The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 194 - Doubts

The matters that Cui Ying Shu was discussing with Old Master Song were far more complex and intricate than those in the inner courtyard. With a furrowed brow, he wrote a name on a piece of paper and handed it to Old Master Song, his voice still stiff and unchanging: "The Master wants to transfer Cui Shaoting to Zijing Pass."

His mentor was indeed the Chief Minister of the Cabinet, and it was precisely because of this connection that Song Chengru dared to give the secret letter to the Chief Minister.

The reactions in the room varied. Song Jue, being young and impatient, couldn't help but scoff: "Are they really going to send a dignified Governor of Fujian to Zijing Pass to be a garrison commander?"

Was it just to place their own people in positions? This would undoubtedly diminish the real power of the person involved. Wasn't it clear that this would offend the Cui family? The Cui family wasn't foolish; they would know exactly how the Governor of Fujian compared to a mere garrison commander in terms of importance.

However, Song Ren thought a bit deeper. The Chief Minister had indeed treated Cui Ying Shu as one of his own. The Cabinet had already issued an official document appointing Cui Ying Shu to the positions of Left Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works and Junior Minister of the Board of Revenue. Both of these were lucrative posts, especially the position of Junior Minister of the Board of Revenue—many people were lining up for this position. It was likely even more sought after than the positions in the Ministry of Personnel for selecting and assessing officials. Since the Chief Minister wanted to draw closer to the Cui family, he would certainly not allow Cui Shaoting to give up his significant power to be demoted to a garrison commander.

Song Chengru burned the note in his hand, maintaining his composure as he lifted his chin: "This time, the Deputy Minister of War has fallen from grace due to the incident with Xingfu. The Chief Minister wants Cui Shaoting to become the Minister of War, concurrently holding the position of General Commander of the Three Borders."

General Commander of the Three Borders! Song Ren and Song Jue exchanged glances, both unable to help but widen their mouths in surprise.

Cui Shaoting had been quite effective in resisting the Japanese pirates in Fujian. Over the past twelve years, he had not only achieved remarkable victories but had also garnered a great reputation within the military.

While the old ministers Zhang and Chen were entangled in disputes over the selection of personnel for Zijing Pass, the Chief Minister had directly settled on the position of General Commander of the Three Borders!

Song Chengru, looking at Cui Ying Shu, who was also gazing back at him, calmly stared into his eyes: "What do you think?"

He had originally discussed with Cui Ying Shu about reserving a position for him in the Ministry of Personnel, but now the Chief Minister was sending him to the Ministry of Works. While the Ministry of Works might sound less burdensome than the other five ministries, it was by no means simple.

The destruction in Tongzhou by the Tatar forces required urgent reconstruction, not to mention that the hunting event next year also required reports from various provinces about their river and granary management... The intricacies and complexities of these matters were numerous, and on top of that, he also had to serve concurrently as the Junior Minister of the Board of Revenue, making it even more noteworthy.

Cui Ying Shu pondered for a while and finally nodded: "I can accept the Ministry of Works position. As for Shaoting... he has already achieved significant success in resisting the Japanese pirates in Fujian, so he should be more than capable of handling this position."

In several prominent families that have endured through multiple dynasties, the Cui family had already been lying low for long enough. It was indeed time for them to emerge again—otherwise, they might end up like the Shen family from Shangqiu, which had almost been wiped out after suffering consecutive blows.

Now that Cui Ying Shu was willing to communicate with the Song family, it was already an unexpected joy.

Song Chengru swallowed his worries and suddenly asked him, "About the Crown Prince..."

"He's been poisoned," Cui Ying Shu replied concisely, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Right now, his life is in grave danger, relying only on the efforts of the imperial physicians to keep him barely alive."

Even someone as composed as Song Chengru couldn't help but gasp in shock, repeating, "Poisoned?!"

Who would have such audacity? Could it be related to what Song Chuyi dreamed about concerning the Northwest? No, more accurately, could it be that Prince Duan saw that Xingfu was in a precarious situation and took action?

Thinking of this, Song Chengru suddenly felt it necessary to remind Cui Ying Shu: "The Governor of the Northwest, Zhang Tianhe, is also new to his post. He nearly faced a mutiny over military salaries before... Now that there's a sudden incident at Zijing Pass, the situation in Gansu and Shaanxi is likely unstable as well. If Shaoting really intends to go, he must be fully prepared."

Perhaps it was precisely because the situation there was unstable that Prime Minister Chang thought of letting Cui Shaoting, who was good at commanding the army, take office.

Seeing that Cui Ying Shu seemed somewhat indifferent, Song Chengru knew he hadn't grasped his meaning. He rapped his fingers on the table, producing a crisp sound: "Feng Ming, it seems you don't understand Xiao Yi as well as Thirteenth Lady does."

When Cui Ying Shu spoke of the Crown Prince's poisoning, Song Chengru had already guessed that First Lady Cui's intention was to ask about Xiao Yi's memories concerning the Crown Prince's poisoning.

Cui Ying Shu was puzzled as to why the topic had jumped directly from national affairs to his niece, glancing up in slight bewilderment at the proud smiles of the three generations of the Song family.

"With the Crown Prince poisoned, Thirteenth Lady must be anxious. Why isn't she at the East Palace or Qingning Hall but instead seeks out Xiao Yi? Aren't you curious why?" When Song Chengru saw that he seemed to understand, he suddenly laughed: "So you really didn't know."

Cui Ying Shu truly did not know. Although he treated Song Chuyi and Song Yan like his own children, he hadn't interacted with them as much as First Lady Cui had. After arriving in the capital, he had been busy with official duties, only knowing the things First Lady Cui told him; anything she didn't mention left him completely in the dark.

However, upon hearing Song Chengru say this, he recalled some details—at that time, not only had his wife brought up Xiao Yi's name, but even the Crown Prince had mentioned it after being anxious for a while...

In the past, he thought Xiao Yi was just naturally clever, but now it seemed that despite the Cui family's best efforts, they hadn't been able to ascertain the whereabouts of Lianyi and the others. Yet in the end, a child had managed to find Lianyi and even uncover the truth about the Cui family's death, straightforwardly exposing the Li family and holding all the evidence that forced them to bow their heads...

Looking back, it seemed that aside from representing him to lay out the matter with the Song family, they hadn't really done much else!

Seeing that Cui Ying Shu seemed to have come to an understanding, Song Chengru invited him to eat: "They must be waiting anxiously; the girls have already urged us three or four times. Why don't we eat first? We can discuss things afterward."

Song Ren and Song Jue quickly got up. Having known Cui Ying Shu since their youth, Song Ren couldn't help but tease: "After all these years, you're still the same; lost in thought and forgetting to eat."

Cui Ying Shu felt even more doubtful, not understanding why First Lady Cui, knowing that Xiao Yi was far cleverer than others, hadn't mentioned anything to him. However, now that he was at the Song family's place, and with the matter of the Crown Prince's poisoning weighing heavily on them, he didn't dare to ask. He could only keep the matter in his mind, thinking that he would first inquire about his sly niece, as clever as a little fox, to see just how smart she was to earn the admiration of her high-handed grandfather.