Chapter 18 "Is that all you've got?"...
A few days later, Cui Xintang went to the palace.
It was already past midnight when I came out of the palace. The sun was hanging low on the branches. A gust of wind rose outside the palace gate, carrying the leaves of the ginkgo trees on both sides of the imperial road, which swirled down and covered the ground with gold.
Qingzhu stood guard by the carriage. When she saw her master come out of the palace gate, she immediately went up to him and asked, "Master, are you going back to the manor?"
It was time to leave the office, and Cui Xintang said, "Let's go back to the mansion."
The carriage slowly drove along the Imperial Street, its wheels making a crackling sound as they rolled over the ginkgo leaves.
On the way back to the Cui residence, Cui Xintang frowned slightly, the words of the Eldest Princess flashing through his mind.
As a newcomer to officialdom, he should not have gotten involved in the power struggle between the eldest princess and the Prince of Liang.
He might have been able to avoid the limelight and deal with the princess carefully, but now, because of Cui Qin, after meeting the King of Liang that day, he can no longer protect himself.
He was forced to make a choice between the eldest princess and the Prince of Liang.
That day, he wrote to his father, Cui Zhen, about this matter. Cui Zhen's reply was the same as his own: the King of Liang could not bear the weight of his letter.
Otherwise, why would the late emperor have left a will appointing the eldest princess as regent?
Moreover, as he was in the Ministry of Revenue, and in a crucial position involved in the new policies, he was already unable to extricate himself from these matters.
If he harbors even the slightest intention to pledge allegiance to the Prince of Liang, the Princess will surely eliminate him.
Not only him, but the Cui family and even the entire Cui clan will be implicated.
Cui Xintang's eyes darkened.
He had been waiting for the past few days, and two days ago, Yunping County finally sent word. However, the Xu family was cunning, and it was difficult to find anything for the time being.
He sent people to Yunping County without deliberately avoiding the Princess's spies, so the Princess must already know about it.
He wasn't entirely confident, so he could only wait patiently, betting that the eldest princess really wanted to take action against the Xu family.
Today, the Princess indeed summoned him to the palace in His Majesty's name. He used this as leverage to voluntarily decline the imperial tour assignment.
If he wasn't mistaken, the Eldest Princess deliberately spread the word that he was to go down and inspect the area. This was partly to completely isolate him from the Liang King's faction, and partly to use this as a feint to catch the Liang King off guard.
As for Cui Qin, the eldest princess didn't take him seriously. Once this matter was over, she would write to her father asking him to find a way to send Cui Qin away from the capital.
The carriage slowly made its way back to the Cui residence. Only after entering the alley did Cui Xintang's brows gradually relax.
He returned to the mansion early today, which was unusual for him. As soon as he arrived, a servant came up to greet him and said that the second master wanted to talk to him.
Cui Xintang frowned, but still went to see Cui Qin.
As soon as he sat down in the study, Cui Qin asked impatiently, "Did you go to the palace today?"
Cui Xintang: "My uncle is quite well-informed."
His words were lukewarm, and Cui Qin glared at him. "Is it because of the patrol?"
Cui Xintang paused for a moment, "Uncle, do you also want to inquire about the nobles in the palace?"
Cui Qin choked, but Cui Xintang had little patience. "There are many people who want to curry favor with His Highness Prince Liang. Uncle, have you ever thought about why Prince Liang treats you differently?"
Rebuked by the junior, Cui Qin became enraged and pointed at him, shouting, "If it weren't for you..."
He thought that if Cui Xintang hadn't provoked the Eldest Princess first and gotten involved in the new policies, why would he have resorted to such a desperate measure to protect the Cui family?
Cui Xintang's expression turned slightly cold. "Uncle, please be careful with your words."
Cui Qin's confused mind suddenly cleared, and he swallowed his words.
Cui Xintang lowered his eyes and flicked his sleeves. "Second Brother will be taking the imperial examination next spring. Even if Uncle doesn't care about his nephew, he should at least think about Second Brother."
