Chapter 169: Hello Chang’an
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Chapter 169: Apologies and Thanks
Upon hearing Cui Jing's question, Wei Shuyi was stunned for a moment. "You really don’t know?"
At the time, he and Chang Suining had just left Hezhou and hadn’t traveled far when they encountered Cui Jing and Chang Kuo. From that point on, they traveled together. Along the way... Cui Jing must have already noticed the relationship between the young girl in disguise and Chang Kuo. Yet, he had never privately asked Chang Kuo a single question, nor had he tried to inquire further?
Cui Jing: "I didn’t know."
Wei Shuyi couldn't help but ask, "Are you really not curious by nature?"
Cui Jing: "Why should I pry into other people's personal matters when they don't concern me?"
Wei Shuyi studied him for a moment before suddenly smiling. "It seems, then, that Miss Chang is no longer an unrelated person to you, General Cui."
Cui Jing ignored his teasing. "You still haven’t answered me—why was she in Hezhou at the time? What happened?"
"At that time..." Wei Shuyi had just started to speak when he suddenly hesitated. "You’re right. This is her private matter. If I tell you recklessly, what if she ends up blaming me for meddling?"
Wei Shuyi adopted an expression that seemed to say, "I should keep her secrets."
Cui Jing: "If I want to find out, I’ll find another way to do it."
"That’s true... You could ask the Chang family’s young master. They won’t hide anything from you." Wei Shuyi thought for a moment and suggested, "But if that takes too long, how about this: if Miss Chang asks, you can just say you learned it from someone else. Don’t implicate me. Let’s pretend we never had this conversation tonight, shall we?"
"Alright." Cui Jing agreed promptly.
They quickly came to an understanding, and Wei Shuyi, reassured, began to speak.
"Actually, Miss Chang was abducted and brought to Hezhou."
Cui Jing was taken aback by the revelation.
She had suffered such an ordeal at that time?
"I was on a secret mission from His Majesty to investigate the crimes of the former governor of Hezhou, Prefect Magistrate Zhao, to use his case to remove the Pei family..." Wei Shuyi briefly explained. "At the time, the people from Yu Gong had tracked down Miss Chang's abduction to Hezhou, and they entrusted me to keep an eye on her whereabouts as well."
"Did you rescue her?" Cui Jing instinctively asked.
Wei Shuyi smiled and shook his head. "She wasn’t the kind of person who would wait to be rescued. She escaped on her own... and she ended up helping me in a big way, making my task in Hezhou go much smoother."
He explained how Chang Suining had been severely injured and had managed to capture the traffickers from Zhoujia Village, leaving evidence and testimonies in his carriage.
In the dim light, Cui Jing's emotions were hard to read.
He suppressed other thoughts for the moment and simply asked, "Why was she abducted to Hezhou? Could it have something to do with Pei shi, the ex-wife of Yao Yi?"
During the ceremony at Dayun Temple, Yao Yi’s daughter had openly claimed that her mother, Pei shi, had previously attempted to kill Chang Suining. Given the timeline, this seemed like a plausible theory.
"You’re correct, General Cui," Wei Shuyi nodded. "Miss Chang was abducted because she had been secretly harmed by that Pei woman."
"When Tenth Young Master Wei first met her..." Cui Jing hesitated slightly as he spoke, gathering the courage to ask a short but crucial question.
"Did she behave in any way unusual?"
In the midst of the rain, the young man asked almost solemnly.
Wei Shuyi paused, deep in thought, before answering with a thoughtful look.
"A while ago, Holy Emperor asked me the same thing... It seems I came to the right person tonight, General Cui."
Cui Jing had indeed uncovered a secret that Wei Shuyi didn’t know about.
Cui Jing was silent for a moment, his fingers unconsciously clenching as he waited for the answer.
"As for Miss Chang’s unusual behavior... a woman in her situation, able to escape on her own— isn’t that already strange enough?" Wei Shuyi smiled. "To be honest, I grew curious and tried various ways to probe her, but she was cautious and didn’t give me any answers. However, eventually, I think she grew tired of fending me off and gave me an explanation that left me with no further grounds for probing."
Cui Jing looked at Wei Shuyi.
He sensed that this "explanation" might contain the answer he had been searching for.
Wei Shuyi: "Lady Chang told me that when she was abducted, she was in a deep coma due to an overdose of sedatives, which caused some brain damage. As a result, she sometimes experiences confusion, and many things from her past are no longer remembered..."
Cui Jing froze for a moment, his voice unusually soft: "She doesn't remember?"
Wei Shuyi nodded.
At this moment, Cui Jing felt as if the sound of the wind and rain had suddenly stopped.
Though his face betrayed no emotion, the beating of his heart in his chest was so loud, it sounded like thunder or the beat of drums, overwhelming all other sounds in the world.
