Chapter 345: Chapter 344: Weizhen Still Hasn’t Called You Brother
"But——"
Shen Hua was too lazy to listen to her nonsense: "Although legitimate and illegitimate children are different, there are many cases where illegitimate children achieve more than the legitimate ones. It’s unpredictable that one day after the family is divided, that young master may establish himself and soar high. If the legitimate son is truly mediocre, without dividing the family, I fear the whole household will eventually depend on him to uphold it. Could the Dowager possibly harm you? The person she chooses for you will certainly not be a mistake."
"Of course, you don’t seem smart, and if you’re unwilling, there are plenty of others who would be."
"That’s good, don’t harm others, to avoid marrying reluctantly, as people marry a wife, not an enemy."
Xue Shuyue was stunned.
Shen Hua: "Have you been scolded awake yet?"
"Almost, but not quite yet... Please keep talking, the harsher the better."
The girl: "You do have some problems."
Third Prince Mansion.
The servants in the mansion were arrogant, not treating their master seriously at all.
A group of them gathered together, gambling money.
"An un-favored prince, how should he be served? It’s our hard luck to be assigned to serve him."
"If we go to the Fourth Prince Mansion, or serve in the Eastern Palace where superiors are generous, if we make a favored person happy and just get the reward money, it would be enough to make one envious, no fear of not rising in status, right?"
The old woman spat.
"It’s his own incompetence! All day he does nothing but eat and sleep! No wonder the official family disdains him, if he were my son, I’d resent having such unlucky offspring!"
The people around, upon hearing this, burst into laughter.
"Exactly!"
"A grown man, relying on a girl’s charity! He hangs the purse sent by Miss Wei on his waist all day, not ashamed at all."
Some people hesitated: "At this time, the Third Prince hasn’t had his morning or noon meal, if something happens to him, I fear we cannot explain ourselves."
No one in the palace would care, but the Imperial Censorate, those old codgers. If something really happened, how could the Lady protect them?
"What are you afraid of? If he is hungry, wouldn’t he know to go to the kitchen himself? Does he really think he is someone precious? Besides, it’s likely the kitchen hasn’t prepared any meals for him, missing a few meals won’t kill him."
This conversation naturally did not affect Ji Teng. He patiently counted the Silver Coins that Wei Yingying had sent this time.
Hmm, three copper coins less than last time.
She... is quite poor.
The Hidden Guard kneeled on the ground, suggesting once again: "My lord, let me kill all those who disrespect you."
"What’s the hurry?"
Ji Teng: "Isn’t a bunch of fools who think they are clever quite amusing?"
As he spoke, he put all the silver back into the purse. With a slight shake, there was a jingling sound.
"By the way, go out for a bit."
Upon hearing this, the Hidden Guard immediately held his breath to listen.
"Miss Wei hasn’t returned to the mansion yet, quickly go throw several hundred taels of silver notes on her path to pick up."
Hidden Guard: ??? Indescribable.
After the Hidden Guard left, Ji Teng continued to tie the wallet around his waist, half-leaning on the table.
Not even half an incense stick’s time later, his ears twitched. Someone pushed the door and entered.
Ji Teng looked up cautiously, and after seeing the person clearly, he scanned them from head to toe, emotions hard to discern in his eyes.
"You have come earlier than I thought."
Ying Yi closed the door, standing respectfully outside.
Cui Yun changed into regular clothes, his demeanor subdued, neither joy nor sorrow showing.
"Early?"
He sat down across from Ji Teng, speaking coldly.
"That day, the Third Prince sought out my grandfather, the conversation at the tea house, wasn’t it intended for me to hear?"
Ji Teng did not deny it: "Indeed. Shouldn’t you have listened?"
Back then, when the Prince Huai’an Mansion faced a crisis, it fell upon Cui Yang to inform us that Mother Consort collapsed in grief.
The Young Heir was unscathed.
Only then did mother and son find a sliver of consolation.
