Liujia’s past transgressions had implicated the Lu family, causing Mian Tang’s maternal grandfather to lose a substantial sum of money. Now, Mian Tang, an outsider, had returned to freeloading.
Lu Qingying, like her mother, felt displeased thinking about this. Observing the two maids in Mian Tang’s room, she realized they were more elaborate than those of a legitimate young lady of the Lu family. This further irritated Lu Qingying.
Upon entering the room, she scrutinized everything. The new bedding and freshly unfolded curtains made her feel as if she were being taken advantage of. However, Quan Shi maintained a better composure than her slightly frowning daughter. Like her husband Lu Mu, she was adept at maintaining appearances.
Thus, when the second aunt entered and took Mian Tang’s hand, she expressed concern and inquired about her experiences over the past few years. Mian Tang’s experiences were unspeakable, so she adhered to the story agreed upon with her grandfather and uncles. She claimed to have suffered a severe illness, leaving her mind unclear and unable to remember much. For the past two years, she had been recuperating at a renowned doctor’s home.
After briefly satisfying her aunt’s curiosity, Mian Tang had nothing more to say. The conversation then shifted to her aunt subtly inquiring about how much money Mian Tang had made from her business dealings in the Northwest.
Mian Tang realized these tactful questions likely came from her second uncle, relayed through his wife. She smiled slightly but didn’t reveal the truth. Although her grandfather had scolded her and refused her money, reviving the Lu family’s escort business was her responsibility, requiring significant funds.
Yesterday, after leaving her grandfather’s study and joining everyone for dinner, she had overheard her second uncle mentioning his involvement in a tobacco business with a noble. However, he lacked capital and could only watch others profit.
Historically, her second uncle’s luck with money was poor, often losing more than he gained in business ventures. If Mian Tang revealed her wealth, her uncle would likely ask to borrow money, which she couldn’t refuse.
The second aunt, surprised by Mian Tang’s newfound maturity at nineteen, found herself unable to pry more information. She resorted to describing the Lu family’s hardships and the burden of feeding an additional person.
During Quan Shi’s lamentations, Mian Tang handed her a prepared envelope, saying, “Second Aunt, I’m now staying in Second Uncle’s courtyard, and all my expenses need covering. This is some money my mother left me. It’s not much, but it should cover my current expenses, preventing the family from having to economize on meat due to my return. Please accept it.”
Quan Shi accepted the envelope, claiming Mian Tang was being too formal. However, her fingers quickly opened it, revealing a hundred-tael banknote. Surprised by Mian Tang’s generosity, Quan Shi’s face lit up with smiles as she attempted to return the envelope.
Mian Tang insisted, mentioning she had heard about her second uncle’s business venture and suggesting part of the money could be considered her investment. This convinced Quan Shi to accept.
Quan Shi was pleasantly surprised that Mian Tang didn’t intend to freeload, and even Lu Qingying’s expression softened. However, despite Quan Shi’s persistent inquiries about profits from the Northwest, Mian Tang skillfully avoided answering.
When her cousin asked about her marriage prospects, Mian Tang smiled and replied, “I’ve just returned home and wish to spend time with my grandfather. Marriage isn’t urgent…”
Quan Shi responded, “How can it not be urgent? You’re already nineteen. If you don’t marry soon, you’ll have fewer choices. But don’t worry your first aunt and I will keep an eye out for good matches.”
As Mian Tang was not of the Lu family, Quan Shi genuinely hoped she would marry soon. The conversation naturally turned to Lu Qingying’s recent marriage prospects.
Lu Qingying then took center stage, subtly boasting to Mian Tang about a potential match arranged by her maternal grandfather, a county magistrate. When mentioning the Su family’s upcoming visit, Lu Qingying’s face reddened slightly, unable to conceal her excitement.
Mian Tang listened with a smile to the mother and daughter’s boasting but inwardly sighed. She realized how traveling and gaining worldly experience could change one’s perspective on people and situations.
Previously, she had thought her second aunt eloquent and friendly. Now, she found this newly elevated official’s wife less dignified than an old nanny in the Wang manor. No wonder Nanny Li always looked at her disapprovingly, seeking opportunities to scold her…
Mian Tang’s thoughts wandered as Quan Shi continued her animated boasting. The casual conversation only concluded when Quan Shi suddenly remembered she needed to replace the window paper in her courtyard.
With potential in-laws possibly arriving soon, she needed to oversee the old servants changing the window paper before the esteemed guests arrived. She rose to leave with her daughter.
However, with numerous similar tasks to complete and insufficient help, Quan Shi asked to borrow Mian Tang’s two maids.
Bicao, being straightforward, asked Quan Shi, “If both of us go, who will serve our young lady?”
