《The Possession of My Beloved》


 CH 1

    Lingquan town is famous for its porcelain, which originated from the Dayan Dynasty. Merchants from all over the world enter the town relentlessly to acquire porcelain every day.


    The price of the local properties deed has also gone up, but it won¡¯t stop people from coming here to settle down and make a living.


    This day, in the spring breeze of February when grass grows and Orioles fly, another carriage comes to the stone road on the North Street of Lingquan town.


    In the neighborhood of North Lingquan Town, women of thread and needles gathered and looked with curiosity, wondering what kind of family had moved to the green-tiled house that had been idle for a long time.


    The carriage stopped in front of some old townhouses. A thin-looking black-faced woman took down a small stool that had plum blossoms as the design from the back of the carriage and then reached out to help a woman dressed in a light smoke silk outfit out from the curtain. She looked as young as an 18-year-old lady.


    For some reason, the woman was holding on to a bamboo stick that is used for mountain climbing. With the help of the female senior servant, she slowly got off the carriage.


    After the lady got out of the carriage, she naturally scanned the streets and observed the behavior of those around her. This action has made people on the streets have a clearer vision of her dedicated eyebrows and her bright mesmerizing eyes.


    With a glance, people can¡¯t help but gasp in admiration! They didn¡¯t think that such beautiful women like her still exist in the world!


    Lingquan Town, located in Jiangnan, has been rich in beauty since ancient times. However, the beauty of this lady is different from the soft and gentle beauty contained in the water-bound town of Jiangnan. Instead, she has a thin waist, long legs, and a bright and delightful appearance that amazes them. Especially her black bun hair that set off her looks ever brighter.


    But, looking at the style of the bun, it should be that she has been married.


    Although she is beautiful, people can¡¯t seem to feel close to her when they see her. They just thought that a charming lady like her, should either be raised in the deep palace under the sun or the golden house in the jade hall. How will someone like her arrive in such a town that is known for its marketplace culture?


    Mrs. Yin, who had raised her head to join the crowd most of the time, was still immersed in the scene even after the lady led the two female servants and the coachman into the yard. She couldn¡¯t help but whisper to the woman sitting on the side: ¡°Oh my gosh, this is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen such a beautiful lady in my life. The official of this lady must have saved the entire Galaxy in his past life to be able to have the ability to marry such a beauty!¡±


    The wife of the Zhang¡¯s household disdained and said, ¡°What else can we do? Nine out of ten foreigners who come here to buy houses are merchants selling porcelain. Any ordinary craftsman can¡¯t afford to buy the entire residence on the street.¡±


    After hearing what Mrs. Yin said, the others that have a little cleverness immediately joined this topic of gossip: ¡°If the official of this mansion is a businessman, he is also a short-sighted one. He is carried away after earning some money from the business. How does he even dare to marry such a beautiful woman? If he often goes on a business trip and leaves a beauty like her alone at home, how can he have the confidence that she won¡¯t be cheating on him!¡±


    She said this with an allusion. There are many merchants¡¯ homes on Lingquan North Street. Most of the men travel for profit from all over the world and most of those merchants like to marry some of the prostitutes they met outside as concubines. Every merchant will stop over here on their business trip thus, most of the women whom these merchants bought over for settlement are usually the concubines.


    It¡¯s hard to guarantee that these retired officials will be able to stand the loneliness after their retirement and result in approaching these beauties.


    Therefore, when one cannot ensure the walls of the mansion are high enough to detain the loyalty of a person, and with the opening of the gates and windows during the night, an affair between married women and fickle men is a common sight in town.


    The mere rustle of leaves in the wind that hides under the night, cannot escape the eyes of many gossipy women in the alley. In the daytime, they can get together at leisure and talk about the good and bad sides of their family and some ambiguous affairs in the neighborhood.


    Over time, the eyes of these women have become more and more crafty. The accuracy of their eyeing for people is barely wrong!


    Although they¡¯re unsure of what¡¯s the origin of this new lady that has moved in today, it seems that she is also the root cause of trouble that can easily result in being a ¡°femme fatale¡±. Just wait and see, which dissolute child in Lingquan town can knock on the back door of the green tile house and become the person who poaches the lady¡­


    For one moment, these local women began to sigh again, denouncing the bad practices of North Street brought by the foreign merchants and their family members. At the same time, these local women were glad that their husbands had developed a sharp eye for discovering and married a virtuous wife like themselves by boasting of their chastity. For a moment, their conversations were at the hype of chatting with each other.


    Not to mention the garrulous group of women in front of the neighborhood, looking at the newly renovated mansion, the beautiful lady hesitated and frowned after entering the house.


    It seems that only the outer wall and mottled gate of the house have not been repaired. After entering the yard, there is a small pool filled with flower beds and the surroundings are all built with sandalwood furniture that looks extremely exquisite.


    Liu Miantang couldn¡¯t help but look up again at the green tile courtyard that has an individual door. She frowned slightly and hesitated: ¡°Didn¡¯t the official deficit a lot in business and had to move out of the capital? Why did he buy such a nice mansion, here again, he¡­¡±


    Before Miantang finished speaking, the female black-faced servant standing at the side slightly interrupted her bluntly: ¡°The master is a wealthy family for generations. As the Chinese proverb says, ¡®A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse¡¯. We are still able to afford such a small house like this. Madam, you are overthinking.¡±


    Miantang didn¡¯t reply, but gently rubbed the walking stick she was leaning on with his slender long finger.


    Servant Li has impertinent answers to herself many times. She doesn¡¯t remember how she took charge of the family before she was ill, but she always feels that she can¡¯t seem to tolerate this way of doing.


    However, a serious illness not only emptied her body but also burned most of the memory in her brain.


    She doesn¡¯t remember many things well enough and only remembers that her name is Liu Miantang. She is the youngest daughter of the Liu family which has been a distinguished family in Peishan in the past years. She lost her mother at the age of 10 and has a brother five years older than her. Because the Liu family had been extravagant for several generations and hollowed out the family assets, her father had arranged a lucrative marriage for her to make money. The deal is to marry the Cui family of the merchant far from the capital and they will receive a huge amount of betrothal gifts for the wedding.


    Still remembers how unwillingly she was when she got married. She just felt that her father had sold her away.


    It¡¯s indeed a far away marriage, but she can¡¯t seem to remember what happened after she got married. That memory is like being wrapped in layers of thick cocoons and she has no idea where this memory is hiding.


    Fortunately, her husband was of good temperament and did not dislike her because of the panic attack when she first woke up. Instead, he hired a doctor for diagnosis and treatment. The precious medicinal materials of wild ginseng have not been interrupted. He gave up most of his family¡¯s wealth and thankfully, saved her from death.


    But she was lingering and ill for a long time, and even cost tons of money for treatment. After a year of effort to cure her illness, her husband¡¯s financial resources were much lower than before.


    Her husband sent a message to her, saying that the store in the capital had been paid to others. Now that the family business has now moved to Jiangnan, she needs to get her luggage ready and settle down in the town of Lingquan.


    Ever since she fell ill with amnesia and lost her memory, taking a one year time has been enough for Liu Miantang to stabilize her clueless self and not feel helpless after losing her memory.


    According to my husband, the Liu family was implicated in the case of Daishan academy three years ago. Their father was convicted and beheaded, and their brother was also unjustly imprisoned and sent to Lingnan.


    She was not surprised when she heard the bad news.


    The decay of the Liu family showed signs long before she got married. Although her father always neglected her, he is blindly pampering her brother and even the bribery of officials, which resulted in laying a hidden danger for the misfortune of the Liu family.


    Although it was three years ago, it was still a heavy blow to her who lost her memory over the past few years. After hearing about her father¡¯s tragic death and her brother¡¯s experience, she was so miserable that she couldn¡¯t eat for several days.


    Later, the husband held her chin and forcefully poured half a bowl of soup into her, and said coldly, ¡°This matter has happened a long time ago, it¡¯s merely just that you just lost your memory and had a hard time. The dead are gone, and there is no reason for the living to follow the steps of those who are dead? The family members of the scholars who were killed by Liu¡¯s family did not seek death either. Are you going to starve yourself to make amends for your father?¡±


    The words were like a sharp knife, which made her unable to resist, but it was also like enlightenment that pulled her out of her uncontrollable grief.


    The famous Liu family has long ceased to exist. Those who are alive must live on.


    My husband is not good at words. He doesn¡¯t have many conversations with her either, but he is a man who can be relied on. He didn¡¯t despise her because her parents¡¯ family was ruined.


    In this case, she can¡¯t use the excuse of being sick to distract her husband.


    Especially after listening to servant Li¡¯s words, telling her that to treat her illness, her husband was distracted and the business was not operated properly. He loses a large amount of money, which made Liu Miantang feel even more guilty and determined to do a good job for a good wife so that her husband could operate the business at ease and not lose all his possessions.


    Now, she has finally settled down in Lingquan Town, which is her future home. But this servant Li always seems to treat her badly, as if she used to cheat on her husband.


    Although the old slave was tricky, Liu Miantang did not act upon it. The Cui family is not as good as before, and the people who are willing to stay are all the older loyal servants. It¡¯s not a good idea to take the title of the mansion lady and tell servant Li off for the first time here, and it may chill the hearts of the other servants. But it¡¯s always a matter of hindsight.


    Else, I can also propose the idea to send servant Li to work in the shop of my husband.


    She was relieved that she had come up with the solution. The days in the future may be like the spring breeze in February. After the chilly cold season, there will always be endless warmth.


    Although Liu Miantang had just arrived here, the boxes and luggage were all delivered early in the morning. It¡¯s just that the clothes and quilts are a little out of order, and they are scattered all over the suitcase.


    Liu Miantang called upon servant Li into the house to tidy up the box. Instead, servant Li¡¯s voice came from the small kitchen not far away: ¡°The master will be coming home later. I have to prepare some food and drink, and the clothes can be cleaned up tomorrow!¡±


    Servant Li answered impertinently again, but it was reasonable. She couldn¡¯t ask her husband to come back and still have to wait for food to be prepared.


    Liu Miantang is surrounded by only two servants, one is servant Li, and the other is a mute who does heavy labor. Now both of them are chopping firewood and cooking in the kitchen thus, she has to do it herself.


    After being ill, her legs are not durable enough to stand for long, so she simply moved a chair and sat under the window, unpacking the luggage by folding them one by one.


    These clothes and skirts are a little old after washing. Most of them were bought by her husband a year ago. Since then, no new clothes have been added.


    However, it¡¯s a difficult time for her husband to do business now. The clothes here are good enough. She¡¯s not picky about these.


    But¡­The clothes in these boxes are hers, and there is not even a single piece of clothing that belongs to her husband Cui Jiu.


    Hasn¡¯t my husband¡¯s luggage been brought in yet? Cui Miantang couldn¡¯t help but have some doubts.


    Just as she was thinking, the sound of the carriage rolling over the slate came from the front gate of the mansion, and the sound of the mansion door being pushed open came next.


    Liu Miantang was sitting by the window and looked over. Not long after, a tall man bypassed the shadow wall in front of the house and entered the mansion.

 CH 2

    At this time, it was almost dusk, and the golden glow of the sunset shines right on the man¡¯s elegant and noble face, making his eyebrows and eyes more profound. The sharp eyes under his dashing eyebrows make people feel his fierce vibe.


    This is a super handsome man. Under his high-bridged nose, the corners of his thin lips are slightly curled up, making him seem to be smiling naturally, which dilutes the stern and gloomy aura in his eyes.


    Liu Miantang still remembers that when she saw him for the first time recovering from an illness, the first thought that flashed in her mind was: Although he has a good look, he doesn¡¯t look like the loyal type. He has a face that draws the attention of many. Whoever becomes his wife will be tired.


    The ancients said that you can¡¯t judge people by their appearance, otherwise, you will be punished by Heaven.


    When she was still in a daze on her sickbed, it did not take long till she found out that the retribution for judging others unspokenly has come. The sachet she prepared before her marriage to give to her future husband was strikingly hanging in this handsome man¡¯s mouth.


    Hearing that the young doctor who diagnosed her pulse called him ¡°Ninth Master Cui¡±, she vaguely guessed that she will be that unlucky lady who was destined to be tired.


    When she got a definite answer from the doctor, she was filled with mixed feelings and didn¡¯t know how to face her unfamiliar husband.


    At that time, she still couldn¡¯t say much. She could only weakly watch Cui Jiu sit aside on her bed and carefully ask the doctor: ¡°How is her condition and how long will she be able to speak normally?¡±


    The man¡¯s low and magnetic voice makes people feel inexplicably at ease¡­


    Just when she was thinking, Cui Jiu had lifted the curtain of the door and strode in. He paused in his steps when he saw her staring at him in a daze. After a moment of silence, he said lightly, ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±


    She recalls that it has been more than a month since both of them last saw each other.


    Unfortunately, she and Cui Jiu have been married for several years, but the memories are all gone in her mind now. She can never understand the feeling of bitterness and lovesickness of waiting for a husband that has been gone for a long time.


    However, she knew something about the past from the words of others from time to time. She only heard that they had been affectionate with each other since they got married.


    Although unfamiliar, she gratefully remembered her husband, Cui Jiu¡¯s effort for the Liu family and her. She got up and walked over, ready to take off his cloak and dust for him.


    But before she could get close, Cui Jiu¡¯s long fingers had untied the tie and threw the satin cloak behind him on the bench.


    Miantang saw that he had sat down, so she went to the table and poured a cup of water for him: ¡°Servant Li is cooking in the kitchen and hasn¡¯t brought in the hot water yet. This pot of water is too warm to make tea. You should have some of this first if you are thirsty.¡±


    Then, according to the rules learned from the female teacher who taught her ¡°The etiquette of how to become a perfect wife¡± before she got married, she bent her body in half and raised the water cup to her forehead to serve her husband.


    This is the etiquette for a woman to respect her husband.


    Cui Jiu¡¯s deep eyes narrowed slightly. Instead of taking her cup of water, he picked up the book scroll on one side and flipped through it. He said with concern: ¡°The highly-skilled Doctor Zhao said that you have just recovered from your serious illness and are most afraid of the cold. You should avoid drinking such cold water.¡±


    With that, he shouted out of the room, ¡°Servant Li, send some hot tea here!¡±


    Servant Li was very handy, she sent a pot of thick hot tea in a very short time.


    Cui Jiu took the tea served by Servant Li, naturally and casually rolled up his sleeves, brushed the tea foam with the tea cover, and took a slow and elegant sip.


    In the past, when Liu Miantang was practicing tea ceremony with her female teacher, she once heard that the way of drinking tea was exquisite, such as the uncovering of the tea lid, whisking of tea, and grinding of the surface.


    At that time, when she saw the master¡¯s natural and smooth demonstration, she had secretly admired it, but now, looking at Cui Jiu¡¯s elegant tea posture, it seemed that the lady was a little crude in comparison.


    She only remembered that the Cui family was wealthy in the capital, but they originated as boatmen who made a fortune from selling private salt. Unexpectedly, Cui Jiu, the son of a merchant family, had the charm of a scholar family.


    In comparison, as the daughter of a despondent official, she is tactless and impulsive, she doesn¡¯t seem to be quite commensurate with the jade-like gentleman right in front of her¡­


    After Servant Li offered tea, she respectfully stepped out and left Liu Miantang and Cui Jiu to sit opposite each other in the room.


    There have not been many times the two had stayed alone together before. When she was seriously ill and lingering in bed, she was always served by the servant girl. Then, when she was well, Cui Jiu went out for business again.


    Now in the quiet room, they sit opposite each other, and that¡¯s when she remembers that being a wife, not only does she need to know how to serve her husband respectfully, but they would also need to consummate like intertwined lovebirds¡­


    At the thought of this, she suddenly felt a little nervous. It was getting late now, but she was not ready.


    However, after Cui Jiu put down his cup of tea, he gently asked her some questions in regards to her recent recovery and if she has been recuperating properly.


    Seeing that her husband was just chatting with her, Liu Miantang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and answered his questions one by one.


    After engaging in a few idle talks, Cui Jiu suddenly asked, ¡°You¡¯ve just moved in today. Take some time off to walk around in town tomorrow, if there is anything you wanna buy, by all means, buy it¡±


    Miantang thought for a moment and said, ¡°I don¡¯t lack anything. There are many people on the streets, I¡¯d better stay back at home in peace.¡±


    The Cui family is now in a straitened position, with all the valuable shops in the capital sold, they have come to settle in Lingquan town to do some porcelain business. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Money is needed everywhere. If you don¡¯t save some and spend recklessly like before, wouldn¡¯t they have nothing left sooner or later?


    But she didn¡¯t want to hurt her husband¡¯s self-esteem, so she didn¡¯t say anything about being afraid to go out to spend money.


    But speaking of this, she got up and took out her jewelry box from the luggage.


    There were two banknotes sent to her by her grandfather when she was married.


    When she woke up from her serious illness, the other dowries had disappeared. Only the head-ornaments jewelry and the silver box handed to her by her mother that was kept under her cotton mattress were still intact. Later, when her husband¡¯s family had difficulties in the business, Cui Jiu never asked for her marriage dowry.


    Now, Miantang did not hesitate to take out one of the banknotes and handed it to him. ¡°I heard from Servant Li that you have bought a new shop in town and your great plans for a grand ambition. I don¡¯t have much dowry, this shall act as the shares to the shop. When the shop opens, I can also share some dividends with my husband.¡±


    When she said this, she also made sure Cui Jiu does not lose face. She can¡¯t just directly say something along the lines of, Husband, you¡¯ve lost all your money now. I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have enough capital, so I¡¯ll supplement you some first.


    Cui Jiu didn¡¯t expect her to do so. He just stared at her for a while, didn¡¯t accept the note, but said, ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of losing all your dowry to the business?¡±


    Miantang saw that he didn¡¯t accept, so she put the banknote on the table and said with a smile: ¡°There are always losses and profits in businesses. It is unlikely that all the money in the world is only meant for one person to earn? You should use it then to me who lacks knowledge of the business.¡± She looked at him with a hopeful face, expecting him to accept it.


    Miantang is originally beautiful, but if the beauty doesn¡¯t have her thought, it¡¯s just a jade carving without a soul. And when she smiled, the sense of indifference of an iceberg beauty suddenly disappeared, replaced by a smile as beautiful as flowers. The two shallow dimples on her thin white cheeks look very sweet, giving the feeling of a naive innocent girl.


    Cui Jiu squinted slightly for a moment before reaching out to pick up the banknote, he then said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll keep it for you first¡­ But you still have to head out to the market. I¡¯ve ordered some new cloth for you at the clothing store. Go and have a look. If you don¡¯t like it, change it to the ones that you like¡­¡±


    Since it¡¯s an act of consideration for her husband, Miantang can¡¯t decline again, so she nodded.


    At this time, Servant Li came to ask the Ninth Master whether he want to have his meal now. After receiving his order, she brought in the meal with a lacquered wooden tray.


    Today¡¯s dishes are all Jiangnan style. The lotus root slices are fried with delicious fresh meat. It is golden and crisp. The dish Beggar¡¯s Chicken emits the fragrance of lotus leaves. There is also a tofu soup, which is topped with crab roe. It was very delicious.


    Maybe it¡¯s because the owner, Ninth Master had come back. Servant Li, who usually does a hasty meal on ordinary days, is especially diligent today.


    Liu Miantang¡¯s meals are mainly porridge and green vegetables all this while. The moment she saw the dishes with meat, she then realized that she was craving meat and fish, and ate them attentively for a while.


    When the fragrant of the meat went into her stomach and lifted her craving taste at the tip of her tongue, did she only realize that she seemed to have lost her etiquette during eating. She immediately filled a bowl of tofu soup in a small bowl, acted as the etiquette practiced before marriage, raised the bowl to her eyebrows again, and presented it to her husband for meal.


    She has been too carried away. Back at home before marriage, she was always scolded by her father for eating messily. Since then, every time she had meals with people, she always restrained herself by 70% percent.


    But now she really should not be only caring about herself. There is not much money left at home now, and it is rare for the table to be filled with meat and alcohol. Her husband is busy with business every day and must have felt tired. He is the one that needs to take in extra food nourishment. How can she eat more when she¡¯s only idling at home?


    At the thought of this, she hastily retracted her chopsticks and chewed rice in small bites.


    Cui Jiu didn¡¯t eat much and only occasionally took a few servings of each dish. Most of the time, he looked at Miantang devouring the food deliciously in front of him.


    When eating, beauty normally pays attention to elegant manners, such as chewing without showing teeth and drinking soup without making any sound. It¡¯s a pity that although his wife is beautiful, she eats with extraordinary concentration, wide eyes and cheeks puffed.


    However, the kind of concentration devoted fully to eating does not make people feel unrefined. On the contrary, it lifts one¡¯s appetite.


    He originally did not want to eat more, but after looking at her eat, he also took a few more servings of dishes without much thought. Later, she might have been full as he didn¡¯t see her pick up any dishes again.


    The two of them sat opposite each other, and their mind was not fully on eating, so the atmosphere seemed a little cold, and lack of conversation.


    After dinner, Cui Jiu rinsed his mouth with fragrant tea and said to her, ¡°There is a new batch of goods at the dock. I have to take stock personally. I probably won¡¯t be coming back tonight. You¡¯ve had a hard time on your journey here. Have a good rest soon.¡±


    Originally, Miantang had been secretly nervous about whether they would sleep together tonight. Hearing Cui Jiu¡¯s words, she greatly breathed a sigh of relief. Her tone was slightly light and said: ¡°Although this is Jiangnan, the weather at night will be cooling. You should wear thicker¡­¡±


    Then, she took out a small jacket she had sewn these days and handed it to her husband.

 CH 3

    As a wife, they should pay attention to the warmth and coldness of their husband and add new clothes on a seasonal basis.


    These days, since she was in good health and had nothing to do, she picked up the sewing lessons she had learned a few months before her marriage. According to the size asked by Servant Li, she added a little cotton wad to the remaining cloth for her blouse and finally completed an outfit.


    At this time, Cui Jiu calmly looked at some thick stitches on the jacket. The look in his eyes was indescribable and intriguing.


    The look on her husband¡¯s face made Liu Miantang have some regrets. She really shouldn¡¯t show her shortcomings to others. If her husband dislikes it, she will be embarrassed.


    However, her husband looked at it for a while,  took off his outer shirts, and was ready to try it on after all.


    Liu Miantang¡¯s eyes brightened, and she immediately revitalized herself and helped her husband dress well. Fortunately, the size was good, and it was a good fit. Cui Jiu¡¯s tall and straight posture makes the clothes on him look even more stylish, and the rough stitches are less obvious too.


    So, with the help of his wife, Miantang, Cui Jiu put on his outerwear again and topped on his cloak.


    Just when she was tying the tie, Miantang looked at her long and beautiful fingers that were a little clumsy. She couldn¡¯t tie them well several times, and the last effort ended in a dead knot.


    Cui Jiu felt that his neck was a little tight, so he held her back neck slightly with his big palm and raise the corners of his mouth slightly, and said, ¡°Are you trying to strangle me?¡±


    He clutched the back of her neck, and her whole body was gathered in his inexplicable fragrance. She was so close to him that she could see his thick black curled eyelashes and his deep eyes that reflected a slight smile.


    Miantang felt that the strength of the hand that was holding onto her was too strong. Subconsciously, she wanted to use combat skills to shake off his strength with a flip of her arm.


    It¡¯s not an act of being disrespectful to her husband. It¡¯s just the subconscious memory of the blocking action of a martial arts learner.


    However, the skillful moves used in the past are now powerless because of the weakness of her wrist. As a result, her body loses balance and falls into Cui Jiu¡¯s arms.


    She was slightly annoyed and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t Doctor Zhao say that I was well? Why can¡¯t I use the strength in my hands?¡±


    Her deceased mother was once the only child of the renowned Shenwei Security Agency in Dayan. Thus, she began to practice martial arts with her mother at the age of three. Although her mother died early when she was the age ten, she still kept the habit of practicing martial arts daily.


    But now, the weakness of her hands and feet may be the result of a serious illness. She has been unable to keep the skills her mother had passed on to her.


    Cui Jiu lowered his head and saw the frustration in her eyes. He relaxed his strength and slowly lifted her. He looked down at her depressed pale face and said in a slow voice: ¡°Haven¡¯t you been much better? Go out more and move your muscles and bones. Maybe you will recover faster.¡±


    Speaking of which, he thought for a while and took out a small flat box from his bosom: ¡°This is the fragrant powder prepared by Jiangnan Hanxiang pavilion. The scent is pleasant. You can put on some color to your dressing tomorrow.¡±


    Miantang took over the exquisite box. The Xiang pavilion was designed for wealthy families. It was different from the ordinary porcelain box containing rouge powder. It was a luxury style of gilding and inlaid with turquoise.


    Since it was her husband¡¯s intention, she naturally wanted to accept it with a smile, but she sighed in her heart. The so-called transition from extravagance to thrift is difficult, this was probably what it meant. Her husband was used to this extravagance. He spends money like water flowing. The family can¡¯t spend as much now as they used to when they were in the capital.


    On another day, she will say to her husband tactfully that there¡¯s no need to buy something for her that costs so much money. But when she took the powder box, she still smiled gratefully at him.


    Her dimple was as bright as a flower. Cui Jiu stared and looked at it for a while, then turned away without saying a word.


    Liu Miantang watched the shadow of her husband¡¯s tall figure disappear behind the wall in the courtyard. But what she was thinking is that: He looked thin and gentle, but his hands were strong, and his body was also very sturdy and tough. It seems that he has practiced martial arts.


    When she was in the capital, she was mostly in the yard and had not walked out to the street for a long time. She¡¯s still excited to go out and have a look at the local customs of Lingquan town tomorrow.


    In the early morning of the next day, before she got up, Servant Li came into the room with hot water for washing and called, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s time to get up.¡±


    Liu Miantang got out of the quilt lazily and said to herself: Servant Li didn¡¯t move when she ordered on usual days. But today, she was rather diligent. She did not have to be asked to be served. This must be because of the return of her husband, the lazy old servant also picked up the rules and worked harder.


    Now that the hot water was brought in, she couldn¡¯t stay in bed any longer, she got up to wash up, put on the dressing, put on a decent makeup, and tidied her hair.


    Liu Miantang doesn¡¯t like to put on makeup normally. However, she was unable to let down her husband¡¯s good intentions yesterday, so she applied light powder and crimson lipstick.


    Servant Li looked through the bronze mirror and thought that the lady was really beautiful. The beauty was so insidious that it was full of enchanting charm which made her could not help humming a little coldly.


    Liu Miantang has been used to the sarcastic atmosphere of Servant Li. When she was dressing up, she casually asked, ¡°Servant Li, did I ever treat someone badly before I lost my memory?¡±


    Servant Li helped her to put on a silver bracelet and replied, ¡°Madam is kind to others and has not severely punished anyone.¡±


    After Miantang heard her, she turned back with a smile and said, ¡°Since I haven¡¯t, why is Servant Li, you are always angry with me? There seems to be some dissatisfaction?¡±


    Servant Li didn¡¯t seem to expect that she would be so outspoken. After being stupefaction for a while, she bit her teeth, knelt, and said, ¡°I was born in a rural area and my speech is vulgar. Please forgive me if there is anything I¡¯m lacking in consideration, Madam.¡±


    Seeing that mother Li admitted her mistake, Liu Miantang didn¡¯t want to blame her deeply but asked her to get up gently.


    After all, I¡¯m young and was seriously ill before. I couldn¡¯t take care of myself to get up earlier. It can be understood why the servants tend to break the rules and don¡¯t pay attention to her.


    Servant Li is an old worker of the Cui family. It is said that she grew up watching the Ninth Master. In that case, for the sake of the husband, she can¡¯t blame her too much.


    Since she admitted to her mistake after the confrontation, this matter shall be turned over.


    After preparing the whole outfit, she finishes the porridge, picks up a dress with hidden flowers on a white background that was not seriously faded in her suitcase, and puts it on. Then, she was ready to leave the mansion and get on the carriage.


    However, Servant Li said, ¡°When the Master left yesterday, he specifically asked me to let you walk out to the street today. Doctor Zhao said that you have to walk more to recover better.¡±


    It¡¯s reasonable to say that the sun outside is just right. It¡¯s comfortable to walk in the fragrance of spring flowers while the rising sun is not burning.


    So Liu Miantang, along with Servant Li, heads out of the green tile mansion.


    At this time, it was already after breakfast. The men in North Street left for work early and the sewing women in North Street also gathered at the door to bask in the sun.


    As soon as the talkative old lady, Mrs. Yin saw that the beautiful lady living in the green tile mansion came out, she immediately greeted her with a greeting that seemed like they had known for a long time: ¡°How do I address you, this lady?¡±


    Liu Miantang knows that these are all neighbors. Even if the Cui family did not fall from the riches, they are just merchants. They should not put on a stand and incur the neighbors to dislike them. So she stopped, smiled, and said, ¡°My husband¡¯s family name is Cui. Just call me Lady Cui.¡±


    However, Mrs. Yin was not quite satisfied. She continued to ask, ¡°What is the occupation of your husband and where is the origin?¡±


    Miantang replied with a smile, ¡°My husband is a merchant who moved from the capital.¡± After she finishes her words, she strides forward wanting to go¡±.


    But Mrs. Yin stood up and asked, ¡°Since you are a merchant, where is your store location?¡±


    Liu Miantang was unable to answer. She couldn¡¯t help looking back at Servant Li.


    Speaking of this, she also asked the same question to Servant Li. Servant Li said vaguely that it was in the town, but she didn¡¯t make it clear where it was.


    Now, when a neighbor asks, she naturally asks Servant Li for an answer.


    Servant Li was reprimanded by her in the morning and didn¡¯t have a good mood. At this time, she was blocked in the alley by several gossipy women. Her already black-faced seemed to turn blue and purple. She just stared and chattered for a while and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been guarding my lady all day. I¡¯m also unsure where the shop is.¡±


    Seeing that she didn¡¯t get to ask about the new neighbor¡¯s family background, Mrs. Yin was unwilling, but she still said: ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m talkative, lady. We have been in town for a while and are familiar with the stores around town. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to come to me and ask. I will tell you everything I know¡­¡±


    After saying goodbye to the enthusiastic new neighbor, Miantang can finally walk out of North Street smoothly.


    Although Lingshui is a small town, it is bustling with merchants from all over the world.


    But her mind was not on the stalls and what goods they sell. People in the neighborhood all know what to inquire about. As the lady of the Cui¡¯s mansion, it is embarrassing that she doesn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°Servant Li, if my husband¡¯s servant comes back today to retrieve his dinner, remember to ask where the exact location of the store is. My husband has worked hard day and night. I think it¡¯s hard to have three meals on a regular schedule. Cook some delicious dishes this evening, and I¡¯ll send them to my husband personally.¡±


    After hearing what the madam said, Servant Li seemed to have knocked over a jar of soy sauce on her dark face and hesitated: ¡°The Master is busy and probably won¡¯t come back these days. Madam needn¡¯t worry. All the menservants around the Master are meticulous and know how to take good care of people.¡±


    Liu Miantang smiled, stopped talking, and continued to walk ahead.


    The people of Dayan are open-minded. Most women don¡¯t wear hoods when traveling outside. Especially in the south of Jiangnan, they are wearing short clothes with long skirts, revealing their snowy-like necks and charming faces in front of people.


    Miantang observes the customs of the place and does as the locals do. However, her figure was tall, and with bright facial features. In addition to the slight powder she applied today, it intrigues people in the market. Passers-by and vendors around her frequently looked back and whispered about which lady she was. Is it possible that a fairy in heaven has gone down to earth?


    However, the arrangement store set by her husband was in the busiest place of Lingquan Town, so the people who followed behind Liu Miantang also gathered more and more.


    Thus, when Servant Li was protecting her, it was difficult to move even a step.


    There are many merchants in Lingquan Town, as well as many red-light alleys, and countless prodigals. Seeing that the beautiful woman was alone and there was no man with her, it was certain that she was not a rich lady, so he boldly stepped forward to flirt.


    ¡°Where are you going, young lady? Don¡¯t let your pretty legs swell while walking. I have a soft sedan. If you don¡¯t mind, you can squeeze in with me!¡±

 CH 4

    Liu Miantang glared sideways and saw that he was a dissolute young man with a green shirt and a slanted headscarf. He looked like a local rich rascal, followed by two smiling servants.


    When Liu Miantang glared at him, the prodigals¡¯ have excited chills that run through him. The servant on the side was used to helping his master to flirt. He said with a smile: ¡°How do I address you, young lady? Our young master is the nephew of the Lingquan town garrison. If you get familiar with our young master, you will benefit a lot in the future!¡±


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t say anything, but Servant Li seemed to be frightened and followed behind her without saying a word. Those flirtatious men were pestering tightly. Looking at the situation, if Liu Miantang refuses to get on the sedan chair. They wouldn¡¯t let anyone go.


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t feel flustered. Her appearance has been so attractive since childhood. She is used to such a scoundrel.


    In the past, when she was home before her marriage, Miantang used to sneak out with her servant girl to play occasionally. When she encountered lascivious men, she would grab their collars, pull them into the back alley and give them a beating so good that even their parents would not recognize them.


    But now, after a serious illness, she has no strength in her hands and feet, and could no longer pull those moves.


    But if she continues to allow this lascivious man to harass her, it would be against her way of life¡­ So she stretched out her hand to tidy her hair, bit her lips slightly, and without a word, she turned and walked into the back alley.


    The garrison nephew was delighted at the sight. He knew that it was a dead end. A beautiful woman entered the alley, even if they have the intention to leave after that, it will be up to him to decide if they can walk out of it.


    With this in his mind, he turned back and winked at the boys. The boys understood and immediately asked the sedan bearer to come and guard the entrance of the alley. Then the two attendants followed the master into the alley.


    The young lady looks tough. If she refuses to obey later, they will have to help the master to hold her hands and legs to stop her from running. There are a bunch of benefits¡­


    The prodigal was so happy that his eyes shone. As soon as he entered the alley, he couldn¡¯t wait to hold the beauty from behind. But Liu Miantang turned around suddenly, and with a silver flash in her hand, a sharp object suddenly pierced his neck.


    When they saw it clearly, they found that it was the silver hairpin on the beauty¡¯s head.


    Liu Miantang used all her strength just now. Fortunately, the fellow was so obsessed that he couldn¡¯t take precautions. Letting her accurately hit the target with one blow.


    The two attendants immediately rushed at him, but the young lady who looked weak said coldly: ¡°I have plunged into the deadly acupoint on his neck. If you dare to take another step forward, I will kill him immediately. Let¡¯s see how you guys will hold an account when you return!¡±


    It¡¯s true! Their young master was just stabbed by a small silver hairpin, but he was already kneeling on the ground in pain, his mouth and eyes were skewed, his mouth spat out long saliva, and rolled his eyes. It was very frightening!


    When the young lady held the hairpin in her hands and pressed it down, their young master even began to bleed from his nostrils and twitched all over.


    The two young fellows are just servants. If something happens to the young master they follow, they will never escape from the matter. Looking at the situation, they are scared to move at once.


    One of them mustered his courage and said: ¡°What a daring shrew if you dare lay your hands on our young master, we will not let you off!¡±


    Liu Miantang was not afraid of such threats. When she came to Lingquan Town, she sometimes have to sleep on the boat at night. She once heard from travelers on the shore that lit bonfires to chat, saying that Lingquan town was under the jurisdiction of the State of Zhen. The new owner of the fief is Prince Huaiyang, whose son inherited his father¡¯s business.


    He was a promising young man and managed the army strictly. He swept away the rebellion in the mountain of Yang. Recently, he was rectifying the absurd behavior of local officials under the county, which won the support of the people.


    The garrison of Lingquan town turns a blind eye to his son and allows him to harass women on the streets. Just wait till she tells her husband and brings this matter up to Prince Huaiyang with a charge!


    Seeing that their young master was held by a hairpin of the delicate young lady. The two attendants couldn¡¯t say any more cruel words. They just cried and begged for the young lady to not stab any further, wanting her to forgive their young master¡¯s actions.


    At this time, Servant Li, who had been silent behind Liu Miantang, also said: ¡°Madam, Ninth Master still has business to do. Don¡¯t cause a life.¡±


    Liu Miantang turned his eyes slightly, looked at the corner of the alley, smiled, and said to the two gangsters who helped the wicked deed: ¡°It¡¯s easy for me to release your young master, as long as you follow my order¡­¡±


    Besides, her husband Cui Jiu didn¡¯t sit on the pavement and bury his head in the book of accounts at this time. Instead, he sat against the railing on a mountain pavilion of Canghai and enjoyed a cup of good wine with his friend in front of the surging river.


    The river came surging and the passenger ships in the distance kept going back and forth. It was a harmonious and busy sight.


    Zhao Quan, Marquis Zhennan, a friend on his side, said with a sigh of emotion: ¡°Just two years ago, water bandits were still rampant here, which made the merchants feel frightened. Now it is clear and peaceful, and your contribution cannot be left unrecognized!¡±


    Cui Jiu casually drank a cup of wine without saying anything. Zhao Quan knew that he must be annoyed by those old courtiers in the capital that reported his participation in the illegal stationing of troops.


    So Zhao Quan began to comfort him and said, ¡°When you are out for a sail, you don¡¯t have to worry about those admonishing sayings. The Emperor should know that the banditry in the State of Zhen is not peaceful now. If you don¡¯t station the troops, the rebellion would have broken into the capital long ago. If you take this to punish your sins, it will be unfair and difficult to convince the public!¡±


    However, Cui Jiu still didn¡¯t answer. He caressed his glass leisurely. He didn¡¯t know what he was thinking.


    Just then, a thin, dark-faced woman was led by the bodyguard to the front, stood by the mountain Pavilion, knelt, and saluted: ¡°Lord, I have something to report


    Cui Jiu¡­ To be more exact, Cui Xingzhou, who has just inherited his father¡¯s career and succeeded in the position of Prince Huaiyang, said expressionlessly: ¡°Is there something wrong with you accompanying her around the market today?


    The black-faced woman is Servant Li who should have gone back to North Street with her wife to cook.


    After the dark alley incident, Liu Miantang didn¡¯t have the mood to go to the cloth shop to buy anymore, so she came back early with Servant Li.


    The journey was so tiring that her long ill body could not bear it. She rested and went to take a nap according to her habits.


    Seeing that she wouldn¡¯t wake up after sleeping for a while, Servant Li went out to the carriage and came to report to the master.


    After hearing the Lord¡¯s question, she returned respectfully: ¡°There are some situations. I¡¯ve come to report them to you.¡±


    As she said this, she told the story of them running into the lascivious when she was out on the street.


    Cui Jiu¡¯s eyebrows did not move. His handsome face was expressionless. He just listened quietly to her about her experiences in the dark alley.


    Zhao Quan, on the other side, felt sorry for the woman who could only try her best to protect herself. But when he heard the story that Miantang used a silver hairpin to stab the lascivious man in the dark alley, he couldn¡¯t help but raise his eyebrow in surprise and asked: ¡°Did she later release the lascivious man?¡±


    When Servant Li recalled the situation at that time. She couldn¡¯t help but retch for a moment, and immediately said, ¡°Yes she did¡­¡±


    ¡°What did she do to them?¡± Cui Xingzhou, Prince Huaiyang, asked suddenly.


    Servant Li¡¯s face was strange. She seemed to get nausea again. Her face turned from black to purple. She forbore: ¡°She let those two attendants eat dog shit in the alley¡­¡±


    At the thought of the young master being supported by two servants as he ran out of the alley to find water to rinse his mouth, Servant Li felt that she won¡¯t be able to consume food deliciously for the rest of the year.


    Such an answer is unexpected. Leaving them doesn¡¯t know what to say.


    Zhao Quan had been helping himself with the dishes. After listening to the woman¡¯s words, he lost his appetite and immediately put down his chopsticks.


    After hearing the report from Servant Li, Cui Xingzhou waved her hand and commanded her to go.


    However, Servant Li had one more thing to report and hurriedly said: ¡°She always asked me about your whereabouts and where the store is located, it seems that she wanted to go and visit personally¡­ As I see it, this woman is too dangerous. Master should tell her the truth and stop her from messing around. Most importantly,  you shouldn¡¯t let her get close to you¡­¡±


    Prince Huaiyang raised his head and looked at Servant Li. His eyebrows did not move a bit and said calmly, ¡°Servant Li, only do what I ordered you to do.¡±


    His voice was not loud, but Servent Li¡¯s face was stunned and she knelt in fear. Although she watched the Lord grow up, she knows that His Highness has not been allowed to be controlled by others since he was young. As a servant, she has said a lot for the first time.


    At this time, Cui Xingzhou told the bodyguard: ¡°Go and buy a shop in the town, get some porcelain, and put it on. Then, inform Servant Li of the address.¡±


    After listening to the Lord¡¯s orders, the subordinates on one side took orders and head down the mountain. And Servant Li had followed him back to the North Street of the town.


    Marquis Zhennan said with a wry smile, ¡°She has completely lost her memory when sailing. She doesn¡¯t remember the rebellion, Lu Wen. It won¡¯t be gentlemanly of you if you use her as bait.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t even look at his good friend Zhao Quan. He just took up his glass and said in a cold voice, ¡°You were the initiator from the beginning. Isn¡¯t it you, Brother Zhao, that makes her mistake me for her husband?¡±


    Where will Zhao Quan know that a random joke would make today¡¯s situation!


    He had no choice but to say to his good friend: ¡°Dear Ninth Master, you are the one who sent me to treat her illness in a rush. When I asked you who she was, you refused to tell me. I saw that she was beautiful, and thought that she was just a beauty you met somewhere. Later, when she could speak, you were not there. She heard me call you Master Cui Jiu, so she asked me who Master Cui Jiu was, and I said that you were her lover¡­ After that, you haven¡¯t denied anything either?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looks at the time, puts down his cup of wine, and prepares to go down the mountain and embark on the ship. These days, the battle against bandits is fierce, and he must return to the commander-in-chief account to preside over the overall situation. I came to Lingquan Town this time, in addition to personally choosing the porcelain for Empress Dowager in the name of my mother, I also took the steps to stabilize the thief¡¯s amnesiac wife Liu Miantang.


    When he accidentally captured the seriously ill woman, to deceive the eyes and ears of the people, Cui Xingzhou make use of his resources at that time, Zhao Quan, an idle man who came to visit his friends and was proficient in medical skills, to deal with the emergency.


    However, when the woman woke up, she mistook him for Cui Jiu, the merchant she should have married, because of an embroidery pouch hanging on him and Zhao Quan¡¯s misleading.


    As for the matters after that, he makes his mistakes to good use. He never said he was her husband. But it was just that the woman hurt her head and was dumb enough that she mistook it.


    After all, for a hostile woman, although she has no power, will be hard to prevent trouble. It would be easier for her to mistakenly think she is the daughter-in-law of the merchant of the Cui family that moved to Lingquan town.


    It is said that the rebel Lu Wen loves this girl very much. If she shows up in Lingquan Town, which is not far from the rebellion¡¯s nest, she will certainly draw the snake out of its cave. But I didn¡¯t expect that the woman had hidden her skill. It would take several years to learn the martial arts of conquering the enemy by separating acupoints.


    Thinking that the woman named Miantang was so clever and virtuous that he could not see that she was a delicate flower with thorns.


    The coldness on the corner of Prince Huaiyang, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s mouth was even deeper. Zhao Quan looked at Cui Xingzhou¡¯s sneer-like expression, and secretly break out into cold sweat for the poor woman who lost her memory.

 CH 5

    Zhao Quan felt guilty, He try to be a gentleman by helping the beauty: ¡°Xingzhou, didn¡¯t you send someone to do a background check on her? She is just a normal woman from a good family. Although she learned some basic martial arts from her mother, she is a delicate woman. It¡¯s just that she is not as good as you think. She was robbed by bandits on the way when she married into the capital, and that¡¯s how she became the wife of the head of bandits. She was pitiful¡­ Moreover, her unstable vitals, it¡¯s a pulse sign of amnesia and ischemia. She doesn¡¯t remember anything about the past¡­ When the bandits are caught, how will your highness arrange her? ¡°


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t seem to want to say much about this issue. He just got up and said lightly: ¡°A sinner¡¯s daughter, and also the head bandit wife. Why should Brother Zhao be so worried about her?¡±


    Having said that, he took the lead in getting up to leave.


    Zhaoquan looked at the figure of Prince Huaiyang, who was walking away with a sigh of sympathy. He felt again in his heart with a sigh of emotion that the beautiful woman was unlucky. First, she was kidnapped by the bandits and lost her reputation. Then, she fell into the hands of Prince Huaiyang, who did not know the customs, was ruthless, and doesn¡¯t know how to have compassion for women.


    He looked up to the sky and sighed. He felt that the beauty was ill-fated partly because of him, he is responsible for it to a certain extent.


    Let¡¯s see if Cui Xingzhou can be in a good mood after he has eliminated the bandits. By then, he will take little Miantang in as his concubine and properly arrange for the rest of her life.


    At the thought of this, Zhao Quan felt relieved and took a sip of alcohol from the cup. Unlike other pillars of the imperial court, an idle Marquis like him have two simple pleasures, studying medical science and the precious alcohol in this cup. Now the moon is high, the river is vast, and the alcohol is in hand, yet there isn¡¯t any beauty to accompany him. What a pity!


    On the other hand, Prince Huaiyang went down the mountain to the dock. When he boarded the boat, he suddenly stopped, looked at the water for a while, and instructed the servant, ¡°Prepare a carriage and return to Lingquan town..¡±


    When the carriage returned to Lingquan Town, the day has come to an end and the night has risen with a clear moon and few stars. Lanterns were also hung in front of the green tile mansion on North Street.


    When Cui Xingzhou¡¯s servant Mo Ru knocked on the door ring, he startled Servant Li who opened the door.


    She did not expect that the master would return.


    Before she could speak, Miantang¡¯s voice came from the yard: ¡°Servant Li, Is it my husband who¡¯s back?¡±


    There is no other choice. The house is not big. The sound of the front door can be heard clearly in the inner courtyard. Servant Li looked at the Prince¡¯s face, and could only respond with a helpless voice: ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the master who has come back!¡±


    At this moment, he heard the sound of the inner courtyard, and Miantang¡¯s slightly flustered voice came over: ¡°Wait a minute, husband, the house is very messy right now, do let me clean it up first¡­¡±


    Unfortunately, before Miantang finished, Cui Xingzhou had lifted the curtain and pushed the door in.


    Miantang is soaking her feet in a wooden basin, her hair is let down, and was wearing a loose robe, which is not very tidy.


    As soon as she heard the sound of the house door, she wanted to wipe her feet quickly so that she could dress up to meet her husband. It never occurred to her that her husband¡¯s legs were so long that they did not take two or three steps, and he had already walked in.


    Before Cui Xingzhou entered the house, he thought of carefully judging the woman.


    Since she remembers the skill of stabbing acupoints, will she also recover some memory?


    And if Liu Miantang recovers her memory, she either will want to run away, or she is planning to lurk at his side with an evil intention.


    In this case, if she runs away, he can send people to track her secretly.


    But if she wanted to assassinate, he would give her enough of a chance before taking her down. At that time, we will also save the useless tedious talk and get her to say out all the information regarding the bandits from her mouth. It will be easier¡­


    Cui Xingzhou has always been a decisive person. He already had an idea about how to interrogate this woman.


    But when the condensed eyes entered the sight in the inner chamber, they were stagnant.


    The beautiful woman in front of him is like jade. She was wearing a plain white robe with thick black hair, making her face seem to be a little smaller. Especially the long legs soaked in the wooden basin are half exposed. No one can take their eyes off her white luminous skin.


    Miantang didn¡¯t care to wipe it off now, so she hurriedly stepped on her sandals, gathered her long hair, bowed, and saluted: ¡°I don¡¯t know that you will be coming home tonight, and I didn¡¯t ask Servant Li to prepare meals for you. Have you had your meal outside?¡±


    Her gesture of greeting was standard, but it could be seen that her legs were weak and looked a little clumsy.


    After all, her hands and feet are useless after she wakes up. It¡¯s impossible to be as flexible as normal people. He doesn¡¯t know how she has the strength to control three big men in the daytime.


    After Miantang saluted, her husband opposite her did not speak for a long time. She had a guilty look because of the trouble she made during the daytime. She quickly raised her head askew to see her husband¡¯s face.


    Cui Xingzhou looked at the way she was trying to cover up. He untied his cloak, picked up a chair, and sat down. He calmly asked, ¡°Are you happy when you¡¯re out today?¡±


    Miantang felt that she need to have the courage to accept the consequence of her doing. Besides, she had a good time in the dark alley teaching the flirtatious men a lesson, but not creating trouble for her husband. When she calmed down after the situation, It was indeed her fault.


    She pursed her lips and offered her husband a cup of tea before telling him what happened today honestly.


    Of course, she was so vicious that she forced people to eat shit. Let¡¯s skip the part so that her husband would not misunderstand her as a malicious woman.


    But after Miantang finished speaking, Cui Xingzhou remained a straight face, lowered his eyes, and blew the tea stems in the teacup. His handsome face was as calm as water, there were no emotional shifts that she could read from to tell what he was thinking.


    Liu Miantang saw that her husband didn¡¯t have the intention to blame her, and felt slightly assured at heart. Maybe she didn¡¯t cause such big trouble.


    So she took another small step, went to the desk and took the pleadings she had written down wholeheartedly with her writing brush after waking up in the afternoon, and presented them to her husband.


    If that guy knew he was wrong, kept silent, and swallowed his anger, they might overlook this matter. But if that tyrant wouldn¡¯t let the matter off and continues to find trouble, her husband might have to take it up to the courts before the garrison comes to find fault with them first.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t expect that after such a scene today, the young lady in distress still wrote a plea for leisure. He finally raised his eyebrow slightly, stretched out his long finger, and took the paper to see.


    To be honest, the word is¡­ Ugly. He doesn¡¯t know what she learned when she was waiting in the boudoir to be betrothed. It seems that she is not good at needlework, painting, and calligraphy.


    However, if you look at a few sentences carefully, you will find that although the words are writhing like earthworms, the language is proficient. Each sentence holds the key to the town¡¯s garrison crime. From conniving his family members by flirting with women in the street, to influencing the official prestige of Prince Huaiyang. Every word is full of concern about the country and the people.


    While her husband was reading, Liu Miantang took a writing brush, paper, and inkstone, spread out the calligraphy paper, and said, ¡°My handwriting is ugly, so it is not elegant. Please take the trouble to transcribe and polish it for me, making it more suitable to submit it to the county.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou removed his eyes from the pleading paper and looked at the writing brush and calligraphy paper laid out in front of him. He felt that although the woman had lost her memory, she had taken away some of her man¡¯s banditry straits.


    He doesn¡¯t know how the rebel Luwen is so blinded by love that he spoiled the woman and makes her so self-assertion and outlaw.


    Thinking of this, he gently put down the pleadings and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hurt the garrison¡¯s nephew? I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to pay the young master¡¯s medical fee¡­¡±


    As soon as she heard that he wanted to use money, Miantang finally frowned slightly and said in a soft voice: ¡°Although it is said that Prince Huaiyang is honest and caring for the people, he did suffer some losses by suing the officials with the support from the people. There is not much money in the family. It would be bad if the town¡¯s garrison blackmailed the family¡­ Husband, I was wrong. Please punish me¡­¡±


    Speaking of which, Miantang was sad. Her eyes were red. She looked at Cui Xingzhou timidly like a child who had done something wrong.


    However, Prince Huaiyang did not come back to socialize with her. He just picked the key points and asked gently, ¡°Who taught you the extraordinary skills to subdue that young master?¡±


    Those who don¡¯t know Cui Xingzhou will think that he is a generous and taciturn person, no matter whether he is happy or angry, he never shows his emotions. He is a gentleman who can¡¯t be more humble.


    Since Liu Miantang came back, she has been worried that she might get into trouble for a while. However, seeing that her husband Cui Jiu did not show disgust on his face, nor did he shout at her.


    She could not help but secretly rejoice that she had married such a gentle husband.


    Now when he asked, Miantang answered honestly: ¡°Doctor Zhao left me a book for massaging acupoints. All the acupoints in it were marked. I was lucky today. I hit the target with one blow and didn¡¯t disgrace my reputation¡­¡±


    She was telling the truth. When she first woke up, she could only lie down every day. She wanted to find someone to chat with to pass the time. However, when the Cui family encountered catastrophic changes. Later, the servants became lesser and lesser. Sometimes, she couldn¡¯t even get anyone to help her with drinking water.


    Fortunately, Doctor Zhao was a good person. Seeing that she was bored, he brought her some idle books to spend the time with. He also gave her a medical book on self-massage to improve blood circulation and remove blood stasis.


    To prove that what she said was true, she took out some books from the bedside presented by Doctor Zhao to her husband. Because she had to read it on her journey here, she also asked Servant Li to help her wrap the leather book with a cloth. She cherished it very much.


    Her answer was greatly beyond Cui Xingzhou¡¯s expectations. When he looked at the book, it was indeed the notes of his friend Zhao Quan. Several deadly acupoints on his neck were still marked with cinnabar.


    Liu Miantang purposely went especially close to her husband. Her slender finger pointed at the small words and said, ¡°I asked Doctor Zhao to mark them for me. I was just bored and wasted my time in the beginning. I didn¡¯t expect to use them today. The ancients said that reading books is beneficial. It makes sense!


    She had just finished washing up, and when she got close, she had a clear smell of soap bar and a dense fragrance lingering in his nose, but it aroused a wave of inexplicable anger in his heart.


    How is this a medical book? After being marked in such detail by Zhao Quan, it is clear that it is a personal murdering book! Even a weak woman can follow the lesson in the book and pull out a hairpin to kill people!


    Although he knew Zhao Quan was heartless, he still had an impulse to put his asshole friends in prison and serve them with all the instruments of torture one by one to see if he could enlighten Zhao Quan¡¯s wisdom.


    Thinking of this, he could not help but look coldly at Liu Miantang who was helping him to turn the pages of the book.


    The faces under the dark hair of Miantang seemed to be shining with tempting light, and the apricot eyes looked at him with a smile. Nobody can help but love her upon seeing her. It¡¯s no wonder that Zhao Quan is blinded by the beauty that he has lost all his sense.


    But Liu Miantang didn¡¯t know that Cui Jiu was swearing at the bottom of his heart, so she asked eagerly attentive again, ¡°Are you hungry? Would you like Servant Li to cook a bowl of noodles for you?¡±

 CH 6

    Although Cui Jiu drank in the mountain pavilion, he did not eat to fill his stomach. He came down the mountain and he¡¯s feeling really hungry now.


    Therefore, he did not wait for Liu Miantang¡¯s orders and raised his voice and said, ¡°Servant Li, bring me some food.¡±


    Unfortunately, as the master¡¯s return was sudden, Servant Li didn¡¯t prepare. The Master asked in a hurry. But, there was no food in the kitchen, so she had to serve some of the food cooked for Liu Miantang in the evening for him.


    The dishes for dinner today were dried radish bought from the street. After it was soaked in the water, it was sprinkled with a handful of salt and mixed. In addition, there was a piece of local moldy tofu, which can be eaten after being poured with hot oil.


    Although Cui Xingzhou is not particular to food, he didn¡¯t expect that Servant Li would bring such rough and unbearable meals. If it wasn¡¯t for the bowl of white rice, it would be for the sinners in the prison.


    However, Liu Miantang was very calm. In her opinion, it is natural to save as much money as she can to manage a family well. However, seeing Cui Jiu frowning slightly, she shouted to Servant Li to bring in some sesame oil and comforted her picky husband, ¡°You have just come to a new place. Money is required everywhere within a rise of the hand. I have to be more diligent and frugal. It¡¯s too late today. Eating too much will hurt your stomach. You can put up with the food first for today. The moldy tofu is especially delicious with sesame oil. If you can¡¯t get used to it, I¡¯ll ask Servant Li to buy you glutinous rice chicken at the street corner tomorrow¡­¡±


    How could Cui Xingzhou not know that this little woman is trying to coax him to eat like how others usually play tricks on greedy children? He sneered in his heart, but he picked up the bowl and silently ate a bowl of rice with dried radish.


    Liu Miantang eagerly mixed the moldy tofu with sesame oil and poured a cup of hot tea for Cui Xingzhou.


    After dinner, it was late. Cui Xingzhou knew that if he said to go to the shop and set up an account at this time, even the ones that hurt their brain would not believe it.


    He came here intending to catch hold of her motive. Since he wanted to see if she was going to assassinate him, he had to give her a chance.


    So when all the dishes and chopsticks were removed after the meal, the house was silent again for a while. Cui Jiu slowly said, ¡°I¡¯m a little tired today. I¡¯d better have a rest earlier.¡±


    Although Liu Miantang had expected that her husband would sleep in her room today, when she heard him say so, she still felt her heart beating loudly.


    Fortunately, in the year after her serious illness, she had already accepted the fact that she was the wife of Cui Jiu. Although she was shy, it was not right to push her husband out.


    She pursed her lips, hurried to the edge of the bed, straightened the bedding, and then turned to ask, ¡°Which side are you used to sleeping on?¡±


    While drinking tea, Cui Xingzhou said lightly, ¡°I can sleep on the outer side¡­¡±


    Because there were no clothes for Cui Xingzhou in the house, he naturally could not change his clothes and sleep as usual. After simply washing, he took off his coat and lay on the bed with only his inner clothes.


    Although he was separated by a quilt, he could still feel that the body of the fragrant woman around him was slightly stiff. He didn¡¯t know if she was not used to it, or if she was thinking about when to attack him.


    Liu Miantang is full of regrets. Why did she ask him which side he will be sleeping on earlier on? She should have just let him sleep on the inside.


    Because the dried radish that was mixed by Servant Li was too salty, she drank a pot of water after dinner. Thinking that if she needs to get up at night for the restroom, will climbing in and out like this disturbed her husband¡¯s sleep?


    With this on her mind, she could not help leaning slightly to check her husband¡¯s movements.


    The moon was shining into the house at this moment and illuminated the tip of Cui Jiu¡¯s nose a little.


    Her husband was so close to her that she could touch him as soon as she stretched out her fingertips¡­ Listening to her husband¡¯s steady breathing, Liu Miantang suddenly felt slight happiness in her heart.


    Since she was seriously ill, although her husband took good care of her, he never slept with her in the same room again. At first, she felt relaxed. After all, she didn¡¯t want to sleep with a completely unfamiliar person even if he was her husband. But as time went by, she fell into deep worry again.


    Cui Jiu is a merchant who always runs business outside. He will inevitably have to go to some brothel places to engage in social activities overnight. In addition, Cui Jiu seems to be born with good features. Wouldn¡¯t the women outside tend to approach him like seeing some fragrant meat?


    If he were to pick up any bad habits, wouldn¡¯t it cause her husband and her to gradually feel apart from each other?


    Fortunately, now that they have settled in Lingquan Town, her husband finally doesn¡¯t have to travel around for business. She also has to clear up her feelings of being lost after losing her memory and fulfill a wife¡¯s role. Moreover, her husband should have a child at his age¡­


    While thinking of this, Liu Miantang felt that her cheek suddenly turned hot. She slowly reached out to touch Cui Jiu¡¯s hand.


    Different from her slender hands, his big palms have distinct muscles and bones, which can completely wrap around hers¡­


    Her husband didn¡¯t move. He seemed to be too tired and had fallen into a deep sleep.


    Liu Miantang felt relieved and placed her hand on his palm.


    Throughout this year, it was only at this moment did she suddenly have the feeling of being a real married couple.


    While secretly delighted, as his wife, she also has full of things to do. Every morning, she must get up early to serve her husband. As there aren¡¯t any freshly cleaned clothes here, she has to iron them neatly before he wears them. Most importantly, she needs to remember to tell Servant Li to buy glutinous rice chicken for her husband¡­ Thinking about it, Miantang folded her hand in his hand, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.


    When Liu Miantang fell asleep next to her husband, Cui Jiu finally opened his eyes slowly.


    He seldom regretted anything, but he felt that he shouldn¡¯t have come here late at night. Originally, he thought that this woman would take advantage and do something when he was sleeping to harm him, but she just placed her tender jade-like hand into his big palm and fell asleep like that.


    Under the moonlight, he turned his head and looked over. An 18-year-old gorgeous woman was just a very short distance away from him, with her long hair on the pillow and a long breath. She slept like a baby without knowing it¡­


    Cui Xingzhou looked for a while and felt that the probing was over. Although it is late at night, if he leaves now, he can catch up with the military camp training tomorrow morning. But when he wanted to draw his hand back, the woman beside him groaned like a milk cat, rubbed her face on his arm, and continued to fall asleep soundly.


    Prince Huaiyang lay on his side and looked out of the window. After thinking for a while, he suddenly felt tired and lazy, and then closed his eyes again: Since he has already returned, there is no need to trouble himself to walk in the night again. He shall make arrangements tomorrow.


    The moon was bright and the stars were sparse the night before, and a light rain fell in the middle of the night. The raindrops knock on the window lattice, letting people sleep extra sweetly.


    However, Liu Miantang got up very early with the drizzle because she had something in mind or had slept too long yesterday afternoon.


    Liu Miantang got up during the night. Because her husband was in the room, she was too embarrassed to use the toilet stool in the room, so she ran to the courteous room behind the yard with an umbrella.


    She didn¡¯t expect that Servant Li didn¡¯t go back to her room to rest. Instead, she took a camp stool and sat under the eaves. It was dark and frightening.


    She was surprised to ask, and Servant Li said with red and tired eyes, that the master has come back and needed someone to be on standby to serve  She was afraid that the master and his wife would not be able to find anyone for water at night.


    The old servants were indeed loyal and unable to find fault.


    However, the term asking for water in the night seemed to have a profound meaning, which made Liu Miantang blush again.


    Compared with her back and forth tossing, Cui Jiu¡¯s sleeping appearance is more regular, just like his own gentle temperament. He almost remains in the same posture the whole night, and there are almost no creases on his clothes.


    However, he was too lazy to get up the next morning. After Liu Miantang got up, he continued to sleep for another hour before he got up.


    When he woke up, a pair of beautiful eyes were still filled with bloodshot, and it doesn¡¯t look like he slept well at all.


    Liu Miantang felt sorry when she was serving her husband to wash his face. After the collapse of the Cui family, her husband must have worked hard to make a living, running around, and hasn¡¯t been sleeping well, right?


    However, after her husband woke up, he didn¡¯t complain, and even if he was wearing obscenity clothes, he washed his face and rinsed his mouth as gracefully and calmly as in a Confucian shirt.


    Liu Miantang admired Cui Jiu¡¯s gentleness and elegance that was down in his bones, so she picked up the clothes that her husband hung on the panels, and ironed his coats personally, to make her husband look more decent when he left the house.


    However, the iron was a little heavy after it was loaded with charcoal. Miantang¡¯s wrist was weak, and could not hold the iron. Servant Li look at her in shock, fearing that she would overturn the iron that was loaded with fire and burn the master¡¯s coat, making him unable to go out decently. Thus, she snatched Miantang¡¯s work.


    Taking advantage of Servant Li¡¯s efforts to iron the clothes, Liu Miantang first filled the hot porridge that had just been cooked for her husband, and then put the exquisite dishes brought by the mute servant on the table. Then she asked, ¡°Where is your shop located? You didn¡¯t eat well last night. I asked Servant Li to cook roasted pork at noon today, and I can send them to you for lunch personally.¡±


    Although Cui Xingzhou ordered his servant to buy a shop yesterday, he hasn¡¯t gotten back yet. How could he tell her about this non-existent shop?


    Maybe it was because he didn¡¯t have a good rest last night. The Ninth Master¡¯s handsome face, which was always as gentle as jade, was a little gloomy. When she asked, he didn¡¯t bother to try to deceive her. He just said it easily, ¡°The shop that was set up earlier, the original shop owner regretted it, refunded the deposit, and took it back. Right now¡­ There¡¯s no shop yet.¡±


    Hearing this, Liu Miantang was angry. She put down her chopsticks heavily and said, ¡°Which merchant is so untrustworthy?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou did not say anything but drank his bowl of porridge.


    Liu Miantang, conscious of losing her temper, hurriedly adjusted her sitting posture and said modestly, ¡°Husband, please don¡¯t get angry. Isn¡¯t there a saying indicating that good things take time? Maybe it¡¯s a good thing for him to refund the deposit back to you!¡±


    She was telling the truth. In her opinion, although her husband is very nice, he has some naiveness as a wealthy child. It can be seen that even the finalized shops have been forced to cancel and the deposit was returned to him.


    As his wife, she shouldn¡¯t make fun of her husband. Only by helping him personally can she be worthy of virtue.


    Liu Miantang then said, ¡°Husband, the people in the neighborhood are all old local residents. You can ask them about it. Choosing a shop is a big deal. Don¡¯t be too hasty. Since the owner of the shop has gone back on his word, you might as well consider it carefully.¡±


    After hearing what she said, Cui Xingzhou also saved the trouble of tricking her out of the door, and said gently, ¡°I¡¯m going to go to the neighboring county for dinner. Since you have nothing to do, I¡¯ll leave the matter of choosing a shop to you.¡±


    After Liu Miantang listened to the words, it was exactly how she wanted it. However, she blinked her charming eyes again, and hesitantly said, ¡°I was seriously ill before, and I can¡¯t remember many things. What if I mess it up?


    Cui Jiu smiled, ¡°It won¡¯t be as bad as hurting people in the dark alley. It is just choosing a shop to purchase. If you see any shop that you like, just buy it.¡±


    Miantang turned a deaf ear to the irony of her husband¡¯s first half-sentence but felt that the heroism in the second half-sentence was very manly.


    Although his family is in straitened circumstances, her husband grew up rich and noble, and his vision and knowledge are not the kinds of ordinary people in the market.


    When she looked at the handsome and quiet face of her husband again, Miantang could not help but soften her eyes.


    She secretly made up her mind, She must live up to the trust of her husband and buy a prosperous shop with daily income and money.

 CH 7

    Cui Xingzhou thinks that it is more than enough to delay a boring day here.


    After eating breakfast, he instructed a few words to Servant Li at the gate of the mansion, got on the carriage, and left.


    As for Lingquan Town, he is still at ease. This is because, in addition to Servant Li in the house, there are countless invisible sentries outside the house. If the bandit Lu Wen were to show up, he will have no return.


    On the other hand, Miantang, after receiving her task, suddenly felt that the dull days are starting to have a sense of purpose.


    After breakfast, the dark clouds cleared, the sun shone on the flagstone road, and the North Street was warm and sunny.


    Liu Miantang follows the customs of the locals. Bringing the soles she wanted to sew, she asked Servant Li to prepare a basket of roasted peanuts and head to the alley to chat with the local women.


    The women welcomed the new neighbors. After greeting each other, they started to examine Lady Cui¡¯s needlework skills.


    After the first glance, the women were relieved. It seems that God is fair. The anima of Lady Cui is all gotten on her face. She doesn¡¯t have any tactics in her work. The stitches are thick, and she¡¯s not afraid to hurt the feet of her husband!


    Seeing the clumsiness of the beauty of the Cui family, all the women¡¯s envious were balanced. In addition, the peanuts baked by Servant Li were delicious, and the women¡¯s mouths that eat the food of others are softened, so they became more friendly and easygoing to Mrs. Cui.


    Miantang didn¡¯t mention that her husband¡¯s shop had been refunded. She just smiled and whispered to inquire about the deficiency and reality of the hottest street shops in town and find out which are those owners that have the intention to sell their shops. What was their previous offer?


    While the women were chatting with each other actively, Servant Li, on the other side, kept a dark face.


    The Prince wants this woman as bait, but what kind of villain can he catch just by sitting at the entrance of its mansion?


    So, during the break when they went home to prepare lunch, Servant Li said to Miantang, ¡°Madam, the first batch of goods from the owner will be put on the shelves soon. If you don¡¯t choose a good shop in these two days, I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no place to put the goods.¡±


    Miantang smiled sweetly at her: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I already have some general ideas in my heart. I will go to the town to have a look in the afternoon. It won¡¯t delay the important affairs of my husband.¡±


    With that, she went back to the house to look for the clothes she would wear in the afternoon.


    Servant Li looked at Liu Miantang¡¯s high spirits and sighed in her heart. To be honest, this girl is the child of a good family. If she hadn¡¯t been robbed at the beginning, she should have been married and become a mother long ago.


    She has served this woman for a year, and she knows that she is a good-natured girl. Now, seeing that she wants to help ¡°her husband¡± to do business wholeheartedly, she feels like watching a tragedy.


    She hopes everything goes well. Liu Miantang can help The Prince to catch the rebel as soon as possible. At that time, we¡¯ll see if The Prince can be merciful beyond the law and spare this miserable girl.


    But when Servant Li saw Liu Miantang after she changed her clothes, she was stunned. Although Liu Miantang doesn¡¯t have any new clothes in her luggage, she doesn¡¯t have to pick out such shabby ones to wear, does she? If she never sees it wrongly, the clothes look like the ones hanging in the yard by the mute servant for chopping firewood.


    ¡°Madam, you are¡­¡± before Servant Li finished speaking, Miantang interrupted her and said, ¡°If you head out wearing pretty and bright clothes to choose or buy things, you will become a fat sheep to be slaughtered by the shop. Do you have coarse cloth clothes, change them up quickly.¡±


    Servant Li had no choice, so she had to respond to her words, change into her old clothes, and head out with Liu Miantang.


    In the morning, the local residents mentioned several shops with good locations, but Miantang left right after just by looking at them for a while. At last, when she came to the East Street, she suddenly took out a long towel to cover her face and told Servant Li to cover her face too, before moving on.


    After a few steps, there was a narrow shop with a shop sign. She looked up and down and went in to inquire.


    This shop used to sell snacks. The walls of the store were darkened by old oil. The shop was narrow, and it was located on a remote street. It wasn¡¯t a good shop.


    However, Liu Miantang seemed to be determined. She slowly untied her face scarf and asked the shopkeeper about the minimum price for purchasing the shop. In the beginning, the shopkeeper saw that she was poorly dressed and thought she was just coming to buy fried cakes. Unexpectedly, she mentioned the matter of purchasing the shop and the owner couldn¡¯t help, but look up and down suspiciously.


    However, the young lady was good-looking, which made the shopkeeper¡¯s attitude more gentle and did not directly turn her out as a beggar.


    However, the price she said was irrelevant. At first glance, he didn¡¯t take Liu Miantang as a real buyer.


    Miantang smiled calmly and said, ¡°To tell you the truth, my family is engaged in the funeral offerings business. I don¡¯t need the magnificence of the store. Anyway, it¡¯s just hanging the word ¡®Dian¡¯ to attract the neighbors. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t choose your old shop. If you give me a good price, I can make decisions for my husband to sign the land lease, and pay the money today.¡±


    T/L Note: The word ¡°Dian¡± is usually used for funerals to place the sacrificial offerings in front of the statue of God or the deceased¡¯s remains, temporary memorial tablet, and graves to give one¡¯s regard before the grave.


    When the shopkeeper heard her say this, he first frowned at her due to the ominous, but then, suddenly his eyes lit up, and said, ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    Liu Miantang smiled: ¡°No joke! It¡¯s just a small business. I don¡¯t have much money on hand. Please give me an honest price.¡±


    While the two haggled, Servant Li listened in silence and took back what she said earlier about her being a good wife. The girl of the Liu family was far away from being a good wife. Fortunately, she did not marry the real merchant of the Cui family, Otherwise, no matter how strong the family foundation is, it will be ruined by the wife.


    The Prince told her that he wanted to do porcelain business, but she was so greedy for a cheap price that she chose to buy this filthy and narrow shop. In addition, in the morning, the local women also said that the fried cake shop has conflicts with the neighboring steam cake shop. Several times during their fight, they almost killed people. They had no choice but to pawn the shop and open it in another place.


    But because the store next door is famous for its arrogance, people who know the background refuse to be next to evil neighbors, which resulted in no one wanting to buy it. Thus, they haven¡¯t sold it yet.


    As a result, Liu Miantang was excited to buy this kind of shop that no one wanted¡­ It¡¯s a pity for her effort of roasted peanut that did not get benefited from it.


    However, The Prince¡¯s purpose is to use her to attract the rebel. If she loves to spend money, by all means, just enjoy it.


    After staring at Liu Miantang, Servant Li kept silent, only to see that she had made a clean negotiation with the shop owner, found a guarantor, and bought the shop at a very low price.


    The reason why the price is low is not only that Liu Miantang is good at bargaining, but also because she says she is in the business of dead people.


    The cake shop owner was repeatedly defeated by his evil neighbor, and the outrage in his heart was hard to calm. Knowing the buyer¡¯s business, he is also willing to sell it to her at a low price. By that time, a big ¡°memorial ceremony¡± will be hung at the door, and then the paper offerings ox boy will be put on. He shall see who will still dare to eat breakfast at his shop against ominous?


    Just thinking about it, relieve his anger, so the store owner has given a low price easily.


    Besides, after Liu Miantang signed the title deed, it was already sunset. Liu Miantang was afraid that her husband would come back as suddenly as last night, so she purchased three kilograms of streaky pork in the butcher¡¯s shop on her way home and asked Servent Li to stew it.


    But until midnight, there was still no sound of knocking at the door of the mansion. Liu Miantang was disappointed, she told Servant Li to hang the marinated meat in the well. Don¡¯t let it go bad until her husband comes back the next day.


    When she had dinner, she still ate the dried radish with rice. Because she was craving badly for meat, she scooped up the meat broth into her rice to eat. As expected, the dried radish was much more delicious.


    But after a few days, the meat could not be kept longer. At that time, there was still no trace of her husband Cui Jiu coming back.


    On the other hand, the news that the fried cake shop was sold to a funeral business has spread like wildfire, causing the shop next door to swear at the empty shop every day.


    Liu Miantang took Servant Li out again this day. But this time, she dressed neatly and went straight to the cake shop next door.


    After entering the door, she looked at the shop and asked, ¡°Owner, is your shop open for sale?¡±


    The shopkeeper said in a vicious voice: ¡°It¡¯s not my shop, it¡¯s the shop next door. It has been sold. If you don¡¯t wanna buy anything, don¡¯t block the door!¡±


    Liu Miantang was not annoyed but said with slight regret: ¡°The Feng Shui Master said that this corner of the town is prosperous to my husband. How could it be bought by others¡­ Would you like to sell your shop?¡±


    The evil neighbor was impatient. He wanted to chase her away immediately, but he changed his mind and said, ¡°If you were to buy it, how much will you pay?¡±


    Liu Miantang measured with her eyes at the same small shop and offered the owner a lower price than the fried cake shop.


    When the evil neighbor heard this, he was not very satisfied and said, ¡°Miss, are you here to joke? I can¡¯t sell it at such a price!¡±


    After hearing this, Liu Miantang didn¡¯t care much. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you refuse to sell it. When I first came here, I heard the Feng Shui Master making divination. If you give me a fair price, I¡¯ll buy it easily. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to look again. At least I have to know what businesses are doing on the street. Otherwise, it will be bad luck to have a conflicting business. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to sell it even if I resale with other stores¡­¡±


    Hearing what she said, the evil neighbor suddenly felt a little embarrassed: ¡°I think you are also a straightforward person. To be honest, there have been bids before. But they don¡¯t look like they sincerely want to buy it. It¡¯s really annoying. If you sincerely want to buy it, you can take a sit first, I¡¯ll discuss it with my mother-in-law to see if she is willing.¡±


    Liu Miantang¡¯s seemingly unintentional words just now poked the pain point of this man. Now the old signs of the fried cake shop are still hanging next door. But in a few days, the paper offerings of the devils in animal forms will be displayed. His shop will be greatly affected. He¡¯s afraid there will be no people who are willing to take over the shop. By taking advantage of this foreign lady¡¯s ignorance, selling it to her at a decent price and finding a new shop for himself will be the best choice!


    In the end, Servant Li watched Liu Miantang having a heated verbal dispute with the shop owner. Unexpectedly, she bought the steam cake shop at a price similar to that of the fried cake shop.


    Now, she has finally understood the tactic formation set by Liu Miantang. She started with the idea of buying two adjacent stores and then got through with the idea of combining them.


    Although she bought two stores, the price is still too cheap when adding them together. Even with the cost of reconstruction, it is lower than that of other prosperous shops.


    When Liu Miantang finally got the two land deeds, she sighed with a sigh of relief, smiled, and said to Servant Li, ¡°Fortunately, I have fulfilled the mission and finally bought the shop. I have seen that the two stores were originally a house, and the partition wall should be added later. The original owner divided them into two and sold them separately. So it should be easy to dismantle them. After renovating, my husband can start to use them¡­ And¡­¡±


    She pointed to the river behind the shop and then said: ¡°Previously, the neighbors said that the Prince Huaiyang had built water conservancy recently, and the inland river behind our shop would lead to the newly built canal. In the future, it would be more convenient for ships to travel, and there would be no need for mules and carts to transport goods. It also saves the valuable porcelain from being broken by bumps.¡±


    Servant Li listened in silence, but she admired this young lady. Although her needlework is terrible, she did have some business-minded. The shop choice was a smart move.


    It¡¯s a pity that her husband isn¡¯t a real merchant¡­ Thinking of this, Servant Li suddenly sighed a little and pitied the helpless smart girl.

 CH 8

    Although water conservancy has been built in the State of Zhen recently, many people have never thought of the reason why inland rivers are connected and land values rise.


    If her master is a merchant, he can sit and wait for the remote shop to appreciate its high price.


    Liu Miantang was talking excitedly and heard a burst of banter and laughter outside the shop, ¡°Ninth Master, you have such a good wife. You will be as rich as the enemy¡¯s country in the near future!¡±


    Liu Miantang looked up and saw that the highly skilled Doctor Zhao who was treating her was standing side by side with her husband Cui Jiu.


    Both of them are handsome men with tall bodies. They are wearing fancy clothes and jade crowns, which makes them attractive. Fortunately, this is a remote alley. Otherwise, with just Cui Jiu itself, he would provoke the girls passing by to stop and look at him.


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t see her husband for a few days. But she met them here at this time. She was surprised. She hurried over to them and said, ¡°How did you and Doctor Zhao come here?¡±


    Zhao Quan answered with a smile, ¡°I went to Lin county to visit friends with Master Cui Jiu. When we came back today, we happened to see you leading the craftsman this way, so I followed him here to have a look¡­¡±


    Now, the more Zhao Quan looks at Liu Miantang, the more comfortable he feels. Although many wives and concubines are in his Marquis¡¯ mansion, they only know how to spend money but can¡¯t manage it.


    His first wife was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Anguo. She was a dull woman. Influenced by her mother, she was obsessed with Buddhism. If the Duke of Anguo hadn¡¯t stopped her, she would have decided to become a nun before marriage.


    People who study Buddhism are particular about peacefulness and open-mindedness. But his virtuous wife was so into it that she became possessed and ignored worldly affairs. After marriage, she had no interest in husband and wife matters too. Zhao Quan was not as pleasant as a wooden fish in her eyes.


    When the head of the household is obsessed with studying Buddhism, the affairs of the Marquis¡¯ house are a mess. Therefore, Marquis Zhao thought that if he takes back Liu Miantang in the future, given her intelligence, she would certainly be able to support the affairs of the marquis.


    Miantang listened and smiled with reserve. For fear of her husband being urgent for the shop, Miantang hired several craftsmen from the western market to renovate and set up his shop.


    To save money, she and her two servants did a lot of work which doesn¡¯t require much strength.


    So the shop was a bit messy at the moment that it was difficult to sit down.


    Miantang looked at the white shirt that her husband was wearing today. It was spotless and not suitable to stay in the shop where the heavy smell of oil was prudent. She said, ¡°I will ask Servant Li to go back to the house to cook first. You can take Doctor Zhao back to the house to have a rest.¡±


    However, Marquis Zhao had some secret plan in his heart. When he looked at Lady Miantang again, he naturally felt a little pity for his family.


    After seeing her return to the shop, she stood up high, took the skirt, and tore the old oil paper on the wall. The Marquis immediately rolled his sleeves and said, ¡°Lady L¡­ Madam, come down and have a rest. I¡¯ll do it for you.¡±


    With these words, he rushed forward and tore up the oil paper. Seeing that the Marquis had climbed the stool and worked, the young servants who followed him naturally had no time to watch, so he also went to help.


    Mo Ru, the servant of Cui Xingzhou, brought a chair from the shop and put it in front of the door for The Prince to sit down.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t sit down. Although it was early in the morning and the streets were quiet if he sat down, wouldn¡¯t it prevent Liu Miantang from luring the enemy?


    He looked at Zhao Quan coldly for his unusual attentiveness and capability, but he could understand Marquis Zhennan¡¯s mind. He was captivated by Liu Miantang.


    Thinking of this, he raised his voice and said, ¡°Brother Zhao, we are going to be late for the chess meeting¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou spoke in a low tone, but those who knew him well knew that he was unhappy. It occurred to Zhao Quan that he and Cui Xingzhou were going to meet the Dong Quan Buddhist who was coming to stay here for a while.


    Dong Quan Buddhist has a strange eccentric temperament, but his chess skills are superb. It is rare to see him giving his old friend Cui Xingzhou the face. It really can¡¯t be delayed.


    Marquis Zhao hurriedly pulled two pieces of oil paper from the wall, then smiled apologetically at Liu Miantang and said, ¡°I¡¯m busy today. I¡¯ll help you with something else next time.¡±


    Liu Miantang smiled and wrapped the green scarf on her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s very kind of you, Doctor Zhao. How can I bother you with such rough work?¡±


    Zhao Quan jumped down from the table, took the wet towel and tea from the waiter, and said sincerely, ¡°I am as close as a brother to the Ninth Master. You can also stop calling me ¡®Doctor Zhao¡¯. You can call me by my name, ¡®Jia Yu¡¯ will do.¡±


    Liu Miantang smiled, but how could she call her husband¡¯s friends¡¯ names directly? So she changed her mind and said, ¡°It seems that Mr. Zhao is short of water in your life. This name and the word complement each other.¡±


    Zhao Quan also smiled, thinking that the woman was beautiful and intelligent and that he lacked a gentle and considerate beauty in his life too.


    When they got back on the carriage, Marquis Zhao was still immersed in the moment just now. He frequently looked back at the beautiful woman standing in front of the shop to see her husband off.


    It was not until the carriage turned that he reluctantly withdrew his head.


    Cui Xingzhou felt that it was necessary to wake his misguided friend up, so he said lightly, ¡°Marquis is kind-hearted, but don¡¯t go too far. After all, that woman is the family member of the rebel. Once tainted, it will be implicated.¡±


    Zhao Quan didn¡¯t like to hear this. He glared and said, ¡°How is she considered the family member of the rebel when she is being robbed? After this is over, you should uphold justice and give Miss. Liu justice!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou, however, felt that his good friend was not familiar with the cruelty of the world, so he didn¡¯t want to talk nonsense with him. He just picked up the scroll placed aside, looked it over, and said gently, ¡°Her father and brother are all guilty. She is homeless and has a bad reputation that cannot be accepted in society. If she helps me make great achievements, she will be rewarded with some silver. By then, she can become a nun in the temple and spend the rest of her life in peace.¡±


    Zhao Quan was scared by his wife, who was obsessed with Buddhist scriptures. Now, hearing the word ¡°Temple nun¡± makes him a headache. He doesn¡¯t know what he owed the Buddha in his previous life. His marriage is so rough in this life.


    He finally like a woman, but Cui Xingzhou had to send her to the temple!


    Marquis Zhao was unhappy at the moment. He thought that maybe his good friend didn¡¯t understand his feelings towards the woman that he was being so cold-hearted, so he opened his mouth and said, ¡°Ninth Master, you also have good news that will be happening soon. You are going to marry my second cousin of the Lian family and make a beautiful couple. Poor me for being a married man, but no one cares about the well-being of me every day, except for the lovely girl like Liu¡­¡±


    It¡¯s a pity that no one has spoken.


    Prince Huaiyang leaned on the cushion of the carriage, held his forehead with one hand, and read the book carefully. It seemed that he was not interested in talking about the good things that were coming soon.


    The second daughter of the Lian family, Miss Lian mentioned by Zhao Quan, is Cui Xingzhou¡¯s mother, the old Princess Consort of Chu¡¯s niece.


    In those days, the Old Prince was romantic by nature, but the old Princess Consort had a bad relationship with the old Prince after marriage. She had only one daughter but no legitimate son after six years of marriage.


    The Old Prince Cui Xie was so impatient that he has gotten himself three concubines. During the four years, he took turns in the villa, and they compete with each other, giving birth to eight illegitimate children.


    In the seventh year, the fragrant oil money donated by the old Princess Consort moved the Buddism goddess, Guanyin, and became pregnant. Now that she was pregnant, she gave birth to her legitimate son Cui Xingzhou.


    Therefore, although Cui Xingzhou was named his legitimate son, he was the ninth among his brothers.


    Those concubines have good family backgrounds, and they all have sons under their knees. The rivalry and infighting are as deep as the palace, which is enough for storytellers to say.


    The old Princess Consort is weak by nature, and the reason why she can stand firm in the open and covert struggle of a noble concubine, naturally comes from her father¡¯s family background, and her brothers are both capable and strong backers.


    What is more important is that her son strives for success.


    In other words, when the old Prince died and Cui Xingzhou inherited the title, there were only four brothers left above him. During this bloody period, the people in the mansion kept a secret.


    Seeing the foul atmosphere in his father¡¯s backyard, the concubines were domineering. When it was time for Cui Xingzhou to get married, the choice of the new Princess Consort was naturally cautious. The first factor is to be gentle and not domineering.


    He can¡¯t help it. His mother is too weak. He¡¯s afraid she can¡¯t handle a domineering wife as a mother-in-law.


    He is not unfaithful, and he doesn¡¯t want to marry a concubine. He just wants his bride to be modest and kind. It is even better if she can be filial to her mother and have children.


    Finally, under the strong proposal of the old Princess Consort. He chose Lian Binglan, a cousin whose temperament is similar to that of his mother.


