Liu Miantang observed the situation clearly but felt the Imperial Consort’s attitude was understandable. Any mother would be upset if her son suddenly brought home an unexpected daughter-in-law.
Although the Imperial Consort was gentle with her son, she was still a privileged noblewoman. Her softness towards her husband and son didn’t necessarily extend to her daughter-in-law.
Outwardly harmonious but inwardly turbulent mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships were common. Miantang felt it wasn’t appropriate for her to move into the Prince’s mansion before the wedding.
So after dinner, she expressed her desire to return to Lingquan Town to Cui Xingzhou.
The Prince of Huaiyang frowned, “Now that you’ve arrived at the mansion, there’s no reason to leave. Your family isn’t here, and if we consider this a long-distance marriage, there’s no need for a bridal procession. Just settle in your husband’s home before the wedding. Returning now would only reinforce rumors of you being my mistress!”
But Liu Miantang insisted, “How is this a long-distance marriage? I’m an independent woman; wherever I go is my home… Your mother has just learned about my arrival. Shouldn’t we give her time to adjust?”
The Prince didn’t want Miantang to leave, but he realized that with his mother around, it would be difficult to be intimate with Miantang before the wedding. If she stayed outside, they would have more freedom.
With this in mind, he agreed. After all, the mansion’s steward had already begun preparations for the wedding ceremony according to his instructions. In a few days, Miantang would officially become his Princess, so there was no fear of her running away.
So that day, Miantang bid farewell to the Imperial Consort, preparing to return to North Street.
Though displeased, the Imperial Consort was surprised by the girl’s decision not to stay in the mansion. She raised an eyebrow, “You’ve signed the marriage contract with Xingzhou and will soon be wed. Why not stay in the mansion? Why return to North Street? Don’t you know what people are saying about that house?”
Miantang replied submissively, “I’m not returning to North Street. I’ll stay at the Prince’s villa on the outskirts of Zhenzhou. It’ll be more convenient for the wedding procession to start from there.”
Seeing her strong-mindedness, the Imperial Consort genuinely disliked it and couldn’t help but say, “My son is indeed used to making his own decisions, but as a woman, you should know that becoming someone’s daughter-in-law isn’t as simple as capturing a man’s heart! Becoming the Princess of this household isn’t something a girl from a humble background can achieve overnight! Let me ask you, have you ever managed a household?”
Miantang thought for a moment and replied, “I’ve never managed a household as large as this mansion…”
The Imperial Consort nodded knowingly, “Of course you haven’t. Even noble daughters are groomed from a young age by experienced matriarchs, learning the intricacies step by step. If you marry without learning these things, and I fall ill, you’ll have to manage everything. Won’t you make a mess of the household affairs? Xingzhou is busy with official duties every day. How could his health withstand having to manage the household as well?”
By the end, the Imperial Consort was truly anxious. As a mother, even if she was gentle and ineffective, her concern for her son was genuine.
She didn’t necessarily want a daughter-in-law from a high-ranking family; such a girl might be too arrogant for her to handle. That’s why she had thought her niece, Lian Silan, would be the best choice, being familiar and manageable.
But seeing the beauty of this County Princess her son had brought home, the Imperial Consort knew he would never look at someone like Lian Silan again.
She also knew that the Lian family had their agenda and weren’t as devoted to her son as Lian Chu Shi claimed. But given their close family ties, she couldn’t speak too plainly about it.
At this point, the Imperial Consort was trying to convince herself to accept this daughter-in-law, but how could someone of her background understand the workings of a princely household? In truth, even the title of County Princess was likely bestowed by the Emperor out of consideration for the Prince of Huaiyang, like adorning a pheasant’s tail with a few phoenix feathers to barely maintain appearances.
Since she was to marry into the family, and the Imperial Consort couldn’t stop her son, she thought to teach this girl. If she proved capable, she wouldn’t embarrass the family in public. If she was merely beautiful but dim-witted, the Imperial Consort would have to find suitable noble concubines for her son to prevent the household from falling into chaos under the management of a woman from a humble background.
In the end, Miantang’s wish to leave the mansion was denied. Instead, she was given the Fuling Courtyard to stay in temporarily.
When Miantang moved in, she didn’t bring Mama Li with her.
Before coming, she had noticed Moyu wasn’t by the Prince’s side and asked about it, learning of his interrogation and beating.
Miantang thought of how Mama Li was originally a retiring old servant from the mansion, who had earned respect in front of the Imperial Consort through years of loyal service. If the Imperial Consort were to complain about Mama Li withholding information because of her, wouldn’t it ruin decades of loyalty between master and servant?
So she discussed with Cui Xingzhou about letting Mama Li return to her own family to visit her children and grandchildren for a while, avoiding the Imperial Consort’s anger at this sensitive time. Cui Xingzhou agreed.
Mama Li understood Miantang’s intentions and was deeply grateful to the future Princess. It would have been shameful for her, as an old servant of the mansion, to face the Imperial Consort who had been kept in the dark all this time.
