Chapter 49
The Cui residence resembled a massive coffin covered by a black cloth.
All the sounds were sucked in.
There were no cries, no curses, only a more terrifying silence, a deathly stillness, as if all life had been drained from them.
The servants walked on tiptoe, not daring to breathe, and seeing their masters' faces was like seeing a death warrant at their doorstep.
Cui Wen, the head of the Cui family, a man who could once stand tall in the imperial court, now sat slumped in the grand chair in the main hall. He hadn't changed out of his official robes, but the purple robe that represented honor now looked like a funeral shroud tailor-made for him.
His eyes were gray, like extinguished embers.
He kept repeating the same sentence over and over again.
"Madmen...they're all madmen..."
"One dares to beat the drum of petition, and the other dares to say 'we'll discuss it later'... They're putting our Cui family in a very difficult position..."
Song sat beside him without crying.
Her tears had already dried up when she received the first imperial decree bestowing marriage upon her. Now, her eyes, which were always gentle and smiling, held only a gray, empty despair, a despair that had burned away all hope.
She looked at the bare old locust tree in the courtyard and muttered to herself, "It's over...it's really over now..."
Yeah, it's over.
If the first imperial edict was to imprison Cui Yunshu alone in a cage where death was certain.
Therefore, Tang Pu's earth-shattering kneeling and pleading, and the emperor's unfathomable "we'll discuss it later," put the entire Cui family, along with that cage, on a powder keg.
Now, everyone knows that the Cui family and the Prince An's mansion are in cahoots.
Now, everyone is waiting to see how the emperor will deal with these two audacious and reckless individuals who openly challenge his imperial authority.
Cui Yuanjue stood under the corridor, without saying a word.
He looked at his still-bleeding, mangled fist, smashed against the pillar, but felt no pain.
He only felt humiliated.
A profound, humiliating feeling of being a man, an older brother, yet unable to protect his younger sister—a feeling so intense it could drown a person.
He thought that by entering the Eastern Palace and becoming the Crown Prince's confidant, he could protect his family from harm.
In the end, however, he was nothing in the face of true imperial power.
In this gloomy and lifeless atmosphere.
Cui Yunshu walked in.
She changed out of her elaborate attire and wore only a simple, plain white long dress. The light pink scar on her face was faintly visible in the dim morning light.
Her face was expressionless.
Those dark eyes were as calm as two frozen, bottomless lakes.
As soon as she appeared, Cui Wen's desperate mutterings stopped. Song Shi's empty gaze also regained some focus.
They were looking at her.
Look at this culprit who dragged the entire family into the abyss.
They are also their only pillar of support right now.
"Father, Mother, Second Brother."
Cui Yunshu spoke, her voice soft and even a little hoarse, yet it was like a cold knife, instantly slicing through this thick, sticky sorrow.
Do you think things could get any worse?
She asked.
Cui Wen opened his mouth, wanting to say, "Of course it is! It's a hundred times worse than before!", but what came out of his mouth was a dry, off-key sigh.
Cui Yunshu did not wait for their reply.
She walked to the center of the main hall, her calm eyes slowly sweeping over the faces of each of her family members.
"What was the situation like before?"
"It's an imperial decree; the daughter's marriage is a done deal. It's the emperor's will that the subject must marry, and the subject has no choice but to marry. We are like fish on a chopping board; we can do nothing but close our eyes and wait to die."
"And now?" Her voice suddenly rose a notch, becoming sharper. "Now, things have blown up. Prince An has completely ruined this deadly game that none of us could solve, right in front of the whole world!"
"His outburst has made it no longer just about my daughter's marriage. This is the Prince An's Mansion openly challenging the Duke of Ying's Mansion! This is a newly risen military elite challenging the long-established nobles since the founding of the Great Qin! And even more..."
Her voice paused, and each word was like a nail, driven into the hearts of her parents and brother.
"...It was the Prince An's mansion that risked their own lives and the honor of the entire mansion to pull our Cui family out of that doomed imperial edict!"
Cui Wen and Cui Yuanjue's pupils suddenly contracted.
