Chapter 47 Chapter 47 You are no less

Chapter 47 Chapter 47 You are no less

It was another beautiful sunny day, but the wind was stronger than yesterday, blowing so hard that it hurt like thorns on people's cheeks.

Cui Han, wrapped in a dark cloak, stood at the entrance of Shen Gui Tang.

This was the first and only time he wore dark clothes to see his mother. In the past, his mother always liked him to wear white clothes, saying that it would make him look gentlemanly and elegant.

From the Cui family gate to Shengui Hall, he had to pass through five halls and four courtyards. Along the way, countless members of the Cui family looked at him secretly with strange eyes.

It's like this in your house, let alone outside.

Cui Han has always been proud, and he came here without looking around.

His sight gradually extended from his feet to the front. Various kinds of porcelain fragments were scattered everywhere, including a Ru kiln azure-colored split-eared vase. He remembered that this was his mother's favorite plum vase. When it snowed, she would put a few red plum blossoms in it and carry it with her wherever she went. It was very romantic.

She had a set of agate animal-head cups from the Western Regions, with exquisite carvings. She loved to drink from them. When she was in a good mood after drinking, she would also give him a smile.

My eyes slowly moved to her feet, where I saw a pair of snow-white embroidered shoes. She was so afraid of the cold, yet she was wearing such a pair of embroidered shoes in the cold winter.

Cui Han closed his eyes in despair, bent down to take off his boots, and only wore a thin footwear. He walked forward step by step along the broken porcelain pieces. He didn't even dare to cry out in pain. His slender figure swayed again and again, but he tried not to sway, and finally knelt down in the mess.

"Mother, I am here to pay my respects to you."

He lowered his body, not daring to raise his eyes.

You could hear a pin drop in the room, there was no sound, as if no one was around. He just knelt there without saying a word, perhaps numb from kneeling. Finally, a cold voice came from above,

"Go out now. Go wherever you want and do whatever you want. For your mother's sake, you don't have to come."

Cui Han shuddered and raised his eyes suddenly, only to see his mother wearing a long dress embroidered with red plum blossoms, sitting in the hall leaning against a lonely table. The winter sun outside was too hot, shining in through the colorful glazed windows, illuminating her entire body, except for her pale face hidden in the shade.

"Mom..." I couldn't help but call out again.

The man remained motionless, even his eyes seemed dull, and he did not respond.

Blood oozed from Cui Han's knees, staining the white porcelain red. He choked up several times, but he knew that his mother would never tolerate disobedience, so he had to obey. He slowly stood up and walked out of Shen Gui Hall step by step. When he retreated to the threshold, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that his father was standing under the corridor window with his hands behind his back.

His expression froze, he wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and leaned over to salute his father.

Father Cui looked at his son with a complicated expression and said distressedly, "Go back to your room and rest. Take your time. Don't be discouraged by a little setback. Remember, your last name is Cui, not Li..."

In response to these words, the sound of porcelain breaking was heard again from inside. Cui Han could not help but shudder. Seeing this, Cui's father's face turned cold. He raised his hand to signal Cui Han to leave, and he walked quickly forward and walked around to the front of the hall.

Cui's mother, Li, sat in the shadows, looking at him with disgust.

"What are you doing here?"

Father Cui strode in with his hands behind his back, stepped on the debris and came to her side. He looked at her with a resentful look and sat across the table from her.

"Are you satisfied? Are you satisfied?"

Li's cold eyes swept over, "What am I satisfied with? What am I satisfied with?"

She said with ridicule, "I taught him to be upright, but he, like you, used despicable means to ruin other people's marriages, murdered people and robbed them. He did all kinds of bad things. I have carefully trained him for more than 20 years, but in the end, I still can't change the bad guy in his bones!"

These words slapped Cui's father mercilessly on the face.

The corners of Cui's father's lips were slightly wrinkled and his eye wrinkles were cracked.

