Chapter 41 "What harm is there in Your Highness being fooled by me once..."
Previously, Shen Yunzhi worried that Cui Huai might suddenly go mad one day.
Now, he no longer seemed surprised by his actions tonight; his heart remained calm and undisturbed.
"So will the prince agree?" Shen Yunzhi asked.
Cui Huai smiled: "No." His hand, which had been resting on her collar, moved up to caress her slender neck.
Cui Huai, braving the wind and snow to come to Yunxi Courtyard, had fingers as cold as ice.
When his fingertips touched Shen Yunzhi's skin, she instinctively shivered.
Cui Huai pressed his palm tightly against hers, clearly feeling the temperature of her body and the throbbing of her pulse. Shen Yunzhi climbed onto his arm, trying to remove his hand: "Since Your Highness knew it wouldn't happen, why did you come in the dead of night? Did you intend to catch us in the act?"
“I have already ordered people to guard the vicinity of Yunxi Academy, so you will not have such an opportunity.”
Cui Huai gently stroked the delicate skin on Shen Yunzhi's neck with his fingertips, leaning forward to inhale the fragrance of her hair.
Shen Yunzhi closed her eyes.
The fact that he sent someone to keep an eye on her further proves that Cui Huai's possessiveness has reached a new level.
The forced severing of ties with Chen Zhaoyu was a great encouragement to Cui Huai.
He became increasingly determined to have her.
To buy themselves more time, they had to change their strategy.
Before that, she absolutely must not let Cui Huai discover her thoughts.
"Your Highness, what is the meaning of having people guard the vicinity of Yunxi Courtyard? Are you spying on me?" Shen Yunzhi raised her head slightly to meet Cui Huai's gaze and asked.
Cui Huai said calmly, "They will protect you too."
His absurd logic always manages to elicit laughter.
Shen Yunzhi laughed and said, "Using the guise of protection to actually monitor? In Your Highness's eyes, what am I? An object, or a cat or dog? Someone you can treat however you want, without caring about my feelings?"
Cui Huai touched her cheek with his palm, paused upon hearing her words, and pondered them.
"If you were a cat or a dog, you would probably have much less to worry about."
With a light touch of his fingertips, Cui Huai pressed his fingertips against Shen Yunzhi's soft lips and asked again, "Are you so resistant that you don't want anything to do with me?"
Shen Yunzhi unconsciously pursed her lips, her lips touching his fingertips, and her expression froze.
Cui Huai suddenly found himself in an interesting situation.
He pried open her teeth with his fingers, his fingertips pressing against her pearly teeth, and he even seemed to want to go deeper and tease her lips and tongue.
Shen Yunzhi slapped Cui Huai's hand away with great force, her face dark.
"Your Highness, please have some self-respect!"
Cui Huai then asked, "You don't believe I would marry you as my Crown Prince's consort?"
Shen Yunzhi stepped aside to avoid Cui Huai, pulled her cloak tighter, and looked out the window at the relentless snow: "Why does Your Highness think this is something that is easy to believe? A person like Your Highness, with the status of the heir of the Chu Prince's Mansion, could have any woman he wanted in the world. Why would you choose me and spend your life with only me? In the end, it's not that you don't believe Your Highness, but that you don't believe in yourself."
Cui Huai pondered for a moment and then said, "It was my oversight."
"Although I have made a promise to you, I cannot marry you for the time being. You cannot trust me."
Shen Yunzhi sighed softly: "Your Highness will surely find someone more suitable in the future."
Cui Huai chuckled lightly, gazing indifferently at the silhouette of her beautiful profile against the night sky: "You're not even willing to give it a try?"
"How do we test this?" Shen Yunzhi seemed puzzled.
Cui Huai said, "Naturally, you should treat me the same way you treat Huo Ming and Chen Zhaoyu."
Shen Yunzhi turned her face away.
“They won’t disbelieve me, won’t speculate that I have an improper relationship with others, and certainly won’t send anyone to watch over me.”
“Your Highness wants me to treat you the same way I treat them, but Your Highness clearly hasn’t treated me the same way they have.”
"If Your Highness cannot do it, why make things difficult for yourself?"
Cui Huai lightly ran his fingertips, feeling the faint warmth and smoothness that lingered in his skin: "So Miss Shen hopes I can be like them? But I don't know the details of your affairs, how do I know you're not lying to me?"
Shen Yunzhi then said, "Doesn't Your Highness believe that I've been deceiving them all along?"
"Since that's the case, what harm is there in Your Highness being fooled by me this once?"
...
Cui Huai, who had entered through the window, also left through the window.
Shen Yunzhi closed the window tightly, lay back on the bed, closed her eyes, and carefully reviewed her plans in her mind.
She slept relatively soundly in the latter half of the night.
When he woke up again, all the people who had been guarding outside Yunxi Courtyard had left and did not reappear.
After being forced to kneel in the cold at Lanting Garden for seven days, Cui Huai, despite his iron-willed body, finally succumbed to illness. He was carried back to Qiyun Residence, and when the imperial physician arrived, he was burning with fever, and his body had even fallen into a slight coma.
An illness struck suddenly.
Not long after the imperial physician's visit, the palace sent two more imperial physicians to examine Cui Huai, demonstrating their deep concern.
King Cui Jue of Chu was summoned to the palace by Emperor Jiaping.
It wasn't until Cui Huai's fever subsided that the King of Chu returned to his palace.
