Chapter Seventy-Two
The ointment prescribed by Imperial Physician Cao really was effective. Not long after Cui Lanyin applied it, the stinging on her lips had eased considerably.
At first, the emperor had wanted to apply it for her, but after she had leaped several steps away from him in alarm, he did not approach again.
Cui Lanyin then tried to go into the inner chamber, but the emperor caught hold of her. “Weren’t you going to tell me about Prince Ping?”
Cui Lanyin was as skittish as a startled bird now. She could not bear for the emperor to come even a little closer.
She could not bring herself to recall what had happened earlier. What she had thought of as a kiss was worlds apart from what the emperor had done to her. She had never known that a man and a woman could be intimate to such an extent.
The emperor had suddenly gone from his usual distant indifference to being aggressively—one might even say fiercely and urgently—passionate. Cui Lanyin had no idea how to face him.
Nor had she been entirely blameless. After her initial shyness and nervousness, she had actually become somewhat absorbed in it. At the time, she had even wondered whether this was what the courtesans meant when they spoke of the true pleasures of the flesh.
She had never thought her boldness and voracious curiosity were flaws, but now they troubled her. It seemed to her that the words of those two courtesans had been luring her, step by step, toward something dangerous and beyond her control.
Once she realized this, she became frightened of the emperor. She could not even speak to him with her usual ease.
But the matter concerning Prince Ping truly needed to be reported to the emperor as soon as possible. Cui Lanyin avoided his gaze. “Then you must not do that again…”
The emperor sat cross-legged on the luohan couch and pointed to the other end. “Sit over there.”
This was the first time the emperor had sat cross-legged at Danyue Residence. Whenever he folded his legs like that, he looked like an otherworldly master—and a fairly convincing one at that.
Only then did Cui Lanyin go over and sit down. She certainly could not mention the pleasure boat, so she trimmed the story down, vaguely describing the meeting while omitting the location. She repeated what the chief aide had told her and ended by asking, “What do you think Prince Ping is planning?”
The emperor knew more than she did. “When he went to Empress Dowager Chen’s palace earlier, those six unmarried ladies were merely a decoy. His real target was the girl from the Li family.”
The emperor had resumed the manner he used when discussing serious matters in Prince Wei’s study, so Cui Lanyin could not very well say that she wanted to return to her room and sleep. She followed up, “Li Yixin?”
“Mm,” the emperor replied.
Given the emperor’s memory, it was impossible that he had forgotten Li Yixin’s name. Yet Cui Lanyin had noticed that he never mentioned the names of any women at all.
The emperor had other peculiarities besides refusing to use palace maids. Whenever he wanted Aiye and the others to leave, he would have Buyu deliver the order instead.
If he were not the emperor, everyone would have pointed at him and called him obstinate and eccentric.
Speaking of Li Yixin, Cui Lanyin grew curious as well. “And what does Li Yixin think of Prince Ping?”
“If I had not intervened, the Li family would likely have chosen him.”
“Doesn’t he realize that openly lending his support to Jiutong Trading Company will make people think he has an ugly appetite? Even if he succeeds in the future, people will still criticize him for it.”
Cui Lanyin suddenly felt that Prince Ping and Prince Duan were much alike: neither of them seemed particularly far-sighted.
“After seeing that Prince Duan has nothing but an empty title, the Li family abandoned him without hesitation. Prince Ping has no other cards to play, so he can only start by making money.”
“Could he be thinking that, with enough money to pave the way, he can support advisers and gather various forces around him? Then he would have the capital to negotiate with others?”
The emperor flicked a finger and half closed his eyes.
Cui Lanyin settled a little more firmly into her seat but could not help asking, “Then what does Uncle plan to do about Prince Ping?”
“He has not put anything into action yet.”
Cui Lanyin understood. In the emperor’s eyes, Prince Ping’s current moves did not amount to anything. If Prince Ping merely wanted to make money and took no further action, the emperor could not be bothered to pay him any attention. It all depended on what Prince Ping did next.
Cui Lanyin was still uncertain about the emperor’s attitude toward the Li family. Would he let the matter go if they settled down and behaved themselves, or was he waiting to catch them in some major offense and crush them all at once?