He did use some dishonorable means to marry Li, but he really loved her. She was beautiful, heroic, scheming and courageous. In the early days after she got married, she managed the house very well, even better than he, the head of the family, did in the Cui family. He felt that he should be the happiest man in the world to marry such a perfect wife.

It was not until they had sex three months after their marriage that she drank deer wine to arouse her desire and blurted out the man's name. Only then did he realize that all the beautiful things in front of him were just a dream that could be shattered at any time.

Ever since she gave birth to Cui Han, she never let him touch her again. Twenty-four years have passed now, and they have become strangers to each other.

The Cui family only knew the mistress of the house, Mrs. Li, and had never heard of Cui Ji.

"Han'er has suffered enough, don't force him anymore, come to me if you have any problems..."

"Get out of here and don't dirty my eyes." Li turned around and pointed outside the door without even looking at Cui Ji.

Seeing how ruthless and unmovable she was, Cui Ji could not help but stand up, his face filled with anger, "Li Ruyun, how long are you going to ignore me?"

Li's expression remained unchanged. She looked at the doorstep and sneered softly.

Cui Ji was embarrassed and angry when he saw that she was too lazy to pay attention to him.

Dang, angrily said, "Say something..."

"Are you short of women?" Li turned her head and glared at him with disdain, pointing at the hot sky outside. "You have countless concubines outside. If you feel uncomfortable staying at home, just get out as far away as possible. No one will remember you if you don't come back."

One of the conditions for Li Ruyun to marry Cui Ji was that the power of the household be handed over to her, so from the wedding night, the command of the Cui family's head was in Li's hands.

Cui Ji had been completely sidelined by the Li family.

Cui Ji said in a depressed tone, "All those women were chosen according to your wishes. Do you think I have someone else in my heart..."

Li was so disgusted that she grabbed a teacup at her side and smashed it towards Cui Ji's face. With a clang, the teacup hit Cui Ji's forehead. The pain made him stagger and almost fall backward. Blood quickly flowed down his brow. Despite this, he didn't dare to dodge and had to take the beating.

She was filled with resentment, but she didn't dare to show anger on her face. She quickly wiped away the blood and said angrily, "For you, those women out there didn't want any children at all, and they just kept Han'er, the only child. What else do you want... Just say one word, and I'll send them away immediately..."

He just wanted her to lower her head.

The more Li listened, the more she felt that her ears were dirty. She stood up and walked back. Cui Ji hurriedly followed her, but unfortunately, when he reached the door of the back corridor, he was blocked by two female guards. Looking at his wife's ruthless back, Cui Ji stamped his feet in anger.

"Li Ruyun!"

The only responses he got were the hunting cold wind and the bright winter sun.

Cui Han returned to his study and sat in silence for a while. Then his attendant brought him news that the emperor had summoned him.

Cui Han rubbed his forehead mournfully, slowly stood up, changed into his official uniform, and went back to the palace.

No matter how hot the sun was, it couldn't dispel the gloom in his eyes.

It has come to this, I can’t just die.

Cui Han thought so with self-mockery, and returned to his usual composure as he entered Donghua Gate.

The emperor summoned him to the study room. He felt sorry to see such a handsome young man lose his reputation, so he directly proposed to send him to a post outside the capital. Cui Han did not respond and knelt in the middle to beg for mercy.

"Your Majesty, please give me another chance. I want to stay in the Central Command."

This was the emperor's plan in the past, but now the central government cannot accommodate Cui Han.

"You stay out of the spotlight for a while, and come back in two years, and I will make arrangements for you."

How many two years does he have to waste?

Cui Han retreated from the study room, walked down the steps to the Danxiang Tree in front of the Fengtian Hall, and suddenly glanced towards the Cining Palace on the west side. He made an excuse to go to Xihua Gate and went around to the small courtyard in front of the Cining Palace. He stuffed a silver ingot into the gatekeeper and asked him to tell the empress dowager that he wanted to see her.

