Different thoughts

When Ping An saw the way Cui Shenzhi looked at Fu Rui, and how his expression had improved considerably after making eye contact with Fu Rui, her sense of crisis surged.

She stood between Cui Shenzhi and Furui, tugged at Cui Shenzhi's sleeve, and said in a slightly coquettish tone, "Shen... Husband, I just wanted to come and see for myself, I didn't intend to do anything. Now that we've seen it, let's go back."

When Cui Shenzhi noticed that Ping An was blocking him from seeing Fu Rui, he thought Ping An was jealous, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up. He tried for a while before he could barely suppress it.

He cleared his throat, about to say a few private words to Ping An, but then remembered that this was not the place to talk. He gritted his teeth in Ping An's ear, took her hand, and prepared to leave.

—I even made a point of going to Fu Rui's side, instead of Yu Liu's side.

Fu Rui had been waiting for this moment. When Cui Shenzhi walked to her side, she knelt down gracefully, her skirt tucked up, under Ping An's wary gaze.

She lowered her head slightly, revealing her slender neck. Her bright eyes looked up and down, meeting Cui Shenzhi's gaze. Then, she lowered her head shyly, as if afraid that others would not see that she wanted to 'seduce' Cui Shenzhi. She said somewhat affectedly, "My lord, I dare to be so bold as to ask for your mercy."

Before Cui Shenzhi could speak, Ping An stepped in front and forcibly pulled Fu Rui up, applying slight pressure with his hands. A hint of murderous intent even appeared in his eyes, but his tone of voice was almost the same as before.

"Furui, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly kneel down?"

Fu Rui turned her head slightly, not giving Ping An even a glance, but staring straight at Cui Shenzhi, bypassing Ping An.

"I entered Tingfeng Tower because my family suffered a disaster and I could not survive. But almost ten years have passed. I have earned a lot for Tingfeng Tower, but leaving is still a long way off. I have heard that you are a well-known kind person. Please have pity on me and help me."

Just as Cui Shenzhi was wondering why Fu Rui's attitude was so different from before, he saw a hint of a smile in Fu Rui's alluring eyes, and then he heard Ping An's somewhat anxious voice.

"Oh, I see. So you're so pitiful, Fu Rui. Qiu Yan, please go and help Fu Rui so she can leave Tingfeng Tower and go back to her hometown."

Cui Shenzhi instantly understood what Fu Rui was trying to do. Although Fu Rui was using Ping An, he couldn't help but chuckle softly when he thought that Ping An was being used by Fu Rui because she was jealous of him. He waved his hand and told Qi Kang to take Qiu Yan to find the master of Tingfeng Tower.

Fu Rui smiled from the bottom of her heart when she saw Cui Shenzhi's action.

She made the right bet.

*****

When Fu Rui entered the room, she noticed something was wrong. Although Cui Shenzhi's face was dark, he wasn't looking at Ping An, but at Yu Liu.

Choi Shin-ji is the emperor!

How could an emperor not be angry at his wife for having an affair with a male prostitute? In other words, whether Ping An was the princess who suddenly appeared or Cui Shenzhi's hidden concubine in the harem, she must be someone Cui Shenzhi cherished. Considering Cui Shenzhi's earlier words about "rushing over in a panic," Fu Rui became even more certain.

Later, when Fu Rui discovered that Ping An was seemingly unintentionally but actually intentionally blocking Cui Shenzhi from looking at her, Cui Shenzhi actually smiled, and an idea popped into her mind.

Since Ping An's slightly jealous gesture makes Cui Shenzhi so happy, what if she could make Ping An's jealousy even more obvious? Wouldn't Cui Shenzhi be even happier? If she then took advantage of the situation to ask for his help, and given Cui Shenzhi's delight and lack of interest in her, coupled with his past behavior, wouldn't she be able to escape Tingfeng Tower?!

As Fu Rui had predicted, Ping An became extremely jealous, Cui Shenzhi was overjoyed, and Qi Kang and Qiu Yan went to find the landlord after receiving instructions. They returned shortly with her indenture.

Fu Rui accepted the indenture, happily thanked Ping An and Cui Shenzhi, and was about to leave when Ping An suddenly grabbed her hand with great force, making her hand hurt.

Sensing something was wrong, she looked up, intending to explain to Ping An, only to see Ping An's eyes filled with frost and murderous intent.

Fu Rui was stunned.

Ping An ignored her and turned her head away, her charming smile tinged with a hint of probing, "Husband, I was careless just now. Fu Rui has lived here for so many years, it might not be good to let her go so far away. How about we take her back and take care of her for a while? What do you think?"

Choi Shin-ji assumed Ping An was just being kind, and with a smile, he patted Ping An's head gently and said, "I know you want to help her, but this..."

“You’re overthinking this, Your Excellency!” Before Cui Shenzhi could finish speaking, Fu Rui, whose mind was racing with alarm bells, forcibly pulled her hand away, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed heavily: “Although I have always lived in Tingfeng Tower, I am not someone who has never left home. I am just returning home. I will be fine, Your Excellency need not worry.”

