Father and daughter
After learning that Cui Sugong was imprisoned in Yangxing Palace, Qingya went to Qianqing Palace and found Ping An.
The two chatted for a while, and then Qingya changed Ping'an's clothes and jewelry, styled her hair in a bun that hadn't been seen in the palace for a long time, and followed Ping'an to the Hall of Cultivating Nature.
Upon learning of this, Cui Shenzhi paused in his work of correcting memorials, but ultimately did not intervene.
He and Ping An had promised Ling Xian that they would let Cui Sugong live, but that was all they would do. As for how he would live, that would depend on how many sins Cui Sugong had committed in the past. He wouldn't interfere, especially since Ping An and Cui Sugong were blood-related father and daughter, and no one had the right to meddle in their affairs.
*****
When they arrived safely at the Hall of Cultivating Nature, Cui Sugong was lying on the bed, weakly cursing Shen Meiwu, who had harmed him, and the royal relatives who had taken turns humiliating him.
So when he heard Ping An's footsteps, he subconsciously thought that some clansman had come to bother him again, and he shrank into the corner of the room in a somewhat embarrassed manner. But he found that it was not the people he was familiar with who came, but a girl who looked like he had seen her before but also didn't.
He licked his dry lips and asked, "Who are you?"
Hearing this, Ping An chuckled softly.
"Who am I?" Following Qingya's instructions, Ping'an curtsied and adopted a gentle demeanor, saying, "Your Majesty, it's only been over ten years, have you already forgotten your concubine? Forgotten your concubine, the wife you personally murdered?"
Cui Sugong then realized why Ping An looked familiar.
—With deliberate imitation and similar attire, Ping An bears a striking resemblance to Fu Yunjin.
He shuddered, shaking his head with panic and fear in his eyes.
"You're talking nonsense! Fu Yunjin is dead! She's been dead for a long time! You can't be her!"
"Yes, I am already dead, but I can't bear to leave Your Majesty, I can't bear to leave our daughter, so I have stayed in the palace, watching Shen Meiwu, who harmed you, run rampant under your careful protection, watching Cui Shenzhi, who is named after my child, become so outstanding that he threatens you, watching you drive yourself to your death step by step."
“Especially when I saw that child Cui Shenzhi take away your throne, I…” Ping An lowered her head slightly, her eyes brimming with autumn water as she looked at Cui Sugong, and smiled with pursed lips: “I was so happy that I cried.”
"Since we became husband and wife, we should share joys and sorrows and be of one heart. The pain you caused me back then will now cause you the same pain my child will cause you. This is the cycle of karma, and retribution is inevitable. Don't you agree?"
Cui Sugong's fear intensified, and Fu Yunjin's dying words echoed in his mind.
"—Cui Sugong, Chen Meiwu, I'll be watching from heaven to see what your final fate will be!"
"I know, it was you, you ruined me, you bitch! Yes, it was you... ah!"
Before Cui Sugong could finish speaking, Qingya suddenly appeared from behind Ping An and lashed out with a whip.
Ping An stood quietly to the side and watched until Cui Sugong was beaten so badly that he could barely cry out in pain before she took Qingya's hand.
“Mother, if you keep hitting him, he’ll die. I don’t mind being branded as a patricide, but don’t you think it’s a waste? He killed Fu… my mother, and made us suffer for over a decade. He’s only getting away with a beating? That’s too easy for him.”
Upon hearing the words 'parricide,' Cui Sugong quickly realized that Ping An was not Fu Yunjin's ghost, but his and Fu Yunjin's daughter.
His daughter, whom he had never met.
The daughter that Choi Shin-ji cherished.
His eyes lit up, and he looked up at Ping An with a fawning smile.
“My dear daughter, I am your father. I was deceived by that bitch Shen Meiwu back then, which is why I attacked your mother and didn’t care about you. But all these years, I have always had you in my heart. Otherwise, why would I have made Shen Zhi the crown prince even though I knew he wasn’t my blood? It’s because I always treated him as your substitute, and I gave him everything I wanted to give you.”
Hearing such shameless words, Ping An raised an eyebrow.
To be able to utter such nonsense without batting an eye at a time like this, he truly deserves to be called her biological father.
Ping An squatted down, looked into Cui Sugong's eyes with her usual innocent and carefree smile, reached out as if to help Cui Sugong up, but instead pressed her hand on Cui Sugong's wound, her fingers suddenly digging deep into his flesh, so much so that Cui Sugong could not bear it and let out a deafening scream in surprise.
Hearing the noise, Ping An tilted her head, her expression unchanged, still smiling brightly.
"Father... Emperor? Are you crazy? You just called my mother a slut, so am I, her own daughter, a little slut? And now you want to pretend to be a loving father and get close to me? Don't you think that's too funny?"
Cui Sugong couldn't even answer Ping An's question, because Ping An's fingers, which were stuck in his flesh, were being forcefully spread open, causing him so much pain that he couldn't utter anything except screams. He could only struggle desperately, trying to pull Ping An's hand away from him.