This time, the Queen Mother was not vague and soon met him in the warm room of Cining Palace.

She knew Cui Han was desperate.

Although he has a bad reputation, Cui Han does have some abilities.

With the Cui family and the Wang family in hand, are you still worried about not being able to deal with the Cheng family?

The Queen Mother had been plotting this matter secretly, and now that Cui Han had taken the initiative to bring it to her, how could she not be happy?

"You can't get into the Ministry of Rites..." Because Cui Han's reputation was ruined, the Ministry of Rites would not and could not accept him.

"The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue are the emperor's territory."

The Queen Mother remembered that Lu Xusheng's great uncle was still in prison, and the position of the Minister of Works was vacant, so she would choose one from the five doctors below, so that one doctor would be vacant.

"Go to the Ministry of Works. I'll give you the emperor's side. Just go back and wait for news."

Cui Han knew that he had made the right move.

"I thank the Empress Dowager for her great grace."

"But," the Queen Mother smiled deeply while petting a snow-white chinchilla.

"You are not yet able to display your talents as a doctor in the Ministry of Works. I have another important task to entrust to you."

Cui Han raised his head and asked, "Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."

"Help me to spy on the secrets of the powerful officials in the capital and keep an eye on the unusual movements of those noble families."

Cui Han knew it was not so easy to gain the Queen Mother's trust. He had to submit his credentials before he could pay homage to her. He smiled charmingly, "I obey your command, but Your Majesty, I am afraid I don't have enough people..."

This is the negotiation stage.

The Queen Mother was not surprised and sighed, "I will assign some people from Dongchang to you and order them to be delivered to you tonight."

The deal between the two companies was concluded and Cui Han prepared to leave.

The Queen Mother looked at the still handsome man, and suddenly her mind moved, "Mr. Cui, don't be in a hurry to get married. I know what I am doing. The Wang family has a lady waiting to be married. I will introduce her to you when I have time."

The Queen Mother planned to find a humble daughter of the royal family and marry her to Cui Han to consolidate the alliance.

Cui Han suddenly felt resistance in her heart, but her throat rolled over and she did not refuse on the spot, "Thank you, Queen Mother."

Leaving Xihua Gate, although the wind was still cold, he seemed to be able to accept it calmly.

Fortunately, the suppression by his mother over the years has made him strong-willed, so Cui Han is not so easily defeated.

When he went out to have a drink in a tavern near the West Market, he heard people outside the private room talking about him and Fan Yulin. Cui Han held the wine glass tightly, his lungs bursting with rage. Cheng Mingyu would not resort to such a despicable method, so it could only be Lu Xusheng. How could such a man be worthy of marrying a daughter of the Cheng family?

What a coincidence, there was a carriage parked under the open window.

A maid put down the brocade stool and helped a young girl out of the car. The girl was wearing an old ermine jacket. She was tall, with sunken cheeks and looked pitiful, but there was a different kind of spirit in her eyes. She turned around and raised her hand to greet the person behind her.

I saw an arm stretched out and placed on the girl's palm, a faint green flash appeared on the wrist, and then she bent down and stepped out of the car.

When she bent down, her hood was slightly lifted, revealing her slender waist. When she stood firm, she couldn't help but look back at the sky. Under the scorching winter sun, it was a dazzling face. The brilliance between her eyebrows seemed to make the whole world pale in comparison. The arc of her almond-shaped eyes just brought out a smile, like spring snow melting on her wrist and peonies blooming in the rain.

Delicate, soft, fresh and romantic.

She is worthy of being Cheng Mingyu’s daughter.

He suddenly understood his mother's obsession.

It is like the snow on the top of the mountain, sacred and pure, and I can't help but want to pick some.

Cheng Yian welcomed an unexpected guest this morning.