They only saw Tang Pu's recklessness and madness, but never considered the matter from this perspective.
“He has completely stirred up a stagnant pool that none of us could touch.” A faint, cold smile appeared on Cui Yunshu’s lips. “Now that the water is muddy, we fish, who were originally just waiting to die at the bottom of the pool, have a chance to… fish in troubled waters.”
"Put yourself in a desperate situation and you will survive."
She uttered the last six words.
Cui Wen stared blankly at her, at her terrifyingly calm eyes, at the faint scar on her face.
He suddenly felt as if he had never truly known this daughter.
His heart, filled with fear and despair, was actually pried open a crack by her shocking "twisted logic".
A sliver... a crack called "hope".
...
Night, south of the city, an abandoned kiln.
Tang Pu's heart was still burning.
He felt like a wolf that had drunk its fill of blood, every pore of his body radiating a sense of exhilarating, post-battle excitement.
He didn't come to apologize.
He came to... claim credit.
When Cui Yunshu's familiar carriage appeared silently at the entrance of the kiln, he immediately went to greet it.
"You've come!"
His voice, still hoarse, was full of the triumphant fighting spirit of a victor.
Cui Yunshu got out of the car and looked at his face, which was flushed with excitement, and felt only numbness.
She looked at him without saying a word.
She just wanted to see what kind of earth-shattering "declaration of victory" her great "ally" would deliver next.
Tang Pu did not disappoint her.
He pulled her to the deepest part of the kiln, and after making sure no one was around, he lowered his voice and began his analysis in an excited tone that seemed to say, "Praise me!"
"Master strategist! I've succeeded!"
“I have turned His Majesty’s ‘private punishment’ into an open ‘problem’!”
"Think about it. Before, it was just an imperial decree bestowing a marriage upon you. If you accepted it, you would be like a frog slowly being boiled in water, destined for death. If you didn't accept it, you would be defying the decree, and your entire family would be executed! We have no room for negotiation!"
“But now?” He waved his arms excitedly. “I’ve made a huge scene! I beat the Dengwen Drum, I knelt in the Taiji Hall! I asked him for your hand in marriage in front of the entire court! Now, you are no longer an insignificant fourth young lady of the Cui family who can be married off at will!”
He stepped forward, and his eyes, which always shone like stars, now burned with a scorching flame that made Cui Yunshu feel suffocated.
“Now, you are the symbol of our powerful alliance between the Prince of An’s Mansion and the Cui family! If he touches you, he is simultaneously touching me, Tang Pu, the entire Prince of An’s Mansion, and the hearts of the 100,000 soldiers in the Northern Border!”
"He dared not make a decision so easily anymore! So he could only say 'we'll discuss it later'! We forced him to reconsider how to play this game!"
"Master strategist, we've won! We've won the most precious thing: a breather and... the right to play the game!"
He looked at her, his eyes filled with pride in his "stroke of genius" and with boundless anticipation and praise for her upcoming role as his "chief strategist."
Cui Yunshu listened to his serious-sounding nonsense.
Listen to him package his utterly foolish, suicidal impulse as a great, well-thought-out, tactical victory.
The little man inside her, disheveled and frantically pounding the ground, no longer even had the strength to yell or curse.
All that remained was... a desolate, lifeless, and numb landscape.
She looked at him, at his eyes that were shining with anticipation.
for a long time.
With difficulty, she managed to force a smile from the desolate ruins.
A smile that's uglier than crying.
“Yuanzhi,” her voice was as light as a feather, yet as heavy as a branding iron, burning into her own heart, “you…did very well.”
"You have more courage than I thought."
A bright, sunny smile instantly bloomed on Tang Pu's face.
At that moment, Cui Yunshu's heart sank completely into an abyss that was darker and colder than the brickyard itself, a bottomless abyss.
She heard herself continue in a calm voice that even she herself found unfamiliar:
"The road ahead will be even more difficult."
"We must face this together."
Two words: "you and me".
Like an invisible shackle forged with blood and lies, it completely and firmly bound the two of them, and their drastically different "great causes," together.
