Cui Yunchu turned her head and looked at the pageboy who had come to report, her gaze icy cold.
The pageboy bowed in greeting, then hurried back to Shen Xiaobai's side. Cui Yunchu gritted her teeth.
The Prince of An was the Emperor's biological son; how could the Emperor possibly strike him so heavily? Shen Xiaobai was clearly doing this on purpose.
"Master, isn't it a bit of an exaggeration for us to say that His Highness the Prince of An is breathing his last?"
Shen Xiabai's expression remained unchanged. "Didn't he ask for it himself?"
The pageboy was speechless.
His Highness the Prince of An asked you to make it sound serious, but he didn't tell you to say he was dying.
Cursing a prince of the blood—hopefully, he wouldn't end up being torn apart by five horses.
Shen Xiabai looked indifferent. He raised his eyes and glanced at the young woman glaring angrily at him from a short distance away. It was only for a moment before he casually withdrew his gaze and walked away.
Old Madam Cui had already left a step ahead with Chancellor Cui and Grand Tutor Tang, leaving only the three sisters to share a single carriage.
The imperial palace was vast, yet there was no place for Cui Yunchu. She could only crouch under the eaves of the corridor, waiting for Cui Yunfeng and Tang Qingwan to return.
"Eldest Miss Cui, why are you..."
The man's bright and clear voice had just sounded when it abruptly stopped.
Cui Yunchu looked up and frowned.
Why was it this person again?
She immediately pretended not to hear or see anything, averting her gaze.
Shen Zilan stood there, caught in a dilemma for a moment. He wanted to walk over and strike up a conversation with Cui Yunchu, but his young uncle's sharp gaze from not far away was truly terrifying.
Cui Yunchu naturally felt it too. She cursed silently a few times, but then suddenly looked up and beamed at Shen Zilan. "Why hasn't Young Master Shen left yet? Are you waiting for someone?"
I'm waiting for you. But Shen Zilan didn't dare say these words out loud.
"Oh. My grandmother went to the Fengluan Palace, so I am waiting for her here."
Cui Yunchu nodded. Seeing Shen Xiabai turning back with a cold face, her smile grew even more delighted. "What a coincidence, let's wait together then."
"Okay." Shen Zilan stared at her blankly, his eyes rippling with emotion, as if his senses had been snatched away.
Oh no. Alarm bells rang in Cui Yunchu's heart. She shouldn't take this joke too far; this boy didn't look very innocent.
Looking awkward, she stood up and prepared to leave.
"Eldest Miss Cui, Zilan is engaged to the Miss of the Chen family. By rights, he should call you 'sister-in-law' in the future. As the saying goes, even a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its own burrow. Eldest Miss Cui won't even spare the grass near her burrow. Do you want everyone to know the capabilities of the Cui family's daughters?"
"..."
Cui Yunchu immediately pulled back the foot she had stepped out with and coldly looked at Shen Xiabai, who had returned.
"Uncle," Shen Zilan immediately stepped forward and tugged at Shen Xiabai's sleeve. "You misunderstood. I was the one who took the initiative to talk to Eldest Miss Cui. We were just chatting."
He was very anxious, his face flushed red, as if he was terrified that Cui Yunchu would notice his shameful little crush.
After all, they both had marriage arrangements and their statuses were bound by propriety. He feared Cui Yunchu would think him despicable and look down on him.
Besides, she really had just smiled at him.
Shen Zilan blushed from his face all the way to the roots of his ears.
Seeing his worthless appearance, Shen Xiabai felt stifled in his heart. "Get back to the carriage."
But Shen Zilan stood his ground, refusing to leave. "Uncle, don't make things difficult for a young lady. It's my fault and has nothing to do with her."
Shen Zilan was the only descendant of the Shen family's younger generation. It could be said he was spoiled growing up, and later, because of Shen Xiabai's high position and power, he became even more unbridled.
Yet only in front of this young uncle did he completely restrain all his sharp temper.
Cui Yunchu leaned against the pillar, watching the uncle and nephew argue for a moment before speaking leisurely, "I have also heard the saying Lord Shen mentioned."
"But... I'm not a rabbit," Cui Yunchu spread her hands. "I certainly don't eat the grass near the burrow, but cutting it to weave flowers for fun is quite interesting."
Shen Zilan was the heir left behind by Shen Xiabai's deceased elder brother. Apart from Old Madam Shen, he was the most important person to him.
Cui Yunchu's words were tantamount to humiliating Shen Zilan.
Shen Xiabai's face instantly froze into frost. He didn't speak for a moment, just stared fixedly at Cui Yunchu, then suddenly strode toward her.
His steps were heavy and steady, the heavy sound of his footsteps seemingly trampling on Cui Yunchu's heart.
"Petty shrew, drawing a sword when you can't win an argument." Cui Yunchu swallowed hard and coldly rebuked.
Immediately, as Shen Xiabai took his next step, she turned around and fled. Her movements were smooth and done in one breath.
Cui Yunchu didn't run very far. She stopped at the end of the corridor's eaves, turned back, and tried hard to suppress her palpitations. Her gaze toward Shen Xiabai revealed disdainful provocation.
