Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Su Yu naturally withdrew her hand from supporting Xie Yixin, smiling as she called out, "Buyi."

Liu Wushi knew she was once again playing the role of Xie Yixin's cousin, but what kind of cousin was she to Xie Yixin...

He replied half-heartedly, "Why is Su Yu here?"

Xie Yixin knew that Liu Wushi had been exceptionally appointed as the Minister of Finance, but seeing his listless demeanor, she found him quite strange. She instinctively smiled and replied, "My cousin came to find me."

Liu Wushi naturally knew that the shops he had handed over to Su Yu were now managed by Xie Yixin.

Originally, he hadn't thought much of it, after all, Xie Yixin was Xie Yiguan's sister, and Su Yu trusted Xie Yiguan, thus extending her trust to Xie Yixin. But after witnessing the earlier scene, he suddenly thought, Su Yu valued him, but she hadn't valued his sisters equally—

Could it be that Su Yu wasn't interested in men, but rather in Xie Yixin!

At this thought, his face turned pale.

Su Yu called him again, "Buyi?"

Liu Wushi smiled, but it was a smile more like a grimace, "I'm fine. If Su Yu and Miss Xie are looking at the shops, I can accompany you."

Xie Yixin narrowed her eyes, her demeanor at this moment strikingly similar to Xie Yiguan's, she smiled reservedly, "My cousin and I need to discuss some family matters, I'm afraid it's not suitable for Minister Liu to follow."

Liu Wushi: "..." Su Yu and she weren't really family, what family matters could they have?

Su Yu indeed had some private matters to discuss with Xie Yixin, as Xie Yixin was now her informant outside the palace, so she also declined Liu Wushi's company.

When Liu Wushi left, his back looked particularly forlorn.

Xie Yixin narrowed her eyes again, it seemed now not only Cui Xuan and her brother were competing for favor, but also a newly emerged Liu Wushi. Indeed, the Xie family couldn't rely solely on her brother!

She redoubled her efforts to impress Su Yu, recounting all the news she had gathered from the capital. She whispered, "Recently, I've been evaluating Qiao Wuniang for my cousin, and I think she's quite a talent. Moreover, she mostly interacts with ladies from prestigious families. If we could have her gather information, she could surely uncover a lot about the noble families."

"Qiao Wuniang? I remember she's a celebrated talent in the capital, just like my cousin," Su Yu had met this Qiao Wuniang once.

During last year's autumn hunt, Qiao Wuniang, veiled among a group of noble ladies, performed a pipa piece for her, leaving a deep impression. She was a lady who knew how to market herself.

Xie Yixin coughed lightly and whispered, "She's now a recent widow from a marquis's family, seeking some power to rely on."

The Qiao family was also a prestigious family, but in recent years, while they appeared prosperous on the surface, they were actually riddled with corruption, with expenditures far exceeding income. They deliberately promoted Qiao Wuniang as a capital talent, hoping to use her to marry into a good family. Last year, they even considered using her to court the emperor, but unfortunately, Su Yu didn't take a liking to Qiao Wuniang. Unlike the Li family, which could afford to wait another year, the Qiao family hastily married Qiao Wuniang off to the dying heir of the Marquis of Guanzhong for a rush wedding.

The heir of the Marquis of Guanzhong passed away early this year. The Qiao family wanted to extract a sum from the marquis's family and then take Qiao Wuniang back to remarry, but Qiao Wuniang didn't want to return.

After hearing about Qiao Wuniang's situation, Su Yu instructed Xie Yixin to keep in touch with her, "If my cousin finds her useful, you can guide her further."

This was delegating authority to Xie Yixin.

Xie Yixin listened with joy, also disclosing some private information about Xie Yiguan to Su Yu, "My brother has been quite busy recently, only managing to attend one poetry gathering this month."

Su Yu knew about Xie Yiguan's frequent attendance at poetry gatherings, but she didn't pay much attention to it, only inwardly sighing that Xie Yiguan still retained a bit of a literary youth's temperament.

When she and Xie Yixin left the shops in the west market, it was already evening.

In winter, the capital could start snowing at any time.

Before Su Yu could return to the shop to borrow an umbrella, a paper umbrella was opened over her head.

She turned around to see Liu Wushi, his nose and cheeks flushed from the cold.

