The pregnant woman was momentarily startled by Mian Tang’s fluent barbarian language. Looking at Mian Tang’s beautiful features, she knew she couldn’t be from beyond the border. Yet, how could she speak the local language so proficiently?
Before she could ponder further, another unbearable contraction struck. The woman grabbed Mian Tang’s hand tightly as if clutching a lifeline.
Mian Tang returned the grip, softly comforting her in a low voice.
Fortunately for her, the renowned physician Zhao Quan soon arrived at the Cui family pharmacy.
As Mian Tang had predicted, Zhao Quan was returning from Jin Jia Pass that day. He encountered the secret guards searching for him at the town entrance. After they explained the situation, he quickly made his way to the pharmacy.
Zhao Quan had studied medicine purely out of natural talent and interest. While he excelled at treating complex illnesses, he avoided gynecological cases due to their intimate nature, considering his status as the son of a marquis.
Now faced with this woman’s difficult labor, he suspected the baby was in an improper head position. However, he hesitated to manipulate the pregnant woman’s belly, fearing he might compromise her modesty and inadvertently become the child’s de facto father.
Mian Tang, exasperated by the usually carefree Dr. Zhao’s sudden propriety, finally broke her vow of silence towards him. She asked directly, “What needs to be done? Teach me, and I’ll do it!”
Zhao Quan, though pleased that Mian Tang was finally speaking to him, had no time for joy. He instructed her to feel the woman’s belly to locate the baby’s head.
As Mian Tang reached out, initially unsure, the baby fortuitously hiccupped, making its head easier to identify. However, the head position was indeed troubling—the baby was facing upwards.
This was Zhao Quan’s first time delivering a baby, and he faced such a challenging situation. He couldn’t bear to disappoint Mian Tang with failure.
Determined, the physician decided to prove his skills by ensuring a safe delivery. He applied his unique acupuncture technique on the pregnant woman, used moxibustion on her feet, and instructed Mian Tang in a special massage method to try and turn the baby.
After their efforts, Mian Tang’s hands were exhausted, and the pregnant woman was barely breathing. Finally, they managed to turn the baby’s position.
The experienced midwives then took over the delivery. Fortunately, the baby was small, making the actual birth relatively smooth. However, when the child emerged, its umbilical cord was wrapped around its neck, and its face turned blue. A few minutes later would have been too late.
As the midwives hurriedly cut the umbilical cord, Zhao Quan quickly turned the baby upside down and firmly patted its bottom. Finally, the infant coughed up some amniotic fluid and let out a loud cry.
Mian Tang, as exhausted as if she had given birth herself, collapsed into a chair, drenched in sweat. She called for Fang Xie to bring her a cup of hot water.
The new mother, having just given birth, was too weak to move and couldn’t risk exposure to drafts. Mian Tang arranged for her to rest temporarily in the pharmacy’s side room.
The woman’s face was pale, still recovering from the ordeal. However, with her soft, sleeping infant by her side, she wore a sweet, contented smile despite her exhaustion.
When Mian Tang came to check on her, the woman struggled to sit up and thank her. Her Mandarin was quite fluent, with only a slight accent.
Mian Tang offered her sweet water with egg and inquired, “May I ask where you’re from, and who your husband is?”
The woman, not wanting to hide her foreign identity from her savior, especially given the pharmacy owner’s wife’s knowledge of her native language, felt a sense of trust and goodwill. She explained, “I’m from the Guli tribe beyond the border. I married a merchant from within the border. He’s often away on business, so… there was no one to care for me this time…”
Her eyes reddened as she spoke, hinting at unspoken hardships. She quickly held back her tears and turned to look at her swaddled child.
Mian Tang tactfully refrained from further questions.
A foreign woman marrying into the inner lands meant she had no father or brothers to rely on. Mian Tang wondered what kind of man would leave his pregnant wife without enough money for emergencies.
She noticed that the woman’s birthing bundle contained a swaddling cloth made from old blankets. For a first-time mother not having new swaddling clothes indicated severe financial constraints.
