In the Cui residence, Li Ying had returned to her room. But after returning, instead of retiring for the night, she took the strands of black hair that had been caught in the comb teeth from her sleeve.
She placed the black hair on her palm and gazed at it for a long time, pressing her lips together. Then she suddenly loosened her hair bun, letting her beautiful hair cascade like flowing clouds over her shoulders. Li Ying took a pair of scissors, cut a few strands of her hair, and then tied them together with Cui Xun’s hair using a red string. She knotted it and placed it with the dried rose that Cui Xun had given her earlier, storing them in a five-colored brocade sachet.
After doing all this, her face turned as red as a persimmon, and her heart pounded like a little deer. The young woman’s romantic thoughts were both shy and passionate. She caressed the five-colored brocade sachet, thinking randomly that if he were to discover one day that she had secretly bound their hair together, he would be angry.
At the thought of his anger, she took out the bound hair again, wanting to throw it away, yet unable to bear doing so. After several attempts, she still carefully placed the hair back into the sachet. She thought, as long as she hid it well, he wouldn’t see it.
So she would keep it.
The next day, at the residence of Lu Yumin in Xuanyang District, Lu Huai, the Deputy Chief of the Dali Temple, had been pacing outside the gate for some time. Lu Yumin’s residence was quite modest, just a simple courtyard that didn’t match his status as the Left Assistant Director of the Department of State Affairs. As Lu Huai paced outside, he recalled how he had arrested the Imperial Guards’ family members who had trespassed on Cui Xun’s residence and given each of them twenty heavy strokes of the board. But those youths, especially the leader He Shisan, though grimacing with pain, still stubbornly insisted: “I did nothing wrong! Cui Xun is a traitor to our country, and anyone may execute him!”
Lu Huai grew impatient with his repeated insults toward Cui Xun. He only wanted to know who had incited him to break into the Cui residence.
At first, He Shisan wouldn’t confess. He said, “My brother died in battle rather than surrender to the Türks. He was a true hero. I am his brother, and I want to be a hero too!”
Lu Huai responded with an “Oh?” and asked, “Wasn’t your brother He Nine among the defeated commanders who lost territory?”
He Shisan couldn’t bear to hear this. If he hadn’t already received twenty strokes of the board, he would have jumped up to refute it. He shouted, “It was because Cui Xun killed General Guo, which led to the defeat of the Imperial Guards! My brother didn’t lose; he wasn’t a defeated commander!”
Young people are passionate and sincere, at an age when they are most easily incited. These family members were accustomed to being mocked by others. So when someone slightly provoked them by saying that if Cui Xun hadn’t killed Guo Qinwei, they wouldn’t have to endure such ridicule, these youths naturally directed all the coldness they had experienced over the past six years onto Cui Xun. If Lu Huai hadn’t stopped them in time, they would have truly stoned Cui Xun to death.
Violence, when masked by justice, becomes a grand celebration.
Lu Huai frowned. This was a plot to kill Cui Xun, but a plot carried out under the supervision of the Dali Temple. It showed complete disregard for his position as Deputy Chief of the Dali Temple.
Lu Huai was determined to get to the bottom of this.
Though the youths were stubborn, they were only Shisan or fourteen years old—easy to coax and deceive. There was no need for torture. He only needed to separate them and break them down one by one to obtain confessions.
With the confessions in hand, he could trace the origins, and the truth would naturally come to light.
Lu Huai stood outside the Lu residence, his expression complex. He never expected that tracing the matter would ultimately lead to Pei Guanyue, the Minister of War.
He intended to submit an official impeachment, but his friend Wang Xuan told him, “Minister Pei has always been on good terms with your uncle. If you rashly impeach Minister Pei, it would put your uncle in a difficult position. Huaixin, I suggest that before submitting your memorial, you should first consult your uncle’s opinion.”
Lu Huai recalled the couplet he had written when he assumed the position of Deputy Chief of the Dali Temple: “Those who are loyal and beneficial to the times, though enemies, must be rewarded; those who violate the law and are negligent, though family, must be punished.”
