subtle

The next morning, Cui Shenzhi woke up from his sleep with a happy expression. He was about to hold Ping An and cuddle for a while when he was caught off guard. Startled, he ran barefoot all over the palace looking for Ping An without even getting dressed properly.

Then all the palace servants and Huang Yuandao saw the scratches and teeth marks that Ping An had left on Cui Shenzhi's body and shoulder.

Huang Yuandao needed to see Cui Shenzhi, but Cui Shenzhi was still asleep, so Ping An could only look after him. Therefore, when Cui Shenzhi found Ping An, Ping An was chatting with Huang Yuandao.

Huang Yuandao knew that Cui Shenzhi was completely focused on peace, but he never expected to witness such a scene.

He glanced at the cracked smile on Ping An's face, then at the shameful expression on Cui Shenzhi's face, as if he wanted to disappear into a hole in the ground. He coughed lightly, suppressing the urge to laugh out loud, and turned his head away.

"The weather is nice today, a good day for an outing. Anyway, what I want to say is nothing important. I'll go home and take my wife and daughter out to enjoy the scenery. I'll go to the palace in a few days."

Before he finished speaking, Huang Yuandao turned and left, leaving the young couple looking embarrassed.

Ping An laughed in exasperation as she looked at Cui Shenzhi, who stood there helplessly.

"It's only a few steps from the sleeping quarters to the main hall, yet you circled the entire palace. How eager are you to let everyone know that I 'favored' you last night? Why don't you issue an imperial edict to announce it to the whole world and let everyone celebrate?!"

"No, no," Cui Shenzhi took the clothes from Siwei, who was panting as she followed, and hurriedly put them on while trying to explain, "Ping An, I didn't want anyone to know about us... I was just afraid that you would leave me like last time, after giving me a sweet, romantic dream. I panicked, that's why..."

Upon hearing this, Ping An was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened.

She took a few steps forward, grabbed Choi Shin-ji's collar, and led him to sit on the throne, her expression a mix of gritted teeth and resentment: "All of you, get down."

Siwei and Qikang lowered their heads and led everyone out, cleverly closing the door behind them.

Ping An immediately twisted Cui Shenzhi's ear.

"Are you ever going to stop?" Ping An's voice was full of anger and embarrassment, as well as a hint of softness that was hard to detect. "Yesterday you said you were afraid that I would leave you, so I stayed with you all day long. I even let you be silly until midnight. Why are you still nagging me?"

Ignoring the throbbing pain in his ears, Cui Shenzhi pulled Ping An into his arms.

"Ping An, I didn't want this to happen either, but I'm just scared."

“During the time you were gone, I kept dreaming about how you looked lifeless after taking the fake death drug. I couldn’t sleep well all night. I could only feel a little better by repeatedly looking at the pictures of your daily life in Qingshui Town that Qiao Siyu sent me. But I was also worried that Qiao Siyu was lying to me. I was suspicious until you came back.”

“After you came back, I never dreamed of that scene again. I thought everything was over, but I didn’t expect that feeling of fear to be imprinted in my bones. When I woke up in the morning and found that you were not there, I felt empty in an instant. I couldn’t help but panic and was terrified.”

Looking at Choi Shin-ji like this, Ping An was at a loss for words.

She released Cui Shenzhi's ear, straddled him, and poked the teeth marks on his shoulder hard: "What do you have to be afraid of? You are the emperor. All the land under heaven belongs to the emperor, and all the people under heaven are his subjects. Even if I really run away, even to the ends of the earth, you can just send someone to catch me and bring me back. What are you afraid of?"

Cui Shenzhi looked up at Ping An and said seriously, "No, I promised that I would never let you suffer, so I can't force you to do something you don't want to do."

Ping An hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes, cupped Cui Shenzhi's face, and kissed his forehead.

“Cui Shenzhi,” Ping An said seriously, “I am a selfish and self-serving person, so I will only ever choose the option that is most beneficial to me. As long as you are like this, you will never have to worry about me leaving you. Do you understand what I mean?”

Choi Shin-ji nodded without hesitation.

"I understand. I will strive to be a good emperor whom the people of the world can rely on, and I will not let you feel that there is anyone in the world who is better or more worthy of you than me."

Ping An remained silent.

What she really meant was that as long as Choi Shin-ji remained emperor, a stable emperor, and an emperor who followed the guidance of her embroidered shoe tips, she would never leave. But Choi Shin-ji understood…

Well, let's leave it at that. It's close enough that it's not wrong.

Ping An smiled slightly, just about to exchange a few sweet words with Cui Shenzhi, when she heard a 'bang'.

The two looked over at the same time and saw Qingya frowning with an unhappy expression.

When Qingya saw Ping An and Cui Shenzhi looking like this, her brows furrowed even more.

