Chapter 304: Chapter 304

The third daughter of the Cui clan became famous overnight, and even her given name was discovered—she was called Cui Zhao.

Rumors sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, and they carried a hint of toxicity: the Champion Marquis had lusted after Cui Zhao’s beauty and died under mysterious circumstances; Little Eyes Yin had merely glanced at Cui Zhao once, and from then on couldn’t eat or sleep. He was finally unable to restrain himself—and he too had died.

Little Eyes Yin had died miserably, beaten black and blue by Cui Teng with a stool. After being carried away, no one dared to treat him, and he wailed for a long time before drawing his last breath before noon.

The rumors grew increasingly exaggerated. The men who had died because of Cui Zhao weren’t just these two—she was connected to the accidental deaths of several powerful nobles in the Capital. She hadn’t killed them personally, nor did she need to. She was like a cursed, beautiful flower that attracted those who threw themselves into her web. Her prey needed only to look at her once, and from then on misfortune would follow them continuously, leading them step by step toward death…

For a courtesan, this might have been good publicity, but for a daughter of a prestigious family who had stayed in the inner quarters of her home since childhood, this was hardly a good reputation.

Cui Teng had heard the rumors about his sister and was furious. That morning he had beaten five people because of it. The fifth was rather unlucky—he had only said “According to Zhao” when Cui Teng happened to pass by and heard him, and he received an inexplicable beating.

This too was attributed to Cui Zhao’s account. Her curse had already expanded from sight to speech—even mentioning her would bring disaster.

Thus no one dared speak Cui Zhao’s name anymore, replacing it with a knowing “she.” When referring to her, voices were necessarily lowered, both to make one’s meaning clear to the listener and to ward off evil and turn luck around.

Cui Teng’s fists weren’t enough, and besides, he was tired from fighting. He finally realized this wasn’t the solution. Fists could silence people but couldn’t extinguish rumors—he had to find the source.

He came to find his eldest sister, the wife of Marquis Ping’en.

Cui Teng only showed familial affection toward his full sister Cui Xiaojun, treating Marquess Ping’en entirely as an unwelcome distant relative.

“So many people outside are speaking ill of my sister. Are you the one stirring up trouble?” Cui Teng’s feelings for his sister Cui Zhao weren’t deep either—he cared more about the Cui family’s reputation.

There were others in the room. Marquess Ping’en looked shocked and pulled Cui Teng into the adjacent room. “Brother, what kind of talk is this? I’m also a daughter of the Cui family. What benefit would I gain from spreading such things?”

“It really wasn’t you? Last night I clearly heard Little Eyes Yin say something about ‘the Champion Marquis’s son,’ but from your mouth it became ‘lusting after beauty.'”

“My dear brother, you were drinking last night, weren’t you? And you were anxious about rescuing our sister, so your memory failed you. He clearly said ‘the Champion Marquis’s wife.’ The Champion Marquis’s son is only one or two years old and can’t even speak yet. What would Little Eyes Yin want with him?”

Cui Teng was stunned for a moment. When Marquess Ping’en put it that way, he seemed to have remembered incorrectly. “But you still shouldn’t say such things. Our sister’s reputation, the Cui family…”

Marquess Ping’en said helplessly, “What can I do? This is Prince Dai’s mansion, not our Cui mansion. With so many people and loose tongues, even the smallest matter can cause a citywide uproar, let alone something this big. How is the Yin family’s boy?”

“I heard he has just died.” Cui Teng clenched his fists, feeling no regret or fear. He had been protecting his sister—no one could say anything against him for that.

Marquess Ping’en felt relieved inwardly but showed no emotion on her face. “He brought it on himself. What about His Majesty? I didn’t have a chance to ask last night: when will His Majesty summon our sister?”

“I came last night precisely about this matter. His Majesty will summon our sister this afternoon. The eunuchs will arrive soon, but our sister is in such a state…”

“This afternoon. I see.” The wife of Marquis Ping’en thought for a moment. “Don’t worry about it. Leave it to me to handle.”

