Chapter 264: Breaking Free from Shackles

At the very same moment Li Qing’an headed to Rehaiju, a carriage arrived at the back door of the Cui family’s residence. The carriage had been there for some time already. Wu Yi inside seemed uneasy; though she tried to stay calm, her gaze toward the Cui family’s main gate was filled with anxiety and distress. That gate had brought her too much misfortune and humiliation—it was like an invisible shackle that had trapped her for eight long years. Now, at last, the time had come to break free from those shackles. How could she not be excited or worried? She feared all her hopes might turn to dust. Back then, even her uncle, a powerful prime minister, had failed to break free from the Cui family’s stubborn traditions. Could Mingyue succeed where he had failed?
“Don’t worry, miss. Given Mingyue’s prudence, she wouldn’t have come to the Cui family’s residence unless she was sure. I think she must have made arrangements in advance. Today should be a natural progression,” said Yu Nu, Wu Yi’s maid, who observed the situation clearly and whispered words of comfort to her master.
Wu Yi let out a soft sigh. Her mind was in turmoil. If Mingyue really succeeded, she would owe her a huge favor. Ah! Why couldn’t it be Li Qing’an who resolved this matter for her?
Inside the Cui family’s residence, Cui Qiao’s wife, Li Shuangfeng, warmly welcomed Du Gu Mingyue. Lady Cui was the Princess of Xiangyi County. She had been in high spirits lately—Grandmother Cui, who had long oppressed her, had finally died, allowing her to breathe freely. From now on, she would be the mistress of this household. She intended to shatter all the outdated traditions that constrained her husband. Jiang Wu Yi’s marriage was one such issue. Not only because Jiang Wu Yi was already tied to the powerful Li Qing’an, which could help her husband ease tensions with him, but also because if the Cui family refused to accept the idea of women remarrying, then Li Shuangfeng herself would never have a chance to remarry.
For her own interests and her husband’s career, she decided to cooperate with Li Qing’an’s fiancée, Du Gu Mingyue, to set Jiang Wu Yi free from the Cui family’s oppression and restore her reputation. Of course, she wouldn’t do it for free.
“Mingyue, I’ve almost sorted out Wu Yi’s matter. But as you know, it’s not easy. If we break off her engagement, my husband will truly have no place left in the Cui family. Yet I finally convinced him to do it—to show respect to Lord Li. I hope you understand this, Miss Mingyue.”

Madam Cui was quite plump, but she spoke clearly and sharply, without any hint of softness. Her message was straightforward: this matter was difficult to handle. To save face for Li Qing’an, her husband was willing to offend the Cui family. Now that they were satisfying Du Gu Mingyue’s demands, they should show some sincerity—in other words, it was a matter of bargaining.

Mingyue felt troubled. She understood what Madam Cui meant, but she hadn’t expected things to suddenly become complicated. In fact, since the noble concubine’s birthday last year, she had been in contact with Madam Cui five times, gradually getting closer to her goal. After Madam Cui passed away, she discussed the matter with her again, and they reached an agreement. Madam Cui said to wait for good news once the task was completed. A few days ago, she received word from Madam Cui indicating willingness to facilitate the matter, so she brought the dance dress to the Cui family today to finalize it. Unexpectedly, at the last moment, Madam Cui suddenly brought up the topic of gratitude, catching Mingyue off guard. Although she was Li Qing’an’s fiancée, she wasn’t his wife yet, so there were still things she couldn’t decide on behalf of him.

Mingyue remained calm. She smiled and said, “Madam, this is a private matter. I don’t want to tie it to court affairs. Of course, this will surely improve our relationship as families. Perhaps on a sunny day in the future, I’ll come to visit you and ask for your advice on life.”

When saying “life experience,” Mingyue’s face turned slightly red, but she still mustered the courage to express her thoughts. This matter had nothing to do with court politics, but their personal relationship would improve—meaning Li Qing’an and Cui Qiao’s relationship would surely ease.

The conversation between Mingyue and Madam Cui took place in the living room of the Cui family’s inner residence, where Madam Cui lived and kept her privacy. Outsiders rarely entered, and it was Mingyue’s first time here. Although only she, Madam Cui, and two personal maids were in the room, Mingyue still felt as if someone was spying on them, making her uneasy. She glanced around and noticed a inner room not far behind Madam Cui, with thick brocade curtains on the door. She felt the spying gaze was coming from behind the curtains. Who could it be? Could it be Uncle Cui? If so, that gaze seemed a bit too intense.

Madam Cui didn’t expect Mingyue to respond in such a way—neither agreeing nor refusing, leaving her feeling as if she had punched into air. She grew somewhat panicked and wondered what to do next. She couldn’t help but glance back secretly and said with a forced laugh, “Miss Mingyue, please wait a moment. I have a small matter to attend to and will be back soon.”

