situation

Ping An had just seen Lin Yimo off when he saw Qingya following Cui Shenzhi into the East Palace.

She was somewhat puzzled but not curious.

Cui Shenzhi is an obstacle to her and can't help her. Qingya is useless and can't help her either. There's no point in these two people being together, so she can't be bothered with them.

Ping An ignored Qing Ya's intentions, but Cui Shenzhi noticed the way Qing Ya looked at Ping An and led Qing Ya to Ping An.

"Ping An, look who's here."

Ping An curtsied and said timidly, "Your Highness, Aunt Qingya."

Seeing that Ping An was still somewhat afraid of him, Cui Shenzhi couldn't help but sigh. He wanted to pat Ping An's head but was afraid of scaring her, so he could only hold back his restless hand.

He glanced at Qingya, who was still in a daze beside him, and an idea suddenly popped into his head.

“Aunt, there are plenty of empty halls and pavilions in my East Palace. How about I have someone clean up Zhi Qiu Pavilion for you and He Ping to live in? What do you think?”

Qingya was still wondering if she had misread it, and she nodded haphazardly without even hearing what Cui Shenzhi said.

Ping An had no objection to this, since Qing Ya cared so much about Fu Yun Jin that she would never harm her. If something really happened, she would most likely risk her life to protect her. So Ping An didn't need to pretend in front of Qing Ya at all. She could completely relax and rest, and even move to a bigger and more spacious place to live. She had no reason to refuse such a good thing.

That's how the matter was settled.

On the very night they moved to Zhi Qiu Pavilion, Qing Ya took Ping An's hand and started asking her questions.

"Ping An," Qing Ya said, looking at Ping An with a worried expression, "Tell me honestly, were you really injured before, or were you faking it? What I said..."

Ping An chuckled softly.

"Mother, don't worry. I'm not stupid. Of course I know that the fact that I'm the late Empress and the Emperor's biological daughter can't be spread right now. As for the injury... does it matter whether it's true or not? Compared to what I hear from you, it's a win anyway. Why bother with those trivial details?"

Qingya gasped.

"Make money? Ping An, what do you want to do with that?"

“Mother, that’s a strange question. Isn’t it obvious what I want to do? I want to take back everything that’s mine, my noble princess status, and everything that I deserve.”

“But Ping An, you have no chance of winning. Shen Meiwu and Cui Sugong are the two most powerful people in this country. You can’t get what you want back from them.”

"I know, that's why I don't plan to ask them for it. I want their enemies to use me as a knife to stab them in the heart, that way I can get back what I want?"

Hearing this, Qingya became anxious.

"Enemies? Ping An, you are Cui Sugong's own daughter. How much goodwill would Cui Sugong's enemies have towards you? Asking them for help is like asking a tiger for its skin!"

"So what?" Ping An looked at Qing Ya, his expression a half-smile: "You mean I can only endure? Endure that Cui Shenzhi enjoys life with everything I deserve, endure that Cui Sugong and Chen Meiwu live a life of glory, endure that I have a noble status but nothing?"

Qingya opened her mouth, but said nothing.

Ping An ignored her and started tidying up on her own. After she finished, she lay down on the bed, but Qing Ya pulled her up.

Ping An couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Mother, it's already very late. You don't need to rest, but I do. Can't we talk about this tomorrow? Why do we have to talk about it now?"

Qingya nodded.

“I know your personality; you do what you think of without delay. I’m afraid it will be too late if I speak too late.”

That's absolutely true.

Ping An pouted helplessly: "Alright, Mother, you go ahead and tell me, I'm listening."

“Ping An, I’ve thought it over carefully. Perhaps you don’t need to take such a risk!” Qing Ya said with shining eyes, “Do you know why the Crown Prince brought me to the Eastern Palace? He did it to avenge the Empress and to make the Empress’s grievances known to the world.”

"So what? What does this have to do with me? He defeated the wicked concubine Shen Meiwu, forced the tyrannical emperor Cui Sugong to admit that he had wronged and harmed Fu Yunjin all those years ago, and then what? Isn't Cui Shenzhi still the high and mighty Crown Prince? Aren't I still the uncared-upon Ping An?"

"What I mean is, Your Highness, you can tell him the truth, but not now. Tell him after he has sought justice for the Empress. Perhaps then he will restore your status?"

Ping An's face showed deep confusion.

Has Qingya finally gone mad after spending so long in the Cold Palace? Who would choose to abdicate and announce to the world that they are not qualified to inherit the throne when it is within their grasp? Even a fool wouldn't make that choice.

“Mother,” Ping An scoffed, “Do you even believe what you’re saying? Putting aside everything else, just take Cui Sugong for example. He’s already on the throne, yet he brought Cui Shenzhi into the palace because he was worried about the stability of his position. Do you really think that when the day comes that Shen Meiwu is eliminated, Cui Shenzhi, whose reputation can already surpass Cui Sugong’s and who is just one step away from the throne, will announce my identity to the world?”

"Ask yourself honestly, is it more likely that he killed me to keep this secret forever, or is it more likely that he returned my identity to me?"

After a moment of contemplation, Qingya said, "I think the Crown Prince will restore your identity to you."

