Chapter 562 Brothers turn against each other
Chapter 562 Brothers turn against each other
Zheng was startled, "What happened to Xiaomei?"
Cui Hongzhou waved his hand, "Don't be nervous, it's not a bad thing. The emperor proposed to me again today and wants Xiaomei to be the concubine of the King of Jin."
"But didn't the master agree to the Pei family's proposal?"
"But the conditions the emperor offered me were impossible for me to refuse."
"What conditions?"
"The emperor agreed to transfer Erlang back to Chang'an and promote him to the position of Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel!"
"what!"
Zheng was overjoyed. Not only was her second son promoted, but he was also going to return to Beijing. She said quickly, "Then forget about the Pei family. There is no time to lose. My husband will cancel the engagement today!"
Cui Hongzhou added: "The emperor also agreed to confer the title of Liangyi on Xiaomei and immediately gave her an additional betrothal gift."
Zheng smiled and said, "This girl finally got what she wanted. My husband, it's not bad to be a Liangyi. She's a fourth-rank lady! I'm only a fourth-rank lady."
Cui Hongzhou nodded, "The emperor said that he wanted to marry her in a formal way. I'm a little confused. What does it mean to marry her in a formal way?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the housekeeper said in the yard: "Master, the Princess's mansion has sent a letter, and there are also valuable gifts!"
Cui Hongzhou went out in a hurry, and the housekeeper handed him a letter. Cui Hongzhou opened the letter and read it carefully, then opened the gift box. Sure enough, there was a jade-carved wild goose, fifty pieces of silk, five hundred taels of gold, as well as the deeds of two shops and the house deed of a five-acre house.
Zheng was stunned. "Prime Minister, what does the princess mean by this?"
"Madam, you will know after reading the letter!"
Cui Hongzhou handed the letter to his wife and said, "The princess formally proposed in the letter. Yuyan and Lingluo are for the proposal ceremony, and the store title deed and house deed are the dowry she gave on behalf of the man. Together with the betrothal gift given by the emperor, the three gifts are complete."
"Then we still have to prepare a dowry for Xiaomei!"
"The princess told us not to prepare anything. She gave Xiaomei 10,000 taels of gold as a dowry."
"But we still have to give a little, no matter how much, it is always the intention of us as parents."
Cui Hongzhou nodded and said, "Give her the jade goose and five hundred taels of gold, and give her the one thousand rolls of silk that the emperor gave me last time. That will be our token of appreciation for her."
"Should I still go then?"
"Of course you have to go. Since it's a formal marriage, both parents have to be there. The eldest princess is the man's parent, and you are the mother, so you are the woman's parent. Anyway, there's nothing else to do, so you can stay in Jiangnan for a while!"
Zheng was delighted. She had long wanted to go to Jiangnan to see her eldest daughter, as well as her grandson and granddaughter.
Her husband had two concubines to take care of him, so Zheng was not worried about him. She said quickly, "My husband, please go to the Pei family!"
Cui Hongzhou hadn't left yet! The housekeeper came running to report, "The second master is here!"
Cui Hongzhou was shocked and quickly said to his wife, "I will go to Pei's house tomorrow. Don't tell anyone about Xiaomei's matter for now to prevent any complications!"
Zheng nodded, "I know what's going on, don't worry, Master!"
Cui Hongzhou came to the Guest Hall and saw his brother Cui Hongsheng sitting there drinking tea with a gloomy face.
Cui Hongzhou sighed in his heart. Although it is said that brothers who are united can accomplish anything, in fact, it is difficult for brothers to be united, especially in a big family like theirs. There are too many interests involved and there are often disputes between brothers.
"What do you want to see me about, brother?"
Cui Hongsheng previously served as the governor of Henan Province, but he was impeached for his involvement in a case of buying an official position the year before and was demoted to the prince's guest. Although his rank was only reduced by one level, the prince's guest was a sinecure, which made Cui Hongsheng very depressed.
Since the eldest brother Cui Hongdu passed away three years ago, the second brother Cui Hongsheng has succeeded him as the head of their family. Today, Cui Hongsheng came to see Cui Hongzhou in the capacity of the head of the family.
"I heard something this afternoon. Erlang is going to be transferred back to Luoyang?" Cui Hongsheng asked calmly. "Is there news about something the emperor just decided this morning?"
Cui Hongsheng once served as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, where he had many confidants.
"Really? Then the speed is fast enough. The transfer order of the Ministry of Personnel came out this afternoon. Erlang was promoted to the position of Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel? Can you tell me what happened, brother?"
Cui Hongsheng was stunned when he heard the news. Cui Ning was only a ninth-rank county lieutenant! In the blink of an eye, he was promoted to a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel. This was a six-level promotion. What on earth happened?
Cui Hongzhou tried to downplay it as much as possible and said, "Xiaomei is also going to marry the King of Jin. The emperor has given me a favor, right?"