This was the first time in both of Shen Yunzhi's lives that she had seen Cui Huai so ill. Before this, she had never seen him sick, and now that she had seen him, she felt that he was not much different from ordinary people. Birth, aging, sickness and death are inevitable for everyone.
Cui Huai, who was in a deep sleep, looked exceptionally harmless.
Even with his sickly pallor, his already handsome face only appeared more fragile, revealing a human warmth beneath his aloof demeanor.
Shen Yunzhi visited Cui Huai at Qiyun Residence twice, once with Cui Lizhu and once alone.
She met Cui Hong at Qiyunju on the day she came alone.
Cui Huai was still unconscious, so they didn't linger and quickly left the room.
As they walked to the corridor, Cui Hong noticed a hint of worry and melancholy in Shen Yunzhi's eyes and asked, "Cousin, are you worried about my elder brother?"
Shen Yunzhi hesitated for a moment before saying, "The Second Young Master told me last time that His Highness's punishment might be related to me." Cui Hong followed her out of the corridor and comforted her, "Cousin, there's no need to blame yourself. Even if your brother is fond of you, it's not your fault. Besides, no one could have predicted that your elder brother would fall seriously ill this time."
"No, it's not..."
Stumbling and denying it, Shen Yunzhi remained silent, seemingly unable to speak.
Cui Hong sensed her unease and asked gently, "Is there something troubling you, cousin?"
"If there is any truth to it and my cousin trusts me, she can speak frankly."
Shen Yunzhi quickly replied, "I don't distrust the Second Young Master."
She bit her lip again, her voice lowering, "I just don't know how to say it."
Cui Hong became increasingly patient and repeatedly questioned Shen Yunzhi several times.
After leaving the Qiyun Residence, she finally spoke to Cui Hong in a low voice: "If what the Second Young Master says is true, Your Highness's kindness is something I really cannot bear... and I am truly at a loss."
“There are few women in this world who are not interested in my elder brother.” Cui Hong laughed and asked, “Elder brother has always been a role model for us younger generation. Even my royal uncle praised him for his gentlemanly demeanor. If you, cousin, are not interested, I think you will not force me. You don’t need to be so flustered.”
Shen Yunzhi seemed even more troubled.
Her expression changed slightly, and her brows furrowed in seriousness, which indeed drew much concern from Cui Hong.
This time, after confirming that no one was around, Shen Yunzhi said in a very low voice, with a hint of pain, "That...that day, His Highness did look for me."
Cui Hong asked in confusion, "That day?"
"It was the day I went to pay my respects to my aunt and happened to meet the Second Young Master..." Shen Yunzhi explained.
Cui Hong took a while to react, then looked even more puzzled: "Shouldn't my elder brother have been forced to kneel in Lanting Garden that day?"
As if her barely mustered courage had suddenly deflated, Shen Yunzhi looked dejected and couldn't say anything more. She shook her head and said, "Never mind, Second Young Master, just pretend I didn't say anything today." She lifted her foot to leave, but Cui Hong grabbed her arm.
Shen Yunzhi was startled.
Cui Hong quickly released his grip and said, "Is what my cousin said true? I believe my cousin wouldn't lie, but I also find it hard to believe that my elder brother would do such a thing."
"I was just talking nonsense, Second Young Master, have you forgotten about it?"
Shen Yunzhi refused to say another word, glanced at Cui Hong with difficulty, and finally left in a hurry.
Cui Hong kept staring at Shen Yunzhi's back.
Even after Shen Yunzhi disappeared from his sight, he did not look away for a long time.
Leaving Lanting Garden for Yunxi Courtyard during the day would be extremely conspicuous, and news of it would surely spread; it was most likely done at night. Shen Yunzhi would be startled by her appearance at Yunxi Courtyard in the middle of the night, hence her resistance, which is understandable. After all, such behavior is far removed from his brother's upright and honorable character.
He told his mother that he was worried about putting her in a difficult position.
He told Lizhu that Lizhu always admired her elder brother and might not believe him, and that he might get scolded if he didn't do it right.
Having no one to confide in, I tried talking to him.
However, due to concerns, I was unable to fully explain it.
Cui Hong quietly sorted through Shen Yunzhi's thoughts and then gave a very slight smile.
He then looked away and stepped in another direction.
...
The following day, Shen Yunzhi delivered a pair of newly made deerskin knee pads to the Princess of Chu.
I met Cui Hong on my way back to Yunxi Academy.
"Second Young Master," Shen Yunzhi said in surprise.
Cui Hong stepped forward and said bluntly, "Cousin, I've been waiting for you here today."
"After thinking it over, what my cousin said yesterday doesn't seem like a joke. I think it's best to ask her again one more time." Cui Hong asked solemnly, "Did my elder brother come looking for you that night? Such an abrupt and offensive act is something even I, as her brother, cannot condone."
Shen Yunzhi seemed flustered and shook her head repeatedly, but couldn't bring herself to say "no".
Cui Hong knew what was going on and replied, "I think you find it difficult to talk to your mother and Li Zhu, which is why you want to ask me for help. In that case, I will not stand idly by."
"Cousin, you can tell me the truth."
He raised three fingers and said, "I swear that I will do my best to help my cousin and will never show favoritism or bias."
Shen Yunzhi stammered in surprise, "Second Young Master..."
Cui Hong only asked, "Even so, my cousin still won't believe me and won't tell me the truth?"
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Author's note: There's more today.
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