Mian Tang’s timely interruption successfully drew Cui Xingzhou’s attention.
The Prince of Huaiyang knew his mother was timid and frail, and with her recent illness, he needed to bring her back quickly for treatment. So he temporarily set aside his concerns about the four brothers and went straight up the mountain to retrieve his mother.
Dowager Chu had just finished washing her dirty face, and Fang Xie had helped her do her hair, making her presentable. When she saw her son, her anxious heart finally settled, and she embraced him, sobbing.
Cui Xingzhou surveyed the crude shelter on the mountain, the thin porridge in the pot, and noticed that Mian Tang had given her only warm clothing to his mother for bedding.
His heart was filled with a mix of emotions – fear, self-reproach, and anger all intertwined.
He thought about his years of military service since his youth, the countless life-and-death battles he had fought, only for the court to use him and then attempt to discard him before his usefulness had ended.
Now, with the new emperor’s foundation unstable and unable to intimidate threats from all directions, Cui Xingzhou fought bloody battles at the front while people like the Prince of Sui disregarded the welfare of the state. They took advantage of his absence to infiltrate Zhenzhou and attack his family, using them as leverage.
If it weren’t for Mian Tang’s alertness in detecting the danger and rescuing his mother in time, he would have been constrained and at the mercy of others…
He looked past his sobbing mother at the woman directing Fang Xie and Bi Cao to pack their belongings. She still appeared delicate and frail, yet at the most critical moment, her slender frame had become his strongest support… For the first time in his life, the Prince of Huaiyang thanked the heavens for allowing him to meet such a woman…
When Cui Xingzhou learned from Fan Hu that Mian Tang had personally plunged into the icy river to rescue the Dowager, his heart felt as if it was being squeezed by an iron fist.
The water was so cold, and with her injured hands and feet… how could she bear it?
He vowed that from now on, he would never allow his woman to risk herself like this again, nor would he willingly be a pawn for others!
The revenge for today’s events in Zhenzhou would be repaid doubly…
With this in mind, Cui Xingzhou made a silent decision. He helped his mother and Mian Tang into the carriage to return to Zhenzhou.
However, during the journey, Mian Tang seemed exhausted and spoke very little. She leaned against the carriage window, staring blankly at the passing scenery, perhaps still immersed in the harrowing adventures of the past few days…
Seeing his mother fall asleep in the swaying carriage, Cui Xingzhou reached out and grasped Mian Tang’s hand.
Startled by his firm grip, she turned her attention to him and asked, “Have we arrived at the prince’s mansion?”
Cui Xingzhou chuckled, pulling her into his embrace, and whispered, “What are you thinking about? We haven’t even entered the city gates yet.”
Mian Tang couldn’t bring herself to share her thoughts. She just smiled and then carefully asked, “Has the turmoil in Dongzhou been resolved?”
Cui Xingzhou nodded, then shook his head, saying, “Although the rebellion has been temporarily quelled, the Prince of Lu escaped with injuries and hasn’t been captured yet. I won’t feel at ease until that traitor is apprehended…”
Mian Tang tightened her throat and said, “They’re just a group of rebellious peasants taking advantage of the famine to cause trouble. Now that the tide has turned against them, they’re nothing but defeated dogs. Your Highness is giving them too much credit.”
Cui Xingzhou raised an eyebrow and said, “My spies report that these people seem to be connected to Lu Wen. They’ve been saying Lu Wen died by my hand… and that they want to avenge their former master. It’s as if Lu Wen and Zi Yu are not the same person… Do you remember anyone named Lu Wen from Yangshan?”
Mian Tang’s expression changed slightly. She pushed Cui Xingzhou away, saying, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t mention Zi Yu? Why bring him up again? I can’t remember anything about my years in Yangshan…”
Cui Xingzhou thought she was upset because he had mentioned her former lover, Zi Yu. He laughed softly and said, “I was wrong. I’ll make it up to you tonight…”
He held her tightly and whispered, “I’ve missed you so much these past days that my bones ache. Let’s get married as soon as we return…”
However, Mian Tang’s thoughts were far from the wedding she had once secretly anticipated. After a moment, she said dully, “If that Lu Wen is still alive, how would Your Highness deal with ‘him’?”
Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou’s gaze turned cold. “If he’s not the one currently in the imperial court… I would certainly settle some old scores with him…”
When suppressing the Yangshan bandits back then, Lu Wen had been cunning and troublesome. Cui Xingzhou thought he had forgotten about those past events, but this recent campaign in Dongzhou, encountering similar tactics, had stirred up all those memories.
If it weren’t for Lu Wen’s former subordinates causing trouble, he wouldn’t have left Zhenzhou, nearly putting his mother and Mian Tang in danger.
Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou’s eyes filled with murderous intent.
Mian Tang was all too familiar with the subtle changes in Cui Xingzhou’s expressions. Normally, the Prince of Huaiyang rarely showed his emotions.
But now, as he mentioned Lu Wen, his face was filled with killing intent, making one feel as if they were falling into a bottomless abyss…
For a moment, Mian Tang didn’t want to speak anymore. She just wanted to find a place to sleep soundly and then consider whether to reveal to Cui Xingzhou the past she claimed not to remember, or to keep it hidden and find an opportunity to break ties with him completely…
However, finding a place to sleep was not easy.
