Chapter 14 Shen Yunzhi understood the meaning behind Cui Huai's actions...
After Liang Zhi and Cui Hong arrived, Liang Zhi took Cui Xuan to another place, and the crowd by the stream gradually dispersed.
Seeing Shen Yunzhi's pale face and the increasingly clear finger marks on her cheek, Cui Hong frowned and looked at Cui Huai: "Brother, the Seventh Princess has really gone too far today."
"Second brother is right!"
Cui Lizhu indignantly echoed her sentiments, repeatedly criticizing Cui Xuan.
Shen Yunzhi was still in a daze because of her contact with Cui Huai.
Even through the fabric, at that moment, her body stiffened uncontrollably, and she felt her hair stand on end. Cui Huaiying also noticed this.
Fortunately, Cui Huai was probably just as uncomfortable.
He wouldn't overthink it, and she wouldn't need to explain it.
"The Seventh Princess is naturally under the care of the Empress and the Consort Shu."
Cui Huai glanced at the finger marks left on Shen Yunzhi's face and calmly ordered someone to fetch some ointment.
Thinking that Shen Yunzhi was stunned because she was frightened, Cui Lizhu pulled her to sit down in the pavilion and personally applied medicine to her face. But looking at her swollen cheeks, Cui Lizhu was still angry and thought she was stupid and stubborn: "Why are you sticking your neck out? What does my argument with her have to do with you? If you offend Cui Xuan like this, she will target you even more in the future."
Shen Yunzhi came to her senses.
She smiled gently: "It's always Li Zhu who protects me, so I can't just hide behind you like that."
"Besides, that's what the Seventh Princess said..."
"Lizhu is willing to be kind to me because of her kind heart, and she should not be maliciously speculated about."
Cui Xuan did it on purpose at that time, of course.
He used Zhou Tao and Cui Huai to humiliate her, while simultaneously sowing discord between Cui Lizhu and others.
With Choi Hoe involved, it's hard for Choi Yeo-joo to remain unaffected.
If she does nothing, the relationship she has painstakingly repaired will regress to the state it was in before when she was disliked. How could she agree to that?
She deliberately provoked and angered Cui Xuan with her words.
The potential costs are also within expectations.
She could have dodged Cui Xuan's slap.
But there's really no need to avoid it.
In the past, Cui Lizhu had warned Shen Yunzhi many times to stay away from her brother, but now she sensed something else in Shen Yunzhi's words. Cui Lizhu didn't know how to respond for a moment, and after applying the medicine for her, she said irritably, "Don't do anything stupid in the future. If you get disfigured, you won't even have anyone to cry to."
Shen Yunzhi asked cautiously, "Will Lizhu blame me for causing trouble?"
"Of course." Choi Yeo-joo pressed her cheek firmly with her fingertip. "Otherwise, why would I praise you?"
Shen Yunzhi pretended to be in pain.
Cui Lizhu reluctantly withdrew her hand, then caught sight of Cui Huai's figure and suddenly raised her voice: "But have you understood anything today?"
Without waiting for Shen Yunzhi to respond, she answered her own question, "When I reminded you before, what did you say to me? Gentle and charming? If you were truly gentle and charming, why would you invite that Zhou family's sixth son as well after inviting you? It's not like you didn't know you two had a relationship. Besides, Cui Xuan clearly knew about your affair with Zhou family's sixth son and deliberately used it to mock you. How do you think Cui Xuan knew?"
"besides--"
After thinking for a moment, Cui Lizhu continued, "In order to get closer to her, Cui Xuan must have told her about things that happened in the palace."
Choi Yeo-joo did not reveal the name.
But she knew that her brother was so smart that he would definitely understand.
"Big brother."
After saying what she wanted to say, Cui Lizhu seemed to notice Cui Huai getting up and calling out to her.
Cui Huai's expression and tone remained unchanged, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
He acted as if he hadn't heard Cui Lizhu's words at all, and only said to them, "The carriage is ready."
Cui Lizhu and Shen Yunzhi returned to the Chu Prince's Mansion first.
The finger marks on Shen Yunzhi's cheek hadn't faded, and they couldn't be hidden from Princess Chu at all. Cui Lizhu said guiltily, "I failed to protect Zhiniang today."
"It's not Lizhu's fault, it's my own recklessness." Shen Yunzhi gently squeezed Cui Lizhu's hand to comfort her, and then said softly, "Lizhu must be tired today, why don't you go back and rest first? I'll stay and keep your aunt company."
