"The Cui Family has been Generations of Official Nobility, and the Li residence and I…"
Scorching sunlight streamed in from outside the door, where a tall figure stood in the entrance hall.
A gentleman of impeccable integrity, noble as a crane and pure as the bright moon, carrying an air of frost and snow.
The man still wore his purple official robe, a python-patterned jade belt cinching his slender waist, making his posture appear even more upright. His sharp, handsome features held a trace of the cold severity and weariness from the official world.
Behind him, the shattered gold of the setting sun spilled onto the vermilion lacquered pillars across the way, a gentle breeze stirring the bamboo curtains beneath the eaves.
The Guogong Fu was grand and elegant.
Yet, with Cui Zhuo simply standing there quietly, all that originally dignified opulence instantly paled in comparison.
Three years had passed without seeing him, yet time seemed to have left few marks on him. Instead, the cool detachment he once carried had settled into an even more imposing authority and depth.
He remained as calm and steady as before, as if born untroubled by emotion—even though Li Tingyuan had seen him so impassioned in the darkness of night, he still remained composed and self-possessed afterward.
The man paused at the doorway, his gaze sweeping indifferently over everyone in the hall.
Li Tingyuan hurriedly lowered her eyes, her icy fingertips unconsciously twisting together, and even her breathing grew faint.
Yet, Cui Zhuo’s gaze lingered on her face for no more than an instant.
When he looked at her, it was as if he were glancing at a chair or a decorative object in the room, his expression consistently aloof and distant. After giving her a slight nod in acknowledgment, he calmly shifted his gaze away and stepped across the threshold.
Li Tingyuan’s twisting fingers abruptly stilled, her cheeks instantly burning hot.
He truly remembered nothing.
What had she been expecting just now, or what had she been nervous about?
The corner of her lips twisted almost mockingly, and all the anxiety and insecurity in her heart turned into self-disgust.
—He never remembered, nor did he ever take that night seriously.
Perhaps in his eyes, that night’s accident was not even worth as much as an ink stain on his desk; only she kept recalling that evening over and over.
It felt as though he were the pure, lofty moon in the sky, already spoken for, while she still hid in the shadows, shamelessly defiling him again and again.
All the warmth from earlier, in the face of his indifference at this moment, became utterly insignificant.
Li Tingyuan took a deep, quiet breath, forcing herself to rein in all her thoughts and properly rise with the others to pay her respects.
Suddenly, the little chubby bundle who had been in Wen Shi’s arms struggled to get down. While everyone else bowed their heads in respect, he cheerfully called out "Daddy!" and threw himself against Cui Zhuo’s leg.
That "Daddy" pierced Li Tingyuan’s heart sharply, and she instinctively looked up at the father and son.
Cui Zhuo bent down to pick up the child, and only then did a rare hint of a smile appear in his otherwise indifferent expression.
He was naturally tall, and lifting a two-year-old child effortlessly seemed like nothing to him.
"Did Chengxiao eat well today?"
The little chubby bundle cupped his cheeks and planted a loud, smacking kiss on his face, replying in a milky, earnest voice:
"In reply to Daddy, Chengxiao ate very well today! At lunch, Chengxiao had two chicken drumsticks!"
Cui Zhuo chuckled softly, adjusting to a more secure position to hold the child steadily.
Li Tingyuan had never seen such a side of Cui Zhuo before.
His purple court robe still carried the chill and solemnity of the imperial court, yet the way he held the child was gentle and doting.
Li Tingyuan pressed her lips together slightly, a pang of bitterness spreading in her heart.
Cui Zhuo brushed past her with the child in his arms, walking to the head of the room. "Mother."
Wen Shi took the child from his hands. Cui Zhuo's gaze swept over Li Tingyuan as he asked, seemingly casually:
"Mother, who is this?"
"You've returned just in time. I was about to send someone to look for you."
Mother Cui pulled Li Tingyuan forward. "This is Tingyuan, Li Tingyuan—the girl I've often mentioned to you. She used to visit the estate frequently to see Yao'er, but you were likely too busy to notice."
She patted Li Tingyuan's hand and said to Cui Zhuo with unwavering certainty:
"Tingyuan is alone and helpless. I've already discussed with her and Yao'er about formally recognizing her as a daughter. Find a suitable opportunity to arrange it, open the ancestral hall, and settle the matter as soon as possible."
Cui Yueyao nodded eagerly in agreement beside them.
The words of refusal Li Tingyuan had intended to speak were stifled in her throat by the mother and daughter, leaving her no choice but to lower her head slightly, using the gesture to conceal the unease in her eyes.
Upon hearing this, Cui Zhuo indeed turned slightly, his gaze falling upon her once more.
His thin, pale eyelids lowered slightly as he looked at her, this time with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.