It turned out that Cheng Yike had been following her advice since last time, and had taken advantage of her stepmother's outburst to run to the Disciplinary Institute to complain, holding the bruise on her wrist. This alarmed the elders of the Disciplinary Institute, who then made public the fact that she had been withholding money for food, clothing and other expenses.

The Discipline Institute stepped in and demanded that the Eighth Wife return all the dividends of recent years to Cheng Yike, and keep them in her own hands as a dowry.

After a night of hustle and bustle, Cheng Yike finally won two thousand taels of silver.

"Two thousand taels, An An, I've never seen so much money." She didn't sleep all night last night and didn't know where to put the money. She always felt uneasy at home, so she rushed to Cheng's house early in the morning and gave it to Cheng Yian, asking her to keep it for her.

He entrusted all his life, property and money to Cheng Yian, which shows his full trust in him.

Cheng Yian felt distressed when he saw her at a loss.

"You have a lot of money, it seems, and you have to use it. You have to plan for the long term. I have several shops in my wedding dress, why don't you pick one and start a business, and let the money make money."

The girl who grew up in a noble family was really hopeless. When she heard the talk, it was like a mystery to her. She suddenly felt that the talk was irrelevant. So Cheng Yian simply took her to the street, visited shops one by one, took her to meet the managers, let her broaden her horizons, and slowly plan a livelihood.

They strolled from the beginning of the Si hour to the Shen hour, visiting seven or eight shops. Cheng Yian also took the opportunity to inspect Lu's shop. The two finally parted ways at the south gate of Xia Dajie.

"Go back and think about it. When you have time, come to the shop and talk to the managers. When you have an idea, come and discuss it with me."

Cheng Yike seemed to have opened a window to a new world and nodded repeatedly, "Thank you for your hard work, An An."

Cheng Yian watched her walk away at the corner and was about to go back home when he suddenly saw a person standing on the wall of the alley not far away.

The man was dressed in a black robe as dark as ink. When he saw that she had discovered him, he strode towards her with a smile on his face.

"Miss Cheng San."

Even after encountering such a tragic situation, he was still able to smile cheerfully, which shows that he has a strong character that is not ordinary people.

Cheng Yian stared at Cui Han suspiciously and asked expressionlessly, "What's the matter?"

The tone was still cold.

"Why did you stop me from marrying your second sister?" Cui Han asked directly.

Cheng Yian smiled contemptuously, "What do you mean by stopping you from marrying my second sister? Do you think my second sister will marry you if you want to?"

"Cui Han, you take yourself too seriously!"

Cui Han looked at her carefully, and it didn't look like she had seen her lover at all. Instead, her pretty face was filled with disgust.

A light suddenly flashed through his mind, and he suspected that he had been tricked by Fan Yulin.

You bastard, plot against him!

Cui Han prides himself on being smart and has always been the one to scheme against others. This is the first time he has been

I was deceived by a pretty boy.

Cui Han was so angry that he laughed at himself.

Looking at Cheng Yian again, the look in his eyes was extremely complicated.

The two maids stood in an eight-shaped formation to protect Cheng Yian on both sides, and Qiu Qing and the three guards also stared at him covetously, waiting to rush forward at Cheng Yian's command.

If it had been at the beginning, knowing that Cheng Yian had no feelings for him, it would have been fine.

Nowadays, if something catches my eye, I can’t bear to let it go.

Cui Han still maintained his usual demeanor and bowed to Cheng Yian, "Third Miss, where did I offend you? Can you please tell me clearly?"

"No." This kind of thing couldn't be explained clearly, so Cheng Yian could only continue to be willful.

Cui Han really didn't expect that such a gentle and delicate girl would have such a bad temper.

interesting.

He couldn't help but ask tentatively, "You know about my mother?"

"Who is your mother?"

Cheng Yian was not so stupid as to be tricked by him. His father's affairs could not be made public, as it would be detrimental to his reputation.

Cui Han looked at the confused girl helplessly, and there was no way to continue the conversation.

He couldn't do anything with her.

He took another step back and bowed gracefully.

