Сhарter 9: Cоuld It Вe Thаt My Sistеr’s Сhаstitу Sеаl Is Still Intaсt?
Сui Jin sаt in the mаin hall, wаiting for quite sоmе time.
Shе waitеd until hеr hаnds itchеd, instinсtivelу wаnting tо rеасh fоr the wоodеn fish, оnly to find it missing. Instead, shе piсked uр а tеаcup аnd took а smаll siр.
Оver а dozеn maids and mаtrоns stооd in thе main hаll, yet all rеmаinеd silеnt аs if holding their breаth.
Тhе stewаrd wipеd the cоld swеаt frоm his forehеаd, feeling thаt Cui Jin’s smile саrriеd а chill. Yеt, uрon closer inspectiоn, she арреаred gеntle and virtuous.
“Рleаse rеmain сalm, Princess Consort. This servant has already sent someone to invite him. The Prince may have been exhausted from handling official duties yesterday…” he carefully reassured her.
“If he is tired, it would be inappropriate to disturb the Prince’s rest for something as trivial as a bridal return visit.” Cui Jin smiled gently. “Ru Qiu, let’s go.”
The steward tried to stop her, but Cui Jin paid him no heed.
Watching helplessly as she left with her attendants, the steward hurriedly instructed his subordinates, “Quickly, increase the bridal return gifts for the Cui family by another thirty percent and follow closely behind the Princess Consort to deliver them!”
With that, he personally went to the Pearl Jade Courtyard to invite Xiao Lin.
Although Father Cui was the Minister of Rites and still a few steps away from entering the cabinet, he was, after all, someone the Emperor held in high regard. Not to mention the influence of Cui Jin’s maternal family—the Xie Clan of Qinghe.
Moreover, this was an imperial decree marriage. If Xiao Lin truly failed to go to the Cui residence today and embarrassed these two families, it would inevitably provoke their displeasure.
The Emperor had painstakingly bestowed upon him a Princess Consort from a powerful aristocratic family as a solid backing, not for him to offend them.
The steward was so anxious that sweat poured from his forehead, while Ru Chun in the carriage was equally frantic.
“Secondary Consort Lin is clearly deliberately trying to embarrass you!” she frowned. “The matter of the switched marriage has already spread these past two days. If the Prince refuses to come on the day of the bridal return visit, it will only give outsiders more reason to gossip.”
And then there was Cui Ruyue.
There was no need to imagine how smug she would be.
“Don’t worry,” Cui Jin said. “Sooner or later, he will come to the Cui residence today.”
Although Xiao Lin was blind and foolish in certain aspects, he was by no means truly stupid.
If he acted solely based on his likes and dislikes, he would not have managed to contend with the son of the Noble Consort within just two years of returning to the capital.
Ru Chun was about to say something more when she suddenly heard the sound of hoofbeats outside, followed by a violent jolt of the carriage.
“Ah—”
Ru Chun, unable to steady herself, bumped her forehead directly against the carriage wall. Ignoring the pain, she hurriedly checked on Cui Jin. Fortunately, the latter was protected by Ru Xia and remained unharmed.
Once Cui Jin had steadied herself, she asked the coachman, “What happened outside?”
“Forgive me, Princess Consort,” the coachman replied in a panic. “Scholar Meng’s carriage suddenly swerved, and this servant had no choice but to rein in the horses. I apologize for startling you.”
At that moment, a slightly aged voice sounded from outside, “This old minister failed to control the horses properly and disturbed the Prince and Princess Consort. I have come specifically to apologize.”
Cui Jin paused briefly before lifting the curtain and smiling. “It was merely an accident. Scholar Meng need not concern yourself with it.”
Scholar Meng, however, lowered his head. “This old minister should apologize to the Prince.”
“The Prince…” Cui Jin forced a smile. “The Prince is occupied with official duties and did not leave with me.”
Scholar Meng looked surprised. “Isn’t today the day of the Princess Consort’s bridal return visit? His Majesty granted the Prince ten days of marriage leave. How could he be occupied with official duties?”
Cui Jin’s face paled slightly. “It’s almost time for the morning court session.”
Scholar Meng understood the implication, cupped his hands in salute, and took his leave.
Cui Jin glanced at the officials who had taken notice of the situation before finally lowering the curtain.
Ru Chun whispered, “Scholar Meng is Prince Jin’s man. He likely swerved on purpose just now to probe the Prince’s whereabouts.”
Prince Jin was the son of Noble Consort Zhou and also Xiao Lin’s foremost political rival.Cui Jin massaged Ru Chun’s swollen forehead and smiled, “The grievances I cannot voice must be spoken for by someone else.”
Only then did Ru Chun understand and smile as well.
It was the time for morning court, and this road was the closest one to the Cui residence. Scholar Meng could only blame himself for taking this route and for picking a fight.
The coachman was Xiao Lin’s man. He would tell Xiao Lin that Cui Jin was the perfect victim.
They soon arrived at the Cui residence.
The Cui family was already waiting outside the gate. Seeing the carriage approach, they hurriedly bowed.
