Mother and daughter

When Cui Shenzhi arrived after receiving Lu Fengping's message, the fire at Kunning Palace had already grown quite large. Seeing Ping An standing in the hall, Cui Shenzhi rushed in without saying a word and carried her out through the flames.

Once outside the palace, Cui Shenzhi, disregarding the several burns on his body, carried Ping An to the arriving imperial physician. He only breathed a sigh of relief after watching the physician apply medicine to the wounds on Ping An's neck, as well as some minor burns on his arms and feet.

He lowered his head, his cheek pressed against Ping An's forehead, his trembling voice filled with lingering fear and relief: "Ping An, I'm sorry, I didn't think things through and failed to stop Aunt Qingya, which frightened you, didn't I? Don't worry, this will never happen again, I promise."

Ping An didn't answer, but trembled in Cui Shenzhi's arms. It was unclear whether she was still afraid of almost being burned to death, afraid of Cui Shenzhi holding her, or worried about Qingya who was unconscious.

In short, Cui Shenzhi felt that Ping An was terrified, so he carried her back to the Qianqing Palace.

Upon returning to the Qianqing Palace, Cui Shenzhi dismissed everyone around him, seemingly about to say or do something shady. Ping An's heart immediately began to pound.

Because of the unexpected events that have been happening one after another these days, she has lost her usual composure and is grabbing Choi Shin-ji's collar, wanting to ask him what he wants.

However, before Ping An could speak, Choi Shin-ji spoke first.

“Ping An,” Cui Shenzhi patted Ping An’s hand that was gripping his clothes reassuringly and said softly, “With me here, you don’t have to worry about anything. Rest assured, I will definitely give the late Empress justice and let the world know what Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu did to you and your daughter.”

Ping An was taken aback by Cui Shenzhi's words and slowly released his grip.

She lowered her eyes, nestled obediently in Cui Shenzhi's arms, and whispered tentatively, "Shenzhi, is what you're saying true? Will you let the world know how badly Shen Meiwu and Cui Sugong have harmed my mother and me?"

Choi Shin-ji nodded.

"And what about you? What will you do? The throne..." A familiar glint flashed in Ping An's eyes: "What about the throne?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I already have a plan. Although there might be some trouble in the future, rest assured, I won't let you suffer any injustice. Trust me."

Ping An nestled in Cui Shenzhi's arms and nodded gently, her heart, which had been filled with anxiety these past few days, finally regaining some peace.

That's great. Cui Shenzhi is really a fool. He knows she's a fraud, but he doesn't want to do anything to her. He even wants to announce her princess identity to the world. I just don't know what Cui Shenzhi plans to do.

*****

Three days later, Qingya woke up just as Lu Fengping had predicted.

Ping An immediately rushed over and hugged her, shedding a few tears. Before she could say anything, he slapped her.

"Are you stupid! The fact that Cui Shenzhi brought up Fu Yunjin means he intends to clear her name. Whether you show up or not, the result will be the same. But you're just rushing to your death. Do you have no desire to live?!"

Qingya was stunned by the blow. After calming down, she said in a somewhat guilty voice, "I... I didn't think that much. I just thought that the Empress has been so good to me, and now that I finally have a chance to repay her, I have to help her no matter what."

"Help? I think it'll be more of a hindrance than a help! Everyone in Kunning Palace is dead, and Cui Shenzhi's family is dead too. The only people in this world who know about those things are Cui Sugong, Shen Meiwu, and you. If you die, do you intend to make me, a child who was just born at the time, confront them?!"

Qingya was momentarily speechless.

Ping An rolled her eyes and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Fortunately, Cui Shenzhi is quite capable. He told me that he would clear Fu Yunjin's name and restore my identity. Although it is hard to say what the future holds, at least for now, he only wants to deal with Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu, and has no intention of harming me."

Qingya finally breathed a sigh of relief.

*****

Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu killed almost all the people in the know, leaving no evidence whatsoever. But it was precisely this action that proved that something fishy was going on.

The midwife who delivered Fu Yunjin's baby died suddenly in the palace. The imperial physician Chen, who was present at the time, died in an accident on his way out of the palace after Fu Yunjin gave birth. None of the palace servants in Kunning Palace saw their families after Fu Yunjin's death, and they all died in the palace one after another a year later.

Anyone who isn't an idiot can see there's something wrong with this situation.

In addition, Lu Fengping found in the records of the Imperial Hospital that the last packet of medicine that Physician Chen took out of the Imperial Hospital before and after Fu Yunjin's delivery was a blood-activating medicine, and that Fu Yunjin died from massive bleeding, everyone was 80% certain about the truth of Fu Yunjin's death. The remaining 20% ​​was whether Shen Meiwu was involved, since Cui Sugong could have done all of this by himself.

Just as Cui Shenzhi was considering whether to arrest Yanzhi, who was standing next to Shen Meiwu, and torture her severely, Cui Lingxian came over.

“Shen Zhi, my mother wouldn’t do that!” Cui Lingxian said impatiently as soon as she stepped into the Qianqing Palace. “My mother is partly to blame for what happened to you, but she’s not the kind of person who would take someone’s life.”

