"What did the Second Brother do to offend you?" In the imperial study, the Emperor asked calmly while reviewing memorials.
"Your Majesty jokes. Prince An is an Imperial Prince. I was merely doing him a favor today, hoping to owe him a debt of gratitude."
The Emperor looked up, glanced at him sideways, and let out a snort of laughter.
Shen Xiabai's discord with the princes was something he was pleased to see, and he had no interest in probing further, so he changed the subject.
"The Empress Dowager came to see me yesterday."
Shen Xiabai said nothing, waiting for the rest.
"My imperial sister is a woman of strong will and a hard fate. The only thing the Empress Dowager worries about now is her marriage."
The Emperor lowered his gaze to Shen Xiabai, who stood below the imperial dais. "Her Majesty feels that among all the civil and military officials, you, Lord Shen, who presides over the Bureau of Penal Affairs, have a fate strong enough to match."
Shen Xiabai replied, "Your Majesty jokes again. Your servant is still young; whether my fate is strong or not remains to be seen."
"So by your reasoning, the longer one lives, the older one gets, the stronger one's fate becomes?"
"Theoretically speaking, yes."
The Emperor fell silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed. "What, do you look down on my imperial sister?"
Shen Xiabai raised his eyes slightly. "Your servant would not dare. But your servant fears death."
Princess Xiao Lan, the Second Princess, had a reputation four years ago that was even louder than Cui Yunchu's. The reason was simple: her fate was too strong. Three successive fiancés had all been struck dead before the wedding.
The Emperor's fingertips tapped on the imperial desk, and for a moment he made no sound.
In his heart, he was weighing the matter.
Shen Xiabai was his trusted minister. To marry a princess who had brought death to her fiancés to him would indeed be improper; one should not let a loyal minister lose heart.
And as for that sister of his, he could not say he was particularly fond of her either.
"In that case, I shall leave this matter to you. Be sure to find a suitable husband for the Princess."
Shen Xiabai accepted the order. "Your servant does know of a man with a strong fate, who may perhaps be worthy of the Princess."
At the palace gate, the carriages of the Crown Prince and Prince An had not yet departed, and Prime Minister Cui was also there.
Gathered to one side were other officials. Shen Xiabai's gaze swept over the group, then he changed course and walked straight toward them.
...
Those gathered around turned and left at once.
The Crown Prince also climbed into his carriage and departed.
Prince An was further away. Prime Minister Cui furrowed his brow, looked at the suddenly empty surroundings, then turned to look at the man approaching. His path was direct, aimed straight at him.
Cui stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression cold and stern. "Lord Shen need not speak further. My answer remains the same as before, and it will not change."
"I heard that in your early years, Prime Minister Cui lost both your lawful wife and your concubine one after another, and to this day, there are no women in your household?"
"..."
Prime Minister Cui was taken aback, then furrowed his brow and turned to look at Shen Xiabai.
"Everyone in the capital knows this. Why would Lord Shen suddenly bring it up?"
"Nothing in particular. I just thought..." Shen Xiabai's sharp eyes drooped slightly, a mocking smile tugging at his lips. "Prime Minister Cui, your fate is rather strong indeed."
With that, he boarded his own carriage and left.
"Lord Cui, what does Lord Shen... mean by that?"
Prime Minister Cui frowned deeply, watching the Shen carriage disappear into the distance.
Shen Xiabai worked with great efficiency. Before Prince An even reached home, the girls had already been delivered to his residence.
Like a gust of wind, the news swept through every street and alley in the capital.
"Your Highness, you've finally returned!" The steward came out with a tearful face.
"Lord Shen came with his token and insisted on sending those people in. This old servant couldn't stop him no matter what."
"..."
Prince An had only just watched the excitement at the palace gate before coming back; when he left, Shen Xiabai had barely just departed.
Did his horse grow eight legs or something?
Prince An entered his residence with a cold face. "Throw them out of the residence at once."
"Your Highness, that is not the urgent matter now." The steward blocked his way. "The Princess has stormed off in anger. You'd best go find her first."
"..."
Prince An turned around and left again. After a moment of thought, he headed toward the Crown Prince's residence.
By this time, Tang Qingwan had already heard the full story of the morning court session from the Crown Prince. Before she could speak, a servant announced that Prince An had arrived.
The couple went to the reception hall, where Prince An was sitting, clutching a teacup in his hand.
"Where is Yunfeng?"
Tang Qingwan frowned. "She has not come to the Crown Prince's residence."
Realizing this must be about this morning's court session, she said, "She and Yunchu are very close. Have you checked the Cui residence?"
Prince An thought Cui Yunfeng would not easily return to the Cui residence.
He stood up, his tone mocking. "The Crown Princess and the Crown Prince seem quite harmonious."
Tang Qingwan pressed her lips together and said nothing.
She had not expected things to suddenly become like this either.
The Crown Prince stood by with a faint smile. Prince An thoroughly derided this pair of self-righteous spouses, then made to leave. Just then, a servant came in again with another person in tow.
It was Yu Feng.
At the sight of him, all three people present grew wary, their expressions varying.
Yu Feng presented a jade pendant. "This was found by my men in a girl's bed at the Spring Breeze Pavilion. It looks like His Highness the Crown Prince's. I was sent to return it to you."
Tang Qingwan was the first to take it from Yu Feng's hands. It was indeed the same jade pendant she had returned to the Crown Prince just a few days ago.
