Dazed and confused, Cui Wangshu had no idea that her dear wife was ready to kick her off the bed at any moment.
The two of them had gone a bit overboard these past couple of days, so the following few days passed in uncharacteristic blandness. They went to bed early, and only then did Cui Wangshu discover that Jiang Chenbi was not actually a heavy sleeper.
Cui Wangshu went to court every day, leaving Jiang Chenbi bored in the residence. Recently, she had suddenly become obsessed with painting.
She had learned a mishmash of things, but she wasn’t particularly proficient in the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting that children of noble families studied from a young age. Her nature was free-spirited and unrestrained; she disliked being bound by rules and preferred strange things like gu worms and hypnosis techniques.
Although she had trained in them later on, Jiang Chenbi resisted them deep down, so she hadn’t learned them well.
Now, bored in the Shangshu Residence, and after Cui Wangshu had painted her portrait a few days earlier—seeing her own likeness on the canvas—Jiang Chenbi suddenly took an interest and wanted to paint Cui Wangshu as well.
She was clever and had some foundation, so with a few pointers from Cui Wangshu, she quickly got the hang of it. Thus, while Cui Wangshu handled official duties, Jiang Chenbi practiced painting in the residence.
When Cui Wangshu returned, the two would stick together again. Occasionally, if she came back early, they would take a stroll to Xiaoyun Pavilion.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
The sky was just beginning to lighten when Cui Wangshu rose. She glanced at the still soundly sleeping Jiang Chenbi, stole a fragrant kiss on her face, changed her clothes, and left.
Last night, Jiang Chenbi had insisted on painting her. As they painted, things devolved into playfulness again. Jiang Chenbi had her fun without restraint, leaving many marks on her neck. Cui Wangshu spent a long time covering them up, making sure they wouldn’t be noticed before leaving the Shangshu Residence.
At the morning court session.
Li Cong looked down at the assembled officials, a strange excitement gleaming in his eyes. His cheeks were deeply sunken, his eye sockets hollowed out, his entire visage gaunt—yet those eyes were unnaturally spirited.
That morning, the censors had impeached Cui Daoyuan again. Unexpectedly, Cui Daoyuan had argued directly with the censor, his eyes bulging with fury, utterly devoid of the composure befitting the Cabinet Prime Minister.
The Cui family was now like a tiger fallen on hard times. Under Li Cong’s suppression and Cui Wangshu’s covert fanning of the flames, only a few core powerholders remained; their wings had been thoroughly clipped.
On Li Cong’s side, his mental state had devolved into something eerie. He was single-mindedly focused on bringing down Cui Daoyuan—yet in doing so, he harmed himself nearly as much. The Empress Dowager wouldn’t stand idly by; Cui Daoyuan had bitten back several times, leaving scarcely any usable officials of third rank or higher.
But Li Cong seemed unconcerned and continued his siege on Cui Daoyuan.
Originally, Cui Daoyuan had asked Cui Wangshu to handle these matters for him, hoping to resolve them as before. But his tolerance had been low lately, and Li Cong had repeatedly targeted him overtly.
Meanwhile, Cui Wangshu was deliberately saddled with official duties every few days, clearly kept from interfering.
Any discerning eye could see that the Emperor had laid his cards on the table: he wanted the Cui family dead. Those seeking survival or to preserve their careers chose not to join the fray.
Since the founding of Great Zhao, the Cui family had never suffered such humiliation. With the Empress Dowager backing him, Cui Daoyuan naturally refused to be hunted down willingly.
Thus, the undercurrents in the court had surged to the surface. The hall buzzed with unrest as many felt the intensifying pressure from both sides.
Yet there was something odd: Cui Wangshu, clearly a Cui, faced the least pressure. The Ministry of Rites could find no fault with her, leaving the Emperor unable to touch her directly. He could only bury her under a pile of miscellaneous tasks.
Look, even Minister Cui appeared pale with exhaustion.
A few officials secretly eyed Cui Wangshu’s complexion, their thoughts plain on their faces. Recently, Minister Cui had indeed been overworked, reportedly falling ill several times.
Whether due to her sickly demeanor or the Cui family’s tottering tree, many officials felt that the sharp edge she once had was gone.
She seemed unusually low-key, which only convinced the courtiers that the Cui family’s downfall was inevitable.
Because of Cui Daoyuan’s altercation with the censor, the Emperor flew into a massive rage that day and directly stripped Cui Daoyuan of his title as Grand Scholar of Wenyuan Hall.
With this, Cui Daoyuan could no longer be called the Cabinet Prime Minister and was reduced to merely the Minister of Personnel.
The court fell into dead silence; no one had expected the Emperor to strike such a heavy blow to the Cui family over this.
The Minister of Personnel was the head of officials, but without the Grand Scholar title, Cui Daoyuan was no longer the foremost among them.
Cui Daoyuan nearly choked on his breath. Glancing at Cui Wangshu, he saw her lost in thought. From his angle, he could even spot the red mark on her neck that she hadn’t covered properly.
Cui Daoyuan suffered a heart attack and blacked out, collapsing right there on the court floor.
Minister Cui covered her mouth and coughed, her pale face showing anxiety, seemingly deeply worried for her father. Yet her own frail appearance made her seem even more pitiable than the man on the ground.
Li Cong coldly swept his gaze over Cui Wangshu’s weary face, satisfaction flickering in his eyes.
Ever since taking that half-bowl of her heart’s blood, Cui Wangshu was like a spine had been extracted from her—no longer the strategist she once was. Fang Qiutan had said that with her current constitution, even if she ascended to Prime Minister, she wouldn’t last more than a few years.
