Chapter 57 "Cousin Zhi, all I want is your love..."
Shen Yunzhi had no idea why Cui Huai had brought her to the study, nor did she have any expectations.
But she was quickly stunned and stood there dumbfounded.
Cui Huai's spacious study was now filled with paintings.
And the people in the painting are all her.
In an instant, Shen Yunzhi's gaze shifted from one painting to another, looking at herself in different outfits in the paintings. Suddenly, she felt a chill creep over her, rushing from her back to her limbs.
Cui Huai seemed oblivious to her stiffness, and gently held her hand, saying, "One day, for some reason, your face became blurry, and no matter how hard I tried to recall, I couldn't remember your appearance. At that time, I didn't know you were faking your death, and I was afraid of forgetting, so I started to paint, using my brush to remember you."
Shen Yunzhi pursed her lips tightly.
Cui Huai then led her to the desk and helped her sit down in the armchair.
"At first, it was indeed to remember you."
"Later on, whenever I couldn't sleep at night, I would come to my study to paint."
These paintings reveal the countless sleepless nights he spent tossing and turning when he couldn't find her.
He wanted her to see it.
"What does Zhiniang think of my painting?"
Cui Huai wrapped his arms tightly around Shen Yunzhi's waist from behind and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
Shen Yunzhi looked away in disgust, secretly taking a deep breath: "Your Highness's painting skills are superb, but there is really no need to hang these paintings up. Besides, aren't you already keeping me by your side? These paintings have become useless."
"Don't you like it?"
Cui Huai asked in return, but he already had the answer in his heart. Then he said, "If I hadn't made these paintings, I wouldn't have known how much I cared about you."
The hairstyles and clothing of Shen Yunzhi in the paintings are all different.
Whether she wore light makeup or went bare-faced, no matter what she looked like, he unconsciously etched her image into his heart.
"When you sculpt clay figurines for me, do you do the same?"
"Your maid said that you once stated that you would no longer covet those you shouldn't covet. What do you mean by that?"
Since being forcibly brought back to the capital by Cui Xu, Shen Yunzhi had been preoccupied with her own troubles. Only now, with Cui Huai mentioning Qiu Yue, did Shen Yunzhi realize that Cui Huai must have put some effort into Qiu Yue. She tilted her head and asked, "Has Your Highness made things difficult for Qiu Yue?"
"No."
"I wanted to find traces of you on her, so I let her go without hesitation."
Cui Huai answered frankly, and Shen Yunzhi had no doubts.
Unable to hear what he wanted to hear, Cui Huai asked again, "Why is Zhi Niang avoiding answering my question? Is it because it's difficult to answer?"
Shen Yunzhi remained silent, but when she tried to get up, she was forcefully pressed down by the person behind her.
Her reaction only made Cui Huai more persistent.
Cui Huai made no attempt to conceal his previous investigation of Shen Yunzhi, saying to her, "That maid said that you spent a lot of effort making the clay figurine you wanted to give me, failing more than ten times. She also said that you collected my poems and articles, and that even after you ran away and opened a bookstore, you could still recite them from memory. I've seen them, and there isn't a single mistake... When I questioned your maid, she didn't know that I already knew about your faked death and escape, so she had no reason to fabricate a lie. Besides, I could tell it wasn't a lie. Zhi Niang, you actually have feelings for me, don't you?"
Frustrated, Shen Yunzhi coldly retorted, "If I had feelings for Your Highness, why would I bother with all this?"
Cui Huai also asked, "So why don't you want to have feelings for me anymore?"
He remained remarkably calm and rational as he analyzed the situation with Shen Yunzhi: "According to your maid, when you said you would no longer covet those you shouldn't, you were still embroidering a sachet for me. You later gave that sachet to Lizhu, which shows that your attitude had clearly changed abruptly. The day I brought you back to Qiyun Residence, you were extremely frightened, and you took the initiative to kiss me to please me, and begged me not to imprison you in the dark room..."
Cui Huai buried his face in Shen Yunzhi's neck, gently inhaling her fragrance: "You were blindfolded back then, how could you know I had such thoughts?"
