The Sui Wang’s fashionable mustache, now drenched in wine, hung in comical strands.
Not one to tolerate such an affront, Sui Wang, seeing Mian Tang’s deliberate act and infuriating expression, suddenly moved to push the pregnant Mian Tang under the cover of his large frame. He planned to use the excuse that she had stumbled and spilled her drink, slipping on the wet floor.
However, as he raised his hand, a sharp pain shot through his wrist. Someone had firmly grasped it.
The Sui Wang turned abruptly to find the Huaiyang Wang standing behind him, expressionless, his grip like a vise.
“Sui Wang, why aren’t you drinking with the Qing Guo Gong? Why linger among the women?” the Huaiyang Wang said with a hint of mockery.
The Sui Wang’s malicious expression faded, replaced by a smile. “I was merely greeting your Wang Fei. Surely you’re not so petty?”
The Huaiyang Wang smiled faintly, but his grip suddenly tightened. The Sui Wang let out a muffled groan, his face turning purple.
Seeing the Sui Wang nearly brought to his knees in pain, the Huaiyang Wang said, “I don’t mind. Shall I join your conversation for a while?”
The Sui Wang, veins bulging from the pain, whispered through gritted teeth, “You bastard, is that all the strength you have? If you’ve got the guts, squeeze harder!”
The Sui Wang was deliberately provoking the Huaiyang Wang. If he dared to crush his hand bones, the Sui Wang would make a scene at the Qing Guo Gong mansion and have this country bumpkin driven out of the capital.
Mian Tang saw through the Sui Wang’s provocative intentions. Sometimes, men fighting were no better than three-year-olds!
She quickly smiled at the Huaiyang Wang and said, “Today is the joyous occasion of the Qing Guo Gong’s housewarming. The two Wangs shouldn’t overshadow the hosts. If you wish to compete, why not set a date for a match at the training grounds? Then, if someone’s pig head gets beaten into a dog’s head, it’ll be of their own volition, right?”
The Huaiyang Wang naturally understood Mian Tang’s warning not to fall for the Sui Wang’s provocation.
He slowly released his grip and smiled at the Sui Wang. “Which day shall we meet at the training grounds?”
In terms of martial prowess, how could the Sui Wang match the Huaiyang Wang, who was battle-hardened? The Sui Wang didn’t respond, instead glaring fiercely at the Huaiyang Wang, whose smile made him look like a banished immortal. When he turned to glare at Mian Tang, he found her casually turning over her palm, revealing a sharp hairpin, which she then deliberately reinserted into her hair.
It turned out that when no one was paying attention, Mian Tang had reversed her hairpin and hidden it between her fingers. If Cui Xingzhou hadn’t arrived in time, she would have stabbed the Sui Wang’s pig-like hand with it.
Mian Tang had it all planned out. She would have fallen backward, crying out for the Sui Wang not to harm her child, preemptively turning the tables. It would have been a contest to see who could play the victim better!
The Sui Wang realized that if he had pushed her, he wouldn’t have fared well. He let out a cold laugh and said, “No wonder you, Huaiyang Wang, were willing to marry a female bandit leader. Such an ill-mannered woman who dares to splash wine on people’s faces at a banquet truly can strut around the capital!”
In Sui Wang’s view, Cui Xingzhou must have known about Mian Tang’s identity, given that he had hidden his own identity and slept with Lu Wen for so long in the North Street courtyard. He must have figured her out completely.
Although Mian Tang was Lu Wen, she had assisted the current Emperor in the past. Revealing this now held little threat, so he spoke out in anger without much thought.
However, Mian Tang’s heart nearly stopped when she heard this. This son of a gun knew her identity!
On second thought, it must have been his adopted daughter, Sun Yunniang, who had told him!
After speaking, the Sui Wang angrily departed, wiping his face with a silk handkerchief.
The Huaiyang Wang, having heard the Sui Wang’s words, slowly turned to look at Mian Tang. Her heart was pounding so hard she felt she could crash through a wall. She said with reddened eyes, “He… he was insulting me!”
Cui Xingzhou took her hand and said, “He called you a female bandit, but you splashed him with wine. You’re not at a disadvantage. Don’t cry, or your makeup will be ruined.”
Mian Tang felt she had managed to gloss over the situation for now and finally relaxed a little.
But feeling guilty, she couldn’t help but probe, “What if what he said was true? What if I were a female bandit leader… what would you do?”
Cui Xingzhou found this amusing. “Don’t you already act like a female bandit leader? Haven’t I married you anyway? As long as you’re not some unforgivable criminal like Lu Wen, I’ll even give you a mountain to rule in the future…”
Cui Xingzhou was joking, but unfortunately, his words made Mian Tang’s head buzz. For the rest of the banquet, she was somewhat listless, not even perking up at the sight of her favorite golden sweet cakes. She just absent-mindedly rubbed her belly, imagining scenarios of secretly taking the child away from the Wang manor to roam the world. Her eyes reddened again at the thought.
After the Sui Wang left, Cui Xingzhou had stayed by Mian Tang’s side. Seeing her like this, he reached out to feel her forehead. Finding it cool, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Mian Tang sniffled slightly and said weakly, “It’s nothing. I just feel a bit full and tired.”
Cui Fu, sitting next to her sister-in-law at that moment, heard this and quickly said, “If you’re tired, don’t force yourself to stay. I’ll have someone prepare a room for you. You can go lie down with your maids and rest. When you feel better, you can take the carriage back home.”
