fright
When Cui Lingxian heard that Cui Sugong wanted to abdicate in favor of Cui Shenzhi, she was only shocked. When she heard that Cui Shenzhi had no blood relation with her or the royal family, she was stunned. When she heard that Cui Shenzhi was the future husband carefully chosen for her by Shen Meiwu and Cui Sugong, she was completely dumbfounded.
So when she heard Shen Meiwu's suggestion, she immediately shook her head like a rattle drum.
“Mother, Shenzhi and I…we…we can’t be together. I’ll treat him as my younger brother. Even if you say he’s older than me, he’s still my older brother. He will absolutely never be my husband.”
Shen Meiwu didn't listen to Cui Lingxian's words, but just smiled and hugged her: "Silly girl, you just found out about this, it's understandable that you can't adjust your mindset right away. You'll get used to it slowly. Shenzhi is someone your mother has painstakingly trained for you. There aren't many husbands in this world who are better than him."
"No, Mother," Cui Lingxian struggled to break free from Shen Meiwu's embrace, "I'm serious, I won't fall for Shen Zhi, I..."
Cui Lingxian fell silent.
She couldn't understand the current situation, but her intuition told her that if she mentioned Lu Fengping's name at this moment, it would cause trouble for Lu Fengping, Cui Shenzhi, or even herself, so she didn't continue.
Fortunately, Shen Meiwu didn't seem to mind.
Shen Meiwu patted Cui Lingxian's hand with a hint of helplessness and said meaningfully, "If you really can't like Shen Zhi, then find someone you like and have a son. Since I can get your father to acknowledge Shen Zhi as his son, I can get Shen Zhi to acknowledge your son. In short, I'm here for you, so you don't have to worry about anything."
Cui Lingxian understood the meaning behind Shen Meiwu's words.
Looking at Shen Meiwu, who was as kind and gentle as ever, she felt a chill run down her spine. She pushed Shen Meiwu away and ran out in a panic.
*****
Cui Lingxian wandered aimlessly through the palace, feeling as if the entire palace had become so unfamiliar, so terrifyingly unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that it made her feel cold all over, and she just wanted to find a place to hide and tremble.
Just then, someone grabbed her arm, startling her so much that she screamed, and then she heard a familiar voice.
"Ling Xian, it's me," Lu Fengping's voice was full of worry, "What's wrong?"
Cui Lingxian turned around and threw herself into Lu Fengping's arms without hesitation, saying in a trembling voice, "Fengping, my mother is so scary!"
Lu Fengping thought about what he had learned about Shen Meiwu's true nature and subconsciously nodded, but the next second he realized something was wrong.
Cui Lingxian is Shen Meiwu's beloved daughter, whom Shen Meiwu cherishes dearly. No matter how ruthless Shen Meiwu is, she would never do anything to her. Why would she suddenly find Shen Meiwu terrifying?
"Ling Xian, why do you say that?"
"My mother harmed my father!"
Lu Fengping quickly covered Cui Lingxian's mouth, looked around to make sure no one was around, and then pulled Cui Lingxian to a secluded corner.
"Ling Xian, do you know what you're saying? His Majesty has favored Consort Yang for many years, and the two are very much in love. This is common knowledge. How can you say that Consort Yang harmed His Majesty?"
“My mother said that she was the one who made Father Emperor recognize Shenzhi as his own son.”
Lu Fengping was stunned.
"...What did you say? What do you mean by recognizing him as one's own son? Isn't Shen Zhi His Majesty's child? Then what's his situation? What's going on?"
“Shen Zhi knows he is not. He is a child that Father Emperor adopted from outside the palace because Father Emperor needs a prince who can inherit the throne.”
Lu Fengping was even more bewildered.
"If His Majesty needs a prince, why doesn't he have one himself? Why bring a child with no blood relation into the palace?"
“Because my mother harmed my father,” Cui Lingxian said, her eyes filled with sorrow. “My father is the emperor. Unless he is certain that he will not have any more princes, he would never use someone else’s child to pretend to be his own. But my mother said that she made my father recognize Shenzhi as his own son. Doesn’t that mean that she caused my father to be unable to have any more children, and that’s why my father adopted Shenzhi, who has no blood relation to him, and raised him as his own son?”
"Why...why is the Imperial Concubine suddenly telling you this? Shenzhi is about to become the emperor, and now the Imperial Concubine is telling you that you and Shenzhi have no relationship. Isn't she afraid that you and Shenzhi will become estranged?"
"Of course my mother isn't afraid, because she wants me to marry Shenzhi. She even said that one of the conditions on which Father Emperor was willing to abdicate in favor of Shenzhi was that Shenzhi's children must have my blood. But I only see Shenzhi as my younger brother! There's no way I could fall in love with him!"
Lu Fengping felt utterly overwhelmed upon hearing this.
What kind of mess is this?!
That wasn't all. Cui Lingxian continued, "Do you know how my mother reacted after I said that? She said I should just find someone to have a son with, and she would treat Shenzhi the same way she treated my father, making Shenzhi acknowledge my son like my father did."
"Fengping, my mother is so scary!"
At this moment, Lu Fengping recalled the pulse records in the Imperial Hospital. Cui Sugong's pulse record did indeed differ somewhat from his observations of Cui Sugong's physical condition. Shen Meiwu's pulse was fine, but Shen Meiwu's constitution was very poor, and she shouldn't have had children. It was already a blessing from heaven that she had managed to have Cui Lingxian. It was impossible for her to have a second child. Therefore, Cui Lingxian's guess was indeed not wrong.
only…
"Lingxian, the Imperial Concubine is your mother. You may not like her way of doing things, but remember, this matter must not be mentioned to anyone else. If the Emperor finds out, he will take the Imperial Concubine's life!"
