From ancient times to the present
In fact, Cui Shenzhiyuan was not as calm as Ping An appeared; he had been filled with endless regret since he woke up.
Yes, Ping An did scheme against him, but what's wrong with that? Ping An is Fu Yun Jin's biological daughter, yet he received everyone's attention and care by claiming to be Fu Yun Jin's son, and even became the crown prince. Isn't it normal for Ping An to be wary of him?
Besides, did Ping An have a choice? Fu Yunjin was harmed by Shen Meiwu and Cui Sugong, and Ling Xian is the daughter of Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu. Apart from them, he is the only one in the palace. Ping An has nothing. If she doesn't use him to achieve her wishes, whose hands can she use?
Moreover, he clearly wanted to find Ping An yesterday to get to the bottom of things, and he didn't drink much. He was completely sober. How could he have acted recklessly and ruined Ping An's reputation after hearing Ping An's words and seeing her approach him?
Thinking of this, Cui Shenzhi suddenly slapped himself a few times, and Qi Kang quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?!"
“Qi Kang, I wasn’t drunk last night. I was sober. I just wanted to talk to Ping An. I…” Cui Shenzhi paused, “No, I had planned this for a long time. I didn’t want to talk to Ping An at all. I just coveted Ping An, which is why I pretended to be drunk and went to find her late at night.”
"How could I be so despicable? I've only just ascended the throne, how could I have become like this..."
Seeing Cui Shenzhi's flustered and helpless state, Qi Kang quickly comforted him, "Your Majesty, Ping An has long been yours, have you forgotten? Besides, you are the emperor now, it's not a bad thing for you to covet Ping An and favor her."
"No, Ping An, she...she..."
Cui Shenzhi wanted to say that Ping An had no relationship with him before last night, and also that it was not a good thing for him to touch Ping An, after all, Ping An was a real princess, and he was just a fake emperor whose life was in turmoil.
But these words cannot be said to Qi Kang.
After thinking it over, he sent someone to summon Cui Lingxian.
As soon as Cui Lingxian arrived, Cui Shenzhi chased everyone out, grabbed Cui Lingxian's hand, and said anxiously, "Lingxian, what should I do? Yesterday... yesterday I accidentally learned that Ping'an was the late Empress's biological daughter, and I had wicked thoughts. I pretended to be drunk and defiled her."
Cui Lingxian was stunned. For a moment, she didn't know whether to be surprised that Fu Yunjin's daughter was right beside her, or that Ping An was her half-sister, or that Cui Shenzhi would do such a despicable thing.
After hesitating for a long time, she slapped Choi Shin-ji.
Putting aside the first two things, the last one was definitely something Choi Shin-ji did wrong.
"Shenzhi, you... I don't know when you developed feelings for Ping'an, but you... how could you do such a thing! She's suffered enough growing up in the cold palace, how could you treat her like this!"
"I know I was wrong, I was a beast, I was a monster in human form, but what's done is done, what can I do? What can I do? I know that no matter what I do, I can't make up for the harm done to Ping An, but I still want to make it up to her, what should I do?"
“You…” Cui Lingxian glared fiercely at Cui Shenzhi: “What did Ping An say?”
Cui Shenzhi's face turned somewhat pale.
"She got very angry and yelled at me after she found out I was faking being drunk."
"That's what you deserved! And then what? And what did you say then?"
“I confessed my feelings to her, but she didn’t seem very happy. I thought about our current relationship, so I took her back to my bedchamber in the Qianqing Palace. But I really didn’t know how to face her, so I ran away by myself.”
Cui Lingxian angrily poked Cui Shenzhi's forehead hard with her hand: "Cui Shenzhi! What are you thinking! You pretended to be drunk and defiled Ping An, and then you confessed your feelings. It just sounds like 'I like you, so I used deception to ruin your innocence. It's all because of my love for you, so I did nothing wrong, and you can't blame me.' Who can be happy to hear that? And you even abandoned her! You... what can I say about you!"
Choi Shin-ji's face turned even paler.
"That's not what I meant, I just... Ling Xian, what should I do now? If I go to apologize to Ping An now, will she believe I'm sincere? I..."