Cui Teng nodded. “I’ll leave it to you, but don’t let anything else go wrong. If father asks about it, how will I explain?”

”Don’t worry, good brother. I’ll handle whatever happens here. You’re a man who should be out there achieving great deeds and earning merit. Don’t get mixed up in women’s affairs.”

Cui Teng deeply agreed and nodded repeatedly. “Exactly! This trivial matter has me completely frazzled. I’ve been so busy beating people up that I haven’t seen His Majesty all morning. That boy Prince Donghai has probably gotten ahead of me again.”

“You’d better go quickly. Oh, and spare a little attention to look after your nephew.”

“Who?” Cui Teng looked completely bewildered.

“Oh my, you don’t even recognize your own family? Your nephew, my son – Miao Yuan. He’s also in the army.”

“Oh, so he’s your son! I remember, I remember. Don’t worry, I’ll look after him.” Cui Teng strode away.

Marquess Ping’en shook her head helplessly. The Cui clan was a great tree, but once father fell, this tree would probably only be supported by the women of the household.

When the eunuch from the Emperor’s side came to deliver the imperial edict, Cui Zhao wanted to get up to receive it, but Marquess Ping’en persuaded her to stay in bed. She personally went to see the eunuch, first presenting a plate of gold and silver, then saying with great difficulty: “The wife of the Champion Marquis specifically stayed in Jincheng City for several extra days just to have an audience with His Majesty. Who could have expected such a thing to happen… Sigh, she has truly suffered a great fright. Her limbs are weak and she can’t even stand up. With all the rumors circulating outside, she doesn’t dare see His Majesty again. Please, explain the situation thoroughly when you see the Emperor.”

The eunuch had already heard about what happened here, and having received gold and silver, naturally wouldn’t blame the Cui family. He nodded in agreement and returned to explain the situation to the Emperor.

Han Ruzi had already guessed it would be , and actually felt relieved. If the Empress’s sister had really come to seek official positions and titles for Champion Marquis’s son, he truly wouldn’t have known how to respond. He certainly wouldn’t exterminate them completely – there was no need for that – but granting high office and generous rewards to Champion Marquis’s son when the realm was not yet settled would be truly inappropriate.

Little Eyes Yin outburst had actually spared the Emperor from one troublesome matter.

“Chancellor Yin is steady and prudent – how could his nephew be so disgraceful?” Even Han Ruzi didn’t want to seek justice for Little Eyes Yin. After hearing the general course of events, though he felt Cui Teng had been somewhat heavy-handed, he didn’t consider it a serious crime. After consulting with Ministry of Justice officials, he decided not to pursue the matter further.

“Ha! They’re all spoiled young masters relying on their fathers’ and brothers’ power. What wouldn’t they do?”

“But the Chancellor has already passed away. Does the Yin family still have high officials at court?”

Prince Donghai thought for a moment and shook his head definitively. “Yin Wuhai’s sons are all incompetent, holding only idle positions. I heard that Yin Wuhai’s deathbed instruction was for all Yin family members to return to their hometown, but they couldn’t bear to leave the Capital. When the court made the customary gesture of asking them to stay, they all remained. Little Eyes Yin was never clever to begin with – his reactions are slower than others. He probably still thinks his uncle’s influence remains.”

Han Ruzi snorted. He would need to reorganize these court nobles sooner or later.

Though Han Ruzi was quite pleased not to have to meet the Empress’s sister, he was still somewhat curious. Every time Ni Qiu returned from outside, he brought a pile of rumors, each more exaggerated than the last. He asked Prince Donghai, “Have you seen this sister of Cui Teng’s?”

