Cui Xingzhou was grateful. If he hadn’t captured Yun Niang to lure out the big fish that was the Shuai Wang, he might have taken a much longer detour.
After discovering that many Qingzhou officials had intricate connections with the Shuai Wang, he had his men investigate. They unexpectedly uncovered a lead about a retired imperial physician’s descendant who had returned to his hometown years ago.
This physician was exceptionally skilled and, due to his background in martial arts, knew techniques that ordinary imperial doctors didn’t. He was reportedly the Shuai Wang’s physician in the capital.
However, years ago, after visiting the Shuai Wang’s mansion, this doctor suddenly fell ill and died there. When his body was returned home, his family found ink marks on the soles of his feet while preparing him for burial. The writing was still clear enough for his eldest son, who was familiar with his father’s medical skills, to recognize it as an antidote formula for poison.
The son immediately understood why his usually healthy father had died so suddenly. He must have saved someone who couldn’t be spoken of and was silenced by the Shuai Wang.
It seemed that his father had been killed in his sleep before he could put on his shoes and socks. In the struggle, he must have stepped on a fallen prescription, leaving the characters imprinted on his feet.
The killers who dressed the body likely didn’t notice the writing on his feet, simply placing him on a stretcher and covering him with a white cloth before sending him home.
Realizing this, the terrified eldest son used the excuse of returning his father’s remains to their ancestral home. The entire family packed up, with the other two sons resigning from their positions as imperial physicians, and they all left.
Now elderly, the eldest son only revealed the truth to Cui Xingzhou because of a debt of gratitude to the old Huaiyang Wang. Cui had personally made the dusty journey to question him.
As for who the old physician had saved, Cui Xingzhou immediately understood.
Not everyone could access such poison. Given the timing of the doctor’s death, it coincided with the Crown Prince’s demise and the supposed deaths of his children.
Moreover, Cui’s mentor had recently mentioned that the Crown Prince’s two legitimate sons might still be alive. If two poisoned young children had survived, it must have been with the Shuai Wang’s help.
Calculating the ages, the elder son’s age… matched that of Young Master Ziyu. Cui Xingzhou suddenly had an epiphany, remembering why Ziyu had seemed familiar when he first met him.
Thinking carefully now, Ziyu’s handsome features bore a striking resemblance to the Crown Princess he had seen at banquets as a child!
Considering this, the rumors of a large sum of money disappearing from the Crown Prince’s mansion when he died must have been taken by the vanished young son.
Connecting this to the accusations on Yangshan that Liu Niang had absconded with a huge amount of money… Cui Xingzhou suddenly understood many previously unclear points.
The Yangshan bandit leader he had been opposing for so long was the long-lost imperial grandson, Liu Yu!
When Cui Xingzhou returned to the small courtyard on North Street, deep in thought, Mian Tang was in the yard with Mama Li, directing two young maids in remaking the bedding.
In a few days, the weather would turn cold, so the quilts needed new cotton padding. Mian Tang had bought two bags of cotton on her way back from the shop, planning to add padding to the quilts for the entire household.
After cleaning the courtyard, they spread out large oilcloths. Mama Li had the young maids lay out the quilts.
Seeing her husband return, Mian Tang left Mama Li and the maids to their work and went to greet him.
When Cui Xingzhou asked about her day, she told him about the encounter with the long-haired ascetic at the shop.
“That righteous man was correct. Lingquan Town is now full of outsiders, a mix of good and bad. You should hire a capable manager for the counter; you don’t need to be there in person all the time.”
Although his subordinate had said these things to Mian Tang on Cui Xingzhou’s orders, he still repeated them seriously in front of her.
After all, he couldn’t always pass by the shop to protect Mian Tang from trouble. Staying on North Street would prevent unexpected incidents.
Mian Tang agreed with her husband’s reasoning and nodded obediently.
“Where did he grab you today?” Cui Jiu asked gently while drinking tea.
Mian Tang honestly raised her left hand. Then she watched as her husband slowly put down his teacup, took her hand, and led her behind the screen to a basin of water. He dipped a cloth in the water and began washing her wrist.
Feeling the water in the basin was a bit acidic, Liu Mian Tang chuckled, “If someone accidentally touched my entire body, would you have to dunk me in a water barrel for a few days?”
