Chapter 67: Reshuffle
A puzzled expression crossed Cui Junji's face, but he continued softly, "Have you forgotten? One time, you spent late calculating in my study, and you mentioned that some details were only marked on the original drawing, and that the draft must not be lost. At the time, I laughed at you for being too cautious."
Wen Youqing tried hard to recall, but her memory was blurry and unclear, like flowers in the fog.
She really felt that she had gone crazy. She never played by the rules, and her memory often had problems. She could not remember many things clearly.
“I do keep the original,” she said hesitantly, “but I keep it in a safe place.”
Cui Junji held her hand. "Now is a critical moment. Li Shoucheng and the others are destroying the evidence. If we can't get the original image quickly, it will be too late to clear your name. By then, you will bear the eternal blame."
His words struck Wen Youqing's heart like a heavy hammer. She thought of the people who died in the flood, and the eternal infamy she might bear...
"Okay, I'll give it to you."
The moment the original draft was handed in, Wen Youqing always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
But the doubts were quickly dispelled. Three days later, Cui Junji arrived with news: the evidence was irrefutable; Li Shoucheng and other corrupt officials in the Ministry of Works had been dismissed and investigated. The issue of the blueprints was not relevant at all. The Ministry of Works had been embezzling money for a long time, using the excuse of building a palace for the emperor to withhold funds for the embankment.
"When the emperor learned the truth, he was furious and has ordered severe punishment for those responsible." Cui Junji said as she spread out the documents. The red circles and crosses on them made her feel a little relieved.
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?" Cui Junji asked.
Wen Youqing forced a smile: "They deserved it. I'm not happy, just... a little sulky."
"The Ministry of Industry is undergoing a major reshuffle. This kind of thing won't happen again. I promise."
Cui Junji hugged her gently and said, "I know you're feeling frustrated. But believe me, once this storm has passed, I'll make arrangements for everything. You're incredibly talented, and you can secretly help me handle the Ministry of Industry's affairs in the future. Your wisdom won't go unnoticed."
These words ignited a glimmer in Wen Youqing's eyes. She truly couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life as a caged bird. If she could continue her research in water conservancy, even if it remained anonymous, it would be better than wasting her time.
On the eve of the beheading, Cui Junji stepped into Zhaoyu. Facing the resentful and frightened gazes of more than a dozen people from the Ministry of Works, he walked to the iron fence of the last man.
When Li Shoucheng saw that the person coming was Cui Junji, he stood up and bowed deeply.
Cui Junji immediately returned the greeting, bowing even deeper and longer than Li Shoucheng: "Sir, you are so righteous, how can you bow to a junior like me?"
Li Shoucheng stood up and coughed a few times, as if he was going to cough out his lungs. "I am already exhausted and have made no achievements in my entire life in the Ministry of Works. It is worth it to be able to help Master Cui and eliminate those guys who eat the people's salaries and do not care about the people's livelihood."
A man from the Li family, a man who seemed to be a retainer of Cui Junji. He worked under Cui Junji but had his own thoughts and stabbed Cui Junji in the back.
In the eyes of the world, he was just a spy planted by others next to Cui Junji.
Therefore, Cui Junji only needs to praise him and then eliminate his party, so that he can have a reputation as a virtuous man who has served the country and the people but has been slandered, and a Ministry of Works composed entirely of his own people.
The only cost is those irrelevant refugees.
That's all.
At the time of farewell, Cui Junji lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, bowing for a long time, even tears streaming down his face: "Master Li, the Qianyuan Hall and Changchun Garden that you supervised the construction of, the dragon-shaped joints on the roof, the rain-receiving wind chimes under the corridor, each one of them was a painstaking effort! Junji couldn't bear it. No matter how your health was, you shouldn't have died in such an injustice. Junji is already..."
"Master Prime Minister!" Li Shoucheng interrupted Cui Junji, his eyes as sharp and resolute as a hawk's. "I should act decisively. I am already a consumptive patient. Being able to do something practical is much more important than a good reputation after death."
After three bows, Cui Junji left Zhaoyu. As soon as he got in the car, he was served with ice cubes that had been prepared long ago.
Cui Junji quickly applied the ice to his eyes and closed them to rest. When they were almost at the outer house, he took out the ice, wiped the water from his eyes, and asked the servant, "Can you see it?"
