Ink Burns

Is Chapter 224 substantial enough?

Jing'an waved his hand casually: "It's nothing serious, a few doses of medicine will do the trick."

The topic then shifted to the current upheaval in the Jiangnan officialdom: "Han Chengrang is useless. The Duzhou dike breach case will inevitably come to light sooner or later. The Jiangnan officialdom will surely be rife with corruption one after another. Who is standing behind Guan'anzhai? The whole capital knows. When the fire reaches our hem, how will we put it out? How will we escape? We are such a large group of people, with unfulfilled ambitions and unrestored aristocratic families. Where should we go from here? Lord Marquis, have you thought about these things?"

Cui Bainian smiled, his gaze remaining calm and composed: "It's just the young emperor re-investigating an old case with the Censorate. It's a trivial matter—Your Highness is overthinking it."

Jing'an glanced sideways at Cui Bainian, her gaze sharp: "Overthinking? Am I overthinking? Or is it that the Marquis, holding considerable military power, takes advantage of the distance from the emperor and doesn't take it seriously?"

Jing'an's tone was stiff.

Everyone in the back row fell silent, holding their breath and not daring to make the slightest noise. Jing'an and Cui Bainian were the initial creators of "Qingfeng." One relied on his status as a member of the imperial family to influence the foothold of imperial power, while the other relied on the foundation of the old-established military and aristocratic families of Jiangnan to seize the largest piece of the pie left by the Su family. One of them was in the open, and the other was in the shadows; one was far away, and the other was in the capital. They complemented each other and were the foundation and deep root of "Qingfeng." If either of them were missing, "Qingfeng" could not be established.

The two men fell into a stalemate, but neither dared to intervene.

In the midst of the stalemate, a gentle and melodious male voice rang out at the opportune moment: "My esteemed uncles and elders have been sitting for quite some time and must be tired—please follow me to the first floor for tea and a rest."

The air, which had been frozen in place, seemed to be infused with a gentle breeze.

Yuan Wenying spoke first: "I'm old and my back is stiff and weak from sitting too much. Young Master Cui's suggestion is excellent!"

"Yes Yes Yes!"

"It's time to go have some tea and take a break!"

Whether these two powerful figures are arguing or plotting, as long as it doesn't affect them personally, it's a good thing!
Cui Yulang stood up and stood in the corridor, wearing a long robe and wide gown. He walked past the crowd, bowing and stepping aside to let them pass.

A beautiful, exquisite face, as if meticulously sculpted by an old painter, sits on a high platform where light and shadow play. The shadow on the side of his nose resembles the fluttering wings of a butterfly, and the faint smile at the corner of his lips is both relaxed and composed, displaying the bright and clear demeanor of a noble young master.

Fu Mingjiang's eyes were fixed on Cui Yulang. She raised her eyes slightly, as if afraid that others would look at him too much, yet also afraid that others would not see him. When she saw the group of court officials laughing and chatting as they followed Cui Yulang's instructions to descend the wooden steps one by one, she couldn't help but feel a little more satisfied and smug.

“Madam Zhou, please stop.” Cui Bainian called out to her.

Lady Zhou Fangjie, wife of the Marquis of Guanbei, paused in her tracks and looked back with a surprised expression.

"Linjiang is confined to her residence. As the wife of the Marquis of Guanbei, there are some things you should listen to." Cui Bainian spoke with a friendly demeanor.

Linjiang was the courtesy name of Chang Lin, the Marquis of Guanbei.

Zhou Fangjie sat down again with a heavy heart.

