"Yunfeng," Cui Yunchu began wailing the moment she stepped into the courtyard. "They say a married daughter is like water spilled—once you're wed, even I, your elder sister, have no right to see you anymore."
She pouted her lips, shuffling pitifully into the main hall, but then froze. It was too late to rein in her act.
Everyone who mattered was gathered there, and one person's gaze in particular made Cui Yunchu burn with embarrassment and shame, wishing she could vanish on the spot.
"Well, everyone's... here early, huh," she said, performing a perfunctory bow before sitting up straight as straight as a dog waiting to be fed.
Prince An shot her a glance, while the Crown Prince smiled faintly. "What did you just say, cousin? Has something upset you? Do you need my help?"
"..."
Cui Yunchu twisted the handkerchief in her hands and let out two awkward "heh heh" laughs. "Many thanks for your kindness, Brother-in-law Crown Prince."
She held herself upright, almost resembling a proper young lady.
Prince An's voice dripped with mockery. "Eldest Miss Cui arrived a bit late. If you'd come just half an hour earlier, you might have run into Lord Shen. Lord Shen is injured and moves with difficulty—you could have lent him a hand."
"..."
Cui Yunchu's lips pressed into a thin line, and she shot Xiao Yi a dark glare.
Meanwhile, the ever-silent Shen Xiabai drawled lazily, "You jest, Prince. I've come to wish Princess An a happy birthday. If the Prince has the heart, you could prepare a small sedan chair for me, to spare me the bumpy ride."
Prince An raised an eyebrow. "I was just worried your servants might not know the way, Lord Shen. What if they carry you to the wrong estate—say, the Cui residence—and you can't make it back?"
Cui Yunchu caught on. Prince An was implying that Shen Xiabai should become her little consort.
She kept quiet, rubbing her chin as she stole a peek at Shen Xiabai.
"..."
She got caught red-handed. He shot her a glare.
Cui Yunchu pouted; it wasn't her who said it, so why was he glaring at her? But she knew Shen Xiabai was slow with words, and she had quite a few scores to settle with Prince An, so she decided to regain the upper hand.
Raising an eyebrow, she looked confident, as if ready to put on a show.
"Brother-in-law, are you saying that once someone is carried into a house, they can never leave? Why didn't you say so earlier? I wouldn't have gone through all that trouble back then—I'd just have carried a sedan chair straight into your Prince An's residence."
Cui Yunchu had meant to rile Xiao Yi up.
But when her words landed, the hall fell into a sudden, dead silence. The atmosphere was nothing like she had imagined.
Several pairs of eyes fixed on her at once.
Cui Yunfeng couldn't care less, thoroughly familiar with this elder sister's ways.
Xiao Yi's face darkened. The Crown Prince glanced at Shen Xiabai beside him, his expression hard to read.
But what was truly chilling was the look Shen Xiabai gave her—very calm, very quiet, but completely devoid of warmth.
Cui Yunchu: "..."
Trapped by their stares, she lowered her head, scuffing the ground with her toes, trying to disappear into the chair.
Then Cui Yunfeng spoke, breaking the heavy silence. "Elder Sister, what did you mean by what you said at the door just now? What happened?"
"Yunfeng, these fruits are tribute from the west—try some." Cui Yunfeng accepted the fruit Prince An offered but kept her eyes fixed on Cui Yunchu.
Cui Yunchu glared at Xiao Yi.
She had already lost face thoroughly, so she figured she might as well go the whole way.
She sniffled, and tears welled up in her eyes. She flicked her handkerchief and dabbed at the corner of her eye. “I’ve been thinking about your birthday for days, and I even went to the market specially to pick out a gift for you. I worried you might be uncomfortable, suddenly marrying into the Prince An’s household all alone, and I wanted to come keep you company.”
Cui Yunfeng was deeply moved. She stood up and walked over to Cui Yunchu, wrapping an arm around her. Xiao Yi couldn’t even pull her back; she slapped his hand away.
“Elder Sister can come see me whenever she wants, anytime at all.”
Cui Yunchu continued, “But you’re a married daughter now. How can I, your family, visit too often?”
She sighed. “I waited and waited at the manor, but your birthday banquet invitation never came.”
“How could that be?” Cui Yunfeng frowned. “You were the first person I sent one to.”
Cui Yunchu said, “I knew Yunfeng wouldn’t forget her sister. I thought it must have been a servant’s oversight—they must have missed mine. So I sent Xing’er to ask what happened, but who would have thought…”
Cui Yunchu’s gaze shifted to Xiao Yi, whose face had darkened.
Cui Yunfeng followed her gaze and turned her head. In a low voice, she asked, “Prince, what’s going on?”
The last time Cui Yunfeng called him “Prince” like that was because of that letter Cui Yunchu had sent late at night.
Xiao Yi gave a faint smile. “It must have been a servant’s oversight. I’ll have the steward take Eldest Miss Cui to the storeroom a little later to pick out whatever she likes—as compensation.”
Cui Yunchu thought: He backed down. He was so smug when he was discriminating against me. But does he think stuffing my mouth with things will make it all go away? Does he really believe I’ll stop just because I’ve made my complaint? Not a chance.
She wasn’t about to shut up. “But who would have guessed that the manor’s steward said my brother-in-law had made it clear: now that Yunfeng has married into Prince An’s household, she’s part of the royal family. He doesn’t want someone with my ruined reputation to tarnish her good name.”
“…”
Cui Yunfeng turned her head with a dark look, fixing Xiao Yi with a glare that could cut glass.
“Yunfeng, she’s lying,” Xiao Yi said.
If Cui Yunchu’s maid had come to the manor, the steward would have reported it. No way he wouldn’t.
“Where’s the invitation? The one I sent for Elder Sister? Why wasn’t it delivered?”
“I don’t know,” Xiao Yi said. He wasn’t stupid—of course Cui Yunchu would come for Yunfeng’s birthday. Besides, he cherished Yunfeng and wanted her to be happy. His bias against Cui Yunchu didn’t matter.
Cui Yunfeng clearly didn’t believe him, but making a scene in front of the Crown Prince and Shen Xiabai would be unseemly. So she comforted Cui Yunchu instead. “Elder Sister, don’t worry. I will get to the bottom of this, and I won’t let you suffer any injustice for no reason.”
Cui Yunchu nodded. “Mm, mm,” she hummed in agreement.
The Crown Prince watched from the side, one eyebrow raised.
“So this is how you live, little brother,” he said.
Trouble arrived at your door, disaster dropped out of nowhere. Not much better off than me, honestly—falling into Cui Yunchu’s clutches. What rotten luck.
“…”
Xiao Yi stayed silent.
Shen Xiabai remained cold and detached, lowering his head to sip his tea.
In just a few short days, her talent for stirring up trouble had grown. No wonder Prince An had come to the prison to demand an explanation from him.
The two sisters had endless things to say. Joy spread across Cui Yunfeng’s face. “Come on, let’s go to my chambers. Let me see what goodies Elder Sister has bought me.”
They stood up, chatting and laughing as they walked away.
At the end, Cui Yunchu’s voice drifted back. “Buying that birthday gift cost me quite a bit of silver.”
“No worries,” Cui Yunfeng replied. “Prince An’s storeroom is full of gold and treasures. I’ll take you there later, too.”
Prince An: “…”
Crown Prince: “…”
Hiding behind his teacup, Shen Xiabai silently curled his lips into a smile.
