As she spoke, she raised her hairpin and stabbed it right at Young Master Wang's face.
Young Master Wang's pupils shrank slightly, and he immediately dodged.
Ultimately, a woman's strength was no match for a man's. After a couple of exchanges, although Young Master Wang failed to get close to Cui Yunchu, she didn't gain any advantage either.
Her hair bun had come slightly loose, and her face bore a ruthless expression of desperate resolve.
"I never knew the eldest Miss Cui had such a fierce side. You put on quite the act, playing hard to get. Did your prostitute mother teach you that?"
"Is this how you act with the Crown Prince and Prince An, or do you have another set of seductive tricks for them? Surely your concubine mother taught you those too, right?"
He seemed to think himself very clever, leaning back and chuckling.
"You dead dog, I'm going to tear your mouth to pieces today." Cui Yunchu was raised by her concubine mother, so her upbringing naturally lacked the refined lineage of Cui Yunfeng and Tang Qingwan, especially when it came to holding her tongue.
Her eyes grew slightly red—not out of fear, but from anger. She was so furious that her body trembled slightly.
Just then, with the smile still plastered on his face, Young Master Wang was suddenly lifted into the air and thrown viciously onto the nearby grass.
Without pausing to see what had happened, Cui Yunchu lifted her skirts, sprinted over, and ruthlessly plunged her hairpin down into him.
"That's for threatening me! That's for ruining my reputation! You're not even as tall as a firecracker, yet you dare to harbor such disgusting thoughts about me!"
"Ugly people always cause the most trouble! I'll teach you to cause trouble!"
The hairpin stabbed haphazardly into Young Master Wang's body, making him scream and howl in pain.
At that moment, a handkerchief was handed to Cui Yunchu.
Cui Yunchu muttered a thank you, snatched the handkerchief, and stuffed it right into Young Master Wang's mouth.
Ugh... it smelled heavily of sweat, absolutely revolting.
She stabbed Young Master Wang fiercely in the leg one more time to ensure he couldn't run back to the banquet hall, before finally looking up at the person who had handed her the handkerchief.
.
She froze completely.
"Eldest Miss Cui," the man said coldly, cupping his hands in a formal greeting.
Following his position, Cui Yunchu looked behind him.
There at the corner stood the aloof and somber Shen Xiabai in the shadows. The sunlight rippled behind him, coating his robes in a layer of golden light, making him look unspeakably noble.
Cui Yunchu, however, only found it glaring.
The sunlight was blinding.
She lowered her head, stood up, and remained silent.
She felt that her silence was the greatest thanks she could offer this person.
Moreover, given the extent of Shen Xiabai's disgust for the Cui family and herself, the fact that he had stepped in to help was truly... baffling. Cui Yunchu racked her brains wondering if this man had some scheme to deal with the Cui family.
A classic hero saving the beauty trick to win her over?
And then use her to destroy her family?
As Cui Yunchu's imagination ran wild, Shen Xiabai's voice rang out indifferently. "Eldest Miss Cui, you must be the most useless coward in the entire Cui family."
...
That hurt.
Cui Yunchu knew her intellect and scheming were no match for Tang Qingwan's, but she surely couldn't be called a useless coward.
However, she didn't retort, because when it came to the matter with Young Master Wang, she had repeatedly suffered setbacks, which was indeed utterly pathetic.
But could she be blamed? Blamed for not being smart enough, blamed for being a woman, blamed for having a bad reputation.
In these kinds of matters, regardless of whether she was at fault, it was always the woman who suffered the most.
Even catching a man's covetous eye was deemed the fault of the woman's beautiful face.
Cui Yunchu still didn't make a sound.
But she had just caught a fleeting expression on Shen Xiabai's face earlier. One of his eyebrows had been furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his head tilted. His face was full of disgust, twitching slightly with every stab she delivered to Young Master Wang.
He had taken his display of revulsion and distaste for the unsightly scene to the extreme.
Shen Xiabai seemed to let out another cold scoff.
Only then did Cui Yunchu say stubbornly, "Even if you hadn't intervened, I had my ways to deal with him."
Shen Xiabai remained silent before indifferently spitting out two words: "A vase."
Other than your looks and that mouth of yours, you are completely useless.
He didn't know how Zilan had been so captivated by that superficial exterior.
Cui Yunchu hated it most when people called her that.
Anyone who had listened to it for an entire lifetime wouldn't want to suffer the same humiliation in a second lifetime. Furthermore, Shen Xiabai had previously humiliated her in every possible way. At this moment, all her grievances welled up.
Cui Yunchu's eyes unconsciously reddened. Seeing Shen Xiabai turn to leave, she immediately shouted at him to stop.
"Watch him," she ordered Shen Xiabai's servant.
The servant: "..."
Cui Yunchu strode toward Shen Xiabai. "Lord Shen, why don't you tell me, as a woman, how should I fight back so that I can preserve my reputation and avoid being gossiped about?"
