one molesting a man.

When I went out and took a look, I was dumbfounded.

It really was a handsome young man being molested by a bully.

Perhaps it was because the young man was so handsome that it was difficult to tell whether he was a man or a woman, which is why he was favored by the bully.

Naturally, he couldn't bear to see anyone being bullied, so he stepped forward to stand up for the injustice.

As a result, the bully seemed to like it and even teased him.

In the end, a lot of men in black came out from all directions and beat the bully and his lackeys into a pulp.

Since then, the young master has been clinging to him like a dog-skin plaster.

Whenever you go out for a walk, you are sure to meet him.

She said her surname was Yu and her given name was Qing.

Yu Qing is also very good at having fun. She can eat, drink, have fun, listen to music in brothels, fight cocks and run dogs. There is nothing she can't do.

A typical playboy.

I guess she is a child from a wealthy family who ran away from home. When I asked her where she was from, she refused to tell me.

He hates these idle guys the most.

Since he likes to pester him, he has to persuade his little brother well.

Unexpectedly, the little brother was quite obedient to his advice. He didn't go out to play, but just kept pestering him.

The days go by.

In a blink of an eye, they have known each other for many years.

Once they become close friends, it is common for them to go out together and drink and chat.

Seeing that he was at the age of getting married and having children, his family arranged a marriage for him, but it was inexplicably ruined by Yu Qing.

That day.

I went out for an outing and it happened to rain heavily.

The two had a big fight.

In a rage, Yu Qing rode her horse into the mountains. This time, she did not bring any servants with her.

How could Cui Yan feel at ease after knowing each other for so long?

Then the two got lost and were trapped in the mountains for a day and a night.

It was also at that time that he knew that Yu Qing was a woman.

He was so excited that he couldn't express it in words.

The rain is pouring down, a man and a woman are alone, and their love is so deep that they can't help themselves...

After knowing each other for many years, he didn't realize that this girl was a woman, which made him think that he had a homosexual fetish.

Okay, as long as it’s a girl.

In Daliang, he was willing to marry anyone, no matter if she was a commoner or a concubine's daughter, except those from the royal family.

He was ready to propose marriage and bring her home in a sedan chair carried by eight people.

Can…….

But the woman told him.

She is Yuqing, not Yuqing. She is the eldest princess of Daliang and the eldest daughter of the current emperor.

At that moment, he felt that fate must be playing tricks on him.

It is difficult to associate this dandy girl who disguises herself as a man and idles around outside the palace with the frail and sickly princess who lives in seclusion.

This woman actually lied to him for so many years.

He blamed Yuqing for deceiving him, and also hated himself for being short-sighted and unable to tell the difference between male and female.

He needs time to recover.

For a moment, he even suspected that Princess Yuqing approached him deliberately in order to make his father form an alliance with the Queen's family.

At that time, my father had not yet resigned from his official position and retired. He could be regarded as the head of the civil servants and had the support of the Cui family.

The prince's position as crown prince will also be secure.

But my father did not want to get involved in party disputes and only wanted to be a loyal minister.

He needs time to think about it.

He then spoke frankly about his doubts, just wanting to hear the truth.

Unexpectedly, this proud and arrogant princess was really angry and married herself off immediately.

Without any hesitation.

After Princess Yuqing got married, he was decadent and confused for quite some time.

Meet again.

The woman was pregnant and was loving and sweet with Prince Consort Cao.

That look made him sober up instantly.

He felt that he had made a mistake and was toyed with by the princess.

Yuqing is the noble eldest princess, and she will eventually become a powerful official. Yuqing knew this from the very beginning.

Nothing will come of it between the two of them.

Even though the emperor agreed to their marriage without any hesitation.

He must also let go of his ambitions and long-standing pursuits, and just become the consort of Princess Yuqing, a rich and idle man.

He asked himself, even if he was given more time to think about it, he still could not accept such an outcome.

So he hesitated and was at a loss.

When he saw Yuqing again after her marriage, he felt relieved.

He agreed to meet the girl at his parents' request. She was the daughter of his father's student, a girl from the Lu family.

Miss Lu Qi comes from a scholarly family. She is gentle and virtuous, a typical lady from a noble family.

He had no objection to his parents' orders and the matchmaker's words.

For him, it is enough for a woman to be dignified and virtuous, manage the household well, and be filial to her parents-in-law.

His wife does not ask for support, but only for respect.

So he agreed to his parents' request and went to ask for Miss Lu Qi's hand in marriage.