    Lian Binglan is the second daughter of the old Princess Consort¡¯s sister of the Zhao Chu family. Her father is Lian Hanshan, the uncle of Zhao Quan, the Marquis of Zhennan.


    Therefore, the second daughter of the Lian family, Miss Lian is not only the cousin of Cui Xingzhou¡¯s aunt¡¯s family but also the cousin of Zhao Quan¡¯s uncle¡¯s family.


    Cui Xingzhou and Zhao Quan are also considered distant relatives, that can¡¯t be separated.


    In those days, cousin Lian had a group of excellent male cousins. She was almost dazzled. Finally, she chose such a handsome Prince as Cui Xingzhou in the end who envies other young ladies.


    It¡¯s a pity that things are not perfect. Miss Lian¡¯s grandmother choked on a peach two years ago and died suddenly. Such an accident caught the children of the government unprepared and failed to avoid the funeral period and marry in advance.


    So Lian Binglan and Cui Xingzhou had to postpone their marriage for three years.


    Now two years have passed, and after another year, Prince Huaiyang¡¯s residence can welcome the hostess.


    However, the old Princess Consort of Chu often missed her future daughter-in-law, and because she was lonely and unaccompanied, she often took her to her mansion.


    Cui Xingzhou did not question his mother¡¯s decision, nor did he want his cousin to be criticized before marriage. When Lian Binglan was visiting the mansion, he avoided going back to the mansion, so as not to be passed on as a private meeting of filial piety, tarnishing each other¡¯s reputation and giving admonitors evidence.


    He hasn¡¯t returned to the mansion for half a year. After this chess game, he will hurry back to his mother¡¯s birthday party.


    Playing chess with the hermit is very enjoyable. Cui Xingzhou is a master of chess. He doesn¡¯t like the noisy wedding banquet. He only likes this kind of entertainment without opening his mouth.


    Recently, the central government has been impeaching him for supporting the army and respecting himself. The emperor is also waiting for him to personally hand over the military token and demobilize the local army.


    Cui Xingzhou was too lazy to deal with the verbal temptation of a cadre of bureaucrats. Instead, he got along well with idle people such as Zhao Quan and Dong Quan Buddhist.


    After half a day of chess play, the Dong Quan Buddhist, who doesn¡¯t like praising others, said, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days. Prince Huaiyang¡¯s skill in playing chess has become more tricky and poisonous. It¡¯s really fun to compete with you!¡±


    As he said this, he took out a volume of fragmented chess manual and said, ¡°I admit defeat in the game, I lost three rounds in a row today, so I will give the Lan Ke chess manual to you. But this heirless chess manual has been handed down generation by generation. Now, only this version is left. If you can find the second half of this chess manual in the future, hope that you can borrow me to read.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou smiled and agreed.


    TL/ Notes: Hello everyone, just a side note, Prince Huaiyang is the King of the State of Zhen. Because he was granted a fief by The Emperor and to differentiate The Emperor and the real Princes, I use Prince Huaiyang instead of King Huaiyang.

 CH 9

    However, this rare chess manual could have been encountered but not sought. Cui Xingzhou also wondered if he could find the remnant of the second half of the book, which fulfilled the long-cherished wish of Dong Quan Hermit.


    Cui Xingzhou got his favorite chess score. His trip was successful. He gave the famous Lushan tea he had brought to the hermit and said goodbye.


    The Prince Mother¡¯s birthday party will be held in two days. These days, distant relatives and friends in the residence have already arrived. He must go back to greet the guests.


    Therefore, after leaving the mountain villa of Dong Quan hermit, he and Marquis Zhennan, Zhao Quan went down the mountain to change to the Huagai horse with the royal residence sign and returned to the royal residence together.


    Prince Huaiyang¡¯s residence is not far from Lingquan Town, in the State of Zhen county separated by a river.


    Although the old Princess Consort¡¯s birthday banquet has not yet started, and it is already dark at this time, guests and horses are still neighing in front of the residence.


    The Prince finally returned home. All the people in the Prince¡¯s residence gathered their spirits and came to greet the Prince.


    The first thing Cui Xingzhou did was visit his mother.


    Knowing that her son was coming back, the old Princess Consort Chu who always went to bed early, sat in the hall, accompanied by Lian Binglan and her mother, waiting for Cui Xingzhou to come and say hello.


    Cui Xingzhou, dressed in a wide-sleeved moon white water shirt and tightly tied with broadband, turned around the pavilion and appeared in front of the court. The high-hanging lanterns shone on his handsome face, setting off a golden crown, and his eyebrows and eyes were even more beautiful.


    Lian Binglan looked shyly at her future husband, pursed her lips slightly, and waited for her cousin to come.


    However, Cui Xingzhou did not squint at his cousin at all.


    As they grew bigger gradually, he is unfamiliar with his cousin who was four years younger than him. Even if there were no one around, he had nothing to say.


    Fortunately, the right way for a husband and wife is to respect each other like a guest. Just like Liu Miantang, as long as you are respectful to your husband, you can get along smoothly even if you have nothing to say.


    Cui Xingzhou is not interested in the ¡°conjugal interest¡± after marriage, but he thinks that his wife¡¯s politeness is still the most important factor.


    At this point, a lady like Lian Binglan will certainly do better than Liu Miantang.


    After greeting her mother, the old Princess Consort Chu said gently, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a long time. Did you become thinner? If you¡¯re not busy on official business this time, you¡¯d like to stay in the residence for a few more days and have a taste of the cooking skills of Binglan. The tonic soup she cooked for me is very nourishing.¡±


    After her aunt, Princess Consort Chu praised her, Binglan smiled and said in a soft voice, ¡°It¡¯s the Princess Consort that didn¡¯t disdain my clumsy cooking skills. I know I¡¯m not good at cooking. How dare I make a fool of myself in front of my cousin?¡±


    Seeing that Binglan was modest, Princess Consort Chu smiled at her mother, who was her younger sister, Lian-Chu, that was sitting beside her, and said, ¡°Look, Binglan is so modest, she doesn¡¯t look like you at all!¡±


    Princess Consort Chu was telling the truth. When her younger sister Lian-Chu was at home, she was persistent in being the first and competing for the best in everything. Even if she was married and gave birth to her children, she didn¡¯t change. But her younger sister¡¯s daughter Lian Binglan is an elegant and gentle girl. She is a good match for her son Cui Xingzhou.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t go home for a long time. After greeting his mother, he sat down and chatted about some domestic trivia with his mother and aunt.


    After having chatted a few words with the Lian-Chu family, the conversation suddenly turned and she said with a smile: ¡°Elder sister, the boy has been out alone for a long time, and there is no servant girl who knows how to care for his wellbeing around him. It can¡¯t go on like this. His marriage with Lanlan is still one year away. Let Lian Xiang, the servant girl beside Lan serve The Prince first, at least to take care of his wellbeing.¡±


    The number of ways a servant girl can go before a young lady like this is really unexpected. Listening to Aunt Lian-Chu¡¯s meaning, is to send Lian Xiang to be Cui Xingzhou¡¯s maid in name, but concubine in reality first.


    The old Princess Consort Chu could not help looking at Lian Binglan sitting beside her. She didn¡¯t seem surprised. She just bowed her head slightly and didn¡¯t speak. Then she took another look at Lian Xiang.


    This girl looks decent, but she still cannot be compared to Lian Binglan. She doesn¡¯t look like the seducing style girl too¡­


    At this time, Cui Xingzhou said, ¡°I often walk around the barracks. It¡¯s really inconvenient to take a maid with me. The young men around me are also dedicated. Aunt doesn¡¯t have to worry about me.¡±


    Hearing that The Prince declined, Lian-Chu didn¡¯t let go: ¡°Lian Xiang is not the servant who is spoiled and becomes someone who summons people like the master in the mansion. The Prince can just rest assured to summon her. In the future, when you and Lanlan got married, with her experiences in serving you, she will be able to help Lanlan and takes good care of your daily life, doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    The old Princess Consort Chu¡¯s ears were soft. Hearing this, she felt it was reasonable, so she comforted her son: ¡°Since it¡¯s your aunt¡¯s kindness, let¡¯s accept it.¡±


    However, Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t want to let go. He just took up the teacup on one side, gently ground the tea cover, and casually said: ¡°A few days ago, my soldiers told me that they saw Uncle Lian¡¯s servant, Mo Shu in Lingquan town. I think they were there to buy Porcelain. I wonder if they got something satisfactory? Do you need me to choose and buy some on your behalf?¡±


    Lian-Chu was a little stunned. Just before she began to answer, Lian Binglan said softly, ¡°Mother, you have worried too much. Even if my cousin wants to choose a maid, there are all smart and considerate people in his mansion. They were taught by Princess Consort herself. How can a person who lacks precision like Lian Xiang be compared with their style and carefulness?¡±


    As she said this, she continue the chatting session and spoke softly about the interesting story of going to the temple to eat vegan with Princess Consort yesterday. When it came to the funny part, Princess Consort Chu was so happy that she couldn¡¯t close her mouth. As for sending the servant girl, It was interrupted.


    When Cui Xingzhou got up, he said goodbye to his mother and returned to his study room. Lian-Chu also took his daughter to leave and returned to the courtyard where Lian Binglan lived as a guest.


    After entering the inner room, when there were no other people around, Lian-Chu immediately got angry, stared at her daughter, and said, ¡°It was not a long ago that we decided to send Lianxiang to Xingzhou¡¯s side first so that we can know what was the situation over there. It was not easy to say till my sister agreed. Why did you stop her later?¡±


    The more she talked about it, the more the anger in her tended to attack her heart, Lian-Chu could not help but continue to say to her daughter with worry: ¡°Oh God, this is indeed a son inheriting his father¡¯s career. There are so many absurd things in the royal family! I knew that the old Prince Cui Xie was a flirtatious man from the start, so I insisted on not getting married. My parents had no choice and asked me to change my marriage certificate with my sister so that she could easily marry Cui Xie, and let me marry your father. Look at your great aunt. If it wasn¡¯t for the protection of her mother¡¯s family, she would have been dragged and eaten by those foxes¡¯ concubines. How could there be a comfortable life the Princess Consort is living now? Those bad things about her at the beginning can¡¯t be compared with our peaceful house and comfortable life¡­ If you don¡¯t give some thought to it, be careful to repeat your aunt¡¯s life. At that time, your father¡¯s high-ranking official position also can¡¯t help you!¡±


    After listening to her mother¡¯s boast, Lian Binglan, who was always gentle in front of people, gave Lian-Chu a look of disapproval.


    Lian-Chu didn¡¯t notice his daughter¡¯s meaningful glance and said: ¡°It was that I saw her only son, Xingzhou who has a good disposition, unlike his father¡¯s dissolute behavior, so I agreed for you to be married to him. Who knows, Xingzhou quietly settled a residence in Lingquan town and raised a mistress! Isn¡¯t this¡­ The same behavior of the deceased old Prince? If you don¡¯t take precautions early, you will suffer!¡±


    Lian Binglan allowed Lian Xiang to remove the hairpin for her and said softly, ¡°Mother, how many times has I told you not to be too explicit? Today, you heard my cousin¡¯s words, and you noticed that my father¡¯s servant, Mo Shu was watching over the house outside Lingquan town. If you were too eager to send someone to him again, wouldn¡¯t you be planting an informant openly? How can he put up with this according to my cousin¡¯s temperament?¡±


    Lian-Chu knew that what her daughter said was reasonable, but she was unwilling to admit it: ¡°Then are we just gonna let him keep his mistress outside? Where should the Lian family¡¯s face be placed at that time?¡±


    Lian Binglan was calm and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t Shu Mo spend some money to find out about the matter? He said that the young woman was a merchant woman who had been robbed by bandits at the beginning, and somehow my cousin got a crush on her. This kind of lady where reputation has been ruined was just relying on her virtue of beauty to entice my cousin to relieve his boredom. Given my cousin¡¯s identity, no matter how much he dotes on her, she can¡¯t bring it out to the public. Since it¡¯s a private thing, why bother my cousin and annoy him?¡±


    Lian-Chu also wondered how her daughter didn¡¯t inherit her impatient disposition! However, Lanlan had a point. Today, The Prince sudden mentioned of her husband Lian Hanshan¡¯s young servant Shu Mo, was to give her a warning.


    This nephew of hers looks gentle and polite, but he is not as soft as her sister¡¯s temper. If she insists on sending a girl to him, it may cause a counter-effect.


    When the servant went to inquire again a few days ago, the soldier he had bribed previously had disappeared. When he went to ask the others, they all kept silent and let him return without accomplishing anything. Now that she thinks of it, according to Cui Xingzhou¡¯s temperament, he must have punished the soldier. It¡¯s impossible to get any more favorable information.


    Lian Binglan has gotten over the jealousy feeling at the beginning and has come to understand. After she got married to The Prince, she would be the head lady of the residence and the Princess Consort who will manage the family affairs. She has plenty of ways to deal with the mistress outside by then. Why should she make her cousin unhappy before she enters the residence legally?


    In that case, she will act like she didn¡¯t know anything. It¡¯s better for a woman with such a bad reputation to serve her cousin than for him to provoke other high-ranked families¡¯ ladies and take them in as concubines who can¡¯t be beaten or scolded.


    Thinking of this, Lian Binglan gently advised her mother to go to sleep. Then, she apply the pearl face cream on her face, tied her hair with a veil, and went to sleep.


    Recently, Lian Binglan has taken extra care of her skincare. It was just because the soldier said that the merchant woman was very beautiful, that it was inevitable for her to feel uncomfortable and began to compare.


    However, no matter how beautiful she is, there will be a withering day. How can a person who uses her beauty to seduce another last long? As a leading lady, she should be more open-minded and not be as short-sighted as her mother.


    Her mother denounced the old Prince for being too flirtatious to marry earlier. However, in her mansion, her mother has complained about her regret many times, nagging about her father being unsuccessful, only saying that she was obsessed at the beginning. Why did she have to change her marriage certificate with her elder sister?


    When her father was choosing a husband for the two sisters, he saw that the Chu was soft-tempered, so she found herself another guy of Lian Hanshan, a straightforward and honest son-in-law.


    Lian-Chu scrambled with her sister to change her husband. After she was married, she found that her husband was indeed honest, but he was also too unpromising! The smooth flattery in the officialdom will never happen. For many years, they have been guarding the place and never moved to higher positions.


    Cui Xie, on the other hand, was originally just a governor of the garrison. However, he made many miraculous achievements and was granted the title of The King of a state by the former Emperor. After some setbacks, his family was glorified, and he gradually expanded his fief.


    Lian-Chu secretly regretted that if she hadn¡¯t changed her marriage, she would be the head lady of the residence now.

 CH 10

    Her mother¡¯s sorrow and resentment had a subtle impact on Binglan, so Lian Binglan chose Cui Xingzhou over Zhao Quan without hesitation. There is no other reason. Zhao Quan¡¯s disposition is too similar to his father, Lian Hanshan. He muddles along and has no enterprising spirit. He will be a person with no big accomplishments.


    She didn¡¯t want to look at the glory of others like her mother and complain all day long.


    It was because she had long understood Cousin Cui¡¯s temperament and preferences, and knew that he liked his wife to be gentle and considerate and a woman who will filial to his mother. Thus, she took her aunt as the first in everything and won the favor of the Princess Consort of Chu. Finally, she is agreed to be married into the residence, which also made up for her mother¡¯s regret in her life.


    As long as she can stabilize Princess Consort, no matter how bright the flowers and plants outside were, they could not overtake her position.


    Thinking of this, Lian Binglan felt relieved. She felt that she shouldn¡¯t have talked to her mother before, and took the inferior route. It¡¯s getting late. She needs to go to bed quickly. She will be full of energy tomorrow to flatter her future mother-in-law and show her cousin her good and honest virtue.


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s elder sister Cui Fu, who married far away, also returned to her mother¡¯s home with her two-year-old son Jin¡¯er because Princess Consort¡¯s birthday party was about to start.


    Her husband is the legitimate son of Duke Qingguo. His mansion is also in the State of Yan, another province. It is not easy to come back.


    Before the birthday party, Cui Fu came to see Cui Xingzhou with his nephew Jin¡¯er, and asked with a smile, ¡°A few days ago, you went to the State of Zhen for business. I asked you to bring me the powder from the Hanxiang Pavilion. Did you buy it?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou shook his rattle to amuse his nephew. After thinking for a while, he said, ¡°I bought it¡­ And gave it away. I¡¯ll buy it for you the next morning.¡±


    Cui Fu glared at her younger brother: ¡°All the cosmetic in the Hanxiang Pavilion has to be ordered in advance. Because the pollen was mixed with the chrysanthemum juice from the northern province before it was manufactured into cream, If I order it this year, I will have to wait until the golden autumn of the next year to get it¡­ Who is the beauty that has captivated my righteous younger brother and gave the powder to which I had tried to order after all the trouble!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t expect the powder he gave to Liu Miantang was so exquisite. In the beginning, Liu Miantang diligently sewed his jacket for him, so he just gave her the cosmetic he had at that time according to etiquette.


    Now that his elder sister teased him about this, he remain silent and continue to tease his nephew Jin¡¯er.


    Cui Fu has a bright disposition and won¡¯t be annoyed with her brother with a box of cosmetics. As for the beauty that her brother met outside, she thought that the person must be a clever and charming one, so he liked it.


    Cui Fu was different from her mother, Chu. She didn¡¯t like her aunt Lian-Chu and her daughter, who was always taking advantage of their family.


    When her mother was bullied by a concubine in the mansion and was not allowed to have children, the uncles of the Chu family often came to see her mother. Every time her aunt came, she was laughing at her mother. The implication was that her father was not a good man and her sister¡¯s life was hard.


    The words of her aunt always made her mother cry.


    But now, her mother has finally ended her tough life, her younger brother took over the throne of the Prince of Huainan and her aunt started to act like a completely different person, complimenting her mother on her natural good fortune and hard work. She even tried to cram her daughter into the residence.


    Because of her distant marriage, Cui Fu didn¡¯t have time to care about her mother¡¯s family. If she was at home, she would never let Xingzhou marry her aunt¡¯s daughter.


    So for Cui Xingzhou¡¯s other beauty, Cui Fu is happy to see her success.


    However, the sibling just spoke in a hurry, and unable to ask further in detail, Cui Xingzhou went to the front hall to meet the guests.


    The birthday banquet in the residence is very lively. The flowing banquet will last for five days. Local famous entertainers were invited to the stage at the hall to perform.


    However, compared with previous years, there are still fewer guests and friends coming to the royal residence to celebrate the old Princess Consort¡¯s birthday.


    Cui Xingzhou understands that this has a lot to do with the fact that someone in the court impeached him for maintaining an army and defying orders from the central government.


    The current Emperor has always been afraid of the several kings with different surnames granted by the former Emperor. Now the banditry in the State of Zhen has greatly improved from a year ago. The Emperor can¡¯t wait to get rid of them once the job is done.


    It¡¯s very important to know which direction the government is facing in officialdom. Now that the palace hand cannot reach the boundary of the State of Zhen. Naturally, the smart-minded people will tend to guess the King¡¯s intention and refuse to attend to avoid suspicion.


    Walking in officialdom is sometimes like floating and sinking in the sea. Although the sound of silk and bamboo in the front hall garden can be heard all the time, who knows if they will fall into the abyss and their entire family will be exterminated in the next moment?


    At the banquet, people at the table with Prince Huaiyang were smiling, but their words were full of mystery, which seemed to have the meaning of spying.


    Others, however, were just full of flattery, hoping to get some benefits from the banquet of the Prince¡¯s residence and get a post from the mouth of Prince Huaiyang.


    Cui Xingzhou was used to all these social gatherings when he was young.


    After the banquet, the garden party began. Prince Huaiyang went to his study room to have a rest on the excuse that he was too drunk.


    At this time, there was no one in the study room. Cui Xingzhou sat alone beside a sandalwood desk and looked at the blue sky outside the cornice by the window.


    There are several letters from relatives asking for a position in the government office on the table. The first few are from several nephews of his future father-in-law, Lian¡¯s family.


    Because it was brought by his aunt, he has to give her the face to look at it. However, these people who ask for a position can¡¯t be afforded to be put in important positions. At the banquet earlier on, his aunt pushed his honest and dull uncle to bring up the topic of helping to get a position in the government office. But his uncle was not good at being a lobbyist and said it stumblingly. Instead, Cui Xingzhou has to be considerate and meditate on the situation.


    But there are countless such favors every day. If it were normal days, Cui Xingzhou would have given his future father-in-law¡¯s face and done it properly.


    But when he thought of his future father-in-law listening to his aunt¡¯s instigation and calling upon his servant to spy on him in Lingquan Town, it offended Cui jiu¡¯s limits.


    Lingquan town has laid a snare, waiting for the rebel to fall into the net. Where can he tolerate someone to make trouble?


    He would not explain such business to his aunt and cousin.


    Prince Huaiyang doesn¡¯t like women who make their own decisions. No matter whether his aunt¡¯s proposal today involves Lian Binglan¡¯s thoughts, he will need to give a warning to his cousin¡¯s family.


    So he didn¡¯t even read the remaining ¡°family letters¡± and threw them aside on the incense burner.


    There were a lot of guests in the front hall, but Cui Xingzhou was tired and lazy for a while and didn¡¯t want to be sociable. The atmosphere in the residence was noisy, but he just wanted to be quiet.


    So he only took his young servant, Mo Ru, out of the residence through the back door, and got on the boat along the river bank.


    At this time, although it was spring, it was still cooling at night. He had drunk some wine at the birthday banquet and after being blown by the cool wind, he was getting a little dizzy.


    The boatman asked his servant Mo Ru where are they going. Mo Ru looked at The Prince sitting on the side of the boat and couldn¡¯t tell a location. He just let the boatman drive aimlessly all the way. In less than half an hour, they came to the dock in Lingshui town.


    His mother¡¯s birthday party was not yet over. It means that he had to head back tomorrow morning. If he were to go to the military camp, the round-trip time will be too tight. So, he naturally thought that there were ready-made houses on North Street. At this time, no one will pay attention to his whereabouts at night, and he could sleep a whole night.


    So Cui Xingzhou let the boatman go ashore after he feels better from the dizziness. Then he walked leisurely with the stars all the way and came to the North Street to buckle the door.


    On the other hand, Liu Miantang has urged craftsmen to repair the shop since she bought it.


    It took only a few days to sort out the general appearance of the shop, but she didn¡¯t know where her husband went to socialize with Doctor Zhao, she hasn¡¯t seen him for a long time.


    Today, when she went to the street to invite carpenters to come back to build the shelves, she thought that her husband should be able to return. Unexpectedly, the doorbell rang during the night.


    Hearing the sound at the door of the mansion, Liu Miantang hurriedly got up.


    These days, she was afraid that when her husband came home in the middle of the night, she would see her with disheveled hair and a dirty face, so before going to bed, she always asked Servant Li to help her weave a long fried dough twist braid that was askew in her ears.


    When she heard the sound of her husband¡¯s footsteps, she had already changed into a fitting pleated skirt and put some rouge on her lips. Then she put on her embroidered sandals and walked out of the door neatly, smiling shyly at her husband: ¡°You are back!¡±


    Because it was already dark at this time, Cui Xingzhou had planned to sleep quietly in the wing room for a night. Unexpectedly, Miantang hadn¡¯t slept yet. Before he entered the wing room on one side, she came out of the bedroom.


    And before he was able to speak, the young lady lifted the curtain of the door and waited eagerly for him to come in.


    Cui Xingzhou looked at her intently. He hasn¡¯t seen the woman for several days. It seemed that she was even more beautiful. Although she has experienced some ups and downs in the past few years, she is probably too beautiful and has been loved by her man. She has not been asked to endure the hardships of exposure to cold and wet on a journey. Her skin was white, and a pair of beautiful eyes showed a kind of innocence that had not been defiled.


    Such a pair of eyes always make people take off their guard. No wonder she can bluff the two stores to sell them to her at a low price.


    Cui Xingzhou thought lazily and involuntarily stepped into the house full of fragrance.


    With the experience of the previous two-night intrusion by her husband, Miantang, who has to start over as a newly-wedded wife, has made full preparations.


    These days, she took Servant Li to buy marinated meat and prepared enough eggs, grain, and oil. Even if someone is hungry at night, she will be able to prepare a proper meal anytime.


    In addition, she also bought a large bath bucket, but it cost some firewood to boil water. After buying it, Miantang was reluctant to use it. She thought to use it for her husband after he¡¯s back, reheating and boiling two iron pots of hot water so that he could warm up and relieve his fatigue.


    So when Cui Xingzhou came in, Miantang showed him the newly added belongings behind the panel.


    ¡°Lady Pei, the head of the North Street, is famous for her hoop bucket skills, so I ordered one at her house. Because we are all neighbors, she charged me half price lesser! I will ask Servant Li to burn hot water in a while for you to bathe¡­¡±


    Halfway through her speech, Miantang smelled the strong smell of alcohol coming from Cui Xingzhou, so she hesitated and said, ¡°Did you drink?¡±


    The wine that was drunk at the banquet surged up during this time. Cui Xingzhou pushed Liu Miantang away and fell on the bed without taking off his shoes.


    He is so upset today that he doesn¡¯t bother to pretend to be a husband. He just wants to lie down like this. No one can bother him.


    If the woman had evil intentions, this would be the best opportunity¡­ Although Cui Xingzhou was drunk and worried, he thought of it with self-mockery.


    He closed his eyes and listened to the slight footsteps coming from the room. He didn¡¯t know what Liu Miantang said to Servant Li outside the door. She comes back a while later.


    Cui Xingzhou closed his eyes and did not move, but his ears were catching the sound of the movement. After a while, a warm towel was gently placed on his forehead.


    It turned out that Miantang had just gone to carry a basin of water and wet the towel to wipe Cui Xingzhou¡¯s face.


    But when Liu Miantang was wiping it and saw Cui Xingzhou frown slightly, it seemed that he could not bear to be disturbed by others.


    If it was the maid in The Prince¡¯s residence, they would naturally observe his words and expressions, and would not dare to delay The Prince¡¯s rest, nor would they dare to place the wet towel directly on his face without the Prince¡¯s orders.


    But Liu Miantang is not a maid and thinks she is the legal wife of Mr. Cui. The wine in the jar is naturally mellow and sweet, but after entering the stomach for one or two hours, it will start to get nasty.

 CH 11

    Liu Miantang, as a virtuous wife, how can she let her husband go to bed smelly?


    So when she saw Cui Jiu¡¯s unhappy expression, she just coaxed him like coaxing a mischievous child: ¡°Just lie down and I¡¯ll wipe it for you. The newly changed quilt cover at home has not been dried. If it stinks, there will be nothing to change.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou had never heard people outspokenly said that the wine he drank will make him smell bad. For a moment, he could not help but open his eyes slightly, stare at Liu Miantang, and say: ¡°Get out!¡±


    If the residence maid is scolded like this, their face will turn pale and leaves.


    However, Liu Miantang only acted as if her husband was making a fuss after drinking. Men! There will always be different behavior and losing oneself after drinking. Even her husband, who has always been modest and polite, can not avoid vulgarity.


    She was tolerant to ignore her husband¡¯s behavior and continues to put a hot towel on Cui Xingzhou¡¯s face.


    In fact, she can also guess why her husband has a bad attitude.


    After all, being exiled to Lingquan town is also a great blow to her husband. A good family business has been ruined. It is difficult to put it on any man.


    However, it¡¯s not a good thing to act with a bad attitude after drinking. She should console her husband so that he doesn¡¯t always store his sadness in his heart and can only vent it by getting drunk.


    ¡°It¡¯s unsure of what the wine outside is mixed with. Drinking it hard will harm your health. Next time if you want to drink again, I¡¯ll ask Servant Li to buy sweet potato wine from the distillery in the street and give it to you. When the wine is hot, you can also have a good night¡¯s sleep. It¡¯s better than walking in the street at night and having to inhale a stomach full of cold air.¡±


    Miantang¡¯s voice, just like her appearance, is very pleasant, but it is not that kind of deliberate tenderness. It has some bass, which is very refreshing and comforting.


    When Cui Xingzhou saw that he could not get rid of her, he closed his eyes and let her wipe for him. Now that he wants to use her, there is no need to make her suspicious.


    Liu Miantang saw that her husband was not moving, so he must have heard her words in his heart. So she whispered: ¡°As for other affairs, you needn¡¯t be upset. Who doesn¡¯t have a dilemma? Even the emperor doesn¡¯t have things that will always go his way. Although our mansion is not as big as the capital, we still have enough to eat and wear. If you are tired of running the business, just rent out the shop. I¡¯ve calculated that even if we don¡¯t do business and by being frugality, it¡¯s enough to rely on the rental money for living¡­ I¡¯ll learn from the neighbor¡¯s women in the street and get some needles to work. Even if I don¡¯t earn much for sewing, we can still buy some meat every few days. By then, when we don¡¯t have to worry about having enough to eat and wear, you can go out to play chess and visit your friends. ¡°


    It¡¯s like the fairy from the Ninth Heavens who came down to the world to help the poor boy. All sorrows are easily solved like myths.


    Hearing her talk vigorously, Cui Jiu slowly opened his eyes and stared at Miantang who was massaging his legs.


    Miantang was embarrassed to be stared at by him. She touched her face and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    At this time, Cui Xingzhou was still tired and lazy, although he was just slightly drunk, hearing Miantang¡¯s question, he replied: ¡°No one has ever said that I can rest. He felt some emotions¡­ It seems that being in small families has its advantages too¡­¡±


    His words were half true and half false, but the feeling in his heart was true. His mother was weak, and he had to contend with several concubines and his step brothers who were pressing on his mother since childhood.


    After inheriting his father¡¯s throne, he had to fight against the courtiers who wanted to withdraw his title of The King and take back his fief.


    No one has ever told him anything like ¡°Take a break and play¡±. However, some people always reminded him that if he falls, he will lose everything. Don¡¯t think about making a comeback


    For a little while, Cui Xingzhou suddenly envied Cui Jiu. Although he was a poor businessman and married a chastised woman. However, according to the words of Lady Liu, everything was not so bad. It was even better than the houses of The Princes.


    At this time, he raised his eyes to look at the woman on the side of the bed. Her long braids were placed on her ears, which were particularly radiant and vivacious. With a warm smile, her eyes were bright like condensing the stars in the sky


    It¡¯s good that she has lost her memory. She can¡¯t remember what happened in the den of bandits. After the matter is over, he will give her some money. Whether to remarry or go to the temple for a nunnery, he will leave it to her to decide.


    Thinking of this, the dizzyness from the wine came again. Cui Xingzhou closed his eyes and went to sleep.


    He didn¡¯t worry about this woman¡¯s assassination. If she wanted to, she would have had countless opportunities before, and as Zhao Quan said, he helped the girl escape from the den of bandits. She should have a heart of gratitude towards him. Why bother to help the tyrant and do wicked deeds for the rebels?


    On the second day, when the morning sunlight was slightly bright, Cui Xingzhou opened his eyes and looked at Miantang, who was sleeping sweetly in his arms. He is more determined that she was a gentle lady.


    But if he had not been drunk, he would not have stayed with the woman for another night.


    Although her reputation has been damaged, she will need to be entrusted to an individual in the future. If the stories in this house are publicized, her remarriage will be more difficult. But if she were to marry far away, it won¡¯t matter.


    Cui Xingzhou has always been a self-disciplined person. The situation of him going out while he¡¯s in high spirits like last night rarely occurs.


    Every morning when he got up, he always had to exercise a set of boxing to relax his muscles and bones. Over the years, unless he was busy, he rarely interrupted.


    He got up early today. Naturally, he would play a set of boxing in the yard.


    Because it was not a martial arts training ground, Cui Xingzhou only chose a set of short punches to practice. His tall stature, extraordinary demeanor, and ferocity in boxing were very impressive.


    When Miantang wakes up and doesn¡¯t see her husband beside her, she naturally steps on her sandals and looked out of the window lattice.


    Across the half-open window, she saw the figure of Cui Jiu waving his fist, wearing thin clothes, and sweating diligently.


    Penetrating the wet thin shirt he¡¯s wearing, she can see that although her husband is very thin, his muscles are strong. The body shape is not like the scholar who has an emaciated body!


    She has always preferred martial arts to literature. She used to like to practice boxing, but now it seems that her hands and feet are too weak because of injuries. She has long stopped thinking about it.


    But she didn¡¯t expect that her husband also likes boxing. It seems that he is playing well. Liu Miantang is urged to play it too.


    Her husband was sweating all over, and the newly bought bath bucket could finally come in handy. Servant Li was familiar with the master¡¯s habits. Without Miantang¡¯s orders, she had prepared hot water long ago, mixed the water temperature in the bath bucket, and sprinkled the fragrant dew from nowhere.


    After Cui Xingzhou¡¯s boxing practice, he can take a bath without rushing.


    When Miantang got up to wash, she scattered her long braid, gathered it around her shoulder, and combed it slowly. After a night¡¯s sleep, the originally black waterfall-like long hair became wavy and misted due to the braiding, which slightly took on the style of western region dancers. It seemed that her jade-like arm of combing hair was more beautiful, and a thin waist was also partly visible in the long hair, which brought some provocative meaning.


    As Cui Xingzhou walked in, he glanced at his Lady Liu, who was combing her hair.


    Liu Miantang felt that she was too clumsy. Without the help of Servant Li, her hair could not be combed well. She tilted her head and smiled shyly at her husband. The scarlet lips are red without any putting any lipstick. They are lined with a row of white teeth, like pearls


    When the four eyes met each other, Cui Xingzhou turned his head and stopped looking. Then, he went into the small room beside the inner room and rinsed himself under the service of Servant Li.


    Liu Miantang felt a sigh of relief when she saw that he had gone in.


    She¡¯s afraid that her husband will ask her to go in and serve him. When she saw him boxing earlier, she was blushing and had a fast heartbeat. If she was to serve him up close for bathing¡­ Her face was so hot that she thought it could fry an egg just by thinking of it!


    Taking advantage of when the master is bathing, Servant Li quickly gets the meals prepared.


    The breakfast is particularly about being few and exquisite. The dishes prepared by Servant Li are all beautifully arranged.


    In addition to a small bowl of braised pork with marinated eggs, there is also hyacinth bean fried with preserved meat, steamed egg soup with shrimp paste, and even the most precious treasure in the Cui¡¯s mansion of North Street, the dried radish. It can be swallowed with thick rice porridge.


    When the two sat down and had breakfast together, Liu Miantang mentioned the opening of his family¡¯s shop. Cui Xingzhou drank the porridge and casually said, ¡°You can fully be in charge of these affairs. I¡¯m going to study chess with my new master recently. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s difficult for me to take these into account.¡±


    If it was told from somebody else regarding this excuse of neglecting the family business to play chess, he will be regarded as a good-for-nothing young man from a wealthy family who neglects his career. It will be strange if his wife doesn¡¯t curse him!


    But at this time, a gentle and handsome young man was sitting in front of Miantang. Looking at his gentle and deep eyes, such words of ignoring worldly affairs suddenly became reasonable.


    Miantang also felt that it was too difficult for her husband, a dedicated man, to sort out money and stuff.


    What¡¯s more, he has ruined so many stores in the capital, which shows that he is not a businessman. In that case, why bother her husband?


    Anyway, she has nothing to do. She can just bring these trivial things and arrange them properly before handing them to her husband for management


    Being husband and wife are supposed to be united as one. How can they be differentiated from each other? Thinking about how her husband took care of herself who was seriously ill before, the true meaning of never will abandon each other was enough to make Miantang remember with gratitude.


    So after hearing Cui Jiu say this, Miantang immediately replied: ¡°In that case, let me take care of the opening. I don¡¯t know if you have any relatives and friends here. I¡¯d better send a post to let them come and join us.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou did not take Miantang¡¯s words to heart. It was almost absurd for him to go out one night. It was time for him to hurry back to greet his mother.


    Last night was the celebration with the congregation. His mother, who loves to listen to plays, must have stayed up late. She probably got up late too. It should be just right for him to go back after breakfast.


    So after a few mouthfuls of food, he rinsed his mouth with tea and said, ¡°There are no relatives or friends. You can save your time for it. Just prepare some firecrackers to put it off for the opening ceremony.¡±


    In the future, Liu Miantang will be in charge of the business and will be able to contact more people. If the rebel wanted to take back his wife, he would have many opportunities to get in touch with her.


    Therefore, Cui Xingzhou is happy to see Liu Miantang¡¯s managing the store.


    But Miantang took this matter seriously and thought for a while and said, ¡°We need to invite Doctor Zhao to come. I don¡¯t know who is in his family. If he has children, we must prepare some honey buds and fruits in advance.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou had already got up and dressed. Without looking at her, he said, ¡°He¡¯s busy these days and might not be able to come.¡±


    Liu Miantang came to tidy up his collar for him. She hesitated and said, ¡°But Doctor Zhao asked me to tell him when the shop is ready for opening. He also asked me about the opening date. But I haven¡¯t discussed it with you yet, so I didn¡¯t tell him the date for the opening¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s eyes lit up. He didn¡¯t expect that Zhao Quan was so obsessed that he sent a servant to do this yesterday.


    TL/Notes: Hello everyone. How¡¯s the reading going? Are you enjoying? Although the story in going a little slow, the stories behind will get more interesting:) So similarly, you guys can hit me up on the comments section or in the NU website to discuss more about the story. By the way, any errors or improvement comments are accepted too. Kudos!!

 CH 12

    Cui Xingzhou is not only a close friend of Zhao Quan but also his long distant relative. How can he allow Zhao Quan to be absurd?


    In order to cut off the Marquis Zhennan¡¯s wrongful thoughts, Cui Xingzhou said, ¡°He has many wives and concubines. If you go and invite his relatives, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s bad to treat one person favorably but not the other. It¡¯s not good to treat any of them badly. In that case, it¡¯s better to save time and not even invite him.¡±


    Liu Miantang hesitated and said, ¡°But you and Doctor Zhao seem to have a deep friendship. Is it really fine¡­ To be so rude?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou lowered his eyes and decided to eliminate future troubles. ¡°Brother Zhao, although he has excellent medical skills, especially feels that others are better. Those who know him well avoid him from making deep connections with his wife and concubine¡­ If you weren¡¯t seriously ill at the beginning, I would never have invited him.¡±


    Miantang blinked and understood the meaning behind her husband¡¯s words. It turns out that the highly skilled doctor, a fine-looking man loves stealing other people¡¯s wives! This¡­ Isn¡¯t it a hungry lecherous wolf!


    When she recalled the last time the high skilled doctor came to help her, her husband looked unhappy. Maybe he was jealous.


    But when she was seriously ill, he did not care about getting cheated on and insisted on inviting Zhao Quan, who could save her life. What kind of deep relationship did he have with her?


    At the thought of this, she felt a little apologetic in her heart and filled with unspeakable sweetness. She hurriedly assured her husband: ¡°Since he is like this, I won¡¯t even look at him in the future¡­ Husband, are you angry with me when I talked to him earlier?¡±


    The woman in front of him was beautiful, but the most provocative time was when her eyes were moving and her cheeks were rosy. At present, Miantang is like this. Her face is like a peach blossom, and her eyes are like autumn water¡­ Cui Xingzhou looked at her for a long time, and then slowly said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, ignorance can be forgiven. It¡¯s good that you will not talk to him in the future¡­¡±


    Although she is reluctant to part with him, her husband has an important chess lesson to attend. It is said that it is difficult to find such a good teacher. The teacher hates lazy people the most. Thus, her husband has to go out early for his chess lesson.


    After seeing her husband out of the house for a while, Liu Miantang reluctantly prepared to turn around after seeing him get into the carriage and out of the alley.


    At this time, Mrs. Zhang, who came back from pouring night waste next door, caught the scene of her sending her husband off, but she only saw a carriage curtain shaking and disappearing at the corner of the street. She quickly looked back and called Liu Miantang, saying in a high voice, ¡°Lady Cui, please wait. Is that your husband who took the carriage just now?¡±


    Liu Miantang smiled and said yes. Mrs. Zhang said with a little regret: ¡°I only happen to see him swishing onto the carriage and made me have a blurred vision. In addition to the cloak collar he wore was too big that it covers half of his face. I only manage to see the top of his head. Next time if your husband were to come in front of me, I can¡¯t even recognize him as Mr. Cui¡­¡±


    After listening to what Mrs. Zhang said, Liu Miantang didn¡¯t think much of it. She just smiled and said: ¡°We are all close neighbors. The future will be long. There will always be a time to see him.¡±


    After she promised her, Miantang turned around and wanted to go back to the yard.


    Servant Li said that there was more than half of the hot water left in the pot earlier on, and she can take a bath in the pot too. It rained these days, and the weather was wet and cold which caused her hands and feet to hurts lightly. If she can warm them up, it can relieve the discomfort.


    However, Mrs. Zhang is a person who likes to meddle and is inquisitive about things. She wants to take this opportunity to spy on the truth about her neighbors. In the future, she can start a conversation with her other neighbors and have the capital to talk.


    ¡°Lady Cui, don¡¯t blame me for being too nosy. It¡¯s just that your husband always comes back in the night and leaves early in the morning. There¡¯s no sign of him. You should tell him that it¡¯s bad to behave like this. After a long time, the neighbors will gossip.¡±


    Speaking of this, Mrs. Zhang lowered her voice and then said: ¡°You know, the officials and gentry in town who had mistresses are also like this. They look like they are afraid of being seen, which makes our street a mess. Every once in a while, there is always the legal wife coming to make a fuss of it, which makes us cannot live in peace¡­¡±


    With these words, Mrs. Zhang stared at Miss. Liu¡¯s face to see if she could show a guilty expression.


    But Liu Miantang smiled and said generously: ¡°My husband is not a dandy. He has serious things to do. Which businessman doesn¡¯t want to go out early and return late? Why does he bother to delay his affairs for the sake of other people¡¯s rights and wrongs? Some people have nothing to do when they are full, and I can¡¯t control other people. But there is one thing. If someone slanders my husband and destroys the innocence of my family, don¡¯t blame me for finding the person at the person¡¯s house to beat and scold, smashing his belongings, pulling the person¡¯s long tongue, and report to the neighborhood chief! ¡°


    Lady Cui said this with a sweet smile on her face, but Mrs. Zhang felt that there was a fierce light in the beautiful eyes of the young lady. Looking at the manner, it was not as simple as just swearing and pulling the tongue!


    For some reason, Mrs. Zhang shuddered. She didn¡¯t want to sound out her intention again. She just smiled and turned around with the night bucket back to her house.


    Servant Li had been standing in front of the door and heard what Liu Miantang¡¯s said. Her heart is full of mixed feelings.


    Although the young lady tried her best to maintain her husband¡¯s reputation, she didn¡¯t know that her status was worse than that of the officials and gentry in this town. Looking at her calm and upright face, it was unbearable to watch.


    At noon that day, Servant Li made an exception and cooked red dates ginseng chicken for Liu Miantang.


    Miantang looked at the thoroughly stewed yellow chicken in the casserole, and the aroma goes straight to her nose.


    Servant Li opened the lid and said, ¡°Madam, you are feeling uncomfortable with the cold these days. Red dates, Chinese wolfberry, and ginseng are added to the soup to warm your body and drive the coldness away¡­¡±


    But before she finished, Liu Miantang said painfully, ¡°Such good food must be stewed only when my husband comes back! Otherwise, like previously, the meat we prepared has been left hanging till it almost spoil and there was still no sign of him coming back!¡±


    Servant Li said with a grim face, ¡°Men don¡¯t need for such tonic. The Cui family is at least a wealthy family. Madam doesn¡¯t have to be too frugal.¡±


    As the saying goes, ¡°The collapse of the ant nest on the bank of the Qianli river is by no means a day¡¯s work¡±. Liu Miantang can see now that the decline of the Cui family is not only due to the poor management of the master but also due to the ignorance of the frugality of the servants.


    However, Servant Li was kind-hearted, so Liu Miantang could not blame her when she look at the thick ginseng tonic but can¡¯t help being heartache. She told Servant Li to tell her when she wants to use this kind of precious medicine to supplement her food in the future, and only can cook when her husband¡¯s at home.


    Servant Li was being reprimanded that her face became darker and darker. She filled her with soup with a straight face silently. Then she put it heavily in front of her and said, ¡°Madam is right, I¡¯m being meddlesome today!¡±


    Liu Miantang looked at her, scooped up a spoonful, and sipped it, the warm soup went down into her stomach, and immediately warmed up her limbs and bones comfortably.


    She looked up gratefully at Servant Li, who seemed to be still angry that she was putting up a black face, and said: ¡°Servant Li, don¡¯t mind me being too naggy, but there isn¡¯t much money at home now. When the shop opens and money is brought in, our family including the servants can eat meat every day¡­ Not only me, but Servant Li should also drink ginseng chicken soup every day to make up for it. I know that Servant Li has always been loyal to the Cui family. I shall thank you on behalf of my husband first.¡±


    After hearing this, Servant Li couldn¡¯t keep up with her black face any longer. She just sighed slightly, picked up the long chopsticks, separated the chicken, and put a chicken leg into the bowl of Liu Miantang.


    She doesn¡¯t know what The Prince will do with this woman in the future, but there may not be too many days like this. Her words are of little effect on The Prince to change his mind. She was just being compassionate to her and cooked more meat for this poor woman.


    The opening day of the store was carefully selected by Liu Miantang which was set in the middle of the auspicious day. Two fiery red firecrackers are hung high in the entrance, and the new plaque of the ¡°Jade Porcelain Workshop¡± is hung high, covered with a piece of red cloth.


    Although the Cui family has no relatives or friends here, Liu Miantang invited neighbors to join her to make it appear more lively.


    At this time, the people in the town knew that it was the Cui family who had moved to North street and purchased the two shops.


    Some nosy people inquired about the prices of the two stores that Mrs. Cui purchased. After they found out the price, they envied her and secretly lamented her shrewdness.


    Looking at the newly decorated new store, the shiny appearance of porcelain, and the young lady of the Cui family¡¯s ability to manage things, those gossipy women have put off the thinking of this shrewd businesswoman being a mistress of town¡¯s officials and gentry.


    Although the young lady of the Cui family is a little too beautiful, she is a person who starts a business to earn a living.


    If those prostitutes who sell their laughter are used to living a lazy life and are used to spending big money, they are all people who like to show off things. Where can they endure the hardship of handling business?


    For a moment, the neighbors sincerely congratulated Lady Cui and wished her a prosperous business.


    However, the opening ceremony was being held, but the male owner of the store was never seen. According to Lady Cui, her husband went to learn chess from a famous teacher. He was too busy to come down the mountain.


    Right! Everyone understood at once. It turned out that it was a beautiful lady has married a man who have a poor ability or low level to become successful!


    It turns out that her husband of the Cui family is a spoilt brat. He is a master that asks only others to do, but without himself! By leaving such a beautiful lady to come out to make a living, he played lute-playing, chess, calligraphy, painting, and explored his other interests of events that don¡¯t make a living.


    What a pity! What a pity! Such a capable beauty, but entrusted to a bad person, married such a  pampered son of a wealthy.


    In addition to sighing, there were also those who looked at the beauty of the Cui family and started to have bad thoughts about her. Since the lady¡¯s husband is not at home all day, they don¡¯t know whether the boudoir can be empty. They need to go to the back door of the lady¡¯s mansion to have a look during the night to see if the door was opened for people to slip in.


    For a period, people going in and out of the shop had different thoughts. When five firecrackers rang out, representing five blessings, the red cloth was removed with the sound of a gong. The Cui family¡¯s shop was officially opened in Longquan town.


    However, opening the door to do business is not as simple as uncovering the red cloth.


    The town is full of porcelain and the competition is fierce. Those old stores that can be established are popular with all their familiar and frequent customers. With a stable source of customers, they naturally do not need to worry about sales. There are even a lot of porcelain kilns that have opened their shops. They produce and sell their products, which saves a lot of time for social connections.


    However, the Jade Porcelain Workshop is a newly opened shop. In addition, it is not opened by a local person and has no foundation. To open a shop here rashly is as good as burning money.


    After a busy day of opening the new store, no customers came to the store for several days.

 CH 13

    Liu Miantang sat in the shop every day. In addition to driving flies away, she began to learn to play the abacus with the accountant.


    After learning a little, she began to calculate the cost of hiring a waiter.


    After careful accounting, a pair of arch eyebrows were tied.


    She felt that it was not a long-term plan to use money every day without making money.


    Occasionally, when a customer comes in, she always glances at them till the customer walks out. Liu Miantang politely stopped several customers and asked them why they were dissatisfied with the shop.


    One or two customers told the truth. They only said that the porcelain in the shop was nothing new. They were all street goods, but they were sold at a higher price than others. So they had to go to another house to have a look and that they had no intention of buying it at her house.


    After listening to the customers¡¯ words, Liu Miantang thought for a night. The next day, she took Servant Li out to visit the supply of other stores to see if she could think of a good way to improve business.


    Most of the porcelain in the town was made in the scattered kilns in Sixia village. Like those imperial gifts, they will not circulate among the people at all. The more exquisite ones are designed for old shops. Ordinary shops can¡¯t even get hold of the supply.


    Although the price of the coarser porcelain is cheap, its gross profit is very small. It is sold at a small profit but quick turnover. Most of the porcelain is sold by the load-carrying street vendor near the houses in the streets and villages. They can¡¯t even share the expenses of the store.


    Liu Miantang walked for several days. The more she walked, the more confused she became. She wondered why her husband had to leave his hometown to operate here? Moreover, the business is to operate porcelain that has no advantages. In the long run, the shop will lose money. Fortunately, the internal river construction will make the shops business soar. By then, taking advantage of the appreciation of the shop price, it is also good to rent it out to maintain their living.


    Although rental money is certainly not as much as doing business, if they are frugal, they can barely maintain the family¡¯s expenses. However, she¡¯s afraid that they can¡¯t keep a few servants.


    Her husband is used to having a servant. She wonders if she can adapt. And the two senior servants in the family are also old. If the Cui family doesn¡¯t use them, She¡¯s afraid it will be difficult for them to find a good family to continue to work.


    She had just boasted with Servant Li that they could eat meat every day in the future, but she violates her promise and wanted to send them back home. It was difficult to even think about it.


    Therefore, she did not give up looking around, hoping to figure out what to do, but she walked until her legs are aching and limping, and her skirt was stained with the wet mud of the village road, and she hasn¡¯t thought of any perfect solution.


    If there¡¯s no other way, she can only give the senior servants like Servant Li more retirement fees for their old age, so that they won¡¯t have to make a living in the future. It¡¯s just that, there won¡¯t be much money left in her dowry box. Fortunately, the Cui family has a shop, and they can always survive with it.


    After thinking this way, Miantang was not very happy too. She was unwilling to spend more time walking, so she planned to return to Lingquan town first.


    But before taking a few steps, she heard someone shouting behind her, ¡°Madam, please stay put!¡±


    Miantang looked back at the sound, and it turned out that it was Zhao Quan, the highly skilled doctor who had not seen her for a long time.


    Speaking of it, Zhao Quan is an expert in locating hermits in the world of mortals.


    In addition to his excellent medical skills, Zhao Jiayu was also proficient in calligraphy and painting. However, he lacks interest in calligraphy and painting done by famous artists. He likes to be a bole who understands people and a noble man of the poor scholars.


    If he can find an unappreciated piece of painting and calligraphy in the calligraphy and painting shop and points out the uniqueness of the piece, it will appear that the Marquis is good at sourcing talent.


    Today, in the calligraphy and painting shop in Linxian County, Marquis Zhennan found a picture of a summer lotus. The picture was painted by a scholar who had failed an imperial examination, and was nicknamed ¡°The hermit that hates pen¡±.


    Painting doesn¡¯t worth a lot of money. Even if the painting shop framed it up later, it would be only half a copper of money for the arty-crafty squire to buy and decorate the bare walls of the house.


    However, Zhao Quan thought that this seemingly inconspicuous painting was elegant and unique in color. If the painter got the chance, he must be a master in calligraphy and painting.


    So he came looking for the place in high spirits according to the address left by the scholar.


    Unexpectedly, although he could not find the scholar who painted the lotus, he saw a beautiful lotus in his heart and immediately called upon Liu Miantang with great interest.


    Liu Miantang is secretly alert now when she sees Zhao Quan again. Her husband reminded her that the highly skilled doctor was not a gentleman. He liked to flirt with his friend¡¯s women. Naturally, she had to avoid suspicion.


    So this time, Liu Miantang no longer greeted him with the same smile, but only gave a little salute with a stiff face according to the etiquette, and then said to Servant Li, ¡°You can pass the message to the highly skilled Doctor Zhao that we have something else to do, so we won¡¯t delay any longer, and we¡¯ll say goodbye now.¡±


    Zhao Quan thought it was strange that he was clearly in front of Lady Liu. Why did she bother to let Servant Li deliver a message?


    However, he had just seen talent and found a piece of jade buried in the countryside. Naturally, he was excited and inexplicable. He just wanted to show off his high taste in front of the beauty, and he didn¡¯t care about her sudden cold attitude. He hurriedly said: ¡°I¡¯m here to visit a master of painting today. I¡¯m worried that no one will judge whether I¡¯ve picked on a bad painting. Madam is just in time. Please have a look at this painting.¡±


    With that, he ordered his servant boy, Shu Mo, who followed him to take down the painting scroll from the carriage to show it to Liu Miantang like a treasure.


    Liu Miantang had no interest at all. She just glanced at the painting, but when her eyes fell on the painting, she stopped.


    Although she practiced martial arts, she dabbled in antique calligraphy and painting because her father and brother loved them. Although she could not say that she understands everything about calligraphy and painting, she could still appreciate them.


    The lotus painting is light in color, but it can show the elegance of the lotus. In particular, the dragonfly¡¯s tail touches the lake water, which makes the lake surface ripple layer by layer, static and dynamic, full of interest.


    Liu Miantang looked at it for a while, then suddenly bent down and looked at the dragonfly carefully.


    Seeing that she was interested, Zhao Quan was very pleased and said: ¡°How about it? Is it very fresh and elegant? I¡¯m sure that if this person is recommended by a noble person, he will certainly be able to ascend the hall of elegance and become famous all over the world¡­ Madam, would you like to go with me and witness the moment when this expert gets a bosom friend?¡±


    Liu Miantang slowly straightened up and said to Servant Li, ¡°Ask the highly skilled doctor where the painter lives and how far away is the painter from here.¡±


    Knowing why Liu Miantang was so estranged from the highly skilled doctor, Servant Li secretly sighed for the Marquis Zhennan, who had carried the blame, and then followed Liu Miantang¡¯s words.


    Zhao Quan was very glad to see that Liu Miantang wanted to go with him. He hurried to say, ¡°It¡¯s not far away at all! It¡¯s in the village ahead. If we pace up a little, we can go back to the town before sunset, and it won¡¯t delay your dinner¡­ Of course, if it¡¯s too late, I know that there is a restaurant near the river with good dishes. I can treat you there and enjoy the lake by the railing, and then have a good taste of the foods and drinks.¡±


    Hearing this, Liu Miantang frowned secretly. She thought that the highly skilled doctor had a problem with his character. Otherwise, how could he rashly ask his friend¡¯s wife for dinner alone?


    She didn¡¯t want to get on Zhao Quan¡¯s carriage, so she just turned around and got on her donkey cart, slowly following behind Zhao Quan¡¯s horse and carriage.


    Zhao Quan knew that Liu Miantang thought she was Cui Jiu¡¯s wife. It¡¯s not surprising for her to avoid suspicion when a woman¡¯s out alone.


    But in his heart, he loves this woman¡¯s elegance and prettiness even more. He wishes that they could always keep each other¡¯s company like the Mandarin duck as soon as possible, walk in the mountains and rivers, look for good paintings, and live a life of conjugal bliss.


    After walking along the wild path in the field, he saw the simple thatched house.


    It seems that this scholar lives here.


    After Zhao Quan got off the carriage, he ordered his servant boy to knock at the firewood gate to visit the owner.


    The owner of the firewood room has already appeared without waiting for the boy to knock.


    That is a scholar in a shabby gown whose color can¡¯t be told. He looked almost in his forties, with a messy beard and slightly white hair at the temples. He was hoeing in the yard with his clothes up. The vines in the field had just sprouted in the spring wind and were swaying constantly.


    At the call of the door, the scholar half raised his eyes, glanced at the outsiders in the room, and continued to dig the ground silently.


    For such geeks, bole Zhao Quan was not surprised with his behavior. He only politely called out at the door, ¡°Are you the ¡°Hate Pen Hermit¡±, who sold the masterpiece to the ink studio in Linxian county?¡±


    When he asked, the old scholar who was hoeing the ground flipped half of his eyelids and answered.


    Seeing that he had found the right person, Zhao Quan immediately indicated his intention and said that he had come to visit him in person because he appreciated his masterful work.


    After hearing what he said, the scholar looked at him up and down before he put down his hoe and opened the firewood door.


    It can be seen that the man with the name of ¡°hate pen¡± is not well off. There are no decent tables and chairs for guests at home. He simply put a mat on the flat place in the yard for guests to sit cross-legged.


    Miantang, as a woman, was naturally not able to sit with them, so she took Servant Li and stood aside in silence.


    As for the tea, the scholar didn¡¯t bring it. It was Zhao Quan¡¯s servant who sees that the mat is too empty, fearing that his master will be thirsty and hungry, so he brought his cake box and put it on the mat. Then, he went on to brew the tea with the charcoal stove on the carriage.


    The old scholar was not polite. He opened his big mouth and ate most of the cakes in the food box. It seems that his three meals are uncertain.


    When he was half full, the scholar¡¯s face softened a lot. Instead, he could comment on the painting with Zhao Quan in a friendly manner.


    However, when Zhao Quan unfolded the lotus painting and told his personal views on the painting, the scholar¡¯s expression became more and more disappointed.


    After Zhao Quan finished, he pondered for a while and said, ¡°Thank you for your appreciation, but you don¡¯t understand my painting. It¡¯s not early now. Please return!¡±


    Zhao Quan was talking so enthusiastically that when he was thrown with cold water by the Hate Pen Hermit, it dampened his spirit.


    If it were ordinary days, he would just take it as he is a grumpy old scholar. But today, he was told off by the hermit in front of the beauty. He had no face. At that moment, his temper as a prince¡¯s descendants flared up and he stared at him and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my understanding? Please correct me. How can you say that I don¡¯t understand calligraphy and painting without any reasons?¡±


    At this time, Liu Miantang, who had been standing silently aside after entering the yard, suddenly said, ¡°Sir, I also have some understanding about this painting. I wonder if you would like to listen to it?¡±


    The scholar was used to being aloof. He didn¡¯t look at the beauty that everyone admired. Until Miantang spoke, he shook off the cake residue on his shirt and said, ¡°Please hurry and speak up, madam. I will need to go chop firewood and cook later.¡±


    Liu Miantang went to the painting, pointed to the dragonfly, and said, ¡°It seems that I saw a beautiful shadow in the dragonfly¡¯s eyes¡­ It was a woman enjoying the lotus at the bridgehead, and the beautiful shadow happened to be reflected in the dragonfly¡¯s eyes.¡±


    As soon as she said this, Zhao Quan was stunned and stared at the painting. Suddenly, he called his young servant to bring the magnifying glass that the vassal countries paid tribute to.


    The magnifying glass is a royal gift from the emperor in the palace. It can enlarge the font and is suitable for old people with dim eyes. Although Zhao Quan was young, he used it occasionally when carving seals, so he kept it in the box on the carriage for leisure.


    Now after hearing Liu Miantang¡¯s words, he quickly took the magnifying glass from his servant boy¡¯s hand and looked into the dragonfly¡¯s eyes. That¡¯s it! In the eyes of the dragonfly that is as big as soybean grains, there is a weeping willow bridge and a beautiful lady with an umbrella!

 CH 14

    There was a mystery in the Dragonfly¡¯s eyes?


    Zhao Quan really didn¡¯t find this out.


    It seems that this hermit is very proud of himself, so he is not polite to Bole Zhao Quan who can¡¯t see the exquisite paintings.


    The Hate Pen Hermit didn¡¯t expect that the young lady who had been silent all the time found the mystery of his painting. It was a rare bosom friend like the ¡°High mountains and flowing water¡± he had ever met in his entire life.


    So the old scholar could not help but look at Liu Miantang with admiration, twist his beard and say, ¡°This lady has good eyesight.¡±


    Liu Miantang smiled. She didn¡¯t know her eyesight was so good. In the beginning, she just looked at the dragonfly because she thought that the eyes seems alive, so she looked at it more carefully. She doesn¡¯t know why, she had a sense of deja vu about this kind of painting method with hidden mystery, but she couldn¡¯t remember it for a moment.


    However, the painting aroused her interest, so she followed Zhao Quan to find the painter.


    Of course, she is not as boring as Zhao Quan who is determined to be a bole who appreciates people.


    No matter how beautiful the painting is, it has to be painted on a porcelain plate first. If this gentleman is as famous as Zhao Quan said, wouldn¡¯t it be better to sell his plates, bowls, and bottles?


    However, in the eyes of the scholar, he could not see that this dignified and beautiful young woman was a merchant with a lust for profit. He just felt that besides his dead wife, there was another bosom friend who understood his painting well.


    But Liu Miantang could not wait to explain her intention. She just wanted to ask the highly talented painter to draw porcelain plates for her and she was willing to pay a high price.


    Zhao Quan was not the first to discover the mystery. So he was ashamed in secret. In fact, he was even more ecstatic. Anyway, he was the first to discover such a genius. He thought that the old scholar was just freehand and elegant. Now it seems that his meticulous brushwork is also superb.


    If he can reveal his masterpiece to the public, becoming a famous painter where the generation of people pursues and flatter can be expected soon


    But before Zhao Quan could have a good talk with the old scholar about his bright future, the young lady Miantang asked the old scholar to do something inferior to being a craftsman. It is insulting the old scholar!


    Knowing that the old scholar had a strange temper, he was afraid that he would turn her request down again. He quickly said to Liu Miantang, ¡°Madam, you are really mischievous! How can such an elegant person as the master of painting do the work of a craftsman? If you are short of plate painters, there are many workshops nearby. You can hire any number of people you want. I will pay for it!¡±


    Liu Miantang saw that the time was not early anymore. She did not want to stay in the same yard with Zhao Quan for too long, so she told the old scholar frankly: ¡°To tell the truth, Sir, my family runs a porcelain shop, but the business is poor. I can only close the shop in the long run. But this shop is my husband¡¯s first business since he moved out of the capital. If it closes down, he will be hurt. I can¡¯t help him much as a lady. I just want to ask you to help me draw a store treasure to be placed in my shop and make a name for it. By then, I can contact those long-established porcelain kilns and import some fine products to sell later. If I can revitalize my family business, I will certainly repay you sincerely! ¡±


    This truth had moved the old scholar. He stared at the sincere Liu Miantang and asked, ¡°How much money are you paying?¡±


    Liu Miantang thinks about the shallow financial resources of her family and asked, ¡°How much do you want, Sir?¡±


    Without waiting for the old scholar to make a bargain, Zhao Quan, who was afraid that the scholar would lower his status, immediately stared at him and said, ¡°You can sell me your paintings. I¡¯m willing to pay a hundred silver money for your paintings!¡±


    Are you kidding! Her husband will be deeply hurt? What kind of bullshit is this! The guy surnamed Cui is afraid that he can¡¯t catch the thief after so long and causing him to feel so anxious!


    If it was other matters, it would still be fine. But he doesn¡¯t want to delay a talented genius because of the fraud play of Prince Huaiyang!


    The title of a poor and elegant painter who came from the countryside is the best saying at touching the hearts of people. How can a painter who paints plates for a porcelain shop be compared to? Zhao Quan won¡¯t let this unusual talent abandon itself!


    Liu Miantang¡¯s eyes widened. She didn¡¯t expect that the doctor would dare to raise the price so much!


    Although her husband said that he had a lot of wives and concubines in his family and should not worry about making a living, isn¡¯t it crazy to spend one hundred silver money just on paintings? He¡¯s such a black sheep. Isn¡¯t he afraid to cause his wife and concubine to beg on the street with him in the future?


    What¡¯s more, she can¡¯t afford a hundred silver money. Zhao Quan is indeed not a good thing! He¡¯s been messing with her affairs!


    Regardless of etiquette, Liu Miantang could not hide her anger and glared at Zhao Quan viciously.


    Zhao Quan saved the talented painter from abandoning himself. Before he could be satisfied, he was stared at by Lady Liu. A knife-like look in her eyes, makes him shudder.


    What a fierce lady, but her eyes are so beautiful


    At that moment, the old scholar said, ¡°The price I sell to a painting shop is forty coppers coin for a painting. You can just follow this price and pay me with that.¡±


    This made Liu Miantang overjoyed, while Zhao Quan was completely dumbfounded.


    Marquis Zhennan was so distressed that he stamped his foot and said, ¡°Why did you want to degenerate like this, Sir?¡±


    But the old scholar went to the side of the straw shed, which should be the place where he usually painted. He pulled out a painting scroll from the barrel and opened it. He looked at it wistfully and said, ¡°This lady looks like my dead wife. She asked for a painting for the sake of her husband. She is heartfelt and touching. I should help her.¡±


    Zhao Quan walked over in mourning and looked at the woman on the old scholar¡¯s painting scroll. He¡¯s so passed that his nose was crooked.


    Although the old scholar had modified his beloved wife¡¯s using brush and ink due to his favoritism, the woman had a thick waist and a persimmon face¡­ Just how blind must he be to feel like his wife looks like Liu Miantang with a slender waist and an oval face?


    Zhao Quan was angry deep down in his heart. He shouted, ¡°How is your wife similar to Lady Liu?¡±


    With tears in the old scholar¡¯s eyes, he seemed moved and said in a trembling voice: ¡°Their eyes are very similar¡­¡±


    Before she passed away, his wife never let him do any housework. She took care of everything alone and supported the family. She was renowned for her capabilities and fierceness.


    If his wife is still around, he must have accepted Zhao Quan¡¯s high price, become famous, and let his wife enjoy and be rewarded for all her hardships and sufferings throughout the years with him.


    But his wife died of illness, and no one will share the joy of his success. What¡¯s the use of such a title? Being famous and wealthy are not as good as the thatched cottage that his wife built little by little. He wouldn¡¯t go anywhere but here.


    It would be better for him to use his abilities to help the young woman who plays a key role in helping her husband.


    When Liu Miantang agreed with the old scholar¡¯s offers, she paid the deposit of one silver money more for fear that Zhao Quan would disturb the situation again.


    This gentleman¡¯s surname is Chen and a single name of Shi. Although Mr. Chen didn¡¯t ask for too high a price, Liu Miantang didn¡¯t want to take advantage of him, so she agreed that if the exquisite paintings made her shop business better, she would also give Mr. Chen a pay raise.


    Liu Miantang felt that as long as her business was selling well, she would be able to pay Mr. Chen more than 100 silver money.


    The poor Marquis Huainan came in good spirits and returned in bad spirits. When he got on the carriage and left, he didn¡¯t even look at Miantang. He was probably annoyed. He copied the way Liu Miantang did to him by calling his young servant and asking him to pass the message to her: ¡°You tell Madam Liu that her actions today are super annoying, and I won¡¯t forgive her for it!¡±


    With that, the Marquis waved his sleeve and left angrily.


    It¡¯s good that Liu Miantang is not afraid to be on the bad side of the highly skilled doctor. Anyway, her husband wouldn¡¯t let her talk to Zhao Quan. So she didn¡¯t care about it and return home happily.


    She found a talented painter and have the store treasure which could make a name for her store, her porcelain won¡¯t be inhibited by ordinary shops anymore!


    By then, her husband can learn chess at ease and continue to have a servant to serve him. Servant Li and the others can also continue to stay in the Cui family for retirement.


    Lady Miantang¡¯s long-cherished wish is not difficult. She just wants to guard her family and manage her life well.


    The next day, she chose one of the magnetic kilns with fine porcelain quality and asked them to send a pile of bright and clean white porcelain plates for Mr. Chen to paint.


    When everything was ready, Miantang, who was ready to go all out, was severely thrown cold water by the porcelain kiln worker who came to deliver plates.


    When the worker heard that these plates were to be painted, he kindly reminded the laywoman.


    ¡°Madam Cui, hand-painted porcelain plates are not as good as paper paintings. You can paint them as a hobby. Because the surface of the porcelain is too smooth and you have to apply the color five or six times in the paint. The paint is not like that on paper. It can absorb water and solidify immediately. The porcelain drying speed is much slower than that on paper¡­ And it takes a lot of time before you can continue coloring. Even if you paint well, if the temperature of the porcelain kiln is not controlled well in the process, it may also result in the crack of the porcelain¡­ ¡±


    Speaking of this, the worker shook his head and said, ¡°Madam, if you don¡¯t believe me, ask around. There is only one hand-painted porcelain store in the whole town, and their skills are passed down from generation to generation. They¡¯re the old store of the He family. But his family is for imperial tribute! Your ambition is great, but it seems impractical!¡±


    With that, the worker shook his head and went back to work in the porcelain kiln.


    Liu Miantang now knows what it means to be in a different profession that makes one feel worlds apart.


    She had thought that by relying on Mr. Chen¡¯s wonderful calligraphy and painting skills on a few porcelain plates, she could revitalize her family business and make the shop prosperous. Now she knows that it is not that simple.


    Thinking of this, she turned to Mr. Chen, who had been nearby, and said, ¡°Sir, you¡¯ve heard it too. I¡¯m sorry. If you didn¡¯t promise me, you could get 100 silver money from Mr. Zhao¡­ Since it¡¯s impossible to paint on a porcelain plate, I¡¯ll go to Mr. Zhao to make amends in person and let him continue to buy your paintings¡­ If he doesn¡¯t buy¡­ I¡¯ll also give you a sum of money to compensate, but it¡¯s not comparable to Mr. Zhao¡¯s amount¡­¡±


    Mr. Chen is sitting at the table eating the lunch brought by Servant Li for Liu Miantang. Servant Li is in a good mood these days. She always cooks meat for Miantang. What she made today is a bowl of Dongpo¡¯s braised pork, which is well cooked and bright red. The skin of the meat is shining with attractive crystal light and it is wobbly when picked up with chopsticks.


    It¡¯s been a long time since the Hate Pen Hermit has eaten such delicious food. Thus, he swept the food down like the wind puffs the clouds away! After eating all the meat, he hold on to his beard and rubbed the crust against the gravy at the bottom of the bowl, and eat again.


    After hearing Liu Miantang¡¯s full of ashamed words, Mr. Chen wiped his mouth and waved his hand carelessly: ¡°I haven¡¯t tried it yet, how can madam give up easily? Since this porcelain painting needs to be painted and burned, I will go to the porcelain kiln today and guard the stove for a try. Madam only needs to send me two meals a day.¡±


    Since Mr. Chen was willing to make an effort to try, Liu Miantang was naturally very grateful. She told Servant Li to cook for him and make sure that every meal includes meat or fish dishes.


    Servant Li had no interest in reviving the family business in North Street, but she did not stop Liu Miantang from looking so cheerful.


    Since she only left a few good days, it is fine to let her go with her will. If she really makes money, maybe The Prince will reward her and let a lonely woman like her have something left under her name.

 CH 15

    However, Servant Li is a loyal servant of The Prince. Even if she sympathizes with Liu Miantang in her heart, she still will report to Cui Xingzhou what she does every day, which people she gets in contact with, and what she had said.


    Prince Huaiyang didn¡¯t say anything when he heard that there were only a few customers who visited the shop and no one came to find Liu Miantang.


    After all, if he wants to catch big fish, he has to be patient enough. For the sake of the rebel Lu Wen, he is willing to spare some time and energy.


    He didn¡¯t know much about Lu Wen, but when he was suppressing the bandits, Prince Huaiyang felt appreciation for such a person, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s a thief.


    Although the thief doesn¡¯t follow the right path, he is a talented person who is good at planning and being in the military. He has repeatedly forced his generals into a desperate situation. He is especially good at attacking others and sneaking attacks.


    He didn¡¯t pay much attention to this disordered mob, but seeing that his subordinary had suffered a concealed loss, it has aroused his competitive spirit. He went off in person, dispatched his commander, made a long-distance raid on the arrogant bandits, took their bandit¡¯s den, and severely thwarted Lu Wen¡¯s arrogant attitude.


    The thief and his men lost their nests and were like a lost dog for a moment. When they fled from the chase, they left Miantang seriously injured.


    Although the thief evaded the chase and recruited soldiers and horses to fight back madly again, he doesn¡¯t know if he was frightened or what. In the past year, he has frequently made confused actions and gradually became inferior.


    Nowadays, the thief can hardly disturb the stability of the State of Zhen. However, Cui Xingzhou wanted to capture Lu Wen alive to see what kind of person he was.


    For this reason, he took the trouble to arrange the chess piece of Liu Miantang.


    Liu Miantang was thrown into the river. If Cuixingzhou hadn¡¯t gone to the Capital to report on his work and happened to pick her up, the woman would have sunk into the river to feed the fish.


    Later, Lu Wen¡¯s old subordinary who had surrendered and was offered amnesty and enlistment recognized the woman. It was Lu Wen¡¯s beloved wife that let Cui Xingzhou intervene in person, treated her, and took her back to Lingquan town after she could withstand the turbulence.


    Such a beautiful woman, if it wasn¡¯t for the escape from the chase, Lu Wen would have been reluctant to abandon her.


    With this in mind, Cui Xingzhou felt that Liu Miantang, the chess piece, need to be kept for a while more. The play of the husband and his wife in the North Street must continue to be maintained too.


    After five days, Cui Xingzhou sees that it¡¯s hard to continue to use the excuse of ¡°learning chess¡± and not return home anymore. Only then did Cui Xingzhou ask his young servant boy, Mo Ru, to prepare his clothes, change them up and leave the military camp.


    The weather is getting warmer and the evening wind is very comfortable. So before he reached North Street, Cui Xingzhou asked the horse-keeper to stop. He took advantage of the night wind to walk on the streets and relax.


    When Cui Xingzhou arrived at the gate of the North Street mansion, it was late at night, and the neighbors who were waiting at the door to chat all collected their stools and went home to sleep.


    It¡¯s fine as he always comes quietly and left early in the morning.


    But this time, the North Street, which was supposed to be silent, was shaken by a shadow figure.


    Cui Xingzhou had a good ear. When he heard the movement, he made a signal with his hand to Mo Ru who was behind him. He hurriedly disappeared into a corner and listened to the people talking in front of him while hiding.


    ¡°Damn it, there are no women in the whole Lingquan town that I can¡¯t get! Looking at her manner that day and her capability to manage the business, I thought she was the family member of an official of the real state garrison! I didn¡¯t expect she was just the wife of a porcelain merchant! If I don¡¯t sleep with her, I will disgrace my name.¡±


    The man who said this was the garrison nephew who flirted with Liu Miantang in the street a few days ago.


    Since he was pierced in his neck with a hairpin by Liu Miantang, he has been recuperating at home and has been well behaved for a while,


    Because what he did was some unpleasant matter, when his family asked him why he was injured, he didn¡¯t dare to say. He only asked the doctor to help him stop the bleeding and bandage him up. He vaguely said that he was scratched by a bamboo pole on the side of the road.


    But when he got well and went out, he was just in time for a new shop opening in the town. Thus, he led his lackeys to watch the excitement.


    Unexpectedly, he saw Liu Miantang standing behind the counter and tapping on the abacus.


    The beauty was more charming than that day, but the garrison nephew was too scared to move forward.


    The hairpin is still on her cloud-like bun. It would be bad if he get injured by her again!


    But knowing what her husband¡¯s family manages for a living, the young master also had a basic understanding of her in his heart.


    It¡¯s just a businessman without connections. There¡¯s nothing extraordinary! Besides, he heard that the husband of this young lady doesn¡¯t care about work and is always not at home. Moreover, there was no other man in the house.


    This is a piece of ownerless fragrant meat. If he doesn¡¯t eat it, it will be a waste!


    Women always act like they are ready to die to preserve their chastity when men haven¡¯t gotten their hands on them. However, once the men got their hands on them and slept, they will know the taste of it and tends to entangle themselves in men.


    The lecherous are very familiar with indulging in secret relations with women and sleeping with women from good families without permission.


    All he had to do was to prepare a good ladder, climb over the wall, and sneak into her bed! In normal circumstances, if her husband is not at home, even if she is taken advantage of, she will not dare to make a statement about it. She can only remain silent with tears. Otherwise, her reputation for innocence will be lost if she cries out in the middle of the night.


    Thinking that the woman seemed to have some martial art skills, two of his henchmen also prepared a pipe of smoke that cause people to fall unconscious. After that, he will be heading into the yard and lead the pipe of smoke into the window paper. By then, it will be difficult for her to overturn the situation even if she were to call for the help of the God and Ghost!


    Today, the garrison nephew sent a servant to spy on the situation of the mansion. He knew that the Master of the Cui family had not returned home. So today, he prepared all things to indulge in secret relations with women. The young servant was guarding outside the Cui family¡¯s wall in the North Street with a ladder on his shoulder.


    When it was night, he asked the servant boy to set up the ladder and get ready to sneak it.


    Thinking of the beautiful woman, the young master was so excited that he gave himself a little encouragement by swearing. He was about to sneak in and have a good time with her.


    But he did not know that his activities were being seen by Cui Xingzhou, who was hidden at the corner of the street.


    In the beginning, Prince Huaiyang thought it was the rebel who finally couldn¡¯t be patient and planned to take action tonight by coming to meet Liu Miantang privately. Naturally, he remained invisible until he climbed over the wall.


    But at that moment, the secret sentry who had been lying in ambush around Cui¡¯s mansion on the North Street had moved, whispered, and told The Prince the identity of the man. It was the town¡¯s garrison nephew who had been stabbed by Liu Miantang. The secret sentries know his background very well. He is lecherous in the town. He loves to hook up with good family ladies, but he has nothing to do with the rebellion.


    But he kept leading his people wandering outside the shop, so the secret sentry took the trouble to keep an eye on him.


    Today, this man¡¯s servant boy went to the drugstore to buy insect repellent and sleeping incense. The two can be combined to make smoke that makes people fall unconscious. In addition, the young servant also prepared a powerful tonic for his young master. It is said that three bowls of water boil into one bowl, and he will be able to survive a hundred battles. Once he drinks it, It will make a lady¡¯s legs soft


    Cui Xingzhou frowned at the secret sentry and suddenly realized what the wall climber was doing.


    Although the woman in the house was not his, Prince Huaiyang¡¯s woman, he also knew that Miantang was not a woman easy to seduce in the few days that he had spent with her.


    Although the woman has lost her virginity, she doesn¡¯t remember at all. Now, she just thinks of herself as a lady of a decent family. If this thief succeeds, she will be ashamed and furious, and she might kill herself because she¡¯s not able to think straight. Will it delay his plan to lure the enemy?


    Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t say a word. He took the lead in rushing to the wall of the courtyard. As soon as he raised his hand, he knocked out two lackeys guarding the wall.


    He didn¡¯t knock at the door either. Instead, he uses his waist strength and taps lightly with his toes. He leaped over the courtyard wall and landed in the courtyard.


    When he fell to the ground, he hurried to Liu Miantang¡¯s room. He saw that the window paper had been pierced and a bamboo tube fell on the ground.


    The door of Lady Liu¡¯s room was wide open, and the thief had already sneaked to her bed.


    Cui Xingzhou strides in with an expressionless face, ready to pull the lecherous off the bed.


    But the next moment, he heard the screams of ghosts crying and wolves howling from the room. Then a golden light flashed, and something hit him.


    Cui Xingzhou used his backhand to block it and the pain in his arms made him feel that his arm had been severely burned by something, which made him frown and groan.


    At this moment, Mo Ru also climbed the ladder over the wall and shouted to Servant Li. After a while, the lights in the yard were lit.


    ¡°Husband¡­ How could it be you?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou is about to stretch out his feet to kick the attacker, but he finds Liu Miantang carrying a copper kettle and looking at him with tearful eyes.


    The garrison nephew who sneaked in the door was jumping all over and swearing. His face was red and steaming as if he had been splashed by hot water.


    When he saw that the lights in Cui¡¯s family yard were bright, he didn¡¯t care about the pain. He just hurried to break out of the door. However, Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t give him the chance. He kicked him off and landed on the table. The sound of items dropping to the floor crushed the table.


    It turned out that Liu Miantang had not slept when the thief came in.


    Mr. Chen¡¯s hand-painted paintings haven¡¯t got any sign of a positive outcome. The business of the shop has not improved. It is difficult for her to sleep. What¡¯s more, knowing that her husband who always comes home very late at night might call for help. Thus, she kept her eyes half-closed and lie on her bed.


    As a result, she heard a rustle in the yard. At first, she thought it was her husband who was back, so she quickly got up to greet him. But when she got to the door, she saw a light through the window, and the window paper was punctured.


    She stood still, watching the bamboo pipe stretch in, and immediately realized that there was a lowly human that sneaked in.


    Her grandfather is an escort agency worker. He wanders in the world of rivers and lakes. What kind of fishy things had he never seen before? Miantang grew up listening to her mother¡¯s stories about her grandfather¡¯s walking in the world of rivers and lakes. It resulted in she was also clear about such dishonest practices.


    She looked at the smoke being blown in and wanted to shout. She didn¡¯t know how many people were outside the window, and she didn¡¯t know whether Servant Li and the others had been subdued by thieves.


    So she didn¡¯t dare to act rashly and alert the thief. She just had time to quickly turn to the back of the panel, wet the bath bucket with a towel, and veil her face, so as not to get affected by the smoke. Then she picked up the hot copper kettle on the small charcoal stove and poured it on the thief¡¯s head after he came in.


    But someone came in behind the thief!


    Miantang scalded the visitor with the bottom of the kettle. Unexpectedly, he was scalding her husband!


    After Servant Li lights up the lanterns in the yard, Mo Ru also drags in two fainting lackeys outside the door. It was then that Miantang finds out it was her husband who returned home and happened to encounter the thieves climbing over the wall, so he jumped over the wall to save her.


    Although she didn¡¯t see her husband¡¯s heroic demeanor to climb over the wall, his kick when kicking the thief earlier on was sharp, ruthless, and steady, full of masculinity, which made Miantang¡¯s heart skip a beat.


    Her husband¡¯s fists and feet are not for display, they are powerful!

 CH 16

    However, Miantang couldn¡¯t remember the heroic appearance of her husband. She only remembered that she had just burned her husband in the arm.


    So when Cui Xingzhou ordered Mo Ru to tie up the people and ask the officers to take them, she hurried to pull the sleeves of her husband.


    Cui Jiu saw that she came up to him. The step he initially wanted to take back to avoid was stunned by himself and then decided to stand still.


    Miantang unfolded his sleeves and saw that Cui Jiu¡¯s arm was red as if it were slightly blistering.


    ¡°Husband, it¡¯s all my fault¡­¡± Liu Miantang only said half of the sentences and was choking with sobs. Maybe it was because she had just inhaled some smoke. As she spoke, her legs became weak and she knelt on the ground,


    To be honest, Miantang looks good. Her red and tearful eyes now can make people feel sorry for her. But there was a lecher in the house who was rolling in pain. In addition, his red hot arm had made the beauty less appealing.


    Cui Xingzhou glanced at her and gently helped her up after hearing her words. He instructed Servant Li to bring in a tub of cold water for him to rinse his injuries a few times. After that, he applied a thin layer of oil.


    He doesn¡¯t know where Mo Ru manages to find these officials. They came very quickly and didn¡¯t say much after they came in. The officials just dragged the three thieves who had been gagged and bound out to the door.


    There was a carriage outside the door. The officials threw the three people into the carriage like potato bags and disappeared into the dark. They even saved the process of recording confessions and questioning.


    Miantang didn¡¯t care about this but was busy blowing air and fanning beside her injured husband, hoping to relieve his pain.


    When the light was on earlier, she recognized that it was the lecherous guy who had blocked her at the alley a few days ago who sneaked into her boudoir.


    She is the reason why their mansion was entered by thieves today!


    Miantang felt guilty. When the yard was clean, the two returned to the room. She sat down next to Cui Xingzhou. Looking at his always light expression and his swollen arm, she wept: ¡°Husband, it¡¯s all my fault. You¡­ You can scold me!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t care much about the injury on his arm. After all, when he joined the army as a young man, he also experienced injuries from saber and sword in the military camp.


    However, he thought that if he jumped over the wall a little earlier and replaced the lecherous guy in the house, he would be scalded with a face full of blood blisters¡­ He couldn¡¯t help twitching his eyebrows and said lightly: ¡°It¡¯s not you that wanted to do the dishonest act. Why should I scold you? I was afraid that you were wronged, but I didn¡¯t expect you would be ready¡­¡±


    Miantang was also afraid after the event and say, ¡°Thank goodness that I slept late, I heard from Servant Li that you love to drink hot tea. I was afraid that you would bother the servants to deliver water when you came back at night, so I asked the servants to prepare a small charcoal stove to warm water. Otherwise, no one can take advantage of it¡­ I will have to die to prove my innocence¡­ At that time, only you, my husband, will be left¡­¡±


    Speaking of the sad part, her tears could not stop flowing down.


    Cui Xingzhou sighed slightly, looked up at the newly hung spider web on the beam for a while, and finally bowed his head and said kindly, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Thinking of the remorse part, Miantang could not help complaining about the thief who sneaked in: ¡°I think the neighbors in Lingquan town are all simple and unsophisticated people. It should be a happy and healthy place to live in. How can there be such naughty villains? They even break into other people¡¯s homes in the middle of the night¡­ They say that Prince Huaiyang here is virtuous. Now it seems like a piece of bullshit. He even let the relatives of a local official act willfully!¡±


    Before she finished, she looked at her husband¡¯s handsome eyes staring at her slightly, as if he were unhappy. He dragged his voice and said: ¡°Your house got in a thief. What does that gotta do with Prince Huaiyang? ¡±


    Miantang knew that she said something wrong. She accidentally slipped rude things in front of her husband out of her tongue. She hurriedly straightened up her expression: ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for making an indiscreet remark, husband. The officials here are so annoying! You handed the complaint paper to them, but there was no reply. It shows that The Prince¡¯s men are all neglecting their duties and shielding each other. Now that the lecherous guy sneaked into our house again, and he obviously wants to get revenge¡­ If the bastard is released again¡­¡±


    After Miantang said this, Cui Xingzhou remembered that she had written a complaint paper to sue the lecherous guy, but he didn¡¯t take it to heart at that time. When he left the door, he threw the paper into the moat river. Later, when Mrs. Liu asked, he was perfunctory and said that he had presented it to the government


    From a certain point of view, he is indeed neglecting his duty and conniving with that lecherous man¡­ But it is ridiculous to admit his mistake and apologize to a rebel wife.