"Also, regarding Erlang's marriage, I think it would be more appropriate for Aunt to handle it."
Cui Qin was single-mindedly trying to curry favor with the Prince of Liang, and even considered arranging a marriage for Erlang. If he were to actually arrange a marriage that Erlang shouldn't have, he would probably regret it later.
If he hadn't come to warn Cui Qin about this matter, he wouldn't have bothered coming here today.
After saying that, he stood up and said, "Uncle, please rest. I'll head back now."
Because of Cui Qin's delay, it was already dusk when he came out. Cui Xintang did not go back to the study, but went straight back to the backyard.
When they returned to the room, Meng Yuanxiao had just taken off his shoes, was sitting cross-legged in a round-backed chair, and was looking at an account book in his hands.
Seeing him push open the door and come in, Meng Yuanxiao's eyes lit up, "Brother Tang, why are you back so early today?"
Cui Xintang hummed in response, "I just came from the palace, I came back early to keep you company."
"You've entered the palace?" Meng Yuanxiao asked in surprise.
"Um."
"...Is it because you're leaving the capital?"
Cui Xintang raised her eyebrows and sat down on the armchair next to her.
Thinking of something, Meng Yuanxiao got up from the armchair, quickly ran to the couch, grabbed a folding fan from the couch, ran back, and handed it to him as if presenting a treasure.
Cui Xintang looked surprised, glanced at her, then at the folding fan in her hand, and then took it. "For me?"
As he asked this, he casually opened his folding fan and glanced at it.
The fine sandalwood fan ribs are carved with openwork patterns and have a faint fragrance. Paired with the exquisitely crafted paintings, they are quite delicate.
Just the painting above...
“Yes!” Meng Yuanxiao said.
After saying that, she looked at him intently, trying to read something from his face. But apart from surprise and amusement, Cui Xintang's face showed no other emotion.
Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Cui Xintang noticed, closed his folding fan, and asked her with a smile, "Why did you suddenly decide to give me something?"
The painting on the folding fan was painted by Meng Yuanxiao herself. She had hoped he would notice it, but judging from his expression, he clearly hadn't.
She lost interest and simply muttered, "I'll give it to you if I want to."
After saying that, she took out the folding fan that was clipped to his waist and threw it aside. "Brother Tang, from now on you can only use the folding fan that I gave you."
Her words were rather domineering, and Cui Xintang indulged her, saying, "Okay."
Meng Yuanxiao was finally satisfied.
Cui Xintang pulled the person over to sit on his lap, and glancing at the account book she had placed on the small table, he casually picked it up and flipped through it.
"You said you didn't want to manage the household, so why are you looking at these things now?"
Meng Yuanxiao pouted, "Although my mother-in-law is much more lenient with me, she still wants me to learn from Sister Chen!"
After saying that, she said in a low voice, "You'll be away from the capital for a long time, and you won't let me take the exam for a female official position, so I have to find something to do."
That's not a lie.
In the days following her learning that Cui Xintang was leaving the capital for an inspection tour, she felt uneasy and somewhat anxious. To make matters worse, he became increasingly busy and neglected her, making those days truly difficult to endure.
After a few days of feeling down, she got tired of it herself and realized that she was being a bit dramatic.
Can't you live without a man?
So in the following days, she began to keep herself busy and stop thinking about him all the time.
In my free time, I would ask Mingyue to go shopping with me, and the days passed by quickly.
Even though she was busy, she still didn't feel happy. It wasn't until she and Mingyue overheard people talking about the female painter in a teahouse that she suddenly understood and her heart began to stir again.
She probed Tang-gege several times about the matter of taking the painting exam, and it seemed that he wasn't completely unwilling to agree.
Even if she does pass the exam, once Brother Tang returns, the deed will be done, and he won't hold it against her anymore, right?
Even if things are exposed, there's nothing to fear, as there's his sister-in-law. His brother will listen to her.
