Chapter 73 "Cousin Zhi, would you like to ask me for one..."
Princess Chu ordered several new outfits to be made for Shen Yunzhi, and Cui Lizhu took on the task and came to find Shen Yunzhi.
She stopped the servant who was about to announce her arrival and walked through the courtyard on her own.
After Shen Yunzhi moved out of the Chu Prince's residence, they could no longer meet often. Having calmed down, Cui Lizhu no longer dwelled on the past and only wished for everyone to be safe and well in the future. However, the sudden death of the Third Prince had left her depressed for a while, and she only felt better after seeing Shen Yunzhi today.
But Choi Yeo-joo never expected to find a young man in Shen Yunzhi's residence.
Too far away, in just a few fleeting glances, the figure vanished. All that could be discerned was that the person was wearing a blue robe and had a slender build.
"Zhi Niang, how come you have a young man in your household?"
Upon meeting Shen Yunzhi and seeing the newly tailored dresses with her, Cui Lizhu couldn't help but ask.
Shen Yunzhi knew she had seen Qi Song, and briefly explained, "He's a scholar I met while I was away from the capital. She passed the autumn imperial examination and is now in the capital to take the spring examination next year." Cui Lizhu frowned, and Shen Yunzhi asked, "Does Lizhu think there's anything wrong with this?"
"No……"
Seeing Shen Yunzhi's composure, Cui Lizhu didn't say anything more.
But she never expected to see this person twice in one day.
Unlike the fleeting glimpse she had at Shen Yunzhi's residence, this time on the long street, she saw the person's face clearly.
Choi Yeo-joo felt that this scholar was unusually familiar.
But she didn't know him at all; they shouldn't have met before, so why did she feel this way?
Lowering the carriage curtain and returning to the Chu Prince's residence with a belly full of questions, Cui Lizhu suddenly remembered as she stepped down from the carriage: she had seen this young scholar in the residence before. At that time, he should have been with her brother.
At the time, she was so preoccupied with many things that she had no time to pay attention to anything else, and she did not inquire about the reason for her short stay at the Chu Prince's residence.
However, the older brother must know.
Cui Lizhu then took a detour to Qiyun Residence to find Cui Huai: "Big brother, I want to ask you about something."
Without looking up from behind his desk, Cui Huai asked, "What is it?"
“Today I went to see Zhi Niang and saw a young man at her residence, but I couldn’t see his face clearly. Later, I saw him on the street and suddenly remembered that I had seen him at the residence before. It seemed that he had something to ask my elder brother…” Cui Lizhu explained the reason in one breath before asking, “What did he want to see my elder brother back then?”
Realizing she was asking Qi Song, Cui Huai put down his brush and said, "She is Zhi Niang's ex-husband."
Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, Choi Yeo-joo was dumbfounded and her thoughts were sluggish. For a long time, she was unable to utter a coherent sentence.
"Ex-husband? What's that?"
Barely regaining her senses, Choi Yeo-joo took a deep breath and asked the question with difficulty.
Cui Huai said calmly, "She and this man were once married and their names were on the official record, but they later divorced."
Choi Yeo-joo found it unbelievable that her brother's reaction was so indifferent, so she blurted out, "Big brother, don't you mind?"
Cui Huai countered, "If you mind, what should I do?"
Choi Yeo-joo was unable to answer.
Cui Huai smiled faintly: "Since we can't let go of her, then we should accept whatever she does. That's just how things are in this world. Besides, they're just ordinary friends now."
Choi Yeo-joo couldn't help but look up at the top of her brother's head.
She paused, then asked, "Was his visit to his older brother also related to Zhi Niang?"
"Yes." Cui Huai nodded. "It's all thanks to her."
Choi Yeo-joo felt a pang of sadness and did not press the matter further. Not knowing how to comfort or console her brother, she returned to her own courtyard in a sullen mood.
