Chapter 41 "Miss Lin is the same person who was Brother Tang before..."
Meng Yuanxiao said, "There are too many account books. I've only looked at some. Another day, Sister Chen and I will go to the shops downstairs and pick a suitable one to turn into a cloth shop."
"...Didn't you just say you didn't want to deal with these things?"
“Yes,” Meng Yuanxiao snuggled closer to him, “but Mother won’t allow it. Besides, I’ve already said this to Sister Chen before. I’ve already made my promise. If I give up halfway, wouldn’t people laugh at me? Then the whole household will be even less convinced of my abilities.”
Cui Xintang paused for a moment, "These things are not urgent, we can talk about them later. If you don't want to learn housekeeping for the time being, I can talk to Madam Chen on your behalf."
Meng Yuanxiao's eyes brightened, and she propped herself up from his embrace. "If I can't learn to be a housekeeper, can I do something else?"
"……for example?"
Meng Yuanxiao's eyes darted around. "For example, taking the exam to become a painter or a female official."
Cui Xintang raised his eyebrows. "Tomorrow morning, I will instruct Madam Chen to take you to the shops downstairs for a look around."
"……snort."
Meng Yuanxiao was a little annoyed, so she snuggled into his arms again. This time, however, she refused to sleep and asked after a while, "Brother Tang, how's the matter in Yunping County going?"
Mentioning Yunping County, she became somewhat indignant. "The Xu family is too wicked, and that Lin Yu too. Brother Tang, won't the Princess let them off easily in the future?"
Before Cui Xintang could respond, she continued, "Although Lin Yu is bad, Sister-in-law Lin is not a bad person. The Lin family is just a bit greedy. If they are implicated by Lin Yu in the future, they will be truly innocent."
"Hmph, I wonder which damned person found such a wicked person to adopt into the Lin family."
Cui Xintang, who deserves to be cursed: "..."
He pulled the person closer to his chest and said, "Today I met Meng Xu. Meng Xu asked why you suddenly left without saying a word that day. He also said that your mother-in-law has returned to the mansion and misses you. She asked you to come back to the Meng mansion when you have time."
When the Meng family was mentioned, Meng Yuanxiao fell silent.
She nestled in Cui Xintang's arms, feeling somewhat sullen. She had thought Cui Xintang would offer her some words of comfort, but instead, she heard him say, "If you don't want to go back to the Meng residence, then don't go back."
Meng Yuanxiao was a little surprised. She glanced at him, then snuggled into his arms and quickly fell asleep.
Cui Xintang looked down at the person in his arms. After a long while, he pulled the person closer to him and closed his eyes.
Cui Xintang had not rested for several days since the winter solstice, and today he finally handed over his duties in Yunping County.
He asked his superior for leave, so he didn't have to go to the yamen early the next day, and he got up a little late the next morning.
After tidying up and leaving the room, Cui Xintang called a maid and asked if Madam Chen had arrived.
The maid replied, "Young Master, Sister Chen is going to the estate down below today and won't be back until this afternoon."
Cui Xintang frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "When Madam Chen returns, please ask her to wait for me at the mansion. She can come to see me after I finish my official duties and return home."
The maid agreed, and Cui Xintang went out of the courtyard, where she encountered Madam Qin.
When Qin saw him, she came up to him with a smile and said, "Why hasn't my eldest son gone to the yamen at this hour?"
After saying that, he peeked into the yard behind him.
A flash of disgust crossed Cui Xintang's face, but he subtly blocked Qin's view and asked, "How is the marriage arrangement for Erlang coming along, Aunt?"
After Qin said a few words, Cui Xintang nodded and said, "When choosing a wife, one should prioritize her character; everything else is secondary."
Upon hearing this, Qin almost lost her smile.
She cursed inwardly, "You picked a wife who was both beautiful and from a good family, but when it comes to her son, you only care about character? Everyone knows what you're up to."
However, Erlang's success in the imperial examination and his future still depended heavily on Cui Xintang, so Qin was angry but dared not offend him. She could only force a smile and grit her teeth to agree.
After Qin finished speaking, she peeked into the courtyard again. Cui Xintang frowned slightly, "Is there anything else, Aunt?"
Madam Qin said, "I haven't seen Yuanyuan in a long time, so I'll go and talk to her. Don't worry, your aunt knows what to say and what not to say, so you can go and do your thing, Dalang."
Cui Xintang's expression turned cold. "Auntie is joking. Yuanyuan is the young mistress, and she is in charge of all the household affairs. Is there anything that Yuanyuan cannot know?"