"Zhi Niang, you still have secrets, don't you?"
Although Cui Huai was extremely perceptive, Shen Yunzhi was never worried that the secret of her being reborn would be discovered.
No matter how capable he was, he couldn't uncover the truth.
Shen Yunzhi showed no sign of panic, only saying, "Is Your Highness overthinking things?"
Cui Huai laughed: "Even if you have secrets, I don't care."
"That prince is truly carefree."
Shen Yunzhi spoke with a hint of sarcasm, but before she could finish, she sensed Cui Huai's awakened desire eyeing her intently. "..."
But Cui Huai acted as if nothing had happened.
He replied to her in a serious tone: "It's not that I'm magnanimous, it's just that it's not important to me."
“Zhi Niang, even if you don’t want to say more, I can guess a thing or two. You once told me that your parents and husband were a loving couple, but after you faked your death and ran away, I wanted to know more about you, so I sent someone to the Shen family’s old house. They found a man surnamed Tang, who was your father’s mistress. After your parents died, you realized that the loving relationship you saw between your parents and husband was just an illusion. I imagine it must have been a big shock to you. You didn’t want to be gossiped about even after your loved ones died, so you never mentioned it to anyone.”
"Whatever secrets you have, I will not force you to tell them if you do not wish to."
"But if I find out by other means, don't blame me."
Cui Huai embraced Shen Yunzhi, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder.
"Before you, I also did not believe in love. It is understandable that you do not believe in love now, but you may not refuse to believe in love in the future."
Shen Yunzhi was in a daze for a moment.
She had indeed underestimated Cui Huai, never imagining that he would be interested in her past.
"How much have you inquired about me, Your Highness?" Shen Yunzhi's thoughts stirred slightly, and she softened her tone, but with a hint of resentment, she said, "Won't you be unwilling to believe me in the future? Even if Your Highness continues to keep me by your side like a plaything, I still won't believe you no matter how long it goes on."
Cui Huai immediately changed the subject: "Thinking back on it carefully, you genuinely wanted to be close to me when you called me cousin."
He asked, "From now on, may I call you Cousin Zhi?"
Shen Yunzhi refused, saying, "No."
Cui Huai remained expressionless and picked up a scroll spread out on the desk: "Cousin Zhi, I've seen the Kongming lantern you released for Huo Ming."
He showed the painting to Shen Yunzhi.
Shen Yunzhi looked at the painting and saw a scene from last year's Mid-Autumn Festival where she released Kongming lanterns.
Then I noticed the small characters on the wooden plaque attached to the bottom of the Kongming lantern.
She almost burst out laughing for a moment.
"What is Your Highness doing?" Shen Yunzhi pointed to the words "Brother Huai, may you be safe and sound every year" on the wooden plaque. She suspected that Cui Huai's hysteria had long since become incurable, otherwise how could he do such an absurd and ridiculous thing?
Cui Huai lowered his eyes: "You treat them so well, how could I not be jealous?"
Shen Yunzhi chuckled at his self-righteousness, but then became furious when she realized her skirt had been suddenly lifted up: "Cui Huai!"
"Cousin Zhi, all I want is your love, what's wrong with that?"
Why are you so reluctant?
Cui Huai kissed Shen Yunzhi's ear: "I've already let you fool me once, and I didn't hold it against you, otherwise you wouldn't be here safe and sound today. But don't fool me a second time."
His fingers lingered on her inner thigh.
"I really don't want to be reduced to breaking your legs to keep you here one day."
Shen Yunzhi was tightly trapped in front of Cui Huai in his arms.
She said angrily, "How can I have feelings for Your Highness when you behave like this?"
Cui Huai just smiled: "How do I behave?"
Shen Yunzhi was unable to respond.
Forced to endure his indulgence once again, she couldn't help but twist the unfolded paintings in her hands. Until the storm subsided, Shen Yunzhi, her face flushed, lay on the desk, caught a glimpse of herself in the painting, and, unable to bear it any longer, tore it to shreds.
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Author's note: There will be more tonight.
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