Mian Tang didn’t quite agree with Cui Fu’s statement that her “brother is the most proper,” but these were matters of the bedchamber, and she couldn’t explain to her sister-in-law how improper her brother could be.
So she could only continue her previous topic: “Lord Li seems to be a good person, and we know his background. It’s just that his family status is a bit low, and his current official position isn’t very high, not quite matching his sister’s status. If my sister doesn’t fancy him, I can look for someone else for you. There are so many marquis households in the capital, we should be able to find a suitable one…”
However, Cui Fu didn’t agree with this. She sighed and said, “Never mind that I have no intention of remarrying. Even if I did want to marry again, I wouldn’t want to marry into another marquis or prince’s household. If I could find someone with a simpler family situation, it might be more agreeable.”
Mian Tang smiled gently, “Sister, don’t think too much about it. Just focus on taking care of your health for now. Mama Li has prepared some deer cream for you. During the postpartum period, it’s inevitable that your face might be a bit puffy. This cream is best for reducing water retention and nourishing the skin. After a month or so, when sister attends tea parties again, you’ll still be radiant and attractive.”
Cui Fu felt that Mian Tang’s thinking was too simplistic, only focusing on how to be beautiful. She had no desire to attend any tea parties and be the subject of gossip behind her back. However, the prospect of becoming more beautiful was something no woman could resist. After dinner, she would have to try that deer cream.
Seeing that Cui Fu was distracted and had something to do, Mian Tang felt reassured.
When she returned to the inner courtyard, Cui Xingzhou and Li Guang had finished their drinking. After returning, Cui Xingzhou didn’t sleep but half-reclined on the bed, reviewing the documents Li Guang had brought while patting Mian Tang’s back to lull her to sleep.
Mian Tang’s body was getting heavier now, and lying on her back always pressed on her belly. She had to sleep on her side, leaning against Cui Xingzhou to be comfortable. So even when Cui Xingzhou had to stay up late, he had to first coax Mian Tang to sleep.
Soon, the sound of steady breathing came from beside him. Cui Xingzhou put down the documents in his hand and looked at Mian Tang’s sleeping face. Her eyebrows were like a painting, truly adorable. He smiled and kissed her cheek, then hugged her and went to sleep.
The next morning at dawn, just as the morning light began to appear, Cui Xingzhou was about to get up. These past few days, Mian Tang had grown accustomed to hugging him until daybreak. Suddenly losing the strong arms around her, she woke up without being called, and asked sleepily, “Where are you going?”
Cui Xingzhou said, “Didn’t I say that once I get busy, it would be hard to accompany you? There’s going to be a big shake-up in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue recently. I have to go see His Majesty today, and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
Although Mian Tang had complained about Cui Xingzhou being too clingy yesterday, now that she realized he wouldn’t be able to accompany her, she was reluctant to let him go. She hung onto him, rubbing her cheek against him, and said, “Then come back early. I’ll wait for you for dinner.”
The Prince of Huaiyang felt that Mian Tang’s behavior today was more reasonable. He hugged the clingy cat in his arms and said, “I’ll try to come back early, but while I’m not here, you’re not allowed to wander the streets buying all sorts of things to eat. Spend more time at home with your sister. If you’re bored, you can invite a theater troupe to perform.”
Mian Tang nodded obediently, then got up to help Cui Xingzhou wash up and dress. She saw him off at the mansion gate.
In the morning light, Cui Xingzhou’s tall figure looked strong and steady. After mounting his horse, he smiled slightly at her and galloped away.
When Cui Xingzhou arrived at the palace gates, the officials attending the morning court were already gathering in groups of three or five.
Prince Sui had recently shaken off the implications of his nephews causing trouble in the countryside and had taken up a position in the Ministry of Personnel. As the emperor’s uncle and with the support of the Empress Dowager’s family, his foundation was deep-rooted, incomparable to that of an adopted prince from another region like the Prince of Huaiyang.
