The Crown Prince could not help speaking up. “Marriage is a major matter, and what matters most is that both parties are willing. I don’t think this needs to be quite so… serious.”
Shen Xiabai cast the Crown Prince a sidelong glance but said nothing.
Prince An added, “Lord Shen, fate in marriage cannot be forced. Why insist on taking things this far?”
After all, he was Cui Qingyuan’s son-in-law. If his father-in-law were beaten fifty times in front of him, he suspected he would be living in the study for the rest of his life.
Yet there was more than a hint of meaning behind Prince An’s words—clearly, he was speaking with an ulterior motive.
Shen Xiabai raised a brow, and his gaze turned cold.
So when he had married that fool Cui, Prince An had been perfectly happy to stand by and make irresponsible remarks.
Shen Xiabai remembered very clearly that their union had even caused A Chu to kneel in the ancestral hall. Yet now Prince An had turned his back on the matter with remarkable speed.
“Prince An is certainly an expert at making cynical remarks. Why didn’t you say that fate in marriage cannot be forced on the day of your own wedding? Have you forgotten that even the fruit that became Princess An was forcibly plucked by Your Highness?”
He had even been jabbed with a hairpin. In the entire court, he was the one person least qualified to say such things.
“…”
The corner of Xiao Yi’s mouth twitched, and his face darkened.
He felt that Shen Xiabai had grown increasingly abnormal these days. He was practically a mad dog, biting whoever happened to cross his path.
The Emperor shot Xiao Yi a chilly glance. “You, be quiet.”
Lord Shen was absolutely right. What right did Xiao Yi have to lecture anyone?
Neither of his sons was worth a thing, and the Emperor’s mood grew worse by the moment.
After being reprimanded twice in succession, Xiao Yi wore a long face and fell silent.
“This matter is of great importance. We shall discuss it again later.”
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, the eunuch’s shrill voice rang out, announcing the end of court.
Shen Xiabai turned his head toward Cui Qingyuan, who was staring back at him with an equally livid expression.
“Lord Shen, do you not find such methods rather childish and foolish?”
Shen Xiabai stood with his hands behind his back and smiled. “Is that so? Then, Prime Minister Cui, please don’t be angry.”
“…”
Shen Xiabai took a step forward and raised a hand. Cui Qingyuan immediately stepped back, his expression turning cold.
Shen Xiabai’s hand met only empty air, but he did not mind. He withdrew it casually. “I merely wanted to find Prime Minister Cui something to do, so you wouldn’t have nothing better to do every day than cause trouble for A Chu.”
Cui Qingyuan became even more convinced that Cui Yunchu had been involved as well.
“If A Chu is happy, then I’m happy too. If Prime Minister Cui is unhappy, then we’re even happier.”
With a light smile, Shen Xiabai walked away at an easy pace. His calm voice drifted back.
“If Prime Minister Cui gets bored again, feel free to come find me for entertainment. Stop keeping your eyes on A Chu all the time. She doesn’t want to see you.”
Cui Qingyuan stood there with a livid face. None of the other officials dared approach him. Only after everyone had left did he let out a long breath toward the roof beams. Then he strode away, each step so heavy that it seemed he wanted to grind the floor beneath his feet to dust.
Ungrateful wretches!
He had two daughters, and not one of them was worth a damn.
*
“Shen Xiabai, stop right there!”
Prince An’s voice came from below the imperial steps. The Crown Prince, who was walking beside him, also stopped in unison and looked over.
The Crown Prince had just taken a step forward, but now he drew it back, as though afraid the other two would leave him out and he might miss something interesting.
Shen Xiabai’s gaze remained indifferent. He courteously cupped his hands and bowed.
“Prince An.”
Xiao Yi was deeply dissatisfied. “The Crown Prince spoke in court just now too. Why single me out instead of him?”
Shen Xiabai glanced at the Crown Prince, who wore an expression of righteousness, then turned to the rakish Prince An and said, “His Highness the Crown Prince is far less caustic than His Highness Prince An.”
Caustic?
Xiao Yi was so infuriated that he actually laughed.
At that moment, he felt like the little red bean center in a peach pastry, caught in the middle and pleasing no one.
Frowning, he could not stand the Crown Prince’s delighted expression and said, “Those things I said at Wangyue Tower that day were taught to me by the Crown Princess. You took revenge on me the very next day, so why aren’t you taking revenge on that couple?”
“Imperial Brother, do not make baseless accusations,” said the Crown Prince. “I knew nothing about this matter.”
No one paid him any attention.
Shen Xiabai said, “Even the Crown Princess, a mere woman, can order His Highness Prince An around. Clearly, His Highness never took my words that day to heart. If you do not rein in Princess An, I fear you will spend the rest of your life trying to fill the holes she leaves behind.”
“Shut up,” Prince An said.
If he let Shen Xiabai continue, the man would certainly start calling Yunfeng stupid again.
“I think Lord Shen simply doesn’t dare provoke the Crown Princess. You’re afraid Eldest Miss Cui will settle the score with you later, so you deliberately pick on me instead.”
Shen Xiabai neither confirmed nor denied it. “Your Highness, take a guess. Why do you think I dare cause trouble for Prime Minister Cui, but not for the rest of the Cui family?”