    For a moment, Cui Jiu fell silent, and his handsome face was covered with frost.


    Although he was usually very gentle, he was like a cloud at the top of a mountain. Although he was in front of her, she could not reach him when she stretch out her hand and could only look up at him.


    Normally, when Prince Huaiyang and the nobility had a feast, it is inevitable that there will be dancer prostitutes working in official brothels mixed in the banquet. However, when those women play and laugh with others, no one dares to approach Prince Huaiyang.


    There is no other reason. Women in the entertainment industry are the best at acting on people¡¯s faces.


    In the gentle smile of Prince Huaiyang, there was no temperature at all, nor was there any confusion when he watches the singing and dancing of the dancer prostitutes. Even if such a man is handsome and noble, a glance from him with a fierce look in his eyes, will make people feel inferior and timid and dare not move forward rashly.


    Now, Prince Huaiyang¡¯s gentle smile that he always put on to deceive the world, has also disappeared. The tall figure sitting there, a pair of handsome eyes staring at Miantang coldly, is very oppressive.


    It was rare for him to get angry. At this time, he had no cover-up and let the stuffy feeling in his heart out.


    If it was given to another woman who was in front of him, feeling a sense of his oppressive, they will be too scared that the woman won¡¯t even dare to breathe. The woman can only remain at her place and have no idea how to ease the atmosphere.


    However, Miantang felt that her husband must be angry with the local officials and worried about the future.


    Thinking of this, she began to feel sorry for her husband Cui Jiu but carefully avoided his injured arm and before he know it, she hugged him on his waist, stretched out her jade palm, gently patted Cui Jiu on his back, and buried her face on his shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it husband,¡± she said softly. ¡°It¡¯s him who broke into our family¡¯s yard without permission today. Even if the garrison wants to protect him, he can¡¯t put the blame on us. We didn¡¯t drag him into the yard, didn¡¯t we?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou never thought that Liu Miantang would take the initiative to comfort himself. For a moment, he was stunned.


    She was so close to himself that he could smell the sweetness of her hair. The pair of jade arms that hold onto him is also very soft.


    Prince Huaiyang took a deep breath and felt that even if they were a real couple, the lady should not be so intimate¡­ Does Liu Miantang also throw herself into the arms of the bandit Lu Wen and won his favor before she could settle down in peace?


    However, after he was hugged by Miantang, his rarely out-of-control anger slowly calmed down. He made up his mind and finally raised his hand and gently patted her on her shoulder: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this. I will go to the government office to take care of it¡­¡±


    Miantang was relieved to hear his slightly overcast remarks. Although he was impatient with worldly affairs, he had a calm temperament that was different from that of ordinary people. Although she was the cause of the thief¡¯s intrusion, he didn¡¯t say any heavy word to her¡­ Moreover, his broad and solid chest was so comfortable to hold. Miantang felt relieved when she listened to his heartbeat.


    After this warm hug, they will have a rest.


    Miantang thought that her husband¡¯s arm was injured and it will be hard for him to get to sleep, so she talked with Cui Jiu at night to distract him.


    What she has said is mostly about the business of his shop and the interesting stories in the neighborhood these days.


    Although The Prince¡¯s subordinates and Servant Li also reported the situations in the North Street mansion from time to time, most of the focus was on whether there were suspicious people. But never, like Miantang, talking about everyday things in the shop.


    No one has ever bothered Prince Huaiyang with such trivial matters. Even when his mother is unhappy in her residence, she should also observe the dignity that women should have. She would rather complain to her confidant¡¯s nanny or servant girl than break the heart of her son.


    How can a man with high morals be fussy like a woman?


    But now the woman next to his pillow has no taboos. She talks to him about everything.


    ¡°Mrs. Zhang, at the entrance of North Street, recently set up a sacrificial altar and invited a God of the dog!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou thought that anyway he was feeling idle. Instead, he asked, ¡°God of the dog?¡±


    Miantang quickly nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s an old dog skin opened by a Taoist priest. It¡¯s said that the vixen women are most afraid of it. I heard from Mrs. Zhang that her family husband is entangled by fox demons and needs to dispel its evil spirits. At first, I thought that I had encountered a ghost. Later, I learned that it was her family husband who picked up a girl from Hualiu alley and asked for a concubine. So I told her since it¡¯s a person, what¡¯s the use of having a dog skin? A person still has to be taught by a person the lesson.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t feel that the men in the North Street Zhang¡¯s family did anything wrong. It¡¯s just that if he wants to take a concubine, he has to find a lady either from a poor or good family. Taking a prostitute home will bring down the family customs. It will indeed make the main hostess in the family a little unhappy. So he casually asked, ¡°How can the person teaches the lesson?¡±


    Miantang next to him said, ¡°Mrs. Zhang was originally from a rich family, and all the rice shops in her family were subsidized by her mother¡¯s family. Mrs. Zhang is too soft-hearted, so she lets her husband take care of it. The capable young servant girl who her mother¡¯s family gave her was also sent away by her husband. Since she can¡¯t take control of her husband, she should find the servant girl back, and stop listening to her husband¡¯s soother words anymore¡­¡±


    Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou suddenly opened his mouth and interrupted her: ¡°Don¡¯t meddle with other people¡¯s homes affairs.¡±


    He put Liu Miantang here to catch the rebel, so he didn¡¯t want her to meddle with the neighborhood. If too many people are involved, will it not distract his secret sentries and Servant Li¡¯s mind, and miss out on the real rebel?


    Liu Miantang knew that she had made an indiscreet remark and lost his womanhood. She hurriedly said, ¡°You are right. It¡¯s someone else¡¯s family affairs, not you who wants to have a concubine. I really shouldn¡¯t care about it¡­¡±


    Miantang suddenly stopped at this point. Since she was injured and lost her memory, her husband has never been intimate with her, although he is being considerate to her.


    At first, she thought her husband was unfamiliar with each other, so she feels it was very good to treat each other with such respect. But now, she can¡¯t help thinking that her husband might have other women to serve him, just like the husband of the Zhang family?


    Thinking of this, she felt a sudden blockage in her heart and did not want to continue guessing randomly, so she suddenly asked, ¡°Husband, do you want to take a concubine?¡±

 CH 17

    Cui Xingzhou thought that this was the end of the marketplace gossip, so he closed his eyes and said, ¡°I won¡¯t take concubines¡­ It¡¯s getting late. Let¡¯s go to sleep quickly. I have to go to the government to clear things up tomorrow morning.¡±


    He didn¡¯t lie. He didn¡¯t want to take a concubine in the future, but his wife wouldn¡¯t be the woman next to him.


    After listening to Cui Jiu¡¯s words, Miantang felt lighthearted. Her husband is a calm and elegant person, but she is not a shallow greasy man like Official Zhang in the rice shop on North Street. She really shouldn¡¯t think about it.


    At this time, the moon was hanging on the window chord, and Miantang closed her eyes contentedly next to her husband.


    He waited for the person next to him to have steady breathing, Cui Xingzhou slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at the woman who was sleeping soundly. Her face was as tender as the fresh bean milk¡­


    The next day, Cui Xingzhou got up early, and Servant Li started cooking early.


    Prince Huaiyang came here only wanted to stabilize the woman who had lost her memory for his trick to continue. But as he went back and forth so many times, he really felt that he had taken the North Street as his temporary dwelling place as a high official.


    Although this place is not as respectable as the Royal residence, it is much more comfortable than the military camp he used to live in. In addition, he is accustomed to the use of Servant Li, his old servant, and the food is delicious to his taste. Cui Xingzhou is happy to have breakfast here before leaving.


    Because she had to cook for Mr. Chen these days and was keeping his mind on the braised pork cooked by Servant Li, the Mansion in the North Street had bought a lot of pork. Servant Li had sorted out the fat part of the meat yesterday. There was a whole set of lard blocks. She simply boiled it with water and made a fresh new pot of delicious lard oil. The remaining crispy oil shuttle was mixed with salt and bring it on the dining table.


    This kind of thing can¡¯t be served at the master¡¯s table in the royal residence. This is the first time that Cui Jiu had ate it. He liked it very much. It was crispy and fragrant. After a while, he has already eaten half a bowl.


    After dinner, he looked at the time and could not delay further. So he told Miantang that he would go to the government to inquire about it, and then he won¡¯t be coming back. He will go directly to the mountain to continue to hone his chess skills with his mentor.


    When his carriage turned around the corner after leaving the house, a secret sentry hurried out of a courtyard, came to the carriage, and whispered: ¡°His Royal Highness, I have something to report to you, the lecherous thief has been transferred to the prison in the military camp¡­ Would you like to send them to the government for court again?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou had recalled that the thief had provoked the Young Lady Liu to scold Prince Huaiyang for being an incompetent official, and he felt uncomfortable for a while. He said coldly, ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to. Just torture him with the preliminary flogging and banish him to the South of the Five Ridges. Let the bastard die there.¡±


    As usual, he went out very early and would not meet any neighbors. But when the carriage came to the street, he saw a man standing behind a closed door with the smell of wine, pounding the door and shouting: ¡°Bitch, you dare to shut me out. I can sell you off once, I can sell you off twice. Just wait and see if I will sell you to the alley! Let you do man-flattering activities every day! Madam, you actually listened to the bitch¡¯s instigation and didn¡¯t let your husband come home!!¡±


    The woman in his mouth did not speak, however, there was the movement of a person that is inside the door, full of confidence, and replied: ¡°I¡¯m the servant girl that was sent to My Lady when you guys got married. Even if there are people who want to sell us away, it won¡¯t be your turn! My lady didn¡¯t care about your impoverished family and got married to you according to the marriage arranged since you guys were a child, regardless of her parent¡¯s objection. Instead, you rely on My Lady¡¯s dowry for businesses, and even raised a prostitute outside! My Lady is not going to suffer this insult, so she will get a divorce. You can marry whoever you like! But there¡¯s one thing, the rice shop belongs to the dowry of My Lady when she got married to you, it will not be yours even a little. Hurry, get someone to move your supply away and get lost! ¡±


    Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou in the carriage understood. This is about Zhang¡¯s family who asked the ¡°God of the Dog¡± to ward off evil spirits.


    It seems that Lady Zhang, who was so soft-hearted and didn¡¯t pay attention, took Liu Miantang¡¯s advice and found her servant girl who was loyal to protecting her lady. He doesn¡¯t know what other advice Liu Miantang gave the lady besides this.


    Now it seems that if Liu Miantang had not been robbed by bandits, she would have created big troubles for the real merchant Cui family to suffer. She is so fond of gossiping and is not virtuous at all¡­ The most important thing is that she is not afraid to bring trouble to herself.


    Cui Xingzhou decides that before asking the secret sentry in the North Street to withdraw, he must give Liu Miantang good advice and let her learn what a virtuous woman should look like, so as the avoid her life in the future to be too difficult. Not only did she not get rid of the spirit of the bandits, but also she was infected with the spirit of the marketplace¡­


    It turned out that he had expected correctly.


    On the next day, when the North Street secret sentry came to report the daily affairs of the North Street to him, the secret sentry reported the follow-up of the Zhang¡¯s family. He said that the husband and wife were still quarreling. Mrs. Zhang was so determined and called her brother to take her shop back.


    Now that the Zhang husband has no shop to make a living. The prostitute that he was going to take in as a concubine, disdained him for being poor, so she broke up with him. Later, Official Zhang heard from some unknown place that the newly moved-in wife of the Cui family is the one who had given her soft-hearted wife the idea. He immediately flew into a rage and went to bang on the door of the Cui family¡¯s North Mansion in the early morning of the next day.


    When Cui Xingzhou heard this, he put down his brush and raised his head to ask the secret sentry standing at the table: ¡°Did Liu Miantang have a verbal fight with him?¡±


    The secret sentry shook his head and said, ¡°She didn¡¯t. The business of the shop is not well these days. Servant Li said that Lady Liu was so worried that she lost her voice and couldn¡¯t scold. Instead, she asked the mute woman to climb the ladder and poured a bucket of ¡®poops¡¯ directly on Mr. Zhang¡¯s head¡­¡±


    The secret sentry was afraid that this story will dirty The Prince¡¯s ears, so he only said half of it. At that time, Mr. Zhang cried and cursed loudly. He has a family and can¡¯t go back. Most of his savings were cheated by the prostitute. There was no change of clothes thus, he can only cry out loud in his wet and smelly attire.


    Finally, his wife was soft-hearted. Seeing him this pity, she opened the door and let him in to change clothes.


    Cui Xingzhou was not surprised to hear this. Now he can see that the young lady is naturally fearless. She dares to poke at any kind of ¡°hornet¡¯s nest¡±. It all depends on whether she likes it or not.


    On normal days, Cui Xingzhou would surely frown.


    However, Cui Xingzhou is in a very unhappy mood these days. Several Ministers of the court have plotted against him these days. They said that most of the bandits in the State of Zhen have been eliminated. But Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t disband the local army. He has ulterior motives. They requested for The Emperor he must be summoned to the capital and be reprimanded in person.


    Next, the Ministers greatly praised Shi Yikuan, the Military Commander of the State of Qing which is adjacent to the State of Zhen. They say that he wins people in virtue and it seems that he deliberately recruited the rebel, Lu Wen. Once the two sides have negotiated the terms, Lu Wen will return with Shi Yikuan¡¯s command with his people.


    Shi Yikuan did his best to calm the bandits without any effort.


    If possible, Cui Xingzhou also wanted to be like Lady Liu. Recklessly carried a few barrels of poops and pour on the heads of those decrepit and muddleheaded courtiers and the shameless Shi Yikuan, letting out his anger in the bottom of his heart.


    It¡¯s a pity that as a courtier, he can¡¯t live as freely as a young lady in North Street


    Thinking of this, he waved his hand and let the secret sentry go.


    Who would have thought that Prince Huaiyang, with his powerful army in his hands, could not live as comfortably as the young lady of a North Street merchant?


    Just then, someone came to report that Miss Lian, accompanied by her brother, Lian Xuan, had come to the Military Camp to visit The Prince.


    It turns out that Cui Xingzhou has not returned home since the Old Princess Consort¡¯s birthday party. As for several letters from his future father-in-law to recommend his nephews for a position in the officialdom, there was no response too.


    The Prince¡¯s Aunt, Lian-Chu, inevitably complains that his nephew forgets things and doesn¡¯t care about his family affairs.


    But Lian Binglan realized that something was wrong. She just felt that her cousin had deliberately ¡°forgotten¡± and wanted to warn the Lian family. So she stopped her mother and didn¡¯t let her encourage her father to ask. Instead, she carefully cooked a few snacks and asked her brother to take her to the countryside for a spring outing and ¡°stop by¡± to see Prince Huaiyang.


    In this way, she can not only show no intention, but also appropriately express her concern and miss her cousin, and also see The Prince¡¯s attitude towards the Lian family.


    Lian Xuan, the elder brother of Lian Binglan, and Cui Xingzhou were classmates. They studied at the capital academy and were familiar with each other.


    However, he was born weak. Although he took an official post as a County Magistrate, he failed to enroll in his post because of his illness, so he had to take a temporary leave and return home. It can also be regarded as a person not harnessed with duties in another sense.


    It¡¯s just that The Master of the Lian family is different from Zhao Quan, who is empathetic with landscape paintings and practices medicine.


    This man has the ambition of a great hawk who spreads its wings, but he has been dragged down by the emaciated body. What he has derived is the sense of unfulfilled ambition of ¡°When can he get an important position, and step on the battlefield in the autumn¡±.


    Other than drinking medicine, Young Master Lian¡¯s greatest hobby is talking with several friends, pointing out the past and present, and expressing his feelings.


    So when he entered the Military Camp, he saw Cui Xingzhou, his former classmate, dressed in black and gold military uniform, with piles of official documents on his desk and table, and his subordinates kept coming in and out. He had a subtle feeling of inferiority and dissatisfaction in his heart.


    When Prince Huaiyang greeted him, his future uncle and former classmate, Young Master Lian could not wait to speak about his views on the governance of the State of Zhen, which was quite instructive to Prince Huaiyang, and even left Lian Binglan unable to interrupt them.


    Seeing Prince Huaiyang¡¯s courtesy smile getting deeper and deeper, Lian Binglan really wanted to block her brother¡¯s mouth with her handkerchief regardless of the etiquette that a young lady should have.


    If it weren¡¯t for the inconvenience of a woman going into and out of the camp alone, and her other brothers were not in the State of Zhen, she would not want to drag her brother, Lian Xuan here with her.


    It makes her effort of pouring exhortations into her brother along the way goes in vain, she asked her brother to drink more tea and talk less. Lian Xuan had forgotten his sister¡¯s words when he saw that the career of the person in front of him was better than his own.


    But Lian Xiang, the servant girl behind Lian Binglan, was smart. As soon as she saw that the handkerchief in her lady¡¯s hand was getting tighter and tighter, she immediately understood.


    With the effort of delivering tea to the eldest young master, she accidentally poured half a bowl of tea on Young Master Lian¡¯s gown, which made Young Master Lian frown and reprimand and finally stopped him from the potential of instructing thousands of miles of rivers and mountains.


    Lian Binglan breathed a sigh of relief and took advantage of the time of her brother¡¯s intermission, She smiled softly at her cousin and said, ¡°The Old Princess Consort is worried about you these days. She is afraid that the food in the Military Camp is monotonous. She says that if I have time, I can send some food to you to adjust your appetite. In addition, the tenants of the royal residence have sent a basket of ¡®June hairy crab¡¯. Although the crabs are not as big as those in autumn, they are delicious and fat, which is beyond the reach of autumn crabs. I specially shaved the crab meat and wrapped crab roe buns for you to have a taste of it.¡±


    With that, she ordered Lian Xiang to take out a plate of crab roe buns from the food box. The translucent skin showed that the crab roe was full.


    Cui Xingzhou smiled and said, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, cousin.¡± He took over the jade chopsticks and put one in his mouth.


    This cousin of his is meticulous in her work. Although she only wrapped five steamed stuffed buns for delivery, the plate edge was decorated with crabs roe fried with egg whites, and fish and water plants carved from vegetables. At a glance, it was beautiful.


    But for a hungry martial arts practitioner, it doesn¡¯t feel satisfied eating.

 CH 18

    Cui Xingzhou practiced with soldiers in the military camp all day. He didn¡¯t have the same appetite as the young ladies and princes who lived leisurely in the government.


    In addition to the plate of crab roe dumplings, Lian Binglan also prepared a small cup of bird¡¯s nest soup and a plate of preserved meat in honey sauce.


    Although these exquisite snacks are delicious, after a few bites, his stomach and intestines are not as satisfied as to the big steamed stuffed bun that is made with leaven dough and added the radish filling by Servant Li.


    However, Cui Xingzhou politely left one on the plate, indicating that he was satisfied, and warmly praised his cousin¡¯s ability to cook snacks.


    Lian Binglan¡¯s cheeks were flushed. She only said that he would make some exquisite ones for her cousin again if she had a chance in the future.


    She didn¡¯t mention her father¡¯s recommendation letter to her cousin. Instead, she talked about the daily life of the Old Princess Consort in detail. Seeing her cousin had some sincere smiles, she tactfully got up and say goodbye.


    However, before leaving, she looked at Cui Xingzhou¡¯s half-used purse with incense hanging around his waist. She felt slight happiness in her heart, smiled sweetly, and said, ¡°This purse is not embroidered well. It¡¯s been tough for you to wear it all the time. Tomorrow, I will embroider a new one for you¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou hooked up the corner of his mouth and said slightly, ¡°I don¡¯t like new ones. I have used to using this and don¡¯t need to change it. Thank you for your intentions.¡±


    The purse around his waist was indeed the object of his engagement sent by his cousin from the matchmaker when he was engaged.


    Actually, the embroidery work is really good. According to the matchmaker, it was embroidered by Miss Lian herself. The unique style of the secluded orchid in a deserted valley is very suitable for men. So to express his gratitude to his cousin, he always wore it on his waist.


    As Cui Xingzhou said, he is a man who doesn¡¯t like to pursue new things. As long as things are used smoothly, they can be used forever.


    So is the purse and so are the people too. For his future wife, he didn¡¯t expect much, and he didn¡¯t expect the idea in the boudoir to have any great effect. His wife only needs to have a gentle and virtuous disposition. The other jobs have their own servant girl to work on them.


    However, he always believed that what was on the purse was the tenderness of Lian Binglan¡¯s hand-sewn needle and thread, until he saved Liu Miantang.


    Liu Miantang identifies that Cui Xingzhou was her fiance by the virtue of his purse.


    However, Liu Miantang didn¡¯t have the vanity of the lady of the boudoir. When he asked about the purse implicitly, she honestly explained that although the purse was her dowry, it wasn¡¯t sewed by her, and it was when she was sorting out her dowry list halfway with her servant girl, she suddenly found that she had brought a purse less, so she bought it from a foreign embroiderer in the post station.


    It is said that the embroiderer was asked by an official in the State of Zhen to make dowry as a ¡°substitutionary needlework¡±. Such businesses are the tacit secrets of the Great Yan Dynasty of the wealthy family mansion.


    Although the young ladies of the wealthy family claim to be omnipotent in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, they sometimes have shortcomings. Many embroidering women take over their place in needlework. Most of them have traveled to foreign lands to make dowries for the girls who cannot sew properly, and they don¡¯t fish for fame. Each family has its embroidery style, which makes the customers who are the ladies of the wealthy family keep their good reputation for being quick-witted and nimble-fingered.


    It¡¯s a coincidence that the embroiderer is probably helping the Lian family with substitutionary needlework. She might be also feeling tired and lazy, and trying to save trouble. She felt that one was a bride to be married into the capital, and the other was a noblewoman from the State of Zhen. They probably won¡¯t get in contact with each other.


    So the purse was sold to Liu Miantang at a high price. When the embroiderer arrived at Lian¡¯s mansion in the State of Zhen and asked the owner to choose the design, the same pattern of a secluded orchid in a deserted valley was selected, and the embroiderer simply imitate the design and sewed according to the pattern, which became a token for Lian¡¯s engagement.


    It was such a mistake that made Liu Miantang identified that the man wearing a half-used purse was her husband Cui Jiu.


    Cui Jiu was surprised to see that Miantang had deemed the purse Miss Lian gave him as her own. When he asked the reason more in-depth, Miantang honestly answered him.


    This lets Cui Jiu see through the secret vanity of his Cousin Lian.


    However, he would not have cared about such details. It is human nature for a lady of boudoir to pursue fame.


    But today, when Lian Binglan mentioned this, he couldn¡¯t help thinking, is it his cousin who is good at needlework, or has she hired a ¡°substitute needlework¡± embroiderer?


    He was originally upset. After being instructed by his future brother-in-law, he was even more bored.


    After seeing off the Lian siblings, Cui Xingzhou asked Mo Ru to prepare casual clothes for him. After putting them on, he dressed lightly and walked along the dirt road outside the military camp to dissipate his mood in the countryside.


    Under his administration, the State of Zhen has opened up a lot of new farmland, which is planted with two crops of rice a year. The crops in the field have grown tall.


    A lot of crabs that are the same as the crab roe bun that Lian Binglan made, such as lotus root stuffed with crab roe, are raised in the ponds that regulate the water volume in many paddy fields, the delicious taste of ¡°June Hairy Crab¡± can not be maintained for a long time. When the shell hardens, the taste also changes.


    The young servant, Mo Ru, saw that his master was so absorbed in looking at the farmland that he immediately understood the meaning and ran to ask the farmer the price.


    After a while, he bought two large caged crabs and asked excitedly, ¡°Your Royal Highness, do you want the chef in the Military Camp to steam the crabs for you this noon?¡±


    Cui Jiu thought about the rough cooking style of the camp chef. He felt that he would not live up to the delicious crab, so he said: ¡°Go back to call a carriage and eat in Lingquan town at noon¡­¡±


    When he arrives at Lingquan Town, he can find a restaurant at random and let a proper chef clean it up for him. It will be more delicious.


    He thought so and did not intend to go to the mansion on the North Street.


    But The Prince¡¯s plan could not keep up with the change. He found a remote restaurant in Lingquan town. As soon as he got off the carriage, he heard someone call in surprise: ¡°Husband!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked back and saw a woman in a light smoke pleated skirt trotting over with a surprised look on her face. The old servant, Servant Li, was out of breath and followed behind her.


    ¡°I went to deliver dinner to Mr. Chen earlier on. From a distance, I recognized that it was¡­ It was your carriage. But Servant Li insisted that it was not. She also¡­ Didn¡¯t let me follow up. I almost missed your carriage!¡± Miantang was a little panting because she had just run a few steps. His cheeks were scarlet and his pink neck was even whiter.


    It was because she had not moved her muscles and bones for a long time that her ankle was aching. Only when she came to the carriage and held onto the carriage subconsciously could she ease the pain.


    Cui Xingzhou guessed that her old wound had started to show effect again when she suddenly stopped talking.


    He didn¡¯t know what had happened to her. Her hamstring was broken. Although Zhao Quan had fixed it back for her, it was certainly impossible to recover as before.


    Such an injury is most afraid of violent activities. Now that he thinks about it, she should be in great pain.


    Thinking so, Cui Xingzhou reached out to stabilize her arm so that she wouldn¡¯t stumble and fall.


    The jade arm that he was holding onto had become very soft during this year of her recovery. Cui Xingzhou unconsciously tightened his hand¡­


    At this moment, Servant Li also came after her breathlessly. Out of breath, she knelt to The Prince and said, ¡°Prin¡­ Master, I can¡¯t stop Madam. I beg for you¡­¡±


    Liu Miantang came to recognize him on the street in the daytime. She really shouldn¡¯t have! Servant Li was trying to let The Prince punish her. But in the middle of her sentence, she saw the meaningful eyes of Prince Huaiyang and immediately shut up in a hurry to avoid revealing flaws.


    Miantang has relieved her pain at this time and because she was distracted by the pain earlier on, he didn¡¯t pay attention to what Servant Li had said but asked her husband in a weak voice: ¡°Husband, why don¡¯t you come back to town? Do you want to eat in this restaurant?¡±


    With that, she caught a glimpse of the two cages of crabs in the hands of Mo Ru.


    Mo Ru, who was always alert, lied on behalf of his master: Master knew that Madam likes to eat crab, so he went to the countryside to buy two cages in person, and prepared to let the restaurant make crab dumplings, and then take them back to the mansion to eat¡­¡±


    Liu Miantang likes eating crabs. When she was not well, she make a fuss that she would eat crabs in autumn. As a result, she was severely reprimanded by Servant Li. She said that Her Master was short of money. It¡¯s been good enough to have some food and drink at home. How can she afford to buy crabs?


    Since then, she has never asked Servant Li for any food. She didn¡¯t expect that her husband was thinking about herself and rushed to buy so many crabs.


    She was feeling so happy deep in her heart that she looked at Cui Xingzhou¡¯s handsome face and said softly, ¡°Why make it into crab dumplings? The crab shells of the June Hairy Crab are soft thus, it will be delicious to spicy stir-fry them! I bought the fermented soya bean hot sauce made by the neighborhood in the street yesterday. It¡¯s just nice that it can be fried with the crabs. It also can save tons of money and let the restaurant earn money for nothing.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou originally wanted to have a drink by himself and silently ponder while eating. But his plan was turned into bubbles.


    He look at Liu Miantang who couldn¡¯t stop being happy with her eyes. The corners of his mouth slightly stirred up. It seemed that he had made up his mind and slowly said, ¡°Since you like spicy crab, we can fry it¡­¡±


    So Cui Xingzhou helped Liu Miantang into the carriage and returned to the North Street Mansion.


    But this time Cui Xingzhou was no longer secretive, after getting off the carriage, he returned to hold onto Miantang, and then, under the eyes of a bunch of neighbors stretching their necks, helped Miantang off the carriage.


    There have been different sayings regarding what kind of person is Liu Miantang¡¯s husband like. But they are generally a dandy or a dissolute man of the wealthy.


    With the sun shining brightly at noon now, people can see the appearance of Merchant Cui, who doesn¡¯t work hard.


    Oh my! No wonder such a charming lady is willing to run the business for him! Such a tall and handsome man!


    Merchant Cui was wearing a moonlight gown, with wide shoulders and narrow waist, dark sword eyebrows, deep eyes, and a quiet temperament. He didn¡¯t look like a businessman. If he was an official, someone would have believed him!


    In other words, such a man and Lady Liu are a pair of the perfect matches made in heaven!


    Mrs. Yin was a warm-hearted woman. She took the lead in saying to Liu Miantang, ¡°Madam Cui, Is that your Husband who¡¯s back? Do you want to come and have a seat? My newly fried melon seeds taste delicious!¡±


    Standing beside Cui Xingzhou, Liu Miantang raised her voice and boasted: ¡°No, I will visit another time. My husband went to the countryside to buy me crabs. Our meal is delayed and we haven¡¯t eaten yet!¡±


    With these words, she took her husband¡¯s hand and went back to the mansion with a smile.


    The neighborhood always gossiped that her husband was a libertine. Today, her husband finally came back in the daytime. Also letting them look at her husband¡¯s noble and dignified appearance. He was by no means an unbearable person in their mouth.


    Cui Xingzhou has his thinking.


    Liu Miantang stayed here for so long that no one contacted her. Maybe¡­ She was deliberately left behind by Lu Wen. It is likely that the thief was tired of playing with the beauty and abandoned her maliciously.


    In that case, he might as well go all out to reveal his trace, and just accept Liu Miantang as his mistress. Lu Wen has been trying to find out whether his news is real or fake. If he finds that the person who sleeps beside him every day has become the new favorite of Prince Huaiyang, even if his love is no longer there, he must be afraid and suspect that Liu Miantang will reveal his secret to him. Once he has scruples, he will tend to take action¡­


    Cui Xingzhou sneered at Lu Wen¡¯s intention to get in contact with Shi Yikuan and follow the good path of getting an offer of amnesty and enlistment to rebels. The thieves wanted to be an official? See if he agrees to it!

 CH 19

    As mentioned above, the ship is divided into three layers. The first layer below the deck is the cargo warehouse and the boatman¡¯s room, and the passenger cabin above the deck is occupied by the Jia family.


    Because the second floor was more blocked out, it was allocated to the female family members.


    However, Ruan Rong went up to the second floor in a worrying way and ran into two panicked women. She is guilty in her heart, so she didn¡¯t dare to stop and ask the reason. Instead, she dodged aside.


    Who knows that the two old servants couldn¡¯t pay any attention to their manners. They just briefly apologise without looking back and hurried downstairs.


    The servants of rich and powerful families always pay attention to the word ¡°etiquette¡±. If wasn¡¯t something big happened, they would never panic like this.


    Ruan Rong was also curious about what was going on outside, so she went to Daiyu¡¯s room. As the hostess of the boat, Daiyu¡¯s room had a panoramic view of the ship¡¯s bow.


    When she opened the cabin door, she saw Lin Daiyu, Zi Juan, and Xue Yan lying in the window, looking down through a gap. Except that Daiyu was barely calm, the remaining two servant girls all looked worried.


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Ruan Rong walked quickly behind the three ladies and asked curiously, ¡°Look at you one by one. It seems like the sky has fallen.¡±


    The three ladies were startled. Seeing Ruan Rong later, Daiyu hurriedly stepped aside and said, ¡°You will know after looking at it!¡±


    Given their relationship, Ruan Rong would not be polite with her. She went to the window and saw that they had only opened a gap carefully, so she directly stretched out her hand to push the circle and looked out.


    But on the river nearly 100 meters wide, there were six big watercraft with wild geese spreading their wings lined up, cutting across the whole river. There were at least 70 or 80 people on the deck, shouting and scolding the servants of the rich with the Cao family¡¯s boat across the river.


    ¡°Have we encountered a water bandit?¡±


    Ruan Rong muttered casually that the two servant girls who had been bluffing were pale, especially the younger servant, Xue Yan. Their eyes were red, and they almost burst into tears.


    Daiyu hurriedly pushed Ruan Rong and protested with dissatisfaction: ¡°Don¡¯t scare people, sister! Where are there so many water bandits on the canal? Besides, how can the water bandits use ships for transporting tribute grain? There must be some other reason!¡±


    Then, she turned back to comfort Xue Yan and said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. When Mother Zhang comes back, we will know what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Coincidentally, Mother Zhang broke in at this time. Before she could breathe, she replied, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid girls. They are not water bandits ahead, but a group of salt dealers!¡±


    It turned out that the six watercraft were caravans carrying salt northward. One of their craft accidentally got stuck on a reef because the boat was freighted with too much merchandise and was too deep in a draught. The bottom of the boat was also broken.


    Seeing that if this matter was going to be delayed further, the salt dealers were afraid that the ship of salt would be gone. The salt traders simply cut off the river course and wanted to seize the passing passenger ships to transport the salt to the ferry thirty miles away.


    If Jia Lian had left two days later in the evening, someone else would have suffered this misfortune. It happened that Sun Shaozong helped him, and the Jia family set off on the journey a few days earlier. As a result, they were bumping into this group of ¡°obstacles¡±!


    The sudden huge earthquake on the ship just now was caused by the boatman¡¯s emergency dropping of the four claw iron anchor.


    If an ordinary passenger ship sees such a large number of people on the other side, they may be terrified. However, if the servants of the rich from the Jia family do not bully others during ordinary times, they will be considered good deeds. How would they be willing to be intimidated by just several salt dealers?


    So the two sides shouted at each other when they disagreed!


    Jia Yucun was taking a nap in the room. After hearing the servant¡¯s report, he quickly got up and hurried to the deck. Seeing that they were shouting at the top of their lungs, he hurriedly shouted: ¡°Stop fighting and stop scolding further, shut up¡°


    How will the servants of the rich from the Jia family ever take this ¡°broken settlement¡± seriously?


    After hearing Jia Yucun¡¯s reprimand, the servants of the rich scolded even more fiercely. Some people shouted at the top of their voices: ¡°Jia Yucun, the governor of Jinling is here, you better get out of the way quickly, you ass-stabbing dogs! ¡°


    Jia Yucun¡¯s hands and feet trembled angrily, but he could not do anything to them. He had to gather around Jia Lian and exhorted: ¡°My Second Master Lian! Let them stop scolding. What if something bad were to happen?¡±


    There¡¯s a saying that goes ¡°like a master, like a servant¡±. In fact, it is the same thing to say the other way around. Even the servants of the rich from the Jia family don¡¯t give a damn to the salt dealers across the river, how can Jia Lian be afraid of them when he is used to being a master?


    ¡°Something bad?¡±


    When he saw him twitching his mouth and said: ¡°They even dare to stop the boat of Rongguo mansion. I think they are the ones who will be in trouble! When we get to the Qingzhou mansion, I will let this bastard know what the meaning of the word ¡°regret¡± is!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid the Second Master doesn¡¯t know anything about it. Whenever the official salt is escorted, there must be a flag of salt merchant yamen on the ship, but there are no signs on these ships. It must be private salt! If they dare to transport this lot of private salt in a straw boat openly, they must be supported by a person who covers extravagance. They may not be afraid of the Rongguo mansion!¡±


    After these words, Jia Lian¡¯s face showed hesitation. But because of his reputation, he was still unable to back down with grace.


    Jia Yucun hurriedly strike while the iron was hot and said: ¡°Besides, most of the private salt dealers are outlaws. I have heard several times of the salt dealers killing officials and rebelling when I was in Jinling. If we annoyed them¡­¡±


    Hearing the words ¡°killing officials and rebelling¡±, Jia Lian immediately shivered. Why should he care about his reputation?


    He hurriedly jumped to his feet and reprimanded: ¡°Stop scolding! Stop scolding! Shut the fuck up!¡±


    His words were effective, and the servants of the rich immediately fell silent.


    However, it was too late to admit defeat at this time. He saw that the five large ships opposite had already fanned up. The passenger ship of the Jia family had just laid the iron anchor and had no time to change the wind direction. For a moment, it was stuck there!


    At this time, the servants of the rich finally realized that the people they had just provoked was actually over 100 strong man with fierce spirits and sharp blades!


    So one by one, their face looks like it was being strangled by someone in the throat. They couldn¡¯t even say a sentence and were different from the sharp-tongued people earlier on.


    Seeing that they were getting closer, he saw a middle-aged fat man in a brocade mink robe on the opposite ship. Surrounded by many salt dealers, he pointed and scolded: ¡°What kind of bullshit is the Prefect of Jinling, a small official like him also dares to appear in front of me?! I will drive all the people on the ship into the water later to wash your stinky mouth that is used to spray feces!¡±


    All the people in the Jia family¡¯s face color changed when they heard what they said. It seems that if people like them who live in comfort with wealth and honor are thrown into the water in the winter, they¡¯re afraid that they will be half disabled even if they survive!


    In a hurry, the servants of the rich were forced to show courage and quickly show their final cards: ¡°What do you want to do? The person who is in charge of this ship is the Second Master Lian of our Rongguo mansion!


    ¡°Yes, we are from the Rongguo mansion!¡±


    ¡°Our Second Master¡¯s wife¡¯s family is Lord Wang who is in control of the nine provinces!¡±


    The cards turned out to be bigger and higher, and the servants of the rich also straightened their backs again. It was obvious that there were more dirty words in their scolding towards them.


    The fat man on the other side laughed at the speech: ¡°I thought who it was? It turned out to be the precious son of a first-class general, Jia She! Well, I¡¯ll save face for the Rongguo mansion. Other than Jia Lian, throw them all into the water for me!¡±


    After listening to the first half of the story, the servant of the rich thought that the opposite side had been bluffed. They were about to take the opportunity to show off their power again. They didn¡¯t expect that the last sentence was a sharp turn. They were all scared that they couldn¡¯t speak.


    It was only at this time that Jia Lian knew that what Jia Yucun¡¯s said was right. Indeed, the other party had the support of a person who covered luxury behind him, and even the Rongguo mansion and Wang Ziteng cannot let them be afraid.


    While talking, he saw that the big ships had already approached. The salt dealers made concerted efforts to build the gangplank to the side of the ship, and then they all raised their swords and guns and surged up like a tide!


    The servant of the rich turned chaotic, some of them were frozen and could not move on the spot. Some shouted and turned around to escape into the cabin. What¡¯s more, the weak servant was even kneeling on the ground and was screaming the name of their ancestor.


    The situation suddenly collapsed into such a state that both Jia Lian and Jia Yucun looked pale. Especially Jia Yucun, who had already regretted that his intestines were green. If he had known that he would encounter such a disaster, he would not have rushed to go with Jia Lian!


    But they were all in a panic. They saw that the servant of the rich who had just escaped into the cabin rushed out again, with an expression like seeing a ghost on their faces.


    The next moment, he saw a large wooden pole person like a thick and thin top beam and pole, leaping out of the cabin and staggering straight to the ship¡¯s bow.

 CH 20

    When these two young men with extraordinary appearance appeared at the gate of the house, the women and children sitting idle in the street all looked forward one after another and pointed at them for a moment.


    Some even came up to talk to their new neighbors. Unfortunately, this man was not as approachable as his wife. He got on the carriage with eyes fixed and had no intention of chatting with his neighbors.


    Zhao Quan got into the carriage and couldn¡¯t wait to start asking questions. He whispered, ¡°Didn¡¯t Miss Lian deliver food to you today? Why did you come here to eat again? It couldn¡¯t be that you have started to develop feelings for Lady Liu?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou ignored him and said slowly, ¡°Brother Zhao, you should know what will the Old Lady of the Marquis do if he knows your thinking.¡±


    This statement immediately stopped Zhao Quan¡¯s momentum in trying to catch the traitor in action.


    It should be noted that Zhao Quan¡¯s mother can recite scriptures better than his Buddhist wife. If she knows that he has a crush on a thief¡¯s wife, she will kill the Marquis!


    Therefore, Cui Xingzhou only needs to mention it, and Zhao Quan is deflated. But he didn¡¯t give up. He just groaned angrily, ¡°Not that I say, according to what I saw, it¡¯s Brother Cui who can¡¯t help but be immersed with the beauty of Lady Liu. You¡¯ve also started to develop different feelings for her! Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll tell the Old Princess Consort and Miss Lian?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou just drank a small half of the pot of high-quality Shaoxing wine. Although he was not dizzy and drunk, he was tired and lazy, so he leaned back in the carriage and said lazily, ¡°Please help yourself¡­¡±


    Zhao Quan was so angry that he didn¡¯t bother to explain, but he was envious again.


    Yeah, what if he complains? Who did Cui Jiu fear?


    Although Cui Xingzhou has a mother above him, she has a soft personality and listens to her son.


    There is no wife in the royal residence now, and her fiancee Miss Lian is in favor of Cui Jiu everywhere. Even if Cui Xingzhou has raised a mistress outside, he¡¯s afraid that Miss Lian will virtuously select one of the ten donkey whips to cook soup for The Prince to magnificent his male hormones!


    In this way, Cui Jiu¡¯s lawless and uncontrollable situation really does make people jealous.


    Thinking of his sad part, Zhao Quan said honestly: ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you don¡¯t keep more mistress because you are so freely¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou knew that his friend had been infatuated. He didn¡¯t bother to listen to his infatuation. He just turned over and took a nap.


    On the other hand, in the North Street Mansion, Liu Miantang escorted her husband¡¯s carriage out of the street. Then she led Servant Li home with a smile.


    But those neighbors who didn¡¯t talk to Merchant Cui ran in small steps to catch up with Lady Cui and began to drag in all sorts of irrelevant matters.


    ¡°Madam Liu, I just looked at your husband today. How can he grow so well? I think the legendary Pan¡¯an is nothing more than him!¡±


    Mrs. Yin click at her tongue as she handed over the melon seeds.


    Mrs. Zhang, who once suspected that Lady Liu was a mistress of the merchant, was also busy mending her friendship with her neighbors. She handed over a wooden stool to Miantang: ¡°I saw the back of Merchant Cui before, and I thought it was extraordinary at that time. He¡¯s really a pair match in Heaven with Lady Cui¡­ Do you know if your husband has any brothers who are married? Do they look like him? My uncle¡¯s niece is 15 years old, but she is still waiting for a marriage!¡±


    ¡°My husband is the ninth oldest in his family. All the brothers above have married in the Northwest. He is the only one who has stayed in the capital. There are no comparable brothers below. However, in the future, I will ask him if he has a suitable cousin. If so, I will tell you.¡±


    Liu Miantang is elated now, letting the neighbors know that her husband is a man with the appearance of talent and is not a greasy middle-aged businessman!


    So she took out a very approachable self, smiled, and sat down, while eating melon seeds, chatting, and received the praise of the women without any hesitation.


    For a time, North Street was full of the atmosphere of good-neighborly and friendly relations. A handful of melon seeds could be eaten until the end of time.


    But just then, an old scholar stumbled all the way under the guidance of the worker of Miantang¡¯s shop.


    Liu Miantang has a good eye. She can see from a distance that he is Mr. Chen, the Hate Pen Hermit.


    Seeing that he was running eagerly, she stood up and hurried forward a few steps.


    Mr. Chen was in a hurry all the way, and he was so excited that he could hardly speak: ¡°Cui¡­ Lady Cui, I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve succeeded!¡±


    He took out a piece of cotton cloth from his arms which is wrapped with a cracked piece of porcelain.


    Liu Miantang hurried over and saw a dragonfly on it. If she carefully identified it, he could see that there was a clear female figure inside. Mr. Chen was finally able to successfully paint on the bright and clean porcelain plate.


    It¡¯s just a pity that the hand-painted plate cracked when it was finalized for the last time. But now that Mr. Chen has mastered the trick of painting with paint, he can do it again.


    At that moment, the worries that had been entrenched in her heart for many days could finally be swept away. Liu Miantang felt that he could finally show off her strength.


    The next day, Miantang got up early in the morning and came to the kiln where Mr. Chen was staying. Mr. Chen hurried and drew three plates and send them into two kilns for color fixing.


    At sunset, one of the plates was burnt, the remaining two plates were fixed and stable, and the painting was presented perfectly.


    Liu Miantang has lived in Lingquan town for more than a month now. In addition, when she visited various porcelain workshops, she also met many insiders expert and learned many unwritten rules of the profession.


    When selling porcelain, one-third depends on the quality of the porcelain, another third depends on the name of the shop, and the rest depends on whether the shopkeeper knows how to call for business.


    The so-called calling is to use allusions. For example, the No. 1 in Lingquan Town, the long-established store of the merchant He¡¯s family famous porcelain shop whose porcelain kiln was personally appraised by one of the highest-ranking imperial concubines Xi, who was beloved by the former Emperor.


    It is said that the highest-ranking imperial concubine was very playful when she was not in the palace. There¡¯s once when she went to the kiln with her father to buy Porcelain. She remembered the story of ¡°The Sword Forged by the Capable Person, Mo Xie, and his Wife¡± and followed it. She playfully cut locks of hair and threw them into the kiln. Unexpectedly, when the stove was opened, it produced a top-grade product with seven colors streamer.


    The former Emperor doted on the highest-ranking imperial concubine Xi and also fell in love with the seven-color porcelain in Lingquan town. From then on, the porcelain shop of the He family had become the workshop of the royal court.


    The former Emperor abolished the crown prince, changed Liu Tang, the son of imperial concubine Xi, to be the crown prince, and successfully ascended the throne, who becomes the Emporer today.


    Since then, the long-established store of the merchant He family has been in a more stable position in Lingquan town.


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t want to win over the He¡¯s family to become the number one in Lingquan Town, but she hoped that the plate would sell at a good price and make her shop name known.


    However, according to the famous journey of the long-established store or brand of the merchandise in Lingquan Town, her family¡¯s business of the ¡°Jade Porcelain Workshop¡± is well-equipped, except for the famous allusions.


    At this time, Miantang could not find the nails of Qin Shi Huang or the hair of Empress Yuhuan. She just solemnly places the two porcelain plates on the high-quality sandalwood shelf, waiting for a noble person who has an insight into treasure and discovers such exquisite items.


    Unfortunately, those who can take the initiative to enter her shop are just laymen. Although Miantang tried her best to explain and guide them to look at the eyes of the dragonfly, they had nothing to say except to shout ¡°Marvelous¡±.


    There is no other reason. The price they offered is too low. She¡¯s felt really sorry for Mr. Chen¡¯s painstaking efforts these days.


    For a period, Liu Miantang¡¯s mind deduced numerous allusions suitable for her shop. Although the plot was wonderful, she was short of a noble man. For a time, she couldn¡¯t help sighing.


    At noon, the sun was shining. The yard was filled with fragrant rice. There were two high and low tables in the North Street house.


    Miantang and Cui Jiu sit at the high table for meals. Mo Ru and Servent Li ate at a low table near the door of the small kitchen.


    It¡¯s not in line with the rules of the royal residence that The Master and servants eat together.


    However, Lady Liu is in charge here. She said that since it was time for dinner, it was good to share two tables. Otherwise, the servants will have to wait until The Master finishes eating and they will have to heat it again. A bundle of firewood will be wasted. There are not so many rules for small families.


    Cui Jiu motioned the people to come according to the meaning of Miantang.


    He is free these days thus, he comes back for lunch. This was also forced by the chef in the Military Camp. Ever since The Prince picked out cockroaches with eggs from the cauldron of the Military Camp a few days ago, he didn¡¯t want to eat in the camp anymore except to punish the chef by flogging him hard.


    However, as the Commander-in-Chief, it¡¯s not good for him to enjoy favored treatment alone. After thinking about it, Cui Jiu came to Lingquan town for lunch and packed a food box back for dinner.


    So these days, Cui Xingzhou eats with Miantang at noon. After all, he was determined to give Lu Wen a cuckold and he had to act like his relationship with her looked legit, so as to attract Lu Wen to the bait, don¡¯t he?


    Miantang heard from her husband that his Mentor¡¯s wife, who was studying chess, was ill. She couldn¡¯t manage his meals in the daytime. At night, he had to study the chess manual in the chess hall. So, she quickly took the job of packing food boxes for her husband.


    In addition, apprentices can¡¯t ignore the master, so the food box is not good to only contains dried radish, so she tries to have meat and fish dishes and try not to make duplicate dishes.


    However, Miantang feels shocked when she dials the abacus every time she visits the small kitchen. She asked Servant Li where the money for the meat comes from?


    When Servant Li was staring at her to make up a lie, Mo Ru was smart enough to help deliver firewood. She said that Her Master played chess with others, broke the solitary chess piece, and got some money rewards.


    Miantang nodded in admiration.


    Although there is only one-word difference between gambling and gambling chess, the temperament of a twisting chess piece and a shaking dice is very different.


    Her husband is smart and plays a game of wonderful chess. He can break the solitary chess piece and support his family!


    For a while, she was ashamed of her uselessness and could not immediately earn money, so that her husband could learn chess at ease and not do the mundane business for money.


    So Liu Miantang thought and thought about it. Finally, she couldn¡¯t help sighing at the dinner table: ¡°Husband, do you think it¡¯s good for me to stop Prince Huaiyang¡¯s carriage?¡±


    Mo Ru on the low table had just swallowed a marinated egg. Hearing that Lady Liu wanted to stop The Prince¡¯s chariots and horses, he was immediately shocked. He didn¡¯t have time to chew them and swallowed half of it. For a moment, he choked and rolled his eyes, frightening Servant Li to quickly pour water and pat him on the back.


    However, the main character Cui Jiu was calm, smiled, and asked Miantang why she wanted to stop the chariots of The Prince?

 CH 21

    Speaking of this, Liu Miantang took a deep breath, ¡°Fortunately, the Old Princess Consort has a birthday banquet every year. Although our Jade Porcelain Workshop missed this year¡¯s event, we still have another one in the coming year. It¡¯s just that The Prince is prestigious, we would not know when he would arrive at Lingquan Town. Why don¡¯t I find out his itinerary, stop him on the way and offer the treasures of our store. If The Prince happens to appreciate our porcelain, I can create a porcelain plate for the Old Princess Consort next year by painting the portrait of The Prince. On top of that, I can design a small mystery of the word ¡°longevity¡± in the eyes of The Prince to favor the Old Princess Consort¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou laughed at Miantang¡¯s ingenious approach with the birthday gifts, but the laughter was meaningful.


    However, this smile of his has made Servant Li and Mo Ru, who were on the other side, secretly break out a cold sweat for the ignorant Lady Liu.


    Cui Xingzhou smiled slightly and said gently, ¡°You are not a bandit who robbed families. How can you stop an official chariot rashly? I¡¯m afraid that by the time you can present the porcelain plate up, you will get beaten with a few sticks of floggings. Then what you said about the painting with longevity in the eyes¡­ I¡¯m afraid that even if The Prince is willing to accept the gift, that solitary Mr. Chen is unwilling to follow the customs!¡±


    Miantang¡¯s idea was refuted, but she respectfully peeled another shrimp and added it to her husband¡¯s bowl.


    Although her husband usually doesn¡¯t ask about mundane affairs, he can analyze problems with clarity and thoughtfulness, which is admirable!


    According to Servant Li, her husband is educated. However, being in the merchant¡¯s family has delayed her husband¡¯s career path. Otherwise, just by depending on her husband¡¯s calmness and intelligence, he can easily pass the examination for being a county official.


    The reason why Cui Jiu laughed was that he thought that the woman had injured her head badly. Sometimes she acts boldly and doesn¡¯t look like a boudoir woman raised by an official family.


    Now she nodded to himself in agreement¡­ But what if she turned back and stopped the sedan of The Prince?


    Besides, Lady Liu was once in a bandit¡¯s den. Sometimes her words were contaminated with banditry. He¡¯s afraid she can¡¯t change it in a short time. If he doesn¡¯t cut off her thoughts completely, maybe she would block him unexpectedly in front of his carriage like she was at the entrance of the restaurant last time.


    Thinking of this, Cui Jiu drank his delicious fish porridge and said in a leisurely manner, ¡°Shi Yikuan, the Commander-in-Chief of the State of Qing, will hold a tea party to appreciate calligraphy and painting in a few days. He loves painting masters the most of his life. If Mr. Chen can enter this tea party and present the porcelain plate to him, he will certainly get his recognition.¡±


    Since Lu Wen wants to be under Shi Yikuan¡¯s command, he might as well ask Miantang to walk around the State of Qing and see if she can attract Lu Wen to appear.


    But what surprised him was that Miantang did not hesitate to answer, ¡°I¡¯ve also inquired in the morning. Husband, you may not know that Shi Yikuan also has a hobby of collecting beautiful women in addition to collecting calligraphy and paintings. He has nine concubines¡­ In my opinion, it¡¯s better to intercept the chariots of Prince Huaiyang! At least I had never heard of anything about Prince Huaiyang oppressing and bullying its people, seizing any women, and doing any evil businesses except for being decrepit and muddleheaded¡­¡±


    Previously, because of her beautiful features, she led thieves into the courtyard wall which made her come to realize. After her injury, Liu Miantang no longer had those skills and agility like before¡­


    As soon as she finished her sentences, there came another sound from the young servant, Mo Ru, at the low table who started coughing again. Apparently, he was choked on the other half of the stewed eggs.


    In fact, Cui Jiu was not sure whether he should be gratified that Lady Liu approved of his conduct, or should he punish her because she said that he was ¡°decrepit and muddleheaded¡±.


    His eyebrows did not move and said gently: ¡°That famous calligraphy and painting fairs are not what ordinary people can easily go to. They must be recommended by distinguished personages. You are just joining in the fun and see if you can have a chance with presenting the porcelains¡­ Even if you can¡¯t go to the formal calligraphy and painting tea party, there is also a gala market before the tea party, which is very lively. You can set up a stall there and maybe you will be able to sell some of the goods. Moreover, the Xi Village in the State of Qing has good cloth. Now it¡¯s the season to reel off raw silk from cocoons and weavers. If you happen to see any good cloth you like, it will be good to make some new clothes for yourself.¡±


    Liu Miantang felt soft in her heart and thought that her husband was considerate! He was even thinking about taking her out to play and she softly thanked her husband by saying, ¡°I¡¯m happy enough just with your thoughts, husband. But I have a lot of clothes and we don¡¯t have to spend money on making clothes for me.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou glanced at her half-worn-out sleeve and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ve won several games of chess these days. I¡¯ll just buy you some good cloth.¡±


    With these words, he put a bag of silver money prepared by Mo Ru for him on the table.


    According to Mo Ru, this is called ¡°handing over the family expenses¡± in ordinary families. The money a man earns when he goes out to make a living should be given to the woman in charge of the family. If he doesn¡¯t pay the money all the time and constantly spends countless amounts of money at home, this will make Liu Miantang suspicious about it.


    Such an astute person like her, after hearing that he made money playing chess, she never once opened her mouth to ask him for money. It can be seen that she was used to being controlled by the leader of the rebel and dared not ask for money.


    Now that Mo Ru had reminded him, he naturally gave her some money, so that she won¡¯t have a hard time.


    Therefore, Cui Xingzhou asked Mo Ru to prepare in advance.


    However, when he looked at Lady Liu, who was overwhelmed by an unexpected favor for the money bag, he still felt that she was too worked up. Her eyes were red and tearful.


    It shouldn¡¯t be that¡­ Because his family expenses were handed in too late and she felt wronged?


    Miantang took the silver money that her husband had handed home. She only felt that it was heavy and not easy to wield, and she could hardly hold it in her weak palm.


    She had heard Mo Ru say that her husband had made money by playing chess. She thought she had only earned some pocket money. Unexpectedly, it was such a big and heavy bag!


    When Liu Miantang was free, she chatted with the neighbors while eating melon seeds. She heard about the bad preferences of many merchants in the neighborhood, such as going on a brothel boat, drinking wine at night¡­ And those who made a lot of money outside, but didn¡¯t hand it over to their families, and blindly gave the mistress outside the allowances, such as Official Zhang who was hooked by the vixen prostitute in the rice shop.


    Originally, her husband could spend the money he earned that was not in the account book freely. But it was all handed over to her. It can be seen that although her husband has the appearance of a peach blossom on his face and looks provocative, he is an honest man for a living.


    Liu Miantang could not help feeling ashamed of her suspicions about her husband a few days ago. A gentle gentleman like her husband, if one is to think of him as a bad man, It will also be an act of heart and lungs being dirty and having broken intestines. This kind of person should deserve a spanking!


    For a moment, she looked at Cui Jiu¡¯s eyes and burst into tears of shame.


    At this moment, her husband even opened his mouth with warm words: ¡°Is it that I have handed over the amount too little¡­ I will give you more in the future.¡±


    Listen to this. It made her feel so guilty that it is already incapable of further increase! She cannot believe that her husband is still feeling guilty that he didn¡¯t have enough ability to support his family and has given too little!


    Miantang could no longer resist the excitement in her heart. She just hugged him, buried her face in his broad chest, and choked with sobs: ¡°What are you talking about, husband? It¡¯s me who has no ability that has made you unable to rest assured while learning chess and always worry about the family¡¯s livelihood!¡±


    On the other side, Mo Ru didn¡¯t know why. His voice suddenly narrowed and seemed to choke again.


    Cui Jiu looked at the woman like a cat snuggling in his arms in silence. Her hair with a light scent of osmanthus fragrance was piled up on his chin. The fine hairs made his breath seem slightly itchy.


    After pausing for a moment, Cui Jiu stretched out his arm expressionless and gently patted Lady Liu, who was sobbing and choking. He suddenly understood why those ordinary men had to hand over the expenses to their families. After working hard for a while, one can get his own woman¡¯s tears of joy. It can surely add a sense of satisfaction to its ordinary life which is like a nobody?


    Because her husband is capable, Liu Miantang¡¯s trousseau jewelry box has once again become full. It made her full of expectations for her upcoming trip to the State of Qing.


    In order to learn how to call for business for the shop, she inquired about all the famous high-ranking government officials within a hundred miles of the State of Zhen earlier in the day. She listed them on a piece of paper and compared them carefully. Therefore, when her husband mentions this calligraphy and painting tea party, she can speak out about its shortcomings.


    Although Shi Yikuan was not as famous as Prince Huaiyang, he was indeed a better choice to socialize than Prince Huaiyang. What if she did find a way to attend the calligraphy and paintings tea party with her porcelain plate in the State of Qing, a bright prospect will be lying ahead!


    Her husband worked so hard for the sake of the store, she naturally had to do her best too!


    If her shop¡¯s porcelain is appreciated, it can be regarded as opening up the circle for officials. It can be expected soon for her porcelain to be sold at a high price.


    The most gratifying thing for her is that her husband had finally become interested in his own business. It can be seen that his previous escape was all because he could not bear the failure and bankruptcy. Now that the shop business has improved, her husband has finally roused his spirit, which is gratifying.


    A few days before the State of Qing calligraphy and painting tea party, Cui Jiu hired a carriage to send Liu Miantang, the servants and workers to the State of Qing first.


    However, Cui Jiu was not with her. According to her husband, he¡¯s very busy with the chess lesson these days and he¡¯s afraid that he can only wait for the tea party to begin before he could come.


    Miantang¡¯s long-cherished wish to travel with her husband can¡¯t be fulfilled for the time being, but it can¡¯t extinguish her joy of visiting the downtown streets of the State of Qing for the first time.


    She is only eighteen now. It is the time when a girl likes to play.


    It was just that she had a hard time in the capital before, so it was not easy to go out and spend money. When she arrived in the State of Zhen, her family business was waiting to prosper, and she had to take care of everything herself. Naturally, she also reduced her mind to play.


    Now, Miantang has a bag of silver money from her husband hanging around her waist, and she has a lot of free time. She is confident enough. Naturally, she needs to shop the stores one by one thoroughly to enjoy herself fully.


    Although she wanted to buy things, she didn¡¯t only want to buy for herself alone. Mr. Chen¡¯s coat is too old to meet anyone. She choose two pieces of navy blue cloth from the cloth shop and made a long gown for Mr. Chen.


    Naturally, her husband also has to have one. Miantang chooses for a very long time, but she still felt that the moon white material set off the calm and elegant temperament of her husband most.


    As for herself, it was only under the constant persuasion of Servant Li that she gritted her teeth and chose a thinned cotton so that she could make a skirt in summer.


    The summer here is much hotter than in the capital. If she doesn¡¯t prepare for some lightweight ones, she¡¯s afraid she¡¯ll be covered with prickly heat in the hot summer.


    In addition, Miantang accidentally saw a chess board made of jade when she passed by a jade shop.


    The chessboard is made of suet white jade. The same delicate texture of white chess pieces is transparent, while the black chess pieces are carved with precious black jade.


    Miantang looked at the chessboard, and could not help imagining the elegant appearance of her husband¡¯s slender fingers, gently twirling and making a move in the game. For a moment, her mind wandered. She just felt that this chessboard should be the right one for her husband.


    But when Miantang couldn¡¯t wait to ask and got the pricing, she was silent.


    The shopkeeper said that this pair was reserved and had not been taken away in time. The price was shocking. She couldn¡¯t afford it at all.


    However, Miantang was not discouraged. She was seldom discouraged from a young age. Although her father doesn¡¯t pamper her, what she wanted could be still achieved one by one in the end. Sometimes her father was shocked by her boldness and always scolded her for being contaminated with her mother¡¯s spirit of living in the river and lake. If she got married in the future, she would be rejected by her husband and her husband¡¯s family.


    Fortunately, her father¡¯s curse did not come true. Her married husband was gentle and considerate, and never restrained her with those unnecessary and overelaborate formalities. The desire to grow old together for a long time makes her look forward to it.


    Miantang looked at the chessboard reluctantly again. She decided that after the shop made money, she was going to save up to order another jade chess board for her husband.


    However, just as Miantang was reluctant to leave, a tall, handsome man came out of the door, his eyes were like fire, and he stared at her back figure distant away.

 CH 22

    Besides the handsome man, someone hesitated and said, ¡°Master, isn¡¯t that Lady Liu? Do you want me to call her back?¡±


    The thin man looked young, but his brows had been engraved with a light trace of melancholy. His thin lips trembled for a while and said: ¡°Since she hasn¡¯t come back to me, she¡¯s probably tired of her previous way of living. Why should I drag her to live such a life of intrigue? You can help me just by secretly inquiring where she lives now and how she lives¡­¡±


    The man¡¯s servant stepped out of the shop and asked someone to follow Lady Liu secretly. But don¡¯t disturb her. Just know where she lives.


    After telling the servant, his eyes fell on the white and shining jade chessboard. After looking at it for a while, he said to the shopkeeper: ¡°I¡¯ll put this chessboard here. If the girl comes again next time, sell it to her at a low price¡­¡±


    The shopkeeper was puzzled and said: ¡°Sir, you have already paid for this jade chessboard. If you want to give it to the girl, just give it to her directly. Selling it at a low price¡­ How do I fix a price for it?¡±


    The handsome man¡¯s face showed a meaningful wry smile and said, ¡°Although she seems to like this jade chessboard, I¡¯m afraid she wouldn¡¯t want it if she knew it¡¯s from me¡­¡±


    The shopkeeper is old and has experienced many trials and hardships before. Looking at this scene, he understands that it is about some old love drama of the young people weeping and sobbing. Thus, he sensibly did not ask any more questions.


    The young man took out a half-used orchid purse from his arms and gently rubbed the patterns on it with his fingers. The chic style is the same as the purse hung on Cui Xingzhou.


    He slowly held his purse to his mouth, smelled the faint fragrance of orchids inside, and closed his eyes painfully, ¡°Miantang, are you blaming me in your heart that¡¯s why you wouldn¡¯t come and meet me?¡±


    But Miantang didn¡¯t know that someone was calling her name in pain.


    Because of the pain in her body, when she came out of the jade shop, she was so tired that she took Servant Li and the others back to the inn to have a rest first.


    Servant Li asked for a pot of hot water in the kitchen and gave Miantang a stupe to cover her injured hands and feet.


    Miantang likes this moment most. She just rolls up her trousers and lies down on the bed honestly for stuping. When the warm towel was put on, she comfortably closed her big eyes, and her eyelashes trembled.


    But she had something in mind, so she asked in worried, ¡°When will my husband come? If he comes late and the Gala Market is over, he will come to the State of Qing for nothing!¡±


    Servant Li was used to Miantang¡¯s worrying temperament. She rinse the towel in the clean water and said: ¡°Master said that he could come over in the next two days, so you can rest assured to play. He asked Mo Ru and gave some benefits to the steward of the Gala. If you watch Bangzi Opera, you will have a seat in the front row, and there will be fragrant tea and fruit to eat.¡±


    Miantang was glad to hear this, but she is worried that the lecherous Commander Shi would go to a Gala Market as well. If she showed up, she would create trouble for her husband again.


    But Servant Li didn¡¯t care much and said, ¡°I heard that the Commander-in-Cheif Shi is going to have a banquet with Prince Huaiyang in the restaurant tomorrow. All the people who can go are the noble family members of the two mansions. How will he have the leisure time to wander around the street? What¡¯s more, as a Commander-in-Cheif, he won¡¯t do things as ridiculous as you think. Your husband entrusted a representative to tell us that you can rest assured to enjoy it tomorrow.¡±


    Miantang was relieved to hear what Servant Li said. Her husband¡¯s attentive arrangements were very thoughtful and considerate. He is so busy with his chess lesson but he still has to worry about her schedule¡­ It makes people feel infinite joy.


    In addition to being happy, Miantang thought of the chessboard that she could not afford for the time being, and felt a little disappointed. She doesn¡¯t know when she can earn enough money to buy the chess board¡­


    So in the early morning of the next day, Miantang finished her grooming and went out dressed up. She especially go the long way around to the jade shop and wanted to take a look at the chessboard again.


    But unexpectedly, as soon as she stood on the shelf where the chessboard was placed, the shopkeeper came to greet her with a happy face: ¡°Madam, you came yesterday, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Liu Miantang nodded with a smile and listened to the shopkeeper: ¡°I see that you really like this chessboard¡­ What a coincidence! The owner of this chessboard has high standards and dislikes that the chess board is not exquisite and flawed, so he would rather give up the money instead. I¡¯m worried about if there will be a next customer for it. If you don¡¯t dislike it, can I sell you at a low price?¡±


    Miantang listened to his words and looked at the chessboard in wonder, but she didn¡¯t find any improper defects. It was only yesterday that the shopkeeper said that the price was more than 100 Silver Money. Even if he gave a half-price discount, she still couldn¡¯t afford it!


    But she didn¡¯t give up and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the low price?¡±


    The shopkeeper looked into her eyes and said tentatively, ¡°Twenty Silver Money?¡±


    But as soon as he finished, Miantang turned around and wanted to leave. The shopkeeper quickly changed his mind and said, ¡°Five Silver Money! If you can afford Five Silver Money, I will sell it to you!¡±


    Miantang turned around, her eyes were shining, smiled at him, stretched out three fingers, and said, ¡°Three Silver Money, I will not buy if it¡¯s more than that!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    When Miantang came out of the jade shop contentedly with Servant Li and a neatly wrapped chessboard, She sighed with emotion: ¡°It¡¯s said that the gold, silver, and jade shop is very profitable. I didn¡¯t believe it at first, but now I can see why. The chessboard, which is worth Three Silver Money, can sell for a Hundred Silver Money! It must not be a good jade material, but I don¡¯t know what means it has to be done so thoroughly! I think the customer who came to reserve also come to realize in the end, that the customer rather not want his deposit back and break the contract. How much has he been cheated by this unscrupulous merchant?¡±


    Miantang doesn¡¯t care whether the jade material is true or not. Anyway, she just wants it because the appearance looks good. Her husband is not a Prince or Marquis, and naturally, he will not pay attention to whether it¡¯s real jade or a fake jade.


    But Servant Li was nurtured in the wealth of the Prince¡¯s Residence. Naturally, she can tell at a glance that the chessboard is a fine Lanolin Jade.


    It is obviously that the chessboard is worth a Hundred Silver Money, but the shopkeeper would rather sell it to Miantang at a low price. What is the fact hidden behind it?


    Recalling coming out of the jade shop yesterday, the secret sentry found that two men in green were following them all the way. Servant Li predicted that if the beautiful lady had not provoked some lascivious men, it would be an old acquaintance of Lady Liu!


    Those who can be so generous extravagance but make a roundabout to give it out, other than Lu Wen, there is no one else she can think of!


    Thinking of this, she dared not delay. She just gives a motioned signal to the secret sentry to hurry to deliver the message to The Prince.


    At this time, Prince Huaiyang was entertaining Shi Yikuan in the largest restaurant in the State of Qing.


    Shi Yikuan is a man fishing for fame. He is very proud to learn from Mr. Qingzhu, a famous calligrapher and painter. This year is the 15th anniversary of his apprenticeship. He should remind the world of his identity as the successor of painting and calligraphy. So he invited all the famous painters and calligraphers in the South of the Yangtze River to gather together to learn from each other by exchanging views.


    However, what surprised him was that Prince Huaiyang, who had always been busy with affairs, had condescended to join in and make jokes with him.


    It must be his recent act of offering amnesty and enlistment to rebels that made The Prince uncomfortable.


    Making Prince Huaiyang uncomfortable is to make The Emperor happy. Shi Yikuan felt that he had made a brilliant move in this chess game, and his smile at Prince Huaiyang became more eagerly attentive.


    ¡°Prince Huaiyang, your cursive script is well-known all over the world. You should scatter your ink at the Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party this time so that your colleagues can have the opportunity to feast their eyes!¡±


    After saying this, the accompanying officials nodded constantly.


    Cui Xingzhou, however, had an indistinct smile on his lips and just raised the glass in his hand.


    Although the proper etiquette was maintained, it was not intimate, which made the wine bureau a little cold and awkward.


    Fortunately, all of them here are not here to have fun. Each of them has its plot in mind. When no one speaks, all of them can keep their equanimity and wait for the others to break the ice.


    Shi Yikuan, as the host, could not keep silent, so after a moment of silence in the wine hall, he moved to Zhao Quan, the Marquis Zhennan beside Cui Xingzhou, and said, ¡°Are there any new paintings and calligraphy Marquis Zhennan has brought this time?¡±


    Zhao Quan is also well-known for his bole. He always brings something new to such gatherings.


    Zhao Quan was inspired by Shi Yikuan¡¯s question.


    Mr. Chen¡¯s painting skills are superb. He really shouldn¡¯t be buried. Therefore, even if he has been reduced to a painter in a porcelain shop, he should be saved.


    Moreover, he knew that Lady Liu also wanted to do everything possible to make the shop prosperous. He was happy to give her a helping hand.


    So when Shi Yikuan asked, he hurriedly said: ¡°I want to recommend a wonderful man to you this time. He is a wonderful and most extraordinary painter. But now he is dormant in a porcelain shop. After this Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party, he can be expected to surprise the people with his first success. He doesn¡¯t draw many color plates himself. Thus, I think the price will certainly go up in the future. Oh! By the way, the porcelain shop is called the ¡°Jade Porcelain Workshop¡±. If you guys have a good eye for talent, you guys should buy it early¡­¡±


    Those who are familiar with Zhao Quan¡¯s temperament couldn¡¯t help joking: ¡°Could it be that the Marquis has made a stake in that porcelain shop? You have always been upright and free from worldly affairs. Why are you so hard-working now?¡±


    Zhao Quan stared and give a glance at Cui Jiu, who was beside him, and said, ¡°I want to enter, but it¡¯s a pity that someone stopped me¡­¡±


    After a while of chatting and laughing, they finally got to the point. Someone mentioned the recruitment of bandits in Yangshan mountain and complimented Shi Yikuan for turning war into friendship.


    Cui Xingzhou listened quietly, still without saying anything.


    The world knows that he is the main war faction, and Shi Yikuan is now acting with the intention of The Emperor. As long as the anti-bandit insurgency subsides, there is no need to station troops in the State of Zhen anymore. The Emperor has been planning for a long time to weaken the power of The Princes with different surnames.


    If Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t agree with the recruitment in front of others, he will become the person who has ulterior motives, so he just smiles and doesn¡¯t say anything, but listens to how far Shi Yikuan has made contact with the anti-bandits.


    According to what they said, the anti-bandits admired Commander Shi¡¯s generosity and took the initiative to deliver a letter of surrender and incline the intention of being willing to accept the offering of amnesty and enlistment to rebels. In fact, Lu Wen was born into a good family and was a talented person. Besides being willing to lead his people to surrender, he was also willing to marry one of the daughters of Commander Shi¡¯s concubine.


    The Emperor had also left a message with Commander Shi earlier, in order to set a model for all the anti-thieves in the world who are willing to abandon their depraved way of life and return to the path of virtue. The Emperor will greatly praise Lu Wen for his surrender.


    When the time comes, the anti-bandits will change into the official robe, added with the title of official, and a beautiful wife in his arms. It¡¯s the happiest thing in the world!


    Zhao Quan was the first to change his face when he heard that Lu Wen admired the daughter of Commander Shi.


    He didn¡¯t expect that Lady Liu¡¯s previous man is so fickle and lack righteousness! First, Liu Miantang, who was badly hurt, was left alone. Now, he wants to marry an official¡¯s daughter and become an official! If Lady Liu had recovered her memory, He wonder if she would be sad because of the old acquaintance¡¯s fickleness.


    But now that he thinks of it again, Lady Liu will not have any relationship with the bandits anymore. After all, she was from a good family and was not willing to follow Lu Wen!


    He must make good compensation for Miantang¡¯s suffering in the future, and never make her cry again¡­


    Cui Xingzhou feels that Lu Wen¡¯s actions are within his expectation. Liu Miantang was indeed a sacrifice that was deliberately abandoned by the bandit Lu Wen. If it is still unable to attract Lu Wen to show up, she will be useless. The house on North Street can be almost removed.


    For a while, the two friends were silent with their thoughts.


    At this time, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s secret sentry entered the wine hall and whispered behind him.


    Cui Xingzhou listened quietly, but his eyes lit up.


    That fish¡­ Finally got hooked! And he made an extraordinary move. He even gave a Hundred Silver Money worth of chessboard to Liu Miantang for nothing.


    If it is Lu Wen, it can be seen that he still has lingering feelings for the beautiful Miantang and his love for her was not completely cut off yet. This move seems to be useful.


    Thinking of this, he was no longer willing to drink with the officials in the hall. He just went off on the excuse that he was too drunk.


    Instead of socializing with these bureaucrats in the restaurant, he¡¯d better go to the Gala Market and follow Lady Liu for a walk to see if the rebel can hold himself and resist showing himself out.

 CH 23

    This Gala Market is a hot spot for the Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party.


    After all, the formal Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party is a gathering of famous people and refined scholars, which has little to do with ordinary people.


    To show his affinity to the people, Commander Shi organized a Gala Market. He got some Camels in the desert and Golden Lemurs in the South locked in the cages and hired some acrobats to set up performances everywhere to liven up the atmosphere. It was very lively.


    It is said that The Emperor¡¯s Secret Envoy also visited the State of Qing this time. Commander Shi was also happy to assume that the State of Qing was peaceful and the people were safe and filled his official achievements.


    When Cui Xingzhou wandered to the Gala Market, the secret sentry guided him to find Miantang who was watching the monkey show.


    Because she spent Five Silver Money, Miantang got a seat on a bench. She could sit and peel peanuts while watching the monkey play. She can also feed a handful of peanuts to the monkey in the sesame official costume later.


    At this time, Miantang seems to be full of the flavor of a naive girl. Her thick and beautiful hair makes a pair of big eyes bright, and her slender waist stands upright, watching the monkey show with concentration.


    However, she inadvertently turned her head and saw her husband Cui Jiu standing not far away, with his hands behind him, looking at her with his eagled eyes! Miantang immediately looked surprised and waved at him.


    When Cui Jiu came through the crowd, she politely patted off the peanut skin on the bench and asked her husband to sit next to her. Then she handed him the stewed peanuts and said, ¡°Servant Li said that you can¡¯t come until two days later. How did you manage to come here today?¡±


    Cui Jiu¡¯s handsome eyes glanced around quietly and said casually: ¡°Come here earlier to accompany you¡­¡±


    Miantang had no doubt. At that moment, she rejoiced and was delighted secretly. She took the wrapped chessboard from Servent Li who was behind her and said, ¡°Husband, guess what I bought for you?¡±


    Cui Jiu stretched out his long finger to knock, and said with long eyelashes: ¡°Chessboard¡­¡±


    Miantang¡¯s pink cheeks and dimples were deep, and she looked at her husband admiringly, ¡°That¡¯s a good guess!¡±


    But at this time, the people around were not willing to see the monkey show. They all looked at the pair of beautiful couples sitting in the same place.


    That lady was already so beautiful. Unexpectedly, her husband is an extended to a highly talented and refined figure, just like an immortal exiled from heaven. He¡¯s tall, has a long nose, thick eyebrows, thin lips, and a jade crown. He carries a high-spirited man¡¯s style when he walks. When the young girls looked at it, they felt their cheeks flushed and could not bear to look away.


    Miantang naturally saw that the girls were staring at her husband, so she simply took the hood that she had put aside and wanted to put it on Cui Jiu.


    Cui Jiu tilted his head slightly and looked at her in bewilderment.


    Miantang puffed her face and stared at him. Her husband has heavy schoolwork normally and is often away from home. As his legal wife, she hasn¡¯t got to see much. Why should she show it to the young girls in the street? Don¡¯t they know that even watching the Monkey show cost money!


    Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t know the twists and turns in her heart, but Miantang didn¡¯t try to look like a virtuous woman now and is feeling angry like a child. He thinks that she looks even more charming and prosperous now. He wonders¡­ Will Lu Wen regret that he gave up on such a wonderful woman in the past to marry the fat daughter of Commander Shi for wealth and position?


    But it was absurd for Lady Liu to let him wear a woman¡¯s hood.


    The State of Qing is so busy these days that Commander Shi¡¯s future son-in-law must also be here. Since he intends to give Lu Wen a cuckold and force him to show up, how can he cover his face with a hood?


    With this in mind, Cui Xingzhou reached out and took the hood, patted her arm gently, and said, ¡°There are so many people here. It¡¯s too noisy. Let me take you to dinner.¡±


    Miantang also thinks that although the Monkey¡¯s performance is good, it is not suitable for her husband who is as gentle as jade. So she got up and followed her husband out of the crowd.


    Cui Xingzhou was not hungry, but Liu Miantang spent the whole day shopping without eating.


    When Liu Miantang found out that her husband was not hungry, she immediately changed her mind. A decent restaurant costs a lot of money to serve a few dishes at random. It¡¯s not as delicious as the snacks on the street.


    So she took Cui Xingzhou and wandered in front of the food stalls. Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t even glance at those fried cassavas, the steamed chicken feet drenched with garlic, the stew with braised mutton offal, and the other street foods before.


    But now, every time Liu Miantang bought one, she eagerly sent it to his mouth to taste it first.


    On some unimportant details, Cui Xingzhou followed Lady Liu.


    So one kept feeding and the other kept eating.


    But the customs of such an ordinary couple were seen in the eyes of Servant Li behind them, it made her tremble with fear.


    She grew up watching The Prince. What kind of temperant does her master have since young? It is warm on the surface and cold on the inside.


    The Old Prince has many concubines, and the Ninth Master has many brothers born by the concubines. But it¡¯s a pity that all of them regard the Ninth Master, the legitimate son, as the eyesore.


    The Ninth Master knows this clearly. But he fell into the frame of his brother several times and was detested and rejected by the Old Prince. However, he kept quiet and continued to be kind and humble to his brothers who had harmed him.


    But at the time of the final liquidation, she didn¡¯t see the Ninth Master take into consideration their brotherhood. The grievances and sufferings suffered in the past are all intensified and returned one by one.


    Now that the Ninth Master and Lady Liu are so intimate, all for other purposes. Once The Prince¡¯s wish is fulfilled, and recalls the lovey-dovey act with a bandit¡¯s wife, will he turn his face against her ruthlessly and settle accounts with her afterward?


    Thinking that Lady Liu has now devoted herself wholeheartedly to The Prince and living a decent life with him sincerely, Servant Li could not help sighing again. It¡¯s a sin!


    However, Miantang didn¡¯t know that Servant Li was worried about her, so she just wholeheartedly took her husband to enjoy the street view.


    But both she and Cui Jiu are outstanding-looking people. Wherever they go, they naturally attract people¡¯s attention. At this time, in the most prosperous street of the market, on the high-rise building of an independent Inn, he looked straight at the eye-catching couple in the street market downstairs.


    The young man¡¯s eyes and eyebrows were full of pain, especially when Miantang took out a silk handkerchief and affectionately wiped the corners of the mouth for the handsome man beside her. The pain is especially severe. It seemed that he had a sharp blade to gouge out his heart. He even put his hand over his chest and seemed to be out of breath.


    Just then, a beautiful woman passed behind him, reached out to hold him, and looked down suspiciously. But it was just nice that Miantang and Cui Jiu turned the corner, they had disappeared.


    The woman didn¡¯t see anything unusual. She called the maid behind her to fill the pills for the young man. At the same time, she said softly: ¡°Ziyu, why are you sad again? I saw you frowning yesterday. The doctor told you not to worry too much. It will aggravate your illness¡­¡±


    Halfway through, she saw the young man staring at the half-worn purse around his waist, so she could not help biting her lip slowly, and then tried to ease her voice: ¡°I know you miss Sister Liu, but she has decided to leave Yangshan, and others can¡¯t stop¡­ If she is willing to change her mind, even if I were to hurt my head while kowtow, I will ask her to come back.¡±


    Ziyu looked at the woman who was kneeling at her feet and crying. He stretched out his thin hand, lifted her, and said, ¡°Get up, Yun Niang. You and she are sworn sisters, you should know her temper. She misunderstood you and me at the beginning and said she would break up with me. She would never recognize me again. So how can you ask her to come back? Moreover, her heart¡­ Might no longer have me¡­¡±


    The woman flushed her eyes and whispered; ¡°It¡¯s all my fault¡­¡±


    Before she finished her words, he interrupted: ¡°What does it gotta do with you? It¡¯s me that didn¡¯t treat her well¡­¡±


    Speaking of this, the young man stopped talking and just looked at the bustling market downstairs, but¡­ Does the person she met now confirm to be a good husband?


    Thinking of this, while Yun Niang led her maidservant to stew black chicken ginseng soup for him, the young man led his young servant and three confidant bodyguards and walked slowly down the stairs towards Miantang and Cui Jiu


    At this time, Cui Jiu and Miantang are standing at the gate of the State of Qing Academy.


    There are five tables here. On the table, there is a solitary game set up by the masters of the Academy, which is also the highlight of the Gala Market set up by the Commander.


    The grand prize of the solitary game is a place to enter the Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party. That is to say, the winner can listen to the opinions and views of the painters and calligraphers on the spot at that time. At the same time, if they have any calligraphy and paintings that they can take out, they can also present them for everyone to enjoy.


    In Miantang¡¯s eyes, this grand prize is more substantial than real gold and silver! Didn¡¯t her husband say that there was no way to enter the Calligraphy and Painting tea party? This is a heaven-given opportunity!


    At the thought of this, Young Lady Miantang¡¯s eyes were red with enthusiasm. She just took Cui Jiu¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Husband, let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got. You must get the grand prize! The bright future of our shop is all on your hand!¡±


    But Cui Jiu doesn¡¯t want Miantang to go to the Painting and Calligraphy Tea Party, which will cause trouble. Not to mention when he was going to attend as The Prince, his uncle¡¯s family and fiancee Lian Binglan would also be there.


    So he looked at the chess games and said, ¡°It¡¯s too difficult, I can¡¯t solve¡­¡±


    After hearing Cui Jiu¡¯s words, Miantang was stunned and felt that her words earlier had hurt him. At this time, her husband¡¯s features are unable to pull himself together. She¡¯s afraid that she might have hurt his self-esteem by her constant forcing?


    She hurriedly said: ¡°The setup of the great scholars who combines profundity with virtue in the academy is of course filled with extensive knowledge and is a little too profound. It¡¯s normal that you haven¡¯t learned and can¡¯t solve them. Let¡¯s see if there are other ways¡­¡±


    But before her words were finished, a thin man suddenly came from one side, came to a chessboard, stretched out his long fingers, and moved a piece.


    When the boy from the Academy looked at it, he immediately said in a high voice: ¡°Table B is solved, please collect your prize!¡±


    Miantang then turned her head and looked at him intently. But she saw that the thin young man was looking at her in a black cloak with sadness.


    At that moment, her brain seemed to have been severely hacked by something. It was so painful that she twisted her body with the force of inertia and fell into Cui Jiu¡¯s arms weakly.


    In the eyes of the young man, Miantang didn¡¯t want to see him but instead threw herself into the arms of her new lover, which aroused thousands of stinging feelings in his chest¡­


    He tried his best to suppress his emotions, and whispered to the boy who came to give him the prize: ¡°The girl wanted the prize very much, you can give mine to her¡­¡±


    As soon as these words came out, Cui Xingzhou raised his eyes and slowly looked at the young man. At the same time, he said warmly: ¡°How can my wife accept such a big gift from the young master?¡±


    The young man looked at him indifferently and said, ¡°Since you can¡¯t solve the chess game, what¡¯s wrong with me lifting a finger?¡±


    Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou smiled slowly.


    It¡¯s been a long time since someone dared to provoke Prince Huaiyang so blatantly.


