Besides the handsome young man, someone hesitantly said, “Master, isn’t… isn’t that Miss Liu? Should this servant call her back?”
The slender young man, though youthful, already had faint traces of sorrow etched between his brows. His thin lips trembled for a moment before he said, “Since she hasn’t come back to find me, she’s probably tired of her previous life. Why should I drag her into such a life of scheming and intrigue? Just go and secretly find out where she’s staying now and how she’s doing…”
After receiving the order, the servant quickly left the shop and called someone to secretly follow Miss Liu, but not to disturb her, just to find out where she was staying.
After instructing the servant, his gaze fell on the bright white jade chess set. After looking at it for a while, he said to the shopkeeper, “Keep this chess set here. If that young lady comes again, sell it to her at a low price…”
The shopkeeper, hearing this, was puzzled and said, “Sir, you’ve already paid for this jade chess set. If you want to give it to that young lady, why not just give it directly? Selling at a low price… how should I price it?”
A bitter smile appeared on the young man’s handsome face as he said, “Although she seems to like this jade chess set if she knows it’s from me, she probably won’t want it…”
The shopkeeper was old and had experienced much. Seeing this situation, he understood it was probably some old love story of young people crying and wailing, so he wisely didn’t ask further.
The young man took out a half-worn orchid purse from his bosom, gently rubbing the pattern on it with his fingers. Its unique style was identical to the purse hanging on Cui Xingzhou’s body.
He slowly raised the purse to his mouth, inhaling the faint orchid fragrance inside, and closed his eyes in pain – “Miantang, are you resentful of me, that’s why you won’t see me?”
However, Miantang didn’t know someone was painfully calling her name.
Due to her injuries, she was too tired after leaving the jade shop and led Mama Li and the others back to the inn to rest.
Mama Li asked the kitchen for a pot of hot water to make hot compresses for Miantang’s injured hands and feet.
Miantang loved these moments the most, just rolling up her trouser legs and lying obediently on the bed for hot compresses. When the warm towel was applied, she would comfortably close her big eyes, her eyelashes fluttering.
But she had something on her mind, so she anxiously asked, “When will my husband come? If he comes late and the garden fair is over, it would be a wasted trip to Qingzhou!”
Mama Li was used to Miantang’s worrying nature. While wringing out the towels, she said, “The master said he’d be here in a couple of days. He told you to enjoy yourself without worry. He had Mo Ru give some benefits to the garden fair’s manager. For the opera performance, he’s reserved front-row seats for you, and there will be fragrant tea and fruits to enjoy.”
Miantang was delighted to hear this but worried about the lustful Commander Shi attending the garden fair. It wouldn’t be good if she appeared and caused trouble for her husband.
But Mama Li wasn’t too concerned and said, “I heard that tomorrow Commander Shi will be having a banquet with Prince Huaiyang at a restaurant. Only the noble ladies from both houses can attend, so they won’t have time to wander the streets. Besides, as a commander, he won’t act as recklessly as you imagine. Your husband sent a message saying you can enjoy yourself without worry tomorrow.”
Hearing Mama Li say this, Miantang relaxed. Her husband’s thoughtful and thorough arrangements were truly considerate. With his chess lessons being so intense, he still worried about her itinerary… It made her heart swell with joy.
Amidst her happiness, Miantang thought of the chess set she couldn’t afford for now, and couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful – wondering when she could earn enough silver to buy the chess set…
So early the next morning, after Miantang had washed up and dressed to go out, she specifically took a detour to the jade shop, wanting to look at the chess set again.
However, as soon as she stood in front of the shelf displaying the chess set, the shopkeeper came forward with a delighted face: “Madam, you came yesterday, right?”
Liu Miantang nodded with a smile, listening as the shopkeeper said, “I see you really like this chess set… What a coincidence! The person who ordered this set is very picky, complaining that it’s not delicate enough and has flaws, so they’d rather forfeit the deposit than take it. I was just worrying about finding another buyer. If you don’t mind, how about I sell it to you at a low price?”