She wasn't an idiot. A smart woman knows when to yield and when to stand tall; she runs when she needs to and stands her ground when she must.
Watching this scene from the side, Shen Zilan suddenly let out an uncontrollable low chuckle.
Shen Xiabai cast a sidelong glance at him, his face cold. "You still have the nerve to laugh?"
Shen Zilan touched his nose and kept quiet.
The shrew was scolding you, not me, so why shouldn't I have the nerve?
However, the other party was, after all, his young uncle who doted on him. Thinking of this, Shen Zilan could only press his lips into a straight line.
"Did you hear clearly what she just said?"
Shen Zilan nodded. "I heard it clearly."
Shen Xiabai said coldly, "To her, you are just a flower that can be arbitrarily cut and played with. As a dignified man, have some backbone."
Wasn't that because you called her a rabbit first?
Shen Zilan said, "I was the one who initiated the conversation, and Uncle's words were so harsh. As a young lady suffering such an unjust accusation for no reason, she naturally wouldn't speak nicely."
If it were him, he would definitely have said something even worse.
Hearing this, Shen Xiabai sneered and looked sideways at Shen Zilan. "You sure know how to comfort yourself and find a way out."
"If you don't want me to make things difficult for her, cut off those little thoughts of yours. How can a gentleman be obsessed with a mere superficial appearance?"
That woman, aside from that face, had no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Hearing this, Shen Zilan remained silent for a long time. It wasn't until the two got into the carriage that he spoke in a low voice, "Uncle, why do you have such a big prejudice against the Cui family?"
Shen Xiabai's eyes instantly darkened and grew cold. "Don't forget how your father and grandfather died."
"Father and Grandfather threatened the imperial power, attempting to usurp it and take its place. It's reasonable that the royal family wouldn't tolerate it. I can only say... their skills were inferior. The winner becomes king, and the loser is outlawed. It has always been this way for losers."
"And the Cui and Tang families were nothing more than pawns of the imperial power back then."
Shen Zilan's voice grew weaker, especially when he met Shen Xiabai's cold and fierce gaze, causing his heartbeat to slightly stall.
But he still didn't feel that he was wrong.
The carriage was filled with a cold and heavy atmosphere, suffocating enough to make one's scalp tingle.
The expected fury did not come; instead, Shen Xiabai was surprisingly calm.
"What you said is not wrong."
"Then Uncle, why do you..."
Shen Xiabai was a child born to his parents in their old age. When his father and elder brother passed away, he was only five or six years old.
But he remembered his eldest brother's appearance, which was eighty or ninety percent similar to Shen Zilan in his high-spirited moments.
"Although your grandfather and father had ambitions, they were not evil men. Even though they lost the struggle for power back then, the Shen family's foundation was still there, and it happened to be a year of famine..."
Shen Xiabai's voice paused, his gaze indescribably cold and thin. "The Shen family donated all their wealth, willing to help the country overcome this crisis, and the Emperor issued a decree of special pardon..."
He leaned against the carriage wall and slightly closed his eyes.
Shen Zilan had never heard Shen Xiabai mention these things before. Hearing this, she pressed him, "Then why did grandfather and father still die?"
Shen Xiabai opened his eyes and lowered his gaze to look at his hands resting on his knees. He did not answer her question directly. "Just remember this: between the Shen family and the Cui-Tang clan, there is a blood debt of two lives. In this lifetime, a marriage alliance between us is absolutely impossible."
One day, he would make the Cui-Tang clan taste the exact same feeling of being hunted down to the very last person.
...
Cui Yunfeng arrived at Consort Liang's palace. In the vast palace, there was not even a single shadow of a servant. She immediately felt that something was wrong.
"Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi." Standing in the center of the hall, she called out twice in succession, but received no response.
Suppressing the rising unease and sense of strangeness in her heart, she rushed straight to the side pavilion where Xiao Yi usually rested within Consort Liang's palace.
The pavilion was filled with nothing but the thick, slightly pungent scent of medicine. Layers upon layers of gauze curtains hung down, tightly concealing the bed.
It still seemed completely empty.
She stepped toward the bed. "Xiao Yi, are you in there?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, a large, strong hand suddenly reached out from behind the curtains, tightly grabbing Cui Yunfeng's wrist and pulling her inside.
Cui Yunfeng was so startled that she almost screamed, but she immediately forced herself to swallow the sound.
On the bed, the Prince of An was half-reclining on his side. His wickedly handsome face was slightly pale, but as he looked at Cui Yunfeng, he still wore his usual faint, roguish smile.
"..." Seeing him like this, Cui Yunfeng immediately realized she had been tricked.
She shook off his grip and stood up straight. "This is the inner palace."
"So what?" Xiao Yi rubbed his fingertips together almost unconsciously, his lazy demeanor tinged with a reckless arrogance.
He reached out, wanting to take Cui Yunfeng's hand again, but she forcefully swatted it away. "You were the one who had that servant boy trick me."
"Mhm."
Cui Yunfeng grew even angrier, her eyes turning red. She slapped Xiao Yi hard on the shoulder. "How could you curse yourself to die? Is that something you can just joke about?"