So Prince Sui was surrounded by a large group of officials talking to him, including people from the Ministry of War.
In contrast, there were barely any people around the Prince of Huaiyang.
There was no help for it. The direction of the wind in officialdom was clear. The Prince of Huaiyang couldn’t catch a favorable wind, and he hadn’t achieved much in the Ministry of War, so naturally, no one was there to flatter him.
However, Prince Sui walked over and warmly exchanged greetings with the Prince of Huaiyang: “Wasn’t the Prince of Huaiyang on extended leave at home accompanying his pregnant wife? Why have you come to attend the morning court today?”
The Prince of Huaiyang glanced at Minister Ma standing behind Prince Sui and smiled slightly, “There’s no choice. A bunch of fools under me made a mess while I was away. If it’s not cleaned up properly, it would be a disgrace to His Majesty’s grace.”
Minister Ma’s face turned red at these words. Prince Sui glanced at the group from the Ministry of War and said with a forced smile, “Your Highness if you say it like that, how would the colleagues who have been busy in the Ministry of War for over a month feel? If everyone went home to accompany their wives and did no work, naturally there would be no mistakes. But those who are working tirelessly become the wrongdoers. I don’t think His Majesty in his wisdom would judge it this way.”
The Prince of Huaiyang’s handsome eyes narrowed slightly, pretending to rest his eyes, too lazy to argue with Prince Sui.
But Prince Sui wouldn’t let it go. Now, every time he saw this Prince of Huaiyang, he felt a belly full of anger. He stood there smiling and continued to expose the shortcomings of the Prince of Huaiyang’s household: “Your Highness’s household is a bit chaotic, no wonder you’re lazy about official business. I heard that your sister is now divorced, hanging around with your princess all day. She doesn’t need to worry about remarrying, there are plenty of strong men in that Yangshan bandit’s nest. Just let the princess make the introduction…”
If they weren’t at the palace gates, Cui Xingzhou could have punched this royal uncle flying. He said coldly, “Prince Sui, mind your words. Talking about the women in the inner household, do you still consider yourself a man?”
Prince Sui sneered and said in a low voice, “Of course, I don’t have the spirit of the Prince of Huaiyang, who could cast aside past grievances and marry the Yangshan Lu Wen as his wife…”
Before he could finish speaking, his collar was grabbed by the Prince of Huaiyang, who asked word by word, “Nonsense, what are you saying!”
To be honest, these two would always exchange verbal jabs every time they met, trying to gain the upper hand in conversation. Prince Sui felt that what he said today wasn’t too excessive.
After all, Liu Mian Tang had previously been a subordinate of Liu Yu, and it was an undisputed fact that she had been the female bandit leader of Yangshan. But he didn’t expect Cui Xingzhou’s reaction to be so strong. Those handsome eyes were filled not only with anger but also with shock.
Prince Sui was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. He leaned close to Cui Xingzhou’s ear and said, “My goodness! The always wise and mighty Prince of Huaiyang doesn’t know who he married. Let me tell you, Liu Mian Tang is the Yangshan Lu Wen. If you don’t believe me, you can ask His Majesty. After all, before she married you, she was always with His Majesty on Yangshan, in love under the moonlight. For the sake of my grand-nephew, she was willing to go through fire and water…”
Prince Sui hadn’t finished speaking when Cui Xingzhou had already raised his fist, but he was quickly separated by Li Guang, who had hurried over.
Li Guang urgently grabbed the enraged Prince of Huaiyang and said in a low voice, “We’ve worked hard for a long time to set up today’s plan. We must not let Prince Sui’s provocation derail everything and ruin all our efforts!”
The Prince of Huaiyang’s jaw was clenched tight, his hands opening and closing. For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and many details that he had previously felt were not quite right suddenly all came rushing back.
However, in the end, he managed to control his anger. Under the puzzled gazes of the other officials, he slowly regained his composure. Ignoring Prince Sui, he went straight to attend the morning court.
