When Xie Liwei returned to the dinner party, someone asked him what Cui Yan wanted from him. He curled his lips and said mockingly, "Someone is trying to have his cake and eat it too. Seeing that my wife has a good relationship with someone else, he wants to ask me to put in a good word for him."
The men looked knowing and advised, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, who knows what the future holds? We men should help each other if we can! It doesn't matter who a woman marries, it doesn't matter! They don't have to go out to make a living, so it doesn't matter which house they live in."
Xie Liwei glanced at the man, said nothing, but took a few steps away from him. She didn't want to get his stench and be disliked by the princess when she returned.
This was the first time the Cui family's ambition had been so openly displayed, but Xie Liwei didn't believe Cui Yan's words were sincere. The Cui family certainly wanted to help someone ascend to the throne, but it could never be the Xie family; it was Xie Liwei himself.
How can you do so much dirty and hard work and then give the credit to someone else?
The current situation is that the Xie family is in an awkward position, and Yuwen Wuji will not let them go. If the Xie family wants to survive, they have no choice but to fight Yuwen Wuji to the end. Cui Yan's purpose today is less about seeking cooperation between the Xie and Cui families, and more about sending a signal: the Cui family has the power to manipulate events.
"How dare Cui Yan speak to you so shamelessly?" Song Yaozhu pounded the heavy quilt, indignantly. "He's just a student, yet he has such a big mouth!"
"Yaoyao, don't be angry." Xie Liwei pulled her into his arms, thinking that if she heard what those business owners said, wouldn't she be even angrier? Getting angry is bad for your health!
"It seems that the Cui family has not wasted their time these years; they must be making a plan behind the scenes."
"Alright, go to sleep. We'll have someone investigate tomorrow."
Unable to sleep, Song Yaozhu immediately got up and sent someone to tell Qin Yu to investigate!
Having finally managed to warm up in bed, Qin Yu thought to himself that he might really need to find a wife, otherwise the princess would treat him like a beast of burden! What time is it already, and she still wants him to do chores!
A few days later, Qin Yu brought a message, saying, "The Cui family may seem to have declined in recent years, but they still hold a very high position in Qinghe. Their clan school is never open to the public, and even though few of their children have passed the imperial examinations in recent years, they do not send them to other academies."
"The Cui family's income now comes mostly from land harvests and donations."
Hearing this, Song Yaozhu asked in confusion, "A donation?"
"Yes, there is a merchant surnamed Fu who donates a large sum of money to the Cui family's clan school every year, supposedly because several of his sons are studying at the Cui family's school."
Song Yaozhu scoffed. The Cui family academy is not like the Xie family's Nanshan Academy. How could anyone throw money away without expecting anything in return?
"Go and thoroughly investigate who this merchant surnamed Fu is."
Qin Yu responded and walked towards the door, but after a few steps he turned back, rubbing his hands rather embarrassedly, and asked, "Your Highness, about the marriage you mentioned earlier..."
Song Yaozhu was taken aback. Wasn't this person quite resistant a while ago? How come he suddenly changed his mind?
"I'll have the matchmaker come find you later." She took a sip of tea to clear her throat, looking quite embarrassed.
Having received the princess's words, Qin Yu left happily. He thought to himself, "Once I have a wife, the princess won't be able to order me around late at night anymore, will she?"
Before the New Year, Princess Xuan personally brought Yongle to deliver New Year's gifts, a very generous amount.
Song Yaozhu secretly calculated that she had quite a lot.
"Yongle, go out and wander around by yourself. I want to talk to your aunt."
Yongle was stunned for a moment. When he heard his mother refer to Song Yaozhu as her aunt, his features scrunched up tightly, and then he went out.
Actually, she also wanted to have a private talk with Song Yaozhu. Her mother had asked the Emperor to grant them a marriage decree. However, several days had passed and the imperial edict still hadn't been issued. It felt like a sharp sword was hanging over her head, making it difficult for her to eat or sleep. She had lost a lot of weight in the past few days!
"Thanks to your idea, Yongle and I are back to normal!" Princess Xuan's face lit up with joy. She continued, "The Emperor said he would handle this matter, and I also met with Madam Cui. I told her that if the Cui family wants to form a marriage alliance with our family, they should clean up their own mess before bringing it up again!"
Song Yaozhu sipped her tea and asked with a smile, "Was it emphasized that Yongle could not do without him?"
"After I told her, Madam Cui's face turned quite ugly. Come to think of it, she is a member of the Lu family herself. Her son was engaged to her sister's daughter, which should have been a marriage between close relatives. But what happened? The Cui family wanted to climb the social ladder and dumped her niece. I won't do such a bad thing. Let her son deal with the mess he caused!"
Song Yaozhu covered her mouth and laughed.
If Cui Lushi really did as instructed, she would be in a very awkward position.
Cui Lu's younger sister was married into the family through marriage, so Cui Yan's cousin retained the surname Lu and became a member of the Lu clan. Although she was only a small branch of the Lu clan, if things escalated, it would be considered a conflict between the Cui and Lu clans.
Some people look down on the methods used in the inner quarters, but this small matter is enough to intensify the conflict between the two families. It shows that if you want to achieve great things, you can't afford to make mistakes in any aspect.
"Sister, you can come back later..." Song Yaozhu whispered.
Princess Xuan listened with great interest and couldn't help but praise, "No wonder Yongle said that the Princess was a great strategist. I really didn't choose the wrong person!"
Song Yaozhu thought that Yongle would only say she was a vicious woman.
Yongle pressed his face against the window, trying to hear what was being said inside, but unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything and ended up bending over until his back ached.
With a long sigh, she waved her sleeve and went for a stroll in the garden. The winter plum blossoms were now in bloom, and she stood in the snow, ruthlessly destroying the flowers, breaking off branches while grinding her teeth and cursing.
"You damned Cui Yan, you stinking Cui Yan, how dare you ruin my life! I'll kill you sooner or later!"
"Stop!" A shout came from behind. Yongle turned to look at the person who had come. The person was slender and tall like a bamboo shoot. He wore a round-necked dark green robe and had a handsome and delicate appearance, but his upright demeanor was like that of a schoolteacher.
That face...it looked so familiar.
"How could you destroy trees here?" His tone was filled with heartache, regret, and anger.
"Brother Chen?" Yongle looked up at him, holding a bunch of winter plum blossoms. "If you want it, I'll give it to you!"
She then tried to shove the flower branch into his arms.
Shen Qingque was furious. "I don't want the flower branch!"
"I know, but there's a poem that says, 'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,' right? I'll listen to you! If you're angry, you should scold the person who wrote the poem, not me."
Shen Qingque was speechless, her sophistry leaving him speechless. A blush slowly spread across his face, which resembled Shen Qingyu's, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
"Oh, don't be angry. It wasn't your flower that was broken. It all belonged to Xie Liwei. Don't be shy, I'll give you half!"
Shen Qingque pouted, "When the Imperial Stud Temple held its sacrificial ceremony, they planned to borrow some flower branches from Prince Xiaoyao, but now you've broken off most of them. What will my father use?"
Yongle: "..."
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