However, such rare chess manuals were truly hard to come by. Cui Xingzhou wasn’t sure if he could find the remaining half to fulfill the Winter Creek Hermit’s lifelong wish.
Having obtained the coveted chess manual, Cui Xingzhou’s trip was complete. After gifting the hermit some famous Lu Mountain tea he had brought, he bid farewell.
His mother’s birthday celebration was in two days. Distant relatives and old friends had already started arriving at the prince’s mansion, and he needed to return to receive and entertain guests.
So after leaving the Winter Creek Hermit’s mountain villa, he and Marquis Zhao Quan of Zhennan descended the mountain and changed into a canopied four-horse carriage bearing the prince’s mansion’s insignia, returning to the mansion together.
The Huaiyang Prince’s mansion wasn’t far from Lingquan Town, just across the water from Zhenzhou Prefecture.
Although the old princess’s birthday celebration hadn’t begun and night had fallen, there was still a lively atmosphere of people and horses in front of the mansion.
With the prince finally home, everyone in the mansion was on high alert, coming to welcome him.
Cui Xingzhou’s first task was to pay respects to his mother.
Knowing her son was returning, Princess Dowager Chu, who usually retired early, was sitting in the main hall with Lian Silan and her mother, waiting for Cui Xingzhou to come and pay his respects.
When Cui Xingzhou, dressed in a wide-sleeved, pale-colored robe with a tight wide belt, appeared in the courtyard after turning past the pavilion, the hanging lanterns illuminated his handsome face, making his gold crown gleam and his features even more strikingly handsome.
Lian Silan shyly glanced at her future husband, slightly pursing her lips as she waited for her cousin to approach.
However, Cui Xingzhou kept his gaze straight ahead, not sparing his cousin more than a glance.
From childhood to adulthood, he had never been particularly close to this cousin four years his junior. Even when alone, they had little to talk about.
The way of husband and wife was meant to be one of mutual respect, like guests. Just as Liu Mentang was respectful to her husband, even if they had nothing to say, they could coexist peacefully and stably.
Cui Xingzhou had no interest in the “depth of eyebrow penciling changing with the times” after marriage, but he considered a wife’s respectfulness of utmost importance.
In this regard, a well-bred lady like Lian Silan would surely do better than a fallen noble like Liu Mentang.
After greeting his mother, Princess Dowager Chu said gently, “I haven’t seen you in so long, you seem to have lost weight. If official duties aren’t pressing, you should stay at the mansion for a few days. You can try Silan’s cooking; the tonic soup she brews for me is very nourishing.”
Hearing her aunt Chu praise her, Silan smiled and said softly, “It’s just that you don’t mind my clumsiness, Aunt. I know my culinary skills are lacking; how could I dare to embarrass myself in front of my cousin?”
Seeing Silan’s modesty, Princess Dowager Chu smiled and said to Silan’s mother, her sister Lian Chu-shi sitting nearby, “Look how modest Silan is, not at all like your temperament!”
The Princess Dowager was speaking the truth. Her sister Lian Chu-shi had always been competitive at home, wanting the best of everything, and hadn’t mellowed even after marriage and children. Yet her daughter Lian Silan was a graceful and gentle girl, well-matched with her son Cui Xingzhou.
Having been away from home for so long, after paying respects to his mother, Cui Xingzhou sat briefly to engage in small talk with his mother and aunt.
Lian Chu-shi smiled and chatted for a while, then suddenly changed the subject, saying with a smile, “Sister, Xingzhou has been alone outside for so long without a maid to tend to his needs. This can’t go on. There’s still a year until his marriage to Silan. Why not let Silan’s maid Qianxiang serve the prince first? At least she could take care of his daily needs, couldn’t she?”
This suggestion of sending the maid before the young lady was quite unexpected. Aunt Lian Chu-shi seemed to be proposing to send Qianxiang as Cui Xingzhou’s chambermaid.
Princess Dowager Chu couldn’t help but glance at Lian Silan sitting nearby. She didn’t seem surprised, only lowering her head slightly without speaking. Then she looked at Qianxiang.
The maid’s appearance was proper enough, though not quite as refined as Lian Silan’s, and she didn’t seem the seductive type…
At this point, Cui Xingzhou spoke up, “I often move around in military camps, which isn’t convenient for a maid. My manservants are quite attentive; Aunt needn’t worry about me.”
Hearing the prince’s polite refusal, Lian Chu-shi persisted, “Qianxiang isn’t like those pampered servants raised in grand houses. You can use her freely, Your Highness. When you and Silan marry, she’ll already know how to serve properly and can assist Silan in taking care of your daily needs. Isn’t that good?”
Princess Dowager Chu was easily swayed and, hearing this found it reasonable. She tried to persuade her son, “Since it’s your aunt’s kind intention, why not agree?”
However, Cui Xingzhou didn’t seem inclined to yield. He picked up a nearby teacup, gently rubbing the lid, and casually changed the subject, “A few days ago, one of my soldiers mentioned seeing Uncle Lian’s servant in Lingquan Town. I assume he was there to buy porcelain. Did he find anything satisfactory? Would you like me to help select a few pieces?”
Lian Chu-shi was momentarily taken aback, about to steer the conversation back when Lian Silan spoke softly, “Mother, you’re overthinking. Even if the cousin wanted to choose a maid, there are plenty of capable and attentive ones in the mansion, all trained by the Princess Dowager herself. How could Qianxiang’s carelessness compare to their skill and attentiveness?”