Although Cui Shenzhi found Fu Rui's reaction somewhat strange, he had no interest in Fu Rui and did not intend to bring her into the palace as Ping An had suggested. So, following Fu Rui's words, he instructed, "In that case, Qi Kang, go and arrange a carriage for her."

Seeing that Cui Shenzhi had no intention of keeping Furui by his side, the frost and killing intent in Ping An's eyes subsided.

She glanced indifferently at Fu Rui, who was kneeling on the ground trembling, then snuggled into Cui Shenzhi's arms and murmured pitifully, "Husband, shall we go back? My stomach hurts again. Can you rub it for me like you did last night?"

Choi Shin-ji blushed deeply at An Ping's blatant display of affection, and feeling sorry for An Ping's discomfort due to her menstrual period, he quickly carried An Ping away.

As Fu Rui watched them leave, she felt a surge of relief, as if she had escaped death. Exhausted, she collapsed to the ground, clutching her indenture, panting heavily. It took her a while to regain her senses. She shakily stood up, leaning on the table for support, and hurriedly packed some valuables before leaving the capital before the city gates closed.

*****

On the carriage back to the palace, Cui Shenzhi held Ping An in his arms, gently pressing on Ping An's lower abdomen, asking from time to time if she felt any better. Ping An, however, only gave him perfunctory replies, clearly preoccupied with something on her mind.

Cui Shenzhi thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Ping An, are you thinking about what Fu Xiuzhu told you?"

Ping An was stunned when she heard this. After all, she had dismissed everyone around her at the time, and she had been careful not to speak too loudly when she was talking to Fu Xiuzhu. How did Cui Shenzhi know what she and Fu Xiuzhu had said?

Cui Shenzhi misunderstood the reason for Ping An's stunned state.

He sighed, kissed Ping An's head, and said softly with heartache, "Ping An, although Fu Xiuzhu is your blood relative, he is not someone to be trifled with. He only cares about power, so don't listen to or believe anything he says, and don't let it bother you or make any wild thoughts, understand?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of mockery appeared in Ping An's eyes.

Don't listen to or believe what Fu Xiuzhu says, but you can listen to and believe what Cui Shenzhi says? Then who was it that couldn't take their eyes off Fu Rui just now? And couldn't help but laugh when they heard Fu Rui speak? One life, one love... more like one life, one billion loves.

Ping An lowered her eyelids, concealing the emotions in her eyes, and said with a hint of grievance, "I just thought that he was my maternal grandfather, one of my few relatives, so I wanted to talk to him. I didn't know he would say those things to me."

Looking at Ping An's pitiful little face, Cui Shenzhi felt extremely distressed.

He tightened his arms around Ping An, and said with a hint of apology, "It's my fault. I was only thinking about how he's related to you by blood, and I didn't remind you to be careful of him. I forgot that he's a venomous snake. He always speaks ill of people who can't bring him any benefit. But don't worry, it won't happen again."

Ping An's eyelids twitched, and she spoke tentatively, almost imperceptibly, "It won't happen again? Shen Zhi, did you demote Lord Fu to a remote place far from the capital? Isn't that a bad idea? He's not young anymore, won't he be able to handle it?"

"He treated you like that, and you still care about him?" Cui Shenzhi pinched Ping An's cheek, feeling both annoyed and helpless, when he heard Ping An's concern for Fu Xiuzhu. "I didn't demote him to a remote place. I directly stripped him of his official position, and his descendants are prohibited from holding office for three generations. All members of the Fu family are demoted three ranks."

Upon hearing this, the mockery in Ping An's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a broad smile.

Let Fu Xiuzhu intimidate her, let Fu Xiuzhu embarrass her, let Fu Xiuzhu, despite being in a subordinate position, dominate her and talk to her eloquently. Now look what happened, she's getting her comeuppance, she deserved it!

Ping An couldn't help but smile, so she pressed her face against Cui Shenzhi's chest and said in a hesitant tone, "Shenzhi, isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all, only Lord Fu bullied me; the rest of the Fu family are innocent. If you do this, won't others say something unpleasant?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Under Fu Xiuzhu's influence, most of the Fu family members are good at scheming but not very capable. Being demoted three ranks won't have much of an impact. As for Fu Xiuzhu's children and grandchildren, they are even more like that. Under his influence, their minds are full of scheming and intrigue. Losing their official positions will actually benefit the court, so no one will say anything."

Upon hearing that there would be no trouble, Ping An smiled silently at first, but the smile faded the next moment.

Regardless of the Fu family's background, Cui Shenzhi suppressed them out of personal motives, ruining their future, yet no one said anything. Doesn't this mean that the entire court and the public are under Cui Shenzhi's control? Isn't this just the same situation as what Fu Xiuzhu said?

This is really terrible.