decision
Upon hearing Ping An's startled cry, Qi Kang and Si Wei, who had been waiting outside, hurriedly said, "Your Highness, we are right outside. Shall we serve you your washing up now?"
Cui Shenzhi ignored them and looked at Ping An with a guilty expression: "Ping An, I must have gone crazy last night. How could I... how could I do this to you? How could I do such a thing? I'm a beast, no, I'm worse than a beast!"
After saying that, Cui Shenzhi slapped himself hard across the face.
Ping An blinked, her expression a mixture of fear, heartache, and confusion. She reached out as if to stop him, but then withdrew her hand in fright.
Seeing how he treated Ping An, Cui Shenzhi felt sorry for him. He felt that his behavior last night was even more despicable. He had already decided to send Ping An away, but he took advantage of his drunkenness to force himself on Ping An and dragged him into the bottomless abyss.
Things have come to this point, even if he doesn't want to live, for the sake of his safety, he has to find a way to climb out of this abyss and fight for a way out.
Choi Shin-ji got out of bed and opened the door.
Seeing the expected situation inside the hall, Qi Kang skillfully began to help Cui Shenzhi wash up, while Siwei carried a bowl of medicine toward Ping An, but Cui Shenzhi quickly stopped her.
"Ping An doesn't need to take medicine."
"But Your Highness, you haven't married the Crown Princess yet. If Ping An..."
“There is no Crown Princess,” Choi Shin-ji said firmly. “I just need to be safe.”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Ping An with a hint of surprise.
Just then, a disheveled man slapped Cui Shenzhi hard across the face and then lunged at Ping An.
"Ping An, I'm sorry, I didn't protect you well. It's my fault, all my fault. How could I feel..."
Worried that Qingya might say something she shouldn't, Ping An quickly threw herself into her arms and whispered in her ear, "Shut up! I'm fine!"
Her elegant words came to an abrupt end, disappearing from her throat.
Cui Shenzhi wasn't surprised. After all, Qingya clearly treated Ping'an like her own child, yet he did such a thing to Ping'an. Of course, Qingya would feel that she had misjudged him. Let alone slapping him, if he were Qingya, he would have wanted to stab him with a knife.
After signaling everyone to keep quiet, Cui Shenzhi took a few steps closer to Qingya and said respectfully, "Aunt, I know it's hard to believe what I'm saying after what I've done, but please believe me this once. I will take good care of Ping'an, and I will never betray her in this life, nor will I ever let Ping'an suffer even the slightest grievance."
Qingya didn't answer, but hurriedly took off her coat and draped it over Ping An.
Looking at Ping An's confused, aggrieved, and somewhat helpless expression, as well as Qingya's guarded and worried demeanor, Cui Shenzhi quietly instructed Ju An to stay and tidy up, and to get some hot water for Ping An to wash up, before turning and leaving Zhi Qiu Pavilion.
After Cui Shenzhi left, Ping An showed signs of extreme unease. Apart from Qingya, she would start to tremble and even sob softly whenever any other palace servants approached her.
Seeing this, Ju An sighed, finished tidying up Zhi Qiu Pavilion, and led everyone out, leaving only a steaming bathtub, Ping An, and Qing Ya behind.
Qingya then asked in a panic, "Ping An, are you really alright? You're not lying to me, are you? You weren't...really not, by Cui Shenzhi?"
Ping An was too lazy to explain, so she simply lifted her skirt, letting Qing Ya see the fresh wound on her inner thigh, and then used some water from the bathtub to wipe away the red marks on her body.
Qingya finally believed what Ping An said and collapsed to the ground.
That's great, she's safe and sound. She didn't let Fu Yunjin down.
Seeing that Qingya seemed to be in a daze for a while, Ping An pursed his lips and went into the bathtub to clean up by himself.
By the time Qingya came to her senses, Ping'an had already finished washing up and bandaged the wound on her groin with a strip of cloth. She was using rouge to create a red mark on the previous spot. Qingya quickly went over to take over the task. After all, she had been by Fu Yunjin's side for many years. Even if she hadn't eaten pork, she had seen pigs run. The red mark she made was much more realistic than the one Ping'an made.
While Qingya was making red marks on Ping An, she asked, "Ping An, why are you doing this? You... have fallen for the Crown Prince?"
Ping An rolled her eyes at Qing Ya and then chuckled.
"Mother, do you really think I would fall in love with Cui Shenzhi after knowing that he's just an unknown person who popped up out of nowhere to take my place? Am I crazy?"
"Then why did you do that?"
"Because I intend to do as you say."
"I said it?"
Ping An nodded.
“Didn’t you say that I should tell him my identity after he avenged Fu Yunjin, and make him return everything that belongs to me? I think this idea is not bad, but relying on that vague conscience is not enough to be safe, so I want him to owe me.”
"The more the better."
“Before last night, he took my place, but he didn’t owe me much. After clearing Fu Yunjin’s name, we were even. But now it’s different,” Ping An said, pointing to the red mark Qingya had just made on his shoulder. “He ruined my reputation, and he owes me… a lot more.”
A complicated expression appeared on Qingya's face.
"But by doing this, aren't you binding yourself to him?"
"So what? Once my identity is revealed, I'm a princess. What is he? He's nothing. Whether I want to marry him, take him as my male concubine, or just throw him away, it's all up to me, isn't it?"
