In the private room, Cui Yunfeng, having scratched until she had no strength left, burst into loud sobs. "I want a divorce. I want to return to the Cui estate."
Xiao Yi pressed the handkerchief Eunuch Liu handed him against the scratches on his face, and all the viciousness in his heart dissolved in that instant.
"I want a divorce. I don't want you anymore." Cui Yunfeng wept, her face streaked with tears like rain on pear blossoms.
Xiao Yi silently scooped her into his arms, told Eunuch Liu to settle the bill, and carried her back to the residence.
The young male courtesan watched helplessly as the generous patron who had promised to take him home, keep him, and let him share her husband's concubines was hauled away — the disappointment in his heart was profound. He had really thought someone with such deep pockets might actually pull it off.
"One scrawny chicken, two scrawny chickens, three scrawny chickens."
Cui Yunchu muttered nonsense under her breath. Perhaps jostled too roughly, she suddenly shrieked, "Put me down! I'm going to throw up."
Shen Xiabai tossed her onto the carriage. Cui Yunchu let out a heavy hiccup of wine vapor, patted her chest, and said, "I'm fine now."
"Who came up with the idea to go to the House of South Winds?" Shen Xiabai asked, his face dark.
Cui Yunchu leaned against the carriage wall, tilting her head, her gaze landing on Shen Xiabai. She said nothing — but as she looked at him, tears suddenly slipped down her cheeks.
Silent and soundless, they made Shen Xiabai's heart clench hard.
He reached a hand toward her. Cui Yunchu shook her head. "Tonight — are you the Prince Consort, or my illicit lover?"
The carriage rolled through the streets, heading toward the Cui estate. The last pale sliver of dawn light slipped fully away, leaving only a somber gray.
The woman's eyes were bright, clear and limpid, yet seemed to hide a veil of mist beneath.
"What do you want me to be?" Shen Xiabai crouched beside her, gazing at her brows and eyes. "A Chu,"
He raised his hand, pressing it over her heart. "Don't lie to me. Tell me one true thing, from your heart — who do you want me to be?"
Cui Yunchu lowered her gaze to him, tears falling soundlessly.
She slowly straightened, reaching out to touch Shen Xiabai's chest. "Then what about your heart?"
Was he the lofty, exalted Princess, or was he hers — the daughter of his enemy's house, a concubine-born girl?
Shen Xiabai reached for the nape of her neck, pulled her down in one motion, and settled her across his lap.
The heavy scent of wine, mingled with her unique fragrance and softness, slowly soothed the panic and anguish that had haunted Shen Xiabai these past days.
"You're kissing me again..." Cui Yunchu's voice was broken and fragile.
Those clear, limpid eyes slowly closed. She raised both arms to loop around the man's neck, matching his lips and teeth, and kissed him back with deliberate initiative.
She pressed her weight down, letting Shen Xiabai's back fall against the carriage wall, her entire body resting against his lap as she bit, not lightly, at his lower lip between tender turns.
Her answering kiss was fierce — as hot as the woman herself, searing and burning.
The veins on the back of Shen Xiabai's hand holding her head bulged as his passion surged, like flames feeding on dry kindling, rising higher and higher, devouring all reason.
"A Chu..."
The carriage had stopped in front of the Cui estate without anyone noticing. The moon hung high, and the wind had died, somehow, into stillness.
Shen Xiabai gazed at Cui Yunchu's wine-soaked eyes.
His hand gently massaged her waist, afraid she might ache from holding the bent posture too long.
She had been like a wildcat just now — in all their kisses, she had never once been like this.
He pressed his forehead to hers, pressing soft, repeated kisses to her cheeks and her red lips. "You've always known my heart, haven't you?"
His featherlight kisses made Cui Yunchu's eyes glaze over, her defenses crumbling.
The arms hooked around his neck tightened. "Even at the cost of your life?"
"Yes," Shen Xiabai lowered his head, pressing it against her chest, his voice barely a whisper.
Cui Yunchu tilted her head to rest against his shoulder, a smile blooming across her face. Her voice carried the soft, drowsy slur of intoxication. "Shen Xiabai, I like you."
The woman's voice was soft as water, like a summer breeze, like winter sun.
Shen Xiabai pressed his cheek against hers, lightly closing his eyes, and nuzzled her gently.
