Chapter 157 - 156: Familiar Sense of Suppression, No Choice But to Submit
Chapter 157: Chapter 156: Familiar Sense of Suppression, No Choice But to Submit
Only then did Cui Jinghan finally notice Shi Changying.
The girl was dressed in a casual outfit, holding a cup of milk tea as she leaned lazily against a pine tree. Her chin was tilted up slightly, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on him. Yet, her eyes seemed to look right through him, reflecting nothing but the vast expanse of the world itself.
He suddenly froze.
It wasn’t because of her beauty—though she was undoubtedly stunning—but rather a sudden, inexplicable sense of familiarity that washed over him. For that split second, he felt as if he had been pulled four hundred years into the past.
After reading his Imperial Decree, Grand Secretary Ye Yu had indeed followed Empress Taichu’s orders and appointed him to the cabinet.
Cui Jinghan was aloof and detested injustice, which made his interpersonal relationships quite poor. Coupled with his natural distaste for socializing, he just buried himself in his work. As a result, even after attending court for three months, he was still a complete stranger to his colleagues.
Except for Pei Xuan.
This Young Master of the Jianghuai Pei Family, who was ranked among the Four Great Young Masters alongside him, didn’t find him very pleasing to the eye. Whenever they bumped into each other on the way out of court, Pei Xuan would always seize the chance to throw a sarcastic remark or two his way.
The Nanling Cui Family and the Jianghuai Pei Family were both aristocratic families and naturally had dealings with each other, but before Pei Xuan started mocking him, he had never interacted with the man.
Since Cui Jinghan was not a man of many words, he penned several essays to reprimand Pei Xuan.
It was often said that one should never offend a scholar. Sometimes, a pen in a scholar’s hand was sharper than a sword, and one could never predict how viciously they would be immortalized in writing.
Pei Xuan fell silent for a few days, only to fire back with a few poems continuing his mockery. The two went back and forth, neither willing to yield an inch.
Cui Jinghan still remembered the day of the spring hunt, an event that all civil and military officials were required to attend at the hunting grounds. He had always feigned illness to avoid such activities. It wasn’t because he couldn’t ride or shoot—those were the most basic skills among the Six Arts of Gentlemen, and as the Young Master of the Nanling Cui Family, he was naturally adept at them.
It was simply because he loathed crowded places. The bustle and excitement belonged to others; what did it have to do with him?
However, after he had stated his polite refusal, the Empress suddenly turned her head. Looking down at him from her commanding height, she declared, "No, you must go."
Imperial orders were absolute. Since the Divine Emperor had spoken, he had no choice but to obey.
He had mentally prepared himself to be reprimanded by the Empress, but that didn’t happen. Instead, she made him compete alongside a few other civil officials and even rewarded him.
When Zhuge Mingyue handed him the finest quality brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, she said meaningfully, "Mr. Cui, humans are social creatures in the end. You should still interact more with the outside world. Her Majesty is very pleased with your dynamic with Lord Pei. The two of you have produced so many masterpieces; you truly are the pillars of our Da Xuan."
He was rendered speechless.
At the time, he thought that the Empress’s way of doing things was truly unlike that of a normal person. Yet, he took her words to heart and began interacting moderately with the other officials. And the interaction did indeed prove beneficial. His literary skills improved, proving that working in a vacuum would only lead to stagnation.
These memories belonged uniquely to him; not a single trace of them could be found in the history books. Now, he could only rely on these recollections to survive in this unfamiliar era.
Cui Jinghan closed his eyes, his expression desolate and his face pale.
To Yan Sinian, seeing him look like this struck like a bolt of lightning.
Before they came, he had repeatedly begged Shi Changying not to resort to violence. They were intellectuals; their words and pens were their weapons. A gentleman uses his words, not his fists.
Shi Changying had agreed.
But the result...
How was that sentence any different from using her fists? That wasn’t inviting someone to dinner; it was clearly a command—*Kneel and accept the decree.*
Even their teacher, Dean Xu, spoke to Senior Brother softly and had never used such a commanding tone. Although Senior Brother was indeed a man of few words, he was incredibly stubborn. Once he made up his mind about something, no one could change it.
Filled with trepidation, Yan Sinian stammered, "S-Senior Brother, actually, about the dinner..."
At that moment, Cui Jinghan’s mouth moved faster than his brain. "All right."
Yan Sinian’s mind short-circuited. "???"
He swallowed the rest of his words, looking completely bewildered. What was going on? Could it be that his Senior Brother was possessed by a ghost?!
Shi Changying was very satisfied that the other party was so cooperative. She felt around in her pocket, pulled out a chocolate truffle, and placed it in Cui Jinghan’s hand.
She thought, "We must bestow a reward."
Snapping back to his senses, Cui Jinghan stared at the snack in his hand and fell into silence. He regretted it the second he agreed, feeling as though he had truly lost his mind.
Yan Sinian also felt like he was hallucinating. Uncertain, he asked again, "S-Senior Brother, did you agree?"
Before Cui Jinghan could reply, Shi Changying said unhurriedly, "He said yes."
After a brief moment of silence, Cui Jinghan had no choice but to grunt in affirmation.
A gentleman’s word was his bond. Since he had already made a promise, he had to keep it. It was just a meal, anyway. He couldn’t put the young girl in an awkward position.
Overjoyed, Yan Sinian exclaimed, "Senior Brother, you are truly my savior!"
He had actually won the bet! Now, all his senior classmates’ year-end bonuses belonged to him!
Shi Changying signaled a number to him with her fingers. Getting the message, Yan Sinian nodded vigorously. They had agreed beforehand on a 30-70 split of the winnings—thirty percent for him, and seventy for Shi Changying.
He was going to be rich!
The three of them headed to the reserved restaurant.
Upon entering the private dining room, terrified that Cui Jinghan might back out, Yan Sinian immediately whipped out his phone and opened the front-facing camera. "Come on, let’s take a selfie of the three of us."
CLICK. A fresh group photo was taken.
Cui Jinghan frowned. "Why do we need to take pictures?"
Yan Sinian coughed lightly. "Just to prove that you actually came to dinner with us, Senior Brother. Nothing else."
He sent the photo to the "Nine Dogs and One Man" chat group.
[Yan Sinian]: Pay up. You guys lost.
[The Only Human]: I don’t believe it! You must have Photoshopped this, or generated it with AI. Everyone knows how advanced AI is nowadays!
[Third Brother]: Hiss... To be honest, if it were just Senior Brother and Junior Yan, an AI might barely be able to generate it. But that girl’s face? Absolutely impossible. AI doesn’t have that level of capability!
[Second Sister]: Good heavens, what a beautiful little girl.
[Fifth Brother]: I get it now. No wonder Senior Brother agreed to go to dinner. It was definitely out of respect for the little girl.
[Ninth Brother]: But Senior Brother doesn’t seem like the type to lose his head over a pretty face.
[Fourth Sister]: How is this the same? This is top-tier beauty. Junior Yan, let’s not act like strangers. How about this: you come back to Mingjing, and I’ll go to Jianghuai in your place.
[Second Sister]: Junior Yan definitely can’t handle this kind of lifestyle. I’m not afraid though—let me do it!
[Yan Sinian]: Senior Sisters, I can hear your abacuses clicking all the way from Jianghuai.
Yan Sinian felt incredibly refreshed. Having been suppressed at the bottom of the pecking order for years, when had he ever been the target of such envy and jealousy?
Cui Jinghan had already eaten on the plane, so he wasn’t hungry.
Half an hour later, gazing at a table overflowing with food, he fell silent once again.