Chapter 19 Cui Huai, you are shameless.
Shen Yunzhi fled the room, and Cui Xu immediately chased after her.
He had naturally made arrangements in advance.
There won't even be a mouse around here right now.
Cui Xu was confident that no one would cause trouble, so he remained calm.
Upon seeing Cui Huai in the corridor, he was astonished and stopped in his tracks, not continuing forward.
Why is Cui Huai here?
With a mixture of fear and uncertainty in his heart, and with every wound on his body from the gold hairpin causing him excruciating pain, Cui Xu stared grimly at Shen Yunzhi, who was trembling and leaning against Cui Huai.
For a long time, he only tried to gauge Cui Huai's attitude with words.
"It was this vile woman who deliberately seduced me first. When her scheme failed, she tried to ruin my reputation. Cousin, please don't believe her one-sided story."
Shen Yunzhi has regained her senses.
Upon hearing Cui Xu's voice, she trembled slightly, her eyes blurry with tears, and looked up at Cui Huai.
"She is not a maid."
Cui Huai's voice rang out in the corridor before Shen Yunzhi's, calmly and gently pointing out Cui Xu's inappropriate wording.
Cui Xu was taken aback upon hearing this, unsure of what Cui Huai meant.
Shen Yunzhi didn't rush to speak, but shook her head, her face becoming even more pitiful.
"But there is irrefutable evidence that she plotted to murder me."
Cui Xu gritted his teeth, glanced at the gold hairpin in Shen Yunzhi's hand, took two steps forward and said, "This matter cannot be left like this."
Shen Yunzhi turned around angrily, her face pale: "Fifth Prince, why are you distorting the truth!"
Cui Huai lowered his eyes and, by the candlelight, clearly saw the anger and resentment in her eyes and brows.
What Cui Xu cared about most was Cui Huai's attitude. Seeing that he was not stopped from stepping forward and that Cui Huai did not speak again, Cui Xu boldly walked towards Shen Yunzhi: "You know I am the Fifth Prince. If you hadn't seduced me first, why would I waste my time on you?"
"you!"
Speechless with anger at Cui Xu's shamelessness, Shen Yunzhi's face flushed red, and her chest heaved violently.
Just then, Cui Huai raised his hand, placed his palm behind her head, and gently pulled her to turn her head. Shen Yunzhi followed his movement, and he loosely put his arm around her shoulder. She then felt him take a step forward and pull her behind him.
A faint smell of alcohol mixed with Cui Huai's usual cool pine and cypress fragrance wafted towards Shen Yunzhi.
Her emotions, which had been briefly soothed, became chaotic again. She bit her lip, gripping the gold hairpin so tightly that her knuckles turned white, before slowly loosening her grip.
Cui Huai's protective attitude towards Shen Yunzhi made Cui Xu, who was only two steps away from them, stop again.
He raised an eyebrow imperceptibly.
It's actually true.
Cui Huai truly cared about this cousin who was staying at the Prince's mansion.
He had never really believed that Cui Huai would treat a woman of such low status differently.
Today he has seen it with his own eyes, leaving him no choice but to believe it.
What a pity.
The most exciting part would be if they succeeded and then Cui Huai stumbled upon them.
They had never seen Cui Huai lose his composure like this before.
If he could just meet him, it would be worth the price; he had already prepared for the worst.
“It is not the act of a gentleman to bully a weak woman. Why must the Fifth Prince press on so relentlessly?” Cui Huai’s expression remained calm, unconcerned by Cui Xu’s scrutinizing gaze. He was ready to calmly explain the situation to him.
Cui Xu concealed his thoughts and asked, "So, we're just going to let today's matter drop like this?"
“If the Fifth Prince does not accept this, you and I can go directly to His Majesty to discuss the matter,” Cui Huai said.
Cui Xu then gave a cold laugh.
Aside from invoking his father's name to pressure him, what other skills does Cui Huai have?
"I have neither the demeanor of a gentleman nor the favor of my father, so how dare I argue with him and invite humiliation?" Cui Xu said sarcastically. "I think that if I go to my uncle to discuss justice, I can get some justice."
