Marrying a treacherous official

Cui Zemin asked her directly, "How do you know it was He Qingchang who asked me for help?"

Yunji showed no sign of drunkenness under that intense gaze.

She blurted out the wrong thing in a moment of carelessness, but unexpectedly, even in his hazy drunken state, he could still hear the flaw in her words and pressed her for an answer.

"He Qingchang wanted to marry my second sister, but my aunt politely declined."

"Madam, what exactly are you trying to evade by going off on such a long tangent?"

"To be precise, it was I who got my aunt to cancel the marriage with the He family."

Yunji wrung out the water from the damp cloth and applied the hot towel to his face again, gently rubbing his sharp jawline.

In his previous life, Cui Zemin acted perversely and was surrounded by many evil henchmen who secretly committed heinous crimes for him. He Qingchang was one of the villains among them.

She considered many charges to frame He Qingchang, enough to make Cui Zemin hate him, but there was only one charge that would make Cui Zemin unable to tolerate him.

"I despise He Qingchang's treacherous and frivolous character."

"How did he become so dissolute?"

"Back then, when I traveled north from Qianzhou and first entered the bustling city of Shengjing, I was captivated by the magnificent palaces and pavilions on the Imperial Street. I even secretly slipped out of the mansion on the Lantern Festival to take a boat trip at night with my younger siblings."

Yunji swallowed her pride and said in the most tactful way possible:

"When the boat passed Yunqi Bridge, I unfortunately saw He Qingchang once. My younger siblings were still young at the time and couldn't remember his face, but I felt disgusted just looking at him. The Gu and He families were old friends, and at a family banquet, I recognized him as the second son of the He family."

Cui Zemin ripped off the hot towel from his face, and before he knew it, her fingers pressed down and pressed against his thin lips.

When he spoke, she could clearly feel the concern emanating from his thin lips.

"What did He Qingchang do to you?"

He recited a poem by Niu Jiao, "Bodhisattva's Charm," to me.

Yunji knew what he cared about, so she drew her knife and stabbed it fiercely into his heart, reciting two lines of erotic poetry with difficulty:

"Jade incense burner, ice-cold mat, mandarin duck brocade, powder melts and fragrant sweat flows onto mountain pillow."

Seeing his tightly furrowed brow, she knew he harbored a deep resentment towards He Qingchang.

Although the couple's affection for each other was weak, he was always domineering and would never allow outsiders to covet his wife in name, let alone flirt with her.

She hated He Qingchang so much that she was willing to risk her reputation to drag him into Shen Yuan's clutches.

"Husband, should we still accept the five thousand taels of silver notes?"

"Take it."

"What about the job He Qingchang asked you for?"

"No."

Yunji got the answer she wanted, took the bowl of hangover soup from the maid, served him the soup, then took back the celadon bowl and bid him farewell.

Cui Zemin watched her gracefully sway towards the door, and suddenly said, "Madam, please wait."

Yunji turned around and stood in front of the lattice door, quietly listening to his instructions.

"It's almost the end of the month, why hasn't Madam brought the account books for me to review?"

"My husband is always busy with social engagements and comes home drunk every night. Even if I bring him the account books, he still gets confused."

Yunji has been spending money like water lately, with money only going out and not coming in. She's been preparing New Year's gifts and buying grain, and she even sent an extra cartload of New Year's gifts to her parents' home. Her accounts are in serious deficit, so how could she dare to take the account books to him, lest she get a scolding from him?

"After my husband sobers up, I will come over and properly check the accounts with him."

"The lady has spent at least three thousand taels of silver these days."

Slightly tipsy, Cui Zemin leaned back in the ebony chair, gazing at her with hazy eyes. He did a quick calculation with his fingers, and the result he came up with was incredibly accurate.

Yunji smiled and flattered him, saying, "My husband is so thoughtful. He got back five thousand taels of silver for nothing, which will make up for this deficit. I will go back and write this down for you."

Cui Zemin watched as she stepped across the threshold, her skirt billowing as she walked, seemingly keeping all the wind and snow at bay.

"Huo Xi—"

"Your subordinate is here."

Huo Xi lifted the curtain and entered, kneeling on one knee to receive the order.

Cui Zemin's wandering thoughts gradually returned to their source, and his gaze suddenly sharpened.

What does He Qingchang do after dark?

"After finishing their duties, the military officers of the Palace Guard would often go to brothels and entertainment venues in groups, and then return home at dawn."

"Send someone quick and efficient to strip He Qingchang of his clothes and throw him onto Yunqi Bridge as a warning after dawn."

Huo Xi had never done such a despicable thing before. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was the general's drunken ramblings or a spur-of-the-moment act of humiliation.

Cui Zemin looked at him coldly. "Can't you understand human language?"

Huo Xi immediately responded, "I'll take care of it right away."

Cui Zemin closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, still thinking about the erotic line about the fragrant sweat flowing down his pillow. He then swept a set of okra-shaped stem cups onto the ground.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, members of the Cui family arrived at the Marquis's residence one after another to attend the reunion banquet.

Yunji was busy until New Year's Eve, patching up the deficit in the books and finally balancing the accounts that showed a deficit in the warehouse.

The remaining money was all transferred to her private treasury.

Granny Kong had been busy all year, and only during the holidays could she rest at home and steal a few days of leisure from her busy life.

She stood gracefully before the dressing table, facing the bronze mirror, combing the First Madam's long black hair and arranging it into a tassel bun.

"Most of the women in the Cui family clan are kind and easy to get along with, but the eldest sister-in-law of the old master, Zheng, whom the lady should call her great-aunt, is the most difficult to deal with."

"That old woman, relying on her seniority, likes to bully people with her sharp tongue. Madam, just go around her and avoid her. Don't get into trouble with her."

Yunji had little private contact with these clan women, let alone any enmity between them, so why would Zheng Shi entangle herself with her?

"Was my late wife ever afraid of this great-aunt?"

"Of course I'm afraid."

Thinking of the late Madam's kind and gentle nature, Granny Kong couldn't help but feel pity and said:

"But back then, with the old man around, he always stood in front of the late madam, so the old woman didn't dare to say anything. It was just a pity for those young women, who were often secretly cursed by the old woman until they cried, and they didn't dare to say a word back."

In her previous life, during this New Year's festival, Yunji had a dispute with Cui Zeming for some unknown reason. She pretended to be unwell and hid in Qinghui Courtyard for some peace and quiet, so she never met this shrewish great-aunt.

This time it's different.

Having openly clashed with Lady Hou, she naturally wanted to attend the banquet in grand style.

Yunji changed into a narrow-sleeved jacket with a sky-blue pattern of phoenixes and magpies entwined on branches and went to the main courtyard. Her hair was adorned with pearls and jade, which made her fair face and bright eyes even more beautiful.

Aunt Du greeted her and led her to a group of women from the clan. After getting to know each other, they chatted and laughed warmly.

In the midst of the harmonious atmosphere, a cold, scathing rebuke suddenly came from the seat of honor, so sharp and piercing that it hurt the ears.

"If I didn't know that it was Madam You who was in charge of this Marquis's residence, I would have thought that this was the matriarch. How dare a mere First Madam seize the power of the Marquis's wife? Does she really think the Cui family has no clan rules?"

Through the layers of women, Yunji looked at her great-aunt, Madam Zheng, who was sitting at the head of the table. Seeing that she was sitting next to the Lady of the Marquis, she thought that the two of them were in cahoots and were coming to make trouble for her.