Cui Jinbai fled the Bu residence, clenching his fists, yet unable to calm the frantic drumming in his chest. The realization left him ashen-faced.
He... he had actually developed feelings for a man!
This awareness filled him with self-loathing and self-hatred.
Clearly, his relationship with Bu Shulin had been one of mutual convenience—Bu Shulin used him to avoid marrying the princess, while he used Bu Shulin to escape his family’s meddling in his marital affairs.
He had lost his mother in childhood. His father, a man of principle, observed three years of mourning before accepting the family’s arrangements to remarry, taking as his second wife the legitimate daughter of a minor official.
In the first two years, his stepmother had been exceptionally attentive and ingratiating. For a time, he believed his family would remain warm and harmonious. But everything changed after the birth of her eldest son. Her gaze toward him grew increasingly distant and cold. Though he felt somewhat unsettled, he accepted it as natural. He resolved to be a good elder brother, hoping the family could at least maintain a facade of harmony.
Yet he never imagined that the stepmother who had once cared for him would heartlessly plot to have him abandoned.
From then on, he understood that conflicts of interest lay between him and his stepmother. Since ancient times, the legitimate eldest son was the pillar of the family, entitled to seventy percent of the father’s estate and connections—all of which his stepmother sought to seize for her own son.
When he reached marriageable age, his stepmother schemed relentlessly to marry him to a niece from her maternal family. Unfortunately, her family’s status was too low. The only reason she had been able to marry into the Cui family as a second wife was that his father valued her humble origins—she would neither feel aggrieved nor develop ambitions.
To this end, she spread rumors far and wide, sabotaging every noble match the clan arranged for him. Eventually, he simply watched her antics unfold, unwilling to bring a wife into the household to clash with her. After all, as the second son, he could afford to delay marriage. If he remained unwed, his four-years-younger brother could not marry either.
Later, she began frequently inviting nieces from her family to stay at the residence. Soon after, Bu Shulin latched onto him. As soon as word spread, those who had once schemed for chance encounters with him were terrified, their faces pale with fright, and within days they excused themselves and returned home.
Because of this incident, even his stepmother’s siblings were implicated. Strangely, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. Seizing on this leverage, his stepmother pressed to settle his marriage early. However, none of the legitimate daughters from her family were willing. She even dared suggest to his father that he marry a concubine-born daughter from her family—a proposal for which his father sternly rebuked her.
He wouldn’t mind remaining unmarried for life. Thus, he was content to play along with Bu Shulin’s act, if only to see his stepmother and father driven to distraction, easing the pent-up resentment in his heart.
But he never imagined he would genuinely develop feelings for a man.
Unaware of Cui Jinbai’s inner turmoil and suffering, Bu Shulin threw a fit for a while after Cui Jinbai left, then exhausted, fell asleep.
“Youyou, Cui Shitou is avoiding me!” Bu Shulin had no recollection of her drunken antics. Over the past two days, she had gone to look for Cui Jinbai as usual, only to find him behaving differently—she couldn’t even corner him.
Once or twice might have been a coincidence, but after multiple attempts, Bu Shulin began to suspect the truth.
Shen Xihe kept her head lowered, reading her book, as if she hadn’t heard.
“Youyou…” Bu Shulin dragged out the name in a plaintive, singsong tone, her face creased with worry. “Tell me, why is Cui Shitou avoiding me?”
Shen Xihe still didn’t respond, turning a page and continuing to read.
“Youyou!” Bu Shulin stretched out her hand, hovering over the page to block Shen Xihe’s view. “Hurry up and tell me—I’m so frustrated!”"Right, you're so annoying." Shen Xihe brushed off her hand, closed the book, and gently set it aside.
Bu Shulin's shoulders slumped as she stared unhappily at Shen Xihe.
Shen Xihe poured a cup of warm Eucommia Leaf tea, moistened her lips, then set the cup down. "He's avoiding you because he doesn't want to involve you. Why are you troubled by this?"
Bu Shulin looked at Shen Xihe in astonishment. "When someone who's always been friendly suddenly ignores you, how could you not be troubled? If I started ignoring you one day, wouldn't you be troubled?"
"If I were at fault, I would know it. If I weren't at fault, I wouldn't bother accommodating." Shen Xihe was simply that kind of uncompromising person.
If she made a mistake, she would naturally apologize. But if she weren't wrong and the other party chose to sulk, she wasn't one to accommodate others or humble herself.
It wasn't arrogance—it was just her nature.
She wouldn't make unreasonable demands or expect others to coax and indulge her, nor would she coax and indulge those who made unreasonable demands.
After hearing this, Bu Shulin said uncertainly, "I don't think I did anything wrong either..."
Her utterly unconvincing tone earned her an amused, skeptical look from Shen Xihe.
Already lacking confidence, Bu Shulin grew even more uneasy. "Did I really do something to offend him that day when I was drunk?"
"I wouldn't know." Shen Xihe, however, was more concerned about something else. "Why did you set up a drinking competition at the brothel in the first place?"
"I was only following your m—" Bu Shulin, who was always careless with her words, nearly blurted it out. Remembering Shen Xihe's temperament just in time, she caught herself and changed her words: "The Crown Prince asked me to set a trap for Munuha. That day, he was going to be taken to the brothel by Ning Qifan."
"Why would he do that?" It definitely wasn't just for a drinking contest.
Bu Shulin rubbed her nose somewhat awkwardly. "His Highness gave me a bottle of medicine... said if a man drinks it with alcohol, he won't be able to act like a man anymore..."
Shen Xihe was taken aback. She had guessed that Xiao Huayong would be angry upon learning about this and wouldn't let it slide—after all, she and Xiao Huayong had explicitly discussed marriage. Even if Xiao Huayong had no romantic feelings for her, he wouldn't tolerate another man scheming against her like this.
Moreover, since Xiao Huayong clearly did have romantic feelings for her, he definitely wouldn't let it pass easily. But she never expected Xiao Huayong to...
After a moment of deep thought, Shen Xihe suddenly smiled. "This could actually be put to good use."
Shen Xihe's seemingly random remark left Bu Shulin completely baffled. Seeing Shen Xihe stand up to leave, she hurried after her. "Where are you going?"
"To the kitchen to prepare some food, to exchange with His Highness for some medicine," Shen Xihe said as she walked.
Bu Shulin's eyes lit up. "How about making a bit more, Youyou? I'll take some to Cui Shitou as an apology?"
Shen Xihe stopped walking, her gaze shifting slightly, a hint of laughter in her eyes. "You want to use the food I make to apologize to Cui Shaoqing?"
"I'll definitely say you made it—I won't take credit!" Misunderstanding Shen Xihe's meaning, Bu Shulin hastily assured her. "But I'll say I went through great effort to get it, that no one else could obtain it. That way, it'll seem precious and sincere."
Shen Xihe couldn't help covering her mouth as she laughed. "If you don't mention it, he might treat you even colder and get angrier. You'd better find something else to apologize with."Shen Xihe felt that if Cui Jinbai were to discover that Bu Shulin had painstakingly obtained food from her to share with him, Shen Xihe believed Cui Jinbai would never want to see Shulin again in this lifetime.
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