There's no going back.
Chapter 53: The Emperor Sets Up a Heroic Trap, Testing Loyalty with One Woman Married to Two
For three whole days now, the sun hasn't shone in the capital.
The sky was gray.
Like a huge, dirty, waterlogged rag, it weighed heavily on everyone's heads, lifeless and oppressive.
Even the wind is dead.
It didn't flow; it just clung to the air, mixing with the oppressive, fearful, and spectator-like breathing of the entire city, turning into a sticky, nauseating glue.
Everyone was stuck in the glue and couldn't move.
They are waiting.
When that high and mighty, enraged behemoth opened its mouth, it decided who to bite to death first.
...
Inside the Taiji Hall.
That greasy, savory aroma, strong enough to marinate you alive, was even more intense than it had been a few days ago.
The civil and military officials stood there like rows of carefully arranged, expensive puppets, heads bowed, counting the dust on their official boots.
No one dared to look up.
No one dared to speak.
They simply breathed, and then carefully inhaled the air they exhaled.
Because the person on the dragon throne is finally going to speak today.
Emperor Tang Tai sat there.
He had been sitting there for a long time without saying a word.
He simply looked at the faces below, some familiar, some unfamiliar.
The Duke of England's old face twitched slightly with humiliation and anger.
The Second Prince's face was demure and submissive, yet his eyes concealed a malicious and gloating malice—a hypocritical facade.
The Crown Prince's usually gentle and refined face was now as tense and anxious as a stone.
besides……
His gaze seemed to pierce through the thick palace walls, landing on his damned, foolish, yet damned, courageous nephew kneeling outside the palace gate, like an unyielding spear.
He'd seen enough.
I've thought about it enough.
The anger in his heart had long since subsided.
Instead, there is a more sophisticated, colder kind of interest that belongs to the chess player.
He spoke slowly.
The sound was soft, even a little lazy, like a cat that had just finished eating and was dozing off in the afternoon sun.
"I have been thinking about something these past few days."
The moment he opened his mouth, everyone in the entire hall felt as if their hearts had been squeezed tightly by an invisible hand.
"Prince An is a young hero who has repeatedly performed extraordinary feats in defending the borders of the country. He is a pillar of the nation."
He first praised Tang Pu.
The Duke of England's face instantly turned even uglier.
The hearts of the Crown Prince and Cui Yuanjue sank to the bottom.
"The Duke of England's family has been loyal and virtuous for generations, and the whole family is of noble rank. I have met his eldest grandson, Zhou Ye. He is both learned and skilled in martial arts, and has outstanding character and appearance. He is also a pillar of the country."
He then praised the grandson of the Duke of England.
The Duke of England's expression softened a little.
The Crown Prince and Cui Yuanjue were on tenterhooks again.
The emperor smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Both of you are fine young men. As for the four Cui daughters, they are both talented and beautiful, and possess a kind and gentle heart. They are rare and extraordinary women in our Great Qin."
He paused, looked around at the ministers below who dared not even breathe, and said in a casual, almost conversational tone, the words that made everyone's minds explode.
"I am truly... finding it difficult to make a decision."
Difficult to decide?
The entire court was dumbfounded.
Looking at the emperor on the dragon throne with a "troubled" expression, they felt their minds were not up to the task.
What's so difficult about this decision?
One imperial edict is already a golden word! The other is blatant defiance of the edict, a crime deserving of death!
Do we even need to choose?!
"Since ancient times, heroes and beauties have been paired, a match made in heaven, a blessing for the nation." Ignoring the stunned faces below, the emperor continued, "I believe that forced unions are never sweet. Since these two young talents are both deeply in love with Lady Cui, then perhaps..."
His voice trailed off, as if he were trying to whet everyone's appetite.
"...How about we follow the ancient example and hold a 'martial arts contest to find a husband' and set up a 'hero's contest'?"
boom--
The Taiji Hall was completely destroyed.
"A martial arts contest to find a husband"?
"Heroic Match"?
Everyone went mad; they looked at the emperor as if he were a storyteller.
