Chapter 527 The Cui Family’s Decision
The current situation and the words of the head of the family forced them to finally try to put aside their prejudices and try to look objectively at the woman who was indeed impossible to ignore.
However, even after discussing for nearly an hour, even though the Cui family had put away their contempt for Chang Suining, their attitude remained fundamentally unshaken.
A large part of the reason for this is that they had never considered women before. If they were willing to support women, wouldn't it be more legitimate to choose Princess Xuan'an earlier? In comparison, Chang Suining was just a woman of an unknown family background, with no advantages at all in terms of her origin.
In today's world, how important is the word "orthodoxy"? Otherwise, why did Duan Shiang, who had a large army, choose to follow Fanyang King Li Fu and give up the opportunity to establish himself as the master?
Moreover, their Cui family is based on rites and laws. Under the current situation, in a sense, choosing the children of the Li family rather than the "rebels" in the eyes of the world will naturally be more beneficial to their face and reputation.
With all these considerations in mind, everyone couldn't help but shake their heads when they mentioned Chang Suining's background.
"Regarding the origin of Chang Suining, I do have a guess." At this time, Cui Ju's voice sounded again: "Although Ling An did not explicitly state it in the letter, I think he would not compare Chang Suining with the late Crown Prince Li Xiao for no reason--"
These words restored silence to the hall.
"Furthermore, the story of Chang Suining donating 7 million strings of cash to support the northern border defense was widely spread, and people began to speculate that there might be some hidden story behind his origins... and many people have speculated that this hidden story might be due to the fact that the former Crown Prince Li Xiao adopted him."
"Those rumors about my background might be Chang Suining's attempt to build momentum for me..." As the old man spoke, he looked at everyone with his old eyes. Although he claimed to be guessing, his tone was almost certain.
"So I guess that this girl's origin may be related to the Li family."
In other words, she intends to be related to the Lee family.
There was an uproar in the hall because of these words, but if everyone thought about it carefully, they would understand that the head of the family's guess was not groundless.
In this way, they were able to conclude that Jiangdu Chang Suining did have great ambitions...
"But Patriarch...are we really going to give up the path of becoming King Rong for a woman?" Most of the clan members were still hesitant: "Is this too risky?"
"Even if she can borrow the name of the Li family, compared to that, the Rong Wang faction is still more secure."
"Although this woman started quickly, it was too late in the end..."
"Not to mention she's a woman..."
"Please think twice, Patriarch."
“…”
Listening to the continued voices of opposition, Cui Wei looked at his father, also hesitant to speak.
Cui Ju did not show any anger on his face, or perhaps the reaction of his tribesmen was within his expectations.
As the head of the Cui family, he certainly has the power to make decisions, but this does not mean that he can go against the wishes and interests of the majority of the clan members and do things on his own - such a head of the family will not be recognized and will naturally lose the qualification to make decisions.
Therefore, it’s not that he didn’t make plans earlier, but he knew clearly that some things would not be negotiable from the beginning to the end.
Choosing Chang Suining was a subversive move for most of the tribe. It not only subverted their cognition, but also all the inherent benefits brought by the etiquette of men and women that they had advocated for thousands of years.
Cui Ju absolutely believed that if he insisted on choosing Chang Suining, there would be many people in the clan who would die to show their loyalty.
Many things are like a mountain, and they cannot be moved away in an instant by just one generation.
Many times, after people have gained benefits based on certain cognition and persistence, it is extremely difficult to get them to change... Even if what was honey in the past has become arsenic today, few people can jump out of it immediately.
The collapsing situation and the unchangeable human heart, when the two appear together, it is the so-called general trend and destiny.
When great trends come and when luck is about to run out, it is always difficult to resist. The reason is that they are too huge. In comparison, personal will is often so small that it will be drowned out in an instant before it can even make a sound.
Moreover, strictly speaking, Cui Ju could not predict right or wrong in advance, and he did not have the ability to predict the future.
Although he admired Chang Suining's talent and was willing to trust Ling An's judgment, he also could not deny Prince Rong's abilities and advantages.
However, what he had to do today was not to choose one of these two people—
"All of us here today, including myself, Cui Ju, have never experienced any major storms or dynasty changes since we were born..." Cui Ju looked at everyone with a solemn look in his eyes, "So I'm afraid we have all forgotten one thing, that is, the reason why the Cui family has been able to stand firm for hundreds of years from its rise to prominence was never because of gambling."
Cui Ju did not deny it and said: "If I choose Chang Suining now, it would be a big gamble."
