Chapter 17 Her warm, shallow breaths, carefully exhaled…
Cui Huai slowly turned his face.
The main hall was unlit, and after the joss paper burned out, the surroundings were plunged into even deeper darkness.
The footsteps stopped not far away.
The night breeze quietly passed through the hall, but the sweet fragrance silently and domineeringly entangled his sense of smell.
"Who is there?"
The cautious inquiry reached his ears clearly, but Cui Huai remained silent and did not respond.
If anyone is in Lanting Garden, it must be Cui Huai.
Shen Yunzhi asked the question only to conceal her thoughts, and besides, she could recognize him just by his figure in the night, so there was no need to ask.
Receiving no answer, she stood still, unable to move forward.
After a few moments, he quietly took two steps back.
Confirming Cui Huai's presence at Lanting Garden was enough for Shen Yunzhi.
His presence here tonight is the answer.
In a good mood, Shen Yunzhi smiled and was about to pretend to be unaware of his identity and avoid him when she turned around and heard Cui Huai's voice from behind: "Miss Shen, don't you know this is a forbidden area?" Her smile froze on her lips, and she stopped abruptly. She was annoyed that Cui Huai had spoken to her, but she could only turn around and walk towards Cui Huai.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
Shen Yunzhi stopped two steps away from Cui Huai and said in a low voice, "There's no one guarding it."
How could Cui Huai not know that there was no one guarding it?
He said in a nonchalant tone, "Since it's forbidden territory, we shouldn't have come in."
Shen Yunzhi really wanted to agree that she didn't want to come here either.
However, the fact that the King of Chu was preparing a banquet for Cui Xu and Cui Xuan made her uneasy, as she was the one who needed his help.
"It is late at night, Your Highness, why are you here?"
Suppressing her inner resistance, Shen Yunzhi stepped forward and squatted down beside Cui Huai.
Cui Huai glanced at her.
Shen Yunzhi immediately moved to the side, widening the already close distance even further.
However, Cui Huai's aura continued to assault her; the distance was still too close.
"Breaking around recklessly in the middle of the night is not the way of a guest."
A seemingly respectable yet subtly cautionary remark rang out. Even though she couldn't see Cui Huai's expression, Shen Yunzhi could imagine his manner of speaking. He looked down on her, yet in her past life he had humiliated her so much. Recalling the past, she felt irritated and couldn't help but curse Cui Xu inwardly.
If Cui Xu hadn't inexplicably set his sights on her, she wouldn't have had to ask Cui Huai for help.
There's no need to fawn over him; just watch his hypocritical, aloof demeanor and endure even more torment and suffering.
Shen Yunzhi recalled what had happened in Cui Huai's study last time and suddenly found an excuse to leave. She remained silent for a long time, and when she spoke again, her voice was low and extremely humble: "Your Highness, it is true that you hate me very much."
If Shen Yunzhi could clearly see Cui Huai's expression at this moment, she would never have missed the fleeting look of astonishment on his face.
But all she heard was a slightly helpless "Miss Shen is overthinking it."
Shen Yunzhi remained unmoved and continued softly, "I just happened to see Your Highness here so late at night, and I didn't know if Your Highness had something on your mind, so I wanted to keep you company for a while. Since Your Highness is annoyed, I will leave immediately."
After speaking, she stood up decisively.
Without even glancing at Cui Huai, he turned and strode away, his footsteps sounding somewhat disordered.
The hem of her skirt slipped cunningly from Cui Huai's fingertips without the slightest hesitation.
Under the vast darkness of the night, Shen Yunzhi's figure receded into the distance, and Cui Huai, lost in thought for several breaths, finally withdrew his hand.
Even he himself was surprised by this gesture of trying to persuade him to stay.
Her claim of accidentally bumping into him at Lanting Garden was clearly a lie, and her words were full of feigned weakness and pitifulness—such a clumsy trick.
So be it.
Cui Huai closed his eyes, ran his fingers over the altar, sat down before the spirit table, and when he opened his eyes again, he was as calm as ever.
...
King Cui Jue of Chu kept his word and hosted Cui Xu and Cui Xuan at his palace.