Anyone who benefits the current age, even an enemy, should be rewarded; anyone who violates the law, even a relative, should be punished.
This was his principle as an official.
But as he looked at the vermilion gate of the Lu residence, he began to feel strangely that if he stepped into the residence today, his principles would crumble step by step.
So Lu Huai hesitated and turned to leave, intending to return and write that memorial to impeach Pei Guanyue.
But just then, the vermilion gate opened, and Lu Yumin, who was about to go out, saw him. He called out, “Huaixin, since you’re here, why not come in?”
Lu Huai turned around. Lu Yumin was only in his fifties this year, but concerns about state affairs had aged him to look like a man in his sixties. Lu Huai felt a pang in his heart. Having lost his father at a young age, it was his uncle Lu Yumin who had raised him. Lu Yumin had no wife or children and loved him like a son. In Lu Huai’s heart, Lu Yumin was his father.
He nodded slightly. “Uncle, I was just about to see you.”
Inside Lu Yumin’s residence, the furnishings were equally simple. Lu Huai took a sip of tea, lowered his head, and finally told Lu Yumin about his plan to impeach Pei Guanyue.
Lu Yumin’s response was simply two words: “Not allowed.”
Lu Huai was stunned. “But Minister Pei incited the families of the Imperial Guards to break into the residence of a fourth-rank court official with the intent to kill him. This violates national law. Why won’t you allow me to impeach him?”
Lu Yumin looked at him reproachfully and instead asked, “Why did you meddle in this affair in the first place?”
Lu Huai’s mind went blank. “Uncle, no matter how much I despise Cui Xun, I couldn’t just watch him be killed by enraged youths. How is that meddling? I believe I did nothing wrong.”
Lu Yumin sighed. “In this world, matters aren’t simply divided into right and wrong.”
Lu Yumin’s words were ambiguous, but Lu Huai understood. He became serious. “Uncle, what’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong. Especially as the Deputy Chief of the Dali Temple in charge of criminal justice, I must uphold the distinction between right and wrong, rather than judging cases based on personal grudges like Cui Xun. Otherwise, wouldn’t I become another Cui Xun?”
Lu Yumin was silent for a moment, then said, “When I was your age, I also believed that right was right and wrong was wrong. But what did that bring? A female regent ruling the court—a hen crowing like a rooster.”
As he said this, there was a hint of disgust in his eyes. “How can a woman hold political power for twenty years? This is a complete inversion of yin and yang, a confusion of heaven and earth. The new policies implemented have trampled on traditional ethics. Noble families educate their children with virtue and propriety, emphasizing gentleness and modesty. After the imperial examinations, commoners enter official positions. These commoners, without any foundation, form cliques and factions, turning the court into a chaotic mess. If this continues, the Great Zhou will surely perish from factional strife. Under such circumstances, you, Lu Huaixin, still insist on right and wrong? Isn’t that pedantic?”
Lu Huai listened in a daze. He had many rebuttals but ultimately just lowered his head, as he had done in childhood, listening to Lu Yumin’s lecture.
Lu Yumin continued, “Having principles is good, but do they adhere to principles when dealing with you? Cui Xun has been the Deputy Commissioner of the Investigation Office for three years, eliminating dissidents for the Empress Dowager. Has he ever followed principles? Doesn’t he just arrest people in the Investigation Office, extract confessions through torture, and then charge them with treason? Talking about principles with someone like him is like negotiating with a tiger for its skin.”
Lu Huai pressed his lips tightly together, saying nothing. Seeing his reaction, Lu Yumin didn’t want to scold him too harshly. After all, Lu Huai was the most outstanding descendant of the Lu clan of Fanyang in this generation and their greatest hope. He softened his tone and said, “Pei Guanyue cannot be harmed. If he is, the situation we’ve struggled to create will be reversed overnight. But you are already a fourth-rank Deputy Chief of the Dali Temple. Whether to submit this memorial or not is your choice.”