He stood there, his figure elegant and composed, even exuding an air of calm assurance.
Yet, for a man like Cui Zhuo—long immersed in the officialdom and holding a position of authority—even a calm, sweeping glance carried a depth and sharpness that felt oppressive.
Li Tingyuan's breath hitched sharply. Under his scrutiny, she felt like a commodity awaiting appraisal, exposed and embarrassed with nowhere to hide.
Three years ago… three years ago, when she had mustered the courage to wrap her arms around his waist by the bedside, the corner of her eye had caught his gaze—just as calm and inscrutable, looking down at her with that same detached assessment.
Time ticked by, and the heartbeat in Li Tingyuan's chest grew faster and faster, a scalding heat rising uncontrollably to her cheeks.
After a long while—
"Recognize her as a daughter?"
Cui Zhuo's voice was cool, entirely different from the tone he had used when speaking to the child earlier.
He seemed to let out an extremely faint laugh.
Li Tingyuan's fingertips, hanging at her sides, trembled violently.
After uttering those words, Cui Zhuo was in no hurry to continue. Instead, he walked to the seat of honor and sat down, casually picking up the teacup beside him.
The man's gaze was obscured behind the steaming mist, unclear and elusive. Yet the hand holding the cup was distinct in its bone structure, smooth as jade, with slightly prominent veins that coiled with strength.
Today's tea seemed not to his liking. Li Tingyuan noticed his brows furrow ever so slightly.
The room was utterly silent, everyone holding their breath, waiting for Cui Zhuo to speak.
After a long pause, the teacup was placed back on the table, the clink of porcelain against wood emitting a crisp, measured sound.
Only then did the young head of the Cui Family turn his gaze back to Li Tingyuan, unhurriedly examining her face, his tone steady and devoid of any fluctuation:
"Mother's kindness is understood, but—"
His words were measured, yet each syllable struck clearly in the ears of everyone present. "Recognizing kinship in Zhenguo Gongfu is not like adoption in an ordinary household. It involves far-reaching implications."
"Miss Li."
He addressed her with the most formal title. "If I recall correctly, your late father, Lord Li, previously served as a fifth-rank Director of the Waterways Bureau in the Ministry of Works."
Li Tingyuan's breath caught slightly.
Then, she heard him utter the most humiliating words since he had entered the room:
"The Li family is a distinguished lineage of scholars, its traditions naturally upright and honorable. However, the Cui Family has been a Generations of Official Nobility. The status of the Li residence and my Zhenguo Gongfu… are ultimately not the same."
He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping almost imperceptibly over Li Tingyuan's increasingly pale face, and continued:
"If we were to rashly acknowledge kinship, it would only invite baseless speculation from the outside world. This would not benefit Miss Li's reputation, and I fear it might also harm the prestige of my Guogong Fu."
Cui Zhuo's tone was very calm, so calm it bordered on indifference.
The color drained from Li Tingyuan's face bit by bit, as if she had plunged into an icy abyss, and then, under the varied gazes of everyone present, she felt as though she were being roasted over a fire.
She couldn't even control the trembling that began to wrack her body.
"Brother!" Cui Yueyao rushed forward to support her, stamping her foot in anger. "How could you say such things to her!"
"Mingheng…"
Mother Cui also frowned disapprovingly.
Cui Zhuo remained expressionless, his gaze still fixed on Li Tingyuan. His dark, unfathomable eyes gave no hint of what he was thinking.
After a long moment, he rubbed his thumb along the rim of his teacup and decisively settled the matter:
"If Mother truly pities her, simply take Miss Li as an Adopted Daughter. Offering her a measure of protection while preserving our affection is sufficient."
Li Tingyuan bit her lower lip hard, the sour ache in her nasal cavity threatening to spill over.
She had shared a secret night with him.
Though he remained as lofty and unattainable as ever, Li Tingyuan had subconsciously felt that he was different from others.
But now she realized that in Cui Zhuo's eyes, she was merely an insignificant stranger, not even fit to stand in the same world as this illustrious and powerful Guogong Fu.
Cui Zhuo was upright and composed, residing in the clouds. He would not, nor did he deign to, show contempt or disgust toward a "stranger" like her.
He had simply, in a tone as light as the breeze, stated a fact to Li Tingyuan—she was not worthy.
The title of "Adopted Daughter of Cuifu" seemed like a tremendous favor bestowed upon her.
All the gratitude, anxiety, and faint hope she had felt were utterly shattered in that moment. Overwhelming humiliation and shame surged over Li Tingyuan like a tidal wave, while a mix of resentment and grievance churned violently in her chest.
Li Tingyuan clenched her fists and suddenly raised her head.
This was the first time since he had entered that she mustered the courage to meet his gaze directly.
