Mian Tang had no idea what kind of account book it was, but she instinctively said, “Don’t report this to the young master yet. I’ll sort out the accounts myself…”
She then buried herself at the desk, meticulously recalculating the accounts. Somehow, Mian Tang knew she was fabricating empty transactions, creating a fake ledger. Suddenly, mountains of silver transformed into countless small streams, diverted from the main account…
Next, she watched numerous horse-drawn carts pass before her. Though unable to see inside the boxes, she knew they were filled with silver ingots and banknotes…
When Mian Tang awoke from her splitting headache, besides feeling exhausted from her busy dream, she also found it absurdly far-fetched. Even if she had sold all her husband’s shops, how could there be so much money? Moreover, she had been embezzling funds like a corrupt official… Perhaps hearing that thief’s words had confused her, resulting in this chaotic dream.
Yet the dream felt too real, leaving her in a daze…
So she opened her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling beams.
“You’re awake. Would you like some water?” Cui Xingzhou, who had been sitting nearby, asked as he put down his book.
Night had fallen, and the candlelight on the table flickered weakly.
Mian Tang turned her head weakly to look at him, momentarily disoriented, feeling as if she had returned to when she first woke from her serious illness, viewing her husband with an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity. She tried to sit up but lacked the strength, only managing to ask feebly, “How did I faint?”
Cui Xingzhou calmly replied, “The thief you knocked unconscious woke up and attacked you… How do you feel? Do you remember anything?”
Mian Tang looked at her husband’s handsome and refined face, her thoughts stirring. She felt she was being too suspicious, wondering how she could even consider asking if her husband had knocked her out himself.
Such thoughts were absurd, so she swallowed them and asked hoarsely instead, “My head hurts terribly… Who were those people? How could they be so brazen, demanding money from me?”
Hearing her question, Cui Xingzhou recalled the report from the secret guards who had interrogated the criminals.
Those men were all hardened criminals. Nine out of ten refused to talk, but one finally confessed after being tortured with branding irons and finger presses.
According to him, when Liu Mian Tang fled from Yangshan, she had personally created false accounts, embezzling a large sum of money from the stronghold. Because the accounts were meticulously fabricated and the stronghold’s businesses were spread across various locations, with accounts only reported annually, no one had discovered the discrepancy.
It wasn’t until a woman named Yun Niang, who took over the accounting, discovered the error that they were sent down the mountain to find Liu Mian Tang.
When the secret guards pressed for details about Yun Niang, the identity of the young master, and why Liu Mian Tang had access to such large sums, the bandit rasped, “Our young master is…”
Before he could finish, another dying bandit suddenly raised his head and spat out a hidden poison needle, instantly killing the one who had confessed. Then, the remaining few exchanged glances and bit their tongues, committing suicide.
The secret guards caught off guard, hadn’t expected a group of mountain bandits to act like well-trained suicide squads with such unwavering resolve. They were left without any survivors to question.
Cui Xingzhou listened to the secret guards’ report with a grave expression, piecing together the general situation.
That Lu Wen was truly peculiar, allowing his woman to manage the accounts. More terrifying was that these mountain bandits possessed enormous assets and businesses in various locations… Given this, their ambitions must be significant. How could they have so obediently surrendered and accepted amnesty?
Who exactly was this Lu Wen?
As for Liu Mian Tang embezzling large sums of money, Cui Xingzhou had no doubt. Given her current behavior, she certainly had the courage and ability to do so. No wonder her arm and leg tendons had been cut back then…
However, Liu Mian Tang now had no memory of her time in the bandit’s lair, but those thieves didn’t know that. If they caught her, one could imagine her fate would be worse than death.
Since Lu Wen’s amnesty had been settled, Cui Xingzhou had been considering abandoning the residence on North Street. But he had been lazy about it, thinking he’d wait and see before deciding. He never expected such shocking secrets to emerge.