Cui Lingxian nodded, her eyes brimming with tears.
"And you should keep Shenzhi's matter to yourself. As for your relationship with Shenzhi... I believe Shenzhi thinks the same way as you, so there's no need to worry. But if this happens... will Shenzhi be able to hold onto his throne?"
*****
Upon learning that Choi Suk-gong was about to abdicate in favor of Choi Shin-ji, An Ping was also stunned.
Wasn't he supposed to avenge Fu Yunjin? Wasn't he supposed to clear Fu Yunjin's name? How come there's still no news about Fu Yunjin, and Cui Shenzhi has already ascended the throne? After becoming emperor, will Cui Shenzhi still restore her princess status? Or rather, what's the point of restoring it to her? What if Cui Shenzhi announces that she is Cui Sugong and Fu Yunjin's daughter, and then turns around and changes dynasties? In that case, the princess status will not only not bring her any benefits, but will also become a burden, holding her back in every way.
No, she couldn't wait any longer. She had to test the waters to find out what to do next and whether she should reveal the princess's identity.
Ping An gritted her teeth and asked Qing Ya to tell Cui Shenzhi that she had been acting strangely lately and to ask Cui Shenzhi to come over.
After that drunken night, Cui Shenzhi had the Zhi Qiu Pavilion beautifully decorated and sent over a lot of jewelry, ornaments, silks, and satins. Even the key to the East Palace storeroom was sent over, clearly indicating that she could withdraw the money as she pleased, but he never came once.
Upon learning that Ping An's emotions were abnormal, Cui Shenzhi rushed over without saying a word. However, after arriving at the entrance of Zhi Qiu Pavilion, he hesitated, unsure whether he should go in. After all, no one could say for sure whether Ping An's mood would improve or worsen after seeing him.
Just then, the sound of breaking cups and plates came from inside the house. Cui Shenzhi ran in following the sound and saw Ping An squatting on the ground cleaning up. He quickly called out to stop him.
"Ping An, don't move, you'll cut your hand. I'll have someone come and clean it up later."
Upon hearing Cui Shenzhi's voice, Ping An's body visibly trembled, and he bowed his head and turned around to greet Cui Shenzhi.
"What brings Your Highness here?"
"I heard from your aunt that you're not very happy."
Upon hearing this, Ping An shook his head, denying it as he backed away.
"No, Auntie, you've misunderstood. I'm not upset, I'm just... ah!"
As she was talking, Ping An stumbled and was about to fall on the pile of broken porcelain shards when Cui Shenzhi quickly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.
Ping An pretended to be in shock, leaning weakly against Cui Shenzhi's chest. When Cui Shenzhi tried to let go, she still grabbed his clothes.
“Your Highness,” Ping An said in a trembling voice, “I heard from the palace maids that Your Highness is going to become the emperor.”
"Yes, Father has decided to abdicate in my favor. What's wrong?"
Tears welled in Ping An's eyes, but they didn't fall. He shook his head, then nodded.
“The palace maids said that I was already His Highness’s woman, but His Highness never came to see me because His Highness is going to become the emperor and he has many beautiful, gentle and eloquent women around him. He doesn’t want someone like me who has nothing and doesn’t know anything anymore.”
Cui Shenzhi sighed, pulled Ping An into his arms, and patted her head.
“Ping An, I’ve said before that all I need is you. No matter how beautiful or gentle other people are, it has nothing to do with me. Besides, you’re not without anything. Didn’t I give you the warehouse key? What’s mine is yours. You’re not completely helpless either. You just don’t know much. If you want to learn, I can teach you anything I know, and I can find someone to teach you anything I don’t know.”
"I didn't come to see you because I was afraid. I was afraid you would be afraid of me, afraid that I would upset you. Besides, I did that to you while I was drunk, and I really have no face to see you."
Hearing this, Ping An let out a soft sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Cui Shenzhi seems to be under her control for now. As for the princess's identity, it seems to be of no use at the moment. She'll just have to tell Qingya not to tell anyone.
Ping An blinked, tiptoed and kissed Cui Shenzhi's lips, then blushed and buried herself in his arms: "I'm still a little scared, but my aunt said that no matter who I marry or who I live with, I will have to go through that, that day will come, so I will try not to be scared."
Cui Shenzhi was taken aback by Ping An's intimate gesture and was momentarily stunned. After a long pause, he reached out and touched the spot where Ping An had kissed him, a smile involuntarily spreading across his face.
He turned his head and gently rubbed Ping An's head, saying softly, "Ping An, no, it's reasonable for husband and wife to have sex, but that doesn't mean what happened that day was right or normal."
"The rites of the Duke of Zhou? What are the rites of the Duke of Zhou? We don't even have the surname Zhou, so why should we follow his rites? Why are his rites so strange? They involve taking off clothes, kissing, and more..."
Cui Shenzhi blushed so deeply that her face was burning, and she quickly covered Ping An's mouth to prevent her from saying anything more.
"The rites of Zhou Gong are..." Cui Shenzhi looked at the clear innocence in Ping An's eyes and didn't know how to explain. He could only lick his lips, look away, and whisper, "In short, it shouldn't have been like that night. At least it shouldn't have been me forcing you when you were drunk and knew nothing."
Seeing that Ping An still wanted to ask more questions, Cui Shenzhi simply cupped Ping An's face, lowered his head, and sealed her kiss with his. After a while, he released her, threw down the words "This is the right way," and then fled in panic.
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