Cui Yunchu stood there stiffly, tears streaming down her face.
Cui Qingyuan took her out of the palace. Along the way, she sat in silence, staring at the carriage wall and the swaying curtain as she wept soundlessly, as though her very soul had been torn from her.
Cui Qingyuan glanced at her several times before saying, “You’ve had quite a fright today. Stay home and recuperate for a few days. As for meeting Lord Wang, we’ll put it off until three days from now.”
At first, Cui Yunchu’s eyes widened in disbelief. Then anger began to boil over.
She was already in this state, and he still refused to let her off!
“Cui Qingyuan, why are you treating me like this?” she demanded, glaring at him. “Even if you don’t like me, I’m still your own flesh and blood.”
Cui Qingyuan’s face darkened. “What nonsense are you spouting? Mind your tongue, you’re a young lady.”
Unable to restrain herself, Cui Yunchu tried to stand up and argue with him, only to smack her head against the roof of the carriage and fall back into her seat. Clutching her head, she grew even more aggrieved.
“You don’t love me, so you don’t even wish me well! Someone finally treated me so kindly, and you can’t stand it, can you?”
“Why do you get to ruin my happiness for Yunfeng’s sake? If you can’t stop worrying about her, then just move into Prince An’s residence and change your surname to Xiao! Why do you keep obstructing me at every turn?”
Cui Qingyuan’s face turned livid. He slapped the back of Cui Yunchu’s head.
Cui Yunchu fell silent.
“Can you be quiet now?” Cui Qingyuan asked.
Cui Yunchu was still thoroughly displeased.
At that moment, she felt that Shen Xiabai’s earlier suggestion—to feed him poison and leave him lying there stiff as a board—had been perfectly reasonable.
Cui Qingyuan looked at her calmly. “You were far too irrational today.”
Cui Yunchu hugged her arms, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
The carriage stopped in front of the Cui residence. Cui Yunchu swept aside the curtain, climbed out, and stomped all the way back to Chu Garden.
Cui Qingyuan watched her retreating figure in silence for a long while before slowly entering the residence.
Xing’er said, “Miss, I actually think Lord Prime Minister has become much, much more lenient with you.”
If this had happened in the past, the young lady might well have ended up with a broken leg.
Cui Yunchu stopped abruptly and glanced at Xing’er before continuing forward. “Is that so? Then your standards for leniency and kindness are truly pitifully low.”
Xing’er replied, “But that was all you ever wanted from him before, Miss. It isn’t that my standards are low—it’s that yours have risen without you realizing it.”
Cui Yunchu froze for a moment. After entering her room, she sat down on the soft couch.
In the past, as long as someone spoke gently to her and did not needle her, Cui Yunchu would feel some goodwill toward them and decide they were a good person.
But later, only someone who treated her well, showed her warmth, and considered her in everything could make her feel truly cared for.
Like Yunfeng and Grandmother. They were important to her.
But now, her definition of kindness had become something more—something that could drive a person to disregard even life and death for her sake.
The standards she used to judge whether someone was good to her had indeed been rising all along.
A year ago, she had never imagined that anything could matter besides power and money. She had not even dared to dream that someone might treat her so well.
She had even thought that anyone willing to risk their life for another person was probably insane.
As for herself, she would never do such a thing in this lifetime.
She really was selfish. Perhaps she could never offer him the same kind of devotion.
#
Nanny Zhang entered the room carrying a basin of water and began attending to Cui Yunchu as she washed up. Cui Yunchu’s gaze fixed on her, the depths of her eyes seeming to hold sharp, glittering blades.
Nanny Zhang’s hand trembled. “Miss, is something wrong?”
Cui Yunchu had imagined that Xing’er might betray her, but she had never once suspected Nanny Zhang.
In an exceedingly calm voice, Cui Yunchu ordered Xing’er out.
Once only the two of them remained in the spacious room, Nanny Zhang grew even more nervous. Cui Yunchu came straight to the point and told her what had happened in the palace that day.
“Nanny Zhang, you were someone my mother left behind.” Cui Yunchu stared steadily at her.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Nanny Zhang dropped to her knees with a thud. “Miss, I’ve been wronged! I would never collude with anyone to harm you!”
Even if she had to die herself, she would never hurt the young lady she had watched grow up.
