Cui Wangshu stared at Jiang Chenbi for a long time, the vein at her temple throbbing as if a fierce struggle raged in her mind.
The pure and noble Minister Cui had never suffered such humiliation. Though Cui Wangshu had endured harsh trials under the Cui Family’s strict demands throughout her upbringing, she was born into high status, and no one had ever treated her like this madwoman had.
Recalling her purpose for coming here, Cui Wangshu gritted her teeth and prepared to leave, but she glimpsed what seemed to be a hidden compartment under Jiang Chenbi’s bed.
Cui Wangshu crouched down and examined it closely, confirming it was indeed a hidden compartment. Just as she prepared to open it, that cool voice sounded: “Little Minister Cui, you’re not killing me—instead, you’re studying my bed. What are your intentions?”
Jiang Chenbi sat up and leaned over the edge of the bed, getting extremely close to Cui Wangshu. Cui Wangshu, as if she had anticipated that Jiang Chenbi had been feigning sleep, responded with utmost calm: “This is your bed. Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m looking at?”
Cui Wangshu looked up; the two were no more than a finger’s width apart. Jiang Chenbi gazed at Cui Wangshu’s face with a half-smile, her warm breath brushing against Cui Wangshu’s skin.
Jiang Chenbi said, “Aren’t you curious, Little Minister Cui, how I knew your identity?”
Cui Wangshu was uncomfortable with the proximity but leaned in even closer, their lips nearly touching. She raised her hand, slid it across Jiang Chenbi’s cheek, and sneered softly: “Mad Empress?”
Jiang Chenbi curved her lips into a smile, pulled back slightly, and said, “If you want to know, just open it and see.”
Cui Wangshu asked suspiciously, “You’re being so generous?”
Jiang Chenbi burst into laughter, calling out Cui Wangshu’s names in various teasing ways, as if to remind her of something: “Hahaha…”
“Cui Wangshu.”
“Little Minister Cui.”
“Minister Cui…”
“You’re still afflicted with my Love Gu. Taking your life wouldn’t even require lifting a finger.”
As she spoke, Jiang Chenbi wiggled her fingertip. Cui Wangshu felt a stab of pain in her chest, though it vanished quickly—as if it were merely a reminder of the Love Gu’s presence.
Cui Wangshu couldn’t help but ask curiously, “You think highly of me. Aren’t you afraid of backlash from planting Gu Poison on me?”
Jiang Chenbi smiled without replying, her eyes gesturing for Cui Wangshu to open the compartment.
Qimen Dunjia was second nature to Cui Wangshu; unlocking such a simple mechanism was effortless.
Inside the hidden compartment lay only a broken jade pe. The moment Cui Wangshu saw it clearly, her expression grew grave. She asked, “Is this yours?”
Jiang Chenbi replied, “Mm, it even bears the Jiang Clan’s totem.” She finished with an amused stare at Cui Wangshu’s colorful expression.
Cui Wangshu lowered her gaze. She had always suspected her origins; she knew she was not the Cui Family’s child. Yet she had never pursued the truth before—whatever her identity, the status of Cui Family’s legitimate daughter benefited her most.
Now, Jiang Chenbi had placed this half jade pe before her, tantamount to saying she might be a child of the Jiang Clan—a remnant of the previous dynasty.
Cui Wangshu looked up, her pupils dark and bottomless, scrutinizing her: “Who are you?”
Jiang Chenbi toyed, “Doesn’t Little Minister Cui know? The deposed Empress of the central palace.”
Cui Wangshu curled her lip: “You knew I would return tonight and went to such lengths to stage this play. You want my help, but without offering something I desire, why should I assist you?”
Jiang Chenbi said, “I thought you cherished your identity as the Cui Family’s legitimate daughter. So you want to know your true origins too?”
Cui Wangshu fell silent. This half jade pe matched the one from her swaddling clothes—they formed a pair. Often, people were pushed along by events; some truths could not be ignored even if one wished to avoid them.