This comment drew a glare from Quan Shi. Lu Qingying was also displeased: “We’re just asking you to do some chores, not preventing you from returning. Can’t my cousin even drink water without you?”
Mian Tang smiled calmly and said, “Second Aunt doesn’t know, but my hands and feet were injured some years ago. I lack strength and can’t even lift a water jug when the pain flares up. My maids are aware of this condition… But I can go half a day without water, so feel free to take them.”
Lu Qingying was momentarily stunned. Since Mian Tang’s return, she had become much more composed than before. The second young lady of the Lu family had almost forgotten what kind of person her cousin truly was.
In childhood, jealous of Mian Tang looking better in the same dress, Lu Qingying had incited her brother Lu Zhifu to bully Mian Tang by splattering mud on her dress.
Mian Tang had responded with the same mirthless smile she wore now. Somehow, she had tricked the siblings to the edge of the gardener’s compost pit.
The eleven-year-old girl had used a bamboo pole to push the brother and sister into the foul-smelling compost pit, then used the pole to prevent them from standing up.
Only when adults heard the crying and came to investigate were they rescued? Mian Tang had been spanked by her mother, but she hadn’t shed a tear even during the scolding. Instead, she had fixed the siblings with an eerie stare that gave the young Lu Qingying nightmares.
After that incident, Cousin Liu’s methods of revenge became increasingly sophisticated, to the point where none of the children dared to provoke her without reason.
Now, reminded of that familiar smile, Lu Qingying shuddered and backtracked, saying, “How can you go half a day without water…”
Given Mian Tang’s explanation, Quan Shi felt uncomfortable taking both maids. She left Bicao behind and took Fangxie back to the second branch’s courtyard.
After Quan Shi and her daughter left, Bicao couldn’t help muttering to Mian Tang, “The old master clearly said yesterday at the dinner table that he would cover your monthly expenses. Why did you give them so much money, young lady?”
Mian Tang smiled silently. She knew her second aunt’s penchant for small advantages, and giving Quan Shi some benefits in exchange for peace seemed like a good deal to her.
However, when night fell, Fangxie finally returned, exhausted from the numerous chores in the second branch’s courtyard. She was so tired that Bicao had to massage her back.
When Mian Tang inquired about the situation there, Fangxie whispered, “The second madam kept finding ways to ask about your affairs over the past two years. I just kept my head down and worked without responding. This might have angered the second madam, so she gave me all the dirty and tiring work. Fortunately, Bicao didn’t go, or her loose tongue might have said something!”
Bicao protested, “Why would I let something slip? Do you think only you learned from Nanny Li, and I don’t understand anything?”
The two young maids bickered, completely forgetting their manners.
Mian Tang, lounging on the couch and eating soft, sugary yellow peaches, couldn’t be bothered to intervene. She mused that if Nanny Li were here, these two girls would likely be kneeling by the well, balancing water buckets on their heads as punishment…
As her thoughts shifted from servant to master, Mian Tang’s mind inevitably wandered to General Cui, wondering if he was camping in the wilderness or patrolling the city walls…
In reality, General Cui’s situation was far more comfortable than Liu Miantang imagined.
The barbarian tribes were numerous and not united. While some stubbornly resisted, others eagerly sought to curry favor with the Da Yan army and overthrow Chieftain Agu Shan.
At this moment, Cui Xingzhou was attending a banquet held by the barbarians, fostering relations with various tribes.
Although the banquet was held in barbarian territory, the surrounding desert grasslands had long been under Cui Xingzhou’s control.
However, as this was not an area long inhabited by the Han people, Cui Xingzhou had to balance his iron-fisted approach with conciliatory measures to win hearts and minds.
Thus, he treated tribes unwilling to submit to Agu Shan with tolerance and friendliness.
To welcome this distinguished guest, the Chaxi tribe had gathered a group of young women from the tribe to dance gracefully to the rhythm of horse-head fiddles and drums.
They wore thin dresses with narrow sleeves and short tops, revealing slender waists as they danced enchantingly and seductively.
The Da Yan soldiers surrounding Cui Xingzhou hadn’t seen a woman in days, let alone a sow. Suddenly presented with so many young beauties, they could hardly tear their eyes away.
However, the main guest, the Northwest Commander, seemed distracted. He reclined in his cowhide chair, his gaze appearing to look past the dancers, extending to some unknown place…
The Chaxi tribe leader, who had been observing him for a while, couldn’t quite grasp the commander’s mood. Logically, this commander should have been in high spirits after his recent victory at the Changxi ambush, where he had eliminated 10,000 of Agu Shan’s remaining troops, solidifying his foundation for pacifying the Northwest.