The pressure from Prince An at the tavern, the guilt toward his father and brother on Yellow Mountain, the shame, the panic, the torment, the sleepless nights of exhaustion — all of it crumbled in that instant.
The scales in his heart tipped violently toward her.
All because of the words of affection she had spoken.
"A Chu," he turned his head, cradling her face in his hands, only to find she had drifted off to sleep at some point. "Do you care about the Cui family?"
Cui Yunchu nodded unconsciously. "I care about Grandmother."
Shen Xiabai stroked her face, his voice soft. "Sleep now. In the future, don't drink so much."
He wrapped an arm around her waist, drew her against his chest, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
He looked at her quietly for a moment, then pushed open the carriage door and carried her down, stepping out slowly.
Beside the Shen carriage waited another carriage. In the moonlight stood a single figure. Shen Xiabai merely raised an eyebrow, but his arm holding Cui Yunchu remained perfectly steady.
He lowered his head and whispered softly into Cui Yunchu's ear, "A Chu, the Prince Consort is over there."
Cui Yunchu's head lolled. She struggled to open her eyes and looked where Shen Xiabai had indicated.
"It's the Old Man." She giggled.
Cui Qingyuan looked at Cui Yunchu in Shen Xiabai's arms, his expression deeply overcast. No one knew how long he had been standing there — or whether he had heard the words exchanged in the carriage.
Shen Xiabai coaxed her gently, "A Chu, from now on, he's the Prince Consort."
"He's obviously the Old Man." Cui Yunchu frowned in protest.
Two glass lanterns hung beneath the plaque above the Cui estate gates, blending with the moonlight to cast a brighter glow over the entrance.
Shen Xiabai held Cui Yunchu crosswise in his arms and came to a stop before Prime Minister Cui.
As if no one else were there, he murmured to Cui Yunchu, "You said you wanted to fool around right under your old man's nose and infuriate him to death. Looks like we made it happen today."
Right in front of Prime Minister Cui, he lowered his head and pressed a kiss to Cui Yunchu's forehead.
Utterly audacious.
Beside them, Yu Feng's hand was already on his sword hilt, watching Prime Minister Cui with wary vigilance, ready to seize the person and fight at any moment.
Prime Minister Cui never opened his mouth the entire time — but his face grew exceedingly grim.
His gaze swept over the arms looped around Shen Xiabai's neck, then over Cui Yunchu's face, now completely dead asleep. Finally, he lifted his eyes to meet Shen Xiabai's.
"Was my word not clear enough?"
Shen Xiabai's gaze was cold. "A Chu said she likes me. Whatever anyone does to stop it — I won't allow it."
Prime Minister Cui's air of authority, honed over years of court politics, was not an act — but against Shen Xiabai, neither would yield even an inch.
Shen Xiabai said, "If Prime Minister Cui intends to make things difficult for A Chu over this, I imagine Princess An won't have a moment of peace either."
Across the entire Liang court, Shen Xiabai alone had the power to speak to Prime Minister Cui this way.
A wordless war of nerves spread between the two men.
Prime Minister Cui's eyes were complicated. "You hate the Cui and Tang families so deeply. How can you guarantee you won't drag Yunchu down with you?"
Shen Xiabai said, "I don't need to guarantee anything to anyone. As long as A Chu believes in me, that's enough."
"I am her father, after all!"
"To give birth to her and raise her — that's a father. To give birth and then abandon her to her fate — that, too, is called a father. Which kind you are depends entirely on how I choose to act."
Prime Minister Cui's sharp eyes narrowed, fixed hard on Shen Xiabai. "Regardless of everything, she will always be a daughter of the Cui house. If one day the Emperor orders you to raise your blade and bring ruin upon my family — where does that leave her?"
Shen Xiabai was silent for a long while, and only after some time did he say, "I am not like you all."
Nor should their decisions be used to measure his.
Prime Minister Cui did not speak. His gaze once again fell upon Cui Yunchu. He stepped forward and held out his arms.
Shen Xiabai did not refuse. He handed Cui Yunchu over to him.
"I don't want this—I want a horse," Cui Yunchu protested.
Shen Xiabai coaxed her in a low voice, "Be good, the horse is holding you right now."
"..."
"."
Prime Minister Cui frowned and looked up, glancing at Shen Xiabai, then at Cui Yunchu.
What a mess of nonsense.
