Cui Yunchu walked half a lap in utter boredom. Finding it truly dull, she turned her steps and headed toward the waterside pavilion where Cui Yunfeng and Xiao Yi had stayed during Tang Qingwan's wedding.
"Miss, His Highness the Prince of An and the Second Miss are probably still there. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to go?" Xing'er whispered from behind.
Cui Yunchu did not even turn her head. "If they weren't there, I wouldn't even bother going."
Xing'er felt a bit bewildered.
If it were in the past, she would have known exactly what her lady was going to do without even thinking about it, but now...
Her lady's thoughts were becoming increasingly impossible to guess.
Cui Yunchu arrived at the waterside pavilion and, sure enough, saw the figures of Cui Yunfeng and the Prince of An. It was the same place, right by the same stone table and chairs.
Not far away, Eunuch Liu stood guard.
Cui Yunchu raised an eyebrow and walked straight over, making a shushing gesture to Eunuch Liu before he could even open his mouth.
Eunuch Liu was already utterly exasperated with Cui Yunchu. "Eldest Miss Cui, why are you here again?"
"I came to see what kind of schemes and tricks your prince has used to make my sister so dead set on him."
Hearing this, Eunuch Liu immediately puffed out his chest. "His Highness is suave and elegant, and he treats the Second Miss with deep affection and righteousness. Naturally, the Second Miss is fond of our prince."
Cui Yunchu glanced at him, reached out, and shoved him to the ground. "Stop talking, they'll hear us."
That fellow, the Prince of An, had quite impressive martial arts skills.
Eunuch Liu finally remembered his duties and opened his mouth to speak, only to be met with a fierce glare from Cui Yunchu. "Shut up. If you dare make a sound, once Yunfeng marries over, I'll ask for you to be sent to the Cui residence and torture you every single day."
Eunuch Liu considered the likelihood of Cui Yunchu carrying out this threat and immediately fell silent.
"Then please keep your voice down."
"Mhm."
Xing'er squatted a little further away.
Cui Yunchu and Eunuch Liu stayed by the rocks near the bridge of the pavilion.
Cui Yunchu was truly bored out of her mind; otherwise, she wouldn't be doing something so incredibly tedious.
Faintly, the sound of the two conversing drifted to her ears. "Yi-gege, why are you here?"
"I came to bring Xiaobai to you."
Cui Yunchu rested her chin in her hands, listening to their mundane and uninteresting conversation that sounded like old friends chatting. She furrowed her brows. According to the storybooks, shouldn't they be pouring their hearts out to each other with sparks flying everywhere?
Then again, that wasn't right. Their current statuses were inappropriate; they couldn't let sparks fly just yet.
Xiao Yi immediately followed up, "How have you been these past few days? Have the elders in your family made things difficult for you?"
"No." Cui Yunfeng hesitated for a fraction of a second before smiling and shaking her head. "I am my father's biological daughter. He loves me too much to ever make things difficult for me."
"Is that so?" Xiao Yi's gaze darkened slightly as he slowly reached out to caress the young woman's beautiful cheek.
Cui Yunfeng nodded and then asked, "Has Consort Liang said anything about our matter... is there a result yet?"
Xiao Yi's hand paused, his gaze shifting away. "Yes, soon."
"Really?" Cui Yunfeng was slightly surprised. "Will the Emperor agree so easily?"
"I will handle everything, you don't need to worry."
Cui Yunchu curled her lips and mimicked Xiao Yi's line, repeating "I will handle everything."
Eunuch Liu looked up at Cui Yunchu as if looking at a fool.
Cui Yunchu rested her chin on her hand and muttered softly to herself, "When will someone ever say those words to me?"
"Yi-gege~ Actually, I can call him that too, and it doesn't sound too bad."
Eunuch Liu, "..."
He silently scooted a bit further away, afraid of catching her madness.
Didn't everyone say the Eldest Miss Cui had turned over a new leaf? Why was she acting crazy again?
Cui Yunchu quickly noticed his strange behavior and cast a cold glance his way. "What's with that expression?"
