Li, the official, wasn’t in the front hall but stood outside the Lu mansion, counting the goods. A thin, short middle-aged man wearing ill-fitting official robes was checking the gift list from Prince Sui’s residence for any missing items.
Lu Wu, exhausted from receiving numerous distinguished guests, struggled to maintain his composure while speaking to this newly appointed official.
Seeing Lu Wu emerge, Li Guangcai hurriedly lifted his robe and approached with small steps. “Master Lu, I am Li Guangnian, the new assistant magistrate.”
Lu Wu cupped his hands in greeting, “May I ask what brings the assistant magistrate here?”
Li Guangcai pulled out a copy of the Da Yan legal code on marriage from his sleeve, flipped through it, and pointed to a specific clause. “The law clearly states that betrothal gifts should only be given after both parties sign the marriage contract. However, I’ve learned from your second master that Prince Sui sent betrothal gifts without signing the contract. This violates the law! As a local official, I must uphold the law. You must return these five carts of betrothal gifts and only accept them after signing the contract.”
Lu Mu had been accompanying the county magistrate. Initially, he thought the official had come to observe the festivities when he saw Li arrive on a small donkey with his subordinates.
Excited by the prospect of associating with nobility, Lu Mu had truthfully told Li about Prince Sui’s betrothal gifts. Little did he know that the new official would make such a fuss, potentially jeopardizing his niece’s promising marriage.
Lu Wu found the new assistant magistrate’s attention to detail… impressive! He must have heard about the commotion at the Lu family’s door and came to investigate. As a government official, his thorough knowledge of Da Yan law allowed him to spot such a discrepancy.
Relieved, Lu Wu replied, “Your Excellency is correct. It indeed violates custom and law. However, I’m not sure where Prince Sui resides…”
Li Guangcai waved his hand dismissively, “Since you agree to return the betrothal gifts, I’ll handle the rest. You may retire and rest now, sir.”
With that, Li Guangnian instructed his subordinates to hitch up the horses and drive the five carts of betrothal gifts out of the alley.
“Your Excellency, please wait!” Someone called out just as Li Guangcai was about to leave.
He turned to see a stunningly beautiful young woman standing at the mansion gate. Li Guangcai had never seen such a lovely maiden in his life and immediately guessed she must be Liu Miantang, whom Prince Sui wanted to forcibly take as a concubine.
Indeed, the beautiful, bright-eyed young woman approached and introduced herself. Li Guangcai quickly lowered his head and spoke seriously, “What can I do for you, Miss Liu?”
Miantang bowed deeply to Li, “I’m here to thank Your Excellency for your kind efforts!”
Li Guangcai waved his hand, “No need for such formalities, Miss. I… took the imperial examinations with Cui Jiu years ago. Unfortunately, the Emperor pulled his exam paper, preventing him from participating in the palace examination. I barely managed to become the third-ranked scholar. So, I’m obligated to handle the matters he entrusts to me.”
Miantang had long known from Mama Li that Li Guangcai was planted by Prince Huaiyang, but she never imagined this lowly assistant magistrate was a third-ranked imperial scholar. Moreover, it seemed that Li had a close relationship with Prince Huaiyang.
Cui Xingzhou… wasn’t it a waste of talent to assign such a capable person here?
Without dwelling on it further, Miantang bowed again, “I’m relieved that Your Excellency is willing to intervene. However, Prince Sui is a royal prince with high status and great power. If he refuses to back down…”
Li Guangcai waved his hand again, “I always act according to the law. Even a prince is subject to the same laws as commoners if he breaks them. Prince Sui is in mourning for the late emperor, leading an ascetic life. How could such a virtuous person knowingly violate the law and trouble the local people?”
This Li Guangcai, with his upright and stern demeanor, appeared to be a proper and inflexible person at first glance.
However, Miantang noted how he placed an impossibly high moral standard on Prince Sui, revealing Li’s excellent oratory skills.
Seeming to understand Miantang’s concerns, Li Guangcai bowed again, “Miss Liu, please rest assured. Even if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. It won’t crush the Lu family.”
With that, he turned to instruct the hired cart drivers to take away the betrothal gifts.
While Miantang was speaking with Li, Lu Mu rushed to find his father, hoping to persuade him to stop Li from returning the betrothal gifts. Naturally, Lu Wu scolded him mercilessly.
By the time he returned, Li had already left with the convoy of betrothal gifts, leaving Lu Mu slapping his thighs in frustration.
Seeing Miantang, he snapped, “Didn’t you tell Li that we couldn’t return the betrothal gifts? Now we’ve offended Prince Sui for no reason!”