With that, she stood up shakily and headed toward the inner room behind her.

As Mingyue had guessed, there was indeed someone behind the curtain—the owner of this house, Cui Qiao. After the land dispute in Henan erupted, Cui Qiao was impeached by Li Qing’an and demoted to governor of Yizhou, thus removed from the center of power. Yet he never gave up, searching for an opportunity to return to the court. He took the route through his wife, and thanks to Li Longji’s consideration for his elder brother and his deceased mother, he was recalled to the court last December as a guest of the crown prince. Though the position had a high rank, it was essentially a sinecure. After all, with no crown prince present, what meaning did such a role have? Unwilling to accept this, Cui Qiao continued to look for opportunities to make a comeback. He originally knew nothing about the matter involving Jiang Wuyi; it was only when his wife discussed it with him last that he saw an opportunity—this could be a chance for Li Qing’an to owe him a favor!

Logically, since Cui Qiao had lost his position due to Li Qing’an’s impeachment, he should have hated Li Qing’an deeply. He indeed did so at first, wishing to kill him with his own hands. But after Yang Guozhong pushed him out of the Yang faction, Cui Qiao calmed down. Li Qing’an’s impeachment was merely part of factional strife, a reaction to the downfall of the Eastern Palace faction. Yang Guozhong abandoned him completely; he couldn’t even enter Yang’s residence when he went to visit, which caused him great pain and made him see Yang Guozhong’s true nature. Yang Guozhong would never speak up for him. If Li Qing’an could say a few kind words on his behalf, it might have even better results. Thus, Cui Qiao decided to use the Jiang Wuyi incident to show Li Qing’an his gratitude.

He hid inside the room, eavesdropping on the conversation between his wife and Mingyue. Unconsciously, he noticed another thing: the extreme contrast between his wife’s fatness and old age and Mingyue’s youth and beauty. Especially Mingyue’s bright and noble demeanor only served to highlight his wife’s ugliness and vulgarity, which filled him with envy. And Jiang Wuyi was also an exceptionally beautiful woman. It was a pity he didn’t have the good fortune to marry such a beautiful woman, which filled him with jealousy toward Li Qing’an.

As the door curtain was lifted, a huge, wall-like shadow darkened his vision, pulling him back to reality. Though his wife was no longer young, it was still her merit that allowed him to return to Chang’an this time. His vast wealth also came from her. He held her in great admiration, but the gap between admiration and fear was as thin as a piece of paper—its thickness proportional to the depth of his wife’s heart. Unfortunately, the flesh surrounding her heart was too thick, taking up too much space and inadvertently thinning her heart. Thus, that paper separating admiration from fear was mercilessly torn apart, merging his admiration and fear into one. The only difference was in how he acted in public versus in private—admiration in public, fear in private. The inner chambers, of course, fell under the latter category. He stepped back a few steps and forced a smile, asking, “Madam, what is it?”

“What is it?” Lady Cui glared at him fiercely. “What were you looking at just now? Don’t you know why I’m here?”

“No! No! I definitely wasn’t looking at anything. I felt like she noticed me, that’s why I didn’t pay attention to what you were saying,” Cui Qiao stammered in explanation.

“Hmph!” Lady Cui snorted heavily. “So what do you suggest now? Du Gu Mingyue said she can’t control Li Qing’an and only that she can improve their private relationship. Should we give her the letter to dissolve the engagement or not?”

“Well…” Cui Qiao thought quickly. If he gave the letter to Du Gu Mingyue, Li Qing’an would surely find out. If he didn’t, it would offend her. But to be safe, he could add something else. With that in mind, he smiled and said, “Madam, go ahead and give it to her. I’ll write another letter to Li Qing’an to explain the situation. That way, everything will be resolved.”

“Fine! It’s your idea to give it. Don’t blame me later.”

Lady Cui turned and walked outside. After taking a few steps, she stopped and snapped, “Now get back there! Spying from hiding—how could you have been a prime minister before? You’re making me lose face!”

“Yes! Yes! Yes! I’ll go back right away.”

Cui Qiao didn’t dare argue and slipped away through another exit. Only after he disappeared did Lady Cui force a smile and return to the room, saying to Mingyue, “I’m sorry for making you wait, Miss Mingyue.”

Feeling that the gaze behind her had vanished, Mingyue understood and nodded slightly with a smile. “It seems Madam has good news for me.”

“The good news has been here since you entered.”

Lady Cui finally took out the document dissolving the engagement, signed by Cui Qiao, and handed it to Mingyue, sighing, “I really did my utmost to break these ridiculous rules of the Cui family.”
Mingyue eagerly took the document that determined the fate of her dance dress. She stood up, bowed deeply to Lady Cui, and said gratefully, “Madam, General Li and I will always remember your kindness.”