Chapter 1365 Untitled 1!

On the night of July 29th, in a drizzle, a low-key and luxurious carriage returned to Cui Mansion under the escort of dozens of servants.

As the carriage entered the Cui Mansion, Cui Shao, the Minister of Revenue of Daqian, also slowly got off the carriage and walked into the mansion under the umbrella held by the old butler Cui Fu.

After entering the mansion, Cui Shao did not return to the study room as usual, but came to a room in the backyard. At this time, a two-year-old boy was playing with toys such as building blocks and rattles. When he saw Cui Shao coming, a smile immediately appeared on the boy's face and he said in a childish voice:
"grandfather!"

Seeing this, Cui Shao lovingly took the little boy Cui Wenzhe into his arms. Although Cui Wenzhe was not Cui Shao's only grandson, Cui Shao gave too much tenderness to Cui Wenzhe, his grandson. Especially after Cui Zibo and Gongsun Qiaoqing passed away one after another, Cui Shao loved and cherished this child who was only two years old and had lost his parents even more.

"Wenzhe! Did you eat on time today?"

In response to his grandfather's question, Cui Wenzhe nodded seriously and said:

"Grandpa! I eat on time!"

"Then tell grandpa, what did you eat today?"

Cui Wenzhe said without hesitation:
"In the morning I had a bowl of millet porridge, an egg, and some side dishes. At noon I had braised carp, braised beef in soy sauce, and four-happiness meatballs!"

"Is the braised beef in soy sauce delicious?"

Cui Wenzhe's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he nodded and said:
“Delicious! Wenzhe likes beef the most…”

Seeing his grandson's greedy look, Cui Shao couldn't help but touch the little guy's head with a smile. Although in order to support agricultural production, the Daqian Dynasty prohibited the private slaughter of oxen and beef was almost not circulated in the market, but as his grandson, Cui Shao, he could eat it anytime as long as he liked it!
"Then how about having dinner with Grandpa tonight?"

"Okay! Wenzhe likes grandpa the most!"

After listening to his grandson's words, the Minister of Revenue of Daqian hugged his grandson in his arms and walked towards the main hall of his house.

Although Cui Shao was willing to invest a lot of money in calligraphy and painting, and often spent a lot of money on his favorite calligraphy and painting copybooks, he did not have many requirements when it came to food and drink. In addition, he was old and did not like to eat greasy food, so his original dinner was just a bowl of white rice with a few side dishes.

However, because of the joining of his grandson Cui Wenzhe, Cui Shao also asked the Cui family's chef to prepare some delicious dishes, such as nine-turn large intestine, scallion-fried sea cucumber, and sweet and sour pork tenderloin.

Seeing the delicious dishes being served in front of him, Cui Wenzhe, who was only two years old, did not hesitate and directly picked up the chopsticks to start eating.

Looking at his grandson eating heartily, Cui Shao at the other end of the table was somewhat emotional. The reason why he particularly doted on his grandson Cui Wenzhe among the three sons left by Cui Zibo was not only because Cui Wenzhe was the legitimate grandson, but also because Cui Wenzhe was the one who looked most like Cui Zibo when he was a child.
When Cui Zibo was a child, he loved to eat, especially nine-turn large intestine. At that time, Cui Zibo asked to eat nine-turn large intestine every now and then, and even to the point of eating it every day. Although the Cui family was wealthy and could afford Cui Zibo to eat it every day...
But at that time, Cui Shao saw that Cui Zibo was getting fatter and fatter by eating a lot of meat and fish all day long, and turned into a little fat boy, so he also banned Cui Zibo, and only gave Cui Zibo steamed buns, water, and some vegetables every day. He used tough means to make Cui Zibo quit his gluttonous habit.

Cui Shao still remembers Cui Zibo's crying when he was a child, but he was a heartless person at that time and didn't care how sad his son was. He just wanted to make Cui Zibo the heir to the family he wanted, so he forced Cui Zibo to eat steamed buns for two or three years!

Now when Cui Shao thinks back to what happened in the past, he feels a little regretful and blames himself for not being nicer to Cui Zibo!
It was precisely because of the guilt in his heart that Cui Shao wanted to make it up to his little grandson Cui Wenzhe.

After eating three pieces of Jiuzhuan Large Intestine, Cui Wenzhe saw that his grandfather had not yet started eating, so he picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of Jiuzhuan Large Intestine into his grandfather's bowl and said seriously:
"Grandpa! This nine-turn large intestine is Wenzhe's favorite dish. You should try it too. It's delicious!"

