Together for an Audience

Luo Zhao's cold and clear voice drifted out from the discussion hall.

Cui Shifan adjusted his attire, took a deep breath, and stepped into the hall. He stepped forward and bowed according to etiquette:

"Your Highness."

Luo Zhao raised her hand slightly, gesturing to a nearby seat. "Sit."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Having received permission, Cui Shifan sat down cautiously, resting only half of his bottom on the chair to maintain a respectful and attentive posture.

Before he even settled, Luo Zhao took the initiative to ask:

"Pavilion Elder Cui, you have been serving as the Secondary Minister of the Grand Secretariat for over ten years now, haven't you?"

Cui Shifan immediately stood up, bowed toward Luo Zhao again, and sighed with emotion:

"To reply to Your Highness, thanks to His Majesty's boundless grace and trust in this old minister's meager talents, I have been honored to hold the position of Secondary Minister."

"This old minister has not dared to slack off in the slightest, working tirelessly day and night with the utmost caution, terrified of failing the imperial grace."

"Calculating carefully, to this day... it has been exactly eleven years and three months."

By stating the precise time, he was both displaying his loyalty and diligence, and hinting at his veteran seniority.

Luo Zhao remained noncommittal, merely raising her hand again to gesture. "Pavilion Elder Cui need not be so polite. Please sit."

Cui Shifan then sat back down, though his heart grew even more vigilant.

Luo Zhao abruptly changed the subject, asking a question that made Cui Shifan's heart skip a beat:

"Are Junior Preceptor Gu and your esteemed daughter... on good terms?"

Cui Shifan frowned slightly.

This question... why did it sound so strange?

Given Her Highness's status, why would she suddenly care about the private relationship between a minister and his daughter?

No!

Cui Shifan instantly grew alert.

What Her Highness cared about could absolutely not be a trivial matter like romantic feelings!

Her underlying meaning was asking about the relationship between the Crown Prince's Palace, represented by Gu Chengyin, and the Cui Clan, represented by Cui Zilu!

And whether this relationship was good, and exactly how good it was, entirely depended on his next answer.

This directly tied to Her Highness's subsequent attitude toward him.

What formidable rhetoric! So casually spoken, yet it struck right at the core!

Gu Chengyin, you... have you actually trained Her Highness to such a level?

Cui Shifan pondered for a long moment, his mind rapidly weighing his phrasing.

Ultimately, he chose an expression that seemed tactful but contained profound implications:

"Your Highness is perceptive. My young daughter is mischievous and restless. Her actions are often rash and abrupt, giving this old minister quite a headache."

"Junior Preceptor Gu is broad-minded and magnanimous. He has been quite tolerant and understanding of my daughter's many rash actions, never holding them against her. For this, I am deeply grateful."

He did not directly answer whether they were on good terms, but instead focused on Cui Zilu being rash and Gu Chengyin being accommodating.

This both acknowledged their interaction and cleverly placed the Cui Clan in a position that required accommodation.

After listening, Luo Zhao merely shot a faint glance at Cui Shifan.

Her phoenix eyes were as placid as an ancient well, as if she had not understood the hidden meaning in his words at all.

But Cui Shifan knew that with Gu Chengyin's coaching, there was no way Luo Zhao hadn't grasped it.

Luo Zhao did not offer any evaluation. Instead, she tilted her head slightly toward the door and called out:

"Yunying."

Shangguan Yunying, who had been waiting outside the door, pushed open the ajar hall doors the moment the words fell and walked in briskly.

Holding a neatly bound stack of documents in her hands, she walked straight to Luo Zhao's side without looking sideways and presented them with both hands.

Luo Zhao took the documents, weighed them in her hand, and looked at Cui Shifan as she said:

"Pavilion Elder Cui, although Gu Chengyin is temporarily trapped in the Bureau of Clean Officials, the things that must be done will not stop because of it."

She waved the documents in her hand. "These items were personally handed to me by Gu Chengyin."

"Among them is the key to changing my royal father's attitude."

Cui Shifan's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the stack of documents, his breathing stalling for a moment.

Luo Zhao continued, "The original plan was that after Gu Chengyin came out of the Grand Secretariat, he would enter the palace with me to seek an audience with my royal father and present this."

She paused and let out a short, cold laugh. "But now, I can only go by myself."

"Therefore, Pavilion Elder Cui."

"There is only one chance."

As her words fell, Luo Zhao flicked her wrist, tossing the documents onto the table in front of her.

Smack.

The documents lay quietly, just inches away from Cui Shifan.

There was no writing on the cover, but it exuded an invisible temptation and a heavy pressure.

Cui Shifan's pupils contracted, his heartbeat quickening involuntarily.

He stared intently at the stack of documents, his hands subconsciously clenching inside his sleeves.

Did he not want to look at it?

No.

He wanted to look at it far too much!

But he didn't dare.

Reason frantically rang alarm bells in his mind: Do not touch it!

Once he reached out to take it and flip through it, it would mean the Cui Clan had fully boarded her ship, leaving absolutely no way to retreat.

This stack of documents was bait, and also a pledge of allegiance.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Cui Shifan's forehead.

He kept his eyes glued to the documents on the table, a fierce internal struggle waging within him.

The future of the Cui Clan, his personal official career, His Majesty's attitude, Gu Chengyin's potential, and Luo Zhao's performance... countless thoughts collided in his mind.

Time seemed to freeze in this moment.

Luo Zhao did not rush him. She merely sat at ease in the seat of honor, calmly watching Cui Shifan struggle and hesitate.

At this time, her mind was also thinking rapidly.

If Gu Chengyin were here, facing the indecision of an old fox like Cui Shifan, what would he do?

That bastard man was best at seeing through people's hearts, seizing their weaknesses, and using the simplest and most direct methods to pry open the strongest defenses.

So he would...

Luo Zhao suddenly remembered the words Gu Chengyin had said when dividing the proportion of the pie for the Cui Clan.

"Pavilion Elder Cui."

Cui Shifan subconsciously raised his head and looked at Luo Zhao.

Then, he saw Luo Zhao, sitting upright in the seat of honor, slowly raise her right hand.

That hand had slender fingers, as white as jade.

Luo Zhao held her palm up, the back of her hand facing Cui Shifan, her five fingers slightly spread apart.

A profoundly meaningful expression surfaced on her face.

"When Junior Preceptor Gu left, he told me..."

"He gave this to you all."

"Logically speaking."

Luo Zhao's gaze grew increasingly profound. "This fifth Pavilion Elder seat should belong to me."

"It's just..."

Luo Zhao gently shook her head, speaking with great pity, "Biting off more than one can chew is never good."

She looked at Cui Shifan's face, which was gradually turning stiff and shocked, and said casually:

"Since you don't want it, Pavilion Elder Cui."

"Then I will just have to give it to..."

Smack!

Before Luo Zhao's words could fall, Cui Shifan, who had been sitting stiffly in his chair, reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

With an agility completely unfitting for his age, he lunged forward abruptly.

The next second, he snatched the documents off the table straight into his hands.

Cui Shifan took a deep breath, his voice incomparably resolute as he said:

"Your Highness! How can such crucial evidence, which concerns the imperial court's finances and the integrity of officialdom, be easily given to others?"

"As the Secondary Minister of the Grand Secretariat, this old minister is duty-bound and cannot shirk the responsibility!"

"I am willing to enter the palace with Your Highness and seek an audience with His Majesty together!"