The carriage and luggage had already been prepared. Shen Xiabai and Cui Yunchu escorted the couple to the gate of the residence.
“You’re really leaving?” Cui Yunchu sighed.
“If Little Uncle and Little Aunt miss us, you can come visit us whenever you have the time.”
“I’m not going.” Cui Yunchu pouted. “It would be too miserable.”
She had gone to such lengths to attain her current life of wealth and luxury. There was no way she would willingly go experience poverty.
Her way of thinking was different from that of ordinary people. If she were in their place, she might have clung to the Shen family for the rest of her life. After all, she would never have to worry about food or clothing, nor would she need to endure the intrigues of officialdom. That could even be considered a form of compensation for all she had suffered.
After bidding one another farewell at length, Cui Yunchu took a thick stack of banknotes from Xing’er and handed them to Chen Miaohe.
“You’re going to be living far from home. Money can open doors, so it’s better to have more on hand, just in case.”
Chen Miaohe’s heart warmed. “Thank you, Little Aunt.”
Cui Yunchu’s heart bled at the words. “Just take them. If you have money in the future, don’t forget to pay me back.”
Shen Zilan suddenly burst out laughing.
Shen Xiabai and Chen Miaohe both shot him a look. Their gazes were inscrutable and unfathomable, making his smile slowly fade. He rubbed his nose awkwardly.
“Then… we’ll be off. Little Uncle, Little Aunt, farewell.”
The couple gave them a formal bow before climbing into the carriage.
Chen Miaohe poked her head out of the carriage and waved at Cui Yunchu.
The carriage gradually blurred into the distance, leaving the street where the Shen residence stood.
“Miaohe, perhaps we should still go to your family home and explain everything clearly,” Shen Zilan said. He continued to feel guilty. What difference was this from deceiving her into marriage?
“You want my parents to be angered to death, is that it?” Chen Miaohe glared at him.
They had already consummated their marriage, and only now did he want to explain things. Though he felt guilty, in her parents’ eyes, it would probably seem like an outright provocation.
“I’m already married to you. Why dwell on it? As long as you don’t deceive me, that’s all that matters.”
“Miaohe, I’m sorry you’ve been wronged. You’ve only just married me, and now you have to accompany me to take up an appointment away from the capital.”
Chen Miaohe shot him a look. “It’s fine. But if you betray me, I’ll take you down with me.”
“…”
He suddenly realized that his new bride resembled Little Aunt in certain ways—perhaps six or seven parts alike.
Chen Miaohe gazed out at the scenery flashing past the window, her eyes filled with longing for the life that lay ahead.
She turned back and looked deeply at Shen Zilan. “Don’t be upset. No matter what your surname is, I will still be your wife from now on.”
Shen Zilan smiled, though his eyes reddened. He pulled his wife into his arms.
“We’re going to Jiangnan. I’ll build a world of our own there, where you can do whatever you please.”
With Shen Zilan and Dowager Shen both gone, the Shen residence became even more deserted. Cui Yunchu truly became just as Shen Xiabai had described at the beginning—she spent her days idling around with nothing to do.
Looking across the entire capital, no one had an easier time being the mistress of a household than she did.
There was no one for her to manage and nothing for her to worry about.
Shen Xiabai, however, was busy every day. Cui Yunchu did not want to distract him, so she never asked about matters in the official world.
Tang Qingwan’s health worsened with each passing day, while the Crown Prince hardly ever left his residence. The imperial court had all but become Prince An’s domain, allowing him to do as he pleased.
Only Shen Xiabai and Prime Minister Cui could restrain him to some extent.
During that time, Cui Yunchu visited Tang Qingwan several times. Yet no matter how she tried to comfort her, Tang Qingwan could never truly cheer up.
Before long, the year-end festivities arrived. Red silk and red lanterns were hung throughout the residence, making the Shen household somewhat livelier.
The New Year’s Eve dinner at the Shen residence filled an entire table. Yet with only Cui Yunchu and Shen Xiabai present, it seemed rather desolate.
“I wonder how Mother is doing. Have any messages come back recently?” Cui Yunchu asked listlessly as she pushed food around her bowl.
“Zilan’s post is less than a hundred li from where Mother is. Don’t worry,” Shen Xiabai replied.
Cui Yunchu nodded.
By then, the outside world was already brightly lit. Fireworks occasionally exploded across the night sky, illuminating the darkness.
Cui Yunchu stood beneath the covered walkway, with Shen Xiabai beside her. The husband and wife tilted their heads back together and gazed at the heavens.