As a cousin, Shen Yunzhi originally intended to feign illness and not attend the banquet, but Cui Xu and Cui Xuan kept asking about her, so Cui Jue sent someone to invite her.
Upon hearing the report from her subordinates that the prince had invited her over, her heart sank.
But they had no choice but to follow his instructions and go to the dining hall.
These past few days, there have been some whispers in the household about my aunt.
Having just returned to the capital, the Prince of Chu spent several consecutive days staying in Consort Liu's courtyard, inevitably leading to speculation that the couple was not getting along.
She had asked about her aunt.
But her aunt only told her that nothing was wrong. How could nothing be wrong when she was forcing a smile like that?
The banquet was far from pleasant, and Shen Yunzhi was in a very bad mood.
She thought she would only see Cui Xu when she arrived at the dining hall, but unexpectedly he waited for her halfway and stopped her.
As time passed, Cui Xu's gaze upon her became more blatant, unrestrained, and aggressive than before. His narrow eyes stared straight at her, a playful smile on his face: "Zhi Niang, how have you been?"
Shen Yunzhi forced herself to curtsy and greet Cui Xu.
Cui Xu's smile deepened: "We'll meet again in the future, and I hope Zhi Niang is as looking forward to it as I am."
Shen Yunzhi stiffly forced a smile: "The Fifth Prince's favor is too much for this humble woman to bear."
Cui Xu's gaze swept over her crimson lips, his heart itching with desire. He lightly lifted her chin with his fingers and said flirtatiously, "Zhi Niang is so beautiful, who wouldn't cherish her?"
Feeling so disrespected, Shen Yunzhi wanted nothing more than to slap him.
But offending the Fifth Prince's aunt would bring trouble upon her as well. She could disregard herself, but she couldn't disregard her aunt.
"What is the Fifth Prince doing?" Cui Hong's voice rang out, and Shen Yunzhi almost breathed a sigh of relief. She was truly afraid that she would lose her temper and directly attack Cui Xu, causing even more trouble. Cui Hong, who happened to witness this scene, immediately strode forward and came to her rescue.
Cui Xu released Shen Yunzhi for a moment.
But he glanced at Cui Hong with a half-smile: "The son of a lowly prostitute dares to interfere in my affairs, Cui Hong, you've grown quite bold."
The blunt words made Shen Yunzhi frown inwardly, and Cui Hong's expression changed drastically.
Only Cui Xu didn't care, his eyes full of contempt.
"Zhi Niang, I'll be waiting for you in the dining hall."
His mood was ruined, and with a slight narrowing of his eyes, Cui Xu said something to Shen Yunzhi before smiling and leaving first.
Shen Yunzhi suppressed her displeasure and walked towards Cui Hong, wanting to comfort him.
"It's alright." Cui Hong, his expression softening, shook his head slightly. "I'll go with my cousin."
Shen Yunzhi didn't say anything.
She walked beside Cui Hong and accompanied him to the banquet.
When Shen Yunzhi and Cui Hong arrived at the dining hall, Cui Huai, Cui Xu, Cui Xuan, and Cui Lizhu were already there. As soon as she stepped into the dining hall, she felt several gazes fall on her, with Cui Xu's gaze making her the most uncomfortable.
The King of Chu and his queen arrived shortly afterward.
As the banquet began, the palace maids filed in carrying delicacies.
Perhaps because of the presence of his two elders, Cui Xu did not do or say anything excessive at the banquet, despite his impure intentions.
However, Cui Xuan found various ways to complain about Cui Lizhu to Cui Jue.
Choi Yeo-joo ate her meal in a huff.
Sitting at the table, Shen Yunzhi was in no mood for anything else, and the banquet dragged on until it ended. Especially when she saw her usually gentle and loving aunt's forced smile, her heart was filled with guilt.
When the banquet ended, the King of Chu and his queen left first.
As Cui Xu passed by Shen Yunzhi, he deliberately stopped and smiled, saying, "Zhi Niang, see you another day."
Shen Yunzhi lowered her eyes and did not respond.
Cui Hong, who was walking in front of Cui Xu, turned around and glanced at him.
