Chapter 51 She never truly cared for him, not even for a moment…
Under heaven, all land belongs to the king.
No matter how much Shen Yunzhi tries to escape, she will always remain in this mortal world.
Cui Huai thought that she would be caught by him sooner or later. However, her fake death was probably premeditated, and she must have made a lot of preparations beforehand. Since it was not a hasty escape, her travel permit, identity and other matters must have been in perfect order.
She couldn't possibly have obtained the travel permit without his knowledge on her own.
Someone helped her.
Cui Huai suddenly realized something when he thought of Huo Ming, who had repeatedly appeared at the grave and couldn't forget Shen Yunzhi.
No wonder Huo Ming, a married man, is so eager to get close to her.
Cui Huai chuckled lightly, but suddenly the sachet in his hand twisted in his hand.
It turns out that even during the time she was pretending to be friendly with him, she had secretly been in contact with Huo Ming.
He said he would go to Baiyun Temple to pray for a peace charm for him.
In reality, she was going to see Huo Ming.
Anger involuntarily surfaced on Cui Huai's usually cold face.
Did she think that he would never know these things, would never be able to bring her back, and would never settle accounts with her?
Thinking about it, Cui Huai chuckled softly again.
He wanted to go and bring her back himself, but he wondered what her expression would be then.
After paying respects at Shen Yunzhi's "grave," Qiu Yue knelt before the Princess of Chu, accepted the severance pay given to her by the Princess of Chu, and took her belongings from the Prince's Mansion before leaving the Prince's Mansion and the capital to return to her hometown.
Cui Huai sent men to follow Qiu Yue all the way to her hometown.
After that, they deliberately stayed for a few more days but failed to find any contact between her and any special people. Only then did one of them return to the capital to report.
Nothing was gained.
Cui Huai listened quietly to the report, his eyes filled with a myriad of emotions.
She even severed ties with the maid who helped her fake her death and escape, clearly intending to cut off all ties with the past. Such resolute determination, refusing to reveal her whereabouts or identity to anyone—was it truly just to escape from him?
In her eyes, he was such a monster that he would do such a thing.
Cui Huai's unresolved doubts resurfaced once again: Was he really that bad to her?
Even if he promised to marry her as the Crown Prince's consort, as she wished, and only wanted her, she would not have any regrets.
No, she had only ever treated him this way.
She trusted Huo Ming and pitied Chen Zhaoyu.
Even in the letter to Cui Hong... there was a sentiment that she did not want to be a burden to Cui Hong.
Why?
Didn't her maid say that she truly longed for him?
Is this just a way to toy with him?
He couldn't understand it.
The day Cui Huai's collection of works was printed and sold was the best day for Shen Yunzhi's bookstore since its opening.
The students of the academy spread the word and snapped up all the books as soon as school was over.
After all that effort, if the books didn't sell, Shen Yunzhi would inevitably curse Cui Huai in her heart. Unfortunately, Mr. Yu Qing's collection of works was exceptionally sought after; she had only printed a small batch, and after it was snapped up, many people came looking for it.
Even though she didn't lack money for the time being, she couldn't resist the joy of counting money when she was doing business.
After settling the accounts, Shen Yunzhi was in a good mood, closed the door, locked it, and went home.
The following day, other bookstores in the city began selling collections of "Mr. Yuqing's" works.
Every bookstore was bustling with business.
Shen Yunzhi didn't mind much.
After that, he didn't rush to print other works by Cui Huai, but instead considered the possibility of collaborating with others to publish storybooks.
Although Cui Huai could still publish two more volumes of his works, it wasn't a long-term solution. However, this matter gave her some ideas. She knew that some bookstores would collaborate with students from impoverished families who supported their studies by writing storybooks, and the bookstores would exclusively sell their stories. Since they couldn't be bought anywhere else, as long as the stories were popular enough, there was no worry about them not selling.
Jiusi Academy has no shortage of impoverished students.
Shen Yunzhi took advantage of her daily business dealings with the students of the academy to inquire about the situation.
After a few visits, the young students who had been to the bookstore more often were more willing to chat with her.
From them, she learned what kind of treatment other bookstores in the city usually gave her, and that they often signed contracts with their partners for many years.
It's virtually impossible to poach talent from other bookstores.
The most feasible approach for her is to find ways to cultivate partners herself.
Shen Yunzhi then offered some benefits and asked familiar students to help her spread the word.
Sure enough, someone came looking for them.
He was a very thin and handsome young scholar. He handed Shen Yunzhi a part of his manuscript that he had written in advance. She read it carefully and felt that the story he wrote was quite different from the stories in the storybooks she had read before.
