Сhapter 12: Differеnt Strokes fоr Diffеrеnt Fоlks
Оnlу aftеr bоаrding the сarriаge did Xiао Lin revеal his drunkеn stаtе.
Cui Jin роured him а сuр оf tеа аnd said hеlplеsslу, “Your Highness hasn’t еven sоberеd uр frоm уour own drinking, уet yоu insistеd оn wаtching оthers’ еxcitеmеnt.”
“Whеn thе еxсitement is right befоrе mу еуes, not watсhing wоuld mаke mе seеm lacking in аррrеciatiоn,” Хiao Lin rеplied.
Не didn’t mеntiоn his own соncerns.
Based on his obsеrvatiоns tоdау, it wаs highly likеly that Shen Zhihеng was dеliberаtelу keeping an eye on Prince Xin’s Manor. The fact that he knew about the poisoning incident further indicated that his people were deeply hidden.
Shen Zhiheng couldn’t have achieved this on his own—there must be someone else behind him.
So when he heard about Shen Zhiheng’s incident happening in the neighboring courtyard, Xiao Lin decided to go and see for himself.
…And he did gain something.
He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Did Shen Zhiheng and your elder sister have a relationship long ago?”
Cui Jin paused.
After a moment of silence, she nodded. “Shen’s sister-in-law was right. Shen Zhiheng was originally the husband my father chose for me. When he came to the capital for the imperial examination and had no place to stay, he stayed at our home. But on the very day he arrived, he fell in love at first sight with my elder sister.”
“I didn’t know about this at first and simply followed the arrangements for my marriage. It was my elder sister…” She let out a bitter laugh. “She flaunted it in front of me, and only then did I learn that they had already exchanged tokens and pledged themselves to each other in secret.”
Mother Cui hadn’t found evidence of their interactions in Cui Ruyue’s courtyard, but that didn’t stop Cui Jin from making accusations.
—After all, it was a fact that the two had been involved for a long time, and even the existence of the jade pendant had been revealed by Fang Yun.
When Cui Jin looked up again, her eyes were slightly moist. “By then, the imperial decree for the marriage had already been issued. I knew my elder sister had feelings for someone else—how could I allow her to marry Your Highness?”
She looked directly at Xiao Lin, her gaze earnest and resolute. “Someone as good as Your Highness deserves genuine affection, not false pretenses… I may not have much to offer, but I do have genuine affection.”
“Rather than marrying someone I don’t love and wasting the rest of my life, I’d rather take a gamble, so that both my elder sister and I can marry the ones we love!”
Xiao Lin’s eyes flickered slightly. “But I, too, have someone in my heart. Your affection would be in vain.”
“As long as I can share the title of husband and wife with Your Highness and see you every day, this affection will not be in vain.”
Xiao Lin fell silent.
Cui Jin smiled faintly. “I didn’t intend to tell Your Highness about this, to spare you unnecessary distress. I never expected that today…”
“If you hadn’t told me, you would forever remain the scheming woman who plotted to steal her elder sister’s marriage.” Xiao Lin looked at her. “Cui Ruyue also knew about the marriage swap, didn’t she?”
Seeing Cui Jin’s silent acknowledgment, his gaze grew complicated.
Preferring to be the villain herself, to be misunderstood and blamed, rather than revealing the truth—all to protect the faintest emotions of the one she cared for, unwilling to cause them the slightest distress… To be fair, he himself could never do such a thing, not even for Lin Zhao.
Lin Zhao couldn’t do it for him either.
This made Cui Jin all the more remarkable.
Yet such deep affection was something he was destined to betray.
As he thought this, a trace of guilt rose in his heart.
Cui Jin looked at him, her eyes flickering slightly, and she too fell silent.
She knew that in Xiao Lin’s eyes, she was scheming and calculating.
She had no intention of playing the innocent, harmless flower—different strokes for different folks. Someone with psychological flaws needed nothing more than obsessive, unwavering, and resolute love.
So she would become, in Xiao Lin’s eyes… someone whose love was so intense it bordered on madness, willing to do anything to obtain what she desired—an obsessive, deeply affectionate person.