Now, tribal leaders were lining up to negotiate peace with him. Yet at this celebratory banquet, he didn’t show a hint of a smile. He even looked at the women with less warmth than he did the roasted meat on the table…
The Chaxi leader, eager to please the general, had done his research. He suddenly recalled Cui Xingzhou’s reputation as a “Sai Xia Hui” (a historical figure known for his resistance to temptation). He had an epiphany – the Prince of Huaiyang wasn’t just all talk; he truly was difficult to please…
Still, the Chaxi leader wanted to try again. He persisted, “Great Marshal, you’ve been working hard lately. Would you like to bathe and rest after the banquet? These dancers are young and pure, like freshly bloomed prairie flowers. Would you like to select some to serve you during your bath and rest?”
As he spoke, the Chaxi leader was prepared for Cui Xingzhou to refuse.
Unexpectedly, the Prince of Huaiyang, who had been staring boredly at his wine cup, suddenly looked up at the girls smiling invitingly at him. He slowly extended his hand and pointed at one with a slender waist, ample curves, and striking features.
The Chaxi leader was overjoyed that Cui Xingzhou hadn’t rejected his offer. He quickly called the girl forward to accompany the Prince of Huaiyang to his tent later…
Mo Ru, serving nearby, also breathed a long sigh of relief.
He thought to himself, “There are beautiful women everywhere, aren’t there?”
His lord had been acting unnervingly strange lately. He’d stopped punching sandbags, and apart from discussing military matters with his generals, he could go an entire day without speaking when alone.
Others might not have noticed, but Mo Ru, who was always by his lord’s side, felt like he was serving a master forged from millennia-old ice, devoid of any human warmth.
Mo Ru knew that his lord’s abnormal behavior must be related to that troublemaking Liu young lady who had left.
In Mo Ru’s view, although Miss Liu was beautiful, her background and experiences made her unworthy of even being his lord’s concubine.
For a man as handsome and talented as his lord, even if naturally proud, he should have quickly recovered from the setback of Miss Liu’s lack of appreciation.
Unexpectedly, as the Northwestern army gradually advanced, moving further from Jinjia Pass, his lord’s melancholy seemed to deepen.
Just yesterday, while washing his lord’s clothes, Mo Ru accidentally ruined an undergarment. It wasn’t entirely his fault; the person who had sewn it was unskilled, with large, clumsy stitches that could let rice grains through. It was Miss Liu’s handiwork.
Mo Ru had thought it wouldn’t matter if one piece of clothing was ruined, as he had packed plenty of undergarments for his lord when they set out.
However, when his lord changed clothes the next day and saw the new garment, he asked about the old one. Upon hearing it had been ruined in washing, he flew into a rage, nearly kicking Mo Ru out into the wilderness to feed the wolves.
Mo Ru tearfully went to the stream to search for the discarded garment and presented it to his lord.
Unexpectedly, his lord’s temper cooled as quickly as it had flared. He just stared at the tattered undergarment for a long time before saying, “Since it’s ruined, just throw it away. Why did you bring it back?”
A master is like heaven; his thunder and rain are all grace. Mo Ru naturally dared not say more. However, he felt that his lord’s unpredictable moods, like those of a jealous wife, should pass soon.
Today at the banquet, he had selected a beautiful woman. Mo Ru felt relieved, thinking that after a night in the brocade tent, his lord would find solace in soft jade and fragrant embrace, and all memories of Miss Liu would fade like water flowing past.
So Mo Ru anticipated his lord’s dalliance with a woman as eagerly as if he were about to enter the bridal chamber.
The candles in the commander’s tent flickered all night without extinguishing.
Mo Ru admired his lord’s endurance, which seemed as endless as the Yellow River, but eventually succumbed to sleep himself.
The next morning, Mo Ru woke up early to boil water and prepare towels, waiting for his lord to call.
Unexpectedly, the girl emerged from the tent with swollen eyes from crying, rubbing her wrists, and looking haggard.
Mo Ru stared at her in bewilderment, looking her up and down, unsure of how his lord had spent the night with her.
The prairie girls were somewhat uncivilized and fierce. While this girl hardly dared to breathe in front of Cui Xingzhou, she was not polite to a servant like Mo Ru. She held out her wrists and said, “What are you looking at? Do you want to teach me to write all night too? You Han people… are really… sick!”
Mo Ru was confused by this insult. When he entered the tent with a basin of water, he saw the table covered with discarded papers. His lord lay fully clothed on the bed, staring straight at the tent’s ceiling.
Now Mo Ru understood what the barbarian woman had meant earlier.
