“I still don’t think it’s a good idea. I should go take a look.” Cui Yunchu struggled to get off Shen Xiabai’s lap, but he pressed her back down.
“Going won’t do any good. He’s in so much pain right now that he probably won’t have the energy to speak with you. Besides, your old fox is extremely shrewd. What if he notices something? Aren’t you afraid?”
Cui Yunchu immediately lay back down and behaved herself. It was freezing out, and whether it meant kneeling in the ancestral hall or taking a beating, she wanted no part of it. “Are you sure he’ll be all right?”
“Of course. If anything happens, A Chu can take my life as payment for his. How about that?”
“Let’s not,” Cui Yunchu said, curling her lips. “He isn’t worth it.”
The two of them snuggled together and acted lovey-dovey for quite some time before Cui Yunchu said, “Tomorrow’s court session will be entirely up to you.”
Shen Xiabai stroked her hair. “Don’t worry.”
Night had fallen, and the two of them were lying in bed. Cui Yunchu tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. “You’re not leaving tonight either?”
She opened her eyes and looked at the man beside her. Shen Xiabai answered with a murmur and hooked an arm around her, pulling her into his embrace.
Cui Yunchu stared fixedly at him. “Do you think I’m a terrible daughter?”
Shen Xiabai patted her gently. “Don’t worry. Prime Minister Cui can definitely endure it. Go to sleep.”
Cui Yunchu said, “I dared to poison my own father today. Aren’t you afraid I’ll poison you one day too?”
Shen Xiabai closed his eyes. “As long as it isn’t because you’ve cheated on me or are trying to murder your husband, I can accept any other reason for the poisoning.”
As expected, a man’s bottom line was always the fear of being cuckolded.
Cui Yunchu sighed and lay flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling.
Shen Xiabai leaned closer and pressed his lips to her neck, moving inch by inch. “If A Chu doesn’t want to sleep, your husband can help you pass the time.”
Cui Yunchu raised her hand and smacked him across the face. “Go away. I’m racking my brain, trying to remember every bad thing he’s ever done to me.”
Only by doing that could she harden her heart.
Shen Xiabai rubbed his cheek and rested his chin on her shoulder. Suddenly, he said, “Do you remember what you said before?”
“What?” Cui Yunchu asked listlessly.
“Didn’t we agree to have an affair right in front of him? Today is the perfect opportunity.”
Cui Yunchu turned to look at Shen Xiabai with a blank expression. Just as she was about to strike him again, he immediately caught her wrist.
“Your husband is always well prepared.” He lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand.
Cui Yunchu cursed him. “You really are a piece of work.”
They had poisoned the Old Man, and now he wanted to go flaunt their affair in front of him too. Was he afraid the man wouldn’t die quickly enough?
But when she thought about it, it really did sound rather thrilling. The Old Man deserved to die of anger.
Cui Yunchu suddenly frowned. Something about the scene felt familiar. After thinking for a while, she suddenly climbed out of bed and began rummaging through the things on the table.
Half sitting up, Shen Xiabai propped his head on one hand and watched her back. “What are you looking for?”
“A book.”
A book? Shen Xiabai raised his brows. She actually read?
“Found it.” Cui Yunchu grabbed an unfamiliar book, slipped on her shoes, and hurried back to the bed.
Shen Xiabai immediately spread out an arm for her to lie against. Cui Yunchu showed him the book in her hands.
Shen Xiabai glanced at it twice, and his brows drew together sharply. “Where did this filthy thing come from?”
“What do you mean, filthy? It’s a storybook.” Cui Yunchu flipped through it for a while before finally finding the chapter she wanted. She pointed it out to Shen Xiabai.
Shen Xiabai scanned a few lines. Apart from the suggestive passages, he understood none of it. Cui Yunchu explained, “The male and female leads are an older brother-in-law and his younger brother’s wife. Their love isn’t accepted by society, so they have an affair and a child. The male lead then takes the child in and raises him as his own under the pretext of adopting him—that’s where I got the idea I mentioned to you before.”
“…”
Cui Yunchu turned another page and pointed it out to him. “Here, this is where the male and female leads join forces to poison the female lead’s husband. Her husband is a terrible person…”
“Is there anything worse than an older brother-in-law having an affair with his younger brother’s wife?” Shen Xiabai drawled.
Cui Yunchu glared at him. “They truly love each other. Besides, it was the female lead’s husband who wronged her first. That’s why she got together with his older brother.”
Shen Xiabai turned his head and gave her a dark, meaningful look. “What exactly are you trying to imply, A Chu?”
Cui Yunchu shook her head. “I just suddenly realized that the two of us are a little like them.”
“Actually, I think their method is quite good. We should follow it.”
Cui Qingyuan would be the first.
They could have a child, bring it into the family under another name, and then gradually eliminate everyone who opposed them being together.
In the book, as long as the male and female leads wanted to be together, they would discuss who to get rid of next. It was quite thrilling.
