bookpub Chapter 45 The Talented Scholar with a Skirt-Style Knife
Chapter 45 The Talented Scholar with a Skirt-Style Knife
Upon hearing Cui Xijun's words, Cui Zhenru immediately stood up, his gaze darkening as he asked, "What happened?"
Cui Xijun calmly said, "Someone in the manor was secretly colluding with outsiders, revealing my daughter's whereabouts, and we were ambushed. All the servants and guards from before, including Guard Yin, were killed in battle. The carriage sent by the Liu family was also strange. If it weren't for someone's help, Father would already be collecting my body right now."
Cui Zhenru's face instantly turned icy cold, and a thick killing intent slowly spread from his body.
Hongling, who was standing to the side, had never seen the head of the family like this before. She was so frightened that her spine went cold and she dared not utter a word.
Cui Zhenru's gaze swept over the two of them, his expression gradually darkening. After a moment, he calmly asked, "Judging from your tone... you've already made progress on this matter?"
"When we left the manor this morning, all the carriages in the manor had been moved away, which made my daughter suspicious. We can start our investigation from there. As for the body on the mountain road, we still need to send people to investigate further."
Looking at Cui Xijun, who remained calm and composed despite having just survived a brush with death, showing none of the timidity typical of young women, Cui Zhenru couldn't help but ask, "What do you want your father to do?"
Cui Xijun met his gaze and said bluntly, "Father doesn't need to intervene personally. All I need is a word from you, Father. How much can I possibly use the Cui family this time?"
Cui Zhenru looked at her intently, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "All of them!"
Soon, Zhao Suming, the chief steward of the Cui family, and Cheng, the steward of Cui Xijun's courtyard, were summoned. After learning the details of the matter, the two men became solemn and bowed, saying, "Please give your orders, Miss. This old servant will do his best to cooperate."
Cui Xijun said with a cold gaze, "First, conduct a thorough investigation in secret of all the servants, guards, young masters and ladies who participated in the incense offering at Xiangguo Temple today, to see if they colluded with outsiders."
"Second, find out who borrowed the other carriages from the Cui family, and bring the person directly to the side hall."
"Third, immediately send people to the mountain path to take away the corpses in the mountains and hand them over to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review in the capital, so that they can give us an explanation."
One pile, one piece.
Cui Xijun was methodical and organized, arranging the tasks one by one.
Watching this from the side, Cui Zhenru couldn't help but sigh in his heart: If only she were a man.
After all the tasks were assigned, Cui Xijun looked at her father again and said, "Father, I think there may be powerful families involved in this matter. If the evidence is conclusive, you can petition the Emperor to improve the security of the capital and force the other families to give up their positions in the Patrol and Inspection Office."
Cui Zhenru nodded and said, "Alright, I understand."
With Cui Zhenru's covert support, the attack on Xiangguo Temple progressed at an extremely rapid pace.
It was evening.
The chief steward, Zhao Suming, escorted one person to a side hall.
That man was the deputy steward of the Cui family's stables, surnamed Deng. He had worked for the Cui family for seven years, in charge of all the carriages and horses in the mansion.
Deng Shi knelt before Cui Xijun, still trying to explain, "Third Miss, please understand, I was only dispatching carriages and horses according to the rules, I knew nothing else."
"The night before last, someone came to see you alone while you were on night duty. After that person left, you moved all the other carriages in the mansion away the next day, leaving only the one sent by the Liu family."
Cui Xijun calmly recounted, "That man belonged to the Liu family. He gave you fifty taels of silver. Do you remember?"
Deng Shi trembled all over, his forehead slammed against the ground with a thud, and he dared not raise his head again.
"Third Miss, I truly had no idea! ... That man only wanted you to ride in their carriage. I thought it was a tactic he used to woo you, but I never knew there was such a thing. I... I will never dare to do it again!"
Cui Xijun was not angry after hearing this. She watched him kowtow quietly before speaking calmly: "Today you can set up a scheme for the Liu family for fifty taels, and tomorrow you can sell my whereabouts and take my life for one hundred taels."
She waved her hand.
Zhao Suming immediately understood and, ignoring Deng Shi's cries and pleas for mercy, dragged him out.
A moment later, Steward Cheng, who had been ordered to collect the body during the day, also hurriedly returned to the mansion to report back.
