According to Mama Li, this young woman was usually quite fierce. When she had a dispute with craftsmen who cut corners while renovating the shop, she stood her ground alone, arguing with three grown men without blinking an eye. She managed to make them reduce their wages and apologize for their mistakes.
So why was she now teary-eyed over a few pieces of clothing in front of him? Perhaps after crying and begging for a divorce letter last time, she discovered he was more amenable when faced with tears, and was now employing the same tactic.
Cui Xingzhou deliberately drawled, “Let’s not bother… It’s too much trouble…”
Mian Tang didn’t press the issue further. Her eyes quickly filled with tears, but she struggled to hold them back, obediently massaging his legs. When she lowered her head, those teardrops teetered on the edge of falling, making him feel unsettled.
After enduring for a while, Cui Xingzhou suddenly felt it was rather pointless to make her cry over such trivial matters. He abruptly changed his tune, saying, “If you don’t mind the trouble of washing them, I’ll have Mo Ru bring two chests of clothes back. It’ll be convenient to have them here for changing…”
His words immediately transformed the tearful young woman’s expression into a smile. She eagerly massaged his shoulders and asked, “I’ve prepared some local specialties for the neighbors, but what should we prepare for your esteemed teacher? Should I accompany you to the chess pavilion to deliver the gifts? That would be more thoughtful, wouldn’t it?”
Cui Xingzhou had become increasingly adept at lying these days, but he hadn’t gone so far as to build a chess pavilion to maintain his deception.
So when he heard Mian Tang’s intention to accompany him, he said without hesitation, “The teacher’s wife is jealous and doesn’t allow him to speak with other women. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to go… The chessboard you bought is quite nice, let’s give that to my teacher as a gift.”
The chessboard Cui Xingzhou referred to was the one made of mutton-fat jade that Mian Tang had purchased for three taels of silver.
Hearing this, Mian Tang was taken aback and hesitated, “But… I bought that for you, husband…”
Cui Xingzhou knew clearly that this wasn’t something she had bought. It was a gift from that scoundrel Lu Wen. If she understood this, she should cut all ties with the rebels. If she kept the chessboard, wouldn’t it become evidence of her lingering connection with Lu Wen? How could he be lenient and forgive her then?
Seeing Mian Tang’s reluctance, he said gently, “If that’s the case, then there’s no need to give a gift to my teacher. Other items would be too common…”
Hearing this, Mian Tang felt her husband’s words were reasonable. The other gifts she had prepared were indeed not very impressive. Since it was for her husband’s teacher, who surely had a discerning taste, this chessboard would be perfect.
Moreover, the chessboard was made of imitation jade, which wasn’t suitable for her husband. Now that she was earning money, she wanted to buy something better for him.
But she also liked the chessboard and wanted to see her husband moving the white jade pieces. So she slipped on her shoes, brought the chessboard to the small table, and said to Cui Jiu, “Since we’re giving it to your teacher, why don’t you try it once to see if it suits him?”
Cui Xingzhou smiled, “Do you know how to play chess?”
Mian Tang remembered watching the chess match outside the academy and blinked, saying, “I wasn’t very good at it in my maiden home, but later I seemed to have learned a bit. I can’t remember clearly…”
Since she could play, Cui Xingzhou’s boredom was piqued, and he was happy to play a game with this woman to pass the time.
To be honest, the white jade chessboard was truly exquisite, accentuating the fair skin of Mian Tang’s jade-like wrists as she arranged the pieces, her fingertips seeming to glow.
The Prince of Huaiyang wasn’t blind and couldn’t ignore the jade-like beauty before him. He casually placed his pieces.
However, before even a cup of tea could be finished, Mian Tang hesitantly asked, “Husband, look, haven’t I won?”
The Prince of Huaiyang focused his gaze, remained silent for a moment, then nodded. Liu Mian Tang had indeed won the game in just a few moves.
Seeing her husband nod, Mian Tang burst into laughter, saying shyly, “Why did you let me win, husband? We should play a proper game so I can improve my skills!”
But her husband seemed uninterested in joking. His lips tightened slightly, and he silently gathered the chess pieces, preparing for another game.
This time, Cui Jiu made the first move, setting traps and arranging his pieces like deploying troops.
Mian Tang played purely on instinct, but with each move, she felt surrounded by danger, forced to think carefully. When she looked at her husband, who was intently focused on the board with an expressionless face, her admiration for him grew even stronger.
Her husband was truly a chess master!
This game lasted longer, and Mian Tang lost by a narrow margin. However, she still enjoyed playing. It was only natural that she couldn’t beat her husband, who was a chess expert, wasn’t it?
But her husband didn’t seem happy even after winning. Could it be that her poor play had spoiled his interest?
Having spent more time with Cui Jiu, Mian Tang could now distinguish between his genuine smiles and his polite, distant ones.
As she put away the chess pieces and packed up the board, she asked, “Are you unhappy, husband?”
Cui Jiu curled his lips slightly, “No, I was just wondering who taught you to play so skillfully?”
Liu Mian Tang’s chess style was remarkably similar to that of the rebel who called himself Zi Yu. It wasn’t hard to imagine that this woman had spent time in the mountains playing chess and massaging the rebel’s legs, whiling away the hours…
This was vastly different from his initial assumption of a delicate woman being roughly treated by mountain bandits.
That day, her husband Cui Jiu seemed to be in a persistently bad mood. As he left, Mian Tang could only earnestly remind him to come home for meals when his chess pavilion duties weren’t pressing.
