Chapter 267

Chapter 267: Severed Mrs. Cai looked at Cui Lingrong in disbelief. "If something happens to your brother, what good does that do you?" She didn't understand. No matter how much Cui Lingrong disliked the Cui family, she still bore the surname Cui. She couldn't escape that character. "Lingrong, can you please help your brother?" Mrs. Cai was nearly begging. "Even if you don't like me, or hold some resentment toward me, you can't act petulantly at a time like this. If something happens to your brother, you won't be able to answer to your father either, will you?" "Madam, will I even see my father again?" Cui Lingrong was in Bianjing, while her father was in Yangzhou. She could barely remember the last time she had seen him. After all, when her aunt had passed away, her father hadn't gone to pay his respects—he'd sent a younger member of the Cui family instead. Mrs. Cai was stunned. She thought for a long while before saying helplessly, "Even if you don't care about the Cui family, doesn't your own reputation matter? You and Junyan are both members of the Cui family. If he's branded with the crime of drunken assault, how will the nobles and officials of Bianjing look at you?" "Lingrong, I'm begging you. Isn't Cui Zeyu at the Ministry of Personnel? Can you ask him to help? He definitely has a way!" Seeing that Cui Lingrong remained unmoved, Mrs. Cai played her trump card. "You can't possibly want me to kneel, can you?" Mrs. Cai was an elder—at the very least, Cui Lingrong's mother in name. For her to kneel before Cui Lingrong would be a supreme humiliation. Cui Lingrong said that wouldn't be necessary. "To be honest, Madam, you and I don't have any great enmity between us. Even if there were some unpleasantness in the past, it wouldn't come to you kneeling before me. My refusal to help is purely because I don't want to. I warned you before that Junyan was keeping bad company, but you didn't take it seriously. At the time, Madam, I suspect you thought I was trying to interfere with Junyan's friendships, weren't you?" "No, that's not—" "I've been so frank with you, Madam, so why say things you don't mean?" Cui Lingrong sighed. "Please return, Madam. Even if you kneel in the courtyard to threaten me, I wouldn't care. I've managed the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion for so many years—I'm hardly going to let word of what happens in Qiushuang Zhai get out. If you insist on making things difficult for me, I don't mind having Zeyu give Junyan a taste of hardship. You know very well that I hold no sibling affection for Junyan." Cui Lingrong had thoroughly cut off Mrs. Cai's retreat. Mrs. Cai had genuinely been planning to kneel for a while, to let the people of Bianjing know that she, as a mother, had knelt before Cui Lingrong—and how cold and heartless Cui Lingrong was. But instead, Cui Lingrong had turned around and threatened her. Was this still the same Cui Lingrong who always followed propriety? Mrs. Cai left Qiushuang Zhai in a daze. She had intended to go to Wutong Yuan to beg County Princess Rongjia, but the servants there said the County Princess had returned to the Rong Prince Mansion. "Is there something Madam Cui needs? You can tell me, and when the County Princess returns, I'll pass along the message." Mrs. Cai couldn't very well discuss such matters with a maidservant. She could only press some silver into the girl's hands. "When the County Princess returns, please come notify me right away. Don't think little of this money—go buy yourself some tea." With no other choice, Mrs. Cai went to visit her son at the prison. When she arrived at the jail and saw her son's bloodless face and vacant eyes, Mrs. Cai nearly broke down. "Junyan, you... how are you?" "Mother, you've finally come!" Cui Junyan burst into loud sobs at the sight of her. "You have to save me, I... I don't want to stay in this prison. You can see for yourself—it's filthy and damp here, I really can't bear it. And the food they give us is all spoiled. Mother, did you go see Eldest Sister? Is she willing to help me?" "Don't mention that wretch! She said she doesn't care about the Cui family's reputation—she simply refuses to help us." Mrs. Cai gnashed her teeth. "Sending her away back then was the right decision. An ungrateful white-eyed wolf!" The moment Mrs. Cai finished speaking, Cui Junyan's face turned even paler. "If even Eldest Sister won't help me, then am I... doomed?" "No, Junyan. There will always be a way to save you. The Eldest Son of the Fu Family isn't dead—he only broke a leg. The Fu family can't possibly be so unreasonable as to demand your life in return, can they?" Mrs. Cai felt the Du family was going too far. They'd all been drinking together, and no one had died. But Cui Junyan was utterly despairing. Trembling, he said, "Fu Ze didn't just break his leg... he... he also..." Cui Junyan couldn't bring himself to say it. Mrs. Cai pressed urgently, "What else?" "His... that place... was severed..." Cui Junyan's lips were white as paper. "Where?" Mrs. Cai didn't react at first. Cui Junyan uttered the words "his manhood" in despair. Now Mrs. Cai's face went white too. "You... you did it?" Cui Junyan shook his head wildly, snot and tears flying in both directions. "It wasn't me! It really wasn't