The "royal uncle" that Cui Xu mentioned was none other than Prince Cui Jue of Chu.
His words were laced with sarcasm, and as he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Shen Yunzhi, who was hiding behind Cui Huai, with a hint of warning in them.
Shen Yunzhi understood, and her fingers quietly tugged at Cui Huai's sleeve again.
Cui Huai noticed her subtle movements, barely glancing to the side, but said to Cui Xu, "Fifth Prince, please proceed."
Although today's events wouldn't shake his position, Cui Xu didn't want things to escalate and cause unnecessary trouble, especially since Cui Huai was bound to get involved. However, he believed they wouldn't want to make a scene and ruin the reputation of the young lady currently residing in the Chu Prince's residence.
Cui Xu straightened his clothes and swaggered away.
Shen Yunzhi, however, did not feel any relief whatsoever.
Just as Cui Huai looked over again, she seemed at a loss and let go of his sleeve, quickly putting distance between them.
Her voice still trembled with tears: "Thank you for saving me, Your Highness."
Cui Huai said, "It's nothing, let's go back."
Shen Yunzhi immediately said, "Lizhu was supposed to leave with me."
“She will be fine,” Cui Huai said calmly. “The Fifth Prince wouldn’t dare to harm her.”
Shen Yunzhi remained silent, forced to acknowledge his judgment.
Choi Yeo-joo is definitely not in any danger.
He didn't need to worry about paying any price for mistreating a helpless young woman, but it was different if he hurt Cui Lizhu, who was the Princess of Danyang. Cui Xu wasn't that stupid.
"I..." After a few moments of silence, seeing Cui Huai about to leave, Shen Yunzhi spoke again. She bit her lip, her voice was desolate, and tears streamed down her face again. "In my haste, I offended Your Highness. Please forgive me. But I really don't know why the Fifth Prince would do such a thing."
Is it offensive?
Cui Huai recalled her various forms of address: "Your Highness," "Cousin," and later, the one that called him by his full name: "Cui Huai."
No one had ever called him by his full name before.
It was indeed offensive, but surprisingly not extremely unpleasant.
"Go back to the table first," Cui Huai said.
Shen Yunzhi remained silent, raising her hand as if unintentionally touching her face, letting out a soft groan of pain.
Cui Huai looked at her.
As Shen Yunzhi withdrew her hand, she said in a low voice, "The Fifth Prince was ruthless. I'm afraid Zhi Niang is in such a state that she can't possibly face anyone right now."
Cui Huaicai realized his oversight.
"Let's go to Zhaoyang Palace," he said to Shen Yunzhi after a moment of contemplation.
...
The palace maids of Zhaoyang Palace brought cold water and towels.
After washing her face, Shen Yunzhi used a damp handkerchief to cover her swollen cheeks in front of the bronze mirror.
Son of a bitch!
After confirming that there were no wounds on her face, she angrily cursed Cui Xu, and even more so, she regretted not being able to kill him with a few hairpins to end the matter once and for all.
Having been humiliated like this, how could she be willing to let this scumbag off so easily?
She couldn't easily do anything to him on her own, and she let Cui Xu leave because she had no other choice.
The more pressing question right now is what to do next.
What happened tonight will probably not be publicized.
But now she has completely offended Cui Xu, and in the future she will have to find a way to use Cui Huai to protect herself, which is a really terrible situation.
But no matter how you look at it, Cui Xu's actions seem strange. Is this person really so desperate for sex?
Shen Yunzhi recalled that Cui Lizhu had once relayed Cui Huai's words to her, saying that if they could find something wrong with Cui Xu, they could overthrow him.
To this day, she still doesn't know what Cui Xu's weakness is.
But Cui Huai should know.
If she could get the truth out of Cui Huai, she could escape her predicament of dealing with a tiger sooner.
"Apply some medicine."
Shen Yunzhi was lost in thought when Cui Huai brought over a jar of ointment and placed it on the table.