The corpses in the Prince of Huaiyang’s mansion had been removed, and although the inner courtyard was still in decent condition, the outer courtyard had been severely burned during the bandits’ attack and needed to be rebuilt. The inner courtyard had also been looted and smashed, requiring extensive repairs.
In times of need, true friendships shine. The Marquis of Zhennanjun’s household was quite enthusiastic, sending someone with a letter from the Marchioness inviting the Prince of Huaiyang’s family to stay temporarily at their mansion.
Cui Xingzhou knew his mother needed a comfortable place to rest, so he let her go. However, he didn’t allow Mian Tang to go with her.
Liu Mian Tang looked at the chaotic inner courtyard and honestly told the Prince of Huaiyang, “I want to go with the Dowager too. At least I could have a good bath and rest at the Marquis’ mansion. It’s too messy here to live in.”
Cui Xingzhou held her and said, “The Marquis is also in his mansion, and if you go there, his eyes won’t behave. I’ve already ordered my study to be cleaned up. We’ll stay there tonight… We’ve been apart for so long, don’t you miss me?”
Mian Tang realized then that he was jealous. In truth, she had missed him too. Although Cui Xingzhou appeared serious, he was quite capable in bed.
When she first experienced intimacy with him, she tasted pleasures that some women never experienced in their entire lives. As time passed, she truly longed for it…
However, with the current concerns weighing on her mind, Mian Tang suddenly felt hesitant. Moreover, she hadn’t bathed for several days, how could she be in the mood for such activities?
Nevertheless, Cui Xingzhou employed all the tricks he had learned during his military campaigns in the wilderness.
In the messy study, there was no bed, so he used bricks to support a large door panel and covered it with thick cotton quilts, and it looked quite presentable.
For bathing, he borrowed a tub from the Marquis’ mansion, had it brought over by a carriage, and heated two large pots of water, allowing for a thoroughly satisfying hot bath.
After Mian Tang finished bathing, she was once again a fragrant beauty. The long-separated couple then frolicked on the makeshift bed in the study.
At first, Cui Xingzhou was careful, and the door panel only creaked slightly. But as they became carried away, the fragile panel clearly couldn’t bear the weight, and with a crack, it flipped over.
At that moment, the prince, usually invincible on horseback, twisted his back trying to protect Liu Mian Tang beneath him.
Looking at the mess of the overturned door panel, Liu Mian Tang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She helped Cui Xingzhou up, saying, “I’d better sleep at the Marquis’ mansion tomorrow! This time it’s just a twisted back, but what if something important breaks next time…”
Cui Xingzhou pinched her nose, “You dare say such things! If something broke, how would you spend the rest of your life?”
It was too late at night to call for help, so they simply spread the quilts on the floor and slept embracing each other.
Exhausted from their activities, Mian Tang fell asleep quickly, while Cui Xingzhou gazed at the jade-like beauty in his arms by moonlight, never tiring of the sight…
However, by the next morning, Cui Xingzhou’s back was in severe pain, probably from the cold. He ordered someone to fetch a doctor.
It happened that Zhao Quan came to visit and offered to treat the prince. While diagnosing, he naturally inquired about the cause of the injury.
The Prince of Huaiyang, of course, wouldn’t go into details. He simply said he had slept on a temporary door panel and accidentally fell off.
Unfortunately, Zhao Quan wasn’t foolish. When he first arrived, he had seen the maid Bi Cao and heard that the County Princess Huisang had also sprained her arm, apparently from falling off the bed. With a bit of thought, he realized it must have been the same door panel.
Imagining what the two must have been doing to flip the door panel, Zhao Quan was filled with exasperation.
“I thought you were homeless and pitiful. I didn’t expect you to find joy in hardship, forcing the County Princess to sleep with you on a door panel! No wonder they say, ‘Men fear choosing the wrong career, women fear marrying the wrong man.’ If she had chosen me back then, she wouldn’t have to worry and sleep in a ruined house…”
Cui Xingzhou didn’t like hearing this and interrupted, “There are many matters to attend to in my mansion. I won’t keep Your Highness any longer. Just prescribe the medicine and go.”
Zhao Quan had no intention of leaving. He leisurely applied acupuncture to Cui Xingzhou’s back and then asked, “My mother asked me to inquire about something. We heard that your aunt’s family was also abducted by the bandits. Is there any news?”
Cui Xingzhou had only learned afterward that because of his aunt’s family, his mother had nearly been kidnapped by the bandits. Although he was angry with Lian Chushi’s family, his mother cried and wailed upon hearing that her sister had been kidnapped, saying that she had failed to take care of her younger sister.
If something were to happen to Lian Chushi, his mother would likely carry that guilt for the rest of her life. So, despite his annoyance with these troublesome relatives, he couldn’t simply ignore them and let the whole family die.
However, when the Prince of Sui sent intermediaries with messages, the Prince of Huaiyang didn’t yield. He simply delayed and refused to make the exchange.
The Prince of Sui had many concubines, but only one legitimate son, who was now in Cui Xingzhou’s hands. How could he not be anxious?
But Cui Xingzhou refused to admit that he had captured the Prince of Sui’s wife and heir, insisting that bandits had acted in his name and asking the Prince of Sui to investigate carefully.
Meanwhile, he sent people to follow the rules of the underworld and demanded a large ransom from the Prince of Sui.
After all, the Prince of Huaiyang’s mansion had suffered heavy losses, and this sum for repairs naturally had to come from the Prince of Sui.