Chapter 25: Aristocratic Couple
When this thought came to his mind, Cui Junji was shocked himself. He turned around, leaned on the railing and drank a glass of wine. The spicy taste of the wine in his throat flowed into his stomach, and then choked his eyes through his nose.
He stopped looking at the couple laughing and joking below and took another glass of wine to drown out the spiciness.
Unexpectedly, the spiciness gathered little by little and turned up disobediently.
An indescribable feeling, a mixture of loneliness, bitterness, and even a hint of jealousy, suddenly surged into Cui Junji's heart, like cold needles, piercing him closely and closely.
He had fought alongside Shen Zijie at the border, sharing life and death, a bond as close as brothers. But now, looking at the warmth in Shen Zijie's palm, the sparkle in Wen Youqing's eyes, he felt as if the bustling night market, the warm lights, were separated from him by a layer of cold glass. He felt like a lonely soul standing outside the bustling city.
The aroma of grilled lamb skewers... was also a favorite flavor of his youth. But eating grilled skewers wasn't considered elegant, and he had given it up long ago. But now, it was too far away from him.
Seeing Cui Junji's dazed expression, the officials nearby thought the wine was not to his liking, so they quickly offered to replace it with other fine wines that had been prepared earlier. They bowed and said, "It was my fault for serving such a spicy wine. I wonder if this pear blossom lily is to your taste, Lord Cui."
As they spoke, a row of exotic dancers with bare waists lined up, holding wine jugs. They had honey-colored skin, slender waists, and the sweet sweat from their dancing flowed down their skin into their private parts that were so tempting to imagine.
The men in the room had already started looking around, but because of their glorious image in front of others, they just waited for the most powerful person in the room to speak first.
The trade of power for sex had always been the norm. Cui Junji had been exposed to it since childhood, and even after he ascended to officialdom, he became accustomed to it. He despised the women, but he wouldn't break the rules, always joining in the fun, though he stayed away from them to avoid getting infected.
But today, thinking about Chen Zijie who was called away by Wen Youqing, the regret and grievance in his heart were like woodlice, desperately drilling into his rotten wood heart.
In the middle of the night, Wen Youqing and Shen Zijie were awakened by the sound of a servant reporting something. Wen Youqing rolled over from Shen Zijie's arms, turned her back to him and shrunk back into the quilt, "Who is it? I'm so annoyed."
Shen Zijie was also unwilling to go. He closed his eyes and hugged Wen Youqing from behind, asking confusedly, "Who is it?"
"It's Lord Cui. He seems to be drunk and is clamoring to see you." The servant outside the door responded respectfully.
"Go find yours." Wen Youqing muttered, unwilling to leave the warm bed.
Shen Zijie took several deep breaths before reluctantly leaving the bed. No matter how angry he was, he just tucked the quilt tightly before leaving.
Wen Youqing was amused by his childish behavior and said, "Thank you for your hard work, husband."
“It’s not hard work, it’s a hard life.”
Wen Youqing replied, "I'm not careful in choosing friends."
Shen Zijie rolled his eyes and went to meet the guest with a lot of resentment.
Cui Junji had been drunk all night, crying and laughing to Shen Zijie, talking about his ambitions and the depression at home.
Shen Zijie could only comfort him all night. Early the next morning, Cui Junji wrote a letter home, asking Li to bring the children to Xunyang to celebrate the New Year.
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, in Xunyang City, the Cui family residence.
Unlike the rugged vitality of the frontier, the Cui Mansion's New Year's Festival is another kind of extreme. The mansion is deep and deep, with carved beams and painted rafters, showing the heritage and luxury of generations of nobles.
Exquisite palace lanterns were hung under the corridors, and servants were walking back and forth breathlessly. Everything was in perfect order, revealing a deep sense of coldness and depression.
It is not known whether it was to seek warmth or to compete with Shen Zijie, but Cui Junji did not return to Beijing for the New Year. Instead, he asked Li to come to the border.
At this moment, he was sitting in the warm room, opposite him was his wife, Li, who was from Longxi.
Li was dignified and beautiful, her makeup meticulously applied. She wore a bright red brocade jacket embellished with hundreds of butterflies and flowers, and a full set of gold and kingfisher feather headpieces on her head. Her entire demeanor exuded elegance and grace. She sat upright, her back straight, holding a cup of steaming Rain-Predated Longjing tea in her hands, her posture impeccably graceful.
In the warm room, fine silver charcoal burned, creating a spring-like warmth. Expensive agarwood incense burned quietly in the Boshan incense burner, its fragrance rich. Yet the air seemed frozen.
"Madam, you must have worked hard on the journey here." Cui Junji was the first to break the silence.
"It's not hard. I should have come here with my husband, but for Zhang'er, it was safer for me to stay in the capital for the past few years." Li's voice was like the sound of jade chimes, crisp and pleasant, but also with a sense of distance from official business.
