Pretending
A month later, Ping An, who was sitting on the wall of the Cold Palace waiting for his prey, looked at the shadowy figure gradually approaching in the distance and revealed a confident smile.
Choi Shin-ji, just wait, you're mine now, and everything you own will be mine!
*****
Cui Shenzhi came to the Cold Palace because he had lost a jade pendant.
A jade pendant shouldn't be a big deal to Crown Prince Cui Shenzhi. After all, even if he's not favored by Cui Sugong, he's still the Crown Prince. He wouldn't be so concerned about a jade pendant. The problem is that the jade pendant he lost wasn't an ordinary one; it was one of the birthday gifts Cui Lingxian gave him.
This was something of extraordinary significance that he had to find no matter what. That's why he rushed over as soon as he heard someone say that they had seen the jade pendant near the Cold Palace. But half an hour passed and Cui Shenzhi had found nothing.
Just as he was about to head home, a melodious but unfamiliar song reached his ears.
"The wind is gentle, the rain is gentle, the moon shines quietly through the window, the thunder is gentle, the lightning is gentle, protecting my beloved child as he drifts into his dreams."
Choi Shin-ji froze completely.
This is what's written on that piece of paper! It was written to him by his mother! So this is a children's song? Who is it? Who is singing it? Is it...is it his mother!
Overwhelmed with emotion, Cui Shenzhi disregarded the dignity of a crown prince and hurriedly ran towards the direction from which the singing came. There he saw a girl who bore a resemblance to Fu Yunjin's portrait, wearing clothes that were clearly a size too big and exuded a slightly decayed air. She sat barefoot on the high palace wall, singing a song with a clear smile between her brows.
The girl didn't seem to recognize the Crown Prince, Cui Shenzhi. When she saw the group of people following behind Cui Shenzhi, there was no awe or fear in her eyes, only a lot of questions and curiosity. But she didn't say anything. She just gave Cui Shenzhi a doe-like smile and turned her head to continue singing.
Cui Shenzhi slowed down. Instead of tidying his slightly disheveled hair, he slowly walked a few steps away from the girl and stopped. He stared at her intently for a long time before whispering, as if afraid of disturbing her, "Mother, is that you?"
Upon hearing this, Ping An almost couldn't resist jumping down to hit Cui Shenzhi.
What kind of eyesight do you have?! Does she look that old? She's not even of marriageable age yet! She looks like she could have a fifteen-year-old son?! Does that make sense?!
Ping An ignored Cui Shenzhi completely, continuing to sing with her head tilted back, pretending to be carefree and relaxed.
Seeing this, Qi Kang, the chief eunuch beside Cui Shenzhi, could not tolerate it. He stepped forward and scolded, "Where did this ill-mannered little girl come from? She doesn't bow to His Highness the Crown Prince and doesn't answer his questions. Where have you learned the rules of the Imperial Household Department?!"
Ping An looked over with some confusion, but before she could speak, Cui Shenzhi spoke first.
"Qi Kang, can you see...can you see her?"
Ping An wanted to hit Cui Shenzhi even more now. So Cui Shenzhi not only thought of her as a woman who had given birth to a fifteen-year-old son, but also as someone who wasn't even alive. What went wrong to make Cui Shenzhi feel this way?!
Qi Kang was also confused by Cui Shenzhi's question. After exchanging a glance with Siwei, Cui Shenzhi's personal maid, he cautiously replied, "Yes, this servant can see it. Not only this servant can, Your Highness, you can ask Siwei and the others. They should be able to see it too."
Cui Shenzhi then regained his senses and banished the random thoughts from his mind.
He waved his hand, signaling Qi Kang to lead the others back a few steps, before raising his head to look at Ping An and asking loudly, "Who are you?"
Ping An didn't answer, but asked in confusion, "Are you talking to me?"
"Of course."
Ping An's face showed visible joy, and his tone was full of excitement.
"My name is Ping An, the Ping An of peace and safety. Grandpa Guo said my mother wanted me to have a peaceful life, so she gave me this name. What about you? What's your name?"
"My name is Cui Shenzhi, Shen as in 'being cautious in speech and action,' and Zhi as in 'being perceptive and insightful.'"
Ping An inwardly pursed her lips.
"Careful in speech and action, perceptive in small things"—what a good name! Unlike her, with names like "Peaceful"... just hearing it tells you she's a lowly person.
"Jin... I've never heard of this before, what does it mean?"
"That's not important. Can you tell me why you sing this song?"
"Why can you sing?" Ping An tilted his head: "You can sing, that's all. Is there any other reason?"
Choi Shin-ji was silent for a moment: "What I mean is, who taught you?"
Ping An's eyes flashed, and she said with a hint of lightness, "You're asking about this? It's what the fairy sister taught me in my dream the other day!"
Fairy Sister?
Cui Shenzhi's heart skipped a beat. He stepped forward and asked somewhat urgently, "She... is this the fairy sister you mentioned? Besides teaching you this song, what else did she say? Did she say who she was? Did she ask you to deliver a message to anyone?"
