The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Pei Guanyue could never have imagined that after he secretly ordered the substitution of a fake head, that head would again be switched by Cui Xun’s men. This wasn’t entirely Pei Guanyue’s fault—how could he have known that in the tightly surrounded Cui residence, there was a ghost constantly delivering messages for Cui Xun?
In the Cui residence, Cui Xun carefully examined the letter written by Yu Fuwei. After reading it, he placed the letter over the candlelight and burned it. Li Ying said, “Yu Fuwei says everything has been arranged properly, but the Türkic Yabgu is guarding General Guo’s head very strictly. The spies haven’t been able to get it yet.”
“It’s fine,” Cui Xun replied. His face still bore traces of pallor from his recent illness. He coughed a few times, but instead of stopping, the cough grew increasingly severe. Li Ying looked at him with concern. Cui Xun forcibly suppressed the urge to cough rising from his chest. He managed a smile, avoiding her concern about his health, and said, “As long as we know the whereabouts of General Guo’s head, there are other ways.”
But Li Ying persisted, “Cui Xun, are you alright?”
Cui Xun shook his head. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
Li Ying bit her lip slightly. “In Ashina Jia’s memories, I saw that Ashina Wuduo often hung you outside the felt tent during winter. Sometimes for several days at a time. Your sensitivity to cold—it’s an ailment left from that time, isn’t it?”
Cui Xun was momentarily stunned. This experience was something he didn’t particularly want to discuss. Li Ying also knew of his pain and generally avoided mentioning it, but for some reason, she brought it up today.
Li Ying seemed to perceive his unspoken question. Looking at him, she said, “I just feel that you, Cui Wangshu, are the most resilient person I have ever met.” She smiled bitterly. “I often wonder, if I were in your place, how long could I have endured? I think probably no more than ten days.”
She continued, “Not just me—anyone in the world should consider how many days they could last. Cui Xun, you always feel that your experience brings you shame. You said that in the Türk lands, you weren’t a person but livestock. I understand—the prisoner presentation ceremony, and also…” She paused, then continued, “They all caused you great harm. You were the son of a noble family, one who would rather die than be humiliated. But I don’t see it as humiliation; rather, I see it as the same pride as Su Wu herding sheep in captivity.”
Her voice gradually became firmer. “If one day the world learns of everything you’ve done, I believe no one would consider it shameful.”
She said, “So, Cui Xun, when you were among the Türks, you weren’t livestock; you were a hero.”
Cui Xun stared at her intently. Her eyes sparkled like stars, full of frankness and sincerity. Perhaps she was too sincere, causing Cui Xun to momentarily feel bewildered. Hero… he had never imagined that this word could be associated with him.
He lowered his head, hiding the emotion that appeared in his eyes. He murmured, “You still remember what I said that day…”
He hadn’t expected that the words he used when rejecting Li Ying—about being livestock or a vicious dog—would be brought up by her today, just to comfort him.
Li Ying nodded. “I remember, because your words kept me awake for several nights. When I thought about them in the middle of the night, I would sit up and tell myself: you’re not a vicious dog or livestock. But then I thought, what good does it do for me to tell myself? You don’t know. I need to tell you.”
She pressed her lips together, then added, “I know you don’t like to talk about what happened in the Türk lands, but even if you blame me, I still need to say it—I can’t stand to hear you speak about yourself that way.”
Cui Xun didn’t speak, only keeping his head lowered. After a while, he said hoarsely, “I won’t blame you.”
“Hmm?”
“I won’t blame you,” Cui Xun softly repeated. “In the future, I won’t speak about myself that way anymore.”
Li Ying immediately felt relieved. “Then I can finally get a good night’s sleep.”
Hearing this, Cui Xun couldn’t help but laugh softly. When he laughed, it was like spring water melting ice—the corners of his eyes and the tips of his eyebrows all radiated warmth. It was quite a beautiful sight. Li Ying was momentarily entranced. When she came to her senses, she lowered her head in embarrassment. When she looked up again, she noticed a few strands of Cui Xun’s hair scattered at his temples. Born into a noble family, Cui Xun had always maintained a proper appearance, but weakened by his recent illness, he had simply pinned his hair with a jade hairpin. However, due to his weak wrists and the limitations of the shackles, he hadn’t done it well. Seeing those few loose strands, Li Ying said, “Cui Xun, let me tie your hair for you.”
