Changsun Tai hastily tried to persuade him. "Your Highness, please reconsider... The Crown Prince's wedding is near..."
Cui Yi shrugged indifferently. "Then I'll wait until after His Majesty's wedding."
"Uh, this..."
"Minister Changsun, do you not trust me?"
Changsun Tai hurriedly reassured him. Cui Yi sighed impatiently. "It's settled. Discuss the wedding details with my steward later. I need to go to the West Drill Field for training. Goodbye." With confidence that no one would dare stop him, he walked out confidently.
The Crown Prince's wedding is near... Chiying sat on the bed, completely dazed.
Was it now six years ago, the thirty-ninth year of Jianyuan, before the selection of the Crown Princess? Had she been living in a dream for six years?
Or...
"Wretch!" Her arm was suddenly yanked, and Chiying cried out, nearly falling off the bed. Changsun Tai's mustache trembled with rage. "How could I have given birth to such a worthless daughter? All those teachings of Confucian classics wasted on you! Disrespectful, shameless! I should beat you to death!"
Lady Fan knelt and sobbed, clutching her husband's leg. "Please, don't hit her! Don't hit her! It's my fault, I failed to teach her properly. Hit me instead!"
Changsun Tai was livid. "Crying solves nothing. The Crown Prince's wedding is coming, and all eligible daughters of officials and nobles must enter the palace for selection. As the Crown Prince's tutor, my daughter loses her virginity in a brothel with a prince! If this gets out, I'll lose all face!"
Lady Fan clung to her husband's leg, sobbing. "Don't hit Ying'er, don't hit her, blame me instead! It's all my fault, I failed to guide her, I ruined our poor child!"
Concubine Guo, watching from outside, sneered. "Master, go easy on her. After all, we only have one eligible daughter. If you kill her, how will we explain it to the Emperor? Such a scandal will ruin us all!"
Changsun Tai turned and roared at her. "Shut up! How can we send a defiled daughter to be the Crown Princess? The palace matrons will surely notice. Once discovered, we're all dead! Better to kill this disgrace now than die in disgrace!"
"Father," Chiying quickly intervened, shielding her mother from the impending blow. "We shouldn't cause a scene here. Let's go home and discuss this calmly. Perhaps there's still a way out. If not, you can punish me then."
Changsun Tai calmed down slightly. "You're right, family scandals shouldn't be aired publicly. Get dressed and come home with me!"
He left with Concubine Guo and several servants.
Once the door closed, Chiying's heart finally eased. She touched her forehead and exhaled deeply.
Lady Fan helped her dress, sobbing. "My dear, why did you do this? This is your entire future!"
Seeing her mother's red eyes and remembering how she hadn't even bid farewell in her dream, Chiying felt a lump in her throat. She threw herself into her mother's arms. "Mother!"
Lady Fan stroked her back, crying softly. "My poor Ying'er, what am I to do with you?"
Holding her mother tightly, Chiying cried. "Mother, I know I was wrong. I'm sorry."
Lady Fan wiped her tears. "Silly girl, it's my fault. I should have guided you earlier. I failed you, I'm so sorry."
They hugged and cried for a while until Changsun Tai angrily urged them to hurry.
Lady Fan quickly wiped her tears and comforted her. "Dear, don't argue with your father when we get home. He loves you, though sometimes he seems stubborn. We'll protect you, no matter what."
"I understand, Mother. I know," Chiying dressed quickly, wiping her tears and forcing a smile. "There might still be a way out. I promise I'll find a solution."
Lady Fan hesitated. "Child, what solution can there be now? If it were someone else, we could pay them off and send you away, claiming you died of illness. But it's Prince Wu... Sigh..."
Chiying squeezed her mother's wrist reassuringly. "Mother, don't worry. I'll find a way. I'll protect you and Father, even if it costs my life."
Lady Fan wept more at her words. Changsun Tai urged them again, and Chiying finished dressing.
Six years seemed like a dream, fleeting and insubstantial. The reflection in the mirror showed the beautiful, gentle Lady Changsun, but the swollen mark on her cheek reminded her that she could no longer afford to be naive.
Fude's words echoed in her mind: "The imperial family has no mercy." How could she have believed Cui Jie's love was genuine? How could she seek true love from an emperor?
Now that this was reality, she vowed to live differently, never repeating the mistakes of her dream.
Back at the Changsun residence, Chiying bathed and changed clothes, then joined her parents at Jing Song Hall, where the ancestral tablets and family laws were kept.
Changsun Tai stood sternly with a thick bamboo cane, while Concubine Guo wore a smug smile.
Chiying frowned, feeling a deep disgust toward Concubine Guo's every gesture, sensing a hidden agenda behind her actions. Could it be that she had orchestrated this to sabotage her chance of becoming the Crown Princess?
Guo's background was questionable, and she was known for her cunning. With a son close in age to Chiying, she would do anything to prevent Chiying from becoming the Crown Princess.
If Chiying failed to be selected, it would be fine. But if she succeeded, Guo and her son would have little hope of advancement. To ensure this didn't happen, Guo might have plotted to ruin Chiying's reputation.
During the selection period, failure to present an eligible daughter would result in execution for the patriarch. If Changsun Tai died, most of the family's wealth would go to Guo's son, leaving Chiying and her mother with almost nothing.
Chiying pondered this, looking at Guo and her thirteen-year-old sister, Changsun Lingfang, forming a plan.
"Kneel!" Changsun Tai barked.