It seemed the North Street residence couldn’t be abandoned yet. Instead, security needed to be tightened to continue fishing for information, hoping to uncover the identity of Young Master Ziyu and the background of the bandit-mentioned Yun Niang.
More importantly, he needed to clarify exactly what role Liu Mian Tang had played in Yangshan!
For some reason, Mian Tang noticed that since the incident with the bandits on the street, her husband had suddenly started spending much more time at home.
Except for going out for half a day at noon, he generally stayed home after lunch, playing chess with her and reading books, seemingly at leisure! He appeared to have grown lazy in his studies and chess practice, retreating to the comfort of their home.
However, there were many times when his gaze upon her was intense, seeming to carry an investigative quality.
Although having her husband at home was a good thing, Mian Tang felt compelled to ask him about it.
When she inquired, Cui Xingzhou casually replied, “I’ve been learning for so long, yet my chess skills haven’t improved beyond yours. I might as well give up.”
His virtuous wife, Mian Tang, was utterly shocked by this response. She hadn’t realized she had discouraged her husband’s enthusiasm for learning chess. But she also wondered aloud, “I didn’t know how to play chess before. Do you know who taught me, husband?”
Cui Xingzhou, having just finished a game with her, was collecting the chess pieces while looking at her. With a slightly cold smile, he said nonchalantly, “I don’t know either. Perhaps you learned from Young Master Ziyu…”
Mian Tang, recalling the inexplicable familiarity she felt watching Young Master Ziyu play chess, couldn’t help but think her husband’s words might be true. She wondered what she had been thinking back then, how she could have associated so closely with another man while her husband was away on a long journey. How many games of chess must she have played to acquire such skill?
With this, her interest in chess vanished. Mian Tang, attempting to make amends, grabbed some fabric from a broken basket and began measuring it against Cui Jiu’s body.
Summer was nearing its end, and as the weather turned cooler, her husband would need new clothes. Outer garments, of course, should be bought to ensure a proper fit and appearance. But undergarments should be made by a wife’s own hands to be truly comfortable.
Due to her serious illness, she had forgotten how to be a wife.
Fortunately, Mian Tang often sat on the benches in front of the houses on North Street, cracking melon seeds and sewing shoe soles. There, she learned about the changing seasons and the duties of a wife, allowing her to follow the other women’s example in making undergarments for her husband.
Since Mo Ru had brought back a chest of her husband’s clothes, Mian Tang found one of Cui Jiu’s old undergarments and used it as a pattern to cut new fabric. She spent several days sewing diligently and finally produced something resembling a garment.
Cui Xingzhou stood up, allowing Mian Tang to measure the fabric against his body repeatedly.
Although Mian Tang was taller than most women from Jiangnan, she appeared petite and delicate compared to his towering stature.
Unlike her efficiency in business matters, this Liu young lady was quite clumsy with needlework! She had already altered the sleeve alone three or four times…
He lowered his gaze, slightly bowing his head to look at Mian Tang. She first furrowed her brow slightly, then carefully measured his waistline, finally looking quite satisfied. Her red lips parted in a bright, delightful smile.
However, as this intoxicating smile fell into Cui Xingzhou’s eyes, it only made him feel increasingly uneasy.
Over the past few days, he had been wondering: Was this woman merely surviving miserably by the side of Young Master Ziyu, or had she developed genuine marital affection for him over time? Even if she had initially been a respectable woman, after being captured and made a wife or concubine by such a refined young master, hadn’t she developed some true feelings? Otherwise, how could she willingly manage his accounts?
However, thinking about how this woman had later boldly embezzled the rebels’ money, Cui Xingzhou felt slightly more forgiving towards Mian Tang.
At least she knew to turn back from the wrong path and not associate with those rebels and bandits.
But how did she dare to take such a large amount of silver? Having been her fake husband for so long, he could sense her character. Though she loved money, she wasn’t the type to forget righteousness for profit. Moreover, how could a weak woman embezzle such a large sum?