As usual, Cui Xun refused. “This isn’t something a Princess of the Great Zhou should do.”
Li Ying asked, “Then what do you think a Princess of the Great Zhou should do? Does being a princess mean one must maintain pride and wait for the beloved to approach, rather than actively approaching the one she loves?”
She paused, then added, “A Princess of the Great Zhou also has the right to actively pursue love.”
She spoke so frankly and passionately that Cui Xun couldn’t refuse. He dared not refuse, fearing that if he did, she would say even more things that he couldn’t handle or answer.
Before the bronze mirror, Li Ying gently removed the jade hairpin, and his black hair immediately cascaded down like a waterfall. Li Ying took a silver comb and gently combed his hair, then carefully pinned it up with the jade hairpin. No more loose strands remained at his temples. While she was combing his hair, Cui Xun remained quiet, watching her in the bronze mirror. The young woman beside him had a beautiful face and a gentle expression. Afraid of hurting him, her movements were very slow and light. She truly cared about him, just as she had said—she didn’t want him to suffer even the slightest harm.
The scene was so beautiful that he almost felt it was unreal. Was this truly not a dream?
But he quickly recalled that day when she had embraced him and looked up to ask, “Cui Xun, am I a dream?”
His body seemed to still retain her warmth from that day. Suddenly, he felt relieved. This was not a dream.
It was real.
She truly existed.
When Li Ying had secured Cui Xun’s hair bun with the jade hairpin, she noticed him staring blankly into the bronze mirror. She couldn’t help asking, “What are you thinking about?”
Cui Xun looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled wryly. “I was thinking that if the late Emperor and the Empress Dowager knew you were tying my hair, they would probably kill me.”
Li Ying smiled. “Are my father and mother really that frightening?”
Cui Xun also smiled. “Perhaps only the Princess thinks they are not frightening.”
The imperial couple, feared like tigers by everyone in the world, only became gentle as wool around Li Ying’s little finger.
Li Ying smiled. “No, you’re the one I care for. If Father and Mother knew, they would be kind to you too.”
Cui Xun made no reply. The late Emperor and Empress Dowager had chosen men like Zheng Yun for Li Ying—those with pure family backgrounds, gentle temperaments, as clear and bright as the wind and moon. They just hadn’t anticipated Wang Ranxi.
They wouldn’t like him.
Moreover, the Empress Dowager disliked him very much.
People in the world said he was the Empress Dowager’s favorite, which was completely unjust. Only Cui Xun himself knew clearly that the Empress Dowager treated him like any ordinary official, or perhaps even worse than an ordinary official.
In her heart, the Empress Dowager had always despised him.
That disdain was not directed at him but was an extension of her hatred—because the Empress Dowager despised his uncle, Cui Songqing, her disdain extended to him as well. The reason she employed him as the Deputy Commissioner of the Investigation Office was simply because he was a useful tool.
Just as the late Emperor had viewed Jin Ni—Jin Ni was a despicable person, and the late Emperor must have disliked him as well. But when an emperor employs people, how can it be based solely on personal preferences? As long as someone is useful, they are used. If appointments were made purely based on likes and dislikes, how could one maintain stable rule over the realm?
However, the Empress Dowager hated Cui Songqing, yet when Cui Xun, as the only survivor of the Imperial Guards, returned from the Türks and was imprisoned in the Dali Temple jail for an entire year, the Empress Dowager showed no concern. Why had she suddenly gone to the Dali Temple jail after a year, ignoring memorial after memorial from the censors, disregarding the whispers of the common people, and defying public opinion to rescue him?
If it were only because he was a useful tool, there were far too many useful tools in the world to make this necessary.
This matter had always puzzled Cui Xun.
While he was pondering this, Li Ying noticed a few strands of his black hair wrapped around the teeth of the silver comb. She removed the hair from the comb teeth, looked at it for a moment, and instead of discarding it, quietly tucked it into her sleeve.
That night, the Empress Dowager, whom Cui Xun was certain would never like him, was reclining on a couch. A young man knelt beside her, gently massaging her shoulders.