    Cui Xingzhou glanced up and down at the young man. Somehow, he always felt that he looked familiar, so he patted Miantang on the shoulder, give a motioned signal for Servant Li to hold her, and said to the young man, ¡°The young master¡¯s skill of solving the game is very masterly. How do I address you? Would you like to have a duel with me?¡±


    After hearing Cui Jiu¡¯s words, it was exactly what the young master wants. He glanced at Miantang greedily and lightly said to Cui Xingzhou, ¡°I¡¯m Ziyu. How do I address you?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou glanced at the guards with bright eyes behind the Young Master Ziyu and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m Cui Jiu.¡±


    Because the chess game at table B had been solved, they simply sat cross-legged on the table at table B, re-setup the chess game, and reopened the game.


    Cui Xingzhou wears a moon-white robe, a jade crown, and a ribbon, and his eyes are like the moon and the stars. The young master opposite was dressed in black. Although he was thin, he was elegant. They sat opposite each other, which was very pleasing to the eye, and immediately attracted countless people to watch.


    Miantang then took a sip of the water bag handed over by Servant Li and breathed slowly. Seeing her husband having a duel with others, she was naturally supported by Servant Li and stood curiously watching the battle.


    Maybe the beauty on his side aroused the Young Master Ziyu in black¡¯s competitive heart. He didn¡¯t hesitate to drop a chess piece, and his hand was fast.


    However, Cui Xingzhou easily kept up with the speed of the Young Master Ziyu, and place down a chess piece quickly too.


    In the eyes of experts, it is called ¡°Quick Chess¡±. The so-called ¡°No regretting on the move after placing the chess pieces¡±. Unless the person has excellent chess skills, else, the person will never dare to play chess like this.


    What¡¯s rare is that the two young masters seemed to have good chess skills. For a while, they were equally matched. Gradually, some great scholars who combine profundity with virtue in the Academy were attracted, and they all stood around the chess table, nodding their approval from time to time.


    Miantang was just watching the excitement. She feels that when her husband Cui Jiu put out his long arm to place his move, his movements are both natural and experienced. It¡¯s fascinating.


    Gradually, her eyes fell on the chessboard. Although they place their move fast, it was strange that she found that she could even keep up with their chess thinking. In particular, she could easily guess the Young Master Zi Yu¡¯s position almost every time, as if¡­ As if she had done so before.


    Just when Miantang was surprised and bewildered in her heart, the speed of the two chess players dropped slowly. After all, the chess game becomes more and more complicated in the end. If they don¡¯t think about it for a while, one wrong move will result in losing everything in the game.


    However, the young master was distracted. It seemed that his mind was not entirely on the chess game. He unexpectedly raised his head frequently and looked straight at Miantang.


    Seeing this many times, Miantang felt a little annoyed. She simply took the hood from Servant Li and put it on, so as not to attract the unrestrained eyes of the playboy.


    Young Master Ziyu saw her disgust, and his heart shrank: She¡­ Really doesn¡¯t want to look at him again?


    Amid the sadness, Cui Jiu places a move down, and the winning or losing has been decided.


    It was a very tricky chess move, which convinced people of their defeat. This time, Ziyu looked up solemnly and took a deep look at Cui Xingzhou opposite him.


    The information he got from the people he sent out yesterday was very basic. The person just followed Miantang to the Inn where she stayed. After inquiring about the Inn clerk, the person learned that her husband¡¯s family name was Cui. It seemed that he was a merchant.


    It sounds like after Miantang left Yangshan Camp, she was dispirited and got married casually.


    There are not many men in the world who are worthy of Miantang. What kind of good person can she find when she is angry!


    Nevertheless, she wanted to waste herself like that, but he could not let her do as she wanted. He can only wait until Miantang cools down her anger and a sense of regret arises, and then he can find a way out with her. At most, he can let all her absurd doings be forgotten after she went down the mountain.


    It is because he just heard that this man named Cui Jiu could not solve these solitary chess games. Ziyu felt contemptuous in his heart, so he solved the puzzle and secretly reminded Miantang that what she entrusted was not a good husband. Even if such a vulgar man had good looks, he is not worthy of her.


    It never occurred to him that this embroidered pillow-like man was so secretive that he could play exquisite chess. He doesn¡¯t know how much time he spent on it.


    At this time, Miantang¡¯s eyes were full of her husband.


    No wonder her husband can earn money by playing chess. He is really clever! For a moment, she felt slightly proud on her face. She just smiled and asked Servant Li to pass over her handkerchief and wipe her husband¡¯s hands.


    Cui Jiu just looked down at her face. It was still as white as paper. It could be seen that the discomfort had not been relieved.


    When he looked back, it seemed that the young master named Ziyu could not bear the blow of losing chess, and had led his followers to disappear into the bustling crowd.


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s eyes were sharp, and he was relieved to see that the secret sentry he had assigned had rushed out and followed the young man closely.


    If he¡¯s not wrong, this guy named Ziyu must have a lot to do with the Yangshan anti-bandit. Let¡¯s see if they can trace some clues.


    As for Miantang¡­ When she saw the young man earlier just now, she reacted violently. Did she recall anything?


    Thinking of this, he reached out to help Miantang, who was still weak, out of the crowd and went to the Inn where Miantang stayed.


    It may be that this half-day parade is too exhausting. After Miantang returned to the Inn, she felt sleepy.


    Hearing her cry for a headache, Cui Jiu pulled out the tightly inserted hairpin on her head, loosened her long black hair like a waterfall, and soothed her scalp. Then he asked tentatively, ¡°What did you think of when you saw that Young Master Ziyu just now?¡±


    Miantang held his hand and rubbed it on her cheek. She was puzzled and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a headache. Like an ax splitting open¡­ Husband, why do you ask? Is this Ziyu an old acquaintance of yours?¡±


    Cui Jiu smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know him¡­¡±


    After saying that, seeing that Miantang was still weak and weary, he asked Servent Li to bring the calming decoction specially prepared by Zhao Quan to Miantang and drink it while it was hot.


    After Miantang fell asleep, the secret sentry came back and said that the young man named Ziyu had gone to a big local Inn. However, the Inn had been packed by the people from the General Military Office ten days ago. The officers and soldiers guarding outside were also the subordinates of the Military Commander of the State of Qing, Shi. Ordinary people can¡¯t get close to it.


    So when the secret sentry followed them to the Inn, they had to stop.


    Cui Xingzhou listens and waves to the secret sentry to keep an eye on the Inn.


    Now, he is 70% sure that the man who took the initiative to give Miantang the prize today should be the same person as the one who entrusted the shopkeeper of the jade shop to sell the jade chessboard at a low price yesterday.


    And this young man should be Lu Wen, the former husband of Miantang!


    If he was Lu Wen, he would have greatly surprised Cui Xingzhou.


    Although this young man has some ill looks on his face today, he is also a talented person, not a bandit with a fierce face. Moreover, seeing his situation, he was even reluctant to give up Miantang. If so, his concealed weapon was the right one. Let¡¯s see when will the bandit not be able to resist his jealousy and come back to contact Miantang again.


    And he has to keep up with Young Lady Liu these two days¡­


    On the other hand, when Miantang wakes up, her mind is still tangled with chaotic dreams.


    At this time, the sunset in the west, and the house began to turn on lights. And her husband is reading at his desk not far from the curtain, like a mountain silhouette on his face which makes people reluctant to move their eyes away¡­


    Seeing that she woke up, Cui Xingzhou put down the scroll and lifted her. He said gently, ¡°Do you feel better?¡±


    Miantang snuggled into his arms like a cat, especially with a nostalgic voice that didn¡¯t wake up: ¡°I dreamed some weird and messy dreams¡­¡±


    Cui Jiu was calm, but his eyes narrowed slightly, and said, ¡°What did you dream of?¡±


    Miantang rubbed her face against his chest and continued to say softly, ¡°Somehow, I dreamed that my man was with other women and I wanted to cry, but I had to carry people on my back. It was hard enduring it¡­¡±


    Cui Jiu half-lowered his eyes and looked at her slightly drooping red lips. The dimples on her cheeks also disappeared. It seemed that she was immersed in the dream


    After a pause, he went to ask, ¡°Am I with another woman?¡±


    Miantang was a little guilty and answered vaguely, now she was completely awake.


    It was just because what she just dreamed of was not Cui Xingzhou, but the Young Master Ziyu who she had only met once!


    In the dream, she pointed to the pale young man and scolded him angrily. She didn¡¯t remember what she scolded. But the feelings of breaking up are really unforgettable


    What¡¯s the matter with her? Although it is a dream, it is not easy to dream of other men!


    So when Cui Jiu asked again, she said something else and interrupted.


    But when she thought of what he had said about Ziyu before she went to bed, Miantang always thought there was something strange here. Should she have known that Ziyu before?


    She thought of the dream and became more and more uneasy. Finally, while her husband was going to have dinner, she secretly asked Servant Li.


    Thinking that The Master had just told her to give Young Lady Liu some information at the right time to see if she could recall Lu Wen, Servant Li felt a little headache.


    She cannot let the young lady be alert, but also need to implicitly guide her to think of something. This kind of controlling the action and words for the conventional verbal exchange skills is really a great test!


    At last, Miantang asked her anxiously. Servant Li might as well straightforwardly spill her words out with a black face: ¡°He is your ex-lover¡­¡±


    As soon as the words came out, Miantang¡¯s apricot eyes were about to pop out, and she dropped a bowl of jujube soup she was drinking on the ground. She couldn¡¯t help but raise her voice and said, ¡°Servant Li, what are you talking about?¡±

 CH 24

    Frankly speaking, Servant Li, who is used to seeing high officials and noble lords never has stage fright, felt a little trembling in her heart when she was thrown down by the bowl and yelled at by the young lady. She just thought that the gentle young lady on ordinary days could also be so fierce¡­


    Now that the words are out, the rest is easy to handle. Adhering to the idea of ¡°early death can be rebirth early¡±, Servant Li went on forcefully: ¡°Madam, you had made friends with him for some time before losing your memory. Did you ever recall something?¡±


    Miantang was feeling like being pressed on an acupoint. She thought of her previous dream and was speechless. But she didn¡¯t believe that before she lost her memory, she was lacking in womanhood. She did not remain loyal to her good and handsome husband, but was fooling around with that young master who looks emaciated and weak!


    This¡­ This, did she hurt her brain before, and really couldn¡¯t distinguish the jade tiles?


    So she couldn¡¯t help murmuring, ¡°How¡­ How? Does he, does my husband know?¡±


    Miantang¡¯s absent-minded appearance was too pitiful. Servant Li¡¯s forced intention had expended most of it, so she softened her words and said with comfort: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Master knows about it and he told me that he will forgive you.¡±


    This is true.


    The Prince once told her that when the Yangshan rebel¡¯s affairs are settled, the house on North Street would give as a reward to this lonely and helpless woman who loses her chastity. It can be seen that The Prince is a magnanimous man in the end. Seeing that Liu Miantang is virtuous and a hard-earned woman, he gave her a place to return, which is also a turning point for her ill-fated fate.


    But when Liu Miantang heard what Cui Jiu had said, she entirely fell on the chair.


    She suddenly fully understood why when she first woke up, Servant Li always looked at her with a black face and a look of disgust. And her husband is always polite but has a sense of unfamiliarity with herself. Even if they sleep in the same bed, he will never step over the boundary of a married couple.


    It turned out that¡­ It was their relationship that had a rift a long time ago, and she even turn her back on one lover and go with another one which gave her husband a big cuckold!


    Miantang was so depressed at the thought of her ignorance of things before she lost her memory. She wanted to catch herself at that time and hardly slap herself a few hands in the face.


    Is it because her husband has been studying and visiting friends outside for a long time and is not at home that she has a lonely mind and has been provoked by frivolous men, which resulted in her not having a determined heart for a moment and having made a big mistake?


    Miantang was so ashamed and angry when she thought that the man named Ziyu dared to appear in front of her husband and openly provoked him by giving her the bloody grand prize!


    Which family¡¯s dissolute young master is he from? This is to ride on her husband¡¯s head to shit!


    Miantang then went on to ask Servant Li the details of her mistake. Servant Li was asked again that her eyes are straightened. She now felt that after her death, she might be thrown into hell where the tongue is pulled out as the punishment for oral sin because she lied too much¡­


    She had no choice but to scoop another bowl of dessert for Miantang and said with a black face, ¡°How do I know about the betrayal details? You will need to think it over yourself¡­ Think about it carefully. Remember to tell Master what you think of.¡±


    Miantang thinks that Servant Li is confused. Even if she recalls her own mistakes, how can she tell her husband? Does she want her to sprinkle a handful of coarse salt on her husband¡¯s wound?


    Now, all she thinks is that she is sorry for her husband!


    As for the past with the sick young master, because of guilt, she doesn¡¯t even bother to think about it.


    Although Servant Li and her husband treated her as usual and covered up the scandal for so long because of her illness of losing her memory, how could she pretend to be calm and continue to act as if nothing had happened?


    So when Cui Jiu finished his dinner in the dining room and entered the bedroom again. He saw the young lady who should have stayed in bed, picked up the principles of the married couple again, bent her knees deeply, placed her hands properly, and asked respectfully, ¡°Husband must be tired today from all the walking. Do you want me to massage your legs and loosen your muscles and bones?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou slightly raised his eyebrows. It¡¯s been a long time since the etiquette of Lady Liu has been so comprehensive.


    Perhaps after arriving at Lingquan Town, he came to North Street too often, which made the young lady feel close to him. As time went on, she became more friendly, and also slackened her courtesy.


    He doesn¡¯t know what happened to Lady Liu today. She once again brings back the act of husband and wife treating each other with courtesy and putting her husband as the priority.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I have a friend¡¯s invitation tonight. I¡¯m going to play chess by candlelight. You can go to bed first. I¡¯ll go out in a minute.¡±


    But just after he declined, Young Lady Liu was worried that her rim of the eyes had turned red: ¡°Husband, if you dislike me, throw me a letter of divorce. I will never bother you. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you and me if you were to do things this slowly as it will never settle a dispute!¡±


    Although Cui Xingzhou ordered Servant Li to test her, he didn¡¯t know what Servant Li had just said. Looking at Miantang¡¯s swollen eyes, he frowned slightly and said in a low voice, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Liu Miantang bit her teeth and said what Servant Li had told her.


    Her temperament is always cheerful. Although her husband is rare and desirable, she felt sorry for him at first. Why should her husband look at her unhappily and avoid her all day long so that he can¡¯t return home?


    If it was her fault, it¡¯s natural for him to divorce her!


    After hearing this, Cui Xingzhou frowned slightly, but he could not point out anything wrong with Servant Li¡¯s words.


    To arouse the young lady¡¯s memory of Lu Wen, Servant Li described Lu Wen as her lover, which was not much different from the fact.


    However, when Cui Jiu wanted to speak, he paused slightly and then changed his speech: ¡°It was he who tried to seduce you several times, but you didn¡¯t have an affair with him¡­¡±


    Although Servant Li¡¯s words are true, they are too awful! If the woman is unable to bear or endure something and suddenly hears that she has done such a disgraceful thing, wouldn¡¯t she be ashamed and resentful and die hitting the pole?


    After he pacified the rebels in Yangshan, Liu Miantang will need to continue living as a woman. If she could recall the memory by herself, it would be the best. But if she really couldn¡¯t get back her memory, he didn¡¯t want to directly say that she was kidnapped by the mountain bandits, humiliated, and lost her innocence.


    Prince Huaiyang was seldom being so considerate. However, seeing that the woman¡¯s nature was not bad and she was sincere, He gave her the dignity to live on in the future.


    Liu Miantang had already made preparations to divorce peacefully with her husband. Unexpectedly, from her husband¡¯s mouth, she got the truth that she was still innocent.


    For a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief and stopped her grief. With a heavy nasal voice, she said: ¡°Husband, are you deceiving me so that I can feel at ease?¡±


    Miantang¡¯s eyes are the most provocative. They are usually bright and charming. Now, under the candlelight, her peach-like eyes are crying till it¡¯s pinkish. Even the most hard-hearted men will soften in the whirling tears.


    Cui Xingzhou looked down at her, slowly raised his hand, wiped her tears with his long finger, and said half truly and half falsely, ¡°If you did associate yourself with that undesirable man, how will I endure you until now?¡±


    This is also the truth. She was just a woman robbed by bandits and forced to be humiliated. Naturally, he would not do things too difficult for her. But if she married the anti-bandit, she would be an anti-bandit accomplice. He has all kinds of ways to punish her¡­


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s words are like the sun splitting the dark clouds away and dispelling the sadness of Miantang.


    Servant Li was old-fashioned. Seeing that she had spoken with the scholar named Ziyu several times, she suspected that she was unfaithful. Fortunately, her husband knew the truth about her innocence.


    It is conceivable that her husband Cui Jiu was jealous and angry at that time. Later, he gave her a cold shoulder, probably because he felt wronged and acted rashly.


    No wonder he didn¡¯t like her to have another verbal conversation with Doctor Zhao and the others. It is really because once they are hurt, they are afraid of similar things or events that might happen again!


    In any case, it was because she was not cautious enough that Ziyu, Doctor Zhao, and the others almost had an opportunity to take advantage of her. From then on, she only had her husband in her heart and will only look at him. She won¡¯t look at other men!


    It¡¯s just that Cui Jiu coaxed his wife for a long time, and sees that he could not make it for his ¡°chess appointment¡± longer.


    There is a night curfew in the State of Qing. Under the name of ¡°Merchant Cui Jiu¡±, he could not get out of the Inn and wander in the street. Naturally, he had to sleep with Lady Liu again.


    Because the knot in her heart was untied between the ¡°husband and wife¡±. That night, Miantang was so clingy that she had to hug his neck to sleep at ease.


    When they got up in the morning, Miantang was particularly reluctant to part with Cui Jiu when she sent him out. It was just that her husband didn¡¯t seem to sleep well. His eyes were full of bloodshot and he didn¡¯t talk much. He just drank his porridge in silence and didn¡¯t even look at her!


    Although her husband still treats her with respect, it is not as intimate as an ordinary couple.


    But Miantang felt that their days are still long, just like the thick snow in the mountains. There was always a time when the warm spring flowers would bloom and turn into a trickle.


    Thinking of this, Miantang has a new beginning to look forward to in her days. Even if her husband doesn¡¯t like to talk to people because he gets up angry, she virtuously pretends not to see his face, just tidies up his clothes and wipes his face with a handkerchief.


    However, when she was close to him, she could always hear her husband inhale slightly and then sigh. She didn¡¯t know what kind of nourishing skills he was practicing.


    Her husband is good-looking. Even if he purses his mouth and sulks, she can¡¯t take her eyes off him.


    Nevertheless, she would never ask for the prize presented by that Young Master Ziyu yesterday. Although the threshold of the Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party is very high, it is difficult for her husband to accept the gift from the young master?


    Hearing that she decided to give up the admission quota, Cui Xingzhou was very satisfied. After getting up, his tight face finally smiled and told her that Mo Ru had already paid money for the booth in the State of Qing market. She could set up the booth for business to watch and see if there¡¯s any Bole who appreciated their family¡¯s porcelain wares.


    Miantang nodded convincingly and decided to work hard for their family¡¯s porcelain.


    After arranging all this, Cui Xingzhou went out at ease and got on the carriage. He then can sit on the cushion of the chair and relax his nerves that have been tense all night.


    After all, if she went to the Official¡¯s Tea Party, wouldn¡¯t it be a mess and break his long-planned arrangement?


    Now that Miantang has a business, she won¡¯t run around. Only when she sits openly in the downtown area, can she attract Lu Wen to show up.


    The rebel is hiding in an Inn guarded by officers and soldiers. Cui Xingzhou is naturally not good to do anything, but once he shows up in the downtown area and happens to fight with a barbarian and got killed with a knife in the corner, it will be logical¡­ Isn¡¯t Commander Shi trying to win the reputation of virtue? Let¡¯s see what the consequences would be if the leader of the bandit who was offered the amnesty and enlistment to rebels died on his territory¡­ The Emperor has a good plot. He wants to weaken his authority and power of the State of Zhen, let¡¯s see if it¡¯s easy¡­


    That Lady Liu really has bad sleeping posture. She¡¯s as clingy as a child. He doesn¡¯t know what fragrance she used, it even has a sweet scent of peach¡­


    Somehow, It urged Xingzhou to think all the way, but gradually the thought was off to something else¡­


    After being absorbed in his thought for a while, he suddenly realized he was too immersed and he forget about himself. He could not help but frown a little. He stopped thinking and close his eyes, resting to attain mental tranquility¡­

 CH 25

    But Prince Huaiyang found that even though he was half asleep, the sweet smell of her breath still lingered¡­ It was annoying¡­


    As a result, Merchant Cui Jiu, spent the rest of his days in the State of Qing visiting friends all night.


    On the day of the Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party, many luxurious carriages were suddenly seen on the streets of the State of Qing, and mud traps that hangs on both sides of the horse¡¯s belly and is used to cover the dust were set up on both sides of the road.


    Miantang went out late and stood on the second floor of the Inn. She looked down from the railing and watched the carriages passing by.


    To tell the truth, although she was born into a famous family, she was from a family of declining nobility. However, she had lived up to the undeserved reputation of her ancestors, and had never had a leisurely and rich life, or the chance to attend the tea party.


    Now that she has married into a merchant¡¯s family, even her official reputation for that idea cannot be preserved.


    When her father was young, he had experienced the prosperity of the Liu family in its heyday. Since then, he never wants to let go of it. He always wanted to glorify his family again. When educating his children, he also kept talking about ¡°How the Liu family used to be¡±.


    But what about him spending his whole life giving a lot of care to the authority for personal gain? In the end, he still ended up in prison and was tortured to death.


    Her half-brother was born by the previous Madam of the Liu family who had deceased before her mother married into the Liu family. His biological mother¡¯s family background was not bad, so he looked down on his stepmother everywhere and mocked his sister Miantang¡¯s vulgarity from time to time.


    This made Liu Miantang have a natural antipathy to the days when she was living in a wealthy family. When the carriages passing downstairs were carefully carved, gilded, and inlaid with jewelry, and the young ladies with their heads full of pearls, she did not envy them at all.


    Although the style of her carriage was simple, and she lived just like ordinary people, she felt more comfortable when she was at her parent¡¯s house before marriage. Those Madam and Young Ladies can take part in the Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party at leisure. She is going to run her business in the market.


    Because it was a booth, Miantang didn¡¯t want to wear too beautiful to provoke unnecessary publicity.


    So she only wore green short clothes on her upper body and a skirt tied on the lower body, wrapped her forehead and hair in green cloth which gives the look of a capable and experienced manner of doing things.


    The young servant, Mo Ru, is also a capable man. The booth he chose was very lively. In addition, she was located at an intersection of the street, and almost all the people who went shopping would pass by it.


    Miantang commanded two servants to set up their shop porcelain nicely on the table, and asked Guisheng, a shop assistant that tagged along from the State of Zhen, to raise the flag of the ¡°Jade Porcelain Workshop¡±.


    Now that she has learned and understands this profession, she should not blindly follow the method of only selling 1 item too high its price and meet with no response. Therefore, this time, she has also bought a batch of zodiac ornaments and white porcelain.


    Mr. Chen ate the pork cooked by Servant Li these days, but he didn¡¯t see the store open. He felt ashamed. He filled the porcelain with colors and outline it without Miantang¡¯s orders. They were different from other stores¡¯ styles. The paintings were chic and lovely.


    For a while, these lovely and unique styles attracted many people to see.


    Miantang decided to take the stock quantity and asked the shop assistant calls for the offer of buying one get one free. If the customer were to buy a money box from the shop, they can get one zodiac ornament for free. But if the customer were to purchase a full set of plates, they would give the customer a whole set of small zodiac ornaments.


    For a period, many adults with children came to buy the money box. On the one hand, the box space is very big, which looks like it can be stuffed with a lot of things so that children can save copper money when they buy it back. On the other hand, the little Zodiac also attracts the love of the children.


    There are even collectors who bought the plates for the whole set of little zodiac animals.


    Miantang and the two women servant were busy wrapping the sold money box and plates with yellow paper and then wrapping them with straw ropes to facilitate customers to carry them. They were busy.


    It was not until noon that most people who went shopping looked for places to eat where the streets were a little empty.


    Miantang wiped the sweat on her forehead, ignored the stewed meat pancakes bought by Servant Li, and counted the money in her money box with great interest. While counting, she also strings the money together with a thin rope.


    It¡¯s a good feeling to watch the money box fill up. Counting money is more delicious than eating¡­


    But just then, another customer came to the booth suddenly.


    Miantang¡¯s side-eyes glanced that there are customers. She quickly puts away her money box and gets up to greet them.


    But the smile on her face gradually solidified after he saw the customer.


    The visitor is no one else, but the ¡°lover¡± Ziyu, as Servant Li said. He was still looking handsome with sad eyes. Behind him, there were five or six attendants. They looked very unusual.


    Miantang was deeply shocked by the young master¡¯s boldness. Even if she had something to do with him before, how could he come down to find herself in broad daylight as a ¡°lover¡±?


    At this moment, the young master stared at her and said with a sad look: ¡°Miantang, you left me just to live like this?¡±


    Listen to what he said, he seems to look down on the merchants. Could it be that he realized his family background was better than that of the merchants¡¯ family, so he said something like that to taunt her?


    Upon hearing this, Miantang suddenly lost her good temper and said with a pair of charming big eyes: ¡°What¡¯s the matter with living like that? I have a house to live in and meat to eat, and every penny I earn is clean. Where did it provoke the attention of the young master?¡±


    Being mocked by her, the young master immediately looked miserable and said slowly: ¡°¡­ Indeed, such a day has always been what you yearn for¡­ But, you just casually live with that man?¡±


    Miantang doesn¡¯t know why she didn¡¯t know this man before, but today she has to tell him the truth, cutting off his evil intention and breaking his evil courage.


    ¡°Young master, who am I going to marry, it¡¯s not up to you to make indiscreet remarks or criticisms. You look like a decent person. Why are you so eager to gossip with a married woman? Your parents died early and no one taught you the conduct of a man should be?¡±


    At this moment, a bearded attendant beside the young master could not help but shouted in a low voice: ¡°Liu Miantang, how dare you talk to my master like that!¡±


    Miantang unceremoniously spilled the remaining tea in her hand, the tea covered them all over and they all jumped away. Then, she said to the attendant: ¡°From now on, I will always talk like this. It¡¯s your master, not mine. If you dare to drag in all sorts of irrelevant matters again, I¡¯ll save a barrel of poops to pour it in front of you next time! Guisheng! Sweep the front of the stall with a broom. What dirty smell has fallen on the floor. How can I greet customers later?¡±


    Guisheng¡¯s work was quick. Seeing that the shopkeeper¡¯s wife didn¡¯t want to see these people, he waved a broom and shouted unceremoniously, ¡°Get out! Get out! Don¡¯t dirty our boss¡¯s booth!¡±


    The bodyguards behind the Young Master Ziyu were very arrogant. Seeing Miantang¡¯s rudeness, they were so angry that they wanted to rush forward to argue with her.


    But Young Master Ziyu shouted for them to stop with a face turned pale, and said to Miantang, ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to see me, I won¡¯t disturb you in the future, but you should know that you are the only one in my heart. You had misunderstood Yun Niang and me¡­¡±


    Miantang was not in the mood to listen to what he said but nervously looked at whether Servant Li¡¯s face was stained in black.


    Today, some damned young master came to seduce her again. What should she do if Servant Li learned these shameless words and report them to her husband?


    Looking at her, Servant Li really had a strange complexion on her face. She kept wandering around the Young Master Ziyu. Maybe, she is arranging some kind of adultery affairs in her rigid mind!


    Miantang was so upset that she said impatiently, ¡°Just go with whatever women you like, I don¡¯t care! I don¡¯t want to see you again in my life!¡±


    Her words were more decisive than when she left the mountain a year ago, and the lips of the gentle young man were trembling slightly.


    His lips were pale, and he seemed to want to say something. In the end, he turned and left.


    Miantang felt a burst of heartache for no reason. Looking back at Ziyu, it seemed that there was some bitterness coming from her heart¡­


    But when she snapped out of it, she repented and prayed: Amitabha, sinful, sinful, she¡¯s even looking at the man¡¯s back for so long! Husband, you did the right thing to ignore me. I deserved it¡­


    But there was no time for her wishful thinking.


    Not long after the group left, the people on the street suddenly started screaming and jumping up. It seemed that there was a fight in front of them, and the people kept shouting all the way. The street was in great chaos. From time to time, some stalls were knocked over by the fleeing people.


    Miantang¡¯s stall was full of porcelain that are very fragile. Seeing this, she couldn¡¯t bother to look at what has happened. She hurriedly asked the servants and the shop assistant to put the important porcelain into the box with hay, so that it could be loaded into the donkey cart.


    When they packed the stalls in a hurry, a large number of officers and soldiers rushed to the streets and hurried into the chaos.


    When Miantang finally returned to the Inn, there were people on the first floor of the Inn talking about the matter that happened earlier on. It is said that many people died in the street just now, and the blood was splashed all over the ground.


    She listened along with her ears for a time, while she was quick to check whether there was any loss in her porcelain.


    When the money box was firmly held in her arms, she breathed a sigh of relief: ¡°My gosh, the streets of the State of Qing are chaotic¡­ By the way, Servant Li, where did my husband when to meet friends? Could he be caught up with the troubles in the streets?¡±


    Servant Li is also tired and beaten out. Miantang hurried them to load the goods just now. One of the boxes hit her foot. Now it hurts so much that she can only rub it and say: ¡°He should be fine, Master went out of town to visit friends¡­¡±


    Miantang breathed a sigh of relief. She asked the shop assistant Guisheng to ask for a doctor to give Servant Li¡¯s feet a look. She thought: If the city is so messy, the city gate will be closed and curfew will be imposed early. She didn¡¯t know where her husband would spend the night tonight.


    She expected it well. That night, Cui Jiu did not come back.


    However, unlike Miantang¡¯s thinking of him living in a humble cottage in the countryside for a whole night, Prince Huaiyang is now on a beautiful gaily-painted pleasure boat outside the city, accompanying his mother and several invited royal nobility family members to the lake.


    When the Old Princess Consort arrived in the State of Qing with her future daughter-in-law Lian Binglan, they had already missed the start of the tea party. Prince Huaiyang is extremely filial thus, he might as well not attend the tea party at all. He went out of the city to meet his mother. He casually took some of his mother¡¯s best acquaintances to visit the famous Yingri Colorful Lake in the State of Qing.


    This time, people were having much enjoyment and forget to go back home. They were not ready to rush back until sunset, but when they got ashore, they heard that there was a riot and martial law was imposed in the city.

 CH 26

    Seeing that they could not enter the city, the Old Princess Consort and the others settled down in a temporary dwelling place of a high official borrowed from Marquis Zhennan¡¯s friend outside the city.


    The Old Princess Consort had a good time, but when she thought of missing the tea party, she still had some regrets. She could not help scolding her steward: ¡°You have always been calm. Why did you take the wrong road today, you only take care of the start but not the end or process? We made a detour to get on the ferry which caused us not to catch up with the tea party.¡±


    Steward Gao smiled and did not dare to look at The Prince. It was hard for him to tell the truth. How can he say that it was The Prince who instructed him to act like this!


    However, Lian Binglan, who was on the other side, was very considerate to help the steward out of the predicament: ¡°Old Princess Consort, you are blessed with misfortune. I just heard that the city is very chaotic. Some officials passed by the street after the tea party was all scared.¡±


    A few ladies from the State of Zhen nodded constantly, saying that they had been saved from a disaster with the great blessing of the Old Princess Consort. The Old Princess Consort finally smiled.


    Cui Xingzhou was listening with a smile, but what he was thinking was something else.


    In fact, he signaled the steward to lead the wrong way today to avoid the trouble in the State of Qing for his relatives.


    After all, if the relatives of Prince Huaiyang¡¯s residents don¡¯t attend, he will be too suspicious. However, heading in the wrong direction was a helpless move. All the guards at the wharf post station could testify that no one could find anything wrong.


    But he thought the assassin he sent must have hit the target and killed the rebel. The Emperor¡¯s opportunity to weaken his authority and power in the State of Zhen had been cut off.


    However, it never occurred to him that the guards around the rebel were filled with experts, and they fought their lives to protect each other.


    In the end, the assassin only managed to stab the Young Master Ziyu in the back, but the assassin didn¡¯t manage to immediately kill him in the downtown area.


    According to his subordinates who came back to report on the mission, the moves used by the bodyguard of that Young Master Ziyu looked like those of a group of secret sentry bodyguards who were trained from the former emperor¡¯s time. They were all suicidal fighting methods that tried to fight for their lives and completely gave up their own lives to protect their Master.


    Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou was a little curious about the origin of this Young Master Ziyu. He also ordered his subordinates not to act rashly.


    It¡¯s a pity that Lu Wen¡¯s bedside person has lost her memory. Otherwise, he would be able to get words out of the Young Lady Liu¡¯s mouth.


    Cui Xingzhou felt a little sorry when he thought of the story that Lady Liu, who was reported by the secret sentry, scolded Ziyu so violently in the street today¡­


    At this time, the Old Princess Consort looked at her absent-minded son and Lian Binglan. She smiled and said, ¡°Xingzhou, you were so busy that we couldn¡¯t see you often. Today, you are finally free. You guys also don¡¯t like to listen to our old ladies chatting. Go! Accompany your cousin Binglan to take a walk in the courtyard. When I came in today, I thought the flowers were blooming well¡­¡±


    When her mother spoke, Cui Xingzhou naturally obeyed her orders. He only led his servant boy and a group of attendants and invited his cousin to enjoy the yard together.


    Lian Binglan looked at the gentle smile and handsome features of Prince Huaiyang. Her heart was swayed. She is a step away from her cousin and went to the yard to enjoy the Epiphyllum under the moon.


    Since the last time she sent the Crab Roe Dumplings, Lian Binglan went to the military camp several times to send food to her cousin.


    Once or twice, she found a complete set of meal boxes on her cousin¡¯s camp table, but the dishes inside were not like the style in the restaurant.


    She asked her servant girl, Lian Xiang, to let Mo Ru speak out, but Mo Ru was a tough and clever boy. No matter how she talks, his reply was perfect.


    Mo Ru didn¡¯t say, but Lian Binglan was more and more sure that the meal boxes were sent from the house on the North Street of Lingquan town.


    After hearing the young lady¡¯s assertion, Lian Xiang was so angry that she scolded that Lady Liu was indeed a woman who had served in the bandit¡¯s den before. She was very thoughtful. Knowing that Prince Huaiyang was obsessed with his business, she took food and drink to tease him.


    Her mother, Chu-Lian, was so angry that she hit the table directly and insisted on telling the Old Princess Consort about the absurd things her nephew had done!


    Lian Binglan sneered at Lian Xiang¡¯s words but felt that the young lady on North Street was not an easy woman. She just doesn¡¯t know if her thousands of provocative skills will succeed in making Prince Huaiyang lust and makes his mind faint and bring this mistress who lost her chastity into the threshold of the residence.


    The answer is no. Her cousin is the most conscientious in his work. How can he openly be together with such a person with shortcomings in private morality?


    Although she felt uncomfortable, she didn¡¯t want to make a fuss with her cousin. After all, her thoughtfulness in delivering meals seems to have finally softened The Prince¡¯s heart.


    The ¡°letter from home¡± submitted by his father has also received an answer. Several nephews of the Lian family were assigned to good postings.


    Others may not know, that it is useless to use a strong approach for a man like Prince Huaiyang. Otherwise, the more one wants him to do, the more counterproductive it will be. It¡¯s better to be gentle and try to do it slowly.


    Lian Binglan thinks she hasn¡¯t married into the residence yet. Even if The Prince dotes on the mistress, she can¡¯t take care of it. At the same time, she also persuaded her mother not to make a stupid move and don¡¯t have the wishful thinking about controlling The Prince!


    Chu-Lian always listened to her daughter. Naturally, she endure herself and didn¡¯t tell the story of The Prince¡¯s having a mistress outside.


    However, she solemnly reminded her daughter that although they had already made a marriage agreement, she didn¡¯t need to take the initiative to seduce, but don¡¯t be too reserved in front of The Prince and lose the charm a woman should have, making him feels the the ¡°wildflowers¡± outside were especially sweet.


    Lian Binglan knows what her mother means, but as a daughter of an eminent family, even if she wants to be close to her cousin, she should pay attention to her discretion, right?


    The Old Princess Consort rarely arrange for her to take a walk with her cousin under the moon. She was shy for a while and finally said, ¡°Cousin, I wrote a poem these days, but I can¡¯t fill in the rhyme. I wonder if you can polish it for me when you¡¯re free.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked at a piece of letter paper taken out from his cousin¡¯s sleeve, raised his eyebrows, and reached out to take it.


    When he looked at it, he found that it was a poem that boldly expressed the yearning between lovers from the bottom of her heart. Both the words and rhymes were in place. In addition, his cousin¡¯s beautiful handwriting made people feel pleased to see it.


    It¡¯s a pity that Cui Xingzhou has long passed the age of sixteen to twenty years old when two young people exchange love poems under the moon and flowers. Now his mind is full of engaging in hot battle, scheming, and calculating. In leisure time, it¡¯s more relaxing to talk about something with no purpose, aimlessly.


    This is also the reason why he likes to make friends with such nonsense casual people as Zhao Quan.


    So when The Prince looked at the love poem that showed her heart, he still had to consider how to thank his cousin. He was a little annoyed. He thought why Lian Binglan couldn¡¯t take a quiet walk with him, and let him live up to the Epiphyllum under the moon?


    After Prince Huaiyang pinched the paper and slowly read it again after delaying the time. He then looked up with a smile and praised his cousin¡¯s good literary thinking. Among the women he had met, no one could match.


    Lian Binglan blushed at Cui Xingzhou¡¯s words, and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s me who displays my slight skill in front of an expert. Who doesn¡¯t know that you were the No. 1 scholar in the imperial examination, which was decided at the higher level but not officially announced? If the emperor hadn¡¯t withdrawn your examination papers, you would have been the No. 1 scholar in that year. And¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou smiled and interrupted Lian Binglan¡¯s compliment: ¡°That was an absurdity thing when I was young. I made a bet with people and was so ambitious that I went to take the imperial examination in anonymous. The late emperor was wise. He said that the descendants of aristocratic families didn¡¯t need to occupy the opportunities of the descendants of the poor and humble families. He scolded me and withdrew my examination paper. After I returned to the residence, my father beat me severely. Now that I remember, I am deeply ashamed and grateful for the late emperor¡¯s kindness¡­ You should not mention such a matter again when I was young and ignorant.¡±


    Lian Binglan quickly made amends to her cousin. Cui Xingzhou waved her hand and said he didn¡¯t mind his cousin¡¯s indiscreet remark. Then the unmarried couple had no more words and just continued to walk together one step apart under the moon.


    In Lian Binglan¡¯s opinion, after she took out her love poem, his cousin should write a poem on the spot and give her back to show their affection for each other.


    Who would have thought that after a few words of approval, he went for a walk without looking back.


    There are young people under the moon, but they can¡¯t seem to get affection.


    Miss Lian couldn¡¯t help feeling a little lonely. Looking at her cousin¡¯s tall and straight figure in front of her, she just followed behind silently and swam along the path for a circle.


    Then the cousins said goodbye to each other and went back to their rooms to have a rest.


    In the early morning of the next day, Lian Binglan got up early, thinking that her cousin had the habit of practicing martial arts in the morning, and wanted to meet him in the garden.


    But until breakfast, she didn¡¯t see her cousin. She listened to the people saying that there was a riot in the State of Qing. It is said that the leader of the rebel was stabbed. He doubted the integrity of The Emperor¡¯s offer of amnesty and enlistment to rebels. He even raised troops to meet the anti-bandit Luwen and returned to Yangshan.


    For a time, the city in the State of Qing was in great chaos, so the State of Zhen had to send troops to investigate the countryside and maintain order. Before dawn, The Prince had taken his men and returned to the State of Zhen.


    The Old Princess Consort and the rest spent two days playing at the Yingri Colorful Lake, far away from the chaos, before they returned to the State of Zhen.


    The good situation of the offer of amnesty and enlistment to rebels in the State of Qing was disturbed by a hideous mess of sudden assassins. Shi Yikuan was furious. Fortunately, Lu Wen is a person who can discern the cardinal principles. He woke up from a coma after a serious injury and generously expressed that he believed in the integrity of Commander Shi and would not change his intention to submit to the imperial court.


    As for the assassin, after many days of investigation, the State of Qing was finally lifted from a ban and released.


    Miantang followed the crowd. When she left the city gate of the State of Qing, she was very happy. The first thing she thought about was to go to the mountain to worship the Buddha and light up a high-quality slender joss stick to the assassin.


    It turned out that after the day curfew was implemented in the State of Qing, it was stipulated that all houses rented from foreigners should be taken back and reported by the owners. All foreigners, regardless of their status, should gather in the Inns in the city for investigation.


    As a result, wealthy families who rent houses in the State of Qing have to move to various Inns for investigation. Miantang looked at the carriages that had driven into the Inn¡¯s courtyard, her eyes were shining brightly as if she had seen a full lot of potential customers.


    Although she was not able to enter the Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party, many writing masters happened to enter the Inn, and their freedom was restricted. They were not allowed to go out at will. They were very bored.


    So she had an idea and hung Mr. Chen¡¯s painting in the lobby of the Inn for people to enjoy.


    As a result, the painting was recognized by several powerful experts.


    The calligraphers and painters who were unable to get out of the street because of the curfew blockade found a livelihood. They put together several tables in the Inn hall, write or draw and splashed ink, and make friends with the Hate Pen Hermit.


    Miantang didn¡¯t like reading very much, and her painting skills were not rich, but at that time, she also felt the strong atmosphere of calligraphy and scatter ink. Her entire self also felt a lot more elegant and was more willing to add excitement to the Calligraphy and Painting Tea Party in the Inn.


    At last, Liu Miantang dressed up with highly bun-up thick and beautiful hair, red lips, and a flowing white dress. She wanted to personally present the plates of the two treasures of her town store in a brocade box. When she came down the stairs, they were stunned.


    Just think of a beautiful woman who is bright and gorgeous and holds objects with a solemn expression. Even a bowl of stinky tofu will have a lingering fragrance and endless aftertaste!

 CH 27

    For a period, these two plates were vied for by several rich families. As the price gradually drove up, they sold a total of 230 taels of silver.


    Many other dignitaries who didn¡¯t make the order felt regretful, so they left a deposit for Miantang and will send someone to the State of Zhen to pick up the goods in the future.


    The name ¡°Jade Porcelain Workshop¡± is also known on the ground of the State of Qing. Touching the hundred dollars silver note, Miantang felt that the assassin¡¯s lords should deserve her to light up a few more high incense sticks.


    But with a large amount of silver money in her possession, how to return to the State of Zhen safely has become a problem.


    Miantang wanted to go to the local escort agency to hire someone to escort them, but Servant Li insisted that they would be safe along the way, so they didn¡¯t have to spend the money in vain.


    Miantang feels that Servant Li doesn¡¯t know the dangers of the world. Some money cannot be saved.


    Her grandfather¡¯s family runs an escort agency. Naturally, she also knows all kinds of methods used by bandits to block the way and rob. Now she is so rich that if she is a robber, she can¡¯t help but want to rob!


    So despite the dissuade of Servant Li, Miantang hung up a short task with ten silver money in the escort agency. They were escorted by two military men that have great physical strength and courage to cross the river and take a carriage back to the State of Zhen.


    While Cui Xingzhou was out on business, he went to the mansion in the North for lunch. As soon as he entered the door, he found that Lady Liu, who had met at the door earlier in the past, had disappeared this time.


    He asked Servant Li who was coming out with the motion of his sight eyes. Servant Li helplessly pointed to the closed door and said in a low voice, ¡°This is the case after she went to the money bank to exchange the cheque for money this morning. She didn¡¯t even come out for meals!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou raised his eyebrows and strode toward the house. With a push, the door was latched. Prince Huaiyang felt that the young lady inside had done something unspeakable. When he was about to stretch out his foot to kick, Lady Liu inside asked, ¡°Who is outside the door?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou said briefly, ¡°Me¡­¡­¡±


    The next moment, the latch on the door opened, and a slender arm stretched out from the crack of the door and dragged Cui Xingzhou into the room.


    He saw that Lady Liu was wearing long trousers and short blouses, her long hair was simply rolled up with a few hairpins, her forehead was covered with sweat, and she even held a pair of short spades in her hand.


    Cui Jiu looked at her up and down calmly, and then asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Miantang was so tired that her two arms ached. It was just when she was worried about what to do, her husband came back, and she met the savior.


    After carefully closing the door, she took him into the inner room, pointed to the position of the wooden bed, and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to dig a deep hole here to hide money. Husband, you came back just in time. Help me continue digging!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked at the half-dug shallow pit and looked at the neatly stacked mountain of silver ingots on the bed. He said lightly: ¡°You should know that there will be a profit if you store the silver money in the bank? If you bury it under the bed, don¡¯t mention wasting your energy, but there won¡¯t be any profit.¡±


    Miantang went to the bed and gently touched the shiny silver ingots, Then she smiled and said: ¡°I divided the money into three parts. One part was stored in the bank to generate profits, and the other part was taken to the shop to make capital and buy some fine goods. This part is just life-saving money for emergencies. Naturally, it should be buried more securely. Although it is said that the world is peaceful, if the owner of the bank will run away in case of fighting and confusion, she can¡¯t exchange the cheque for money to buy food¡­ Hurry up, husband! Help me dig it quickly!¡±


    Miantang was also alerted by the turmoil in the State of Qing. She felt that it would be better to keep her hands on everything and have a backup plan. That¡¯s why she wanted to bury the money. Thus, she didn¡¯t ask for help from the servants at home and do it on her own.


    Cui Xingzhou worked hard in the military camp for half a day, but he didn¡¯t come to work as hard labor. How could he go to dig a pit and fool around at the instigation of Lady Liu?


    So he didn¡¯t say anything. He just took his book, pulled aside the silver ingots on the bed, put up his long legs, and went half lying down to read.


    Miantang doesn¡¯t care if her husband doesn¡¯t move. Only local country moneybags will do such things as burying money. It is a disgrace to the educated class for her husband to do so.


    Fortunately, she had rested for a while, and her injured wrist had regained some strength, so she simply did not disturb her husband¡¯s hard-working, but just waved a short spade and continued to work.


    After reading for a while, Cui Xingzhou couldn¡¯t help looking at the woman waving the short spade.


    As the saying goes, ¡°It¡¯s easy to change rivers and mountains but hard to change a person¡¯s nature.¡±. Although this woman has lost her memory, her nature of loving money as much as her life does not change.


    When she was rescued from the water, the woman not only had a makeup box with some jewelry in the package tied to her waist but also had silver notes wrapped in oil paper and wax in the soles of her shoes wrapped with hemp rope.


    It seems that it is in line with her ¡°burrow oneself in secret hideouts¡± way of hiding money.


    Cui Xingzhou is not a bandit. After saving her from the water, he ordered someone to put the woman¡¯s valuables under her bedside mattress.


    Remembering that the first thing she could do when she woke up was to search for something, Prince Huaiyang ticked the corner of his mouth in boredom.


    The soil in the house is compacted when the foundation is laid, which is very hard. Liu Miantang¡¯s wrist was seriously injured from the beginning. It was a little difficult to even carry the bowl every day, not to mention doing such things.


    After a while, her slender arm trembled slightly, and she only closed her lips, digging little by little with the small spade. Large beads of sweat rolled down from her smooth forehead, flowing happily all the way down, and disappeared along her white neck into her loose collar


    Cui Xingzhou unconsciously vibrated up and down his adam¡¯s apple and then turned his eyes to the book.


    The room was not quiet. Lady Liu, who did some rough work, couldn¡¯t follow up with her strength and was panting with fatigue.


    Perhaps he was so disturbed by Lady Liu¡¯s voice that he could not read quietly. Cui Jiu closed his eyes and forbore. He suddenly got up, took off his outer shirt, tucked in his clothes, strode over, grabbed the short spade in Lady Liu¡¯s hand, waved his arm, and started digging.


    The man¡¯s strength was originally greater than the woman¡¯s, so Cui Xingzhou dug a deep pit not long after, then stuffed the short spade back into Miantang¡¯s hand, and then asked softly, ¡°Is that enough?¡±


    Miantang was still immersed in the sweetness of her husband¡¯s ability, and immediately nodded her head and said, ¡°Enough, it¡¯s even enough to bury more silver money in the future!¡±


    Unfortunately, before she had finished speaking, Cui Jiu had thrown away the spade and pushed the door out with vigorous strides.


    Liu Miantang cannot help but shook her head. Her husband¡¯s scholar temperament was too heavy. Naturally, he¡¯s sick of these trivial things. It would be better for her to hide money by herself in the future.


    At noon that day, Servant Li cooked bass, fat greasy duck, and even the soup includes a whole lot of big fat prawns.


    Now the business of the porcelain workshop has been rising, and the tables in the North Street house have suddenly become more generous. There is no more dried radish being served in the house.


    During the meal, Miantang thought of the State of Qing specialty she had bought for the neighbors, so she said to Cui Xingzhou, ¡°Husband, after dinner, don¡¯t forget to walk with me to the neighbors¡¯ houses one by one. After all, we have been on a long trip. I have brought some specialties for distribution, which can also be regarded as a token of our gratitude and a reward for the care of the neighbors these days.¡±


    After the mundane affairs of digging holes and burying money, the tolerance of Prince Huaiyang seems to have increased a level. After listening to Miantang¡¯s feeble demands and looking at her, he didn¡¯t refute.


    After lunch, taking advantage of the time when all the neighbors went home for meals, Servant Li followed behind Cui Jiu¡¯s ¡°couple¡± and sent gifts door to door, carrying a basket of assembled specialties.


    At this time, North Street is bathed in the rising sun in early summer, and the courtyard walls of each family stretch out colorful flowers, which reflect the shadow of the courtyard walls one after another in abundance.


    Miantang, dressed in a newly cut thin skirt, combed the fashionable ponytail with her thick and beautiful hair, stood beside a man dressed in Confucian clothes, gently greeting the neighbors. They look like a married couple, an immortal couple in the world.


    This scene of summer love was reflected in the eyes of Yun Niang in the carriage at the corner of the street, but it was somewhat offending to the eye.


    But the young servant girl beside Yun Niang, Hua Ping, cries out involuntarily in a low voice: ¡°Miss, she¡­ She is still alive!¡±


    Yun Niang¡¯s face which is always gentle was covered with frost at the moment, and she also reprimand in a low voice, ¡°Shut up!¡±


    At this moment, the man beside Miantang suddenly looked up at them. His deep eyes were sharp. Yun Niang was surprised and immediately asked the cart driver to drive the carriage away from the alley.


    Hua Ping was reprimanded by the young lady, and she dared not open her mouth. After a while, Yun Niang asked the servant boy who is driving the cart, ¡°Are you sure that Liu Miantang was the one selling porcelain in the market that day?¡±


    The young man Yan Chi was Yun Niang¡¯s confidant. He quickly nodded and said, ¡°I followed the young master until I saw him stop in front of the porcelain stall. Seeing the young master talking to her, my heart almost jumped out. I thought I had met a ghost¡­¡±


    Yun Niang glanced at him and Hua Ping sneered and said, ¡°If you guys see Liu Miantang again in the future, calm down. Whether she is dead or alive, that has nothing to do with you and me. If you make a fuss, aren¡¯t you guys proving to have a guilty conscience?¡±


    Hua Ping quickly bowed her head and said yes, but she was worried and said: ¡°But what if the young master insists on seeing her again¡­ What should we do¡­¡±


    Yun Niang¡¯s long nails were firmly clasped in the palm of her hand, she said coldly, ¡°Didn¡¯t Yan Chi say that she scolded the young master badly that day? She probably won¡¯t pay any attention to him until she dies. What¡¯s wrong if they see each other again? Besides, she¡¯s married now. Although the merchant is a little humble, he is good-looking¡­ A woman who has lost her martial arts needs to live a solid life if she married such a person. Compared with her, the daughter of Commander Shi¡¯s concubine is the one who I have to worry about! If Liu Miantang doesn¡¯t pick a problem, let her live a few days in peace¡­ ¡±


    Hua Ping realized that the young lady had a sense of propriety.


    But Yun Niang¡¯s face was still slightly heavy, thinking about the smile on Miantang¡¯s face just now.


    As if she was not demoralized at all or having the depression of randomly finding a vulgar businessman and struggling to keep body and soul together. The resentment in Yun Niang¡¯s eyes deepened slightly, my good sister, have you really put everything down and become a merchant¡¯s wife?


    This ordinary carriage seems to have gone the wrong way. After stopping at the corner of North Street for a while, it seems to have come and gone all the way without a sound.


    After Cui Jiu¡¯s good-neighborly friendship, he can finally return to the house and have a good rest.


    Miantang was eagerly attentive and made tea for her husband. Then, sat at the end of the bed and held his leg to massage, while carefully testing: ¡°Husband, Mo Ru said that your clothes are temporarily placed in the chess house. Although you need to have some clothes to change over there, you have to have some at home too, otherwise, I can¡¯t even wash and sew for you. Where is there a wife like me¡­¡±


    Before she finished speaking, her eyes began to turn red again, as if she had been wronged endlessly.


    Cui Xingzhou glanced at her sideways, suspecting that she was pretending to cry.

 CH 28

    According to Servant Li, this young lady is fierce normally. She had a dispute with the craftsman who cut corners when repairing the shop. She stood alone and was having a verbal fight with three big men without blinking. She was so stunned that the other party reduced their wages and apologized.


    How is it possible that the matter of a few clothes can make her tearful eyes whirl? Maybe the last time she cried for a letter of divorce with tears, she found that it was useful under the attack of tears, so she repeated the old trick?


    So Cui Xingzhou deliberately dragged a long tone and said, ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s too troublesome¡­¡±


    Miantang stopped mentioning it. Her eyes were quickly filled with tears, but she tried hard to suppress them. She continue to massage his leg for a moment, but when she lowered her head, the tears were tactically wandering around her eyes but just couldn¡¯t fall off. It gives off a pitiful look which makes it annoying.


    Cui Xingzhou endured for a while, and suddenly felt that he was so childish to make her cry on such small things, so he opened his mouth and changed his system or practice, and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind the trouble of washing, I¡¯ll let Mo Ru bring two boxes of clothes back, which is also convenient to change here¡­¡±


    His words immediately made the weeping young lady burst into a smile through tears, and eagerly attentive squeezed his shoulder for him. Then she asked, ¡°I can prepare some specialties for your neighbors, but what can I prepare for your mentor? Should I accompany you to go to the Chess House to give gifts in person, which is the act of consideration?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou is getting more and more familiar with lying these days, but it is not absurd enough to build a Chess House to make up his lie.


    So Miantang deliberately wanted to follow him, and he replied without blinking his eyes, ¡°My teacher¡¯s wife gets jealous easily. She usually doesn¡¯t allow my teacher to talk to other women. If you go, it won¡¯t be so nice¡­ The chessboard you bought is good, so let¡¯s make that a gift for my teacher.¡±


    The chessboard mentioned by Cui Xingzhou is the chessboard of lanolin jade that Miantang bought with three silver money.


    Hearing what he said, Miantang was stunned and hesitated, ¡°But¡­ I bought it for you¡­¡±


    But Cui Xingzhou knew that how can this gift a thing she bought? It was clearly given to her by the rebel Lu Wen. If she knew this, she should make a clean break with the anti-bandit. If she keep this chessboard, wouldn¡¯t it become evidence that proves that she hasn¡¯t completely cut off ties with Lu Wen? If that¡¯s the case, how can he be lenient to her in the future then?


    Because Miantang didn¡¯t seem willing, he said gently, ¡°In this case, there¡¯s no need to prepare a gift for my teacher. Other objects are too vulgar¡­¡±


    Upon hearing this, Miantang felt that her husband¡¯s words were reasonable. The other gifts she prepared are not very impressive. Since it¡¯s her husband¡¯s respected teacher, he must have a high vision. This chessboard is just right for the gift.


    And this chessboard is made of fake jade, which is not suitable for her husband. Now that she has made money, she wants to buy a better one for her husband.


    But she liked the chessboard and wanted to see how her husband twirled the white jade chess pieces. So she put on her shoes to the ground, took the chessboard to the small table, and said to Cui Jiu, ¡°Since you want to give it to your mentor, you might as well use it once to see if your mentor can use it easily?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou smiled, ¡°You know how to play chess?¡±


    Miantang remembered the last time she watched the game at the chess table at the gate of the Academy. She blinked and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know much at my house before I got married, but later I seemed to know some, I can¡¯t remember clearly¡­¡±


    Since she can play, Cui Xing is bored and happy to kill time with the woman in the next game.


    To be honest, the white jade chessboard is exquisite, which makes the wrist and forearm of Miantang that arrange the chessmen white and shining. Her fingertips seem to glow slightly too.


    Prince Huaiyang was not blind. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to the beautiful scenery of jade masonry in front of him, so he just putters along with the chess pieces one by one.


    As a result, without a cup of tea, Miantang hesitated and said, ¡°Husband, do you think I won the match?¡±


    Prince Huaiyang stared, speechless, and nodded after a while. Liu Miantang won the chess game within a few steps.


    Seeing her husband nodding, Miantang chuckled and said shyly, ¡°Why did you go easy on me? Well, you should give your best in the next round, it will also make me improve my skills and become better!¡±


    But her husband seemed to have no intention of talking and laughing. The corners of his mouth pursed slightly, and he only silently picked up the pieces, ready to start another game.


    This time, it was Cui Xingzhou who started the game by placing a chess piece. He arranges and sets traps, just like arranging troops.


    Miantang place her chess pieces by intuition, but with every next step, she felt that there was a lot of danger around her and had to think carefully. When she looked at his expressionless husband who was staring at the chessboard, her heart of admiration was even stronger.


    Her husband is really a Master of chess!


    This game lasted a little longer. Miantang missed a move and reluctantly lost to her husband. But she still felt happy. Her husband is a Master of refined chess. Isn¡¯t it normal that she can¡¯t win?


    But her husband seemed unhappy even when he won the chess. Did he lose his interest because she played badly?


    Now, after getting along with Cui Jiu for a long time, Miantang can naturally recognize when he¡¯s smiling from the bottom of his heart and when he is giving civility and an unfamiliar smile.


    So she put away the pieces and packed the chessboard, and asked, ¡°Are you not happy?¡±


    Cui Jiu hooked up the corner of his mouth, ¡°No, just thinking that you play the chess so skillfully contrived, I wonder who you learned it from?¡±


    Liu Miantang¡¯s chess skills are in the same vein as the anti-bandit who calls himself Ziyu. So it¡¯s not difficult to imagine that when the woman was on the mountain, she also accompanied the anti-bandit to play chess and massage his legs, killing the time¡­


    This was quite different from the weak girl he had thought of being treated recklessly by mountain bandits.


    That day, her husband Cui Jiu seemed to be in a bad mood. When he went out, Miantang could only eagerly attentive tell her husband to remember to come home for dinner when the Chess House lesson was not tight.


    When Cui Xingzhou left North Street and returned to the Military Camp, his mood calmed down a little.


    These days, he dispatched troops to the State of Qing in the name of assisting, but in fact, he placed troops on garrison duty in the State of Qing, and he learned many previously unknown secrets.


    For example, there are many despotic gentries secretly supporting the anti-bandit in Yangshan.


    The Emperor ascend the throne in his youth, and the great politics in the court is controlled by the former highest-ranking Imperial Concubine Xi, the Empress Dowager of the Madonna of Wan¡¯an today.


    When Queen Zhou was abolished, Crown Prince Liu Dan died, and the former powerful Zhou family collapsed overnight. The Yang family, the father of the highest-ranking Imperial Concubine Xi, took the place, and the power inclines to the court and commonality.


    The Yang family pursues the way of greed and restraint and changes the national policy of the former Emperor to recuperate and build up strength. Over the years, there have been heavy taxes and levies. Recently, there has been a land re-distribute method, which points to the local despotic gentry which is obvious that they are letting them get some benefits out of it.


    The land reform law elsewhere has long been implemented. However, due to the famine in the State of Zhen, the unexpected bandits, and the growing force of the rebels, several court officials who came to implement the land re-distribute were killed on the pipeline.


    So the change here was put on hold and no one mentioned it again.


    Now that he thinks about it, the reason why those anti-bandits who make trouble in the local areas remain prosperous is related to those despotic gentries who don¡¯t want to reform the tax system!


    It¡¯s just that Lu Wen is now utterly routed and needs to stick with Commander Shi for the offer of amnesty and enlistment to rebels. He wonders what name those despotic gentries are going to set up to resist the tax reform of the Yang family in Court?


    The Yang family couldn¡¯t collect the tax money from the State of Zhen, but they had found another way long ago.


    A distant relative of the Yang family opened a very large bank which is called the Tongli Bank.


    Tongli Bank is spread all over the counties of the Yan Counties, and the Yang family is the biggest boss of this Bank.


    Generally, the taxes collected by the County Yamen in various places, in addition to being deposited in the Yamen Treasury, are also partly deposited in the Tongli Bank for the Yang family¡¯s face. That Bank is an expert in making money. If it is deposited into his family, there is indeed a lot of profit. The money that makes his businesses prosper.


    At first, to ease the relationship between the State of Zhen and the Yang family in the Court. Cui Xingzhou, like local officials, deposits a large amount of money in the Tongli Bank every year.


    This year should have been the same. When he joined the army to submit the tax for the State of Zhen fief this year, Cui Xingzhou originally delivered most of the tax money to the Tongli Bank for interest according to the practice of previous years.


    But after he thought for a while, he paused again.


    Even an ignorant young woman like Lady Liu knows the principle that eggs can¡¯t be put in a basket. Now the relationship between the State of Zhen and the small Court is subtle. Once it turns over, the money is likely to be withheld.


    Thinking of this, he pondered for a while, learned Liu Miantang¡¯s method, left the local expenditure for this year, and most of the rest were escorted to the Treasury in the State of Zhen Prefecture which was left empty for a long time. As for the tax money from previous years, it should also be withdrawn monthly.


    As for the excuses, they are all ready-made, he is about to marry his cousin Lian Binglan, and there are many places for The Prince to spend money for his wedding! It is only reasonable to transfer a large amount of money under the pretext of extravagance.


    For a time, both the ¡°husband and wife¡± in North Street felt anxiety in their hearts for money.


    But what Miantang has to worry about is quite simple. After Mr. Chen¡¯s colored porcelain plates were sold, there were abundant running accounts in the store, and the whole store also exuded a calm and elegant atmosphere.


    Miantang hired a craftsman to repair the curtain with money, and there was a separate elegant room in the shop. With such a display of rich peonies and celadon vases, distinguished guests can calmly drink tea, eat fruits and enjoy the top-grade porcelain of their Jade Porcelain Workshop on the silk brocade-wrapped group chair.


    Miantang has bought many porcelains that have their representativeness in Lingquan Town these days, and the grade of the store has suddenly increased.


    It was also when the shop upgraded a level up that she learned that there was a Porcelain Chamber of Commerce in the town. Only those famous porcelain shops can join the club in the town.


    Most of the shops opened by outsiders that are similar to the Jade Porcelain Workshop closed after only a few months, and naturally, they could not reach the threshold of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce.


    Now, seeing the jade porcelain being paved up, the gilded invitation to join the association was naturally sent to Miantang¡¯s shop and placed at the counter.


    Gui Sheng, the assistant in the shop, has worked in other porcelain workshops before, which is also half an old profession. Naturally, he understands the gold content of this invitation. Now he congratulates his Lady Boss and can be regarded as a firm foothold in Lingquan Town.


    Miantang was also happy, and naturally took this matter of joining the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce very seriously. On the day of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce¡¯s incense burning ceremony on the first day of the month, Miantang got up early and asked Servant Li to boil water, bathe and change clothes. She changed into a newly made silk skirt, and thinly applied the box of fragrant powder given to her by her husband. After she tidied up from head to toes, she then solemnly went out.


    The Porcelain Chamber of Commerce in Lingquan Town is provided by the He family, the number one famous long-established shop in Lingquan.


    As the long-established store or brand of the royal court, the He family has wealth that speaks louder than others and is fully reinforced, and other porcelain shops in Lingquan town cannot match it.


    As a new firm, the first thing Miantang did when she joined the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce was naturally to meet the Second Master of the He family.


    The Second Master is forty-seven years old this year, in his prime. It was said that he was the one who received the Imperial Concubine Xi when she entered the porcelain workshop.


    The Second Master heard that the Jade Porcelain Shop came to pay a visit to the President of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce, so he looked up, but he didn¡¯t expect that the head of the Jade Porcelain Shop was a young woman who is less than 20 years old.


    She¡¯s indeed a beauty but letting a young lady attend¡­ They¡¯re not taking the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce seriously!

 CH 29

    After the Second Master was stunned by the beauty of Miantang, he couldn¡¯t help frowning and raising his voice, ¡°Lady Cui, I don¡¯t know why Manager Cui didn¡¯t come in person. Is it because he didn¡¯t like the invitation that was submitted too late by the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce, and he was not happy?¡±


    Miantang was having flashbacks to her mother¡¯s house before she got married when she was young. She once saw with her own eyes that her grandfather and uncle went to the dock for a fight. The two sides both look at each other angrily and have a fierce attitude, have a verbal battle, with daggers hidden in their words and even hidden in their waists. Such a battle didn¡¯t make her afraid, but she thought it was very interesting!


    She thought she was out of luck in the infernal mission of the world in the rivers and lakes, but she didn¡¯t expect a few thin chickens that make porcelain who are gathered together, would make her experience the manner of flattering and clinging to the people of higher class and bullying and suppressing to the people of the lower class.


    Listen to what the President means, is looking down on her, a woman, to enter the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce on behalf of her husband!


    Looking at President He¡¯s contemptuous eyes, Liu Miantang reduced some deliberate formality, raised her chin, and glanced around at the rules of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce hanging on the wall of the room.


    Later, maybe she didn¡¯t look carefully, so she slowly paced over and looked at them one by one.


    The Second Master of the He family spoke, but Lady Cui didn¡¯t answer. The woman was able to remain calm, just strolling around the hall as if there were no one else¡­


    He was immediately unhappy, his face sank, and immediately there was a flattering shopkeeper beside him who opened his mouth for him, ¡°Lady Cui, why don¡¯t you answer the President He¡¯s question? Is it because you¡¯re deaf?¡±


    Liu Miantang turned her body slowly and said, ¡°After listening to President He, I realized that me attending the invitation was actually the meaning of the Cui family¡¯s neglect of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce. Thus, I hurried to look at the regulations of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce to see if there were any provisions on women¡¯s exclusion, so as not to violate the taboo of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce.¡±


    Although Liu Miantang was in the middle of a group of men in silk long gowns, she spoke clearly, was tall, and she spoke decently, which was by no means the timid look of an ordinary woman with no green and inexperienced of the world.


    When she slightly raised her eyebrows and spoke, although her voice was calm, she was full of ridicule, which made the angry shopkeeper who questioned her speechless for a moment.


    Although the Second Master He didn¡¯t think much of the amateur¡¯s shop opened by the outsider of the Cui family before, he couldn¡¯t help looking at Lady Cui again at this time.


    But all the merchants here are used to being flattered by their wives and concubines at home. How can they stand such words from a foreign woman?


    At present, there is also a vanguard who helps the Second Master He. He sarcastically said, ¡°Although the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce has no terms that forbid women to enter, we¡¯re all Masters of all families here. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s inconvenient for you to be the only woman?¡±


    Miantang walked around, and her ankle is starting to hurt a little. So, she chose an armchair and sat down, and said, ¡°Our Jade Porcelain Shop is not operating business on the first day on Lingquan street. Who doesn¡¯t knows that my husband is studying outside, and all the chores at home are undertaken by me, a woman? I thought it was polite for me to come here in person. If I had known that you guys had trouble talking to women, I would have asked the worker in my shop who emptied the swill and swept the floor to visit you guys!¡±


    When saying this, Miantang had slightly raised the corners of her mouth and looked at the fat merchant that raise a hue and cry, like a donkey dung egg beside the road [being duplicative].


    These tricks of giving a head-on blow at the first encounter are all leftover by her several uncles at home. Even if Liu Miantang had injured her hands and feet now, her tongue is still working. If there are any more unscrupulous people, she will scold them until they are unable to return home!


    The fat merchant was run by Lady Cui, and his face turned red. As soon as he was hitting the table to continue his trouble, a loud voice rang out in the side door, ¡°Look at what Lady Cui said. Our regions south of the Yangtze River territory stores have always been capable of women and men. How can it mean to look down on Lady Cui?¡±


    Miantang looked up and saw that it was a woman wearing a pearl jade hairpin leading two servant girls. She walked in with a bright laugh.


    Miantang looked at her up and down and sat firmly on the chair without saying anything. Servant Li is putting off the manner of a big momma of The Prince Residence, holding a black face, and treating all living beings in the hall as if they were garbage.


    This master and servant are all superior, which makes all the old men here feel the urge to verbally fight back with their mouths.


    However, the lady who had just come in smiled and took the initiative to greet Lady Cui.


    Adhering to the principle of ¡°after one¡¯s admitted that they are in the wrong, one can¡¯t bear to continue with a black face¡±, Miantang also picked up the courtesy and answered with her a few words. Only then did she know that it was the third daughter of the Second Master of the He family, named He Zhen.


    He Zhen is eighteen years old and similar to Liu Miantang. Somehow, she has been unable to get married. But she was smart and capable, better than her siblings, and is a good helper of the Second Master He. Most of the accounts of the He family¡¯s established brands have passed her hand.


    The lady was efficient and able and looked very kind. After looking up and down at Miantang, she took her hand and chatted without concern about the location. In a few words, the atmosphere of the hall warmed up.


    As for the question of whether to neglect or not earlier on, and whether it is convenient or inconvenient, no one mentioned it again.


    Anyway, anyone who has inquired about the Cui family knows that the man in that family is a Master of fancy pillows for playing chess and amusing birds. He relies on women to support his family!


    Because today, all the shop managers gathered together to discuss the event of undertaking the Royal tribute and the porcelain needed by all the rich and powerful families this year, the shop managers have a lot of business to do.


    Liu Miantang adhered to the principle of talking less and listening more and only listened quietly aside, which made her understand the reason why the shop managers of various shops were fawning on the Second Master He.


    It turned out that although the He family had been making orders to the Royal tribute alone, many porcelain orders from the Capital¡¯s noble families could not be made. The He family had the benefits of large orders, and each family also got some profits of the remaining, so the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce in Linquan Town was very harmonious.


    However, the long-established merchants in Lingquan Town have small profits to earn, but the outsiders like the Jade Porcelain Workshop can only listen and look from one side. No one paid any attention to her at all.


    She doesn¡¯t know why the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce sent out that invitation to invite her. It couldn¡¯t be inviting her here to see them dividing the profits right? Isn¡¯t it forcing people into becoming envious of others¡¯ success?


    However, Miantang didn¡¯t come here to beg for benefits. Naturally, she was not jealous.


    She sat quietly in the corner, watching a group of Masters around the He family struggling to flatter and get more orders. She just felt that this scene seemed to be a bit better than the monkey show in the State of Qing.


    Happy to see, she picked some pleasing fruits from the plates, ate them with tea, and then asked Servant Li to bring the paper and brush to her.


    While eating the fruit, she took a brush in one hand and randomly drew on the paper.


    He Zhen had been glancing around with the movement of Lady Cui. Seeing her writing, she paced to her desk under the excuse of relaxing her hands and feet.


    Miantang didn¡¯t avoid it and let the Third Lady He look at it. Anyway, she drew like a spirit tail, so the Third Lady He looked at it for a long time and didn¡¯t manage to see what she was drawing.


    After the ¡°benefits¡± in the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce were almost split, the shop managers were very satisfied. But only the Jade Porcelain Workshop was deliberately forgotten by the He family, and there was not even a small order of coloring tea cups.


    Some shop managers felt that the woman is bad at socializing, she offended the Second Master He right after she came up. At this time, the retribution came, and they only squinted and twirled their whiskers at Lady Cui and smiled meaningfully.


    Lady Cui dusted off the cake residue on her body and said goodbye to the shop managers. She didn¡¯t turn her head back to look and went straight home for dinner.


    After Miantang left, He Zhen went out of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce with her father.


    When they got on the carriage, the Second Master He thought of the ridicule of Lady Cui just now, and he was still angry from the bottom of his heart. He said to his daughter discontentedly, ¡°Why were you so kind to that foreign woman just now? You should give her some lessons to let her know that Lingquan Town doesn¡¯t have a place for a foreigner who was here for the first time¡­ It¡¯s just because she found a painter and made their shop famous, and she doesn¡¯t take our He family seriously¡­¡±


    He Zhen asked solemnly, ¡°Did father ever notice what rouge powder Lady Cui was applying?¡±


    The Second Master He was stunned and said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand women¡¯s rouge powder, how will I ever notice it?¡±


    He Zhen solemnly said: ¡°That flavor, especially the rouge powder was specially provided by the Hanxiang Pavilion in the regions south of the Yangtze River, is beautiful in color and meaningful in fragrant. It is very popular. Because of the scarce production, it is often snapped up by the wives of The Princes of the Royal families in the first year. Ordinary merchants can¡¯t get this rare thing. This is what the Cui family uses. I¡¯m afraid her social connection is not usual, and I don¡¯t know who¡¯s supporting her behind her background. If you don¡¯t know the details, there¡¯s no need to offend her because of her words.¡±


    Seeing that her father still disapproved, He Zhen, continues by saying, ¡°In addition, does father know that the Lady Cui is also related to a strange case in Lingquan Town?¡±


    This aroused the curiosity of the Second Master He and asked, ¡°What case is she related to?¡±


    He Zhen lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside. There were no other people and she said: ¡°Father, do you know that the dissolute nephew of the Town¡¯s Garrison has disappeared for more than a month. His wife was crying so hard that she was almost out of breath, so her husband went to the Garrison for help. Guess what? After the Garrison inquire about a round, he scolded his younger brother and drove him out of the Garrison Mansion. Later, he learned that the Town¡¯s Garrison Nephew was sent 3000 miles away and escorted directly by the Military Camp. Someone had seen the Garrison Nephew and Lady Cui on the street having some unpleasant happenings not long ago. Dad, think carefully. These two things are combined. How do you even dare to offend Lady Cui if you haven¡¯t found out the details of her yet? ¡±


    The Second Master He didn¡¯t think that there were many hidden things in the streets and alleys. For a moment, he couldn¡¯t help but be a little silent, and secretly shouted ashamed in his heart.


    His daughter has always been able to understand worldly affairs, and her observation is meticulous. Since she felt that Lady Cui is not simple, then Lady Cui must have something extraordinary. He immediately told his daughter to carefully check whether Lady Cui had any background.


    Now, the Jade Porcelain Workshop has better coloring and hand-painted craftsmanship than their long-established He family. If the background of the Jade Porcelain Workshop is good, as her daughter guessed, wouldn¡¯t they gradually make their business bigger and exceed their authority to replace the Royal tribute business of the He family?


    Thus, by being careful in everything, so that they can keep the Royal business of the He family and retain the wealth and glory of several generations¡­


    On the other hand, Liu Miantang didn¡¯t know that the box of rouge given by her husband made the Third Lady of the He family suspicious that she was a merchant supported by noble people.


    After coming out of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce, Miantang wandered all the way and walked by the Stone Bridge Waterfront in Lingquan Town. The more she thought about it, the more confident she was. She was in a very bright mood. Unconsciously, she even hummed a small tune.


    Servant Li is an old servant working in The Prince Residence. Which of the family members of The Residence don¡¯t pay attention to etiquette? Naturally, she couldn¡¯t bear to see Lady Liu¡¯s casualness, so she couldn¡¯t help but open her mouth and correct, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s not good to do as you wish like this on the street¡­¡±

 CH 30

    Chapter 30: The Business of Clay


    Miantang smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m feeling happy from my heart, and I can¡¯t help it!¡±


    Servant Li took another deep look at her and felt a little puzzled. Isn¡¯t she has enough of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce head-on blow earlier on? Why is she feeling happy in her heart?


    Miantang¡¯s mood remained unabated, she said with a smile, ¡°Servant Li, you have also heard those people just said that the amount of Royal tribute this year is large, But to use the best-graded clay for porcelain making, it needed to be dug from the Kaolin 50 miles away. I thought of one thing. The road for transporting the clay is not far, and it was originally unimpeded. But because Prince Huaiyang built a new water conservancy and dug a river, the ship is temporarily impassable, so it has to detour¡­ This detour can be two mountains long. Originally, it was transported by cart, but now they have to use ships¡­ ¡±


    Servant Li didn¡¯t understand the meaning of it, and wondered, ¡°What¡¯s so happy about it?¡±


    Miantang said with a smile, ¡°There are many ways to use for transport. Originally, the river excavation work was tight, and there were not enough boats, so the folk fishing boats were deployed to corvee. If I manage to get a large number of boats¡­ Or import a large amount of clay, will those old men compete to flatter me?¡±


    After hearing this, Servant Li felt that it made some sense. After all, when she went to buy fish yesterday, she found that the price of fish was expensive. After inquiring, she learned that many fishing boats had been levied into corvee. There was not much fish, so it was naturally sold at a high price.


    But Lady Liu¡¯s thought of getting the fleet was also a fanciful illusion. There are only that many ships on the ground of the State of Zhen. She is not exceptionally adept in trickery, and her hands only have those silver money that she hasn¡¯t possessed for long. She might be just thinking for fun.


    However, Miantang didn¡¯t think about it casually. After returning to the shop, she immediately asked the shop assistant to set up a donkey cart and go for a trip on the side of the canal built.


    Servant Li has been used to Miantang doing something suddenly by the thought of it and has specially brought convenient marinated eggs and meat buns, so as not to delay the meal as she did during her last visit to the countryside.


    Miantang saw that Servant Li had also prepared a small warm stove for her to simmer and heat the kettle and took it with her on the donkey cart, so she teased, ¡°Servant Li has been so attentive lately, is it because of the raise of your monthly wages.¡±


    Servant Li quickly put a snack box in her hands, and said, ¡°Madam, you are too generous. You had just made some money in the shop, and here you gave us three times the monthly wages. But if you happen to not make money in the future, you will be left with no reason to reduce it? Being the hostess of the household can¡¯t be like the leader of mountain outlaws giving rewards according to your temperant. You have to be methodical when doing things!¡±


    Although Miantang gave a lot of monthly wages, Servant Li with high vision didn¡¯t take it to heart seriously. She got more rewards in The Prince Residence, and her hometown also had farmland. But she just thought about the days Miantang was living that she didn¡¯t know before, and had stomach coldness, she just prepared attentively.


    However, she thought that Liu Miantang would always marry someone in the future. If The Prince was kind, he would give her a house and some money, and in addition to her good appearance, someone would have rushed up to propose marriage!


    If she meets an honest man, that would be great. But if she encounters a dishonest one, with her uncontrolled behavior now, even with a mountain of gold, it wouldn¡¯t be enough for her to spend. It¡¯s necessary for this old servant to teach her now so that she can avoid detours in the future.


    Miantang was drinking the tremella red jujube tea cooked by Servant Li. Seeing that Servant Li was chattering about her regardless of their master and servant relationship, she only smiled and listened, without saying anything to refute.


    Now she can see that although Servant Li always puts on a black face, she is hard-spoken and soft-hearted.


    And Servant Li is old, no more than those little servant girls who don¡¯t know the rules. She can go her way by listening to her naggings for some insignificant matters.


    Moreover, what she said is not unreasonable. Miantang was seriously ill. She doesn¡¯t remember how she took charge of the family after she got married. The house matters were no less than that in business. She had to start from scratch, so she carefully wrote down what Servant Li said.


    However, it takes some effort to go out, because Miantang locked her room door again, and Servant Li doesn¡¯t know what she is doing in the house.


    After leaving the mansion, Miantang walked through almost all the highroads and bridges leading to Kaolin.


    And this time, it was two days in a row. But the next day, Miantang seemed to have an idea in her heart and went straight to Shuangling village. When she got there, she looked for the Chief of the village and finally settled down in a few words.


    Servant Li was awed that she couldn¡¯t speak to see that she bought a large sloping field and a fishpond. These fields are worthless in the view of crops¡­ But Miantang bought them at a high price without blinking.


    It seems that she didn¡¯t listen to her advice in earnest words and with good intentions. Servant Li shook her head in anger, but she was too lazy to say anything.


    When they came back from buying the land, they didn¡¯t have a smooth trip back, because the roads beside the river bank were muddy after digging. They weren¡¯t careful enough and the donkey cart wheels fell into the mud.


    Servant Li helped Miantang to the side of the slope, while the cart driver was busy pushing the cart.


    It¡¯s also a coincidence. When walking to the middle of the canal, Miantang saw a familiar figure standing on the bank of the river from a distance¡­


    ¡°Husband!¡± She looked up and shouted at the figure.


    Prince Huaiyang was standing on the river bank and looked out at the river being dug. Unexpectedly, he heard the call of Miantang.


    When he looked back, it was Liu Miantang!


    Today, he was visiting privately with several confidants in normal clothes, and he was not wearing official clothes, so Miantang didn¡¯t see anything wrong, but was curious about a large group of people surrounding her husband.


    Prince Huaiyang looked at several military men and Water Conservancy Officials who followed him, motioned them to stand in place and wait, and then walked over to the donkey cart so that she wouldn¡¯t come over to greet those people with him.


    Miantang crossed over his shoulder, looked curiously at those individuals standing in the distance, and then asked, ¡°Husband, what are you doing here?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou frowned slightly and said casually, ¡°I¡¯m collecting manifestations of local culture with some friends by the river¡­ What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I brought Servant Li here to see the river, thinking of transporting some clay¡­¡± Miantang was still curious and asked, ¡°Collecting manifestations of the local culture? Does husband want to paint or recite poetry?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t have the mood to lie to her, and said expressionless, ¡°There are a lot of workers here to build canals. It¡¯s inconvenient for you to walk as a woman. If you have nothing important, hurry back!¡±


    In fact, Prince Huaiyang didn¡¯t have a good time today. Early in the morning, the following Water Conservancy Project Officials submitted the progress report, as well as the account forms, plus the dead and injured corvee on the other side of the canal these two days, which made him angry.


    After the construction of this canal, the storing of his army provisions of the State of Zhen will no longer be constrained by the Imperial Court, and the deployment of troops will be much easier, so it is of great importance.


    However, after the canal was dug, there were many unexpected expenses, and the progress was so busy that it was infuriating. Many of these bureaucrats in the State of Zhen are old subordinates of his father. They claim credit for themselves and become arrogant and capitalize on being advanced in age. There are also situations where they deceive their superiors and subordinates.


    So Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t say anything but took a few confidants to check it in person making sure he knows the truth before dealing with the matter.


    Miantang saw that her husband was a little unhappy and because she had that Young Master Ziyu¡¯s as her past criminal record, she also felt that she should reshape the image of a chaste and virtuous woman in front of her husband. Thus, she didn¡¯t refute him and agreed obediently.


    However, before leaving, Miantang kindly reminded her husband, ¡°Husband, you should also be careful. Those workers excavate the river bank by rock blasting method, which is very dangerous. Don¡¯t get too close.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou glanced at Miantang surprisingly. He didn¡¯t expect that a woman like her could tell the knack of Water Conservancy Projects, so she asked, ¡°Do you know water conservancy?¡±


    Miantang shook her head and said, ¡°My uncle likes these. He contracted water transportation and studied the way to build the river by himself. I once heard him say that this rock blasting method is a convenient trick used by brainless people. It seems to save time, but it takes more effort to clean up the sand and stones afterward, and there will be a danger if it is not done well.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou got her point and asked, ¡°What method should I use?¡±


    Miantang shook her head and said, ¡°When my uncle told me, I was still young and couldn¡¯t remember clearly. If you¡¯re interested, I¡¯ll write to my uncle¡­¡±


    Speaking of this, Miantang paused again. She suddenly found that she couldn¡¯t remember where her grandparents were now. She only vaguely remembers that when she married, her grandpa¡¯s escort agency seemed to be poorly managed, and moved to other provinces. Since then, she hasn¡¯t received a letter from her grandfather since she was ill for a year¡­


    Thinking of this, she had another bursting headache. Before she was able to ask, she fell obliquely in Cui Jiu¡¯s arms. Cui Xingzhou saw that her face suddenly turned pale. His intuition reached out to hold her, and then lowered his head and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Miantang¡¯s scalp was so tight that she couldn¡¯t open her eyes. She only replied weakly, ¡°I¡¯m having a bad headache¡­¡±


    Cui Jiu looked at the donkey cart trapped in the mud, thought a little, and looked at several carriages of him and his aides and staff. Then, he casually carried Miantang onto one of them and asked Servant Li to send her back to North Street.


    He has seen Miantang have a headache. When it hurts, she is unable to eat for a day. Her face is so white that it hurts to see it. He doesn¡¯t know how Zhao Quan diagnosed and treated her. Doesn¡¯t he say by drinking the medicine will relieve her symptoms?


    Miantang was in great pain until she returned to the North Mansion and lay on her bed, which eased her symptoms slightly.


    When Servant Li brought her soup, she hesitated and asked, ¡°Servant Li, did my grandfather write to me after I got married?¡±


    Servant Li didn¡¯t know this and only said to her, ¡°Madam never did show me when you had received a letter. Drink the medicine while it¡¯s hot. When Master is back, Madam can ask him yourself directly.¡±


    So when Cui Xingzhou came back, Miantang asked him.


    Because he had gotten the information from Servant Li earlier on, Cui Jiu was prepared and said, ¡°The entire family of your grandfather moved far away, and communication was not easy. In addition, at that time, the case of your father and brother was so big that everyone in the countryside scolded them whenever they can. They may have been out of touch to avoid suspicion.¡±


    Miantang was silent for a while. She said to Cui Jiu again, ¡°Do you know where they moved?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was holding the sketch on her desk and said perfunctorily, ¡°I will send a message to your hometown to see if I can inquire about their whereabouts¡­ What are these paintings?¡±


    Miantang was a little dispirited after hearing Cui Jiu¡¯s words, and wearily said, ¡°A convenient road map for transporting clay¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou heard Servant Li talk about Miantang¡¯s decision to return a head-on blow to those Masters of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce, and she would follow the drawings she drew. These clays can be transported by land through mountains without water!


