The tavern was not large, but the atmosphere was decent. Cui Yunchu was led by a waiter to a private room on the second floor.
She looked as if she had needles on her skin—uncomfortable everywhere, her brows tightly knitted.
The waiter served tea and asked what they would like to eat. Cui Yunchu’s lips parted and she rattled off a string of dishes, all of which were signature dishes from Wangyue Tower in the capital—dishes that simply didn’t exist anywhere else.
The waiter shot an awkward glance at Cui Yunli.
“Yunchu, why not let him introduce what they have first, and see if there’s anything you’d like?”
Cui Yunchu glanced at Cui Yunli. “Who’s paying?”
How could a brother let his younger sister pay for a meal? After years away from home, Cui Yunli had at least cultivated some gentlemanly grace.
Cui Yunchu immediately said, “Then no need for introductions. Just bring me one of every signature dish you have.”
The waiter said tactfully, “Miss, will the two of you be able to finish all that?”
Cui Yunchu was in a bad mood at the moment and shot back, “Our family’s silver can’t be spent either—are you worrying about my father’s money for him?”
The waiter: “…”
Cui Yunli: “.”
The waiter hurried off to place the order.
Cui Yunchu and Cui Yunli had nothing to say to each other. The private room was dead quiet—the kind of quiet that made you uncomfortable.
Finally, Cui Yunli spoke. “Is everything well at the manor?”
Cui Yunchu glanced at him sideways. “The old… Prime Minister Cui summoned you back to the capital. Didn’t the letter tell you?”
If everything were fine, would they have needed him to come back?
Cui Yunli’s expression sank a little. “It’s my fault. As the eldest son, I’ve been thousands of miles away, unable to help, leaving Father to face everything alone.”
“…” Cui Yunchu stared at him blankly for a moment.
It was hard to tell what expression was on her face.
That boy—he’d been raised into uselessness.
If the old man hadn’t wielded power so great that it threatened the throne, would he have packed you off out of the capital when you were just a child?
Cui Yunchu looked at the self-blaming Cui Yunli and began to reflect on whether she herself had been born a wicked-hearted child.
“What about Yunfeng?” Cui Yunli asked again. “Is she well?”
Cui Yunchu gave a vague “Mm-hmm.” “She’s throwing her weight around at Prince An’s residence, all very comfortable.”
Prince An loved her, the old man doted on her—who wouldn’t be doing well in her shoes?
The phrase “throwing her weight around” made Cui Yunli frown slightly. In his memory, his youngest sister had been demure and proper.
“Don’t believe me?” Cui Yunchu raised an eyebrow. “Then don’t ask me.”
“…”
This sister of his—she hadn’t changed a bit in over a decade.
When they were young, Cui Yunli had been proud and would argue with her. Now, he just smiled faintly.
After all, she was still his sister. How could he hold it against her?
“I remember you loved sweet date cake when you were little—you even fought with Yunfeng over it. I bought some on the road; I’ll bring it to you later.”
Cui Yunchu’s blasé, indifferent look faltered for a moment. She lifted her eyes and glanced at Cui Yunli.
She muttered under her breath, “That was then. I don’t like it anymore.”
“Then there are other things. I brought lots of interesting stuff—there’s bound to be something you like.”
“…” Had he been away so long that he’d mixed up his own mother?
Cui Yunchu grumbled inwardly, but her heavy mood inexplicably lightened a little.
After all, even thin sincerity was still sincerity. As long as you didn’t ask for too much, contentment brought joy.
The waiter arrived with the dishes, and following him came a man and a woman.
Cui Yunchu didn’t lift her eyes. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
The man’s deep, clear voice was low yet gentle. “The owner said today’s signature dishes are all sold out. Might I ask if the two of you would be generous enough to share your table? I’d be happy to cover the bill for this meal.”
Cui Yunli recognized them at a glance—the pair were exactly the man and woman Yun Chu had spoken of as having an illicit affair.
He rose to his feet, every muscle taut with vigilance. "There are many taverns along the road. Young master could choose another one."
Shen Xiabai said, "But I happen to prefer this one." As he spoke, he lowered his gaze, watching Cui Yunchu who was utterly absorbed in gnawing on a chicken leg.
"This young lady—" He had barely taken a step closer when Cui Yunli's arm shot out, barring his path.
The warning was unmistakable.
The warmth in Shen Xiabai's eyes dispersed in an instant.
First Prime Minister Cui, and now a Cui Yunli as well.