The Crown Prince was speechless.
"Qingwan, I didn't." But the object was there, undeniably, in someone else's hands.
His explanation seemed pallid and weak.
"Prince An," Yu Feng clasped his hands in salute, "my master asked me to relay a message: the girls have all been delivered to you. Feel free to enjoy them. They have previously served the Crown Prince, so they know their manners well, and their skills will surely satisfy you."
The Crown Prince lowered his gaze and met Tang Qingwan's icy stare.
As the heir apparent, he had inevitably visited such establishments while dealing with ministers, and yes, he had called for girls, but he had truly never gone a step further.
And the most dangerous thing was half-truths, which trap a man with words that cannot be untangled.
The Crown Prince's face was no better than Prince An's.
"If you have nothing else to do, be on your way." He dismissed the man. If not for his arrival, none of this trouble would have occurred.
Cui Yunchu was lying in the courtyard, sunbathing and daydreaming, when Xing'er brought a person dressed in black robes and a black hat into the Chu Courtyard.
Cui Yunchu glanced over once, then again, and slowly sat up straight.
"What, has the Prince An residence been raided?"
Cui Yunfeng threw off her cloak and hat. "I was worried Father might see me."
"..."
The corner of Cui Yunchu's mouth twitched.
To a fool, the world looks simple.
She looked at her askance. "Do you think the Cui residence is a bustling market, or that you're wearing an invisibility cloak?"
The Cui family guards were not wooden posts.
"Big sister, I'm so wronged." Cui Yunfeng pouted and came charging toward Cui Yunchu.
"Don't you come near me!" Cui Yunchu waved her hands frantically, but she still could not stop Cui Yunfeng's enthusiastic tackle.
Her dangerously rickety lounge chair, already on its last legs, finally gave out under the force of the impact with a loud crash, and departed this world for good.
Cui Yunchu lay sprawled on the broken remains of the chair, with Cui Yunfeng on top of her.
The pressure from above made it hard to breathe, and the debris below jabbed into every part of her body.
"Ge... get up." Cui Yunchu's face was turning purple from suffocation.
Cui Yunfeng scrambled to her feet and helped her up, massaging her waist.
"Did Big Sister get hurt anywhere?"
Cui Yunchu bared her teeth in pain. "I told you not to come near, didn't you hear? You're as fat as a pig — how was my chair supposed to hold you?"
Cui Yunfeng lowered her eyes, silently glancing at her own slender waist, then kept silent and continued massaging her.
Xing'er brought over a small stool for Cui Yunchu to sit on. Once she'd recovered a little, she started feeling sorry for her reclining chair.
Cui Yunfeng accidentally stepped on a piece of wood, and with a crack, it snapped clean in two.
"..."
"Big Sister, you should've replaced that chair ages ago. The wood's gone completely rotten."
"What do you know?" Cui Yunchu shot her a glare. "Don't new ones cost silver?"
"...Aren't those things paid for out of the household fund?"
They were, true enough—but couldn't she just pocket that allowance and spend it on something else?
Cui Yunfeng was speechless. She silently kept rubbing her sister's lower back. "So now that you've fallen, you don't have to spend any silver?"
"The physician's fee comes from the household fund too."
What kind of logic was that?
Cui Yunfeng pressed with just the right amount of force, and Cui Yunchu was thoroughly enjoying it. The two of them moved from the courtyard back into the room, settling onto the soft couch.
"That chair was with me for over a decade. What a shame."
Cui Yunfeng said nothing. Cui Yunchu went on, "Hey, don't forget to pay me back for it, you hear? That chair was very expensive."
According to Nanny Zhang, back when her concubine mother hadn't wanted to hold her, she used to set her down on that chair to soak up the sun.
Cui Yunfeng massaged her for a while longer, until her hands began to ache. "Are you feeling better yet? I haven't even finished my sob story."
"Keep going, keep going. Almost there. You rub, and I'll listen—your hands and your mouth aren't attached to each other."
Cui Yunchu closed her eyes and began enjoying the massage while listening to Cui Yunfeng pour out her grievances.
"How could he do this to me? If it weren't for Lord Shen, I never would've known he was this kind of person."
No response came for a long while. Cui Yunfeng gave Cui Yunchu a shake. "Hey, Big Sister."
A faint snore drifted up.
"..." Cui Yunfeng was furious. She grabbed Cui Yunchu's ear and shouted, "Big Sister!"
Cui Yunchu jolted awake and chimed in, "You're right, he really is no good."
Cui Yunfeng's brows scrunched together.
Cui Yunchu urged, "Keep rubbing, don't stop."
Cui Yunfeng gave her waist a pinch, not too hard.
"Big Sister, I don't want to stay cooped up in the manor. Come for a walk outside with me."
Cui Yunchu perked up a little. "You're paying?"
Cui Yunfeng nodded.
"Spend whatever I want?"
Cui Yunfeng said, "If we run short, we put it on credit and send someone to Prince An's estate to settle it."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Cui Yunchu sprang up like a leaping carp, her backache forgotten. "Men, hmph—what's a trip to the Spring Breeze Pavilion? Big Sister'll take you to the South Wind Hall instead." Once she'd gotten herself ready, she turned and pointed a finger at Cui Yunfeng's nose. "And when you get home, you're not allowed to breathe a word of this to that lunatic of yours, got it?"
"Deal!!" Cui Yunfeng's eyes sparkled with bright light.