Miantang stood still, looking at her second uncle slowly, and asked, “So, Uncle, you think I should agree to be Prince Sui’s concubine?”
Lu Mu faltered, quickly backtracking, “No… I know you don’t want to be a concubine, but you must understand, this is to be a noble concubine in a prince’s household! It’s not like being a concubine to some local rich man. Many people would beg for such an opportunity. Besides, if Prince Sui takes offense, won’t the whole family suffer along with you?”
Miantang replied calmly, “I’ve already made up my mind. Tomorrow, I’ll apply at the magistrate’s office to become an independent female householder and buy a house to move out. My surname is Liu, not Lu. Whether I marry or not is my own business. It’s kind of you uncles to care, but it’s also proper if you don’t. I’ll bear the consequences myself.”
With that, she returned to her quarters with her two maids, ignoring Lu Mu.
She had long planned to move out of the Lu family home. She had even bought a small house in Linzhou, waiting for the right moment to tell her grandfather.
Of course, her initial intention wasn’t to avoid Prince Sui but to prevent Cui Xingzhou from causing trouble for the Lu family with his persistence.
Now, Prince Sui’s forceful proposal gave her a legitimate reason to leave the Lu family.
With her brother in exile and her father dead, she qualified as an independent female householder. When she mentioned her intention to apply for this status, the official Li unhesitatingly had a clerk prepare the necessary documents.
Miantang took action first and informed her grandfather afterward, once all the household registration matters were settled.
Lu Wu, tempered by recent unexpected events, remained unexpectedly calm. He only asked Miantang if she feared he couldn’t protect her.
While massaging her grandfather’s back, Miantang replied, “If it were just you, Grandfather, I wouldn’t go anywhere. I know you’d protect me well. But the Lu family has many children, and you can’t focus solely on me while neglecting them. Prince Sui is domineering and unreasonable. By establishing my household, I’m making it clear that I’m not interested in him. He can’t do anything to me. Why should the entire Lu family get involved in this mess because of an outsider like me?”
As the family patriarch, Lu Wu understood the wisdom in Miantang’s considerations. However, he worried about the hardships she would face as a lone orphaned woman establishing her household.
Moreover, it was uncertain whether Prince Sui would give up, making the situation precarious.
But Miantang didn’t let her grandfather dwell on these thoughts. She pointed out that household registrations couldn’t be changed on a whim, so even if he disagreed, it was too late.
Besides, she had bought the house long ago, and workers were currently whitewashing it. Once the walls dried, they could move in the furniture.
After a sleepless night, Lu Wu took Lu Xian to inspect the house in Linzhou the next day. Located in a bustling area, it wasn’t too remote. Though small, the residence was elegantly renovated.
It was evident that Miantang had been preparing the place for some time. She had even built a small pond under the grape trellis, already stocked with colorful koi and fist-sized water lilies.
Seeing that nothing more needed to be added, Lu Wu gave Miantang the dowry box he had prepared for her, along with several skilled guards for household protection.
When Miantang received the dowry box, she was surprised to find it contained more silver notes than when her grandfather had shown it to her previously.
She looked at her grandfather in astonishment.
Lu Wu calmly explained, “The girl from the second branch has a father who can earn money, so there’s no need for me to worry about her. I combined the two shares into one and gave it all to you.”
Hearing that it included her cousin Lu Qingying’s share, Miantang refused to accept it.
But Lu Wu insisted, “The second branch has embezzled enough to marry off several more daughters. Since I’ve already shown favoritism, I might as well go all the way. You’ve decided to establish your household without my input, so you have no say in how much dowry I choose to give you! Just accept it!”
Miantang had no choice but to accept, as her grandfather was still angry and barely looked at her.
Although Lu Wu had inspected the house several times, when Miantang moved in, Li personally visited the neighbors to check their numbers and ensure no criminals or suspicious newcomers were renting nearby.
Mama Li was pleased with Li Guangcai’s attention to detail. During his break from verifying household registrations, she had Fangxie bring him a food box containing snacks and wine, lest the hardworking official neglect his lunch.
After settling everything, Miantang breathed a sigh of relief. She was quite satisfied with her new little courtyard. She asked Bicao to bring the newly purchased rattan chair, intending to sit under the grape trellis with its emerging green leaves and feed the fish.
However, Bicao’s careless comment dampened Miantang’s good mood: “Miss, doesn’t this courtyard look just like the one on North Street in Lingquan Town?”
Miantang nearly choked on her tea. She wanted to argue that it wasn’t similar at all but suddenly fell silent.