me! Last night I was drinking with them, and I got drunk very quickly. When I woke up, Fu Ze was passed out on my bed, with a lot of blood flowing from his crotch. I have no idea what happened last night." As for the others—they had all disappeared. But Cui Junyan could be certain that he absolutely had not severed Fu Ze's manhood. His memory ended at the moment before he fell asleep. And after he was asleep, how could he have cut off Fu Ze's manhood? Even if he had somehow done it in his dreams, Fu Ze would have woken him up. Mrs. Cai naturally believed her son and pressed further, "What exactly happened last night? Tell me." Cui Junyan had no choice but to recount everything, from the drinking to Fu Ze summoning a few young courtesans. However, time was limited—before Mrs. Cai could hear it all, the jailer came to urge her to leave. Mrs. Cai left the imperial prison and went door to door seeking help, but was turned away everywhere. No one was willing to see her. But for the sake of her son, Mrs. Cai stubbornly lingered at the Lin family's doorstep. A woman standing there refusing to leave, tears streaming down her face—before she even said a word to passersby, she drew a crowd of curious onlookers. The Lin family had never seen Mrs. Cai so shameless and found themselves in a bind. But they too had guilty consciences and dared not let her inside. They could only send someone to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion to pressure Cui Lingrong into taking Mrs. Cai back. At that moment, Cui Lingrong was meeting with her younger brother, confirming from his words that Cui Junyan had certainly been framed. "He thought himself so capable, able to befriend sons of noble families. Little did he know he was being set up, used as a tool against the Eldest Son of the Fu Family." Cui Lingrong had just learned that not only had the Eldest Son of the Fu Family broken his leg, but his manhood had been severed as well—whoever did this harbored deep hatred for him. Cui Zeyu asked, "What are your thoughts, sister? Should we investigate this thoroughly, or use this opportunity to teach Cui Junyan and Mrs. Cai a lesson?" "If we investigate to the bottom, will it cause trouble for you?" Cui Lingrong asked. "No, it won't. It's my duty anyway. And even if I don't investigate, someone else might—the Fu family holds great power, and there will be those seeking to curry favor with them," Cui Zeyu said. "Then do your duty properly. As for whether the truth comes to light, leave that to heaven. Cui Junyan aims high but falls low—let him learn a lesson. It will also sober Mrs. Cai up. With her methods, she'll only harm her two children in Bianjing," Cui Lingrong said. "Alright, I'll follow your lead, sister." No sooner had Cui Zeyu spoken than a servant announced that someone from the Lin family had arrived. Cui Lingrong went to see the Lin family's messenger. Upon learning their intent, she said in a very official tone, "Your young master was drinking with them last night, so naturally he should be questioned together with the rest. It's only proper that my lady went to seek an explanation. The question is—why wouldn't you let her in? Do you have a guilty conscience?" Cui Lingrong saw the Lin family steward's expression falter and knew the Lin family was not clean either. "My lady is an elder, and I, as her junior, cannot control her. If the Lin family wishes to clear their name, why not have your young master go to the yamen? If he is innocent, my lady will have no reason to keep pestering you." The Lin steward found no words to refute and could only slink away in defeat. Mrs. Cai truly waited outside the Lin residence until dark. In the end, the Lin family had no choice but to invite her inside. The next day, before the yamen could even summon the Lin family, news of Fu Ze's severed manhood suddenly spread like wildfire. In no time, the common folk were all discussing the matter. Some said the Cui young master and Fu Ze had discord in the bedchamber, which led to such an incident. Others claimed Fu Ze had forced himself on Cui Junyan, and Cui Junyan had severed his manhood in response. When the rumors reached the Fu residence, the old master of the Fu family went black in the face and fainted dead away. Fu Ze's father immediately rushed to the palace in tears, begging the Emperor to seek justice for his son. The Emperor, unaware of Fu Ze's misdeeds, heard the father's tearful pleas and immediately ordered the Prefect of the Capital to investigate the matter thoroughly. When the Lin family learned of this, they finally managed to send Mrs. Cai away with much persuasion. Leaving the Lin residence, Mrs. Cai went straight to the Rong Prince Mansion, only to be stopped at the gate. "The County Mistress and the Princess Consort have gone to the estate. Please return, Madam Cui. If you have business, once the County Mistress returns to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, you'll be able to see her then," the gatekeeper said, blocking her way. Even at this point, Mrs. Cai still hadn't figured out that County Princess Rongjia was deliberately avoiding her. She begged the gatekeeper to deliver a message on her behalf, thinking only of getting the County Princess to help—so she wouldn't have to go to Cui Lingrong.