Cui Hong returned home and brought over some of Cui Lizhu's favorite snacks. He noticed she seemed downcast and couldn't help but offer some concern. Cui Lizhu shook her head, offering no explanation for her low spirits. However, remembering Cui Hong's past attempt to marry Shen Yunzhi, she stared at him intently: "Second brother... why did you suddenly ask Father for Zhi Niang's hand in marriage?"
This was something that Cui Lizhu had been wondering about for a long time.
But at that time, Shen Yunzhi had an accident, and there was really no time to investigate or dwell on it. However, no matter how much time passed, once he thought about it, he found it hard to let go.
She didn't believe her second brother was unaware of the consequences of his actions.
Even without those later accidents, Zhi Niang's situation in the mansion would undoubtedly have become very difficult.
Because she never believed that her second brother was the type to act recklessly and disregard others, she couldn't find a suitable reason to convince herself to let the matter rest.
"If it were the eldest brother who was asking Zhi Niang for marriage, would the younger sister have asked this question?"
Choi Hong lowered his eyes, gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and said before Choi Yeo-joo could answer, "I know my sister wouldn't do that, because that's her older brother."
Choi Yeo-joo was stunned and speechless.
Cui Hong said, "My father wouldn't agree, so I shouldn't do it, otherwise I would be overestimating myself, right?"
"Second brother..." Cui Lizhu murmured as she called out to him.
Cui Hong simply turned and left: "My sister is right. If I hadn't asked for her hand in marriage, Zhi Niang wouldn't have gone to the manor, wouldn't have been assassinated, and none of what happened afterward would have occurred. It was all because of me; I am the sinner."
Those few words were enough to make Cui Lizhu feel as if her heart was being torn apart.
Her eyes reddened, and she felt deeply aggrieved. When she saw the various snacks on the table, she finally couldn't help but burst into tears.
The next morning, Cui Lizhu went to see Shen Yunzhi with red and swollen eyes.
“I remember I’ve seen that young man in your household before. He stayed at the Prince’s mansion for a while and had contact with my elder brother, so I went to ask him. He told me that the young man was actually your ex-husband… Zhi Niang, why didn’t you tell me the truth yesterday?”
Shen Yunzhi was secretly annoyed by Cui Huai's inexplicable behavior, but Cui Lizhu asked quite seriously, and she answered seriously as well: "I was afraid of scaring you, so I didn't tell you, and I don't know where to begin. At that time, I was all alone in the outside world, with no one to protect me. I ran a bookstore, and there were often scoundrels around, which is why I married her. Later, many things happened, and we divorced. She helped me a lot, and we didn't have a big fight. This time, she came to the capital, so I asked her to stay at my residence for the time being."
"Is Lizhu saddened by this matter?"
Shen Yunzhi asked with concern, "Why are you crying like this?"
Choi Yeo-joo's voice was slightly hoarse and nasal: "It's not for that reason."
"It's because I feel... I can never go back."
Her brother, who had always doted on her, was no longer the same as before.
Everything seemed to have changed, and she was powerless to do anything or change anything.
She didn't know who to blame.
It's not wrong to act like anyone else, but it's always the same thing that goes wrong.
"Yesterday I asked my second brother why he suddenly asked Father for your hand in marriage. He asked me if I would have asked the same question if my eldest brother had asked you. He also asked me if I thought he was overestimating himself because Father wouldn't agree to it..."
With a look of disappointment in her eyes, Choi Yeo-joo lowered her voice.
Why would my second brother look at me like that?
Shen Yunzhi understood why Cui Lizhu looked so aggrieved.
Shen Yunzhi gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, unsure how to comfort her.
There's no need to elaborate on Cui Huai's madness.
It's a given that Cui Hong harbors resentment towards Cui Huaixin, and those hidden dark emotions will inevitably erupt sooner or later, which Cui Lizhu will have to confront sooner or later.
The person I thought was the most familiar to me turned out to be the most unfamiliar.
Shen Yunzhi understood Cui Lizhu's heartbreak at that moment.
