Miantang didn’t respond and was unwilling to continue the topic. She simply took a bite of the purple sweet potato cake and changed the subject, “This is delicious. You’re quite skilled, Madam…”
Cui Fu was at a loss for words and sighed, “You were the one who taught me how to make these cakes…”
After Cui Fu left, Miantang flipped through the books and papers on the table in her room. There were many calligraphy practice sheets. According to her maid Bicao, these were all her daily writing exercises.
To be honest, if they hadn’t told her, Miantang wouldn’t have believed she could write such beautiful characters. Back in Yangshan, she had studied with Ziyu for a long time but could never write well.
It must have been quite an effort for Cui Xingzhou to prepare so many practice sheets for her.
When Miantang was on Yangshan, she never imagined that one day she would be both a refined lady and a capable homemaker, not only able to make exquisite pastries but also skilled in calligraphy. She had become so sophisticated that she hardly recognized herself.
It wasn’t that she disliked these skills, but… on Yangshan, she had been so preoccupied with military strategies and business dealings that she had forgotten she was a young woman in her prime.
Her soft, well-cared-for hands and her pampered palate forced her to believe that the Prince of Huaiyang had indeed treated her well… Now, every time she looked at her son, little Yi’er, Miantang couldn’t help but think of the man’s picturesque eyebrows and eyes.
Father and son were like two imprints from the same mold, nearly identical.
From Cui Fu’s words, it seemed that she had driven the Prince of Huaiyang away from his own home.
Miantang thought about it all afternoon and felt that regardless of whether Cui Xingzhou enjoyed watching young girls bathe outside the military camp, she should at least make a polite gesture. After all, this was the Prince of Huaiyang’s residence, and if anyone should leave, it should be her.
With this in mind, the next morning, Miantang asked Bicao and the others, “I’m going to the military camp later… What do I usually bring?”
Hearing this, Fangxie and Bicao became as excited as if they were going on a date themselves. They hurriedly prepared food boxes, ironed dresses, mixed rouge, and selected hair ornaments.
Miantang felt they were preparing too elaborately. Bicao said seriously, “Princess Consort, the Young Miss spoke quite clearly yesterday. Your visit is meant to intimidate potential rivals. Of course, you must dress up grandly, otherwise, what’s the point of going?”
Miantang felt it was too deliberate and didn’t want to do so, but when it came time to change clothes, she reconsidered and put on the dresses, allowing Bicao and the others to dress her up.
When Miantang’s hair was piled high and her lips were painted crimson, Fangxie and Bicao let out a sigh of relief, feeling that their Princess Consort had returned. They only hoped she would quickly reconcile with the Prince and that there would be no more complications.
As they approached the military camp, Miantang asked the carriage to stop and asked Bicao, “Where’s the stream by the military camp? Let’s go there first.”
Bicao pointed to the west side of the camp, “It’s over there!”
As the carriage neared, Miantang decided to get off and walk along the clear stream Bicao had indicated.
From a distance, they could hear laughter and chatter by the stream. Miantang stood on a small hill and looked out. She saw a group of soldiers who had just finished training, bare-chested and splashing in the water to cool off.
On the other side of the stream were girls beating clothes, laughing and joking with the soldiers. Some bolder girls were offering homemade bamboo wine to the soldiers they fancied.
Sharp-eyed, Miantang immediately spotted Cui Xingzhou sitting on the grass by the stream.
There was no helping it; handsome men always stand out in a crowd, impossible to overlook. Although he wasn’t bare-chested, he wore only a thin shirt, open at the chest, revealing his muscular physique.
Beside him, a sweet-looking young woman approached, carrying bamboo wine, intending to offer it to the Prince.
Unfortunately for her, before she could get close to the Prince, she was stopped by the guards.
The girl said coyly, “I am Cuo Yang, daughter of the Azhai Tusi. I admire the Prince’s valor and have specially brewed this rice wine to offer him!”
Hearing this, Mo Ru quickly said to Cui Xingzhou, “Your Highness, Azhai is the village that produces the wood oil timber. We’ve been transporting lumber from there to repair ships these past few days… It’s local custom to offer rice wine to honored guests.”
Cui Xingzhou nodded and waved his hand, telling Mo Ru to accept the bamboo wine. Although he didn’t want to drink it, he decided to follow local customs.
But just as Mo Ru went to accept it, an arrow flew straight and knocked over the wine, frightening Cuo Yang into a scream.
Cui Xingzhou’s gaze immediately swept to the opposite hillock where a woman stood holding a small bow, looking murderous.
He immediately stood up, tossing his horsewhip to Mo Ru behind him, and strode up the hillock.
“Why didn’t you wear a veil when you came out? Your face will get sunburned.”
Seeing Miantang come to see him, Cui Xingzhou felt a surge of joy and didn’t even think to scold her for her rash action.
But Miantang seemed very unhappy, looking past him directly at the passionate Tusi’s daughter. Cui Xingzhou knew Miantang’s tendency to be jealous, regardless of which memories she had lost. He took her hand and said, “She was just offering wine… I don’t know her.”
Miantang stared at the large hand holding hers, resisting the urge to shake it off. She looked up at Cui Xingzhou and asked, “Do you often bring people here to cool off?”