After thanking her, Shen Yunzhi accepted the food without hesitation.
She recognized it as the White Jade Cream, a rare ingredient found only in the palace, just by smelling its aroma. It was said to be most effective in reducing swelling and scarring.
"The Pearl..."
After applying the medicine in front of the mirror, Shen Yunzhi walked around the screen and toward Cui Huai, who was standing by the window with his hands behind his back.
Outside the wide-open window was a pitch-black night.
A night breeze rustled the leaves of several crabapple trees outside the palace.
The young man, dressed in a brocade robe with dark cloud patterns and silver trim, stood tall and straight, like a pine or bamboo. Cui Huai's composure and calmness, his unwavering spirit even in the face of a collapsing mountain, were particularly evident at this moment. Unfortunately, it was all an illusion.
"The pearl is fine."
"The little palace maid knocked her unconscious, but she has now woken up and returned to her seat to avoid arousing suspicion."
Cui Huai turned his head and explained in a few words.
Shen Yunzhi responded, and Cui Huai added, "A sedan chair is prepared so you can leave the palace at any time."
Even if you apply medicine, it's impossible to make it immediately invisible to others.
Leaving the palace and returning home is the best option.
Shen Yunzhi, like Shen Yunzhi, did not want to stay in the palace any longer.
But instead of immediately replying, she asked, "Where is His Highness?"
"I'll have Lin Yue escort you."
Although Cui Huai did not directly answer Shen Yunzhi's question, his words indicated that he would not return to the mansion with her.
Shen Yunzhi was silent for a moment. Cui Huai turned around and said apologetically, "What happened today was my oversight. There were signs in his words and actions at the Prince's Mansion last time, but I didn't pay attention, which almost caused a disaster and frightened Miss Shen."
The gentle and polite words made Shen Yunzhi momentarily dazed.
Cui Huai is a very difficult person to understand. Who can believe those things unless they have experienced them firsthand?
“How could it be His Highness’s fault?” Shen Yunzhi raised her eyes, not looking away, and looked straight into Cui Huai’s eyes. “I’m afraid the Fifth Prince will not give up, and I’m even more afraid that His Highness will think I’m a troublesome person.”
"Your Highness, do you find Zhiniang troublesome?"
There were still faint tears in her eyes, as if she had mustered all her courage to ask such a question.
Cui Huai looked back at her, his eyes as peaceful as ever.
"Won't."
...
Escorted by Lin Yue, Shen Yunzhi left the palace first in a sedan chair, then changed to a carriage to return to the Chu Prince's residence. She took the jar of white jade ointment with her and returned to Yunxi Courtyard. Qiu Yue was quite surprised to see her. Unable to explain, she bathed and washed herself with Qiu Yue's help, applied the ointment, and, recalling the events of the day in the palace, felt physically and mentally exhausted, so she went to bed to rest.
He couldn't sleep well at night.
Past events and present events intertwined, disturbing her peace even in her dreams.
Shen Yunzhi loathed these horrible dreams and the torment they caused her. Stubbornly refusing to wake up, she forced herself to sleep. She drifted in and out of consciousness all night, barely managing to stay awake until dawn, but her mind was still foggy, and she could hardly open her eyes again.
That night, Cui Huai dreamed of Shen Yunzhi once again.
In her dream, she clutched a gold hairpin and lunged at him. The hairpin pierced his flesh, as if punishing him for some of his past absurd and ridiculous behavior.
The gold hairpin was then stained with bright red blood.
She glared at him angrily, her face flushed, silently questioning him.
Cui Huai, you are shameless.
Even though Shen Yunzhi didn't say anything, he seemed to hear her accusing words.
Suddenly opening his eyes, Cui Huai saw the blue canopy above him, and his thoughts became completely clear in a few breaths.
He lifted the brocade quilt to get up, but his movements suddenly faltered.
Utterly absurd.
Cui Huai was unusually annoyed, but he didn't know if it was for himself or for the young woman who appeared in his dream.
A note from the author:
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Cui Huai: Why reward him?
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