“If it weren’t for you, my elder brother wouldn’t have had to wait until now!”
Chen Yunxiang’s face stiffened, and her hands clenched tightly around the hem of her clothes.
“Chen Yunxiang, you paid a price, but that price is nowhere near enough!”
“For all the evil you have done, there will come a day when you repay it all! And that day will not be far off.”
With that, Cui Huaiyin took Rongyao by the hand and left.
Before Rongyao departed, she turned back and studied Chen Yunxiang seriously several times.
Daoxiang, meanwhile, spat bitterly at Chen Yunxiang. “Sister Yunxiang, so it turns out that all your devotion to Her Highness was fake! Her Highness treated you so well, yet you repaid her kindness with betrayal. You’re truly despicable! You even pretended to be Her Highness… A fake will always be a fake. It can never become the real thing!”
After they left, the door slammed shut once more.
Chen Yunxiang gripped her left hand tightly with her right, trembling without pause.
When she had been the young lady’s maid, had there ever been a day when she was not loyal?
She had handled every matter properly and always considered her mistress’s interests. But people could have unexpected opportunities.
She had Yuer.
Yuer had been bestowed upon her by Heaven. Even while still in her womb, Yuer had been able to communicate with her and come up with ideas for her useless mother.
Yuer had said that everyone in the world was equal, and that everyone had the right to pursue happiness. She should not spend her entire life as Cui Huaiyin’s maid and slave. She should pursue her own happiness.
After that day, she cast aside her identity as a servant. Taking the jade pendant her mistress had given her, she pretended to be the daughter of a mountain hunter and became Chen Ruyun.
The moment she saw the Emperor, she knew she had made the right choice. She had never seen such an outstanding man. Compared with Sun Yi, he was a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand times better!
She had risen above all others, entered the capital, entered the prince’s residence, and then entered the imperial palace.
She had been very happy. She had even felt grateful to Cui Huaiyin for the kindness she had shown her in the past. Cui Huaiyin had not wiped them all out, but had instead risked everything to preserve the lives of the Cui family.
But now, she was wrong.
Terribly wrong!
She should never have been kind and placed her daughter in danger!
If Cui Huaiyin truly discovered something…
Chen Yunxiang covered her mouth and repeated frantically, “No, she won’t. She won’t! My daughter is an immortal from Heaven. She has magic powers. She has been brilliant since childhood. How could a mere Cui Huaiyin hurt her? That’s right! Cui Huaiyin and her foolish daughter will only ever be crushed beneath my daughter’s feet!”
…
After returning to the Liangyi Palace, Cui Huaiyin closed the door and anxiously questioned her daughter.
“Yaoyao, did you dream of something again? Why did you say that Princess Shengping isn’t your father’s daughter?”
Rongyao looked up at her mother. “Mother, do you think Princess Shengping looks like Father?”
Cui Huaiyin thought carefully before answering, “Not at all. She looks more like Chen Yunxiang.”
Rongyao held up a finger. “And Princess Shengping is only three days younger than Yaoyao.”
Cui Huaiyin’s eyes flew wide open.
That was right. Princess Shengping had been born prematurely to Chen Yunxiang…
How could such a coincidence exist?
She suddenly recalled everything that had happened many years ago, before any of this had taken place.
When Yunxiang had reached marriageable age and wanted to marry, Cui Huaiyin had searched for a suitable man for her. After looking for a long time, Chen Yunxiang had chosen someone herself. Cui Huaiyin had investigated the man’s background. He was a scholar who had passed the lowest-level imperial examination. Though his family was poor, he was fair and handsome, and supposedly hardworking. Chen Yunxiang had been extremely fond of him and often personally delivered embroidered sachets to him.
If that incident had never happened, Yunxiang would have married him in another half a month.
At the time, no one had expected Yunxiang to take the jade pendant and disappear completely.
Not long afterward, the man betrothed to Yunxiang, Sun Yi, had also died unexpectedly.
Back then, Cui Huaiyin had thought it was merely a coincidence.
But now…
Could it be that, in order to conceal something, Chen Yunxiang had also been responsible for Sun Yi’s death?
“Mother, what are you thinking about?”
Cui Huaiyin came back to herself and looked at her daughter. After hesitating for a moment, she tentatively told Rongyao what had just occurred to her.
“…Sun Yi, the scholar, died unexpectedly more than three months after Chen Yunxiang disappeared. I heard that he fell into a river and was not retrieved until the following day.”
