In the Department of Judicial Punishment, Yu Feng exchanged a few casual pleasantries with a young eunuch who had come to deliver a message, then quickly pushed open the door of the study and stepped inside. "My lord, His Majesty has summoned you to the palace immediately."
Shen Xiabai set down the official document he was holding, glanced out the window lattice, then slowly rose to his feet and left the room.
In the courtyard, the young eunuch bowed once more to Shen Xiabai. "Lord Shen, His Majesty is waiting for you in the Imperial Study."
Normally, a court official on his wedding leave should be granted three days of rest.
Shen Xiabai did not ask any unnecessary questions, and followed the eunuch through the palace gates.
Outside the Imperial Study, the air was still and solemn. The palace maids and eunuchs standing guard at the entrance did not even dare to breathe loudly. At the palace doorway, the Crown Prince, dressed in his official court robes, was kneeling on the ground.
Shen Xiabai was led by the eunuch into the Imperial Study.
The Emperor sat on the Dragon Throne, looking distinctly pleased. "Ah, Lord Shen, you have arrived."
"Your Majesty." Shen Xiabai bowed, but the Emperor waved a hand to stop him. The Emperor held a writing brush in his hand, the very tip of which was still dripping with ink.
"Come, take a look. What do you think of this piece of calligraphy I have just completed?"
The young eunuch promptly held the scroll up before Shen Xiabai's eyes. On the large sheet of rice paper were written four bold characters: "Clean and Upright Governance of Officials".
"Your calligraphy is dynamic as a flying dragon, vigorous and forceful in every stroke."
The Emperor let out two hearty laughs.
"I have heard that your people are searching for traces of Cui Qingyuan?"
Shen Xiabai kept his eyes lowered, making it impossible for others to read the expression in his eyes. "That is correct. After all, Prime Minister Cui is my wife's father."
The Emperor smiled. "You truly dote on your wife."
After saying that, he leaned down to continue writing, pausing after every stroke to stand back and admire his work.
"Do you think he is still alive?"
Shen Xiabai replied, "Alive, I shall see him in person. Dead, I shall see his corpse."
"But what if there is no corpse to be found?" The Emperor lifted his eyes and stared directly at Shen Xiabai as he spoke. "Word sent back by Zhou Yu says that Cui Qingyuan was cornered at the edge of a cliff and chose to leap to his death. That cliff is bottomless, there is no possibility that he could have survived the fall."
The rigid look on Shen Xiabai's face was visible to the naked eye.
"Zhou Yu is, after all, a man you yourself recommended for his post," the Emperor continued. "Does your wife know who was behind the ambush on her father?"
"Wouldn't it be reasonable for her to assume that you orchestrated this to avenge your father and brother?" The Emperor set down his brush, his face etched with apparent concern. "We must not let her misunderstand, lest it create a rift in your newlywed marital harmony."
Shen Xiabai kept his head lowered and did not speak. The Emperor went on, "I refused to give my approval to this plan at first, precisely because I knew it would put you in a difficult position."
He let out what sounded like a long, weary sigh.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My wife is her own person, and the Cui family is a separate matter. I have never mixed the two together."
"That is wonderful to hear." The Emperor smiled. "I am well aware of the great ambitions you hold in your heart. Prime Minister Cui's death is a fortunate turn of events for you. From now on, you and your wife can live in loving harmony, no longer burdened by lingering grudges or estrangement."
"Your Majesty speaks the truth."
"You have done great service in the operation to eliminate Cui Qingyuan," the Emperor said. "If it were not for your men working covertly to assist, Zhou Yu could never have carried this out so smoothly."
"Serving Your Majesty to the best of my ability is my duty as a subject."
The Emperor nodded. "All these years of placing my trust in you have not been wasted."
He shook his shoulders lightly, then set the brush down on his desk. "Now that that old rascal is dead, a huge weight has lifted from my chest. Cui Yunli is all that remains of the Cui family, and she is just one woman who cannot possibly stir up any trouble. As for the other daughters..."
The Emperor waved a dismissive hand. "Well, they are all women, married off to other households. I am a merciful ruler, after all."
Just then, a young eunuch hurried into the Imperial Study to make a report. "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is still kneeling outside the door."
"Let him keep kneeling," the Emperor's tone turned cold in an instant. "As the heir to the throne, if he cannot even perform this one small duty, what is the point of him even being alive?"
His voice carried far enough for the Crown Prince outside to hear every word clearly.
The Emperor stepped down from the dais where his throne sat, walked over to stand beside Shen Xiabai, and both of them looked toward the dark shadow of the Crown Prince cast at the doorway.
"I intend to officially announce the news of Cui Qingyuan's death, but the Crown Prince refuses to agree. He insists that the old rascal is still alive." The Emperor tucked both of his hands into his sleeves. "The Crown Prince has placed all his hopes on a single court official. If I were to hand this empire over to him, it would soon become a world ruled entirely by the Cui family."