So Cui Fu instructed the housekeeper to guide Huaiyang Wang Fei to a quiet courtyard in the back for a nap.
As the banquet had already begun and most of the arrangements were taken care of, Mama Li excused herself from Cui Fu to attend to her own Wang Fei.
Mian Tang wasn’t sleepy. After lying down for a while and drinking some sweet tea, her gloomy mood began to dissipate.
She wasn’t one to dwell on unsolvable problems. Since there was no immediate solution, she decided not to think about it. She’d just eat, drink, and sleep with her handsome Wang in the mansion for as long as she could… After all, Cui Xingzhou had deceived her before, so the turnabout was fair play.
However, Mama Li’s mood hadn’t improved. Having been at the Qing Guo Gong mansion for two days, she had a clear picture of her young mistress’s life in her married home, and she couldn’t help but sigh with worry for Cui Fu.
Mian Tang, having recovered her spirits, naturally noticed Mama Li’s discomfort and asked what was wrong.
Mama Li spoke in a low voice, “The eldest young miss is having such a hard time in the Qing Guo Gong mansion…”
Mian Tang thought about the Qing Guo Gong’s wife she had seen earlier. The lady was the legitimate daughter of the Duan Guo Gong, another noble family in the capital, and had married into an equally prestigious family.
However, when the engagement with Guo Yi was arranged, it was done privately between the Qing Guo Gong and the old Huaiyang Wang during a drunken moment. Lady Gai, the Qing Guo Gong’s wife, hadn’t been informed.
When she found out, Lady Gai was genuinely displeased with the match. Both the Duan Guo Gong and Qing Guo Gong families followed the path of titled nobility and civil officials, while the Huaiyang Wang family, as non-imperial princes, were merely a temporary measure by the court. Their foundation couldn’t compare to these established noble houses.
The Huaiyang Wang family had only held the title of Wang for a short time, and Cui Fu hadn’t been raised as a princess. Lady Gai, accustomed to her high status, couldn’t help but be critical of this daughter-in-law from afar.
Unfortunately, Cui Fu wasn’t like Mian Tang, who could be both yielding and assertive, capable of telling white lies with wide eyes. Cui Fu’s temperament was somewhat unyielding, which led to increasing conflicts with Lady Gai.
When Cui Fu returned to her maiden home to attend her brother’s coming-of-age ceremony, Lady Gai took the opportunity to elevate a favored concubine for her son Guo Yi. This concubine was a concubine-born daughter from the Duan Guo Gong family, making her Guo Yi’s cousin.
When Cui Fu returned home and discovered that Lady Gai had arranged such a closely related favored concubine for her husband, she cried bitterly in private. Yet she still had to organize this housewarming celebration, which only added to her distress.
Mian Tang frowned upon hearing this and asked Mama Li, “Even in a rural landlord’s family, a mother-in-law doing this would be criticized. How can Lady Gai act so arbitrarily and absurdly? Doesn’t the Qing Guo Gong say anything?”
Mama Li sighed and said, “I don’t know why, but after the eldest young miss married into the family, she struggled with childbearing, just like our old Tai Fei. In all these years, she’s only had young master Jin. So her mother-in-law had an excuse to send more women to Master Guo’s chambers. Plus, the eldest young miss was away for quite a long time this time. Lady Gai used the pretext that the young master needed attentive care and elevated a favored concubine, which seemed reasonable enough. However, as a mother-in-law, she should have at least informed her daughter-in-law. Arranging a favored concubine behind her back like this… if they encountered a family with a more aggressive temperament, it would surely cause a scene. And the Qing Guo Gong is always immersed in his landscapes and calligraphy; how would he care about household affairs?”
Mian Tang found it absurd and raised an eyebrow, asking, “So Guo Yi just goes along with his mother’s arrangements, accepting whoever she chooses?”
Mama Li smiled wryly, “When a mother gives an order, it’s not just a matter of accepting. Do you think all sons are like our lord, used to making their own decisions? Moreover, the new concubine, Yu Rao, is only seventeen and quite beautiful. These days, the young master has been spending his nights in her chambers…”
Mian Tang felt a heaviness in her heart. Thinking back to her sister Cui Fu’s face earlier, though heavily made up, it couldn’t hide the weariness and swelling around her eyes. Mian Tang now understood everything.
She and her sister were both pregnant. Putting herself in Cui Fu’s shoes, if Cui Xingzhou were to take advantage of her pregnancy to embrace a young, delicate cousin, Mian Tang would do more than just draw an eight-foot sword to chop them up.
In any case, she couldn’t bring herself to maintain the facade of a virtuous wife like her sister Cui Fu, who was still organizing this damned housewarming banquet for their family!
Mama Li had merely stated the facts, not expecting to anger the young Wang Fei to the point where her eyebrows stood on end and her face flushed red. She quickly patted Mian Tang’s back and said, “My goodness, please calm down. Why are you so upset? In these grand households, such things are not uncommon. What the Guo family did wasn’t right, but the eldest young miss doesn’t want to air their dirty laundry. After privately arguing with her husband a few times, she let it go… Besides, our Wang would never do something so outrageous! Please, calm down!”
Perhaps due to her pregnancy, Mian Tang’s emotions were particularly volatile. In her view, since she had married into the Cui family, her sister-in-law was now her sister.
Cui Fu being bullied so shamelessly by her in-laws – were the Cuis of Zhen Zhou all dead?