Hearing his words, Miantang was puzzled and carefully examined the chess set, but couldn’t find any noticeable flaws. However, yesterday the shopkeeper had quoted prices over a hundred taels, even at half price she couldn’t afford it!
But she couldn’t give up, so she asked, “How low is the price?”
The shopkeeper looked into her eyes and tentatively said, “Twenty taels?”
But as soon as he said it, he saw Miantang turning to leave. The shopkeeper quickly changed his offer, “Five taels! If you can afford five taels, I’ll sell it!”
Miantang turned back, her eyes sparkling, and gave him a slight smile, holding up three fingers, “Three taels, not a coin more!”
…
When Miantang contentedly left the jade shop with Mama Li, carrying the neatly wrapped chess set, she couldn’t help but remark, “They say gold, silver, and jade shops make big profits. I didn’t believe it before, but now I’ve seen it firsthand. A chess set worth three taels could be sold for a hundred! It must not be good jade material, just some technique to make it look so transparent! I guess the person who ordered it finally came to their senses and would rather forfeit the deposit than go through with the purchase. Who knows how much that unscrupulous merchant cheated them out of?”
Miantang didn’t care about the authenticity of the jade, she just cared about its appearance. Her husband wasn’t a prince or marquis, so naturally wouldn’t care about real or fake jade.
However, Mama Li had been nurtured in the luxury of the prince’s mansion. She could naturally recognize at a glance that the chess set was made of top-quality mutton-fat jade.
A chess set worth a hundred taels, yet the shopkeeper was willing to sell it to Miantang at such a low price – what secret lay behind this?
Recalling that after leaving the jade shop yesterday, the secret guards discovered two men in blue following them, Mama Li guessed that if it wasn’t some admirer pursuing this beautiful young madam, then… it must be an old acquaintance of Madam Liu coming to find her!
Who else but Lu Wen could make such a grand gesture yet give it so indirectly?
Thinking of this, Hu Shi naturally didn’t dare delay and signaled the secret guard to hurry and send a message to the prince.
At this time, Prince Huaiyang was entertaining Shi Yikuan at the largest restaurant in Qingzhou.
Shi Yikuan was a fame-seeking person, proud of being a disciple of the renowned calligrapher and painter Master Qingzhu. This year marked the fifteenth anniversary of becoming his disciple, so he wanted to remind people of his status as an heir to the calligraphy and painting tradition. He had invited famous calligraphers and painters from Jiangnan to gather and exchange ideas.
However, what he didn’t expect was that the usually busy Prince Huaiyang would condescend to join the gathering.
It seemed that his recent efforts to pacify rebels had made the prince uncomfortable.
Making Prince Huaiyang uncomfortable meant pleasing the current emperor. Shi Yikuan felt he had made a masterful move in this chess game, and his smile toward Prince Huaiyang became even more eager.
“Prince Huaiyang, your cursive script is world-renowned. You must show us your ink work at this calligraphy and painting gathering so that all colleagues can feast their eyes!”
After he said this, the accompanying officials nodded frequently.
Cui Xingzhou, however, had a faint smile at the corner of his mouth and merely raised the wine cup in his hand.
Although he maintained proper etiquette, he wasn’t enthusiastic, making the drinking party somewhat cold and awkward.
Fortunately, everyone present wasn’t here for enjoyment. They all had their calculations, and when no one spoke, they could remain patient, waiting for someone else to break the ice.
As the host, Shi Yikuan couldn’t remain silent, so after a moment of quietness in the hall, he turned to Zhao Quan, the Marquis of Zhennan, sitting next to Cui Xingzhou, and asked, “I wonder if the Marquis of Zhennan has brought any newly acquired calligraphy or paintings this time?”
Zhao Quan was also known far and wide as a talent scout, and he always brought something new to gatherings like this.
When Shi Yikuan asked, Zhao Quan became animated.
Mr. Chen’s painting skills were superb and shouldn’t be buried, so even though he had fallen to being a painter in a porcelain shop, he should be rescued.
