Chapter 54 "Are you happy with that person?"...
A boiling killing intent surged within Cui Huai's chest.
He looked down at the face before him. Even now, she showed no remorse or fear, constantly bringing up her so-called husband.
Four months.
She and that man had been husband and wife for four months, four months of intimacy, spending every day together, and sharing the same bed.
Just imagining that scene made Cui Huai unable to suppress the surging anger in his heart.
The fingers gripping Shen Yunzhi's chin tightened uncontrollably.
He even wanted to move down and grab her thin neck, so that she would never say those words again.
Shen Yunzhi could not see the expression on Cui Huai's face at that moment.
However, the oppressive feeling hidden beneath his raging anger was so familiar that it caused her body, which was restrained, to tremble almost instinctively.
Thinking back on the past, she wanted to laugh again.
Even if she faked her death and gave up everything to leave him, it still wouldn't be enough to make Cui Huai realize the truth, enough to make him face the fact that she had no feelings for him. He still only cared about himself.
"Cui Huai, go ahead and kill."
"Take my life along with it."
A mocking smile appeared on Shen Yunzhi's lips, but her mind was remarkably calm.
Hasn't she suffered enough in her past life and this life?
Does she really have to be coerced by him, to compromise and eke out a living by his side?
Then wouldn't it be a joke if she went to all that trouble to fake her death?
Isn't that a huge joke?
In the dim light, Cui Huai stared at the faint smile on Shen Yunzhi's face. Hearing her two words, spoken softly but with unwavering conviction, he paused slightly, his fingers loosening slightly. But remembering the deception and manipulation he had endured, he released her, his fingertips tracing her cool skin, and whispered, "I will never trust you again." Beneath his somber tone lay a suppressed, unspeakable ruthlessness.
Shen Yunzhi had nothing to say.
A brief silence fell over the room until Cui Huai suddenly picked her up and carried her horizontally.
The unexpected action startled Shen Yunzhi, who cried out in surprise.
Cui Huai remained unmoved, carried her out of the house, and put her in the carriage.
Shen Yunzhi was practically thrown into the carriage.
She was fully aware of her situation, which made her even more eager to ask, "Cui Huai, what exactly do you want to do?"
Cui Huai looked at Shen Yunzhi, who had fallen awkwardly into the carriage, with his deep, dark eyes.
The carriage sped towards the Chu King's mansion in the dark of night, its tracks rapidly rolling over the bluestone pavement—the only sound inside and outside the carriage at that moment.
The thought that Cui Huai might imprison her in a dark room made Shen Yunzhi unable to calm down. She struggled to sit up, about to plead with him to let her go, when she suddenly heard Cui Huai say, "Are four months enough for you to want to live and die with that person?"
Shen Yunzhi paused for a moment.
Although she regretted going to Jinling because of her soft heart, which led to her running into Cui Xu and ruining everything, she also felt guilty for causing a death. Listening to the sound and roughly confirming Cui Huai's location, she tried to speak to him calmly: "I just don't want to be coerced by you."
"Because you care."
Cui Huai's brows furrowed, but his voice was gentle as he expressed his judgment.
"After discovering that it was an empty coffin and realizing that you were not dead and had just deceived me, I even considered having the authorities issue an arrest warrant for you. But Lin Yue said that those people might mistreat you and could even drive you to your death."
"But you've become someone else's wife."
As Cui Huai spoke, he chuckled softly, "I never imagined you would become someone else's wife."
Upon hearing the words "wanted notice," Shen Yunzhi's face paled. She realized she might have oversimplified the situation, and was extremely curious about where things had gone wrong. Now that she was in Cui Huai's hands, with no future in sight, she adopted a somewhat reckless attitude and simply asked, "Why did you find it was an empty coffin?"
Cui Huaili chuckled softly a few more times.
“How can I tolerate those people constantly running to your grave every few days?”
Shen Yunzhi's face turned even paler, realizing she had underestimated Cui Huai's madness.
It's not surprising that someone would visit her grave after her death, but that it could actually sting Cui Huai and make him dig up her grave.
But it also gave her a glimmer of hope.
One can imagine how furious Cui Huai was when he discovered she had faked her death, to the point that he wished he could issue an arrest warrant for her, but in the end he did not do so.
The people he mentioned who ran towards the graves were none other than Huo Ming and his group.
Even though he thought she was dead, he was still angry about those things from the past; he cared about them extremely.
You lied to me.
Cui Huai's accusation brought Shen Yunzhi back to her senses.
Shen Yunzhi pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and asked, "How does Your Highness intend to deal with me?"
"Didn't Zhiniang just tell me to take your life?" Cui Huai smiled, his eyes completely indifferent.
Shen Yunzhi lowered her head and remained silent for a long while before her tone softened, carrying a hint of compromise: "Indeed, I deceived you. Who wouldn't be angry if they were deceived? That's why I was afraid of Your Highness's blame and humiliation."
Cui Huai replied calmly, "Is that so?"
“Why not?” Shen Yunzhi said in a low voice, her voice filled with sorrow, “Your Highness has no idea what I fear.”
Cui Huai did not respond to her at all.
Shen Yunzhi waited for a while, hesitated repeatedly, and finally did not continue to probe with words.
Until Cui Huai suddenly asked, "Are you happy with that person?"
Shen Yunzhi then knew that he was having another hysterical episode.
He resented Qi Song's existence and his marriage to her.
But this question is nothing more than the assumption that she and Qi Song have become extremely intimate, and that she wants to use this as an excuse to justify her behavior and find a plausible pretext to possess her.