"It's a little red," the servant replied truthfully. "You'd better stay in the study for a while before going to see Miss Wen."
Cui Junji thought that Wen Youqing had been feeling unwell these days, so it seemed that he needed to adjust the prescription to nourish her body.
But as soon as he saw Wen Youqing and saw that she didn't care about anything, he ignored her health and kept bringing her information about the disaster from the outside world to stimulate her.
Overwhelmed by the pain of building a dam, Wen Youqing's mental state deteriorated. She began to lose the ability to distinguish between dreams and reality, often waking in the middle of the night with the sound of a surging flood.
Only when Cui Junji arrives can she find a moment of peace.
But tonight, Wen Youqing felt a growing headache as she listened to Cui Junji's words. She curled up on the couch, her hands pressing hard against her temples, her fingertips turning pale, her body twitching uncontrollably.
A splitting headache. It felt like countless red-hot needles were piercing from deep within her skull, stirring her brain. Every clap of thunder was like a sledgehammer hitting her nerves.
"Ugh..." She let out a suppressed groan of pain, her vision blurring and spinning. The porcelain vases on the antique display shelf, the calligraphy and paintings on the wall, all twisted into hideous and bizarre shapes before her eyes.
She could only huddle in the corner of the bed, shivering all over. It was not because she was afraid of the thunder, but because she was really cold. She felt that the sound of rain was chilling, like a millipede crawling madly on her body, and she couldn't shake it off.
Cui Junji closed the windows and even ordered the maids to lay cushions wherever the rain could fall, which was extremely luxurious.
He dismissed the maid and personally brought the freshly brewed medicine, his tone filled with subtle anxiety: "Can you still hear the rain? It's disturbing you and you can't sleep. Come, drink the medicine, it will calm your mind..."
His words stopped abruptly.
Because he saw Wen Youqing suddenly raise her head. Her eyes, once bright and lively, were now bloodshot, filled with a beast-like madness and hatred he had never seen before. She stared at him, no, at the bowl of medicine in his hand, as if she were looking at the most vicious curse in the world.
"Calm the mind?" Wen Youqing's voice was hoarse and sharp, almost unlike her real self. "Are you trying to poison me to death? Or are you trying to kill me?!" She swung her arm violently and hit the medicine bowl hard!
Cui Junji was caught off guard and the medicine bowl flew out of his hand. With a crisp "crack", it shattered on the ground, and the thick black medicine juice splashed on his clothes and boots.
"Are you burned..." He walked forward in astonishment, wanting to check on her condition.
"Don't touch me!" Wen Youqing shouted, shrinking back, her eyes confused and fearful, but then bursting with terrifying aggression. She frantically scanned the small table beside the couch and suddenly grabbed a sharp silver hairpin used for cutting paper!
"It's all your medicine! I felt very uncomfortable after drinking it. What on earth did you give me to eat?" She spoke incoherently, tears mixed with cold sweat sliding down her cheeks, her breathing was so rapid that she seemed to be suffocating, and the joints of her fingers that were holding the silver hairpin were so tense that they were deathly pale.
"Calm down! It's not the medicine!" Cui Junji's heart tightened, and he tried to soothe her. "It's the news of the dam breaking outside that's making you worry too much. The doctor said you're worried..."
"Get out!" Wen Youqing couldn't hear anything. The pounding headache and the immense panic within her completely overwhelmed and destroyed her. The flood seemed to have broken through the dam of her sanity. At this moment, she was left with only her most primitive instinct - to attack the source of her pain!
Cui Junji was afraid that he would get hurt, so he took two steps forward and wanted to hug her and let her calm down slowly.
But Wen Youqing had lost all her sanity. She was in so much pain that she wished she could die. Like a trapped beast forced into a desperate situation, she roared and rushed towards Cui Junji regardless of anything.
Cui Junji could have easily subdued her, but he was afraid of hurting her, so he just went forward to meet her.
In the chaos, only a soft "hiss" sound was heard, followed by a suppressed groan from him.
The sharp silver hairpin scratched his chest fiercely, instantly cutting through his snow-white sleeves. A bright red bloodstain quickly emerged and expanded, and warm blood beads rushed out, dripping onto the Persian carpet, spreading a small dark area.
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