Originally, the marriage between the two families had been decided, they had already exchanged three letters of engagement and even paid the betrothal gift.

What a coincidence.

He happened to see Miss Lu Qi having a secret meeting with a man, and the two were saying goodbye with tears in their eyes.

After asking, I found out that the girl already had a lover and it was not her wish to agree to the marriage with the Cui family.

When he heard this, he felt that there was no reason to break up someone and force them to marry him.

He is making a family, not an enemy.

It’s not that he has to marry Miss Lu Qi.

So she thought about canceling the marriage.

But because of the cancellation of the engagement, Miss Lu Qi's secret was discovered by her family.

Because she almost ruined the reputation of the Lu family, Lu's father sent her back to his hometown in Qingzhou.

In the end, he didn't know whether she married far away or helped the two of them get together, and he didn't want to ask.

However, the Lu family still refused to cancel the engagement and planned to let Miss Lu Jiu replace her sister and marry into the Cui family.

Cui Yan thought about it and realized that the marriage between the Lu and Cui families was already known to the whole city. If the engagement was cancelled, it would inevitably damage the reputation of the Lu family's daughter.

A good thing has been caused by some trouble.

So he agreed.

It doesn't matter who he marries, as long as the girl has good character and does not bring disgrace to the Cui family in the future, he doesn't care.

As luck would have it, this Miss Lu Jiu actually fell in love with his third brother.

The two men came to him and begged him.

What else could he say? He just had to go along with it.

In this way, Miss Lu Jiu became his third brother's wife.

He couldn't believe that such a coincidence could happen in the world.

Upon investigation, it turned out to be the work of that crazy woman Yuqing.

Because of Yuqing, Miss Lu Qi was sent back to her hometown, and was probably hastily married afterwards.

It was Yuqing again, using his name to send a letter to Miss Lu Jiu and the third brother.

The two of them were brought together as a couple.

Later he also dated other girls, but was ruined by a crazy woman again.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

This crazy woman is married, but wants him to remain single for the rest of his life.

A princess is a princess, domineering and willful. She allows the officials to set fires but not the common people to light lamps.

He couldn't do anything to this woman.

"Uncle Cui, what are you thinking about? You are so engrossed." Jiang Miaomiao shouted to Cui Yan who was daydreaming.

Then he began to look at him again.

He has a first-rate appearance, comparable to Jiang Yunze.

She had previously thought that Uncle Cui was ugly and that was why he couldn't get married.

Now that I see it, it’s definitely not a matter of appearance.

It may be a personality issue.

This uncle doesn't like to laugh, but when he doesn't laugh he has a stern face.

It is impossible to tell whether his face looks like this or he just has a droopy face.

In short, he is very serious, as if others owe him money.

Just like now, my brows are twisted into a knot while eating.

I don’t know if he was thinking about something, or if he also felt that the food today was not tasty.

Cui Yan raised his eyes and met the little girl's bright eyes.

For a moment, he was distracted.

The little girl actually had the same eyes as Yuqing, and even the way she looked at him was similar.

I'm dizzy.

He must be dazzled.

I subconsciously wanted to pick up some food for the little guy.

Then I realized that the plate was almost empty.

"Uncle Cui, you work hard every day, so you should eat more." Jiang Miaomiao knelt on the stool and kept putting food into Cui Yan and his second brother's bowls.

It seems that Uncle Cui is also a frugal person and he certainly doesn't like to waste.

As soon as Jiang Ziyan saw the curve of his sister's mouth, he knew what she was up to.

This is to give someone a taste of their own medicine.

She felt like laughing.

Cui Yan looked at the bowls piled up like a mountain, his brows furrowed.

This child's temperament is actually somewhat similar to Yuqing's.

But when he saw the nanny serving Miaomiao, he understood.

He raised his eyes and asked Jiang Ziyan, "How is your relationship with the Princess's Mansion?"

"That's great. Princess Yuqing likes you very much and will often take you to the princess's mansion." Jiang Ziyan said while observing the changes in Cui Xiang's expression.

But I found that his face was still as calm as water.

Then he continued, "Princess Yuqing is frail and suffers from an old illness. If there's nothing else to do, it's better not to go to the Princess's mansion as much as possible so as not to disturb her recovery."

"Aunt Princess is sick?" Jiang Miaomiao looked surprised.

Jiang Ziyan: ...

This sounds a bit weird.

Nanny Feng: ...Why is Prime Minister Cui still cursing people?

Her princess is very nice.

…