Beside them, Cui Yunfeng immediately stepped forward, but Cui Yunchu stood still, her brow slightly furrowed as if lost in thought.
Tang Qingwan's gaze fell on her. "Yunchu, I heard about what happened the day before yesterday. Thanks to you stalling Lord Shen in time, we were able to eliminate the Liu family so smoothly."
Cui Yunchu snapped back to reality, grinning. "For your sake, cousin, I paid no small price. How do you plan to thank me?"
"...I don't have many headdresses left. What remains are mostly my mother's keepsakes."
Cui Yunchu pouted.
Cui Yunfeng chimed in, "Cousin, you underestimate our eldest sister. A set of headdresses isn't enough for her anymore."
Cui Yunchu held up one finger, already haggling like a lion. "At the very least, a shop—after all, I risked my life."
Tang Qingwan blinked at that finger, paused for a moment, then shifted her gaze. "Yunfeng, what were you about to say just now?"
The two changed the subject, leaving Cui Yunchu standing there ignored.
Cui Yunchu clicked her tongue, pushed Cui Yunfeng aside, and sat down beside Tang Qingwan. "You have no idea how clever that Shen Xiaba is. He actually guessed you staged the whole thing yourself. He threatened me with every kind of torture, but I’m a daughter of the Cui family—tough as bone—and I didn’t say a word."
"Is that so?" Tang Qingwan's eyes carried a hint of mockery as she looked her over. "Yet I see you lively and spirited, without a single scratch."
"That’s because I’m clever," Cui Yunchu said. "I wore him down with all my wits, came within a hair's breadth of being killed by his blade, but still I refused to confess."
Cui Yunchu recounted the ordeal with dramatic flair, and Cui Yunfeng backed her up. "She really did look quite ragged the day she came back."
Tang Qingwan mustered a faint, weary smile. "Is that so? If Yunchu is that formidable, it’s astonishing that Lord Shen, with all his cunning, was helpless against a young woman like you."
Cui Yunchu deliberately ignored the teasing in her words. "Of course."
She had never imagined that one day she would have to scheme against the person she feared most, all for the sake of the Cui and Tang families.
"A single shop won't do. Cousin, I’ll give you two."
Cui Yunchu's eyes lit up, and she could barely contain her grin.
Tang Qingwan continued, "But even that is a drop in the bucket for you. If you want real wealth and status, you need to set your sights on something bigger."
Cui Yunchu’s eyelids twitched slightly. "What, are you planning to make me some prince's concubine?"
Who else could be more noble than His Highness the Crown Prince?
Tang Qingwan shot her a sideways glance. "Would you take it?"
"No way. Even you couldn’t handle it. I’d end up dead before I knew it."
The smiles on the three sisters' faces gradually faded.
Cui Yunfeng finally asked the question weighing on her heart. "Cousin, what did the imperial physician say about your health?"
Tang Qingwan unconsciously touched her lower abdomen. "The physician said that with proper rest and care, I’ll be fine."
"Is that all?" Cui Yunfeng’s mother and Tang Qingwan’s mother had both passed early due to complications from childbirth, and the two young women were deeply wary of such matters.
A miscarriage could severely damage one’s body—it was not as trivial as Tang Qingwan made it sound.
Tang Qingwan didn’t answer. Instead, she took Cui Yunchu’s and Cui Yunfeng’s hands and placed them together. "I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you both."
Cui Yunfeng said, "Cousin, I don't need you to protect me. Just take care of yourself. I can protect myself."
Cui Yunchu added, "Well, then you two can protect me."
She didn’t have her cousin’s cunning or Yunfeng’s backing.
Tang Qingwan said, "We will, of course. But Yunchu, relying on anyone else is never as good as relying on yourself. In times of chaos, only by having a strong foundation can you truly protect yourself.
"If opportunity presents itself, plan ahead carefully—and never let the chance slip by."
Cui Yunchu’s eyelashes fluttered.
The day of Cui Yunfeng’s and Prince An’s grand wedding was set for ten days later. The decree was delivered by a young eunuch from Consort Liang’s palace.
Throughout it all, Prince An never showed his face.
Cui Yunfeng no longer wept and wailed as she once had. Instead, she stayed in her courtyard every day, flipping through all kinds of books—random ones, whatever she could find.
