Cui Jiulang was originally a dashing young marquis in Luoyang, who was obsessed with medicine. He should have lived a life of wealth and leisure, but he was implicated in the struggle for the throne among the six princes of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and his whole family was imprisoned. Fortunately, a loyal servant replaced his son with him, thus saving his life.
Cui Jiulang then went into hiding in Shunzhou, disguised as a musician, waiting to take revenge.
...Who would have thought that before he could even take revenge, he would be chosen as the male attendant of the Southern Chen Empress.
Cui Jiulang felt suffocated because he knew that this Empress of Southern Chen was a ruthless person. Although he had never seen her in person, he imagined that she was a tall, strong woman with a terrifying appearance.
Just like Zhong Wuyan.
But at this moment, he couldn't help but be stunned—how should he describe this empress?
It's described as the clear, cold moon in the sky, yet it doesn't have that unattainable feeling; it's described as a flower of wealth and honor on earth, yet it appears even more majestic and noble...
In short, she was a beautiful woman with a unique charm, someone you couldn't help but look at, yet dared not look at for too long.
His thoughts wandered somewhat—serving a woman like this wouldn't be out of the question.
Shang Shaoyan also noticed Cui Jiulang at a glance.
She subtly sized up Cui Jiulang, then her heart skipped a beat.
Isn't this just a carbon copy of Qiao Xiuyu?
Look at that noble air that even coarse clothes can't hide.
Look at that delicate and innocent face.
Look, there's that zither on his back, being carefully protected.
Shang Shaoyan narrowed his eyes, walked towards Cui Jiulang, gently raised his hand and pinched his chin, asking with a smile, "Who sent you?"
Cui Jiulang lowered his eyes to look at the Empress, who was a head shorter than him, and said softly, "It is Prefect Yi of Shunzhou."
Shang Shaoyan raised an eyebrow and said meaningfully, "So you're one of Yi Ming's men."
She withdrew her hand and said casually, "Bai Feng, make arrangements for the others... that guy Yi Ming sent, come with me."
Cui Jiulang pursed his lips and said, "This humble citizen is Cui Du."
Shang Shaoyan nodded indifferently, and then led Cui Du into the courtyard.
Bai Feng: "..."
She genuinely believed that Cui Du and His Majesty's lover shared a striking resemblance.
Meanwhile, Shang Shaoyan led Cui Du into the room, scrutinizing him sharply. After a long while, he let out a short laugh: "Do you want to live, or do you want to die?"
Cui Du's heart skipped a beat—that's right, no matter how charming and beautiful she is, she is still the Empress of Southern Chen, a heroine who led her troops to conquer four cities in Northern Zhou. How could she be as gentle as an ordinary girl?
Cui Du knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "This humble subject naturally wants to live."
Shang Shaoyan nodded, then said, "Get up. If you want to live, tell me your true identity. If you dare to utter even the slightest lie..."
Shang Shaoyan left a blank, and Cui Du caught a hint of murderous intent in her tone. He dared not hide it and said, "This humble subject was originally the young marquis of the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion. His name is indeed Cui Du. Because my father sided with the sixth son of Emperor Wu, my entire family was imprisoned and beheaded by the late emperor. I escaped by chance and ended up in Shunzhou, hiding my identity. I only hope to return to Luoyang one day to avenge my family."
Shang Shaoyan found it amusing and raised an eyebrow, asking, "You said you want revenge, but who is your enemy? The late emperor? But the late emperor has already passed away, so who are you going to seek revenge against?"
Cui Du kowtowed and said, "I dare not hide it from Your Majesty. My enemy is not the late emperor, but the current Grand Tutor Liu Bo. My father had no intention of taking sides in the succession struggle, but he was coerced by that treacherous Liu Bo. In addition, Emperor Wu's sixth son threatened my father with his family, so my father had no choice but to submit to him."
Shang Shaoyan didn't delve into the obvious loopholes in Cui Du's words. As long as he had a grudge against Liu Bo, that was enough. Whether he harbored resentment towards the Northern Zhou royal family or was truly forced to help Emperor Wu's sixth son seize the throne, Shang Shaoyan couldn't be bothered with those matters.
She glanced at Cui Du a few times and said, "If I help you take revenge, what will you give me in return?"
This was exactly what Cui Du had expected—the Southern Chen Empress wanted to annex the Northern Zhou, and he, who had enemies with powerful ministers and even members of the imperial family, yet still had connections in the court, was a useful tool.
Cui Du was once a loyal minister, but he is no longer so.
He said, "This humble subject is able to help Your Majesty successfully conquer Northern Zhou."
Shang Shaoyan smiled and said with emotion, "This is something I'm absolutely certain of, I don't need this help—I only need you to be by my side when the world is unified in the future, how about that?"
Cui Du thought for a moment, then hesitated and asked, "What kind of assistance...?"
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She glanced at Cui Du with a hint of annoyance: "Don't think about those things! I've heard that the Marquis of Zhongyi of Northern Zhou loves to study medicine. I'm keeping you here so that you can carry on the tradition of medicine."
Cui Du chuckled sheepishly, "It was I who was confused."
For some reason, I felt a little bit of regret.
Seeing this, Shang Shaoyan couldn't help but tease him: "Do you know that I used to have a male favorite, who was just as handsome as you, had just as good temperament as you, and also pretended to be a musician just like you... Do you want to know where he is now?"
Cui Du: "..."
He said cautiously, "If Your Majesty is willing to speak, this humble subject naturally wishes to know."
Shang Shaoyan smiled and leaned close to his ear, saying, "He is now sitting on the throne of your Northern Zhou."
Cui Du: "..."
艹 (a type of plant)!
In an instant, Cui Du imagined a whole host of things—the Northern Zhou emperor and the Southern Chen empress had a love-hate relationship, a tragic love story, and the Southern Chen empress, unable to have the Northern Zhou emperor, saw herself as his substitute…
He'll imagine whatever kind of melodramatic plot twists or farces.
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