This woman, whose Chinese name was Lin Siyue, spoke good Mandarin and seemed well-educated. Her delicate features and manners didn’t match those of typical nomads from beyond the border. Mian Tang wondered about her life before marriage.
However, Lin Siyue’s elderly servant, Sheng Mama, privately told Li Mama the truth. Her mistress hadn’t been abandoned due to her husband’s business travels—she had been driven out by her in-laws!
It turned out that Lin Siyue had married into the wealthy Hu family from nearby Tianqi Town. The Hu family’s second son had met Lin Siyue while trading beyond the border. The young man, as delicate as a girl in appearance, had secretly pledged his love to her. Despite her father’s objections, Lin Siyue had eloped with the second young master to the inner lands.
However, how could a woman who had eloped gain the approval of her husband’s mother? The Hu family was wealthy and had no shortage of potential brides. The old Madam Hu nitpicked Lin Siyue endlessly, refusing to accept her as an official wife.
With no other choice, Lin Siyue had to accept the position of a concubine who had entered the family through elopement. The second young master, Hu Lian, had promised to persuade his mother to change her mind once Lin Siyue bore a son.
But when she became pregnant, border conflicts erupted. Madam Hu used the excuse that having a foreign woman in the house would anger the local people and bring trouble to the family. In the end, they gave her twenty taels of silver and some old bedding before driving her out.
Throughout this ordeal, the young master who had once sworn eternal love to Lin Siyue never showed his face.
Sheng Mama was a servant about to retire from the Hu household. The second young master, perhaps out of lingering affection, had secretly given her some money to care for the soon-to-deliver Lin Siyue.
Kind-hearted Sheng Mama, seeing Lin Siyue’s pitiful state, had agreed to the task.
For the first few months, the second young master had secretly sent money. But then the payments stopped. Later, when Sheng Mama went to buy rice on credit, she learned that the second young master had already married another woman!
Unable to abandon Lin Siyue, Sheng Mama decided to stay until after the birth before returning to her hometown. But she worried about the future of this abandoned mother and child.
Liu Mian Tang hadn’t expected the difficult birth case to have such a backstory, and she felt angry hearing it.
However, this was the path Lin Siyue had chosen, and there was no use blaming others now. All Mian Tang could do was provide free food and lodging for the mother and child, and offer some travel money if Lin Siyue wished to return to her father.
Lin Siyue, however, seemed oddly detached.
Even after learning that Sheng Mama had revealed her story, she showed no shame or the typical bitterness of an abandoned wife. She spent her days smiling at her baby, eating heartily, and sleeping when not nursing as if her husband had merely gone on a long journey.
Towards Mian Tang, her savior, Lin Siyue was polite but distant. She expressed thanks but not profound gratitude, carrying herself with dignity as if she were simply a guest in someone’s home.
Lin Siyue’s behavior irritated Bi Cao, who privately complained to Fang Xie, “She’s truly a barbarian woman, without any sense of proper etiquette. No wonder her husband abandoned her!”
Mian Tang, who was working on accounts nearby, overheard this and frowned, reprimanding Bi Cao, “How can a woman’s flaws justify a man carelessly casting her aside? It’s bad enough when men say such things, but for a woman to speak this way, it’s no wonder men look down on us!”
Bi Cao lowered her head and continued grinding herbs.
Mian Tang, for her part, didn’t care whether Lin Siyue felt indebted to her. Saving Lin Siyue had been a simple act of kindness, done without expectation of gratitude, so she saw no reason to criticize the woman’s behavior.
After treating the pregnant woman, Zhao Quan didn’t rush to leave. He had intended to have a cup of tea and depart, but as he sat by the counter, he picked up some “demon-repelling talismans” that turned out to be Liu Mian Tang’s prescriptions.
The handwriting… even if Zhao Quan wanted to compliment her, he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Upon closer inspection, he was shocked by the content.
In all his years of medical practice, he had never dared to prescribe so boldly!
Driven by his medical ethics, Zhao Quan couldn’t contain himself. He called Liu Mian Tang over and scolded her without reserve.
