As Lu Mu was about to glare at them, Lu Xian finally managed to cover his brother’s mouth. “Lu Mu, are you confused about drinking this morning? How can you make such a drunken scene on Liu girl’s joyous day!”
Then, with an embarrassed expression, he said, “Your Highness, please don’t mind him. Father and I didn’t tell the family about your identity. My brother had a couple of drinks this morning and is behaving inappropriately…”
Who drinks in the early morning? This excuse wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny. However, Cui Xingzhou smiled slightly and went along with Lu Xian’s words, “If it’s drunken talk, I naturally won’t take offense… Since we’re to be family, there’s no need for excessive formality. Let’s go inside and talk.”
At that moment, a squad of fully armored soldiers came to unload the bridal carts and carry the gifts into the Lu mansion.
Following the betrothal custom, Mouru stood at the entrance and loudly announced each item on the gift list.
Many items weren’t boxed, allowing people to see them directly. Whether it was jade-carved lions, gold bracelets, or fabrics, they were all styles that the local people had never seen before.
Lu Mu, being knowledgeable, could tell that some were even tributes from the imperial palace. Without being an enfeoffed prince who had received imperial rewards, how could one have such rare items?
As for the seafood essential in betrothal gifts, they were all specially supplied with shark fins and abalones. Besides these, there were said to be fields and shops as well.
In short, if this were truly a con man trying to deceive a young lady, even if the Lu family sold everything they owned, they couldn’t produce such betrothal gifts.
Moreover… the Huaiyang Prince’s troops were camped not far from Xi Prefecture, and soldiers had been constantly moving through the city these past few days. Who would dare to impersonate the Huaiyang Prince at such a time?
As the betrothal gifts were brought in one after another, and seeing that his father and elder brother seemed to not doubt the Huaiyang Prince’s identity and that Lord Cui’s subordinates were all fully armed soldiers, Lu Mu belatedly realized that this distinguished young man truly was the powerful Northwestern Commander – Cui Xingzhou!
The entire family was shocked.
What kind of experiences has Liu girl had outside these past few years? How had she come to know princes and generals one after another? And was the noble Huaiyang Prince taking her as his principal wife?
While everyone was stunned into silence, Cui Xingzhou had already led Miantang to offer tea and pay respects to Old Master Lu Wu.
Lu Wu, being an old hand in the world, had become more indifferent to worldly vanities with age. Moreover, he had known about Cui Xingzhou’s identity early on, so he was able to respond neither obsequiously nor arrogantly.
After the two had paid their respects, Lu Wu looked at the young couple. Leaving aside their backgrounds and status, the pair before him truly matched well.
He wondered what methods this young man had used to persuade his granddaughter to agree. Looking at Miantang’s carefully styled hair and lightly painted eyebrows today, she showed no signs of unwillingness.
If she was truly willing, then all was well. So he slowly spoke, “Miantang, this child, lost her mother at a young age and has inherited my stubborn temperament. I’m grateful that Your Highness doesn’t mind and has taken a liking to her. I ask that Your Highness be more tolerant in the future. If she truly becomes unruly and unteachable, you can just send her back to the Lu family, and I will discipline her on Your Highness’s behalf…”
These words made the women present feel that their elder was being inappropriate. Who would talk about sending the bride back home on the day of betrothal?
But upon careful consideration, the clever ones could understand the old man’s meaning – “No matter how bad my granddaughter is, please be magnanimous and don’t punish her. Just send her back to the Lu family if needed, we’ll take her!”
Cui Xingzhou also understood that the old man was worried he might mistreat Miantang.
However, the grandfather and granddaughter seemed to be of one mind, thinking about how to separate amicably before even getting married. Were they seeing the prince’s mansion as a den of tigers and dragons? If it were anyone else, Cui Xingzhou would have been furious.
But now, as he was asking for their daughter’s hand, he could only respond sincerely and solemnly, “Since I’ve decided to take her as my wife, I will naturally respect and love her. How could I send her back? Please rest assured, elder.”
Lu Wu nodded and said no more. The discussion then turned to the future wedding ceremony and other matters.
As Cui Xingzhou had not yet relinquished his military duties and his return date was uncertain, no fixed wedding date was set. It was only said that before the grand ceremony, the Lu family would send people to Zhen Prefecture to participate in the wedding.