No one had ever come looking for her before until Ziyu discovered she was still alive and sent people to find her.
Thinking of the bandit mentioning a woman named “Yun Niang,” Cui Xingzhou let out a cold snort.
Thieves will be thieves, actually having the habit of letting their bedmates manage the accounts. It seemed Mian Tang had fallen out of favor, and a new favorite had taken over, transferring the account books to the hands of the new “mountain wife.”
Who knows if the new favorite had colluded with someone to embezzle money and then pinned it all on Liu Mian Tang, the discarded ex-wife.
His father’s household was full of such scheming, poisonous women. Cui Xingzhou had seen their dirty tricks since childhood. Thinking briefly, he could deduce the general situation.
Realizing this, he looked at Mian Tang again, remembering how she had been floating, barely alive, in the river… No matter how clever and capable she was, what use was it when she had been so thoroughly used by someone unworthy and discarded into the river like trash…
As Mian Tang finished measuring the clothes, she looked up to see her husband staring at her intently, his gaze cold and distant.
She hesitated, then raised her hand to look at her clothes, belatedly realizing that the two sleeves were of different lengths.
“Oh no!” she cried out in embarrassment. No wonder her husband was looking at her like that. How had she messed up the sleeves again?
“Husband, do you find me too clumsy?” she asked, no longer looking at him, dejectedly throwing the clothes back into the broken basket.
Cui Xingzhou, snapping out of his thoughts, found her embarrassment somewhat amusing. He said gently, “Aren’t you very quick with the abacus? Being a bit clumsy with needlework just shows you’re well-rounded. If all the cleverness in the world belonged to you, how would other girls survive?”
These words were like a tiny candle flame, instantly brightening Mian Tang’s gloomy face. She looked at her husband with shining eyes, her love for him growing even stronger. She felt that even when he praised someone, he did it subtly, making it particularly pleasing to hear.
However, since her husband had given up on learning chess, it was good. He would need to manage the shop eventually.
“Husband, since you think I’m good with the abacus, shall I teach you how to use it tomorrow? Also, looking at the shop’s account books gives me a headache. It would be best if you could take over,” she suggested.
Cui Xingzhou hadn’t expected her to turn the conversation in this direction. He frowned slightly and hesitated before saying, “You can continue managing the shop’s affairs.”
Mian Tang was helping him undress when she heard this. She first blushed, then shyly said, “The women on the street, like Mother Yin, always ask when our Cui household will have children… The mothers say that copper and silver are yin in nature, and if one wants to conceive, it’s best to avoid them… I thought, since you’re not young anymore, it’s time to have children. So I thought I should rest and take care of my health…”
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke. Although what she said was reasonable, it wasn’t something she should have said herself. Annoyingly, her mother-in-law had passed away early, and there were no elders in the family to urge them to have children. So she had no choice but to say it herself, with a face as red as a cloth…
Heavens, would her husband misunderstand and think she was lonely in bed, urging him to resolve his inner conflicts and be intimate with her?
Cui Xingzhou had misunderstood. He looked down at Mian Tang’s face steadily, the blush spreading like the evening glow, extending down to her neck…
Counting the days, this woman had shared a bed with him for over a month. Although he had maintained a gentleman’s propriety and hadn’t touched her at all, her reputation had still been compromised.
Previously, Cui Xingzhou had intended to send her to a nunnery. Later, out of rare kindness, he had thought of letting her establish her household.
But now it seemed the bandits from Yangshan weren’t willing to let her go. Even after clearing out the bandits, there might still be some who slipped through the net. If someone came looking for her again, putting a knife to her throat like before, how could she, a woman with disabled limbs, protect herself?
For a moment, Cui Xingzhou found himself pondering potential husbands for her. Zhao Quan, the Marquis of Zhennan, seemed to have a particular fondness for this woman, but his lazy and slack nature – how could he fully protect Mian Tang? He might even end up getting himself in trouble.
