Kill That Transmigrator Woman - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Cui Heng (1)

Upon returning to the Cui Mansion, the steward hurried over as soon as he saw her and said, “Second Miss, you’re back. Master and Madam are looking for you and have asked you to come over.”

Cui Wanwan didn’t even turn her head and threw back a line, “Just tell them I’m tired and need to rest.”

She knew what her parents wanted, nothing more than to drag her along to praise Wei Qingyu’s “fireworks.”

The fireworks were indeed stunningly beautiful, but to make her go along with everyone else in praising Wei Qingyu, absolutely impossible.

Late at night, Cui Wanwan lay on her bed, her bright eyes wide open.

She couldn’t fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, Shen Jingzhou’s face would surface in her mind.

He was certainly handsome, even to a degree unmatched by that man, yet she hadn’t developed the slightest bit of affection for him.

What lingered in her heart, what disturbed her peace, was the gentle care and attention.

It had been too long since she had felt the warmth of being favored. Even if it was a fleeting illusion, she couldn’t help but indulge in it for a moment.

She raised her left hand, the bracelet on her wrist glimmering faintly in the dark, shining softly and brilliantly.

Unable to sleep, Cui Wanwan simply threw on a coat and walked over to the window.

Tomorrow was the first day of the new year. She remembered that in her past life, a grand banquet had been held in the palace on that day, with all the civil and military officials in attendance.

It was also the day when her role as the betrothed to a prince was officially announced to the world.

In her previous life, Cui Wanwan had been naïve and carefree, bold in personality. When the Emperor smiled and asked her which prince she wanted to marry, she didn’t answer right away.

Instead, she asked to decide six months later.

Just because she wanted to get to know the various princes first and pick one who suited her heart.

Such a bold request had made her parents’ faces change instantly before the court, but the kind-tempered Emperor hadn’t refused. He still smiled and gave his consent.

Later, she encountered the Second Prince, Dongfang Moxang, who had been forgotten in the Cold Palace by the Emperor, he was her Brother Huai’an, the man she believed she could entrust her life to.

Looking back now, he had merely used her, a noblewoman from a prestigious family, to escape his bitter circumstances.

The joke was, she had been completely in the dark, devoted her heart wrongly, and ended up with a tragic, lonely end.

He said he would only love her in this life, and she believed it.

He said she would be his beloved Empress, that there would be no one else but her, and she believed that too.

But in the end…

She didn’t become his Empress. The Crown Princess of the Northern Lin Dynasty, Cui Wanwan, was first cast aside, then died in a place no one cared about.

And her husband, her Brother Huai’an, he turned around and married Wei Qingyu.

Cui Wanwan let out a self-mocking laugh. Her fingernails, tinted with madder, dug into her delicate palm. Only by closing her eyes could she conceal the overwhelming hatred and unwillingness in her heart.

When the first ray of morning light fell upon the snowy ground, Cui Wanwan awoke.

She rose early to wash up, carefully selecting suitable clothes and jewelry in preparation for the palace banquet that afternoon.

Just as she finished choosing, her elder brother Cui Heng came in, ready to question and scold her.

Cui Wanwan, not yet dressed and with her long black hair hanging loose, walked out and raised her eyes to look at Cui Heng.

“Brother, is there something you came to see me about?” Her tone was calm, her expression serene.

The young man, hands behind his back, turned at the sound of her voice. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes carried faint discontent as he began with a mild rebuke, “Wanwan, you’ve grown more and more unruly.”

Cui Wanwan lowered her exquisitely shaped brows and eyes and let out a soft laugh. “Why doesn’t Brother go ahead and tell me, in what way have I been unruly?”

Seeing her utterly indifferent attitude, Cui Heng, who had originally remained composed, immediately grew more agitated. “What sort of attitude is this? You don’t feel even a trace of shame?”

“Yesterday was New Year’s Eve. You didn’t spend it with the family, didn’t share time with your elder sister, and instead ran off outside the Mansion to who-knows-where to make merry. Do you still have the bearing of a proper young lady from a noble family?” Cui Heng’s anger flared.

“Do you even know that Yu’er carefully prepared a New Year’s gift for you? She waited at the gates of the Cui Mansion for half an hour in the biting wind, but you never came back.”

“Didn’t I return last night?” Cui Wanwan countered sharply.
“Brother is talking as if I spent the whole night away from home.”

“Then why didn’t you go to the main hall when the steward came to summon you?” Cui Heng’s voice grew harsher, his eyes full of reproach and dissatisfaction.
“And why haven’t you gone to apologize to Yu’er this morning?”