Nanny Zhang shuffled forward on her knees until she reached Cui Yunchu. “Miss, you must believe me. Please don’t send me away. If you don’t trust me, I can prove my innocence with my life.”
Cui Yunchu’s eyelid twitched. “Where did you learn to talk like that?”
The two of them had endured countless hardships together and supported each other until now. Their greatest principle was that life came first. Swearing with one’s life was already the strongest oath imaginable.
“But I did say those things,” Cui Yunchu continued. “Think carefully. Did you mention them in front of anyone outside?”
Otherwise, how could that palace maid have known?
Nanny Zhang racked her brains. After a long while, she suddenly said, “I think I remember something. A few days ago, I left the residence to buy the rouge and powder you usually use. On the way, I heard someone slandering you.”
“The things she said were truly vile. She was saying that you and Lord Shen…” Nanny Zhang cast a timid glance at Cui Yunchu before continuing haltingly. “I couldn’t stand listening to it, so I got into an argument with her.”
She had even dragged out the private things her young lady had said and used them to argue with that person.
Nanny Zhang wished she could tear her own mouth off.
“Miss, it was all because I was thoughtless. I’ve implicated you.”
Cui Yunchu said nothing. She leaned back against the soft pillow, her eyes vacant and unfocused as she stared at the ceiling.
After a long silence, she said, “You can’t be blamed entirely. If I hadn’t said those things in the first place, you wouldn’t have had anything to repeat.”
“Miss…” Nanny Zhang began to cry. “Tell me what trouble I’ve caused you. I’ll find that person myself and kill the little wretch!”
Cui Yunchu’s voice was calm, and her gaze remained equally composed as she looked at her. “Nanny Zhang, I lied.”
She said, “I like Lord Shen.”
Nanny Zhang stared at Cui Yunchu in utter shock.
No one knew their young lady better than she did.
And yet, at that moment, the young lady was saying very seriously and calmly:
“I like him.”
Cui Yunchu hugged the soft pillow and curled up on the couch. She looked so lonely and helpless that it broke the heart.
“In a few days, I’ll send someone to take you back to your hometown to rest. You’re no longer young. It’s time you enjoyed some peace and comfort.”
“Miss.” Nanny Zhang began to sob. “I’m not leaving! Please don’t send me away. It was my loose tongue that caused you trouble. You can punish me however you like.”
She knocked her head heavily against the floor.
Cui Yunchu frowned. “Get up. I’m not dead yet. Why are you mourning me already?”
Nanny Zhang quickly spat three times to ward off the bad omen, then scrambled to her feet. “Miss, don’t say such things!”
Cui Yunchu impatiently waved her away and told her to leave.
That evening, the kitchen prepared all her favorite dishes, but Cui Yunchu did not touch them. That night, she slept curled up on the soft couch as well.
Xing’er was clever enough to take the initiative and inquire about the latest news. She heard that Lord Shen had later fallen unconscious and been carried back to his residence. Apparently, he had not attended court for two days straight.
“My hairpin…” Cui Yunchu muttered under her breath. “He still hasn’t returned it to me.”
Xing’er said, “I had the gatekeeper send a message to Lord Shen’s residence. Yu Feng replied that Lord Shen is recovering from his injuries and cannot conveniently leave the house.”
Cui Yunchu gritted her teeth and clenched the handkerchief in her hand so tightly that it wrinkled, but she said nothing.
For three days in a row, Xing’er went out to inquire about Lord Shen. On the final day, Nanny Zhang went out with her as well, though no one knew where they had gone.
Cui Yunchu lay in bed, tossing and turning the whole day. She only took a few mouthfuls of each meal, just barely maintaining her vital signs.
#
"Lord Prime Minister, Xing'er from the courtyard of the eldest young lady has gone out to the Shen Mansion again," the steward reported in a low voice.
Cui Qingyuan put down his pen and looked up at the steward, then responded indifferently.
He gave an order, "You go to Lord Wang's mansion and tell him to meet Yunchu at Anshan Temple tomorrow."
The steward hesitated with a worried look on his face. "Lord Prime Minister, will it work for the eldest young lady?"
Cui Qingyuan remained calm and said, "Just do as I tell you."
He stood up, walked to the window lattice and stood still, looking at the desolate scenery in the courtyard. "I should give her a fair chance this time."
