“……” Shen Zilan fell silent for a long while.
So all the trouble he had just gone through was because his little aunt was upset with his little uncle.
He had been on the receiving end of unprovoked sarcasm, cold jabs, and taunts for no reason at all.
“Little Uncle,” Shen Zilan furrowed his brows, “did you upset Little Aunt?”
Shen Xiabai reluctantly pulled his gaze away, glanced at Shen Zilan, and then began to reprimand him.
“Are you planning to cut ties with the Shen family entirely?”
A sharp twinge of pain stabbed through Shen Zilan’s heart.
“Do you hate Dowager Shen?”
“No,” Shen Zilan shook his head immediately, his chest filled with tangled emotions he could not untangle.
He did not hate her, but he also could not act as if nothing had ever happened.
“We were talking about you and Little Aunt, why are you bringing me into this?” Shen Zilan mumbled softly. “When you married Little Aunt back then, the sweet lines you said could fill an entire book. If you don’t treat her well, that’s straight-up fraud in marriage.”
“……”
Shen Xiabai lowered his head and lapsed into silence.
“Little Uncle, what on earth did you do to offend Little Aunt?”
She had made him lie beneath her, and speak in a soft, falsetto voice to call her husband, my king, and that this concubine cannot take it anymore.
How was he supposed to say that out loud?
“You’ve got time to meddle in other people’s business, you’d better put that energy into properly arranging your own wedding. Don’t fuss over useless things.”
Shen Xiabai got up and left. Right before he stepped out of the room, he suddenly paused, tilted his head slightly and said, “You will always be the Shen family's young master. Your wedding must be held at the Shen family residence.”
After Shen Xiabai left, Shen Zilan stood there, eyes turning red.
After a long while, Yu Feng walked into the room, and silently handed him a silk handkerchief.
Shen Zilan gave a bitter smile. “You go and get busy. No need to comfort me, just leave me alone here for a while.”
“……What this subordinate means is, young master, you might want to go somewhere else to stay. The master and madam are about to do something… rather inappropriate for others to witness.”
“……”
Shen Zilan’s mouth twitched.
Broad daylight, and the couple still couldn’t behave themselves like normal people.
He walked out of the main courtyard, his steps slow and meandering, until he unconsciously found himself back at his own courtyard.
The young servant boy waiting there was overjoyed to see him, and immediately hurried over to greet him. Everything looked exactly as it used to, his room was spotless, swept clean from top to bottom.
Shen Zilan sat inside his room, staying there for several hours on end.
During that time, he thought about all the grim tales of officialdom in the capital that Cui Yunchu had once told him—even though she had made most of them up, Shen Zilan still thought he was fortunate.
Born into the Shen family, the girl he liked was well within his reach, and even to pursue an official post, he never had to go through great hardships.
Countless people would beg to be taken in as a disciple of the Shen family, not to mention that his little uncle truly treated him as his own closest kin.
Right now, Shen Zilan did not even dare to think about Dowager Shen.
He tilted his head back, looking at the courtyard he had lived in since he was a child. Every corner was filled with the memories of his grandmother and him.
……
Back in the main courtyard, Shen Xiabai chased Cui Yunchu into the inner room.
“A Chu.”
Cui Yunchu turned her head away, ignoring him.
Shen Xiabai was helpless. “Can we pick a different demand? Your husband is, after all…”
A man.
Cui Yunchu glanced at him. “You always make me lie beneath you, and every time I say I can’t take it anymore, you look absolutely thrilled. Why is it not okay for me to do the same to you?”
“……” Shen Xiabai wished he could sew her mouth shut.
How could that be the same?
“A Chu, have some mercy and save me a little face, won’t you?”
“Then don’t make a sound later tonight.”
“……” Shen Xiabai quickly grabbed her before she could walk away. “Fine, fine. I’ll agree to your terms.”
“And you have to say it while crying,” Cui Yunchu added, her eyes sparkling with eager anticipation.
“……”
She was going to get her revenge for real today. She wanted to experience that exact thrill he got, watching the person beneath him fall apart.
Shen Xiabai thought to himself that ever since their marriage, A Chu had been devoting all her little mischievous tricks to thinking up ways to tease him in the bedroom.
“Come on then.”
“It’s broad daylight… this doesn’t feel right,” Shen Xiabai took a small step backward.