After settling the officials, Cui Yulang returned to find his father, Cui Bainian, calmly pouring tea and soup, while the Grand Princess Jing'an, her face ashen, held a string of sandalwood prayer beads in one hand, reciting a sutra with each bead she turned. After turning three beads, she turned back to Cui Bainian and said, "For the Marquis, this is a trivial matter. The blood of the Su family did not pass through your hands, so you can naturally remain unperturbed. Everyone here, without exception, knows that Liu Hezhou was the one who orchestrated the corruption in the Jiangnan officialdom, colluding with Su Shen's henchman Pang Ying to exchange materials and embezzle silver. The embezzled silver was gathered in my Guan'anzhai to fund the 'Qingfeng' project. Chang Lin's father was under the command of Su Shen's elder brother, General Su Yu of the Northern Frontier Army, and the Chang family secretly buried silver at the Su family's training ground."

“After all the calculations, you, Cui Bainian, are the most innocent and clean, so of course you're not worried,” Jing An said loudly.

Cui Bainian turned his head and lifted his sleeve with one hand. Han Xin called out to pour tea: "Your Highness is mistaken. I did not take the silver embezzled in the breach case and gave it to 'Qingfeng', but the silver buried under the Su family's training ground was something I painstakingly raised—no one in this scheme is clean."

"Then the Marquis has remarkable composure, remaining unmoved even when his eyebrows are on fire." Jing'an's eyes moved but his eyebrows remained still. "It's not that I'm unmoved, but rather that I choose the best approach." Cui Bainian placed the teacup in both hands and offered tea to Jing'an.

After further consideration, he concluded: "The Jiangnan officialdom is going to change, and the young emperor is bound to take over. People like Liu Hezhou, Han Chengrang, and Zhao Tingguang should be punished or imprisoned as appropriate. They don't have anything good to offer the young emperor, and he won't pursue them relentlessly. He can simply free up a few positions for prefects and vice-prefects, just like he placed Bai Yusi, and put his own people in there. It won't be a big deal for us."

“What we need to do is sacrifice pawns to save the king,” Cui Bainian said. “If we throw two or three out, the young emperor will be satisfied and have a way to back down. Only then will we have the means to protect the rest of the officials in Jiangnan.”

Princess Jing'an asked, "What methods?"

Cui Bainian dipped his finger in the tea and drew a circle in the due north direction.

Princess Jing'an understood, and then asked again, "What about the capital? What about the fact that Guan'anzhai collected embezzled funds from flood relief efforts under the guise of selling paintings?!"

Cui Bainian was raising his hand to drink tea.

Cui Yulang glanced sideways at the moat at the foot of Yinchun Tower.

No one answered.

Princess Jing'an pursed her lips, and after a while, she let out a cold laugh: "Could it be that the Marquis wants Zhou Xingyun to take the blame for this? Xu Quyan may be weak and easy to bully, but he is by no means a fool. Not to mention Xue Xiao is eyeing the Su family with a vengeance. If you single out Zhou Xingyun, would Xu Quyan and Xue Xiao believe him? Is he worthy of your trust? Although Zhou Xingyun is my consort, I am never biased. If sacrificing him could quell this matter, I would have done it long ago."

silence.

Cui Bainian's family tradition of aristocratic upbringing was even more pronounced than that of his eldest son, Cui Yulang.

One shouldn't talk while sipping tea, but he remained calm and composed, showing remarkable restraint.

He can endure it.

But some people couldn't resist.

Zhou Fangjie sat alone in the second row, restless and uneasy: What?! They actually wanted to sacrifice her brother?! If her brother took the blame, he would most likely lose his head! What would she do then?! Her son, her only means of support, had been kidnapped right before her eyes, and he was certain to die! Her husband was beating her, almost killing her! The entire Chang family looked down on her; her only support was her brother, who had married the princess!

If her brother is caught taking the blame, Chang Lin will either beat her to death without hesitation or divorce her!
Just half a month ago, Chang Lin beat her so badly that her face was bruised and swollen, and the next morning, she almost couldn't open her eyes!

Her brother is dead, she will surely die too!
No!

No!

"What if... what if Chang Lin takes the blame? Is he... is he worthy of it?"

The woman's hesitant yet expectant voice rang out just in time with the silence.

At the same time, Cui Bainian put down his teacup, and the faint smile on his lips became even more profound.

(End of this chapter)