Cui Xingzhou’s mood only slightly improved after he left North Street and returned to the military camp.
In recent days, as he deployed troops to Qingzhou under the guise of assistance but actually to arrange defenses, he had learned many previously unknown details.
For instance, the rebels in Yangshan had considerable support from the local gentry behind the scenes.
The young emperor had ascended the throne, and the court’s major policies were controlled by the former Concubine Xi – now known as the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Wan’an.
When Empress Zhou was deposed and Crown Prince Liu Dan died, the once-powerful Zhou family scattered overnight. The Xi Concubine’s family, the Yangs, took their place, wielding immense power throughout the court and country.
The Yang family pursued a policy of greed and extortion, abandoning the previous emperor’s strategy of recuperation and development. In recent years, they had continuously imposed harsh taxes and levies and had recently introduced a land reallocation law, clearly targeting local gentry and forcing them to give up their wealth.
The land reallocation law had already been implemented elsewhere. However, in Zhenzhou, due to previous famines and rampant banditry, coupled with the growing strength of rebel forces, several court officials who came to implement the land reforms were killed on the roads.
As a result, the reforms in this area were suspended and never mentioned again.
Now, it seemed that the reason these local rebels continued to thrive was not unrelated to the gentry who didn’t want tax reforms!
However, now that Lu Wen had been defeated and was seeking amnesty through General Shi, it was unclear what new pretexts the gentry would use to resist the Yang family’s tax reforms from the imperial court.
Unable to collect taxes from Zhenzhou, the Yang family had long since found alternative methods.
A distant relative of the Yang family had opened a large silver shop – the Tongli Money House.
Tongli Money Houses were spread throughout the prefectures of Da Yan, with the Yang family as their biggest backer.
Generally, apart from storing tax revenues in government treasuries, local county offices also deposited a portion in these money houses out of respect for the Yang family. The money houses were profitable, and deposits indeed earned considerable interest. As a result, their business flourished.
Initially, to ease relations between Zhenzhou and the Yang family at court, Cui Xingzhou, like other local officials, deposited large sums of money in the Tongli Money House each year.
This year was supposed to be no different. When the military advisor presented the tax silver from Zhenzhou’s fiefdom, Cui Xingzhou had initially planned to follow the usual practice of depositing most of the tax silver in the Tongli Money House to earn interest.
However, after some thought, he hesitated.
Even an ignorant little woman like Liu Niangzi knew not to put all her eggs in one basket. Now that the relationship between Zhenzhou and the imperial court was delicate, if things turned sour, this money might be seized and impossible to withdraw.
Realizing this, he pondered for a while and decided to follow Liu Mian Tang’s method. He kept enough for the year’s local expenses and ordered the majority of the remaining silver to be transported to Zhenzhou’s long-empty treasury. As for the tax silver from previous years, he planned to withdraw it in monthly installments.
The excuse was ready-made: he was about to marry his cousin Lian Qilan, and there were many expenses for a prince’s wedding! Using the pretext of an extravagant ceremony, it was only natural to transfer large sums of money.
At once, both members of the “couple” on North Street were preoccupied with financial matters.
However, Mian Tang’s concerns were relatively simple. After selling Chen Xiansheng’s colored porcelain plates, the shop had ample cash flow, and the entire establishment exuded an air of elegance and ease.
Mian Tang used silver to hire craftsmen to renovate the door curtains and separate private rooms in the shop. With the placement of noble peonies in celadon vases, distinguished guests could now leisurely drink tea and enjoy fruits while sitting on silk-wrapped chairs, appreciating the fine porcelain from their Jade Kiln Porcelain Workshop.
In recent days, Mian Tang has also acquired many representative pieces from Lingquan Town, significantly elevating the shop’s status.
As the shop’s standing improved, she learned that there was a porcelain merchants’ association in town. However, only well-known porcelain shops in town could join.
Shops like Jade Kiln Porcelain Workshop, opened by outsiders, usually didn’t survive more than a month before closing down, so naturally, they couldn’t reach the association’s threshold.
Now that Jade Kiln Porcelain Workshop had established itself, a gold-embossed invitation to join the association was naturally delivered to Mian Tang’s counter.
The shop assistant, Gui Sheng, who had previously worked in other porcelain shops and was somewhat of an old hand in the trade, understood the value of this invitation. He immediately congratulated the shop owner’s wife, saying that they had finally gained a foothold in Lingquan Town.
Mian Tang was also delighted and took the matter of joining the association very seriously. On the day of the association’s incense-burning ceremony at the beginning of the month, Mian Tang rose early, had Mama Li heat water for her bath and change of clothes, donned a newly made silk dress, and lightly applied the powder her husband had given her. Only after she was fully prepared did she solemnly set out.
The association’s meeting place in Lingquan Town was provided by the town’s number one old shop, the He family.
As a royal supplier, the He family was wealthy and powerful, unmatched by other porcelain shops in Lingquan Town.
As a newly joined member, Mian Tang’s first task was naturally to pay respects to the head of the He family, Second Master He.
Second Master, He was forty-seven this year, in his prime. It was said that when Concubine Xi visited the porcelain workshop years ago, he had been responsible for all the arrangements.
When Second Master He heard that Jade Kiln Porcelain Workshop had come to pay respects to the association president, he looked up, not expecting the owner to be a young woman barely twenty years old.
Beautiful she might be, but to send a woman… it seemed they weren’t taking the association seriously at all!