Chapter 61 The Soft Sound of Strings He suddenly stepped forward and kissed her lips...
Moonlight streamed through the carved window and shone into the fully drawn red curtains embroidered with mandarin ducks. The two embraced like any ordinary married couple, yet the atmosphere was tense, and neither spoke a word.
In the darkness, Cui Yiluo's vision was not very clear, but she could feel that his eyes were fixed on her, as if investigating, as if questioning, but beneath the complex emotions, there seemed to be a trace of loss.
Cui Yiluo suddenly felt uncomfortable with his expression and couldn't bear it, so she subconsciously wanted to turn away.
She moved with a hint of haste, pulling away his hand that was around her waist.
But she couldn't be pulled away; instead, she was pulled even closer to him, her body warm against him.
Cui Yiluo was suddenly speechless, her body stiffening, unsure whether struggling would only result in him holding her tighter. What did he mean by this? Had he now become so used to needing to hold her to fall asleep?
After a moment of silence, his hoarse voice came from above his head, "Are you angry?"
He assumed she was angry because he wouldn't let her have dinner. Needless to say, Lilan must have been stopped by his men, otherwise Lilan wouldn't have failed to come and call her.
In other words, he had planned this all along.
A cold smile appeared on Cui Yiluo's face. Only a few days had passed since his last indulgence at the private residence, and now he had already so recklessly succumbed to lust.
So this was also her value to him. Before, it was interesting to seduce him and see him consumed by lust, but now, she had no desire to be intimate with him at all.
I don't want to be held by him, I don't want to kiss him, and I don't want to be entangled with him.
As this thought crossed her mind, Cui Yiluo suddenly realized that Jiang Yunjin and Xiao Jing were both using her, but why was her feeling of rejection towards Jiang Yunjin so strong?
She admitted she wasn't kind; during the Yao incident, she thought he genuinely understood and believed in her. But he wasn't; he was just trying to keep her in check and use her. She realized how intense the feeling of expectation turning into disappointment could be.
Cui Yiluo was not without disappointment. She had painstakingly maintained her relationship with her aunt in Ningzhou, a thousand miles away from Shengjing, hoping that her aunt would intervene and help her if she were to be used as a bargaining chip by her stepmother in a future marriage. But in the end, her aunt did not. Admittedly, Cui Yiluo was disappointed, but she did not resent Lan Hui. In fact, she could now understand why Lan Hui did what she did.
Yet she harbored such resentment towards Jiang Yunjin. Suddenly realizing this, Cui Yiluo felt an even heavier weight in her heart.
Perhaps because he hadn't heard her answer for a while, he spoke again, his breath gently brushing against her hair and forehead, "Shall I go and call someone to prepare some food?"
Seeing that he was about to let go of her, Cui Yiluo immediately responded. She was indeed a little hungry; from sunset until her usual time to bathe and go to bed, her back and legs were about to give out. Although during this time, she could briefly escape thinking about what Yuan Ling had told her that afternoon.
Jiang Yunjin quickly released her, the warmth dissipating. He got out of bed and dressed, even though it was just to go out and call someone to prepare a meal, he had to dress so neatly.
A moment later, Jiang Yunjin returned to her room and told her to get dressed and go to the dining hall.
"It's cold outside, put on your cloak."
His voice came through the embroidered curtain. Cui Yiluo, who was putting on her outer clothes and preparing to leave the room, paused, then picked up the cloak that was placed on the crossbeam, put it on, and tied the belt.
Jiang Yunjin waited for her outside the embroidered curtain. They remained silent on the way to the dining hall.
The dining hall was brightly lit, with an octagonal glass lamp hanging from the ceiling turning gently in the breeze, its tassels swaying lightly. The hall was spacious, with dishes served in celadon bowls and plates on a rosewood table, steam rising from it, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere in the deep winter night.
Before entering the dining hall, Cui Yiluo heard Jiang Yunjin's voice from slightly behind her.
"I'm sorry. It was my fault for not serving you dinner tonight."
She is already his wife, and will be for the rest of her life. A lifetime is too long; she's only infatuated with him for a while.
Cui Yiluo paused for a moment, her slender figure remaining silent, before finally saying, "Husband, there's no need to blame yourself. Didn't you order someone to prepare the meal?"
Jiang Yunjin pursed his lips, his expression showing no sign of relief.
Cui Yiluo glanced at the dishes on the table and suddenly asked, "Husband, you ordered the kitchen to start cooking in the middle of the night. Won't Grandmother scold you tomorrow?"