With Mama Li temporarily back in her hometown, Miantang’s attendants were simple: besides Fangxie and Bicao, there were two other rough-working little maids.
When she entered Fuling Courtyard, the mansion assigned two more senior maids to Miantang. One was called Huanxue, the other Yanrong.
They were said to have served the Imperial Consort before, and their demeanor was so refined that they could pass for young ladies outside the mansion. Both were much prettier than ordinary maids. The Imperial Consort’s careful selection of such attractive maids to send over also hinted at the intention of providing future concubines for her son.
Everyone in the mansion knew the rules. Although the two maids inwardly looked down on the future Princess’s dubious background, they outwardly served tea and performed rituals without giving anyone room for criticism.
Fortunately, Fangxie and Bicao had been trained rigorously by Mama Li. Although not as pretty as Huanxue and Yanrong, when they focused, their service etiquette was flawless.
As a result, Huanxue and Yanrong found themselves unable to assist the County Princess directly and had to find tasks to do in the outer room.
The Prince of Huaiyang, after handling some official business, strolled to his fiancée’s courtyard to check on her. Entering the room, he saw Miantang comfortably lying on a soft couch reading a book.
Earlier, fearing she might be bored in the mansion, he had told her she could take books from the study. However, busy with official documents, he hadn’t seen what books she had chosen from the library adjacent to the study.
Now he saw the book cover – it was “Eight Terrains’ Subtle Ways” by General Shen from the previous dynasty. This was a book on military strategy, containing the general’s years of combat experience, including examples of using terrain for tactical deployments and flexible troop movements.
He had thought she would choose some light reading, but now he saw that besides a few local chronicles, most of the books by her side were military strategy books, typically uninteresting to women.
Cui Xingzhou raised an eyebrow and asked, “Can you understand this?”
Miantang stretched lazily and said, “I find it quite interesting. When I was young, I heard stories about General Shen’s military campaigns in teahouses. Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager later banned writing biographies of generals from the previous dynasty, so I never heard more in teahouses. Now I can complete the story through this military strategy book… You have this book in your study, isn’t it banned?”
Cui Xingzhou smiled, lay down beside her on the soft couch, took the military book from her hand, tossed it aside, and said, “Not only do I have it, but it’s also in the Imperial Study. The Empress Dowager’s ban on public discussion was to prevent troublemakers from reminiscing about the previous dynasty and causing unrest. However, General Shen was a military genius, so naturally, we should learn from his skills… I have an illustrated edition of Wu Long Scholar’s works on my bookshelf. His ‘Under the Red Wall Flowers’ is hard to find, many young ladies want to read it but can’t buy it. Someone gifted me the complete set, you can read it if you like.”
Miantang raised an eyebrow at him: “You mean that Wu Long Scholar who writes about rich young masters and poor scholars seducing young ladies and courtesans? Haven’t I been deceived enough? Must I read about how various lustful men trick women into bed?”
Miantang was certain that the Prince’s suggestion was far from innocent.
Wu Long Scholar’s writing was already quite erotic, and the set he collected even had rare illustrated editions! Such books were typically read by libertines, and ordinary people couldn’t get hold of these sensual items circulating among noble households.
The fact that the usually cold and serious Prince of Huaiyang had such a collection showed that his reputation for chastity was just a façade, hiding a deeply passionate nature!
Cui Xingzhou loved to tease her. He smiled and kissed her cheek, saying, “Reading alone wouldn’t do, of course. I don’t usually read them either, but if we read together, we could act out the scenes. It would also prevent us from getting too aroused and having improper thoughts, wouldn’t it?”
Miantang blushed and pushed him away, “At a time like this, you’re still being clingy. Didn’t you hear what your mother said today? We absolutely cannot live together before our wedding. There are many people with loose tongues in this mansion. Even if you don’t care about minor details, you should consider my reputation. Hurry and leave, you’ve been in this courtyard for too long.”
Cui Xingzhou knew he wouldn’t be able to taste any “meat” before the wedding. He had just thought that after his official duties, it would be nice to have a bowl of “meat soup with oil” to satisfy his cravings. But Miantang, with her stern little face, wouldn’t allow it.
He also knew that at this time, he needed to maintain Miantang’s face in front of his mother, so after some cuddling and embracing, he got up and left.
At night, Miantang slept alone. Her courtyard was quite far from Cui Xingzhou’s study, but fortunately, with only a lake between them and no obstructions, she could see the flickering candlelight in the window across the shore, which remained lit for most of the night.
The next day, the Imperial Consort sent someone to invite Miantang to dine with her and stay afterward to learn about account-keeping.
During the meal, the Imperial Consort paid attention to Miantang’s manners and found her movements graceful and elegant. This somewhat reassured the Imperial Consort, thinking that although this girl came from a humble background, she must have received proper etiquette training before her family’s downfall.
However, when she asked Miantang to copy down a list of ceremonial items, she frowned and said, “Your handwriting… is not very good!”
Miantang smiled and honestly replied, “Your Highness, this is after much practice. My writing used to be even worse.”