She strode over aggressively, then pulled Ping An off Cui Shenzhi with a mix of force and caution. She glared at Ping An, then at Cui Shenzhi.

"What's wrong with you two? You're about to become parents, how can you still be so immature?! Ping An's baby has only been stable for a short time and you're already doing this. What if something happens to the baby? No way, starting tomorrow, you two will sleep in separate rooms."

The two then realized that the pregnancy claim was false and they hadn't told Qingya yet.

Ping An quickly tugged at Qing Ya's sleeve and whispered, "Mother, this is actually a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Qingya glared at Ping An again: "His Majesty ran around the palace with those marks all over his body. Who wouldn't see what you two were up to last night? Or are you trying to tell me that you didn't do it?"

Ping An chuckled twice and looked at Cui Shenzhi, his eyes clearly saying, 'You're the one who caused this trouble, so you'll have to deal with it.'

Cui Shenzhi quickly stood up, blushing as he explained, "Auntie, Ping An didn't mean that last night... last night's events were a misunderstanding, but rather that her pregnancy was a misunderstanding."

Qingya was stunned.

"Are you saying... Ping An isn't pregnant?"

Choi Shin-ji nodded.

Qingya looked at Ping'an, and Ping'an nodded in agreement.

“Mother, if you don’t believe me, just arrest Lu Fengping and ask him in the palace. He and Qiao Siyu conspired to deceive me about my pregnancy. There might even be Cui Lingxian involved.”

Upon hearing this, Qingya led Ping'an towards the imperial bedchamber without saying a word. Cui Shenzhi wanted to follow, but Qingya clearly didn't want him to. Moreover, he had just promised Ping'an that he would always be a good emperor, so how could he abandon state affairs? He could only sit back down at the imperial table, glancing towards the imperial bedchamber from time to time.

*****

Upon arriving at the bedchamber, Qingya dismissed everyone and closed the door.

"Ping An," Qingya said with concern, "the pregnancy is fake, so what are you going to do?"

Hearing this, Ping An felt somewhat confused.

"Mother, what should we do?"

“What else could it be but how you left?” Qingya sighed. “You disliked the Emperor to the point of faking your death to leave. Your return was merely a temporary measure for the sake of the child. Now that the child is gone, why force yourself to stay with the Emperor?”

Ping An was both amused and exasperated.

“Mother, the reason I chose to fake my death was not because I disliked Shenzhi, but because I thought he was going to deal with me, just like he did with Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu, or even worse. I couldn’t find a way to protect myself, so I impulsively took the fake death medicine. Otherwise, I would have told you no matter what.”

“As for coming back, the child is indeed a factor, but it’s not just about the child,” Ping An paused, not mentioning her unusual behavior in Qingshui Town. “In short, I thought it through carefully before coming back. It’s not a temporary measure. You don’t need to worry that I’m forcing myself.”

"Besides, I now know that Shen Zhi never intended to harm me. During the months I was away, he remained chaste, and when I returned, he still obeyed me completely. There is no one in the world who is more powerful and more obedient to me than him, so why should I leave? Is it because I find wealth and glory too hot to handle, or because I don't find the power and status of being high above others appealing?"

Hearing this, Qingya's worries about Ping An disappeared, but she felt pity for Cui Shenzhi. After all, she had seen Cui Shenzhi's feelings for Ping An, but Ping An...

Qingya was stunned.

She looked at the faint hint of affection on Ping An's face, smiled softly, and reached out to stroke Ping An's soft hair with a look of contentment.

"If you say that, it means you know what you're doing, then I'm relieved."

*****

Qingya led Ping'an back to the main hall of Qianqing Palace, and bowed deeply to Cui Shenzhi amidst the puzzled looks of Ping'an and Cui Shenzhi.

"Your Majesty, I entrust Ping An to your care," Qingya said solemnly. "She has many shortcomings, but as I told you before, they are my faults, not hers. Please take good care of her and be tolerant of her."

Ping An's little face scrunched up, and before she could say anything, Cui Shenzhi stepped forward to help Qingya up.

“Aunt, no one is perfect. Ping An has her shortcomings, and so do I. She needs my care, and I need her understanding. I can’t guarantee that we won’t have conflicts, but I can guarantee that I will never let her suffer any injustice.”

Hearing this, Ping An's lips curled up in a smug smile.

She stepped forward and poked Qingya's hand: "Mother, I don't need his care at all. I'm the one who should be taking care of him. You've never been to court with us. He's like a steamed bun, agreeing to whatever the ministers say. Without me, he would have been devoured by those people long ago."

Choi Shin-ji nodded repeatedly from the side.

Qingya knew perfectly well that if Cui Shenzhi really did whatever the ministers said, as Ping An said, then the palace would have been filled with women long ago, and it wouldn't be so peaceful. But since Ping An said so and Cui Shenzhi agreed, why should she point it out and spoil the mood?