maternal grandfather

When Ping An woke up the next day, he felt a splitting headache and his mouth was extremely dry. He couldn't remember anything that had happened the day before.

She groggily reached out her hand and mumbled in a slightly hoarse voice, "Mother, I want some water."

A pair of gentle hands helped her up and held her in their arms, and then a glass of warm water appeared at her lips.

Ping An drank the entire bottle in one gulp using those hands before feeling alive again.

She snuggled against him, rubbing her head and asking in confusion, "Mom, what happened last night? My head hurts so much, and I feel strange all over."

The only response that came from Anping was Choi Shin-ji's apologetic voice.

"Ping An, I'm sorry, last night I... I couldn't control myself, but I promise it won't happen again. Are you really feeling unwell? Would you like some more water? Or should we have the imperial physician take a look?"

Ping An froze, slowly raising her head to see Cui Shenzhi's familiar face.

She quickly withdrew from Cui Shenzhi's embrace, dragging her aching body and shrinking to the foot of the bed, wrapped in the blanket.

"How could you..."

She had only said a few words when memories of last night flooded into Ping An's mind like a tidal wave. Her face instantly turned like a palette of colors, red and white, white and red again.

She picked up something nearby and threw it at Cui Shenzhi: "You've gone too far! I already said I didn't want it anymore, but you still...you...you beast!"

Cui Shenzhi couldn't refute this, so he could only lower his head in shame. Then he saw what Ping An threw at him, and his face instantly turned red.

Ping An looked closely and his face also turned red.

—What she threw over was her crumpled undergarment.

Just as the atmosphere inside the hall was becoming increasingly ambiguous, a clear and worried voice came from outside.

"Ping An, are you awake?"

Hearing the clear and elegant voice, Ping An's heart quickly calmed down.

Enraged, she kicked Choi Shin-ji.

"Get out! I need to change!"

With a blush, Choi Shin-ji placed the clothes that had been prepared earlier beside the bed before turning to leave.

*****

Because of Ping An's previous words, Qing Ya was always a little worried about her marriage to Cui Shenzhi, so she rushed to the Qianqing Palace early the day after the wedding, ignoring Qi Kang's obstruction and shouting that she wanted to see Ping An.

But the person who came out wasn't Ping An, it was Cui Shenzhi.

When Qingya saw Cui Shenzhi, her eyes were full of wariness.

Before meeting Cui Shenzhi, she thought he was a villain who posed a life-threatening threat to Ping An. After meeting him, she thought he was a better person than Ping An, more like Fu Yunjin. But now, she only thought he was a scoundrel who coveted Ping An's beauty.

—What kind of good person would pretend to be drunk and break into a young woman's room at night, ruining her reputation!

So upon seeing Cui Shenzhi, Qing Ya hurriedly asked without even a proper greeting, "Where's Ping An? Is she inside? Why isn't she answering me? Is she still asleep? Last night..."

Just as Qingya was about to ask about the private matters that couldn't be discussed openly, Cui Shenzhi quickly coughed twice and said with some respect, "Aunt Qingya, Ping'an has woken up and is changing her clothes inside. You'll be fine in a moment."

Hearing that Ping An was changing clothes, Qingya breathed a sigh of relief, but instead of waiting as Cui Shenzhi had said, she strode in. After all, Ping An was someone she had raised; it was just changing clothes, what was there to be ashamed of?

Then, she was caught off guard and saw Ping An covered in ambiguous marks on his body.

Although Ping An and Qing Ya were like mother and daughter, she still couldn't help but feel a little shy when she saw her in this posture.

She burrowed under the covers, her face flushed, and said, "Mom, didn't I tell you I was changing and asked you to wait? Why did you come in so soon? What's the rush? Can't you even wait a little while?"

Qingya hesitated for a while before whispering, "I'm just a little worried about you, worried that Cui Shenzhi might do something to you again..."

Ping An couldn't help but think of what happened last night, and her face became increasingly unnatural.

"Mother, didn't I tell you not to worry about anything? Just live your life peacefully. As for what he might do to me... we are interdependent now. What could he possibly do to me? Don't overthink things and worry about things that don't exist."

Qingya wanted to say something, but before she could speak, Ping'an picked up an embroidered shoe and threw it behind her, pouting shyly, "I haven't changed my clothes yet! Are you trying to take advantage of me again!"

Then came Qi Kang's suppressed laughter and Cui Shenzhi's somewhat flustered footsteps.

Qingya watched as the girlish shyness on Ping An's face appeared for a moment and then quickly receded like the tide. She felt that something was not quite right, but after being interrupted just now, she didn't know where to start, so she remained silent.

*****

Ping An was quite satisfied with her married life. Although she had to act like a little girl in front of Cui Shenzhi every day, the fact that she had deceived and used Cui Shenzhi was now out in the open, and she no longer had to pretend to be a fool like before. In short, things were much easier.

Moreover, although Cui Shenzhi liked to cling to her, he was, after all, the emperor, and had to prioritize state affairs, so he didn't spend much time with her.

As for rights…

She was the only one in the harem. Even if she had power, she could only manage the messy affairs of the harem. So she only showed off her power for a few days before becoming a hands-off manager and leaving everything to Qingya.