"Anyway, we two are acquainted with each other. If Miss Cheng needs my place in the future, please send someone to Cui's house to let me know. Goodbye."

He nodded slightly and turned away.

Cheng Yian stared at his tall figure with his mouth wide open and asked Rulan,

"Is he upset and not thinking clearly?"

Rulan was also very puzzled.

She was so worried just now, thinking that Cui Han wanted to take revenge, but who knew that she actually made friends with this guy.

As for Qiu Qing, he stared at Cui Han's departing figure and greeted his ancestors eight hundred times in his heart.

Damn it, he dares to covet the young mistress.

Cheng Yian had no time to pay attention to Cui Han and immediately got in the car to return home.

The eldest master was convicted and demoted to a commoner, which also led to the dismissal of the eldest son, Lu Yunsheng. The whole family cried bitterly in the main house, and the eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Liu, wept till her eyes were red. She didn't care about anything, so Cheng Yian had to go back to take charge of the situation.

Cui Han returned to his private residence and gave an order to the guards.

"Go to Fan's house, catch Fan Yulin, and beat him up so hard that he can't get out of bed."

The guards of the Cui family had long hated Fan Yulin for ruining the reputation of their young master, so they rode away without stopping upon hearing the order.

Poor Fan Yulin just forced himself to go to the temple to perform a ritual for the servant, but he was beaten again on the way back. Cui Han's men were even more brutal. Fan Yulin was beaten to death and was carried back with blood all over his mouth.

When Fan's mother looked at her unconscious husband and then at her half-dead son, she felt as if the sky had fallen.

Lu Xusheng came back at night again. Qiu Qinghou told him about the Fan family at the door of the study.

"I guess it was Cui Han who attacked Fan Yulin."

Lu Xusheng's eyes froze.

No, is it so difficult for him to teach Fan Yulin a lesson personally?

"What about Cui Han? Did he do anything bad to Madam today?"

Lu Xusheng found that Qiu Qing had a very strange expression after he asked the question.

"What's going on?"

Qiu Qing swallowed and looked at his major general with sympathy.

"Not only did Cui Han not do anything, he even told our young mistress that if she needed him in the future, she should let her know..."

Lu Xusheng: “…”

Qiu Qing saw that his forehead was filled with anger.

Lu Xusheng gritted his teeth, rubbed his chest, and nodded in submission.

“You have guts.”

Today, it was no longer a secret that Cui Han had taken refuge with the Queen Mother. The Emperor was so angry that he smashed a cup and scolded him for his wolfish ambitions.

Okay, if I don’t uproot the Cui family, it would be unfair to his courage.

"First, ask someone to keep an eye on Cui Han's every move."

Back in the backyard, Cheng Yian was bending over his desk practicing calligraphy.

Lu Xusheng walked over suspiciously and took a look. He saw an extremely exquisite and beautiful small calligraphy hanging on a wooden frame in front of her. The small calligraphy had sharp strokes and soft lines, which was pleasing to the eyes.

As for Cheng Yian, he was copying it meticulously and seemed so interested that he didn't even notice that he had been standing beside him for a long time.

Lu Xusheng looked unhappy. He sat down opposite her and raised his chin towards the calligraphy with a cold face.

"Whose handwriting is this?"

One Fan Yulin is not enough, and here comes Cui Han. Don’t let her think about any pretty boy again.

Cheng Yian raised his eyes and replied with a smile, "My father's..."

When he heard that it was his father-in-law's calligraphy, Lu Xusheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Yian was very proud and boasted to him, "I took it from my father's study last time."

Lu Xusheng leaned back in his armchair leisurely, tapping the table with his slender fingers, and said with a half-smile,

"There's a saying in the market that 'once you meet Cheng Lang, you'll be ruined for life', and I think you're no different."

Even the backbone of the Empress Dowager's party was bewitched by her.

Cheng Yian glared at him with a playful look on her face.