Indeed… the courtyard in North Street also had a grape trellis. In summer, Miantang loved to set up a table under it for meals. She had even told Cui Xingzhou that it would be nice to have a small fish pond there.
And over there, she had a carpenter make a long rack, just like the one in the North Street residence, for drying clothes, cups, and Mama Li’s homemade sausages and cured meats…
After surveying the courtyard, Miantang abruptly stood up and entered the house.
The furniture was already arranged, and the placement of the bed and tables was indeed nearly identical to that in Lingquan Town.
Miantang rarely felt frustrated, but at this moment, she wanted to bang her head against the wall. If her maid hadn’t mentioned it, she wouldn’t have noticed how powerful human habit could be.
Now that she had established her household and was living independently, she had unknowingly recreated the layout of North Street due to the influence of her memories.
That night, Liu Miantang slept restlessly.
The next morning, she instructed Bicao and the others to help rearrange the furniture in her room. Poor Bicao, regretting her careless words from the day before, worked until her back ached.
Miantang initially wanted to tear down the grape trellis, but her love for dining and watching fish beneath it won out. She reluctantly allowed this similarity to remain.
Mama Li, seeing Miantang’s fuss, shook her head and sighed before retreating to the kitchen to stew some ribs, preferring to avoid the commotion.
However, the furniture wasn’t the only source of frustration.
Prince Sui had initially thought taking Miantang as a concubine would be simple. After all, she no longer had her father’s status as the head of Yangshan, nor any powerful backing. She was merely the granddaughter of an old man who ran an escort agency.
He expected the Lu family to be grateful for his proposal. Once they accepted the betrothal gifts, they should have sent Miantang to him in a sedan chair.
Instead, his five carts of betrothal gifts were returned, accompanied by the very talent he had hoped to recruit in Xizhou—Li Guangcai.
Liu Pei felt his judgment of Li Guangcai’s abilities was correct. The man boldly cited Da Yan law to reject the forced marriage proposal and return the gifts before riding away on his donkey.
For a moment, Prince Sui pondered Li’s audacity. Could it be that the assistant magistrate also had his eye on Liu Miantang and was protecting her reputation?
However, Li was mistaken about one thing: Liu Pei didn’t care much about his reputation. His previous ascetic life was merely a facade. What consequences could there be for forcibly taking an orphaned girl? Which court official would bother to criticize a prince not in line for the throne over such a trivial matter?
Weighing Li Guangcai against Liu Miantang, Prince Sui decided he preferred the latter.
Upon hearing that Miantang had established her household, Prince Sui smirked. It seemed she understood she had offended him and didn’t want to implicate her family, hence her hasty move to live independently.
However, it was challenging for a woman to maintain a household alone. Since that was the case, he felt obliged to “help” her.
With this in mind, Prince Sui decided to send people to “persuade” Liu Miantang, making her understand the consequences of refusing him.
When Prince Sui’s men knocked on the door, Bicao peeked through the crack and felt nervous upon seeing the imposing servants.
She hurriedly informed Miantang, who continued practicing calligraphy unfazed. “Ignore them,” she said. “Tell them our household is headed by a woman, and it’s inappropriate to receive male guests. Ask them to leave.”
Bicao dutifully relayed Miantang’s message to Prince Sui’s men.
However, these men had anticipated Miantang’s refusal to open the door.
They remembered how domineering Prince Sui had been in the capital. Though he had become more low-key in Huizhou following the Empress Dowager’s instructions, his inherent tyranny remained unchanged.
Seeing that Miantang wouldn’t open the door, the servants exchanged glances before forcing their way in.
Earlier that day, Prince Sui had given them clear instructions—they must bring Miantang back at all costs.
When Magistrate Li came to reclaim her later, Liu Pei would claim his subordinates had acted on their own, “inviting” Liu Miantang to his residence.
Once a young woman entered his private quarters, her reputation would be tarnished. If he were to release her, wouldn’t it drive her to suicide? He could then justify keeping her, questioning what a mere county magistrate could do about it.
Since she refused to speak with him properly, he would show her how unreasonable men behaved.
As the intruders burst into the courtyard, Fan Hu and his men were ready. They immediately engaged the attackers in combat.
Prince Sui had planned this, and his trained fighters were formidable. Fan Hu and his team struggled to hold them off.
Inside the house, Miantang bit her lip, understanding Prince Sui’s brazen behavior.
This wasn’t some remote area. Even if Prince Sui’s men were intentionally trespassing, any deaths in her courtyard could be twisted in the prince’s favor.
Knowing this, Prince Sui acted without fear, intent on escalating the situation. Perhaps he even hoped for the death of one or two of his men to frame her.