After a moment, he faced those gazes and said clearly, "With people like Chang Suining around, it would be a big gamble for us to choose Prince Rong."
After going through a lot of analysis on Chang Suining, the Cui family members were unable to deny this statement at this moment. Most of them looked solemn and waited for the head of the family to say next.
Cui Ju said slowly: "In this gambling game, the only way to survive is to bet on both sides."
——Two bets?!
Cui Wei opened his eyes slightly and immediately asked, "Father, what do you mean..."
Cui Ju: "Divide the Cui family into two, one half will support Li Yin, the Prince of Rong, and the other half will help Chang Suining, the governor of Huainan."
"Master...are you going to split up the Cui family?" All the clan members were shocked. Someone asked without blinking, "How do you want to split up the family?"
"Let Liu Lang take the lead and make all the clansmen and their relatives and connections in Taiyuan available to Chang Suining." Cui Ju said, "We will work with Prince Rong."
Cui Wei's face fluctuated.
Led by Liu Lang, there are also those clansmen in Taiyuan... In this way, his father is actually handing Liu Lang and the others over to that rebellious son.
“After that, we told the public that Liu Lang took the initiative to lead his people away from Qinghe, violated the ancestral teachings, and went to Cui Jing in Taiyuan to set up his own clan—” Cui Ju said: “From then on, he separated from the Cui clan in the capital and had nothing to do with us anymore.”
“Father!” Cui Wei’s heart was beating wildly: “If this happens… wouldn’t it be the same as breaking an arm and a bone!”
The cohesion of a clan ultimately lies in the unity of interests. Once people go their separate ways to pursue their own interests, it will be impossible for them to come together again! Therefore, this split is a real split!
Cui Ju's eyes were now sharper: "What's going on?"
Cui Wei's eyes trembled slightly.
Cui Ju looked at the people with different expressions, and his tone seemed to carry the sound of wind and rain outside the hall: "The Cui family has long been like a decaying giant ship, unable to change direction. A wrong decision will bring about a storm, which can completely overturn it..."
The Zheng family of Xingyang is the best example.
If the Cui family wants to survive, they can only let the people on the ship get off the ship and evacuate in batches in different directions to have a chance of preserving the fire.
Cui Ju: "In this way, even if Li Yin and Chang Suining face off to the death, my Cui family will not die."
At least half of them can be saved.
Even if the Cui family is destined to be weakened again and again after the split, and may even no longer be able to survive as a noble aristocratic family after many years, it can at least withstand the impact of the general trend and maintain a long-term vitality.
The hall gradually fell into a strange silence, no longer the noisy and chaotic atmosphere just now.
Mrs. Lu looked at the aging head of the family at the top, pondering his plans, and her eyes could not help but turn red.
At this moment, she suddenly understood something.
This included the family head's decisive decision to expel Dalang from the family, and even the fact that the family head allowed Liulang to enter the Imperial College to make friends with his classmates... Perhaps the family head had been preparing to split up the Cui family and find another way out for the Cui family since a long time ago.
However, the head of the family probably could not have imagined at that time that the path chosen by Dalang and Liulang for the clan would eventually lead to a little girl.
But when this girl appeared, even though she was a girl, the head of the family still made a decision without hesitation.
There is no doubt that the master of the family has foresight and good intentions. However, the Cui family's ship is indeed too big, and the master of the family cannot control its direction, so he can only divide it into small boats to survive.
Tears welled up in Lu's eyes. It was the Cui family's fortune to have such a wise and decisive helmsman.
Many members of the clan gradually realized what Lu wanted.
The owner's painstaking efforts and plans have long been traceable.
They certainly didn't want to choose Chang Suining, but if they really chose Prince Rong, they would have to worry about Chang Suining's existence... But if they bet on both sides as the head of the family said, these hidden worries could be eliminated.
The pain of splitting and cutting bones is certainly unbearable, but the danger of the entire family being wiped out is something they cannot bear.
The sound of rain outside the hall was getting louder, and bean-sized raindrops were falling from the eaves. Those raindrops fell one by one, as if with a desperate determination, breaking themselves into countless water drops and then silently merging into the rain.
Amid the noise of the rain, an octogenarian with silver hair and beard stood up tremblingly and said, "I agree with the proposal of the head of the family."
After a while, another middle-aged tribesman left his seat, walked into the hall, raised his head and said, "I agree with this, too."
"So do I..."
"I am willing to follow the arrangements of the master."
More and more tribesmen stood up.