The process of speculation was long.
From the moment the seed of suspicion had sprouted, he could feel it growing, from a delicate sprout reaching for the sunlight and rain, to a straight sapling, and now, the sapling had suddenly grown rapidly, its branches and leaves spreading out to block the sun, towering high enough to become an immovable tree. In an instant, it had become a giant tree, impervious to anything or anyone.
Cui Jing turned slowly, facing the corridor outside.
The wind, carrying raindrops, blew across his dark, deep eyebrows and eyes. The chill of the world settled around him, but to him, it felt like a blessing.
He was born high up, possessing everything that others could not even dream of. Although he never regarded himself as superior, his position as the legitimate grandson of the Cui family made it hard for him to feel any sense of awe. Even in the face of the emperor's praise and rewards, he had never felt as if he were receiving any favor.
But at this moment, he felt with great clarity that the world had bestowed upon him the greatest kindness.
He gazed toward the direction of the Heavenly Maiden Tower.
In early spring of this year, in February, the Heavenly Maiden Tower had been struck by lightning, damaging its formation and cracking the statue of the goddess.
At that time, far away in Hezhou, she had saved herself from danger, and forgotten everything from her past...
When the statue of the goddess was destroyed, an old acquaintance had returned.
Everything had already left traces to follow.
Thus, the emperor, for reasons unknown, had begun to entertain the same suspicions, which led to the investigation into her encounters in February...
"How much does the emperor know about her experiences in Hezhou?" After collecting his thoughts, Cui Jing asked.
Wei Shuyi also turned to look outside at the rain: "At the time of the Pei family's case, the emperor only knew the general details, not the specifics. This time, he suddenly ordered a detailed investigation into Lady Chang, but so much time has passed that the couple who abducted her and the witnesses who saw her escape from Zhoujia Village have all been executed..."
Cui Jing: "But the confessions of those people should be on record in the case files—"
Wei Shuyi: "Unfortunately, at that time, I was entrusted by Minister Yu to avoid leaving any trace of the abduction in order to protect Lady Chang's reputation... So, when I handled the case of the human trafficking in Zhoujia Village, I specifically concealed any testimony related to Lady Chang."
Cui Jing turned his head slightly to look at Wei Shuyi.
The people who knew the truth were dead, the case files held no records, and all traces had been erased. Therefore, the emperor could at most only discover that she had been abducted to Hezhou, but could not learn of her self-rescue and the unusual actions she took in escaping...
Cui Jing: "So the emperor asked you, Minister Wei, for the details of this matter?"
This was why Wei Shuyi had mentioned that he had asked the same questions as the emperor.
"Yes," Wei Shuyi said. "I told the emperor that I had been entrusted by Minister Yu to find her, and after I found her, I kept her by my side. Since I had never known Lady Chang before, I did not notice anything particularly unusual in her behavior. Even if there were some oddities, I thought they were just common reactions to the trauma she had suffered."
Cui Jing looked at him.
So, Wei Shuyi had hidden and covered up the details that would certainly have aroused suspicion in the emperor.
"Minister Wei, aren't you planning to become a close adviser to the emperor?" Cui Jing asked.
"A close adviser to the emperor can still have friends," Wei Shuyi replied with a smile. "And it's just an unfortunate incident from a young lady's past, not related to the state of the nation. Outside of matters of great importance, if one isn't willing to consider a friend's concerns, it would be too cold-hearted, wouldn't it?"
A friend, huh?
Cui Jing looked into the smiling eyes of Wei Shuyi and asked, "But why would Minister Wei think that this matter shouldn't be discussed in detail with the emperor?"
"Just the intuition of a smart person," Wei Shuyi replied with a smile. "Hasn't the grand General, Cui, ever had such an intuition?"
Cui Jing didn't respond directly.
To him, an accurate intuition must stem from the subtle cues and speculations one picks up on.
But the scope of what Wei Shuyi could speculate was limited. Though Wei Shuyi was undoubtedly an exceptionally clever person, some matters were far beyond ordinary comprehension. Common sense was hard to break, unless one had a glimpse of the bigger picture.
If they hadn't been fully aware of the existence and intricacies of the Heavenly Maiden Tower from the beginning, neither he nor the emperor could have come to such a pointed guess.
Therefore, Wei Shuyi's intuition likely stopped at the point where he thought saying too much would be detrimental to her.
Cui Jing considered this limited intuition worth reflecting on.
"I’ve said quite a lot, but the grand General still hasn't answered my initial question," Wei Shuyi asked again, "Why would the emperor suddenly become so interested in Lady Chang’s experiences in Hezhou?"
Cui Jing remained silent for a moment before replying, "Sorry, I cannot say."
"Sorry?"
