The Child Emperor-Chapter 255: The Cui Clan’s Choice

Cui Sheng was completely stunned into silence.

Cui Hong sighed helplessly, thinking this might be his own fault for rarely communicating with his son. But some things were just like that – everyone understood them implicitly, yet no one would speak of them, not even between father and son.

Today was an exception. His eldest son had clearly been won over by the Weary Marquis, and if he wasn’t pulled out of this pit quickly, Cui Sheng would become another Cui Teng – a Cui family member thinking for outsiders instead of his own clan.

“The Weary Marquis is exceptionally clever, good at planning, and decisive, quite reminiscent of the Martial Emperor. When I sent Xiaojun to the palace, I never imagined the Weary Marquis would turn out to be such a person.”

“Wasn’t the Martial Emperor good? Everyone says the Great Chu was at its strongest during his reign,” Cui Sheng asked cautiously.

“But serving as an official under the Martial Emperor wasn’t easy. We went to court each day with our heads on the line. The Cui family’s survival was mostly due to luck. Had the Martial Emperor lived a few more years, he would have certainly moved against the Cui family.” Recalling those times, Cui Hong still felt a lingering fear.

Cui Sheng had been just a child then, living worry-free under his father’s protection, unable to comprehend the Martial Emperor’s oppression of his officials. However, having just been slapped by his father, he could now understand the officials’ mixed feelings of reverence and fear toward the Martial Emperor.

Cui Hong snapped out of his memories, “Don’t think me too selfish. It’s not just me – none of the officials want another Martial Emperor, not only for self-preservation but also for the sake of Great Chu. Before the Martial Emperor, several emperors had accumulated wealth for the nation. The Martial Emperor essentially spent it all to expand territories and establish a golden age. Great Chu is now in decline and needs decades of recovery before it can afford to support another Martial Emperor. The Weary Marquis was simply born at the wrong time – that’s all I can say.”

Cui Sheng was speechless. He felt his father had jumped to conclusions but couldn’t think of any counterarguments. After pondering for a while, he could only say, “I don’t understand all these things, but I’m different from Cui Teng. I’ll listen to you, Father. Whatever you arrange, I’ll do it.”

Obedience was probably his eldest son’s only virtue, though he sometimes could be manipulated by others. Cui Hong could always pull him back in time, unlike his second son Cui Teng, who had committed himself to the Weary Marquis and wouldn’t listen to any persuasion.

“After daybreak, the palace will establish a new emperor. No matter who it is, I must enter the city immediately to pay my respects. There are many matters I need to resolve, and I won’t have time to handle the rear. You’ll have to make another trip.”

“Me?” Cui Sheng not only admired the Weary Marquis but was also somewhat afraid of him.

“I’ll assign you ten thousand soldiers and send several veteran generals with you. You won’t need to fight – just announce my orders along the way, demanding Southern Army soldiers return to their units. When you reach Windy Fort, just surround it, don’t attack.”

“Will the Southern Army listen to me?”

Cui Hong’s gaze turned cold. “If you had a bit more courage, you could recall the Southern Army by yourself. With the ten thousand men I’m giving you, who would dare disobey?”

Cui Sheng dared not ask further.

“If the three assassins Hua Bin recommended succeed at Windy Fort, all will be well. If not, Cui Sheng, just surround the fort, don’t attack.”

“Yes, Father.” Cui Sheng didn’t understand why his father repeated the same instruction.

“I mean if the Weary Marquis is still alive, surround but don’t attack, and don’t accept any surrender. Understand?”

“Understood.” Cui Sheng was even more confused but dared not ask more questions.

Cui Hong didn’t want to explain further. He would give orders directly to the veteran generals anyway, not giving his son too much command authority to avoid mistakes in battle.

As Cui Hong was considering how to divide his forces and handle changes in the city, a guard’s urgent voice suddenly rang out from outside, “Grand Marshal, the central command tent is on fire!”

Cui Hong strode to the entrance and looked up to see that both the central command tent and his own sleeping quarters nearby were engulfed in flames.

A guard said, “I’ll find someone to put out the fire.”

“Wait.” Cui Hong was extremely alert. Seeing shadows moving in the firelight but not trying to extinguish the flames or calling for help, he turned to his son and said, “Follow me.”

Cui Sheng walked out of the tent and was shocked. “H-how did this fire start?”

Cui Hong didn’t even take a horse, leading his son and several dozen guards on foot. He understood what was happening – someone in the army was trying to harm him. His useless eldest son had unknowingly saved his life.

Cui Sheng had no idea he had rendered such a great service. Following his father, he grew increasingly alarmed and couldn’t help but recall the Weary Marquis’s words, feeling they were being proven true.

The mutinous soldiers, unable to find the Grand Tutor Cui, began shouting “Grand Marshal,” but Cui Hong ignored them and kept walking.