As soon as she said it, Liu Mian Tang regretted it. She always forgot the lessons in discretion that the Female Instructor had taught her. How could she joke about her entire body being touched? A young woman’s reputation couldn’t be joked about so casually with her husband.
However, Cui Xingzhou didn’t reprimand her for her indiscretion. Instead, he lowered his head, his thin lips curling into a smile, and said, “Don’t worry… When the time comes, I’ll naturally have a way to ‘clean’ you thoroughly…”
For some reason, Mian Tang felt his smile wasn’t genuine, his eyes holding an inexplicable coldness. She didn’t like him looking at her that way, so she reached out to flick water droplets onto her husband’s handsome face.
Cui Xingzhou’s eyes softened, and he caught her playful, slender hand, pulling her into his arms. He attempted to rub the water droplets from his nose onto her face, making Mian Tang’s cheeks flush red as she giggled.
Mama Li was just entering with two bowls of freshly stewed wolfberry and red date sweet soup when she witnessed the playful scene between Wang and Liu Niang.
The old woman’s hands trembled, nearly spilling the sweet soup on her shoes.
Seeing Mama Li enter, Cui Xingzhou’s smile faded. He led Mian Tang to sit at the table and drink the sweet soup.
As Mama Li was about to leave with the tray, he calmly instructed, “In the future, when I return, don’t enter without being summoned…”
In Mama Li’s mind, this North residence wasn’t the inner court of the Wang mansion.
She understood the rules!
But only in the inner courts of the Wang mansion, when the master was privately spending time with his wives and concubines, would servants deliberately avoid disturbing them.
This courtyard on North Street was just a disguised prison. She hadn’t expected it to follow the rules of the inner court bedchambers…
After Mama Li withdrew, her old face was indescribable. What did Wang mean by this? Could it be that after using Liu Niang, he intended to keep her?
Thinking of Miss Lian’s mother in the Wang mansion, Mama Li shook her head. She had seen too much of the scheming among the previous generation of concubines in the Wang mansion and was weary of it.
Even if Miss Lian could tolerate Liu Niang, that sharp-tongued and harsh Madam Lian certainly wouldn’t. She would incite the future Wang Fei to deal with Liu Niang.
When that time came, how would Liu Niang, with her reputation tarnished and no reliable family to support her, survive?
After all, a man’s favor in the Wang mansion wasn’t guaranteed to last forever!
At this moment, Mama Li was truly and deeply worried about Liu Niang’s future, unable to see any bright spots.
From the room, carefree and joyful laughter could still be heard, but it soon fell silent. Who knew what the two were up to…
As Cui Xingzhou had expected, the person the Shuai Wang went to see was indeed his grand-nephew, Liu Yu.
On a boat at the foot of Yangshan, Liu Yu boarded a pleasure boat on the lake.
Liu Pei had warmed fine wine early, waiting for the arrival of the Crown Prince’s orphan.
Although he was of the grandfather’s generation, in terms of age, he was more like Liu Yu’s young uncle.
Liu Yu, having abandoned the imperial surname for many years, suddenly meeting an elder from the royal family, didn’t know how to address him.
Fortunately, Liu Pei was very approachable. Seeming to sense Ziyu’s difficulty, he just smiled and said, “Since you haven’t yet returned to your ancestral roots, there’s no need to adhere to formal titles. You can just call me by my enfeoffed title.”
Ziyu cupped his hands and said, “Then Ziyu will be bold and impolite, and simply address you as Shuai Wang.”
After saying this, Liu Pei waved his hand dismissively and told Liu Yu to sit down. He poured him a cup of warm wine and said with infinite melancholy, “The last time I saw you, you were just a child. In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so much. If the Crown Prince knows this in the underworld, he must be comforted. It wasn’t in vain that I saved you back then…”
Mentioning this, Ziyu’s eyes also reddened slightly, but having experienced too much great sorrow at his young age, he was no longer willing to shed tears in front of others. He only thanked the Shuai Wang again for saving him back then.
Back then, when he was poisoned, although loyal servants had found a beggar child who resembled him and his brother to substitute for them, rescuing them from the Eastern Palace, the poison was too potent. Without a good doctor, they would have perished.
Fortunately, General Sun had some private connection with the Shuai Wang. The Shuai Wang, still a youth then, was bold enough to find an imperial physician who concocted an antidote that saved him.