Shen Xiabai looked down, his cold eyes mixed with impatience.
Why had he bothered interfering in this trivial matter just now?
The girl's red eyes entered his vision. She was trying hard to hold back her tears, looking on the verge of crying but refusing to let them fall. "I am just a girl. There is a vast difference in strength. I could only send my maid to find someone reliable. Was that wrong?"
"Or should I have screamed and shouted, drawing all the guests from the front yard to come and look? But would those people help me? Or would they just gossip, point fingers, and laugh at me? Even you, Lord Shen, how maliciously did you speculate about me before?"
"If you hadn't seen Young Master Wang's shamelessness with your own eyes today, would you have believed the rumors, or my one-sided story?"
Shen Xiabai gently rubbed his fingertips behind his back, his expression freezing over. "Eldest Miss Cui, is this how you treat the benefactor who just helped you?"
"Or is this just how all of you in the Cui family are?"
She was so aggressive, yet her stubborn refusal to cry made her look exactly like the victim in this argument.
Weak?
Yet she was so arrogant.
Cui Yunchu sniffled, proving she could bend as well as she could stand tall, and curtsied in a formal bow. "Yunchu thanks Lord Shen for your sudden burst of kindness. I am endlessly grateful."
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes and, with a cold face, brushed past Cui Yunchu, preparing to leave.
But his path was suddenly blocked again. Cui Yunchu said stubbornly, "I have thanked you, so Lord Shen should also apologize for the malicious speculations and cynical mockery you've directed at me several times over the past few days."
She had not seduced anyone other than Prince An and the Crown Prince.
On what grounds could he say such things about her?
She tilted her head up stubbornly, looking ready to pester him to the bitter end, adopting a stance that she wouldn't let him leave unless he spoke.
"Eldest Miss Cui," Shen Xiabai narrowed his eyes, leaning down slightly. "Next time, even if a knife is held to your throat, I will absolutely mind my own business."
He must have lost his mind today to actually help someone from the Cui family.
Or perhaps, it was simply that Young Master Wang was too shameless.
Or maybe, just as Cui Yunchu had said, it was his past malicious speculations about a young girl that had, in that split second, birthed a tiny sliver of guilt within him.
Cui Yunchu sneered coldly and said viciously, "No one would kill me except you. Just you wait, in this lifetime I will definitely outlive you."
Shen Xiabai curled his lips coldly. He was about to say something more when the sound of chaotic footsteps suddenly rang out behind him.
It was Xing'er returning with people.
In the past, when at other families' estates, Cui Yunchu hadn't dared to make a fuss or do anything to that disgusting man. But now, in the Cui Manor, she was determined to flay a layer of skin off him.
Xing'er said, "Miss, these are people from the Master's study. They are absolutely tight-lipped and reliable."
Cui Yunchu nodded, shooting a freezing glare at Young Master Wang on the ground. "Take him away for me. Tell Nanny Li to entertain him well."
Nanny Li, who served by her grandmother's side, was an expert at extracting confessions and administering torture.
Xing'er complied and waved her hand. Several people immediately stepped forward and dragged the man away.
"Lord Shen has seen everything with his own eyes today. If this matter is brought before the Department of Punishment in the future, I hope Lord Shen will handle it impartially."
She had to take this opportunity to reclaim her reputation.
The incident with Young Master Wang had also made her deeply realize that a person's reputation was of the utmost importance. Without it, one could be subjected to inexplicable humiliation and forced to bear unwarranted charges.
It was just like a village that once had a murderer; whenever someone died in the village thereafter, that murderer would forever bear a suspicion that could never be washed away.
The Wang family possessed a considerable amount of power. After today's events, they definitely would not let the matter drop.
Shen Xiabai's eyes were cold. Without saying a word, he turned and prepared to leave.
Coming towards him, however, was another man.
The man walked with rapid steps, looking around as he moved as if searching for someone. His urgency seemed tinged with a hint of exasperation.
Shen Xiabai paused slightly. At this moment, the newcomer also spotted him. Amidst his surprise, the man immediately shifted his gaze to the side. When he saw Cui Yunchu standing a dozen paces away, his face first turned pale, then a ghastly shade of green.
"Lord Shen." He did not bow, and he gritted out the words heavily.
Shen Xiabai frowned, glanced at Chen Jiuhe, and gave a faint murmur of acknowledgment.
Cui Yunchu was also somewhat surprised that Chen Jiuhe would suddenly appear here.
Chen Jiuhe stood there motionless, not daring to look at Shen Xiabai. He fixed a grieved and indignant gaze on Cui Yunchu. "Eldest Miss Cui is still in the midst of marriage discussions with me. Now that such a thing has happened, shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
"???"
Cui Yunchu furrowed her brows. "Explain what?"
She had rejected his invitations three times; wasn't her intention obvious enough?
The marriage discussions had long been called off. Even if something had happened, what did it have to do with him?
She truly felt that Chen Jiuhe's questioning was utterly baffling.