Cui Xingzhou didn’t even ask about the size of Miantang’s dowry. He was marrying the person; if she could marry over, he would even provide the dowry himself. This eliminated another step compared to ordinary betrothal procedures.
Lu Mu found an opportunity to pull his elder brother aside and asked angrily, “Brother, have you and father stopped considering me as part of the Lu family? Why didn’t you inform me earlier about the Huaiyang Prince’s noble identity? You’ve let me make such a fool of myself in front of the prince. How can I ever curry favor with him in the future? The prince must be displeased with me as an uncle!”
Lu Xian had been in turmoil since learning that the two former enemies had become engaged. He regretted not explaining the situation to Miantang but also thought that since things had come to this, it was better not to tell her and bury the matter completely… His mind was in chaos when he heard his second brother complaining. How could he care about such trivial matters? He just glared at him and said, “What favor are you trying to curry? Miantang is marrying far away. In the future, we won’t even be able to look after her if we want to. Just find an opportunity to apologize to the Huaiyang Prince later.”
With that, he turned and left. Lu Mu called after him, but his elder brother didn’t look back. Feeling rebuffed, Lu Mu angrily returned to his courtyard.
When he arrived, he saw that Lu Qingying’s eyes were red from crying. He asked Quan Shi and learned that even if their daughter wasn’t crying, her eyes were still red.
Liu girl’s marriage was so far beyond reach that Lu Qingying couldn’t even compare. She just mumbled quietly, “Uncle is too much. Knowing such a prominent person but not telling the family, not even thinking of his niece. If he had brought him back earlier and arranged a match for me…”
Lu Mu had some self-awareness and glared at his daughter, saying, “Do you think a prince is just anyone you can marry? Haven’t you seen Liu’s girl’s appearance? Only that kind of heavenly beauty can make princes compete for her favor. You should just be content with becoming Su’s family’s daughter-in-law!”
Lu Qingying retorted, “Wasn’t it said that cousin had lived with someone before? If the prince knows, would he still want her?”
Lu Mu almost went to pull his daughter’s mouth, “My little ancestor, haven’t we caused enough trouble today? Now that Miantang has such a good marriage, it also brings glory to our Lu family. I still have things to ask of the prince. Regarding your cousin’s past affairs, you keep them buried in your stomach. Not a word is to be spoken!”
Regarding Miantang’s life in Yangshan, Lu Mu didn’t know as much detail as Lu Xian. That Liu girl later became less close to him and was only close to her elder uncle, telling everything to Lu Xian.
Originally, Lu Mu had met Young Master Ziyu first and vaguely knew that his identity was extraordinary. But later, when the family had troubles, he rushed back home to claim the family property, afraid that his father would give it all to the Liu family, so he cut off contact with Yangshan.
It was precisely because he didn’t know much about the grudges between Miantang and the Huaiyang Prince that Lu Mu had none of his elder brother Lu Xian’s concerns. He was solely focused on firmly establishing this noble connection.
Although Cui Xingzhou didn’t have an imperial surname, he was much more powerful than Prince Sui. A prince with such illustrious military achievements had a great future ahead!
According to Lu Mu’s intentions, after today’s betrothal ceremony, he would find an opportunity to apologize to the prince, mend the relationship between relatives, and then slowly bring up his canal transport business.
Because of Miantang’s interference, his recent money-making businesses had all dried up. But she was about to become a princess, and even the scraps from her fingers would be enough to feed the whole family for a year. If she still held onto the shipping business, it would seem unreasonable.
But what Lu Mu didn’t expect was that the Huaiyang Prince had come here solely to seek a wife. Now that he had the marriage contract in hand, there was no need to stay. So, on the second day after the betrothal, the Northwestern army that had been stationed outside the city began to move forward.
Miantang was also taken away by Cui Xingzhou, leaving Xi Prefecture. However, before leaving, Miantang transferred the shipping business to the Lu family, but gave it to the elder uncle, repeatedly instructing her elder uncle not to let her second uncle get involved.
With so many recent events in the family, Lu Xian had also seen through his second brother’s greed and knew how to handle things without Miantang’s instructions. Now, apart from supporting one or two widows and orphans, the Lu family had no other elders to support, saving a large sum in expenses.