Rongyao’s eyes widened. “Chen Yunxiang killed Sun Yi!”
Cui Huaiyin resisted the urge to cover her daughter’s mouth. Instead, she pinched her daughter’s chubby cheek and said, “It’s possible, but we can’t be certain. We need to investigate. Sun Yi may be dead, but his parents are still alive. Perhaps we can learn something from them.”
Rongyao nodded in agreement. “Mm! She harmed us so badly. We can’t let her get off easily.”
Cui Huaiyin gently stroked her daughter’s hair. “That’s right. We can’t let her get off easily! Fortunately, Chen Yunxiang has already been demoted to a commoner and confined to Qiuling Palace. She has no way to harm us anymore.”
Rongyao lowered her head, her brows drawing together slightly. She did not entirely agree with her mother.
She always felt that Princess Shengping was more capable and clever than Chen Yunxiang.
In her previous life, many things had been planned by Princess Shengping for Noble Consort Chen.
Noble Consort Chen had also always claimed that Princess Shengping was an immortal descended to the mortal world and possessed magical powers.
But what exactly were those magical powers?
…
On this day, Rongyao was roused by her mother before dawn.
That was right—Princess Fuxi was going to the Wenchang Academy to study and practice her calligraphy.
Cui Huaiyin had risen even earlier. She carefully inspected her daughter’s Four Treasures of the Study once again and secretly placed some of her favorite pastries inside the box.
Even though she knew her daughter was clever, adorable, and well-liked, she still could not help worrying and imagining all sorts of possibilities.
Cui Huaiyin crouched in front of her neatly dressed daughter and instructed her, “I hear the Grand Tutor is extremely strict. If you can’t answer his questions, he may scold you. If he speaks harshly to you, don’t be afraid. You are a princess, after all. He wouldn’t truly dare to hit you with a cane.”
Rongyao: “…” Yaoyao is very clever, you know.
Mother Cui knew that Yaoyao was clever. Wasn’t this just a precaution? She had made inquiries, and Princess Shengping was said to be exceptionally intelligent. Her calligraphy was excellent, and she could recite her lessons well. Although Mother believed that Yaoyao was even cleverer than she was, if Yaoyao truly did not surpass her, she mustn’t feel sad. They did not have to compete with her in that regard. They were prettier than her!
“Still, you must be careful around her. She was born to Chen Yunxiang, so she certainly isn’t a good person either.”
Rongyao thought her mother was absolutely right and nodded solemnly. “Mm-hmm! Yaoyao will try her best not to get punished, and she’ll work hard to surpass Princess Shengping!”
Her daughter’s earnest expression amused Cui Huaiyin. When it was almost time to leave, she took Rongyao by the hand and personally escorted her to the Wenchang Academy.
The Wenchang Academy was where the imperial children studied and practiced their calligraphy.
Its teachers were the most learned officials in the imperial court.
In addition to the Emperor’s sons and daughters, the legitimate sons and daughters of the various princes could also attend the Wenchang Academy. Naturally, the children of certain nobles and high-ranking officials could study there as well if they received an imperial favor.
Cui Huaiyin held her daughter Rongyao’s hand. Daoxiang, Juxiang, and the others followed behind as they made their way toward the Wenchang Academy.
Just as they were nearing the academy, they encountered Princess Shengping, who was also on her way to class.
Seeing the two of them, Princess Shengping warmly approached.
“Shengping pays her respects to Consort Cui and Sister.”
Cui Huaiyin cast Princess Shengping an unfriendly look and pulled her daughter behind her.
“Class is about to begin. Princess Shengping, you should hurry inside.”
Princess Shengping acted as though she hadn’t heard and continued standing there with a smile. Staring past Consort Cui at Rongyao, she said, “Rest assured, Consort Cui. I’ll take good care of Sister Rongyao and will never let anyone bully her.”
Consort Cui let out a soft laugh. “Princess Shengping certainly knows how to joke. Wenchang Academy is a sacred place of learning, and all the students there are courteous and respectful. Why would they bully anyone without reason? What? In Princess Shengping’s eyes, is everyone there—apart from you—unreasonable and ignorant of propriety and rank?”
The smile at the corners of Princess Shengping’s lips froze.
“Nonsense! I would never bully anyone!” A chubby, tiger-headed-looking child of about eight years old stood nearby, lifting his head and loudly arguing back.