That was not something she could ask. Ever since Prince Wei had become emperor, Cui Lanyin had drawn a line for herself—a line she could not cross. She constantly reminded herself not to overstep it.
After that, she changed the subject and explained the situation involving the chief aide and Liu Heipi.
“I’ll make arrangements for Chief Aide Song shortly.” The emperor opened his eyes and looked at her. “All the Qilin Guards of the uncle generation are at your disposal. I’m handing Qilin Hall over to you.”
“Me?” Cui Lanyin’s eyes widened. She had thought the emperor would shut Qilin Hall down.
A smile appeared on the emperor’s face. “Cui the Fierce, do you know how much money a two-percent share of Jiutong Trading Company’s profits brings in each year?”
“Liu Heipi told me that even one-tenth of a share in Jiutong Trading Company would let a person lie back and count money.” Cui Lanyin calculated that if her family had three thousand taels of silver coming in each year, they could live very comfortably. She said, “Perhaps sixty, seventy, or eighty thousand taels?”
Once she did the math, the amount seemed staggeringly large. She suddenly understood why Fang Dai had not dared make the decision on his own. At the time, she had merely compared him with Prince Ping and thought that if Prince Ping could take a tenth of the profits, the emperor would naturally demand twice as much.
The emperor clearly knew what she was thinking. He held up three fingers. “Triple the highest figure.”
Cui Lanyin blinked several times. “Two hundred and forty thousand taels?”
“It will not be less than that.”
So in reality, it might be even more.
No wonder Prince Ping could not be bothered to hide his greed. With that much silver involved, it was certainly worth taking a risk.
Cui Lanyin immediately thought of something else. “Jiutong Trading Company must have tried to curry favor with other families before. With so much money involved, did none of them take an interest?”
The emperor gave a cold laugh. “Those with high rank and great power receive more in gifts and bribes from every direction than this. They have no need to take money directly from merchants.”
With that hint, Cui Lanyin understood. Jiutong Trading Company must have been sending tribute all the way up from Guangzhou, but here in Yingcheng, the officials collected money from someone else and refused to acknowledge any connection to Jiutong Trading Company.
The emperor continued, “Commercial taxes have never been collected properly, and last year they fell even further.” At this point, he looked at Cui Lanyin. “What should we do?”
A sudden inspiration struck Cui Lanyin, and she immediately understood. “You want me to collect a share from other merchants just as I did from Jiutong Trading Company?”
A sharp glint entered the emperor’s eyes. “Since those merchants would rather offer gifts and bribes at every level, we shall follow their wishes and take all those offerings for ourselves.”
“Then should I make my identity known, so those merchants will understand that if they come to my dock and pay their respects here, they can dispense with the gifts and shares they give elsewhere?”
“You may spread the word. The name of Cui the Fierce is sufficient to make them abandon every other avenue.”
Cui Lanyin agreed. Her spirits brightened at once. Somehow, handling official business for the emperor felt much more reassuring.
Later, the emperor fell asleep on the luohan couch. Cui Lanyin returned to the inner chamber. Because the emperor had kissed her so intensely that day, she was afraid he might demand another reward before leaving, so she remained half-awake, half-asleep for some time.
When the emperor rose at the start of the Hour of the Tiger, Cui Lanyin woke inside as well. Unexpectedly, he did not come in to demand anything from her as he had before. He stood outside the inner chamber for several breaths, then turned and left.
Cui Lanyin could no longer resist her drowsiness and slept until the Hour of the Dragon.
The first thing she did upon waking was reach for the bronze mirror. Apart from her lips being a little redder than usual, there was no visible sign of anything unusual. Only then did she let Aiye lift the bed curtains.
Even though Aiye and Sangzhi had grown up alongside her, Cui Lanyin did not want them to see such an intimate side of her.
After breakfast, she applied another layer of ointment. She was just about to go to the front hall to keep Empress Dowager Chen company when Aiye reminded her, “Second Miss Cui, you forgot again. Today is the day for your acupuncture treatment.”