"what?"
Cui Hongsheng was shocked, "Isn't Xiaomei going to marry into the Pei family?"
Cui Hongzhou shook his head. "The situation has changed. The emperor is proposing marriage, so the Pei family can only withdraw."
"How can this be possible? This is a marriage between the Cui family and the Pei family. How can we treat it as a joke? I will go and tell the emperor tomorrow that we cannot use the imperial power to oppress others like this!"
"Second brother——"
Cui Hongzhou stretched out his voice, "I have already promised the emperor, and I have already accepted the three gifts from the King of Jin. It is impossible for me to go back on my word!"
"You!" Cui Hongsheng suppressed his anger and said, "How could you not discuss such an important matter with me?"
Cui Hongzhou said calmly, "Xiaomei is my daughter. Her marriage is decided by her parents. Besides, I don't think it's a big deal. I just agreed to the Pei family's proposal. I didn't send a betrothal gift or exchange wedding invitations. We haven't even met each other yet. If the young people don't like each other, it won't work out anyway, right?"
"Sixth brother, how can you talk like that? Now I am the head of the family, can't I take care of Xiaomei's marriage? Because of Xiaomei's marriage, we have offended so many people. Three years ago, we offended the Lu family. Last year, the Taiyuan Wang family also negotiated, but Xiaomei ran away, and the Wang family was so angry that they broke off the engagement. Now it's the Pei family again. Our Boling Cui family has repeatedly gone back on their words, which is damaging the family's reputation! As the head of the family, I have the responsibility to protect the interests of the family."
Cui Hongzhou was also furious. "How dare you mention the Lu family? What kind of person is that kid from the Lu family? You told us his name was Lu Rengao, and he was a bookworm who didn't want to make progress, and I actually believed you. You didn't tell me that he also had another name, Lu Mingyue, and he wasn't a bookworm either!"
"Have you investigated?" Cui Hongsheng was stunned.
"Shouldn't I investigate who my daughter is going to marry?"
Cui Hongzhou's eyes were blazing with anger. "That Lu Mingyue is a well-known brave and aggressive person in Zhuo County. Two years ago, he led more than a thousand people to Douzigang to rebel. You knew he was a local thug, but you still wanted to marry Xiaomei to him. What was your intention? If Xiaomei didn't run away and really married him, what would be her fate, and what would be the fate of me, Cui Hongzhou? Because you are my brother, I have been forbearing to mention this matter. How dare you bring it up today?"
Cui Hongsheng was speechless for a moment, and after a while he said, "I didn't know at the time that he was such a brave and aggressive person. If I had known, I would definitely not have promised Xiaomei to him. It was the Lu family who deceived me, and I trusted them."
"The Lu family didn't lie to you. You've even met that Lu Mingyue, so you know exactly who he is. Just because Xiaomei isn't your daughter, you won't care whether Xiaomei lives or dies. I'll tell you straight out! I'll make the decision on my daughter's marriage, so you don't have to worry about it this time. I've already accepted the emperor's proposal, as well as the princess's betrothal gifts and dowry. If you want to fight against the imperial power, go ahead."
Cui Hongsheng was just talking. How could he dare to go to the emperor? Cui Hongsheng looked at Cui Hongzhou for a moment, then said coldly: "Okay! Since you insist on your own way and don't accept the arrangement of the head of the family, then I don't care. You go to the Pei family to cancel the engagement. Don't come to me if you have any problems in the future. That's it!"
Cui Hongsheng stood up and left angrily.
Cui Hongzhou watched his brother walk away, feeling furious. His brother knew who Lu Mingyue was, but he still wanted to marry Xiaomei to him and push the child into the fire pit. It was simply because the prince had become stupid and provoked him. He was not happy with his daughter becoming the Princess of Jin, so he wanted to harm him in Xiaomei's marriage. He was still a brother! How could he do such a thing?
Thinking of this, Cui Hongzhou immediately said to the housekeeper: "Prepare ten pieces of silk, I'm going to the Pei family."
He was worried that his brother would do something bad, so he decided to cancel the engagement before his brother did something bad again.
Sure enough, it was not as serious as Cui Hongsheng said. After Cui Hongzhou told Pei Ju about the emperor's proposal, Pei Ju expressed his understanding. Cui Hongzhou then readily cancelled the engagement and accepted the ten pieces of silk.
This is not a question of being polite or not, this is a rule. If you don't accept the apology, it means you don't accept the cancellation of the engagement, and things will become more troublesome.
On the contrary, accepting Ling Luo means that the engagement is officially cancelled.
However, Cui Hongzhou still sent his housekeeper to give Cui Hongsheng a note, stating that the Pei family engagement had been cancelled, so as to prevent him from causing any more trouble.
Two days later, Cui Hongzhou's Zheng took two maids and went to Jiangnan by boat under the escort of more than a dozen warriors.
(End of this chapter)