Chapter 15 "It's quite a sight there."...
Cui Xintang carried her to the corridor before putting her down.
They had agreed to return to the Meng residence together, but as soon as they arrived at the front courtyard and the carriage was harnessed, a servant rushed over and whispered a few words to Cui Xintang.
When the servant reported, Cui Xintang frowned slightly and subconsciously looked at Meng Yuanxiao.
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
She ignored him and climbed into the carriage on her own.
After the servant finished reporting, Cui Xintang came over to her. He didn't get into the carriage, but stood outside it, saying apologetically, "I have something to do at the yamen. I'll pick you up at the Meng residence when I'm done."
As expected, it happened again.
Official business was important, but Meng Yuanxiao was still unhappy.
After a moment of frustration, she leaned against the car window and stuck half her head out. "Isn't the imperial court going to recruit female officials? Can I take the exam for a female official position in the Ministry of Revenue?"
She looked at him earnestly with her clear eyes, half complaining and half coquettish, "So that I don't miss you all day but can't see you."
Upon hearing this, Cui Xintang showed surprise.
Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but bring it up, but Cui Xintang only raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Based on your ability to skip school and not do your homework?"
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
That's too much! You can't hit someone in the face!
She said indignantly, "Even if I can't pass the exam to become a female official in the Ministry of Revenue, I can still take the exam to become a painter."
"Isn't the imperial court setting up an imperial painting academy? The painters in the academy will have official positions, so we'll be colleagues. Maybe I can even help you in the future!"
Cui Xintang looked at her for a moment and said gently, "Stop fooling around."
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
Qingzhu and Hongshao avoided them, and the coachman couldn't see them from the front.
Seeing that he had angered her, Cui Xintang chuckled, pinched Meng Yuanxiao's chin, and pecked her lips.
"I have already sent someone to the Zhang residence to deliver a message, asking Zhang Mingyue to go to the Meng residence to keep you company."
His tone was casual and teasing, clearly not taking her words to heart.
Meng Yuanxiao was not happy and said in a muffled voice, "Then you should pick me up earlier."
"good."
Cui Xintang agreed, gave the driver a few instructions, and after watching the man leave, he returned to his study and summoned someone.
The man said, "Reporting to the eldest young master, yesterday I followed the second master as you instructed and saw him enter the teahouse."
"I was afraid of being discovered, so I didn't dare to go in. I just stood guard outside. Later, I saw that His Highness Prince Liang's attendant also went into that restaurant."
"Last night, after the Second Master returned home, he went into his study, and then..."
Cui Xintang glanced at him. "And then what?"
"Two quarters of an hour after the Second Master went into the study, the maid who had been sent to the kitchen by the Eldest Young Master sneaked into the study and came out about three quarters of an hour later, her clothes disheveled."
Cui Xintang: "..."
He originally thought that Qin Shi wanted to sow discord between him and Yuanyuan, which was why she placed that maidservant by his side.
He never imagined that it was his good second uncle who used Qin Shi to plant people around him.
Thinking of this, Cui Xintang almost crushed the teacup in his hand.
He sneered, "Second Uncle has really made something of himself."
He tried his best to avoid the conflict between the eldest princess and the Prince of Liang, but Cui Qin eagerly tried to get close to him.
Knowing that the eldest princess wanted to win him over and use him to implement new policies, he took the bait offered by the Prince of Liang.
They've even boarded the big ship that is King Liang; aren't they afraid that the ship might capsize one day?
The man continued, "Last night, the second master didn't come out of his study until 9 pm. He was in a very good mood when he came out, humming a little tune. This morning, the second master went out early again."
A cold look appeared on Cui Xintang's face. It was his oversight; he only knew that Cui Qin was muddle-headed, but he did not expect that he would dare to act in this way.
He had already realized this, and naturally, he couldn't hide it from others; regret was useless now.
This was the first time the servants had seen such a chilling aura emanating from the young master, and they bowed their heads, not daring to speak.
Cui Xintang pondered in silence for a moment, then waved his hand to send the person away.
After everyone had left, he got up, went to his desk, picked up a pen, wrote a letter, carefully sealed it, then called someone in and ordered them to immediately leave the capital and deliver the letter to Cui Zhen.