Not eating meals on time, keeping the door tightly closed during dinner time, and reversing day and night—these actions, taken by Jiang Yunjin who prioritizes official duties, are serious taboos.
After a moment of silence behind her, Cui Yiluo heard him say slowly and calmly, "Grandmother won't know."
He has dealt with the servants sent by Madam Jiang to Yuzhu Courtyard, but Cui Yiluo will not know this.
Cui Yiluo assumed he had silenced her, responded with a sound of agreement, and then walked to the rosewood armchair and sat down.
Jiang Yunjin still adhered to the rule of not speaking while eating. There were only the two of them in the dining hall. Apart from the whistling wind outside the door, the only sound during the meal was the clinking of bowls and chopsticks.
Cui Yiluo lowered her head and sipped her porridge, not noticing that the man opposite her used serving chopsticks to pick up two slices of sweet and sour lotus root, paused for a moment in mid-air, his gaze darkening slightly as he looked at her, before finally placing them in his own bowl.
Cui Yiluo had a poor appetite. She ate a bowl of lily and lotus seed porridge with some side dishes and then stopped eating.
After she put down her chopsticks, Jiang Yunjin also put down his chopsticks.
"Husband, let's go back to our room."
Under the bright candlelight, Cui Yiluo only felt a slight ripple in his dark, heavy eyes. She couldn't understand what that subtle emotion represented. After thinking for a few moments without figuring it out, she pulled her cloak tighter and prepared to go back to her room.
As she walked down the corridor, the east was just beginning to lighten, and it seemed that sunrise would come soon. Cui Yiluo noticed a thin layer of snow-white covering the bluestone bricks illuminated by the candlelight in the dining hall, with a few quiet, crystalline specks scattered in the darkness.
As if to confirm her guess, the snowflakes falling from the vast night sky suddenly grew larger and larger, and soon the two stone steps of the long corridor were covered with snow.
Cui Yiluo whispered, "It's snowing."
Amidst the light snow, Jiang Yunjin's voice sounded somewhat unreal: "Never seen snow before?"
Cui Yilu shook her head: "It doesn't snow in Ningzhou."
Children from prominent families often travel extensively, traversing mountains and rivers; Jiang Zhaoyue, for example, has been to many places. Even those from less prominent families, just considering the young men and women she met in Ningzhou, had traveled extensively, either while visiting relatives or taking the opportunity to travel. Cui Jun had also traveled with her friends several times, while she had never left Ningzhou before coming to Shengjing.
Jiang Yunjin, who was standing beside him, paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "The snow in Shengjing will continue until the spring, every year."
Year after year.
Cui Yiluo felt somewhat lost about the future. By next year, her identity should have been revealed long ago, and Xiao Jing was already eager to use her background to his advantage, while Xiao Zheng was also eyeing her covetously. She didn't know where she would be next year.
Before her was pure white snow. Cui Yiluo turned to look at the person beside her and met his deep gaze.
Standing tall and elegant under the snow-covered corridor, his noble and aloof demeanor was even more striking, as cold and refined as jade.
He suddenly stepped forward, his movements neither hesitant nor hasty. As he lowered his head, a shadow fell over his handsome face, and he kissed her lips.
Cui Yiluo did not respond, but stood on the veranda. He gently caressed her lips. This kiss was not like the deep entanglement in the bedroom at dusk. He did not have desire in his heart, as if he simply wanted to moisten her rosy lips.
The snow fell intermittently for three days; it wasn't a heavy snowfall in early winter.
When I woke up that morning, the outside world was already covered in a blanket of white. The servants had already swept the snow off the roads in the mansion as soon as the snow stopped to prevent it from freezing and causing people to slip and fall.
Cui Yiluo sat in front of the dressing table, gazing absently at her beautiful face in the mirror.
"Has the guards accompanying the Cui family not replied yet?"
Lilan was also a little puzzled. Judging from the past, it should have arrived soon, but there was still no news. She was also a little anxious, but she still comforted herself, saying, "Perhaps it's because of the snow these past few days, and the carrier pigeons have flown off somewhere. The snow has stopped today, so there should be news in the next couple of days."
But this excuse clearly couldn't appease Cui Yiluo. The carrier pigeons were specially trained and almost impossible to get lost. If they didn't deliver the letter soon, she would worry that someone had intercepted it.
However, before Cui Yiluo could think about it, she heard Lilan say again, "Miss, Commander Yuan secretly sent a message saying that he wants to meet you at Baoming Temple at 11:00 PM today."
