trust

After pretending to take your pulse for a while, Lu Fengping said in a relieved tone, "The doctor who prescribed the medicine to stabilize your pregnancy is quite skilled. The baby is relatively stable for now, but if you want to keep it going, you need to take good care of yourself in the coming days. You can't overwork yourself, you can't worry, and you can't overthink things. I will give you acupuncture every five days until the pregnancy is stable."

Ping An's complexion improved somewhat.

Choi Shin-ji's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He couldn't wait to hug Ping An tightly, as if he had found a lost treasure and was unwilling to let go. His voice was full of relief, but also faintly tinged with uncontrollable sobs.

"That's great, that's great."

Cui Lingxian and Lu Fengping quickly led everyone out, leaving the door slightly ajar, giving the two people who had met again after three months apart some space.

Ping An saw their actions but did not stop them. After all, she needed to test Cui Shenzhi's attitude, and it would be better if Cui Lingxian and Lu Fengping were not around.

"Choi Shin-ji," Ping An said, suppressing the mixed feelings in her heart, trying to remain calm, "you're not surprised that I'm still alive, so you've always known I'm still alive and where I am, haven't you?"

Cui Shenzhi nodded and whispered, "The servants around you are all secret guards I sent. The other people around you, including the maids and cooks, were all arranged by Qiao Siyu. So I know everything about you."

Ping An was a little confused.

She had guessed that Choi Shin-ji had sent people to monitor her, but this extent was still beyond her imagination, so much so that she couldn't help but blush.

Everything is crystal clear... In other words, Cui Shenzhi knows all about her occasional slips of the tongue about Cui Shenzhi, her unconscious search for Cui Shenzhi's figure when she wakes up in the middle of the night, and the fact that the people she talks to seem to have Cui Shenzhi's shadow in them?

"Cui Shenzhi! How could you... how could you do this! Let me tell you, I only mentioned your name because I don't know anyone in Qingshui Town, so I just said it casually. Waking up in the middle of the night was just a habit. As for those people who resemble you, it's just a coincidence. You..."

Ping An couldn't continue speaking, because the more she talked, the brighter Cui Shenzhi's eyes became, so bright that it was dazzling and she couldn't look directly at them.

“Peace,” Cui Shenzhi’s voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement and joy, “You mean, you were thinking of me when you were in Qingshui Town, right?”

Ping An choked up for a moment, then shouted, "I didn't!"

Ignoring Ping An's words, Cui Shenzhi kissed Ping An's forehead and said softly, "That's great. It turns out that it wasn't just me who was thinking of you, but you were thinking of me too. It turns out that my feelings weren't unrequited."

Ping An blushed even more. She tried to push Cui Shenzhi but couldn't budge him. She wanted to bite Cui Shenzhi, but the physical contact just now made her realize that Cui Shenzhi had lost a lot of weight. She couldn't bring herself to bite him. She wanted to continue denying it, but she felt that no matter what she said, it would be like trying to cover up the truth. So she could only lower her head with a face full of shame and indignation.

Seeing such peace and safety, Choi Shin-ji's heart softened terribly.

“Ping An, you have no idea how hard these days have been for me. Although I used the position of the top merchant in the imperial court to have Qiao Siyu use all the power of the Qiao family to ensure that everything goes smoothly for you, I was still worried. I was worried that you were not happy, worried that you were not having a good time, worried that you... would marry someone else. It turns out that I was just worrying for nothing. If I had listened to Ling Xian and gone to find you sooner, you wouldn't have had to worry about the child and rush back to the capital.”

"The head of the imperial merchants? Qiao Siyu? The Qiao family?" Ping An keenly sensed something was amiss: "Qiao Siyu is from the Qiao family, the imperial merchants?"

Choi Shin-ji nodded.

Ping An squinted and began grinding his teeth.

What a sly fox Cui Shenzhi, what a sly Qiao Siyu, what a sly Qiao family—they actually teamed up to toy with her! But…

"Cui Shenzhi, you are the emperor, why is the Qiao family protecting me? Where are your men?"

“My men are definitely not as shrewd as the Qiao family. I’m afraid you’ll notice something’s wrong, and I’m afraid you’ll feel uneasy because of the flaws they reveal.” Cui Shenzhi said solemnly, “Ping’an, I want you to live a peaceful and comfortable life, not to continue living in fear in a different place.”

Hearing this explanation, Ping An breathed a sigh of relief, but she still stubbornly refused to think whether her relief was due to the presence of useful people around Cui Shenzhi, or because of Cui Shenzhi's words.

She composed herself, lowered her eyes to look at her lower abdomen, thinking about the child in her womb, her inexplicable feelings for Cui Shenzhi over the past three months, and Cui Shenzhi's words and actions just now. For the first time in a sober state, she spoke to Cui Shenzhi with some sincerity.

“Choi Shin-ji,” Ping An said softly, “you just said you’ve been thinking about me?”

"yes."

You're lying to me.

"I don't."

"You didn't? You knew I was still alive, yet you announced my 'death' to the world, and almost immediately changed dynasties, turning me from a princess into a princess of a fallen kingdom... no, into a penniless commoner. If you cared about me, would you have let me end up in such a ridiculous situation?"