Cui Wangshu said, “I’ve never claimed there was anything wrong with my background.”
Jiang Chenbi’s brows lowered darkly as she suddenly pulled Cui Wangshu onto the bed. The bed dropped instantly, restoring itself moments later as the two fell into an underground chamber.
Cui Wangshu surveyed the surroundings. Jiang Chenbi had already risen and walked toward the stone wall ahead, with Cui Wangshu following at a distance.
Jiang Chenbi lit a candle. In the flickering light, half her face hid in shadow, her slender frame exuding stubbornness.
The stone wall depicted the Great Zhao Dynasty’s border garrison positions in exquisite detail—even Cui Wangshu was shocked upon seeing it.
“I didn’t know you would come, but I’ve been watching you for a long time.” Jiang Chenbi’s hand caressed the carvings on the wall, her voice echoing in the chamber.
Cui Wangshu eyed the reliefs and frowned: “Watching me?”
Jiang Chenbi turned to face her: “If you choose to hear what comes next, you must betray the Cui Family and your emperor. If you don’t want to hear it and prefer to remain the lofty Minister Cui, then… I’ll kill you now.”
Cui Wangshu stepped closer and sneered: “What makes you think I’m loyal to the Cui Family and the court?”
Jiang Chenbi smiled faintly: “I hope Minister Cui isn’t saying that just to survive.”
Cui Wangshu replied, “If I were loyal to the court, why would I sneak into your Cold Palace at night and let you plant Gu Poison on me?”
Jiang Chenbi’s piercing gaze locked onto Cui Wangshu, the air between them thick with tension.
After a long pause, Jiang Chenbi’s face turned icy: “Twenty-three years ago, Da Yong’s eunuchs held power. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau falsified star omens, deeming the Twin-Born Daughters a harbinger of ruin. They colluded with the traitorous Cui Clan, who sought to enthrone the Li Clan roaming the borders and seize the throne. Empress Jiang swapped the prince with a civet cat and sent you out of the palace, but the Cui Family intercepted you en route and replaced their deceased Cui Wangshu with you.”
Cui Wangshu’s expression grew solemn: “Twin-Born Daughters? What of my sister?”
Jiang Chenbi pursed her lips and looked down: “Unknown whereabouts.”
Cui Wangshu paused, scrutinizing Jiang Chenbi’s face intently before saying, “Then who are you?”
Jiang Chenbi said, “I’m also of the Jiang Clan, though worlds apart from you. When the Jiang Clan was exterminated, my wet nurse hid me with a family of humble weavers… cough cough.”
Before she finished, Jiang Chenbi coughed violently, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. But Cui Wangshu still spotted the blood hidden within.
Cui Wangshu furrowed her brows: “You have hemoptysis?”
Jiang Chenbi said, “No, just poison. Incurable.”
This woman was adept in schemes, poisons, and Witch Gu Arts, yet felled by an unsolvable toxin. Cui Wangshu composed herself: “Hidden masters abound among the common folk. Perhaps one can be found.”
Jiang Chenbi gave a wistful smile, glancing at Cui Wangshu with an inscrutable look: “Perhaps.”
She tucked away the handkerchief and asked, “How does it feel, Cui Family daughter, to have called thieves ‘father’ for so many years?”
A cruel smile tugged at Cui Wangshu’s lips: “Called thieves ‘father’? I’ve never claimed deep father-daughter bonds with Cui Daoyuan.”
Jiang Chenbi drew near, appraising her: “But haven’t you risen step by step in court thanks to the Cui Family’s influence? Minister Cui.”
Cui Wangshu shot her a sidelong glance: “That’s not contradictory. With the Cui Family legitimate daughter’s status and the suffering I’ve endured, this position is mine—and I’ll climb even higher.”
Jiang Chenbi chuckled lightly, lifting her gaze to Cui Wangshu with a seductive tone: “What about the supreme throne above all? Could Minister Cui sit upon it?”
