In the days that followed, Shen Xiabai attended the morning court sessions as Prince An had requested, while Cui Yunchu and Old Madam Cui devoted themselves to preparing for Shen Zilan’s wedding.
Shen Zilan never showed himself during that time. Whenever Dowager Shen was unable to make up her mind, she would send someone to the government office to seek his opinion.
Cui Yunchu rarely concerned herself with court affairs. She only knew that the Crown Prince seemed to have given up entirely. He hardly attended court anymore, nor did he inquire about matters of state.
As for Prince An, he was fawned over and courted by nearly every official. He had grown particularly close to several important ministers and had already begun laying the groundwork for his future accession to the throne.
There were not many favors that could be exchanged with court officials, but positions among the future imperial consorts were one of the few valuable bargaining chips. By now, rumors were circulating that three or four young ladies had been selected as candidates for the future Four Consorts.
Prince An had never offered any response.
Whenever Cui Yunchu heard such rumors, she would curse viciously under her breath. But with Cui Yunfeng in her current condition, no one dared utter anything improper in front of her.
The situation grew increasingly tense. Ten days later, Shen Zilan and Chen Miaohe’s wedding finally arrived.
Cui Yunchu had no choice but to set aside her worries for the time being and devote herself wholeheartedly to arranging the ceremony.
Nearly every civil and military official who could attend was present that day, along with Prince An and the Crown Prince. Cui Yunchu had no desire to listen to their veiled barbs and pointed exchanges, so she kept her distance.
Just as she was thinking she might finally enjoy a moment of peace, someone gave her shoulder a heavy slap. When she turned around and saw who it was, she was even more startled.
“Cui Yunfeng, what are you doing here?”
“Listen to you. Why can’t I come? Don’t tell me you don’t welcome me?”
Cui Yunchu glanced at her round belly, then looked toward the male guests in the distance. “Does your husband know you’re here?”
Cui Yunfeng shook her head. “He forbade me from coming out. I snuck out.”
“…”
“He’ll see you later.”
“So what if he does? Is he going to throw me out?”
Cui Yunchu rose to her feet. “You should hurry home. There are people coming and going today. It isn’t safe.”
Cui Yunfeng gripped the edge of the table with both hands. “No. I came to enjoy the wedding feast, and I even brought a gift. What right do you have to send me away? Don’t you know anything about being a proper hostess?”
“…”
Cui Yunchu was truly afraid that Cui Yunfeng might hear something she shouldn’t and faint in a fit of anger.
“You’re pregnant. You can eat a feast whenever you like. Go home already,” Cui Yunchu urged.
No matter what she said, Cui Yunfeng refused to leave.
“Are you hiding something from me? All of you have been acting strangely.”
Earlier, when she had tried to leave the residence, her maid had dropped to her knees before her and cried as though her own mother had died, looking utterly grief-stricken.
But Cui Yunfeng had come anyway. The more they tried to stop her, the more determined she became to come out.
Cui Yunchu’s brows were so tightly furrowed they looked capable of trapping a mosquito. She could only sigh helplessly.
Cui Yunfeng paid no attention to her. “What’s the story between Miss Chen and your boy Zilan? Come on, tell me all about it.”
Seeing the unmistakable look of curiosity on her face, and thinking that surely no one would be foolish enough to say anything improper in front of her, Cui Yunchu had no choice but to sit down and tell her the whole story to keep her entertained.
Cui Yunfeng listened with great interest.
“What about Cousin? She didn’t come today?” Cui Yunfeng suddenly asked.
Cui Yunchu nodded, a flicker of concern passing through her eyes.
“Cousin sent a wedding gift in her place,” Cui Yunchu said.
Cui Yunfeng nodded. “Her health isn’t good. She really should take proper care of herself and recuperate.”
The two sisters leaned close together and whispered. Suddenly, Cui Yunfeng said, “Elder Sister, I’m going to tell you something secretly. You mustn’t tell anyone else.”
The moment Cui Yunchu heard this, her brows drew together. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to hear it.”
Cui Yunfeng tugged on her ear and whispered, “The child I’m carrying is a girl.”
Cui Yunchu’s body stiffened. “How do you know?”
Cui Yunfeng stroked her belly. “I secretly asked a physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau to check. Even Xiao Yi doesn’t know.”
Cui Yunchu lowered her gaze to the swell of Cui Yunfeng’s belly and fell silent.
It wasn’t that she disliked girls. But at this critical juncture, if Cui Yunfeng gave birth to a daughter, it would be extremely disadvantageous—to Cui Yunfeng, to the Cui family, and to the current political situation.
“Elder Sister.” Cui Yunfeng waved a hand before her eyes.
“Are you certain?” Cui Yunchu asked.
Cui Yunfeng nodded. “I can feel it. She’s definitely a girl.”
Cui Yunchu felt a chill settle in her heart.
“Elder Sister, you’re worried about me, aren’t you?” Cui Yunfeng asked with a smile.
Looking into Cui Yunfeng’s smiling eyes, Cui Yunchu felt her throat tighten. She didn’t know what to say.
Cui Yunfeng continued, “Elder Sister, I’ve been married into Prince An’s residence for quite some time now. I am, after all, the daughter of the Chancellor. How could I be a princess who is deaf and blind to the truth?”
She linked her arm through Cui Yunchu’s.
“I told you long ago that if I had to choose between my family and him, I would choose my family. After that, I would accompany him through life and death.”
“Cui Yunfeng,” Cui Yunchu scolded, glaring at her. “You’re pregnant. Stop imagining the worst.”
Cui Yunfeng lifted her chin and gazed at Cui Yunchu with a smile.
“Elder Sister, I may be foolish, but no one understands Xiao Yi better than I do—not when it comes to the affection we’ve shared since childhood.”
“There’s still a long road ahead.” Cui Yunfeng let out a long breath. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
After all, he was her husband and the father of her child. Cui Yunfeng still hoped that he would achieve his ambition.
She lifted her head and gazed toward the seats reserved for the male guests.
She always felt that Cousin’s current situation was partly the result of her own recklessness and the way she had pushed things along back then. Guilt weighed on her heart.
But in the struggle for the throne, victory and defeat were unavoidable. She could use that to comfort herself—but if it endangered her family and the elder sister she loved most, then that was absolutely unacceptable.
“Elder Sister, I hope everything can end here. I hope that in the future, we can remain as happy and harmonious as we are now.”
He could become the Son of Heaven, while her elder sister, the Cui family, and the Tang family could all remain as they were.
She wished time could stop here.
But there was one thing she knew all too well: if the Crown Prince and Cousin fell, the first person Xiao Yi would likely eliminate would be the cousin who now held power over the Tang family.