She then gently began talking about accompanying Princess Dowager to the temple for a vegetarian meal yesterday, mentioning amusing incidents that made Princess Dowager Chu laugh heartily. The topic of sending a maid was thus smoothly bypassed.
When Cui Xingzhou rose to bid farewell to his mother and return to his studies, Lian Chu-shi also took her daughter to say goodbye, returning to Lian Silan’s guest quarters.
Once in the private chamber with no outsiders present, Lian Chu-shi’s face flushed with anger as she glared at her daughter, saying, “Didn’t we agree earlier to send Qianxiang to Xingzhou’s side first to understand the situation there? I finally persuaded my sister to agree, why did you stop it?”
As she spoke, her anxiety grew, and Lian Chu-shi continued worriedly to her daughter, “Heavens above, like father, like son! The prince’s mansion’s scandalous affairs never end! Back then, I knew the old Prince Cui Xie was a philanderer, which is why I stubbornly refused to marry him. I held out until my parents had no choice but to switch the marriage contracts with your aunt, letting her marry Cui Xie instead while I married your father.
Look at your aunt – if not for her natal family’s support, she would have been devoured by those seductresses long ago. How could she have the comfortable life of a Princess Dowager now? Her troubles back then were nothing compared to the peace and comfort of our household… If you don’t wise up, you might end up like your aunt. When that time comes, your father’s middling official position won’t be able to help you!”
Hearing her mother’s self-praise, the usually gentle Lian Silan gave Lian Chu-shi a dismissive glance, uncharacteristic of her public persona.
Lian Chu-shi, not noticing her daughter’s meaningful look, continued, “I only agreed to your marriage because I saw that Xingzhou, as an only son, has a good temperament, unlike his father’s philandering ways. Who knew that Xingzhou would quietly set up a house in Lingquan Town to keep a mistress? Isn’t this following in the footsteps of the late prince? If we don’t take precautions early, you’ll be the one to suffer!”
As Qianxiang helped her remove her hairpins, Lian Silan said softly, “Mother, I’ve told you many times not to be so blatant. Did you hear cousin’s hint today? He noticed his father’s servant Shumu investigating the residence in Lingquan Town. If you keep trying to push people into his household, isn’t it obvious you’re trying to plant spies? Given cousin’s temperament, how could he allow that?”
Lian Chu-shi knew her daughter was right, but she couldn’t let it go, “So we just let him keep a mistress? Where will we put our family’s face then?”
Lian Silan calmly replied, “Didn’t Shumu find out with silver? They say the woman was a merchant’s wife kidnapped by bandits, who somehow caught the cousin’s eye. Such a woman with a tarnished reputation is just using her beauty to amuse the young master. Given the cousin’s status, no matter how much he favors her, she can’t be brought into the light. Since she’s just a private diversion, why spoil cousin’s mood and risk annoying him?”
Lian Chu-shi was puzzled how her daughter could be so patient, unlike her impulsive nature. But Silan’s words made sense. Today, when the prince suddenly mentioned her husband Lian Hanshan’s servant Shumu, he was clearly warning her.
Her nephew, though appearing gentle and courteous, wasn’t as soft-hearted as her sister. If she insisted on placing a maid in his household, it would only backfire.
A few days ago, when the servant went to investigate again, the soldier they had bribed before had disappeared. When they asked others, they were tight-lipped, leaving him empty-handed. Thinking about it now, given Cui Xingzhou’s nature, he must have punished that soldier, making it impossible to get any more information.
After her initial bout of jealousy, Lian Silan had also thought it through When she becomes the mistress of the prince’s mansion in the future, she’ll have plenty of ways to deal with that mistress. Why risk displeasing her cousin before the marriage?
Since that was the case, she would pretend not to know. It was better to have a woman with a tainted reputation serving her cousin than to have him follow in the late Prince of Huaiyang’s footsteps, taking in noble ladies from other families as untouchable favored concubines.
Thinking this, Lian Silan gently persuaded her mother to retire for the night. She then applied a pearl face mask and tied her hair with light gauze before going to bed.
These days, Lian Silan was taking extra care of her appearance. She had heard from the soldier that the merchant’s wife was very beautiful, which made her feel somewhat uneasy and competitive.
However, even great beauty would fade one day. How long could one rely on looks alone? As the future principal wife, she should be more broad-minded and not short-sighted like her mother.
Earlier, though her mother had bitterly criticized the old prince for being a philanderer and unfit for marriage, Lian Silan knew that in their household, her mother had countless times cried with regret, lamenting her father’s mediocrity and wondering why she had been so foolish as to insist on switching places with her sister.
When her grandfather had chosen husbands for the two sisters, he had selected the simple and honest Lian Hanshan as a son-in-law, knowing Chu-shi’s gentle nature.
After insisting on switching places with her sister and marrying him, Lian Chu-shi discovered that while her husband was indeed honest, he was also unambitious! He lacked all the social graces needed in officialdom and had remained in the same local position for years without promotion.
In contrast, Cui Xie, originally just a regional military governor, had repeatedly achieved remarkable feats, been enfeoffed as a prince by the previous emperor, and despite some setbacks, had ultimately brought glory to his ancestral temple and gradually expanded his fiefdom.
In private, Lian Chu-shi was consumed with regret, often saying that if she hadn’t switched, she would be the mistress of the prince’s mansion now.