At worst, I'll get scolded by my older brother; it's not like I haven't been scolded before.
She also heard that the eldest princess intended for her to take the exam for a female official position on behalf of the young lady chosen by Prince Rong!
The eldest princess's daughter-in-law passed the exam, so why can't she?
However, she dared not say these words to Cui Xintang.
So when she said that, she was definitely a little guilty.
Cui Xintang seemed oblivious to her guilty conscience, casually flipping through the ledger in his hand. "Oh? What has Yuanyuan been doing these past few days?"
Meng Yuanxiao fiddled with the jade pendant at his waist and casually said, "The weather is getting colder, and the manor should buy charcoal and winter clothes. Since I have nothing else to do, I'll spend the next few days going through the accounts for the year and take the opportunity to replace the shops that need replacing."
Cui Xintang paused upon hearing this and looked up at her.
Meng Yuanxiao blinked. "What?"
Cui Xintang asked, "Are there any shops you'd like to switch to?"
"I haven't figured it out yet. There are some parts of the ledger that I don't understand. I need to consult Sister Chen before making a decision," Meng Yuanxiao said.
"However, after a rough review, I found that the annual expenditure on cloth purchases by the government is a considerable expense, exceeding the combined expenditures of all other items."
“There are quite a few shops in the mansion, but some of them are not very profitable. So I thought I would discuss with my mother about finding a suitable shop and turning it into a cloth shop. This way, we can save a lot of money every year.”
Cui Xintang looked surprised, then smiled and said, "You have made progress, but running a cloth shop is not as simple as you think."
After saying that, he closed the ledger in his hand and tossed it back onto the table. "You don't need to worry about these things. Just leave them to the Chen family to handle."
Meng Yuanxiao asked suspiciously, "Brother Tang, you didn't say that before."
"..." Cui Xintang found it amusing. "Who was it that went to such lengths to whine and beg me to go and beg my mother, saying that she didn't want to manage the household?"
"……snort."
Inside the room, Meng Yuanxiao was wearing a thin padded jacket. Cui Xintang smiled and glanced at her, his warm hand slipping under the hem of the jacket to touch her slender, soft waist.
Meng Yuanxiao was startled and hurriedly grabbed his hand, "Brother Tang, no more."
Even if she appeared calm, it was impossible for her to be completely unaffected by her dream of her beloved Tang marrying someone else.
Knowing that he would be away from the capital for a long time, she was anxious and restless for several days. She didn't know how to relieve her anxiety and was too embarrassed to say it out loud, so she refused to go to bed early every night and waited for Cui Xintang to come back no matter how late it was.
Then she would pester him and act silly.
Originally, she intended to drain him dry, but unexpectedly, after several days, Cui Xintang remained energetic, and she herself couldn't take it anymore.
So much so that she's been going to bed early these past few days, wishing she could avoid him.
Her face flushed red, showing panic and fear. Cui Xintang was both amused and annoyed. "Is that all the confidence you have?"
As he spoke, he rubbed her waist, "Who was it that used to laugh at me for being half a cycle older than her?"
Meng Yuanxiao was somewhat embarrassed. She was most afraid of being provoked, and she immediately became unhappy with Cui Xintang's words.
"Brother Tang is still vigorous despite his old age."
After saying that, she smiled slyly, leaned close to his ear, and whispered something.
Upon hearing the sweet yet bold words, Cui Xintang stiffened, then a smile appeared on her lips, and her gaze became even more profound.
Meng Yuanxiao, having succeeded, smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a kiss on the corner of his lips.
Thinking of something, her eyes darted around. "Brother Tang, I can't bear to leave you for so long. If I could, I would go with you."
She said she was reluctant to part with him, but her face showed no trace of the aggrieved and reluctant look she had when she first heard he was leaving the capital that day.
There was even a hint of anticipation in her clear eyes.
Cui Xintang stared at her for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and asked, "What does Yuanyuan want to do while I'm not in the capital?"
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