Seeing Qingya's stubbornness, Ping An rolled her eyes, pushed Qingya away, and lay down on the bed.

"Then go ahead and say it, do whatever makes you happy. At worst, Cui Shenzhi will set the place on fire and wipe out my mother and me. I'm not going to gamble on that possibility."

Qingya wanted to persuade her again, but seeing Ping An's back ignoring her, she could only dejectedly go to rest.

*****

A few days later, Lin Yimo reappeared in front of Ping An.

"Lord Lin is acting so quickly? Could it be that Lord Lin has people in every residence in the capital?"

Ping An looked at Lin Yimo with a scrutinizing gaze. If Lin Yimo had this ability, then perhaps she wouldn't need to contact those royal relatives and could just cooperate with Lin Yimo directly.

She brought power to Lin Yimo by claiming to be Fu Yunjin's daughter, and Lin Yimo helped her reclaim her princess status.

Each gets what they need.

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out the way Ping An had imagined.

"You jest, young lady. I'm someone who's climbing the ladder, so of course I need to understand the people I'll encounter along the way. Otherwise, what if I accidentally offend someone?" Lin Yimo turned his back to block Ji Yu's view, took out a booklet from his sleeve, and casually flipped to a page: "For example, this Lord He, he's terrified of his wife. He doesn't even dare to have children with his mistress, so he likes to promote officials whose mothers aren't his legal wives. But that Lord Jiang is a legitimate son who struggled his way up from under his illegitimate brothers. He looks down on illegitimate officials the most, so we have to be careful."

Ping An nodded, thinking of the efforts she had made to get closer to Cui Shenzhi.

That's true.

Ping An took the booklet from Lin Yimo's hand and quickly put it into his sleeve. He then said in a bluffing manner, "Lord Lin, please wait patiently. I need to compare it with the information I received from the Crown Prince to see how reliable the information you brought is before I can decide whether or not to cooperate with you."

"Then please hurry, Miss. Lu Fengping has already made an appointment with the princess to go on a spring outing alone. If we delay any longer, I might be able to help you, but you might not be able to help me."

Ping An lowered her eyes and smiled.

"Lord Lin, it's just a spring outing, why are you in such a hurry? It's not like we're going to end up in bed together. There's plenty of room for maneuver. Didn't you hear Lu Fengping say that I just went along with the situation a little, and the princess said he was disgusting and made it clear that she wouldn't accept his advances?"

"I've heard of it, but young lady, people's hearts are unpredictable. You could do it then, but you may not be able to do it now."

"Lord Lin, please rest assured, I have everything under control."

"That's good. I'll take my leave now. If you've thought it through, Miss, you can act a little strange in front of Lu Fengping, and he will naturally come looking for me."

After saying that, Lin Yimo turned and left.

After Lin Yimo left, Ping An returned to Zhi Qiu Pavilion and took out the booklet that Lin Yimo had given him to read carefully.

As she looked at him, her brows furrowed.

Oops.

That's terrible.

How could the situation of these royal relatives be so bad?

Cui Sugong's brothers were either mentally challenged or crippled. The mentally challenged ones were definitely useless, while the crippled ones were still useful, but due to their setbacks over the years, they had all fallen into different ways and none of them held real power.

The situation was slightly better for the more distant members of the royal family, but only slightly better. Cui Sugong did not treat them as relatives, but only as a threat. He did not exterminate them, but he always suppressed them in various ways, to the point that many people in the royal family were illiterate.

This terrible situation was far beyond Ping An's expectations, to the point that she doubted the credibility of these things. However, she hadn't been idle these days, and had been subtly inquiring about a lot of information from the palace staff. The information she learned was not optimistic either.

In other words, even if the information Lin Yimo provided was slightly off, it was still largely accurate.

How are we supposed to play like this?!

A fool, a useless piece of trash, an illiterate idiot—it would be strange if she could overthrow Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu, surpass Cui Shenzhi, and reclaim everything that belongs to her with such relatives!

Ping An was so angry that he threw the booklet on the ground and stomped on it a few times.

As she walked, she suddenly remembered what Qingya had said that night.

Could it be that she really has no choice but to gamble that Choi Shin-ji is an idiot?

*****

Not long after Shen Meiwu finished dealing with the deposed concubines in the Cold Palace, someone came to report that Cui Shenzhi had cleaned up Zhi Qiu Pavilion, which was closest to his bedroom, and had ordered the Imperial Household Department to send a lot of things to decorate it, mostly... things for women.

Shen Meiwu believed in Cui Shenzhi, but she believed that Cui Shenzhi would not lie to her and that Cui Shenzhi's feelings for Cui Lingxian remained the same as before, rather than believing that Cui Shenzhi would not have other thoughts.

Before Cui Shenzhi went to Nanzhou, he was always clean and tidy. After going to Nanzhou, he suddenly had Gu Xi by his side. Although Cui Shenzhi had explained about Gu Xi, once is never enough. What's so strange about having Gu Xi yesterday and Li Xi and Xu Xi today?

Shen Meiwu considered Cui Shenzhi and Cui Lingxian's ages and their usual interactions. After a moment's thought, she made a decision: it seemed it was time to tell Cui Shenzhi the 'truth'.

There was no better time than today, so he instructed Rouge to fetch Cui Shenzhi.