Eunuch Liu said, "Eldest Miss, my prince and the Second Miss are deeply in love and cherish each other. There is no room for anyone else to interfere."
Like I need you to tell me that?
In her past life, Chen Jiuhe had forcefully interfered and nearly cost his entire clan their lives.
In truth, Cui Yunchu didn't have any ulterior motives. She simply wanted to know how the two of them interacted in private, or rather, she wanted to understand what kind of interaction could make one person love another more than their own life.
From childhood to adulthood, she had always harbored an impossible dream in her heart.
She wished someone would love her desperately, valuing her above their own life, unconditionally and without asking for anything in return—yet she herself was entirely unwilling to give anything back.
But who would ever love her selfish, profit-seeking nature?
She had once liked the Crown Prince and the Prince of An for their power and status, but wasn't she also just jealous of their true love for her older cousin and Yunfeng?
Only loving oneself was too lonely, too pathetic.
So, what were the prerequisites to being loved?
Cui Yunchu felt somewhat deflated. Over the years, she couldn't figure it out by pretending, couldn't figure it out by snatching, and couldn't even trick anyone into giving her a bit of genuine affection.
She sat on the rock, curled up, resting her cheek on her arms, staring blankly into space.
A dark shadow suddenly loomed over her from behind. Cui Yunchu, deeply immersed in thoughts of her pitifully failed life, had absolutely no reaction to it.
It was only Eunuch Liu's greeting of "Lord Shen" that brought Cui Yunchu back to her senses.
Cui Yunchu frowned and turned around, predictably seeing Shen Xiabai's half-dead-looking face. "Are you a dog? Why did you follow me again?"
This was not the first time Cui Yunchu had cursed at him today.
Shen Xiabai himself didn't know when his temper had become this good. "A gentleman does not eavesdrop. What kind of petty villain is the Eldest Miss Cui?"
"..."
"The petty villain is Liu Wanting, not me." Cui Yunchu didn't even lift her head, remaining slumped on her arms, her voice sounding weak and listless.
Perhaps because she had been curled up for too long, her legs were a bit numb. She stretched them out and patted Eunuch Liu, signaling for him to massage them for her.
"..."
Eunuch Liu really wanted to roar at the heavens. One after another, how could they bully people like this? Servants are people too!
But after all, the other party was a little tyrant that even his master couldn't be bothered to provoke.
Under Cui Yunchu's despotic power, he could only step forward and massage her legs.
Shen Xiabai merely glanced at this before withdrawing his gaze.
He also didn't know why he had inexplicably followed her here.
Clearly, this woman's words were so unpleasant to hear.
Once the ache in her legs eased, Cui Yunchu looked at Shen Xiabai again. "Hasn't Lord Shen always maintained neutrality? Why would you appear in the Crown Prince's estate today?"
"That is not your concern."
Cui Yunchu, "..."
Although they weren't at each other's throats to the death anymore, the man still had that utterly detestable demeanor.
"Then Lord Shen constantly appearing in my line of sight, is that also not my concern?"
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes, his cold gaze falling on Cui Yunchu's face. Just as Cui Yunchu thought he was going to say something infuriating, unexpectedly, he only let out an "Mhm" and said nothing more.
What was that supposed to mean?
"You..."
"Keep your voice down. The Prince of An will hear you."
Cui Yunchu immediately stopped talking, raised her eyes, and followed Shen Xiabai's gaze. Sure enough, she locked eyes with Xiao Yi up above.
The two had left the stone table and chairs at some unknown point and were now standing directly above them, looking down with an indescribable expression.
Eunuch Liu was still massaging her legs.
"Well, we were just passing by, right, Lord Shen?"
Shen Xiabai cast a sidelong glance at Cui Yunchu and nodded.
The corners of Xiao Yi's lips suddenly curled into a smile. "Since that is the case, Yunfeng and I will find another place. Lord Shen, you two... take your time chatting. My royal brother, the Crown Prince, has had a meal prepared in the estate, so there is no rush."
