Chapter 53 Chapter 53 Jinjiang First Release
Chapter 53
Jianye County, Yao family.
Several half-man-high lotus celadon lanterns burned in the meeting hall. The blazing light, as bright as day, illuminated the gloomy expression of Yao Jingze, the Chief Censor, even more clearly.
Yao Jingze's face was pale. He slumped dejectedly in the armchair, listening to his staff in the hall report the news that Cui Jue had returned to the city.
Yao Jingze, as the Palace Supervisor who supervises all officials, once served the Li family and was loyal to the monarch.
Even when the Li Dynasty collapsed, he came to his senses and no longer sided with the previous dynasty. However, he was a servile slave to the Li emperor, openly and secretly helping the Li emperor to monitor the morals and achievements of officials. He also repeatedly impeached the Wudong Cui family for being arrogant and conceited... Cui Jue is as cunning as he is, now that he holds power, how could he not settle the score with the Yao family?
Looking at the staff in the room with gloomy faces, Yao Jingze sighed: "Am I really going to watch the Yao family being destroyed and everyone in the family die at the hands of this guy?!"
The staff hesitated to speak.
Everyone knew that when Cui Jue returned to the city after his inspection tour, he would definitely start arresting a few aristocratic families to make an example of them.
Cui Jue was also treacherous. He deliberately led his army out, which not only intimidated the local warlords, but also made those noble families who had been loyal to the previous dynasty stay in the city to "reflect on themselves", and live in fear all day long.
In this way, the prominent families would surrender to the Langshan Chen family to show their loyalty, and might even grit their teeth and give away their family's money and gold to please the Cui family in order to avoid disaster and seek refuge.
Especially recently, they were far away in the capital of Jianye and also heard that the former crown prince Li Fuyun had fled to the border town.
Li Fuyun colluded with those ambitious northwestern noble families and gathered local county leaders, intending to stockpile troops, bring down the all-powerful Wudong Cui family, and then wait for an opportunity to divide the territory of Wu.
The big tribes in the northwest often intermarry with other tribes, and have powerful armies. When fighting, they are assisted by the raw meat-eating and blood-drinking Hu soldiers, and their momentum is unstoppable.
These local clans did not pity Li Fuyun. They just started a rebellion in the name of the Li family's destruction of the country. After the victory, they would declare themselves kings and would not return the dynasty to the Li family. Li Fuyun knew this very well, but he was bent on revenge and did not care about his own life or death.
Therefore, this battle was not a war between the Cui family of Wudong and the Li family of the previous dynasty, but a battle between their prominent families in Jianye area and those barbarian tribes in the northwest.
This war is inevitable and is about to break out.
In order to deal with such a group of undisciplined factions, Cui Jue certainly needed to solve the problem of "shortage of military supplies and tight money" in advance.
In addition, people's lives are difficult after the war, the national treasury is poor, and national disasters are imminent... In order to have more money for disaster relief and rebuilding houses after the war, Cui Jue will definitely take advantage of the chaos to slaughter a few fat sheep and take action against several prominent families in Jianye who have disloyalty to him, and levy heavy taxes on them.
By taking from the noble families and using it for the people, we can give a warning to the wealthy families in the capital to serve as a deterrent and prevent the troops under our command from causing chaos. We can also accumulate more troops and collect food and fodder to resist the northwestern clans that are invading the south.
By then, Cui Jue's reputation for loving the people and governing the country will spread far and wide. Not only will he gain popularity among the people and recruit a team of soldiers, but he will also win over the common people and consolidate Cui's position as the king... It can be said to be a brilliant strategy that kills two birds with one stone.
In this case, Prince Cui Jue, who is now the regent, will definitely not let go of Yao Jingze, who was once loyal to the Li family.
In order to intimidate the noble families and force them to unite and fight the enemy together, Cui Jue will start with the Yao family...
Regardless of whether the Yao family had any rebellious intentions or not, he could fabricate charges and have court officials jointly write a letter to impeach the Yao family, slandering them for collaborating with the previous dynasty and being a traitor and a counselor!
The Yao family is Cui Jue's move to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, and Yao Jingze will definitely die!
When Yao Jingze thought of this, he felt sad: "Heaven wants to destroy my Yao family..."
It's a pity that the Yao family doesn't have the connections of the Cui family. If he had a daughter who could get into Cui Jue's harem and whisper some sweet words to him, he wouldn't be at the mercy of others and wait for death in such a miserable state.
"Sir, I heard that the Cui family's Marquis returned to the city this time and brought with him a very favored concubine..."
