drunk
Seeing Cui Shenzhi stagger out of Chengqian Palace, Qi Kang and Siwei quickly stepped forward to support him.
"Your Highness, what's wrong? Did the Imperial Concubine scold you?"
Cui Shenzhi did not answer, but simply ordered, "Return to the East Palace."
Qi Kang and Si Wei quickly helped Cui Shenzhi walk towards the East Palace.
After returning to the East Palace, Cui Shenzhi went to Zhi Qiu Pavilion. He wanted to ask Qingya if she knew about his background, but Qingya was not there. Only Ping An was in Zhi Qiu Pavilion.
Looking at Ping An's graceful figure, Cui Shenzhi suddenly realized that this was what he had just wanted to say.
—Ling Xian and Feng Ping were starting to develop feelings for each other, while he, without anyone knowing when, had developed different thoughts about Ping An.
But now he doesn't even know his own background, and he's unknowingly burdened with the crime of impersonating royal blood. The future is an endless abyss. He can't drag Ping An down with him. He has to find a way to send Ping An out of the palace and settle her properly before things are exposed.
Thinking of this, Cui Shenzhi left without even saying goodbye to Ping An, leaving Ping An puzzled.
After returning to his study, he began making arrangements, instructing Qi Kang to buy several large houses and shops outside the palace, but without letting anyone associate this with him. Then he had Siwei bring over a few jugs of wine, and sat alone in his study, looking out the window as he drank by himself.
Too much has happened today; he needs to have a drink to calm down.
*****
That evening, a sudden knocking sounded at the door of Zhi Qiu Pavilion.
Because of the unpredictable madness of the deposed concubines in the Cold Palace, Ping An had developed a habit of being a light sleeper since childhood. She woke up immediately upon hearing this noise, but she didn't want to pay attention to it, so she turned over and ignored it.
However, the knocking continued and woke Qingya.
Qingya opened the door and saw Cui Shenzhi reeking of alcohol.
Qingya had been in the East Palace for some time, and Cui Shenzhi, who had never seen her like this before, couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
"Your Highness, how much did you drink? How could this be..."
Before she could finish speaking, Qingya was pulled outside by Cui Shenzhi, and then the door slammed shut in front of her with a 'bang,' followed by the sound of the lock clicking shut.
Qingya was stunned for a moment. Thinking of Ping An in the room, she quickly tried to rush over and break down the door, but was stopped by Qi Kang who had rushed over.
“Aunt, I know you treat Ping An like your own child, but Ping An is a grown woman now and will eventually get married. You must have seen how good His Highness is to Ping An during your time in the Eastern Palace. This is not a bad thing.”
“No, no, Ping An…” Qingya paused, “Anyway, no! Ping An can’t!”
Seeing that Qingya was still struggling desperately, Qi Kang sighed and gave her a look. The sensible palace maids gagged her and took Qingya away from Zhi Qiu Pavilion.
*****
Ping An heard the door close, as well as Qing Ya's voice and the sound of the lock clicking shut, but she couldn't make out what was being said, so she didn't know what had happened and decided to go back to sleep.
But as the approaching footsteps grew louder, she immediately realized something was wrong and her eyes widened.
These aren't Qingya's footsteps! Who is it?! This is the Eastern Palace, and Zhiqiu Pavilion is right next to Cui Shenzhi's sleeping quarters. Who has the audacity and ability to act recklessly here?!
Ping An was stunned.
Yeah, who else but Choi Shin-ji could do that? But what's Choi Shin-ji doing here so late at night?
Ping An decided to pretend to be asleep and see what Cui Shenzhi was going to do first.
—If it weren't for Choi Shin-ji, she wouldn't have been able to do anything with her martial arts skills; pretending to be asleep might have allowed her to escape this predicament.
The footsteps grew closer and closer, finally stopping in front of Ping An's bed. Ping An also smelled the familiar fragrance of Cui Shenzhi, as well as the strong smell of alcohol.
She let out a soft breath, as if she had been awakened from her sleep by the sound of footsteps, and sat up, still a little groggy, rubbing her eyes.
"Aunt Qingya, who...who are you?! Who are you?!" Ping An looked at Cui Shenzhi by the bedside in a panic, grabbed the pillow next to her and threw it at him: "Let me tell you, this is the East Palace! It's near His Highness the Crown Prince's sleeping quarters! You...you can't do this!"
Choi Shin-ji did not answer, but simply stood quietly by the bed staring at An Ping, as if he were a breathing statue.
Ping An's brows furrowed slightly.
What is Choi Shin-ji trying to do? Why isn't he saying anything? And why is he staring at her like that?
Annoyed, Ping An picked up the sachet and threw it at Cui Shenzhi.
Cui Shenzhi neither dodged nor flinched, but continued to stare at her without moving.
Ping An felt a little uneasy being stared at, so he simply picked up whatever he could and threw it away, continuing until there was nothing left to throw before he stopped.
Choi Shin-ji remained silently standing by the bed.
Ping An felt that the current situation was a bit strange, so she decided to go find Ju An and the others.