He didn't move, and said coldly, "Erlang is at a crucial time. Aunt should focus her attention on Erlang. Or perhaps, Aunt really doesn't care about Erlang's future?"
With just one sentence, he shut down all of Qin's thoughts. Qin's expression changed several times, but in the end, she didn't dare to provoke him and left awkwardly.
All day today, Cui Xintang was somewhat absent-minded at the yamen. When it was time to leave the yamen, he simply went home early.
When Cui Xintang returned to the Cui residence, Madam Chen was still not there. Instead of going to the study, Cui Xintang went straight back to the backyard.
Back in the backyard, they saw Meng Yuanxiao with slightly red eyes, looking at the account books spread out in front of him.
Cui Xintang paused slightly, his heart suddenly tightening.
When he came in, Meng Yuanxiao looked up at him.
Her pretty face was slightly pale. She pursed her lips for a while before asking him, "Brother Tang, the Lin family's cloth shop was originally owned by the Cui family, wasn't it?"
She was referring to "Lin Family Cloth Shop".
Meng Yuanxiao had his doubts about Xinyun Cloth Shop. He had asked Cui Xintang about it several times before, but each time he had given vague answers.
But she felt that Brother Tang wouldn't lie to her, so even though many strange things had already happened, she still felt that she was overthinking things that day at the Lin family's cloth shop.
But she only learned today that the cloth shop originally belonged to the Cui family.
The properties owned by each household are not easily known to outsiders, and the shops are mostly operated under the names of the lower-level managers. Therefore, outsiders do not know that this shop originally belonged to the Cui family.
Meng Yuanxiao didn't know either.
If she hadn't happened to stumble upon the shop's account books from the past few years, she would probably still be in the dark.
This shop is no longer owned by the Cui family. The Cui family is wealthy and powerful, so they would never sell the shop; they would have to give it away to someone else.
She mentioned several times that the Cui family should run their own cloth shop to replace Xinyun Cloth Shop, but Brother Tang always said there was no rush and they would talk about it later.
But in reality, it was clearly that he didn't want to.
Seeing Cui Xintang remain silent, Meng Yuanxiao's heart sank even further.
Tears welled up in her eyes. "So, Miss Lin, the manager of the fabric shop, is the sister you were going to marry, Brother Tang. The brother-in-law Lin Yu mentioned is actually you, isn't he?"
How could it be Sun Dalang, who is barely literate, who could send Lin Yu to the county school and even speak to the school's supervisor?
Only she would believe that.
Lin Yu called Tang Gege "brother-in-law" several times, clearly provoking her on purpose.
Also, the figure she saw at Zuiyue Tower that day was indeed Brother Tang. Brother Tang was there to see Miss Lin.
Otherwise, why would it be such a coincidence that Miss Lin also came out of Zuiyue Tower, and Brother Tang had just changed his clothes?
She had clearly noticed many of these things long ago, but she was never willing to doubt him.
She already knew that her brother Tang had been engaged and almost got married, so although she was jealous, she didn't want to dwell on it.
But the person was right beside her all along, protected by Brother Tang and the Cui family, and Brother Tang had been keeping it a secret from her.
She stared at the ledger for half a day today, and the more she looked, the more alarmed she became, as all those previous events flooded her mind.
Meng Yuanxiao's tears fell like broken beads, but she held back her sobs.
Cui Xintang paused for a moment, then stepped forward to wipe away her tears, saying, "Brother Tang shouldn't have kept it from you. Yuanyuan, would you believe me?"
Meng Yuanxiao didn't speak, only tears fell down her face.
She likes to fuss around, and in the few days since she came back, she and Hongshao have redecorated the room, covering the round-backed chairs with fluffy white fox fur cushions.
Cui Xintang glanced at the armchair next to him, went over and sat down, pulled the person over and sat on his lap.
Meng Yuanxiao tried to struggle, but he was held captive. His gaze fell on the open ledger beside him, and his eyes darkened.
He had specifically instructed Chen to do so, and Chen would certainly not make such a mistake, so she brought the account book to Yuanyuan.
It was either the Chen family or someone else who took advantage of the Chen family's absence today to do something shady.
After a slight pause, he said, "Yuanyuan, if you have any questions about the Lin family, feel free to ask, and your brother Tang will tell you."
Meng Yuanxiao's mind was in a tangled mess, and she couldn't sort it out for a while, nor did she want to ask him.
She didn't speak, so Cui Xintang waited a moment before asking, "Yuanyuan, do you still remember when Brother Tang got engaged to Miss Lin?"
Meng Yuanxiao naturally remembered; it was about four years ago.