Ping An tilted his head back as if recalling something, and after a while he finally spoke: "The fairy sister didn't say who she was, but she said she has a son and asked me to pass on a message to him."
Hearing Ping An's words, Cui Shenzhi became even more convinced that the so-called 'fairy sister' she was referring to was Fu Yunjin. He took a few more steps closer, tilted his head back, and said in a pleading voice, "What did she say? Tell me quickly what she said!"
Ping An sat on the high palace wall, resting her chin on her hand. Looking down at Cui Shenzhi's excited and uncontrollable state, a mischievous thought suddenly popped into her head.
The scene of the high and mighty Crown Prince almost humbly begging for salvation from a bastard child who was as low as dust was truly captivating. I wonder what Cui Shenzhi would do if she said that what Fu Yunjin said was that Cui Shenzhi should die.
Will they break down? Will they go insane? Will they obediently submit to their fate?
She really wanted to try, but unfortunately, she couldn't. After all, only Cui Shenzhi and the old emperor could give her what she wanted. She didn't want to compete with the imperial concubine for an old man. If she ruined Cui Shenzhi, it would be a loss for her.
Ping An shook her head and said crisply, "No, I won't tell you. Fairy Sister said this is only for me and her son Shenzhi... Wait, didn't you just say your name is Shenzhi? But Fairy Sister didn't say if your surname is Cui..."
Seeing Ping An's troubled expression, Cui Shenzhi spoke with trembling hands: "My mother harbors resentment towards my father... towards my father, which is why she didn't mention my surname. I really am her child. I'm not lying. I beg you, please tell me what my mother said."
Seeing Cui Shenzhi's appearance, Ping An's eyes flashed with a smile, followed by a look of panic.
She sat on the palace wall and bent down, as if to stroke Cui Shenzhi's head, but because the distance was too far, she couldn't reach him at all. So she stood up, as if to slide down the palace wall, but she didn't do that in the end. She just clung to the palace wall and looked at Cui Shenzhi with a worried expression.
She stared at Cui Shenzhi for a while before speaking, "You don't seem like a liar, so I'll believe you this once. What the fairy sister wants me to say is, 'Shenzhi, your mother doesn't want you to live such a hard and tiring life. Your mother just wants you to live a good life.'"
As soon as Ping An finished speaking, Cui Shenzhi covered his face and collapsed to the ground.
She burst into tears.
Seeing Cui Shenzhi like this, Ping An felt that Fu Yunjin's importance was even more important.
She never expected that such a bluffing remark would cause the Crown Prince, Cui Shenzhi, to break down in tears, disregarding his image. It seems she'll have to be more careful around Cui Shenzhi in the future and absolutely cannot let him discover her disdain for Fu Yunjin.
Ping An blinked and said anxiously, "Don't cry. Aren't those nice words? Why are you so sad? How about I sing that song for you again?"
Before Cui Shenzhi could answer, Ping An began to sing. The melody was melodious and pleasant, and her gentle voice, along with the lyrics meant to soothe a child, and the fact that Fu Yunjin was behind the song, effectively calmed Cui Shenzhi's restless heart.
Seeing that Choi Shin-ji seemed to have calmed down, Ping An casually tore off a corner of her clothes and threw it down.
"Take this and wipe your face. I can't go out, so I won't wipe it for you. If you want to listen again in the future, you can come find me. I'll always be here."
Can't go out? Have you been stuck here?
Choi Shin-ji finally realized something was wrong, albeit belatedly.
Although the current social norms aren't particularly strict, this is the palace, the palace where rules are most strictly observed. Who would sit barefoot on the palace wall and sing? Besides, this is the Cold Palace, where either deposed concubines or palace servants are imprisoned. Ping An looks younger than him; there are no concubines that age in the palace. Ping An couldn't possibly be a deposed concubine, but the inappropriate clothes she's wearing don't seem like those of a palace servant. So what is Ping An's status? Why can't she come out? Who's forbidding her from leaving?
Most importantly, although he wasn't wearing the apricot-yellow crown prince's robes, they were still embroidered with dragon patterns, and he was followed by a large group of palace servants. Qi Kang had just called him "Your Highness the Crown Prince," but Ping An didn't react at all, as if he didn't know what the crown prince meant.
That's rather strange.
Looking at Ping An's innocent and naive appearance, and her clear, bright eyes, Cui Shenzhi instructed Qi Kang to investigate what was going on.
Ping An and Guo Shu were prepared, so Qi Kang found out Ping An's 'true situation' not long after he arrived.
“Your Highness,” Qi Kang said with pity, “this child is named Ping An… She was born in the ninth year of the Hongjia era to a palace maid in the Cold Palace. Her birth mother died shortly after her birth, so no one knows who her father is.”
"Guo Shu, the steward of the Cold Palace, took pity on her and did not reveal her story. He even took good care of her. However, considering her shameful identity, Guo Shu and the other palace servants in the Cold Palace did not teach her anything, which led her to offend His Highness."
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