Naturally, it was because Old Madam Cui, Cui Yunfeng, and Cui Yunchu were fiercely protective of their own.
When bullying people, one always picked the softest target—the one without any powerful backing. Even a fool knew that.
Prince An was rendered speechless.
The three of them raised their feet in unspoken unison and continued toward the palace gates.
“Does Eldest Miss Cui know that someone is trying to arrange a marriage for Prime Minister Cui?” the Crown Prince asked.
Shen Xiabai turned his head toward Prince An. “Prime Minister Cui’s life is hard to snuff out—that was what His Highness Prince An told me. Everything was His Highness’s idea.”
Prince An, who had fallen a step behind, was left speechless.
Did he really look like such a natural scapegoat? Why was every absurd accusation being dumped on him? Was his back especially broad?
“Lord Shen,” Prince An said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, “you must not say things like that carelessly. If Yunfeng hears you, the roof of Prince An’s residence will be blown off. This prince will have no choice but to take you down with me.”
Cui Yunfeng’s feelings toward Prime Minister Cui were entirely different from Cui Yunchu’s.
“That may have been a mistake on my part,” Shen Xiabai said at once, turning back around.
Prince An’s bed was probably already close to collapsing from all the shaking. A Chu had not even married into the family yet. He did not want to die—and unlike some people, he valued his life very much.
The Crown Prince usually did not say much. He simply continued on his way with a smile of unabashed delight.
At the palace gates, Shen Xiabai’s path was blocked once again.
The Crown Prince glanced at Xiao Lan, called her “Aunt,” and very sensibly took his leave.
Xiao Yi, however, did not move. The concept of taking a hint seemed not to exist in his world.
Shen Xiabai said, “His Highness Prince An should hurry home and think carefully. The next time you meet her, will you call her ‘Aunt’ or ‘Mother-in-law’?”
Xiao Lan’s expression shifted, and her eyes reddened.
As Xiao Yi walked away, he called back, “When it comes to being caustic, who could possibly compare with Lord Shen?”
Once everyone else had left, Xiao Lan demanded coldly, “You proposed in court that I be married to Prime Minister Cui?”
“Your Highness, I was merely carrying out His Majesty’s orders and selecting a husband for the princess. His Majesty said he wanted someone with a hard fate. In the entire capital, no one’s fate is harder than Prime Minister Cui’s.”
He was only acting on imperial orders, after all.
Xiao Lan’s hand clenched tightly inside her sleeve, her eyes radiating an endless, icy light. “Shen Xiabai, how dare you treat me this way?”
Shen Xiabai furrowed his brows. “Princess, you overstate things. You and I are nothing more than ruler and subject. Do not give others cause for misunderstanding.”
He was quick to distance himself from her, as though he feared being tainted by association.
After all, Xiao Lan’s accusation sounded very much like a scorned woman confronting a faithless lover.
Humiliation flooded Xiao Lan’s face. “How old is Cui Qingyuan, and how old am I? How dare you do this?”
“By His Majesty’s command, there is nothing I would not dare.”
Shen Xiabai’s expression remained impassive, his voice neither servile nor overbearing. Under the sunlight, his tall figure cast a long shadow, and Xiao Lan had to tilt her head up to speak to him.
Her heart tightened painfully.
With his status and power, Shen Xiabai did not even take a disgraced, disfavored princess like her seriously. She could only soften her tone.
“Lord Shen, you know very well that I…” She stepped forward, reaching for his sleeve.
Shen Xiabai immediately clasped his hands behind his back and said coolly, “Then, Princess, do you know where this marriage proposal came from?”
Xiao Lan froze.
So it was because of that insignificant bit of affection she harbored for him that he had done this—so she would give up completely.
What was this supposed to be? Punishment?
Xiao Lan gritted her teeth. “I have done nothing, nor have I ever harmed or obstructed Lord Shen and this so-called woman you have feelings for.”
Shen Xiabai’s gaze was cold and utterly devoid of warmth. “How convenient. I have never been one to wait until the damage is done before taking action. I prefer to eliminate every possible threat before it has the chance to take root.”
“Consider this a warning against harboring feelings you should not have for me. You know perfectly well what methods you have used in the past, and so do I.”
He would never allow a cruel and ruthless woman like her even the slightest chance of directing her malice toward A Chu.
Why wait until it was too late for regret? Why not cut the weeds out by the roots from the very beginning?
Xiao Lan’s face paled as she fought desperately to suppress her emotions.
It was only natural. As the man in charge of the Office of Judicial Discipline, Shen Xiabai could investigate her as easily as turning over his hand.
“Shen Xiabai, you deliberately set me up?”
“You are mistaken, Princess.” Shen Xiabai’s voice was cold and forbidding. “I am merely stating the facts. Your ruthlessness is nothing but a clumsy imitation in my presence. And before His Majesty, you have no say whatsoever. So do not use those methods of yours against me or anyone I care about. Otherwise, when the consequences rebound upon you, it will not end well.”
He was merely making her face reality. He was not like her previous two betrothed men—men without power or influence, who could neither protect the women they loved nor do anything but die with them in a pathetic act of love.
If he wanted to deal with her, it would be effortless.
This was also the first time in her life that Xiao Lan had encountered someone like him.
Before she had even made a move, he had already crushed her and issued his warning.