After being annoyed for half a day, Cui Lizhu finally managed to spare some attention for Shen Yunzhi. Seeing this, she walked to her side and smiled at Cui Xu: "Brother Xu, don't you want to see me? Next time, Zhi Niang and I will see you together. I hope Brother Xu won't find me bothering you."
Cui Xu smiled but didn't reply, and stepped forward.
Cui Lizhu held Shen Yunzhi's hand, silently offering her some comfort.
Only Cui Huai seemed not to hear and did not turn around.
He had already stepped out of the dining hall by the time Cui Lizhu finished speaking.
My cousin was terribly frightened.
After seeing Cui Xu and Cui Xuan off, Cui Hong caught up with Cui Huai in two steps and said casually, "The Fifth Prince's actions are too absurd, no wonder my cousin is afraid."
Cui Huai did not respond, but sensed that Cui Hong had shown some concern for Shen Yunzhi.
Then she recalled that they had appeared together in the dining hall earlier that day, and the look in Cui Hong's eyes when he looked at her was indeed one of concern.
"Brother, are you really not going to help your cousin?"
Having received not a single word from Cui Huai, Cui Hong pressed for an answer.
Cui Huai finally countered, "When did Miss Shen ever say she needed help from others?"
"Didn't you help her the last few times, brother?" Cui Hong looked at his brother and said without missing a beat, "The time in the Imperial Garden and the last time when Consort Shu summoned her."
Cui Huai remained calm and said without changing his expression, "It was Li Zhu who came looking for me."
"So, when a younger sister asks for help, her older brother will help. This is the first time I've heard of this." Cui Hong smiled, his words laced with sarcasm.
Cui Huai frowned: "Speak plainly."
"Brother, do you really not understand?" Cui Hong chuckled softly. "You treat your cousin very differently."
"Nonsense."
Cui Huai frowned even deeper and finally rebuked Cui Hong.
Cui Hong stopped smiling and suddenly became serious: "This is a good thing." He then sighed, "I thought my brother was truly pure and without desires, but thankfully he isn't. However, Miss Liang will be heartbroken."
Cui Huai said calmly, "If you keep talking like that, you'll get into trouble sooner or later."
“You are my elder brother, what can’t you say?” Cui Hong seemed oblivious to the warning in his words and responded jokingly.
...
As the weather warms up, insects and ants become more numerous.
Upon returning to Yunxi Courtyard, Shen Yunzhi saw Qiuyue burning incense to repel mosquitoes, and she glanced at her many times.
Qiuyue asked, puzzled, "Miss, what's wrong?" She then explained, "There have been more mosquitoes these past few days, and Miss hasn't been sleeping as well at night as before. So I thought I'd drive away the mosquitoes to avoid disturbing Miss's rest."
Shen Yunzhi nodded, but her mind was elsewhere.
She sat down on the daybed while pondering, and after making up her mind, she instructed Qiuyue: "Bring me needle and thread."
Shen Yunzhi wasn't sure if Cui Huai had visited Lanting Garden in the past few days.
She didn't deliberately inquire about it.
Whether or not I meet Cui Huai this time is ultimately irrelevant.
As night deepened, Shen Yunzhi went to Lanting Garden again.
There was no one in the main hall, and Cui Huai was not there. She took out two mosquito repellent sachets filled with herbs from her sleeve, placed them in front of the altar, and then prepared to leave.
I had just turned around when I caught a glimpse of a figure.
Caught off guard, Shen Yunzhi let out a short scream in fright, which was immediately silenced by Cui Huai.
His large, warm hands covered her face, his palms pressing against her lips.
The familiar, cool scent of pine and cypress, belonging to Cui Huai, wafted into my nose.
Shen Yunzhi didn't dare to move an inch.
Both because of Cui Huai's silent appearance and the intimate contact brought about by his action—with a slight movement, her lips were about to touch his palm.
However, Cui Huai still clearly sensed it.
Her warmth, her fragrance, her gentle, soft breath, carefully exhaled onto his palm.
"Did Miss Shen bump into me by accident again today?"
Cui Huai's cold voice broke the silence of Lanting Garden.
A note from the author:
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It's gotten so cold! [Clown] Everyone please remember to keep warm! [Hugs]
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