    Miantang seldom let herself fall into a low mood, so after being sad for a while, she had straightened out her mood a little. Hearing Cui Xingzhou asks, she nodded and said, ¡°Husband, look, under the mountain ridge here is a large area of cultivated land and fishponds. If you fill the cultivated land and fish ponds with the road, it is a shortcut.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s a shortcut, why didn¡¯t others think of it before?¡±


    Miantang smiled, ¡°Because when the canal was not built before, it was naturally nearer and convenient to take by the waterway, and the ship could also be loaded. Who would want to take the land route? But now the canal work is still under construction, and the ships have only recently begun to not be enough. This shortcut is just unexpected.¡±


    Cui Jiu felt that the woman was trying to give the Masters a heads-on, and she was really very vindictive, so he couldn¡¯t help teasing, ¡°But this is farmland, even if you think of it, people won¡¯t let you pass through¡­¡±


    Speaking of this, Miantang felt a little guilty. Looking at her husband, she said carefully, ¡°Husband, I have used a huge amount of money from home today. Will you blame me?¡±


    Cui Jiu squinted and looked under the bed, and it seemed to have been touched again. He immediately guessed it, and tentatively asked, ¡°You dug out the buried silver money¡­ Bought the farmland and the fishpond?¡±


    Miantang nodded and looked at her husband with admiration, ¡°Husband, you¡¯re really smart. You¡¯ve guessed it all at once!¡±


    After checking the route recently, she immediately ran under the mountain ridge and bought the land at twice the high price.


    Because of the high price, the owner of the land immediately found the guarantor and signed the land lease with Miantang.


    From then on, the shortcut to transport clay is ¡°This road is blocked by me, if you want to pass it, you have to pay for the entry.¡±!


    After Cui Xingzhou heard her, he took a deep look at Miantang.


    In his view, women are either like his mother or cousin Lian Binglan who is gentle, soft, and virtuous. Or like his father¡¯s concubines, specialize in getting the favor of their men¡¯s love all day and are used to using the venomous scheme to harm people.


    But Miantang doesn¡¯t belong to these two kinds. She looks like a delicate flower, but she has thorns and tough roots like weeds.


    There is also a stubborn spirit that women should not have.


    Cui Xingzhou had never been in contact with such a woman before nor had he looked any woman directly in his eye, so he couldn¡¯t help looking at her deeply thinking, if she remarried in the future, what kind of man would she find to be worthy of her?


    Prince Huaiyang seldom had time to think about these womanishly fussy things, but when he thought about it deeply, he felt a little uncomfortable. He just felt that the woman had been in the bandit¡¯s nest before, and she must be bad at choosing men.


    Since she misses her grandfather, he might as well ask someone to look for them carefully. At least, she will be supported by her mother¡¯s family in the future, and will not be easily cheated by the rhetoric of any man¡­


    Thinking so, Prince Huaiyang decided on his mind to find Miantang¡¯s relatives for her.


    Miantang said nervously that she had spent all the money she had earned. Unexpectedly, her husband did not even twitch his eyebrows and eyes. After a faint hum, he sat at the table with a calm look.


    His appearance was originally rarely handsome, and his demeanor was also naturally good. He shook the tea cup with one hand, stared at the tea deeply, pursed his thin lips slightly under his nose, and was leisurely lost in thought. She didn¡¯t know what kind of advanced chess moves he was thinking.


    Compared with the customs of the married couple who often quarrel with each other because of daily necessities in the mansion next door, her house is rarely harmonious, because of the gentleman¡¯s style of her husband, which is different from the tolerant grace of vulgar men!


    Thinking of this, her respect and love for her husband surged like a rolling river beating in her heart, walked over and snuggled up on his lap and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, husband, I¡¯ll double the money I spent, and I won¡¯t let the pit dug by you be idle¡­¡±


    Hearing the words, Cui Xingzhou silently added, ¡°In addition to being like thorny flowers and weeds, sometimes she¡¯s like a clingy cat¡­¡±


    Just like now, she didn¡¯t have shrewdness like she was outside. Only her black hair is scattered behind her thin back. Leaning against his face, she is soft and fragrant, and the sweetness of honey peach is filling his nose again¡­


    He raised his hand, almost touching Miantang¡¯s hair, but he withdrew it and said gently, ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten dinner yet, let¡¯s eat first!¡±


    When Cui Xingzhou came, he was in a good mood. Because Miantang¡¯s unintentional sentence gave him a breakthrough in examining the river.


    Most of the bureaucrats in the State of Zhen are laymen in building water conservancies. Therefore, those seniors who presided over the water conservancy project this time also took advantage of this. During the construction, they deliberately used some outdated and laborious methods, so that they had the excuses to create ingenious titles for padding the money for themselves and fill their pockets everywhere and earn money.


    For the bureaucrat¡¯s corruption, Cui Xingzhou has always adhered to the principle of ¡°One should not be too faultfinding.¡±. If he overdoes in rectifying behavior, it is difficult to win over the heart of the old military officers. In some sections, Prince Huaiyang turned a blind eye. This is the way of checks and balances for those in high positions.


    But he can¡¯t let them indulge too much and be carried away.


    For example, this time, the officials delayed the progress of the project to corruption and even caused human lives, which must not be toleratable.


    Cui Xingzhou found many of the sources of the problems and had the idea of what to do next in his heart, so when he came to the Mansion on North Street, he was very relaxed.


    Servant Li felt that The Prince and Lady Liu seemed to have walked a lot today. They must be hungry, so the dinner prepared is also very rich¡­


    A boneless pork knuckle that was seasoned with fruit wine and seasoning, and it was stewed till it is soft and rotten with single firewood, glowing bright red. Wild bird eggs were bought from the hunters who set up stalls on the street, boiled into hard-boil eggs, then seasoned with sweet onions and wild vegetables and mixed into cold dishes. There are also crispy sesame cakes, with sweet and spicy soup, which is very appetizing.


    After Miantang¡¯s headache eased, her stomach began to growl, so she was eating deliciously.


    She doesn¡¯t know where Servant Li learned her cooking skills. Whenever the family has no shortage of silver money and is rich in ingredients, she can always create dishes in fanciful ways. This sauced pork knuckle is so delicious that it makes people constantly swallow their saliva. It¡¯s a taste she has never eaten before.


    At this time, Miantang always regretted her serious illness, which made her forget many good tastes she had eaten before.


    Hearing what Miantang said, Cui Jiu said faintly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you forget. It¡¯s not that you can¡¯t eat in the future. What do you like? Ask Servant Li to cook it for you.¡±


    Miantang smiled sweetly and quickly picked a skinned knuckle on her chopsticks to her husband¡¯s mouth. Cui Xingzhou was stunned for a moment and was rubbed against his lips by the skin of the pork knuckle. He then slowly opened his mouth and ate the meat¡­


    On the other hand, the Masters of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce in Lingquan Town have been too anxious to have meat lately.


    The Imperial Court¡¯s customized porcelain list can¡¯t be delayed. This year is the year of The Emperor¡¯s wedding. Customized porcelain is particularly important, and they have to rush to make it.


    Although normally, each workshop also uses high-graded clay, each workshop does not use much, and they have formed the habit of using and storing only when they have the supplies. For a time, no one cares about this issue.


    But when the Masters of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce divided the quota, and the workshops began to work day and night, they found that the clay supply could not accommodate their work.


    When the foreman of the workshop reported the problem to the Second Master He, he still felt that the problem was not serious. These are the offerings for the Imperial Court! Who dares to delay? Don¡¯t the water conservancy project have to make way for The Emperor even if they were building the canal? So he ordered the shopkeeper to write a plead to the Water Department of the State of Zhen and asked The Officials there to be accommodating and lend ships to deliver clay to the workshops.


    But who would have thought that they were just in time for Prince Huaiyang to rectify the Water Department, dozens of corruption big cases were found in three days. A Military General who had followed The Prince for many years was disposed of by Prince Huaiyang under the military law, immediately beheaded outside his tent, and all his family¡¯s property was confiscated.


    For a period, The Officials of the Water Department feels insecure, and they all worked hard diligently. The He family business felt that they were in charge of the Royal offering, so they casually came to borrow the ship.


    But the head of the Water Department frowned, if he borrowed it, the He family business could be able to deliver to The Emperor in time, but who can they plead with if their Water Department Officials¡¯ construction period was delayed?


    So after reading the He family¡¯s plead, The Official didn¡¯t even ask for a face-to-face meeting, and only let the Yamen Servant relay to the He family¡¯s Manager, ¡°Although your shop handles The Emperor¡¯s job and it should be paid attention to, but this is not related to our Water Department! I haven¡¯t heard of any examples of why The Officials should help for the business of the Imperial Merchants.¡±


    The Manager of the He family was also anxious, ¡°If there is no ship for the transportation of clay, don¡¯t we have to use low-graded clay instead? If the Palace were to blame us because of this, how will you Officials afford the consequences?¡±


    The Yamen Servant was told by the Head of the Water Department, and he was full of confidence. He squinted and said, ¡°Our Lord didn¡¯t undertake the errands in The Palace, let alone earn half of the official silver money. What does it have to do with Our Lord if you failed to do the errands? Is it possible that Your Master of the He family is going to blame My Lord too for not helping because he cannot give birth to a son?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± the Manager of the shop was so angry that he curled his neck, but he couldn¡¯t help dealing with these Yamen Servants. He had to go back and report it to the Second Master He.


    The Second Master He was also very angry, so he discussed it with his Third Daughter.


    He Zhen thought it was because The Official of the Water Department didn¡¯t get benefits. So after discussing it with her father, she gave him a red envelope with money and sent it to the Head of the Water Department¡¯s Mansion when there was no one at night.


    Unexpectedly, the large amount of silver money was returned by The Official with a righteous face.


    Now the Water Conservancy Yamen in the State of Zhen apprehend danger in every sound. These days, several officials have been investigated and dealt with in succession. Who dares to resist and covet the money?


    When the Second Master He found that the way of borrowing the boat was not feasible, he found himself in a dilemma and was in a hurry. At this time, someone told him that the Jade Porcelain Workshop had transported a large number of clays and stored it in its store.


    He Zhen hurriedly sent someone to inquire, only to know that Lady Cui had split a land route.


    If they don¡¯t need a boat, that¡¯s great! The He family hurriedly sent people to explore a way but found that this road was very tricky. It turned out to be a smooth road found between the cliffs of Shuangling Village, straight to a large area of land newly bought by the Cui family. If they choose this way and reach the boundary of the Cui family, there will be several strong men who will not let them pass. It is said that Lady Cui hired them to look after her ¡°Manor¡±.


    Hearing this, the Second Master He slammed the table angrily. What does that woman mean? Does she want to monopolize Kaolin Clay?

 CH 31

    At the beginning of this month, the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce will meet again.


    All the Masters sat together, waiting for Lady Cui from the Jade Porcelain Workshop to come and denounce the obstruction with her.


    Early in the morning, The Masters arrived one after another and negotiated the wording one by one, ready to threaten Lady Cui to let go. But after waiting until the meeting time was passed, they didn¡¯t see any signs of Lady Cui at all.


    The Second Master He was in a hurry and ordered his young servant boy to ask at the Jade Porcelain Workshop.


    As a result, the young servant boy ran around and found that Lady Cui was not in the shop, but in the mansion on North Street. When he went again, the door of the North Street Mansion opened a crack, and a black-faced woman stuck her head out, pulled her long face, and said, ¡°My Madam said that it¡¯s inconvenient for her to talk to a brunch of Masters, so she won¡¯t make herself unwelcome. Today, My Madam is feeling uncomfortable, so please don¡¯t disturb!¡±


    When the young servant boy¡¯s face turned pale and sent the words back to the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce, he first saw those Masters look at each other, then foam with rage and broke into curses, saying that the Cui family¡¯s Lady is really inauthentic. How does her husband discipline his wife normally? How can he allow her to be so arrogant and rude, and offend her peers?


    However, after scolding to their heart¡¯s content, The Masters were still helpless about how to solve the transportation of large quantities of clay.


    A few days ago, there were still a few boats that could be deployed, but recently, they doesn¡¯t know what was wrong with the Head of the Water Department and he even requisition the rest of the boats away. Seeing that the porcelain kiln hasn¡¯t been able to get the supply materials and the production project had been suspended, the Second Master He¡¯s voice rose.


    The job of leading the Royal tribute is enviable, but if something goes wrong, it is also a great sin to lose its head!


    He Zhen sat aside and listened silently, knowing that it was Lady Cui who had been given a cold shoulder by her father last time, so she decided to take revenge!


    In that case, they had to soften their attitude and begged Lady Cui for accommodation to let the clay pass the shortcut of Shuangling Village.


    But it is too embarrassing to ask her father to bow his head as it also damages the reputation of their long-established He family businesses. Thus, the third daughter of the He family naturally needs to mediate on behalf of her father¡¯s actions.


    So the next day, the third daughter of the He¡¯s family prepared a box of ginseng, together with Nanyang¡¯s bird¡¯s nest and several large boxes of honey fruit, and went to the Cui¡¯s Mansion on North Street to visit Lady Cui who was ¡°sick¡±.


    This time, Servant Li, the black-faced door-god, opened the door. He Zhen had been smiling and courteous since she entered the door. Looking at Lady Liu, who was half lying in bed and wrapped her forehead with a towel, she was just like a sister who had been friends for many years, holding her hand and inquiring about her wellbeing.


    ¡°Lady Cui, I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days. How can you get so sick?¡± the third daughter of the He Family asked with a sad face.


    Miantang half-wrapped her hair and lay weak and weary, it does look like she was feeling sick, sighed and said, ¡°I have been suffering from a chronic disease for many years, and I tend to have a headache if I am not careful enough. I spent a lot of money in the Capital at the beginning and lose most of my husband¡¯s family fortune. Fortunately, I met a good doctor who gave me a prescription. It¡¯s just that the medicine has to be taken care of. I have to choose a place that is rich in water and plants, stay away from the noise of carts and horses, and rest carefully to preserve the efficacy. I guess I¡¯m lucky. I managed to buy a good place a few days ago and only waiting for the medicinal herbs to be planted to renew my life¡­ The Third Lady, I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to visit me!¡±


    He Zhen barely squeezed out a few smiles when she heard the speech, but it was a little ugly. She didn¡¯t expect that she just exchanged a greeting or two and that Lady Liu stopped all the words she prepared!


    Listen to the meaning of Lady Liu, the land in Shuangling Village is used to grow life-saving herbs. Moreover, it is needed to keep away from the noise of carts and horses. The implication was that if anyone tried to pass through it, they would be considered harming Lady Liu¡¯s life?


    So after Liu Miantang recounted the pain of illness she was suffering from and asked what else He Zhen wanted to do here, the third lady who was always eloquent was a little hesitant.


    But it was a big deal to delay The Emperor¡¯s task. Her family¡¯s lives were tied to it. It was impossible to delay, she can only brace herself and say, ¡°Lady Cui, you should also know that now the canal has been dug, and the ships have been requisite away. The clay supply in the porcelain workshop in our town is not available, which is a headache. But I heard that your family has shipped a lot of clay on the pavement. If it¡¯s convenient, can you spare some to the He family business to relieve the urgent needs?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Miantang frowned slightly in embarrassment and said, ¡°If Lady He were asking for anything else, I¡¯ll agree without a word. But it¡¯s difficult for me if you¡¯re asking for this alone. To be honest, our Jade Porcelain Workshop has also received a large list of orders recently and we¡¯re in need of using the clay. If we¡¯re to divide some to you, our order list will not catch up with the construction period. Wouldn¡¯t it ruin the name of our Jade Porcelain Workshop that we finally build up?¡±


    He Zhen had expected that she would refuse, and hurriedly said, ¡°The price is easy to negotiate. We¡¯ll just pay a high price.¡±


    This willow lady obviously wants a rare commodity worth hoarding to corner the market, so it¡¯s better to follow her heart and solve the urgent need of the He family first.


    Anyway, as long as the canal is completed and the waterway is restored next year, there will be more ships, and there will be no way for Lady Liu to be in control anymore.


    But there¡¯s a thing, their He family is rich and can overcome this barrier, but other shops may not be able to take out much turnover money to buy the Cui family¡¯s high-priced clay.


    The Cui family using the method of a rare commodity worth hoarding to corner the market can indeed make some money, but it also completely offended other merchants in Lingquan Town. Let¡¯s see how her family can survive in Lingquan Town in the future!


    So no matter how high the price Liu Miantang wants, she will just accept it. Giving up money and silver will also ruin the reputation of the Cui family. With gaining victory with unstained swords, she will drive this foreign family out of Lingquan Town!


    Liu Miantang listened to Lady He¡¯s words about asking for clay at a high price, and said with a soft smile, ¡°Look at what you have said. My husband is educated. Are we, the Cui family, people who pursue profits and forget righteousness? How can we be black-hearted to earn money from the villagers? Moreover, our family sells porcelain, we don¡¯t want to change our profession to selling clay!¡±


    Hearing this, the third daughter of the He family was a little unsure of what the willow lady was thinking.


    After sitting for nearly half a day and until her lips were chafed, she finally made Liu Miantang relent on her words, ¡°In fact, if we can earn more money in the Cui¡¯s shop, those life-saving medicinal herbs can be bought from elsewhere¡­ But the order list now in the shop is too small. It would be good if we could take some Imperial orders like your He family and other shopkeepers¡­¡±


    When He Zhen heard this, she then understood what Liu Miantang meant. It turned out that she was an ambitious girl who wanted them to share the benefits offered by the Royal family!


    Now that both sides have made their words clear, everything will be easy to handle. The third daughter of the He family frankly said that the matter is serious and she needs to go back to discuss it with her father.


    Regardless of her infirmity, Lady Liu personally sent Lady He to the door and kindly asked her to discuss with her father, the Second Master He, quickly, otherwise if the medicine seedlings in her Shuangling medicine field were to grow up, she would be reluctant to pull out and open the road to the transportation of clay for the others.


    When He Zhen went back and told her father what she meant, he was so angry that he hit on the table again and said that the Cui family had a big face. Don¡¯t they look at what kind of foundation they have and wanted to undertake the imperial offering!


    However, He Zhen persuaded the Second Master He, saying that since Liu Miantang wanted to earn The Emperor¡¯s money, they might as well let her earn it as well. Moreover, the coloring technique in the Jade Porcelain Workshop is really good. If it can be used by the He family, wouldn¡¯t it make the He family become more empowered and advance in status?


    The Second Master He understood his daughter¡¯s meaning. Anyway, the porcelain decorations contracted by the He family will eventually be named after the He family¡¯s business name. No matter how capable she is, Liu Miantang is just a little pony for the He family to use. It¡¯s not too late to find a way to deal with the Jade Porcelain Workshop after The Emperor¡¯s wedding and Imperial offering.


    The Second Master He knew that his daughter was scheming and did things more comprehensively than him. For the sake of this moment, he could only invite the woman surnamed Liu to join the club and get through the current difficulties.


    Therefore, the monthly Porcelain Chamber of Commerce meeting in Lingquan Town broke the convention and met again on the second day after the third daughter of the He family visited Lady Liu.


    This time Lady Liu came, but she was a full hour late.


    When Lady Liu came in, she apologized repeatedly, saying that women have a lot of things to do when they go out, and it takes a lot of time to groom their heads and faces, which has kept them waiting.


    All The Masters of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce greeted each other with smiling faces, saying that Lady Cui valued her colleagues in the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce, so she dressed up attentively. What a wonderful heart!


    So the colleagues in Lingquan Town discussed politely and amiably with each other the distribution of the Imperial tribute orders again.


    The most profitable work of coloring fine porcelain belongs to the name Jade Porcelain Workshop. This benefit was originally monopolized by the He family, so the Second Master He naturally didn¡¯t want to cede it. However, the willow lady did not like the other benefits, and only demand an exorbitant benefit for it alone.


    The other shopkeepers saw that Liu Miantang didn¡¯t like their benefits. Naturally, they breathed a long sigh of relief and even helped Lady Liu to persuade the Second Master He to relent on his words.


    The Second Master He¡¯s face was so blue with anger that if his daughter He Zhen hadn¡¯t been stepping on his feet under the table, he would have made a fuss at that time.


    Finally, the He family give off this benefit, and Liu Miantang naturally was relieved. Firstly, she said sadly about her illness, and then sincerely said that she would not hesitate to pull out the life-saving herbs and delay her illness for the sake of the people in Lingquan Town and The Emperor.


    Lady Liu was born charming, and she didn¡¯t leave the house these days. The superior fragrant powder also whitened her face. This sad and delicate appearance tends to make people believe that it was Heaven being jealous of her beauty, and she was not going to live for long!


    She had said until the Old Masters nodded again and again, and sincerely thanked Lady Liu for her broad mind of taking the overall situation into account.


    But the Second Master He scolded in his heart, what nonsense herb? He sent someone to see it. It was clearly cabbage and scallions from all over the place! What kind of incurable disease can those cabbage and scallions be treated for?


    When the negotiation was over, Lady Liu also received the order deposit from the Royal tribute in advance. The order deposit for this batch of colored porcelain lists alone was 800 taels of silver. If it was all finished, there¡¯s still half of the money that could be taken.


    Lady Liu didn¡¯t know how much money and silver the order of the Royal tribute offered before. When she took the thick silver notes in her hand, she finally understood why those shopkeepers were so flattering to the He family before. It was the profits here that made people jealous!


    Aside from the Jade Porcelain Workshop which had made a lot of money. Cui Xingzhou on the other hand, in the Military Camp, can finally relax his face with satisfaction after hearing the recent progress of the Water Department and waving the reporting official down.


    However, the official had one more thing to report to The Prince, so he asked cautiously, ¡°Your Highness, you ordered all the ships within a hundred miles of the county to apply. Now that most of the fortifications have been completed, can you ask those ships to relieve the corvee?¡±


    In fact, the Water Department doesn¡¯t have to be so urgent to recruit fishing boats. As for why he acted like this, Cui Jiu didn¡¯t think about it too carefully then. Just in his mind, he flashed through the empty hole under the bed of the North Street house, and then with the benevolence of his thought, he did something convenient for the young woman who was ready to ask for the road money to pass through.


    He didn¡¯t pay much attention to what he had said before. Now, hearing the official mentioning it, he suddenly thought of it. He doesn¡¯t know how the situation with Lady Liu is going.


    However, the conscription of fishing boats for too long did have some impact on people¡¯s livelihood, so Prince Huaiyang waved his hand and said that he could lift the corvee of some ships.


    However, in his spare time, when he went to North Street for dinner, he learned from Miantang that she had blackmailed them successfully.


    But after hearing that Liu Miantang undertook the affairs of the He family, he frowned slightly.


    To be honest, he bought the shop just to calm her mind. He didn¡¯t expect her to make the stop bigger and bigger in just a few months.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that the He family business will take advantage of the porcelain in your shop and use the name of your shop to punish you by acting like this?¡±


    Miantang smiled sweetly after listening, ¡°Husband is thoughtful, but our shop is contributing to the He family, and all works will be owned by the He family in the end. So if he wants to tamper with our porcelain, he will only ruin the name of his long-established shop. How can he not be implicated? Now that we have just established a foothold in North Street, we have to operate well. It will require you to suffer a little and condescend to others first. But one day, the name of our shop will be printed on the porcelain provided by the Royal Court! ¡±


    Miantang made heroic words here, but Cui Xingzhou smiled, ¡°If you like it, do it well with all your heart. Not for me, just for yourself. You should also operate steadily, which can be regarded as earning yourself an industry.¡±


    After all, the shop and the house should be given to her together after this. If Lady Liu manages well, she is the one benefiting from it.


    It is rare for Cui Xingzhou to have so much leisure to teach people, but in Miantang¡¯s ear, her husband is encouraging her to do things boldly.


    With her husband¡¯s trust, she couldn¡¯t help but look at him with bright eyes like one¡¯s sidelong glance has the moist gleam of the autumnal waves.


    Cui Xingzhou was used to her looking at himself like this, and leisurely took a chopstick of fish and put it into her bowl, ¡°Eat quickly, didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ll go back to the shop to check the porcelain you sent?¡±


    Miantang also felt that her just eyes were too rash, which was not in line with being a virtuous wife. She laughed playfully and then hurried to eat.


    She did want to go out later, but when she saw her husband coming back, she wanted to have dinner with him, which delayed her plans.


    After Miantang finished her meal and rinsed her mouth with bamboo salt, she cleaned up a little and was ready to go out.


    Cui Xingzhou happened to be going out too. In addition to having a meal from Servant Li, the most important thing for him to come to Lingquan Town today is to pay a visit to a senior official of the Central Court who has returned home. So looking at the time, he also went out with her together.


    The Prince¡¯s carriage was just about to pass by the Jade Porcelain Shop. Cui Jiu hesitated for a moment, thinking that since it was on the way, regardless of her, it was not very good to leave her going alone, so he asked Miantang to get in the carriage together.


    Miantang went out with her husband for the first time. She was feeling the sweetness in her heart and properly sat beside Cui Jiu. She felt that the carriage was full of a faint bamboo-like scent of her husband.


    When the carriage drove out from the North Street entrance, the people who took the lunch break had not returned thus, the street looked a little empty. The carriage moved slowly along the stone road towards the porcelain shop.


    However, when it was turning to a quiet street corner, several big men suddenly jumped down from the high walls on both sides of the road. Two of them came forward and grabbed the coachman¡¯s neck.


    The other few stood at the entrance of the alley and be on the lookout. Their division of labor was orderly. At first glance, they were experts in road robbery.


    One of them pulled off the curtain one by one, didn¡¯t look at Cui Xingzhou, just held up a sharp sword, pointed to Liu Miantang¡¯s throat, and said with deep pity, ¡°Lady Liu, it¡¯s fine if you left at the beginning, but why did you secretly hide the silver money that our Young Master had finally raised? Now there are mistakes and omissions in the accountant, and our Young Master has said that as long as you are willing to return it, he will let bygones be bygones!¡±


    Liu Miantang was confused by this. She raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Who is your Master? What did I take? Did you recognize the wrong person?¡±


    Seeing that Liu Miantang didn¡¯t admit it, the big man only sneered twice. He was too lazy to talk nonsense and just wanted to pull Liu Miantang off the carriage and tie her up.


    As for the man sitting next to Liu Miantang, he didn¡¯t even look. Yun Niang told them in advance that Lady Liu is now married to a businessman, an embroidered pillow-like man, a lazy dandy, he should be the one. A trader, naturally, has to cherish his life. If he dares to move, he will immediately poke a hole in his body!


    But just when his hand could touch Liu Miantang, the embroidered pillow-like man beside her spoke slowly, ¡°I don¡¯t know how much money she took from you, but I¡¯ll return it on her behalf.¡±


    The leading man was about to laugh when he heard this. He raised his eyebrows and said viciously, ¡°Thirty million of the snow-like silver teals, can you afford it? Get out of my way!¡±


    As soon as he pulled the sword in his hand, he wanted to scratch the face of the embroidered pillow-like man.


    But as soon as the big man¡¯s wrist was stretched forward, the handsome, effeminate young man who lives off a woman unexpectedly stretched out two fingers and clamped the thin sword body, and then with the help of a knack force, he pulled the big man into the carriage.


    Liu Miantang had just touched a pair of copper bells that Servant Li put aside for her earlier on. This bell was sent by the highly skilled Doctor Zhao Quan, who asked her to hold it when she was free and rebuild her wrist muscles and bones.


    Now, this pair of bells can be used. She only held them high and smashed them on the top of the big man¡¯s head while Cui Xingzhou pulled the big man in.


    Miantang¡¯s skills of recognizing acupoints are very accurate. Although her hands are not strong enough, it is enough to make the big man roll his eyes and faint.


    This is the first time that Cui Xingzhou saw her beating people with his own eyes. She looked soft on the outside but precise in acupoints.


    At this time, the sound of fighting outside the carriage also continued. Just as Miantang was about to look, the back of her neck sank and her eyes blacked out.


    After Cui Xingzhou knocked her unconscious with a hand gesture of a knife, the secret sentry outside also went out together and took the interceptors.


    ¡°Your Highness, everyone has been caught!¡± The secret sentry knelt and reported to Cui Xingzhou.


    Prince Huaiyang waved his hand and motioned them to bring the man for interrogation.


    Although there were only a few words just now, it was enough for Cui Xingzhou to figure out the possibility.


    Liu Miantang was too brave. When she ran away, she not only took away a box of jewelry and silver notes, but also a large amount of stolen goods from the Young Master Ziyu!


    Thirty million snow-like silver teals is indeed not a small amount. That Young Master Ziyu was able to keep his equanimity and only asked for it now!


    Cui Xingzhou set up his house in North Street for so long that he finally caught a decent fish and shrimp, which did not waste his patience.


    At present, with this situation, he had arranged for another time to pay a visit to the senior official who returned to his hometown from the Imperial Court.


    Because those thieves had oppressive (feudal) officials that are specially used for integration, Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t have to do it himself, so he sent the unconscious Miantang back to the mansion first.


    As a result, as soon as the carriage arrived at the door, he saw Marquis Zhennan, Zhao Quan leading his servant boy popping his head in and looking about at the door.


    When he saw Cui Jiu take the unconscious Lady Liu down from the carriage, Zhao Quan was startled and thought that Lady Liu¡¯s old disease had relapsed. When he heard that it was Cui Jiu who knocked her out, he was immediately angry.


    Marquis Zhao had long regarded the young lady as a woman in his mansion. How could Cui Jiu be willing to do such a cruel thing? At that moment, he raised his eyes and said, ¡°Your Highness is used to beating and scolding soldiers in the Military Camp. How can you bare to be a vicious person manipulating such a charming woman from behind!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou originally thought that Miantang would wake up on the way, but he didn¡¯t expect that Miantang had been breathing disorderly and seemed to fall into a nightmare, so he was also a little worried. He just frowned and said, ¡°I just used a knack to make her fall asleep. My strength is not hard. Come and take a look at what happened to her?¡±


    With that, Cui Jiu took Liu Miantang into the room in big steps, rolled up her sleeve, and showed her jade wrist for Zhao Quan to check her pulse.


    But when Zhao Quan¡¯s fingers were about to touch, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s eyebrows frowned, and he felt that even a disloyal woman should not be touched at will.


    Thinking about it, he took out a sweat handkerchief from his arms and covered it on her white wrist.


    Zhao Quan felt that it was superfluous for him to take off his pants and fart. He couldn¡¯t help staring at him and wanted to take away the sweat handkerchief for a more careful diagnosis. But when he came into contact with Cui Xingzhou¡¯s slightly narrowed eyes, he dared not to be rash and only check her pulse through the sweat handkerchief.


    Miantang¡¯s pulse and breath are a little disordered. It can be seen that the previous congestion syndrome has not dissipated. It seems that he needs to strengthen the conditioning of decoction and medicine.


    After checking on her pulse, Zhao Quan wrote another prescription and gave it to Servant Li to boil the medication for Lady Liu. Then he solemnly told Cui Xingzhou that the woman¡¯s body bone was originally fragile, and it must not be treated again as it is today.


    If it was the usual, Prince Huaiyang will only sneer. How can a person like him who does everything by hook or by crook pity a woman who has been disloyal by the anti-bandit?


    But this time, Prince Huaiyang didn¡¯t sneer, but listened in silence, and then nodded slowly.


    When Zhao Quan came out of North Street, he was still in a trance. He always felt that something was wrong with his friend who he had known for many years. But he didn¡¯t know exactly where it was.


    Miantang fell into a muddy dream, in which someone showed her an account, and then asked, ¡°Lady Liu, what do you think we should do?¡±?

 CH 32

    Miantang couldn¡¯t figure out what the account book was, but she intuitively said, ¡°Don¡¯t report it to the Young Master first, I¡¯ll sort out the accounts¡­¡±


    Next, she buried her head in front of the table and began to rearrange the accounts one by one. Somehow, Miantang knew that she was making a short turnover of the accounts and made a false account again, and the mountain of silver immediately turned into countless trickles and was allocated from the general ledger¡­


    Then, she watched the carriages passing in front of her. Although she couldn¡¯t see the objects in the boxes, she was clear in her heart that they were boxes of silver teals and silver notes on the carriages¡­


    When Miantang woke up with a burst of splitting headache, in addition to feeling a little tired of being busy in the dream, she also feel that the dream is too absurd. Even if she smashed and sold all her husband¡¯s stores, how could she have so much money? And she is also like a corrupt official, making false accounts and embezzling¡­ Is it that she was confused and had a messy dream after listening to the bandit¡¯s words?


    But the dream seems to be too real, letting people unable to walk out of a trance¡­


    She opened her eyes and stared at the beam.


    ¡°Are you awake, do you want to drink some water?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou, who had been sitting aside, put down his book and asked.


    At this time, the night has turned dark, and the candlelight on the table is like beans, emitting a weak light.


    Miantang turned her head weakly and looked at him. For a moment, she seemed to be in a trance again. When she first woke up from a serious illness, looking at her husband showed endless unfamiliar feelings. She tried to get up, but she doesn¡¯t have the energy. Thus, she just asked weakly, ¡°How did I end up fainting?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou said calmly, ¡°The thief who was knocked unconscious by you woke up and attacked you secretly¡­ How do you feel? Do you recall anything?¡±


    Miantang looked at her husband¡¯s handsome and elegant face, her heart moved slightly, and she felt that she was being too suspicious. Why would she want to ask if it was her husband who knocked her unconscious with his hand for a moment?


    She also thinks that such words are too absurd, so she swallowed them and didn¡¯t say anything. She just asked hoarsely, ¡°I have a bad headache¡­ Who are those people¡­ How dare they be so bold? They were still asking me so directly for money?¡±


    Hearing her question, Cui Xingzhou remembered the secret sentry who had just interrogated the prisoner.


    Those people turned out to be tough characters. Nine out of ten didn¡¯t say anything, but one was served with a soldering iron and a stick and finally told the truth.


    According to them, when Liu Miantang first ran away from the mountain of Yang, she made an empty account herself and took away a large amount of money and silver from the mountain fastness. Because the accounts made are flawless, and the mountain fastness industries chain is located everywhere, the accounts will only be submitted every mid-year, so no one found out at all before.


    It was only this time that a woman named Yunniang, who took over her account, found the mistake, so she ordered them to come down the mountain to find Liu Miantang.


    When the secret sentry wanted to ask who Yunniang was, what was the origin of their Master, and why Liu Miantang had access to this large amount of accounts, the bandit hoarsely said, ¡°Our Master is¡­¡±


    Before he finished speaking, another bandit at the side who is barely breathing suddenly looked up, spit out a hidden poison needle from his mouth, and nailed the confessor at once. Then, after looking at each other, the rest of them bit their tongues and killed themselves.


    The secret sentry did not expect that a group of mountain bandits should be so determined as well-trained warriors. It was also unprepared, and there was no one alive.


    Cui Xingzhou listened to the report of the secret sentry calmly and sorts out a general story.


    That Lu Wen is a weirdo. He has the habit of letting his woman take care of the accounts. What¡¯s more terrifying is that these mountain bandits have huge assets and industries chain everywhere¡­ So it seems that their ambition is not small. How can they be so obedient and surrender to the offer of amnesty and enlistment to rebels?


    What exactly is Lu Wen¡¯s origin?


    As for Liu Miantang, she took away a large amount of money and silver. Cui Xingzhou does not doubt that according to Liu Miantang¡¯s current performance, she has such courage and skills. No wonder she was cut off on her hands and legs hamstring at the beginning¡­


    But now, Liu Miantang doesn¡¯t remember what happened when she was in the bandit¡¯s nest at all, but those bandits don¡¯t know that she has lost her memory. If they happened to catch Liu Miantang, he can imagine that her fate must be worse than death.


    Since Lu Wen¡¯s recruitment was decided, Cui Xingzhou has always wanted to withdraw from the Mansion on North Street. Just tired and lazy for a moment, he thought about looking at the situation again. He didn¡¯t expect to lead to such a shocking secret.


    It seems that the North Street Mansion can¡¯t be revoked. It¡¯s even more necessary to step up the guard and continue fishing to see if he can find out the details of the Young Master Ziyu and the Yunniang in the mouth of the bandits.


    More importantly, he had to figure out what role Liu Miantang played in that Mountain of Yang!


    ¡­¡­


    Somehow, Miantang found that the number of times her husband came home had suddenly increased since she was attacked by bandits when she went out of the street.


    In addition to going out for half a day at noon, generally after lunch, he doesn¡¯t go out in the afternoon. He plays chess and reads books with her, how leisurely and carefree! Showing the look of being tired and lazy after the lesson in the chess house and returning home.


    But there were many times when he looked at her with his eagle-eyed, which seemed to have more meaning of exploration.


    Although it¡¯s good for her husband to be at home, Miantang always wants to ask him why.


    When asked about him, Cui Xingzhou said faintly, ¡°I¡¯ve learned chess for so long, but I¡¯m no better than you. I should stop learning.¡±


    The virtuous wife Miantang was extremely shocked when she heard this. She didn¡¯t expect that she had hurt her husband¡¯s enthusiasm to learn chess. But she also wondered, ¡°I couldn¡¯t play chess before. Do you know who I learned from?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou just finished a game with her. He looked at her while taking the chess pieces. The corners of his mouth were slightly cold. He casually said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe you learned from that Young Master Ziyu¡­¡±


    Miantang thought about his inexplicable familiarity when watching Young Master Ziyu play chess at the beginning, and couldn¡¯t help thinking that what her husband said might be true. What on earth is she thinking at the beginning? How could she hang out with a man who is not her husband while her husband¡¯s away? How many games of chess does she have to play and practice to have this skill of chess currently!


    At this moment, the elegance of playing chess is gone. Miantang wants to amend the situation for her wrongdoings, grabbed the cloth in the broken basket, and starts to measure Cui Jiu.


    Summer is coming to an end. It¡¯s time to add some clothes for her husband when the weather turns cooler. The coat naturally needs to be bought to fit and be decent. But the inner shirt must be made by the woman herself, and it¡¯s only intimate to wear.


    Because of her serious illness, she completely forgot how to be a wife.


    Fortunately, Miantang often sits on the bench at the door of each house in North Street normally. When she eats melon seeds and puts the sole on her shoes, she got to know the period of cold and warm during the four seasons, and those women¡¯s livelihood. Instead, she can follow the group of women to make clothes and innerwear for her husband.


    Because Mo Ru brought back a box of her husband¡¯s clothes, Miantang found a previous blouse of Cui Jiu, cut the cloth as it was, and sewed it carefully every day. After working so hard for several days, it finally looked like something.


    Cui Xingzhou stood up and allowed Miantang to gesture back and forth with him.


    Although Miantang¡¯s stature is taller than that of women in the regions south of the Yangtze River, compared with his majestic height, she looks like a lovable little woman.


    Unlike the experienced and capable look in business, this willow lady is very clumsy in sewing! The sleeve has already been changed three or four times¡­


    He hung his eyes and looked down at Miantang slightly. First, she frowned slightly. After carefully measuring the waistline, she was very satisfied, her red lips slightly opened, and she smiled very clearly.


    But such an intoxicating smile fell into the eyes of Cui Xingzhou was even worse.


    These days, he has been thinking, Is this woman living with that Young Master Ziyu wrongfully in degradation, or does she come to have a tender feeling for each other like a married couple to that Young Master Ziyu after being together for a long time?


    Even if she was a lady from a good family at first, was it true that she was taken prisoner by such a refined Young Master to be a wife or concubine? Otherwise, how could she be willing to take care of his accounts?


    However, thinking that later, the woman was bold enough to run away with the anti-bandit silver money, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s heart slightly forgave Miantang.


    At the very least, she knows that she should not be associated with those anti-bandits.


    It¡¯s just that it¡¯s so much silver money. How dare she? They have been a fake married couple for so long, and he can feel her conduct. Although she loves money, she is by no means a greedy person. Moreover, how would a weak woman be so greedy for such a large sum of money?


    And no one had ever looked for her before. Until that Ziyu found that she was still alive, no one came to her door.


    Cui Xingzhou snorted coldly when he thought of the bandit talking about the woman called ¡°Yunniang¡±.


    As expected for a bandit. Unexpectedly, he has the habit of letting the bedside person take care of his accounts. It is thought that Miantang fell out of favor and his new love was in charge. The account book was transferred to the hands of the new wife of the brigand chief.


    He doesn¡¯t know who his new love colluded with to covet money, but she framed it onto Liu Miantang, an abandoned woman.


    Such a vicious woman that loves scheming against other are seen in his father¡¯s residence. Cui Xingzhou was used to their dirty methods since childhood. After a little thought, he figured out the possibility.


    Thinking of this and looking at Miantang again, he recalls when she was floating in the river barely breathing¡­ What¡¯s the use of being able and efficient? She was taken advantage of when she met unsophisticated people, and she was wiped away being thrown into the river like garbage¡­


    Miantang measured his clothes and looked up seeing her husband looking directly at her, but his eyes were cold and unspeakable indifference.


    She couldn¡¯t help hesitating and then raised her hand to look at her clothes. After a while, she found that the two sleeves were unbalanced on both sides.


    ¡°Ah!¡± She cried out in shame. No wonder her husband looks at her like this. Why is this sleeve wrong again?


    ¡°Husband, will you dislike me for my clumsiness?¡± She no longer looked up at him but threw the clothes back into the broken basket in frustration.


    At this time, Cui Xingzhou also shifted her mind from meditation. Looking at her look of ashamed and angry to drill into the ground, he felt a little funny and said gently, ¡°Isn¡¯t you good at using the abacus? A little clumsiness for needlework is okay, so you will be comprehensive. Otherwise, all the dexterity in the world belongs to you. How can other girls live?¡±


    This word was like bean candlelight, which suddenly lit up Miantang¡¯s gloomy face. Her eyes were bright, and she looked at her husband, and her heart was more loving. She felt that even when her husband praised others, he was reserved, which made people feel particularly pleasant to hear.


    However, since her husband has abandoned his mind to learn chess, he will be in charge of the shop in the future.


    ¡°Husband, since you think I¡¯m good at the abacus, how about I teach you abacus tomorrow? The account books in the shop give me a headache. It will be the best if you can take over.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t expect that she would change to this topic. He couldn¡¯t help frowning slightly and hesitated, ¡°You can just be fully in charge of the things in the shop.¡±


    Miantang was undressing for him. After hearing this, she first blushed and then said shyly, ¡°Mrs. Yin on the street always asked me when will the Cui Mansion have a baby¡­ The women said that copper and silver are of the nature of Yin. If we want to conceive in one go, we should avoid it¡­ I thought that husband is not young anymore, and you should have a baby under your name, so I wanted to have a good rest and recuperate my body¡­¡±


    The more the words come to the back, the softer the sound. Although what she said was reasonable, it shouldn¡¯t be said from her mouth. But what worried her is that her mother-in-law died early, and no older generation in the family is urging them to have children. She has to say it by herself with a face that is blushing like red cloth¡­


    God, will her husband mistakenly think that she is lonely in bed, forcing him to untie his heart knot and be an affectionate couple who always keeps each other¡¯s company?


    Cui Xingzhou misunderstood. He lower his head down and fixed his looked at Miantang¡¯s face. The touch of red was like a sunset glow, and layers of dizziness had been extended to her neck¡­


    To sum up, this woman has been sleeping with him for more than a month, although he abides by the courtesy of a gentleman and does not touch her at all. But her reputation was damaged.


    If it was in the past, Cui Xingzhou will ask her to enter the temple. Later, he was kind and allowed her to establish her own family and business.


    But now it seems that the bandits in the Mountain of Yang are not willing to let her go. Even after the bandits are cleared, there is no guarantee that there will be some bandits that slipped through the net. If someone finds her again and puts a knife on her neck as before, how can she protect herself, a woman with both hands and feet being weak?


    For a time, Cui Xingzhou took some time to think of good candidates of husband for her. Zhao Quan, Marquis Zhennan, has a special liking for this woman, but with his lazy and loose temperament, how can he protect the safety of Miantang? He might even end up being captured together with her.


    After thinking about it for a while, Cui Xingzhou was too lazy to think about it again. He only slowly reached out and touched her head. Like coaxing a child, he said, ¡°You are still weak and need to be recuperated. In the future¡­ I will give you a child¡­¡±


    TL/Notes: !!!???  Prince Huaiyang wants to give Miantang a baby!!


    Miantang didn¡¯t expect that her husband had been considerate of her body, so he had been unwilling to share a room with her. She just felt that she was too eager. Now, no longer ashamed, she just grabbed his thin waist and buried her face in his chest, giggling.


    Cui Xingzhou looked at her helplessly and suddenly felt that things were all cleared in the future. It was all right to take this helpless woman as a mistress outside.


    Anyway, his future father-in-law¡¯s family had already made an unannounced visit. It was misunderstood that he had been having this North Street Mansion outside, and his cousin Lian Binglan didn¡¯t even ask. As long as the Lian family¡¯s children are settled and given enough benefits, the Lian family seems to acquiesce in this matter.


    In this way, he shall just let things go naturally! Anyway, in the future, he won¡¯t be bringing Miantang into his family and hit the face of Lian Binglan, the future Princess Consort of The Prince¡¯s Residence.


    As for Liu Miantang, he will tell her the truth in the future. As long as she wants, he will give her decent wealth, safeguard her, prevent evil people from taking her life, and let her live a full and peaceful life.


    With this in mind, Cui Xingzhou suddenly felt relieved, and his recent unhappiness seemed to be easily solved.


    For a time, the North Street ¡°married couple¡± had relieved a lot of their own heart knot, and then lay back on the bed together.


    The two didn¡¯t fall asleep immediately, so Miantang snuggled up in Cui Xingzhou¡¯s arms and said some trivial things about the mansion. In a few words, she comes to the topic of her recent miscellaneous dreams.


    Maybe it¡¯s because she was knocked unconscious by that b*stard bandit last time. She has always dreamed of that recently, but her dreams are fragmented and incoherent. Just transporting silver money and changing silver notes had her busy for several nights.


    It¡¯s just that she always wakes up alone in bed, and she will have a feeling of being at a loss.


    Fortunately, her husband has always been at home recently and will sleep with her at night. Every time she dreams, he will carefully wake her up and ask her what she dreamed of.


    When the moon is half waning, someone speaks next to him, which dispels the feeling of loneliness.


    However, although it was a dream, Miantang was still a little uncomfortable. Finally, she couldn¡¯t help but hesitate to ask her husband, ¡°Husband, did the government say what the origin of those people was? Why did they block the way and rob? Did¡­ I really run away with other people¡¯s money?¡±


    Cui Jiu casually rolled her hair and replied, ¡°It¡¯s just a dream, but will you take other people¡¯s money privately?¡±


    Miantang thought carefully, ¡°Why will I take someone else¡¯s? It¡¯s not mine. I don¡¯t want it even if it¡¯s for free, whether it¡¯s money or people!¡±


    When she said this, she also confessed to her husband that she would not even look at the Young Master Ziyu and men with groups of wives and concubines like Zhao Quan again, let alone be seduced by their sweet talks!


    Cui Jiu raised the corner of his mouth without saying anything.


    However, compared with the quiet days in North Street, Yunniang in a secluded house in the Mountain of Yang was a little angry.


    She smashed a cup in her hand and said viciously, ¡°How can it be? She has lost her martial arts skills, and she married an ordinary merchant. How can those Dragon Deadly Guards who went have no returns?¡±


    Her confidant Yan Chi carefully said, ¡°I inquired afterward. It is said that someone did stop the carriage in the streets that day. Unfortunately, they met a group of soldiers in the military who were out of the street in civilian clothes near Lingquan Town, so he was caught by them and interrogated. However, on the same day, someone saw their bodies carried out from the prison of Lingquan Town. It should be that they didn¡¯t mention what is held and betrayed¡­¡±


    Yunniang gritted her teeth and frowned tightly. ¡°Liu Miantang was so brave that she not only shifted the account of the shop secretly operated by the mountain fastness, but also the private property left by The Crown Prince at the beginning. She¡­ She was so greedy that she failed to live up to the Young Master¡¯s deep love for her!¡±


    After saying this, Yunniang was anxiously pacing around. There were many soldiers and horses in the Moutain of Yang. If the money could not be found, there would be not much money left in the mountain fastness. If they don¡¯t have enough money to distribute to the subordinates, are they really going to take them to rob?


    Just then, someone outside the door said, ¡°Lady Sun, the Young Master has invited you to his study for a chat¡­¡±


    The servant girl Hua Ping was a little flustered. After the person outside the door left, she quietly asked her young lady, ¡°What should we do? Will the Young Master find the issue of the Commander¡¯s silver money being transferred away?¡±


    Sun Yunniang glared at her fiercely and said, ¡°What¡¯s there to panic about? Just push it on Liu Miantang. Compared with the huge amount of money she hid, those my father took are just a drop in the bucket!¡±


    After saying that, she also calmed down a lot, only changed her clothes, combed her hair, and then walked to the Young Master¡¯s study.


    Ziyu¡¯s taste is not bad. Outside the study is a cluster of precious emerald-thin bamboo. If one were to look closely, the calligraphy and paintings hanging in the study are all made by famous people and great masters, and each one is invaluable.


    Ziyu is standing in front of the window listening to the report of his subordinates. Wearing black fox fur, although it is summer at this time, it is cool in the mountains, and it seems that he¡¯s not resistant to the cold after the rain.


    Yunniang looked at him looking straight at the green bamboo outside the window. She couldn¡¯t help feeling uncomfortable again for no reason other than that the bamboo was specially planted by Liu Miantang for the Young Master.


    She walked slowly over, slightly greet him with vented knees, and said, ¡°It has just rained, you should stay away from the window to avoid getting cold¡­¡± with that, she walked over and wanted to tidy Ziyu¡¯s collar.


    But the always gentle Young Master waved her hand away slightly rudely, and then stared at her tightly and said, ¡°Why do you secretly send someone down the mountain to find trouble with Miantang?¡±


    Yunniang bit her lips, tears accumulated in her eyes, looking delicate and attractive, ¡°Young Master, how can you think of me like this. If it weren¡¯t for the lack of silver money in the account book of the mountain fastness now, how could I be so anxious to check the accounts and find Sister Liu¡¯s mistakes? Also, I just ordered someone to look for her to beg for the whereabouts of a large amount of silver money, how could you say that I was looking for her trouble?¡±


    Although Sun Yunniang¡¯s appearance is beautiful and charming, it¡¯s far worse than Liu Miantang¡¯s bright and colorful appearance. However, her small jasper appearance is very gentle and virtuous, which makes men unconsciously be gentle too, so as not to be abrupt and weak women.


    At this time, Yunniang¡¯s voice trembled slightly, like a frightened rabbit. Anyone who is not hard-hearted will involuntarily restrain his voice.


    Young Master Ziyu seemed to feel that his tone was too strong just now. Looking at Yunniang¡¯s eyes had turned red, and he couldn¡¯t help but lower his tone, ¡°Miantang has always been methodical in doing things. Why do you make your own decisions without asking me? As a result, such a mess was caused, which alerted the officers and soldiers, and six of our deadly guards died because of this. How do you deal with it?¡±


    Yunniang had no way to clean up, but her voice was weak, and said, ¡°I just asked them to ask. I didn¡¯t mean to make things difficult for my sister. Why is my sister forgetting about our former relationship and calling officers and soldiers to deal with the loyal subordinates in the past¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Didn¡¯t the people who went to inquire about the news say that they were unlucky and were bumping into the military subordinates of Prince Huaiyang who went out of the street in civilian clothes? How can Miantang have the ability to command the subordinates of Prince Huaiyang at any time?¡±


    Hearing Yunniang¡¯s accusation against Miantang, Ziyu was angry again.


    At this time, Mr. Qin, the confidant who is studying countermeasures with the Young Master, said, ¡°Young Master, Lady Sun is just anxious about the wrong accounts. This is why she asked people to go down the mountain in a hurry. She didn¡¯t expect such a result, and you don¡¯t have to be too angry.¡±

 CH 33

    Ziyu no longer looked at Yunniang with tearful eyes but looked out the window again at the long leaves of green bamboo stained with raindrops, He said to her in a low voice, ¡°When my father suffered a sudden Palace uprise in the Capital at the beginning. It was your father and a bunch of loyal Ministers who protected me and my brother out of the East Palace. Unfortunately, my brother was weak and could not bear the toxicity of that cup of poisoned wine. Fortunately, I survived with your protection. I am grateful for all this¡­¡±


    Speaking of this, his voice was a little setback and then said, ¡°Although Miantang is not an old acquaintance of the East Palace, she has also made great contributions to the Mountain of Yang. You say that she swallowed the operating money of those industrial stores, which one was not arranged and managed by her? Even if she wants to take it, she should share it.¡±


    The thing Yunniang can¡¯t stand it most is that even if Liu Miantang made thousands of mistakes, it will become thousands of good when it was with the Young Master.


    She then bit her lips and said, ¡°If Sister Liu feels aggrieved, it¡¯s fine to take the operating fund of the store, but your private property is still missing from the account book, that was The Em¡­ Your father took great trouble to hide this money for emergencies!¡±


    Ziyu smiled bitterly and said wistfully, ¡°The old fortune is placed in a very safe place. Miantang told me when she left. You don¡¯t have to worry about it in the future.¡±


    Yunniang was stunned when she heard this. Because the Young Master has never mentioned Liu Miantang¡¯s transfer of private property before. She couldn¡¯t help but be surprised and hesitated, ¡°I took over the accounts before Sister Liu left. Why didn¡¯t she talk to me about it? Could it be that she didn¡¯t trust me?¡±


    Speaking of this, Yunniang¡¯s tearful eyes buckle up again, which seemed to be hurt by Liu Miantang¡¯s suspicion.


    But Ziyu didn¡¯t see her grievance. He stood in front of the window without looking back.


    Yunniang still wanted to say more, but Ziyu interrupted her, ¡°That¡¯s all for now. I¡¯ll find a way to deal with the deficit in the account book. Don¡¯t go and trouble Miantang in the future¡­ I¡¯m getting a little tired, you can go down first.¡±


    Yunniang bit her lip. Today, six Dragon Deadly Guards were lost. Whatever she said was unjustifiable. It would be better to wait until Ziyu¡¯s anger subsided and make plans again¡­


    So after she greet him, she softly told Ziyu to have a good rest, and then turned around and left.


    When the figure of Yunniang disappeared in front of the porch window, Mr. Qin said, ¡°Young Master, Lady Liu took so much trouble to arrange, should it be she found something wrong with the account?¡±


    Ziyu nodded slowly and said, ¡°Someone has been drawing money and silver from the Mountain Fastness, and there is more than one person, so Miantang simply adopt full measures by taking the operating money away, hiding the old property, and making a false account, so that those greedy people can¡¯t be found, and naturally give oneself away¡­¡±


    Speaking of this, his heart twitched slightly, and his eyebrows were covered with pain. ¡°But I blamed her for being jealous, refusing to delegate power, and always envious of Yunniang for no reason¡­ Mr. Qin, am I wrong?¡±


    Mr. Qin shook his head reluctantly and comforted broadly, ¡°Lady Liu¡¯s ambition is not here, and it¡¯s useless for the Young Master to force her to stay. Moreover, in the future, you are destined to return to the Capital and recapture the country. Lady Liu has a strong temperament and is suitable to be your subordinate, but if she is the Queen of the Country, she lacks the mind, so I can only say that she is not going the same way with you!¡±


    However, there¡¯s one thing Mr. Qin didn¡¯t say, that is, if he only looks at Lady Liu¡¯s ability, no one can be a match for her. Although Yunniang has won the support of the Old Ministers of the East Palace, she is nothing like Lady Liu! If Lady Liu has a reliable father to support her, let alone the Queen, she can be a female Emperor!


    But Mr. Qin is also not from the old people of the East Palace. Now Yunniang is in full power in the Mountain of Yang, and her father Sun Liansheng is even holding the military power. Mr. Qin didn¡¯t want to provoke the hostility of the Old Minister of the East Palace, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t say what he thought.


    Ziyu didn¡¯t speak. He understood what Mr. Qin said, which was also the meaning of the Old Ministers of the East Palace. Liu Miantang¡¯s ability is too strong, and she is also a woman. Naturally, it is difficult to convince the public. It¡¯s just that in the past, she relied on him to maintain balance.


    However, when he brought up the topic of marrying Miantang, many obstacles came one after another. In addition, at that time, the soldiers of Prince Huaiyang were keeping their eyes on the Mountain of Yang, and many troops were lost. More and more people on the mountain advocated taking the offer of amnesty and enlistment to rebels to appease The Emperor.


    He let her go, not giving up on her. But hoped to unite the loose hearts of his people and overcome the difficulties first.


    He didn¡¯t expect that her heart was so determined that she immediately married after she went down the mountain.


    This time, the secret chess she buried took effect again. When the news of the account deficit came out, the amount of money reported everywhere was even more than the money Liu Miantang had hidden and transferred. Many people thought that Miantang had taken away the money and silver, and took the opportunity to report the amount of the deficit, hoping to frame it on Miantang who had gone down the mountain.


    Looking at the number of accounts sorted out by Mr. Qin, Ziyu sneered. What a group of shameless people who add insult to others! Sure enough, they couldn¡¯t wait to frame it on Miantang.


    Looking at the thick and real account written by Miantang left on the table, Ziyu¡¯s heart ached again.


    Her handwriting is still so ugly, a smart woman like her can¡¯t bear to hold a pen to write¡­ When turning to the last page of the account, it¡¯s a line of fonts that are hard to write. People who have achieved great things need not be in a hurry to have fun for a while. After knowing it in your heart, slowly figure it out¡­


    According to Miantang¡¯s meaning, after the people for corruption are exposed, don¡¯t be in a hurry yet. Otherwise, the Mountain of Yang is in a time of trouble, and if the Crown Prince¡¯s party is eliminated, 5he heart of the people will easily fluctuate.


    If she didn¡¯t leave, she must already have a way to punish these people at this time. Seeing that he was angry because of these people, she must be snuggling up to his shoulder like a cat and comforting him in a soft voice by now.


    Seeing this, Ziyu¡¯s heart ached again. Everyone around said she was not suitable for him. But who knows the other side of Miantang¡¯s shrewdness and ability? Her heart is the softest, so she can¡¯t bear to see him in a dilemma. She abandons everything in the Mountain of Yang, who else can he hold in his broken heart after loving a woman like Liu Miantang?


    Even if everything goes according to his wishes, he succeeds in regaining his original position, but what¡¯s the significance if she¡¯s not the one standing beside him?


    But now the big deal has not been achieved, and the power struggle and intrigue are like weeds after the rain. He can only move forward with difficulty and danger alone. On the day of success, he will kneel in front of Miantang and welcome her back to his side.


    At this time, the night is dark, and the bamboo shadow outside the window is graceful. Liu Zhen, Liu Ziyu, the fourth generation grandson of the founding Emperor of the Yan Dynasty, touches the pouch close to his chest and spends the long night as usual¡­


    On the other hand, in the Mansion on North Street, as usual, smoke curls from the kitchen every day, and life was lived according to routine.


    Miantang had money in hand and hired more painters who painted porcelain and filled colors. These people are all checked by Mr. Chen himself.


    Although these people are not as good at painting as Mr. Chen, she can leave them to paint those simpler designs like branches and flowers. Mr. Chen just needs to make a good sample and design with unique colors. For most of the remaining time, he can enjoy Servant Li¡¯s food with a small pot of wine.


    Miantang looked at the progress of the order list every day and felt confident that she could catch up with the work before the deadline. Thus, she can relax and socialize with others.


    After Lady Cui from North Street came to Lingquan Town, most of her social activities were on the benches in the neighborhood, and she was not familiar with the noble ladies in Lingquan Town.


    But with the introduction of the third daughter of the He family, it was very different. Liu Miantang finally had the opportunity to participate in the tea party that the noble ladies in Lingquan Town attended.


    Miantang knows that doing business requires these social gatherings. Knowing more people means more social connections. So she also attaches great importance to such activities. But her jewelry box is a little empty, so she has to buy some jewelry to keep up her appearance. However, after going to a bunch of shops, the beautiful ones are too expensive, and the cheap ones are not desirable. It¡¯s even better to wear the old accessories in her jewelry box!


    Unexpectedly, when she got up in the morning, her husband quietly handed her a box wrapped in plain brocade. When she opened it, there was a complete set of tourmaline inlaid heads inside. That pattern is not available on the street. Whether it is the phoenix hairpin or the necklace like a flowering vine, it is exactly the most suitable jewelry according to Miantang¡¯s bright and colorful temperament.


    It¡¯s really getting what one has paid, and the price of such complicated inlay heads won¡¯t be cheap!


    Miantang stared at it with astonishment and dared not wear it. She carefully asked her husband how much it cost.


    Cui Xingzhou said without changing his face, ¡°It was made by an acquaintance. The materials and workmanship are more exquisite than those in ordinary shops. It doesn¡¯t cost much. If you like it, I¡¯ll let the shop customize your items again.¡±


    In short, this is the second time that her husband has personally bought something for her since the rouge powder. Her husband is from a wealthy family and has good taste. Although he doesn¡¯t give many things to her, all of them are fine products.


    Miantang put it on her at ease, but the hook of the necklace was a little complicated, and Miantang couldn¡¯t wear it well. Cui Xingzhou went to the dressing table and stretched out his hand to button it up for her.


    Miantang¡¯s skin is white, and her thin neck looks even whiter with the emerald tourmaline. Miantang was very satisfied, and her heart is filled with endless joy. She couldn¡¯t help but look up and smile sweetly at her husband behind him.


    Cui Jiu couldn¡¯t resist but reached out and stroked her cheek. The place he reached was as smooth and soft as lanolin¡­


    Just then, Servant Li¡¯s heavy cough sound came. She was standing in front of the door holding the ironed clothes.


    To be honest, Servant Li was so frightened at the scene just now that she suspected that her old eyes were confused and she misjudged them.


    The Prince has never been a person immersed in love. Even if he was acting to stabilize Lady Liu, helping her to put on the necklaces and touching her face personally¡­ It¡¯s too overboard!


    Now she can tell that Lady Liu was deeply in love with The Prince, and she really liked him. If the Prince is still being kind to her, wouldn¡¯t she be infatuated with the wrong person and can¡¯t pull out from it?


    According to this, even if she meets Mr. Right in the future if she compares everything with Prince Huaiyang, wouldn¡¯t she lose heart, having grandiose aims to make her lover slip away and delay her lifelong happiness?


    It¡¯s a sin! Servant Li came in with a black face, but she didn¡¯t realize that this sentence of unspoken criticism has become her mantra in recent days.


    After waiting for Miantang to the yard for dinner, Servant Li deliberately slowed down her speed to dress The Prince up, and then carefully whispered, ¡°Your Highness is treating The Lady so nice, I¡¯m afraid that The Lady will pester Your Highness in the future¡­ What to do to make it right?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou calmly tidied up his sleeves and ignored Servant Li¡¯s remarks, He ordered, ¡°Miantang has an easily cold body. Zhao Quan said that if she doesn¡¯t recuperate, she may fall into a chronic disease. I¡¯ve ordered someone to send some nourishing herbs to recuperate her body. You can cook them for her according to the prescription¡­ In addition, she has many things to do now, and it¡¯s hard for you to do errands alone. Tomorrow, the middleman of human trade will send two servant girls here. They are not from the residence. Just teach them the rules carefully.¡±


    Servant Li dared not venture into his words. Anyway, no matter what she does, The Prince has his thinking in mind. It¡¯s not up to servants like them to ask more. That¡¯s all she can do for Lady Liu.


    But after Liu Miantang and Cui Jiu went out together, Servant Li was a little dumbfounded when she saw the tonic sent by the steward of The Prince¡¯s Residence.


    These medicinal materials are indeed valuable and nourishing¡­ But the Ginger Pilose Antler Cream and the secret receipt of Curculigo Orchioides Chicken Vine Blood Pill can indeed dispel the cold, but most of them are used by the Royal Residence to prepare for the pregnancy and recuperation of the body of the Royal Princess Consort and concubine.


    What was The Prince¡¯s intention to let Lady Liu eat these? Was it because he was afraid that Lady Liu would remarry and not be able to have children in the future?


    On the other hand, after Miantang went out, she said goodbye to her husband at the entrance of the alley.


    She went to the tea party of the noble ladies, and her husband was going to visit his old acquaintance in the Capital who passed by, so they didn¡¯t go the same way.


    When Lady Liu came to the Mansion of the He family, all the noble ladies in Lingquan Town were almost there.


    Lingquan Town is not big, and the number of festivals in a year is limited. These wealthy ladies¡¯ new clothes can only be shown at such tea parties.


    Therefore, every tea party can only be described as a race for wonders and jewels.


    But these local ladies¡¯ elegant demeanor that was meticulously prepared by them was once again taken away by Lady Cui, the foreigner.


    When Liu Miantang appeared in front of people wearing a moon white narrow sleeved and a bottom skirt, everyone looked so amazed.


    Nowadays, narrow-sleeved clothes are popular to wear with skirts. This kind of thin and narrow clothes is the best at showing body figure. Any waist fat and body shape would show up, and not everyone can pull off the look.


    But these clothes that were on Lady Cui¡¯s body make her look plump and graceful. If people were to say she is thin, the plump area is like towering into the clouds and if people say that she is fat, her slender waist looks like it is less than a grip, making people envious!


    She was already born beautiful, yet she still knows how to dress herself up. Apart from other things, the head ornaments she wears today are expensive and unique in style, which makes people once again feel jealous.


    The noble ladies here have also inquired about Lady Cui before. They only heard that her husband¡¯s business was ruined and moved to settle down in a Mansion he bought on North Street.


    North Street is not a place for rich families. It is mostly small business merchants who set up their houses here or a place where The Master settles out of their residences.


    Therefore, these rich ladies also showed contemptuous intentions for Lady Liu.


    And they also know how Lady Liu got the job from the He family. It was just using the trick to buy the land for transporting clay and blackmail a bunch of people with the same profession.


    In short, it is the burst of impoverished families that the ladies inevitably despise.


    However, after seeing Lady Liu with their own eyes, they found that this foreign woman was full of wealth, good appearance and clothes, and had an unattainable temperament.


    For a time, the people with common hatred who originally intended to ignore herp collapsed under Liu Miantang¡¯s aura.


    He Zhen, as the host, was very kind and warmly led Liu Miantang to the seat. The third young lady also attentively arranged the activities of flower arrangement and flower cards at the tea party to kill time.


    But Lady Liu didn¡¯t seem to be familiar with the activities these ladies¡¯ used to kill time, so she just looked at it idly with a smile.


    Women are not as utilitarian as men when they are together, so they just gossip around.


    From Liu Miantang¡¯s point of view, compared with the bench in front of North Street, there were only a few handfuls of fried melon seeds missing, and there was not much difference.


    It¡¯s just that the gossip of these ladies is much more interesting than that of the gossip in North Street.


    For example, the Garrison Nephew of the town has been missing, and the wife of this nephew¡¯s family had made a big fuss at the local authorities and asked for a peaceful divorce to be free from the pain of being a widow.


    When talking about this section, He Zhen led Liu Miantang to talk, intending to see if she knew.


    Miantang looked calm like she didn¡¯t know it at all. She¡¯s not that stupid to say that lecherous man turned over the wall of her yard. After all, her husband said that he spent a lot of money to shut the mouth of the Yamen Official, to prevent the leakage of the case and ruined her reputation.


    Seeing that she couldn¡¯t get any good information out of her mouth, He Zhen stopped demanding, and just smiled and talked about something else.


    When they had dessert, the topic somehow turned to the matter of Prince Huaiyang was about to get married.


    The ladies of these porcelain businesses love it when wealthy families get married. At that time, complete sets of exquisite porcelain decorations will be made and prepared. Wedding plates will also need to be designed in special patterns, which is a top-grade business.


    Hearing this, Liu Miantang also has her spirits lifted. Her eyes were bright as she listened to the ladies talking about Lady Lian, the future Princess Consort of Prince Huaiyang.


    Servant Li was with her usualness, pulling a black face. Several times, when the ladies who spoke looked up, they saw the copper bell-like eyes of the woman staring fiercely at them, which was very frightening


    When the third young lady heard this, her face turned white and she didn¡¯t look well.


    Liu Miantang has been quietly eating snacks and observing their speech and behavior. Naturally, she can see that some ladies deliberately look at He Zhen¡¯s face when they say this, and she doesn¡¯t know what allusions are contained here.


    However, when the tea party was over, Liu Miantang took Servant Li to the washroom because she had drunk too much tea.


    When she came out just across a rockery, she heard two ladies whispering, ¡°Looking at the white face of the third lady of the He family just now, she must be really in love. She¡¯s not young anymore, but she kept dragging her marriage, obsessed with entering The Prince Residence as a concubine in the future. She¡¯s daydreaming! The Second Master He, who is her father, should start to control her!¡±


    The other seemed to be familiar with the He family, and whispered, ¡°He did try to control. But it failed! They all said that Prince Huaiyang was handsome, and any lady who gets to see him tends to delay their lifelong happiness! See, the third lady is not satisfied with any other guys now¡­¡±


    The two ladies didn¡¯t know there was someone behind the rockery, so they snickered for a while and went out along the road.


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t expect to hear the secret story about He Zhen not getting married when in the washroom. It can be seen that no matter how noble the tea party is, it is also similar to the bench on North Street. They all can¡¯t help but contrast their happiness with the misfortunes of others.


    Liu Miantang sighed and turned around to see He Zhen standing behind her with a tight face. It seems that the words of the two long-tongued women just now also entered her ears.


    This scene is a little embarrassing. Liu Miantang should have pretended not to hear and left with a smile.


    But she couldn¡¯t pretend to not see He Zhen¡¯s appearance that seemed like she was falling apart. Thus, she simply cut straight to the point and said directly, ¡°How can the third lady allow people to talk like this behind your back? Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll accompany you to drive the two ladies out, block their mouths, and let them apologize to you.¡±


    The third lady smiled bitterly, ¡°What they said is the truth. What position do I have to shut their mouths?¡±


    To be honest, Miantang still admires this capable third lady. But she didn¡¯t expect such a smart girl to be confused with her lifelong happiness. She even wants to be the concubine of Prince Huaiyang and not the legal hostess of someone else!


    For a time, Liu Miantang who is usually good at speech didn¡¯t know what to say, so she could only say, ¡°Lady He, you¡­ Are indeed being confused.¡±


    But He Zhen turned out to be very calm. After taking a deep breath, she recovered her composure and said, ¡°You don¡¯t understand that when you are in love with such a man, other men are sludge in the ditch. Not to mention wanting to be a concubine, I¡¯d rather not marry for life than condescend¡­¡±


    With that, her face changed, and she said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Please return home, Lady Cui.¡± Once she finished with her sentences, she led her servant girl to leave quickly without turning back.


    Liu Miantang was ordered by the host to leave, naturally, she would like to leave this awkward situation quickly.


    When she returned to her house, she said to Servant Li, ¡°There is really such a silly woman in the world. She doesn¡¯t have to worry about money, and her appearance is also good. How will she want to be a concubine? It can be seen that Prince Huaiyang is not a serious person. He might be cheating ladies before the flowers and under the moon!¡±


    Servant Li doesn¡¯t know what to say. It happened that Prince Huaiyang came back from his visit to the senior official who returned from the Capital and only overheard the part Miantang was scolding him.


    Servant Li reluctantly looked at Lady Liu who went to her husband with joy, sighed slightly, and hurried out first.


    She is old and she has been on the job for so long. She has accumulated a lot of family wealth. She hasn¡¯t had time to return to her hometown to enjoy it. It¡¯s better to avoid such scenes of demon bloody battlefields.


    On the other hand, Cui Xingzhou heard Miantang scolding himself as soon as he entered the door. He thought that she had recovered her memory and wanted to settle scores with himself.


    He didn¡¯t expect that she was like a happy rabbit, rushing toward him, busy helping to change his clothes and wipe his face as if she didn¡¯t recall anything.


    When asked in detail, Cui Xingzhou then realized that he had another love debt in Lingquan Town that he didn¡¯t know.


    But speaking of the third lady of the He family, he had no impression. Where did he deliberately provoke the third lady of the He family not to marry and eagerly come to be his concubine?

 CH 34

    But Liu Miantang didn¡¯t know that she unintentionally offended her husband. She just concentrates on talking about her trip today, so that her husband can know.


    Cui Xingzhou frowned, listening to the third lady of the He family infatuation was bound out of favor, and felt that he needs to correct Lady Liu¡¯s prejudice.


    Because he didn¡¯t make the mistake that Miantang said. Hearing her misunderstanding, Prince Huaiyang felt inexplicably uncomfortable, so he said, ¡°How can a merchant woman like Lady He recognize Prince Huaiyang? Should it be that she was deceived by some rogue and mistaken it herself?¡±


    Miantang was just chatting with her husband. Seeing that he was so serious, she said, ¡°Lady He is not a lady in the boudoir who doesn¡¯t step out of the gate, and she should not be able to recognize the wrong person. It¡¯s just that I have no idea what Prince Huaiyang looks like, which can make He Zhen lose her thoughts and rather give up her lifelong happiness? In my opinion, she just didn¡¯t see enough good men. If she meets someone like you, she will know that Prince Huaiyang is not worth mentioning.¡±


    TL/Notes: HAHAHAHA!! I wonder how will Miantang feel when she finds out that Prince Huaiyang who she always ¡°bad-mouth¡± was actually her husband.


    Her words made Cui Jiu¡¯s face turns a little better. The topic of He Zhen¡¯s non-marriage has come to an end.


    However, after the event, Prince Huaiyang took advantage of his return to his residence for dinner at the beginning of the month and called Steward Gao to inquire.


    After thinking about it for a while, the steward recalled the intersection between The Prince and the He family. It seems that when Cui Xingzhou¡¯s sister Cui Fu was getting married, various shops came to show samples of their shop¡¯s distinctive dowries, including the He family.


    At that time, when the society in the State of Zhen was at its worst, the He family encountered robbers on the way. Fortunately, The Prince led the soldiers and save the He family¡¯s chariots and horses on their way.


    Steward Gao has a good memory. If he remembers correctly, the third daughter of the He family should have been in the carriage and witnessed the Young Prince¡¯s heroism


    Speaking of this, the steward also looked carefully at The Prince, and he was unclear why The Prince suddenly thought of asking such aged things.


    However, to attract such a big customer as The Prince¡¯s Residence, many shops tend to give some gifts to the steward during the Spring Festival so as to let the stewards put on some good words for them thus, the steward naturally knows that the third daughter of the He family is reluctant to get married.


    Now, hearing The Prince suddenly ask, it is inevitable to suspect that the marriage star in the sky is moving, which leads to the red line for Lady He, whose favor is bound out being infatuated.


    Thinking that The Prince just ordered him to send tonics to the outer mansion on the North Street of Lingquan Town. Maybe there is a woman there who is pregnant. If she¡¯s carrying a baby, she won¡¯t be able to serve for the time being.


    The Prince did not idle either. Here he is, finding the next beauty.


    The Ninth Master must have inherited the legacy of the Old Prince¡¯s loose personality, and even excelled at the blue!


    Thinking of this, the steward couldn¡¯t help sighing secretly for Lady Lian in the mansion. It¡¯s not easy to be the head Princess Consort of the residence! He wonders if the Ninth Master can defeat his father by holding a group of concubines in the house of the Royal Residence in the future¡­


    Lian Binglan also got the news.


    She is the future hostess of The Prince¡¯s Residence. There is no need to deliberately give benefits and someone will come to flatter her with information secretly.


    The nourishing list sent to North Street was copied into Lian Binglan¡¯s hand before it was sent out.


    Looking at those tonics that are for the preparation for pregnancy, Lian-Chu panicked. She slammed on the table and say to her daughter, ¡°Your thinking is more considerate than me in other things, but you are still too poor in dealing with men! Think about it, The Prince is in his prime, but he hasn¡¯t gotten married after so long. If you don¡¯t arrange a person to serve beside him, he naturally wants to find it by himself. In the beginning, I wanted to let Lian Xiang serve The Prince, but you just won¡¯t agree. Now, he¡¯s getting obsessed with the seduction of the vixen, which makes him short-sighted. Is¡­ Is he going to let the mistress outside get pregnant before you? ¡±


    Lian Binglan had a rage in her heart. But she force herself to calm down and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that person in North Street going to go out of favor too? The young servant boy next to Steward Gao came to me and said that The Prince seemed to be more interested in the third daughter of the He family¡­¡±


    Lian-Chu was even angrier after hearing this to the extent that she was going to tell her sister immediately about the absurd things her son had done.


    But Lian Binglan stopped her mother, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s the use of talking to the Old Princess Consort? My cousin is not controlled by the Old Princess Consort at all. It will be useless except annoys my cousin¡­¡±


    Lian-Chu knew this, but she shook her head helplessly and thought, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell me, what should we do?¡±


    Lian Binglan tightly pursed her mouth and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to give Lian Xiang to my cousin initially, but my cousin didn¡¯t like it, so I naturally didn¡¯t accept it. Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll help the lady which my cousin is interested in and recruit her into The Prince¡¯s Residence in advance. First of all, this can prevent The Prince from constantly being away for long. Secondly, this concubine can also learn some rules with the Old Princess Consort and avoid mistakes thinking about something she shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    Lian-Chu understood her daughter¡¯s meaning somewhat, but still frowned and said, ¡°What kind of origin is the woman in North Street? How can we let her inside The Prince¡¯s Residence?¡±


    Lian Binglan sneered and said, ¡°The North Street lady is too unbearable, so it¡¯s naturally not good to let her in. Otherwise, my cousin would not settle a house outside for her. But He Zhen, although she was born a merchant, her family is the Imperial merchant for the Royal supply, and she also has some connections with the high-ranking Concubine Xi in The Palace. Although such a young lady is not a high-graded concubine, we shouldn¡¯t neglect her either. Don¡¯t you think this is how it is supposed to be, Mom?¡±


    Lian-Chu thought carefully and suddenly realized that her daughter could distinguish the weight between what is serious and what is not. No matter how much The Prince favors the lady in North Street, it¡¯s just happened that The Prince allows her to have some children so that she will have someone to depend on in the future.


    However, children born outside The Prince¡¯s Residence can¡¯t even get on the genealogy. But Lady He¡¯s family is different. In the end, she is a decent lady with a clean background. In the future, if she really gets favored by The Prince, she will be the biggest enemy of her daughter. Sure enough, she needs to take the initiative to win her over!


    After the mother and daughter discussed this, Lian Binglan was ready to go to the He family porcelain shop in Lingquan Town to see how beautiful the third daughter of the He family was that she can make The Prince enchanted with her and inquire the steward about her in his residence.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t know that his future wife in his residence is being so considerate that she carefully planned for him, and was ready to welcome an innocent lady to serve him as a concubine.


    He rode a fast horse to the boundary of the State of Qing Prefecture these two days and checked the archives files of several local officials.


    It was not prompted by an impulse. A few days ago, he had a long talk with Senior Official Meng, who returned to his hometown. On the contrary, he learned some secrets about the sudden change of the East Palace from the mouth of the senior statesman of three dynasties.


    It is said that after The Queen was persecuted by the highest-ranked Concubine Xi, she was sent to the deserted yard in The Palace. However, The Crown Prince had made preparations long before. Although he was deceived into The Palace by Concubine Xi¡¯s false Imperial edict, he was poured into poisoned wine and died miserably. In spite of being poisoned, the two legitimate sons were rescued by The Crown Prince¡¯s trusted follower, and their whereabouts were unknown from then on.


    Until now, the two children who escaped are both a sore point for Empress Dowager Xi.


    In those days, Concubine Xi¡¯s methods of supporting the current Emperor to his throne were too vicious. After being in power, she supported her party members and harmed the loyal and good officials. Many courtiers are furious but dared not speak, and they all missed the virtuous Crown Prince in their hearts.


    According to his age, Senior Official Meng was at his best time to be proficient in politics, but he refuse to associate himself with undesirable elements. So he only finds an excuse for being sick and returns to his hometown early.


    Cui Xingzhou was a very proud student of his, and they had a close relationship. Now, it seems that this student is indeed promising and does not rely on his father¡¯s shadow. Therefore, Senior Official Meng also placed high hopes on Cui Xingzhou, telling all he know and saying it without reserve.


    They both talked in a secret room for a long time. When they were about to separate, Senior Official Meng said to him earnestly, ¡°I am not good at seeing things clearly, but now the miasma in The Palace is everywhere, and the villains are fooling around, which is by no means a long-term plan for governing the country. I also hope that you can judge the hour and size up the situation, don¡¯t be too pedantic, and preserve real power. Once there is a change in the middle of the court, you need loyal people and good power to turn the tide, and set the sea thousands of miles away¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou arched his hand and said that he had memorized his mentor¡¯s teachings, so he said goodbye.


    He then came to the State of Qing to check the files.


    When investigating, he did find some clues, but a few volumes of official file pages were missing, and he doesn¡¯t know who tear them out.


    When he returned to Lingquan Town, the sky was full of stars. He returned to the house on North Street and thought of calling Servant Li to prepare something for him to eat.


    But Miantang said to him while putting on her clothes, ¡°Servant Li got up in the morning and felt that her head was a little heavy. It seems that she had a cold after eating melon yesterday. The doctor came to check on her just now and she has drunk the medicine and gone to sleep. What do you want to eat, husband? I¡¯ll do it for you.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou felt that it was cold outside at night, and Miantang would catch a cold if she go out like this, so he asked, ¡°Where are the two new servant girls? Let them do it.¡±


    Miantang shook her head helplessly and said, ¡°Fang Xie and Bi Cao looked quick and efficient, but Servant Li was too strict with the newcomers, just the task of pouring water, Servant Li make them practice for the entire afternoon. The poor two little girls had swollen wrists now. Fortunately, Servant Li was ill today, so I let them have a good rest and await Servant Li¡¯s new assigned lessons tomorrow!¡±


    The Cui family is not big, but Servant Li has so many rules that she doesn¡¯t know where she learned from. When pouring water, they should be silent, and no drops of water can be spilled. Besides, they should also pay attention to their waist gestures.


    To be honest, when Miantang got married, the female teacher her father invited to her was not as finicky as Servant Li. Miantang stopped Servant Li from being so particular at first, but Servant Li really couldn¡¯t bear to look at the unruly appearance of the two little servant girls. She just looked straight at them, her face was as black as ink, and she give the expression of ¡°If I don¡¯t say it, my body will be suffocated¡±, and she didn¡¯t have the mood to cook.


    In the end, Miantang dumps the responsibility away and lets her discipline the two young ones in exchange for a harmonious home. Thus, three meals are scheduled with three dishes and one soup.


    Now, Servant Li is sleeping, and the two little servant girls are very pitiful. Her husband dislikes the pickling made by the servant who does tough chores and never eats what she makes. Thus, she can only do it herself.


    Cui Xingzhou knows Miantang¡¯s cooking skills, and only occasionally some individual dishes are up to standard. She is not good at home-cooked kinds of dishes, and her cutting skills are also average. She will require someone to help her. So while half lying on the soft bed, he asked, ¡°What are you going to cook for me?¡±


    Miantang thought of another basket of river shrimp, and said, ¡°How about fried shrimp? I learned from Servant Li. I can cook the fried shrimp to be more crispy, sprinkled with some pepper and salt, and you can eat it with rice.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was also hungry, thinking that it would be ok if she cooked it, so he nodded.


    Seeing her husband nodding, Liu Miantang happily bun up her hair and wrapped it with a handkerchief. She then took Cui Jiu to sit at the table in front of the window, lit the candlelight, polished the ink, and let her husband write while waiting.


    Her husband¡¯s handwriting is particularly good, so she recently begged her husband to write a set of calligraphy for her to copy in her spare time.


    After arranging him, she tied her apron and sat on a small stool under the porch outside the window, with a small copper basin on her leg to cut shrimp whiskers. From time to time, she could see her husband¡¯s side face writing in front of a candle.


    Cui Xingzhou occasionally looked up and looked out along the open window. Across the light blue window panel, he looked at her having to take a rest every few times after cutting the shrimps with scissors.


    Her wrist is not endurance. This type of job was usually done by the servants.


    Seeing Miantang putting down the scissors several times because she didn¡¯t have enough strength, Cui Jiu finally put his brush down, strode out, and also conveniently pulled the bench to sit, took her scissors, and cut the shrimp whiskers neatly.


    Miantang¡¯s favorite thing about her husband is that although he doesn¡¯t say much, she holds dearly to her every move. Looking at his slender fingers, which should have held a writing brush to draw, is now doing women¡¯s chores. It really made her ashamed of her incompetence, making her husband who is so tired after a long day unable to have hot meals to eat immediately after coming home.


    When the shrimp were handled properly, Miantang followed Servant Li¡¯s usual way to beat eggs and mix the batter for the shrimps, and then dipped the shrimp in the batter and fried it in the oil pan.


    Fortunately, she always learns from Servant Li. Although this is the first time doing it, it is also in a presentable shape.


    The fried river shrimp is golden, sprinkled with pepper and salt, and served with a bowl of rice. It was just right.


    Cui Xingzhou ate two bowls of fried shrimp and two dishes of pickled vegetables. Miantang¡¯s determination to become a good wife was greatly satisfied, and she eagerly attentively serve her husband rice and shrimp.


    When Servant Li passed by the inner courtyard at night, she saw a pair of shadows reflected on the porch window, and suddenly felt particularly perfect!


    She shook her head, suspecting that she must be having bad diarrhea and was confused.


    Summer is over now, and the weather is getting cooler. Miantang felt that she was unable to adapt to the winter weather in the south. But it was the cold on the inside that shows the advantage of having a man in the quilt. It¡¯s so warm that she doesn¡¯t have to drink any soup or water to dispel cold.


    Miantang hugged her husband¡¯s arm and doesn¡¯t want to get off the bed.