In her spare time, she would visit Tang Qingwan at the Crown Prince’s mansion.
But beneath this calm surface lay a brewing storm. The Crown Prince’s faction repeatedly petitioned the emperor, demanding the recall of the Cui family’s eldest son.
The emperor’s displeasure with the Crown Prince had reached its peak. Prince An’s power was steadily growing, and the struggle for the throne became increasingly open and imminent.
In such a volatile situation, the position of the Cui family was awkwardly delicate. On one hand, there was their niece, the Crown Princess; on the other, the eldest legitimate daughter, soon to become the Princess of An.
The Crown Prince had already lost the emperor’s favor. Everyone assumed the Cui family was about to switch allegiances—after all, a niece couldn’t compare to their own daughter.
Even Cui Yunfeng’s and Tang Qingwan’s frequent meetings seemed strange in the eyes of outsiders.
Then came the news that the Cui family was planning to expel Cui Yunfeng from their clan records.
Prime Minister Cui showed no hesitation in his actions—swift and decisive—as if Cui Yunfeng were not the daughter of his beloved wife, nor his most cherished eldest legitimate daughter.
Cui Yunchu watched with her own eyes as he dipped his brush and struck Cui Yunfeng’s name from the family genealogy.
"For the sake of our bond as father and daughter, I will allow you to marry from this household with the dignity you deserve. But from now on, everything related to the Princess of An will have nothing to do with the Cui family. I will not seek any favor or wealth from your noble title."
He shook his sleeves and left without a trace of hesitation.
Cui Yunchu was astounded.
She slowly walked over to Cui Yunfeng.
Cui Yunfeng lifted her gaze, glancing at her. "Elder sister, I haven't cried."
She looked toward the ancestral tablets of the Cui family on the altar. "This path was my own choice. Now that I've come this far, there's no room for regret."
She tilted her head and forced a smile. "Elder sister, don't worry. I will work hard, learn from our cousin, and become strong enough to protect the people I care about."
Cui Yunchu looked at Cui Yunfeng and felt as if all the birds around her had spread their wings and flown away, leaving only her floundering uselessly in the nest.
Now, when she asked herself what she truly wanted most—
Wealth. Power.
Cui Yunchu let out a long breath, almost laughing at her own obsession. Those two things, she was faithful to them until death.
Perhaps selfishness was carved into her very bones.
Her cousin and Yunfeng were the treasures of their fathers, and even they were still struggling. What about herself?
As her cousin had said, in a world of chaos, without a strong protector, she would be utterly alone. Who would look out for her?
Drift with the current, become a fish on the chopping block with no power to fight back.
The night wind was cold. Cui Yunchu sat in the courtyard, staring up at the pitch-black sky. There wasn’t even a moon tonight.
Nanny Zhang asked, "Are you upset that Second Young Lady is becoming the Princess of An?"
Cui Yunchu replied, "Is that the only thing on your mind? Is there nothing more important?"
She wrapped her cloak tighter, looking dispirited.
Xinger asked, "What are you thinking about, miss?"
"About a lot of things." Cui Yunchu clicked her tongue. "If something happened to our family, would there be anyone like the Crown Prince protecting cousin, or Prince An protecting Yunfeng, who would come and protect me?"
Xing’er and Nanny Zhang both fell silent.
Cui Yunchu turned her head. “What do you mean by saying nothing?”
Xing’er replied, “Forgive this servant for speaking bluntly, but if that day truly comes, the first ones the Cui and Tang families would protect would likely be Miss Biao and the Second Miss.”
“Did I ask you to tell me that?” Cui Yunchu shot her a glare.
“…” Wasn’t it you, miss, who told me to speak?
Nanny Zhang seized the opportunity and began her usual nagging, urging Cui Yunchu to find a powerful and influential husband, to act quickly and get herself married.
This time, Cui Yunchu did not hit her.
She wanted to live. She struggled with all her might to live, as if staying alive was the greatest goal of her life.
Without a doubt, she would be the one abandoned—just as her cousin had said, she ought to plan more steps for herself.
Even when she said she wanted to protect Xing’er, Nanny Zhang wouldn’t dare agree—let alone anything else.
Only those like her cousin or Yunfeng, who had their own strength, could speak of protecting others. Unlike her, she could barely even protect herself.
