Chapter 390: Chapter 388: Ceremony for Taking a Concubine
Faced with Shangguan Min’s candid words, Cui Ji spoke directly: "I will give you the dignity you deserve, but as for matters of the bedchamber and heirs..."
"I understand. These are things that cannot be forced." Shangguan Min was very calm, clearly having thought this through before marriage. "I believe in leaving things to fate."
The young woman was understanding and reasonable.
Cui Ji couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. "I’m sorry for dragging you into this."
Shangguan Min smiled faintly. "Husband came from Gan State and may not know that for women of noble families like us, we may seem glamorous, but in truth, we are never in control of our own lives. Marrying you—I count myself fortunate."
The dragon and phoenix wedding candle burned quietly.
Though they shared a bed that night, their thoughts did not converge.
The next morning.
After Shen Yinning had briefly adorned herself, a nanny sent from the palace arrived with stern reminders. "The Commandery Princess must go today to serve tea to the official wife, following the etiquette of a concubine."
Facing the bronze mirror, Shen Yinning pinned a golden hairpin into her coiffure. "The new emperor ascends the throne, yet instead of handling state affairs, why is he fixated on Cui Darén’s inner court? Even something as trivial as serving tea has to be overseen—is he truly so idle?"
Nanny Gui’s expression was severe. "This old servant was sent by the Empress Dowager."
Shen Yinning’s movements paused.
So, it was Empress Dowager Li...
Of course. She had refused to follow the Empress Dowager’s plan to bear a royal heir, then chose to shift allegiance from Lu Ying to Lu Zhengliu. To Empress Dowager Li, she was nothing more than a disobedient chess piece.
The Empress Dowager was seeking revenge.
Shen Yinning lowered her gaze with a quiet laugh.
Nanny Gui frowned. "Why is the Commandery Princess laughing?!"
"It’s nothing." Shen Yinning closed the dressing case, her tone laced with sarcasm. "The Empress Dowager meticulously planned for Miss Li, but now that the new emperor has ascended, established an empress, and taken concubines, I’ve heard that every woman in the Eastern Palace’s harem has been rewarded. I wonder—did the Empress Dowager secure any rank for Miss Li?"
Nanny Gui’s expression froze; a moment later, she became even sterner. "This has nothing to do with the Commandery Princess!"
Shen Yinning observed her reaction and sneered slightly. "Judging by your behavior, I suppose not. Both parties are the emperor’s cousins, yet despite all that effort, it seems one word from General Huo outweighs a lifetime of scheming."
With a faint smirk, Shen Yinning gracefully stepped out of her room.
Nanny Gui’s face grew darker still.
Indeed, Shen Yinning’s words barely stopped short of directly claiming the Li Family’s fall from power and its inferiority to the Huo Family’s prominence!
No wonder people said that Princess Zhaoning was cunning, calculating, and insidious. This brief exchange allowed Nanny Gui firsthand experience of just how ruthless this young woman really was. With only a few sentences, she retaliated against the Empress Dowager!
Nanny Gui, full of pent-up frustration, arrived at the main hall of the Cui Mansion, where Cui Ji and Shangguan Min were already present.
She glared at Shen Yinning, as if regaining her footing. "Assistant Minister Cui, the Empress Dowager feels for the Commandery Princess, taking on the position of a concubine for you, so she specially sent me to look after her. Today, as she serves tea in the manner of a concubine, neither of you is to treat or neglect her lightly!"
On the surface, her words seemed to express support for Shen Yinning.
However, Cui Ji had originally decided to forgo requiring Shen Yinning to serve tea to Shangguan Min. With Nanny Gui’s statement, the expectation to perform the concubine’s tea ceremony was emphasized instead.
Cui Ji spoke coldly: "It’s just a cup of tea; it can be skipped without issue."
Nanny Gui huffed. "Ancestral customs cannot be disregarded. Someone, bring the tea."
The attendants she brought with her were all palace maids from the Cining Palace.
One maid placed a kneeling cushion on the floor, while another brought two cups of steaming tea.
Nanny Gui smiled mockingly at Shen Yinning. "Commandery Princess, please."
This was the consequence of offending the Empress Dowager.
Although the Li Family had declined, as long as the Empress Dowager was still present, the Li Family would always have a pillar of support and the hope of resurgence.