After giving these instructions, he went out.
The carriage was stopped halfway through its journey. "Lord Cui, His Highness Prince Liang requests a meeting with you."
Cui Xintang tightened his grip on his knees.
Half an hour later, he met King Liang in a private room of the teahouse.
"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Liang."
Your Majesty is young and frail, so the Eldest Princess is acting as regent. The late Emperor did not have many children, and besides Your Majesty and the Eldest Princess, the Prince of Liang is another powerful figure.
The Prince of Liang was over thirty years old, in his prime, and the only prince who could rival the eldest princess.
The eldest princess, being a woman, forcefully implemented new policies, and many in the court wanted to use the emperor to bring her down.
But given His Majesty's current state, those who support His Majesty are more likely to be supporters of the Prince of Liang.
Upon seeing him enter, the King of Liang smiled and invited him to sit down, pouring him a cup of tea.
"I still remember Lord Cui's brilliance back then, and now young Lord Cui has surpassed him. It's no surprise that he'll enter the cabinet in the future. This is a fine tea that I recently acquired, and I specially ordered it to be brewed. Young Lord Cui, please have a taste."
If the King of Liang wanted to see him, it certainly wouldn't be just for tea.
Cui Xintang remained calm and said, "Your Highness flatters me."
Sure enough, King Liang sized him up and gave him a meaningful smile.
"Cui Qin is pragmatic, but I admire Lord Cui's talent even more. I have heard about Lord Cui's situation in the Ministry of Revenue. What are your thoughts on the matter of the Ministry of Revenue's inspection?"
"..."
It was more than half an hour later when Cui Xintang came out of the teahouse. When he came out, there was a thin layer of sweat on his back.
Just as they were about to board the carriage, Qingzhu stepped forward and whispered, "Master, there are people watching us from behind. They seem to be Princess Langyue's people."
Princess Langyue is the youngest daughter of the eldest princess, and naturally, Princess Langyue's people are also the eldest princess's people.
Cui Xintang's expression was cold and stern. He paused slightly but did not turn around. He walked to the carriage before asking, "Is the Lin family member in Yunping County?"
Qingzhu was taken aback, not understanding why his master suddenly mentioned the Lin family. He truthfully replied, "Yes."
"Has there been any letter from Yunping County recently?"
"Reporting to Master, I haven't received any letters from Yunping County for quite some time. However, I don't know anything about the Lin family. Should I go and inquire at the Lin family?"
Cui Xintang frowned slightly and did not immediately agree.
The Grand Tutor Xu, who is currently enjoying great influence in the court, comes from the Xu family of Yunping County.
Grand Tutor Xu is one of His Majesty's men. When His Majesty was still the Crown Prince, Grand Tutor Xu was the Crown Prince's tutor and one of the people in the court who strongly opposed the Eldest Princess.
For the eldest princess, Grand Tutor Xu was a thorn in her side, and she was determined to get rid of him.
Every two or three years, the imperial court sends officials from the Ministry of Revenue to local areas to check land taxes and levies. There are already rumors that they will begin their inspection tour south next month.
A few days ago, Cui Xintang's superior summoned him and subtly mentioned that the higher-ups intended to send him down to conduct inspections.
The purpose of this inspection was to pave the way for the implementation of new policies, which the Liang King's faction naturally wanted to obstruct, which is why the Liang King couldn't help but come to see him.
Cui Xintang had just entered the court and his position was unstable; he did not want to stand under a precarious wall.
The matter of the inspection has not been explicitly stated by the higher authorities, and he could have found an excuse to decline it.
However, Cui Qin has been in close contact with the Prince of Liang's people lately, and his meeting with the Prince of Liang today has caught the attention of the Princess, so he can no longer remain uninvolved.
He could no longer go on the inspection, but he had to dispel the princess's doubts.
He couldn't figure out the solution to this matter for the time being, but he needed to make plans as soon as possible.
The only thing he can think of now is to take action through the Xu family.
After a moment's thought, he whispered his instructions: "Send someone secretly to Yunping County to investigate the Xu family. Don't alert them. Just find out who is in charge of the Xu family now and what their relationship is with the county government."
"Yes," Qingzhu replied, completely bewildered, but dared not say more, only asking, "Should we send someone to see Young Master Lin then?"
