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Ping An was strolling along the road with several maids when he happened to see a sugar figurine seller and walked over with interest.

The old man selling sugar figurines quickly sculpted a little girl who resembled Ping An. Remembering the "Madam" that Ding Xiang and the others called her, he also sculpted a handsome little boy and handed them to Ping An.

Ping An casually took it, and unconsciously said, "Shen Zhi, look..."

The voice stopped abruptly, replaced by a look of unease on Ping An's face and wide eyes.

Who? Ping An, who are you calling out? Why are you calling out Cui Shenzhi's name? Have you forgotten that Cui Shenzhi is your nemesis? Have you forgotten that Cui Shenzhi plotted to get rid of you? Have you forgotten that Cui Shenzhi didn't even wait for your seventh day memorial before changing the dynasty? And now you're thinking about him? Are you crazy?

One question after another popped into Ping An's mind, but she didn't know how to answer them. She felt as if something out of control had happened, causing her heart to pound like a drum and her whole body to tremble.

She quickly dropped the sugar figurine in her hand, took a few steps back in fear as if she had seen a ghost, and turned to run away.

Ping An kept running and running until he reached a small river and stopped.

Looking at her disheveled and wretched reflection in the water, she panicked even more and picked up a stone, throwing it down.

"I'm not crazy! I don't miss him! I'm just... just too lonely, I want someone to be with me, yes, I just want someone to be with me, I'm just not used to being alone."

Upon hearing this, Dingxiang, who had rushed over, immediately asked the Qiao family to prepare a few friends for Ping An.

The next day, Ping An met several like-minded ladies in the jewelry shop, and they even made plans to go shopping for clothes and watch a play together. They had a wonderful time.

With these ladies by his side, Ping An quickly forgot about the accident that happened that day.

One night, without warning, a heavy rain began to fall in Qingshui Town.

The pattering rain startled Ping An awake from her sleep. Still half-asleep, she shrank back as if trying to hide in someone's arms, muttering someone's name to herself.

But there was nothing behind her.

But she didn't know that, she just kept shrinking back until she hit the cold wall and finally came to her senses.

She sat up, recalling what had just happened, and remained silent for a long time before lifting the bed curtains and calling out, "Lilac!"

Dingxiang quickly ran in.

"Madam, what's wrong?"

“Come here,” Ping An beckoned to Ding Xiang, “Come up and sleep with me.”

Dingxiang was a little stunned by this unexpected request, but she quickly recovered.

"Madam, I'm just a maidservant, isn't this inappropriate?"

"It's okay, I just have trouble sleeping when I'm alone. It doesn't matter who it is, as long as someone is with me."

Dingxiang then climbed onto the bed and hugged her as Ping An had instructed.

But Ping An didn't fall asleep that night; instead, he kept his eyes open, watching the torrential rain outside the window until dawn.

*****

The next morning, Ping An, still recovering from a sleepless night, began to think.

She was still too lonely.

That's true. When she was in the Cold Palace, Qingya was there to keep her company. When she arrived at the East Palace, Siwei and Ju'an were there, and later Cui Shenzhi. She was never alone. That's why she subconsciously called out Cui Shenzhi's name. She just wanted to find something to do so that she wouldn't feel so lonely.

From that day on, Ping An began an endless series of mishaps.

She first went to those ladies and asked them to teach her how to play the leaf game. After she learned it, she would play it all day long. But no matter how long she played or whether she won or lost, she just felt uneasy, as if someone was missing from her life.

So she gave up playing leaf games and went to learn cooking.

The cook didn't hold back her knowledge, but no matter whether she made soup or dessert, she always felt a little lost afterward, wanting to give it to someone to try, but not daring to find out who that person was.

She gave up cooking and instead played games with the maids.

Whether it's kicking shuttlecock, throwing beanbags, or hopscotch, it doesn't matter if it's childish or not, as long as it tires her out so she doesn't have the energy to overthink. But whenever she wins, someone always pops into her mind unexpectedly, and then she feels weak all over and nothing seems interesting anymore.