To his surprise, instead of taking offense, Liu Mian Tang listened attentively and humbly asked for his guidance on writing prescriptions.
Zhao Quan, his male ego soothed by her deference, felt a great sense of satisfaction. Eager to show off his knowledge, he began teaching her the intricacies of prescription writing in earnest.
However, even for the same illness, patients’ symptoms vary, and dosages differ accordingly. This isn’t something that can be explained in just a few words.
After Zhao Quan successfully treated a severe case of ascites, it seemed as if the entire city had fallen ill within a month. Patients began streaming into the pharmacy continuously.
Each time Zhao Quan skillfully treated a patient, Liu Mian Tang would look at him with starry eyes.
This made Zhao Quan swallow his words of farewell to Zhen Zhou several times. He remained seated in the medical hall, treating the long line of patients outside the pharmacy.
Mian Tang had initially thought the pharmacy would run at a loss, but Zhao Quan’s arrival finally brought in some profit.
When Cui Xingzhou returned to Wuning Pass and saw that Zhao Quan, who should have left days ago, was still there, his brows furrowed slightly.
Standing at the street corner, he paused before turning, still unnoticed by those in the pharmacy.
Zhao Quan had changed into plain white robes with a blue cloth headband, looking refined and elegant. From afar, he seemed well-matched with Liu Mian Tang in her simple cloth dress, her slender waist graceful. They looked like a proper married couple.
A tactless old woman, after having her pulse checked and receiving medicine, loudly thanked Mian Tang: “Shopkeeper’s wife, your husband’s medical skills are truly superb. We villagers from a hundred li around are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for you two!”
Hearing this, Zhao Quan beamed with joy, loudly saying, “It’s our duty, our duty!” His voice drowned out Liu Mian Tang’s hasty explanations.
Cui Xingzhou, standing nearby, heard everything. His body tensed with the chill of the northwest. He immediately summoned Fan Hu: “Why wasn’t I informed that Marquis Zhao was still here?”
Fan Hu cautiously replied, “Your Highness instructed me a few days ago not to leave Liu Mian Tang’s side unless necessary, to ensure her safety… Since Marquis Zhao isn’t a villain, I didn’t report it…”
Cui Xingzhou coldly gazed at his straightforward but clueless subordinate, thinking that once the war ended, this batch of secret guards should be replaced from top to bottom.
Any clear-eyed person would know that Marquis Zhao posed a greater danger to Liu Mian Tang than a tiger!
Yet these secret guards treated the Marquis as one of their own.
If that’s the case, when returning to Zhen Zhou, they could go serve at the Marquis’s mansion!
He didn’t want to watch Zhao Quan’s smug act of playing the husband any longer, so he strode over.
Mian Tang was busy preparing medicine when she saw her husband return wearing a bamboo hat. Her face lit up with joy as she called out “Husband” and hurried to greet him.
Zhao Quan, who had been enjoying running the pharmacy with Liu Mian Tang and was reluctant to leave, hadn’t expected Cui Xingzhou to return from Jin Jia Pass so soon. The Marquis immediately put on a long face.
Cui Xingzhou greeted his friend warmly, asking, “Brother Zhao, why haven’t you returned yet?”
Zhao Quan had come to terms with the situation. Even if Liu Mian Tang now loved Cui Xingzhou deeply, their relationship wasn’t proper. She wasn’t even considered a concubine, so how could they be a legitimate married couple?
His only disadvantage was that he had met Liu Mian Tang later, giving Cui Xingzhou a slight head start. If they could spend time together daily like at Wuning Pass, feelings would surely develop over time.
When that time came, who Liu Mian Tang truly loved would be uncertain!
So when Cui Xingzhou asked, he had a noble excuse ready: “The border war is raging, and all the doctors have fled. The poor people left behind lack medical care. How could I bear to abandon them and return to the peaceful lands of Jiangnan?”
Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou continued smiling and said, “Brother Zhao’s love for the people is admirable… As it happens, the newly recaptured towns are short of good doctors. Why don’t I buy you two more pharmacies there, so your medical skills can be put to their best use? What do you think?”