"No need."
After saying this, Cui Xintang was about to get into the carriage, but as soon as he put one foot on the carriage, he thought of something and changed his mind, "It would be good to send someone to check on him as well."
"Yes," Qingzhu replied. "Master, shall we still go to the yamen?"
Cui Xintang, however, said, "Let's go to Xiaoyu Street."
Meng Yuanxiao was sullen the whole way from the Cui residence. When she arrived at the Meng residence and saw her mother, she snuggled in her mother's arms and acted coquettishly for a while before she smiled again.
After spending some time with his sister-in-law, Zhang Mingyue arrived.
The two girlfriends hadn't seen each other in a long time and had a lot to talk about.
After whispering for a while, Mingyue suddenly told Meng Yuanxiao that the heir of the Marquis of Ding'an had brought a young woman back to his residence a few days ago, and that the young woman was already heavily pregnant.
Meng Yuanxiao was surprised, "Didn't the heir of the Marquis of Ding'an just get married to Huiniang?"
Hui Niang was the girl who had been fiercely rebuked by Ming Yue when she was boating on the lake that day, when she had targeted Meng Yuanxiao.
At the Princess's birthday banquet, Hui Niang was chosen by the heir of the Marquis of Ding'an's mansion and was soon engaged, marrying Meng Yuanxiao one after the other.
Zhang Mingyue said, "I heard that the heir of the Marquis of Ding'an has been in a relationship with that girl for a long time, but his family is interfering, so he has been keeping her outside."
"The heir of the Marquis of Ding'an took a liking to Hui Niang because she was easy to control and had no family to support her. So, not long after the marriage, he couldn't wait to bring her to his mansion and make her a concubine."
Meng Yuanxiao was utterly astonished. "Hui Niang can tolerate this?"
"What can we do if we can't bear it? Can we get a divorce? Hui Niang is considered to have married up; how could her family bear to let her divorce?"
Meng Yuanxiao: "But the Princess has already issued a decree that women can establish their own households after a divorce, and do not necessarily have to rely on their maternal family!"
"The Princess also said that talented women can even serve as officials in the court!" Mingyue said dismissively. "But are there any female officials in the court now? What obstacles did the Princess encounter when she wanted to promote female officials?"
"Moreover, with Hui Niang's personality, if we really let her divorce, her situation would probably be even worse than it is now."
After saying that, seeing Meng Yuanxiao's furrowed brows, Mingyue clicked her tongue and said, "There are many such shady things in the inner quarters, you just don't know them."
"Otherwise, why do you think the heir of the Marquis of Ding'an suddenly wants to marry Hui Niang? Is it really because he likes her?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Yuanxiao was momentarily stunned.
Mingyue tapped her forehead. "So, men are all unreliable. Don't be foolish and put all your thoughts on men, remember that?"
Meng Yuanxiao wanted to say that Brother Tang wasn't that kind of person, but she knew that Mingyue would laugh at her if she said it, so she swallowed it back.
Just as she was lost in thought, Zhang Mingyue shook her arm, "Yuanyuan, how is Cui Xintang?"
"What do you mean, how?" Meng Yuanxiao was confused.
Mingyue winked at her, "You mean that aspect!"
She looked mischievous, and Meng Yuanxiao suddenly understood, her cheeks instantly turning bright red.
Mingyue leaned closer, her face full of gossip, and said, "I heard that your top scholar was bathing in a hot spring with someone before, and when his clothes got wet, you could see that his private parts were quite spectacular!"
Meng Yuanxiao blushed even more and quickly pushed away her face that was leaning closer.
She was a little annoyed. How could Brother Tang be so careless? She hadn't even seen it yet, but someone else had already seen it!
Zhang Mingyue persisted, "Good Yuanyuan, tell me about it. I'm just curious. Don't worry, I won't be stingy when I get married in the future, and I definitely won't hide it from you!"
Meng Yuanxiao recalled the playful antics they had shared that morning. Unable to resist Mingyue's insistence, she mumbled, "It's... alright, I guess."
A note from the author:
----------------------
This chapter involves quite a few people.
The eldest princess and her daughter, Princess Langyue.
King Liang and Grand Tutor Xu.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com