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Everyone in the camp had been awakened and emerged from their tents to watch, but dared not cause disorder without orders.

Cui Hong kept his head down, not wanting to be recognized.

A patrol of soldiers ran toward them, and their officer shouted, “Halt! Who dares prowl around the camp? What’s with that fire over there?”

Cui Hong stepped forward and said quietly, “It’s me. All of you dismount.”

In the torchlight, the officer recognized that the prowler was actually the Grand Marshal himself. Startled, he quickly dismounted, saying “This subordinate didn’t know-“

Cui Hong pushed the officer aside and tried to mount his horse, failing on his first attempt. Cui Sheng stepped forward and supported one of his father’s feet, helping him onto the horse’s back.

The soldiers standing at the tent entrances also recognized Grand Tutor Cui and pointed at him.

Cui Hong looked toward his sleeping quarters where the fire was growing fiercer. If he had been resting inside, he would certainly have died. He was terrified to realize that quite a few soldiers seemed to be involved in the mutiny, as a group was running toward him.

In this camp, besides his son, Cui Hong could no longer trust anyone. “Cui Sheng, hold off the pursuers. Afterward, find me at your second uncle’s camp.”

“Yes, Father.” Cui Sheng was already at his wit’s end, but he never disobeyed his father’s orders.

“Second uncle” referred to Cui Hong’s younger cousin, named Cui Ting, who currently served as the Right General of the Southern Army. His camp was quite far from the central command, but he was one of the people Cui Hong trusted most.

Cui Hong left all the guards with his son and rode alone toward the camp exit.

Cui Sheng grabbed a blade and watched as the pursuers drew closer, apparently quite numerous. Terrified, he gritted his teeth and shouted to the nearby tents, “I am Cui Sheng, son of Grand Tutor Cui and Central Protector Commander of the Southern Army. I order you-“

The pursuers arrived, and the two sides clashed.

Cui Hong didn’t go to the main entrance but headed for a small door leading to the adjacent camp. The gate guards were staring at the fire in the distance when they suddenly saw the Grand Marshal appear alone. They stood dumbfounded until Cui Hong’s repeated orders finally prompted them to open the gate.

The Southern Army was known for its strict discipline, and the soldiers dared not act rashly. Only a few officers from the adjacent camp came to investigate the situation, running straight into the Grand Marshal.

Cui Hong was already as skittish as a startled bird and dared not rely on these men. He didn’t mention the central army’s mutiny, but instead sternly ordered them to immediately lead troops to fight the fire, then fled himself.

The officers were bewildered but didn’t dare disobey the Grand Marshal’s orders. They immediately issued commands to go help with the fire in the central camp, completely unaware that real fighting had broken out there.

Cui Hong galloped frantically, ordering soldiers at every camp he passed to go help with the fire. Occasionally he would look back – the fire hadn’t diminished but had grown larger, meaning the mutineers hadn’t been suppressed and had likely convinced more people to join them.

Cui Hong couldn’t spare worry for his eldest son’s safety and just kept running wildly. Shortly after daybreak, he finally saw the right army camp.

Right General Cui Ting was the only one who dared make decisions independently. Upon seeing the central army’s fire, he immediately gathered all his troops, but remained cautious, first sending men to gather intelligence. After receiving no clear information, he led his troops toward the central camp, only to run into Cui Hong just after leaving.

Seeing his cousin, Cui Hong felt relieved, but still slowed down and observed for a moment. Only after confirming there was no ill intent did he approach. Without much explanation, he immediately took command of the right army and dispatched them in groups toward the central camp, ordering all soldiers along the way to lay down their weapons, with death as the penalty for disobedience.

The right army kept sending updates, and the situation gradually came under control. There weren’t as many real mutineers as Cui Hong had imagined – only a few hundred – but they had caused widespread chaos. Many soldiers had no idea why fighting had broken out, and once ordered, most obediently laid down their weapons.

After full daybreak, terrible news arrived: the Grand Marshal’s eldest son had died in the chaos of battle.

Only then did Grand Tutor Cui feel grief, personally leading the remaining right army troops to avenge his son.

More news quickly arrived – the mutineers had claimed they were acting on imperial orders to execute the Grand Marshal. At first, Cui Hong thought this was another plot by the Weary Marquis, but reports said the failed mutineers were fleeing toward the Capital.

Cui Hong finally realized that behind all this was not the Weary Marquis in the north, but the Empress Dowager in the city.

This meant the Empress Dowager was actually well-prepared, and neither Prince Donghai nor the Champion Marquis could possibly succeed.

“The Weary Marquis” – Cui Hong suddenly realized that if the Weary Marquis was killed by assassins, the Cui clan would truly be finished.

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