Just as Li Guang had said, they had planned extensively to clean out the corrupt officials in the Ministry of War. Using the recent mistakes in the Ministry of War as an entry point, they uncovered many old cases, implicating many officials including Minister Ma, all with traceable evidence.
Minister Ma and the others had originally thought that their recent accounting discrepancies had been mostly covered up, having asked Prince Sui to use his connections to smooth things over. Even if His Majesty were to punish them, it would just be a fine or some other inconsequential penalty.
But they didn’t expect that the Prince of Huaiyang, who hardly ever came to the office, would suddenly launch an attack, presenting irrefutable evidence of their past misdeeds.
Minister Ma and the others were truly caught off guard, unable to think of words to defend themselves. Moreover, these old cases were complex and intertwined, even having connections with the Ministry of Revenue.
His Majesty was furious upon hearing this and immediately ordered Minister Ma to be stripped of his official hat and dragged away to be questioned by the Ministry of Justice.
None of the officials present had expected the Prince of Huaiyang to suddenly launch such a silent attack, stirring up a tsunami in the capital’s officialdom. Nearly half of the people in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue were dismissed and put under investigation.
Those with the darkest records knew that anyone associated with them would be tainted. Some of those implicated were thinking of silencing others to clear themselves. For a time, no one in the court dared to speak up for them.
The astute ones knew that this was the Prince of Huaiyang’s way of clearing house, tired of being sidelined. It was also a warning to those hidden hands behind the scenes that the Ministry of War was Cui Xingzhou’s territory, and outsiders should not try to stir up trouble.
However, the Prince of Huaiyang, who had just made an example of others, didn’t seem to have much joy on his face. When he came down from the court, he sternly requested a private audience with His Majesty.
Prince Sui had lost this round against the Prince of Huaiyang in court, but he still seemed to be in a good mood.
Because he knew that a storm of blood and violence might soon erupt in the Prince of Huaiyang’s household! For this reason, he even especially waited a while at the palace gates, wanting to see Cui Xingzhou’s flustered appearance.
Unexpectedly, the Prince of Huaiyang didn’t seem to have talked with the emperor for long and quickly came out of the imperial study. Seeing Prince Sui sitting in a chair under the ceremonial canopy at the palace gates, he even stopped and smiled, “Prince Sui, you’re in good spirits. Are you sunbathing here?”
Prince Sui looked at his normal expression and couldn’t help but probe, “How was it? Did His Majesty tell you about Liu Mian Tang’s background?”
Cui Xingzhou’s expression remained calm as he said, “Since I was able to marry her, how could I not know her background? Prince Sui should be more careful. By being so blatant, you’re not just exposing my wife’s past, but digging up His Majesty’s old affairs. What’s this? Is Your Highness planning to rebel?”
Prince Sui didn’t expect to be countered by the Prince of Huaiyang and immediately frowned.
Seeing the Prince of Huaiyang’s demeanor, he indeed didn’t look like someone who had been deceived into marriage and lost his soul. Prince Sui couldn’t help but feel doubtful, unsure whether Cui Xingzhou’s anger this morning was from embarrassment or because he truly didn’t know the inside story.
Cui Xingzhou no longer paid attention to him and got into his carriage with a normal expression. However, the moment he entered the carriage, his entire face became as terrifying as a demon from hell. His handsome eyes were filled with overwhelming fury.
Just now in the imperial study, he had almost asked Liu Yu.
But regardless of whether Liu Mian Tang was a demon or a spirit, she was already his wife. Having to learn about her from her ex would be an immense humiliation!
So, even though the words were on the tip of his tongue, Cui Xingzhou quickly stopped himself. He only discussed the subsequent personnel appointments and arrangements with His Majesty before turning to leave the palace.
As for whether Liu Mian Tang was the bandit Lu Wen, he would personally, meticulously, and thoroughly investigate to get to the bottom of it!
That day, Mian Tang waited at home for Cui Xingzhou to return for dinner. But she waited and waited, and he didn’t come back.