“I was tired, is that not allowed? I was sleepy, I went back to my room to rest. Who cares about her so-called gift anyway?” Cui Wanwan raised her long lashes and retorted loudly, “Brother, all your scolding boils down to one thing, doesn’t it? That I didn’t play along with praising Wei Qingyu yesterday, and that made her feel disappointed and upset. Was I not away from the Mansion at the start of New Year’s Eve? Do you really not know the reason I left, Cui Heng, not even a little?”

“Oh, that’s right. Perhaps you truly don’t know.” Cui Wanwan let out a cold laugh. “Because you don’t care. Your heart and eyes are filled only with Wei Qingyu, that fairy-like little sister of yours. Meanwhile, I, your real younger sister was left cold and neglected at the family banquet, and you didn’t care at all.”

“You want to fawn over her, that’s your business. But that doesn’t mean everyone in this world has to flatter Wei Qingyu’s stinking feet.” Cui Wanwan’s emotions surged, and her cheeks flushed red.

Taking a deep breath, she continued, “What do you mean by ‘a special New Year gift just for me’? If it was sincerely meant for me, why wasn’t it presented at the start? Why wait until after I had left, then deliberately bring it out, pretend to be pitiful, and shed a few inexplicable tears in front of everyone? I merely didn’t receive her gift, and yet Brother finds it so grievous, as if I had committed some heinous crime.”

“What now? Next time, if I accidentally quarrel with her or even hit her, will I be punished by having my entire clan executed?” Cui Wanwan sneered. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she added, “Oh right, I forgot, the whole clan can’t be executed. At the very least, I’ll have to be expelled from the Cui clan first, and then be cut into a thousand pieces.”

“Brother, am I right?” She tilted her head, laughed softly, and stumbled back a few steps.

Seeing her in this crazed and frenzied state, Cui Heng’s brows furrowed even tighter. “Yu’er was right. You really are jealous of her.”

“Jealous?” Cui Wanwan threw her head back and laughed, so hard that tears spilled from her eyes. Only then did she speak, word by word, “And why shouldn’t I be jealous? Why is it that someone who suddenly popped out from some remote corner gets to take all the family’s care and love the moment she appears? Not even a trace left for me.”

“Cui Heng, ask yourself honestly, who is your real little sister? Who carries the blood of the Cui clan in her veins? And that thing, whatever she is, she’s worthy of being called my elder sister?”

“Enough!” Cui Heng shouted, reprimanding sternly, “No matter what happened in the past, Yu’er is now a member of the Cui clan. She is your elder sister! How did you become so unreasonable? Have all the classics you read been fed to the dogs?”

The smile slowly faded from Cui Wanwan’s face. Her eyes turned cold and merciless, ruthlessly tearing away the flimsy veil he hid behind.

“Cui Heng, don’t think I don’t know. Do you truly see Wei Qingyu as your little sister? If so, then why did you develop feelings for her that you never should have had?”

Cui Wanwan stepped forward, eyes locked onto him with a mocking glint. She stood on tiptoe and softly parted her red lips by his ear: “How strange, it turns out the elder brother is in love with his own little sister.”

“You’re out of line!” Cui Heng’s expression changed instantly. He shoved Cui Wanwan away and raised his hand, striking down.

“Pa!”

A bright red handprint appeared instantly on the left side of Cui Wanwan’s face, glaringly stark against her snow-white skin.

“Wanwan, I…” Realizing what he had done, Cui Heng’s eyes widened in panic and regret. He instinctively raised his hand to touch her face, only to have Cui Wanwan slap it away.

“Angry out of shame now?” Cui Wanwan laughed, raised her hand, and slapped him right back.

She wasn’t someone who would suffer in silence. Even if it was her elder brother, she would hit him just the same.

As a younger sister, she had not the slightest bit of softness.
Slap!
Her slap sent the young man’s head whipping to the side.

Cui Heng didn’t dodge. For that slap just now, he was filled with guilt and remorse. Ever since they were children, he had never so much as laid a finger on his little sister, he had always held her like a treasure in the palm of his hand.

Had she not deliberately provoked him just now, and had he not lost control in a moment of rage, he would never have laid a hand on her.

His earlier fury had completely dissipated, replaced only by a deep sense of panic.

“Wanwan…” Cui Heng was both ashamed and self-reproachful. Ashamed that he had slapped his little sister, and even more ashamed that the dirty, unspeakable secret buried in his heart had now been dragged out into the light.

For a moment, Cui Heng was overcome by an overwhelming mix of emotions.