Ziyu was deeply grateful for this kindness, which was why he had mildly rebuked Mian Tang when she spoke ill of the Shuai Wang’s intentions…
But the Shuai Wang hadn’t come here to reminisce about family ties, so he quickly got to the point and asked about Ziyu’s plans.
Ziyu naturally brought up his marriage alliance with General Shi’s family. Liu Pei felt this was a good match, sighing that it was time for Ziyu to marry and have children. Regardless of whether their greater ambitions succeeded in the future, the bloodline of the Crown Prince’s lineage absolutely could not be broken.
When the day of his wedding to Miss Shi arrived, the Shuai Wang’s mansion would also send gifts to congratulate them.
Next, Shuai Wang analyzed the current political situation in court. The Empress Dowager Xibi’s family, the Wu clan, was now running rampant, with imperial in-laws controlling the government, much to people’s displeasure. The old ministers still at court remembered the virtue of the former Crown Prince.
His confidants at court had already paved the way for Liu Yu. They were just waiting for him to be pardoned, enter the capital to take up an official position, and then seize the opportunity to stage a coup, eliminating the treacherous Empress’s faction.
Liu Yu listened calmly to his great-grandfather’s grand plans and said mildly, “The great enterprise is still far off. If I can avenge my enemies and seek retribution for my father and younger brother, my wishes will be fulfilled. As for the talent to govern the country, I know my limitations and am truly not up to such a great task. It still requires the Shuai Wang to correct the chaos and save Da Yan’s rivers and mountains…”
When Liu Yu bid farewell to the Shuai Wang and disembarked, perhaps due to the cold air, he coughed incessantly, appearing frail and sickly.
After Liu Yu boarded the carriage, Mr. Qin whispered, “Although Prince Sui is your blood relative, you must still be cautious!”
Liu Yu nodded. Since the corruption case on the mountain, he had become much more clear-headed. He had placed too much emphasis on old relationships, always remembering the favor from the Eastern Palace’s rescue, unwilling to think badly of his former subordinates.
However, people’s hearts can change. In reality, each of his former subordinates had their agenda.
Mian Tang’s departure had opened Liu Yu’s eyes to many worldly matters. She had analyzed Prince Sui’s true nature early on and strongly opposed General Sun’s idea of allying with him.
Yet, following Mian Tang’s thoughts seemed too conservative. How could they avenge their deep-seated grudge? Liu Yu knew that although Mian Tang was intelligent, she lacked great ambition. If not for him, she might not have stayed in Yangshan at all.
Now that Mian Tang had left, Liu Yu no longer needed to persuade her. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to take a risk. He was too eager for success. The first half of his life had been burdened with undeserved suffering. Now, he had to make an all-or-nothing gamble to win back everything that belonged to him—including Mian Tang.
Thinking of this, he clenched his fist. The road ahead was thorny, with a sea of fire behind him. He had no way to retreat, only to keep moving forward…
After watching his weak grand-nephew leave, Prince Sui smiled with amusement. With such a frail constitution, he probably couldn’t bear too much good fortune.
Prince Sui’s mother was from the Gong family, a prominent clan in Da Yan. His mother held the esteemed title of Grand Empress Dowager. Even the favored concubine was merely her daughter-in-law. How could the Wu family, as the favored concubine’s relatives, be allowed to act so lawlessly?
Thus, if the Gong family wanted to overthrow the Wu family, they would place their hopes on Liu Pei. However, as his mother had said, the time was not yet ripe. They would let the Wu family be arrogant for a while longer. When public outrage reached its peak, it would be time for Liu Pei to return to the capital.
For now, he needed to conserve his strength and lie low for a while longer. Both Liu Yu and the Prince of Huaiyang were just pawns to draw out the Wu family. He wasn’t in a hurry…
However, during this idle time, he needed some diversion. Somehow, the image of a peach blossom-cheeked face appeared before Liu Pei’s eyes. A female bandit leader who had lost her memory and martial arts skills… yet possessed a pitifully beautiful countenance.
Such fresh beauty before him truly whetted Liu Pei’s appetite.
So on his way back, Liu Pei specifically passed through Lingquan Town again, wanting to meet this young lady. However, the person sitting at the porcelain shop’s counter was a scruffy old man. Upon inquiry, he learned that the young lady’s old illness had flared up, and the shop owner, concerned for her, no longer allowed her to work at the counter.