Liu Wushi turned his head away, letting her see only the redness at the corners of his eyes. He said, "What a coincidence! I didn’t expect to run into you again."

Su Yu’s eyes curved into a smile as she reached for the umbrella in his hand. Liu Wushi's hand trembled slightly, and the umbrella fell into her grasp.

In a blink, Liu Wushi saw Su Yu handing the umbrella to Xie Yixin, "It's snowing, cousin, be careful on your way."

The redness at the corners of Liu Wushi’s eyes deepened, as if they might crumble like the snowflakes swirling in the sky.

Su Yu smiled again, "Thanks for the umbrella, Buyi. I’ll walk you back, though we might have to dash through the snow to the carriage."

Her carriage was waiting in a nearby alley, but getting there meant braving the snow for a bit.

Xie Yixin wanted to return the umbrella to Su Yu, but she refused, "Cousin, keep it. Buyi and I can handle a bit of snow."

With that, she took Liu Wushi’s hand and dashed toward the carriage, leaving Xie Yixin blushing behind them.

Su Yu didn’t let go of Liu Wushi’s hand until they reached the carriage. She turned to see Liu Wushi’s face flushed bright red. She blinked, "What’s wrong, Buyi?"

Liu Wushi dared not look at her, mumbling with his head down, "It’s just from running so hard."

Su Yu seemed to chuckle softly by his ear, though Liu Wushi couldn’t be sure. All he could hear was the pounding of his own heart, until Su Yu climbed into the carriage and held out her hand to him. Only then did he look up, dazed.

"What are you waiting for? The snow’s coming down harder—hurry up and get in!"

The swirling snow blurred his vision, and in that vast, white expanse, only Su Yu stood out vividly to him.

Without hesitation, Liu Wushi took Su Yu’s hand. Even back at the Liu residence, he was still dazed.

"Has the young master returned? Didn’t Guo Laidong come back with you?"

Only when the servant asked did Liu Wushi remember that Guo Laidong had driven him to the West Market earlier—and he’d left both Guo Laidong and the carriage there.

The snow kept falling heavily, and by the next day, it had piled up deep.

Yao Feiming skipped the morning court, giving the simple excuse that he needed to tend to his winter wheat in the snow.

Su Yu: "..." It seemed like Yao Feiming, the prime minister, was too absorbed in farming to pull himself away.

Perhaps because of the cold, Su Yu, the emperor, also looked a bit drowsy. Some radical civil servants wanted to urge her to stay diligent and not slack off just because of a few successes.

They’d approached Xie Yiguan privately, but he shot back, "Can you out-argue the sage?"

The civil servants: "..." Indeed, they couldn’t. The emperor always seemed to have a pile of twisted logic, beating them from angles they’d never thought of.

Xie Yiguan said, "Think about it—since His Majesty took the throne, he hasn’t even taken a break during the spring holidays. Even a carriage needs to stop and start; if you never rest, both man and horse will wear out. Naturally, the sage also needs rest."

The civil servants thought about it carefully and realized it was true.

They heeded Xie Yiguan’s advice and, although eager to speak up, held back.

The prestigious families were not as radical as the civil servants. When the emperor made significant moves, they feared the blade might fall on their heads. Now that the emperor seemed to have entered a state of hibernation, only concerned about whether natural disasters occurred in the regions, they felt everything was fine as long as there were no disasters.

They also felt everything was fine, and since Cui Xuan remained silent, they followed suit.

Thus, the court session was so quiet that Su Yu nearly dozed off again.

She glanced around lazily and said, "Since no one has anything to report, let’s adjourn the court."

After the court adjourned, Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan followed Su Yu on either side, clearly having matters to report privately. They glanced at each other, one with a cold expression, the other with a smile.

The ministers stayed at a distance; even from afar, they could sense the tension between Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan, as if they were like fire and water. They decided not to get involved, fearing that if Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan truly came to blows, they might be caught in the fallout.

When they reached the imperial study, Xie Yiguan presented the examination questions for next year's provincial exams to Su Yu for review. Su Yu took a look and found them much more difficult than the questions from her own imperial examination. Since her lack of scholarly knowledge was no secret, she handed them over to Cui Xuan for his review without hesitation.

Although Cui Xuan disliked Xie Yiguan, he had to admit that Xie Yiguan had some talent. He found no fault with the examination questions Xie Yiguan had prepared.

Thus, the provincial exam questions were settled.