“My mother often punished the palace servants, but Shenzhi, she always followed the palace rules and never arbitrarily punished them. She was not a heartless person and would never do such a cruel thing to the late Empress.”

Looking at Cui Lingxian's anxious eyes, Cui Shenzhi sighed deeply.

*****

Cui Shenzhi didn't want Cui Lingxian to know about the evil deeds Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu had committed. After all, they had been together for over ten years, and he was certain that Cui Lingxian was innocent. But how could such a big thing be kept secret? So he had long anticipated this day. However, seeing Cui Lingxian's complete trust in Shen Meiwu, he still felt a little reluctant.

He picked up the item he had collected earlier, which was unanimously agreed upon by the deposed concubines in the Cold Palace, hesitated for a moment, and then handed it to Cui Lingxian.

"Ling Xian, read this before you speak."

Cui Lingxian stared speechlessly at the testimonies in her hand, filled with accounts of how Shen Meiwu had framed concubines, causing them to lose their children, their innocence, be drugged into madness, and even lose their lives.

“Chen… Your mother didn’t just punish the palace servants; she sent them to the Imperial Prison to take their lives. As for the palace rules they violated, let’s put it this way: whoever your mother wanted dead would break the palace rules. Everyone in the palace knew this, except for you and me, who were kept completely in the dark.”

"But in the end, all this can only prove that your mother had ill intentions towards the late Empress and framed her many times, and that your mother was ruthless. I am not sure whether she was involved in the murder of the late Empress, but Aunt Qingya clearly told me that your mother was present when the late Empress passed away, so even if she was not involved, she should be someone who knew about it."

As for Cui Sugong's crimes, Cui Lingxian did not question them, and Cui Shenzhi did not say much either.

After listening to what Cui Shenzhi said, Cui Lingxian looked at the paper in her hand and thought about the news she had heard these past few days. Her face was full of disbelief.

She shook her head, denying it, saying, "No, my mother wouldn't do that. She's not that kind of person. She wouldn't do such a thing. Someone must be slandering her, someone must be framing her. Yes, it must be..."

Before she could finish speaking, Cui Lingxian threw down the paper in her hand and ran outside. Cui Shenzhi quickly told Qi Kang to take the token and follow her.

*****

When Cui Lingxian arrived at Shen Meiwu's current residence, she couldn't get in. Just as she was about to go back to find Cui Shenzhi, she saw Qi Kang, who had come to deliver the token.

She didn't care about anything else and rushed in with the token in hand.

Upon seeing Cui Lingxian's arrival, Shen Meiwu's eyes were filled with both joy and panic.

"Ling Xian? What are you doing here? Could it be... that Cui Shenzhi locked you up too?!"

Cui Lingxian was about to answer no, but remembering what Cui Shenzhi had said, she changed her denial to quietly hiding the token in her hand, lowering her eyes and nodding.

“Yes, Shen Zhi said that you and Father Emperor harmed all his family members. I am your and Father Emperor’s daughter, so naturally I must also pay the price.”

"How could he be so ungrateful?!" Shen Meiwu could not hide the anxiety between her brows: "Yes, he lost his family, but didn't we give him a bright future? If it weren't for us, he would at best be a nobody in the court, how could he have such a glorious future!"

Cui Sugong stood aside without saying a word, but his eyes clearly showed that he agreed with Shen Meiwu's opinion.

Seeing this scene, Cui Lingxian felt a chill in her heart.

Her eyes widened, and she took a few steps back, questioning incredulously, "So it really was you who conspired to kill Shenzhi's family? Not only do you not find this extremely cruel, you even think... you even think it's a 'good deed'?!"

Cui Sugong thought it wasn't a big deal and was about to admit it when Shen Meiwu stopped him.

Shen Meiwu knew that Cui Lingxian was not one to accept such a thing, so she quickly and gently explained, "Of course not, I just misspoke in a moment of panic. I already said that Shenzhi was picked up from outside the palace, why don't you believe me?"

"letter?"

Cui Lingxian gave a bitter smile.

“Mother, you framed so many concubines, including the late Empress, and used palace rules and the Censorate to harm so many palace servants. You have borne so many sins and lives, but what did you tell me? You said that those concubines had no choice but to suffer the consequences of their actions, and that those palace servants deserved their punishment for violating palace rules.”

"As for Father Emperor..." Cui Lingxian looked at Cui Sugong, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "After the late Empress passed away, the midwife who delivered her died suddenly in the palace, the imperial physician who examined her pulse had an accident on the way out of the palace, and all the palace servants in Kunning Palace died within a year. How can I trust such a ruthless person who treats human life like dirt?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Sugong frowned and reprimanded, "Cui Lingxian, are you criticizing me? I am your father!"

“I know! I know you are my father, but how could I have a father like you? You murdered your wife, abandoned your daughter, and in order to keep the throne, you didn’t hesitate to kill all of Shenzhi’s family members, brought Shenzhi into the palace to pretend to be a prince, and then threatened Shenzhi with the crime of impersonating royal blood, forcing him to marry me.”

"Ling Xian! How dare you speak to your father like that!"

Seeing that Cui Lingxian was going too far, Shen Meiwu quickly stepped forward to stop her, but before she could say anything to persuade her, Cui Lingxian abandoned the two of them and ran out.