Liu Pei raised an eyebrow upon hearing this but didn’t mind much. After all, she was just a merchant’s flower plucked from the river, stripped of her thorns. The merchant had merely stumbled upon good fortune.
As a prince, Liu Pei naturally couldn’t engage in the despicable act of forcibly abducting a civilian woman. Such behavior would only tarnish his reputation and make him no better than a hooligan.
He decided to instruct his steward to use the pretext of ordering porcelain to lure the merchant to Huizhou and find a reason to throw him in jail.
Let’s see if that Liu girl would come to rescue her nominal husband! When the time came, if she sought help at the Prince Sui’s mansion, he could open a small door to the back courtyard, letting her in to “discuss” matters in detail…
Little did Liu Mian Tang know that someone was plotting against her. She was attending a tea party at the He family’s mansion, helping to distribute various fabrics brought back from the capital by the He family’s eldest son.
Lingquan Town couldn’t compare to the capital. Although it was much better than remote villages, many rare items still had to be brought from the capital through connections.
The He family’s eldest son had gone to their shop in the capital to deliver goods. To avoid an empty return journey, he brought back precious fabrics, spices, and cosmetics from the capital to distribute among the family’s women and officials’ wives who needed to be entertained for business purposes.
The female companions close to Miss He San also received preferential treatment, able to get extra fabric and cosmetics from her.
Among her close friends, He Zhen, grateful for previous guidance and somewhat partial to Liu Mian Tang, picked out a tri-colored handkerchief to give to her first.
However, the fabric of the handkerchief was too exquisite, and several ladies had already set their eyes on it. Seeing He Zhen give it to Liu Mian Tang first, they felt their friendship with He Zhen had been discounted, leading to feelings of resentment.
“Third Miss He, aren’t you being too biased? You didn’t even ask before giving the only gradient satin handkerchief to Mrs. Cui. Aren’t you afraid we’ll all demand one from you, and if we can’t get it, we won’t let you leave?” One thick-skinned lady laughed and asked directly.
He Zhen regretted not giving it to Liu Mian Tang privately and hurriedly tried to remedy the situation: “This handkerchief was requested by Mrs. Liu earlier. It’s not that I’m neglecting you all, but this fabric is in short supply, and my uncle couldn’t buy too much…”
“Come on, when your uncle went to the capital, Mrs. Cui had just settled in town. How could she have had the connection to pre-order a handkerchief with you? You might as well say our complexions don’t match the beauty of this handkerchief!” The lady, quick-tongued and relying on her familiarity with He Zhen, spoke without restraint, determined to have He Zhen give her the handkerchief.
He Zhen hadn’t expected Mrs. Zhao to be so inconsiderate. Momentarily at a loss for words, she remembered how this gossipy Mrs. Zhao had been among those discussing her by the fake mountain earlier. She felt both embarrassed and annoyed.
While He Zhen was distributing items, Mian Tang hadn’t even bothered to come forward, instead half-lying on a nearby chaise lounge, warming herself by the stove.
Winter had set in, and Lingquan Town had entered a cold, dreary season. With injuries to her hands and feet, Mian Tang couldn’t tolerate the cold. So, like a cat, she sought out the warmest spots.
Seeing that they had mentioned her, she finally raised her head and walked over, hugging a hand warmer. Not to boast, but these women, unlike the wives of the North Street craftsmen, seemed to lack perspective. Was a single handkerchief worth such a squabble?
To avoid putting He Zhen in a difficult position, she graciously said, “Thank you for your kindness, Miss He. If Mrs. Zhao wants it, please give it to her. We have similar fabric at home, so don’t worry about me.”
Mrs. Zhao, emboldened, laughed and said, “Mrs. Cui, how can you speak so ignorantly? This tri-colored fabric only became popular this year. It’s made from South Sea sleeping silkworms dyed with golden hall flower juice. When worn against the skin, it produces a subtle floral fragrance. In the capital, even a single bolt of this fabric has skyrocketed in price. You say you have it at home? Surely you haven’t been deceived by some unscrupulous merchant?”
Mian Tang was stunned. She turned and asked Fang Xie to bring over her fox fur cloak that was bundled nearby. This fur cloak was made from new pelts her husband had brought, and she had chosen one of the bolts of fabric he had bought for her as the inner lining. The remaining fabric had been used to make several camisoles and underwear.
