Chapter 46
The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.
The air was frozen.
It wasn't the dull kind; it was the kind where all impurities had been drained away, leaving only pure, absolute power, a vacuum-like solidification.
The incense burner was filled with top-grade borneol incense. After smelling it for a while, it didn't smell good anymore, but rather cloying, like an invisible layer of oil sticking to your mouth, nose, and lungs, making it hard to breathe.
Emperor Tang Tai sat in this stagnant, greasy air.
He looked at the thin, yet incredibly heavy, secret report presented to him by his bodyguard.
His face was expressionless.
Those eyes, somewhat cloudy from years of seclusion, revealed no emotion whatsoever.
But he could sense the leader of the dark guards in front of him, who was dressed in a black flying fish robe and exuded an aura of death from head to toe.
He could feel the temperature in the hall dropping at a visible rate.
The secret report contained very few words.
But every word is like a nail.
Cui Yunshu was the fourth daughter of the Cui family.
He established "Yunjian Pavilion", "Jinghuayuan" and "Jinxiu Pavilion" in the capital. His business network has spread to all the prefectures and states in the north of the Qin Dynasty. His wealth is unfathomable.
During the snow disaster in the northern border, he mobilized all the resources in the northern border overnight to relieve the urgent needs of the 100,000-strong army. His reputation in the army has been on par with that of Prince An, Tang Pu.[18]
He was very close to Tang Pu, the Prince of An.
On the shores of the East China Sea, a colossal ship was secretly being built. Its size and strange shape were unlike anything ever seen before.
The emperor tapped the secret report lightly with his finger.
Thump.
The voice was soft, yet it struck the leader of the secret guards like a heavy hammer blow to his heart.
The emperor recalled the clever, beautiful, yet somewhat lazy and timid young girl who had presented the ice-making method a few years ago.
He treated her like a caged canary that lays golden eggs.
He admired her intelligence and was happy to see her use those novel gadgets to fill his treasury and stir up the stagnant waters of the capital.
He even tacitly approved of her getting closer to Tang Pu, and tacitly approved of her binding the Cui family even more deeply to the Crown Prince's chariot.
Because all of this is under his control.
But now...
It seems that, out of his sight, this canary has secretly grown a pair of sharp claws, enough to tear his cage apart.
Finally, something flashed in the emperor's eyes.
That wasn't anger.
It's something more terrifying than anger.
It's an interest.
It's that kind of cold, appreciative, yet determined interest a chess player feels when they discover their opponent has made an unexpected and brilliant move.
He waved his hand, signaling the guards to leave.
He was alone again in the imperial study.
He slowly stood up and walked to the huge map of the Qin Dynasty's territory that hung on the wall.
His gaze, like a ruler, measured his empire inch by inch.
From the capital to the northern border.
From the North to the East Sea.
Finally, his gaze settled on the small yet incredibly conspicuous mark on the Cui family's property.
An unstable entity, possessing immense wealth, military prestige, and even... about to possess its own powerful fleet—an uncertain factor.
He can no longer let it continue.
Killing is a poor choice. It would provoke a backlash from the military and the princeling faction.
He had already tried to suppress her. But instead of suppressing her, he used her strength to climb even higher.
So……
The emperor's lips slowly curled into a cold, unfathomable smile.
What is the best way to deal with a woman who is growing stronger and about to break free from your control?
It's not about breaking her wings.
It's about building her a more magnificent and sturdier cage, one that she'd willingly enter and never be able to escape from.
A gilded cage called "Marriage".
He picked up a pen and slowly wrote a line on a blank imperial edict.
...
Cui Mansion.
The joy of escaping death and the excitement of winning the political struggle had not yet completely dissipated.
The servants in the mansion walked with a swagger, their faces beaming with pride.
Cui Wen and Lady Song could finally sleep peacefully. Their daughter had been exonerated and received rewards and praise from the Emperor; their son's position in the Eastern Palace was now as secure as a mountain. The Cui family seemed to have completely emerged from the shadows and ushered in an unprecedented golden age.
Only Cui Yunshu herself knows.
This was merely a brief, suffocating calm before the storm.
She sat in Qing Shu's courtyard, holding a new account book in her hand, but her mind was racing, calculating another account.
The construction of the "Divine Machine Ship" has entered its most expensive phase. Master Lu, that tech fanatic, is a bottomless pit. The East China Sea Shipyard is like a giant money-shredding machine, devouring massive amounts of money every day.
The business of "Jinxiu Pavilion" must be expanded as soon as possible.
The maiden voyage of the Royal Marine Trading Company must also be put on the agenda.
She needs money.
Lots and lots of money.
She had enough to support the completion of her enormous "Noah's Ark," and then, before that damned "three-year deadline" arrived, she would take everyone she cared about and escape this hellish place.
I'm too lazy to think about it.
She was figuring out which step in the process she could squeeze out even more profit.
A familiar, chilling noise came from the front yard.
It's someone from the palace again.
Cui Yunshu's heart skipped a beat.
An extremely ominous, cold, and sticky premonition, like a venomous snake, slowly crept up her spine.
When she was escorted by servants to the main hall, she saw a scene almost exactly the same as the last time.
