The Child Emperor-Chapter 354: Prince Donghai’s Vengeance
Cui Zhao, who was about to become a bride, was lost in memories of the past as two maidservants continued inserting more jewelry into her hair.
Cui Zhao could not remember what her birth mother looked like. In her memories, she had been alone and helpless from a young age, though she hadn’t suffered much hardship. Still, when she saw her brothers and sisters acting coquettishly in Lady Cui’s embrace, she couldn’t help but feel envious, even dejected.
Father rarely concerned himself with household matters. Cui Zhao’s only target for affection was her grandmother, Elder Laojun, but the old lady’s temperament was unpredictable—when happy, she would dote on her grandchildren, but when displeased, she would strike without hesitation. The grandchildren had learned early to read her expressions and never approach at the wrong moment.
Moreover, Elder Laojun was a very partial grandmother who clearly favored the siblings Cui Teng and Cui Xiaojun, never bothering to hide it.
“You all will have to rely on these two siblings to establish yourselves in the future, so you must curry favor with them now and pave the way for your future.”
The Cui clan had many relatives, and the paternal cousins surnamed Cui had all lived in the Cui residence when they were young. Elder Laojun would often hold Cui Teng with one arm and stroke Cui Xiaojun with the other hand, instilling such thoughts into a group of grandchildren under ten years old. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
Cui Zhao had always been among the children standing opposite Elder Laojun. At the time, she hadn’t felt anything particular about it—after all, only Cui Teng and Cui Xiaojun were favored, while all the other cousins were like Cui Zhao, honestly acknowledging their lower status.
But the cousins had their own parents. When they returned home, they could enjoy the same treatment as Cui Teng and Cui Xiaojun. Gradually, Cui Zhao understood that she was the only one left behind.
Second Brother Cui Teng became more irritable as he grew older, and perhaps because their temperaments matched, he became even more favored by Old Lady. Sister Cui Xiaojun remained as gentle and amiable as ever, but the relationship between the sisters was ordinary—Cui Zhao deliberately kept her distance, unwilling to curry favor with her future “patron.”
At that time, there was also Prince Donghai in the residence, the only non-Cui surname junior, yet he held the highest status. Even Cui Teng had to yield to him somewhat, and Elder Laojun called him “precious darling” instead of “grandson.”
Prince Donghai had once said with unusual seriousness in front of everyone: “In the future, you will all marry me and live with me in the imperial palace.”
The eldest sister, who had already married, laughed until she swayed like a flower in the wind. Elder Laojun even became breathless and needed the maidservants to pat her back. The other adults either laughed or shook their heads, and the young girls, influenced by the adults, playfully called him shameless while appearing quite happy.
Cui Zhao was not happy. In her imagination, the imperial palace was just another Cui residence where she would still stand among a group of people, carefully trying to please the Emperor, Empress, or whoever else.
What would it be like with the Xiongnu? Perhaps it wouldn’t be much different from the Cui residence, but at least there was a little uncertainty, a little hope.
Another maidservant entered and said softly, “Princess…”
“Hmm?” Cui Zhao was still unaccustomed to this title.
“Prince Donghai requests an audience.”
“Ah?” Cui Zhao was surprised. Although they both lived in the Cui residence, they hadn’t seen each other for several years. In her memory, Prince Donghai was still that arrogant and domineering child.
“He says he comes on behalf of Second Young Master Cui.”
Cui Zhao pondered for a moment. “Please let him in.”
Prince Donghai entered the room. Cui Zhao could not turn around and said, “Your Highness, please forgive me, I am in this state…”
“Why be so formal with me?” Prince Donghai smiled, not approaching but standing by the door. “There have been too many envoys these past few days. Second Brother Cui is busy receiving them and really cannot get away, so he asked me to see off my sister.”
“Thank you for the trouble, Your Highness.” Cui Zhao knew why Second Brother wouldn’t come, but she was somewhat surprised by Prince Donghai’s great change. Although she couldn’t turn around, she could see Prince Donghai in the mirror. He still had traces of his childhood appearance, but his manner of speaking was much more polite—completely different from the little tyrant he once was.