"I was just thinking that I got up late today, so why no one came to check in on me," Cui Lanyin said with a soft laugh as she sat back down. Empress Dowager Chen had always kept track of the days she was due to receive acupuncture treatment.
Barely a quarter of an hour had passed before Imperial Physician Cao arrived with Physician Liu in tow.
Ever since Cui Lanyin had moved into the imperial palace, Imperial Physician Cao had always brought Physician Liu along for her acupuncture sessions, unlike in the past when he would only bring a low-ranking medical apprentice with him.
With the new emperor ascending the throne, her status had naturally risen along with his.
After five straight months of administering acupuncture to her, Imperial Physician Cao had long since grown so familiar with the routine that Cui Lanyin was convinced he could do it perfectly even with his eyes closed.
But that day, for some reason, his movements were uncharacteristically slow and hesitant—nothing like the steady sureness he had shown even on their very first acupuncture session.
A jolt of alarm shot through Cui Lanyin, and she feared that her chronic head ailment had developed into an untreatable condition.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
Imperial Physician Cao hastily reassured her, "Nothing is amiss at all. I've recently been working on a new set of acupuncture techniques, and I plan to switch you over to that new method for your next treatment, Second Miss."
"Thank you for all your trouble," Cui Lanyin replied. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
By the time Imperial Physician Cao finished removing the needles, she was still fast asleep. He gestured silently to Physician Liu to leave with him, repeatedly telling the staff of the Moonlit Peace Studio not to see them out. He practically dragged Physician Liu along as they hurried out of the residence at a near-jog.
Only after they had walked a good distance away from the Funing Palace did Physician Liu voice the question that had been lingering in his mind. "Physician Cao, you seemed to be treating that Second Miss with such extraordinary reverence today. Could it be that His Majesty is planning to confer the title of princess on her?"
As someone who had been right there beside him the whole time, Physician Liu knew very well what had just happened: Imperial Physician Cao had clearly been too nervous to steady his hand properly when inserting the needles—a kind of nervousness that normally only came when administering treatment to the emperor himself.
"Even if His Majesty doesn't grant her a title, what other princess in the entire imperial clan would dare to outrank her?" Imperial Physician Cao walked briskly ahead as he spoke. "I was truly just thinking through the new acupuncture method I plan to use on her. His Majesty holds the Second Miss in such high regard. If her head ailment still shows no improvement, my position as the chief imperial physician will surely be forfeit."
Not just him, either—Physician Liu knew he, as the one who had accompanied him to the sessions, would also be sent packing right along with him. He tensed up with new urgency. "Once we get back to the apothecary, I'll go over every detail of the new technique with you."
What Physician Liu didn't know was that Imperial Physician Cao's inner robes were already soaked through with cold sweat. The moment he caught a whiff of the medicinal ointment on Second Miss Cui's body, he had nearly lost his wits entirely. The emperor had kissed Second Miss Cui, right there in front of him. If word of that secret ever leaked out, it would spark an enormous uproar across the entire court.
Knowing a forbidden palace secret like that, and thinking about the fates that had befallen every imperial physician in the past who had stumbled across such top-secret palace matters, had made his hands shake so badly he could barely hold his silver needles steady. He had bitten down hard on his own tongue just enough to jolt himself back to his senses and finish the acupuncture session properly.
He thought back to that first time he had given Second Miss Cui acupuncture in Prince Wei's study back in April. Even then, he had thought the emperor was being far too careless with their interactions—even a blood-related uncle and niece would never behave the way those two had. He should have realized something was off back then.
At first, he had thought Second Miss Cui was unbelievably fortunate, to have earned the favor of both Empress Dowager Chen and the new emperor. He had assumed she would go on to marry into a noble and prominent family, and live a life of admiration and comfort for the rest of her days.
But now, all he felt was pity for her. In his view, the emperor would never risk the wrath of the entire realm just for a woman. Second Miss Cui would never be allowed to formally enter the emperor's harem.
She could not be his consort, but the emperor would never allow her to marry anyone else either, nor would he ever let her bear children of her own. Years from now, when her beauty faded, and the emperor surrounded himself with new, younger favorites, there was no telling how desolate and lonely her life would become.