    However, today is the meeting with the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce that was informed last minute. Yesterday, the He family specifically sent a letter. Everyone has to come to the meeting tomorrow, and she can¡¯t delay it.


    Miantang gritted her teeth and was finally about to get up.


    Cui Xingzhou hurried to write several letters to Mo Ru to send out while Miantang fell asleep last night. So he went to bed very late. At this time, he closed his eyes and grabbed Miantang¡¯s wrist, ¡°Why do you get up so early, lie down with me for a while¡­¡±


    Miantang doesn¡¯t want to separate from her husband too early too. Unfortunately, she has business to do and she needs to make money to support her family! It was only after she gently coaxed her husband to let go that she was able to get up, wash herself up, and get changed.


    Servant Li felt better today, so she assigned the task scope to all the worker¡¯s eariler. The task of serving the couple in the inner room was entrusted to the young servant girl Fang Xie, while the task of the kitchen was entrusted to Bi Cao who was good at cooking.


    She is still feeling a little weak and has to stay in bed for a few days.


    Because Servant Li is too ill to get up. The two young servant girls didn¡¯t have to continue with their training, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.


    They all have signed the contract to sell themself, which naturally made them uneasy about the nature of their masters.


    Fortunately, the two owners of this family are generous except that the senior servant is difficult to deal with. Needless to say, their master is so handsome beyond description. They can¡¯t bear to blink at it. Every move is free and admirable. At first glance, they can tell that he¡¯s a noble young master who has been educated. But, he doesn¡¯t speak much and never looks at these young servant girls.


    Also, The Lady is a stunning beauty. At first, she doesn¡¯t look like a person easy to get along with. But after getting to know each other, they find that she is kind and loves to smile, so much better than Servant Li.


    The Master and his wife are nice, and the family is rich. They all have meat and seafood dishes in their meals. The two young servant girls are glad that they have been sold into a good family. Naturally, they are diligent.


    Miantang took the warm tonic from the young servant girl Fang Xie and drank it all. These tonics have a faint fragrance. They taste sweet and are not difficult to swallow. It¡¯s just that no matter how delicious it is, she¡¯ll inevitably get bored having to eat it every day.


    But her husband said that she must drink regularly to dispel the cold. Otherwise, if she wants a child in the future, she will have some trouble.


    When Miantang heard this, she had to swallow it no matter how bitter it was for the descendants of the Cui family! Thus, she had it every day and make sure that it is carefully nourished.


    Even those medicinal materials look very valuable. She doesn¡¯t know how many chess games her husband has won recently. The money is spent like water, but he didn¡¯t miss the payout of family expenses. He looks very well-off.


    Thinking of this, she picked up the newly added jewelry on the dressing table, turned to her husband behind the bead curtain, and said, ¡°Husband, my jewelry is enough, you don¡¯t need to add on for me anymore.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing to have much of those things. Just wear them differently.¡±


    Cui Jiu also got up at this time. His loose innerwear could not cover his broad chest muscles and waistline. At a glance, she knew that he was an expert in daily martial arts practice.


    As soon as Fang Xie combed her hair for The Lady, she blushed and wanted to go over and help to change the clothes for the Master. But Liu Miantang came to her husband first.


    Miantang doesn¡¯t like to hand over private tasks such as changing clothes to others. She can serve her own man herself.


    After cleaning up, Cui Jiu is going to practice boxing in the yard to relax his muscles and bones. Miantang watched her husband practice boxing while drinking lean pork porridge.


    She loved practicing martial arts since childhood. Naturally, she can tell that her husband practiced different sets of martial skills every day. But because the venue was limited, he only practiced martial arts such as arrest techniques.


    After she earns money, it¡¯s time to change to a bigger yard. At that time, she will build a martial arts training ground for her husband, so that he can put his strength to good use.


    Miantang thought so and went out to the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce.


    After entering the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce, Miantang exchanged greetings with the shopkeepers who has arrived. Only then did she know the reason for this special meeting today. It turned out that the future Princess Consort of Prince Huaiyang, Lady Lian Binglan, wanted to choose her wedding ritual vessels, porcelain bowls and other objects by herself.


    This is a big order. To avoid an internal fight between peers and uneven distribution, the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce naturally has to hold a meeting to discuss it. Everyone makes money together in a friendly and harmonious way.


    Liu Miantang has not seen the third daughter of the He family for a long time since the last tea party.


    When they meet again this time, He Zhen has adjusted her mood. Even if the fiancee of the person she admires comes personally to choose porcelain, her face did not change, and is calm.


    Miantang naturally wouldn¡¯t pick that topic to see Lady He makes fools of herself and pretend that nothing had happened, and she managed to greet and socialize with Lady He.


    The final result of the negotiation was that each family took out two or three pieces of porcelain and let the Lian family choose. This kind of order is usually in large quantity. If it¡¯s urgent, no one can take the order by themselves, and they have to be helped by others.


    Lingquan Town has been able to do well and survive, which is also related to the unwritten rules of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce. There is no reason for one family to survive and others to starve to death.


    Miantang carefully wrote down what the Second Master He said, and had planned the objects to be displayed in her heart.


    The next step is to sweep the stores and wait for the Lian family to come.


    Miantang didn¡¯t expect much from this order. After all, her family business accounted a lot for The Emperor¡¯s offerings previously. If she take in a huge part of the order again this time, she would seem a little greedy.


    So in the end, the samples she ordered her shop worker to bring were just exquisite tea sets, which were not the treasures of her town store. The Second Master He also found that Lady Cui didn¡¯t mean to steal the spotlight of the He family this time. He couldn¡¯t help but felt relief and finally show some smiles at Liu Miantang.


    Because the Jade Porcelain Workshop deliberately hides her inadequacy by keeping quiet, the He family naturally shines in the spotlight here. People from the Lian family even choose several designs from the He family porcelain shop. Of course, there are others, but they are all small orders.


    Because Liu Miantang know how to behave in a delicate situation, although the Jade Porcelain Workshop did not make a big profit this time, it also shared the orders and maintained the harmony of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce.


    Miantang felt very satisfied, but she would like to inquire about some of the trivia matters on the order list with the third daughter of the He family.


    However, Lady He¡¯s social intercourse had suddenly increased. Several times Miantang sent a worker to ask, and she got the news that the third daughter of the He family had been invited by the Lian family to attend a tea party in the Capital of the State of Zhen.


    In this way, there is no way to ask about it. The Second Master He has more affairs. She can¡¯t find anyone except sometimes seeing him in the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce.


    Later, she finally inadvertently bumps into He Zhen¡¯s carriage thus, she let Servant Li pass the message.


    He Zhen put her head out of the carriage and invited Liu Miantang to get on the carriage. Sitting on the carriage, she was just talking.


    Compared with the uncomfortable look on Lady He¡¯s face a few days ago, she is full of spring breeze this time. She should have made many friends in the upper-class tea group in the State of Zhen.


    Miantang asked briefly, and He Zhen couldn¡¯t help but say with a little intention of showing off, ¡°Lady Lian is really approachable. The last time she came to our He family porcelain shop to shop in person, she was like old friends with me at first sight, and there were many endless topics, so as soon as there was a tea party in the State of Zhen, she invited me to go. It happens that the tea party today will be in The Prince¡¯s Residence!¡±


    Liu Miantang knew the allusion to He Zhen¡¯s love for Prince Huaiyang. But why is this woman feeling happy when she is friends with the fiancee of the man she was secretly in love with? Miantang felt that she must have little talent and less learning, so she couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    At that moment, Miantang just looked at He Zhen silently, wondering if she was forcing a smile.


    But He Zhen now is filled with happiness to talk about. Anyway, Lady Liu is also an insider. The so-called lice are not afraid of itching, so she can also spit out her worries and have a good talk with her mouth.


    ¡°Lady Cui, to be honest, Lady Lian and I both fell in love at first sight. She said that The Prince was busy with official business and there was always a shortage of people being able to serve around him. How could those high-ranking families and men have no concubines? But Lady Lian couldn¡¯t find anyone with the right appearance, so she asked me if I wanted to enter The Prince Residence in the future and keep company with her in the future¡­¡±


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment. In her heart, she just wanted to say that Lady Lian and Lady He are strange women! It¡¯s a pity if they can¡¯t become sworn sisters!

 CH 35

    However, Liu Miantang has always been straightforward. If it is not necessary, she can¡¯t say anything false and against her heart.


    At this time, Lady He was speaking to her privately. If she spoke against her heart, it would be bad if she delayed her future.


    After thinking for a while, she said directly, ¡°I don¡¯t know what Lady Lian is thinking, but you have become intimate with her at the first meeting, and both of your relationships are as close to serving one husband together¡­ Forgive me for being ignorant, I don¡¯t understand the meaning in it.¡±


    He Zhen followed her father out since young, and her experience was no less. But once people have greed in their hearts, it is inevitably hard to see the forest through the sleaze.


    She fell in love with Prince Huaiyang at first sight, and since then, she has only loved him. Originally, because of the barrier of identity, she thought she had no chance in her life. But God seems to pity her, and unexpectedly opened a window for her.


    This is enough to make people ecstatic. How will she care whether the abyss in the window a vast?


    She had intended to show off to Lady Liu that her original obsession was not a mirage. However, after hearing Miantang poured a basin of cold water over, she can¡¯t help but feel a little disappointed, and said, ¡°People like Lady Lian and other aristocratic family ladies¡¯ field of insights and knowledge are not like the women in the streets. They were born to be the main lady of the house. How can they only care about immersing in love? Maintaining the harmony of the Royal Residence and letting The Prince be able to devote himself to state affairs are most important¡­¡±


    Miantang also felt that she was talking too much thus, she just laughed and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Vulgar women like me are not expected to be the main lady of the house. Fortunately, my husband is a normal citizen. I don¡¯t have to look for sisters or bosom and crack my head into squeezing them beside my husband for him to focus on world affairs¡­ Here is the list I sorted out in the past two days. The deficiencies you mentioned to me last time have been improved. If there is still something that needs to be changed, you can send a message to my shop¡¯s cabinet.¡±


    Without further ado, she said that it was not good to delay the third daughter of the He¡¯s family time any longer, and left the carriage without hesitation.


    After she left Lady He¡¯s carriage. For a moment, Lady He was angry and anxious, but she couldn¡¯t help feeling that Liu Miantang¡¯s words were reasonable¡­ It was difficult to decide for a time, and she didn¡¯t bother to continue to be annoyed at Lady Cui but went right into her thoughts.


    On the other hand Liu Miantang, after a busy day, at night, everything in the North Street house is still the same.


    Servant Li bought delicious venison from the hunter, sliced it thinly, and smoked the venison rolls with fruitwood. The soup broth is boiled with beef bones and deer tendon and it was boiled into milky white color and is very delicious after being sprinkled with scallions.


    Because of the soup, Servant Li baked eight-inch pancakes today, crisping them layer by layer, just to eat with fresh soup.


    When eating, the two young servant girls stood by The Master¡¯s table with books on their heads and served.


    This is a new way that Servant Li came out with for disliking them for not standing straight.


    Miantang looked at the unstable appearance of the two servant girls, which was very pathetic, so she asked them to withdraw their books and eat at the small table next to them first, and place them back again after eating.


    The two servant girls carefully looked at Servant Li¡¯s face. Servant Li looked at The Prince¡¯s face.


    Finally, it was Cui Jiu who said, ¡°This is not the courtyard deep in The Palace, Just learn the rules like they are.¡±


    After this sentence, Servant Li finally loosened her face, and the two young servant girls went to dinner with a relieved faces.


    During the meal, Miantang remembered that in the daytime, He Zhen talked about the anecdote in the carriage in which two sisters were to serve a husband together, so she gossip it with her husband.


    Cui Xingzhou was initially puttered along with her story, but the more he heard it, the more dignified his face became, and it looked vaguely black, which had the potential of Servant Li¡¯s true biography.


    Miantang was concentrating on eating the venison with side dishes thus, she didn¡¯t pay attention to her husband¡¯s face at all. She just continues to say, ¡°I was happy spitting words at that time, but I regretted it when I came back. If the third daughter of the He family really entered The Prince Residence, the He family would be the real Royal relative of the State of Zhen. I was on the bad side with the He family before, but I didn¡¯t think that their family would soar so fast in rank. Do you think I should mend the relationship with the He family again, husband?¡±


    ¡°Ridiculous! How can Lady Lian act like this? Is it that the third daughter of the He family has hysteria and is full of wishful thinking?¡± Cui Jiu put down his chopsticks and said unhappily.


    Liu Miantang took a large piece of venison for her husband and said, ¡°Hysteria? That¡¯s not true. I think Lady He Zhen is normal. But I wonder what those noble ladies are thinking? Even if they want to stabilize their position as the main lady of the house, isn¡¯t they being too eager?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s thick eyebrows were about to tie. After a little thought, he also understood his cousin¡¯s mind. It must be the last time he went back and inquired about He Zhen. Somehow, it spread to his cousin¡¯s ears, and she misunderstood his meaning and eagerly wanted to take a concubine for him¡­


    Liu Miantang still said, ¡°But The Prince is also kind of pitiful too. People say that he and his cousin were childhood friends. I thought they were attached since young and have a deep affection for each other. It turned out to be just a balanced marriage.¡±


    Cui Jiu dragged a long tone and said, ¡°You¡¯re not from The Prince¡¯s Residence. How do you know?¡±


    Liu Miantang said while drinking soup, ¡°She has yet to get married into The Prince Residence, and here she is rushing to find her husband¡¯s a concubine. What¡¯s the difference between such behavior and those flattering officials under high-ranking officials? I can¡¯t see the true feelings in it. I am just wondering that with The Prince being flattered like this every day, doesn¡¯t his ass hurt?¡±


    Before she finished speaking, Cui Jiu banged and smashed the bowl in his hand.


    Miantang was stunned and looked up at her husband¡¯s livid face, being a little confused. It was just a private and casual chat just now between the husband and wife. Why was he suddenly angry?


    Cui Xingzhou was exasperated and broke the bowl in his hand. His face was fairly normal, but his tone was very blunt, ¡°The sound of you drinking soup is too loud, I think you should learn some rules from Servant Li!¡±


    With that, he got up straight, lifted his clothes, and strode out.


    Mo Ru couldn¡¯t care if he were to choke on the pancake again, he quickly ran after The Prince all the way.


    Only leaving Miantang alone holding a bowl being speechless, a pair of eyes staring dazedly, and she turned to look at Servant Li.


    It¡¯s a sin! Servant Li, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, has now a good ability to cope with situations like this. She only sighed and said to Liu Miantang, ¡°Madam, your sound just now when you were drinking soup¡­ was indeed a little loud¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Prince Huaiyang was fed up with being scolded by an ignorant young woman in front of him. He only wore a cold face and rode across the river back to the Royal Residence in the State of Zhen.


    It was not the beginning of the month this time, but The Prince suddenly rushed back in the middle of the night, and a bunch of people in the house were unprepared. Servant girls and nannies were going in and out of the yard, preparing water for The Prince, helping him to change his clothes, making his beds, and lit up the incense.


    But The Prince waved a bunch of people away, only leaving Senior Steward Gao here.


    Steward Gao has been working in The Prince Residence for a long time. Seeing that The Prince¡¯s expression was not right tonight, he was also very nervous for a time. Thus, he diligently listened to The Prince¡¯s slowly questioning him with his hands on his side.


    As a result, what The Prince asked was some daily affairs in The Residence. For example, did Lady Lian hold a tea party recently, who are the visitors, and so on¡­


    Steward Gao answered the questions one by one, thinking that The Prince seemed to be paying attention to the third daughter of the He family, and he especially emphasized that Lady Lian and Lady He had a good talk.


    Unexpectedly, The Prince¡¯s face became more and more expressionless. Finally, he taps on the desk while giving a head-on to Steward Gao, ¡°Ever since my father, you have been the steward of this residence. Do you know why?¡±


    Steward Gao looked respectfully waiting for The Prince to make it clear. Prince Huaiyang then said, ¡°This is because my father and I both value you for this point, knowing the proper limits and the weight of importance, and never spread anything without the instructions of The Masters. What¡¯s more is that you are clear on who is in charge of the Royal Residence, and you never did be associated with people with power.¡±


    Steward Gao is scared and sweating cold after hearing this. He knew that The Prince was talking about the Old Prince. Many people in The Residence bullied the current Old Princess Consort and The Prince. Thanks to his father¡¯s warning at that time, he didn¡¯t follow suit. So later, when The Prince was in charge, a group of slaves was purged away from the residence, but he got a high promotion and became the steward of the residence.


    Cui Xingzhou saw his expression and understood that he understood his meaning. He then said faintly, ¡°Go and check when you head down. When I talked with you the last time, who was there and said something that shouldn¡¯t be said.¡±


    Steward Gao step away after being ordered by The Prince, and his mind turned quickly. Thinking about these two conversations previously, his heart was immediately clear.


    People who can have a foothold in the residence, who isn¡¯t worldly-wise people? After pondering carefully, the backbone of Steward Gao began to sweat again.


    Why would others speculate on The Prince¡¯s words? Moreover, why would Lady Lian suddenly make friends with a merchant woman who is not related in any way? Did this¡­ Flow out from him, which made The Prince unhappy?


    Having figured this out, Steward Gao couldn¡¯t sleep this night, and immediately interrogate the young servant boys that were there individually. These people have always kept a lookout at each other and step on top of each other normally. Therefore, in less than two hours, he had gotten the result.


    At the order of Steward Gao, only the slaves who spread rumors in the inner court were tied up.


    This night, the sound of flogging in the outer courtyard far away from the inner courtyard continued. For fear of disturbing The Masters, those lackeys who leak information and love to talk were gagged with rags. After a beating, they were all dismissed.


    The next morning, when Cui Xingzhou came to greet her mother, only then did the Old Princess Consort Chu get to know from the mouth of her nanny that there was a disturbance last night.


    ¡°How can you make the yard full of mess, Steward Gao? Even if the servants did something wrong, you don¡¯t have to interrogate them at night. People who are not clear of the situation might think that our residence was the Yamen of cruel officials!¡± While serving vegetables for her son, the Old Princess Consort Chu scolded Steward Gao standing aside.


    Steward Gao didn¡¯t sleep all night and was called to the front by the Old Princess Consort early in the morning. His heart was also bitter, but he had to smile on his face, thinking about how to reply, but Prince Huaiyang said, ¡°Although this is not the Yamen, some people can spy on your son¡¯s situation unknowingly. If it was matters of some daily hobbies and meals, I still can turn a blind eye. But in case someone with ulterior motives comes to spy on the military situation through the people around your son, it¡¯s going to be a big deal. So it¡¯s better to bound the servant boys to be strict and know the rules.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s face hasn¡¯t laughed since yesterday. It¡¯s not until he sees his mother that he relaxes a little. When he said this, he kept his eyes on the dishes in the bowl without looking elsewhere.


    But Lian Binglan, his cousin sitting at the table, couldn¡¯t help looking up at him.


    However, she was calm. After a quick look, she just lowered her head to continue eating and didn¡¯t talk, but her face seemed white again.


    The Old Princess Consort didn¡¯t know about the reason inside. After listening to everything her son said, she didn¡¯t bother to reprimand Steward Gao anymore and only talk about the fun of visiting the garden a few days ago.


    Cui Xingzhou also listened with a smile. After having finished breakfast with his mother, he went out of the dining room with his cousin Lian Binglan.


    This cousin of his is a clever one. Although someone saw the servant girl beside her listening to the sound at the foot of the wall of the outer courtyard yesterday when he was punishing the servants with the flogging, she didn¡¯t ask a word today, as if she was not curious.


    Cui Xingzhou originally wanted to warn his cousin. As his future Princess Consort, her mind should be on the right path. She hasn¡¯t passed the door yet, but she wants to draw people into The Residence, earning a favor from the concubine. What is this behavior like?


    Unexpectedly, he didn¡¯t say, but his cousin said first, ¡°These days, I¡¯m upset and in a hurry to get our wedding porcelain for decoration, so I followed my family to Lingquan Town¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou gave a dry ¡°hum¡±, and then she continue to speak, ¡°I don¡¯t have other meaning, but I met some ladies and felt like old friends at first sight, so I invited them to visit The Residence¡­ I wonder if I had disturbed the Old Princess Consort.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked back at her and said, ¡°My mother loves liveliness. It¡¯s good for you to hold more banquets, but after all, you are the daughter of an official. You should make friends with more young ladies with the same interests. You don¡¯t have to be too friendly and make some irrelevant ones.¡±


    Lian Binglan understood her cousin¡¯s warning and became more convinced that Cui Xingzhou had a secret relationship with Lady He. Otherwise, how could this word spread so fast that it suddenly came to her cousin¡¯s ears?


    ¡°Cousin, my mother has always taught me to respect my husband. The thought of you being alone outside with no one to look after bothers me. But it¡¯s hard for me to follow you to the military camp. So I just hope to have a good lady who can serve you when you are outside and I lost my sense of propriety for a moment. Please forgive me, cousin.¡±


    With these words, Lian Binglan¡¯s eyes were moist but they just wouldn¡¯t fall off. She was only weak and helpless, like the Old Princess Consort Chu when she was young.


    If it had been before, Cui Xingzhou would not have pointed it out to his cousin about these things. At that time, he would be thinking about his cousin¡¯s good intentions with a heart of gratitude.


    However, he was ridiculed by the young woman in North Street yesterday, asking whether his buttocks were hurt, so now when he listens to his cousin¡¯s ¡°intimate¡± words, he can only hear the sound of ¡°Pak Pak¡±.


    If his cousin really loves him, how can she take a concubine for himself so wholeheartedly? For a time, he wasn¡¯t moved by her, he just felt extremely boring and didn¡¯t want to say a word.


    He had never considered himself a sage and virtue.


    Now that he has made up his mind to set up an outside mistress to settle Lady Liu down, it is unreasonable to criticize her cousin and scold her for taking concubines for himself. Now that Steward Gao has taken care of the matters and dismissed those servants with a big mouth, it¡¯s good enough to put an end to people secretly spying on him in the future.


    His cousin is also a smart person. After today¡¯s warning, she should think it over and rest her mind.


    Thinking of this, he replied faintly, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. There¡¯s nothing for me to forgive about. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡±


    The two people were separated by a few steps, and after a period of silence, they said goodbye to each other.


    Lian Binglan looked at the back of Prince Huaiyang, and suddenly felt a burst of sadness in her heart. She had done it with all her heart, but she didn¡¯t know where she had offended He Zhen. She even ordered her cousin to hit her in the face like this!


    So when Lian Xiang held the third daughter of the He family¡¯s invitation post and carefully ask Lian Binglan, Lian Binglan grabbed the post, tore it to pieces, and said coldly, ¡°Say that I¡¯m sick and I won¡¯t be going!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Cui Xingzhou went home, stopped his cousin from gathering concubines for himself expanding his courtyard, and then took a turn around his Military camp.


    The Imperial court¡¯s military ban order has been issued. All localities should present their troops¡¯ weapons to the Imperial court. Except for the necessary defense troops, the rest of the soldiers should be demobilized and returned to the fields, and no illegal troop stationing is allowed.


    The reduction of troops in the State of Zhen is also imminent. As long as the anti-bandit of the Mountain of Yang starts their offer of amnesty and enlistment to rebels, the elite soldiers he has carefully cultivated for many years will be dismissed.


    However, Cui Xingzhou now has a bottom line in his heart and only lets the civil servants follow the prescribed order and report his authorized weapons, which is a scene of great cooperation with the Imperial court.


    After handling the routine of some official business in the Military Camp, Cui Xingzhou thought of going back to North Street for a lunch break.


    But as soon as he went back to the North Street Mansion, Cui Xingzhou felt that the atmosphere was wrong.


    The house yard is still that house yard. Dried peppers were spread on the courtyard wall, and under the grape vines are gourd shreds ready to dry in the shade, which is permeated with the flavor of everlasting and unchanging life. But only Lady Liu, who always warmly welcomes him each time was missing.


    Cui Xingzhou looked up at Servant Li and was about to ask if Liu Miantang is not home. It happens that the maid Bi Cao has just come out of the house. When she saw Cui Xingzhou, she immediately shouted inside the house, ¡°Madam, The Master is back!¡±


    But after this sound, there¡¯s still no one coming out to welcome him.


    Cui Xingzhou only walked into the house and found Miantang practicing calligraphy by the porch window.


    Maybe she was feeling tired and lazy when she got up. She didn¡¯t use head oil to sip her hair, her hair was fluffy, and the long hair at the back of her head was tied in a bow with a green scarf. Because she was in the house, she only wore a short-sleeved narrow waistcoat, with a wide skirt that is suitable to wear at home under it, an outer coat on her shoulder, her slender arm extending out, holding a brush and writing slowly. She was permeated with the flavor of the tired and lazy dressing.


    But she looks too good to have the sloppy feel. Instead, she looks so casual that it has a unique taste to it.


    Cui Xingzhou enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the beauty who sit at the side for a while and walked over.


    Miantang is tracing big characters with thin tracing paper. The calligraphy used was not the ¡°Li Quan Ming¡± written by Cui Xingzhou a few days ago, but a popular post bought in a calligraphy and painting shop.


    Cui Xingzhou looked down for a while, and thought that although the font was a little trembling, after seeing the appearance, he said, ¡°It¡¯s well written, you have made some progress¡­¡±


    If on usual days, when he complimented her, Lady Liu would surely lift her head gently, raise her eyebrows high, with a surprised look, and said, ¡°Do you mean it, husband?¡±


    But today, Liu Miantang is like a beauty carved in frost. She didn¡¯t even look at Cui Xingzhou.


    Cui Xingzhou naturally noticed the abnormality and stood slightly for a while. Seeing that she ignored him, he frowned and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why are you not talking?¡±


    He always speaks and acts according to his will. In the past, when he was angry with people in The Residence, there were always people who wait for his anger to dissipate and immediately come to flatter him. Who dares to show face to The Prince?


    After Cui Xingzhou went out for a day, he forgot all about his actions of throwing bowls in the courtyard of North Street.


    But Miantang, after her husband threw his bowls, complained about her loudly drinking soup, and didn¡¯t return all night. It simply means that he doesn¡¯t want to live with her anymore and is about to give her a letter of divorce!


    So after Cui Xingzhou left, she closed the door and cried silently for a while. She thought about her husband taking out his anger on the matter of past events. In the end, he refused to forgive her previous dealings with the Young Master Ziyu.


    If it¡¯s anything else, it¡¯s easy to ask her husband for forgiveness. But these matters where men can¡¯t even solve the heart knot by themselves, she is unable to do anything about it. It¡¯s better to face it calmly, so as not to have a rough relationship when they are getting along in the future.


    So when her husband Cui Jiu dissipated his anger and came back as if nothing had happened, she didn¡¯t want to see him throw bowls and scold her again in the future. Therefore, she just ignored him and did her own thing.


    But Prince Huaiyang couldn¡¯t stand this. He stood quietly behind Miantang for a while, and then his face sank and brushed his sleeve out.


    At this time, Servant Li was waiting at the door. Seeing that The Prince came out unhappily, she hurriedly straightened her face and waited for The Prince¡¯s orders.


    ¡°What happened to her?¡± Cui Xingzhou asked unhappily with thick eyebrows.


    Servant Li could understand The Prince¡¯s forgetfulness, so she said cautiously, ¡°Ever since you left, Lady Liu may have been frightened by your anger, crying for a while, and she has not been very talkative.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou paused for a moment, which reminded him of the situation when he was out of the yard. To be honest, when he recalled it now, by reprimanding Miantang for her poor eating appearance in front of the servants, which woman can tolerate losing face like that?


    After all, she is also the hostess on the surface of the North Street Mansion. For a moment, he can forgive her for being thin-skinned and being at odds with him. Servant Li said that she was crying. He indeed saw that her eyes were a little red earlier on¡­


    Cui Xingzhou frowned. He originally wanted to turn around back to the Military Camp, but he walked to the gate of the mansion, paused, and walked back to the house again.


    It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t want to coax the woman. In fact, Cui Xingzhou hasn¡¯t coaxed any woman except his mother since he was this big.


    But he didn¡¯t like that she was not talking to him. And¡­ At present, the matter of the Mountain of Yang is not over, and he still needs to use her. After finding a good reason, Cui Jiu¡¯s turning step is naturally lighter.


    But how to persuade Miantang is also a very tricky matter. He lifted the curtain again and came to the inner house. After thinking about it, he stretched out his hand to hold Miantang¡¯s slender wrist, pulled her into his arms, and whispered, ¡°Have you cried?¡±


    Miantang didn¡¯t speak, but pursed her pink lips, like petals after the rain, which were seductively red¡­


    Cui Xingzhou looked down and said, ¡°I was in a bad mood at that time. It wasn¡¯t your fault. Did I scare you?¡±


    Miantang looked up at him at this time and said, ¡°You have always been gentle and polite, and never spoke loudly to me. Yesterday, I¡­ I think you were angry with me. But I don¡¯t know what did I do wrong and how to change it. You didn¡¯t come home all night, and I didn¡¯t sleep all night. I¡¯m always worried about whether you have a warm place to sleep outside, so¡­¡±


    Miantang said this, paused, and then thoughtfully said, ¡°Next time if you don¡¯t like me, I¡¯ll go out instead and you stay at home. It also saves me from worrying about your well-being and lack of care¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou thought what she said was funny. Where is she going, a lonely and helpless foreign woman? Stay in an inn?

 CH 36

    But he didn¡¯t expect Liu Miantang to be serious, ¡°I have still got some money left in my dowry, so I think about buying a small yard these days, a simple house and a narrow room, which can accommodate me¡­ If you feel that you cannot tolerate me, I¡¯ll live there¡­ It also prevents you from throwing bowls. Although our family sells porcelain, if you continue to smash it like this, the inventory in the shop is not enough for business¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou felt uncomfortable after hearing this.


    This woman¡¯s judgment is too broad! He simply just smashed a bowl, and here she is wanting to buy a small yard and run away. Who can have a long-term relationship with such a temperament?


    But thinking that she had been kidnapped to the mountain and had no experience of being a decent wife, he had to teach her thus, he had a little more patience. So Cui Jiu frowned and said, ¡°How can couples in the world not quarrel? Look at the courtyard on North Street. Whose house has been quiet all the time? If they all learn from you, wanting to buy a courtyard when they have a little more money. The houses in Lingquan Town are not enough for sale, and the land taxes will be more expensive.¡±


    He had never been exposed to earthly joys and sorrows before, and he doesn¡¯t know how married couples should get along with each other. However, after living on North Street for a while, he experienced the chaos of other¡¯s courtyards one after another. Those common couples are too vulgar to be endured. Compared with those men, he is much better.


    He just threw a bowl. What¡¯s the big deal!


    Miantang felt reasonable after hearing this, but she previously thought that there would be no such worldly quarrels in her house. Unexpectedly, she couldn¡¯t escape it too. Thinking of this, her eyes turned red again, and said, ¡°Other families quarrel, women are righteous, and naturally quarrel happily. But I¡¯m always three points short in front of you, so how can I quarrel happily?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Nonsense! Then can you have a good time if you buy a house and move out?¡±


    Miantang thought carefully and said, ¡°It¡¯s not about quarreling happily, but if you can take a step back, no one has to put up with¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked at her with clear big eyes, seriously arguing with him. He wanted to throw a bowl again, so he said angrily, ¡°If you stop talking bad about the local officials with He Zhen and others in the future, I naturally won¡¯t throw a bowl and quarrel with you. It also saves you the trouble to your use your dowry to buy a yard!¡±


    Miantang thought about why he was angry that night, but she never thought that the reason was her bad comments on Prince Huaiyang. For a moment, she stared at Cui Jiu in bewilderment.


    When Cui Xingzhou said this, he had to fudge up and continue to talk grandly, ¡°Prince Huaiyang has always valued the voice of its people, and informers are planted everywhere. You talked so loudly about the high-ranking officials that day, wouldn¡¯t they be uncomfortable if it spread to the ears of the officials?¡±


    When Miantang heard this, she suddenly realized, and finally knew why her always gentle husband was so angry that day.


    Her father and brother were implicated in the bribery case of his clique. In addition to their greed, they were also betrayed by the people around them. It is said that her husband had spent a lot of money busy running about mediating for her family. He was almost implicated and could no longer intervene.


    There¡¯s a saying that goes Once bitten, twice shy. Her husband was once in a state of anxiety for her and begged and communicated with those salty figures in the officialdom. However, she was so rude that she sat in her yard and talked nonsense about the King of the State of Zhen. She indeed deserved a scolding!


    Knowing her mistake, Miantang immediately kept her aura and reviewed her neglect of not welcoming her husband at the gate earlier on.


    She bit her lips and didn¡¯t care to pretend to write anymore. She hurried to the back of the panel, catch the water and adjust it to the correct temperature, threw in a veil, clean her husband¡¯s face, and changed his clothes.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t expect that Lady Liu was so easy to coax. He only uses official authority to scare her, and she stopped being at odds with him at once.


    At that moment, he calmly took over the veil, wiped it, and let her untie his belt, helping him to change his clothes. After removing his shoes and socks, he put on comfortable sandals, and his heart was also relieved.


    He was busy in the Military Camp. If every time he comes to North street in need to coax people, he really couldn¡¯t stand it. In the beginning, he had the thought of keeping this woman by his side due to his rare Bodhisattva¡¯s heart as he was afraid that she would fall into the hands of the bandits in the Mountain of Yang again. So the thought was to protect her completely.


    He just hopes that this young woman who has always been so sensible, and when she knows the truth in the future, will also remember his saving grace and caring¡­


    But Miantang has also understood now that married couples are like lips and teeth, where is there a time they don¡¯t collide with each other? As long as her husband doesn¡¯t throw bowls and scold her because he dislikes her, they can communicate properly to solve matters about other things.


    However, her husband was obviously in a bad mood. He glanced at the table and asked why she didn¡¯t copy the post he wrote for her.


    Miantang naturally can¡¯t say that it was because she was angry with him earlier on and she was afraid that using the post written by her husband will shorten her aura.


    So she sat next to Cui Jiu, pretending to measure his shoulder width, and said, ¡°It¡¯s not easy for you to write a post in your spare time. How precious it is! I¡¯m not willing to use it. I think about using the ones bought by Bi Cao from the shop for practice. When my handwriting has formed a decent shape, I can copy the post from your perfect calligraphy.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou thought that Lady Liu was really interesting. She scolds others for flattering him too hard, but her flattery is more obsequious and explicit.


    He listened absently but felt that her hand moving around his shoulder was a little distracting, so he stretched out his hand and grabbed her boneless slender hand, pulled her into his arms, massage her wrist, and asked, ¡°After writing for so long, does it hurt?¡±


    Miantang was close to him. Looking at his inky eyebrows and eyes, she blushed, and her heart raced. She just snuggled up in his arms and said, ¡°It¡¯s aching and limping a little¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked at her shy big eyes and red cheeks and suddenly got a little upset, worrying about when will the Mountian of Yang matters come to an end. At that time, he can speak frankly and sincerely to her and openly ask the young lady to be with him, and then they can do more things¡­


    Cui Xingzhou thought in his heart. At first, he was a little indescribable and was a little distracted for a moment. But Miantang was still worried about another thing. She just sniffed and asked, ¡°Husband, is the sound of me drinking soup really loud?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou rubbed her wrist to relieve her pain and also returned some courtesy demands reciprocity of flattering back to her, ¡°You have an elegant eating appearance¡±.


    For a time, the dispute over the house in North Street was finally settled, which turned into a soft and sweet atmosphere for both lovey-dovey couples.


    On the other hand, Servant Li was outside the house, holding her breath, waiting for the fight on the inside.


    She didn¡¯t expect that The Prince was so angry that he wanted to leave the foolish lady and return to his camp at first, and then somehow he didn¡¯t go off but angrily rushed into the inner room. After a few words of conversation, they became quiet.


    When the two of them came out again, it was almost time for dinner.


    The Prince¡­ Took Lady Liu¡¯s hand and left the house. Lady Liu looked at The Prince affectionately, and it didn¡¯t seem like she was angry.


    She has no idea how The Prince coaxed her well. Looking at the scene, it really has the meaning of ¡°Quarrel at the head of the bed and reconciled at the end of the bed¡±


    Servant Li shook her head and waved the shovel in her hand. She felt that she had thought too much. Lady Liu and The Prince¡­ That was not a good fate. Well, she would add an extra volume of Buddhist scriptures to her desk tomorrow. While she¡¯s accumulating merits for herself, she would also pray for Lady Liu!


    On the contrary, the third daughter of the He family was very busy with social intercourse some time ago, and no trace of her can be found. But recently, she has been free, she doesn¡¯t go to the State of Zhen for tea anymore.


    She probably drank too much high-graded tea in the upper-class circle, and suddenly when the supply was cut off, It makes her feel uncomfortable with the radical change. As a result, He Zhen fell ill.


    When Miantang got the letter, she delayed for a while. The He family has a lot of contacts and Lady He is in charge of the family on behalf of the Second Master He. There should have a lot of people who will go to visit. Thus, she won¡¯t take part in it first.


    However, as the number one merchant of Lingquan Town, Miantang had to go to the He family to show courtesy and engage in social activities.


    So she chose a sunny day in early autumn, wrapped two bags of fruit, and asked Servant Li to choose a weighed ginseng from the large box of tonics bought by her husband, and put it in a brocade box. She then tidied up and went for a visit.


    He Zhen¡¯s illness lingered for more than ten days. When Miantang came into the inner room to see her, she was shocked. My gosh, she unexpectedly lost weight by a lot, and the jade bracelet on her wrist is so loose that it can¡¯t hang.


    Seeing that Miantang came, Lady He greeted her kindly. After chatting about the topics of staying healthy and nourishing, they were a little speechless.


    Miantang felt that the room was too quiet and that they are awkward, so she wanted to find an excuse to say goodbye.


    But at this time, He Zhen sighed faintly, and could no longer help but spill some bitter words with Miantang.


    ¡°Lady Cui, I know you have an exquisite heart and you know the cause and effect. So I can only tell you about it.¡±


    She doesn¡¯t know when she started to be fond of Liu Miantang. She always felt that she was able to entrust her worries to her. So she just pour everything into Lady Liu the load on her mind that she couldn¡¯t tell the others these days.


    ¡°Lady Lian, for some reason, has annoyed me. She didn¡¯t reply to my letter or invite me anymore, it¡¯s just like what she said to me a few days ago was just a dream.¡±


    Maybe she thinks that she has lost face. For fear that Miantang misunderstood her previous boasting as a lie, He Zhen even took out the private letter Lady Lian wrote to her a few days ago.


    Miantang opened the letter with a good scent and felt that Lady Lian should be a talented woman. The words were well written.


    If she studies the sentences inside, the sentences indeed refer to appreciating He Zhen. The kind of intimacy is like a long-lost sister.


    Miantang read ten lines at one glance, but she has always kept in mind her husband¡¯s advice. She should not casually talk about the relatives of the feudal officials.


    So she smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a blessing that you can get Lady Lian¡¯s favor for several generations, and others envy it. But I think Lady Lian is going to get married soon, and there are many things to be busy with. It¡¯s normal for her not to be able to continue to communicate with you through letters. We, the merchant¡¯s families, when dealing with officials, have to naturally know how far to go and when to stop, neither humble nor arrogant. Why worry about personal gains and losses, Lady He?¡±


    He Zhen sighed faintly, ¡°You¡¯re right that day, Lady Lian won¡¯t be nice to me for no reason. The concubines of The Prince in the future are also indispensable. A merchant woman like me who is inferior to others is naturally easy to handle if I were to enter The Residence. Originally, I was still hesitating whether to accept her suggestion. But Lady Lian might felt that my attitude was not straightforward, so she looked for someone else¡­¡±


    Miantang thought it was good for Lady Lian to find someone else. So she took the opportunity to comfort Lady He that she should find her own Mr. Right and be the main hostess.


    Thinking that she might had lose an opportunity close at hand with Prince Huaiyang at this point, He Zhen couldn¡¯t help crying with regret. She always felt that if she had stated her intention at that time, she might have entered The Prince¡¯s Residence in a sedan chair and kept company with The Prince who¡¯s like a relegated Immortal.


    But no matter how grieved her mood is, it¡¯s almost as good to rest for ten days.


    Miantang couldn¡¯t bear these garrulous matters. So she took advantage of her wiping her tears, said something about the order list, and consciously or unconsciously mentioned her two brothers who were born by the concubines. They have been helping with running errands for the business recently and they are very capable. It seems that they are appreciated by the Second Master He.


    Such a statement indeed affected He Zhen¡¯s heart as expected and it made her tone slightly tense to ask about the daily life of her two brothers that were born by the concubines who are rising to the vision of the public.


    Miantang said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lady He. In my opinion, your two brothers are very good at managing matters. For us women, if there is someone to assist with the business, it¡¯s best not to be in the limelight. You can have a good rest at home. Anyway, the Second Master He has someone to help¡­¡±


    When Miantang came out of the He family, the third daughter of the He family had almost gotten rid of her sadness. Her eyes were clear and bright, and she looked in good spirits. She only wants to return to the store and punish her two concubines¡¯ brothers who dared to put their thoughts on the store business.


    Most of the business of the He family is handed down from the legal hostess of the Mansion. The mother of Lady He is the legal wife of the Mansion. He Zhen has a younger brother under her, who is the legitimate son and only heirs. As a sister, she naturally has to take care of the family property for her younger brother, who is still under age!


    So when Miantang got on the carriage, she felt that Prince Huaiyang was slightly wronged.


    She cannot fully blame The Prince¡¯s heroic bearing for the delayed marriage of the third daughter of the He family. As she sees it, there should also be the reason why Lady He is obsessed with taking charge of the power to secure her brother¡¯s family property and unwilling to marry out!


    However, these are not what she should worry about. What she has to do now is to rectify her own business and live a stable life.


    Fortunately, the artisan-painter and labor employed in the shop are capable. In the past few days, Mr. Chen has produced several boutiques and sold them at a high price.


    Miantang had more money in her hand, so she began to plan to buy a new mansion.


    When she told her husband about this plan, he hesitated.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite okay with staying at our current mansion now, you can continue to live here first. I¡¯ll naturally change it for you later.¡±


    After the last time the Mountain of Yang sent someone to kidnap Miantang, Cui Xingzhou has ordered the secret sentries to step up their guard. But if she sells the house, craftsmen and miscellaneous people will be coming in and out all day. There will inevitably be omissions. It¡¯s better to slow the issue of moving out.


    In this kind of thing, Miantang is always in favor of her husband. Since he loves living on North Street, she also thinks that a small house with a courtyard is good, but there is no place for her husband to practice martial arts.


    At last, she discussed with Servant Li and decided to consolidate the parterre on the side of the small yard, and then buy a rack for sword and spear for her husband use the space to practice martial arts.


    After making such a decision, Miantang let Mo Ru set up the parterre, and then paved it with slate. Finally, an open space will be renovated.


    The next step is to buy a good rack for sword and spear and put it on the martial arts training ground. Miantang asked her husband and knew that he was also familiar with swords.


    Miantang couldn¡¯t wait to see her husband¡¯s heroism, so this day, while her husband was out, she went to the iron steel shop in the town.


    Unfortunately, there are not many people here who are good at martial arts here, so there are only a few styles to choose from in the iron steel shop.


    Miantang chooses it effortlessly. She just pick all of it.


    After she paid the money, she bumped into a fat lady with about three or five attendants.


    ¡°Are you blind? How dare you bump into My Lady!¡± It seems that she should be a lady of a rich family. The young servant boy behind her barked loudly.


    Bi Cao behind Miantang was also a person reluctant to show weakness. So she glared back, ¡°It¡¯s your young lady who bumped into my Madam. Why do you ask others if they¡¯re blind? You should ask yourself first if you did bring your brain out today!¡±


    Seeing that both parties chimes in words one after another, they were about to quarrel. It was the fat lady who couldn¡¯t bear and say, ¡°That¡¯s enough, what¡¯s there to quarrel about? Isn¡¯t that there¡¯s nothing wrong with me? With that, she didn¡¯t look at Liu Miantang and went straight into the shop.¡±


    It¡¯s just that there¡¯s a beautiful girl behind that lady who is still looking straight at Miantang, and then greeted, ¡°Sister Liu, I haven¡¯t seen you for a long time¡­¡±


    Miantang was a little surprised as she doesn¡¯t recognize the girl, but why did she call herself ¡°Sister Liu¡± familiarly?


    So she also greeted and politely asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The young lady didn¡¯t seem to expect Miantang¡¯s politeness and strange reaction, and only hesitated, ¡°You don¡¯t recognize me, Sister?¡±


    Miantang couldn¡¯t help but be stunned by the question and looked carefully at the beautiful young lady in front of her. She only felt that she was gentle and pleasant, but she doesn¡¯t know her.


    When Miantang hesitated, tears had accumulated in the eyes of the young lady, and she said in a trembling voice, ¡°Why don¡¯t you recognize me?¡±


    Miantang felt that she might have met an old acquaintance, but she has forgotten everything, so after looking up and down, she asked, ¡°Do you know me in the Capital? I was ill before, and when I woke up, I can¡¯t remember clearly the things previously. If I can¡¯t remember, please forgive me¡­¡±


    This beautiful girl is Sun Yunniang! Because the Mountian of Yang is about to join the government for their talents, many people in the mountain often come to the State of Qing for a walk. Thus, she also took advantage of the opportunity to head down the mountain and got super close with Shi Xueji, the daughter of Commander Shi¡¯s concubine. Within a few days, they had become like a sister.


    After Shi Xueji saw Young Master Ziyu, she fell in love with him at first sight. Although the marriage was just hidden under the table and was not discussed in detail, Lady Shi was in a hurry to get married to Young Master Ziyu after he becomes his father¡¯s military officer.


    She came to Lingshui Town this day because she heard that there are unique handwarmer stoves in the blacksmith¡¯s shop here. She plans to order one for Young Master Ziyu to show her affection.


    So the new sisters with a different surname who just got associated had encountered Liu Miantang here.


    In fact, it was Sun Yunniang who encouraged Lady Shi to come to Lingshui Town with the intention to find Miantang.


    The Young Master clearly ordered her not to seek trouble from Miantang again. Naturally, it¡¯s hard for her to send someone to look for her. But the money and silver in the Mountian of Yang have been missing. She suspected that the Young Master was shielding Liu Miantang and covering up the scandal of corruption for her.


    Also, Ziyu has been colder to her recently. She couldn¡¯t get any useful information from him, so she had to ask Liu Miantang face-to-face to find out the flaws.


    But she never thought that Liu Miantang was as if she didn¡¯t recognize her at all, and only politely and distantly said something about her amnesia.


    Yunniang was surprised and suspicious. She stared into Miantang¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°You don¡¯t remember anything?¡±


    Miantang didn¡¯t want to be disrespectful and snubbed her old friend, and her illness was not a shameful thing, so she said truthfully, ¡°I only remember what happened before I went to the Capital to get married, but I can¡¯t remember the later¡­ Who are you?¡±


    Yunniang knows Liu Miantang very well. Although she is clever and cunning, she is not hypocritical and courteous towards others and has a compromising temperament.


    Before she lose her memory, they had been on bad terms. If Liu Miantang didn¡¯t really lose her memory, she would only pretend not to know her with a cold face when she saw her. She wouldn¡¯t be this polite.


    So Liu Miantang really did forget everything about her going to the Mountain of Yang halfway through her marriage and her love for Ziyu?


    Thinking of this, Yunniang felt a burst of ecstasy.


    Without answering, she asked, ¡°If Sister Liu forgets all about it, how do you continue with your living?¡±


    Miantang looked at her suspiciously and said, ¡°It¡¯s natural that it is my husband who looks after me. Why¡­ Do you ask?¡±


    At that moment, Yunniang understood everything. How beautiful is Liu Miantang? She has lost all her martial arts now and her sharp thorns are pulled, just like the beauty that has lost its protection. If a person with evil intentions wants to cheat on her, isn¡¯t it easy?


    She must have been knocked out of her brain when she was thrown off the ship and was rescued. Seeing her so beautiful, the rescuer must have evil thoughts, deceived her that she was his wife, and forcibly occupy her!


    Thinking of this, Yunniang didn¡¯t want to arouse Miantang¡¯s suspicion. Just by her words just now, she smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve met you in the Capital before, and I haven¡¯t met your husband. I originally wanted to socialize with you, but unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have a chance as I return to my hometown with my father¡­¡±


    Miantang smiled after hearing this. Since she was not a relative or friend, she didn¡¯t continue to have a deep conversation with her and politely said goodbye.


    But when she left, Yunniang was still staring at her back.


    At this time, Lady Shi had bought a stove and came out. She also looked at Liu Miantang¡¯s back and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, is she an old acquaintance of yours? Which family is she from? She is so beautiful!¡±


    Yunniang hid her contempt without showing any trace, and smiled at Lady Shi kindly, ¡°Yes, she is indeed a rare beauty, but it¡¯s a pity that she is just a businesswoman, and it¡¯s difficult to soar.¡±


    Lady Shi thought her words were funny, so she said with a silly smile, ¡°Look at what you said, it¡¯s like she can soar to the sky without marrying someone. Else, can she enter The Palace just by the virtue of her beauty?¡±


    Yunniang didn¡¯t reply, but smiled a little unfathomably, with relief¡­


    The encounter in front of the iron steel shop soon spread to the ears of Prince Huaiyang.


    Cui Xingzhou was placing a chessboard in the Military Camp. After listening to the report by the secret sentry, he asked slowly, ¡°Are you sure that the woman following Lady Shi is Sun Yunniang?¡±


    The secret sentry said firmly, ¡°Lady Shi has called several times, and I¡¯m sure that she is indeed called Sun Yunniang, but it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know whether is she the Sun Yunniang mentioned by the bandits who attacked Liu Miantang previously.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou put a chess piece down and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t she an old acquaintance of Liu Miantang in the Capital? That shouldn¡¯t be wrong. In addition to the old acquaintance in the Mountain of Yang, what old acquaintance does Liu Miantang have, with who she has never been out in the Capital to recuperate? Go, keep an eye on her. When the time is right, tie that Yunniang up and interrogate in private. I¡¯d like to see where the Young Master Ziyu comes from!¡±

 CH 37

    After the secret sentry heard The Prince¡¯s words, he naturally had to head back. Of course, he also kept in mind the new instruction given by Prince Huaiyang. The Prince warned not to catch it too quickly, causing too much attention. They will only get their hands on it after finding out about her social circle and is on her way back to the Mountain of Yang!


    Yunniang has also just finished accompanying Lady Shi with her shopping and is ready to stay in Lingquan Town for two days for some fun before returning to the State of Qing.


    Shi Xueji was full of praise for her newly bought stove and praised Yunniang¡¯s good taste in helping her to choose such a satisfactory stove.


    Yunniang smiled on her face but sneered in her heart.


    The craftmanship of that iron steel shop is really good, so Liu Miantang once ordered a stove for Ziyu to warm his hands there. She is not good at craftsmanship thus, the cover of the stove was done with the assistance of Yunniang at the beginning.


    As a result, Ziyu held the stove all day, but only remembered Liu Miantang¡¯s consideration, and could not see Yunniang¡¯s diligent hard work of fine sewing.


    Who gave her the power?


    It was her who knows Ziyu first. But at that time, he was an Imperial member that is beyond her reach, the legitimate eldest son of the Crown Prince. And she is just the daughter of a small military attache. She can only look up to Liu Hui.


    Later, he fell from the top, from the Royal grandson of the great Yan Emperor Liu Hui to the Young Master Ziyu who had no surname. She thought she should get the advantage of being in a favored position first. Unexpectedly, Liu Miantang came from nowhere and occupied all the attention of the Young Master.


    Now Liu Miantang is gone, but the fat daughter of Commander Shi jumps out. She heard from the Old Ministers of the East Palace on the Mountain of Yang, that they were also in favor of this marriage. After all, what they want is to tie Shi Yikuan firmly to the warship of Mountain of Yang, so it doesn¡¯t matter whether Lady Shi is wide, fat, thin, beautiful, or ugly.


    The most irritating thing is that Ziyu seems to want to adopt the meaning of his former subordinates and marry Lady Shi.


    She deliberately led the topic today to Ziyu¡¯s infirmity to get Lady Shi to buy a stove for him.


    The stove carefully selected by Lady Shi is the same as the one Liu Miantang bought for Ziyu at the beginning.


    Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s afraid of being hurt by the scenery. That stove has long been put away by Ziyu.


    Now, Lady Shi is about to send the same one over to him, she wanted to see if Ziyu would think of the vow with Liu Miantang, and develop the guilt of replacing the old with the new!


    By then, Lady Shi¡¯s hospitality is just a mockery, which only increases the disgust of the Young Master.


    Thinking of this, Sun Yunniang smiled. She is more patient now than before.


    As long as she is here, no one can become Ziyu¡¯s legal wife, the future Queen of the Yan Dynasty!


    As for Liu Miantang, she has her way to make her suffer, and see if she can recall the past and spit out the hidden wealth she swallowed!


    ¡­¡­


    On the other hand, after Cui Xingzhou saw the drill of his soldiers in the Military Camp, he was ready to go back to his Residence to see his mother.


    When he left that day, the Old Princess Consort Chu complained that he hasn¡¯t been coming back to the house very often and asked him to come home more often if he had time.


    It might be the thought that she¡¯s about to get married, the Lian family has a lot of things to prepare, so Lian Binglan said goodbye to the Old Princess Consort and went back to the Lian Mansion first with her mother.


    Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t have to avoid suspicion of his cousin anymore. Naturally, he should go home and have a look more frequently.


    The Old Princess Consort is also busy with her son¡¯s marriage. Even ordinary citizens have to be busy for months with things like this. What¡¯s more, there are more things to prepare for the ceremony in the Royal Residence.


    Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t care about this, but the Old Princess Consort has to a least prepare for her son in advance and let him see if he¡¯s okay with it.


    ¡°Lord Dan of the Capital¡¯s Internal Affairs Department is too unreliable. He said he would send some Yunhai natural silk brocade to the State of Zhen, but recently he said he couldn¡¯t send it.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou took the ginseng soup brought by the maid and said, ¡°I am never picky about these kinds of things. You don¡¯t have to worry too much.¡±


    Old Princess Consort Chu disagreed, ¡°Your aunt said that she saw a quilt made of cicada silk by Madam Hou in Marquis Zhennan¡¯s Mansion, which can relieve summer heat. It was not a thing specially provided to the Royal family. It was just that the Internal Affairs Department was convenient to choose and buy, and it was all ordered to monopolize. Everyone who has connections has gotten their share. It¡¯s not like our Residence is not paying a penny to Lord Dan. How can he not send out even a piece of cloth?¡±


    When Cui Xingzhou heard that it was his aunt Lian-Chu who encourage her mother in this, he couldn¡¯t help frowning.


    If at ordinary times, this kind of private purchase and internal supply is not a big deal. But the State of Zhen is a thorn in the eye and flesh of the Imperial Court now.


    What the other families have, can¡¯t be given to the Prince Huaiyang Residence. That Lord Dan is also a person who knows how to see the movement of the officialdom thus, he last minute repented and stop selling the cloth to the Royal Residence.


    However, Cui Xingzhou naturally wouldn¡¯t say so clearly. He only smiled and listened to his mother¡¯s complaint and called the steward here to reprimand him. He told him that such buyers who crossed the boundary of the State of Zhen must be reported to him. He had many connections and would not disappoint his mother.


    When Cui Xingzhou came out of his mother¡¯s yard, he walked silently forward for a while, and suddenly opened his mouth to order the steward, ¡°If his aunt Lian-Chu encouraged my mother to buy any royal products and other things in the future, hold the order and immediately report to me first.¡±


    Steward Gao is a smart person. He naturally understands the meaning of it and immediately responds to it one by one.


    Cui Xingzhou stood on the Pavilion by the lake, looking at the sparkling wave of the lake, thinking about his marriage carefully for the first time.


    It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say it¡¯s the first time.


    Previously, he has engaged in accordance with his mother¡¯s wish. As for whether Lady Lian is suitable to be his wife, he had never carefully considered it.


    But recently, he has seen through the temperament of his aunt and cousin. It¡¯s not that he can¡¯t bear it, but he¡¯s feeling a little uncomfortable at the bottom of his heart.


    Cui Xingzhou is not a person who wants to rely on marriage to add icing to the cake, but he doesn¡¯t want to bring vexation to himself. Couples¡¯ quarrels like in the North Street are absolutely not allowed to happen in The Residence.


    However, the vanity of his aunt from the Lian family and the lack of generosity of his cousin makes him feel like a thorn in the throat. Cui Xingzhou suddenly regretted it. He really shouldn¡¯t have gone along with it without thinking in the beginning and agreed with his mother¡¯s proposal for this intermarriage.


    But at this point, he will not take the initiative to terminate the engagement. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t his cousin¡¯s reputation be destroyed?


    Since being regretful is useless, when he is free, he will talk to his uncle about how to control his wife and teach his daughter


    When he came out of his Residence, the carriage of Marquis Zhennan had just arrived. Zhao Quan poked his head out of the carriage and said to Cui Xingzhou, ¡°It¡¯s so hard to look for you. If I can¡¯t find you here, I¡¯m ready to post up notices all over the city to find you!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was not in a hurry to get on the horse but asked Marquis Zhennan what he wanted. Zhao Quan raised the hook in his hand in high spirits and said, ¡°The newly completed cruise ship my family bought has been handed over. I¡¯m thinking of inviting Lady Liu to go fishing. However, now that she¡¯s under your name, I have to invite you along to be more proper.¡±


    Although Cui Xingzhou was used to Zhao Quan¡¯s immorality, he still didn¡¯t like his bluntness. He raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Since you know that it¡¯s not right and proper, you should remain silent, why would you force people into doing things they don¡¯t want to?¡±


    Zhao Quan is deep in love these days. Thinking of the fact that he hasn¡¯t seen Lady Liu for a long time, he suddenly feels bored. It¡¯s not easy to think of an excuse to visit the lake together. Naturally, he has to convince his friend to help him.


    ¡°Come on, Ninth Master! Don¡¯t tease me! You should know my feelings toward Lady Liu. Why don¡¯t you aid me in doing a good deed? Now that the Mountain of Yang anti-bandits has already become a guest of Commander Shi¡¯s Mansion, the scroll of offering enlistment has been presented to the court. Lady Liu is useless to you now. I should pick her up and take good care of her.¡±


    Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s face was as calm as water, and said it in a tepid way, ¡°The Mountian of Yang once sent someone to catch her. If it weren¡¯t for the secret sentries I planted, she would have been kidnapped. You are the main pillar of the Marquis Mansion in the town. There must be no mishap happening to you, so don¡¯t recklessly get yourself in this mess.¡±


    As soon as Zhao Quan heard this, he was in a hurry and asked, ¡°Did Lady Liu get hurt?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was also fed up with his good friend¡¯s overly attitude toward Liu Miantang. As he turn over and got on the horse, he speak frankly and sincerely, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to keep her safe even if she were to marry someone else in the future. I should take care of her at all times. So please rest assured, Brother Zhao, that I will take care of my people¡­¡±


    After saying that, Cui Xingzhou shook his whip, urged the horse, and took his manservants and guards whizzed down the way.


    Leaving Zhao Quan stared and pondered at Cui Jiu¡¯s words in the dust. When he got what Cui Jiu means, Prince Huaiyang and his people were gone.


    When Cui Xingzhou returned to North Street, it was just after lunch. Because it had just rained, the temperature in North Street turned cool, and the number of people sitting around the street has suddenly decreased, as well as the troublesome greetings.


    Because he previously said that he would not come back for two days after visiting his friends in the countryside, Miantang asked Servant Li not to prepare lunch.


    When she inspected the shop, she bought rice cakes filled with red beans and spicy fried snails wrapped in butter paper on the street. The snails had to be sucked slowly and she couldn¡¯t eat them openly in the street, so she packed them home to enjoy them slowly.


    So when Cui Jiu entered the room, he saw the beauty lying lazily on the couch, pinching the snail with plain hands and pecking slowly.


    Miantang was eating enthusiastically when she saw her husband has returned. She quickly wiped her hands with a silk handkerchief and asked him if he had eaten.


    Cui Xingzhou said he had eaten outside, so Miantang picked up the stewed snails on the plate and picked them out for him with a small bamboo stick.


    Prince Huaiyang seldom ate this kind of civilian snack, and it was new to him to eat a few. But after eating a few, he doesn¡¯t want it anymore. The rest of the time, he is watching Miantang eat.


    She ate skillfully without the need for a pickle. She only pinched the snail with her slender fingers, then she blew on the cone of that pinched opening, followed by sucking the head of the snail. With a gentle suction from her mouth, she easily sucked out the meat of the snail.


    Cui Xingzhou focused on watching her eat, but after a while, he uneasily changed his sitting position, turned his head, and stopped watching. He only picked up a roll of books opened on the table and began to read.


    Miantang ate a few more. Seeing that her husband was very focused and didn¡¯t turn the page of the book he¡¯s reading for a long time, she curiously stretched out her neck and looked at it and immediately blushed and asked in a low voice, ¡°This page of medicine is about women relieving dysmenorrhea. Why are you reading at it so attentively?¡±


    She had nothing to do just now. So she turned out this medical book and thought about asking Servant Li to cook some warm soup for her next menstruation cycle according to the prescription. Who would have thought that her husband was looking at it so seriously that she¡¯s feeling ashamed!


    Hearing the words, Cui Xingzhou found that he was looking at a prescription for warming the uterus. After a slight pause, he calmly put down the scroll, and then asked her, ¡°What prescription has been prescribed for conditioning the pain? Does it hurt every month¡­ Since you have a cold body, how can you eat something that is naturally cold as a snail?¡±


    With that, Cui Xingzhou stretched out his hand, took away her plate, and asked the servant girl, Fang Xie, outside to take the snail dish away.


    Miantang sucked her fingers and said, ¡°I don¡¯t eat often. It happened that I saw it today, and I was craving some¡­ Doctor Zhao also said that if I were to eat such food, it doesn¡¯t matter as long as I avoid the timing for the medicine at an interval of about an hour.¡±


    Cui Jiu maintain his composure and asked, ¡°Did you see Doctor Zhao today? What did you say to him?¡±


    Miantang answered honestly while sitting beside Cui Xingzhou writing, ¡°I saw him when I bought snails on the street. He said that his family bought a boat and wanted to go fishing. He said some strange things about going boating together. I didn¡¯t have a water basin in hand at that time, otherwise, I almost threw it on him. Later, I didn¡¯t pay attention to him, so he said he will go and find you to go with me¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou smiled and was very satisfied with Miantang being so sensible. He wiped Miantang¡¯s hands with a wet handkerchief handed by Bi Cao, and said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t wait for him to speak next time, you can pour it directly, and avoid entanglement.¡±


    Miantang listened and looked sideways at her husband, suspecting that he had ended his friendship with Doctor Zhao. However, her husband¡¯s order also met her wishes, and naturally, she did not hesitate to accept them.


    At this time, the sun was shining in the afternoon, and a large number of red nandina bamboos were inserted in the ground vase next to the desk, and the flower branches extended to the table, which was very beautiful.


    Cui Xingzhou looked at Miantang looking up at himself. Her charming big eyes were thin, her eyelashes blinked, the corners of her mouth were slightly lifted, her shell-like teeth were slightly exposed, and his heart was slightly relaxed. He couldn¡¯t help reaching out and stroking her cheek.


    Miantang saw that the servant girl was still in the room. She was embarrassed, so she hid slightly, but was firmly held by her husband¡¯s iron-like wrist.


    ¡°Husband, lighten your strength, my wrist hurts¡­¡± Miantang couldn¡¯t help but whisper a reminder.


    Cui Xingzhou found that he had been immersed in her again. He frowned and felt that although he sympathized with this young lady¡¯s loneliness and decided to keep her, he shouldn¡¯t let it affect too much of his state of mind¡­


    He decided to reduce his stay in North Street in the future. Men should have high ambitions. How can he let a young woman affect his state of mind?


    When Cui Jiu got up to leave, Miantang suddenly remembered something and said, ¡°By the way, if you are free, please accompany me back to the shop this afternoon. There is a wall in the shop that has been empty. Mr. Chen said that if I were to hang pictures, it looks a little messy. It¡¯s better to whitewash and inscribed it to have an elegant atmosphere. You have excellent handwriting. If you can just write a poem on the wall, I can avoid hiring outsiders, which let them earn money for polishing.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t care about this kind of bullshit matter, but as soon as he was about to say no, he saw Miantang look into his eyes, and his mouth responded by magic, ¡°Don¡¯t delay too long, I have something to do in the afternoon¡­¡±


    Miantang was very happy when her husband promised to come down to the shop with her and immediately ordered Bi Cao to put the writing brush and inkstones in a box and carry them to the carriage. Miantang got on the carriage with Cui Xingzhou and went to the shop.


    When arriving at the shop, Cui Xingzhou saw that the empty wall had been painted white, and Miantang was grounding the inkstone for himself. He turned to Cui Xingzhou and said, ¡°Husband, please inscribe.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou asked, ¡°Do you have any idea on what to write?¡±


    Miantang stared and said, ¡°Idea? My literary talent is not good, you can write it as you like¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou glanced at the size of the wall, wrapped his arm around his wide sleeve with one hand, and after thinking about it, he wrote a cursive-styled seven-character poem with good penmanship.


    The writing of the words is firm and appropriate. It looks like years of practice. Moreover, the words and sentences complement each other, laying out the craftsmanship of porcelain making, and porcelain products are also like the wisdom of personality.


    Miantang looked at her husband in a moon white gown, with an uprighted waist and a free and easy wrist strength, and her eyes were straight.


    She knew her husband was talented, but she didn¡¯t expect him to be so outstanding!


    After asking, this poem was created by her husband on the spur of the moment, and Mr. Chen on the side was also full of praise.


    The always arrogant Hate Pen Hermit also said that he will ask her husband for advice on the essence of calligraphy if he had time.


    When the shop was filled with thick ink fragrance and elegance, someone suddenly came to the door.


    The visitor is a rich Young Master, and there were four to five followers behind him.


    The man looked very fat, with a face full of fat meat. He looked very bright in a long shirt embroidered with lotus roots and flowers. As soon as he entered the shop, he ignored the shop assistant who came up and just glanced at Liu Miantang.


    His eyes gradually widened and shouted, ¡°Isn¡¯t¡­ Isn¡¯t this my wife Miantang!¡±


    Miantang heard the fat Young Master calling by her first name, her heart immediately jumped, hurriedly raised her eyes, and looked at him carefully.


    After confirming that she didn¡¯t recognize him, she couldn¡¯t help looking back at Cui Jiu blankly.


    Cui Xingzhou stepped in front of Liu Miantang, blocking the fat Young Master¡¯s way.


    The fat Young Master originally came over a few steps and stretched out his black-haired big hand wanting to pull Miantang. Unexpectedly, a handsome young man came and blocked his hand. He was immediately unhappy. He shouted with a horizontal eyebrow, ¡°Who are you? How dare you stop me?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou said calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why are you shouting at my wife?¡±


    The fat Young Master stared with his pair of greasy eyes and said, ¡°Your wife? Ridiculous! This woman is my wife and I have gone through the proper procedure of marriage propriety. It¡¯s just that she eloped with others and hasn¡¯t been found. I¡¯ve found now that she has eloped with you! Let me catch you both adulterer and adulteress to the court for trial and then soaked you both in a pig cage!¡±


    After the fat Young Master finish his sentences, his men rushed up, smashing the counter and knocking on the porcelains, looking like they were going to fight.


    For a time, people in the street also rushed to see the excitement.


    At this time, in the tea stall opposite the shop, a woman wearing a gauze mask and a bamboo hat was sitting stably.


    Seeing that the porcelain shop opposite was smashed, Yunniang couldn¡¯t help but show a sneer.


    Wanting to live a stable life after losing memory? The thought is indeed beautiful!


    At first, Liu Miantang made a letter of marriage with the ninth son of the Cui family in the shop thirty-mile away in the Capital. However, Yunniang had met her fiance, Cui Jiu, once, who was full of fats! Not the handsome young man beside Miantang she saw that day.


    It can be seen that the young man gains money or women by cheating on Liu Miantang who has amnesia.


    She doesn¡¯t know whether all the silver money which Miantang secretly swallow has entered the hands of this fake ¡°Cui Jiu¡±.


    Yunniang decided to turn his trick to her use. She asked her servant to go to find a fat and greasy-looking man, changed his clothes to a silk shirt, took a few local ruffians, pretended to be Cui Jiu, the rich man in the Capital, and come to reveal the fake ¡°Cui Jiu¡±.


    Although this fat man is fake, the marriage certificate he is carrying in his arms is real!


    When Liu Miantang took for marriage by force back the mountain by Ziyu, the marriage letter was secretly taken away by Yunniang in the chaos and has been preserved to this day. Now it can be used for serious purposes.


    As long as the fake Cui Jiu sees the marriage letter, he must be alarmed and bewildered giving himself away and dare not go to the court for trial.


    If he wants to settle in private, Yunniang can chat with him in person to let him understand the principle of suffering an unexpected personal financial loss to ensure safety.


    Yunniang has arranged everything. So she just took her bodyguard and servant girl to wait here, just leisurely having some tea and watching the play.


    That fat man is a person who is bold in other states. After taking over this task of earning big money, he gives in 70% of his strength. However, when he was instructed and came to the shop and saw that the woman he was going to recognize was so beautiful, 70% of his strength doubled.


    It turned out that she¡¯s such a beauty!


    Since the handsome young man in front of him is her fake husband, he can now snatch the woman over first and plan again later.


    Anyway, he has the letter of marriage in his hands, wait until he snatches her over, and makes up the bridal chamber, it is also perfectly justified!


    At the thought of the wonderful benefits, the fat b*stard was full of courage and arrogance!


    Unfortunately, he has encountered an uneasy target today.


    Just as he continued to shout at the fake ¡°Cui Jiu¡±, the young man who looked fair and gentle uses two fingers to twist on the fat man¡¯s chin. With a sound, his chin was dislocated, and couldn¡¯t speak anymore!


    The scoundrels looked at each other and rushed up together.


    But at this time, a few big men suddenly came out of the crowd, stepped forward, kicked their legs, and twisted their arms. In a few moments, those rogues who made trouble were put under control.


    These people are ruthless. Looking at their force, they are all ruthless moves that can dislocate their arms and break the bones of their legs. For a time, the pain made these scoundrels cry, and there was no strength to make trouble anymore.


    The secret sentries were all seen by Liu Miantang this time. Cui Xingzhou can¡¯t knock her unconscious every time.


    So, he simply arched his hands at the secret sentries, ¡°Thank you for your help!¡±


    The secret sentries are usually responsible for stalking and dealing with troubles, but their acting skills are slightly insufficient. Seeing that The Prince bows and arch his hands at them, all of them are dumbfounded, and they don¡¯t know how to react.


    Liu Miantang is much more sophisticated in the Jianghu.


    She took out a few ingots of silver from the counter, held them in her arms, walked up to those ¡°warm-hearted¡± righteous men, and said, ¡°You all have worked hard saving our shop from disaster. This silver money should be my husband¡¯s reward to you guys. Don¡¯t mind the small amount, and take them to buy some wine!¡±


    At this time, the leading secret sentry had woken up. When Cui Xingzhou gave him an eye signal, he silently stretched out his hand to take the silver money, and then dryly said, ¡°We should help each other when seeing injustice¡­ Madam, you didn¡¯t need to spend money¡­¡±


    With these words, he turned to the other secret sentries and said, ¡°Take the money and eliminate disasters. Tie these ruffians to the Yamen for trial!¡±


    As a result, the remaining few people were tied up with the hemp rope that Mo Ru provided for the cargo box. After tying the people, they pulled and dragged them to the government office and walked away.


    Miantang stood at the corner of the street. Looking at their back, she still had lingering fear! That greasy fat man called her name and said she was his wife!


    Cui Jiu frowned in his heart. He didn¡¯t expect that in Lingquan Town, a ¡°real Cui Jiu¡± would appear to catch the traitor.


    Liu Miantang has always got a clear mind. He¡¯s afraid that the layout of luring the enemy this time has leaked out, and he can¡¯t hide it anymore¡­


    Thinking of this, Cui Jiu saw that Liu Miantang was staring straight across the street and suddenly walked over quickly.

 CH 38

    On the other hand, Yunniang didn¡¯t expect the hoodlum hired by her subordinates to be so useless!


    Yan Chi who was beside her looked ashamed and whispered, ¡°Missy, I didn¡¯t do a good job. I didn¡¯t expect these people to be a good-for-nothing!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yunniang scolded with a face that turned blue.


    Sitting in the tea shop, which is quite a distance away from the scene, and blocked by the crowd, she didn¡¯t see it clearly. When the crowd was dispersing, she only managed to see a few big men tying up those ruffians.


    Yunniang was so angry that she clenched her teeth secretly. When did Lingquan Town become a territory with so many unnoticed talents? Why are there so many people fond of meddling in others¡¯ business?


    Since the people she hired were captured, it was useless to stay here. She had to think about how to manage her connections and bribe the local government while they interrogate the fake Cui Jiu¡¯s origin carefully.


    Anyway, the marriage certificate is real, and there are copies in the local office, so she¡¯s not afraid of being checked.


    Thinking so, Yunniang felt that it was useless to stay here longer, so she got up and wanted to leave.


    Unexpectedly, Liu Miantang, who was originally looking at a distance across the street, suddenly turned her eyes back. After looking at it, she angrily picked up her skirt and strode towards this side.


    She has injuries on her leg. Although she has recovered greatly, she couldn¡¯t walk very fast normally. But today, maybe she was too angry, and she walked much faster than usual. She came to the woman with a bamboo hat in a few steps and lifted her gauze bamboo hat with one hand.


    She immediately recognized that the woman was her ¡°old acquaintance in the Capital¡± who she encountered in the iron steel shop a few days ago at this moment¡­


    Speaking of it, it¡¯s not a foresight that Miantang can recognize Yunniang.


    When the fat Young Master was dislocated by her husband earlier, he constantly looked at the opposite tea shop. And just now, when those righteous men dragged these ruffians away, more than one of those desperate ruffians looked towards the tea shop too.


    Miantang saw it with her eyes, and she was feeling suspicious. It was not that she suspected her husband was fake, but she felt that the truth of this matter is not what the fat man has said, he happened to meet his elopement wife by chance, but that someone instructed them to make trouble!


    So Liu Miantang came straight over. She somehow saw that the woman with a hood looked familiar, so she came and flipped her hat off.


    After recognizing Yunniang, Liu Miantang was filled with anger.


    A few days ago, she was outspoken, saying that she had forgotten all the things after her marriage when she was ill. Unexpectedly, this woman used this to make a raft and hire a few b*stard to discredit herself.


    What exactly is this hatred? How vicious!


    At that moment, Miantang was so angry that she just stared at her and asked, ¡°Did you instigate those ruffians to smash my store?¡±


    Yunniang didn¡¯t expect Liu Miantang to come so quickly, but forced herself to calm down and said, ¡°What are you talking about, Sister? How do I know those people? Didn¡¯t he say you were his runaway wife? It can be seen that it¡¯s your private resentment. What does it have to do with me?¡±


    Miantang was about to laugh. He slapped Yunniang with her hand, which made her face crooked, ¡°You f*cking nonsense! When the stupid fat man came into the store earlier just now, he shouted to us, and the rest of the people were smashing things. The townsmen in front of my store didn¡¯t manage to see what was going on, and they were all whispering to each other to ask for the reason! How do you know that he said I was his runaway wife when you were having tea in the tea shop so far away from my store?¡±


    When Yun Niang and Liu Miantang intersect in the past, she always looked like the girl next door who¡¯s an understanding sister, so Liu Miantang always takes good care of her very much.


    Later, even if Liu Miantang suspected her, due to her father, who was a veteran of the Old Minister of the East Palace, she have to give her some face. Thus, she only turned a cold shoulder and ignored her, and never spoke ill of her.


    But now Liu Miantang has amnesia and has no scruples at all. When she finds the flaw in her words, she gave her a big slap when she¡¯s caught off guard without hesitation!


    The young servant boy Yan Chi and the servant girl Hua Ping were also caught off guard and did not stop the disaster for their Young Lady for a time.


    However, after Hua Ping comes back to her sense, she immediately said to the Dragon Guards behind her, ¡°Are you guys dumb? Hurry and carry Liu Miantang away!¡±


    Those bodyguards all knew Liu Miantang. Lady Liu has left a deep influence on them that was built up over a long time. Even though she had been down the mountain for more than a year, in everyone¡¯s heart, they still looked up to the girl who had never made a promise she cannot keep on the mountain, and naturally couldn¡¯t react for a moment.


    Moreover, Young Master Ziyu summoned these Dragon Guards some time ago and give orders personally. They must not embarrass Lady Liu. Anyone who dares to act arbitrarily will be killed without mercy!


    How dare they act rashly when the Young Master has an order in advance? They can only watch Liu Miantang pull on Yunniang¡¯s hair and knock her on the wall.


    As soon as Hua Ping and Yan Chi saw, they immediately pulled Miantang away. But the two servant girls, Fang Xie and Bi Cao, who caught up later, were by no means a person who is insignificant, narrow-minded, and inactive!


    When Cui Xingzhou ordered the middleman of human traffickers to choose people at the beginning, he thought of Miantang¡¯s beauty and her weak hands and legs. If there was any situation the secret sentries couldn¡¯t reach out in time, the servant girls around her should also be able to stand in. Therefore, being strong and having a little knowledge of martial arts is a necessary skill to be considered for!


    It seems that The Prince has a vision. As soon as the two girls saw their Madam fighting, the opposing servants were inauthentic and wanted to help. They immediately rushed over, dealing with them one by one, pulling their hair and biting their ears in the most vigorously way.


    These servant girls from the countryside are vigorous when fighting! Hua Ping and Chi Yan no longer care about solemnly protecting their Lady and only focus on fighting with the two female mad dogs.


    Although Miantang was weak, she still had the skills of the martial art she learned before, and she also had the dexterity to use force. It was more than enough to clean up this delicate Yunniang. She knocked Yunniang and half of her face was bruised in a few moments. Being shaky, she can only let Miantang pull her hair and wring her face.


    However, she was badly injured before thus, after pulling it a few times, Miantang started to feel weak again. Bi Cao pressed Hua Ping into the water tank on the side and kindly helped her to one side, ¡°Madam, take a rest over here, let me handle the rest!¡± She then went to pull Yunniang¡¯s collar again.


    Miantang was a little tired at this time, but as soon as her body shook, she was held by Cui Xingzhou behind her.


    To be honest, Cui Xingzhou had never seen a woman fight like this before.


    Although there are many female members in his father¡¯s Residence, they all use backstabbing tactics to hurt people. These kind of earnest fights and chaos is an eye-opener.


    He saw that Miantang and the two countryside servant girls didn¡¯t look like they were suffering losses in the fight earlier. Thus, he only looked at it expressionlessly with his hand placed on his back.


    Since Miantang believes that Yunniang is playing tricks, it¡¯s better than seeing through the layout he set.


    Now, when he¡¯s holding this young lady who was on raged, seeing that her forehead was full of sweat, he said, ¡°What does it look like fighting in the street?¡±


    Those Dragon Guards can¡¯t stand and watch anymore., Seeing that Miantang was fighting personally, they were ready to come over and pull the two servant girls away. Cui Xingzhou took one step first and then walked over. He said to Yunniang with disheveled hair, ¡°You have ruined my wife¡¯s reputation without any cause or reason. Please move to the government to discuss right and wrong!¡±


    Yunniang¡¯s plan fell empty today. Although she left the Capital with her father at the beginning, in addition to wandering from place to place and having endured many hardships at the beginning, her later life has always been treated with dignity. Who dares to be rude to her on the Mountain of Yang? Even Ziyu was polite to her.


    However, she was beaten by Miantang and her servant like a dog today in the street, which was too hurtful to her self-esteem!


    When the Dragon Guards pulled the two servant girls apart and came to help her, she waved the Dragon Guard¡¯s hand off viciously. She was not in the mood to talk nonsense with this deceptive fake Cui Jiu. She just let Hua Ping who also has a head with disheveled hair help her up and went off without saying a word.


    At this time, outside the tea shop, there were crowds of people watching the excitement. Protected by the Dragon guards, she forcibly rushed out of the tea shop surrounded by passers-by.


    Cui Xingzhou was not in a hurry to chase them out. He had just taken the opportunity of them fighting in the tea shop and ordered the secret sentries to find an opportunity to draw the net. He was going to take Yunniang in for trial tonight.


    Thinking so, Lady Liu, whom he held, murmured slightly.


    Miantang had a tough fight earlier on, and she was feeling weak. Her wrist affected her old injury again.


    She didn¡¯t realize the pain when she was fighting. Now that when she rested, she could only lean weakly in Cui Xingzhou¡¯s arms and watched Yunniang and the others take on the road. She eagerly said, ¡°Don¡¯t let her go, husband. We have to ask her what the hell she¡¯s up to!¡±


    Mo Ru is always smart and able to understand The Prince¡¯s mind. He doesn¡¯t want Liu Miantang to interrogate Yunniang, otherwise, he won¡¯t be able to cover all the details of his layout. So he replied from the side, ¡°Madam, she has so many servants. If they all end up attacking together, our Master can¡¯t win! Anyway, those ruffians she instigated have been sent to the government, and The Master can always get something out of it. The porcelain in the shop has been smashed, and it¡¯s impossible to attend to customers. We should go back and clean up the store!¡±


    These words are what Miantang is worried about. Those rascals earlier had smashed many boutiques in her store, and she doesn¡¯t know how much loss she suffer. She must count them carefully, contact the government, and let those ruffians compensate.


    So she didn¡¯t care about her sore wrists and hurried to clean up the goods.


    Among the crowd of onlookers, there were many neighborhoods on North Street. They had heard about Miantang¡¯s shrewdness long before. It¡¯s a well-deserved reputation to see her fighting against other people today! They also didn¡¯t forget to express their good-neighborly friendship by helping Miantang to clean up the shop, and casually scold those rascals.


    After this scene, Cui Xingzhou is unable to leave. He asked Mo Ru to stay and help the workers to clean up and took Miantang and the servant girl, Fang Xie, back to North Street to have a rest first.


    Miantang pulled too hard at the fight earlier, and a half-long nail split, cutting the edge of the finger seam, and was bleeding a little.


    Servant Li didn¡¯t go to the shop just now. Seeing that Lady Liu went out well, but was helped back by The Prince weakly. She couldn¡¯t make it clear for a moment. Later, when Fang Xie talked about the reason of the cause of the matter, she couldn¡¯t help but secretly cry out ¡°It¡¯s a Sin¡±!


    Cui Xingzhou asked Servant Li to prepare hot water for Miantang and apply it to her hands and legs. The medical cream prepared for her to relieve the pain was also warmed in the hot pot. After the medicine melted, it can be wrapped around her.


    Maybe she was fighting too hard, and Miantang¡¯s two wrists were slightly swollen. Her originally white jade wrist is now slightly bulging.


    Seeing that Cui Xingzhou frowned, she scolded herself, ¡°What¡¯s it like to fight with people in the street? Don¡¯t you know your hands are bad, can¡¯t you exert yourself?¡±


    Miantang has now calmed down and feels guilty. She couldn¡¯t tell why. When she saw the woman just now, she had a wave of uncontrollable anger in her heart. She just wanted to tear her apart¡­ As a result, she forgot that she must refrain from using strength on her hands and legs.


    After her serious illness, she once asked Doctor Zhao what happened to her hands and legs. But the highly skilled doctor said vaguely, only saying that when she was shopping, she was hit by a galloping carriage and suffered from sequelae, which made her body and memory suffer from serious damage.


    Miantang was sad for a long time because of her weak hands and legs, but being able to survive under the wheel of the carriage is already a blessing from heaven. It¡¯s not right to complain too much, so she is rarely feeling melancholy and moody about her hands and legs.


    She now knows that her husband holds her dearly, she felt a sweet sensation in her heart and said, ¡°I was so angry at that time, how would I care so much? Who would have thought that I only mentioned my memory was not good that day, and that woman was so obsessed that she find someone to calculate me. I don¡¯t know what is she up to?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou wondered why this smart woman had never doubted himself. At that moment, he follows her words and says something to probe.


    So he asked, ¡°That fat Young Master today also called himself Cui Jiu, saying it was your husband¡­¡±


    Before he finished, Miantang¡¯s willow eyebrows are tied, and seemed to be disgusted, ¡°Don¡¯t talk about this insulting thing, husband. What Young Master? He¡¯s a hog in the pen! If I marry such a man, I¡¯d rather jump off the cliff and die than get married!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was amused by her reaction and wanted to laugh. While massaging her wrist, he casually said, ¡°What kind of person do you want to be married to?¡±


    Miantang tilted her neck to look at her husband. His eyebrows and eyes were as dark as a black pigment used to draw brows, and his nose and lips were thin. However, he was impeccably filled with a rich and handsome temperament, which made people can¡¯t take their eyes off him!


    ¡°It¡¯s naturally a gentle and versatile Young Master!¡±


    Miantang said the truth, but she doesn¡¯t know why, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s face was inexplicably gloomy.


    There are too many gentle and versatile Young Masters in the world!


    Speaking of it, that Young Master Ziyu is not vulgar too. He¡¯s elegant and played a game of good chess. He can be called a genius.


    Cui Xingzhou never thought about how deep the relationship between Miantang and Lu Wen, who called himself Ziyu, was before.


    But today, after listening to her words, it suddenly occurred to him that if she had married a fat man, would she fall in love with the gentle bandit leader who robbed her?


    Thinking of this, a sour smell that he has never felt before spread in his heart. This willow lady turned out to be a person who looks for men with good features!


    Shallow women don¡¯t talk about personal morality when looking at people but just pick the handsome ones. They have no insight! Was she also being this sensible and considerate to Lu Wen at the beginning, and loving him deeply?