Cui Jin stepped down from the carriage and quickly moved forward to help Mother Cui up. “Father, Mother, and Grandmother need not be so formal.”
Father Cui was taken aback. “The Prince didn’t come?”
Cui Jin’s smile remained unchanged. “The Prince is busy with official duties and has no time to come.”
Father Cui frowned. Once the family entered the main hall, he scolded, “It’s been three days since your wedding. What exactly have you done to make the Prince refuse to give you even this little bit of face?”
“The face he refuses to give is not to me, but to the entire Cui family.”
Father Cui’s expression darkened, understanding the truth in her words.
He had specifically taken a day off, waiting for Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin couldn’t possibly be unaware of this… This move was clearly trampling his dignity into the ground!
But outwardly, he still blamed Cui Jin. “If it were Ruyue who married into the Prince’s Manor, with her cleverness and likability, she would surely have won Prince Xin’s heart and wouldn’t have made our Cui family a laughingstock.”
“Enough!”
Old Madam Cui sternly cut him off. “Ruyue is as foolish as you! If she had married into the Prince’s Manor and done something stupid, she would have dragged our Cui family down and made us a laughingstock!”
Father Cui choked, his expression turning ugly.
Cui Jin took a sip of tea, hiding the smile at the corner of her lips.
The old madam wasn’t wrong. In her past life, because of the incident with poisoning Lin Zhao, Cui Ruyue was condemned by the emperor, confined to her quarters, and ordered to copy scriptures.
Let alone Prince Xin, even she herself couldn’t return home.
“Speaking of which, why hasn’t Eldest Sister returned yet?” she asked.
“Yesterday, someone from the Shen family said Ruyue was injured and would arrive later today,” Mother Cui said casually.
Cui Jin was inwardly surprised.
She chatted with Mother Cui and Old Madam Cui for a while, then played with her younger siblings for a bit. As noon approached, Cui Ruyue and her husband finally arrived, fashionably late.
And they brought a tail.
Mother Cui looked at the woman beside Shen Zhiheng. “This is…”
“This humble one is named Fang Yun,” she raised her eyes to Mother Cui and bowed gently. “I am Zhiheng’s… sister-in-law.”
Mother Cui and Old Madam Cui exchanged glances, both puzzled as to why Fang Yun had also come for the homecoming visit.
Cui Jin’s eyes flickered.
Fang Yun… was going to thoroughly disgust Cui Ruyue.
“Sister-in-law came to apologize,” Cui Ruyue, who wore a veil today, touched the side of her face unhappily. “Yesterday, she injured my face.”
Fang Yun looked apologetic. “I make rouge and wanted to give a box to Ruyue. I didn’t expect her to develop a rash after using it… I only just learned that she can’t eat eggs, and my rouge contains egg whites.”
Her eyes reddened with self-reproach.
Shen Zhiheng immediately said, “Sister-in-law meant well, and Ruyue doesn’t blame you either.”
Cui Ruyue’s expression darkened for a moment, but she surprisingly held back and silently accepted this statement.
Since she herself acknowledged it, the Cui family naturally couldn’t say much either.
After Shen Zhiheng paid his respects to the elders, he glanced at Cui Jin with a complicated expression before heading to the front courtyard to find Father Cui.
Once Old Madam Cui and Mother Cui left to attend to other matters, only the younger generation remained in the hall.
Cui Ruyue looked at Cui Jin, her eyes flashing with satisfaction.
What was the humiliation she suffered on the wedding day? Cui Jin returning home alone was the real disgrace!She recalled Shen Zhiheng’s mention of the poisoning incident and deliberately asked, “Father said the Prince is busy with official duties and has no time to accompany you back home?”
Seeing Cui Jin remain silent, she feigned surprise. “By the way, your chastity mark must still be intact, right? I heard that on your wedding night, the Prince didn’t even stay in your room… Well, it makes sense. The Prince and the Secondary Consort are deeply devoted to each other—where is there room for you to interfere? Though I don’t know how you managed to suppress yesterday’s poisoning incident involving the Secondary Consort, the Prince must despise you to the core. He won’t even spare you the slightest dignity on an occasion like today!”
She sneered, her tone dripping with malice and satisfaction.
“And yet you still have the nerve to spread rumors outside about how affectionate you and the Prince are. What’s next? Will you find some random man to get rid of your chastity mark, just to make the rumors more believable?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent for a moment.
Cui’s fourth sister, nearly eight years old and unable to hold back, rushed forward and shoved Cui Ruyue. “You… you’re shameless!”
Like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, she had quite a bit of strength.
Cui Ruyue was knocked back into a chair. When she looked up, her face had turned pale with anger, and her voice grew sharp. “I’m shameless? I’m not the one shamelessly inserting myself into someone else’s relationship! Nor would I ever stoop to spreading rumors, competing for favor, or resorting to poisoning—such disgraceful acts!”
Upon hearing about the poisoning of the Secondary Consort, Cui’s younger siblings turned pale with fear, yet they still believed in Cui Jin.
Cui Jin’s eyes suddenly reddened.
Just then, a voice came from outside. “Who said the Princess Consort poisoned anyone?”