The Emperor pointed at the figure outside the door. "Look at him. Without that old rascal to prop him up, he has lost all sense of direction. He is nothing but a useless fool."
Having said that, the Emperor walked back to his Dragon Throne and sat down.
"Between my two sons, one is weak and spineless, the other is cruel and bloodthirsty. Whatever am I to do?"
Shen Xiabai remained silent, not offering any response. As a subject, this was not a topic he was permitted to comment on.
"Very well, you may return home now. Zhou Yu will be returning to the capital in the next few days, and once he arrives, this entire affair will be fully settled."
The Emperor's face relaxed into a contented expression. The massive burden that had weighed on him for years had finally been lifted, and his heart was brimming with joy.
"This whole success is all thanks to you, Lord Shen."
"It is all just my duty as your subject." Shen Xiabai bowed and exited the Imperial Study. At that moment, the Crown Prince was being helped to his feet by the eunuchs, staggering unsteadily as he began to walk away.
"Allow me to assist His Highness," Shen Xiabai stepped forward to support the Crown Prince.
"Thank you for your help, Lord Shen."
The two of them walked side by side toward the palace gates. The young eunuch waited until their figures had vanished from sight before turning back to make his report to the Emperor.
"Lord Shen, do you truly believe Prime Minister Cui is dead?" the Crown Prince asked.
"If His Majesty says he is dead, then he is dead."
"But I always feel that things are not that simple." The Crown Prince frowned. He had probed his father in every possible way, yet the Emperor's reaction did not seem to be a pretense.
"Your Highness, the person you should be worrying about now is yourself." Cui Qingyuan had been his most powerful and reliable backer. Now that Cui Qingyuan was gone, the Crown Prince's position as heir was hanging by a thread. Judging from the Emperor's attitude today, the deposition of the Crown Prince was almost certainly imminent.
Meanwhile, Prince An had been growing increasingly restless and ambitious these past days, emboldened by the news that Cui Yunfeng was carrying his child.
At the palace gate, the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. The Crown Prince stood there, his brows furrowed as he stared at the last sliver of fading sunlight. "Must father and son really end up facing each other as enemies after all we have been through?"
Shen Xiabai said, "Zhou Yu is on his way back to the capital as we speak."
The Crown Prince gave Shen Xiabai a long, deep look. "Will Lord Shen help me?"
"Your subject has just been newly wed," Shen Xiabai replied. "I need to spend time with my wife."
Aside from the small handful of people in positions of great power, no one else in the capital had any idea that earth-shaking changes had already taken place.
Cui Yunchu had finished handling all the household affairs of the Shen family, and now she was sitting by the entrance waiting for Shen Xiabai to come home.
It was already evening when Shen Xiabai stepped into the courtyard, carrying with him the chill of the night air. The moment he spotted Cui Yunchu, the stern, frosty look on his face softened into gentle warmth. "Why are you sitting out here? Why didn't you wait for me inside the warm room?"
"I was waiting for you." Cui Yunchu jumped to her feet, threw her arms around his neck, and hung her whole body on him.
Shen Xiabai lifted her up and carried her back into their room. He leaned her back against the closed door, and then began to kiss her deeply.
"They don't even bother to hide it anymore," Yu Feng muttered under his breath, gesturing for Xing'er to follow him out of the room and leave the couple in private.
Cui Yunchu was still easily flustered by public displays of affection. She was bright red in the face from his kisses, and said breathlessly, "What's gotten into you? You're just like a dog, biting at me the second you walk through the door."
Shen Xiabai nuzzled against the crook of her neck. "A Chu, I want to give you a stable, happy life. I want you to have no worries, nothing but joy and contentment every single day."
Cui Yunchu smiled softly. "Lord Shen, you have already done so much for me. I, Cui Yunchu, am more than satisfied."
They continued to kiss, whispering sweet nothings to each other, until they gradually tumbled onto the bed, lost in a long, tender entanglement.
Cui Yunchu's fair, soft skin was glistening with a fine layer of sweat. She lay on top of Shen Xiabai's broad, solid chest, and lifted a hand to smooth out the faint furrow between his brows.
"Is there nothing at all that you wish to ask me?" Shen Xiabai said.
"No," Cui Yunchu said, "I trust my Lord Shen."
She knew the tense situation they were in, and did not want to add any more pressure to him.
Shen Xiabai slowly stroked her back in a mindless, gentle caress. "A Chu, it won't be long before the situation stabilizes completely. When that day comes, no matter what you want to do, or where you want to go, I will be right there with you."
"I'm not going anywhere," Cui Yunchu said. "I finally managed to marry a powerful noble like you, why would I leave to strut around anywhere else but the capital? I'm not some fool who's lost her mind over those silly storybooks, believing that nonsense about retreating to the mountains and forests to live in seclusion."
Shen Xiabai took her hand, rolled over to pin her under him, and said, "Fine, then you can stay in the capital, and let my A Chu be the unchallenged tyrant of the city."