If she remembered correctly, that batch of fabric was quite similar to this handkerchief!
When Fang Xie shook out the cloak, all the ladies in the room fell silent.
What is it to flaunt wealth? It’s not about wearing gold and silver all over, but about using malt candy to hotpot and candles as firewood.
Or like Mrs. Liu, casually using thousand-gold fabric as the inner lining of a fur cloak.
He Zhen, who had long suspected that the Cui family had some background, hadn’t expected Mrs. Liu to be even more extravagant than Miss Lian, who was to be a prince’s consort. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Mrs. Cui is truly generous…”
Mrs. Zhao, who had been fighting for the handkerchief, also became embarrassed, feeling she had lost face.
Mian Tang, belatedly realizing she had squandered precious fabric, felt angry inside and lost interest in hearing the ladies’ flattery.
When she returned to North Street, Mian Tang finally waited until nightfall for her husband to return. She immediately confessed her “terrible sin” to him.
Cui Xingzhou didn’t care much about these things. Everything in the North Street house now was sent by Manager Gao.
He pitied Mian Tang for having suffered too much and had only instructed the manager to send some good things. He didn’t know the value of this so-called gradient satin.
Mian Tang first inquired how much her husband had spent on this fabric. Cui Xingzhou, without blinking an eye, said, “It was a gift from a close friend, I don’t know the price.”
Mian Tang gasped, combing her husband’s long hair while asking, “What kind of friendship warrants gifting fabric worth a hundred taels?”
Cui Xingzhou said with a straight face, “It wasn’t exactly a gift. He lost a game of chess, so I took this fabric as the wager…”
Mian Tang knew that her husband was associated with wealthy spendthrifts like Doctor Zhao, who would spend a hundred taels on a painting, so she didn’t doubt Cui Xingzhou’s words.
Knowing that her husband hadn’t wasted money, she could wholeheartedly focus on repenting for her wastefulness.
Cui Xingzhou, unable to bear seeing her worried face, said, “It’s just fabric. What does it matter how it’s used?”
Mian Tang looked at her husband’s plain wide robe and his otherworldly appearance with his thick black hair loose, sighing again at his unworldliness. She then said wistfully, “Mrs. Zhao said this fabric produces a fragrance when close to the skin, and its gradient color is naturally rare. It’s best used for making clothes. But I used it for lining and camisoles…”
Hearing this, Cui Jiu perked up a bit: “Camisoles? I haven’t seen you wear them…”
Mian Tang’s face reddened. She hadn’t had a chance to wear the new camisoles yet! Of course, her husband hadn’t seen them.
Although she had shared a bed with her husband several times, she always slept wearing inner garments, covered up tightly.
But fabric worth a hundred gold shouldn’t be wasted like this. Someone should appreciate it.
That night, after washing up, Mian Tang hid behind the screen and changed into her new undergarments.
When Cui Jiu, as usual, read until late at night and only came to bed after Mian Tang had fallen asleep, he lifted the curtain and was met with the intoxicating scent of sweet peach blossoms and flowers.
The young woman’s eyes were bright, showing no signs of sleepiness.
From within the brocade curtains came Mian Tang’s slightly coy voice: “Husband, do you think this fabric looks good?”
That night, Mian Tang didn’t get an answer from her husband’s mouth.
She only saw her husband staring at her intensely, suddenly gripping her wrist tightly and pulling her towards him… But before Mian Tang could steady herself, he let go again, pushing her back onto the bed, then left the room.
In the middle of the night, where was her husband going?
Mian Tang anxiously asked, “Husband, it’s cold outside. You’re not wearing an outer robe. What are you doing?”
“I just remembered I didn’t do my martial arts practice today. I’m going to practice a set of fists…” Soon, the sound of vigorous punching and kicking could be heard from the courtyard outside.
Mian Tang, relieved, lay back down in bed, comfortably tucking in the quilt. She thought about warming the bed for when her husband returned, so he wouldn’t be too cold…
Nanny Li, hearing movement in the main house, peeked out to see. Watching Wang Ye suddenly practicing martial arts in the middle of the night, occasionally scooping cold water from a vat to drink, she thought to herself, “Truly, the vigor of youth!”