Compared to Cui Jing's "cannot say," the sincere tone of "sorry" surprised Wei Shuyi.
General Cui would actually say sorry to someone?
Especially to him—
Based on their usual interactions, at this moment, General Cui could have simply said, "I don’t want to talk about it," or walked away.
But instead, Cui Jing had sincerely said "sorry."
Wei Shuyi marveled, "It seems I've done something good for you this time, making you feel guilty about withholding something from me..."
As expected, no one could resist sincerity, not even General Cui.
At that moment, Wei Shuyi seemed to understand.
Who wouldn’t appreciate sincerity, rather than being tested?
After a brief pause, he said, "It's fine. Your 'cannot say' has already told me a lot."
Cui Jing had at least conveyed that this was not a trivial matter, but one so secretive that even a close adviser to the emperor like him should not know.
"When you're in positions like ours, there are always things you can't say. Since that's the case, I won’t ask any further." Wei Shuyi smiled and said, seemingly reassured, "Since it's related to her, you’ll surely protect her, and you must know what’s best for her. I’ll leave it at that for now."
Cui Jing nodded, "I will."
Then he turned to Wei Shuyi and said, "Thank you, Minister Wei, for your help in this matter."
Wei Shuyi was taken aback and laughed.
How lucky was he today that General Cui not only apologized but also thanked him?
He seemed to think for a moment and then shook his head, saying, "The grand General may regard Lady Chang as someone dear to him, but for now, it’s all unrequited love, and there’s no official recognition yet... So, there's no need to thank me on her behalf."
Cui Jing paid no mind to his sarcasm. "I’m not thanking you on her behalf; I’m thanking you for myself."
Seeing his attempt to provoke fail, Wei Shuyi nodded in understanding. "I see."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and gave a salute to Cui Jing. "In that case, I must thank the grand General as well."
Cui Jing glanced at him warily.
Wei Shuyi smiled and said, "Thank you, grand General, for looking out for my friend."
"..." Cui Jing, hands behind his back, stared into the misty rain in front of him. "There’s no need for you to thank me. Setting aside my one-sided feelings, she is also my friend."
He then added, "She said it herself."
After speaking, he turned slightly to look at Wei Shuyi, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes—Did she really say she wanted to be friends with Minister Wei?
Wei Shuyi, unexpectedly caught off guard, fell silent.
After a moment, he sighed, "I say, General Cui, is your guilt really only good for a few words?"
Cui Jing answered directly, "I’ve done the best I can."
The implication was that the other person was quite irritating.
Wei Shuyi was about to say something more, but Cui Jing spoke first: "I need to go to the Heavenly Maiden Tower."
Seeing him turn to leave, Wei Shuyi suddenly seemed to remember something, and quickly walked a couple of steps to catch up with him, smiling as he said, "...Since Lady Chang and I are friends, and you and Lady Chang are also friends, by this reasoning, should we not be considered friends as well?"
Perhaps the lingering trace of guilt still hadn't fully faded, Cui Jing actually responded, "...Perhaps."
Wei Shuyi chuckled, sighing, "It seems I was right to come today, the harvest has been quite fruitful."
Cui Jing didn't respond, and the two of them left the corridor together.
Cui Yuanxiang and Chang Ji had temporarily ceased their rivalry. Cui Yuanxiang hurriedly stepped forward to hold an umbrella over Cui Jing, casting a disdainful glance at Chang Ji.
After some difficulty, Chang Ji managed to open an old umbrella from the temple. He was so frustrated that he nearly ground his teeth. He immediately turned to get a better umbrella and brought it close to him!
In the night rain, Cui Jing made his way to the Heavenly Maiden Tower.
Two monk guards, standing under the tower's eaves, silently pressed their palms together in a Buddhist greeting. Cui Jing nodded and stepped into the tower.
Inside the tower, besides the emperor, there was Ming Luo accompanying him, and Wu Jue was also present.
"General Cui has arrived."
Cui Jing raised his hand in greeting, "Yes, Cui Jing greets Your Majesty."
"There's no need for such formalities," the emperor replied without looking at him, her gaze fixed on the white jade statue of the Heavenly Maiden. "I summoned you here, General Cui, to ask you something..."
Cui Jing listened quietly as the emperor continued.
He had already made his decision on how to respond on his way here.
Standing by the jade pool, Wu Jue seemed to have sensed something or heard a guess, and instinctively glanced at Cui Jing.
When Cui Jing met his gaze, he saw the light of Buddhist wisdom and meditation in Wu Jue's eyes, which were ever so calm, even when silent.
At that moment, Cui Jing was uncertain.
Had Master Wu Jue already sensed something? Had he possibly spoken with the emperor about it?
In the pause of his thoughts, the emperor slowly began speaking.
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(End of Chapter)
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