spend time

The Cui clan members surrounded the princess and the Earl of Changning and entered the main hall.

Jiang Shaohua naturally sat at the head of the table, and Old Master Cui personally accompanied him to exchange greetings.

Cui Du sat beside the princess, listening to Jiang Shaohua and Old Master Cui's polite words. Then he confirmed once again that this kind of roundabout way of communication was not suitable for him.

Jiang Shaohua sat for a while, then said goodbye and left.

It was an extraordinary move for the princess to personally escort Cui Du back today. Old Master Cui was not in a position to ask her to stay, so he personally escorted the princess to the door and walked a block away before turning back.

Cui Ping took Cui Du to settle down.

Because of Cui Wang's injury, Cui Du was quite apologetic to Cui Ping: "Uncle, my cousin blocked a sword for me that day and saved my life. But my cousin was seriously injured and has not recovered yet..."

Cui Ping interrupted Cui Du with a smile: "He is your cousin, and it is only natural for him to fight for you. You don't have to feel guilty."

Cui Ping certainly felt sorry for his son. However, from the family's perspective and standpoint, Cui Wang had made a great contribution. By saving Cui Du's life, he was able to gain a foothold in the Nanyang Palace, which was worth it.

Cui Du said solemnly: "I will always remember this kindness in my heart. If the Cui family needs me in the future, I will definitely do my best. However, I have to say something ugly first. I am first an official in the palace of the princess' husband, and then a member of the Cui family. What the Cui family asks me to do must not harm the princess in the slightest."

Cui Ping replied sternly, "Please rest assured, Lord Changning. The Cui family of Boling will only help the princess and will never do anything mean."

Ever since the Cui family of Boling recognized Cui Du, they have indeed performed well and behaved very decently in the past few years.

However, human hearts are fickle, and human nature cannot stand the test in the face of huge interests.

Cui Du raised his head and looked at Cui Ping for a moment: "I have taken note of what my uncle said."

Cui Ping smiled and said, "You should settle down and rest first. We will have a family dinner tonight. I will take you to get acquainted with the elders of the clan who are here this time."

Cui Du nodded in agreement.

The Cui family of Boling was indeed very sincere in this marriage alliance. Almost all the elders from each branch of the clan came.

At the family dinner that night, Cui Du followed Cui Ping and toasted the elders. Even though he could drink a lot, he still felt a little dizzy after toasting all the way.

More than 20 elders of the Cui family, from different branches, with different names and ages, all had a friendly attitude and vied to talk to him. One could not help but sigh at the importance of power and status. If he had not met the princess, if he was not an official of the palace, would these arrogant Cui family members take him seriously?

After the family dinner, the drunk Cui Du was helped by the servants to rest.

Cui sometimes whispered to his eldest son Cui Ping: "In your opinion, what kind of character is Cui Du?"

Cui Shishi was already old, and the daily affairs of the clan had been handed over to his eldest son. Although Cui Ping did not have the title of clan leader, he was actually the clan leader of the Cui clan.

Cui Ping sighed, "I only regret that he is not a true descendant of the Cui family. Otherwise, with a son like him, our Boling Cui family would surely prosper and rise to surpass the Wang, Zheng, Li, and Lu families."

Cui Shishi was somewhat moved: "I didn't expect you to think so highly of him." Cui Ping, under the influence of alcohol, whispered: "To be honest with you, father, I have great confidence in the princess."

"The emperor is young and his methods are gentle, so he can't control the court. The powerful officials in the court are fighting for power, and sooner or later there will be a chaos. At that time, the one who can turn the tide must be the princess!"

Cui Shishi was shocked and stared at Cui Ping: "Have you ever said this to anyone else?"

"No." Cui Ping sighed, "How dare I say such treasonous words to others?"

Cui Shishi breathed a sigh of relief and sternly warned, "Don't ever talk about it again, even if it's between father and son. Our Cui family has been in Boling for hundreds of years. No matter when, the family must be passed down peacefully. There are some things that you must not interfere with."

Cui Ping nodded in agreement.

Cui Shiyou, on the other hand, sighed after speaking in a stern voice: "The emperor is physically weak, has a mediocre temperament, and has no extraordinary means or strengths. If it were a peaceful time, he might be able to be a conservative emperor. But the court of Daliang has been in dispute for a long time, and the north has been plagued by natural disasters and wars, which is a sign of a precarious and chaotic world. It is hard to say whether the emperor can keep the country!"

"It's the princess who is better than her teacher. She is more cunning and more powerful than the Prince of Nanyang back then. Just look at last year, when the princess went to the capital for a few months, she suppressed Prime Minister Wang and Duke Anguo and stabilized the situation in the court. No minister in the court dared to confront her head-on."

"The Rouran barbarians attacked the border troops. If it weren't for the princess's full support, I'm afraid they would have collapsed and been completely defeated."

"The only pity is that the princess is a woman. If the princess were a man, a true vassal king, the emperor would not be able to sit on the throne safely."

Cui Ping said, "It is precisely because the princess is a woman that people are not too wary of her. The emperor allows her to raise troops, and the empress dowager stands on her side in everything. In a few years, the population of Nanyang County has nearly doubled, and it is prosperous and wealthy. The military force is even stronger. Even I dare not guess how many troops Nanyang County actually has now."

"The governor of Luozhou came in person for the princess' wedding. Isn't that a private surrender?"

"There are also a dozen county governors who have come here. When they cannot be summoned by the princess, they go to see Chen Changshi to make friends. Such power and prestige have even surpassed the influence of the court in the north."

"It is still unknown how far the princess will go in the future. However, since we, the Cui family of Boling, have already bet on the Nanyang Palace, why should we hesitate? We should continue to increase our stakes and continue to support the princess."

Cui Shishi suddenly glared: "What do you want to do?"

Cui Ping's eyes flickered, and he whispered, "The princess has been secretly expanding her military forces. Nanyang County has horse farms and iron mines, and there is plenty of food. However, raising soldiers is the most expensive. I thought, I can use the wedding as an excuse to give the princess another generous gift."

In other words, pay the princess to maintain her army.

Cui Shishi immediately frowned, "No! The dowry I prepared for Lord Changning is already very generous. Giving him another generous gift will be too eye-catching."

Cui Ping smiled and said, "Yes, my son is young and has not thought things through. I hope my father can give me some advice."

Cui Shiyou glanced at his eldest son and said calmly, "Go and find out what Governor Lu and Governor Fang have offered privately. We will prepare a copy and give it to Earl Changning privately."

As for the future, if the Earl of Changning insisted on giving his private money to the princess, that was the business of the young couple. It had nothing to do with the Cui family of Boling.

Cui Ping understood and agreed. (End of this chapter)