Cui Xintang put his arm around her waist and said slowly, "It was an arranged marriage by our elders. Both families were interested in each other. After Miss Lin and I met again, we felt it was a good match, so we made the engagement."
“Yuanyuan should know the situation in the court at that time. His Majesty was wary of officials forming factions, and the marriage alliances between powerful families were extremely cautious. Not only me, but the Meng family also put a lot of effort into Meng Xu’s marriage.”
"But Meng Xu's situation is better than mine. With his father-in-law around, Meng Xu doesn't need to marry into a powerful family and can still rely on someone."
“But I can’t. Cui Zhen is not in the capital, and my relationship with him is strained. He won’t help me in the slightest. I’m competing with Cui Zhen and I’m unwilling to give in to him either. But I want to take the imperial examination and enter officialdom, and I can’t do it without any support.”
"At that time, Lord Lin had just been promoted to the capital. Lord Lin held a high official position, but because he had always served in local positions, he was not deeply involved in the complex relationships within the court and was not likely to arouse His Majesty's suspicion."
"At the time, for me, establishing a kinship with the Lin family was indeed the best option."
He spouted a lot of reasoning, but Meng Yuanxiao could only think of Miss Lin's words that day in the cloth shop.
"I just feel that you and I looked somewhat alike when you were my age."
She didn't want to ask, but she couldn't help but ask anyway, "Wasn't it more than just the Lin family that wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Cui family back then?"
Her voice was muffled, and her question was vague, but Cui Xintang understood what she meant.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “I have no sisters at home, and apart from you, Yuanyuan, I have never interacted with other women. But you were young then, and I only treated you as a younger sister, so I don’t know what it’s like to interact with women.”
“Indeed, there was more than one person who tried to arrange a marriage for me. I just thought that the one selected by my elders was the most suitable.”
"Brother Tang is a normal man. When he first met Miss Lin, he found her appearance and personality to be quite good, so naturally he wouldn't dislike her."
Meng Yuanxiao had stopped crying, but after Cui Xintang said those words, she suddenly felt so sad that she burst into tears again.
If you don't dislike it, then you must like it.
Cui Xintang sighed softly and raised his hand to wipe away her tears. "At that time, it didn't matter to me who I married, so I might as well marry the wife who would be most helpful to me."
"At that time, Cui Zhen's wife had just given birth to a son and a daughter. My mother fell seriously ill due to depression. My second aunt in the mansion also repeatedly provoked me, so my mother was anxious to find a marriage partner for me."
After a slight pause, he said, "Cui Zhen's departure was a great blow to my mother, and Cui Zhen's departure from the capital was also related to me. I always felt guilty, so I thought that if I met a suitable person, I would marry her as soon as possible to help my mother with the household affairs, and the household would be at peace."
Meng Yuanxiao didn't want to hear any of this. Tears streamed down her face as she lowered her head and refused to look at him.
Cui Xintang kissed her under the eyes and coaxed her softly, "How old were you back then? If I had any feelings for you, Meng Xu would have killed me first. How could I have married you to me now?"
Meng Yuanxiao remained silent. Cui Xintang looked down at her for a moment, then glanced at the ledger beside her, picked it up, and flipped through it.
He flipped through a few pages, then put the book back and hugged the person even tighter.
The room was dimly lit, with no candles lit yet, and sunlight streaming in through the window, casting shadows on people.
Cui Xintang lowered her long eyelashes and looked at Meng Yuanxiao, saying, "Although my plan was well-thought-out, I did not expect that Lord Lin would suddenly get into trouble and be imprisoned just before the wedding date."
After a moment of silence, he said, "The misfortune should not befall a married woman. When Lord Lin was in trouble, Miss Lin came to see me. If I had kept my marriage agreement and married her, Miss Lin would not have been implicated and exiled."
"But I rejected her that day."
Meng Yuanxiao was taken aback.
Cui Xintang smiled faintly, his expression slightly complicated. "Yuanyuan, do you think that Brother Tang shouldn't be this kind of person?"
Meng Yuanxiao's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she pursed her lips without speaking.
Cui Xintang raised his hand and tucked a strand of hair that had slipped down her cheek behind her ear. He looked at her and said, "Brother Tang is not a selfless person. I arranged the marriage with the Lin family to take advantage of Lord Lin's influence."
“At that time, I had not yet passed the imperial examinations and my family could not be relied upon at all. There was really no need to risk my future for someone who was not very important.”
He gently stroked Meng Yuanxiao's waist, his tone slightly absent-minded.
"Marriage is essentially an exchange of benefits. I marry a wife so that someone can manage the household affairs and I can use her family background, not to save someone from a bad situation."
Meng Yuanxiao was stunned.
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