Just as Cui Xingzhou was about to speak, Miantang said coldly, “Your Highness, you’re not cautious enough. How can you allow people to approach the military camp so casually? Aren’t you afraid there might be spies among these women? That Tusi’s daughter must have come prepared, to be able to recognize you so readily. It seems I’ve come at an inconvenient time, interrupting Your Highness’s familiarization drink.”
Cui Xingzhou frowned, “What familiarization drink?”
Miantang slowly pulled her hand away and said word by word, “Some villages in Beihai have a custom of offering wine to attract husbands. They add juice from the fire snake grass to the wine offered to their lovers. After drinking it, one becomes uncontrollably passionate, as if aroused…”
Cui Xingzhou truly didn’t know that the women of Beihai villages were so bold as to openly give men aphrodisiacs.
He turned and gave Mo Ru a cold look, saying softly, “You know what to do now?”
Mo Ru, realizing he had nearly caused trouble, quickly shrank back and ordered people to seize the girl called Cuo Yang and check if the wine given to the soldiers had any problems.
Cui Xingzhou felt that Miantang had misunderstood him. Even if he had let Mo Ru accept the wine, he wouldn’t have drunk it. He was always careful about food and drink during military campaigns. However… how did Miantang know about this local custom?
Of course, Miantang knew. The dozens of books about Beihai geography on the bookshelves at home were all meticulously annotated in delicate handwriting, especially the section about local girls enticing men from other regions. It was circled in red ink with a note in blood-red characters: “Moral decay! Visit the military camp daily with food and drink to prevent wanton women from approaching!”
Miantang now knew that she had written these words herself. Leaving such highlighted points unattended went against her nature of seeing things through to completion and gave her a sense of wasted effort.
So when she heard Cui Fu mention yesterday that more and more women were gathering by the stream outside the military camp, Miantang realized it must be because she hadn’t been going to the camp with her maids to make cooling tea and show her presence.
Seeing it for herself today, she knew it was true. If she hadn’t shot that arrow, the Prince of Huaiyang might have become the son-in-law of the Azhai Tusi! The thought made Miantang’s heart and lungs feel like they would explode with anger.
She thought about how she now bore the title of the Prince of Huaiyang’s wife, yet couldn’t even see him. And here he was, by the stream, dressed thinly with his chest exposed, enticing others.
What had come over her to choose and marry such a peacock?
With these thoughts, she spoke frankly to Cui Xingzhou, “Although I don’t know how I ended up marrying you, Your Highness, you currently bear the title of my husband. How can I let you make me a cuckold like this? Why don’t you sign divorce papers with me first, and then you can flirt with young girls all you want!”
In his youth, Cui Xingzhou had been so spirited and confident. He never imagined that one day after marriage, the same woman would repeatedly threaten divorce.
Now, seeing Miantang’s cold face, he found it amusing. He looked her up and down and said, “Didn’t your grandfather ever tell you that you need the ability to back up tough words? Have you forgotten everything? You were utterly defeated when fighting me, your martial arts are inferior to mine. What gives you the confidence to keep demanding a divorce?”
His words sounded as provocative as those of an arrogant teenager.
Miantang was instantly riled up by his words. She grabbed his collar and said, “Don’t talk nonsense! Was it someone else’s ghost who knocked you down with a finger strike on the island? What skills do you have? You haven’t even defeated a few measly Japanese pirates until now! If you can’t do it, I’ll help you, Your Highness. After all, since you’ve been defeated by me several times before, it’s only right that I compensate you…”
Cui Xingzhou laughed. He stared at the defiant woman before him and said, “Still not convinced? Do you dare to take a walk alone with me in the woods?”
Miantang also laughed, tearing her skirt shorter with one hand, and tilted her chin at Cui Xingzhou, “Let’s go, who’s afraid of whom?”
In an instant, the two masters headed into the woods for a showdown, leaving the maids and guards staring at each other in bewilderment.
No one knows exactly how the fight in the woods turned out that day. The two only emerged as the sun was setting in the west.
The Prince of Huaiyang’s handsome face was covered in scratches, while half of the Princess Consort’s lip rouge had been smeared off.
However, they came out of the woods holding hands, although the Princess Consort was trying to shake off his grip, looking reluctant. But the Prince of Huaiyang was strong and refused to let go.
A vigorous battle of fists and feet had eventually ended with him pinning Miantang to the ground, turning into a heated exchange of lips and tongues.
The Princess Consort’s somewhat inexperienced reactions suddenly reminded the Prince of his first time with Miantang, giving him the exhilarating feeling of deflowering a young maiden again, making him reluctant to stop kissing her.
Unfortunately, he remembered that people were waiting outside the woods and that he had official duties to attend to in the military camp. So in the end, he just led Miantang, whose eyes had reddened with anger, gently coaxing her along the way.
As he helped Miantang into the carriage, he used a handkerchief to wipe her dirty little face: “We agreed beforehand, remember? The loser must accept defeat. The new ship is being tested tonight, so I can’t return to the residence. Will you come to the military camp tomorrow to bring me food?”
Miantang didn’t reply. Her mouth and tongue were still numb from exhaustion.
This man hadn’t drunk the fire grass wine, had he? How could he be as strong as a bull in heat, with such incredible strength?