Shen Yinning, an orphan, no matter how intelligent and resourceful, was ultimately alone.
What kind of waves could she possibly make under the Empress Dowager’s grasp?
Cui Ji’s entire body was tense; his long, slender fingers clenched tightly around the jade pendant at his waist, his Adam’s apple bobbing faintly, his eyes filled with an unbearable sadness.
But Shen Yinning acted as if nothing was amiss, gracefully kneeling onto the cushion, lifting a cup of tea, and serving it to Cui Ji.
His eyes reddened. "Commandery Princess..."
Shen Yinning’s voice was calm and detached. "Husband, please accept the tea."
Suppressing the storm of pain surging in his chest, Cui Ji lowered his gaze and, with trembling hands, accepted the cup of tea.
Shen Yinning picked up the second cup and offered it to Shangguan Min. "Madam, please accept the tea."
Shangguan Min had no intention of making things difficult for her; instead, she secretly admired Shen Yinning’s ability to show resilience and adaptability.
If Cui Ji had shown favor to any other young lady of the gentry, Shangguan Min might have felt some indignation. But if it was Shen Yinning, she conceded wholeheartedly.
Taking the tea cup, Shangguan Min personally helped Shen Yinning to her feet. "The Commandery Princess and I are like sisters. There is no need for formality in the future."
Nanny Gui rolled her eyes.
The Prime Minister’s daughter was truly useless, not understanding even basic tactics for competing for favor or asserting dominance!
The Empress Dowager had once considered bestowing her in marriage to the Li Family’s heir apparent. In hindsight, it seemed fortunate it had never come to pass.
Cui Ji raised his gaze coldly. "The ritual is now complete. Nanny, you may return to the palace to report your mission. Someone, see her out."
"Ah—"
Nanny Gui still wanted to say something, but the steward of the Cui Mansion had already entered with servants, promptly ushering her away.
Shangguan Min’s gaze swept over Cui Ji and Shen Yinning, discerning that the two surely had matters to discuss.
She rose and curtsied. "As I am newly arrived, I wish to walk around and familiarize myself. Please, excuse me."
After she left, Cui Ji dismissed the remaining maids and earnestly knelt on the ground, lifting the hem of his robe.
Shen Yinning had just taken her seat, intending to eat some breakfast.
Seeing him like this, she was taken aback. "What are you doing?"
Kneeling forward, Cui Ji looked up at her face. "I, Cui Ji, am unworthy. I failed to protect the Commandery Princess from the new emperor and allowed you to fall into such circumstances. I have failed your nurture and come to make amends!"
Shen Yinning studied him for a moment before letting out a soft laugh.
If Lu Ying’s feelings for her had been as steadfast as Cui Ji’s, would she ever have aligned herself with Lu Zhengliu?
She helped Cui Ji up and said indifferently, "Today’s outcome is one I brought upon myself. I can’t blame anyone else. Losing to Lu Ying was also my own failure to see him clearly. It has nothing to do with you. That I am still sitting here today, not thrown into a prison cell by Shen Xinghan, is thanks in no small part to you. You are willing to protect me and the child in my womb; for that, I am already deeply grateful. Cui Ji, you owe me nothing."
His gaze fell on her still-flat abdomen.
He knew that within her, Lu Ying’s child was growing.
Before their marriage, the Commandery Princess had already confided this to him, even offering to reject the imperial edict if he could not accept it.
But he didn’t mind.
People called Shen Yinning vicious, cunning, and inscrutable, yet he insisted on giving her status and vowed to protect her in the midst of wolves.
He personally served her a bowl of bird’s nest porridge. "Cui Ji believes the Commandery Princess should focus on nurturing her child, leaving the infighting in his harem to those women. After the child is born, then consider plans for revenge against the Shen Family. Your father and mother, surely, would also want you to take care of yourself and the child."
The youngest top scholar in Great Zhou, holding the Third Rank with a brilliant future ahead, often dressed in teal brocade robes. His brows carried a perpetual misty coolness, making him seem unapproachable.
Shen Yinning raised her hand, touching the strand of white hair at his forehead.
Cui Ji was like a damp, cold spring rain.
Yet to her, his essence always retained a warmth.