Looking at the nine-turn large intestine that his grandson picked up in the bowl, Cui Shao looked a little hesitant. His wife Yang liked to eat offal such as large intestine, and Cui Zibo followed his mother Yang in this respect, but Cui Shao himself did not like to eat these pig offal.

Just when Cui Shao was thinking about how to explain to little Wenzhe, he felt the sincerity and expectation in his grandson's eyes.

Seeing this, Cui Shao finally didn't want to disappoint his grandson's kindness, so he picked up the large intestine in the rice bowl with chopsticks and put it into his mouth...

Although the chefs in the Cui Mansion were very skilled, the Nine-Turn Large Intestine was attractive in color, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, but the large intestine was still the large intestine after all, and Cui Shao still felt a faint taste of internal organs in his mouth.
Although the smell of internal organs was very subtle, Cui Shao himself did not like to eat offal. Although he instinctively felt a little nauseous at this time, under the expectant gaze of his grandson, Cui Shao did not vomit it out. Instead, he swallowed the Nine-Turn Large Intestine into his stomach, and then forced a smile on his face and said:

"Not bad! It's delicious! Wenzhe has good taste!"

Listening to his grandfather's praise, a smile appeared on little Wenzhe's tender face, and then he spoke seriously again:
"Grandpa, the maids said you are busy with state affairs, so you must eat well!"

Cui Shao smiled and nodded when he heard this.

Half an incense stick later, dinner was over. Under the guidance of the nanny, Cui Wenzhe said goodbye to his grandfather reluctantly. After rinsing his mouth with tea several times, Cui Shao returned to his study. A moment later, his nephew Cui Hang came to him.

"Uncle San! I found a pretty good old book on the front street some time ago. I know you like it, so I'll show it to you today!"

After that, Cui Hang brought an ancient book to Cui Shao. Cui Shao took the book and flipped through it casually. He saw that the ancient book recorded some classic poems of Confucianism. There was nothing new in the content, but the handwriting was quite interesting. However, in Cui Shao’s opinion, this alone was not enough for Cui Hang to bring it to him specially...
Thinking of this, Cui Shao put the ancient book aside and said calmly:
"Is there anything you want to say to your uncle?"

Seeing that Third Uncle had seen through his true thoughts, Cui Hang did not hesitate to ask, "Third Uncle, I heard that Gongsun Hao is investigating Hu Ming's case?"

When Cui Hang mentioned this matter, Cui Shao nodded slightly and said:
"It seems to be the case!"

Seeing Cui Shao admit it, Cui Hang hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully:
"Third uncle Hu Ming deserves to die, but there are still some innocent people in the Hu family. So now that the main culprit has been executed, my brother will definitely be very relieved!"

After hearing what Cui Hang said, Cui Shao interrupted him and said:
"Cui Hang, your third uncle, I have been in the government office for a whole day and am now exhausted both physically and mentally. Besides, if you have anything to say to me, you can just say it directly. There is no need to beat around the bush!"

Cui Hang took a deep breath and said:
"Uncle San, since you said so, I'll be frank. I think there's no need to make such a big fuss since Hu Ming is dead!"

After saying this, Cui Hang looked at Cui Shao nervously, wanting to get a feel for Third Uncle's thoughts from his expression. However, to his disappointment, after hearing what he said, Cui Shao's expression was still very calm, without any change at all.

Seeing this, Cui Hang quickly added:
"Third uncle, I'm not saying this out of pity for the Hu family. What the Hu family has done deserves to behead all of them..."

"If possible, I, Cui Hang, would also like to avenge my brother! I would like to use the entire Hu family to pay tribute to my brother!"

"But Uncle San's will has changed now!"

Seeing Cui Hang mentioned the Holy Will, Cui Shaocai continued to ask;
"What changes have occurred in the Holy Will?"

Facing Uncle San's question, Cui Hang replied solemnly:

"The Hu family did a lot to survive. They spared no expense and embraced the work method. They also persuaded Murong Yuliang to plead for them. Murong Yuliang has always been at odds with our Cui family, and now he wants to save the Hu family. He is truly an enemy of our Cui family!"

"In addition, the Hu family is also going to invest in Hebei and Henan. They want to invest 50,000 taels of silver in Zhao Wanxian's plan to repair the road. The road that Zhao Wanxian planned is not a good business at all. Seven Jiangnan businesses sent people to investigate, and in the end, only the Hu family was willing to invest money!"

