Chapter 70, "Cousin Zhi, who is the person you like?"
Shen Yunzhi sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at Cui Huai.
She came to her senses, her mind cleared, and she began to reconsider Cui Huai's words.
Last year's Ghost Festival.
Cui Xu sent men to secretly abduct her.
She turned the tables on him, pretending to be a victim of a murder plot, which provoked the men in black to attack her, allowing Cui Huai to witness her being chased.
On the same day, Cui Xu was caught in the Third Prince's palace having an affair with a concubine.
The emperor was furious and secretly sent him away from the capital, where he remained for a year.
She wanted to get rid of Cui Xu's covetousness, and Cui Huai promised to help her, thus creating this whole mess.
At that time, Cui Xu's incident was inextricably linked to Cui Huai.
Today it is Cui Xu and the Third Prince again.
But it turned into something as serious as the Third Prince losing his life.
The only concern Cui Huai had for her, even though it was a matter that could cause turmoil both inside and outside the court, was whether she would be happy and whether she wanted to take revenge on Cui Xu… Shen Yunzhi couldn’t help but ask Cui Huai for confirmation: “Is this matter related to you?”
Cui Huai asked, "What do you mean by 'cousin Zhi'?"
"The death of the Third Prince," Shen Yunzhi stood up solemnly, and asked again, "is it related to you?"
Cui Huai then replied, "No."
Shen Yunzhi's brows relaxed slightly, and she said to him earnestly, "Even if I wanted to retaliate against Cui Xu, I would never use methods that would harm myself."
"Are you worried about me?"
Cui Huai's tone suddenly turned cheerful, "Are you afraid that I'll get caught up in trouble and won't be able to promise to marry you?"
Shen Yunzhi glanced at him and ruthlessly corrected him: "I am indeed afraid that you will be involved in trouble, but it's not that I'm afraid you can't marry me. It's that I'm afraid I will also be dragged into it for no reason, and then I will suffer for nothing."
Cui Huai said, "No, that won't happen."
He smiled, glanced at the sky outside the window, and abruptly asked, "Want to sleep a little longer?"
Shen Yunzhi's mind was still preoccupied with the death of the Third Prince, and she failed to grasp the underlying meaning. She frowned slightly and said unhappily, "If there's nothing wrong, why force me to get up..." Before she could finish speaking, Cui Huai had already embraced her.
He pressed his body close to hers, lowering his head to gently inhale her fragrance.
Even his voice suddenly lowered: "Cousin Zhi."
With Cui Huai pressing against her, she could vaguely feel his unusual heat even through her clothes. Even if Shen Yunzhi was slow to understand, she understood what he meant.
She had absolutely no desire to do that with him.
Shen Yunzhi pushed him away: "You're shameless, but I am."
Cui Huai tightened his arms, not giving Shen Yunzhi a chance to break free, and then skillfully kissed her ear.
"Cousin Zhi, please help me."
A slightly hoarse voice accompanied a burning kiss in Shen Yunzhi's ear.
She tried to pull her hand back, but couldn't.
Soon, some particularly embarrassing noises were heard from inside the room.
At first, it was a restrained groan, but it seemed as if she hadn't felt this kind of pleasure for too long. Later, Shen Yunzhi blushed with embarrassment at Cui Huai's calls.
Cui Huai, however, remained indifferent, as if nothing had happened.
She almost suspected that he was deliberately calling out to her, trying to lure her into falling into depravity with him.
Cui Huai helped Shen Yunzhi wash her hands and then used a handkerchief to gently wipe away the water droplets.
Shen Yunzhi's face darkened. Cui Huai calmly wiped the water droplets off her hands, then took her hand and kissed her palm.
"You've worked hard, cousin Zhi. I'll take you ice skating again next time."
"The capital will be in chaos for a while because of the Third Prince's accident, but there's no need to worry."
Shen Yunzhi coldly withdrew her hand, and only after Cui Huai returned to the serious matter did she say, "The Third Prince is in trouble. The only adult princes left are Cui Xu and the Seventh Prince. Do you think Cui Xu can clear himself of suspicion?"
Cui Huai said, "I suppose Cousin Zhi already has the answer."
Shen Yunzhi then knew that she had guessed correctly.
When Cui Xuqiang kidnapped her, he was no longer as arrogant as before. Even though he knew that Cui Huai had abducted her, he did not dare to show it.
Such carefulness should not be displayed in the matter of the Third Prince.
Because it involves both inside and outside the court, those court officials who support Cui Xu will not sit idly by and are likely already working to clear his name.
It shouldn't be long before Cui Xu is safe and sound.
His Majesty the Emperor...
They wouldn't just stand by and watch themselves lose one son and then immediately lose a second.
The current situation does not allow it.
The decision to confine the concubine and the seventh princess to their quarters and ignore them while they knelt outside the palace was nothing more than a show for outsiders.
"If you knew he would be alright, why did you ask me that question just now?"
After sorting things out, Shen Yunzhi realized what was going on.
Cui Huai put the handkerchief into his sleeve.
A faint smile played on his lips: "If you don't want to see him suffer, then of course I should help you."
Shen Yunzhi stared intently at his sleeve, then stretched out her hand and said, "Give it to me."
Cui Huai's smile seemed to freeze for a moment. After a few breaths of silence, he took the handkerchief out of his sleeve and placed it back in her palm.
Seeing Cui Huai's reaction, Shen Yunzhi knew she hadn't misunderstood, and she was immediately furious.
That lecherous scoundrel!
"Cui Huai, for the sake of our reputations, don't come knocking again unless it's necessary." Shen Yunzhi coldly dismissed Cui Huai from the room, slamming the door shut and refusing to look at him again.