"What's the point of you going now!" Cui Lingxian interrupted Cui Shenzhi, and after pacing back and forth in the Qianqing Palace a few times, she asked seriously, "Shenzhi, tell me honestly, do you really want to be with Ping An, or... are you just lusting after her?"
Choi Shin-ji immediately replied solemnly, "My feelings for An are genuine. Although I don't know when I started having this thought, or when I reached the point where I would resort to such despicable means to get An... In short, I haven't thought about anyone else."
“That makes things easier. Ping’an is the late Empress’s biological daughter. Father Emperor only had two daughters, Ping’an and me. Compared to me, Ping’an, as the princess born to the Empress, naturally has a more prestigious status,” Cui Lingxian said solemnly. “You can announce to the world that you and Ping’an have different identities.”
"At that time, Ping An will be able to reclaim everything she deserves. You've also made it clear to Ping An that you only want her for the rest of your life. After all, you're just a royal son-in-law, and the throne can only be passed on to Ping An's children in the future. But..."
Cui Lingxian sighed and continued, "But in this way, your throne may not be very secure. After all, you are not a member of the royal family. There will inevitably be people with ulterior motives who will use this as an excuse to stir up trouble, and the people may suffer as a result."
Just as the siblings were looking at each other with worried expressions, Lu Fengping, concerned for Cui Lingxian, rushed in shouting.
Thinking about their relationship with Lu Fengping, the siblings asked Qi Kang to go downstairs and then told Lu Fengping everything that had happened in detail, hoping that the three of them might be able to come up with a good solution.
Lu Fengping felt something was off. It wasn't that Cui Shenzhi's attraction to Ping An was wrong—after all, Cui Shenzhi's attitude was unusually obvious from the beginning—but rather that it was wrong for Cui Shenzhi to take advantage of being drunk to defile Ping An. Compared to that possibility, he felt it was more likely that Ping An had seduced Cui Shenzhi while he was not sober.
But it sounded like he was slandering Ping An when he said it, so he could only swallow his words, scratch his head, and talk about something else.
Why do you think the people will suffer?
After hearing this, Cui Lingxian rolled her eyes at Lu Fengping: "Is that even a question? Of course, it's because Shenzhi is not the Emperor's son, so his succession to the throne is illegitimate. Someone will definitely use this as an excuse to cause trouble. Once war breaks out, the people will suffer."
"But Shen Zhi inherited the throne not because he was the son of the retired emperor."
The siblings were taken aback.
Lu Fengping continued, "Shen Zhi was able to become emperor mainly because of the support of the people. The reason why the people supported Shen Zhi was because he cared about them, cleared the names of the wronged, taught those who wanted to survive how to fish, sought hope for the desperate, and upheld justice for the weak. He worked tirelessly to find solutions during the snow disaster and made a promise worth a thousand pieces of gold for the people of Nanzhou. It has little to do with the retired emperor."
"But throughout history..."
“Yes, there are very few examples of sons-in-law inheriting the throne throughout history, and even when they do, it’s often illegitimate. But they all did it to change dynasties. Shenzhi is different. In layman’s terms, Shenzhi is just a live-in son-in-law.” Lu Fengping turned to Cui Shenzhi: “Shenzhi, don’t you always say you’re just an ordinary person? If an ordinary live-in son-in-law can take over his father-in-law’s business, develop it, and then hand it over to his children, why can’t you do the same?”
"If you really feel bad about it, then give the throne to Ping An and you can be the emperor's consort. Empress Wu Zetian was not related to the Li Tang royal family by blood and she could become empress, so there's no reason why Ping An can't. However, it's better if you handle the affairs of the court. After all, Ping An has not received proper education as the crown prince, so if she were to handle it... I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to manage it."
In fact, what Lu Fengping wanted to say was that if Ping An were to be given the power to govern the world, no one in the world would have a good life. However, he was afraid that neither of the two people in front of him would agree with this statement.
"As for chaos, to put it bluntly, was the Emperor Emeritus's ascension to the throne legitimate? Not to mention that in the early years he indulged in pleasure and completely neglected state affairs, and even caused..." Lu Fengping glanced at Cui Lingxian, swallowing the words that involved Shen Meiwu: "In short, the country didn't descend into chaos under such governance, so any replacement would be much better than the Emperor Emeritus. It's just that Shen Zhi, who doesn't have royal blood, caused chaos?"