The scene seemed familiar, yet their state of mind was completely different.
“Lord Shen.”
“Hmm?”
“Lord Shen.”
“What is it?” Shen Xiabai turned his head slightly.
“Nothing. I just wanted to call your name.” Cui Yunchu leaned toward him and nestled against her Lord Shen.
“If things could always remain like this, it would be a paradise on earth.”
Shen Xiabai put an arm around her and chuckled softly into her ear. “Is that so? A few nights ago, Madam also said you had arrived in paradise. You have so many paradises, Madam. You’re remarkably easy to please.”
“…”
Cui Yunchu tipped her head back and glared at him.
This man really never stopped talking nonsense. His mind was forever filled with all sorts of improper things.
Shen Xiabai laughed softly and rubbed against the side of her neck. “A Chu.”
“Does Lord Shen want a kiss?”
The husband and wife leaned against the pillar and kissed without a care for anyone watching.
Yu Feng’s lips twitched. He sent all the servants in the vicinity away.
His masters might lack a sense of propriety, but he could not.
When the kiss grew heated, Shen Xiabai bent down and swept her up in his arms, striding into the room. With the tips of his ears flushed red, he tossed Cui Yunchu onto the soft bedding.
Just as he lowered himself over her, she braced her arms against his chest to keep him away.
Shen Xiabai was familiar with her coy refusals. He seized her wrist and was about to pin it aside when Cui Yunchu suddenly said, “I’m pregnant.”
Everything came to an abrupt standstill.
Shen Xiabai froze, unable to move another inch.
Joy and disbelief slowly spread across his face and into his eyes.
His lips moved several times before Cui Yunchu spoke again. “You heard me correctly. I’m pregnant. There’s no need to ask what I just said.”
She cupped his face in her hands. “Lord Shen, did you hear me clearly?”
Cui Yunchu slid one hand around his neck and leaned in to kiss him. But just as she closed her eyes, he pushed her away.
“Be careful. You might crush the baby.”
Cui Yunchu lowered her head and looked at her perfectly flat stomach. She fell silent.
“He’s still so small.”
Still uneasy, Shen Xiabai summoned a physician to take her pulse. Once the physician confirmed that Cui Yunchu was indeed two months pregnant, Shen Xiabai’s joy overflowed.
Two months…
He wanted to ask about all the intimacy they had shared recently, but Cui Yunchu immediately covered his mouth.
That night, Cui Yunchu kept rubbing herself against Shen Xiabai.
His face flushed crimson, his eyes dark and deep. He warned her, “If you keep moving, I’ll send you back to the Cui residence.”
“Go ahead. Send me there,” Cui Yunchu said fearlessly.
“I’ll sleep in a separate room from you.”
“I’ll go have an affair.”
Shen Xiabai had already placed one foot on the floor, but he drew it back and resigned himself to enduring Cui Yunchu’s torment.
“Can you still manage?” Cui Yunchu asked several times that night, taking revenge for all the teasing Shen Xiabai had put her through lately.
Only when Shen Xiabai helplessly pressed his lips to her ear and begged for mercy in the same low, husky voice she usually used did she finally let him off.
The news of Cui Yunchu’s pregnancy was not spread outside the household. Only the steward of the Cui residence and a few close attendants knew.
Everyone practically treated her like royalty, wishing they could eat and drink in her place.
Just as she had once wished, Cui Yunchu now lived in the lap of luxury. She was spoiled and willful, picking at everything and tormenting Shen Xiabai to her heart’s content.
As a result, Shen Xiabai said every night without fail, “Cui Yunchu, just wait until the child is born. You’ll see how I deal with you.”
“What’s the big deal?” Cui Yunchu said shamelessly. “At worst, I’ll just keep having children.”
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, four months had passed. By then, everyone already knew that Cui Yunchu was pregnant.
Old Madam Cui often sent people to check on her, while Cui Yunfeng would visit the Shen residence whenever she had the time to share her own experience with maintaining a healthy pregnancy. Even Cui Qingyuan would have tonics delivered to her every few days.
Cui Yunli was no exception. Although no one yet knew whether the child was a boy or a girl, several chests of little gifts had already piled up. Whatever Cui Yunfeng had, Cui Yunchu had as well.
Cui Yunfeng’s belly was round and taut, as though it might split open at any moment. The closer she came to giving birth, the more tense the situation in the capital became.
That was because it also meant that the deadline Crown Prince and Prince An had agreed upon was fast approaching.