After standing under the eaves for a while with a gloomy expression, Cui Huai heard the sound of the window being opened and composed himself.
He walked to the window, but before he could speak, the window was immediately closed.
A wisp of plum blossom fragrance wafted out.
Cui Huai glanced quietly at the closed doors and windows, then stepped away.
...
Within a few days, Cui Xu's suspicions were indeed cleared.
The death of the Third Prince had nothing to do with him.
The story that reached Shen Yunzhi's ears was that Cui Xuan did indeed drink with the Third Prince that night, but the two later separated. The Third Prince got drunk and lost control, ignoring the palace servants' advice and insisting on crossing the frozen lake, which led to him falling into the lake and causing the tragedy.
It had nothing to do with the Fifth Prince, but the palace servants who served the Third Prince that night could not escape punishment.
A group of palace servants were then beaten and killed.
Consort Shu and the Seventh Princess Cui Xuan knelt outside the palace for several days in a row, and both fell ill.
Emperor Jiaping personally visited them, bestowing upon them many tonics and precious medicinal herbs, and instructing them to take good care of their health.
However, the death of the Third Prince does not change this.
Inside the mourning hall, the palace servants who mourned cried from day to night and from night to day again, while people came in an endless stream to pay their respects to the Third Prince.
Shen Yunzhi had no prior connection with the Third Prince, but since she was now bearing the title of Princess Huihe, it wouldn't be appropriate for her not to show herself. Therefore, she dressed in plain silk clothes and without makeup to offer incense to the Third Prince. She did not come with her aunt, Cui Lizhu, or others, but came alone, intending to leave immediately after offering incense. Unexpectedly, she encountered Huo Ming here.
Their eyes met briefly before Huo Ming stepped out of the mourning hall, and Shen Yunzhi took the three incense sticks handed to her by a palace servant and went forward to offer her prayers.
As soon as she came out of the mourning hall, she looked up and saw Huo Ming, who had not yet left.
She was able to fake her death and escape thanks to the travel permit Huo Ming obtained.
Although there was no longer any possibility between them, she was grateful that Huo Ming was willing to help her in that way.
She was never worried that he would guess that she was still alive.
Just like when she came back, she wasn't afraid of him finding out that she wasn't "Jiang Yun".
They simply couldn't openly acknowledge each other.
I have the desire to repay this kindness, but I can only wait for the opportunity to do so in the future.
Calming herself, Shen Yunzhi lowered her head slightly and prepared to leave quietly.
Huo Ming's gaze fell on her.
When a county princess suddenly appeared and returned to the capital with Cui Huai, he had already suspected something.
Seeing her today, the familiar face evoked surprise, joy, and reassurance... All sorts of emotions intertwined in Huo Ming's heart, so much so that he stared at her for a long time until Shen Yunzhi was about to approach the carriage before he spoke: "Princess Huihe."
Shen Yunzhi had no choice but to stop.
She didn't walk towards Huo Ming, but stood there looking at him, nodding at him with an extremely distant attitude.
Huo Ming, however, showed no restraint and strode up to Shen Yunzhi.
Shen Yunzhi didn't want to attract attention, nor did she expect Huo Ming to approach. Upon seeing this, she was surprised, but with people coming and going from near and far, she knew that deliberately trying to distance herself would be strange, so she could only stand still.
"Feel sorry."
Just as Shen Yunzhi was wondering why Huo Ming had called her back, she heard him say two words in a very low voice.
She looked up and met his apologetic eyes.
Huo Ming felt a deep sense of guilt.
Even if he hadn't gone to the grave late at night, Cui Huai might still have discovered that she had faked her death. But ultimately, the reason Cui Huai found that the coffin was empty was related to his repeated visits to the grave... He guessed that she might be alive, and he couldn't help but want to find out.
This outcome is perhaps a betrayal of her trust.
Even Cui Xuan's attempt to assassinate her was related to him; how could he not feel indebted and resentful?
However, even trying to make amends to her was quite inconvenient.
All I could leave her were these two insignificant words.
Shen Yunzhi did not know why Huo Ming apologized.
But Huo Ming said nothing more, quickly walked past her, and went somewhere else on his own.
Even though she didn't understand why, Shen Yunzhi didn't stop.
She walked to the carriage, got in, and without dwelling on the deeper meaning behind Huo Ming's actions, simply returned to her own residence.
That night.
When Shen Yunzhi was half asleep, she felt someone kissing her.
She instinctively resisted and tried to dodge, but he kissed her even more intensely, his tongue lingering on hers. Not only could she not escape the kiss, but it also made it harder for her to breathe. She frowned, opening her eyes in anger, to find Cui Huai's face inches away. Seeing her awake, he showed no panic, simply pressing down on her wrist with one hand while skillfully unbuttoning her clothes with the other.
Shen Yunzhi was furious.
If she goes mad in the middle of the night, it's inevitable that Cui Huai knows about her chance encounter with Huo Ming during the day and that they spoke.
He was indeed secretly monitoring her every move.
“Cui Huai, you…”
Shen Yunzhi's angry curses had barely begun when Cui Huai immediately covered her mouth with his hand.
She glared at him with eyes that seemed to be blazing with fire.
Cui Huai leaned in and kissed her eyes, feeling her warm breath constantly exhaling into his palm.
“I wanted to endure it.” Cui Huai pressed his cheek against Shen Yunzhi’s, his tone filled with resentment, “but I remember you taking the travel permit from him and running away from me, and I remember him, a married man, recklessly lingering in front of your grave late at night.”
"You never told me who you liked."
A menacing question rang out beneath the silent curtains: "Cousin Zhi, who is the person you love?"
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Author's Note: First crazy moment of the new year achieved! [hugs]
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