The most dissolute couple in the capital

The next morning, Cui Lingchen indeed found an opportunity to sit down and drink tea in his mother Wang's main room.

Wang was looking through an account book when her eldest son arrived, which surprised her greatly.

"Not going to the Imperial College today?"

"I took half a day off." Cui Lingchen sat at the lower end of the table, speaking casually. "I heard that Mother is looking for a husband for Lingyi. I thought that since it's my sister's lifelong happiness, I should inquire about it, so I took the liberty of asking a few questions."

Wang raised her head, her gaze scrutinizing: "What did you inquire about?"

"It wasn't anything serious, I just casually asked about Wang Yu and Xiao Jue's character."

Cui Lingchen, holding his teacup, slowly recounted the information he had found.

He spoke with great tact, without exaggeration or deliberately belittling Wang Yu.

Upon hearing this, Wang's smile instantly froze.

Born into a prestigious family, she was well aware of the implications behind the phrase "a beautiful woman adding fragrance to one's sleeves."

"Is this true?" Wang's voice changed.

"Absolutely true." Cui Jingming said firmly, "My son wouldn't dare joke about his sister's marriage."

Madam Wang's expression was grave. She had originally thought that Wang Yu was a good match for her daughter, someone who could take better care of her, but who knew that there would be such an unclear and scandalous affair involved.

As the eldest daughter of the Wang family of Taiyuan, she was not entirely ignorant of the family's internal affairs. She knew that her brother and sister-in-law had indeed adopted an orphan girl from the Shen family, and that the child was intelligent and beautiful, and well-liked by the elders in the family.

But she never expected that the child's relationship with Wang Yu had progressed to the point of exchanging poems and holding candlelight late into the night.

What chilled her to the bone was that the entire Wang family knew about this, yet no one had ever mentioned it to her.

"Does your father know what you're saying?" Wang asked.

"I haven't said anything yet," Cui Lingchen said honestly. "I'm thinking of discussing it with my mother first."

Wang nodded and waved for him to leave.

That evening, Cui Wenhan returned home from the yamen.

Wang dismissed everyone else and told her husband everything that Cui Lingchen had found out.

Cui Wenhan wasn't particularly angry after hearing this.

"It's just a female confidante. It's not a big deal for young people to be a little flirtatious."

Madam Wang frowned: "You make it sound so easy. Lingyi is such a proud person, and she has to face such a concubine as soon as she enters the house. Who knows how many troubles she will have to deal with."

She thought for a moment and then said, "Why don't I discuss it with my family and add some dowry to marry off this cousin? If she can marry into a good family..."

Cui Wenhan pondered for a moment: "This isn't impossible, but Lingyi's marriage isn't something that can be decided by mere personal feelings. After all, His Majesty's current concerns..."

Madam Wang frowned slightly, waiting for him to continue.

"Last year's reform of the imperial examination system added quotas for the Mingjing and Jinshi examinations, more than doubling the path for candidates from humble backgrounds to enter officialdom. This spring, during the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation, His Majesty personally inquired about the political achievements of several scions of prominent families. You know the evaluation results for those individuals."

Of course, Wang knew this. The evaluations of those scions of prominent families were downgraded by half a grade. Although it was ostensibly due to their mediocre political achievements, everyone in the court could see that it was the Emperor giving them a warning.

"The five clans and seven noble families have intermarried, forming a deeply entrenched and intertwined network," Cui Wenhan said slowly. "In the past, this was a means to balance the court, but over the past hundred years, this complex web has long since displeased His Majesty. In recent years, His Majesty has promoted people from humble backgrounds and given important positions to newly appointed military officials. What is his purpose? It is to divide the powerful families and consolidate power in his own hands."

His gaze was deep and serious: "The Cui family's marriage of their daughter to the Prince of Liang is our opportunity. It demonstrates our absolute loyalty to His Majesty and is also a declaration of our commitment. At this juncture, if Lingyi were to still form a marriage alliance with a powerful family, I fear His Majesty would become suspicious..."

Wang's expression changed.

Although she was in charge of the inner quarters, she came from a prominent family and was not slow to get a political sense.

"you mean……"

Cui Wenhan walked back to his chair and sat down: "General Xiao has guarded the northern border for more than ten years and is one of the people His Majesty trusts most. If Lingyi can form a marriage alliance with his family, it would be a good thing."

He turned around, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. "If this hadn't happened, our unjustified refusal of the marriage alliance with the Wang family of Taiyuan would have given them ammunition to criticize us, making it seem as if our Cui family had abandoned our old kinship after currying favor with the royal family. Now, the reason is perfect, and we have a legitimate reason; no one can utter a single word of 'no'."

Wang remained silent for a long time.

Deep down, she was still reluctant to part with him. Wang Yu was her nephew from her maternal family; she knew him well, and he was exceptionally talented. Marrying him would be a double blessing for the family.

As for Xiao Jue... although he is a decent person, he is ultimately a martial artist. If he is transferred back to the Northern Territory in the future, his daughter will have to go there to live a life of hardship and toil.

"But Lingyi grew up in the capital. If the Xiao family doesn't stay in the capital—"

"General Xiao has already hinted that he intends to let his youngest son stay in the capital to develop his career," Cui Wenhan interrupted her. "Even if things change in the future, that's a matter for the future. The most important thing right now is to choose sides. Even if she's far away on the border, with us and the Liang Prince's Mansion backing her, who would dare to mistreat her?"

He paused, then added, "Besides, considering what Ling Chen found out... are you really comfortable letting your daughter marry him off?"

This sentence touched the softest spot in Wang's heart.

As a mother, no matter how shrewd she was, she didn't want her daughter to compete with a deeply ingrained "childhood sweetheart" for a husband as soon as she entered the family.

Political considerations and his daughter's happiness strangely aligned at this moment.

She let out a long sigh, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders: "I understand. Let's do as you say."

Cui Wenhan nodded in satisfaction: "You've worked hard, Madam."