But the words Cui Yunfeng spoke still made him freeze: "Kill Gu Xuan."
"..."
Xiao Yi thought his ears were playing tricks on him. How could the name Gu Xuan and the words "kill him" ever be linked together?
"Did he provoke you?" He suddenly stood up.
Yet he found it unlikely—though Gu Xuan was arrogant, he had always harbored a bit of fear toward Xiao Yi since childhood and wouldn't dare set his sights on Yunfeng.
"He provoked my eldest sister."
"..." Xiao Yi sat back down again.
Cui Yunchu, again.
Xiao Yi felt she should have someone check her Ba Zi to see if she was cursed to ruin him.
These past years, she had been like a specter, making him deeply understand what it meant to be unable to stand someone yet unable to get rid of them.
Apart from Yunfeng, she was the first person in the capital whom he had endured time and again, daring not to make a move against.
Back when his feelings with Yunfeng were still warm, Cui Yunchu's endless entanglement drove him to show the thick stack of love poems to Cui Yunfeng, hoping to convince her.
Yet he only received a few words: "Shut up. Don't say a word."
"It must be because you're always appearing in front of my eldest sister that you seduced her."
Everyone in the capital already knew about it; was there any need to say it out loud?
Seduced? Even the greatest judge wouldn't be able to clear his name of such an unjust accusation.
"Just tell me—can you do it or not?"
Cui Yunfeng stood up, making as if to leave. Xiao Yi grabbed her wrist.
"If he had provoked you, I would have killed him without hesitation."
But Cui Yunchu wasn't worth him offending the Empress Dowager or provoking the Gu family into an endless feud for her sake.
"However, I will teach him a lesson and make sure he dares not overstep again."
"My eldest sister said to make him die." After saying this, Cui Yunfeng broke free of Xiao Yi's grip and left.
She came and went in a hurry, truly having come only for this matter, without asking a single word about the Prince of An's injuries.
Except for the hall where Xiao Yi sat, the Prince of An's residence was bustling everywhere. Red silk hung high, servants wore joyful expressions, and even Consort Liang had left the palace to personally oversee the arrangements.
She searched for a while before finding Xiao Yi in the hall, patting her chest and saying, "You scared me to death. I thought Yunfeng had come to stab you a few more times."
"Mother, you could just not speak," Xiao Yi said as he lounged in his chair, his slightly narrowed eyes fixed on the rafters.
Consort Liang knew she had struck a nerve with her son. She chuckled and said, "Alright, don't be so dejected. Tomorrow is your wedding day. As long as you marry her, you can slowly coax her. Yunfeng has you in her heart. If you treat her well, you'll win her over eventually."
Then she added, "But before that happens, it's best if you sleep with one eye open as a lookout. If word gets out that the prince was killed by his own wife, that would be quite the shame."
Xiao Yi's cold gaze swept over Consort Liang.
With a mother like this, he could almost understand why she hadn't even noticed when he was taken by her sworn enemy as a child.
His voice carried a hint of laziness. "Mother, even if you were a stepmother, you wouldn't be so malicious."
Consort Liang: "..."
When Cui Yunfeng returned, Maple Garden was in near chaos, with everyone searching high and low for her.
For a prince's wedding, all matters were prepared by the Ministry of Rites of the imperial palace. Cui Yunfeng needed to try on her wedding robe to see if it fit, as well as go over the ceremony process for the next day and the various preparations required.
Cui Xiang had said he would remove her from the family registry, and he truly showed no concern whatsoever, not even sending someone to ask about her.
Cui Yunfeng was like a soulless puppet, surrounded by a crowd of attendants who dressed her and took her measurements.
A cacophony of voices buzzed in her ears.
Cui Yunchu sat beside her, propping her chin on her hand, watching Cui Yunfeng.
The wedding robe was not as splendid as their cousin's—the Crown Princess's—and neither was the phoenix crown, but compared to ordinary officials' families, it was already worlds apart.
The specifications for a prince and a crown prince were still strictly regulated.
"I fear I'll never in this life wear such luxurious wedding robes and phoenix crowns."
Cui Yunfeng looked up.
Her eldest sister's focus was always so peculiar.
"Why couldn't you? When you marry, have your future husband prepare something even better."
Cui Yunchu pouted. "You and our cousin have a Prince Consort's and Crown Princess's standards. How could I ever use those?"
The Emperor had only two sons, and the few princes older than them were old enough to be her father.