Yuan Ling investigated for several days and must have found something. Cui Yiluo hurriedly ordered Lilan to reply that she would go to Baoming Temple on time. At the same time, she told the family that she would go to Baoming Temple to offer incense in the afternoon. Baoming Temple is in the suburbs, and the snow had just stopped today. It was not the first or fifteenth of the month, so she should not run into anyone.
Meanwhile, in the palace council chamber.
"Your Majesty, the case concerning the salt and iron industry in Jiangnan is a matter of great importance to the people's livelihood. The salt transport commissioner of Jiangnan has colluded with local officials to embezzle public funds and smuggle salt and iron. This is outrageous. I urge Your Majesty to make a decision immediately and send people south to investigate!"
The smuggling of salt and iron has occurred in every dynasty. If not handled properly, it can affect people's livelihoods and damage the foundation of the country. Therefore, several senior officials spoke up anxiously, urging the emperor to decide on the selection of people to go south as soon as possible.
The emperor had several candidates in mind, but hesitated because news of famine had also come from Yunzhou, which was near Shengjing. Yunzhou had experienced continuous cold rain in September. Although the court quickly sent people to transport grain, the damage to crops was obviously more serious than expected. Now that winter had arrived and the weather was cold, famine was even more severe.
As early winter approached, trouble broke out in both places at the same time, and there were also unusual movements in the southwest. The emperor, sitting at the head of the table, had a grim expression and his brows were furrowed.
"Regarding the matters in both locations, do any of my esteemed ministers have recommendations for suitable candidates?"
Upon hearing this, the ministers exchanged glances, clearly wanting to recommend someone from their own side. The emperor's gaze swept over them, and as the ministers pondered what to say, Yunyi Weiyuan, the commander standing in front, stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, regarding the famine in Yunzhou, I humbly recommend someone."
The emperor said, "Speak."
Yuan Ling bowed and secretly glanced at the tall, elegant man standing in the center of the court not far away, dressed in a crimson official robe.
"I believe that Yunzhou is adjacent to Shengjing, and this matter is of great importance. Therefore, it is most appropriate for you to lead people to relieve the famine."
Yuan Ling stood below the emperor and spoke with a resounding voice, which surprised all the officials. Although Yuan Ling and Jiang Yunjin were both the emperor's men, they had never interacted before. Why did Yuan Ling suddenly recommend Jiang Yunjin?
The emperor's choice was Jiang Yunjin, so he immediately approved, "Shenzhi, then you will lead the men to Yunzhou. This matter is urgent and will probably take more than half a month. You should set off the day after tomorrow."
Jiang Yunjin glanced at Yuan Ling indifferently, then stepped forward to accept the order.
-
In the afternoon, Cui Yiluo hitched up a carriage and, with her guards, headed to Baoming Temple.
After the snow cleared, the air in the suburbs was even crisper and cleaner. The mountain roadside was covered with melted snow, and the trees were bare, with only bare branches remaining. It was quite different from what she had seen when she went to offer incense this summer.
It was here that she first plotted against Jiang Yunjin, but Xiao Zheng replaced the people she hired with real assassins, which is why Jiang Yunjin came to her rescue. However, in this way, he will probably never know that she had set up a scheme back then.
The carriage soon stopped in front of Baoming Temple.
The temple was solemn, with the fragrance of sandalwood filling the air. Offering incense was the pretext, but it was all just for show. Besides, Cui Yiluo had made a vow before the Buddha, a false one, deliberately made so that passing men would hear it. She didn't believe in gods or Buddhas, only in herself, but she still held a certain reverence in her heart. Before her marriage, she fulfilled her vow to recast the Buddha statues in the temple.
After she finished offering incense, a young novice monk quietly led her to the back of the temple.
Yuan Ling had been waiting here for some time, sitting at a stone table beside a dense bamboo grove, drinking tea.
Cui Yiluo first looked around to make sure it was not a place to hide anyone and that no one could eavesdrop before sitting down opposite Yuan Ling.
"I apologize for keeping Lord Yuan waiting."
Since the deal was struck, the atmosphere between the two has eased somewhat compared to their previous tense standoff.
Yuan Ling slowly poured Cui Yiluo a cup of tea, then said, "Miss Cui, our transaction will probably be delayed for a while."
Cui Yilu frowned immediately: "Why?"
"In a few days, I will need to travel south. His Majesty has ordered me to investigate the salt and iron case in Jiangnan. I'm afraid I won't be able to return to the capital until spring."
At this point, Yuan Ling sneered.