Cui Yunchu put down her chopsticks, her gaze sweeping past the woman behind Shen Xiabai, exchanging a brief look with her, before settling back on Shen Xiabai.
"Are you implying I can't afford a meal on my own?"
Shen Xiabai and Cui Yunli both turned to look at Cui Yunchu at the same time.
What came out of her mouth never failed to catch you off guard.
Like right now—if she wanted to pick a fight, she'd find fault even in Shen Xiabai simply walking with alternate strides. His very existence was a crime.
What mattered was, Shen Xiabai had no idea what he'd even done wrong.
Shen Xiabai gritted his teeth. "I just thought that Eldest Miss Cui earns her silver with such hard toil, I wanted to help you spend a little less." His gaze landed on Cui Yunchu's lips with an unreadable expression.
So red. So soft. So tender. It was just that there were too many people getting in the way today.
Shameless!
Cui Yunchu looked away, and under Cui Yunli's watchful eye, she felt a pang of guilt after all.
And that title—"Eldest Miss Cui"—made Cui Yunli realize something.
This man knew Yunchu. Given Yunchu's temperament, it was highly likely everything she'd said earlier was utter nonsense.
"People who cultivate aren't supposed to eat meat." She glanced at Xiao Lan, who stood behind Shen Xiabai.
The woman was quiet, with delicate features, but she looked a bit old for her apparent age.
A married woman?
Cui Yunchu frowned with a shudder of disgust. Yes, well—anyone capable of carrying on an affair with someone like him couldn't possibly be anything good.
"She's left the monastic life," Shen Xiabai said.
"..."
Leaves just like that? How long had these two been messing around?
Cui Yunchu gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath, "Oh? Did she have your child, then?"
The other two hadn't heard it. Shen Xiabai had. He stared at Cui Yunchu, utterly shocked.
Thick-skinned though she'd become, she still couldn't match his master.
"Then sit down, then. You pay for the meal—consider it as treating me to the full-month banquet."
"..."
Cui Yunli and Xiao Lan both gave Cui Yunchu a bewildered look.
But since she'd said to sit, Cui Yunli naturally wouldn't object.
As Shen Xiabai walked past behind Cui Yunchu, his hanging hand reached out and gave her waist a hard pinch.
Cui Yunchu let out an "Ah!" and twisted violently in her seat.
Again, all eyes turned toward her.
"What are you all looking at me for? Keep eating." Cui Yunchu struggled to suppress her look of pain.
A strange atmosphere settled over them. No one spoke.
Cui Yunchu kept her head down, her chopsticks moving nonstop, and in no time, the plate of meatballs in front of her had been almost entirely cleaned out.
Xiao Lan spoke up. "I see Eldest Miss Cui has quite an appetite. The meatballs must be well-made indeed."
Cui Yunchu cast her a sideways glance and nodded.
When Xiao Lan spoke, her voice was soft and gentle, like a clear mountain spring, like a breeze brushing past one's face.
It was certainly nicer than her own boisterous manner.
Xiao Lan picked up a meatball.
Cui Yunchu lowered her head and stayed silent.
But the person beside her had no tact and was a proper scoundrel—Shen Xiabai also reached out his chopsticks. "Is that so? Then I shall try one too."
She tastes whatever you taste—if she eats shit, would you eat it too?
Cui Yunchu gripped the chopsticks in her hand tightly, watching Shen Xiabai's chopsticks reach toward the dish...
There was only one meatball left. Cui Yunchu aimed with all her might to stab it, but Shen Xiabai glanced at her sideways, gave a faint smile, and deliberately teased her. Their chopsticks clashed back and forth over the plate, and every time Cui Yunchu was about to snag it, Shen Xiabai would knock hers away.
Beside them, Cui Yunli and Xiao Lan's eyes followed the pair of chopsticks swiveling back and forth.
Cui Yunchu couldn't win the fight, so she gave Shen Xiabai's chair a vicious kick.
Shen Xiabai picked up the meatball with his chopsticks and, with a provocative look, brought it to his mouth.
Cui Yunchu's simmering temper shot straight up. She put down her chopsticks, reached her hand toward Shen Xiabai's mouth, pried his lips open with force, and dug the meatball right back out.
"..."
At the table, three out of four people stared at her in shock.
Shen Xiabai, "..."
He looked at the meatball clutched in her hand, his face a whirlwind of emotions.
He'd just tried to eat one of her meatballs—and she actually pried his mouth open to pull it out?