After much consideration, Cui Xingzhou grew tired of thinking and simply reached out to pat her head, as if comforting a child, saying, “Your body is weak and still needs nourishment. In the future… I will give you a child eventually…”
Mian Tang hadn’t expected that her husband had been considering her health all along, which was why he hadn’t shared a bed with her. She felt that her earlier words had seemed too eager. At that moment, no longer embarrassed, she directly embraced his lean waist and buried her face in his chest, giggling softly.
Cui Xingzhou looked at her with slight helplessness, suddenly feeling that once everything was cleared up in the future, it wouldn’t be impossible to take this dependent woman as a concubine.
After all, his future father-in-law’s family had already secretly investigated and misunderstood that he had taken a concubine, and his cousin Lian Suilan hadn’t even asked about it. As long as he settled the Lian family’s group of descendants and gave them enough benefits, the entire Lian family seemed to have tacitly approved of this matter.
In that case, let everything proceed smoothly! Anyway, he wouldn’t officially marry Mian Tang in the future, avoiding embarrassing Lian Suilan, the future female master of the wang’s mansion.
As for Liu Mian Tang, he would reveal the truth to her in the future. As long as she was willing, he would give her a respectable and wealthy life, protecting her from harm and allowing her to live a comfortable and settled life.
Thinking this way, Cui Xingzhou suddenly felt his mood lighten, and the recent discomfort in his heart seemed to be resolved.
At that moment, the “couple” on North Street both felt their inner conflicts ease considerably, and they lay back down on the bed together.
Neither of them fell asleep immediately. Mian Tang nestled in Cui Xingzhou’s arms, talking about trivial matters of the inner household. In a few words, she turned to her recent chaotic dreams.
Perhaps because of being knocked unconscious by that bastard bandit last time, she had been dreaming a lot recently. However, her dreams were fragmented and incoherent. She had spent several nights busy with transporting silver and exchanging banknotes in her dreams.
Usually, when she woke up alone in bed, she would feel a sense of confusion, not knowing what time it was.
Fortunately, her husband had been staying home recently and would sleep with her at night. Every time she had a dream, he would carefully wake her up and ask what she had dreamed about.
As the moon waned, having someone next to her to talk to dispelled the feeling of loneliness and isolation.
However, although they were just dreams, Mian Tang still felt uncomfortable. Finally, she hesitantly asked her husband, “Husband, did the officials say anything about who those people were? Why did they try to rob us on the road? Could it be… that I took someone else’s money?”
Cui Jiu casually twirled her long hair and asked, “It was just a dream, but would you take someone else’s money privately?”
Mian Tang thought seriously for a moment: “Why would I take someone else’s? Whether it’s money or people, if it’s not mine, I wouldn’t want it even if it were given to me for free!”
As she said this, she was also declaring to her husband that she wouldn’t even look at that Young Master Ziyu or men like Zhao Quan who had multiple wives and concubines in the future, let alone be tempted by their sweet words!
Cui Jiu raised the corners of his mouth slightly but didn’t say anything more.
However, compared to the peaceful days on North Street, Yun Niang in a secluded house on Yangshan was quite furious.
She violently smashed the cup in her hand and said viciously, “How is this possible? Her arms and legs are disabled, and she has no martial arts skills left. She married an ordinary merchant. How could none of those elite guards who went after her return?”
Her confidant, Yan Chi, cautiously said, “This servant inquired afterward. It’s said that there were indeed people blocking carriages in the alley that day, and by coincidence, they encountered a group of off-duty soldiers from the nearby Lingquan Town garrison. So they were just captured and interrogated. However, someone saw their bodies being carried out of the Lingquan Town government office’s torture chamber that day. They probably didn’t give in or betray us…”
Yun Niang bit her lip, her delicate eyebrows furrowed tightly as she said, “Liu Mian Tang is so bold, not only moving away the secretly operated shop’s cash flow from the mountain stronghold but also taking away the private property left by the Crown Prince. She… she is so greedy, betraying the young master’s deep love for her!”
