But there was one thing the palace maid had gotten right: Cui Yunchu knew exactly where Shen Xiabai was vulnerable. She knew he could not bear to see her hurt, could not bear to see her die.
Was she using that to manipulate him? Just as she had with the Gu scion’s death—she had seen through his feelings, then used them to scheme and exact her revenge.
But why?
He stood there as though surrounded by ice and snow, the chill of his presence permeating even the air around him.
The emperor spoke in a low voice. “The evidence is conclusive. Minister Shen, are you still going to obstruct justice?”
Shen Xiabai slowly raised his eyes. His gaze was calm. Then he swept up the hem of his robe and knelt.
“In answer to Your Majesty, what that palace maid said is untrue. I was not manipulated. I have feelings for Eldest Miss Cui. What happened today was entirely of my own free will.”
Though kneeling, his back remained ramrod straight. The light and shadows fell across him, engraving his figure into Cui Yunchu’s eyes—and into her mind.
He had actually admitted it?
“Shen Xiabai!” The emperor slammed his hand against the desk, utterly enraged.
The chief eunuch beside him shook his head and sighed, his face full of regret.
His Majesty had been so tolerant of Lord Shen. Why couldn’t the man see reason? She was only a woman. Given his status, even a royal princess would be within his reach. Why throw away his future and his life for her?
The emperor gave a scornful laugh, nearly overcome with fury. “Very good, very good. The Cui girl is truly something else!”
He pointed at Shen Xiabai. “You truly are the fine minister I once relied upon so heavily!”
I gave you a way out, yet you refused it and insisted on walking into a dead end.
“Have all the women of the Cui family bewitched you?”
He had been bold enough to admit it directly in front of the emperor.
For the sake of one woman, he was willing to abandon the promising future and the opportunities the emperor had given him.
Shen Xiabai remained silent.
He had admitted it. He was willing.
“You fool! That palace maid is her pawn. She’s trying to kill you.”
The silent man murmured in rebuttal, “That palace maid has ulterior motives. She is trying to drive a wedge between us.”
The emperor flew into a rage. “You’ve clearly been drugged with some kind of love potion! She wants to kill you. If she hadn’t been certain of your feelings, how could she have done this?”
“That palace maid even swore on her entire clan. Are you saying her personal matron would also frame her?”
Shen Xiabai clenched his hands tightly. For a moment, he could find no words with which to defend her.
“Think of your father and brothers. Are you going to let yourself be ruined by the Cui family as well?” The emperor leaned forward, staring down at him.
Shen Xiabai lifted his eyes slightly, his voice calm. “Even if this was her doing, it was still my own fault.”
He continued slowly, “Eldest Miss Cui is beautiful. I fell for her at first sight and pursued her repeatedly. Perhaps Eldest Miss Cui was so annoyed by my persistence that, driven to desperation, she resorted to this.”
The emperor felt a surge of anger lodge in his chest and throat.
Shen Xiabai had been lusting after Cui Yunchu’s beauty?
Regardless of her reputation, there was no denying that Cui Yunchu possessed an exquisite face. The emperor had seen countless beauties, yet even he had to admit that she was exceptionally beautiful.
But what kind of man was Shen Xiabai? How could the emperor not know?
How could Shen Xiabai have fallen in love with her for nothing more than a pretty face?
He was clearly only saying this to absolve Cui Yunchu of blame.
The man had truly lost his mind.
“Your Majesty.” A young eunuch entered the hall on hurried little steps and reported, “Prime Minister Cui has arrived. He is waiting outside and requests an audience.”
Shen Xiabai’s steady body swayed almost imperceptibly, as if a tightly drawn bowstring had suddenly slackened and released all its force.
Cui Yunchu hurried forward and caught hold of him.
At this point, there was no longer any need to avoid suspicion.
“How… how are you?”
Shen Xiabai’s voice was cold and devoid of warmth. “Go back with Prime Minister Cui.”
His breathing was somewhat weak. Cui Yunchu’s eyes reddened as she gripped his arm tightly. It felt as though a wad of cotton had lodged in her throat, leaving her unable to speak and causing a dull, painful pressure in her chest.
Prime Minister Cui was a thousand-year-old fox.
After entering the hall, he first looked Cui Yunchu up and down several times, frowning. Once he had finished saluting, he immediately began arguing with the emperor.
With Shen Xiabai’s statement preceding him, Cui Qingyuan insisted that the palace maid had slandered the Cui family. Not only that, he demanded that the emperor give the Cui family an explanation.
The emperor was so furious that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
“So, according to you, your Cui family is entirely innocent? The palace maid was slandering you, and your ambiguous relationship with Minister Shen was also merely the result of Minister Shen pursuing you relentlessly?”
Cui Qingyuan’s expression remained indifferent. “Precisely. After all, Lord Shen himself just admitted that he coveted my daughter’s beauty.”
The emperor laughed in exasperation.
No wonder he lay awake night after night, wishing he could have Cui Qingyuan executed. The old fox relied on the power in his hands and did not even take the emperor seriously.
Still, establishing guilt required both testimony and evidence. Cui Qingyuan brought the same principles of law used in court to bear, arguing with the emperor until His Majesty was rendered speechless.
After all, Shen Xiabai had been the one to hand them a pretext.
“Then what do you want?” the emperor asked. “Shall I have Minister Shen executed? Would that satisfy you?”
His eyes narrowed, his gaze cold and hard.
Silence briefly descended over the hall.
Cui Qingyuan knew that the emperor could not possibly kill Shen Xiabai so easily. His expression remained as steady as a mountain.
“Your Majesty, this old minister…”
He had only gotten halfway through the sentence when he suddenly turned around. Only then did he realize that Cui Yunchu had somehow moved behind him and was now repeatedly scratching the back of his boot with her index finger.
When she noticed his gaze, Cui Yunchu lifted her head. For the first time, her eyes openly revealed a plea.
She bit her lip hard.
All these years, no matter how unfairly she had been treated in the Cui household, she had never once begged him for anything. But today, she truly hoped he would show her, his daughter, a little softness—just once. Even once would be enough. Just as he had done for Cui Yunfeng.
Cui Qingyuan’s dark gaze shifted away from Cui Yunchu’s face.
He said, “If Your Majesty is asking this old minister, then I would be more than happy to oblige. After all, Minister Shen and I have disagreed on matters of policy for many years. We could be called mortal enemies.”
He might as well have said outright: Go ahead and kill him. If you do, I’ll be the most powerful man in the court, and no one will be able to stop me from acting as I please.
He understood the situation perfectly.
At present, the crown prince and Prince An were both watching one another like tigers ready to pounce. The only man the emperor could rely on was Shen Xiabai. As long as Shen Xiabai lived, there was still a chance to fight back. If he died, the emperor would be that much closer to abdicating.
The situation was obvious enough. How could his eldest daughter fail to understand it?
Even if Shen Xiabai had to be killed, someone would first have to take over his position. This matter had to be handled gradually. They absolutely could not act rashly.
The emperor stared coldly at Cui Qingyuan and gave a derisive laugh. “You truly are an old fox who has become a spirit. These days, you don’t even bother hiding what you mean. What is it? Am I so old that I no longer command enough respect to intimidate my ministers?”
“This old minister would never dare,” Cui Qingyuan replied, bowing respectfully. “I have always been straightforward in my speech.”
That claim of his was truly laughable.
When he had stormed into the hall and argued with the emperor at length right in front of Cui Yunchu, there had not been the slightest hint that he was afraid.