"Besides, as long as Shen Zhi does a good enough job, even if he doesn't ensure that everyone is well-fed and clothed, at least he can prevent able-bodied people from starving to death. So even if some ambitious people try to stir up trouble, how many fools would risk their lives to fight a battle they are destined to lose with them in a peaceful and prosperous world?"
Lu Fengping's words left the siblings stunned, and they remained speechless for a long time.
*****
After seeing off Cui Lingxian and Lu Fengping, Cui Shenzhi fell into deep thought. After a long time, he sent a message to Huang Yuandao.
When Huang Yuandao arrived, he sighed as he looked at the worried expression on Cui Shenzhi's face.
"The way you look... Tell me, what do you need my help with this time?"
"Sir, you truly are a sir; you can tell at a glance that I have something to ask of you."
"Don't rush to say nice things," Huang Yuandao said calmly, plopping down in the chair next to him. "I might not even help you."
Cui Shenzhi walked up to Huang Yuandao and respectfully cupped his hands in greeting: "After many years of being master and disciple, I trust your character, so I won't hold back."
Then Cui Shenzhi simply told Huang Yuandao the whole truth he had pieced together. Huang Yuandao froze in his tea-drinking motion. Cui Shenzhi was in no hurry and just waited until Huang Yuandao came to his senses.
Huang Yuandao slammed his teacup back onto the table and said indignantly, "This vile concubine has ruined the country! If I had known that Shen Meiwu would have such audacity, my father shouldn't have just opposed making her empress; he should have joined forces with all the officials in the court to remonstrate and take her life!"
Cui Shenzhi, however, thought otherwise.
"Sir, although Shen Meiwu was the cause of everything, it was not her who caused this situation, but the Emperor Emeritus."
“If the retired emperor hadn’t harmed his own brothers for the throne, he wouldn’t have had to be so wary of those royal relatives that he couldn’t trust a single one of them; if the retired emperor hadn’t become estranged from the royal relatives, he wouldn’t have chosen such a risky method after being unable to have children; if the retired emperor hadn’t shown such unconditional favoritism, even if Shen Meiwu was bold, she wouldn’t have done such a thing.”
"Without the Emperor Emeritus's indulgence, Shen Meiwu would not have had the ability to drug him; without the Emperor Emeritus's authorization, the incident of the princess being replaced by a cat would not have happened in the palace; without the Emperor Emeritus's interference, things would not have developed to this point of no return."
Huang Yuandao sensed something was amiss and frowned as he asked, "Shenzhi, what are you trying to say? And what are you planning to do?"
“I want to announce all this to the world,” Cui Shenzhi said solemnly. “My teacher once taught me the principles of ruler and subject, father and son, but now the ruler is no longer a ruler and the father is no longer a father, so why should the subject be a subject and the son be a son? Moreover, I have no intention of killing the emperor or the father. I just want the world to know what wrong things the retired emperor has done.”
"Besides, there are no secrets in the world. These things will eventually spread. I don't want to make up countless lies to cover up one lie, nor do I want to be threatened by these things and end up doing something that harms the world. But if I tell everything all at once, it will inevitably cause turmoil in the world. That's why I need your help, sir."
"I want to first, as his son, announce to the world that the Emperor Emeritus favored his concubine, murdered his wife, and killed his first wife, to give the late Empress justice. Then, I will let the Master's disciples guide public opinion, and when the time is right, I will announce the rest of the matter."
Huang Yuandao remained silent for a long time.
Logically, he should have advised Cui Shenzhi to keep the matter to himself, but as Cui Shenzhi said, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever. What if someone finds out and uses it to blackmail him? Should Cui Shenzhi listen or not?
listen.
Then there will inevitably be a price to pay, and no one can say for sure what that price will be. What if the world descends into chaos? What if countless lives are lost?
I won't listen.
This matter will then spread, and it will spread almost without warning, inevitably causing turmoil throughout the land.
Compared to this, it's better to do as Choi Shin-ji says.
Huang Yuandao sighed heavily and agreed.
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