Although those villages had been recaptured, there was still a constant danger of barbarian troops returning. What was Cui Xingzhou’s intention in offering to buy him shops there?
Zhao Quan glared at Cui Xingzhou, about to speak, when he saw Mian Tang smiling as she approached. The Marquis immediately put on a pleasant expression and said righteously, “Lord Cui’s idea is excellent, but there are several critical patients here in Wuning Pass who need continuous treatment. If I were to leave, their lives would be in danger. How could a doctor abandon his work halfway?”
Mian Tang, listening nearby, nodded approvingly.
That day when Zhao Quan had scolded her, she had gained a deeper understanding of the medical profession, realizing it wasn’t something an amateur like her could dabble in casually.
Since Zhao Quan’s arrival at Wuning Pass, he had stopped his constant complaining and focused on helping the people in their time of need.
Initially, Liu Mian Tang, considering her husband’s jealousy, didn’t want to let Dr. Zhao stay. But as he said, several critical patients truly couldn’t do without him. If she sent him away, wouldn’t it cost those patients their lives?
Mian Tang usually didn’t interact with Zhao Quan privately. To avoid suspicion, she had even rented a separate house for him in town. Once the war situation eased and she found a reliable doctor, she could thank Dr. Zhao and ask him to return home before her husband came back.
Who would have thought her husband would come to visit so soon, running into Zhao Quan?
This made Mian Tang a bit flustered, wondering how to explain to her husband.
However, her husband was gracious, chatting and laughing with Dr. Zhao, discussing their concerns for the country and its people.
Seeing the two friends being so open-hearted, Mian Tang’s anxiety gradually subsided.
But when they returned home, Cui Xingzhou asked with a stern face why she hadn’t corrected people when they mistook her and Zhao Quan for a married couple.
In truth, Mian Tang loved seeing her husband jealous. The usually cool and handsome man looking fiercely at her added rugged masculinity to his demeanor!
So Mian Tang just wrapped her slender white arms around Cui Xingzhou’s neck and giggled, “Why didn’t you mention this when you were chatting with Dr. Zhao? You only scold me about it. Are you also one of those men who treat friends like brothers and women like clothes?”
Cui Xingzhou thought her grinning face looked truly like a street rascal, smooth and shameless. And what strange things was she saying? She must have been corrupted by Zhao Quan.
The Prince of Huaiyang’s face darkened completely. If anyone familiar with his temperament had seen this, they would have been scared to their knees.
But Mian Tang just stroked his tense cheeks and said, “You’ve finally come back, don’t be so unhappy. I have so many things to tell you… Oh, husband, do you know why I can speak the barbarian language?”
Cui Xingzhou was slightly startled by this and asked, “How did you discover you could speak it?”
So Mian Tang told Cui Jiu about rescuing Lin Niang Niang, the woman who had been driven out by her husband’s family.
After listening, Cui Xingzhou said calmly, “I don’t know why you can speak it either. Perhaps Master Zi Yu taught you…”
This was truly like when it rains, it pours. Mian Tang had just put away the vinegar jar of Dr. Zhao, only to knock over the years-old vinegar of Master Zi Yu.
Mian Tang felt that the journey from Lingquan Town had never been as difficult as this moment.
She felt somewhat self-destructive and let go of her wrists, frustratedly pounding her head, “What was I thinking before? Learning chess with him, learning the barbarian language… Was he some kind of tutor for women’s studies, and I was his student? I really… can’t remember anything at all…”
Seeing her hitting herself so hard, Cui Xingzhou quickly grabbed her wrists, “If you can’t remember, then you can’t remember. It’s not something important…”
Mian Tang stopped hitting herself and nestled softly in Cui Xingzhou’s arms, saying quietly, “I never thought about what it would be like for a woman to be abandoned by her husband’s family. But after seeing Lin Niang Niang, I realized how pitiful it is. Husband, will you ever turn your back on me, forget all my goodness, and drive me out of the house?”