“His Third Sister? Of course I’ve seen her. We grew up together from childhood.” Prince Donghai sighed lightly. The beautiful memories of the Cui residence now seemed like a previous life. “The Cui family has many brothers and sisters, and several nephews and nieces also lived at the Cui residence when they were young. More than ten people grew up together. The rankings were all mixed up, calling each other brother and sister randomly – it was quite interesting.”

Han Ruzi had no playmates as a child and greatly envied life at the Cui residence. “Was she also one of the sisters you wanted to marry?”

Prince Donghai had once brazenly declared he would marry all the Cui daughters. Bringing this up now, he couldn’t help but blush. “Once upon a time, that was just a past idea. Third Sister… Has Your Majesty also heard the rumors from outside?”

“To tell the truth, I haven’t seen Third Sister for several years. Thinking of her childhood appearance, I couldn’t have imagined today’s events. The rumors are probably not true.”

“Of course they’re not true! Not true at all!” Cui Teng came running in from outside. He was tired from fighting and had gone to change clothes, getting into another argument along the way, which made him somewhat late. Breathing heavily, he said: “Your Majesty, don’t listen to outsiders gossiping. I understand Third Sister best – she’s not that kind of person!”

Prince Donghai hadn’t believed it either, but he insisted on arguing with Cui Teng, laughing as he said, “Cui Teng, how is it that I don’t remember you ‘understanding her best’? You don’t even know what her name is, do you?”

“It’s Cui Zhao… Prince Donghai, don’t talk nonsense.” Cui Teng became anxious, and even more sweat appeared on his forehead.

“You’re looking for the wrong person to blame – I’m not the one talking nonsense. Heh, Sister Cui Zhao has really become famous far and wide this time…”

Given Cui Teng’s temperament, hearing the words “famous far and wide” should have made him want to hit someone, but he still held some wariness toward Prince Donghai, and in front of the Emperor he dared not act presumptuously. He could only glare furiously at Prince Donghai, who smiled back at him.

Han Ruzi ignored the two of them and continued bent over his desk reviewing memorials and official documents. He had accumulated quite a few during this recent period of constant marching.

Judging from the papers alone, the situation looked fairly good. Luoyang had taken the lead, and grain distribution was proceeding well everywhere. Large numbers of displaced people were returning home, taking advantage of the last bit of time to plow fields and plant crops.

The campaigns to quell rebellions in Qi and Donghai weren’t progressing particularly smoothly. The rebel forces lacked vigor in their attacks but defended cities desperately. The Chu army could only capture cities one by one while also guarding against pirate raids from the rear. The three army columns had yet to converge at Linzi city.

There was no news from beyond the frontier. Mayi city had sent scouts far afield, who had only discovered scattered Xiongnu cavalry and found no signs of a major southern invasion.

Han Ruzi felt much more at ease. At least Great Chu wouldn’t have to deal with internal troubles and external threats simultaneously. But he also felt somewhat disappointed, because this meant that Meng E, whom he had always trusted, had very likely been lying.

The fifty thousand Northern Army troops would arrive before nightfall. Han Ruzi decided to rest for two or three days before leading the army on a border patrol, while also selecting several experienced generals. He couldn’t make this trip for nothing.

Deng Cui, the Marshal of Dai – Han Ruzi still remembered this name. He thought that someone from a distinguished family should have some real ability, and was pondering how to test him when Chief Overseer Liu Jie hurried in from outside.

“Your Majesty, something has happened outside that I believe Your Majesty should know about immediately.”

“What matter?” Han Ruzi felt somewhat puzzled. From Liu Jie’s tone, this didn’t sound like an affair of state.

Liu Jie glanced at Cui Teng and said, “Deng Cui, the Marshal of Dai, led troops to force his way into the Champion Marquis’s wife’s residence and has just been apprehended.”

Cui Teng flew into a rage, shouting incoherently in his anger. But Han Ruzi looked toward Prince Donghai – Deng Cui had been his recommendation. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novelFirｅ.net

“Sister Cui Zhao… has she really become a jinx?” Prince Donghai said in surprise.

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