As for the betrothal gifts from the prince, following the old master’s instructions, after the formalities, they were all given to Miantang intact. When grandfather and granddaughter parted, tears flowed freely.
Lu Wu gave his granddaughter countless reminders and advice, but he knew that no matter how much he said, it wouldn’t be of much use. He only hoped that her fate would be better than her mother’s and that she would never encounter an unfaithful person.
As the procession moved forward, Miantang kept looking back from the carriage at the parting pavilion – the old man was still standing there, unwilling to leave.
Cui Xingzhou, who was in the same carriage with her, pulled her back and embraced her shoulders, saying, “The wind is strong outside. You’ve just cried, be careful not to hurt your face.”
Miantang said softly, “Didn’t we agree earlier that you would go to the capital, and I would stay in Xi Prefecture waiting for you? Why are you taking me along?”
Cui Xingzhou held her hand and lifted her chin with one hand, saying, “Are you willing to part with me after we’ve just been together? If I leave you alone, who knows what schemes you might come up with? You should come with me obediently. I’ll feel at ease only when I can keep an eye on you at all times.”
Miantang leaned into his embrace and said, “Aren’t we already engaged? What are you still worried about?”
Cui Xingzhou smiled slightly, kissed her once, and then said, “I’ll only be at ease after you’ve given birth to my child.”
Reminded by his words, Miantang belatedly realized that he had been staying in her room these past few days, with no restrictions. What if she carelessly became pregnant? How would that be?
But Cui Xingzhou told her not to worry too much. This trip to the capital was just a routine matter. After reporting for duty, they would return to Zhen Prefecture. It was only a month or so of travel. Even if she did become pregnant, it wouldn’t be a problem. The child could be born after the wedding ceremony.
Moreover, after lifting such restrictions, it would be difficult to restrain themselves and live like ascetics again. With such a beauty in his arms, even a sage couldn’t resist!
Cui Xingzhou’s troops didn’t advance quickly. They generally set up camp early each day and departed late, even stopping for several days when encountering famous mountains or ancient temples. Though they were on the move, it wasn’t tiring.
Miantang soon noticed that the troops seemed to be delaying their progress, so she asked him the reason. But Cui Xingzhou avoided the topic, simply saying, “I’ve never taken you sightseeing before. We’re moving slowly to give you a chance to enjoy the scenery.”
Since he was unwilling to explain, Miantang tactfully didn’t press further. She knew that when Cui Xingzhou was sent to the Northwest, doing a job others didn’t want, it must have been because his relationship with the court wasn’t smooth. It was rare for the Empress Dowager to want to improve relations by marrying her beloved daughter to him, but he had deliberately injured his leg to politely refuse the Empress Dowager.
Now, with Cui Xingzhou holding military power, he would inevitably become a concern for the court. If the court intended to weaken his military authority, it would be another round of bloodless maneuvering!
Understanding this, Miantang wisely didn’t ask. She just enjoyed traveling and sightseeing with Cui Xingzhou, relaxing her body and mind.
The Cui Jiu she knew before had to be cautious in his speech due to his concealed identity, so many topics couldn’t be discussed in depth. Now, Cui Xingzhou could relax and chat with Miantang about his past.
Especially on this journey, there were many places he had visited with friends during his student years. At each stop, he had old stories to share.
Miantang had always found Cui Jiu’s conversation refined, but now she discovered that although he was of noble birth, he had rich experiences. In his youth, he had concealed his identity to mingle with common students, understanding the hardships of ordinary people. In short, he knew much more than she did.
Liu Miantang had always admired capable people, and she had admired her husband Cui Jiu for being educated. Unfortunately, later she learned he had deceived her into sleeping with her, which greatly diminished her admiration.
When looking at him, she always weighed the truth of his words.
Now that they were engaged, there was no need to fret over unrelated matters. During their private moments, Miantang discovered that her future husband was accomplished in both literary and military arts. Her eyes gradually regained the admiring sparkle they had before when looking at her husband, and she even planned to learn from him about the teachings of sages from books.