Cui Yunchu talked for a long while, but the person beside her made no response. She glanced over, thinking he had fallen asleep, only to find him staring intently at the ceiling with deep, somber eyes, as though he were seriously considering something.
Cui Yunchu nudged his arm. “What are you thinking about?”
Shen Xiabai said, “I’m thinking about where I should transfer Shen Zilan so that he’ll never be able to return for the rest of his life.”
Older brother-in-law and younger brother’s wife.
Nephew and aunt.
A Chu had said it was thrilling!
Shen Xiabai’s expression was rather bitter. His teeth hurt terribly.
Cui Yunchu: “…”
In Cui Qingyuan’s courtyard, the lights burned brightly. The steward was so anxious that he scratched his ears and paced back and forth across the room.
On the bed, Cui Qingyuan was drenched in cold sweat, curled up in agony, his voice hoarse.
Several physicians hurried about, busy attending to him.
Cui Qingyuan asked one of them, “How is it?”
He was hunched over, suffering unbearable pain.
The physician’s face had gone pale. “What I can confirm is that the Prime Minister has been poisoned.”
“Then hurry up and cure him!” the steward urged.
The physician shook his head. “This poison is extremely complicated. I cannot neutralize it. However, Prime Minister, rest assured—the poison will only cause excruciating pain. It will not take your life for the time being, so there is still time to seek out another renowned physician.”
Cui Qingyuan: “…”
The steward turned his gaze toward the other physicians, but they all shook their heads as well.
“Get out. All of you, get out.” Impatiently, he drove them from the room.
“Prime Minister, what are we to do?”
Cui Qingyuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, “Is the Dowager Madam and Yunchu all right?”
“They are.” The steward’s brow furrowed whenever he mentioned Cui Yunchu. They had notified her ages ago, and if the Prime Minister had been suffering from a deadly poison, his corpse would probably have already gone cold. The Eldest Miss had not even bothered to come take a look. It was truly infuriating.
Cui Qingyuan gazed out the window. “Did you notify Eldest Miss?”
“…” The steward stammered, “Eldest Miss is very concerned about you, Prime Minister.”
Cui Qingyuan’s expression softened slightly, only for the steward to continue, “She told this old servant to hurry and find physicians for you.”
“…”
The relief on Cui Qingyuan’s face vanished. He cast the steward a heavy look.
The steward immediately added, “Prime Minister, please endure a little longer. The men sent to the palace for the imperial physicians should be back soon.”
With the steward’s assistance, Cui Qingyuan forced himself upright and drank half a cup of tea.
How many years had it been since he had suffered such torment?
“Who entered my courtyard and study today?”
The steward answered, “Aside from this old servant and the people who cleaned the courtyard, no one else. Eldest Miss was holding her birthday celebration today, so everyone was in the front courtyard.”
At that, Cui Qingyuan furrowed his brows. “Think carefully. Did Yunchu come by?”
The steward was startled. “Prime Minister, are you suspecting… the First Miss?”
Cui Qingyuan said nothing.
Anyone who held a grudge against him would wish him dead. Those who had no grudge had no reason to poison him.
Yet this poison caused nothing but pain and could not take his life. There was something rather intriguing about that.
The steward reached the same conclusion in his mind and began to suspect Cui Yunchu as well.
As they spoke, a young servant hurried into the room with an imperial physician and quickly stepped aside to let him through. The imperial physician saluted, then immediately placed his fingers on Cui Qingyuan’s wrist to take his pulse.
“How is he?” the steward asked anxiously.
The imperial physician withdrew his hand, seemingly relieved. “Prime Minister, do not panic. This poison may appear dangerous and cause unbearable pain, but it is not life-threatening. Once the poison is neutralized, you will be fine.”
The steward breathed a sigh of relief. “Then hurry up and neutralize it.”
The imperial physician let out an “Ah.”
The steward stared at him. “Neutralize it! Why are you saying ‘ah’?”
The imperial physician cupped his hands toward Cui Qingyuan. “Prime Minister, forgive my incompetence. I cannot neutralize this poison.”
Cui Qingyuan’s brows drew tightly together. Cold sweat had long since soaked through his undershirt.
The steward grew frantic. “You can’t neutralize it? How could you not be able to?”
The imperial physician said, “Poisons are generally within Imperial Physician Chen’s field of expertise. From what I can tell, this poison bears some resemblance to the kind used in the palace to discipline disobedient eunuchs and palace maids. Prime Minister, you could send someone to summon Imperial Physician Chen. He should have a way to deal with it.”
Cui Qingyuan waved a hand at the steward. The steward immediately ordered someone to summon Imperial Physician Chen.
They worked through half the night, and Cui Qingyuan spent the entire time in agony.
The waves of piercing pain were enough to make anyone want to slam their head against a wall. By the time it was over, Cui Qingyuan’s hair was disheveled and his face deathly pale.