Truly, beauty was often fated to a short and tragic life.
The emperor came to visit her the next day. Though his expression was as calm and unchanging as ever, Cui Lanyin could tell he was acting strangely distant and awkward.
Sure enough, the moment he stepped in, he sat cross-legged on her daybed, not making the slightest move to come close to her.
It was almost like they had gone back to the days when they were just uncle and niece, interacting formally in Prince Wei's old study.
His odd behavior made Cui Lanyin feel awkward too. She moved to the far side of the luohan couch, and neither of them said a word. The whole room fell into a dead, heavy silence.
After a full quarter of an hour of that quiet, the emperor was the one who finally broke the silence. His gaze drifted off into the distance, looking far away and distant. "I was being greedy and unreasonable."
Why was he saying things like that all of a sudden? Cui Lanyin could only ask, "Has something been troubling you in the court affairs?"
"Those trivial matters are nothing to worry about. I just hadn't decided the best way to handle them before," the emperor replied, a faint trace of proud confidence in his tone.
And that was true. Now that he held the throne, there was almost nothing that could truly stand in his way if he set his mind to it.
When he saw the confused, questioning look on her face, the emperor pulled at the corner of his mouth in a faint, bitter smile. "Back then, you and I could talk about anything and everything. Now, you're just forcing yourself to make small talk."
"That's not true..." Cui Lanyin tried to deny his words.
But when she met his knowing, unreadable gaze, she felt like she had nowhere to hide. She really couldn't talk to him as freely and openly as she used to anymore.
It wasn't just that she had grown wary of him as the emperor. It was also the total confusion and disorientation she felt about this new, unspoken romantic affection between them. The shock of that kiss two nights ago had shaken her to her core, and all those tangled, conflicting feelings had built up until they turned into this awkward, strained distance between them.
She had no idea how to explain all that to him clearly, and she didn't want to lay her messy, confused thoughts bare for him to see.
The emperor let out a low, dry huff of laughter. "Even the most lowly courtesan knows to pick a lover who's young, strong, and good-looking..."
"Uncle, you found out?" Cui Lanyin was so shocked and horrified she nearly jumped out of her skin, already wondering if she could run to Empress Dowager Chen's chambers right now without making the empress dowager suspicious.
"Don't panic," the emperor said, making no move to get angry or lash out. "I'm not upset. I'm just saying what's on my mind."
"Uncle Qing, Chief Aide Song, and Liu Heipi all tried to stop me from going there. It was my own stubborn choice to go, it had nothing to do with any of them," Cui Lanyin rushed to say.
The emperor gave a soft, noncommittal hum, and stared at her for a long moment. Just as she was about to lower her head, unable to hold his gaze any longer, he looked away. "Forget it. There's no harm in telling you what I'm thinking. I want you to stay here with me. But I'm already getting old, I'm too lazy to move around, and I'm even too lazy to put in the effort to talk to people. Keeping you here would only lock you up and trap you against your will.
At first, I thought you loved a life of wealth, ease, and luxury. I thought if I just heaped all the power, status, and riches in the world on you, that would be enough to make you happy. But once you actually moved into this palace, I realized this is a place even I hate with every fiber of my being. What right do I have to drag you into this suffocating cage with me?
And I know deep down that you never, ever liked anything about life in the imperial palace. I even thought about letting you go, cutting all these ties and going back to how things were. But then the thought hit me—after you leave, I'll be all alone in this huge palace, with not a single person left I can talk to like a real person. That's why I still wanted to try to convince you to stay.
This is the first time the emperor had ever said so many heartfelt words in one go, and what he was saying was so shocking that Cui Lanyin was thrown into total chaos. She opened her mouth several times to respond, but not a single word would come out.
But the emperor kept on speaking. "After what happened the other night, I know I was completely wrong to force you into this. Young women your age all want a relationship built on mutual affection, two people who truly love each other. And I can't even lie to myself and say for sure that my whole heart belongs to you. I have no idea where I even got the nerve to try and make you stay. Now look at us—we can't even go back to being the normal uncle and niece we used to be."
You made it! [shy emoji]