However, Cui Sugong was not young. He had been pampered for many years and had been tormented by the imperial clan. He was no match for Ping An, who was young and had grown up in the cold palace. So, after all his efforts, he only managed to stain Ping An's entire hand red with his blood, which even stained his sleeve.
Upon seeing this, Ping An showed a look of disgust on his face.
She withdrew her hand, took the elegant handkerchief and carefully wiped the wound, but didn't even glance at Cui Sugong, whose blood was still flowing.
But there was so much blood on her hands that even her elegant handkerchief turned bright red and couldn't be wiped clean.
Ping An clicked his tongue, casually tossed the handkerchief to the ground, then brought his hand to his nose to smell it, frowning as he said, "It stinks."
"Cui Sugong, why does your blood smell so bad?"
Cui Sugong did not answer, but covered the wound on his arm with a look of horror, and scrambled in the opposite direction from where Ping An was, muttering something under his breath.
"You're not my daughter...you're not my daughter at all...you're not Fu Yunjin's daughter either, you're a demon...yes, you're a demon! You're the demon Fu Yunjin sent to take revenge on me!"
Upon hearing this, Ping An was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"An evil spirit?" Ping An smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Yes, I am an evil spirit, born from Fu Yunjin's resentment and pain. But have you ever thought about where her resentment and pain came from?"
Ping An took a few quick steps closer, startling Cui Sugong into backing away.
"It's you."
"You married her but didn't treat her well. You watched Shen Meiwu bully her. You, her husband, killed her with your own hands. That's why someone as weak as her couldn't bear the pain and developed resentment. That's why she gave birth to me and why you've ended up with nothing."
Are you happy? Surprised? Unexpected?
Cui Sugong was surprised that Ping An would admit it so readily and say such things. His lips trembled, and he didn't know how to react.
Looking at Ping An's innocent and carefree face, yet her eyes were icy cold, he couldn't help but think of Fu Yunjin.
If he had treated Fu Yunjin well back then… no, if he hadn’t killed Fu Yunjin, Fu Yunjin would definitely not have been willing to hand over her biological daughter to someone else. With Fu Yunjin’s personality, Ping An would have become a second her under her tutelage—gentle and harmless, cowardly and pedantic—and would not be the way she is now.
In that case, he would not have ended up in this situation, after all, Choi Shin-ji liked An Ping so much.
Ping An, who grew up under Fu Yunjin's tutelage, would still respect him as a father even if she had many grievances against him, unlike now where she completely disregards him.
It's too late to say anything now.
Ping An watched Cui Sugong's changing expressions for a while without saying anything, then felt a little bored. She made a face, left Cui Sugong behind, and took Qingya, who was standing to the side looking a bit dazed, and left.
Upon returning to the Qianqing Palace, Ping An hurriedly had someone bring over a basin of warm water. Seeing that Qingya was still in a daze, she waved for the servants to leave and muttered to herself while washing her hands.
“Mother, didn’t you tell me to pretend to be the late Empress and tell Cui Sugong about her grievances, her hatred, and her resentment? Why are you acting like this now?”
Qingya looked at Ping An with a complicated expression and said, "Yes, I asked you to do this, but Ping An, you shouldn't have treated Cui Sugong like that. If word gets out, it won't sound good."
"Spread it out?" Ping An scoffed. "Who would spread it out?"
"The palace servants all say that Cui Shenzhi's imprisonment of Cui Sugong is too lenient. But you just saw what Cui Sugong's condition is. It's not just imprisonment; he's clearly been tortured quite severely. Yet, there's not a word about it in the palace. What does that mean? It means that the people guarding him there were instructed by Cui Shenzhi. They naturally know what to say and what not to say, so why would they spread rumors?"
"Besides, what did I do to Cui Sugong? I just talked to him for a while and 'accidentally' touched his wound when I helped him up. What's the problem?"
Qingya sighed as she looked at Ping An's nonchalant expression and said nothing more.
As for Cui Shenzhi, he didn't ask at all what Ping An and Qingya had done to Cui Sugong.
No matter what, Cui Sugong was his family's murderer. He wasn't a saint. Not taking Cui Sugong's life was already the greatest leniency he could show out of respect for Cui Lingxian. If he showed any more concern for Cui Sugong, he would be utterly despicable.
*****
Although Cui Sugong harmed Fu Yunjin, Cui Sugong was, after all, the emperor. As the ancients said, "the ruler is a ruler, the minister is a minister, the father is a father, and the son is a son." Cui Sugong was not only Cui Shenzhi's father but also his ruler. In addition, since it was not himself who was injured, most ministers felt that Cui Shenzhi should let it go lightly. Therefore, they had no objection to Cui Shenzhi's decision to confine Cui Sugong to the Yangxing Hall for life.
Since there were no objections, the ministers tacitly stopped mentioning Fu Yunjin and Cui Sugong, hoping to let the matter pass as soon as possible, since it was not a good thing for the emperor to kill his wife without cause.
However, while the ministers did not mention it, the matter stirred up a great deal of unrest among the people, and it only intensified over time.
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