Upon hearing this, Yao Jingze suddenly stood up from his chair, took two steps forward, and demanded, "Cui Jue actually has a favorite woman?! Are you serious?!"
"Of course I'm serious. I heard that the Lord passed through Jingzhou in pursuit of this escaped concubine, and even ordered the local governor to seal the city gates and investigate refugees and relocated commoners... Such a grandiose display, causing chaos and confusion. Your Excellency, think about it, the Lord of the Cui family is always calm and composed. When has he ever been so reckless as to give rise to such criticism?"
When he thought about Cui Jue who had been in power for many years and was always unfathomable and difficult to discern his emotions, he knew that he had experienced more than Cui Jue in his life, but he had fallen into his hands countless times!
Yao Jingze's mind shifted slightly, and he hurriedly said, "Come here, give the Madam a message! Prepare all the gold, silver, and silk that the woman loves, no matter how much, and send it to the Cui family! If there are any banquets or wine parties, be sure to attend them diligently, hoping to make the best of this Cui concubine! The Yao family's life and death rests in her hands!"
I just hope Cui Jue really loves this concubine and allows her to whisper in his ear, so that the prince can calm down before dealing with the Yao family and give Yao Jingze a chance to live...
-
Recently, perhaps because Su Li was well-behaved enough, Cui Jue did relax his supervision of her.
At least when Su Li stayed alone in the military tent to rest, the maid would no longer come to the tent to monitor her, but would stay outside the tent to listen to any movement.
However, Su Li's every move would still be recorded by the servants, and all details would be reported to Cui Jue.
Even when Su Li settled down in a local county town and bought a velvet flower or a handkerchief... the maid would respectfully take them and then inspect them inside and out several times to confirm that there were no harmful items hidden there before handing them back to Su Li.
Su Li bit her lip slightly. She thought, with such strict supervision, how could she possibly buy the medicinal materials for the infertility medicine?
Cui Jue had been very affectionate with Su Li recently, allowing her to drink the medicine afterward and not arguing with her about the contraceptive soup... What if later on? What if he insisted on having a child in the harem to keep Su Li captive?
Su Li cannot use contraception, and she can't buy any herbs to invigorate blood circulation and uterus. Doesn't that mean she will really get pregnant with Cui Jue's children?
Su Li doesn't think she is a hard-hearted woman. If she is unable to leave her children behind after they are born, will she be trapped in a cage for the rest of her life?
Cui Jue now treats her with some consideration, it's just that it's very difficult to get her, and he finally got her with great difficulty. Moreover, this is the first time that a woman has received his love, so he naturally has some preference for her.
If Cui Jue marries a wife in the future, and his feelings for Su Li are illusory, she will surely be slowly abandoned in the backyard... Just like the concubines Su Li had seen in the Su family's backyard before, who relied on the favoritism of one man all their lives, could not wait for a visit from the head of the Su family, and because of their status as concubines, they could not show their faces in public and had to run around outside. In the end, they could only wither and grow old like flowers in that small courtyard surrounded by high walls.
Su Li's heart skipped a beat. She didn't want to end up in this situation.
Rather than relying on Cui Jue and receiving his everlasting love, she naturally prefers to run freely outside.
Like the night she escaped, Su Li rode on her little white horse, facing the clear frosty moonlight, whip in hand, galloping freely in the dark night...
Hope rekindled in Su Li's heart. She could only place her hopes on Qiu Gui, hoping that Qiu Gui would do her best to buy the infertile herb for her.
In this way, Su Li will never have children in her life. She will have no burden and will always have hope of escape.
This time, Su Li will become the little bird that longs to soar in the blue sky.
No matter if he was trapped in the Cui family for one year, two years... five years, or ten years.
One day, she will break free from the burning bamboo cage and be reborn from the ashes.
A month later, Su Li arrived in Jianye County with the army.
On the eve of entering the city, Su Li and Cui Jue stayed in a private house in the mountains outside Jianye.
At night, no one knew what had suddenly gone wrong with Cui Jue, but at the moment of bathing, he forcefully grasped Su Li's slender waist with one arm and brought her into the bucket.
Su Li's thin summer skirt bulged in the water, floating on the surface, and could not be pushed down no matter what.
She was soaked all over, and even her eyelashes were stuck together by the water stains, forming wisps.
She didn't know what to do, so she held Cui Jue's trembling shoulders, which were covered with bulging muscles.
The small clothes had been soaked by water for a long time, outlining the round and full chest, making the spring scenery even more gorgeous.
Su Li was frightened and her tailbone could not stop trembling. She was trapped in Cui Jue's arms, her palms pressed against Cui Jue's well-defined chest, feeling his strong heartbeat and slightly rapid breathing.