This...this is the imperial court! This is the Taiji Hall!
This isn't a performance venue under an overpass!
The emperor's face still wore that gentle, compassionate smile.
"I believe that the sons of my Great Qin should not only know how to compose poems, but also have the real ability to expand the territory and eliminate harm for the country!"
His voice suddenly rose, carrying an unquestionable, imperial majesty!
"In recent years, a group of pirates known as the 'Black Sharks' has become increasingly rampant in the East China Sea! These scoundrels are elusive and treacherous, committing arson, murder, and robbery, wreaking havoc in the region and becoming a major threat to our Great Qin!"
"Today, I entrust this task to Prince An, Tang Pu, and Zhou Ye, grandson of the Duke of Ying!"
"I will give you three months!"
"Whoever can wipe out 'Black Shark' and quell the chaos in the East China Sea within three months will have the greatest merit..."
His gaze slowly swept across the entire room, and finally, like a nail, it landed on the Duke of England's face, which had turned deathly pale.
"...Whoever will be the Cui family's son-in-law! This match made in heaven will belong to him!"
Dead silence.
Deathly silence.
If the previous "martial arts contest to choose a husband" was absurd...
So, at this moment, it is... terror.
Nobody is a fool.
As they looked at the smiling emperor on the dragon throne, who seemed to have merely posed an amusing question, a chill ran from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads.
A calculated scheme!
This is a completely open and irresistible scheme!
He transformed a thorny, shameful internal royal problem into a glorious and just contest to "eliminate the scourge for the nation"!
He didn't have to spend a single penny or send a single soldier. He just let the three most powerful forces in the capital—the Cui family, the wealthiest (because the Cui family would have to pay no matter who won), the Duke of Ying's mansion, the most influential, and the Prince of An's mansion, the most capable fighter—pay their own money and send their own men to gnaw on the toughest bone, "Black Shark"!
He won, the East China Sea was pacified, and he reaped the benefits, gaining both fame and fortune.
If you lose, it's because you're not good enough, it has nothing to do with him.
And Cui Yunshu...
She, the most unstable, the most unsettling to him, the canary who had already grown claws, was locked up tightly in the capital by him with the strongest rope of "waiting to be married"!
Until this competition ends, she can't go anywhere or do anything! She can only watch helplessly as her fate is decided by others with swords and blood!
high!
That's way too high!
Crown Prince Tang Jingcheng looked at his father, and for the first time, his gentle eyes revealed a deep, deep... awe and fear.
This is the true art of rulership!
"Duke of England, do you have any objections?" The Emperor's voice rang out calmly.
The Duke of England's old face flushed red and then turned pale.
What objection could he possibly have?
reject?
That means he is unwilling to share the burden of the country, and he puts the face of his family above the safety of the nation! He cannot bear this accusation!
He could only squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth.
"I... obey your order."
"Where is Prince An?" The emperor's gaze turned to the stubborn figure who had remained silent from beginning to end.
Tang Pu was still kneeling there.
He was in a state of immense, absurd, and shock.
He thought he would die today.
Or, it will be abolished.
He never expected that what awaited him would be such a... absurd competition that he had never heard of before, yet which made the blood in his body start to boil uncontrollably!
Using military merit to abduct a bride?
This...this is fucking perfect for him!
A surge of fighting spirit, a hundred or a thousand times stronger than when he struck the drum to appeal, and an indescribable ecstasy instantly overwhelmed all his reason!
He suddenly raised his head, and in his blood-red eyes burned a raging flame called "fighting spirit"!
He mustered all his strength and roared hoarsely:
"My lord! I obey the order!!"
"Your Majesty, I will bring you 'Black Shark's' head! And present it to you! To...the Princess!!"
His voice echoed in the empty Taiji Hall.
Like a young, proud, and fearless wolf king about to go to battle.
The emperor looked at him, and smiled with satisfaction.
A monstrous storm was stirred up by him with an even thicker stirring stick, into another, more turbid, and more bloody ocean.
And he will be the one standing on the shore, the only one watching the show.
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