"Lord Cui, please get this straight. My refusal to see you means I don't want to hear what you have to say. You should have some self-awareness and leave immediately. Instead, you force your way into my princess's residence. Aren't you afraid of embarrassing the Prince of Qin?"
She showed no mercy to Cui Hao in front of all the servants in the courtyard, speaking to him without any politeness.
Cui Hao listened quietly, and after she finished speaking, he showed no sign of embarrassment or anger on his face. He lowered his eyes and said, "It was my rudeness."
Cheng Lan: "...If you know you've been rude, then get out of here right now, or I'll have someone throw you out!"
Hearing the anxious tone in her voice, Granny Kong tugged at her sleeve: "Princess, you..."
Cheng Lan glared at her, signaling her to shut up, but Cui Hao then said, "No one can knock me out."
Both Granny Kong and Cheng Lan were taken aback and turned to look at him, only to hear him say, "Excuse me for speaking frankly, but in your princess's residence, no one is my match."
Cheng Lan: "..."
Enraged, she immediately ordered her four male lovers to drive him away, but before they could move, he grabbed Cheng Lan's wrist and pulled her into the room.
Several people tried to follow them inside, but Granny Kong gave them a wink: "You may all leave. This is none of your business."
Cui Hao, who had already gone inside, then said to the door, "Granny, please come in for a moment. I have some questions for you."
Granny Kong responded, stepped inside, turned around and closed the door, leaving the rest of the people outside.
Cui Hao naturally wanted to ask about the incident from many years ago. Cheng Lan sneered after hearing this, "What? It was just that I slept with you once? You still remember it after all these years? Could it be that none of the women you've met over the years have satisfied you, making you still long for me?"
Cui Hao's face remained expressionless, seemingly unconcerned by her sarcastic remarks. With that indifferent expression, he earnestly replied, "There are no other women."
Cheng Lan: "..."
Granny Kong was overjoyed to hear this, and her eyes welled up with tears. She quickly recounted everything that had happened back then.
Cheng Lan genuinely liked Cui Hao, but she knew that they couldn't be together because of their different social statuses, so she deliberately sought opportunities to get closer to him, hoping to see him and talk to him.
To prevent him from getting into trouble, she deliberately pretended to tease him, so that even if the late emperor found out, he would only think that Cheng Lan was being silly, and wouldn't think that he had seduced Cheng Lan and wanted to use her for something.
It was precisely because of this that when Cheng Lan later claimed that she had taken advantage of Cui Hao's drunkenness to have sex with him, the late emperor did not suspect that she was deliberately trying to exonerate Cui Hao.
Otherwise, given the circumstances at the time, even if Cui Hao had managed to escape in the end, Cheng Lan would have inevitably been suspected or even punished.
The late emperor was a very suspicious man, and Wei Hong was always his Achilles' heel. In his eyes, Cheng Lan was just a princess who was dispensable.
If he knew that she did all this to help Cui Hao escape, he might kill her.
To completely dispel his doubts, you have to pretend to be a spoiled and willful princess.
So Cheng Lan intentionally or unintentionally let him know that she had taken in several more male lovers, thus completely taking on this absurd reputation.
"But that was just for show!"
Granny Kong hurriedly said this.
"These male concubines usually accompany the princess to play music and chess, and also serve as guards in the mansion to protect the princess's safety. They never sleep with her."
"They...they all like men! This old servant personally helped the princess choose them!"
Cui Hao had been listening quietly, and when he heard this, he nodded, his lowered eyes brightening slightly, unseen by anyone.
Cheng Lan tried to interrupt Granny Kong several times, but failed. In the end, she simply stopped talking and waited until she finished speaking before leaning against the pillow and lazily saying, "Granny Kong is someone who is by my side. She has been with me since I was a child, so naturally she is on my side when she speaks."
"I had been attached to the deposed emperor, and she was afraid that the King of Qin would make things difficult for me because of this. So she wanted me to follow you. This way, not only could my life be saved, but I could also live a life of comfort and constant favor."
"If you want to believe it, then believe it. But if you find out you've been deceived in the future, don't say I didn't warn you."
Cui Hao nodded: "I know."
Seeing this, Granny Kong thought he really believed that what she had just said was a lie, and she was so anxious that she didn't know what to do.
Cheng Lan's eyes darkened slightly at Cui Hao's words. She subconsciously pursed her lips, then, regaining her composure, raised her chin and said, "If you know that, then get lost!"
The man shook his head: "I have something I want to say to the princess alone."
Granny Kong suddenly realized what was happening, bowed, and prepared to take her leave.
Cheng Lan, enraged and embarrassed, retorted: "I told you I don't want to talk to you! If you're not here to offer yourself to me, get out! Now get out!"
Cui Hao frowned slightly: "Now?"
"Now!"
His brow furrowed even more: "Isn't this...too hasty?"
But after speaking, he nodded slightly, stood up, and instead of turning to leave, he took two more steps closer to her.
Cheng Lan was wondering what he was going to do when she saw him take a couple of steps and then, as if he remembered something, look at himself somewhat awkwardly.