"Would Your Highness believe me if I said that my relationship with Qi Song was completely innocent?" Shen Yunzhi confessed. "We have never shared a room. Although we are registered in the government, we have never consummated our marriage. At that time, I was often harassed, so I resorted to this desperate measure to marry Qi Song. That's all."
Cui Huai remained unconvinced: "If you had no feelings for this person, why would you go to Jinling?"
Shen Yunzhi earnestly explained to him, "At that time, the headmaster of the academy sent someone to look for me. As his wife in name only, I couldn't just ignore it. Besides, I was only going to pick someone up, and I didn't know they had offended the Fifth Prince. Your Highness can find out about these things by investigating; I have not uttered a single falsehood." After a pause, she asked again, "Does Your Highness know why the Fifth Prince appeared in Jinling?"
"His Majesty summoned him back to the capital, and he passed through Jinling." Cui Huai, in a moment of kindness, explained to her, then mocked, "Because you faked your death, His Majesty summoned him back to the capital, and I just sent people to keep an eye on his movements."
"We received a secret report that he had abducted a young woman in Nanjing and brought her back to the capital without stopping, deliberately concealing her appearance along the way."
"I guessed that this person might be you."
The dim light inside the carriage concealed Shen Yunzhi's extremely unpleasant expression.
Cui Huai chuckled lightly, "Zhi Niang, you were destined to be found by me."
Shen Yunzhi had no way to defend herself.
Aside from accepting her bad luck, what else can she say?
After a year's absence, Cui Xu was finally summoned back to the capital. She deliberately kept a low profile and did not make a fuss, so the headmaster of the academy had no idea that the students had offended the Fifth Prince. This slight oversight was a huge mistake for her.
In the end, no one can be blamed.
She herself was just as careless, thinking that everything was calm and there was no need to be too cautious.
Now, the only people who know that "Shen Yunzhi" is still alive, besides Cui Huai, are probably the Fifth Prince.
Cui Xu had already made his stance clear by hiding her away all the way. Cui Huai had taken her away, and Cui Xu could only swallow this bitter pill himself and not make a scene.
In the end, Shen Yunzhi could only ask, "Where does Your Highness intend to take me?"
"Qiyun Residence," Cui Huai said without any attempt to hide his identity.
Shen Yunzhi pursed her lips tightly.
No one would have imagined that a dead person would appear in the Chu King's mansion, in Cui Huai's courtyard.
Cui Xu dared not make a big fuss, so he could not force his way into Qiyun Residence to find her, and Cui Huai would not take the initiative to let her appear in front of others.
This was truly a dead end for her.
Shen Yunzhi was quietly taken back to Qiyun Residence by Cui Huai.
But he was extremely wary of her, refusing to untie the ropes binding her and keeping her eyes covered.
Cui Huai carried Shen Yunzhi down from the carriage.
The courtyard was completely silent except for the sound of Cui Huai's footsteps.
Even knowing that no one would pay attention to her, Shen Yunzhi was still determined to find an opportunity to call for help. Cui Huai saw through her thoughts and coldly warned, "If you're not afraid that I'll find you noisy and knock you out, then go ahead and shout."
Shen Yunzhi choked, abandoning those self-inflicted trouble-making actions.
Cui Huai carried her to a room, placed her behind a chair, and then left.
Some time later, Cui Huai returned.
Hearing the clanging of the chains, Shen Yunzhi froze, her face turning deathly pale with shock and anger. She instinctively tried to escape, but her movement from the chair only caused her to stumble forward. Just as she was about to fall, she was caught by a pair of strong arms.
Cui Huai looked down at the person in his arms.
His face was pale, his whole body was trembling, and even his breathing became rapid, as if he was panicking and afraid that something extremely frightening was about to happen.
Hearing her mutter to herself, Cui Huai lowered his head and heard her say, "No..."
As she spoke, she raised her trembling hand and groped for his face, then leaned in and kissed his lips.
The kiss, meant to please, made Cui Huai's body stiffen.
He turned his head away, but she eagerly sought his lips again, wanting to prolong the kiss.
"I fear Your Highness will humiliate me."
"Your Highness has no idea what I fear."
Cui Huai suddenly recalled Shen Yunzhi's words in the carriage. He clearly thought she was playing tricks again, but seeing her unprecedented look of panic and helplessness, his heart felt as if it were blocked, and he felt unusually heavy.
"What is Zhiniang afraid of?"
Cui Huai pressed Shen Yunzhi back into the chair, pinched her face to stop her from getting closer to him.
Shen Yunzhi trembled slightly and uttered a few words as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Cui Huai heard her words clearly, abruptly withdrew his hand, stood silently in front of her for a moment, then stepped forward, carried her to the bed, and turned to leave.
One night passed, and Cui Huai never appeared again.
Shen Yunzhi knew that she had at least made the right bet this time, and he would still be soft-hearted towards her and care about her feelings to some extent.
But it only barely saved her from the miserable state of being imprisoned in a dark room again.
Cui Huai could withdraw his pity for her at any time.
...
After arriving in the capital, Qi Song made numerous inquiries and learned that the Crown Prince of Chu and the Fifth Prince were not on good terms. Gritting his teeth, he stopped the Chu Prince's carriage in the street. Yunniang's fate was uncertain, and relying on ordinary channels for seeking justice would be too late; saving her was the priority.
So a lawsuit was handed to Cui Huai.
After examining the man outside the carriage closely, he realized who he was. Remembering Shen Yunzhi's vow that she and this man were husband and wife in name only, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
"Take him back to the manor."
With a fierce glint in his eyes, Cui Huai curled his lips and gave Lin Yue instructions.
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