Cui Wei stood there, his head buzzing.
After an unknown amount of time, it seemed that all the clansmen had stood up. Cui Wei raised his head and looked at his father. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "But if this is the case...will it cause dissatisfaction from King Rong?"
My father's idea was to show goodwill to Prince Rong first, and after Prince Rong managed to get Liu Lang and others out of trouble, the Cui family would then announce the division of the clan to the outside world... In this way, it would be equivalent to taking advantage of Prince Rong.
"Even if Prince Rong is dissatisfied, he cannot interfere in this matter." Cui Ju said: "The Cui family needs Prince Rong, but Prince Rong also needs the Cui family. Now half of the Cui clan members are willing to help him succeed, as long as he rescues thirty children of my Cui family in exchange. Even if he knew it in advance, he has no reason to be picky and refuse."
Having nothing more to say, Cui Wei also lowered his head, slowly raised his hands that seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and bowed deeply.
At this point, no one in the hall had any objections.
At this moment, dozens of clansmen in long gowns stood in the hall and followed the decision of the head of the family.
From the beginning to the end, their voices were not loud and there was no intonation, but the decision they made was of unprecedented importance.
After making the decision, they had no time to feel sad.
Cui Ju quickly explained what was to be done next, and all the tribesmen listened carefully and agreed solemnly.
Finally, Cui Ju looked at the woman standing in the corner: "Lu——"
Mrs. Lu's spirits perked up slightly, and she stepped forward and bowed, "Master."
Cui Ju said: "Tomorrow, you will take Tang'er and leave Beijing, take my handwritten letter, and go to the Lu family in Ningzhou, in the name of visiting relatives, to see Mr. Lu."
The Mr. Lu mentioned by Cui Ju is Lu's uncle and the current head of the Lu family.
The Lu family, which is also among the five major aristocratic families, originated in Fan Yang, which was where Li Fu started the rebellion. Most of the family members who stayed in Fan Yang were controlled by the Fan Yang army. The situation of the Lu family seemed to be more tense than that of the Cui family.
But Cui Ju believed that Prince Rong Ding had also expressed his willingness to help the Lu family.
Compared with the Cui family, the Lu family has always been more inclined towards Prince Rong, and many members of the family have been used by Prince Rong in private.
Cui Ju said: "I will tell Lord Lu about the Cui family's decision in the letter."
He trusted the character of the head of the Lu family, although many times they had different opinions.
"The Cui family will not interfere with their final decision." Cui Ju looked at his daughter-in-law and said, "You are only responsible for delivering the message. No matter what the Lu family decides, if you are willing, you can take Tang'er all the way north to Taiyuan and don't have to return to the capital."
Lu was stunned for a moment.
Cui Wei was also stunned for a moment, and then he felt that something was wrong. Lu was his wife, and she should regard her husband as her God. Even if they were separated, she should follow him... He had already lost his son, so how could he let his wife and daughter go to Taiyuan?
But... I don't think Mrs. Lu would be willing. She is gentle in nature and not very smart. She is used to relying on him for everything. How can she leave him?
Furthermore, Taiyuan is the territory of that rebellious son after all. Even if he has not been expelled from the clan, his wife is only his stepmother. With such a status, how can she be as free and at ease in Taiyuan as she is in the capital?
Seeing his wife coming forward and kneeling down in front of her father with red eyes, Cui Wei's brows relaxed slightly, and he was sure that she must be expressing her intention to stay in the capital.
Mrs. Lu knelt down, almost crying with joy: "Thank you, father, for your help!"
The father understood everything and saw everything. He knew that what her mother wanted to do most at this moment was to take one of her children to find her other two children.
If her father hadn't mentioned it, she, as the wife of the eldest son of the Cui family, naturally wouldn't have been able to speak up, but her father chose to take the initiative to fulfill her wish.
When Lu kowtowed, she almost burst into tears.
"?!" Cui Wei looked at his wife in disbelief - so, she had abandoned him without hesitation? Today, the audiobook of "Chang'an Hao" is online on Himalaya. If you are interested, you can go and listen to it! The host also asked Ning Jing for the cover photo. I will put it in the Easter egg chapter later for everyone to see!
(Thank you all for your monthly tickets, thank you all for your rewards and messages~ (It is difficult to make up or add more chapters to the next volume. To be honest, I am reorganizing the subsequent outline every day, for fear that I will write it a little bit crooked and not finish it well. The subsequent updates may be slower. I would like to say hello to everyone and start with one!)
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