Afraid of disturbing Choi Shin-ji, who was clearly not in a good state, she carefully and gently crawled to the bedside. Just as she was about to put on her shoes, Choi Shin-ji pulled her into his arms.
The strong smell of alcohol made Ping An squint, and she instinctively tried to push him away, but Cui Shenzhi only hugged her tighter, so tight that she felt it was difficult to breathe.
Ping An quickly said, "Your Highness! You're too strong and it hurts!"
Cui Shenzhi ignored these words and murmured softly, "No, I'm not a prince, I'm not, I'm nothing..."
Because they were so close, Cui Shenzhi's warm breath sprayed on Ping An's ear and neck, causing her ears and face to involuntarily burn. This unfamiliar feeling made her very uneasy, and she pushed Cui Shenzhi away a few times with all her might.
Noticing Ping An's resistance, Choi Shin-ji hugged her even tighter, and before long, the two of them fell onto the bed in an embracing position.
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the rustling of clothes and Ping An's shy, pleading voice, telling Cui Shenzhi to let her go. The people outside the door blushed and took a few steps back.
Ping An was unaware of all this; all she knew was that if things continued like this, she would either be strangled to death by Cui Shenzhi or suffocated by his breath. Enraged, she screamed without restraint.
"Choi Shin-ji! Let me go!"
Upon hearing this, Choi Shin-ji actually let go of An Ping.
He propped himself up with his hands, looking at Ping An, whose face was flushed and clothes were disheveled, beneath him, looking like she was ready to be taken. His eyes deepened, and then he kissed her amidst her confused and surprised gaze. He licked and sucked on Ping An's lips, and used his hands and feet to hold her tightly so that she could not escape.
Ping An didn't know how long the kiss lasted; she could only feel a faint pain on her lips and the tears that Cui Shenzhi had shed on her face.
This left her somewhat bewildered.
She was the one who was forcibly kissed, she was the one who was pinned down, and she was the one who was bullied. So why is Choi Shin-ji acting all wronged?!
After an unknown amount of time, Ping An felt her lips were numb before Cui Shenzhi finally released her.
Seeing Cui Shenzhi's still confused and unclear eyes, Ping An panicked a little. Could it be that Cui Shenzhi felt this was not enough and was planning to have a drunken one-night stand?!
Just as she was filled with worry, Choi Shin-ji suddenly pressed down on her.
—It's unclear whether Cui Shenzhi fell asleep or finally got drunk, but he lost consciousness and collapsed onto Ping An in an overly intimate manner.
Ping An listened to Cui Shenzhi's steady breathing in her ear and remained silent for a moment. Then she pushed Cui Shenzhi away forcefully, ran to the dressing table, and looked in the mirror. Sure enough, she saw her lips, which were red, swollen, and congested, and were completely unpresentable.
Enraged, she went back to the bedside and kicked Cui Shenzhi a few times.
After kicking, Ping An sat on the footstool and thought about what to do next.
The royal relatives are of no use, but Cui Shenzhi seems to have some feelings for her. Since that's the case, she might as well take a gamble. However, having a conscience alone is definitely not enough.
Ping An rolled her eyes, grabbed two handkerchiefs, stuffed them into Cui Shenzhi's ears, and began making arrangements.
She tore open her clothes, snapped the sash, and used it to tie her hands to the stool, twisting them repeatedly to create obvious marks of restraint on her wrists. Then she pinched bruises on her arms and legs, and used rouge to create some ambiguous red marks on her body. She also scratched the corner of her mouth with her fingernail, and finally gritted her teeth and cut her inner thigh, leaving specks of blood on the bed. She then put some water under her eyes to pretend to be tear stains.
The deposed concubines in the Cold Palace taught her more than just how to be a person.
After doing all this, Ping An, looking pitiful and exhausted, fell asleep next to Cui Shenzhi.
*****
The next day was not a day for attending court, and Qi Kang felt that Cui Shenzhi must have been 'tired' the day before and needed to rest, so he did not wake Cui Shenzhi up early as usual, and Cui Shenzhi slept in and woke up naturally, which was rare for him.
But when he woke up, he didn't feel happy at all, only full of panic. This was not only because he was in Zhi Qiu Pavilion, but also because Ping An, who was lying on his arm, looked haggard and clearly hadn't slept well.
Looking at the messy and obviously disturbing traces in the room, Cui Shenzhi tried to recall what had happened the night before, but all he could think of was that he had drunk a lot of alcohol, then ran to find Ping An, and apparently forcibly kissed her before losing consciousness. When he woke up, this was the situation before him.
Looking at the tattered clothes thrown on the bed and the marks on Ping An's body that were likely left by him, he didn't know how to face it, but since things had come to this, he didn't want to and couldn't run away.
He carefully reached out, trying to take the blanket from a short distance away and cover Ping An with it, then woke up Siwei and Qi Kang to get ready.
However, this action startled Ping An awake.
Ping An opened her eyes in a daze, and when she found that Cui Shenzhi was awake, she let out a scream. She clutched the clothes that were hanging loosely on her body, and shrank to the foot of the bed with a look of fear on her face, staring at him with eyes full of terror.
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