Cui Yunchu tugged at him, dragging him toward the bed. “What broad daylight? Once we draw the curtains, it’s night time.”
“……”
A quarter of an hour later, their clothes were scattered messily all over the floor. The bed curtains hung low, half of the bedding was piled onto the ground, and the hazy silhouette of a person was bent over, leaning on the chest of the person beneath them, breathing lightly and heavily.
As for the person lying under her, he was perfectly calm, not the slightest bit flustered, a teasing glint in his eyes, smiling faintly as he looked up at her.
“Why don’t you keep going, my lady?”
“……” Cui Yunchu looked utterly bewildered. “I’m tired.”
Shen Xiabai let out a clear, amused laugh.
Cui Yunchu rolled her eyes.
She had only been jealous of how much fun he had, and completely failed to account for the huge difference in their stamina.
“Come on, beg for mercy.”
“I can’t go on anymore,” he said, his tone as solemn and proper as a monk reciting scriptures, as earnest as a scholar reading the classics.
“……” Cui Yunchu’s mouth drooped in disappointment.
She wasn’t satisfied, so she squirmed back and forth on top of him, huffing and grunting.
Shen Xiabai’s gaze grew deeper and darker, heavy with unspoken desire.
What if you add the words this concubine in front of that line?
“……”
“This concubine… is more than capable,” the moment the words left his mouth, he suddenly flipped over, grabbed her by the waist and pressed her down onto the bed, moving steadily for a long while.
In the end, Cui Yunchu, still looking thoroughly disgruntled, gave his waist a hard kick.
“Get off, you’re so annoying.”
Shen Xiabai caught her by the ankle and tugged, pulling her right back into his arms.
Bang bang bang——
Someone knocked sharply on the door. Both of them frowned at the same time.
Yu Feng and Xing'er would never be so undisciplined as to disturb them at a time like this.
Cui Yunchu slipped out from beside Shen Xiabai. “What is it?”
“Madam, the Crown Princess has had an accident,” Xing'er’s voice was laced with urgency.
Cui Yunchu’s expression shifted. She quickly got dressed, rushed over and pulled the door open.
Xing'er said, “The messenger is from the Crown Prince’s residence. They only said the Crown Princess has fallen ill, and didn’t go into details.”
“Prepare the carriage at once,” Cui Yunchu urged.
Shen Xiabai walked out after he had finished dressing, frowning slightly. “I didn’t hear any news that the Crown Princess was unwell during the morning court these past few days.”
Cui Yunchu frowned too, saying nothing.
With the current political situation, every sudden unexpected incident could trigger a total collapse of the entire power structure.
Cui Yunchu’s first suspicion fell on Xiao Yi.
After all, as things stood now, the Crown Prince had long been disqualified from the succession fight. If Prince An wasn’t holding back because of external factors, he would never have tolerated the Crown Prince for this long. It was not impossible that he would do something drastic.
“That shouldn’t be the case,” Shen Xiabai said. “The two of them reached an agreement in the Imperial Library that day, witnessed by many officials. Prince An would not go back on his word so easily.”
Besides, he also had to show due consideration for Lord Cui, Cui Yunchu’s father.
“We’ll know once we get there,” Cui Yunchu hurried out with quick steps.
No matter what, she and Tang Qingwan were sisters after all. When life and death were on the line, all past grievances and rifts became meaningless.
At the Crown Prince’s residence, the Crown Prince was sitting in the reception hall, his eyes bloodshot red. Cui Yunchu did not even bother to perform formal courtesies, rushing straight into the inner chamber.
On the bed, Tang Qingwan lay pale as a sheet, and the strong stench of blood hung thick in the air.
“What happened?” Cui Yunchu asked.
The maid standing by the side had red, puffy eyes from crying. “Young mistress, the Crown Princess… she had a miscarriage.”
Cui Yunchu froze.
Her cousin was pregnant?
“How far along was she? How did she suddenly miscarry?”
The maid shook her head. “Ever since the Crown Princess’s last miscarriage, her monthly flows had been irregular. This time, both she and we thought her period was just delayed, and had no idea she was with child.”
“This morning, the Crown Princess felt sorry for how exhausted His Highness the Crown Prince has been lately, so she personally brought a pot of nourishing medicinal soup to his study. But she slipped and fell when she was climbing the steps…”
The maid broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
She knew exactly how long Tang Qingwan had been longing for this child.