She couldn't help but suspect that she was possessed, so she went to the temple to fast.

She suppressed her anger and followed the nuns in the temple to worship Buddha and chant scriptures, and ate vegetarian food with them. She persisted for ten days, but found that this only made her 'illness' worse. Even her dreams began to be disturbed. She was so angry that she made a scene in the temple and almost smashed the Buddha statues before leaving in a huff.

Back at his lodgings, Ping An sprawled out on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, and remained silent for a long time.

Dingxiang was a little worried and was considering whether to call the doctor on her own when Ping'an sat up.

"Dingxiang," Ping An stood up, his tone somewhat unfocused, and asked, "Are there any brothels in Qingshui Town?"

Dingxiang was a little confused, but she still obediently answered.

"Of course there are."

"Are there male prostitutes in those brothels?"

Dingxiang fell silent.

Although Qiao Siyu's words were vague, the person who could direct the Qiao family to create a paradise for Ping An and arrange for a group of people to play house with Ping An must be someone the Qiao family couldn't afford to offend.

In this situation, Ping An wants to find a male prostitute?!

The Qiao family isn't tired of living.

Dingxiang quickly said, "Madam, although Qingshui Town is a major transportation hub, there are no male prostitutes there. Or even if there are, they are all shady establishments. After all, homosexuality is not something that can be discussed openly."

Too.

Since there are no male prostitutes...

Ping An lifted her skirt and went to the opera house. Pointing to an actor on stage, she said, "Ding Xiang, go and tell the troupe leader that I'd like that actor to come and talk to me."

Dingxiang's smile remained unchanged. She went down to instruct the troupe leader to send the actor away quickly before returning to the private room.

“Madam, I’ve asked around. The troupe leader said that the actor wasn’t one of his men. He was just passing through Qingshui Town with his wife on their way back to their hometown and they were about to leave.”

Ping An pursed his lips and said, "Then have the troupe leader arrange for any male actor to come and talk to me."

Dingxiang felt a headache coming on.

Surely a theatrical troupe can't be completely devoid of men...

She could only hurriedly arrange for a few members of the Qiao family to be careful with their words and actions, and absolutely not to offend Ping An, much less arouse Ping An's interest.

Then Dingxiang realized she was overthinking it. Ping An said he wanted to talk to the actors, but he seemed listless when talking to everyone.

Ping An didn't want things to be like this, but for some reason, she felt somewhat disappointed looking at the people in front of her. She felt that this one wasn't tall enough, that one wasn't thin enough, this one wasn't gentle enough, that one wasn't handsome enough. In short, everyone was a little lacking and not what she wanted.

So what does she really want, or rather, who does she want?

She refused to think about it.

*****

Cui Shenzhi had no intention of changing the dynasty, but since Ping An and Cui Lingxian had both 'passed away,' his sitting on the Cui family's throne was somewhat illegitimate.

Unless he marries another woman from the royal family surnamed Cui.

He was unwilling to accept this, so he naturally had no choice but to change dynasties.

As for the name of the country, Choi Shin-ji chose the character "An" almost immediately. It signifies peace and prosperity for the country and its people, as well as tranquility and peace of mind for him. The reign title was set as Geonjo.

Now that the change of dynasty had already been done, Cui Shenzhi no longer concealed it. He bestowed the title of Princess Zhaoning upon Cui Lingxian as his sworn sister and arranged her marriage to Lu Fengping. Qiao Siyu was made Princess Linghui and arranged to marry Lin Yimo. The wedding was to be held on a chosen date.

Lu Fengping and Lin Yimo were both completely baffled by this.

Lu Fengping was confused because he and Cui Lingxian had discussed it and agreed to leave after a while, but now Cui Shenzhi had completely disrupted their plans.

Lin Yimo was confused because he had no idea who this princess was.