Ji Teng thought about this cousin he had never met every day, yet he could not meet him.
After the death of Mother Consort, he was trapped in a mire full of thorns, unable to extricate himself, covered head to toe in gloom as if he were dead.
Fortunately, he could always hear about it from Ji Ge.
"Really, Cui Yun actually kicked the Crown Prince into the water and then hypocritically saved him. I saw it with my own eyes. Why doesn’t Father believe me?!"
"I’ve never seen anyone as black-hearted as Cui Yun! He sold his paintings, and I was willing to split the earnings with him—thirty for me, seventy for him. Isn’t that loyal enough? But he ridiculed me as good for nothing, just so! Those words belittled me subtly without fault! Damn it!"
"His terrible temper, only I am willing to befriend him! I just don’t understand, is he made of gold? Those girls are always talking ’Cui family’s Second Young Master this, Cui family’s Second Young Master that’. Am I, Ji Ge, not worthy?"
"So what if he speaks eloquently? So what if he always ranks first at the Imperial College? What’s so great about that!"
Only in these moments did some light sparkle in his eyes as he stood in the perpetually hidden damp corner, watching Cui Yun shine brightly.
As he spoke, he looked at Cui Yun across from him and placed one of the well-preserved golden locks on the table across.
Cui Yun looked down but did not accept it.
Ji Teng did not say anything. During the years he was held hostage, he lived a life worse than an animal, nearly driven to seek death. But then Cui Yang came, and the two golden locks from Prince Huai’an, which he didn’t have time to give, were both passed to his hands.
Cui Yang looked at him.
"Hang in there, Teng boy," he said.
"Weizhen has not yet called you ’brother’."
It was these words that made him swallow down both blood and tears, and it’s also why he survived till today.
Fortunately, he left behind a life, broke through a bloody path, and finally had the opportunity to return one of the golden locks to its rightful owner.
Ji Teng: "Want to ask something?"
He was direct, and Cui Yun was even more so.
"The Crown Princess Consort and the Fourth Prince Consort had miscarriages in succession, was it your doing?"
Ji Teng’s lips moved: "Yes."
"How could I wish these people well."
Let alone the Eastern Palace and the Fourth Prince Mansion, even if that dog Emperor somehow managed to let the concubines bear children, he would not hesitate to eliminate them.
He was provoking Emperor He.
Cui Yun’s expression remained unchanged, as if unsurprised.
"The Buhuo incident, did you have a hand in it?"
Ji Teng continued to admit: "Yes."
It seems that the chaos caused by his involvement in Buhuo could completely disorient the dog Emperor.
Seeing Cui Yun’s face turn suddenly cold, he spoke a bit faster.
"Don’t think too highly of me. The affairs of the earlier years had nothing to do with me. Dirty tricks like Buhuo have been employed by Emperors of Da Qi throughout history to restrain prominent court officials."
Whenever an official was at the height of his power, the Emperor would act, seizing and handling either his daughter or his Jinsun. These moves were life-threatening for these officials! How would they still dare to act arrogantly? The Emperor would pacify openly and suppress secretly, managing the officials well throughout the years.
However, he said: "The incident of Buhuo affecting the Commandery Princess of Cui family was not my doing."
If not him, then it was Emperor He.
It just so happened that Cui Rong encountered Shen Hua and escaped a disaster.
Cui Yun showed no emotion, staring intently at him: "That incident in the pear garden."
"It was me, I was merely curious to see what the girl you kept outside looked like. Yet, you guarded her rather tightly."
Before he could ask again.
Ji Teng additionally said: "That time with the Wei family was also me."
He was straightforward: "I’ve also reached the age for marriage, always wanting to marry a girl I fancy. Choosing by myself is surely better than being carelessly matched with someone from the palace. I did not dare to think about it in the past, but now that I have returned, why wouldn’t I seize the opportunity if the long-desired Miss Yingying remains unmarried?"