“Sister is still being formal.” Prince Donghai smiled. “When we were children, we could talk about anything.”
“We’re not children anymore.” Cui Zhao returned a smile in the mirror. She felt as if she had never really been a child.
“Let me rest for a while, continue later.” Cui Zhao said, signaling the maidservants to withdraw. She had already discerned that Prince Donghai was not here purely to see her off, but had something to say.
Watching the maidservants leave, Prince Donghai asked, “Sister, why exactly are you…”
“Did the Marchioness Ping’en send you here?” Cui Zhao asked, looking into the mirror.
Prince Donghai was slightly startled. In his memory, Third Sister Cui Zhao had always been gentle and quiet, the most obedient child in the Cui clan. He hadn’t expected her to hit the mark so precisely. “Yes, she wants to see you, but you won’t see her.”
“Because there’s nothing to say. Marrying into the Xiongnu was my own choice. His Majesty and Second Brother were both against it originally, but I pleaded repeatedly and changed their minds.”
“What about that divorce letter?”
The Champion Marquis’s divorce letter had already spread throughout the city like wildfire, known to everyone. Yet Marchioness Ping’en was utterly bewildered—she had been constantly by Third Sister’s side but had never seen or heard of this divorce letter.
“The Champion Marquis indeed wanted to divorce me. A daughter of the Tan family was not worthy of being empress, and neither am I.” Cui Zhao spoke coldly.
Prince Donghai suddenly felt a sense of shared misfortune. He had come at the behest of Marchioness Ping’en to uncover the truth, but now he understood that the truth was actually very simple: Third Sister, usually the most obedient, was the most proud at heart. She never fought for anything because she knew she couldn’t win, but once she had an opportunity, she was the most resolute.
Prince Donghai forgot about Marchioness Ping’en and said, “When you get there, pay attention—if your husband comes to the tent to see you very early, it means he has great power and also cares about you. You need to quickly figure out his identity…”
“Do you think I care about such things?”
Prince Donghai continued, “The Great Chanyu won’t live much longer. The Xiongnu will certainly be in great turmoil because of this. Whether you care or not, you must plan for the future. This time is different—without the Cui family’s constraints and control, you can do as you please. Whatever you fight for will belong to you.”
Cui Zhao looked at Prince Donghai in the mirror with surprise. “You… why do you want to stay by the Emperor’s side?”
Prince Donghai had a ready answer, but that was for outsiders. Before coming, he hadn’t planned to tell Third Sister the truth either, but that feeling of shared misfortune gave him an impulse to confide, especially since Third Sister was about to leave Great Chu and would never return.
“Revenge.”
“Revenge?” Cui Zhao was shocked.
“Not revenge against His Majesty. His Majesty surpasses me in every aspect—him becoming emperor was only natural, and His Majesty’s position is already very secure. No one can shake it.” Prince Donghai paused. “It’s the Empress Dowager.”
Cui Zhao suddenly understood. “Grand Consort Cui…”
“I no longer want to be emperor, nor do I seek future power, but I want revenge. The Empress Dowager thinks that killing my mother ended everything, but I’ll make her understand she’s gravely mistaken.”
So Prince Donghai wanted to stay by the Emperor’s side, doing everything possible to win the Emperor’s favor. Only once had he thought he still had a chance at the throne, when he fled Jincheng, but that had resulted in a crushing defeat.
These past days, as envoys from various regions arrived one after another, Prince Donghai became increasingly certain that the crushing defeat was actually a good thing. Whether he had returned to the Capital or fled to Cui Hong’s side, he could never have been made the new ruler. He had already lost his chance—lost it forever.
For him, the only motivation was avenging his mother.
“It must be very difficult, right?” Cui Zhao felt somewhat sympathetic toward Prince Donghai. She remembered very clearly that Grand Consort Cui had devoted enormous effort to her son, more than even Cui Teng and Cui Xiaojun had received from their own mother and grandmother.