"Ping An, you can't say that. A young woman's innocence is indisputable..."
“It doesn’t matter at all.” Ping An continued Qing Ya’s words, his expression full of disdain: “Only people who have nothing care about being innocent, because they have nothing but that ridiculous innocence. I’m not like them.”
“I am a princess, not only born to the virtuous Empress Fu Yunjin, but also the princess who was harmed by the tyrannical Emperor Cui Sugong and the wicked concubine Shen Meiwu. I am the most innocent person in the whole affair. Once everything is made public, no matter what the successor’s motives are, he will have to make some gesture towards me.”
"At that time, I can use this compromise to secure my high position. Whether I'm innocent or not... which high-ranking person cares about that? Empress Wu Zetian had her father first and then her son, and then so many male favorites. Everyone knows that. Did that stop those princes and ministers from kneeling and kowtowing to her?"
Qingya was stunned by Ping An's words and stood there for a long time, unable to come to her senses.
Seeing this, Ping An chuckled softly.
"Mother, don't worry, I was just saying that. If I had the courage of Empress Wu Zetian, I wouldn't have lied to Cui Shenzhi, but would have actually slept with him."
Qingya remained silent.
*****
As soon as Cui Shenzhi returned to the study in the East Palace, he began to plan what would happen next.
What Shen Meiwu said can be believed, but not entirely. Based on the information he had received recently, and his understanding of Shen Meiwu and Cui Sugongxin, the truth should be as follows:
Shen Meiwu and Fu Yunjin didn't get along, but they both became pregnant one after the other. Shen Meiwu gave birth to a princess first and was afraid that Fu Yunjin would give birth to a prince. So she framed Fu Yunjin in front of Cui Sugong, which led Cui Sugong to kill Fu Yunjin, his wife who had been with him for many years and whom he had affection for but not for love.
As for bringing this child, who has no blood relation to him, into the palace to act as Fu Yunjin's child, it's probably because Cui Sugong's health has deteriorated and he will not be able to have children in the future. That's why he had no choice but to make this decision. He said that he was marrying Cui Lingxian for his own good, but in reality, he just wanted to have a child who was nominally a grandson but was actually a granddaughter.
Moreover, after the child is born, he will most likely die "accidentally" to make way for the child. Therefore, no matter how much Cui Sugong dislikes him or guards against him over the years, he only reprimands and punishes him, but he has never shaken his position and foundation in the court, nor has he ever thought of ruining his reputation, because everything he has will become the child's stepping stone in the future.
He originally intended to expose the matter directly in front of everyone, since a bloodline check would reveal that Fu Yunjin was already dead and could not have been the one who switched the child. Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu, as the two who benefited the most from the birth of the prince, would definitely not get away with it even without evidence.
As for him, no matter how unaware he was, he couldn't escape the charge of confusing the royal bloodline. However, he was able to avenge his family and clear the name of Fu Yunjin, his nominal mother. Sacrificing his life was nothing.
But that's not possible now.
If he does that, what will happen to Ping An?
Ping An had been intimate with him. If he were to die for the crime of confusing the royal bloodline, how would Ping An, whose innocence had been ruined by him, go on living? No one would care whether Ping An was forced or not; they would only mock her for losing her virginity to a fake prince. He had already committed a heinous crime by forcing Ping An, and she should not be allowed to fall into such a shameful situation again.
Choi Shin-ji pursed his lips and made a decision after thinking for a long time.
He first sent his secret guards to investigate families in and around the capital who had mysteriously disappeared or been silenced in the eighth year of the Hongjia era, and then he asked Qi Kang to do something.
"Go and send a message to all my uncles who are of sound mind. Tell them that I have something important to discuss with them—something that will deeply sadden the Emperor. Please make sure to meet them in a private room at Sihailou, the largest restaurant in the capital."
Qi Kang was stunned by Cui Shenzhi's words, but he knew that this was not something he could ask, so he could only hurry up and pass on the message.
Three days later, in a private room at Sihai Tower, Cui Sugong's crippled and disabled brothers gathered together.
After Cui Shenzhi arrived, Prince Duan, being the oldest present, spoke first: "Good nephew, what do you mean by wanting to make Cui Sugong suffer heart-wrenching pain? He's your father, are you trying to play us for fools?"
“I dare not,” Cui Shenzhi cupped his hands in greeting. “A son should not speak ill of his father, nor should a subject expose the evil of his ruler. In principle, no matter what His Majesty does, I should not criticize him. However, I recently learned that my mother did not die during childbirth, but was killed by him.”
Several people in the room were stunned when he said that.
It's true that Cui Sugong doesn't like Fu Yunjin, but he usually treats her with some respect. How could this happen...?
Cui Shenzhi ignored them and continued, “To be a son and not avenge one’s mother is unfilial; to not identify the murderer of one’s mother when he is right in front of one’s eyes is unjust; to know that someone has killed one’s wife and not speak out is inhumane; to let those who are harmful to the country continue to act recklessly without doing anything is disloyal.”
"In order not to become an unfaithful, unfilial, unkind, and unjust person, I can only apologize to His Majesty."
Prince Duan exchanged glances with the other princes, swallowed hard, and cautiously asked, "So you want to kill Cui Sugong as your tutor... to pay for your mother's life?"
Choi Shin-ji shook his head.
"I'm going to take away what's most important to him."
"The throne."
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