But that was enough to take on Li Cong’s karmic ties from the mortal world. Once the time came, he could sever his worldly entanglements and formally ascend to immortality.
This was why, despite wanting to kill Cui Wangshu, Li Cong had held back. The Cui family could die, but she had to live to bear his karma.
The imperial physicians were summoned. Li Cong snorted coldly and left directly.
Cui Wangshu caught a glimpse of Li Cong’s departing figure from the corner of her eye, her gaze darkening as she lowered her lashes to hide the coldness beneath.
After diagnosis and acupuncture, the imperial physician revived Cui Daoyuan, but…
Cui Daoyuan pointed at Cui Wangshu, seemingly trying to say something, but his mouth skewed, his eye slanted; he couldn’t speak, drool flowing from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, he had suffered a stroke.
The onlookers stared at Cui Daoyuan’s state, finding it bizarre. How could a perfectly healthy person suddenly stroke out, even if anger rushed to his head?
Cui Wangshu stood over him, her dark pupils gazing down coldly. Worry hung on her face, but her eyes held no emotion—indecipherable.
She crouched slightly, grasping Cui Daoyuan’s hand, concern flowing from her eyes as she choked out, “Father, your daughter will escort you back to the residence and fetch the best physicians to treat you.”
With the daughter speaking so, what could they say? Cui Wangshu had people carry Cui Daoyuan out of the imperial palace. In the carriage back, Cui Daoyuan leaned crookedly, glaring viciously at her.
Cui Wangshu glanced faintly at him, her face still etched with worry as she furrowed her brows. “Father, don’t worry. Your daughter will find the best doctors to treat you.”
At this point, whatever curses Cui Daoyuan harbored for her distraction during his misfortune couldn’t be voiced. He could only note it in his heart, to settle once his stroke healed.
After delivering Cui Daoyuan to the Cui Residence, Cui Wangshu left immediately, infuriating him into tremors.
But Cui Wangshu had no interest in his expression. After leaving the Cui Residence, she sent someone to fetch Wang Xian and have him come to the residence.
Cui Daoyuan’s fire wasn’t burning hot enough yet.
She wanted him, after a brief recovery, to watch with his own eyes as he plunged into utter hell.
Cui Wangshu turned back, staring coldly at the two large characters “Cui Residence” on the plaque. A cruel smile hooked her lips.
She lifted the carriage curtain and slipped inside.
On the way back, Cui Wangshu timed it in her mind. Midway, she detoured to Xiaoyun Pavilion to pick up an item before returning to the Shangshu Residence.
Jiang Chenbi was already awake and, seeing her return so late, asked curiously, “Why so late today?”
Cui Wangshu curved her lips and handed her the item from Xiaoyun Pavilion, raising a brow. “Take a look?”
Jiang Chenbi looked down at the small jar, took it from her hand, and opened it. A familiar strange fragrance wafted out. She held her breath, quickly resealing it, and frowned. “How do you have this?”
The contents of the jar were Seven Scatters Incense, an extremely potent hallucinogenic scent. Within seven seconds, it could seize one’s mind. Those with strong mental fortitude could recover within seven days under antidote, but the weak-minded would go permanently insane, antidote useless.
One key ingredient of Seven Scatters Incense was Jade Face Asura. A guess flashed through Jiang Chenbi’s mind, and she affirmed, “The Jade Face Asura from Tongzhou—you took some.”
Cui Wangshu’s lips held a meaningful smile, not denying it. “Yes.”
Back then, after leaving that courtyard west of Tongzhou City with Ji Yunwei, she had quietly returned and taken some Jade Face Asura, handing it to Wang Xian to refine into Seven Scatters Incense.
Meeting the determination in Cui Wangshu’s eyes, Jiang Chenbi sighed. “You really plan ten steps ahead. Even with the Kang Kingdom envoy pressing on you then, you still found time to think of Seven Scatters Incense.”
Cui Wangshu narrowed her eyes, hatred undisguised. “Karma’s retribution—I want him to die by his own favored method.”
Back when Cui Daoyuan had locked her in a room full of Corpse Fragrance Devil Taro and tormented her with illusions, now she would let him taste illusions himself.
The other key ingredient in Seven Scatters Incense was Corpse Fragrance Devil Taro.
Jiang Chenbi paused, understanding the “he” referred to Cui Daoyuan. Her gaze darkened, her voice cooling. “Planning to act today?”
Cui Wangshu looked down at the Seven Scatters Incense in her hand and sneered, “How can I waste this golden opportunity from Li Cong?”
After Wang Xian administered acupuncture to Cui Daoyuan today, he would briefly recover. He would surely come to the Shangshu Residence to find her.
She had prepared a grand show for Cui Daoyuan… Wonder if he could withstand it?
Jiang Chenbi raised her eyes to her. “How do you plan to do it?”
Cui Wangshu leaned in and whispered a few words in her ear. Jiang Chenbi listened, amusement flickering in her eyes as her lips curved.
If that was the case, it would truly be a good show.
Cui Wangshu pulled back. Their gazes met, both seeing the playfulness in the other’s eyes. Jiang Chenbi narrowed hers, reached out to grab Cui Wangshu’s collar, and pulled her close, her gaze sliding to her lips.
“Little Minister Cui, you’re quite the schemer.” The woman’s upturned ending carried an indescribable allure.
It had been a long time since she last called her that.
Cui Wangshu raised her hand, clamping Jiang Chenbi’s chin, and bit her lip. Danger flashed in her eyes as she murmured lowly, “Am I old?”