Cui Xingzhou was quite pleased with Miantang’s adoring gaze and told her that learning was natural. They might as well start with the pleasures of the bedchamber, as the sages had many teachings on this subject too.
He spoke so seriously and convincingly that Miantang listened earnestly for quite a while before realizing he was teasing her with nonsense.
When such an outwardly cold and noble man starts speaking frivolously, it’s truly dangerous. Miantang angrily pounded his broad chest as it shook with laughter, while at the same time, his teasing made her blush and her heart race.
In matters between men and women, she seemed to know far less than he did.
However, these days of worry didn’t last too long. At some point, the number of courier horses on the official road suddenly increased, and some relay stations even had empty stables, forcing them to requisition horses from nearby villages.
Generally, such situations occurred either when there was warfare at the borders or when there was great turmoil in the court.
Cui Xingzhou received reliable intelligence from his spies in the capital – there had been a coup in the capital!
The Emperor had fallen ill with a strange disease and wasn’t recovering well. Originally, with Empress Dowager Wu’s support, there hadn’t been much chaos. But unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager also fell ill, initially developing spots on her hands and feet, with her nail beds turning black.
Experienced imperial physicians recognized this as poisoning. They began thoroughly examining the Empress Dowager’s items and eventually traced them to the tobacco leaves she often smoked.
The Empress Dowager’s usual items had been soaked in poison, and as she smoked frequently, even her clothes were permeated with the scent of tobacco.
For ordinary people, this poison would have been slow-acting, but it happened to conflict with the tonic medicines the Emperor regularly took. As a result, every time the Empress Dowager visited and cared for the Emperor, his condition worsened, eventually becoming critical and his life in danger.
Now that the poison had taken effect on the Empress Dowager as well, the truth of the matter came to light.
Upon learning this, Empress Dowager Wu flew into a rage and ordered the arrest and search of General Shi’s family, who had presented the tobacco leaves.
However, the Shi family was prepared. Shi Yikuan, along with several of his commanders, guarded the palace gates, preventing even a bird from flying out of the palace.
By the time the Wu family realized something was wrong, news had already spread from the palace that both sacred majesties had passed away. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor had ascended to heaven one after the other.
At this moment, the elder statesmen of the court stepped forward, revealing the truth behind the former Crown Prince’s unjust death years ago. They pointed out that the former Crown Prince’s flesh and blood still existed in this world – none other than General Shi’s son-in-law, the imperial grandson Liu Dan, who had been living under the alias Ziyu!
The Wu family refused to accept this and mobilized troops, determined to fight the rebel Shi family to the bitter end.
It was said that for those few days, the capital was in a state of terror, with soldiers all over the streets. Ordinary households kept their doors tightly shut, not daring to step out.
At the critical moment, the Grand Empress Dowager, along with a group of elder ministers, stepped forward to restore order and justice. They also testified to the injustice done to the former Crown Prince years ago and strongly confirmed Liu Dan’s identity.
Thus, seven days after the Emperor’s passing, Liu Dan, having regained his true identity, announced his ascension to the throne. He declared a new era name, posthumously honored the former Crown Prince as Emperor Zhaohua, and proclaimed to the world the crimes of the evil consort Empress Wu, who had brought disaster to the country, corrupted the imperial harem, and poisoned the realm.
As the saying goes, the victor becomes king, the loser becomes the outlaw. The Wu family, having enjoyed prosperity and power, had lost their vigilance and were caught off guard by this palace coup. Having lost the initiative, they could only endure as the mud was slung at them, with Empress Dowager Wu being described as a licentious empress who kept numerous male favorites.
With such massive changes in the capital, it was no wonder that courier horses were constantly dispatched, bringing the latest news from the capital to princes and nobles across the land.
Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou understood clearly. Although Liu Dan had taken on the mantle of the former Crown Prince’s heir, his strength was insufficient to cause such upheaval.
Behind the scenes were the machinations of the Grand Empress Dowager and Prince Sui. Palace coups throughout history have always been tainted with filth and bloodshed. Prince Sui had left the capital early, staying out of the affair. If Liu Dan had failed, it would naturally have nothing to do with him.
Liu Dan was merely a pawn for Prince Sui. Though he had ascended to the throne, he was just a puppet like the previous emperor.