Being a barbarian, she might speak fluent Chinese but wouldn’t know how to write well. Looking at the papers on the ground, it was clear his lord had taught her diligently, with each stroke showing his characteristic style.
But being forced to write all night… that was too cruel. No wonder the girl’s eyes were swollen from crying…
Mo Ru suddenly understood why his lord had chosen that girl. Her figure and nose resembled Miss Liu’s. But when his lord used to teach Miss Liu to write, it was sweet and affectionate. He had never forced someone to write until their wrists were swollen.
Mo Ru realized his lord wasn’t better; he was “sicker” than before.
But as a servant, he couldn’t say anything and could only worry silently.
At this time, Fan Hu, who had escorted Mian Tang back to Xizhou, returned to report that she had reached her hometown in Xizhou, and he had come back to complete his mission.
The prince summoned Fan Hu to his tent to hear a detailed account of Mian Tang’s outrageous and incredible actions after leaving.
As he listened, especially to the part about Mian Tang using people as bait to defeat bandits despite being outnumbered, the prince’s long-frozen handsome face gradually melted into an intriguing smile.
At first, it was just a faint smile, but then he suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter.
This was the first time the prince had smiled in days and such hearty, unrestrained laughter at that. Seeing the prince laugh so freely, disregarding etiquette, both Mo Ru and Fan Hu felt uncertain whether this was a good sign or not.
After laughing for a while, the prince’s laughter gradually subsided. His gaze once again became calm and profound as he addressed Fan Hu: “Rest today, and early tomorrow morning, return to Xizhou, and continue to keep a close watch on Liu Mian Tang.”
Fan Hu had thought that after reporting back, he could finally unload his heavy burden and relax his tense nerves. He hadn’t expected to be assigned another task before he could even catch his breath.
If Fan Hu were alone, he would have wanted to cry his heart out. But under the prince’s stern gaze, he could only grit his teeth and accept.
However, he was confused. Previously, they had been monitoring Liu Mian Tang to trace and capture rebels. What was the purpose now? So he cautiously asked the prince what the focus of this surveillance should be.
The prince seemed unsure himself, silently staring at the patterns on the tent’s carpet.
What should he watch about Mian Tang? Since leaving him, she hadn’t missed meals or sleep, and had even made a fortune.
Now that she had returned to Xizhou with her family’s protection, she wouldn’t lack food, clothing, or care.
It seemed that Liu Mian Tang wouldn’t even think about him.
As for himself? When they first separated, it wasn’t so bad; he just couldn’t sleep at night, remembering her fragrant scent and softness.
He thought that as time passed, he would naturally get better.
But as days went by, though the nights became less restless, his mind constantly replayed scenes of daily life with Liu Mian Tang, like a folding-screen play.
Yet after reminiscing about every moment with Miss Liu, he became increasingly aware of one fact – their connection was completely severed, and they were now strangers to each other. That period of tenderness, like the ruined garment, could not be mended…
Yesterday, when he had chosen that girl to enter his tent, he had originally intended to vent his feelings properly. Weren’t all women the same, apart from slight differences in features?
He kept thinking about Liu Mian Tang, surely because he had tasted too little of beauty. But when that woman sidled up to him with a coy smile, Cui Xingzhou immediately felt something was wrong.
The scent of her makeup was too strong, not sweet enough; her smile was too fawning, lacking sincere passion; her voice was too coarse, unlike that coquettish yet slightly hoarse tone…
In short, nothing suited Cui Xingzhou’s taste, and he couldn’t muster any interest. Fortunately, the woman’s nose was barely passable.
So Cui Xingzhou asked her to sit by the table, only looking at her profile, and told her to write at the desk…
For a moment, the Prince of Huaiyang felt as if he had returned to the small courtyard on North Street in Lingquan Town. The apricot blossoms in the yard were in full bloom, and he sat beside her, watching Mian Tang hold a brush and write by the window. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair slightly disheveled at the temples, and she would occasionally look up at him, softly calling, “Husband, do you think my writing is good?”
Cui Xingzhou clenched his fist tightly. He suddenly felt inexplicably angry. Why should he miss her so much when she seemed to have forgotten all about him?
Had her amnesia flared up again? There were too many unsettled accounts between them. She couldn’t just walk away and live the rest of her life carefree!
Thinking of this, the Prince of Huaiyang slowly instructed Fan Hu: “Go and keep a close watch on Liu Mian Tang. Do not allow her to hastily get engaged or married before I return triumphantly!”
Fan Hu, having been through countless trials, had become as resilient as tough bamboo. After hearing the prince’s incredible order, he continued to ask in a deep voice: “If Miss Liu insists on marrying… should I tie her up and bring her to see you, my lord?”