"The Qiao family is a joke. You said you wanted them to guarantee that everything would go smoothly for me, but the Qiao family knows about my relationship with you and they came to my side on your orders. Do you really think they would guarantee that everything would go smoothly for me? Or would they just try to please you and make sure everything goes smoothly for me? I don't believe you haven't thought about that."

Cui Shenzhi hurriedly explained, "Ping An, I didn't. The reason I announced your 'death' was because I thought you didn't want this identity anymore, whether it was the identity of 'Cui Sugong's daughter' or the identity of my wife, that's why I did it."

"As for changing dynasties, Ling Xian and you have both escaped unscathed. If I don't change dynasties, I would have to marry another woman from the Cui clan, otherwise my status as an emperor would be illegitimate, and the world would inevitably be in turmoil. But all I have ever wanted is you, so I have no choice but to do this."

“I arranged for the Qiao family to take care of you because I really wanted everything to go smoothly for you, but I may have thought about what you said,” Cui Shenzhi said with a hint of apology but with a firm voice, “but I don’t regret it! If I hadn’t done that, you might have already married someone else, and this child might not have been able to be kept. I would never have known that I had a child with the girl I loved, and I would have died with regrets for the rest of my life!”

Ping An's eyelashes trembled, and she pondered for a long time.

Cui Shenzhi knew she was still alive. He could have taken her life, imprisoned her and humiliated her, or made her suffer in the countryside, but he did not do so.

Not only that, Cui Shenzhi also created a paradise for her, allowing her to live a carefree and happy life outside the palace. So, could she give Cui Shenzhi a little bit of trust and believe that Cui Shenzhi really had no intention of harming her?

“Choi Shin-ji,” Ping An raised her head and looked directly into Choi Shin-ji’s eyes, gently pulling Choi Shin-ji’s hand to cover her lower abdomen: “You want ‘us’ to come back, don’t you?”

Choi Shin-ji nodded, his eyes shining.

"Very well, I want you to announce my return to the world. I don't want to change my appearance like Cui Lingxian, pretending to be ignorant when I know the truth, only to become a laughing stock. I want to stand upright in the sunlight, and I also want to have the right to participate in politics and decide national affairs, just like before."

"I want to be your equal."

Choi Shin-ji agreed without hesitation.

Then she patted Ping An's head and said softly, "Shall we go back to the palace? Aunt Qingya misses you a lot. She would be very happy if she knew you were willing to come back."

Upon hearing Qingya's name, Ping An suddenly felt a little guilty.

Afterwards, she actually thought that she should tell Qingya about faking her death. Although Qingya's feelings for her were mixed with a lot of gratitude and longing for Fu Yunjin, so many years of relying on each other for survival could not be faked. But at the time, she was so stubborn that she couldn't care about anything else.

And now she's pregnant...

Although she and Cui Shenzhi were a legitimate couple, and her pregnancy was nothing to be ashamed of, she felt strange at the thought that Qingya would find out. It was as if she were a young woman of marriageable age who had gotten pregnant from an affair and didn't know how to explain it to her mother.

So instead of saying yes or no, she hesitated for a long time before whispering, "Does my mother also know that I faked my death?"

“At first, your aunt didn’t know and thought you were really dead. She almost went with you. Fengping was worried that something might happen to your aunt, so she told her that you had taken a fake death drug.”

Ping An's heart tightened at first, then filled with lingering fear and relief.

She almost killed the most important person in the world to her.

Thankfully, thankfully, that didn't happen.

*****

Ping An sat on the imperial carriage, looking at the familiar palace road outside. Her emotions were in turmoil, partly because of Cui Shenzhi who was holding her now, and partly because of Qingya, whom she was about to see.

A mix of emotions—happiness, confusion, doubt, bitterness, sadness—was present, but after taking a spoonful, one couldn't taste anything; only an indescribable feeling lingered in the heart.

Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, she had barely stepped off the imperial carriage when she saw Qingya, who had been waiting for her for a long time.

She seemed a little flustered, and lowered her head, whispering, "Mother, I..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qingya stepped forward and asked with concern, "What happened? I heard from Princess Qiao that you were doing well in Qingshui Town. Why did you suddenly come back? Did you encounter some insurmountable difficulties? Didn't His Majesty send secret guards? Where are the Qiao family members? With so many people guarding you, did something still go wrong?"

Ping An quickly said, "Mother, I'm fine. I didn't encounter any insurmountable difficulties. I came back because..."

Because of that eerie feeling, Ping An couldn't continue speaking.

Cui Shenzhi quickly stepped forward and added with a beaming smile, "Auntie, Ping An is pregnant!"

Qingya was somewhat confused. Ping'an had been gone for three months, and she was pregnant. Why was Cui Shenzhi so happy? Could it be...?

"Peace, is it... His Majesty's?"

Hearing this, Ping An felt even more intense that feeling of being caught by Qing Ya having an affair. Her face burned, and she nodded haphazardly before lifting her skirt and walking towards the bedroom, leaving Qing Ya looking at her fleeing figure with a bewildered expression.