Chiying knelt calmly, bowed thrice to the ancestral tablets, and then looked up defiantly. "Father, before you punish me, I have something to say."
Changsun Tai's face darkened. "What more do you have to say?"
"Today's incident, although not my wish...
It was already past the hour of Chen when she had just finished washing and dressing, sitting down to have breakfast. Cui Yi returned from court, glanced at her, and went inside to change into casual clothes.
"His Majesty and the Empress wish to see you. Change into a more vibrant dress later," Cui Yi said as he let the maidservant help him change.
Holding Ying stirred the osmanthus porridge in her bowl and said, "I am merely a concubine. Wouldn't wearing something too flashy appear frivolous?"
Cui Yi frowned and gave her an unhappy look. "What do you mean by concubine? This prince only has you as his princess consort. Don't keep mentioning the word 'concubine' all day."
Holding Ying smiled. "A concubine is far inferior to a wife. I know my place. Your Highness will eventually marry a daughter of a noble family as your principal wife. At that time, I'll be slightly higher than a maid in the mansion. It's better to accept my position now to avoid disappointment later."
Cui Yi remained expressionless. "If the daughter of Grand Tutor Changsun isn't considered a lady of a noble family, then there are no such ladies in Zizhang City."
Though it sounded agreeable, Holding Ying still smiled. "That's different. I am just a scarred girl. In the future, His Majesty will surely choose a virtuous and beautiful lady from among the daughters of various noble families for Your Highness."
Cui Yi finally became angry. "Must you discuss marriage on the second day after our wedding?"
Holding Ying stopped smiling and said seriously, "I'm also thinking about Your Highness."
Cui Yi said coldly, "Oh, Your Highness is truly considerate."
For some reason, hearing his sarcastic words made Holding Ying feel cruel, as if she had done something hurtful. A lump formed in her chest, and she couldn't finish her porridge.
Wasn't she indeed doing this for his sake? An orphaned prince with no maternal relatives in the capital could only seek support from his wife's family. Almost every prince married the daughter of a high-ranking official in court. Cui Yi would naturally not be an exception. Without a powerful father-in-law to speak for him before the emperor, he would be doomed to fight battles his whole life and die wrapped in horsehide.
But this father-in-law would never be Grand Tutor Changsun Taifu.
Cui Yi changed into casual clothes, straightened his sleeves, saw her sitting at the table in a daze, and frowned again. "Why are you still sitting there? Rinse your mouth and get ready to go."
Holding Ying hurriedly put down her spoon. "I... I'll go change!"
"No need to change," Cui Yi strode toward the door. "After all, you're just a concubine." He left without looking back.
The maidservants looked at each other, unsure what to do. Xiaoqiu handed over a cup of water and said awkwardly, "Lady, this..."
Holding Ying took a deep breath, accepted the cup, rinsed her mouth, wiped her lips, and said, "Then don't change. Xiaoqiu, follow me; don't keep His Highness waiting."
Outside the palace gates, the carriage was already prepared. The coachman brought a step stool. Holding Ying lifted her skirt and climbed into the carriage. Seeing Cui Yi sitting expressionlessly in the depths of the carriage, she tactfully found a small spot near the door to sit.
"Are you so afraid of me that you sit so far away?" Cui Yi asked unhappily.
Holding Ying smiled and pulled the curtain shut to prevent outsiders from seeing inside. "Your Highness seems upset. I won't add to your troubles."
Cui Yi narrowed his eyes and said darkly, "Indeed, the daughter of Grand Tutor Changsun is eloquent."
Holding Ying smiled again. "Your Highness flatters me."
The carriage rumbled forward, and silence fell inside.
Cui Yi leaned against the carriage wall, arms crossed. "You're harboring resentment."
Holding Ying was puzzled. "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
Cui Yi continued, "In your heart, you didn't want to marry me but had no choice. So you're sulking with me. Last night, you used a jade scepter to hit my head while I was drunk. Today, you deliberately opposed me, refused to change clothes, and urged me to take another wife..."
Before he finished, Holding Ying couldn't help laughing. "Is Your Highness complaining to me?"
Cui Yi's face darkened, about to explode in anger. Holding Ying quickly resumed seriousness. "Your Highness misunderstands. I'm not sulking. Serving Your Highness is my fortune. How could I intentionally oppose you?"
Cui Yi snorted. "That wasn't what you said at the Carved Flower Tower that night."
Holding Ying was taken aback. "What did I say?"
Cui Yi turned his head away indifferently. "We've arrived. Get out."
The carriage stopped outside Yao Hua Palace. Cui Yi got out first, then extended his hand to help her down. After landing, Holding Ying tried to withdraw her hand, but Cui Yi held on tightly, nearly making her cry out in pain.
What childish tantrum is this? Holding Ying found it amusing and allowed him to lead her through the crowd of palace maids and eunuchs, showing affection publicly.
Yao Hua Palace was the foremost among the six palaces, the residence of the empress. Holding Ying had spent a brief yet pleasant time here, naively believing that Cui Jie would love her forever as promised on their wedding night. Even though she hadn't borne any children for the royal family in six years, she believed that as long as Cui Jie loved her, the throne of the empress would always belong to her.
Unfortunately, Cui Jie neither loved her nor spared her life.
Staring at the golden plaque of Yao Hua Palace, Holding Ying momentarily lost focus. But she was sharply pulled back by Cui Yi, who scowled and whispered, "What are you dazing about? Hurry up."
He half-led, half-dragged her inside.