Knowing that Shen Yunzhi had something to say to the Princess of Chu, Cui Lizhu nodded and left first.
After she left, Princess Chu pulled Shen Yunzhi in front of her and carefully examined the injuries on her face, feeling extremely distressed.
"I'm fine, Auntie."
Shen Yunzhi gently held the Princess of Chu's hand and said softly, "It was Lizhu who personally applied the medicine for me."
Princess Chu's eyes reddened slightly as she grasped Shen Yunzhi's hand, her voice full of apology: "I brought you to the capital to take good care of you. Now, it seems I, your aunt, am useless and unable to support you."
Shen Yunzhi quickly shook her head: "If Aunt says that, then I really feel like a burden."
"I know my aunt treats me very well, and that's enough."
Princess Chu's status was glamorous enough, but without the support of her maternal family, being a second wife meant facing many difficulties. Perhaps Shen Yunzhi hadn't understood things before, but now what was there left to misunderstand? Her aunt had endured much hardship; even though she suffered disdain because of her birth, without her aunt bringing her to the capital, she likely would never have had any contact with these nobles and royalty. It was simply two sides of the same coin.
"His Highness, the Second Young Master, and Li Zhu have all taken good care of me."
Shen Yunzhi smiled slightly, "Besides, if the quarrels between the younger generation cause the elders to worry, it will only make things more serious."
The Queen Consort of Chu sighed.
She raised her hand and gently stroked Shen Yunzhi's cheek: "Zhi Niang, your aunt will definitely find you a good home."
It took Shen Yunzhi a while to recover her face.
During this time, Cui Lizhu and Cui Hong often visited Yunxi Courtyard to see and care for her, bringing her delicious food or fun things.
Only Cui Huai never inquired about her situation.
Shen Yunzhi no longer cared; Cui Huai's indifference towards her only made her feel more at ease.
Previously, the Princess of Chu had promised to find a female tutor to teach Shen Yunzhi horseback riding and archery, and she was able to fulfill her promise after Shen Yunzhi's facial injuries healed. For this, Cui Lizhu specially found a small bow she liked from her own small storeroom and gave it to her.
"Ordinary bows and arrows are mostly made with men in mind, and are often not handy."
"This little bow was specially made for me by a craftsman when I first started learning archery. I like it very much, and I think you will like it too."
What Cui Lizhu sent was a beautiful little bow inlaid with gold and jade.
Whether or not it is easy to use, its high value is an undeniable fact.
"It's too precious." Cui Lizhu was very generous, but Shen Yunzhi declined, saying, "Besides, Lizhu also said that it was a gift from Aunt Zhu. The sentiment alone is already very precious. I cannot do something that someone else loves."
Cui Lizhu laughed: "My aunt has given me countless things, including more than a dozen of these small bows."
"If I were tired of it, do you really think I would give it to you?"
Even though she knew all along that the Zhu family behind Aunt Zhu was incredibly wealthy, Shen Yunzhi was still secretly astonished by Cui Lizhu's extravagant display of wealth. In the end, at Cui Lizhu's insistence, she accepted the extremely beautiful and valuable little bow.
Cui Lizhu accompanied Shen Yunzhi to learn archery.
On the way to the training ground, Choi Yeo-joo talked about her interesting experiences learning archery in the past. Having received guidance from Choi Hwae, she couldn't help but mention him.
"I'll just mention it to you when I think of it, but I don't mean for you to go to my older brother for guidance."
Cui Lizhu earnestly reminded Shen Yunzhi, but then added with a troubled expression, "Besides, it seems that my older brother has encountered some trouble recently, so it's best if you don't bother him."
Shen Yunzhi readily agreed: "I will not disturb Your Highness."
She didn't ask what happened to Cui Huai, but Cui Lizhu still said, "I heard that my eldest brother has been staying in front of his mother's memorial tablet lately."
“In the past, if my elder brother was reprimanded by his father and was in a bad mood, he would go to keep vigil in front of his mother’s memorial tablet.”
"But Father is not in the palace either..."
Cui Lizhu was immersed in her worries about Cui Huai, and her words seemed to be directed at herself.
Shen Yunzhi, who was walking beside her, suddenly froze.
Cui Huai went to keep vigil over the memorial tablet of the late King Chu's wife.
Shen Yunzhi understood better than Cui Lizhu what Cui Huai's actions might mean.
A note from the author:
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Goodnight [shy]
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