    Miantang¡¯s hands and legs were covered with medicine, and she couldn¡¯t move for a moment, so she had to lie on the bed honestly.


    She might be too angry today and was having a headache. She rubbed her husband¡¯s hand and wanted to let him massage it for her.


    Cui Xingzhou usually practices martial arts and has small cocoons on his fingers. It is very comfortable when massaging her head acupoints.


    Because her husband had massaged her several times before, Miantang was a little addicted.


    Prince Huaiyang was sulking by himself. Seeing that she stretched her head out like a cat, he was stunned for a while before massaging with his long fingers on her head acupoints, but he was testing and asking, ¡°Did you recall anything about that woman, why did she bully you like this?¡±


    Miantang pillowed on Cui Jiu¡¯s thigh, comfortably closing her eyes, and murmured, ¡°I don¡¯t remember. I hate people who lie to me most. It¡¯s all right to forget people like her¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s fingers paused again, suddenly stood up, coldly said he would go to the government to inquire about the situation, and then left.


    Miantang¡¯s head was so staggered by him that it fell on the soft quilt. She supported her head with one hand and was stunned. Her husband¡¯s temper was unstable recently, and he always seemed to be angry with her about some unspeakable matters¡­ Could it be¡­ Could it be that men also have a few days in a month that are inconvenient? Losing temper because of physical discomfort?


    When Prince Huaiyang left the North Street Mansion, the evening breeze blew slightly, but it didn¡¯t blow away his depression.


    The young lady has a way to make him angry. Does she mean that if she were to know the truth later, she will change her appearance and ignore him?


    Cui Xingzhou felt that if it was true, he would also be free, so he didn¡¯t bother to stay and take care of her life and death!


    At this time, the coachman came to pick him up in his carriage. He raised his legs and got on the carriage without turning his head.


    Those ruffians have been sent back to the Military Camp by the secret sentries for interrogation, so Cui Xingzhou also returned to his camp.


    These rascals were not those ruthless characters who kidnapped Liu Miantang last time. They were whipped a few whips and soon spit out before the soldering iron was heated.


    Although they didn¡¯t know Yunniang¡¯s name, they confessed that the young man who give them money was in the tea shop, following behind a woman in a hood.


    The marriage letter found in the possession of the fat man was also presented to Prince Huaiyang intact.


    Prince Huaiyang held the marriage letter and read it. It was an old and yellowing marriage letter, but it was carefully preserved. The handwriting on it and the household seal of the Great Yan Dynasty were visible.


    This marriage letter is real, but Cui Jiu, who claims to be the merchant in the Capital, is fake.


    Cui Xingzhou is very curious now. Why did Yunniang keep Liu Miantang¡¯s marriage letter for so long? It seems that she deliberately wants to make Liu Miantang uncomfortable.


    Being idle and bored, Cui Xingzhou ordered someone to bring the files of Liu Miantang and her relatives and friends when Liu Miantang was thoroughly investigated previously.


    Although someone presented it to him at that time, he only glanced at the file of Liu Miantang¡¯s father¡¯s family and didn¡¯t look at anything else.


    After all, he didn¡¯t bother about her too much at the beginning. He just took her as bait. A chess piece that will be discarded after being used. Where did she need The Prince¡¯s attention?


    Now that he specially selected the file of the Cui family, the merchant that Liu Miantang was going to marry. It is written in this file that after Miantang was robbed by bandits, the Cui family felt ashamed and was afraid of being laughed at by their relatives and friends, so they searched for a matchmaker overnight, and found another merchant¡¯s woman in the Capital. Instead of Liu Miantang, she got on the sedan chair and married the merchant Cui Jiu in a hurry.


    Now that the Ninth Master of the Cui family has already got a wife and two concubines expanding his family, he has long forgotten Liu Miantang, who was robbed.


    Cui Xingzhou coldly left the file aside and sincerely felt that it was good that Miantang didn¡¯t marry into such a fickle family. If Cui Jiu is as fat as the fake rascal today, he will feel that it has dirtied his eyes after a look.


    Thinking so, he casually took the file of Miantang¡¯s grandfather¡¯s family and looked at it.


    The file that had not been opened for a long time had a layer of dust. When Cui Xingzhou shook it off, he read a few lines frowning, and suddenly his eyes were fixed, staring at a name.


    Liu Miantang¡¯s grandfather was the leader of the Shenwei Escort Agency, which was once famous in the north and south of the river. His surname was Lu and his name was Wu!


    For a moment, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s mind was running fast, thinking about what kind of relationship was between Lu Wen and Lu Wu?


    He flipped through the files of the Lu family quickly, but after careful examination, he couldn¡¯t find a person named Lu Wen.


    ¡°Mo Ru!¡± He suddenly shouted.


    Mo Ru was waiting outside the military tent. Hearing The Prince shouting, he hurried in.


    ¡°Go and ask someone to find out the genealogy of the Lu family of the Shenwei Escort Agency. In addition, order them to copy a file of the people who have a distant or close relationship with the Lu family to me!¡±


    Mo Ru didn¡¯t dare to look at Cui Xingzhou¡¯s ferocious look, so he hurried to take his order and went out.


    Cui Xingzhou looked at the words on the file and had a vague idea in his heart. Could it be Liu Miantang eloped with a familiar person to the Mountain of Yang, as the fake Cui Jiu said?


    Does Lu Wen have anything to do with her maternal grandparents? Could it be that they were cousins that have a continuous relationship that was written in the script for a play?


    For a time, Cui Xingzhou had countless thoughts in his heart. He thought that Miantang might be surrounded by her Cousin Lu Wen who was her childhood friend. For a time, his heart felt very uncomfortable like swallowing a fly.


    When Yunniang was caught for a detailed integration, the details of Lu Wen will come out. By then, he would ask in detail how much love Liu Miantang and Lu Wen had at the beginning!


    He has sent the secret sentries to surround the inn where Yun Niang is staying tonight. He just needs to wait for the night to raid and take this group of people in.


    He was able to control his emotions after all. After finding that he had lost a little of his temperant, he just lay down on the bed with his clothes on, waiting for the news of the success from the secret sentries drawing the net.


    When he calmed down, Cui Xingzhou felt that he was a little childish worrying too much about Lady Liu.


    The name Lu Wen is too common and ordinary. It can be found everywhere. It should just be an alias, which he casually gave himself.


    Looking at that Ziyu¡¯s temperament, he should not be a figure living in the river and lakes. He has a good upbringing in his every move. This is very different from the deliberately contrived manners of Lady Liu.


    And most importantly, Ziyu didn¡¯t protect Liu Miantang at all. He allowed his new lover to bully Liu Miantang like this. No matter how beautiful their relationship was, it will also be withered into the chrysanthemum on the branches of the past.


    Just like that, Prince Huaiyang had been thinking about boring things repeatedly in his mind. Until nightfall, the head of the secret sentries reported with a dignified face, ¡°Your Highness, Yunniang has escaped. It¡¯s due to my incompetency, please give your punishment to me!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou squinted and asked, ¡°How did she escape?¡±


    ¡°The others and I had tied the Yunniang to a sack and loaded it into a carriage, but when we left the inn, we met Gong Sunye, a general under Prince Sui. He surrounded us with people and said frankly that Lady Sun was the adopted daughter of Prince Sui. If we don¡¯t release her, they will immediately shoot arrows randomly¡­¡±


    After the secret sentry finished reporting with an ashamed face, Cui Xingzhou was silent. He did not expect that Liu Pei, the King of the State of Hui, adjacent to the State of Qing, would also be involved.


    The secret sentry thought Cui Xingzhou would be furious, but Cui Xingzhou got up and paced back and forth, and then ordered someone to bring the records of the officials in the State of Qing transcribed a few days ago.


    It was impressively written, ¡°Shi Yikuan was the highest administrative commanding officer for Prince Sui for six years, and then moved to the State of Qing as the Commander.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou originally wanted to catch Yunniang for trial this time, but unexpectedly, he caught a bigger fish, Prince Sui!


    Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou waved and did not blame the secret sentry.


    After all, Liu Pei, Prince Sui, who was the late Emperor¡¯s beloved younger brother from the same mother, was originally arrogant and unusual. When the late Emperor was alive, he was rather patient with him.


    Unfortunately, the former Emperor died, and Concubine Xi was in power. The former glory of the Royal relatives such as Prince Sui also became eclipsed.


    Among all The Princes with different surnames suppressed by the Imperial Court, there are also some descendants of the surname of the previous Great Yan Emperor.


    If Prince Huaiyang would be cut off by the Imperial Court and concise soldiers and administration, the days will not be too far away for Prince Sui to be cut off from his power too.


    It seems that Shi Yikuan¡¯s peace negotiation with the Mountain of Yang¡¯s anti-bandits now, in addition to going along with the Imperial Court and strengthening their strength, Prince Sui plays a major role in it!

 CH 39

    On the other hand, Yunniang was slapped by Miantang in the daytime, and half of her face was bruised. She was already very angry. Who would have thought that she was surrounded by a group of people at night, and the Dragon Guards were choked by a domineering smoke that made them dizzy? In a daze, she was almost stuffed into a gunny bag and thrown into the carriage.


    When she was finally saved, she then knew that it was Prince Sui, the King of the State of Hui who saved her.


    At this time, she was already in Prince Sui¡¯s Mansion.


    As the younger brother of the former Emperor and the Empress Dowager of that year, Liu Pei was very spoiled. His food and horizon are based on the pomp of the Capital in those days, so Prince Sui Mansion has always been famous for extravagance.


    When Yunniang woke up and get washed, she went to see Prince Sui under the lead of several graceful maidens.


    Although she had paid a visit to Prince Sui with her father before, she has only met him a few times. His father and Prince Sui address each other as brothers, which turns into a favorable factor and made her recognize Prince Sui as her adoptive father. But if she were to carefully calculate, The Prince was only twelve years older than herself.


    Although he is not old, his seniority is Liu Zhen¡¯s Royal grandfather. In fact, Yunniang prefers to call him Grandpa.


    However, Yunniang now has to naturally conform to the seniority between her father and Prince Sui. In the face of Prince Sui, who is in his thirties, her calling of ¡°god-father¡± is smooth.


    Prince Sui is enjoying his newly recruited female entertainer playing the instrument of a 4-stringed Chinese lute and showing off the artistic aura of her vocal. A swarthy face that looks similar to the Former Emperor is showing an intoxicated expression.


    Yunniang bowed and knelt, and he just treat it as if he could not see it, still holding a jade in his hand and beating to the rhythm.


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the help of godfather, I would be kidnapped today. I will never forget your great kindness!¡±


    When Yunniang knocked her head loud and clear again, Prince Sui turned his eyes and looked at her, saying kindly, ¡°Since we¡¯re father and daughter, why is there a need to thank me?¡±


    Yunniang got bestowed a seat from Prince Sui, and then asked, ¡°I just don¡¯t know who abducted me, being so arrogant in Lingquan Town?¡±


    Prince Sui waved and ordered the female entertainers to step down first, leaving only a beautiful concubine to serve tea, He then slowly said, ¡°Who else would be so arrogant in that territory other than Prince Huaiyang? If your father hadn¡¯t begged me today to escort you to my other villa for some time, when my bodyguard looked for you, he found figures swaying outside the Inn. This is where he informed General Gongsun in the State of Qing to save you¡­ But I¡¯m curious, how did you offend Prince Huaiyang?¡±


    Yunniang didn¡¯t know that the Mountain of Yang¡¯s sect members had always been the thorn in the side of Prince Huaiyang. If the news of them heading down the mountain was leaked and were known by Prince Huaiyang, he may send someone to catch them.


    It¡¯s just that her father wants her to leave the Mountain of Yang. It had made Yunniang dislike it and she was feeling a little anxious at that time.


    After having a chat with his god-daughter, Prince Sui didn¡¯t have much means to talk anymore. Seeing that Yunniang still wanted to persuade himself to let her go back, he said directly, ¡°General Sun doesn¡¯t want you to meddle with the marriage of Young Master Ziyu. He needs to marry the daughter of Commander Shi, so he can have a proper identity to be inducted and go to the Capital to accept The Emperor¡¯s investment with rank¡­ It¡¯s all in one fell swoop whether the plot of many years can succeed. So don¡¯t create more trouble. If you don¡¯t want to go, it¡¯s okay. There are sacks¡­ in General Sun¡¯s place!¡±


    Yunniang¡¯s body trembled, looked up at the undisguised threatening eyes of her god-father to her, and quickly bowed her head and said, ¡°How would I dare to disobey the meaning of my father and god-father? It¡¯s just that there is an unfinished matter in Lingquan Town. If it is unsettled, I¡¯m afraid it will increase future troubles¡­¡±


    Prince Sui had previously heard the report from his subordinates that half of Yunniang¡¯s face was beaten up. Now that he saw the blue and purple patches on her face with his own eyes, it seems that she was badly injured. He was curious for a moment and asked.


    This was exactly what Yunniang wants, so she said in a low voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t god-father always curious about Lu Wen? When he was in the Mountain of Yang, he had been trying every means to prevent you and Young Master from jointly attacking the crafty sycophants in the Capital. Now¡­ ¡®he¡¯ is in Lingshui Town.¡±


    Prince Sui just took a sip of shredded tobacco for water pipes presented by his beautiful concubine and was enjoying it with his eyes close. Hearing this, he suddenly opened his eyes and said, ¡°Lu Wen? Didn¡¯t ¡®he¡¯ got his hands and feet tendons torn by my people and sink into the river?¡±


    Yunniang was delighted to see Prince Sui¡¯s eyes brighten.


    In the beginning, his father did not agree to get rid of Lu Wen, the leader of the Mountain of Yang, and his congregation. After all, the Mountain of Yang was built from nothing and depended on Lu Wen¡¯s cohesion. Her father felt that Lu Wen¡¯s presence would be of great use.


    But in Yunniang¡¯s eyes, Lu Wen is a thorn in the eyes. They must get rid of him and cut the knot. So she secretly snitched to Prince Sui behind her father¡¯s back, and finally borrowed his hand to get rid of ¡°Lu Wen¡±.


    But who would have thought that ¡°Lu Wen¡± was haunted and reappeared in Lingquan Town? Whoever started the trouble should end it. Since Ziyu was very careful not to let anyone touch ¡®him¡¯, it is safer for Prince Sui to come forward.


    Of course, these people have to act secretly behind the people in the Mountain of Yang too.


    Prince Sui had never seen Lu Wen with his own eyes, only knowing that ¡°he¡± was a girl disguised as a man, competing with his god-daughter for the love of his grandson, Liu Zhen.


    Except for the important leaders of the Mountain of Yang, no one knows the real details of Lu Wen. After all, it¡¯s a crime that will exterminate nine of their generations. Maybe it¡¯s for fear of implicating their family. Most of the time, ¡°he¡± won¡¯t even appear in front of people, only pretending that Lu Wen was robbed and served as a concubine on the mountain, which confused the eyes of the people in the Mountain of Yang.


    He originally thought that while she was arguing with Liu Zhen, he attacked her secretly, and the root had been eradicated. Who would have thought that Lu Wen narrowly escaped death and returned to Lingquan Town again¡­ It¡¯s getting a little interesting¡­


    So Yunniang speaks without reserve that ¡°he¡± was seriously injured and had now lost his memory, completely forgotten his past, and was cheated and forcibly occupied by a businessman.


    Of course, Prince Sui knew the little tricks of Yunniang. She just wanted to borrow his hand to get rid of her rival in love.


    However, Lu Wen had a raging fight with Cui Xingzhou in his neighborhood County previously, which let him reap profits and avoid the eyes and ears of those crafty Imperial Concubines in the Royal Court.


    From this point of view, he would also like to thank Lu Wen.


    Now that ¡°he¡± has become a disabled person and lost all his memory, it has aroused his curiosity. If he has some leisure, he should take the time to see why this ¡°Lu Wen¡± can fascinate Liu Zhen while she is still alive.


    Of course, she will still have to die in the end. After all¡­ She¡¯s in his way, isn¡¯t she?


    The three states were surging at this time, and everyone was making their calculations. Miantang can¡¯t escape the custom too. She crackled her abacus in the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce too.


    Recently, merchants in the Lingquan Porcelain Chamber of Commerce are melancholy. There is no other reason, just because the Lian family turned their back and cancel the order list.


    They don¡¯t know how the third daughter of the He family communicated with Lady Lian. Their good relationship, finally turned into bad terms, not only He Zhen was not carried into The Prince Residence, but also caused the Lian family to abandon the near and seek the far, and change to customize porcelains in Qinde Town, 500 miles away.


    At the beginning of the month, the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce was very lively for a while, and all the other Masters were surrounding the Second Master He and Lady He tightly packed, pestering them regarding the Lian family who has cancel the order list, and what should they do with the materials they have prepared?


    For a time, the colleagues are no longer in a harmony with sharing benefits, and the wrangle is a little out of control.


    Miantang knows the reason inside. Looking at the way the Second Master He swallowed his anger and stared at He Zhen repeatedly, she felt a little sorry for her. So she opened her mouth and said, ¡°Come on, everybody, it¡¯s enough. The raw material of porcelain is not rice noodles, and it will not produce insects if it is kept for a long time. Since it has been prepared, you can also save yourself the trouble to choose and buy in the future.¡±


    The Masters agreed in advance to deduct the compensation from the He family. Hearing what Lady Cui said, they immediately can¡¯t tolerate it. Saying in a sarcastic tone, ¡°We are not like you. Only received all the bits and pieces of the Lian family¡¯s order. Naturally, you will not suffer any great losses and have the time to act as a peacemaker here!¡±


    Liu Miantang was offended by several Masters, but she was not angry. She smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m being kind-hearted. I don¡¯t want you guys to hurt the harmony with each other. Fine. Let me talk about business first and it won¡¯t be too late for you guys to ask the Second Master He for compensation.¡±


    With that, she said straightly, ¡°Lady He, you mentioned to me a few days ago that Prince Huaiyang Residence and the Lian family don¡¯t order from the same list. The Old Princess Consort is used to the He family porcelain, and if she wants to prepare for her son¡¯s marriage, she will ask the steward to choose and buy it. By then, you¡¯d better leave some for our Jade Porcelain Workshop for the list that has a bigger benefit at that time!¡±


    He Zhen is not a fool. She naturally understands the intention of Lady Liu saying something that is not related at all at this time. At that moment, she hurriedly replied, ¡°Oh, this matter is not decided yet. Why did you say it in front of so many people¡­¡±


    Although these two sisters are not sworn sisters with different surnames, they cooperate very naturally and smoothly, fooling those Masters with some hesitation, and suddenly realized that they are somewhat short-sighted. It turned out that the He family still had the order list from the Royal Residence in their hands. So one by one, they all gradually changed their appearance and amend their words.


    He Zhen took Liu Miantang out of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce with the excuse of going to Liu Miantang¡¯s porcelain shop to see the color of her new dye.


    After walking out of Qingshi alley, He Zhen couldn¡¯t help but be grateful and said, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get away now, but I couldn¡¯t go back without being scolded by my father. However, the list of the Royal Residence you said was nowhere to be seen yet. I don¡¯t know why Lady Lian is angry with me. If she egged the Old Princess Consort to not patronize the He family anymore, won¡¯t other porcelain shop Masters make trouble with my father again?¡±


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t worry about this. She smiled and tucked her handkerchief into her waist and said, ¡°When teasing the donkey with the radish, you just have to trick the donkey into moving forward, why would you worry about whether the donkey was able to eat it? You don¡¯t need me to tell you about the reason behind it, right?¡±


    Although He Zhen is capable, her family has always followed the path of being the Imperial merchants, with pride and reserve. Thus, in terms of ¡°profiteers¡±, it is not as mature as Liu Miantang¡¯s self-taught skills.


    He Zhen asked herself that if the He family did not have the skills left by their predecessors and laid a good foundation, the He family would certainly not accelerate so smoothly.


    In terms of her ability to settle down, neither she nor her father is far inferior to this Lady Liu from a foreign country.


    Thinking so, He Zhen took Liu Miantang¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Recently, I¡¯ve been neglectful and lazy in communicating and socializing, and I didn¡¯t bother to invite you to tea. No time is like the present. Let me invite you to some snacks in the Subao Restaurant today, let¡¯s go!¡±


    Liu Miantang was also idle. Naturally, with a smile, she followed the third daughter of the He family for some snacks.


    The dim sum in the Subao Restuarant is famous for its delicious taste, so people usually have to make a reservation before they have a seat. Fortunately, due to business needs, the He family has kept a private room there for many years thus, no reservation is required.


    But today, when they got off the carriage, they saw three or four gorgeous carriages parked at the entrance of the Subao Restuarant.


    The waiter greeted Lady He and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lady He. All the private rooms on the second floor are booked by some distinguished guests today. But they have already finished their tea and are about to leave soon¡­ Why don¡¯t you wait on the ground open level first?¡±


    He Zhen was very dissatisfied, ¡°Our He family gave enough deposit at once and reserved the Liuxian Room upstairs for years. Did you turn around and provide our booked room to outsiders just because we didn¡¯t come?¡±


    The waiter also said bitterly, ¡°They are all distinguished guests! Also, we are just a small business, we naturally should be careful to flatter. Moreover, there are many of them and the private rooms are really not enough. Hope that Lady He can pardon us a little.¡±


    These distinguished guests¡¯ origins are unknown. All of them are dressed in Chinese clothes and are super generous. There are more than ten silver taels just for the tips alone. They naturally don¡¯t dare to stop them from entering the private rooms.


    He thought that the He family would not come at this time, and it would be all right to use their private room for the time being. He didn¡¯t expect that speaking of the devil, the He family unexpectedly came!


    He Zhen looked at the carriages and horses outside the restaurant. It looked different from ordinary merchants. She couldn¡¯t tell which noble officials it was. Their family always deals with the official¡¯s family. She naturally knows the essence of being cautious, so she has no more words.


    Liu Miantang also said, ¡°Forget it, we¡¯d better eat elsewhere.¡±


    Just as the two of them were about to turn around and leave, there was a loud voice on the spinal stairs on the second floor, and several talking and laughing men came down.


    And the one who was praised by the stars was at the forefront. He had a broad arm, a round waist, and a dark face. He looked very tall. But his dressing is a little different, with long hair, and a fine linen wide robe worn by monks. The robe looks special, and the fine linen is mixed with faint silver thread. A string of golden incense wooded Buddha beads is wrapped around his big palm. The pendant of the Buddha beads is a jade inlaid cicada, which looks like a lay Buddhist who practice with hair.


    But in his pair of leopard eyes, there was no means to not seek fame and wealth and the peacefulness that a lay Buddhist should have. His eyes were bright, and he looked at people as if he were staring into people¡¯s flesh.


    Miantang inadvertently raised her head and her eyes met with the monk¡¯s eyes with the robe. He was staring at her like a tiger and wolf which made her feel uncomfortable. She immediately leaned down and stepped back, intending to avoid them and let these men go first.


    However, the man inadvertently whored for a look. When he saw Miantang, he was involuntarily attracted by the woman¡¯s stunning appearance, slowed down his pace, and smiled at the people behind him, ¡°They all say that Lingquan Town¡¯s porcelain is beautiful, but I think the people here are the beauty. Such a white and snowy woman is really like a porcelain sculpture¡­¡±


    Hearing what he said, the men in royal clothes behind him also looked at Liu Miantang. Indeed! Such beauty can be regarded as the best in the Capital.


    These men act like there¡¯s nobody else around, their language is frivolous, and they are extremely rude.


    Bi Cao behind Liu Miantang was angry and was about to rush over and shout, but Servant Li twisted her arm behind her and clamped her hard to stop her from shouting.


    Others may not know the disheveled man, but Servant Li has seen him!


    Liu Pei, the King of the State of Hui, had boundless influence in the Capital. When Servant Li followed the Old Princess Consort to the Capital previously, she saw Liu Pei in his youth riding across the street, and remembered particularly the rough appearance of this Prince.


    He is now dressed as a monk. It is said that when the former Emperor died, he made a promise to practice and transcribe scriptures for his deceased brother for three years.


    At that time, Prince Sui lamented the sincerity and faith of his predecessor, and the whole court was full of admiration. It seems that now he was the same who pursued sensuality, and he still has the arrogant look he has in the Capital.


    Servant Li recognized Prince Sui and secretly break a cold sweat out for Miantang, for fear that she would go up to argue with them and provoke this Great Yan¡¯s b*stard Prince, as she did a few days ago.


    However, Liu Miantang didn¡¯t even lift her eyelids being judged by a group of men in front of her. She quickly turned around, pulled He Zhen from the dim sum Restaurant on the side, and went out along the back door.


    Even He Zhen also felt that the men just now were a little impetuous, and only angrily said, ¡°Where did they come from? How can they be so rude and speak ill of people to your face.¡±


    Liu Miantang, on the other hand, was a lot more low-key than before because she had previously provoked gangsters to turn over the wall of her mansion and repented to causing trouble for her husband.


    Those people look like they were born well at first sight. She hid when she could. It was only proper to not bring trouble to her husband. With a smile, she only made another appointment with He Zhen to have tea again.


    Liu Miantang thought that the encounter was just a chance encounter in the restaurant. It¡¯s irrelevant. She can just avoid it.


    After returning to the shop, she took down her gold hairpin. It¡¯s her shop anyway, and she doesn¡¯t need to put up a facade like a jewel in the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce.


    She simply braided her hair loosely, then tied a jade hairpin on the top of her head, allowed her fine hair to swirl around her cheeks, put on a loose robe with a collar made of rabbit fur rolled around the edge, and sat on a high stool beside the counter to check the goods and the accounts.


    Having dressed like this exudes the romantic feel of a little girl, especially the fluffy and soft rabbit fur, which makes her face look delicate.


    Those who often walk down this street, men and women, young and old, can¡¯t help looking in the store when passing by the Jade Porcelain Workshop, hoping to see the first-class beauty in Lingshui Town.


    Just then the welcome bell hanging at the door of the store rang.


    Miantang smiled and looked up to greet the guests. She was stunned because the one who came in was the mendicant Buddhist monk with a shock of hair who she had seen not long ago.


    The man did not look at the porcelain when he came in but looked directly at the counter.


    When he saw that Miantang was leaning against the counter, the man seemed to be stunned for a while, his leopard eyes narrowed, and hesitated, ¡°Are you the landlady here?¡±


    Adhering to the principle that all visitors are guests, Miantang could not drive the guests away. She only nodded slightly, and then aroused the shop assistant to say, ¡°Guisheng, come and greet the guests!¡±


    But after the man was stunned, with an evil smile on his mouth, he walked up to the counter and slowly looked at her up and down, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t need anyone else, since you are the landlady, of course, it¡¯s better for you to introduce to me.¡±


    Miantang looked at the broad daylight and was not afraid of what this person would do in her shop, so she calmly asked, ¡°What do you want to buy, Sir?¡±


    This is Liu Pei, Prince Sui!


    To be honest, when he saw this beauty in the tea house earlier, he just felt that there was a stunning beauty in this small place, and he didn¡¯t take it too seriously.


    However, when he came to the Jade Porcelain Workshop mentioned by Yunniang and saw this delicate-looking woman again, he suddenly realized that this woman was the frightening bandit Lu Wen!


    If it weren¡¯t for his firm determination that Yunniang didn¡¯t dare to deceive him, he really couldn¡¯t imagine the situation of this fragile young woman leading on the Mountain of Yang¡­


    Thinking of this, he narrowed his eyes but didn¡¯t answer Miantang¡¯s question. Instead, he leaned forward and stretched out his hand to pull Miantang.


    Miantang didn¡¯t expect him to be so bold, and his action was very fast. In a few moments, he had grabbed her wrist at once.


    When Liu Pei held her wrist in his hand, he immediately felt that it was useless. As expected, her hamstring was broken¡­ This should be caused by the sneak attack of the martial arts expert he hired at the beginning.


    According to those people, when they reported back, the woman¡¯s last-ditch resistance was so strong that they failed to catch her alive. After tearing the hamstring of her hands and legs, she threw herself into the rolling river while they were unprepared. It was far from the shore and they thought that she was seriously injured and could not live.


    Now it seems that God may have pity on this rare beauty and let her live¡­ But the next moment, Liu Pei¡¯s hand was violently pinched, making him unbearable the pain thus, he could only loosen his hand to hold Miantang.


    Being angry, he turned around and saw a man with a straight face pinching his hand.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± Liu Pei¡¯s bodyguard didn¡¯t expect a man to strike at an unexpected moment and made such a quick move, so he rushed forward wanting to subdue the man.


    However, the man let go in time after seeing Liu Pei let go, and the group of people behind him also wanted to rush up. Miantang saw that the atmosphere was not right, and the porcelain in the store would suffer again, she immediately stared and shouted, ¡°Sir, why do you touch me as soon as you enter the store in broad daylight? If you want to have a taste of prison food, there is a Yamen across the street, and I¡¯ll ask someone to treat you!¡±


    Liu Pei came here for a private visit in normal clothes. He didn¡¯t want to alert Cui Xingzhou.


    Cui Xingzhou is focused on fighting with anti-bandits in the Mountain of Yang now and the Imperial Court¡¯s troop reduction order. With him blocking in front, Liu Pei is at ease!


    Thinking of this, he only smiled at Liu Miantang and said meaningfully, ¡°When you are far away from the Yamen and no one to bother us, I¡¯ll have a good chat with you¡­¡±


    According to Yunniang, Liu Miantang came down the mountain with a large amount of money and silver. If he can get her to open her mouth on the whereabouts of this money, it will be a big profit.


    Since she lost her memory and became a businesswoman, she was easy to handle. As for the man who pinched his hand, he was probably the merchant who cheated her of losing her memory.


    Liu Pei was just passing by Lingquan Town. He was curious for a moment, so he came to see the legendary Lu Wen. In fact, he had more important things to do, and he didn¡¯t want to delay here, so he took a deep look at Miantang, turned around, and left the store.


    Liu Miantang looked at the man gratefully and found that it was the strong men who helped her send the group of rascals to the Yamen a few days ago. Behind him was his gang of brothers.


    ¡°Lady, don¡¯t sit at the counter in the future. If I don¡¯t happen to pass by, won¡¯t you be in trouble again?¡±


    This time, the strong man was able to say some long sentences. After saying that like reciting, he didn¡¯t wait for Lady Liu to take a red envelope and seal the silver for them, he hug his fist and then turned and left.


    Liu Miantang called him to take the money, but he didn¡¯t look back.


    Miantang was helpless. Standing at the door of the store and felt that the custom in Lingquan Town was very good. Each one of them was so warm-hearted¡­


    On the other hand, the strong man turned into the corner with his men, bowed to a parked carriage, and whispered, ¡°Your Highness, Prince Sui has gone¡­ Do you want us to continue to follow him?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou said coldly, ¡°Not necessary, I already know who he is going to look for.¡±

 CH 40

    Cui Xingzhou was very lucky. If he hadn¡¯t intended to catch Yunniang and lure the big fish of Prince Sui instead, maybe he would have to take a detour for some time.


    After discovering that many officials in the State of Qing had inextricably linked with Prince Sui, he sent people to investigate. He inadvertently got a clue of a Royal Medical descendant who had returned to his hometown for many years.


    This Royal Doctor has excellent medical skills. He also knows some other ways because of his Jianghu background that the regular Royal Doctors are not proficient in. It is said that he was the Royal Doctor used by Prince Sui in the Capital.


    However, after the Royal Doctor went to Prince Sui¡¯s Residence for an out-call many years ago, he fell ill and died in Prince Sui¡¯s Residence.


    When his body was carried back in the family¡¯s dowry coffin, they unexpectedly found ink marks on the soles of his feet¡­ At that time, the handwriting was still clear. The eldest son was familiar with his father¡¯s medical skills, and he knew at a glance that it was a prescription to detoxify the poison of poisonous wine.


    The eldest son who embalmed the body of the Royal Doctor suddenly understood why the Royal Doctor who had always been in good health would suddenly die. He must have saved someone he shouldn¡¯t have and was killed by Prince Sui.


    It can be seen that when his father died, he should have been in his sleep, with his shoes and socks undressed, attempting to fight back against others, and inadvertently stepped on the prescription that fell to the ground, which resulted in the word mark on his feet.


    Those murderers who dressed their father should not have noticed the words under his feet. Thus, they just carried him on a stretcher, covered him with white cloth, and sent him back to his mansion.


    Thinking of this, the eldest son was so frightened that on the excuse of sending his father to return to his ancestral tomb for settling on the roots, the whole family packed their bags, and the other two sons resigned from the post of Royal Doctor and went back to their hometown.


    The eldest son is old now and the Old Prince Huaiyang had done him a favor previously. So when Cui Xingzhou hurried his way to him, he was then willing to tell the truth.


    As for who was the person the old doctor had saved, Cui Xingzhou immediately understood at that time.


    Not everyone got the chance for the poisoned wine. According to the day when the Royal Doctor died, it was the checkpoint where The Crown Prince was killed and his sons were granted death one after another.


    Moreover, the mentor he visited not long ago also said that The Crown Prince¡¯s two legitimate sons may not have died. If the two young children who were poisoned can survive, it must be with the help of Prince Sui.


    Then, once he calculates the age, the age of the eldest son¡­ Is around the age of that Young Master Ziyu. Cui Xingzhou at this time was suddenly cleared about everything. He recalled that day when he first saw Ziyu, he looks familiar to him.


    Now that he thinks of it carefully, how similar was Ziyu¡¯s good-looking appearance to the Crown Princess he saw at the banquet when he was young!


    Thinking of it like that, it is said that when the Crown Prince died, a large amount of money disappeared from his Residence. It should also be brought away by his young son who had disappeared.


    Linking back to that day, someone on the Mountain of Yang accused Lady Liu of running away with a huge amount of money¡­ Cui Xingzhou had suddenly enlighted on the various doubts he have previously.


    The head bandit of the Mountain of Yang who fought with him for a long time was the Imperial grandson, Liu Zhen, who disappeared that year!


    When Cui Xingzhou was preoccupied with his thoughts and entered the small house on North street again, Miantang was following Servant Li in the yard, directing the two young servant girls to remove the quilt.


    It will be cold in another few days, and the quilt needs some new cotton to be warm.


    So when Miantang came back from the store, she bought two bags of cotton and prepared to give the quilts of the people in the house a wad.


    After the yard was cleaned and spread with a few large pieces of oil paper, Servant Li let the young servants spread the quilts out.


    Seeing that her husband came back, Miantang asked Servant Li and the two young servant girls to continue with their work, and she came to meet her husband.


    When Cui Xingzhou asked her about her daily life today, she also told him that she met a flirtatious mendicant Buddhist monk in the shop.


    ¡°That righteous man is right. Now that there are always foreigners in Lingquan Town, and good and evil people are mixed. Hire another capable shopkeeper on the counter. You don¡¯t have to show up all the time.¡±


    Although what his subordinates said to Miantang today was all ordered by Cui Xingzhou, he solemnly repeated it in front of Miantang.


    After all, he won¡¯t pass by the store every day to stop the disaster for Miantang. Letting her stay on North Street also saves accidents from happening.


    Miantang also felt that what her husband said was reasonable, and nodded convincingly.


    ¡°Where did he grab you today?¡± Cui Jiu asked gently while drinking tea.


    Miantang honestly raised her left hand. She then saw that her husband slowly put his teacup down, took her hand, and came to the water basin behind the panel, wetted the veil with water, and started cleaning her wrists.


    Liu Miantang felt that the water in the basin was a little sour, so she chuckled and said, ¡°If I am accidentally touched by someone, will you press me into the bucket and soak for a few days?¡±


    After saying that, Liu Miantang regretted it. She just couldn¡¯t keep in mind the essence of being cautious with words that her female teacher had taught her before her marriage. What is with touching the whole body? How can a lady make fun with her husband like that?


    However, Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t reprimand her gaffe but lowered his head and his thin lips slowly said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter¡­ At that time, there will naturally be a way to ¡®wash¡¯ you¡­¡±


    She doesn¡¯t know why, she felt that his smile was untrue, and his eyes were filled with an unspeakable chill. She didn¡¯t like the way he looked at her, so she reached out and dusted the water beads on her husband¡¯s handsome face off.


    Cui Xingzhou eased the chill in his eyes, grabbed her naughty slender hand, pulled her into his arms, and rubbed the water beads on the tip of his nose against her face. It made Miantang blush and giggle.


    Servant Li was delivering two cups of stewed Chinese wolfberry red jujube sweet dessert to them and saw the scene of The Prince fooling around with Lady Liu.


    Her old wrist trembled, and she almost spilled the sweet dessert on the upper of her shoes.


    When Cui Xingzhou saw Servant Li coming in, he kept his smile back and sat at the table drinking the sweet dessert with Miantang.


    Just when Servant Li was going out with the tray, he gave a faint command, ¡°Next time when I come back, don¡¯t come in without my command¡­¡±


    In the heart of Servant Li, this North Mansion is not the inner courtyard of the Royal Residence.


    She knows the rules!


    However, they will deliberately avoid and not disturb them when the Master is getting along with his wife and concubine privately only when they enter the inner courtyard of The Prince Residence.


    The Mansion on North Street is just a disguised prison cell. She didn¡¯t expect she will require to follow the rules of the inner courtyard and chamber of The Prince¡¯s Residence


    After Servant Li stepped away, she couldn¡¯t tell what color was her old face. What does The Prince mean? It shouldn¡¯t be that he¡¯s going to take her in after using Lady Liu as the bait?


    Thinking of Lady Lian¡¯s mother in the Residence, Servant Li shook her head. She was tired of seeing too many intrigues in the concubines of the previous generation in the Residence.


    Even if Lady Lian can accommodate Lady Liu, she¡¯s afraid that the sarcastic ridicule Lian-Chu couldn¡¯t. She will definitely encourage the future Princess Consort to punish Lady Liu.


    At that time, how can Lady Liu, whose reputation has been tarnished live if she cannot rely on her husband for help?


    She should know that the love of the men in the Residence is not as long as a lifetime!


    Servant Li at this time was really worried about the future of Lady Liu, and she couldn¡¯t see any places that is bright.


    The sound of carefree and cheerful laughter still came from the room. After a while, there was no stirring anymore, and she doesn¡¯t know what the two were doing¡­


    As Cui Xingzhou expected, Prince Sui went to see his nephew Liu Zhen.


    In the boat at the foot of the Mountain of Yang, Liu Zhen boarded a cruise ship by the lake.


    Liu Pei warmed the wine early and waited for the arrival of the Crown Prince¡¯s orphan.


    Although he is the grandfather according to the position in the family hierarchy, he is more like Liu Zhen¡¯s uncle in terms of age.


    Liu Zhen suddenly saw an elder in the Royal family after giving up his surname for many years, he didn¡¯t know what to call him for a moment.


    Fortunately, Liu Pei was very approachable and seemed to see Ziyu¡¯s dilemma. He only smiled and said, ¡°Since you haven¡¯t sire bond, you don¡¯t have to stick to the secular title, just call me by my King¡¯s title.¡±


    Ziyu arched his hand and said, ¡°I will then disrespectfully call you Prince Sui.¡±


    With that, Liu Pei casually waved his hand only to ask Liu Zhen to take a seat, poured a cup of warmed wine for him, and said with infinite listlessness, ¡°The last time I saw you, you were still a child. In a blink of an eye, you have grown into a young man. If the Crown Prince knows, he will be gratified and it was worthed for me to save you that year¡­¡±


    At this point, Ziyu¡¯s eyes are also slightly red too. But he has experienced too many great tragedies these years, and he is unwilling to cry in front of people. Thus, he only thanked Prince Sui for his saving grace in those years.


    When he manifested the effect of poison that year, although his trusted follower had taken the children with a similar appearance begging on the street to replace him and his brother and rescued them from the East Palace, the poisoned wine was too overbearing. If there¡¯s no high-skilled doctor to cure him, he will still die.


    Fortunately, General Sun had some private connections with Prince Sui. At that time, Prince Sui, who was still a young man, was brave enough to find a Royal Doctor and give him a good prescription to save him.


    Ziyu was deeply moved by this kind of kindness, so when Miantang said some malicious words regarding Prince Sui, he reprimanded Miantang recklessly¡­


    But Prince Sui didn¡¯t come here to talk about the old days, so to make a long story short, he just asked him directly about his next plan.


    Ziyu naturally mentioned the unity of marriage with Commander Shi. Liu Pei felt that this was a good marriage and sighed with emotion that it was time for Ziyu to get married and have children. No matter whether the major events can be achieved in the future, The Crown Prince¡¯s bloodline must never be broken.


    When he and Lady Shi get married, he will also present a gift in the name of Prince Sui Residence.


    Next, Prince Sui analyzed the current situation of the Imperial Court. The Wu family, the family of Concubine Xi, who is now the Empress Concubine, is domineering. The Court is controlled by her relatives, which is very unpopular among the people. The Old Ministers in the court now are still there, and they still remember the virtue of the former Crown Prince.


    His confidant in The Court paved the way for Liu Zhen. Once he is offered amnesty and enlistment, and head to the Capital to receive an official position. He will then plot an opportunity to raise troops in The Palace for rebellion and eradicate the party of wicked concubines.


    Liu Zhen listened quietly to his Royal Grandfather plotting, and said faintly, ¡°It¡¯s still far away to plan a great cause. If I can blade the enemy and avenge my father and my younger brother, this wish is enough. As for the strategy of governing the country, I know I¡¯m contemptuous, and it¡¯s useless. It still has to be you to set things right and save the Great Yan Dynasty¡­¡±


    When Liu Zhen said goodbye to Prince Sui and got off the ship, it may be because of the cold, he was constantly coughing and looking weak.


    When he got on the carriage, Mr. Qin whispered, ¡°Although Prince Sui is a blood-related relative of yours, you still have to guard on him!¡±


    Liu Zhen nodded. After the corruption case on the mountain, he suddenly became clear.


    He paid too much attention being nostalgia, always felt grateful for the help of these people to the East Palace, and doesn¡¯t want to think too badly about his former subordinates.


    But hearts change. In fact, every one of his former subordinates has their own plot.


    Miantang¡¯s departure made Liu Zhen understand a lot of things in the world.


    Miantang had already analyzed what kind of person Prince Sui was, and she strongly opposed the idea that General Sun and Prince Sui join hands.


    However, Miantang¡¯s idea is too conservative. When can he repay his blood feud?


    He also knew that although Miantang was intelligent, she didn¡¯t have much ambition. If it weren¡¯t for him, she might not have stayed in the Mountain of Yang at the beginning.


    Now that Miantang has left, Liu Zhen no longer needs to persuade her. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to take a risk.


    He is too eager to succeed. In the first half of his life, he shouldered too much suffering that he shouldn¡¯t have. Now, only by breaking the boat can he win back everything that belongs to him, including Miantang.


    Thinking of this, his fist tightened, the road ahead was thorny, and the sea of fire behind him was boundless. He had no choice but to keep moving forward¡­


    On the other hand, Prince Sui looked at his sick grandnephew who has left, and he gave a ponderous smile.


    He¡¯s afraid that he does not have much chance to enjoy happiness with such a weak body.


    The mother of Prince Sui is the Royal relative of the Great Yan Dynasty family. His mother is known as the Grandma-Empress. How honorable it is, and the wicked Imperial concubine is just her daughter-in-law. How can the Wu family, the relatives of the wicked Imperial concubine, be so lawless?


    So if his Royal family wanted to pull the Wu family down, they saved their hopes high on Liu Pei.


    However, as his mother said, now is not the right time. Leave the Wu family to be arrogant for another period. When the gods are angry and the people are resentful, it is when Liu Pei will return to the Capital.


    He still has to recuperate and hibernate for some time now. As for Liu Zhen and Prince Huaiyang, they are all his chess pieces to attract the Wu family¡¯s attention. He is not in a hurry¡­


    However, in this leisure time, he has to find something to kill time. Somehow, a pink-cheeked face appeared in the thought of Liu Pei.


    The female bandit leader who has lost her memory and all her martial arts¡­ Unfortunately, she has a face that even he can¡¯t help but love upon seeing her.


    Such freshness and tenderness person, it aroused Liu Pei¡¯s appetite.


    So when returning, Liu Pei deliberately passed by Lingquan Town again, hoping to meet the young lady for a while.


    But the person sitting on the counter of the porcelain shop was an old man with a messy beard. When he asked, he then knew that the woman had suffered from her old disease and the boss hold her so dearly that he wouldn¡¯t let her come to the store again.


    Liu Pei rise his eyebrows after listening and didn¡¯t care much about it. He was only a mere merchant who is lucky to save a flower without its thorn from the river and managed to be the first to connect with her.


    However, Liu Pei, as The Prince, naturally can¡¯t forcibly rob civilian women like this. Doesn¡¯t these kinds of actions make him a ruffian that allows people to take it as evidence against him?


    He will ask his steward to make an order list of porcelain later as the excuse to try to get the businessman to the State of Hui, place a crime under his name, and put him in prison.


    By then, he wants to see if Lady Liu will come to save her nominal husband! At that time, if she were to come to his residence for help, he will open a small gate in the backyard and let Lady Liu in to discuss it in detail¡­


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t know that someone was plotting a scheme against her. She is attending a tea party at the He family¡¯s Mansion and got to share some colorful fabrics brought by the He family¡¯s big uncle from the Capital.


    Lingquan Town is no better than the Capital. Although it is much better than other remote towns, many rare things have to be brought from the Capital by those who have access.


    The He Master went to deliver goods to the Capital. There¡¯s a saying that goes ¡°never leave a place without anything¡±, so he brought back valuable materials, spices, cosmetics, and other items in the Capital and distributed them to the women in the mansion, as well as the official family members who had to take care of their home business.


    However, the ladies who had a closer relationship with the third daughter of the He family also got some preferential treatment because of their friendship, and they could get some extra cloth and cosmetic powder from Lady He.


    Among the ladies in the crowd, He Zhen was grateful for Lady Liu¡¯s enlightenment before and was a little biased towards her, so she picked up a tricolor handkerchief and wanted to hand it over to Liu Miantang first.


    But the fabric used for the handkerchief was so outstanding that several ladies had long placed an eye on it. Seeing that He Zhen gave it to Liu Miantang first, they couldn¡¯t help feeling that their friendship with He Zhen had been discounted, and grow a sour feeling of being betrayed.


    ¡°Third Lady, you¡¯re too eccentric. You just gave the gradient plain satin veil to Lady Cui without asking our preferences. Aren¡¯t you afraid that we¡¯ll all ask for it and if you can¡¯t fulfill it, are you gonna block the door and refrain us from going back?¡± One of the thick-skinned ladies asked directly with a smile.


    He Zhen also regretted that she didn¡¯t give Liu Miantang in private, and hurriedly rectify, ¡°This veil was requested by Lady Liu early on, and it¡¯s not the means of disregard. It¡¯s really that the cloth is too hard-to-get, and my big uncle didn¡¯t buy much too¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on, when your uncle entered the Capital, Lady Cui had just settled down in the town. Where is the connection to reverse a veil with you? You might as well say that our skin color doesn¡¯t match the beauty of this veil!¡±


    The lady is also articulate. Relying on her familiarity with He Zhen, she has no scruples about speaking and is determined to let He Zhen distribute the veil to herself.


    He Zhen didn¡¯t expect that Lady Zhao doesn¡¯t do her a favor. For a moment, she was speechless. Recalling the scene at the rockery previously, this Lady Zhao was one of them who speaks ill about her, and she couldn¡¯t help feeling a little angry.


    When He Zhen was dividing the items, Miantang didn¡¯t move forward at all, only half lying on the side of the couch warming herself with the stove.


    Winter has arrived and Lingshui Town entered a cold and rustling season. Miantang¡¯s hands and feet were injured and she couldn¡¯t bear the cold. So she¡¯s like a cat, going where it¡¯s hot.


    Seeing them mention herself, she looked up and walked over with the stove in her arms. These women are not the family members of the craftsman in North Street, and they seem like they lack vision. Is it worth fighting for a handkerchief?


    In order not to embarrass He Zhen, she said magnanimously, ¡°Thank you Lady He for your kindness. Since Lady Zhao wants it, just give it to her. My house has something similar to this material, so you don¡¯t have to consider me.¡±


    Lady Zhao was also excited. After listening to Miantang¡¯s words, she began to laugh and say, ¡°Why are you talking so impractically, Lady Cui? This tricolor fabric has only emerged this year, and it was manufactured with Nanyang natural silk that is dyed with the juice of the Jintang flower, and it can produce a flower-like fragrance against the skin when worn. In the Capital, one piece of cloth has been bided at a high price. But you actually said that your family has it? Could it be that you are deceived by unscrupulous profiteers?¡±


    Miantang was stunned and turned around to ask Fang Xie to bring her fur cloak, which she had put aside. This fox fur is made from a new leather material brought by her husband. She chose the cloth material that her husband bought for her to make the lining of the cloak, and the rest of the cloth was also used to make several kinds of inner wear and underwear.


    If she remembered correctly, that batch of cloth was made of the same material as this handkerchief!


    When Fang Xie took her coat out, all the ladies in the room stopped talking.


    What is the real meaning of showing off one wealth? It is by no means full of gold and silver but uses maltose to wash dishes and candles as firewood.


    For another example, Lady Liu, casually made cloth worth thousands of gold into the lining of a leather cloak.


    Although He Zhen also guessed that the Cui family has some background long ago, she didn¡¯t expect Lady Liu was more extravagant than Lady Lian, the Princess Consort to be. She couldn¡¯t help but say dumbly, ¡°Talking about spending, It still has to be Lady Cui¡­¡±


    Lady Zhao, who was fighting for the handkerchief, was also embarrassed and felt that she had lost her face.


    Liu Miantang realized that she had ruined a precious cloth, she was being angry at herself in her heart and didn¡¯t bother to listen to the compliments of her husband anymore.


    When she returned to North Street, Miantang finally waited until her husband returned at night, and immediately confessed her heinous sins to her husband.


    Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t care much about these things. Nowadays, the things in the North Street Mansion are all given by Steward Gao.


    He pitied Miantang for having suffered too much and only ordered the steward to send some good things. He didn¡¯t know the benefits of this so-called gradient plain satin.


    Miantang first inquire about how much her husband spent on the cloth. Cui Xingzhou said without blinking his eyes, ¡°It¡¯s a gift from a close friend and I don¡¯t know how much it costs.¡±


    Miantang gasped and asked while combing her husband¡¯s long hair, ¡°What kind of friendship gives you a cloth that is worth hundreds of silver taels?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou replied with his face unchanged, ¡°It¡¯s not a gift. He lost a game of chess to me, so I asked for these cloth as gambling money¡­¡±


    Miantang knew that the friends of her husband are all spendthrifts of the rich who spent hundreds of silver taels to buy paintings, such as the highly skilled Docter Zhao. So she didn¡¯t doubt Cui Xingzhou¡¯s words at all.


    Therefore, after knowing that her husband didn¡¯t spend money indiscriminately, she could solemnly confess her waste of things wholeheartedly for the rest of the time.


    Cui Xingzhou couldn¡¯t bear to see her frowning face, and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a cloth. Isn¡¯t it fine as long as it¡¯s used?¡±


    Miantang glanced at her husband in a plain wide robe with thick black long hair, sighed again about her husband being otherworldly, and then said bitterly, ¡°Lady Zhao said that this cloth gives off a fragrant smell on the skin, and the color gradient is naturally rare, so it¡¯s best to use it to make clothes. But I used it to make my lining and inner wear¡­¡±


    Hearing this, Cui Jiu got a little interested: ¡°Innerwear? I didn¡¯t see you wear¡­¡±


    Miantang¡¯s face flushed. Her new innerwear hasn¡¯t been worn yet! Naturally, her husband hasn¡¯t seen it.


    And although she shared the bed with her husband several times, she only slept with her innerwear on and she was covered tightly¡­


    But how can the cloth worth hundreds of gold be so buried? Someone must appreciate it.


    That night, after Miantang rinsed, she hid behind the panel and changed into her new inner shirt.


    When Cui Jiu, as usual, read late into the night until Miantang fell asleep and went to bed and lifted the curtain, a refreshing smell of sweet peach and flower fragrance penetrated his nose.


    And the young lady¡¯s eyes were bright and she was not sleepy at all.


    It was only then that he heard Miantang¡¯s slightly shy words from the brocade curtain, ¡°Do you think this cloth looks good, husband?¡±


    That day, Miantang didn¡¯t get an answer from her husband.


    She saw her husband staring at her, suddenly holding her wrist tightly and pulling her over¡­ But before Miantang stabilize her body, he loosened again, pushed her down on the bed, and then walked out of the door.


    Where is her husband going in the middle of the night?


    Miantang asked anxiously, ¡°It¡¯s cold outside, husband. What are you doing without an outer shirt?¡±


    ¡°I just remembered that I didn¡¯t do my boxing exercise today, and I want to practice a set of boxing now¡­¡± A while later in the yard outside, there was a vigor and vitality sound of boxing.


    Miantang then lay back in the quilt at ease, comfortably tucked in the quilt, thinking that her husband would come back later, and she would not want him to catch a cold thus, she hug the quilt to keep it warm¡­


    However, when Servant Li heard some noise in the main room, she looked around and saw that The Prince was suddenly practicing boxing in the middle of the night. Moreover, he also scooped cold water from the big jar to drink from time to time. He was indeed being young and roaring with fire!

 CH 41

    When he returned to the room, the young lady in the curtain had fallen asleep with her head tilted, her smooth black hair scattered, and her thin white arms were thrown out of the quilt, looking like she was not sleeping well.


    Fortunately, she had put on her blouse again¡­ Cui Xingzhou couldn¡¯t tell whether he was relieved or feeling a little disappointed for a moment.


    Miantang didn¡¯t know that he was not her real husband, so he couldn¡¯t take her in such a muddle-headed way.


    Cui Xingzhou does not follow the path of a gentleman but inherits the pride of a man. He is not those ruffian on the street that has to cheat to sleep with a woman.


    If he takes advantage of what she doesn¡¯t know and takes her down, it¡¯s ruining Cui Xingzhou¡¯s pride.


    Because Miantang was afraid of cold, he sat by the bed for a while and didn¡¯t go to bed until his body was warm.


    But when the young lady habitually leaned over in her sleep, the fragrant is still arousing around her. Cui Xingzhou took a deep breath, frowned, and closed his eyes¡­ After a while, he couldn¡¯t help but hug her, and her hair was wrapped around him, snuggled to sleep¡­


    The ancient allusions to recuperation have their origins.


    Even the iron body can¡¯t bear the self-abuse actions of practicing boxing and drinking cold water in the middle of the night.


    The next day, after a sleepless night, Cui Xingzhou felt a little dizzy when he got up in the morning.


    Miantang found something unusual about the person beside her in bed and reached out to touch him. It was hot.


    However, he was already so ill and he still wanted to go out to meet some chess friends. Miantang pressed him back on the bed and said, ¡°Even if The Emperor looks for you, you have to stay on the bed honestly today!¡±


    With that, she put a cool veil on his forehead.


    Cui Xingzhou rarely fell ill. At this time, he was suffering from a high fever and joint pain. He was also tired and lazy for a moment, so he followed the young lady¡¯s wishes and lay back on the bed.


    Miantang saw that her husband was finally obedient, so she felt relieved. While tidying her hair, she shout out from the window and called Mo Ru to find a doctor.


    In Mo Ru¡¯s opinion, The Prince is ill, and he can¡¯t find some random doctors in town to take a look at him. But if he were to ask the doctor who is used in The Prince¡¯s Residence, wouldn¡¯t this so-called ¡°mistress¡± make the Old Princess Consort angry when the news is spread to her ears?


    Mo Ru is also exquisite. After thinking about it, he can only find Marquis Zhennan to fill the position.


    However, Marquis Zhennan had recently been on bad terms with Prince Huaiyang. Hearing that this guy was ill in North Street, he suspected that he was pretending to be ill and won the pity of the beautiful lady. He cursed at him for a moment


    But he couldn¡¯t stand Mo Ru¡¯s persuasion of good words, so he changed his clothes and went out with the medical box of his Marquis¡¯s Mansion.


    Before, when Zhao Quan came here, he always felt that the house on North Street was cold. It¡¯s just a house for decoration, a base to lure the enemy. At that time, he was still pitying Lady Liu. She ate dried radish every day and was living her life miserably. How could she endure it?


    After that, he didn¡¯t come to North Street for a long time. Anyway, Miantang didn¡¯t allow anyone to open the door for him.


    Now, as soon as he entered the courtyard, Zhao Quan only felt the smell of livelihood ¡°popping¡± on his face.


    What came into view were several washed long shirts for men, next to the woman¡¯s innerwear, waving in the wind on the clothes and warmed in the sun.


    Under the eaves are strings of peppers and dried persimmons. On a bamboo and rattan rocking chair, there was a cat that looked like a newly weaned cat, huddled in a small ball and looked warily at Zhao Quan, an outsider.


    Somehow, Zhao Quan felt that there was no longer the perfunctory indifference he used to be when he came here, and it seemed that he wanted to live forever¡­


    Miantang saw that Zhao Quan was invited by Mo Ru, so she quickly avoided going to the kitchen and cooked the ginger soup for her husband with Servant Li, letting Zhao Quan take a look at Cui Xingzhou in the inner room.


    Zhao Quan pulled up the sleeve for Cui Xingzhou in a slightly rude way, and place his fingers on his pulse. After a while, he said in a grumpy tone, ¡°You are snuggling up here with a beauty, pretending to be her husband and take advantage of the lady. How can you still make the heat in your body high and blood essence gush?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t answer his friend¡¯s sour-like words, but closed his eyes and said, ¡°Is there a prescription with faster efficacy? The high-ranking officials of the Court are coming to the Military Camp tomorrow, and I would have to accompany them.¡±


    Zhao Quan was naturally able to cope with such common colds. He only expertly prescribed a prescription for him and then applied the acupuncture to vent his anger.


    When putting on the acupuncture, Zhao Quan said leisurely, ¡°My relatives from the Capital came to my mansion yesterday. I heard that the northwest is in great chaos now. The barbarians tore up the peace terms of the late Emperor period and even killed Princess Jing¡¯an who had been married to the northwest for the past ten years and her corpse was left in the wilderness. Our Great Yan¡¯s inner face was severely trampled underfoot. The officials who advocated peace are now being thrown rotten eggs by the people when they go out. So such errands as going out of the Capital to inspect the southern military barracks have become a beautiful job, and officials are eager to hide from the mess in the Captial for the time being! So this tour of inspection is just to go through a process, you just have to care about the hospitality of good wine and good food. ¡±


    Cui Xingzhou also knows what Zhao Quan said. According to his informer who sends the message to him through a pigeon messenger in the Capital, the actual situation at the border is worse than what the people know.


    The Great Yan Dynasty army, which has been pampered for many years, has long been the division between tigers and wolves in the late Emperor period. One by one, the deficit in the military provision and taking advantage of others or the public from top to bottom. It is said that the weapon was not made of pure iron. When it was knocked hard, the blade of the halberd broke. The border has lost five counties in a row. The Jinjia Checkpoint now is only struggling to survive supported by the natural barrier of the terrain.


    Once the Jinjia checkpoint was breakthrough, the Great Yan Dynasty will be like a clamshell, leaving the barbarians to peck at their flesh and penetrate inland without resistance¡­


    Thinking of the Crown Prince¡¯s orphan who is still alive, and they don¡¯t know what Prince Sui is up to, Cui Xingzhou feels that the Great Yan Dynasty is now suffering from internal and external troubles, and the situation is in jeopardy.


    However, the prosperous events created during the late Emperor period fascinated the eyes of the world, just like boiled frogs in warm water, which made people not know how to struggle.


    Thinking of the former Imperial Concubine Xi becoming the Empress Dowager Wu in the Court who is now high above, Cui Xingzhou couldn¡¯t help sneering at her as she was still thinking about allotments and collecting power.


    If the day when the city broke and the country fell were to come, he doesn¡¯t know what would happen if the Empress Dowager Wu, who was once beloved by the former Emperor, fell into the hands of barbarians.


    After Zhao Quan prescribed the medicine and gave an acupuncture treatment, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s headache was greatly relieved. Miantang asked Fang Xie to pay Zhao Quan as a reward for the visit.


    Zhao Quan stared at the bag of silver money in his hand, groaned angrily, and threw it back to Fang Xie. He stretched out his neck and said to Liu Miantang, who was hiding in the small kitchen, ¡°His cold has not subsided yet. Please keep away from him. Don¡¯t be infected with his sickness¡­ If you were let down in the future, come to me. Although I have a friendship with Cui Jiu, my conduct is different from him¡­¡±


    Miantang didn¡¯t expect that the highly skilled doctor was full of nonsense even when her husband was still at home. She was so angry that she went to carry the pot of water that was burning hot in the kitchen. Servant Li was so scared that she grabbed it quickly. Otherwise, the pillar of Marquis Zhennan¡¯s family would be scalded.


    After Zhao Quan left, Miantang was still raging till her cheeks are red. While feeding Cui Xingzhou with the medicine, she said, ¡°Why is he like this? Is he mentally ill?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou said with a gentle smile, ¡°He¡¯s the only child in the family and is spoiled. Just ignore him.¡±


    Miantang stared at her husband for the first time, ¡°Not only do I have to ignore him, but you should also ignore him too. What can you learn from making friends with such people?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou smiled, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to learn anything from him anyway. It was just easy to communicate.¡±


    Miantang felt that this was an excuse made by her husband. While delivering the spoon of medicine, she said, ¡°You can learn many things from him. He can teach you how to be glib-tongued, collude with other¡¯ female family members, and be arrogant. Sooner or later, he will say something wrong and be killed in the street¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou frowned and took another sip. He couldn¡¯t help but say slowly, ¡°Are you so angry that you have to feed the medicine spoon-by-spoon to me like this?¡±


    Miantang knew it later and smelled the medicine. It was bitter.


    Cui Xingzhou grabbed the bowl and drank the rest of the medicine in one gulp. Strictly speaking, this lady and Zhao Quan are also around the same. If she is a servant, she will be dragged down and killed in the Prince¡¯s Residence.


    Miantang saw that her husband had finished the medicine, hurriedly checked her snack box, took out a few candied fruits, put them into her husband¡¯s mouth, and then carefully said, ¡°I forgot how I tend to serve you to take medicine before, and I hope you will not blame me for this. Next time you are ill, I know the procedures¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou pinched her nose, ¡°Do you expect me to get sick?¡±


    Miantang nestled in his arms shyly, ¡°Don¡¯t get too sick, just be like now, accompany me more at home¡­¡±


    At this time, she hasn¡¯t been out much. Unlike before, she always went out to make a living and manage the shop. She feels a little uncomfortable when she¡¯s free for a while.


    Cui Xingzhou understood her boredom these days, so he hugged her and lowered his head, and coaxed her, ¡°¡­ When the things at hand are settled, I will take you out of town to play and relieve your boredom¡­¡±


    The house on North Street is too small. After when he told Miantang the truth, he will send her to another residence outside the State of Zhen.


    There is another residence built by his father to relieve the summer heat. Next to the mountain, there are all kinds of pavilions, terraces, and open halls, and many servants are also raised. The other residence also comes with a manor, which grows a lot of melons and fruits by itself.


    She likes to manage things. She can be busy there, and the foods are no worse than that in The Prince¡¯s Residence. Most importantly, the other residence is not far from his main residence. He can head over at any time, and there will be no shortage of care¡­


    Cui Xingzhou felt that this arrangement was better than leaving her alone in Lingquan Town for a long time after he got married.


    Thinking so, when Cui Xingzhou went out the next day, he told Mo Ru to remember to inform the steward in his other residence in the State of Zhen to install more fire tunnels under the ground in the hall and the master bedroom.


    Miantang is afraid of the cold. It¡¯s comfortable to live with more fire tunnels underground.


    When he returned to his Military Camp, the special envoy from the Capital had arrived early and was already inspecting the Military Camp accompanied by several participating generals.


    Cui Xingzhou only knew when he saw that this time, it was the biological younger brother of the former Imperial Concubine Xi, the current Empress Dowager Wu, the Supreme Government Official in charge of military affairs today, Wu Junqing.


    When Cui Xingzhou saw that the visitor turned out to be the brother of the monarch¡¯s legal wife, he guessed that the visitor didn¡¯t come with good intentions.


    However, compared with the several aggressive disarmament edicts of the Court, the tone of The Emperor¡¯s brother of his legal wife is in a very kind state this time.


    In his words, he praised Prince Huaiyang, who had governed the army strictly and arranged and operated methodically. He was the pillar of the Great Yan Dynasty and an indispensable handsome talent for the stability of the country.


    Cui Xingzhou listened with a smile, but there was some bad feeling in his heart. He was afraid that the special envoy came with a bad intention, and that the request for him will be difficult to comply with.


    Sure enough, The Emperor¡¯s brother of his legal wife mentioned the barbarian unrest at the border after three cups of wine during the banquet. Frankly speaking, there are no good generals in the Court to be dispatched anymore.


    In recent years, the Court has been fighting throughout the years, and there are not many experienced handsome talents. Prince Huaiyang should be second to none. If Prince Huaiyang is willing to fight for his country this time, he will surely achieve immortal achievements, be recorded in the annals of history, and be sung for thousands of generations.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t expect the Imperial Court had such an idea.


    Let alone the Court wants to cut off the vassals of the kings of different surnames, but they still want to use his soldiers to fight in the front line? What an idiot¡¯s daydream.


    However, Wu Junqing is well prepared for this.


    The northwest is in danger, and the Jinjia Checkpoint can¡¯t last for too long. The government has sent three reinforcements to recapture the five counties that were lost. Unfortunately, those soldiers are useless, and they are lured into the encirclement by barbarians with tricky ways, and their army provisions are cut off.


    In desperation, The Emperor can only adopt the strategy of the senior minister, Lord Geng, and let Cui Xingzhou, who has made countless achievements in suppressing bandits, rush to the front line to resist the enemy.


    Firstly, it is to see if he can help to guard over the Jinjia Checkpoint and alleviate the urgent need of the front line. Secondly, even if he can¡¯t win the battle, he will lose most of his soldiers.


    As for the Imperial Court, there are only advantages and no disadvantages!


    But Cui Xingzhou is not a general in the Court and a hereditary King. How is it easy to let him leave his fief?


    However, when Wu Junqing came here, he passed by the State of Hui and the State of Qing and made complete arrangements. In the beginning, the former Emperor was also afraid that the kings with a different surnames would build on their power, so there were heavy soldiers placed around the State of Zhen.


    If the Kings with a different surname keep in mind The Emperor¡¯s kindness, it¡¯s good if they follow the rules. If not, it is the mouse in the barrel. There is absolutely no way out until the flood surrounds it.


    In fact, during the late Emperor period, the number of troops stationed by the Kings with different surnames was subject to considerable control. Cui Xingzhou took advantage of the opportunity to suppress bandits to expand his army, which exceeded his ancestral system.


    It¡¯s fine if he were to go to the front line.


    If he doesn¡¯t, these actions of cravenly clinging to life instead of braving death will be publicized, and the people will also scold Prince Huaiyang, for not protecting his family and defending the country. At that time, the Imperial Court will have a good reason. In addition, the State of Qing and the State of Hui have issued guarantees, that they will never make life easy for this Prince too.


    So seeing that Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t answer, Wu Junqing was not afraid that he would suddenly turn hostile. He only give a smile of treachery and only said those terrible situations to Prince Huaiyang.


    After the banquet that day, Prince Huaiyang didn¡¯t go anywhere and walked along the river all night.


    Now the State of Zhen is stable, and the completion of the canal excavation is just around the corner. At that time, the towns here will be more prosperous.


    All the plants and trees here are the painstaking efforts of the Cui family for two generations. How can he bear to watch a hundred miles around fall into a sea of fire?


    But the Court now takes him as a fat pig to be slaughtered, and wishes they could kill it and divide the meat immediately.


    At today¡¯s banquet, Wu Junqing with a murderous heart under a smiling exterior and was attacking him with sharp words. If possible, Cui Xingzhou wanted to turn over the table and kill this old scumbag Wu Junqing.


    But he knew that his time was not right.


    Once he fell out with the Court, whether it was the Crown Prince¡¯s orphan of the Mountain of Yang or the King of the State of Hui, Prince Sui, they would step on his bones and up their rank. There was no chance of victory being attacked by the enemy both front and back.


    Moreover, if he continues to stay in the State of Zhen, he is bound to be involved in the civil strife of collusion and rebellion between the Crown Prince¡¯s orphan and Prince Sui.


    If he told the Wu family the truth about the Mountain of Yang¡¯s anti-bandits, he might be able to stay and be used by the Wu family to exterminate the Crown Prince¡¯s orphan of the Mountain of Yang.


    But once the identity of Liu Zhen was revealed, Cui Xingzhou will become the party of the wicked concubine and a traitor, mutilating the former Crown Prince¡¯s illegitimate son¡­


    For a time, Cui Xingzhou put all kinds of possibilities aside, and suddenly found that perhaps leading the army to conquer the northwest was not the worst situation.


    Looking at the stars in the sky, Cui Xingzhou remembered what his mentor said when he had a secret talk with him who returned a few days ago, ¡°Troubled times make heroes. we will see if you have such luck and ability in the future.¡±


    The ¡°troubled times¡± now are beginning to show signs, but how to show his ability¡­ It depends on his choice.


    Wu Junqing bluntly said that the Imperial edict appointing Cui Xingzhou to go to the northwest to fight against the barbarians will come in no time. Now that the situation in the State of Zhen is surging and it all depends on whether he can obey the edict¡­


    Cui Xingzhou was standing still on the bank of the canal until the sky gradually turned bright, and then made a perfect determination.


    Two days later, the Imperial edict arrived at Prince Huaiyang¡¯s Residence.


    The servants of the residence knelt together to receive the order.


    When the Imperial envoy read out the Imperial edict and appointed Cui Xingzhou as the Commander of the West expedition, and when the Old Princess Consort suddenly heard the news that her son was going to the battlefield in the northwest, her body tilted slightly. If it weren¡¯t for the support of the nanny on the side, she would almost fall to the ground.


    However, Cui Xingzhou was indifferent to personal gains and losses, calmly accepted the order, and kowtowed to thank the grace of The Emperor. He then ordered Steward Gao to distribute some red envelopes and reward these eunuchs, and the etiquette wasn¡¯t lessened.


    The eunuch who came to preach this time saw Cui Xingzhou¡¯s reaction in his eyes and nodded with satisfaction.


    Empress Dowager Wu later ordered that if Prince Huaiyang was a little unhappy or refused to accept the order, he should immediately inherit it to the Huaidong Camp ten miles away from the State of Zhen.


    With only one night¡¯s effort, the State of Zhen will be surrounded!


    At that time, even if Cui Xingzhou wants to receive this edict, he can¡¯t receive it!


    After the residence envoy left, the Old Princess Consort Chu was already crying heartbrokenly.


    Their royal residence is much more well-informed than the folk. What does the current Jinjia Checkpoint look like? That is a bottomless pit that devours human flesh!


    It is said that Jiang Kang, a fierce general of the current Dynasty, also died in the Jinjia Checkpoint not long ago.


    In the beginning, General Jiang was very successful. With the experience of the old method, he escaped the lost county. But it turned out that this was just the barbarian pretending to surrender and tempting him into a trap. Later, the barbarians sneaked into his Commander¡¯s camp, dragged the sleeping General Jiang out of his tent, hung his stomach with a gold hook, and ran around the Jinjia Checkpoint three times. The man was dragged to death.


    The defenders in the city looked at it, and the blood on the ground was red. It was miserable!


    It was precisely because of the tragic death of General Jiang that shocked the government and the public. People who have connections have found their way and saved themselves from getting summoned. But this time, they let her boy go against repelling the barbarians, isn¡¯t that sending him gone forever?


    The Old Princess Consort Chu has only one son, and he has not yet married to continue their family¡¯s bloodline. If he dies on the battlefield, isn¡¯t she the only one left? For a time, the Old Princess Consort cried like rain.


    However, Cui Xingzhou gently advised that the war situation was not as terrible as his mother had heard.


    The Old Princess Consort Chu didn¡¯t listen to her son¡¯s explanation and ordered someone to find her sister Lian-Chu. She then cried to her sister, ¡°You can¡¯t delay any longer, Sister. You¡¯d better let Binglan marry Xingzhou quickly. If God has eyes, bless Binglan to conceive the bones and flesh of the Chu family quickly, otherwise if Xingzhou has any misfortune¡­ Isn¡¯t the only blood of the Cui family interrupted?¡±


    The Old Princess Consort Chu cried really hard, and her sister Lian-Chu was also shocked.


    What situation is this? Oh, her Cui family can continue their bloodline, but her daughter will have to be a widow?


    Lian-Chu¡¯s had a lot going on her mind, but she was calm on the outside. She just persuaded the Old Princess Consort to be more open, but she didn¡¯t respond to the words of marrying in advance.


    Turning around, she quickly took the carriage home on the excuse of discomfort.


    She only told her husband Lian Hanshan, his son, and his daughter Lian Binglan about Prince Huaiyang going to the Jinjia Checkpoint for war.


    Lian Hanshan went to the Capital to hold a post a few days ago. He once heard his colleagues talk about it, only saying that the Imperial Court has made preparations to negotiate and pay tribute and money for it. But if there are no actions of resisting and falling without war, it won¡¯t be nice in the citizen¡¯s eyes.


    Therefore, the general selected at this time is most lightly sacrificing offerings of throwing a meat-stuffed bun at a dog. One can never get back what he gives away.


    Hearing this, the Lian family mother and daughter both fell on their chairs.


    Lian Binglan¡¯s eyes were red, and she trembled and said, ¡°In that case, why didn¡¯t my cousin pretend to be ill and push this job away?¡±


    The eldest brother Lian Xuan frowned and said, ¡°The country is in dire need. If Prince Huaiyang disobeys the order, how can he be called the minister? Wouldn¡¯t he left a reputation as a traitor through the ages?¡±


    Lian-Chu looked at his son, who was as old-fashioned as his dad and was so regretful that his son does not live up to her expectations, ¡°There is no Imperial Censor here. By you showing your loyalty like this, no one is here to appreciate it! It¡¯s better to think of a way for your sister. The Old Princess Consort wants to arrange their marriage these days, and the day your sister becomes a widow is just around the corner.¡±


    Lian Hanshan was also worried about his daughter but felt that his wife was a little exaggerated. He said, ¡°Look at what you said, it seems that he will die in battle if he were to go. If others were to hear what you said, won¡¯t they say that you are selfish and biased?¡±


    Lian-Chu glared, ¡°How many people have died in the Jinjia Checkpoint? You just came back from the Capital, how can you know? The soldiers who went to the Jinjia Checkpoint now, their relatives were all dressed in white to see them off, and the cry continued from the gate of the Capital to the ten-mile fork. Is he Cui Xingzhou with three heads or six arms? He just killed one or two mountain bandits, and was said to have made great achievements in war! Once the Jinjia Checkpoint is lost, even if he would return alive, The Emperor will also punish him for his incompetence. At that time, it¡¯s not only our daughter who will be a widow but also the future of you both father and son will be lost! ¡±


    This sentence, however, was also the concern of the Lian family. The family sat around in silence, listening to Lian-Chu¡¯s endless statements about the serious matter of this situation.


    At night, Lian Binglan finally opened her mouth and spoke. Thinking that her cousin might die in battle, her eyes had been crying bitterly. But the Old Princess Consort wanted her to marry into The Prince Residence in a hurry, which was inappropriate.


    Cui Xingzhou is the only legitimate son of the Cui family. If she can¡¯t conceive in one fell swoop after entering the gate, and her cousin did encounter the accident. The Old Princess Consort Chu will definitely choose one from the sons and grandchildren of those concubines, stand under her name, inherit as the legitimate son, and thus cut off her path of remarriage.


    At that time, she is young but has to be widowed and raise other people¡¯s children¡­ What is the use of such a day, even if it is a towering wealth?

 CH 42

    Thinking of this, Lian Binglan said, ¡°This matter of the Old Princess Consort being anxious to get married, father and mother can¡¯t agree to it. But if you were to reject directly, it will hurt the harmony between the two families. If not, just say that I am sick, have a rash, and can¡¯t stand the coldness of the wind. In this way, we can not only politely decline the Old Princess Consort¡¯s intention of forcing marriage, but also wait for my cousin to return from the Jinjia Checkpoint and discuss the matter again in the long run.¡±


    Lian Binglan thought for a long time before she came up with such an expedient measure.


    When Lian-Chu heard this, she could not help regretting why didn¡¯t she come up with such an excuse when she first spoke to the Old Princess Consort Chu. Why did she not push the matter away?


    The Lian family agreed on this. On the same day, they invited a familiar doctor and sent a maid to buy medicine. What¡¯s more, some precious medicinal materials must be found in the royal residence. They can spread some news to the people in the royal residence.


    So the news that Lady Lian had been diagnosed with emergency rashes had spread slowly.


    When the Old Princess Consort Chu recovered from the pain of her son¡¯s expedition a day later, she solemnly found her son and discussed the matter of getting married before leaving for the battle.


    Cui Xingzhou was summoning the soldiers and mobilizing them to fight in the northwest in the past two days. He was so busy all day that he had no time to take care of these.


    However, if his mother feels that doing so will make her feel more comfortable, he should get married in advance. So when the Old Princess Consort asked him, he agreed.


    However, when the Old Princess Consort called the Lian family to discuss the ceremony, only Lian-Chu came.


    Lian Hanshan is thin-skinned and dull. Lian-Chu was afraid that he would expose himself in front of her sister, so she came alone.


    ¡°The Old Princess Consort Chu, how can Binglan make me so worried? She has been saying she is not feeling well a few days ago. It is said that after this child hears that Xingzhou is going to the battlefield. She was so anxious that she had a psychological attack and was covered with red rashes, and every one of them was red. According to the doctor, if she didn¡¯t take good care of herself, there would be no medicine to cure her. She was a hundred percent willing to accept the ceremony, but as her mother, I know that she can¡¯t withstand the trouble. If I nod my head and agree regardless of her body, in case the wind aggravates her condition¡­ My precious¡­ If something bad were to happen to her, what should I do in my next life? ¡±


    As she spoke, she burst into tears.


    Cui Xingzhou responded to his mother and came to meet the Lian family today. As long as he gets married tomorrow, he will leave for the northwest the next day.


    He was not as simple-headed as his mother and took all his aunt¡¯s words seriously. Cui Xingzhou wanted to sneer at her mother¡¯s persistent inquiry about Lian Binglan¡¯s condition.


    Isn¡¯t it obvious that his aunt means to decline? They were only worried that he would never return and that her daughter would become a widow¡­


    In fact, this is also human nature. But when the situation occurs to him, it makes him feel unhappy from the bottom of his heart.


    After his aunt left, it was time for Cui Xingzhou to return to his Military Camp.


    However, when he came to the door, he paused again, turned back, called for Steward Gao, and said, ¡°Go and find out when Lady Lian¡¯s illness started and how it is¡­ Be smart, and don¡¯t make it too public.¡±


    Steward Gao is a smart person. When he saw Lian-Chu coming alone today, he knew what the Lian family meant. He immediately understands it and takes the order with confidence that he is going to do well.


    When Cui Xingzhou checked the temporarily allocated army provisions supplies in his Military Camp, the errand boy under Steward Gao came to the barracks, whispered to Mo Ru, and waited outside the barracks.


    Mo Ru went in to deliver the message and whispered, ¡°Steward Gao uses some money to bribe an internal servant of the Lian family, saying that Lady Lian was always fine. But on the day when the edict was passed, Lian-Chu hurried back to the mansion and called upon The Master, her eldest son, and Lady Lian together. After closing the door in the study for one night, Lady Lian became ill the next day¡­ Those intimate internal servants were all asked to keep their mouth shut and not to talk to outsiders.¡±


    This was exactly how Cui Xingzhou had expected, but he was still feeling a little angry.


    After receiving the edict, his heart was filled with rage. However, in front of several generals, even in front of his mother, he could not show half a depression.


    But he did not expect that his future wife would move to alienate him at this juncture.


    At this moment, the depression in his heart was no longer suppressed. He suddenly raised his foot and kicked the table in front of him with a bang.


    The guards and Mo Ru in the camp all lowered their heads and frowned, and they dared not breathe.


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s temperament has always been able to decide without hesitation. Since his uncle¡¯s family is full of worries and they are not easy to take the initiative to repent that they can only let his cousin take medicine and pretend to be ill. Then why don¡¯t he be more sensible and not delayed his cousin¡¯s marriage further?


    Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou calmed down a little, and let Mo Ru straighten the table, lay a white paper again, grind the ink, and write down the document of dissolution of marriage.


    The reason for the dissolution of the engagement sounded quite high. He said frankly that he would fight for his country and that he would die. He would drive all the barbarians away and would never return home.


    However, a woman¡¯s youth should not be wasted. This is because his marriage to his cousin Lian Binglan is indeed a blessing, and he hopes to continue in his next life. The marriage letters of the two families were solved, and he hope that his cousin can find a good marriage again and make each other well.


    The words in the marriage letter were awe-inspiring and polite. However, when Cui Xingzhou turned around, he immediately ordered Steward Gao to the Lian¡¯s Mansion to inform the Lian family. The words of their internal servant and the servant of the Prince¡¯s Residence a few days ago had already passed the ears of The Prince.


    He had to let the Lian family know that he has already understood the calculations of their family so that when the marriage dissolution documents are sent, they will not be confused.


    When the marriage dissolution documents written by The Prince and the seals were all sent to the Lian Mansion, Lian Hanshan was so anxious that he stamped his feet. He regretted that his position was not firm. After listening to his wife¡¯s incite, they set up such a clumsy deception.


    The letter of the marriage dissolution was sent by Steward Gao himself, but the meaning of the words was too strong for them to lift their face.


    ¡°Look! Our Lian family¡¯s face is almost lost by you both mother and daughter. Prince Huaiyang sacrificed his life for the country and went to the battlefield, but our Lian family tried to get pick and choose what is beneficial for us and calculated to act sick. How¡­¡­ How will Binglan be able to face people in the future?¡±


    Lian-Chu never thought that Prince Huaiyang would make such a decision. For a moment, she said angrily, ¡°He¡¯s not a good person either? Before he got married, he raised a mistress in Lingquan Town. Our daughter and I have known this for a long time and have been whitewashing him in front of the Old Princess Consort. However, he turned around and got sour and annoyed with my girl¡­ He¡­ He¡¯s unreasonable! I¡¯ll go to my sister and comment on his action. How can there be such a reason?¡±


    Lian Hanshan slammed on the table angrily and said, ¡°What time is it now? All the soldiers in the State of Zhen are packing up for the northwest battle. Even the warm-blooded youth from other countries come to join the army enthusiastically. Those old mothers who are faithful with loyalty and righteousness are holding ink needles to tattoo characters on their sons¡¯ backs to show their determination for the country. As the family members of an official, you ignore the general interest. Do you still intend to go to the Old Princess Consort to instigate their relationship of mother and son? If the matter were to spread, how can I put my face up in front of my colleagues?¡±


    Lian Binglan gnawed her teeth and said nothing.


    She didn¡¯t expect her cousin to be so heartless after seeing through her act to pretend to be ill, leaving no room for the Lian family to maneuver.


    Is he angry with herself, or has he been thinking about quitting this marriage for a long time?


    Although Lian Binglan didn¡¯t want to get married before the war, she never thought of destroying her marriage with her cousin. For a moment, she was more upset than she was to receive the sad news of her cousin¡¯s death in the battle.


    At this time, Lian Xuan returned from the government office. When he heard his mother quarreling with his father, he was so anxious that he stomped his feet in, ¡°Mom, what are you two arguing about? I don¡¯t know who spread it. But the story of Prince Huaiyang withdrawing from his marriage and sacrificing his life for the country is being spread all over the State of Zhen now. All of them are full of tears of admiration. Don¡¯t you seem to be ignorant when you are still making a fuss?¡±


    Lian Xuan¡¯s words are not false. Maybe the people of the two families have said something wrong. In addition, they all know that Prince Huaiyang is gone, and they¡¯re afraid that he will never come back again. Therefore, in the eyes of the people, the inscription of Prince Huaiyang¡¯s withdrawal from marriage is also a righteous gentleman¡¯s method. He does not want to delay the lady and let her become a widow!


    A young Prince who is loyal and righteous, who doesn¡¯t nod their head and praise him?


    Listening to what her father and brother said, Lian Binglan stopped her tears.


    She knew that the most correct way to save her life at this time was to rush to her cousin¡¯s horse and tear up the letter of withdrawal in public and make a note to express her determination to wait for him to return.


    If she acts like this, even the best pen in the world, can¡¯t write the same beautiful love story of them.


    However, she was feeling a little suffocated.


    Her cousin¡¯s action didn¡¯t take into consideration of the Lian family¡¯s face, nor did he care about her. He saw through her selfishness. Even if they were to get married later, they would still have a knot in their hearts.


    For a moment, Lady Lian thought of the path she had taken with her cousin under the moon. It looks very short, but it felt very long when she walked. She walked silently. He didn¡¯t walk too fast, but she just couldn¡¯t keep up¡­


    However, she also thought about her cousin had given her the document to withdraw from the marriage. The reason sounded quite high, not to say that it didn¡¯t damage her reputation, It seems like he did take into consideration of her too.


    After being angry for a while, Lian Binglan straightened out and eased a little of her anxiety.


    The matter has come to this point, and she can no longer care about the face of a young lady.


    Only when the army leaves tomorrow, she will put on her veil and rushes to her cousin¡¯s horse to show that she is willing to wait for him.


    Anyway, by then, her cousin will be ready to leave. Even if she wants to, she can¡¯t get married.


    In this way, it can not only repair the relationship between the two families of the Cui and Lian but also redeem her cousin¡¯s mind in withdrawing from their marriage. More importantly, she doesn¡¯t have to get married in a hurry to her cousin before the war and cut her way¡­


    Thinking of this, Lian Binglan felt a little relieved. She waited for the dawn the next day and went to the roadside to wait for her cousin¡¯s troops to pass by.


    At dawn the next day.