As for Prince Huaiyang… he was far away, and even if he were present, it was uncertain whether he’d be willing to confront Prince Sui for her sake.
Realizing this, Miantang slowly lowered the small bow she had raised.
Though she had established her household, any major incident would still implicate her grandfather’s family. She couldn’t act as freely as she had in the wilderness, feeding Prince Sui’s men to the wolves.
Feeling constrained, Miantang suddenly felt that being a law-abiding woman was less liberating than being a mountain bandit. At least bandits didn’t have to go against their conscience to please the powerful…
As the fierce battle raged in the courtyard, sudden, thunderous footsteps echoed from outside the alley, as if thousands of troops were approaching.
The fighting parties paused, listening to the approaching rumble…
Sensing trouble, Prince Sui’s men exchanged glances, preparing to investigate. But as soon as they stepped out, they found themselves surrounded by armored warriors.
Without a word, the soldiers drew their swords and attacked. With dozens of gleaming blades descending upon them, several of Prince Sui’s men were immediately struck down.
After killing a few, the armored troops poured into the courtyard, continuing to cut down the remaining intruders.
One soldier said, “The Grand Marshal ordered us to chop them outside the gate to keep the courtyard clean.” With that, the remaining men were dragged out of the courtyard, their screams abruptly silenced.
“Take the bodies to the outskirts and feed them to the dogs! Bring water to wash away the blood!” Following this order, the sound of water splashing mixed with the chaos of footsteps outside.
Soon after, the rhythmic marching of the troops faded as they retreated like the ebbing tide.
Bicao cautiously followed Fan Hu to look outside. The neighbors were also peeking out from behind their walls, still in shock.
The alley appeared clean, save for the wet ground and the lingering scent of blood in the air as if nothing had happened.
Miantang was momentarily stunned, suddenly recalling his words: if she found another man, she shouldn’t blame him for bringing an army to settle accounts. That madman… had followed through on his wild threat.
The death of over twenty men sent by Prince Sui left him both shocked and furious.
Worse still, Xizhou and its surrounding counties were now encircled by a massive army. Even his private residence was guarded by iron-clad soldiers.
Their lean, dark faces and murderous aura were unmistakable signs of Cui’s Northwestern Army.
Prince Sui now found himself unable to leave even if he wanted to.
Left with no choice, he had to visit the temporary command tent outside Xizhou to meet the lame Cui Xingzhou in person.
“Prince Huaiyang, instead of reporting for duty in the capital, you’ve come to this small town to flex your power… Isn’t that a bit excessive?” Prince Sui questioned.
Seated in a lacquered wheelchair, Prince Huaiyang replied calmly, “While passing through on a military campaign, a former classmate sought my help. He mentioned serving as an assistant magistrate in Xizhou, but the area was troubled by ruffians abducting women in broad daylight. Since he asked for my assistance, I sent some men to maintain order. It wasn’t much trouble, just a matter of a few sword strokes. My soldiers are accustomed to battlefield carnage and may have been a bit heavy-handed…”
His words were carefully chosen, leaving no room for argument. Prince Sui was seething but unable to refute Prince Huaiyang. He realized that Li Guangcai and Cui Xingzhou’s relationship wasn’t as severed as it appeared.
If Li Guangcai had taken a liking to Liu Miantang and sought help from his former master passing through the area, it would be understandable…
Prince Sui laughed bitterly, “A woman with a questionable past is so highly regarded by Magistrate Li… Has he, a successful scholar and official, no concern for his reputation? Is such a woman fit to be a wife or a concubine?”
Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou’s expression darkened, “Prince Sui, you sound like sour grapes, revealing a petty nature! I’m embarrassed for you. If you can’t obtain a concubine, shall I buy some from slavers to help you vent your frustrations?”
Liu Pei regretted his outburst as soon as he spoke. He hadn’t expected to stumble so badly over such a trivial matter because of Cui Xingzhou.
With the Northwestern Army tightly surrounding Xizhou, he needed to placate this madman Cui Xingzhou to break free.
He had no choice but to swallow his pride and endure the mockery for now.
Cui Xingzhou didn’t waste much more breath on Prince Sui. After all, they were both engaged in unsavory business that would invite criticism if known to the imperial censors.
Having caught each other in compromising situations, they exchanged insincere pleasantries, pretending nothing had happened.
Finally, Cui Xingzhou gave Prince Sui a token allowing him to leave Xizhou with some dignity intact.
Meanwhile, after the chaos, Miantang directed her servants to clean up the courtyard.
As she turned around, she noticed a tall man in long robes, leaning on a cane, casually entering her courtyard through the broken gate.