He recommended Jiang Yunjin and sent him to Yunzhou. However, Jiang Yunjin was also a man of skill. Although he did not directly recommend him, every word he said implied that Yuan Ling was the right person to go south. Jiang Yunjin was fair and had outstanding talent. The emperor trusted him, and the ministers were led by him. They all abandoned their original recommendations and instead recommended Yuan Ling.
With the recommendation of his ministers, the emperor naturally chose him to take charge of the matter and send him south with several officials. Although he had indeed investigated several salt and iron cases on the emperor's orders, and the emperor originally intended for him to lead the investigation, if it weren't for Jiang Yunjin, his selection would not have been so smooth.
The trip to Yunzhou will only take less than a month, but the round trip south, involving the investigation of the salt and iron case, will likely take three months, more than three times the time spent in Yunzhou.
He had been tricked by Jiang Yunjin, so there was no way he would tell Cui Yiluo the truth about it.
Upon hearing that Yuan Ling would be gone for three months, Cui Yiluo frowned even more deeply. Three months was a long time; too many things could change. Perhaps before Yuan Ling returned, her identity would be revealed, leaving her powerless to protect herself. She didn't know what would happen to her. After the Second Prince and Jiang Yunjin used her to attack the Chu family and Xiao Zheng, she would be of no value, and naturally, they wouldn't care about her fate. Perhaps Jiang Yunjin, with his gentlemanly conscience, would spare her life.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Ling changed the subject: "However, the journey south will pass through Ningzhou, so we can investigate there."
When the emperor made his southern tour, the local county magistrate probably knew something about it.
Cui Yiluo showed no joy, only saying calmly, "Thank you, Lord Yuan, but this matter involves His Majesty. Our relationship is merely a transaction, so Lord Yuan need not get too involved."
She didn't know what conditions Yuan Ling would ultimately propose. Although she would do her best, Yuan Ling was the emperor's man, and the emperor clearly intended to conceal this matter. If Yuan Ling didn't harm himself to help investigate, her deal would be fair. However, if Yuan Ling became too deeply involved and was discovered by the emperor, he would certainly be punished and might even lose the emperor's favor. Cui Yiluo disliked owing others anything; a deal was a deal.
Yuan Ling raised and then suppressed the corners of his mouth, finally looking at Cui Yiluo with a half-smile and saying, "Miss Cui, rest assured, it's a transaction, how could I let myself suffer a loss?"
Cui Yiluo breathed a sigh of relief. Yuan Ling was a person who valued profit the most. Even when facing assassins in Houqin Forest, he did not forget to blackmail her for two more packets of sleeping pills. How could he possibly lose his own interests?
"I have summoned you today because I have something to tell you. The palace records state that His Majesty only stayed in Ningzhou for a few days during his southern tour. However, I have found out that His Majesty should have stayed in Ningzhou for a month. According to the plan, His Majesty was supposed to continue south, but he only visited two or three more places before quickly returning to the palace with his men."
"Miss Cui can probably guess why His Majesty is in such a hurry to bring people back to the palace, right?"
Cui Yiluo's expression darkened; she could naturally guess what was going on. However, Cui Qi was merely a minor local official in Ningzhou. During his southern tour, he probably wouldn't have even had the chance to see the emperor, let alone his wife. And when the emperor toured the south, all the high-ranking officials accompanied him; how could he possibly bring his wife back to the palace under the watchful eyes of his court?
What are the real stories behind this?
Even after leaving Baoming Temple, Cui Yiluo still couldn't figure out this problem.
It was nearly dusk when she was slightly lost in thought. She walked to the carriage and realized that there was a person standing in front of it.
Her heart tightened as she looked at the all-too-familiar face before her. "Husband?"
Cui Yiluo didn't know when he arrived, nor how much he knew. Yuan Ling was a few steps behind her and could come out at any moment, so Cui Yiluo quickly stepped forward and took Jiang Yunjin's arm.
"Why have you come, my husband? It's cold outside, shall we get in the carriage first?"
Jiang Yunjin was suddenly pressed against by a soft, fragrant body. She hadn't taken the initiative to be intimate with him for several days, so he couldn't help but tense up. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and his handsome face suddenly became brighter in the twilight. The low pressure on his body also eased a lot.
Did she finally calm down after a few days?
Author's note: Another misunderstanding [doge emoji]
I might write less intimate scenes or be more subtle lately, but I'll still write what needs to be written, so don't worry.
Thank you to all the little ones who watered with nutrient solution! [heart emoji]
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