Yet, the moment she looked into Cui Zhuo's cold, profound eyes, her heart trembled violently, and the anger that had built up from the humiliation instantly vanished.
—She thought of her younger brother, who had returned to the capital with her. She had promised him she would find a way for him to study under Great Scholar Xue.
A suffocating silence stretched through the air.
Li Tingyuan clenched her teeth, biting her lip, and slowly lowered her head again.
She took a deep breath, using all her strength to suppress the tremor in her voice, then slowly bent her knees and performed a perfectly proper yet utterly distant curtsy to Cui Zhuo. Softly, she said:
"The Prince has considered everything thoroughly. Tingyuan thanks the Prince, and thanks… Madam."
The word "Mother," which had almost escaped her lips moments before, was forcefully swallowed back, leaving only a faint bitterness in her throat.
Cui Zhuo's gaze rested on her face.
Watching her lowered eyes, submissive demeanor, and forced composure, no emotion could be discerned in the man's deep eyes. The golden crane embroidery on the chest of his official robe faintly rose and fell with his breath.
After a long while, Cui Zhuo averted his gaze and said indifferently:
"Since you have entered Cuifu, as your elder brother, it is my responsibility to guide you. You need not worry excessively—the Cui Family will ensure your safety from now on."
Li Tingyuan's expression was numb, and she responded with an obedient, almost rigid, "Yes."
Cui Zhuo looked at her demeanor, his fingers resting on the desk curling almost imperceptibly.
"Let the meal be served."
The Cui Family valued decorum, and the dining table was so quiet it felt almost oppressive.
Li Tingyuan, in particular, ate the entire meal without tasting a thing.
Finally, after enduring the meal, Cui Zhuo had matters to attend to and left first. Only then did the atmosphere in the room ease slightly.
Cui Yueyao gently tugged at her sleeve, cautiously comforting her:
"Don’t take it to heart. My brother is just like that… He may seem cold, but he is actually very good to those close to him. Since he has approved your status as his Adopted Daughter, he will surely protect you from now on."
Li Tingyuan glanced up at the man’s tall, receding figure, her face pale, and shook her head without speaking.
As soon as Cui Zhuo stepped out of the courtyard, he heard a series of pattering footsteps behind him. Lu Chengxiao, panting heavily, trotted up on his short legs.
"Daddy!"
Cui Zhuo paused, his slender fingers hooking the back of Lu Chengxiao’s collar, and said with a faint smile:
"Have you forgotten what I said? You are not to call me Daddy."
Lu Chengxiao was taken aback, his little eyebrows immediately furrowing together as his mouth drooped:
"But earlier in the hall, Dad…"
Meeting Cui Zhuo’s half-smiling gaze, Lu Chengxiao unconsciously swallowed and quickly corrected himself:
"Earlier in the hall, Uncle Cui allowed me to call you Daddy. Why won’t you allow it now?"
Lu Chengxiao had been raised by Cui Zhuo since childhood, and he both admired and revered this formidable uncle, always trying every possible way to make him his father.
Earlier, when he called him Daddy, Cui Zhuo hadn’t objected and had even affectionately picked him up, making Lu Chengxiao think he had finally accepted him!
Cui Zhuo lowered his gaze, staring at Lu Chengxiao with an inscrutable expression.
After a moment, he released his collar, patted his head, and spoke in a tone that was both detached and firm:
"Go and do today’s lessons."
Lu Chengxiao dared not defy him. He lowered his head, disappointed, and murmured an "Oh," glancing back repeatedly as he walked away.
Once the little chubby figure had reluctantly disappeared into the distance, Cui Zhuo’s face paled, and he suddenly frowned.
"Prince!"
The attendant Cui Ji'an, standing nearby, saw this and deftly retrieved a medicine bottle from his robe, pouring out a pill and offering it.
As Cui Zhuo picked up the pill, his fingertips brushed against Ji'an’s palm.
Cui Ji'an shivered from the cold touch and instinctively glanced up at his master’s expression.
Three years ago, during the Hundred Flowers Banquet, the Prince had disappeared for an entire night and fell ill upon his return the next day.
Yet, after every imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau examined him one by one, no cause for his illness could be found.
It wasn’t until the Prince’s closest friend brought in a mysterious Miaojiang physician.
After examining the Prince, the physician made a shocking statement: the Prince had been afflicted with Gu poison, and this particular Gu poison… could only be contracted through intimate relations with a woman.
To completely cure the Gu, they needed to find the woman from that night, have her take the antidote, and then engage in relations with the Prince.
When this news was revealed, everyone in the room exchanged uneasy glances.
The Prince had always been aloof and indifferent to women, and no woman had ever been seen around him.
Not to mention when he had become intimate with a woman—they had no idea who she was, let alone how to find her.