"This time, let's stay a little longer." Cui Junji took a sip of tea. It was top-notch, but tasted bland. He wore a brand-new royal blue brocade suit, his hair meticulously tied up with a jade hairpin, resuming the elegant demeanor of a young man from an aristocratic family. However, the weathered frontier days and the lingering weariness between his brows couldn't be masked by his splendid clothes.
"Mr. Cui asked the other day about the progress of the military farming and water diversion project in the northern border. How much military supplies and fodder can we be self-sufficient after the spring?" Li put down her teacup and looked at Cui Junji's face with a scrutinizing look.
"The military farms have begun to take shape. The canals managed by Mrs. Shen have been opened and trial planting has begun in the spring. It will still take some time for the army to be self-sufficient in food, but it has alleviated a lot of the problems." Cui Junji answered briefly.
"Mrs. Chen?" Li's voice rose slightly at the end, and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry, but it made Cui Junji's heart tremble. He raised his eyes to look at Li, with a hint of anticipation.
Li's face still wore a gentle smile. "I heard that this Madam Shen is Lord Shen's virtuous wife at the border. She and Lord Shen are deeply in love. She diverted water and built a canal in Xunyang City, earning her the love of the soldiers and the people. She's quite a remarkable woman." She paused, her fingertips lightly tracing the smooth rosewood tabletop. "But my husband, please be aware that people's words can be terrifying. You're serving with her at the border, sharing chores. You must be careful not to invite unnecessary criticism. It would be bad for you, Madam Cui, and General Shen and his wife."
This statement was flawless, expressing concern, specifically for the family's reputation, but also implying a warning.
Cui Junji felt a surge of irritation. He certainly knew what Li meant. She had never cared about him, Cui Junji, but whether his status as a "son of the Cui family" would bring trouble to the family and affect the alliance between the Li and Cui families.
"Madam, you are worrying too much." Cui Junji's voice became a little colder. "General Shen and his wife and I have a gentlemanly friendship, which is open and selfless. If I wanted to marry her, I would not have broken off the engagement. The soldiers and civilians on the border are grateful for Madam Shen's kindness in diverting water and saving their lives." He deliberately emphasized the word "husband and wife".
Li seemed not to notice the coldness in his words and continued to smile: "I have no such intention. I trust your character, husband." She changed the subject and said, "During the New Year, visiting various mansions to pay New Year's greetings is inevitable. My father has roughly arranged the schedule from the first to the third day of the New Year. The Wang family of Langya, the Zheng family of Xingyang, and the Li family of Longxi are the top priorities. I have already prepared the New Year's gift list. Please take a look at it and see if there is anything that needs to be added or subtracted?" She gestured to the maid next to her to present a thick gift list.
Cui Junji felt the gift list weigh down like a huge rock. He glanced at it, and saw a dense array of valuable treasures, antiques, silks, and medicinal herbs. Each item corresponded to a complex web of interests and family considerations.
Perhaps it was because he had been living in the border area with a tough population, but he began to get tired of this kind of hypocritical and price-fixing dealings, yet he was powerless to break free.
"Madam, please arrange it." He pushed the gift list away list with a dull look.
Li seemed accustomed to his attitude and did not force it. She signaled the maid to collect the gift list.
At this moment, the door curtain of the warm room was gently lifted, and a boy in a bright red brocade jacket walked in, led by his wet nurse. The boy was born with a delicate face, and his eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Cui Junji. He was Cui Zhang, the legitimate son of Cui Junji and Li.
"Zhang'er, come and pay your respects to your father." Li's voice suddenly became much softer, with deliberate kindness.
Cui Zhang was well-educated. He walked up to Cui Junji in an orderly manner and bowed properly, like a little adult. His voice was clear but without any fluctuations: "I, your son, greet you, father. I wish you a happy new year, good health, and a long life." It was obvious that he had memorized the words in advance.
Cui Junji looked at his son with mixed feelings. This was the continuation of his bloodline, the attachment he couldn't let go of in this magnificent prison.
Cui Junji stretched out his hand, wanting to touch the child's head or pick him up, just as Shen Zijie usually did with the children in the city. But halfway through, he paused when he saw the child's overly polite eyes, which were filled with a hint of timidity and alienation.
Cui Junji had not seen Cui Zhang since he was born, and the child was more in awe of him than close to him.
In the end, he simply pulled out a long-prepared, heavy red gold and ruby longevity locket from his sleeve and handed it over: "Zhang'er, be good, take it."
Cui Zhang, who was over one year old, could not speak much. He glanced at his mother and saw Li nodded slightly. Then he stretched out his little hand to take it and said thank you politely: "Thank you, father... for the reward." The whole process was without the excitement and intimacy that a child should have.
The wet nurse immediately stepped forward and carefully put the longevity lock away.
Mrs. Li nodded with satisfaction: "Let Zhang'er go and rest. It's been a long journey, and he hasn't had a good night's sleep in the past two months."
"Yes, mother." Cui Yan bowed again and was led out quietly by the wet nurse.
No matter how you look at it, it sounds like a spur-of-the-moment complaint against Cui Junji.
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