But no matter how confused he was, Lin Yimo still couldn't refuse Cui Shenzhi's imperial decree. Then he saw Qiao Siyu, who was mixed in with the crowd, with a lonely look in her eyes and tears welling up in her eyes.

After noticing Lin Yimo's gaze, Qiao Siyu walked over with a smile tinged with tears in her eyes.

She curtsied and said, "Congratulations, Lord Lin, on achieving your wish. Rest assured, His Majesty has granted me a clean background and bestowed a marriage upon me. I will not bother you again. I wish you and the Princess a long and loving marriage."

After saying that, Qiao Siyu slowly turned around, and as expected, Lin Yimo grabbed her sleeve.

Although Qiao Siyu had anticipated Lin Yimo's move, she couldn't help but smile, but quickly suppressed it.

She turned around, her eyes filled with worry, and said, "Is there anything else, Lord Lin?"

"…who."

"Could you please explain it more clearly, Lord Lin?"

"...Whom did His Majesty bestow upon you in marriage?"

"Does it matter?" Qiao Siyu blinked, a tear sliding down her face. "Doesn't it matter who it is? With my status, being granted a marriage by the Emperor is already an incredible stroke of luck. Not to mention that he is an official. No matter how old he is, how many children he has, or whether he is a second wife, I am the one who benefits."

Lin Yimo frowned deeply.

He didn't believe that Cui Shenzhi would bestow a marriage upon Qiao Siyu, a young girl, to an older man with a bunch of children as his second wife, but given Qiao Siyu's background, it couldn't be said that it was entirely impossible.

"Stop rambling and tell me who it is. If it's a good one, I'll prepare a generous dowry for you, which will be a way to fulfill our years of friendship. If it's not a good one, I'll go to the palace and ask the Emperor to withdraw the decree of marriage."

Qiao Siyu took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the corner of her eyes, feigning a hesitant expression as she said, "There's no need for Lord Lin to trouble himself. You're about to become a prince consort, and you still want to associate yourself with someone like me? What will Her Highness think? What will His Majesty think?"

Qiao Siyu's words made Lin Yimo even more suspicious that there was something wrong with the person he was betrothed to.

He casually tossed the imperial edict into the steward's arms, turned around and strode toward the palace gate, but Qiao Siyu quickly grabbed him.

"Lord Lin, I'll tell you, but you must promise me that you absolutely cannot go to the palace to disturb His Majesty."

Lin Yimo lowered his eyes and nodded, but in his mind he began to plan how to make the other party offend Cui Shenzhi.

Then he heard:

"His Majesty has betrothed me to Lord Lin Yimo."

Lin Yimo was stunned for a moment, then turned around and roared, "Qiao! Si! Yu!"

"I'm here," Qiao Siyu said, moving closer to Lin Yimo, her face no longer showing any trace of the distress she had just displayed. "What's wrong?"

"You...you lied to me again!"

"Did I say that His Majesty bestowed me upon an older woman with many children as his second wife?"

Lin Yimo turned and left.

—And incidentally, he took the imperial decree of marriage from the steward's arms.

—Her ears turned red too.

Qiao Siyu added with a smile from behind, "By the way, when you propose, don't go to the wrong place. Go to the Qiao family's mansion, not the small three-courtyard house you bought for me."

Lin Yimo paused, then walked back with an incredulous look on his face.

"You're from the Qiao family, the imperial merchants?!"

Qiao Siyu nodded with a smile on her face.

"To be precise, I am the next head of the Qiao family."

Lin Yimo's face darkened.

"Qiao Siyu! We've known each other for three years, and you've even been lying about your identity?! Are any of the things you told me true?!"

“Of course I do,” Qiao Siyu stepped forward, put her arms around Lin Yimo’s neck, looked into his eyes and said seriously, “It’s true that I like you and want to marry you.”

Lin Yimo's face quickly turned red. He struggled to shake off Qiao Siyu and fled in panic, tripping and falling twice along the way. Behind him was Qiao Siyu's silvery laughter.