"If you feel uncomfortable in your residence, why not come and stay with me for a few days?" Shen Yunzhi said in the end.
Choi Yeo-joo shook her head, feeling increasingly lonely.
The two sat facing each other in silence.
The silence was broken only when a servant brought some hot food as instructed by Shen Yunzhi.
I imagine you haven't had breakfast yet.
Shen Yunzhi took the clean bowls and plates from the maid and placed them in front of Cui Lizhu. "Have a few bites?"
Cui Lizhu glanced at the food laid out on the table in front of her: wontons, layered meat pies, roasted beef, jujube and yam cake, osmanthus-flavored sweet rice balls... all of which were her favorites, and suddenly felt a lump in her throat. She didn't say anything, took the chopsticks Shen Yunzhi handed her, and silently ate her meal.
Shen Yunzhi escorted Cui Lizhu back to the Chu Prince's Mansion and took the opportunity to visit her aunt.
After she came out of the main courtyard, she noticed Lin Yue waiting there and walked up to him: "Where is he?"
Shen Yunzhi met Cui Huai in the waterside pavilion within the Qiyun Residence area.
The withered lotus leaves in the lake outside the pavilion have not been cleared away, and they are withered and desolate in the cold wind of winter.
Shen Yunzhi walked to Cui Huai's side and looked at the lake scenery: "Why did you come to the capital like Ru Zhu?"
Her words drifted through the waterside pavilion on a gust of cold wind, prompting Cui Huai to say in a low voice, "After not seeing you for several days, is this all Cousin Zhi has to say to me?"
Why involve unrelated people?
Shen Yunzhi was displeased. "It's nothing more than a matter between the two of us. Why can't it just be between us?"
"What do you think I want to do, Cousin Zhi?" Cui Huai tried to take Shen Yunzhi's hand, but she shook him off. He persisted, trying a second and a third time, until Shen Yunzhi stopped arguing with him and let him intertwine their fingers. "If she doesn't participate in the imperial examinations, how will she enter the court and become an official? Since we have leverage over her, she will only be useful to me in the future. What's wrong with that?"
Shen Yunzhi couldn't understand his words: "To be used by you? What do you want to do with me?"
Cui Huai said, "If I don't have power, how can I protect you?"
"After the New Year, my uncle will appoint Cui Xu as the crown prince."
"I know you certainly don't want to be betrothed to me by your royal uncle, so I'll have to find another way to protect you."
Cui Xu is about to be made crown prince.
Shen Yunzhi's heart skipped a beat. If Cui Xu were to ascend the throne one day, she would very likely face retribution.
It's not that I had never anticipated this situation, but I hadn't really felt it before, and I didn't think this day would come so soon. But upon truly hearing the news, a sense of urgency immediately overwhelmed me, making it impossible not to care or pay attention.
"What other methods are there?"
Unable to fathom Cui Huai's thoughts, Shen Yunzhi asked him directly.
Cui Huai avoided answering, turned around, brushed aside the stray hairs on Shen Yunzhi's cheek with his fingers, and touched her face, which was slightly cool from the wind: "Many things take time to understand. Cousin Zhi suddenly became cold towards me and then suddenly became close to me, because you know you can't handle Cui Xu, right? Now you have something to gain from me. How do you plan to treat me this time, Cousin Zhi?"
Shen Yunzhi looked at Cui Huai and suddenly smiled: "Why not end all this in your preferred way?"
Cui Huai laughed as well: "To be buried with me? That's not bad either."
"good."
Shen Yunzhi responded to him, shook off his hand, and turned to leave.
Cui Huai made no attempt to stop her, merely gazing at Shen Yunzhi's retreating figure: "Cousin Zhi, would you like to have a child with me?"
Shen Yunzhi quickened her pace.
Cui Huai watched her walk away with a hint of regret in his eyes, then took the hand that had been holding hers, made a fist, and brought it to his nose.
He took a deep sniff, trying to catch the lingering scent of her body on his fingertips.
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