"Hey, hey, hey," Cui Yunchu suddenly exclaimed as if she had discovered a new continent, pointing at Cui Yunfeng. "Could it be that you and our cousin's children..."
Before she could finish, a round object flew toward her. "Have you lost your mind?"
"That's your nephew! You're so obsessed with wealth, you've thrown ethics to the wind."
Cui Yunchu clicked her tongue. "What are you thinking? How dirty-minded of you. Am I such a shameless person?"
Cui Yunfeng glared at her. If she dared to say it outright, it would be only too fitting for the Crown Prince and Xiao Yi to kill her.
Cui Yunchu rested her chin in her hands. "I mean, if your son or our cousin's son becomes the heir, could you grant me a princely title? Not as princess consort, but as a prince—a female prince."
She was getting excited, gesturing wildly as she spoke. "With a fief and an income, that sort of thing."
Preferably, she could marry a princess consort.
Just thinking about it made Cui Yunchu's eyes curve into crescents with laughter. When that day came, she would no longer have to waste her efforts seducing anyone. Instead, people would come to seduce her, and she could finally taste what it felt like to be the center of everyone's attention.
"..."
Cui Yunfeng: Grant a prince title to an aunt? Even if Cui Yunchu dared to say it, she wouldn't dare to think it.
"And what about you? What would you do?"
Cui Yunchu replied matter-of-factly, "I'm counting on my nephews. You two need to instill in them from childhood the duty to honor their aunt, provide for her in old age, and let her enjoy a life of pleasure."
Cui Yunfeng had had enough. She cast a sidelong glance at her. "And your mother's honorary title? Are you expecting me and our cousin's sons to handle that too?"
"Of course! Who else but you two, the princess consort and the crown princess?"
Cui Yunfeng was speechless.
Truly, she was the daughter of Concubine Zhou—a chip off the old block.
The mother and daughter duo were nothing but big dreamers.
"Impossible. Don't even think about it."
Little Cui Yunchu, burdened from childhood with the arduous task of securing her mother an honorary title, had muttered bitterly about it for years.
And now, the impossible task of making an aunt a prince had fallen onto her son's shoulders. The poor little thing would be kept awake all night with worry.
A female prince—harder even than ascending the throne. And a prince of a different surname, at that.
"Rely on your own son for that."
Cui Yunchu refused to let go of her greed. "I want to be a prince. I want to wear a phoenix crown, a wedding robe embroidered with golden phoenixes, and step on cloud-shaped boots."
"Eldest sister," Cui Yunfeng said, lifting her skirt and looking at her seriously. "I think you're getting more and more carried off. Your ambition is seething—you're practically blinded by power and wealth."
Before, she dabbled in seducing the Prince of An and the Crown Prince. Since she never succeeded, they just let her do her thing.
Then came headpieces and shops. Now she wanted a princely title.
Cui Yunfeng felt she could no longer tolerate her recklessness.
To be fair, Cui Yunchu's single-mindedness on these two matters earned Cui Yunfeng's admiration.
"Contentment—those two words have nothing to do with you, Cui Yunchu. Even if you got a prince title, who knows—you might end up eyeing the dragon throne."
Cui Yunchu sprang up in fright and covered Cui Yunfeng's mouth. "Don't say such things! Do you want to die?"
The two sisters lay sprawled on the bed, grinning at each other.
“Actually, there’s another way for you to become a princess,” one said.
Cui Yunchu was distracted. “What?”
“Make your husband the Prince Regent. Then you’d be the Regent’s consort, with your own ceremonial guard—how grand would that be?”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Cui Yunchu began, and just the sound of it gave Cui Yunfeng goosebumps.
“You’ve got a point there,” Cui Yunchu said.
“Right?”
The sisters looked at each other and burst into laughter. Cui Yunchu asked, “What rank is the Regent’s consort? Would I have to kneel when I see you and our cousin?”
“No idea, but our cousin is the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess’s consort probably has to kneel.”
“…”
Cui Yunchu drifted off into a daydream of being the princess consort, her eyes crinkling with delight.
“Rise, rise—hahahaha…”
The two sisters chatted about the Regent’s consort late into the night, so much so that the next morning, when the maids called them to get up, they simply couldn’t.
Tang Qingwan was still in her month of confinement and couldn’t go out, so only Cui Yunchu accompanied Cui Yunfeng. While Cui Yunfeng washed and dressed, Cui Yunchu dozed off to the side.
Cui Yunfeng kept her eyes closed too, her head bobbing, making the maids’ job of combing and applying makeup rather difficult.