Cui Xuan remained standing motionless, while Xie Yiguan gave him a few looks before turning to Su Yu with a smile. "On such a snowy day, I can't help but miss Your Majesty's hotpot."

Both Su Yu and Cui Xuan understood the hidden meaning of his words. Su Yu chuckled and said, "I'll talk to Xing Jian. Zhi Wei, don't wait outside either. Go to the side hall and wait for me. We'll have hotpot together."

Cui Xuan: "..."

After Xie Yiguan left, Cui Xuan finally said, "There's news from Luosuo. The identity of the insider has been confirmed. They are the children of General Yuan, the defender of Qizhou, who died ten years ago."

Ten years ago, Qizhou fell, and General Yuan and his wife both died fighting. Their daughter, Yuan Ling, was fourteen at the time, and their son, Yuan Ran, was twelve. Both were captured by the people of Luosuo. Yuan Ling and Yuan Ran were remarkably beautiful. After Yuan Ran was castrated, both siblings were presented to the head of the Nu clan, where they are now highly favored.

The head of the Nu clan is Kunlang Yundan's strongest supporter, and it is precisely because of the Nu clan's backing that Kunlang Yundan can rival the King of Luosuo.

"I plan to visit Yuanzhou during the spring holiday to see the Yuan siblings for myself," Cui Xuan said.

If the news is true, having the Yuan siblings as insiders would be a great boon to Great Qi. However, he also had concerns. General Yuan and his wife died in battle, and Yuan Ran was castrated. The suffering of the Yuan family was a result of Emperor Xuanzong of Great Qi's failures. Therefore, the loyalty of the Yuan siblings to Great Qi was in doubt.

He needed to see them for himself.

Su Yu paused briefly before deciding, "When the time comes, I'll go with you."

Cui Xuan frowned, about to object, but Su Yu continued, "The Yuan family needs to see Great Qi's sincerity, and nothing shows that better than my personal visit. Rest assured, Xing Jian, I'll bring Zhong Yun along."

Seeing that Su Yu's mind was made up, Cui Xuan, though concerned, knew his objections would be futile. He could only say, "Understood."

With the matter settled, Su Yu took Cui Xuan to the side hall to find Xie Yiguan.

Xie Yiguan was busy cutting the lamb.

Pei Baozhen had brought the hotpot and a fresh leg of lamb. With nothing else to do, Xie Yiguan decided to take over Cui Xuan's task and slice the lamb himself. His knife skills were skilled, each cut avoiding the tendons.

Su Yu's gaze lingered on Xie Yiguan's hands. She had to admit, Xie Yiguan's hands were elegant—whether playing the zither or slicing meat. But then again, all the male leads had good-looking hands. Otherwise, how could they be male leads?

Her gaze then shifted to Pei Baozhen, who was arranging the dishes. Since her failed attempt to seduce Su Yu, Pei Baozhen had been remarkably subdued, never mentioning Pei Xiao in front of Su Yu.

Su Yu thought for a moment and said, "It's almost New Year's."

It was a pointless statement, so Pei Baozhen paid it no mind. After arranging the dishes, she prepared to leave.

But Su Yu stopped her and repeated, "It's almost New Year's."

Pei Baozhen replied woodenly, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan both turned to look at Su Yu. Was the emperor planning to release Pei Xiao?

Sure enough, Su Yu said, "During festive times, one misses their loved ones even more."

Pei Baozhen's eyes widened. Why was the emperor suddenly reciting poetry? She paused and asked softly, "Your Majesty, did you catch a cold from the snow yesterday? Are you feeling unwell?"

It was hard to explain Su Yu's behavior unless she had a fever.

Su Yu: "..." She wasn't oblivious to Pei Baozhen's implication. Pei Baozhen was subtly suggesting that Su Yu was acting out of character.

Pei Baozhen cautiously looked at Su Yu. "If Your Majesty is feeling well, I shall take my leave..."

She suddenly stopped and glanced sharply at Su Yu, though she wasn't entirely sure. Moreover, bringing up Pei Xiao in front of Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan might not be appropriate...

Su Yu waited for a while, but Pei Baozhen remained hesitant. Su Yu, tired of hinting, said plainly, "Your brother and nephew have eaten many meals at the Ministry of Justice. Have the Pei family settle the bill with the Ministry. They need to pay for their meals."