“As long as I keep thinking about it, there will be a way. The Empress Dowager has already shown a weakness. I haven’t completely grasped it yet, but this weakness will make her pay the price sooner or later.”
Prince Donghai didn’t elaborate, and naturally Cui Zhao wouldn’t ask.
After they fell silent for a while, Prince Donghai said, “If you don’t want to be an ordinary person, don’t walk the ordinary path. Third Sister, I support you.”
“Thank you.” Cui Zhao almost burst into tears, but she held back.
Prince Donghai took his leave, letting the maidservants enter the room to continue dressing the bride.
Marchioness Ping’en had been waiting outside the whole time. Seeing Prince Donghai, she immediately approached him. “How did it go?”
“Third Sister’s mind is made up. It was her own choice.”
“What… what kind of situation is this?” Marchioness Ping’en was exasperated but had nowhere to vent her anger. “I never expected Third Sister to be so ungrateful, completely disregarding the painstaking efforts of Grandmother and myself.”
Prince Donghai laughed. “Alas, since things have come to this, what else can be done?”
“How am I going to explain this to Grandmother when we return to the Capital?” This was what concerned Marchioness Ping’en the most.
“Explain? This is a good thing. First, the Cui clan has rendered another service to Great Chu. No matter what dissatisfaction His Majesty may harbor toward Uncle in his heart, he won’t be able to act against him for the time being. Second, His Majesty gave the zither girl to Cui Teng and married Third Sister to the Xiongnu, showing that he loves the Empress deeply and no one can shake that. The Cui clan need not worry, Elder Laojun need not worry—what is there left for you to be concerned about?”
“Prince Donghai is indeed clever and sees things clearly.” Marchioness Ping’en’s eyes lit up as she praised him sincerely, then sighed. She now had her “explanation,” but her “meritorious service” was gone. This trip from the Capital had once again come to nothing, like drawing water with a bamboo basket.
Seeing no one around, Prince Donghai lowered his voice. “Big Sister is too honest—must you cling to the Cui clan so stubbornly?”
“The Miao clan has even less hope.”
Prince Donghai shook his head. “There’s still one person who currently holds a lowly position but will soon rise to great heights. Wait a few more months, and even if you wanted to curry favor, you’d have no opportunity.”
“Who?” Marchioness Ping’en’s eyes lit up again.
Prince Donghai slowly traced the character “Wang” in his palm.
Marchioness Ping’en understood immediately. “I’ve thought of that long ago, but… there’s no ladder to heaven.”
Prince Donghai smiled. “Think slowly—there’s always a way.”
“Oh my, dear brother, you don’t know—your sister is stupid. Even if I thought for a year, it wouldn’t compare to one word from you.”
Prince Donghai lowered his voice again. “Even the Empress Dowager has maternal relatives. Where are the maternal relatives of Maiden Wang?”
“I don’t know. I heard she has no family members.”
“So this is an opportunity.”
“You mean to say…”
“Maiden Wang is also from Donghai. Go look there. If you can’t find them, consider it your bad luck—don’t blame me then. But if you do find them, it won’t just be a ladder to heaven—it’ll be a chair to carry you up to heaven!”
Marchioness Ping’en laughed so hard she couldn’t close her mouth. “‘Carry me up to heaven’—what kind of talk is that?”
Prince Donghai smiled and walked away. If Marchioness Ping’en could truly find the Emperor’s maternal uncle, and if Maiden Wang thereby gained strong backing, she probably wouldn’t depend so heavily on Empress Dowager Shang-guan anymore.
But this was merely one move he was using in passing—he had yet to touch upon the Empress Dowager’s real weakness.
An hour later, Cui Zhao left the city, not knowing who her husband was.
At the same moment, the Emperor remained in the prince’s mansion, not knowing who his new bride was.
Neither felt any joy of newlyweds in their hearts.
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