The leader was the same old eunuch with a pale face, no beard, and drooping eyes.
Her father, mother, and a group of clan elders knelt on the ground.
The only difference was that this time, the old eunuch's face no longer held the condescending arrogance of the last time; instead, it carried a hint of ingratiating, fawning smile.
"Miss Cui, you've finally arrived!" He said in a high-pitched, sickeningly sweet voice, "Congratulations!"
Congratulations?
Looking at his old face, which was smiling like a chrysanthemum, Cui Yunshu's heart sank little by little.
She did not kneel.
She just stood there quietly.
The eunuch cleared his throat and unrolled the familiar, bright yellow silk that she found physically repulsive.
"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"
The imperial edict began with nothing new: a deluge of praise.
She was praised for her composure, wisdom, courage, and the spirit of a valiant woman in the "Jade Complexion Cream" case.
They praised her, Cui Yunshu, for offering advice on "company management," for having the nation and its people at heart, for opening up new sources of revenue for the national treasury, and for possessing extraordinary talent.
They praised her, Cui Yunshu, for her virtue, speech, appearance, and achievements, making her a role model for women of the world and an exemplary daughter-in-law of the imperial clan.
When she heard the last sentence, Cui Yunshu's mind went blank.
It looked like something exploded.
really.
The eunuch, in a melodious, theatrical tone, loudly proclaimed the final judgment that would determine her fate.
"...I, mindful of his virtue, am deeply gratified. Now, Zhou Ye, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Ying, is of outstanding character and appearance, skilled in both literature and martial arts. He and the fourth daughter of the Cui family are a match made in heaven. I hereby bestow this marriage upon him! An auspicious day shall be chosen for the wedding. This is to demonstrate the Emperor's grace and to secure the nation. So be it!"
An arranged marriage.
British public.
Eldest grandson.
These words, like a red-hot iron hammer coated with deadly poison, pounded relentlessly on Cui Yunshu's head.
She couldn't feel any pain.
She felt only numbness.
A cold, utter numbness that rises from the depths of the soul.
She even had the leisure to analyze it.
The Duke of England's family, a long-established noble family, has always been neutral and unassuming. However, their family influence is deeply entrenched and extends throughout the court and the country. More importantly, they have a very good personal relationship with the faction of the Second Prince.
Marry her off to him...
How vicious was the emperor's move!
This is not just about locking her up in the capital and cutting off all her thoughts of running away.
This is to tear her alive off the princeling party's war chariot!
This is to marry her into a potentially hostile camp, exhausting all her energy and smoothing out all her edges amidst endless infighting in the inner quarters and family constraints!
This is to transform her from a powerful "God of Wealth" into an ordinary housewife who stays at home, devoted to her husband and children, and rarely leaves the house!
To cut off the fuel supply from under the cauldron.
No.
This is even more ruthless than cutting off the fuel supply.
This is... slow slicing.
It was in the sweetest, most irresistible way that her soul was slowly and painstakingly torn apart, piece by piece.
"Miss Cui, shall you receive the imperial decree?"
The eunuch's fawning voice sounded so grating and absurd in her ears.
Cui Yunshu slowly raised her head.
She saw her father's face turn deathly pale.
She heard her mother, Song, let out an uncontrollable cry of grief behind her, followed by the sound of her falling heavily to the ground.
She even saw, in a corner of the crowd, her usually calm and capable second brother, Cui Yuanjue, for the first time display a look of panic and helplessness on his face.
It's over.
Everyone knew it was over.
To defy the imperial decree is to be exterminated along with one's entire clan.
Upon receiving the imperial decree, it was Cui Yunshu alone who was doomed to eternal damnation.
This is a dead end.
A flawless conspiracy woven with imperial power, leaving you no room to struggle—a calculated scheme.
Cui Yunshu's mind went blank.
She thought of the enormous ship on the East China Sea, which was already taking shape and was called the "Divine Machine Ship".
She remembered Master Lu's face, which looked like it was insane and fanatical.
She thought of Tang Pu.
She remembered him kneeling before her, his eyes shining like stars, burning intensely.
He recalled what he had said: "Master strategist, give the order! I, Tang Pu, will gladly die for it!"
How ridiculous!
Her "Noah's Ark" is not yet finished.
Her "chief general" was still waiting for her to issue the order to "rebel".
She, the so-called "chief strategist," was to be married off by a mere imperial decree to a stranger whose name she had never even heard of, to become a dutiful, virtuous... eldest granddaughter-in-law of the Duke of Ying's mansion.
These three years of struggle.
The calculations of these three years.
These past three years have been filled with painstaking efforts, like walking on thin ice.
In the end, can we still not escape this predetermined, cage-like fate?
She slowly reached out her hand.
Those hands once manipulated an abacus, wrote down laws that could stir up the winds of change, and drew up blueprints that could overturn an era.
Now, however, it is about to receive a decree that will utterly bury all her freedom and hope.
It was cold to the touch.
The touch of silk, however, was like the scales of a venomous snake—slippery, cold, and tightly coiled around her wrists, her heart, and her…soul.
She lost.
They lost badly, utterly defeated.
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