The young women depicted by this scholar possess a unique and vibrant vitality, a quality that is difficult to articulate.
Shen Yunzhi liked this story.
After reading the manuscript, she glanced at the young scholar in front of her and smiled slightly.
"You are a woman, aren't you?"
After uttering what could be considered an impudent remark, Shen Yunzhi stared blankly at the young scholar before her for a moment, then feigned anger: "Why does the shopkeeper humiliate me?"
Shen Yunzhi's smile remained unchanged: "I'm sorry." But there was little remorse in her voice.
The young scholar was speechless.
Shen Yunzhi did not delve any further into the matter, nor did she tease him any more. Instead, she began to discuss cooperation matters with him.
Faced with the choice between offering a low price and splitting the profits based on the number of copies sold, or paying in full upfront, the young scholar chose the latter, and even wrote a contract guaranteeing that he would never plagiarize. On the day he delivered the entire manuscript, Shen Yunzhi readily paid him and noticed the young scholar's signature: Ruzhu.
This is a new attempt for the bookstore.
On the day the storybook was printed and went on sale, only one copy was sold, and that was because a student I knew bought it out of pity that the book wouldn't sell.
Shen Yunzhi was not particularly surprised.
On the contrary, the young scholar who had come to the bookstore full of excitement after finishing his studies was quite disappointed when he learned of this.
"My willingness to cooperate with you is naturally because I believe in the stories you write."
"Don't worry about it, I have a way."
Shen Yunzhi spoke with great conviction, while the young scholar remained skeptical.
The truth came to light the following day—
Shen Yunzhi put the young scholar's storybooks and Cui Huai's collection of works together for sale, and Cui Huai's collection of works was a free gift with the storybooks.
When the young scholar arrived at the bookstore, he happened to witness Shen Yunzhi being questioned, who felt she had shown great disrespect to Mr. Yuqing. She showed no shame or anger, calmly defending herself: "Mr. Yuqing's works are priceless; it would make me uneasy to exchange them for money. If I were to give them away individually, I would have already spent money, and it would also affect other bookstores. Therefore, I came up with this method, which allows me to find peace of mind without delaying everyone's enjoyment of Mr. Yuqing's works."
The man was about to argue further, but Shen Yunzhi simply smiled and asked, "Want to buy? The last three copies."
He quickly paid the money, pocketed the books, and left.
The young scholar was dumbfounded.
The owner of this bookstore... is truly a genius.
This collaboration gradually brought Shen Yunzhi and the young scholar together, and she learned his name: Qi Song. However, aside from matters related to the manuscript, the two barely communicated. Whenever they needed to purchase paper, ink, brushes, or inkstones, he would specifically come to Shen Yunzhi's bookstore. Qi Song seemed to prefer being alone, always appearing at the bookstore by himself.
The same thing happened on the day he witnessed Shen Yunzhi being harassed by drunken students from the academy.
Upon entering the bookstore, Qi Song saw Shen Yunzhi surrounded by men with lewd smiles on their faces, attempting to grope her. Enraged, Qi Song shouted and rushed forward to protect her.
Qi Song was wearing a robe embroidered with the academy's emblem.
The group recognized him as a classmate, and seeing that he wouldn't budge an inch, and fearing that they would be exposed to the headmaster, they quickly stopped and left dejectedly.
"Thank you for saving me, Young Master Qi." Shen Yunzhi bowed to Qi Songyi and thanked him warmly.
Qi Song frowned: "Does this kind of thing happen often?"
This question arose because Shen Yunzhi seemed completely accustomed to the reaction.
How could one not be flustered and afraid if it were the first time?
Shen Yunzhi, who was being shown concern, smiled faintly: "It would be strange if a woman with no one to protect her, who shows her face in public and has some beauty, didn't encounter something like this. Doesn't Young Master Qi understand the ways of the world?"
Qi Song was speechless, then listened as Shen Yunzhi suppressed her laughter and said, "Besides, I am a widow. In the eyes of these people, there is no one easier to bully."
"Bullying a married man is against the law, but what's the big deal about bullying a widow?"
Hearing every word, Qi Song lowered his head.
Shen Yunzhi's voice rang out again: "Young Master Qi, are you engaged?"
Qi Song looked up in bewilderment.
Shen Yunzhi smiled and said, "If you are not engaged, why not become my husband? I can pay you money, which will save you a lot of trouble."
She had noticed that Qi Song was being harassed by the young lady of a wealthy family in the city.
This matter is advantageous to her, and also to Qi Song.
Moreover, she trusted her initial judgment.
Since Qi Song was unwilling to admit it, she naturally kept quiet and cooperated. Both of them having secrets was also a kind of harmony.