"The bodies of those murderers... have all disappeared?"
Cui Xijun was quite surprised.
"Yes, it looks like someone cleaned up the scene before we arrived."
Manager Cheng lowered his head and continued, "We secretly investigated in the capital and found that, in addition to the Liu family, that group of people also had some connection with Chongwu Tower. They are very likely martial arts masters from Chongwu Tower."
Where is Liu Zhao?
Steward Cheng continued, "The eldest son of the Liu family originally planned to follow Miss to burn incense today, but he turned back to Yunzhong County halfway before reaching Xiangguo Temple. Everyone in the Liu family said that he was frightened and went back to his ancestral home to recuperate."
"Hmph, they ran away pretty fast."
The next morning.
Cui Xijun changed into a plain dress, her hair neatly combed, and carrying the prepared evidence, she entered Cui Zhenru's study.
The Cui family's martial arts emphasize self-cultivation, and the clansmen are all accustomed to getting up early.
At this moment, Cui Zhenru was sitting behind his desk, already beginning his day's work.
He looked up and asked, "Any results?"
Cui Xijun nodded slightly and said, "I found some information."
Tell me about it.
So Cui Xijun compiled and recounted the intelligence he had gathered.
Cui Zhenru listened quietly, then looked up and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
"The stable manager bribed by the Liu family has also confessed that although the bodies of those fugitives have disappeared, the clues behind them all point to the Liu family. This matter is most likely related to them."
Cui Xijun remained calm and continued, "In my opinion, the investigation is almost complete. We should now use this as a basis for other schemes. With such a major event occurring in the capital, the major families in the court should make some concessions to the Cui family."
After listening, Cui Zhenru smiled and said, "You don't want to take revenge on the Liu family?"
Cui Xijun said, "Even if my daughter wanted to, the Liu family is weak but shows no signs of collapsing. Even a broken boat has a few nails; it's not so easy to bring it down. Besides, this is under the emperor's nose; the court won't sit idly by and watch powerful families fight each other in the capital, making things too ugly."
Cui Zhenru stared at his third daughter for a long time, then sighed and said, "You are more strategic than your mother, and more like me when I was young."
"I'll leave this to you. If you need to mobilize anyone, go directly to Su Ming and issue a notice in the name of the Cui family. Since we're not going to fight them, let's make them suffer. Not just anyone can come and mess with the Cui family."
"Yes."
Cui Xijun turned and walked out of the study.
Outside the door, Manager Cheng was waiting. When he saw her come out, he stopped and lowered his head.
Cui Xijun looked at him with a barely perceptible smile on her face: "Steward Cheng, prepare a visiting card. Today, I'm going to the Liu family to pay my respects to Minister Liu."
Steward Cheng readily agreed: "The eldest young lady and the others heard about your accident and wanted to visit you yesterday. Would the third young lady like to see them?"
"Let's talk about it after we get back from the Liu family. This matter is the most important right now."
Having said that, Cui Xijun walked swiftly out the door, showing none of the refined and cultured demeanor one might be expected of.
News of the attack on the third young lady of the Cui family quickly spread throughout the capital.
Ultimately, the prevailing opinion pointed to the Liu family, putting them in a very passive position.
It even attracted the attention of the National Preceptor of Xiangguo Temple and His Majesty the present.
In order to settle the matter peacefully, the Liu family had no choice but to cede a large portion of their property in the capital and give up two berths in the canal transport.
Only in this way could they barely suppress the Cui family's continued pursuit and preserve some of the Liu family's reputation in the capital.
However, the falling out between Cui and Liu was already a foregone conclusion.
Let alone a marriage alliance, it would be a rare treat if we could avoid turning on each other with swords when we meet again in the future.
As a result of this incident, the Liu family's reputation plummeted.
As the person in charge, Miss Cui's public image changed drastically after this incident.
When His Majesty inquired about the attack on the Cui family in court, Cui Zhenru gave a truthful account.
After hearing this, His Majesty personally praised Cui Xijun, saying she was a "talented woman with a skirt-sword-like eyebrow-sweeping technique."
In no time, Cui Xijun became famous.
As for the other participant in this matter, Chen Ye was completely unaware of the details.
After receiving seven hundred taels of silver, his first thought was to redeem himself for his entire lifespan.