The previous dynasty was not yet at a point where she could intervene, so she could only leave it alone.

In other words, all she had to do each day was coax Cui Shenzhi until he went to handle government affairs. The rest of the time she could do whatever she wanted, whether it was to bother Cui Sugong or have new clothes or jewelry made for her.

But these carefree days didn't last long before troublemakers arrived.

—Fu Yunjin’s father, Fu Xiuzhu, wants to see her.

Upon hearing this news, before Ping An could even say whether he would see her or not, Qing Ya angrily came looking for him.

"Ping An!" Qingya said, her eyes red-rimmed, "You're not allowed to see him!"

Ping An hadn't originally planned to see Fu Xiuzhu, after all, she didn't have much affection for Fu Yunjin, let alone Fu Xiuzhu, but Qingya's reaction...

"Mother, why won't you let me see him? Isn't he my maternal grandfather?"

"He doesn't deserve it! You're not allowed to call him that!"

Looking at the sorrowful expression on Qingya's face, Ping An had some guesses in his mind.

She waved for all the palace servants to leave, then asked with a hint of curiosity, "Mother, you don't mean that my maternal grandfather... this Lord Fu, was involved in the death of the late Empress, do you?"

Qingya shook her head, then nodded.

"All of Her Majesty's suffering in her life was caused by him!" Qingya said, choking with sobs. "Back then, Her Majesty was unaware that Cui Sugong had become involved with Shen Meiwu, but Fu Xiuzhu knew. However, he did not tell Her Majesty and instead watched helplessly as Her Majesty, full of hope for the future, married Cui Sugong without knowing anything."

"Afterwards, he shamelessly asked the Empress to fight for the Fu family's power and profit in front of Cui Sugong. When the Empress refused, he ignored her and let her be bullied by Shen Meiwu in various ways. After learning that the Empress's Phoenix Seal had been taken away by Shen Meiwu, he even sent a letter to mock her, saying that this was the retribution for the Empress's unwillingness to put the family first!"

"His attitude toward the Empress only improved after she became pregnant, but it was only slightly better. After the Empress said that no matter whether she gave birth to a prince or a princess, she would not let her child become a puppet of the Fu family, he stopped caring about her again."

Hearing this, Ping An couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She knew Fu Yunjin was stupid, but she didn't expect Fu Yunjin to be this stupid, not even knowing how to be polite or evasive.

Since the Fu family knew that Fu Yunjin was not liked by Cui Sugong, yet still asked her to speak for the Fu family, it meant that the Fu family had no spies around Cui Sugong. In other words, no matter what she said, the Fu family would not suspect anything. So why didn't she just lie and say that she spoke for the Fu family, but Cui Sugong didn't listen? Why tell the truth?

He was never liked by Cui Sugong, couldn't defeat Shen Meiwu, and lost the support of his family. Wasn't he doomed? No wonder he died.

Qingya, however, did not notice Ping An's reaction. Instead, she said with increasing grief and indignation, "On the day of her delivery, Her Majesty sensed something was wrong. She knew that Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu wanted to harm her and you, so she sent me to deliver a message to the Fu family. As a result, after the Fu family learned that you were a princess, they chose Cui Shenzhi without hesitation, without considering you and Her Majesty at all!"

Ping An raised an eyebrow.

You look down on her that much? Interesting.

She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes full of mischievous amusement, and said, "Mother, if that's how you put it, then I'd quite like to meet this Lord Fu."

Qingya was stunned.

"Why?"

"What else could it be?" Ping An stood up, her eyes sparkling as she straightened her skirt. "He looked down on the late Empress and me so much, but in the end, the late Empress and I were still high and mighty. Didn't I get the power and status he wanted as a princess? Didn't he still have to bow down to me?"

"Trust me, this scene is sure to be spectacular."

After saying that, Ping An disregarded Qing Ya's objections and agreed to Fu Xiuzhu's request to meet.

*****

Two days later, a man as sturdy as a pine tree appeared in the Qianqing Palace.

Looking at Fu Xiuzhu's refined demeanor, which showed no signs of being driven by greed, Ping An couldn't help but feel sorry for Fu Yunjin.

She was clearly Fu Yunjin's child, born at great risk, yet she looked nothing like Fu Yunjin, but rather like Fu Xiuzhu and Cui Sugong. It was fortunate that Fu Yunjin died early, otherwise seeing her like this would have made her furious.

She picked up the tea beside her, took a sip, and then shifted to a more comfortable position before saying lazily, "Lord Fu wants to see me, so he must have something to ask of me, but how come he doesn't even know basic manners and is just standing here like this?"

Fu Xiuzhu didn't answer Ping An's question. Instead, he looked at Ping An and chuckled, saying out of the blue, "Your mother isn't a daughter of the Fu family, but you are."

“Lord Fu, what you’re saying is… I am the late Empress’s biological daughter. If you say she isn’t a daughter of the Fu family, then how could I be?”

"Because the Fu family doesn't have an incompetent and unambitious good-for-nothing like Fu Yunjin, but you are not."