Moreover, he knew that Madam Liu was also trying every means to promote the shop, and he was happy to lend a hand.
So when he heard Shi Yikuan ask, he quickly said, “I want to recommend an extraordinary person to everyone. His painting skills are indescribably exquisite, but he’s now hidden in a porcelain shop. After this calligraphy and painting gathering, the day of his sudden fame is at hand. He has personally painted only a few colored plates, and I believe their prices will surely skyrocket in the future. Ah! Right, that porcelain shop is called ‘Jade Fired Porcelain Workshop.’ If any of you have the wisdom to recognize talent, you should make early purchases…”
Those familiar with Zhao Quan’s character couldn’t help but tease, “Has the Marquis invested in that porcelain shop? You’ve always been aloof and uninvolved in worldly affairs, why are you now promoting so enthusiastically?”
Zhao Quan glared, glancing at Cui Jiu beside him, and grumbled, “I’d like to invest, but someone is blocking me…”
After this idle chat and laughter, they finally turned to the main topic. Someone brought up the matter of pacifying the Yangshan bandits, complimenting Shi Yikuan on turning hostility into peace.
Cui Xingzhou listened impassively, still not joining the conversation.
Everyone knew he was a war hawk, while Shi Yikuan was now acting according to the emperor’s wishes. As long as the rebel troubles were settled, there would be no need for troops stationed in Zhenzhou. The emperor had long been planning to reduce the power of princes of different surnames.
If Cui Xingzhou openly disagreed with the pacification in front of others, he would appear to have treacherous intentions, so he just smiled without speaking, listening to how far Shi Yikuan had progressed in negotiating with the rebels.
From what they were saying, the rebels greatly admired Commander Shi’s magnanimous character and had voluntarily sent a letter expressing their intention to surrender. Moreover, Lu Wen was actually of good birth, talented, and handsome. Besides being willing to lead his followers to surrender, he was also interested in marrying one of Commander Shi’s concubine-born daughters.
The emperor had earlier told Commander Shi that to set an example for rebels across the land willing to mend their ways, the emperor would greatly reward the surrendering of Lu Wen.
When the time came, the former rebel would be clothed in an official’s robe with a beautiful wife in his arms – truly the height of human happiness!
When he heard that Lu Wen was fond of Commander Shi’s daughter, Zhao Quan was the first to change his expression.
He never expected that Madam Liu’s former man would be so fickle! First, he abandoned the severely injured Liu Miantang, and now he was embracing another, wanting to marry an official’s daughter and gain rank and title! If Madam Liu regained her memory, who knows if she would be heartbroken over her former lover’s fickleness?
But then again, Madam Liu probably had no real affection for the bandit, after all, she was a good woman who hadn’t willingly followed Lu Wen in the first place!
In the future, he would make up for all the suffering Miantang had endured, never letting her be hurt or cry again…
Cui Xingzhou, on the other hand, felt that Lu Wen’s actions were within his expectations. Liu Miantang was indeed a pawn deliberately discarded by the bandit Lu Wen. If she really couldn’t draw Lu Wen out, she would probably be of no use anymore, and the residence on North Street could be dismantled soon.
For a moment, the two friends were lost in their thoughts, both silent.
Just then, one of Cui Xingzhou’s secret guards entered the hall and whispered in Cui Xingzhou’s ear.
Cui Xingzhou listened impassively, but his eyes brightened.
That fish… had finally taken the bait! And with a grand gesture, practically gave away a hundred-tael chess set to Liu Miantang.
If it was Lu Wen, it showed that he still had lingering feelings for the beautiful Miantang, harboring thoughts of an unbroken connection. This chess move seemed to be effective after all.
Thinking of this, he no longer had the heart to drink with the roomful of scheming officials. He excused himself, claiming he couldn’t drink anymore, and went downstairs.
Rather than entertaining these bureaucrats at the restaurant, he might as well go to the garden fair and walk around with Madam Liu, to see if that bandit could resist showing himself.