"This is 50,000 taels! And we can't rule out the possibility that they will invest more money in Zhao Wanxian!"

"It is clear that the Hu family is not investing in that road at all. They are investing in Zhao Wanxian. If we investigate further, Zhao Wanxian will most likely speak out to protect the Hu family in order to protect his plan to repair the road!"

"Of course! With your ZZ power and ZZ influence, even if Murong Yuliang joins forces with Zhao Wanxian, it will be impossible!"

"But the biggest problem now is His Majesty's attitude in this matter. Although His Majesty has handed this matter over to the Ministry of Justice for further investigation, on the surface there has not been much change compared to before. However, if you look closely, you will find that His Majesty's order no longer contains the words "investigate thoroughly"!"

“Third uncle! The changes in these words have already explained His Majesty’s attitude towards this matter…”

"If you insist on doing so, I'm afraid it will displease His Majesty!"

Listening to Cui Hang's story, Cui Shao glanced at him and said calmly:
"Is this what you think?"

Under Cui Shao's gaze, Cui Hang felt a little nervous, but still nodded.

Seeing this, Cui Shao smiled and said:
"If I say that I did not instruct Li Jian to let Gongsun Hao investigate this case, do you believe me, Cui Hang?"

Cui Hang was stunned when he heard this. Gongsun Hao, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was one of the nobles in Liaoyang. He was also an important supporter and follower of Cui Shao in the court. He was also the uncle of Gongsun Qiaoqing, the deceased daughter-in-law of Cui Shao.

Therefore, after Cui Hang learned that Li Jian had handed the matter over to Gongsun Hao, he preconceived that his third uncle Cui Shao still had deep hatred for the Hu family, so he instructed Li Jian to hand the case over to Gongsun Hao for investigation!

He really didn't expect that Cui Shao did not instruct Li Jian to do this!

Looking at his nephew who was lost in thought, Cui Shao picked up the teacup, took a sip and asked with interest:

"Why do you think Li Jian did this?"

Faced with this question, the first thought in Cui Hang's mind was that Li Jian took the initiative to do this to please Cui Shao!
As the Minister of Justice, Cabinet Elder, and a first-rank official of the Daqian Dynasty, Li Jian was on par with Cui Shao in terms of rank. But in fact, everyone knew that Li Jian was promoted and appreciated by His Majesty, while Cui Shao's position as Minister of the Cabinet was the result of His Majesty's deliberate suppression!
Although Li Jian was not arrogant in front of other court officials, he was still very much like a minister. However, in front of Cui Shao, Li Jian always regarded himself as a junior, and even often referred to himself as "humble" when facing Cui Shao. The most important thing was that everyone thought this was normal...
In addition, Li Jian also had the purpose of pleasing Cui Shao. After all, the current situation was very clear. In order to suppress the growth of Cui Shao and the Cui faction, His Majesty would rather leave the position of Prime Minister vacant than give it to Cui Shao. However, when Cui Shao retired, His Majesty would definitely re-establish the position of Prime Minister!
Who will become the Prime Minister of the Daqian Dynasty by then?

If it was generally believed before that Gu Sansi would be the first choice for this position after Cui Shao left!

After all, Gu Sansi is your Majesty's favorite general, and is deeply favored and trusted by your Majesty. He is also very capable and his performance has always been outstanding!
But things are different now. Many people in the court have noticed that Gu Sansi's performance in the Chen family turmoil and the Chu Zhiyi incident did not add points in His Majesty's mind, and may even have subtracted some points!
This also caused Gu Sansi's originally stable position as the successor to the Prime Minister to show some signs of loosening!
And this is undoubtedly a good thing for Li Jian, the current Minister of Justice!
Li Jian is also one of His Majesty's favorite generals. Like Gu Sansi, he is one of the founding fathers of Daqian and has made many contributions to the establishment and development of Daqian!

However, his achievements are much inferior to those of Gu Sansi, so his reputation in the court is not as high as that of Gu Sansi, but Li Jian is still a strong contender for the position of prime minister in the future!
But as the old saying goes, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Although Gu Sansi has lost some points in the emperor's heart due to the past two things, he still has an advantage over Li Jian. This means that if Li Jian wants to become the prime minister in the future, he must work harder and win wider support and love!
The support of Cui Shao and his followers was particularly important.