"I have been traveling without bathing or changing clothes, and I am quite dirty. Would the princess be so kind as to have someone fetch a bucket of water for me to bathe in?"
Cheng Lan was completely stunned: "What...what do you mean?"
Cui Hao smiled gently: "I'll offer myself as your bedmate."
These four words were originally spoken by Cheng Lan, but now they have been spoken by him and entered his ears. Cheng Lan blushed and instantly revealed a hint of panic that he could not hide.
Although she quickly forced herself to regain her composure, her flustered expression still caught Cui Hao's eye.
He smiled, becoming even more certain of what Granny Kong had just said.
Otherwise, since so much time has passed since that incident, and Cheng Lan already has a new lover, why would she risk so much to help the princess when she was trapped?
Cui Hao didn't give Cheng Lan a chance to react. After speaking, he walked out of the room and asked Granny Kong to arrange for servants to fetch water for him to bathe.
Cheng Lan snapped out of her daze and paced anxiously around the room. When Granny Kong returned, she asked, "What does he mean? What exactly does he mean?"
Granny Kong gave an awkward laugh: "Well... that's what I meant, right?"
What does "that" mean?
Would you recommend yourself as my bedmate?
Cheng Lan's face flushed red, her blood surging. She rushed out, pushed open the door of the side room, and strode inside.
“Cui Ziqian! You…”
Before she could finish speaking, she saw the man standing by the tub slowly turn around, his clothes half-undone, revealing a bare chest: "Would the princess like to shower together?"
Cheng Lan: "..."
She covered her face and ran out, both ashamed and angry, smashing a set of cups and saucers in the room.
Hearing her angry voice from the other side, Cui Hao smiled and stepped into the bathtub. After carefully washing himself, he returned to the main room.
Cheng Lan looked at him coldly, though she was clearly panicking inside, she pretended to be strong and looked him up and down before saying, "Lord Cui, have you thought it through? Do you really want to stay here overnight? Are you really not bothered by the fact that I have so many male lovers?"
“I do mind,” Cui Hao said truthfully, “so I plan to send them away before we get married, leaving none of them behind.”
marry?
Cheng Lan's almond-shaped eyes widened: "...What did you say?"
Cui Hao looked directly into her eyes and asked the question he had already prepared.
"Do you still love me? Are you still willing to let me be your son-in-law?"
Years ago, the girl stood in front of him and said that she had fallen for him and wanted him to be her son-in-law.
Now he asks her if she still likes him and is still willing to let him be her husband.
Cheng Lan's eyes reddened instantly, and tears almost streamed down her face.
She quickly looked up, forcing back the tears in her eyes, and scoffed, saying, "What do you mean by this? Are you pitying me? Are you trying to make it up to me because of what happened back then?"
Cui Hao shook his head, slowly extended his hand, and carefully touched her cheek.
"I can't make up for what happened back then. I know I owe you too much, and I can never make it up to you in this lifetime."
"I'm doing this for myself. I want to marry you, I want to be your son-in-law."
That girl went to great lengths, sacrificing her own innocence to save him and taking all the blame, yet he misunderstood her for so many years.
When he returned to the capital, she hinted several times that she wanted to see him and explain everything from back then, but he was blinded by hatred and didn't even give her a chance to speak.
Her efforts and her sincere heart were repeatedly ignored by him, and he even turned them into hatred in return.
He couldn't even imagine how she had managed to get through all these years...
Cheng Lan couldn't hold back her tears and pushed his hand away.
"It's too late, I don't like you anymore."
Cui Hao's hand froze in mid-air, then landed on her head after a moment, and he sighed softly, "Liar."
Then he turned and left, just as suddenly as he came.
Cheng Lan was puzzled, but Granny Kong seemed to have received some instructions from Cui Hao, her mouth almost stretched to her ears as she smiled and saw him out.
Cheng Lan asked her what he said to her before he left, and Granny Kong shook her head: "Nothing, nothing."
She refused to speak no matter what, making it difficult to tell whose servant she was.
...
Cui Hao returned much faster than Guo Sheng had expected. After their reunion, Guo Sheng patted Cui Hao on the shoulder and asked, "What have you been doing? Why did you suddenly decide to go find Princess Chenglan?"
"Nothing much, just catching up."
"Reminiscing?"
Guo Sheng frowned, recalling the old stories between the two of them, which were rather complicated to explain.
"What's there to talk about... I'm afraid she'll sleep with you again."
After speaking, he saw Cui Hao looking at him coldly and gave an awkward smile.
"I was just worried about you, Princess Chenglan..."
"She's fine."
Cui Hao interrupted him, preventing him from immediately commenting on Cheng Lan.
Guo Sheng was taken aback. Seeing his serious expression, he said incredulously after a long while, "Ziqian, you...you wouldn't have...been seduced by her, would you?"
Cui Hao's expression grew even colder, and he replied with a forced smile, "Jealous? Nobody wants to sleep with you, you're heartbroken, aren't you?"
After saying that, he turned and left.
Guo Sheng: "...???"