Chapter 19: Planning
Sun Wei learned this news from Sun Zhixin.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival that year, Sun Zhi was transferred from the capital to Shouchun.
Sun Wei knew that this was arranged by Sima Jun. He didn't like this man and he was always direct in his actions.
Sun Zhi's letter stated that Cui Mi and Jie Kong continued to live extravagantly even after their elopement, and that the wealth Jie Kong had accumulated in the temple was quickly spent by the two.
At first, Jiekong traveled around the country under the guise of a high monk, and was able to cheat donors out of money. But later, someone discovered that he had a family, and he offended a powerful official, who beat him mercilessly and left him crippled.
Cui Mi was unwilling to take care of the disabled Jiekong for the rest of her life, and even more unwilling to live a hard life, so she left Jiekong and fled back home.
Cui Pan found his sister, but did not let Jiekong go.
He ordered his men to find Jie Kong and hand him over to the government. Jie Kong refused to give in and said that he had eloped with Cui Mi because he was framed.
The Cui family is quite powerful. While punishing Jie Kong, they are also investigating the matter.
Soon, they followed the clues and found Sun Zhi.
Cui Pan also informed Sima Jun of this matter.
Not long after, Sun Wei received a letter from Sun Zhi at home.
Sun Zhi wrote in his letter that Sima Jun had suddenly appeared and questioned him about the incident. He was terrified and confessed everything. All he could do was inform Sun Wei and leave her to fend for herself.
After reading the letter, Sun Wei felt that everything was over.
Although Sima Jun had tolerated her little tricks and never pursued the matter again after she confessed, she knew that such a thing would not happen again.
He hated being schemed against, even by his wife.
What's more, Cui Pan controls the Northern Army and is not easy to deal with.
He was in Jingkou, only a hundred miles from Jiankang. If there was a disturbance, a hundred thousand soldiers could be at the gates of the city in a day. This fact should not be underestimated.
Sun Wei sat restlessly, waiting for days, but there was no news from Sima Jun. The letters stopped coming, and the people she had sent never returned. She knew her situation was becoming increasingly precarious.
Sun Wei had been immersed in the complicated affairs of various imperial concubines in the capital, and had seen some of them.
Apart from such a scandal, the best way to save everyone's dignity was for Sun Wei to ask for the marriage. In this way, the fault would be entirely hers, and Sima Jun could continue to maintain a harmonious relationship with Cui Pan.
But she knew exactly what was waiting for her after she got married.
My grandfather once said, plan before you act.
Since arriving in Jiankang, everything Sun Wei has done has been to make herself a true dragon among men. She is unwilling to give up what she has now, and she doesn't want her family to return to the days of grievance they once had.
For this reason, she can continue to try all means of recovery.
She knew very well that the crux of the matter lay with Cui Pan and Sima Jun.
Only if Cui Pan does not pursue the matter can she deal with Sima Jun.
And to deal with Cui Pan, there is only one person who can help her, the eldest princess.
Sun Wei had long been fawning over the princess, earning her considerable favor. The occasional favor was naturally a given. She arranged a family dinner, inviting Cui Pan and his family to meet Sun Wei, with the princess acting as a peacemaker to clear up any misunderstandings between the two sides.
After the incident, Sun Zhi had already fled to Yizhou under the pretext of something, and Cui Pan's men had never found him. The only person who had used him as a pretext to accuse him was Sima Jun. Before that, the monk they had instructed to report Jiekong had fallen into the water and died, leaving no witnesses.
The Cui family had no evidence other than a confession from a deceased monk. However, Sun Wei produced a number of IOUs, proving that the deceased monk was a corrupt official who had amassed debts from gambling outside the temple and had sought a loan from Sun Zhi. Sun Zhi, an honest official, was short on cash and could not lend money. The monk, resentful, fabricated this incident, intending to kill someone with a borrowed knife.
Sun Wei didn't care whether the Cui family believed this or not. She was betting on whether the Cui family would dare to offend the eldest princess.
As long as they are willing to keep quiet, everything will be easy.
As she expected, she won the bet.
In front of the princess, Cui Pan and his wife magnanimously explained that it was all the bad guys who did the evil, and they almost misunderstood the good guys. In addition, Sun Wei and Cui Pan's wife Zhang had a very pleasant conversation and became sworn sisters on the spot.
The only one left is Sima Jun.
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