Marrying a treacherous official

The Cui family members present were all shocked and their expressions changed drastically.

They were already astonished to see the First Madam hiding in Cui Zeming's arms, not to mention that Cui Zeming had lowered himself and was affectionately coaxing the First Madam, saying things that were simply unbearable to hear!

It should be known that when Cui Zemin went mad in the past, he had killed many people in the courtyard. Even after he returned in triumph as a major general in the Tiger Wing Army, none of the clan members dared to object to him under his iron-fisted suppression.

Therefore, when they saw him coaxing the First Madam in a soft voice, they felt a chill run down their spines.

"Please excuse my uncles, aunts and sisters-in-law, my lady has wet her narrow-sleeved jacket and is afraid of being rude at the banquet, so she is not comfortable looking up at people for a moment."

Cui Zemin spoiled Yun Ji, completely ignoring the strange looks he received from those around him.

Lady You frowned slightly, glanced at the Marquis's expression, and seeing that he remained silent with a cold face, she adopted the airs of a mistress and said:

"Madam's clothes are wet. Why doesn't she go find some clothes to change into? What kind of image does she have hiding in the master's arms in front of everyone?"

"She was so afraid of being punished by her aunt that she dared not behave improperly at the banquet."

"How did I punish her?"

"My aunt is so forgetful."

Cui Zemin held the cloud scroll tightly in his arms, scrutinizing each word:

"At the court banquet, the lady merely shed tears from the cold, but her aunt, citing her disrespect in front of the palace, confined her to the West Garden. Despite her still high fever, she was locked in the abandoned courtyard for five days."

"Now, the lady has accidentally spilled wine at the banquet, which is so rude. My aunt hasn't even punished her yet, but she's already trembling in my arms."

The entire audience was astonished.

The Cui family had only heard that Cui Zemin had gone mad again recently, wielding a knife and hacking into Minghe Hall, but no one knew the hidden story behind it. When they thought about how the Marquis had treated the First Madam so harshly, their gazes toward the Marquis became complicated.

The reputation of the You family plummeted within the clan.

"The old man's constant favoritism towards the first wife makes things difficult for me, his mother-in-law."

Lady You pulled out an embroidered handkerchief from her cloud-patterned sleeve and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Very well, I won't stop you from protecting whoever you want from now on, and I won't say anything more about what rules the Madam should follow."

She appeared utterly helpless and pitiful, with tears streaming down her face, which moved the assembled women of the clan to tears.

In front of his uncles and elders, the Marquis couldn't openly lash out at Cui Zeming, so he only reprimanded him briefly:

"Let's not dwell on the past. Since their clothes are wet, take them home. Don't offend the elders. What kind of behavior is this, pulling and shoving like this at a clan banquet?!"

Cui Zemin didn't listen to these words and continued to coax the person in his arms in a soft voice.

"Did you hear that? Pulling and tugging like that is inappropriate. I'll take you back right now."

Yunji tried to pry his hand off his mouth, but couldn't budge it. His neck was pressed down by his iron arm, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift his head.

He whispered two words to her, "Shut up."

She immediately nodded vigorously in agreement, indicating that he would definitely cooperate fully.

Cui Zemin released Yunji.

Granny Kong knelt down and steadily helped the swaying First Madam to her feet.

Cui Zemin bid farewell to the relatives seated at the table and led Yunji away from the main courtyard.

After leaving the back garden, take a winding path through the bamboo grove, and walk through the corridor to see the red walls and black tiles of Qinghui Courtyard.

He had only taken a few steps forward when he heard Granny Kong call out softly from behind:

"Where are you going, Madam? The courtyard is in the southeast corner. Don't take the left path and end up in the snowdrift."

Granny Kong's legs were not nimble, and no matter how fast she hurried, she could not catch up with the staggering figure. In the flickering lamplight, a series of messy footprints were left in the snow.

Cui Zemin watched from afar as she ran towards the red plum tree that was peeking out from behind the wall.

He watched her move with cold eyes, and saw her kick the tree trunk. The snow on the tree suddenly fell down, covering her in white.

The frost and snow on the trees seemed to freeze for a moment for her sake.

"My wife—!"

Granny Kong rushed to Yunji's side and vigorously patted the snow off her body. "Don't let this snow water freeze you. If you catch a cold, how can your body withstand it?"

Yunji was completely frozen by the falling snow.

She shrugged, looked up at the red plum blossoms blooming defiantly in the cold on the branches, her lips trembling, and still smiled, trying to take credit:

"Granny, I came by the smell and knew there were red plum blossoms on the snow-covered trees."

"Then Madam shouldn't shake all the snow off a tree just for a few red plum blossoms."

"What else can we do?"

Yunji muttered nonsense to himself, hooking onto a branch that was hanging down and trying to climb up the tree.

"I want to pick a few red plum blossoms to take back and put them in my kiln-made white vase with black peony carvings to add some festive cheer to my accounting office."

"Madam, please don't climb the tree!"

Granny Kong hugged her from behind, preventing her from climbing the tree, and pleaded with her:

"I'll have Hua Chao come out and prune the branches later, and he'll definitely bring these few red plum trees back to Madam."

"That won't do."

Yunji's mind was filled with thoughts of the full bloom of red plum blossoms at the top. "If the maids and servants from the other courtyard were to pick all the red plum blossoms first, wouldn't I have just wasted my time shaking off all that snow?"

As the two argued, several sword shadows flashed across the tree, followed by a flurry of red plum blossoms falling onto the snow.

Cui Zemin, holding a long sword, stared intently at her and said, "Madam, are these red plum blossoms enough for your flower arrangement?"

Yunji dared not climb the tree again.

She took the glass lamp from Granny Kong's hand, held it high to illuminate the red plum tree with its branches climbing all over the top, and looked up at it with sparkling eyes.

"My husband, I want the red plum tree at the top."

Cui Zemin looked at her with a gloomy gaze. He said she was confused, but she insisted on climbing the tree. He also said she wasn't confused, because she knew how to make him do chores.

A moment later, he swung his sword and cut down the cluster of red plum blossoms on the pretty branch.

He no longer left her behind, but followed closely by her side, keeping a close watch on her as she walked back to Qinghui Courtyard, preventing her from causing any more trouble.

He only stopped Granny Kong when she walked into the inner courtyard carrying a large bunch of red plum blossoms.

"Granny—"

"This old servant is here."

"When the lady wakes up from her hangover, she will certainly not remember what happened after she got drunk, but you must remember it carefully for her."

Cui Zemin instructed her, "When you get back, be sure to tell her in detail about all the things that happened to your wife when she was drunk, including her indecent, rude, and out-of-control behavior, so that she won't do it again next time."

Granny Kong replied in a deep voice, "Yes."

To her, these words sounded like the master was deliberately teasing the madam, as if she had seen that young and spirited general again, a sight she had truly missed for a long time.