She didn't even dare to raise her head. She only felt that Cui Jue in front of her had a cold and fierce aura, as swift as a wolf. In the silence, she smelled a not-too-strong smell of alcohol. She approached Cui Jue and whispered, "Have you drunk, my lord?"
After a month's march, they finally returned to Jianye County. These soldiers had followed Cui Jue to the battlefield and were all brave warriors who fought bravely. They had been living in the open air for several months, so they needed to be rewarded well.
After Cui Jue drank, his phoenix eyes were no longer as cold as usual, but instead contained a kind of arrogance and laziness that looked down on the common people.
He hummed lazily.
As if wanting to tease Su Li, she deliberately used her slender fingertips to fiddle with the hair at her temples, then directly stuffed it into Su Li's wet black bun and pulled out the hairpin that was entangled in her hair.
Three thousand strands of black hair were scattered, draping over the girl's round shoulders.
Su Li was stunned.
The moisture was like raindrops, sticking to Su Li's smooth jaw. A drop of crystal clear water condensed at the corner of her mouth, about to fall, looking fresh and juicy.
Before Su Li could tremble for a moment, the man's cold fingers had already grabbed the girl's thin chin, pulled her close, and forced her to accept the kiss.
Su Li was forced to raise her head, her snow-white neck felt slightly sore, and her knees knelt on Cui Jue's strong legs. She felt numb all over and her waist felt numb several times, and she almost slipped down.
Whenever she was about to fall to the ground, Cui Jue would reach out to catch her and hold her higher so that she could more easily receive his favor.
Su Li helplessly felt the increasingly strong orchid fragrance of Cui Jue. She leaned against the man's legs and shivered at the cold black hair that fell down when he lowered his head.
Before Su Li could turn her head, Cui Jue's palm was already close to her, forcing her to look at him.
The man's eyes dimmed as he warned, "Focus."
Su Li could only open her mouth obediently, with saliva and saliva mixed in her mouth. Her small tongue was hooked by Cui Jue and pressed against Su Li's plump lips to suck.
The corners of her eyes felt sore, bringing out warm tears.
Su Li swallowed in confusion and was forced to stay in Cui Jue's arms, unable to move.
Her head was dizzy, and her hands were clamped behind her back by the man's hands.
For a moment, Su Li didn't know whether she was suffocating because of the water in the bathtub, or whether this kiss was filled with the oppressive feeling of impending storm.
Su Li wanted to give up and escape.
But Cui Jue noticed all this.
The man paused in kissing, as if he was letting Su Li take the initiative and no longer interfering.
"Su Li, come by yourself."
Su Li naturally knew that Cui Jue would never let it go, and she couldn't hide.
When she opened her eyes, Su Li saw Cui Jue's sparse eyebrows again. In a daze, she thought of a sexual experience in the past.
She was being severely oppressed by Cui Jue. The moment she lowered her eyes, she saw the man's long dark blue hair, narrow and flushed phoenix eyes, sharp jawline, and the Adam's apple that was slightly bulging and trembling under her fingertips. Su Li twisted his fragile throat bone in a daze, and she seemed to be able to feel Cui Jue's loss of control, stalemate, and the blood that was ready to go out.
At that moment, Cui Jue's pupils were dark and as gorgeous as a ghost.
It has a dangerous and fierce look, but is very alluring.
Su Li was inexplicably bewitched by him, and Cui Jue held her snow-white neck and forced her down.
She kissed Cui Jue again, but after he pried open her teeth, he just licked her lips ambiguously and did not take any further action.
Su Li calmed down and responded.
She seemed to be curious about everything, and deliberately tried to taste the flavor in Cui Jue's mouth, rubbing the tip of his tongue, pushing his lips, transferring the light, bloody-smelling wine into her mouth, and then swallowing it without hesitation.
Su Li's jade-pink fingertips gently brushed across Cui Jue's bony back muscles. She was confused and was still wondering what kind of wine Cui Jue drank today.
She only drank a little, but why did she feel hot?
The more he tasted and licked, the more he felt that Cui Jue's lips were fragrant and cool, with a cool moisture, and his eyebrows and eyes were dark, like a water ghost.
He held her in his arms, deliberately tempting her to drown and lead her to sink.
The moment Su Li's eyes went dark and Cui Jue pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.
Su Li suddenly felt a slight heat on her knees.
She was caught off guard and got burned.
Like a hard stone.
Like being roasted by fire.
This time, Su Li finally tasted the alcohol in Cui Jue's mouth.
Then her hair started to tingle, her nose started to sweat, and she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
Damn it!
Who the hell fed Cui Jue deer blood wine?
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