Behind the curtain still sat a Grand Empress Dowager! Moreover, Liu Dan’s constitution was extremely weak, even worse than the deceased Emperor’s! Once Liu Dan had done all the dirty work, it seemed that Prince Sui would slowly step onto the stage.
Cui Xingzhou had been dawdling on the journey, waiting for the turmoil in the capital to settle. Now with the coup in the capital, if he arrived, he would inevitably have to choose sides in quelling the rebellion.
If he helped the Wu family, he would certainly be denounced by the elder ministers. If he didn’t help, he would fail in his duty as a subject. So Cui Xingzhou maintained his stance of not siding with anyone, quietly waiting for the turmoil in the capital to subside before arriving.
However, to be honest, he didn’t want Liu Dan to ascend to the throne, even if he was just a temporary puppet. Thinking that Liu Dan had once harbored feelings for Miantang made him uncomfortable.
But Liu Dan was now married with children, and when he thought Miantang had married a merchant, he didn’t seem to react much. Perhaps he had completely forgotten about Miantang.
At this point, Cui Xingzhou couldn’t help but secretly rejoice that he and Miantang had become engaged early, preventing the new Emperor from having any thoughts of rekindling old flames.
As the Northwestern army slowly advanced, several swift horses galloped past on the official road, urgently heading towards Zhen Prefecture…
Meanwhile, at the Lu family mansion, they had just sent off the Prince of Huaiyang when they heard knocking at the gate.
When the gatekeeper opened the door, he found several eunuchs in palace attire, accompanied by local officials from Zhen Prefecture, standing outside.
Seeing the Lu family open the door, they immediately announced loudly, “Quickly call your master to receive the imperial edict!”
The Lu family’s gatekeeper, having been through so much these past few days, had developed thicker nerves. Even with eunuchs at the door holding a golden imperial edict, he remained calm and trotted off to inform the old master.
By the time the Lu family members supported the old master at the gate, the eunuch had already unfurled the edict: “By the grace of heaven, the Emperor decrees: Liu Miantang, the adopted daughter of the Lu family, is intelligent and virtuous. She is hereby specially summoned to enter the palace as an imperial female official to attend to the Empress. She is to receive this edict and enter the palace without delay!”
This imperial edict, like the Prince of Huaiyang’s sudden proposal, left those unaware completely baffled!
Although palace female officials were not consorts, they were generally unmarried maidens! Old Master Lu cautiously said, “Your Excellency may not be aware, but my granddaughter is already engaged to be married…”
The eunuch who had come to deliver the edict had been informed that Liu Miantang was already married. Liu Dan didn’t know about Liu Miantang being tricked into marriage and thought she was the wife of a military official. However, he had also secretly kept an eye on Miantang and knew that she seemed to have had a falling out with her husband and returned to the Lu family in Zhen Prefecture.
So after his ascension to the throne, his first act was to issue an edict summoning Miantang to become a palace official. After all, she was a married woman, and suddenly calling her into the palace as a consort would inevitably invite criticism. It was better to use the pretext of becoming a female official to bring her into the palace first.
Therefore, when the eunuch heard Old Master Lu mention that Miantang was engaged, he was prepared and said, “The Empress has recognized Liu’s virtue. Even if she is married, it doesn’t matter. Just have her husband release her quickly, so as not to delay Liu’s service to the Empress!”
Lu Wu’s eyes widened. Even though this was an imperial edict, he couldn’t hide its absurdity. He had never heard of an emperor eagerly summoning a married woman to enter the palace as a female official.
So Lu Wu knelt on the ground, suppressing his anger, and said, “In response to Your Excellency, my granddaughter has already left with the army and is not at the Lu mansion. She has established her household under the Liu surname, so the Lu family cannot accept the edict on her behalf.”
The county magistrate, Li Guangcai, who was standing nearby, only learned the contents of the edict when the eunuch read it aloud. He had a massive headache and just wanted to get rid of these eunuchs quickly, then send someone to inform the Prince of Huaiyang.
So he hurriedly said, “The Lu family’s old master speaks the truth. Miss Liu has already left with the army.”
The eunuch hadn’t expected this task to be so difficult. Since Liu had left, he naturally had to pursue her and bring the wife of that military officer back to the capital.