Shen Yunzhi gave Qi Song three days to seriously consider it.
Three days later, they went to the government office and got their names on file. From then on, they were a proper married couple.
As a "widow", her second marriage naturally did not need to be a grand affair.
Qi Song, who was all alone, didn't have many friends.
The two eventually set up two tables of wine, invited a few neighbors and classmates to sit down and have a meal, and that was considered announcing the news to their relatives and friends. Life went on as usual, with Qi Song spending most of his time at the academy, occasionally coming to Shen Yunzhi's courtyard to avoid being noticed.
When a pretty widow and a handsome scholar get together, it's inevitable that some rumors will spread behind the scenes.
Shen Yunzhi had heard a few bits and pieces of it, then turned around and told Qi Song about it as a joke.
"Ruzhu, why don't you write this for your next story? Title it 'The Pretty Widow and the Handsome Scholar,' and you'll definitely make a fortune." Qi Song, who was cooking at the stove, turned around and glanced at the smiling Shen Yunzhi, then seriously refused, "Yunniang, you may not care about your reputation, but I do."
Shen Yunzhi laughed even more heartily.
She took two clean bowls and chopsticks and placed them on the table, obediently waiting for Qi Song to eat together.
...
Spring flowers have faded, and Qingming Festival has arrived.
Cui Huai went to Yuhua Temple to pay respects to Shen Yunzhi's parents and elder brother.
His Majesty brought up the matter of selecting a Crown Princess again. Although he had politely declined, he couldn't help but think of Shen Yunzhi and the position he had promised her. However, the men he sent out never found any trace of her, and no single young woman fit the description of the woman he was looking for.
She has most likely already assumed a new identity.
Perhaps he shouldn't have been so lenient; instead, he should have issued a proclamation ordering local authorities to conduct a full-scale manhunt for her.
No matter how powerful she is, she wouldn't have the ability to simply disappear.
Little did he know that he had already seen through her feigned death. She might not have disguised her appearance; if her portrait were distributed to every county government office, it would be easy to capture her.
"Your Highness, you mustn't."
Cui Huai's words sent chills down Lin Yue's spine, but he could only offer gentle words of advice.
"If a warrant is issued for Miss Biao's arrest, not to mention how those local people would mistreat her, a mere young woman, once they capture her, in order to please His Highness, just the fact that once the notice is posted will surely be seen by Miss Biao. Wouldn't the panic she faces easily drive her to a dead end?"
Cui Huai said calmly, "That's her own fault."
He glanced sideways at Lin Yue and said, "Don't you want me to bring her back? Did you have a hand in her faking her death?"
Lin Yue's heart skipped a beat, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
He quickly denied it: "If I were to help Miss Biao, it would only be in Your Highness's name. Your Highness would find out as soon as you investigate. How could such a big matter be kept secret?"
Cui Huai neither agreed nor disagreed with what he heard, and stepped into the room where Shen Yunzhi had once stayed at Yuhua Temple.
It must have been in this very place that she planned her faked death.
We shouldn't have let her come alone.
After a moment's thought, Cui Huai remembered why he had let Shen Yunzhi travel alone—
He had previously sent people to guard outside Yunxi Courtyard. When she found out, she threw a tantrum, repeatedly saying that Huo Ming and Chen Zhaoyu would not disbelieve her, would not make wild guesses about her, and would not send people to guard her. She demanded that he do the same as them.
He did it; he removed those people and didn't interfere in her affairs.
And so, he ended up being played and abandoned.
All the blame, all the unhappiness, along with all the intimacy and sweet words, are actually for this one purpose.
She never had a single moment of genuine affection for him.
Cui Huai looked around the room.
It was here that he promised Shen Yunzhi the position of Crown Princess and promised that she would be his only wife.
But she didn't want it at all.
Therefore, she also disliked the bunch of daffodils he picked in the wind and snow.
Cui Huai's vision blurred in waves. He braced his hands on the wooden table, gripping the edge so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"Where do you think she might have hidden herself?"
Lin Yue looked at Cui Huai, whose face had instantly turned frightened, and sighed inwardly. He said in a low voice, "Your Highness, Miss Biao was also pampered growing up. I'm afraid she won't have much money on her this time. Perhaps she'll run into a wall and come back on her own." He felt that it was a good thing that they couldn't find her. As time went on, His Highness would eventually let go of her.
Cui Huai only chuckled for a moment.
"She'd better be able to survive on her own, otherwise, once she comes back..."
She once broke someone else's leg.
Does she know what it feels like to have both legs broken?
But he would never give her another chance to escape from him.
Once she falls back into his hands, she will slowly learn what the consequences of deceiving and manipulating him will be.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com