Lu Huai’s handsome face was filled with struggle. He looked at his uncle, who had raised him, in confusion. After a moment, he lowered his head and said painfully, “I won’t submit the memorial.”
Lu Yumin nodded with satisfaction.
“Also, watch Jin Ni closely and don’t let him speak carelessly.”
This was Lu Huai’s first violation of his principles, and the pain had not yet subsided. He failed to notice anything unusual, such as why Lu Yumin suddenly cared so much about Jin Ni, or what Jin Ni might say carelessly.
He just replied mechanically, “All right.”
Lu Huai’s determined investigation into the case of the Imperial Guards’ families breaking into Cui Xun’s residence ended just like that. But Cui Xun had never had any expectations of him anyway. Lu Huai was Lu Yumin’s nephew—how could he betray the uncle who had raised him?
It was impossible.
So Cui Xun wasn’t concerned about this matter. He was concerned about something else.
He knocked on Li Ying’s door. After quite a while, Li Ying opened it, her expression flustered. Cui Xun pressed his lips together. “There’s something I’d like to ask the Princess to help with.”
The matter Cui Xun mentioned was asking Li Ying to carry a box of silver coins out of the residence and distribute them to He Shisan and the others. Since he was asking Li Ying to do this, he had to reveal the truth about his forehead injury to her. Although Li Ying had already learned about it from Yu Fuwei, she still quietly listened as Cui Xun, with downcast eyes, told the story. He spoke with difficulty and only mentioned fragments, saying nothing about his embarrassment and distress at the time. But after listening, Li Ying said, “I won’t go.”
Cui Xun was slightly stunned. He said, “He Shisan and the others have had their family property confiscated and live in great hardship. Now that they’ve been severely beaten with twenty strokes of the board, they certainly don’t have the money to buy medicine. Without timely treatment, they might develop chronic conditions.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Li Ying was inexplicably angry. “They hurt you. I don’t want to give them silver.”
Cui Xun sighed. “I don’t mind.”
“But I do,” Li Ying said. “If Lu Huai hadn’t been there, what would have happened? Would you have been stoned to death? Cui Xun, I don’t like people hurting you, even if they are the Imperial Guards’ families whom you value.”
She truly didn’t want to go. With no alternative, Cui Xun stood up. Amidst the clanking of his shackles, he cupped his hands and bowed to Li Ying. “They are young and ignorant, easily manipulated. While they were wrong, for the sake of their elder brothers, I cannot sit by and do nothing. Please, Princess, help me with this favor.”
As he pleaded with Li Ying, she only saw the scar on his forehead that had not yet faded. Her heart ached. “You’re so good to them, but they don’t know it and still view you as an enemy… Cui Xun, I… I feel it’s not worth it for you.”
Cui Xun simply said, “Whether it’s worth it or not is my choice.”
Li Ying was momentarily stunned. She smiled bitterly. “Fine, you’re always like this.”
She still hadn’t agreed to help Cui Xun. Just as he was about to ask again, Li Ying said, “The charcoal has burned out. I’ll go get some more.”
With that, she prepared to fetch more charcoal. She was somewhat unsettled and didn’t notice a sachet that slipped from her sleeve.
Cui Xun saw it and bent down to pick it up. Just as he picked up the sachet, Li Ying also noticed. Her face instantly turned as red as the clouds on the horizon. She quickly walked to Cui Xun, intending to take back the sachet, but Cui Xun had already taken out an object that had slipped from the sachet.
It was two strands of hair intertwined and knotted with a red string—a symbol of binding hair.
One strand of hair was his. The other, since it was in Li Ying’s sachet, was Li Ying’s.
Li Ying immediately felt guilty. She snatched it back from Cui Xun’s hand and hid it behind her, stammering, “This… this…”
She stammered for a long time, not knowing how to explain. Seeing her red-faced embarrassment, Cui Xun sighed softly and said, “Princess, do you like me that much?”