After saying this, Yun Niang paced anxiously on the spot. Yangshan had numerous troops, and if that sum of money couldn’t be found, the remaining funds in the stronghold wouldn’t last long. If there was no money to pay the subordinates, were they supposed to resort to robbery?
Just then, someone outside the door said, “Miss Sun, the young master requests your presence in his study…”
The maid Hua Ping was somewhat flustered. After the person outside left, she quietly asked her mistress, “What should we do? Will the young master discover the silver that the general’s subordinates misappropriated?”
Sun Yun Niang glared at her fiercely and said, “What is there to panic about? Just push it all onto Liu Mian Tang. Compared to the huge sum she’s hiding, what my father took is just a drop in the bucket!”
After saying this, she calmed down considerably. She changed her clothes, tidied her hair, and then made her way to the young master’s study.
Ziyu had a refined taste. Outside the study was a clump of precious emerald bamboo. The calligraphy and paintings hanging inside the study, upon closer inspection, were all works by famous masters, each priceless.
Ziyu was standing by the window listening to his subordinate’s report. He wore black fox fur, and although it was summer, the mountain was cool, and he seemed intolerant of the chill after the rain.
Yun Niang watched him staring straight at the emerald bamboo outside the window, and couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable again. The reason was none other than the fact that the bamboo patch had been specially planted for the young master by Liu Mian Tang.
She walked over slowly, curtsied, and said, “It just rained, young master. You should stay away from the window to avoid catching a chill…” As she spoke, she walked over, intending to adjust Ziyu’s collar.
However, the usually gentle young master rudely brushed away her hand and then stared at her intently, saying, “Why did you secretly send people down the mountain to cause trouble for Mian Tang?”
Yun Niang bit her lip, her eyes welling up with tears, looking pitiful as she said, “Young master, how could you think of me like this? If it weren’t for the fact that the stronghold’s accounts couldn’t be balanced, how would I have been so anxious to check the accounts and discover Sister Liu’s discrepancies? Moreover, I only ordered people to go and ask her about the whereabouts of the large sum of silver. How can you say I’m causing her trouble?”
Although Sun Yun Niang’s appearance was delicate and pleasant, it paled in comparison to Liu Mian Tang’s radiance. However, her petite and graceful demeanor was gentle and virtuous, making men unconsciously treat her tenderly, afraid of startling such a fragile woman.
At this moment, Yun Niang’s voice was trembling slightly, like a frightened rabbit. Anyone who wasn’t hard-hearted would involuntarily soften their voice.
Young Master Ziyu also seemed to feel that his tone had been too harsh earlier. Seeing Yun Niang’s reddened eyes, he couldn’t help but soften his tone and said, “Mian Tang has always been methodical in her actions. Why did you act on your own without asking me? As a result, you’ve caused such a mess, alarming the officials and even losing six elite guards. How do you plan to clean this up?”
Yun Niang had no way to clean it up, so she just said in a weak voice, “I only asked them to inquire, with no intention of troubling sister. How could sister be so ungrateful as to call the officials to deal with her formerly loyal subordinates…”
“Shut up! Didn’t the people who went to gather information say that they were just unlucky and happened to run into the Huaiyang Wang’s officers who were out in plain clothes? How could Mian Tang have the supernatural ability to command the Huaiyang Wang’s subordinates at will?” Ziyu’s anger flared again upon hearing Yun Niang accuse Mian Tang.
At this point, Secretary Qin, who was discussing strategies with the young master, spoke up, “Young master, Miss Sun was just anxious about the discrepancies in the accounts, which is why she urgently sent people down the mountain to inquire. She couldn’t have anticipated such a result. You needn’t be too angry.”