Cui Wangshu curved her lips, her long-suppressed ambition blazing: “Why couldn’t I?”
Jiang Chenbi pressed close. Cui Wangshu was half a head taller; Jiang Chenbi tiptoed, her lips brushing Cui Wangshu’s earlobe as she whispered, “Then shall I help Little Minister Cui ascend to that lofty seat?”
Cui Wangshu frowned, grabbing the woman’s hand wandering at her waist and pulling away. She glared down at Jiang Chenbi, anger flickering in her eyes: “Has Your Empress Majesty overstepped?”
Jiang Chenbi scoffed: “I’ve long been deposed. Where’s the empress in that?”
Cui Wangshu smiled faintly: “If you wish to leave, I can find a way to make the emperor rescind the order.”
Jiang Chenbi said, “The Cui Family’s methods are impressive, but… I prefer the undisturbed days in the Cold Palace.”
Cui Wangshu uttered an “Oh?”: “Then what do you want?”
Jiang Chenbi stared at Cui Wangshu’s face: “Little Minister Cui, with your celestial beauty, of course I want you.”
Cui Wangshu knitted her brows, stepping back: “I have no interest in women.”
Jiang Chenbi feigned regret: “Then when my Love Gu acts up, can’t Little Minister Cui lend a hand?”
“Love Gu?” Cui Wangshu asked, puzzled.
Jiang Chenbi said earnestly: “Planting the Love Gu on you was a last resort. That old witch tricked me—if my Love Gu doesn’t have its other half, I won’t live past thirty. How else can I help you claim the throne?”
Cui Wangshu drew a sharp breath: “You! You’re utterly shameless. Don’t you know a forced melon isn’t sweet?”
Jiang Chenbi said nothing, merely rolling up her sleeve to reveal the vermilion Virgin Mark on her wrist. She gazed at Cui Wangshu with amorous eyes: “Little Minister Cui, do you really not want to taste a woman’s flavor?”
Cui Wangshu stared into Jiang Chenbi’s eyes, feeling the scene before her grow unreal, her consciousness blurring. A voice whispered in her mind: She’s exactly your type—slender waist you could span with one hand. Cui Wangshu, don’t you want to taste a woman?
The woman before her had reddened eyes, approaching languidly to pluck the high mountain flower and savor its nectar.
Just as her mind teetered on the edge, Cui Wangshu snapped awake. Realizing what happened, she gnashed her teeth: “Hyp—nosis—Tech—nique—”
But the Jiang Chenbi who should have been before her now stood aside, doubled over in laughter: “So Little Minister Cui isn’t a saint after all. I thought you truly had no desire for me—it was just feigned.”
Cui Wangshu stared at Jiang Chenbi wordlessly, her face darkening, the vein on her forehead pulsing with restrained fury.
Satisfied with her teasing, Jiang Chenbi stopped laughing, wiped the tears from her eyes, and poked Cui Wangshu’s chest with a finger: “A weak woman like me needs some means to protect herself around that dog emperor. Should I have given it to him? I’d have been disgusted to death before revenge.”
Her tone shifted to pitiful: “The Hypnosis Technique is real, the Love Gu is real, and my feelings for you, Cui Wangshu, are real too. Think it over, Minister Cui. You should head back for morning court now. Remember to come find me tomorrow night.”
Without waiting for a reply, Jiang Chenbi walked to one side, pressed a mechanism, and a passage opened in the chamber. She paused: “Don’t miss the hour, Minister Cui.” She drew out the last three words with lingering intimacy.
Cui Wangshu stared at Jiang Chenbi’s retreating back, her eyes inscrutable. Not daring to linger, she quickly left the chamber.
Before morning court, Cui Daoyuan stopped Cui Wangshu, staring into her eyes with an icy expression: “Where did you go yesterday? Why didn’t you return all night?”