Cui Xingzhou sighed deeply. He had forgotten about Liu Mian Tang’s previous experience. Hadn’t she been toyed with and discarded by that scoundrel Lu Wen, thrown into the river?
If comparing misfortunes, she was more pitiful than that foreign woman.
Yet he still occasionally brought up Zi Yu’s matters to deflect her, wasn’t he just finding ways to evoke her painful memories?
Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou could no longer keep a stern face. He picked her up in one motion and said, “You just said it’s not easy for me to come back once, why are you the one getting unhappy now? Since you can speak the barbarian language, that’s quite good. In the future, when we need interpreters for interrogating prisoners at the front lines, we can use you…”
Cui Xingzhou was tall and strong, his arms stable and solid. Lying in them gave me a very safe and secure feeling.
Smelling the sandalwood-like scent on Cui Xingzhou’s body, Mian Tang’s heart settled—after all, her husband wasn’t like the irresponsible second young master of the Hu family, tricking an innocent girl into becoming a concubine. She and Cui Xingzhou were a married couple with a proper marriage certificate. Her worries were truly unnecessary!
So she smiled and said this aloud. But Cui Xingzhou’s smile faded as he said, “…Being a concubine isn’t necessarily bad. For example, that girl should have been clear about her foreign identity. How could she possibly become the official wife of a wealthy family within the border? It’s just that her man was irresponsible. Otherwise, even as a concubine, she should have received proper care. Living in a wealthy family is always better than the nomadic life of wind and dew outside the border.”
Mian Tang felt this was something only men would say. She widened her eyes slightly and said, “Why be someone’s concubine when you can be a proper wife? If it were me, I’d rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox!”
Cui Xingzhou’s smile faded even more. He looked directly at her and after a pause asked, “If I were to take you as a concubine, would you be willing?”
Mian Tang thought her husband was joking. She looked at his handsome face, hugged him, and kissed him, saying, “Someone like you, if we can’t be husband and wife, we might as well have a brief affair. I’ll enjoy your male beauty first, and when feelings fade, we can go our separate ways!”
Her tone sounded just like a mountain bandit or a playboy from a brothel!
Cui Xingzhou was amused by her words. He held her head with his hand and passionately kissed her. Then he lifted his head slightly, looking at her with a hint of fierceness in his eyes, “If you sleep with me and then want to leave, it won’t be so easy!”
Mian Tang had no intention of leaving at all. She was her husband’s proper wife, of course, she wanted to be together for life. She played with his long belt with her slender fingers and said in a soft voice, “I haven’t given you a son yet, I won’t leave…”
Such coquettishness was truly irresistible. Cui Xingzhou’s gaze deepened, and he almost lost his self-control. He said to her in a low voice, “Wait until the war is over and we return to Zhen Zhou. I’ll let you have your fill of childbearing!”
However, the Prince of Huaiyang’s wish for an heir couldn’t be fulfilled immediately.
The initial great victory at Jin Jia Pass had dealt a heavy blow to the barbarian troops’ arrogance. Although not all the lost border territories had been reclaimed, the situation was no longer one of large armies pressing the border.
For a time, the border people were no longer living in constant fear, and a peaceful atmosphere prevailed. However, Cui Xingzhou received secret reports that the barbarian troops hadn’t given up, but were merely lying in wait like hungry wolves, biding their time.
The new barbarian Khan, Agu Shan, had never known contentment. How could he give up so easily?
Speaking of which, this Agu Shan was truly born of wolf stock.
He was originally the adopted son of the old Khan, but he had murdered his nominal elder brother and seized power through bloodshed. He wasn’t popular among the barbarian tribes.
At the time, not everyone in the barbarian tribes agreed with attacking Da Yan. However, Agu Shan’s methods were so bloody that he temporarily intimidated the entire tribe, leaving them no choice but to follow his actions.
But Agu Shan believed himself to be the savior of the barbarian tribes.
The brother he had killed had no son, only a daughter whose whereabouts were unknown. So even if his brother hadn’t died, could a woman have inherited the throne?