Marrying a treacherous official

"If that's how you put it, Madam, shouldn't I also lend a hand to Cui Gongquan, branch and leaf?"

Cui Zemin asked her aggressively, "As for my brother-in-law, who is also my relative, do I have to get Gu Jinyu out of prison before I can satisfy your wishes, Madam?"

Yun Ji knew he was a cold-blooded and ruthless person, but she still begged him.

She never expected him to be so cold-hearted and so wary of her. Utterly disappointed, she said:

"Husband, I only mentioned the second young lady."

Cui Zemin looked at her coldly, suppressing his anger.

"You don't need to drag Cui Gongquan and Gu Jinyu into this."

Yunji shouldn't have had any expectations of him, and she wouldn't be so heartbroken right now.

"This is something that my husband could have resolved with a single word. No matter how much I begged, it was no use. I will stop begging from now on. If my husband can be so heartless to relatives with whom he has no vested interest, then what about our marital bond?"

She saw through him and said, "My husband is so cold-hearted, so don't blame me for being heartless towards you in the future."

Cui Zemin kicked the table leg, but failed to overturn the desk. He then kicked it again in mid-air, and the desk crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

"When did I not respond to you?"

He turned the tables on her, immediately accusing her, "You've become so heartless after begging for help. Who will dare to do anything for you in the future?"

Yunji really wanted to repeat to him, word by word, all the words he had said when he had turned his back on her.

But if this matter is taken seriously, she will really be at a disadvantage.

This guy has the nerve to turn the tables and deny what he said before.

She composed herself and, no longer wanting to argue with him, asked, "Who sent the men in black who were chasing me that day?"

Cui Zemin stared at her intently for a while before finally telling her the story.

"Wei Xianqi, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Vice Minister of the Chancellery."

"And what about the people who set fire to Lingshan Temple?"

"They're all dead; there's no way to investigate."

Who set the mountain on fire?

Yunji firmly believed from beginning to end that the group that burned down the temple was one group, and the group that set fire to the mountain was another group, and that the latter group was even more vicious, and that they wanted to kill everyone to silence them.

Cui Zemin said somewhat evasively, "The prefect's men are investigating, and the Tiger Wing Army is also investigating. We'll have some leads soon."

Yunji will not let Wei Xianqi off the hook, nor will he let those who set fire to the mountain off the hook.

Seeing her with her head down, deep in thought, Cui Zemin worried that she might be figuring something out, so he spoke to her without being sure.

"You can do whatever you want with the mansion; I'll let you do whatever you want."

Yunji looked up at him and heard him say coldly:

"But don't interfere in matters of the court, and don't even think about interfering with me."

"Ayu is my brother, a fellow countryman."

Yunji calmly stated a fact to him: "My husband may stand by and watch someone die, but I cannot."

After she finished speaking, she turned and left, her skirt fluttering and creating ripples, her departure so resolute.

Cui Zemin called out, "Li Xiuji—"

Li Xiuji pushed open the door and came in to report, "Your subordinate is here."

As Cui Zemin watched the man's retreating figure, he arrogantly said:

"Keep a close eye on Madam's every move, and report to me immediately if anything seems amiss."

"Your humble servant obeys."

After accepting the assignment, Li Xiuji left the outer study and immediately sent men to keep watch in the inner courtyard.

Cui Zemin did not want Yun Ji to get involved in this matter simply because the enemy was hiding in the shadows and the whole situation was not yet clear. He did not want to drag her into danger again.

The group that burned the mountain had planned it all along.

They had already settled in a village at the foot of the mountain, scouted the location, and then poured tung oil on the surrounding pine forest, deliberately setting the entire mountain ablaze and trapping Lingshan Temple in flames.

At first, he thought that Vice Minister Wei had eliminated the root of the problem by setting fire to the entire Ling Mountain.

Later, during the interrogation of the man in black, it was discovered that someone else had set the mountain on fire.

These men in black were all assassins; they would never set fire to the entire forest and trap themselves in the process just to stop a few monks from escaping Lingshan Temple.

Except for Yunji, who was still living in the estate near Lingshan Temple, all the other officials' wives had gone down the mountain.

This wildfire will either destroy Lingshan Temple or burn Yunji alive.

The only person who knew that Yunji was still on the mountain and harbored resentment towards her was Lady You.

Cui Zemin was immersed in this bold and absurd idea. Ordinary people would not think in this direction, but he was a madman. He would not let go of any possibility of harming her.

Once Gao Jie finds the arsonists based on the portrait, he will know whether his guess was correct.

A gray pigeon flapped its wings and swooped down from the sky, leaping through the window into the study. Without the pen holder to support it, it chirped incessantly, circling low around the fallen desk.

Cui Zemin stretched out his arm, and the gray pigeon landed steadily on his forearm.

He took a roll of paper from under the gray pigeon's claws, unfolded it, read it, and, unable to hide his delight, crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the Boshan stove to burn.

What was initially thought to be a muddy pool turned into a deep abyss, even stirring up the dragons hidden deep within. How could this not be exhilarating?

Cui Zemin waved his arm, and the gray pigeons took flight in fright, screeching as they flapped their wings toward the window.

He hurriedly left the study and led Li Xiuji to Dali Temple overnight.

There was a gloomy atmosphere in Minghe Hall.

Lady You wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, sobbing as she cried out to the Marquis:

"It was the Marquis who said he had a way to make the Second Master a protégé of Vice Minister Wei, so that he could rise step by step in the court. That's why I went to Lingshan Temple to pray and get the examination questions back for the Second Master."

"Who would have thought that one day the truth would come out, and the Second Master would be implicated and imprisoned? Now the Emperor has ordered a thorough investigation into this matter. If the Second Master is found guilty, his career will be completely ruined. How will he live in the future?"

"That's enough!"

Cui Tingyan paced back and forth in the main hall. Upon hearing this, he stopped and angrily rebuked her:

"You were the one who insisted on taking this shortcut, and now that something's gone wrong, you're blaming it all on me. Did you think I deliberately wanted to harm the second son?"

"My lord, that's not what I meant."

Lady You looked at the Marquis with a pitiful expression, and began to plead with tears in her eyes, "I only want to beg the Marquis to save the Second Master."

Cui Tingyan immediately softened. "What we should be thankful for is that the abbot's register has fallen into the eldest brother's hands. As long as he tears up the second brother's name, the second brother will refuse to admit it even if he tries his best, and the blame will not fall on the second brother."

Still feeling uneasy, Madam You recalled Cui Zeming's ambiguous tone in Jiaxing Garden and said:

"What if the old man doesn't respond?"

"Unless I die," Cui Tingyan declared defiantly, "he has no choice but to agree."