Marrying a treacherous official

Chi Ying was summoned to Minghe Hall for questioning for the second time, and she was even more flustered than the first time.

"This servant greets Lady Hou."

"Lift your head up and let me see."

Madam You looked at the beautiful face with a smile in her eyes and said with satisfaction, "The Marquis chose three maids to serve the young master back then, but you were the only one who stayed. It can be seen that the young master is also devoted to you."

Chi Ying lowered her head and said, "This servant is unworthy of such praise."

As Madam You glanced at the nail polish on her fingernails, she casually asked, "How did you come to think about what I asked you to consider last time?"

The reason why Chi Ying was able to serve the master in his room was twofold: first, she had no ulterior motives and was absolutely loyal to him; second, she was very good at reading his expressions and dared not overstep the mark.

However, Lady Hou instructed her to drug the master and use the opportunity to climb into his bed. After returning home, she thought it over and over again. Knowing that the master would definitely kill her after finding out the truth, she dared not take the risk.

She knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Madam You, saying, "This servant is timid and foolish by nature. I am afraid that I will ruin the Marquis's important business. I beg the Marquis to choose someone else."

"What if the First Madam administered the medicine?"

Madam You could no longer tolerate Gu Yunji and wished she could get rid of him as soon as possible. She tried to entice him by saying, "And if you accidentally witness the master's illness, you would have to offer yourself to him in order to relieve his predicament?"

Chi Ying was deeply moved by these words.

Madam You saw through her timidity, but also her ambition. "You don't need to do anything. Someone will pass on the message. You just need to go find the master."

Seeing how highly the Lady Hou regarded her, Chi Ying's heart stirred.

If she misses this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she'll probably be sent away from the manor when she reaches a certain age and married into any random household. How could she possibly climb the social ladder to a noble family and live a life of luxury?

Besides, once the truth comes out, the master will only despise the first wife and pity her. With the Marquis's wife backing her up, she will live a life of ease and comfort in the mansion.

"What merit or ability do I possess to deserve such favor from the Lady of the Marquis?"

"You are someone the Marquis values, and naturally, you are someone I value as well."

Madam You rose from the camphor wood meditation chair, walked over to her, and asked with concern, "When is your period?"

Chi Ying understood the deeper meaning in her words and said shyly, "My period usually comes in the middle of the month, between the 12th and 15th, pretty much the same."

"The imperial physicians in the palace said that having intercourse two weeks before menstruation is the easiest way to get pregnant."

Madam You carefully instructed Granny Tong, "Choose the right day and try to get Chi Ying pregnant on the first try."

Granny Tong lowered her head respectfully: "This old servant obeys."

Chi Ying looked at Madam You with eyes full of gratitude, "This servant will repay the Lady Hou's kindness by dying ten thousand deaths."

Madam You held her delicate hand and gently stroked it, saying, "Don't talk nonsense about dying. If you get pregnant this time, your life in the mansion will be secure."

Chi Ying smiled smugly at the thought of the wealth that was within her grasp.

The blue bricks of the West Garden were cold; after sleeping on the ground for a night, the cushion beneath me was wet when I woke up the next day.

Chunxuan scattered the ashes from the charcoal fire on the ground to absorb the water, and then dried the futons one by one. She was busy until noon when Huachao came back from arguing at the door. Not only did she not get the canopy bed, but she also didn't get a bundle of straw.

"This gatekeeper is simply outrageous."

Chunxuan threw the prayer mat into Chunxuan's arms and stormed out, "Madam's health is so weak; she sleeps on the cold floor every day. How can she possibly get better?"

Yunji leaned against the carved window, basking in the thin winter sunlight, and coughed lightly, covering her mouth, saying, "Come back—"

No matter how unwilling Chunxuan was, she had no choice but to obey her orders and obediently walk back.

"They must have followed the Lady of the Marquis's orders and won't give them anything."

Yunji has been recuperating quietly in the West Garden recently. Perhaps because no one is bothering her, she has survived the high fever of the past few days, and her health is gradually improving.

The cough just won't go away, and when it gets really bad, I almost can't breathe.

Hua Chao walked behind the lady and gently patted her back to help her clear phlegm and catch her breath.

"I'm worried that your cough might worsen, so I need to find a doctor to come and take a look as soon as possible."

"Wait a little longer."

Yunji looked at her wearily, "The New Year is approaching. Even if the master doesn't rescue me, the Marquis's wife will have to release me in a few days."

Family scandals should not be aired in public. No matter what mistakes she made, she must sit next to Cui Zeming at the New Year's Eve reunion dinner.

Two days ago, she used the excuse of needing to copy Buddhist scriptures to send a maid to Qinghui Courtyard to retrieve books from the accounting office, including her father's treasured collection.

She rarely had any free time, so she flipped through her father's old notes.

My father's writing was brilliant and elegant. His annalistic historical materials, which were written in chronological order, recorded the major historical events that occurred during the reign of the late emperor. His objectivity in historical writing and his precision in word choice were unparalleled.

She gently stroked the vigorous characters on the paper. The characters reflected the man himself: gentle and elegant, with brilliant talent. Through the yellowed ink, she seemed to sense the resounding strength of her father as he taught her to write.

Yunji flipped through the pages of that historical document, and even as dusk approached, he was still reluctant to put the book down.

Hua Chao stepped forward and advised, "Madam, it's getting dark. You can look at it tomorrow."

Yunji shook her head resolutely: "Light the lamp."

There were no fish oil lamps in Xiyuan, only incense and candles offered in the small Buddhist hall.

Hua Chao lit the incense and candles on the table in the four-section room. Yun Ji used the flickering candlelight to flip through her father's notes. When she saw the name Cui Shao in the Battle of Wudu, her gaze suddenly froze.

"Cui Shao, courtesy name Hanzhao, was a native of Xijiang County, Chenzhou. He was the commander of the Xuanjia Army, skilled in riding and archery, clear about rewards and punishments, adept at military tactics, disciplined his troops strictly, and shared the hardships of hunger and cold with his soldiers..."

Cui Shao, in other words, was Cui Zemin's grandfather.

She read through her father's historical records word by word, and when she reached the end, she stared intently at the concluding line: "At Ciwudu, when reinforcements failed to arrive, he fought valiantly with his sword and died."

The reasons for the defeat are unknown, but given my father's consistently meticulous narrative style, he will surely investigate the root cause.

She searched through the entire notebook and, sure enough, found a supplementary account of the Battle of Wudu through historical research.

"In the Battle of Wudu in the eleventh year of Qiyuan, the transport commissioner of the Guanzhong Road army was: Duke of Song, Feng Yang; the commander of the cavalry of Jinghu North Road was: Marquis of Yongxing, Liao Chengzhou; and the deputy commander of the army of Qianzhou was Wang Cheng."

The notes ended abruptly here, and the unfinished research became the father's final work.

Yunji's chaotic thoughts were filled with the tragic reality of "no reinforcements arriving." As she looked at her father's detailed description of the grain transport officer, military commander, and garrison commander in the Battle of Wudu, she connected these three individuals and found them strangely familiar!

"Hua Chao, do you still remember which house was destroyed by the fire in Dongfang that day?"

"Replying to Madam, it is the residence of the Duke of Song, the Marquis of Yongxing, and the official residence of the Vice Minister of War."

Yunji slammed the notebook shut; everything matched.

Wang Cheng, the deputy commander of the Qianzhou army, later rose rapidly through the ranks to become the Vice Minister of War.

Cui Zemin's fire destroyed not only the most trusted military commanders whom the late emperor valued most, but also, more likely, a deliberate act of cruelty to avenge his deceased grandfather.