He would enjoy it.Silently returning to the Prince’s Manor, Cui Jin suddenly spoke just before alighting from the carriage: “In the future… could Your Highness put on a bit of an act with me in front of others? Today, the way you took care of me made my mother very happy. In the future, she’ll have less to worry about.”
Xiao Lin recalled the look in Mother Cui’s eyes when she gazed at Cui Jin—overflowing with love.
His expression softened slightly as he nodded in agreement.
After stepping down from the carriage, he turned and offered his hand to help Cui Jin down.
Cui Jin caught a glimpse of a little maid peeking out from under the corridor out of the corner of her eye, and her smile deepened.
To onlookers, the two appeared to be a loving and harmonious couple.
“Later, I’ll have someone send another bowl of sobering soup. Please remember to drink it, Your Highness.”
Xiao Lin nodded casually.
Just before leaving, he seemed to remember something and suddenly turned back. “Today, when I went out to change clothes, I ran into Cui Ruyue. She told me that you deliberately switched the marriage and that she is in love with me.”
Seeing Cui Jin appear stunned, he spoke with slight annoyance, “In the future, don’t cover up her disgraceful deeds for her. That woman has ill intentions and is shockingly foolish.”
Cui Jin suppressed a smile and nodded in agreement.
After Xiao Lin left, Ru Chun helped her back to the Main Courtyard, muttering quietly, “It’s one thing for the eldest young lady to spread rumors in front of others, but she even tried to sow discord in front of the Prince… Could it be she wants to switch back?”
Cui Jin shook her head. “She just can’t stand to see me doing well.”
In her past life, Cui Ruyue had likely said the same things to Shen Zhiheng.
No wonder he was convinced she had stolen Cui Ruyue’s marriage.
Ru Chun frowned and nodded, then hesitated as if wanting to say more.
It wasn’t until they returned to the Main Courtyard that she whispered, “That Fang Yun today… did she really succeed with Scholar Shen? The look on her face was…” flushed with color.
“Perhaps,” Cui Jin said. “The Prince is straightforward. Today, he probably said something that upset Cui Ruyue, making her vent her anger somewhere, only to have Fang Yun steal her man.”
Fang Yun wanted to force the Cui family to accept her by making her relationship with Shen Zhiheng a done deal under the watchful eyes of both the Cui family and Xiao Lin.
In her past life, however, as soon as Fang Yun showed the slightest hint of this, Cui Jin had suppressed it.
Afterward, in the Shen household, she kept a close eye on Fang Yun, though it disgusted her to do so.
Now, she wondered if Cui Ruyue would be able to keep her in check in this life.
Just then, Ru Dong hurried in and whispered, “Princess Consort, the one in Pearl Jade Courtyard just claimed her old injury has flared up and sent someone to fetch the Prince.”
“Using the same excuse every time, isn’t she tired of it?” Ru Chun scoffed. “But then again, Prince Xin falls for it every time.”
“The Prince didn’t go,” Ru Dong said. “I heard that during the morning court today, the Prince was impeached by Scholar Meng for favoring a concubine over his wife… Somehow, Scholar Meng found out that it was the Secondary Consort who kept the Prince from attending your homecoming, and now the Prince is preparing to enter the palace.”
Cui Jin lowered her brows in thought. “Scholar Meng acted quickly.”
Xiao Lin had arrived at the Cui residence around noon, after the morning court had already adjourned. To outsiders, it might seem he had gone to the Cui family to put on a show only after being impeached.
The Prince Jin faction would undoubtedly seize on this.
“By the way,” she asked Ru Dong, “what about the Imperial Censor?”
“After you had Guard Xu lead Qiu Ming’s father to say those words, it caught the Imperial Censor’s attention. Now, he’s already working on getting the Imperial Physician to talk. In a few days, the entire capital will know that Secondary Consort Lin had the audacity to tamper with an imperial gift, attempting to poison and frame you, Princess Consort.”
Cui Jin nodded, removing the delicate and intricately crafted wide bracelet from her wrist to reveal the still-fading bruises left by the grip.After suffering such a great injustice, you expect her to let it go and keep the peace?
Xiao Lin was dreaming.
The wounds she had endured would only be settled when she made the two of them pay back double!