Chapter 311 There is another way
Cui Yunxiu gritted his teeth.
"How will Huiyin survive in the circle of noble ladies in Fengjing from now on? Won't she be ridiculed to death? And..."
Thinking of her worrying about the two prominent marriages she had just arranged for her daughter, her voice became tearful, filled with resentment and panic.
"I wonder if the Duke of Guanguo's Mansion and the Duke of Yun's Mansion will be affected.
My poor son! He has to endure such torture..."
Cui Yunxiu covered his face and sobbed, his shoulders shaking violently.
Zheng Bingjun watched his wife's hysterical reaction in silence, with a barely perceptible coldness flashing across his eyes.
He stretched out his hand again, this time with irresistible force, and held Cui Yunxiu's hand that was twisting the handkerchief.
It feels cold to the touch and... sticky.
Cui Yunxiu was so startled by the sudden grip that she stopped crying. She subconsciously looked down and saw her husband's broad palm wrapped around her hand.
And on the palm of his hand, where it was close to the back of his hand, there was a small, glaring, bright red bloodstain that had not yet completely dried.
"Husband! You...what's wrong with you?"
Cui Yunxiu was so frightened that his voice changed. He pulled his hand back suddenly and stared at the bloody color in horror.
"Are you hurt? Who hurt you?"
"Nothing." Zheng Bingjun slowly put the bloody hand behind his back, his tone as calm as if he was talking about an insignificant matter.
But the slightly tense jawline betrayed his forbearance. "It was just a little accident."
He suddenly changed the subject, his gaze fixed on his wife's frightened face, "Yunxiu, regarding Huiyin's matter... Father has already made a decision."
Cui Yunxiu's heart sank suddenly, and an ominous premonition instantly gripped her.
She looked at her husband's unusually solemn expression, her voice trembling: "Father...what did father say?"
Zheng Bingjun spoke each word with clarity, uttering the decision that would send Cui Yunxiu to hell:
"My father said that he would choose a man who has passed the imperial examination to marry me."
“Wh…what?!”
Cui Yunxiu felt as if he was struck on the top of his head by thunder from the nine heavens!
She suddenly jumped up from the chair, her body swayed a few times, her vision went dark, and she could hardly stand.
With his mouth open, he made a "ho ho" sound in his throat, but couldn't utter a word.
Only boundless fear and absurdity completely drowned her like an icy tide.
Marrying a poor scholar? She was the eldest daughter of a Duke's family, raised with great care and wealth?
This is a thousand times more shameful than not being on the list.
This is to trample her daughter, her face, and even the face of the entire Cui family into the mud!
"How can this be possible? It's absolutely impossible!"
Cui Yunxiu finally found his voice and screamed miserably with a desperate cry.
At this moment, Zheng Bingjun's voice sounded again like a ghost, with a strange allure:
"Yunxiu, listen to me. Now... maybe there is another way."
"What's the solution?" Cui Yunxiu rushed in front of Zheng Bingjun like a drowning man grabbing the last piece of driftwood.
The red eyes stared at him intently, burning with the last ray of crazy hope.
"Husband, do you have a solution? Tell me now. I'm willing to do anything to save Huiyin!"
Zheng Bingjun stared at his wife's eyes that were full of dependence and pleading, slowly exhaled a breath, and finally spoke.
The voice was deep and clear, like a huge rock dropped into a calm lake:
"The only solution now is to split up the family. We will take Huiyin and Qingyan and move out of the Duke's Mansion."
"Divide...divide the family?" Cui Yunxiu was completely confused after hearing this.
"Yes." Zheng Bingjun further explained, his tone filled with a desperate determination.
"I will immediately submit a petition to the imperial court, requesting to be transferred to a post outside the capital, away from this troubled place.
Our family of four left home and started anew in a new place.”
The glimmer of light rekindled in his eyes, and he threw out the most crucial and cruel conditions:
"However, dividing the family requires a price. The title of Duke of Guo will be inherited by my third brother Bingrui."
“This…” Cui Yunxiu was completely stunned where he stood, as if he had been cast under a spell.
Split the family? Give up the inherited title of Duke of Zheng? Give it to that illegitimate third brother?
This hurts more than cutting out her heart!
She was born into the Linhai Cui family, one of the four great families.
What is most important is family inheritance. Giving up the title is tantamount to cutting oneself off from the top noble circle.
Her husband should have inherited the title of Duke and then passed it on to her son.
And how could Cui Yunxiu's daughter fall from being the eldest daughter of a duke's mansion to being the daughter of an ordinary official?
"this……"
Her lips trembled, her eyes flickered violently, and she subconsciously began to retreat and escape.
"Husband, this matter... this matter is too serious and involves the entire family.
Should we consider this in the long run? I should write a letter home and ask my father, brothers and elders for their opinions.
They are more knowledgeable and may have a better approach.”
As if he had found a life-saving straw, Cui Yunxiu spoke faster and faster, with a panicky look as if he was eager to escape from reality.
"Don't worry, my husband. The Cui family won't sit idly by. My father and brother will definitely find a way to protect Huiyin.
There must be another way, without having to go to the point of splitting up the family and abandoning the title."
As he spoke, he suddenly turned around and stumbled towards the desk.
"I'll write the letter right away, right away!"
She picked up the pen, but her hands were shaking violently.
Ink dripped onto the snow-white rice paper, spreading a stain.
Zheng Bingjun stood where he was and did not stop him.
He quietly looked at his wife's almost panic-stricken back, her shoulders trembling slightly with fear, and her futile struggle to grasp the "life-saving straw" of the Cui family.
The deep affection, regret and helplessness in his eyes when he faced his wife just now quickly faded away like the tide.
He slowly narrowed his eyes, and in his narrow pupils there was only an unfathomable chill and a kind of...secrecy.
In the shadow of the corridor pillars outside the door, the little maid who was ordered to inquire about the news in Zheng Huiyin's room was already scared out of her wits.
She covered her mouth tightly, stifling her sobs, her nails digging deep into the soft flesh of her palms.
Those wide-open eyes were filled with great fear and disbelief.
Hearing the room become quiet, she didn't dare stay for another second and turned around like a frightened rabbit.
Holding up her skirt, she ran out of the courtyard in a panic...
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