    Just after dawn, the streets were bustling with people from all directions.


    Early in the morning, the Lian family occupied a teahouse on the roadside. They didn¡¯t have to crowd with the crowd to wait for the soldiers of the State of Zhen.


    However, Lian Binglan could see clearly from a high place. The third daughter of the He family from Lingquan Town unexpectedly came, with her eyes outstretched and her neck in front of her, holding a bouquet in her hand.


    It seems that the news of her cousin¡¯s withdrawal of marriage has also reached Lady He¡¯s ears. Who is she going to give this wreath to? Doesn¡¯t she know what kind of her background she has? Even if her cousin quits his marriage and marries another person in the future, will he still marry a merchant woman?


    Lady He is not the only one. The road is crowded with young girls, all holding flowers in their hands, ready to worship the group of hot-blooded loyal youth.


    Lian Binglan sneered.


    In a moment, she must catch up before Lady He, stop the chariot and horses, and tell her cousin what she really wants so that he won¡¯t believe the instigation of the bad-hearted servants in her mansion. She is sick, and she didn¡¯t deliberately find an excuse not to marry.


    To convince her cousin, she also drank the medicine specially made by the doctor. Since last night, red rashes have appeared on her body and face. Her cousin will not be so heartless!


    Thinking of this, Lian Binglan scratched her arm unbearably. It was the effect of the medicine that was uncomfortable and her body itched unbearably. She hopes her cousin can come soon. So that she could cry in front of his horse and ask her cousin to take back the marriage withdrawal letter. After that, she could go back to her mansion to drink the antidote¡­


    But after a while, a government official banged the gongs and shouted, ¡°Please disperse away! The Prince¡¯s troops and horses were already on the road last night! Please disperse away¡­¡±


    Lian Binglan was shocked at this news. She sat stunned on a chair, and all she was thinking is, What should she do if her cousin just left like that?


    It turned out that Cui Xingzhou felt that the time of the journey was very tight after checking the route, so he packed his bags last night and set off quietly with his soldiers.


    He has no choice. The Emperor¡¯s edict had urged him to go. Therefore, even a proper departure ceremony was not held, and they had to hurry forward.


    When going out of the State of Zhen, Cui Xingzhou took the time to think of Miantang, who was placed in North Street.


    Although he doesn¡¯t want to think ominously to himself, to be realistic, it is very likely that he will never return after his departure.


    At that time, if Miantang loses his protection and falls into the hands of the bandits of the Mountain of Yang, she will then be fraught with grim possibilities.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t have time to settle her down before setting off. However, she felt that Liu Miantang could not stay in Lingquan Town where the good and bad people are mixed for long. She had better go somewhere else to hide her name and lay low.


    So he simply wrote a letter of divorce.


    In the letter, he said frankly that the country was in danger. He had followed several friends to join the army and followed the troop of Prince Huaiyang to the northwest. He went with the determination to sacrifice his life for the country, and might not come back. Fortunately, Cui¡¯s family still has plenty of land and houses in other places, and she has not been informed of them. He has given them all to her now. As for the place to go, Mo Ru will take her and settle her down safely.


    In the future, she will marry at will and live her own leisure life.


    Perhaps he wrote two letters in a day to sever his relationship with the women. Cui Xingzhou is familiar with the writing now.


    However, this second letter was not written smoothly for some reason. He felt that some words were too blunt, and he was afraid that Lady Liu¡¯s eyes would be red and swollen after reading them.


    Therefore, it took a little effort to consider and revise it again and again.


    Along with this letter, there was a yellowish marriage letter from the fake Cui Jiu, and the other was a letter of divorce.


    Since then, Cui Xingzhou has also broken the shackles of Liu Miantang¡¯s engagement. She doesn¡¯t have to think that she¡¯s the wife of someone else anymore. Without scruples, she can marry someone else.


    Nowadays, chaos is beginning to appear, and the battlefield is changing rapidly. No one knows what he will be like in the future.


    Cui Xingzhou knew that these were the only things he could do for Lady Liu.


    As for what Liu Miantang would think, Cui Xingzhou did not think deeply.


    However, there is a good saying that goes, husband and wife are birds in the same forest, and they fly separately in the face of disaster.


    Similar to his cousin, Lian Binglan. Although she seems to love him very much normally, once she knows that he may never return, she makes another set of calculations to leave herself a safe future.


    As for why he didn¡¯t expose his lies, and still lied to the young lady in the name of Cui Jiu, there was a little subtle thought in Cui Xingzhou¡¯s mind.


    If he did not return, he hoped that the impression he left for Lady Liu is the merchant, Cui Jiu, who cared for her, instead of Prince Huaiyang that is full of lies and deceived her.


    In the future, if he died in a foreign country, there will always be a woman who will shed a little love and tears for him when she can¡¯t sleep at night¡­ As for the issue of her losing her chastity in the Mountain of Yang, he will also hide it. It¡¯s better to be divorced than to be tainted by bandits. Why would he tell her the cruel truth?


    However, two days after he set out on the road, Mo Ru hurried over to him. He said that after Lady Liu received Cui Jiu¡¯s divorce letter, she didn¡¯t say a word. She only asked people to take care of the shop and hand over the shop affairs to the shopkeeper. She then closed the door and dug up the money, and asked the servants and maids to pack their bags.


    In other words, after Lady Cui received the letter of divorce, everything was clean and tidy, without any hesitation or tears of abandonment.


    Mo Ru originally wanted to take Lady Liu to the other counties and towns where The Prince has arranged to settle her. However, Lady Liu suddenly asked him to go to the shop to buy hemp rope and other sundries. When he came back, the lady, the maids, and even Servant Li were gone.


    However, Servant Li left a message to one of the secret sentries to inform Mo Ru. She only said that Lady Liu didn¡¯t want to go to the place arranged by The Prince, so she send him away and left herself.


    Mo Ru thought that the secret sentries are still following Lady Liu, so they should be fine. Thus, he came back to The Prince to report the situation first.


    Lady Liu¡¯s reaction to taking care of the silver taels first was also expected by Cui Xingzhou.


    However, she accepted so frankly that he had gone to the gate of death, and didn¡¯t even shed a tear to pretend she was sad. She didn¡¯t think of their relationship in the past made him feel uncomfortable.


    Normally, she tends to put the word ¡°husband¡± in her mouth which makes his bones tingle.


    But when he was going to the battle, she packed the silver taels and left without shame. It can be seen that Liu Miantang has such a nature that even if she loses her memory, she will observe the times and judge the occasion and leave with the silver taels!


    For a moment, Cui Xingzhou felt that he could quite understand the feelings of the Young Master Ziyu who had also encountered her running away with the money¡­


    If he had the leisure, Cui Xingzhou might smash things in a room and scold her parents severely. But he doesn¡¯t even have the time to give unspoken criticism now.


    The army is rushing their way day and night, striving to go to the northwest in the shortest possible time.


    Although some warm-blooded youths resolutely join the army and actively resist the enemy, there are naturally some timid deserters in the army. Therefore, on their way heading northwest, the inspection cavalry responsible for catching these deserters were also coming back and forth for inspection.


    Once the deserters were caught, the army immediately stopped moving forward. Those deserters were stripped of their clothes and beheaded in front of the public.


    Along the way, there are countless deserters, and the butcher¡¯s knife was about to be rolled.


    Cui Xingzhou was expressionless and merciless. He also let his people send his message of the names of these deserters will be sent back to their hometowns, and their names will be written on the announcement and pasted on the fields. When the time comes, not only will there be no pension money issued by the Imperial Court, but their parents and wives will be ashamed and unable to lift their heads in front of the villagers.


    ¡°Like all the generals and soldiers here, I abandoned my family and property and went to the battle to fight the enemy with the determination of death. I wanted to make my family be able to live peacefully and defend our home and land. If you refuse to fight the enemy and be a deserter. I will never have mercy on these people. Since it¡¯s death either way, why don¡¯t you go to the battlefield and fight the enemies like tiger and wolf to the death, so that you can die more bravely? Besides, wealth and honor are the most important thing! If you want to be successful, isn¡¯t it a good time to start by making contributions to the 10000-miles battlefield ahead? ¡®There¡¯s a high-rise pavilion with portraits of meritorious officials built by the Court to commend meritorious officials¡¯! Isn¡¯t that sentence the meaning of what I said? Don¡¯t you want to make contributions and become the famous officials and good generals of the Great Yan Dynasty? ¡±


    After killing a group of deserters, Cui Xingzhou rode on his horseback, stood on the road filled red with blood, and shouted to a group of soldiers.


    He didn¡¯t say much, but every sentence was reasonable. Who doesn¡¯t knows the generous deeds of Prince Huaiyang who withdrew his marriage from Lady Lian to fight the enemy with the determination to die?


    Prince Huaiyang as the Royal Highness had tremendous wealth and properties. But he still led the army out for battle. They are just some poor people who have no land and no property, what are they afraid of?


    Just like what The Prince said, ¡°the Court will commend meritorious officials¡±. Since they have to go to the northwest, why don¡¯t they fight with the enemy instead of being a deserter and die tragically on the deserted road?


    After this time, the phenomenon of desertion suddenly decreased, and the soldiers of the State of Zhen were all of one mind and went to the front.


    However, after rushing the journey for five days and five nights, the head of the cavalry inspection came all the way quickly and reported to Grand Marshal, Cui Xingzhou, with some hesitation, ¡°I¡¯d like to inform you, Commander, that a carriage has been sneaking behind the troops. My subordinates suspected that it was a spy on the military, so they ordered people to stop the carriage.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was looking at the map on his horse¡¯s back. When he heard this, he didn¡¯t look up and said, ¡°Interrogate yourself. If there are any suspicious things, punished them on the spot.¡±


    The leader naturally knew this principle, but just when he was trying to capture the people, a black-faced woman handed him a waist token of The Prince¡¯s Residence, saying that she wanted to find Cui Jiu, Lord Cui.


    However, while one of the young women was not paying attention, the black-faced woman whispered to him, ¡°Please report to The Prince and take this waist token to him. Otherwise, if you delay any important event, The Prince will surely punish you with the name of serious crimes!¡±


    The waist token is real, and the black-faced woman¡¯s stare is a little scary, so the leader is ready to report to The Prince with the beatings.


    Cui Xingzhou saw that the waist token indeed belongs to The Prince Residence, and according to the leader¡¯s description, the black-faced woman looked like Servant Li who should have left with Liu Miantang.


    Cui Xingzhou was stunned and ordered Mo Ru to go and have a look first.


    After a while, Mo Ru ran back and reported, ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, it¡¯s indeed Lady Liu!¡±


    Before Mo Ru finished, Cui Xingzhou had turned over and dismounted, and walked towards the rear of the troops with his long legs.


    However, after walking a few steps, he seemed to the thought of something again. He pointed to the armor of a commander next to him and motioned him to take it off and put it on himself.


    After he had taken off his gold armor and replaced it with half-worn leather armor, he strode to the end of the troops.

 CH 43

    Mo Ru is a clever man. He can understand The Prince¡¯s thoughts at a glance. He runs quickly ahead and arrives at the end of the team first, and sends a group of inspection cavalry away, leaving only one or two of his own soldiers who have been ordered, so that they will not be exposed.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t know what was surging in his mind during the short journey. He was only shocked, but there was also a trace of joy.


    But he still thinks that this woman has too many ideas! What is it like to follow the troops to the northwest?


    When he sees her in a moment. He must reprimand her!


    But when she saw the young lady squatting by the firestone, dressed in a man¡¯s clothes and with a messy bun, Cui Jiu forget about scolding her.


    She should have experienced a lot of hardship coming all the way. Although she had a carriage to help with her journey, her cloth shoes were covered with mud, and her face was still pale.


    He doesn¡¯t know how she could catch up with the army all the way¡­


    He paused and looked at her with mixed feelings.


    When Miantang saw him, her big eyes were puzzled at first, and gradually became bright. She slowly stood up from the fire, and then suddenly ran toward him.


    She ran so eagerly that Prince Huaiyang couldn¡¯t help feeling excited. He stretched out his arms to catch the young lady who was coming.


    However, it never occurred to him that when the young lady finally stumbled in front of Cui Xingzhou, she only swung her slender arm round and slapped her husband¡¯s handsome face with a big sound!


    Cui Xingzhou was also caught off guard. He didn¡¯t dodge. His face was slightly crooked when he was hit.


    Mo Ru was so shocked that he could not help covering his face. After taking a breath of cold air, he stared dumbfounded at the soldiers who did not know whether they should go up to protect The Prince.


    Cui Xingzhou was shocked by the young lady¡¯s actions again. He turned his head back and looked at Miantang in disbelief, doubting that he had just understood her feelings wrongly.


    Should it be that this woman become angry because she was dismissed and specially come all the way here to scold him, the heartless man?


    Miantang didn¡¯t feel the murderous look on her husband¡¯s face.


    These days are like long years for her.


    All the way north, the clothes she brought were not enough to avoid the cold. When she was in the carriage, she could only wrap a quilt and snuggle up with the servants to keep warm.


    A soldier just now was kind enough to see that they were too cold, so he raised a fire on the spot to keep them warm.


    In the smoke of the fire earlier, she saw a tall man in military uniform, with broad shoulders and a thin waist, walking towards her with great speed.


    At that moment, she didn¡¯t dare to recognize him. Is this heroic man covered with a full sense of chill her husband Cui Jiu?


    Until he came near, his thick eyebrows and eyes, his nose were high, and his lips were thin and it was indeed her husband Cui Jiu.


    The grievance used for a time was like a spring breaking the ice, surged up from the bottom of her heart. So without thinking about it, her hand seemed to have an idea and slapped him.


    After this slap, she simply scolded, ¡°Do you think that you are Prince Huaiyang, who is a hard worker? It is fine for him to write a divorce letter, be determined with going to war without wanting to delay the future of his cousin, and fish for fame. But what is wrong with you, a common person learned from him to write a divorce letter and join the army quietly. Why don¡¯t you think, even if The Prince were to go to the front line, there will be no shortage of women around to serve him! When he returns, he will be promoted to a higher rank, and live an extravagant life! But if you divorce your wife, shake off all your family property, and go on a clean slate, will anyone praise you for giving up your family for the country? Don¡¯t tell me you have become foolish by reading those sages¡¯ books!¡±


    The young lady was angry, and her voice was sharp. She was no less powerful than Cui Xingzhou.


    Servant Li react quickly, only muttering ¡°it¡¯s a sin¡±, and then hurriedly came to hold Lady Liu to stop her from giving The Prince another slap.


    However, Cui Xingzhou waved her hand and stopped Servant Li from coming with a stiff face.


    Miantang took out the letter of divorce from her arms, tore it into pieces, and threw it to Cui Xingzhou. ¡°I will only belong to the Cui family whether dead or alive. Since I didn¡¯t make any mistakes in the seven reasons why one should make a divorce, how can you divorce me?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou has never been slapped in the face in his life. The commandment was broken by a brave woman today. He laughed angrily and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t raised or given birth to any of the Cui family bloodlines since you entered our household. You are not very educated normally. You¡¯ve even got the problem of beating people up now. Which of these are not the reason to dismiss you? Moreover, you fail to see the larger issues and even follow the army here? What will this action look like to the others? You should better off return with Mo Ru and live a good life!¡±


    Liu Miantang felt guilty because of Cui Xingzhou¡¯s vicious tongue. After careful thinking, she was not worthy of being a good wife. She didn¡¯t even give birth to a child for her husband and he had to go to the battlefield¡­ When Cui Xingzhou scolded her, her eyes were already red, after trying hard not to shed a tear for several days, she finally couldn¡¯t take it and let her tears out, ¡°Go and join the army, I don¡¯t need you to care about where I go. I won¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll just follow behind the troop. I¡¯ll just follow behind you¡­ if you died in the war and If I manage to be alive¡­ I can take you home¡­¡± after that, she let go of everything and was crying like a child as if Cui Jiu had died in the battle.


    Cui Xingzhou could no longer feel the pain in his face. Her tears rolled down from her big red eyes, all of which were hitting on his heart, making his heart ache.


    He no longer cared about the people standing around him. He pulled Miantang into his arms and held her tightly. Only then did he realize that her hands were cold. He wrapped her in his cloak and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have left you¡­ Stop crying. It¡¯s windy here, don¡¯t catch a cold¡­¡±


    Miantang also tightly hugged her husband¡¯s waist and felt more secure.


    When she received the letter of divorce, she felt a bolt from the fine weather. For a moment, she was unclear whether her husband¡¯s letter was true, or whether he had encountered something else so that he would leave her for no reason.


    On the day when the villagers saw off the soldiers of the State of Zhen, she also hurried there, trying to stop her husband from saying something. However, it was not until then that she learned that the troops had left.


    Miantang is a person who tends to be clear about everything. How could she let her husband decide on his own and leave her so inexplicably?


    So she send Mo Ru, who was standing in her way away and ignored Servent Li¡¯s objection. She brought enough silver taels and silver notes, changed into men¡¯s clothes, and after loading everything into the carriage, she hired a skilled coachman to chase her way here.


    Along the way, she spent a bunch of money to ask the small officials of the post station to be accommodating, so that she could change horses at the post station and travel day and night. After some twists and turns, she was able to catch up with them.


    Seeing that her husband had softened his words and stopped imitating the inscription of Prince Huaiyang being patriotic, Miantang¡¯s cry gradually ceased.


    At this time, Cui Xingzhou then had time to ask Servant Li, ¡°Madam is afraid of the cold. Why is she only wearing such thin clothes? Where is her fur cloak?¡±


    Servant Li saw that The Prince had been slapped, but he didn¡¯t get angry with Lady Liu. Her heart was pinching a cold sweat for Lady Liu.


    People who have stayed in The Prince¡¯s Residence for a long time know how much The Prince can hold grudges. It would be better if The Prince had an attack on the spot. However, is this forbearance leading to retaliation utilizing thunder and lightning in the future?


    After hearing The Prince¡¯s rebuke, Servant Li hurriedly said, ¡°I have brought her fox fur cloak. But yesterday¡­ Madam had lent it to others¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked in the direction that Servant Li¡¯s eyes could reach, and found that there was still a cart behind the carriage. The secret sentries he had assigned at the beginning were either covered with blood-stained cloth strips on their arms or filled with injuries on their faces. They were getting off the cart and standing aside with an embarrassed faces. It seemed that they didn¡¯t know whether they should come forward to plead with The Prince for forgiveness.


    When Cui Xingzhou passed by, he found that Fan Hu, the leader of the secret sentries, was lying on the cart, and Miantang¡¯s expensive fur lining cloak was also covered on him.


    When he untied the fox fur cloak, he found that he had been stabbed in the chest. Although he had applied for the wound medicine, he was still bleeding.


    ¡°Husband, I have been in danger all the way. Yesterday, I was lucky to meet these heroes who were ready to join the army and rescued me. But Brother Fan was seriously injured to save me. Do you have a medical colleague in the army to treat them?¡±


    According to the original meaning of Miantang, she wanted to follow the big army far behind, and after arriving in the northwest, she will try to get in touch with her husband, so as not to offend the military officers and affect the future of her husband.


    However, yesterday, some bandits suddenly attacked her carriage. Fortunately, these soldiers who were going to chase the army passed by and saved them.


    When Miantang saw the severely injured righteous men, she found that they were familiar. After careful identification, she realized that they were the righteous men who had helped her several times in Lingquan Town!


    Seeing that they were seriously injured, Miantang asked the coachman to go faster in chasing the army, thinking about using more money to ask the military doctor in the barracks for help with thick skin. Otherwise, this warm-hearted Brother Fan would die before his ambition was fulfilled!


    But who would have thought that Servant Li made her own decision and even told the officers and men who caught those bandits the name of the Ninth Master Cui!


    Miantang was busy pleading with the military officer, so she didn¡¯t have time to care about it. She didn¡¯t know exactly what Servant Li said and alerted her husband. She didn¡¯t know if he would be scolded by his superiors¡­


    Fortunately, her husband had some power in his hand. After frowning and checking Brother Fan¡¯s injury, he sent someone to find a military doctor to treat him.


    Miantang used to look at her husband in long clothes and look elegant, like a noble young master. But now, looking at him again, his body-shaped armor has magnified her husband¡¯s waist thin, his legs long, and his firm hips.


    Now, he is standing in the distance, following several martyrs to listen to their condition. His heroic spirit makes him stand out from the crowd.


    Only this uniform can show the unknown side of her husband. He is so handsome that he makes her blush and her heart race.


    Moreover, he is really capable. Although this is the first time he join the army, he has been promoted to Commander by a general who has connections. Miantang felt proud when she saw her husband waving his hand to call some soldiers and ordering them to do things calmly.


    She knew her husband was not a dandy! It¡¯s just like King Chu Zhuang in the book. It never rains but it pours! Her husband today has revived his spirit and found a stage to show his ambition.


    Therefore, when the country is in a crisis, her husband¡¯s martial arts can be put to good use. She can¡¯t drag his back¡­


    While Miantang was wrapped in Cui Xingzhou¡¯s leather cloak and sitting by the fire, Cui Xingzhou had already received a report from the secret sentries, and finally knew why the secret sentries, who were supposed to protect Miantang, had been injured.


    It turns out that from the time Miantang and the others left Lingquan Town, someone followed them stealthily.


    In the beginning, Fan Hu and the others found out and subdued the sneaky man secretly. At the first trial of integration, they discovered that he was a man arranged by Prince Sui to watch over Liu Miantang.


    Moreover, this hidden plot was not only one person. When Liu Miantang left, the neighbors asked where she was going. Miantang explained at that time that her husband had joined the army and that she was also moving to the northwest, so someone hurried back to inform Prince Sui.


    At that time, Fan Hu know that something was to happen. He was afraid that Prince Sui was going to attack the woman who was left alone.


    As expected, when the carriage drove to the boundary of the State of San and came outside the wilderness, the people sent by Prince Sui raided the carriage to bind Liu Miantang and put her in a sack.


    They can no longer protect in secret, they can only come out to protect in the open.


    They don¡¯t know whether Prince Sui had long noticed them, the people send were excellent experts. Although they tried their best to fight, they were still in a disadvantageous position.


    Just when Fan Hu has been stabbed with a knife and his life was at stake, Lady Liu was prepared. She unexpectedly took out a large bag of medicinal powder from her arms, which was prepared in Lingquan Town, and took advantage of the downwind to throw it at them.


    Fan Hu knew that Lady Liu had filled the medicine before she left the city, but he didn¡¯t know where she had worked out the prescription. Only a few types of common medicinal powder were mixed into one place and added with the lime powder. It was aggressive.


    After the powder was breathed into the nose and mouth, it will make people feel confused and befuddled that they couldn¡¯t open their eyes.


    After a few moments, all the experts of the battle were brought down by the common powder.


    After the powder was blown away by the wind, Miantang asked the two maids to wrap their veils, cover their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs, and let the secret sentries wash their eyes with their own rapeseed oil.


    However, these secret sentries only gradually gained strength in their hands and feet after spending the night. Fortunately, Lady Liu asked the coachman to find a pair of abandoned wooden carts in the nearby barren village. It was only after they link the cart to the carriages that they were able to pull them all the way.


    When Miantang took the servants to help to bandage them up, she said apologetically, ¡°I was afraid that you guys will be affected too, so I didn¡¯t throw the medicine powder. If I knew that you guys are no match for those bandits. I would have thrown the medicine powder earlier¡­¡±


    Lady Liu felt guilty. Even if the heroes were blinded by the medicine powder, it was better than being stabbed. Therefore, it was her hesitation that caused Brother Fan and the other righteous men to get injured.


    As for those villains who rolled around and howled and couldn¡¯t get up, they were also dealt with by Lady Liu and the other women. According to the intention of the secret sentries, they should be killed, so that they won¡¯t chase them after the medicine powder effect is over.


    However, it seems that Lady Liu and the other servants are not the people who can kill people. While the secret sentries are trying to find a way with their eyes closed, Lady Liu has come up with an idea.


    ¡°How can we, the people who abide by law leave no mercy to people? However, I heard wolves howling in the wilderness. Tie them up and throw them away from the main road to feed the wolves!¡±


    They later heard the young servant girl say that Lady Liu was afraid that the bandits could not attract wolves. So she thoughtfully cut some holes in several villains, and only let those villains who were bound by hemp rope cry and curse one after another!


    However, as the secret sentries, it¡¯s already a shame that they were saved by the target of their surveillance and protection.


    It¡¯s even a great shame to be disdained by people for having bad martial skills which hinder the opportunity for the young lady to throw the medicine powder!


    They all fell on the cart with their hands and feets being weak in the end and was pulled over to meet The Prince. It was the guilt of a crime for which they deserve to die ten thousand deaths!


    When Fan Hu fell on the cart and looked at the cold eyes of The Prince, his eyes were filled with tears. If he wasn¡¯t seriously injured and could not get up, he would have to pull his sword out and commit suicide to wash away his sense of shame.


    When Cui Xingzhou listened to their experiences, his palms slowly clenched together.


    He knew long ago that Prince Sui seemed very interested in Liu Miantang, but he didn¡¯t expect that he would be so bold as to order his subordinates to act as bandits to hijack a weak woman like Liu Miantang!


    If Liu Miantang didn¡¯t prepare in advance, he was afraid that she would fall into the hands of Prince Sui now and only leave him unsure of what kind of humiliation she would suffer¡­


    He turned to look back at the fireplace. Liu Miantang was drinking the hot water brought by Servant Li and her face seemed to be a little red¡­


    With the setting sun, the large troops not far in front of them have already camped and rested.


    Cui Xingzhou asked the soldiers to find a military doctor to treat Fan Hu. After that, he ordered people to go to the front baggage wagon to get some thick cowhide tents for Miantang and set them up. He then took a charcoal stove to warm the tent. Finally, Miantang had a place to rest for the night.


    Miantang¡¯s body was afraid of cold because of the injury, especially her hands and feet were not very good at blood circulation. At this time, her heart was completely relieved, and she was feeling a little tired. When she fell on the thick wool-felt mat of the small tent, her head was starting to get dizzy too. Her body began to shiver and have a fever.


    However, she put her head out of the quilt and pretended to be fine, and said to Cui Xingzhou, ¡°It¡¯s not easy for you to be promoted to the Commander-in-Chief when joining the army. Don¡¯t get scolded by the generals above because of me. When Brother Fan is treated and there is no danger of life, I will only let the carriage follow the troops far away. When you arrive at the Jinjia Checkpoint, I can find a nearby village to live in. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    Cui Jiu touched her forehead and felt that it could boil an egg. He frowned and gave her the medicine, ¡°You encountered bandits just leaving home for a few days. How will you dare to still live on your own? Are you not afraid of being caught by the bandits and becoming the brigand chief¡­¡±


    In the middle of this, Cui Xingzhou hurriedly stopped talking. He was now reluctant to think about Miantang being kidnapped up the mountain. As long as he thinks about Miantang who was once owned by other men, he feels inexplicably depressed and jealous.


    However, Miantang didn¡¯t know the twists and turns in Cui Jiu¡¯s heart. She said with a little complacency, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, husband. When my grandfather was wandering the Jianghu while providing escorting services, those bandits were still a baby. He has some ways to deal with these street urchins! As his granddaughter, I have remembered several useful methods. Otherwise, how dare I go on the road as a woman?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou knows that her grandfather is the head of an escort agency, so it¡¯s not surprising that she can make knockout drops for protection.


    He didn¡¯t want to argue with Miantang about where to go next but just wanted her to drink the medicine to reduce her fever.


    However, Miantang tried to avoid it. In the end, she only hid under the quilt and said, ¡°I¡¯m not seriously ill. I can drink more hot water. I don¡¯t need to take medicine¡­¡±


    She had been ill for a year in the beginning and had been taking medicine every day. She was generally trying to dodge such bitter taste. Moreover, she felt that she was not seriously ill and did not need to take medicine.


    At first, Cui Xingzhou thought that she had been separated from him for many days, so she had endless words in her heart. But he later found out that she was delaying and refused to take medicine.


    After several times of persuasion, he finally found out what Miantang was thinking, so he raised his eyebrows, drank a bitter pill from his head, and then bent over to Miantang, who was tucked in the quilt¡­


    Miantang knew for the first time in her life that there was still such a feeding method, but this shameful feeding method made people blush.


    Therefore, after being fed a mouthful of medicine soup by her husband, Miantang took the initiative to take the bowl and drank the bitter medicine in one gulp¡­


    Cui Xingzhou, however, was not satisfied. He only said to her, ¡°If you don¡¯t take medicine properly in the future, I will feed you like this¡­¡±


    Miantang lowered her head and pinched the buttons of his cowhide armor with her fingers. She said shyly, ¡°If I don¡¯t take the medicine, can you do the same? Otherwise, it¡¯s a little bitter¡­¡±


    Prince Huaiyang, who had been frowning since he left the State of Zhen, was amused by this cheeky little girl and showed a smile.


    After he rinsed his mouth, he obeyed his wife¡¯s wishes, lowered his head again, and kissed her sincerely¡­


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t stay too long in her tent that day.


    After all, when a large army is on the march, the Commander-in-Chief cannot stay in a place filled with gentleness.


    After her husband left, Miantang¡¯s cheeks were bright red. She doesn¡¯t know whether it¡¯s because of her high fever or shyness.


    When she just thought of the lingering kiss she had with her husband, all the pain she had suffered along the way was gone.


    People say that the northwest is poor and lacks water, especially in winter, which is unbearable. However, with her husband, no matter how bitter and cold the place is, she still has to support him all the way.


    The road ahead is still far away, but Miantang can go to sleep with endless sweetness and a smile at the sound of the wind in the countryside¡­


    Although Cui Xingzhou could not take Liu Miantang with him, he sent reliable personal soldiers to protect the disabled women¡¯s family members who followed the big army.


    The horses that pulled the cart were also replaced by the strong horses in the army. In addition, several other carriages were equipped. Miantang and the servants were not allowed to squeeze into the same carriage.


    After Miantang drank the medicine that day, the medicine took effect and she slept soundly. On the second day, because they had to continue on their journey, the family members also got up very early.


    Servant Li is a capable person. If she is given a fire, she can make soft and convenient food with her hands.


    When Miantang drank the porridge with dried meat and vegetables, she felt that her mind was much clearer and she no longer had a fever.


    The soldiers left by her husband were very capable. They quickly cleared up the tents, loaded the chariots and horses, and began to continue the northwest journey.


    Miantang sat in a carriage with a thick layer of felt rug and looked forward eagerly from the curtain of the carriage. There was her husband in the brigade not too far ahead.


    Although she could not see where he was, her heart could finally be secure.


    As the leader of the secret sentries, Fan Hu, is not fated to die too. Although the knife wound was deep, it did not hurt his internal organs. After wrapping up the wound properly, he slowly recovered after drinking the hot soup. As for the others, they were only slightly injure which was not a big problem.


    These secret sentries lied that they wanted to join the army. Now they have no way to back down and change from light to dark. So The Prince ordered them to just take the excuse of recuperation and walk with Lady Liu.

 CH 44

    Miantang felt grateful for Brother Fan¡¯s repeated help and treated him as a brother. She heard that he hasn¡¯t gotten married yet, and she even made a promise to him. When they return to Lingquan Town, she will prepare a list of ladies of the right age in the neighborhood, and select the most virtuous one to go to his door to talk about marriage.


    Fan Hu is not good at words. He is even more afraid that he will shake off the details of The Prince, so he only nods in silence to avoid the lady nagging at him again.


    During this journey, when it was night, Cui Jiu always wore armor and came into the cowhide tent of Miantang with cold air.


    Since the last time she sweetly took the medicine, her husband seems to be like a new wedding couple with her. He has become very clingy and especially likes to kiss her.


    Miantang herself naturally forgot everything about her marriage. Although she also knows that a married couple must be intimate together before they can have children. However, her husband said that she was not in good health and was not suitable for having children, so she naturally could not be intimate with him.


    In Miantang¡¯s view, who knows nothing about married life, this is natural.


    But now she wants to say that even if it¡¯s not for the sake of having a baby, it¡¯s good to have such a clingy and intimate relationship with her husband when there¡¯s nothing to do!


    On that day, at ten o¡¯clock in the middle of the night, when her husband entered her tent again, Miantang usually sewed his clothes for him, while asking the question in her heart, ¡°The blue coat you wore yesterday was still new. Why is it so old today? Even the elbows area are torn¡­¡±


    Cui Jiu was silent for a moment. Every time he came, he would catch a commander to change clothes with him. How will he notice if he was the same person?


    He casually said, ¡°My colleagues and I live in a tent at night, and I sometimes wear the wrong clothes when I get up in the morning¡­¡±


    Miantang nodded without a doubt. If this is still in the North Street of Lingquan Town, and her husband comes back from sleeping out and wearing different clothes, it must be that he has a mistress in an outside house.


    But now her husband is sleeping with a group of rough men who don¡¯t like to take bath in the military camp. It¡¯s really difficult for her husband who has always been pampered!


    Therefore, after slightly clumsily sewing the clothes for him, Miantang also carefully told her husband, ¡°It¡¯s okay to puts on the coat by mistake, but the clothes that are close to the body should be watched carefully. Don¡¯t wear the wrong underwear with people¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou nodded in silence, and suddenly felt that the lame lie of him being the merchant Cui Jiu could come to an end.


    Miantang is a good lady. She treats her beloved with sincerity and affection. Why does he have to cheat her?


    So he decided to be honest and tell his identity. It¡¯s just that this story has to be prepared, so Cui Xingzhou asked after a while, ¡°What do you think of Prince Huaiyang?¡±


    Miantang is preparing hot water for her husband to soak his feet. When he suddenly mentions the northwest main Commander-in-Chief out of nowhere, she doesn¡¯t think much about it and said honestly, ¡°He¡¯s naturally a rare loyal talent and a pillar to rely on for the Great Yan Dynasty¡­¡±


    Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou smiled and said, ¡°Actually¡­¡±


    But before he finished, he heard Miantang say again, ¡°But as a husband, the woman who marries him must be unlucky for eight generations!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked at Miantang¡¯s beautiful side face and forbore. He didn¡¯t kick over the water basin under his feet. He asked again enduring his anger, ¡°Why is that so?¡±


    At this time, there was no one else in the tent, and Miantang was not afraid to criticize the officials, and said truthfully, ¡°There are too many scandalous lawsuits against The Prince. He refuses to take responsibility after provoking the merchant women in Lingquan Town. Lady He is worried about her gains and losses and wants to die. Now he is just heading for a war. He has to withdraw from her fiancee who he has been engaged for a long time and has done a lot of tricks to gain fame and reputation. Who did Lady Lian provoke? She was so pitiful that she was dismissed¡­ If I were Lady Lian, I would have poured the night waste in front of The Prince¡¯s horse!¡±


    At this point, Miantang felt angrier. The most deadly crime of the dog Prince was to lead a bad example for the people of the State of Zhen, and even set off the evil trend that only by divorcing can the people go on the battlefield and fight to kill the enemy!


    What a nuisance!


    But after she finished, the cowhide tent was silent. When she looked up at her husband¡¯s face, she found that his face was gloomy and unhappy.


    ¡°Husband, what are you going to tell me?¡± Miantang asked later.


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s long black eyelashes were looking down, and the tip of his tall nose was shining with a chill. He said coldly, ¡°The water is a little hot¡­¡±


    Miantang hurriedly bailed out water to adjust the temperature, but as soon as she walked past, Cui Xingzhou held her and pulled her to sit in his arms. However, he did not speak. He just held her tightly with his iron arm.


    Miantang closed her eyes slightly, looked at him from the narrow slit of her eyes, and said shyly, ¡°Husband¡­ What are you looking at?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou sighed slowly and lowered his head to attach to her lips


    After some intimacy and sweetness, Cui Xingzhou needs to hurry back before the camp patrol.


    When he got out of the cowhide tent, he saw Servant Li cooking meat broth on the fire not far away, preparing beforehand to eat on the road.


    It¡¯s getting colder in the northwest now. When the broth is thick, it can be frozen into meat jelly. When the time comes, it¡¯s easier to cut it up and use it. It¡¯s more convenient to cook noodles in the soup too.


    Servant Li was close to the small tent, and from time to time she could vaguely hear some playful sound between the two of them.


    Now, away from Lingquan Town, Miantang doesn¡¯t have to lure the anti-bandits anymore. But why does The Prince still have the attitude of cheating and becoming addicted to her?


    She suspected that The Prince was infatuated with Liu Miantang¡¯s beauty and planned to make the fake relationship real.


    Perhaps in the eyes of The Prince, such as Lady Liu, who doesn¡¯t have a strong family background for protection and is alone, is good to deceive. Even if the lady later found that she had been cheated, there was no way to ask for help, and there will be less wordiness.


    However, she never thought that The Prince, who had never been addicted to women, had such a mind. Poor Lady Liu chased her husband for thousands of miles. In the end, she was just a concubine of The Prince in the army. She doesn¡¯t know if the high threshold of The Prince¡¯s Residence will allow Lady Liu to step over after the war is over!


    Servant Li was about to sigh a long sigh. Unexpectedly, The Prince, who had just left the camp, took a step ahead of her and sighed a long sigh.


    A tall and big handsome young man, looks up at the stars with his back, as if he was thinking about some difficult military affairs


    Cui Xingzhou is worried.


    He has always been quick and resolute. However, in the small tent just now, he didn¡¯t know how to tell Miantang the truth.


    The most hateful thing is that in Lingquan Town, the merchant lady of the He family accused him for no reason, which made the young lady mistake him for a playboy. If he were to say that he had lied to her at this time, he would be guilty of being a dissolute Prince.


    With Liu Miantang¡¯s reckless temperant, she could immediately pack up her things and take a carriage to leave.


    But she has been targeted by Prince Sui¡¯s men. If she is not around him, once Prince Sui sends someone again, she is likely to be caught and let the real lecherous Prince¡­


    Cui Xingzhou thought for a long time. For the sake of the present, he could only continue to act. He always wanted to wait until Liu Miantang¡¯s impression of Prince Huaiyang had changed, and then gradually plan to reveal the truth to her.


    As for the way out for Miantang after the war ended, he also had a good idea. He will only be reliable by taking her with him and carrying her into The Prince Residence in a sedan chair.


    There are not many people who know the details of Miantang¡¯s past incoherence. It¡¯s good to cover up. At that time, he will try to make her exiled brother regain his fame, clean up his wrongdoings, and become a small official of peace. At that time, Miantang will have a reliable family, a lady from an innocent family and she can be regarded as a high-ranking concubine.


    He can¡¯t let the children she gave birth to in the future not be included in the Cui family¡¯s genealogy!


    Looking at the starry sky, Cui Xingzhou thought for a long time and he even thought about whether Miantang¡¯s first child would be a boy or a girl¡­


    After thinking about this for a while, Cui Xingzhou felt a little better. Walking through the white frost at night, he led his young servant Mo Ru and some of his followers back to the camp¡­


    However, Liu Pei, The King of the State of Hui, was not very happy.


    He just got the news that all the people he sent to kidnap Liu Miantang were killed on the way. According to the people who searched for them, the deaths of those people were so terrible that they were bitten by wolves and exposed their white bones.


    Hearing that, the thick eyebrows of Prince Sui were deeply locked, he was secretly surprised.


    When he heard that Liu Miantang¡¯s nominal husband had joined the army, and she chased him all the way, Prince Sui thought it was the best time to get this unlucky thief who lost her memory, so he sent someone to stop her.


    Because he was worried that his nephew in the Mountain of Yang, Liu Zhen, also had such a mind, he specially sent a group of highly skilled martial arts people.


    But he didn¡¯t expect that the woman was so powerful that she tied the martial art experts he send and fed them to the wolves. Her hamstrings have been broken. Shouldn¡¯t she have lost all her martial arts?


    Prince Sui wanted to send someone to capture her again, but the woman¡¯s carriage was close to the big army. It seemed that two of his successive groups of spies he sent were found by the reconnaissance cavalry of Prince Huaiyang¡¯s army, who were inspecting deserters. They never returned.


    Prince Sui had no choice but to give up for the time being. But his curiosity was strongly aroused in this way. At the same time, a question also came to his mind. Is Liu Miantang¡¯s current husband really a businessman?


    However, although he has some questions, he has no intention to pursue them. No matter what kind of man her husband is, since he joined the army, his end is doomed. After all, the Jinjia Checkpoint is a way to hell and he will never return.


    He knew the truth. The Imperial Court was in a mess now. There was no comprehensive preparation. Even the army¡¯s provisions were not arranged in advance, and there was no shadow of subsequent reinforcements. It can be said that the troops going to the northwest this time are an isolated army, with no army provisions inside and no reinforcements outside.


    Cui Xingzhou and his soldiers are animals to worship heaven. They are destined to pave the way for the Imperial Court to negotiate peace and pay tribute¡­ However, it¡¯s a pity for Liu Miantang¡­ With her beauty, if she falls into the hands of barbarians, he doesn¡¯t know what will happen!


    Prince Sui thought, and feel that he must get this Lady Liu before the barbarians.


    On the other hand, after a long journey, the army of Prince Huaiyang finally arrived at the Wuning Checkpoint, an important town in the northwest, before the deadline set by The Emperor. Not far ahead was the Jinjia Checkpoint, where the fierce battle was raging.


    Cui Xingzhou knew that Liu Miantang could not continue to follow him longer, so he told her to settle down at the Wuning Checkpoint.


    This place extends in all directions. If the Jinjia Checkpoint is lost, she can take a carriage to escape from the shortcut and hide in the mountain.


    Cui Xingzhou even drew a detailed escape route for Liu Miantang by holding the military map.


    He was so detailed and wordy that she could not bear to watch it.


    ¡°Husband¡­ The general gave you the military map so that you could easily explore the terrain and dispatch the troops. If he knew that you had studied the escape route first, I¡¯m afraid that¡­ It would shake the morale of the army!¡±


    Miantang was embarrassed to ask her husband if he wanted to be a deserter, so she could only gently remind him.


    Cui Xingzhou scowled and said, ¡°If you didn¡¯t follow all the way here, I will never study these. Remember! Once the Jinjia Checkpoint is lost, the barbarians will come. Don¡¯t care about any luggage. Run into the mountains first!¡±


    Liu Miantang pursed her lips and didn¡¯t say anything. She knew that he was not joking. Once the Jinjia Checkpoint is lost, it is equivalent to opening the door for tigers and wolves to enter the Central Plains.


    It¡¯s hard for a general like her husband to survive¡­


    Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t have much time to tell Miantang too much. He needs to lead his soldiers to enter the Jinjia Checkpoint to defend against the enemy. At that time, he¡¯s afraid it will be very difficult to accompany Miantang every night, just like on the road.


    But Liu Miantang didn¡¯t feel lonely and bored.


    Miantang thought that she was the only wife who chased the army all the way. Who knew that when she arrived at Wuning Checkpoint, she found that others also did not abandon their husband and came all the way.


    It turned out that many of the strong men who joined the army this time had no spare money. There was only one room in the shabby house and there are many craftsmen who joined the army too. Now that their husband has applied to the army, some of the women who are in love with their husbands have thought it through. They think it¡¯s better to see their husband from time to time than to have no news of their situation in the State of Zhen.


    Therefore, a few days after Miantang arrived at the Wuning Checkpoint, there were many villagers from the State of Zhen who followed the path of their husbands and inquire about the trail of the large army.


    In the following few days, some women came to the Wuning Checkpoint one after another to settle down.


    For a moment, the remote villages suddenly seemed a little lively.


    Cui Jiu, Liu Miantang¡¯s husband, was also a capable person. When they arrived at the Wuning Checkpoint, he settled a mansion for her the next day. Because the battlefield was not far from the Wuning Checkpoint, many local people were worried that the Wuning Checkpoint would be affected, so they went to visit their relatives and friends, leaving many houses empty.


    Because it was bought in a hurry, compared with the mansion in Lingquan Town, the mansion he just bought here is a little rough, but it is better than setting up a simple tent and sleeping in the open air.


    Military dependents like these who have gone to their husbands speak foreign accents. After settling down in their small homes, they greet each other when they go out on the street, and they chat with each other very well. For a time, the neighborhood atmosphere is no less warm than the Lingquan North Street.


    Those who can give up on everything and leave their homes are women who have no property in their hometowns and possessed at least a skill. Although they arrived in a hurry with only carried a pole and a basket, when setting up a stall, they could start a business immediately. Crafts such as pot mending are very rare in the local area. Villagers from the four townships and eight villages all come to line up to mend their pots. After making money on the spot, they can rent a house and live.


    Although the war is tight, the life of the people in the rear area will continue, and the business of mending pots is very profitable.


    Liu Miantang was very envious when she saw such a skilled woman. She left Lingquan Town in a hurry and didn¡¯t give much explanation for the shop. It all depends on whether the shopkeeper she hired can follow his conscience, operate honestly and turn in all the profits.


    If she had a craft skill of her own, wouldn¡¯t she be able to go all over the world without any consideration? Fortunately, she has a lot of money and silver with her. Even if she doesn¡¯t make a living for a year and a half, she will have enough to eat and drink¡­ But Miantang, who can¡¯t stay idle, is always unwilling.


    Liu Miantang has also known many military dependents in recent days. Because they know that the people here are military dependents, they also take care of each other.


    Thus, Lady Liu who had arrived first and had already settled down, helped the other women to settle down.


    When she met the woman who was sick on her journey here, Miantang also lent her carriage to help the woman to the neighboring village to find a doctor.


    After her actions these days, among the dozen women in the State of Zhen, everyone respected and voted Lady Liu as the leader of the military dependents. At that time, the military dependents¡¯ meeting in the same town was well prepared and officially opened.


    The place where the military dependents meet every day is a stream passing through the checkpoint. At the right time of the day, everyone was holding a pile of dirty clothes and chatting while washing. It was also in harmony.


    Miantang¡¯s hands and feet are afraid of being cold, so she can¡¯t touch cold water. However, she always comes with her two little maids, Fang Xie, and Bi Cao, and helps other women to look after their children.


    When a place is filled with many women, there is naturally a lot of strange news and gossip. There was a woman in the military dependent whose husband was a member of the army commander¡¯s camp.


    Taking advantage of the opportunity to transport vegetables from the rear, he met his wife. So the lady surnamed Wen had some first-handed and hot news to share with the women.


    When Lady Wen heard that some people felt that the soldiers of Jinjia Checkpoint are restricted to be taken care of by women, and did not know how they were doing, she pulled her lips and said, ¡°Those are ordinary soldiers who are not allowed to be taken care of. If you are a general, there will never be a lack of food and clothes wherever they go. It is said that the Commander-in-Chief, Prince Huaiyang, brought a concubine along. Prince Huaiyang slept with that beautiful concubine every night, and had a good time!¡±


    When they heard this, they all opened their eyes big and felt sorry for Lady Lian who had withdrawn from the marriage proposal. However, in their view, it¡¯s normal for a high-ranking person like Prince Huaiyang to have more than one woman. Even if he is on the battlefield, how can there be a lack of people to serve him?


    Miantang had been reprimanded by her husband for her careless words, so she paid great attention to this. She thought that in this extraordinary period of war, she shouldn¡¯t make groundless accusations to the Commander-in-Chief.


    So she sat on the big stone beside the stream and gave some fruits to the children and said, ¡°Since it is a rumor, it is better if we don¡¯t spread it. Besides, if the concubine of Prince Huaiyang really comes, it may be among us. If you guys gossip the matter behind her back, it will be embarrassing if she were to hear it.¡±


    After listening to this, the women burst out laughing, ¡°Since she¡¯s the concubine of The Prince, how will she be mixed among us? Speaking of us, only Lady Liu has an outstanding appearance and brings along servants and a coachman. If she¡¯s mixed around us, then it will be you! If that¡¯s the case, remember not to complain to The Prince about us then!¡±


    Liu Miantang said with a smile, ¡°Sure, I¡¯m the one. I¡¯ll never forgive you gossiping women. I¡¯ll ask The Prince to capture you all and take the stick to beat each of your mouths. You guys can¡¯t escape!¡±


    For a time, there was a constant sound of laughter on the side of the stream. It was not until everyone had finished washing their clothes that they went home.


    When Miantang returned home, Servant Li had already prepared the meal. After eating, Miantang had nothing to do with holding the copied military map left by her husband.


    The Jinjia Checkpoint is indeed a dangerous place. It has the momentum of if one man guards the pass, ten thousand are unable to get through. If there are good generals guarding them and there is no need to worry about the army provisions, it can also be safely maintained.


    There is not much she can do, so she can only stay in the Wuning Checkpoint and wait for the news from her husband¡¯s troop.


    On the other side of Cui Xingzhou, it is not as harmonious and peaceful as the Wuning Checkpoint.


    It can be said that there¡¯s a lot of bad news. The Imperial Court has sent messengers to inform them that the army¡¯s provisions will not be available for a long time after the beginning of spring, and he must find a way himself.


    This irresponsible remark made the generals and soldiers below slam on the table angrily.


    But Cui Xingzhou had long expected that the Imperial Court was unreliable. So when he came out of the State of Zhen, he not only brought some of his army provisions from his barrack but also ordered the soldiers back in his barrack to send another batch to the northwest.


    If they use it frugally, they most probably will be able to barely survive the winter and the spring.


    As long as there is no danger of running out of army provisions and the morale of the army is stabilized, even if he were to drag the battle, he can drag those barbarians to death.


    So when he entered the checkpoint, he let the enemies under the checkpoint called him nasty names and he ordered his soldiers to guard the gate and did get affected and went out to fight them head-on.


    Even when the enemy retreated by deceit and vacated a city, he turned a deaf ear to it. He was not greedy for success and advanced rashly, let alone sent troops to take over.


    This kind of dead pig is not afraid of boiling water solution, leaving the barbarian soldiers no choice in dealing with them. They could only send soldiers who are familiar with the Central Plains dialect to scold every day. For a moment, they had even finished scolding the entire genealogy of Prince Huaiyang.


    Some soldiers also knew the barbarian language at the Jinjia Checkpoint. Prince Huaiyang assigned them a heavy duty to scold back a battalion for the barbarian soldier Shan Yu¡¯s biological father. The momentum of scolding back was demeanor, which fully showed the breadth and depth of scolding in the Central Plains.


    However, after some time has passed, it¡¯s a little wasting of saliva and makes their throat hurt. There are not many medicinal materials in the army, so they must buy some medicine to moisten their throat.


    Miantang has been in the Wuning Checkpoint for more than a month now. She has not seen her husband coming out of the checkpoint, and she is so bored that she dares to buy a medicine shop that is out for sale and do some business of buying and selling medicinal materials. Finally, earning a living.


    Cui Xingzhou took the excuse of buying medicinal materials and disguised himself as a Commander, wrapped his face in a turban, and came to Wuning Checkpoint to stop by for a moment.


    However, he didn¡¯t expect to unexpectedly buy the medicinal materials for his soldiers in the Jinjia Checkpoint from the shop opened by Lady Liu.


    ¡°You do not have any knowledge about treating patients, and no proper doctors are assisting you in the shop. How can you open a medicine shop and prescribe medicine for people?¡±


    Liu Miantang said while weighing the medicinal materials in a dignified manner, ¡°There is no decent doctor at the checkpoint, and the owner of the only medicine shop has fled. The people at the checkpoint will need a medicine shop for their illness. How can there be not a single medicine shop here? I will buy the shop and import more medicine. The medicine in the frontline is tight, and you have no medicine available. I can also help! Don¡¯t worry, Doctor Zhao had left me with all the medical books and I memorized everything in my spare time. The so-called person with a long-term illness makes a doctor. Even if I don¡¯t have 70 percent of the skills, I still have 30 percent of the medical skill with me! ¡±


    As soon as Miantang boasted about what she can do, a neighbor came to the door, ¡°Aiyo, Lady Liu, please help me see why my diarrhea became worst after taking the medicine you prescribed yesterday?¡±


    Liu Miantang, ignoring her husband, quickly opened the paper bag to look at the medicine she had taken. After several confirmations with the medical book on the side, she calmly picked out some medicinal materials from it, and then added some to the bag. She gave it to the neighbor, ¡°Uncle Meng, you originally have the issue of internal heat and it¡¯s good to detoxify by having diarrhea. You can take this home and eat it now. You will get twice the result with half the effort and the medicine will be more effective.¡±


    When she spoke, she had indescribable self-confidence. She was like an experienced old doctor. The uncle did not doubt anything, and the lady did not ask for money. Naturally, he left with gratitude.


    However, Cui Xingzhou could see clearly from the side. In the previous medicine, it was clear that there were laxatives such as croton and lotus leaves. Is this bold little lady not afraid that her prescribed medicine will kill people?


    However, Miantang was calm, ¡°The highly skilled Doctor Zhao said that he would make mistakes when he first started to treat people and prescribe the medicine for them too. Good doctors also learn slowly. Moreover, I won¡¯t treat if there is a serious illness. Don¡¯t worry!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou reluctantly rubbed his forehead and looked at the medicine bag in his hand. For a moment, he was not sure whether this incompetent doctor had prescribed some random medicine for his soldiers.

 CH 45

    Compared with Cui Xingzhou¡¯s worries, Miantang was much happier.


    She didn¡¯t expect that the battle ahead was tight, and her husband could even take the opportunity to buy medicinal materials to come out of the military camp.


    So she let Servant Li prepare meat dishes and let her husband have a good meal before he heads back.


    The mansion in the Wuning Checkpoint is too small, and the former owner left many sundries. Miantang didn¡¯t have time to ask people to clean it up, so the kitchen used for cooking seemed to be smaller too. Besides, there was only one stove in the kitchen thus, they are unable to cook dishes that are too fancy.


    Servant Li simply cook some dishes of the locals, learned the northwest cuisine, and cooked a pot of stew.


    In addition to the green vegetables bought from the farmers in the northwest, there are also pheasant meat, potatoes, and green peppers given by the secret sentries who returned from hunting when they went up the mountain.


    The mountain chicken was marinated beforehand. The soup was stewed with green vegetables. The broth of the soup was very fresh and thick. Servant Li also learned to make a local steamed bun, which was filled with jujube powder. It was very sweet and sticky and diligently took care of The Prince¡¯s southern taste.


    There is no bed in the room, but there¡¯s a unique fire tunnel (Kang) from the north. As long as the connected cooking pits are heated, the Kang will be warm, warmer than the earthworm.


    Bi Cao put a small square table with local characteristics on the Kang in the lady¡¯s room, so Cui Xingzhou and Miantang could eat on the Kang.


    When Miantang was having dinner, she suddenly remembered and ask her husband about his camp.


    Normally, when the other husband has a chat with their family members, they will talk about the barracks to which their officials belong. However, after several conversations, Miantang found that the battalion to which her husband belonged was the most mysterious. No one knew it, let alone heard the name of Commander Master Cui Jiu.


    So, taking advantage of the husband¡¯s rare time coming home, Miantang asked about it.


    Cui Jiu thought it over and said, ¡°Our battalion is different from others. It is specially responsible for going out to explore confidential matters. We don¡¯t have contact with other battalions normally, so we don¡¯t know each other very well¡­ Don¡¯t talk too much with those women, so as not to let it out and be discovered by people with bad intentions.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou can now tell lies just like lady Liu¡¯s prescription, which is also speaking the untruth without blinking with full confidence.


    Miantang nodded convincingly. It turns out that her husband is different from other people¡¯s husbands in the Wuning Checkpoint. He belongs to the elite division. No wonder those officials and family members do not know him.


    However, because the Wuning Checkpoint is close to the Jinjia Checkpoint, every foreigner who comes from other places must pass the strict registered residence examination of the local mayor.


    Miantang is not worried that there will be barbarian spies in the dependents of their husbands. However, she should still better be safe than sorry. Since her husband has reminded her that she should never reveal his identity and position in the barrack.


    Cui Xingzhou was very fast when eating and hurried back to the Jinjia Checkpoint. Miantang hurried to pack the jacket she had made these days and some food for him, along with the things entrusted to her by the military dependents in the neighborhood.


    He has no choice. The Marshal insisted on pretending to be a Commander. Naturally, he had to bring something to his fellow soldiers. After a while, he returned to the camp and let one of his entrusted soldiers pass on one by one so that they will not know who the original carrier was.


    When Cui Xingzhou came out of the town of the Wuning Checkpoint and returned to the camp of the Jinjia Checkpoint, a courier from the post station quickly sent a stack of letters to the Marshal.


    Cui Xingzhou, while drinking the sweet-scented osmanthus lotus seed dessert brought back from the Wuning Checkpoint, stretched out his long finger to pick out the letter. One of the letters was written in beautiful handwriting. It was a letter from his cousin, Lian Binglan.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t even dismantle it and directed it to one side by hand. After all, since he set out, his cousin Lian¡¯s letters have not been interrupted. The rhythm of the letters is about one in a few days. If she persists in this way, the post station horses along the northwest road will be made too exhausted by her.


    There is also a letter from his mother too. Cui Xingzhou picked up the letter opener and took a look.


    In the letter, apart from urging him to pay attention to his health and send more letters back to the residents, nearly half of the words were accusing Cui Xingzhou of making his own decisions and breaking his marriage without telling his mother. Now he¡¯s impulsive, but the sky of his aunt¡¯s family has fallen in half. Cousin Lian¡¯s face is full of tears all day. She says that if she doesn¡¯t solve the misunderstanding with her cousin, she won¡¯t marry anyone else in her life¡­


    Cui Xingzhou considered her tone and felt that her mother¡¯s writing has improved. Half of the words in her letter should be written by her aunt.


    However, it was a little pity that he was in the northwest. He could not see his aunt and cousin¡¯s tears, and there was much less wordiness.


    So he put the letter aside and waited until when he was free. He then wrote back a letter to his mother to keep her updated and reassure her.


    As for the other letters, there are not only letters of encouragement and advice from his teacher, but also words of concern from his old friends.


    Zhao Quan, Marquis Zhennan, is quite interesting. He only said in the letter that he was not being a good friend. Since he joined the army, why didn¡¯t he inform him so that he could fight alongside Master Cui Jiu to kill the enemy in the battle?


    Zhao Quan, who has always been idle, applied to the Ministry of Revenue for a position as a provision officer responsible for escorting materials. Because the State of Zhen is a land of fish and rice, many provision officials are selected from the local area and do not need to be appointed by the Capital.


    Therefore, Zhao Quan took the opportunity of his business trip to meet his friend in the Northwest for a while, and he did not have to fight against the enemy, thus avoiding the danger of breaking the bloodline of his Marquis Zhennan Mansion.


    However, Cui Xingzhou suspected that he had bad motives. Otherwise, why did he keep asking him the whereabouts of Lady Liu in the letter? Nevertheless, his Brother Jiayu never cut the connections with him when his life was hitting a downfall in time. Cui Xingzhou also kept this friendship in mind. However, he and Zhao Quan never needed those bureaucratic courtesies, so he wrote back a letter to Zhao Quan with three big characters, ¡°Send more food¡±!


    He hopes Brother Zhao will fulfill his mission and send life-saving food to the soldiers from the State of Zhen.


    As for the secret report sent by his informer in the State of Zhen, it was much more interesting. The offer of amnesty to the Mountain of Yang went smoothly without the obstruction of Prince Huaiyang.


    That Ziyu had married the daughter of Commander Shi and became the son-in-law of the Commander. Moreover, because of the use of troops at the border, the defense of the four commanderies in the Capital was empty, and military generals from many places were temporarily assigned to the Capital to guard.


    Shi Yikuan was one of them, and his new son-in-law who he just got naturally did not give up this opportunity and would go to the Capital with his father-in-law to meet The Emperor.


    Cui Xingzhou thought about it for a while and thought that the scene in the Capital would be very lively. Empress Dowager Wu did everything she could, and she never expected that the orphan of the Crown Prince whom she persecuted would return to the Capital in a dignified manner this time.


    The forces of the Grand Empress Dowager, represented by Prince Sui, will never idly watch the situation, nor will they know what kind of shocking situation will occur with the Crown Prince¡¯s orphan, Liu Zhen.


    If Cui Xingzhou was in the State of Zhen at this time, he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid the situation and would have to make clear his position.


    It¡¯s a pity that whether it¡¯s Liu Zhen of the Mountain of Yang, Prince Sui of the State of Hui, or the evil concubines in the Capital, these forces were all up to no good. He doesn¡¯t want to stand with any of them.


    Because of this, he thought about it all night by the canal that day and then decided to take the imperial edict to this dangerous place of Jinjia Checkpoint in the northwest.


    Those who are proficient in playing chess know that sometimes death is the only way to survive. This Jinjia Checkpoint is a chess piece that he dropped carefully. However, whether can he play this chess game, depends on his ability.


    At this time, under the Jinjia Checkpoint, the tigers and wolves swarmed, roaring and howling day and night. However, Cui Xingzhou has a clear idea. He can only see the situation after the thunderstorm in the Capital.


    It is precisely because of Cui Xingzhou¡¯s arrival that he changed the mind of the former guards who wanted to make contributions to recover the lands that are lost. He only kept the city safe and splash oil and shoot fire arrows under the city from time to time. The patience of the barbarian soldiers was almost exhausted, and the number of times they are swearing in the battle was gradually reduced.


    Seeing that winter is coming to an end, the best time to fight will also be missed. The barbarians in the northwest are nomadic people who live in pursuit of water and grass. When the summer comes, the whole tribe will have to move. Where will there be the intention to continue blocking the Jinjia Checkpoint by then?


    With time, they can see that the most difficult period will be over soon. But at this time, the imperial decree came.


    In the decree, Cui Xingzhou was reprimanded for being the Commander-in-Chief, yet he was timid and afraid of fighting. He only stayed in the Jinjia Checkpoint to passively resist the enemy. The edict of ¡°The Emperor¡± has clearly instructed. To pacify the army, he is required to take back at least one county within one month.


    These words are all laymen¡¯s words, but if they are written in the imperial edict, people can¡¯t refute them.


    When the guards left, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s Deputy Generals looked at each other one by one, only to see what Cui Xingzhou meant.


    In the past few months, the days of the Jinjia Checkpoint are not as easy as those in the imperial edict. It takes a lot of effort to raise army provisions alone.


    They have no other way to do it. The Court was crying out for poverty. When Cui Xingzhou, the King of the State of Zhen, was appointed as the Marshel here, they were suspected of stealing his wealth. They hoped that Prince Huaiyang would figure out himself and scrape off his family and fill the big hole in the court.


    But the Empress Dowager Wu¡¯s gang now are greedy and unsatisfied. They are scraping the profit from Prince Huaiyang. But they also think that the profits are not rich enough. It is annoying.


    However, when he received the imperial edict, Cui Xingzhou still looked as usual and never asked the Imperial censors to get any evidence that will use against him.


    The Court did not know who slandered in the face of The Emperor and let The Emperor make such an arbitrary decision. Although ¡°the general will not accept the orders of The Emperor outside¡±, it must be with a wise monarch. Otherwise, disobeying the Imperial edict is also a great crime that leads to nine clans of the family being beheaded.


    Fortunately, after such a long delay, the barbarian soldiers have been almost drained to the max outside the city. As for the army provisions, they were all well prepared.


    Moreover, he has been training the soldiers and horses in the city these days, and has not slackened and waited passively.


    Listening to the daily curses, the hot-blooded young men in the city have long been holding their temper and can¡¯t wait to fight the barbarians who invaded their homes to the end.


    Just half a month after receiving the imperial edict, a Great Yan Dynasty army provision convoy escorting the army provision from the West Checkpoint got lost and entered the territory of the barbarians because of heavy snow blocking the road.


    The barbarian soldiers who had been out of food for a long time were very happy. The sentry and a team of people hijacked the army provisions. After testing that the army provision was non-toxic, the barbarian camp celebrated like it was the Spring Festival, and they were cooking in the big pot in a very lively atmosphere.


    Also, their horses can also eat hay and they are snorting one by one.


    On the second day after the barbarian camp was having a feast, the gate of the Jinjia Checkpoint, which had been closed for a long time, was suddenly opened. A bunch of generals and soldiers rushed out to face the barbarian soldiers head-on.


    This is an opportunity that the barbarians have been waiting for for a long time.


    There¡¯s no other way. The gate of the Jinjia Checkpoint is too thick. If the defenders don¡¯t take the initiative to open it, the losses of the siege will be heavy. They fought for so long, just to destroy the morale of the Great Yan Dynasty, and let The Emperor in the Capital pay the annual tribute to them.


    Now that the city gate is open, Prince Huaiyang, who has been pretending to be a grandson for a long time, must completely be defeated. Only in this way can the Great Yan Dynasty be convinced to pay the annual tribute to them.


    According to people who fought on the battlefield later, the battle was extremely fierce!


    The cavalry is better, but the infantrymen are unlucky. As long as the horse of the barbarian soldiers shakes its tail, a bunch of horses poop will spurt out! If they are not careful enough, it will be splashed all over their head and body.


    The horses of the barbarian soldier¡¯s hay they ate last night all turned into thin and soft ¡°gold¡± spurting all over the sand fields. After the horses pooped several times, all of them collapsed with weak legs. The barbarian¡¯s cavalry was caught off guard. All of them fell from the horse¡¯s back one after another and were stabbed by the soldiers of the Great Yan Dynasty. Blood spattered.


    This head-on encounter was not clean, but it was splendid.


    The soldiers of the Great Yan Dynasty defected the barbarian army who was surrounding the Jinjia Checkpoint in disarray and the withdrawal turned into a rout. The remaining wounded soldiers and disabled generals fled in confusion.


    The soldiers with high morale chased a distance of ten miles at one go and took back the villages near the Jinjia Checkpoint. However, the marshal didn¡¯t want to pursue too far ahead, so he ended the fight with the sound of the horn.


    The barbarian soldiers who suffered heavy losses retreated to the Feiying County they acquired to recuperate.


    This beautiful counterattack can be regarded as a great boost to the morale of Jinjia Checkpoint. Cui Xingzhou¡¯s clerks can also have a list of military achievements that can be presented to The Emperor.


    However, the official¡¯s family members in the Wuning Checkpoint were glad that their husband had won, but it also added a lot of trouble for them.


    The source of the stream flowing through their villages and towns is on the side of the Jinjia Checkpoint.


    After the war, for two consecutive days, the water flowing down from upstream gave off the smell of horse dung. It resulted that every household in the Wuning Checkpoint dare not go to the stream to wash clothes and fetch water. Even the playful children don¡¯t like to play by the water.


    It is said that in the past two days, the number of soldiers and men who came back from the battle at the Jinjia Checkpoint who took a bath and wash their clothes in the upstream water was particularly large, and there was no other way but to pollute the stream.


    Fortunately, there is a deep well in Miantang¡¯s yard, and using water is very convenient.


    For a time, the neighbors all came to Miantang¡¯s house to borrow water and Miantang¡¯s small yard was very lively.


    When Cui Xingzhou rode to the front of the mansion of the Wuning Checkpoint, he saw the scene of a bunch of women in the yard fetching water and washing clothes.


    And his wife Miantang is directing two servant girls to set up bamboo poles on the drying field in front of the door and pull the clothesline to make it convenient for the neighbors to hang their clothes!


    After she came to the Wuning Checkpoint, she consciously put away the beautiful clothes and clothes she had brought from Lingquan Town, and there were no more gold hairpins and jade rings on her head.


    She only dressed up as most poor women in the Wuning Checkpoint in coarse green clothes. She only chose a square scarf with plain flowers wrapped in her black silky hair, and her thin waist was covered with a wide cloth and green scarf, showing a charming posture¡­


    In other words, even though she was dressed in coarse cloth, people could not help being attracted by her beautiful appearance at the first glance¡­


    But in Cui Xingzhou¡¯s heart, she should have been a beautiful peony to be carefully served in the greenhouse. But now he has gradually discovered that she is the afternoon flower in the wilderness, with indescribable toughness and vitality. No matter where she is, people can see the bright and unfolding flowers¡­


    When Miantang turned her head, she saw her husband wearing a bamboo hat riding on the horse. Although he was covered with gauze, he was tall and upright, and his calm temperament on the horse¡¯s back is the trait that she could not be mistaken for.


    Miantang immediately picked up her skirt and ran to her husband happily. When she came to the horse, she pulled the reins of the horse and asked, ¡°When did you come back, husband? Why didn¡¯t you call us?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked at the women looking at him over the low wall in the yard. He did not take off his bamboo hats but said softly, ¡°It¡¯s too noisy in the yard. I¡¯ll take Mo Ru to the nearby mountains and hunt for some wild animals back¡­ What would you like to eat?¡±


    Miantang tilted her head and thought for a while, and said with a smile, ¡°The rabbit meat is best to roast¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou also smiled and said, ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll hunt more for you.¡± With that, he turned his horse¡¯s head and rode away with Mo Ru and several followers.


    Lady Wen poked her head out of the gate of the courtyard and saw Cui Xingzhou¡¯s back view galloping away. She said to Lady Liu, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen your husband before. So he has such a manner¡­ He¡¯s not like a Cheif, but more like a General¡­ My husband has explored the barracks and had never heard of the Ninth Master of Lingquan Town¡­¡±


    Miantang remembers her husband¡¯s exhortations. The tasks he accepted were all secret tasks, which were hard to find out. So when Lady Wen was curious and wanted to find out the name of her husband, Cui Jiu, she interrupted her with a smile and said something else.


    In the evening, when the sky was dark, the women in the yard dispersed. Cui Jiu came back from hunting under the starry sky.


    He came back with a handful of preys. Besides a pair of rabbits, he also had a wild boar. They were carried into the courtyard by the guards.


    The righteous man Fan Hu, because of his injury, was approved by her husband and has been staying at her mansion for a while. He is a good helper at cleaning and chopping firewood normally.


    At this time, Brother Fan quietly carried a knife and helped cut and peel the meat with several guards.


    According to the meaning of Miantang, it is hoped that Brother Fan will be introduced by her husband to join the army after his illness. If not, she is willing to give them rich money as a reward.


    However, in the presence of the heroes Brother Fan and his brothers, her husband said with a stern face, ¡°The soldiers of the State of Zhen do not accept those who are not proficient in learning. Although you pay for the blood of the country, you cannot protect your life. If you have nothing to do, you can do some rough work in the yard of Lady Liu. I will give you the salary¡­¡±


    At that time, Miantang was shocked by his embarrassment. She didn¡¯t think that her husband, the Commander, would be so harsh! How can he talk to the people who helped her like that?


    And those big brothers, who are warm-hearted, were indeed ashamed of what her husbands said. Some of them even had tears in their eyes, but they endured with red eyes¡­


    That night, Liu Miantang once again lost her temper with her husband. She thought that after he became the Commander, he was being too powerful and aggressive.


    So she was so cold that she didn¡¯t pay any attention to the Ninth Master Cui all night.


    In the early morning of the next day, the Ninth Master Cui hugged his fist and apologized to the several righteous men.


    However, those brave men had the mind of a sea, and even forgave her husband for this, and refused to get it for nothing. They would never want the gold and silver presented by Miantang. They only stayed to do part-time work as the Ninth Master told them.


    However, Miantang¡¯s house is too small, and her husband is not at home. It¡¯s inviting gossip to leave a few big men for nothing.


    Fortunately, after Miantang purchased the medicine shop, the shop needed the help of the clerks. Finally, all the benefactors were settled properly, and some temporary work was done to earn the traveling expenses. Getting a wife was just around the corner in the future by saving money.


    They were taking advantage of the heat in the yard to prepare for roasting wild boar. Miantang welcomed her husband back to the mansion. After picking off the bamboo hat for him, she asked with bright eyes, ¡°This time the Jinjia Checkpoint was a great victory, is it the cart of Croton that played a role?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou smiled and hugged her slender waist, kissed her pink cheek, and said, ¡°This great victory was all due to your good cart of Croton with medicinal materials and has made great achievements!¡±


    It turned out that Cui Jiu had just returned to the Wuning Checkpoint when he was making the battle plan. He watched Miantang command several men to grind the medicine in the yard.


    However, a waiter overturned the wooden bucket soaked with croton beans with his carelessness and soaked the grass crenels on the side. As a result, the goats raised by the neighbors wandered in and ate a few bites of wet grass, and the next day, they had diarrhea.


    The neighbor reluctantly came to Miantang to argue with her and asked her to compensate the goat¡¯s money. It was at that time that Cui Xingzhou had an idea and came up with a way to reduce the fighting power of barbarians.


    When the two armies face each other, they will check the food and grass they snatch. If the opposite party poisoned the army provision, the army of their own will definitely be found and there¡¯s no way to calculate them in the plot.


    When the Croton is given to people, its effect is too fast and it is easy to be found. But when the Croton was soaked in water and soaked in the hay, no silver needle could be detected. Even if the barbarian soldiers give the horse a taste first, the horse is much bigger than a human, and the medicine can¡¯t take effect for a while.


    The most important thing is that, as far as he knows, the supply of army provision on the barbarian side is also scarce for a long time. He¡¯s afraid that they can¡¯t bear to check it for a day after getting the army provisions.


    Cui Xingzhou formulated the operation plan after considering all aspects. It¡¯s just that Liu Miantang, the owner of the medicine shop in the Wuning Checkpoint, needs to think about how to start importing this large amount of Croton medicinal materials.


    After Liu Miantang received the order from her husband on behalf of The Prince, she immediately came to the spirit.


    Her medical skills are not good, her prescriptions are not very effective, and the shop is a little deserted. However, getting in touch with people and buying goods are her strong points.


    Just like this, in less than seven days, Liu Miantang met a broker through the introduction of the second nephew of the third uncle of the village chief and spent a high price to buy a batch of Croton medicinal materials that were originally shipped to sixteen states.


    Lady Liu spent a lot of money on this, and finally made a great contribution to her husband in front of Prince Huaiyang.


    Miantang didn¡¯t expect The Prince to reward her husband, but after this great victory, the crisis of the Jinjia Checkpoint was relieved, and her husband would have more time to return.


    At this time, the wild boar meat in the yard has been put on an iron signboard and roasted on an open fire. The smell is striking.


    Just as the married couple was talking about their long separation and reunion, a hearty burst of laughter came from the yard, ¡°Ninth master, you sure know how to enjoy. Having such a feast of wild roasted boar quietly, and you didn¡¯t call me to join!¡±


    Miantang looked up at the window. Why did the highly skilled Doctor Zhao of Lingquan Town come to this remote place?


    It turned out that after Zhao Quan took up the official post of escorting army provisions, he was conscientious and accountable. The cheeky man also used all the naughty and tricky moves of the scoundrel¡¯s ways and found the army provision outside the State of Zhen that Prince Sui of the State of Hui concealed the news from the Imperial Court. He then took the meat from the mouth of the tiger and blackmailed a huge profit out of Prince Sui.


    Prince Sui also knew that Marquis Zhennan was a layman with no knowledge and skills. He had never been taken seriously.


    Although he was annoyed by his blackmail later, he caught hold of his wrongdoings, and Prince Sui did not want to make a fuss and caused trouble.


    So Zhao Quan is also blessed with good luck. In this way, Zhao Jiayu fulfilled his mission and completed the task of delivering army provisions, giving the soldiers of the Jinjia Checkpoint sufficient buffer and delay time.


    The hard-working and meritorious grain Officer Zhao is asking for a reward.

 CH 46

    However, when the Army Provision Officer Zhao saw his good friend and Miantang peeping out of the window to look at him, the jealousness in his heart overturned the shelf.


    When he heard that Cui Xingzhou was going to set out to the northwest initially, although he was worried about the safety of his friends, he has also given some attention to doing other things.


    For example, he excitedly went to the North Street courtyard to take over the care of Lady Liu who was abandoned in the town.


    But the mansion was empty. Zhao Quan¡¯s heart also became empty.


    After careful inquiry, he realized that Lady Liu had gone to catch up with Cui Jiu.


    Zhao Quan was somewhat confused for a moment about where the play of ¡°false husband Cui Jiu¡± was going. Did¡­ Lady Liu found that Cui Jiu was Prince Huaiyang, but she was unwilling to be cheated by him and chased him straight away?


    Zhao Quan never thought Cui Xingzhou could carry Liu Miantang into the mansion. Prince Huaiyang is very sober and rational. He will never do anything that makes his mind confused and blinded by beauty.


    At most, he was just flirting with her.


    Now that the young lady is so infatuated. If she chases him up and pesters him and annoyed Cui Xingzhou, she might get hurt by his words, or be bound to be guilty. By then, what can she do?


    Marquis Zhao still remembers that Cui Xingzhou mentioned how to deal with Liu Miantang before, and his cold tone was similar to that of killing a mole ant!


    With such a heart occupied over the beauty, Zhao Quan took more effort to raise food, hoping that Cui Jiu would give her some face when he pleaded for the lady.


    But he never expected that the love of the fake couple in the North Street mansion would linger till the broken yard in the northwest.


    When Cui Jiu came out wearing a half-worn military uniform of the Commander, Zhao Quan was so depressed that he can¡¯t breathe properly. He really wanted to ask Cui Jiu after he calm himself down if he was tired of playing the role of a performer all day?


    However, when Cui Jiu saw that his good friend came to deliver the army provision, he showed a sincere smile. He took Miantang¡¯s hand and walked out together and said, ¡°Your nose is so sharp that you can smell it here. Mo Ru, go and get some aquavit from the northwest. Brother Jiayu and I will drink till the dawn.¡±


    Although Miantang had a bad impression of the highly skilled miracle Docter Zhao, he was also in military uniform. He should be like her husband and join the army in times of national disaster.


    From this point of view, although Zhao Quan is suspected of being a person who loafs around all day and a black sheep, he is also a hot-blooded man and a person with indomitable spirits.


    Therefore, Miantang¡¯s attitude changed a little about Doctor Zhao. Seeing that her husband had asked him for a drink, she asked Servant Li to prepare more cook more dishes, hot soup, and wine with barbecue.


    However, Zhao Quan drank the wine with a little vexed feeling. He squinted at Cui Jiu¡¯s old military uniform, looked up and down, and asked, ¡°You made great achievements this time isn¡¯t it, Brother? I wonder how will Prince Huaiyang reward you and promote you to an official position. Otherwise, a bitter Commander will not have a lot of military pay. Wouldn¡¯t your wife suffer?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked up at his strange words and said with deep meaning, ¡°Miantang is willing to follow the army for thousands of miles and put life and death aside. How will she care about my rank? Since she has this true feeling, I will not disappoint her in the future and let her live a prosperous life¡­¡±


    The meaning of this remark is obvious. He means that the beauty has followed him when he went to the gate of hell, how will she leave when she knows that he¡¯s Prince Huaiyang? Besides, he will give her wealth and honor in the future. Brother Jiayu doesn¡¯t have to worry too much while being salty!


    Hearing the sound of Cui Xingzhou¡¯s words, Zhao Quan immediately felt like he was in a state of mourning. He felt as if his lady in the Buddhist temple has seethrough the human affair in life.


    Yes, although Cui Xingzhou deceived Liu Miantang from the beginning. But Cui Jiu¡¯s good appearance is there! If people don¡¯t know his indifferent temperament, just such a casual and elegant appearance, he will fascinate those women in the love season.


    What¡¯s more, Cui Xingzhou is not a poor man who pretends to be a young master to deceive women to sleep. Once the identity of Prince Huaiyang is revealed, which woman is willing to give up such tremendous wealth?


    Liu Miantang is a young lady after all. She probably doesn¡¯t need any honor and wealth. She only loves Cui Jiu¡¯s handsome appearance. Otherwise, why did she follow him to such wild places as the northwest without knowing the danger?


    On the other hand, his wives and concubines are hard to say.


    When they heard that he was going to the northwest, his legal wife said ¡°Amitabha¡±, stating that she would chant scriptures and pray for him day and night.


    However, those beautiful concubines of his cried their hearts out, nevertheless, when asked which one was willing to follow him to the northwest, all of them were suddenly unhealthy. They were either infected with colds or relapsed from old diseases and could not bear the burden of traveling¡­


    After such a comparison, Zhao Quan suddenly felt that his life was boring and extremely empty and lonely.


    He wanted to ask how is he worse than Cui Xingzhou? Why does such a loving and righteous young lady not love him?


    In this way, unless Cui Xingzhou dies in battle, he can take care of his widow in a proper manner. Otherwise, he will not have a chance with Lady Liu in this life¡­


    Zhao Quan couldn¡¯t hide his thoughts. After drinking a few cups of aquavit, he tearfully held his friend¡¯s hand, reassuring him that he could die for the country and that he would take care of Miantang in the future¡­


    Cui Xingzhou only frowned. If he hadn¡¯t been thinking of their mutual friendship, the words of Marquis Zhao hoping him would die was looking for a fight!


    A pair of intimate friends here are drinking in place of jeopardy.


    But Miantang¡¯s side, however, ate very comfortably.


    Because of the outsider man, Zhao Quan, she didn¡¯t share a table with her husband. She only set up a small table for herself in the side room next door.


    When Servant Li saw Lady Liu eating by herself, she cooked some snacks that the young lady loves for her.


    A small plate of roasted rabbit kebabs is very tender, and the pepper and salt seasoning prepared by Servant Li is also very delicious. Take a small slip of aquavit to go along with it. It tastes delicious.


    The wild boar meat was also stewed and cooked. The eggplant pieces and the gourd strips brought by Servant Li from Lingquan Town were added to the small casserole. The sauce was rich and it was sweet to eat on the rice.


    In addition, Servant Li also kindly mixed the small pot of aquavit with large sour plum and some sweet glutinous rice wine, which alleviated the intensity of the wine.


    Miantang hasn¡¯t drunk for a long time. The food is too compatible with the wine, and she is a bit greedy.


    At this time, it began to snow outside the window. Holding the hot wine she poured herself. It was really ¡°The red mud stove makes the fermented grains clear¡±, and she wouldn¡¯t change it for a fairy!


    But she did not know what her husband next door and the highly skilled miracle Doctor Zhao were talking about. They drank and drank. The highly skilled miracle Doctor Zhao even cried, looking very sad.


    Miantang asked Servant Li, who came into the house to deliver dessert, what was going on next door.


    Servant Li was also angry when she heard the funeral speech of Marquis Zhao. She drooped her eyelids and said, ¡°Marquis Zhao¡­ Mr. Zhao drank too much for a while and was afraid that the Master would have an accident on the battlefield. He was in the mood at that time and cried a few times¡­ Madam, you can just continue having your meal. This is the virtue of men¡¯s drinking!¡±


    Miantang nodded. The escorts of her grandfather¡¯s escort agency did not have any shape when they drank wine too, and there were all big fights. As long as they don¡¯t turn over the table, she won¡¯t disturb the drinking of her husband and his friends.


    Miantang has always avoided drinking because she used to take Chinese herbal medicine. Since she came to the northwest, she has stopped taking the medicine, and she does not need to be cautious of what food she eats further. For a moment, she is greedy in drinking. However, maybe it was because she hadn¡¯t drunk for a long time. When she had finished drinking, the alcohol effect came up and she fell asleep in the side room.


    She doesn¡¯t know how long she slept, but she suddenly felt that she was moving. When she opened her eyes slightly, she found that her husband was holding herself back to the main room.


    ¡°Zhao Quan is drunk. Let him stay in the side room.¡± Cui Xingzhou said so.


    Miantang rubbed against his arm, forced her big eyes open, and said lazily, ¡°I don¡¯t know how did I fall asleep. I haven¡¯t washed up yet¡­¡±


    The Kang in the side room is somewhat blocked, so it¡¯s hard to avoid feeling cold when sleeping. Cui Xingzhou saw that she was still huddled in the fox fur just now. He felt heartache for fear that she might get sick again.


    So he ordered someone to carry Zhao Quan, who had fallen asleep on the hot Kang in the main room, and then carried his young lady back to the hot Kang in the main room.


    Hearing that she was going to wash up, Cui Xingzhou said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go to the medicine shop today? You can¡¯t get dirty at home. I¡¯ll put a wet towel for you to wipe¡­¡±


    Although Miantang was drunk, she was also shy when she heard her husband say this. She whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t need you. I¡¯ll wipe it myself¡­¡±


    But how could she get up when her legs were weak from drinking? Cui Xingzhou asked the young servant girl to bring hot water, wrung out the handkerchief, and wiped it up for Miantang.


    Miantang lay down and let her husband wipe her pink face. When she arrived at the Wuning Checkpoint, she did as the locals did and no longer put on makeup on her face. Her face was bright and clean, and it was easy to wipe.


    Just pressed by the warm towel, it is red and gorgeous, which makes him wonder if she is also pink elsewhere¡­


    Cui Jiu was a little absent-minded, and his gesture slowed down.


    But Miantang was beautiful and didn¡¯t know anything. She only rubbed his hand on her cheek, like a cat lying by the stove.


    ¡°When are we going to have a baby, husband? I want to have a son for you earlier¡­¡± at this moment, Miantang half squinted and said with the effect of the wine.


    These words, when they were alone at night, really attracted people.


    Cui Xingzhou threw the handkerchief aside and pulled the drunken young lady into her arms.


    He also drank the wine, but there was still a trace of clarity, and the words that Zhao Quan was looking forward to his death were uncomfortable. So he just put the tip of his nose against her nose and whispered, ¡°I may die anytime. What should you orphans and widows do then?¡±


    Miantang frowned slightly and didn¡¯t like to hear her husband¡¯s words about death. She only forced her eyes slightly and said with a mouthful, ¡°Which King of hell dares to touch my husband and I will overturn his hall in hell¡­ You should kiss me, husband!¡±


    The delicate and fragrant young lady is in his arms. If he remains indifferent, he will be either a eunuch or an old man in the twilight!


    Cui Xingzhou is also a young man. How can he resist the deliberate temptation of Miantang? At the request of the beauty, he calmed her lips with the sweet smell of plum.


    At that moment, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s early plans all disappeared. Although he was a gentleman, he drank a lot of wine into his stomach. At this time, he was excited by her words.


    Didn¡¯t she want a baby? He promised that she would be pregnant in the morning!


    However, just as Cui Xingzhou¡¯s blood was boiling, the young lady who had just been kissed and giggled by him unexpectedly fell asleep with her head tilted¡­


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s eyes were red for a moment. He felt that all the drinkers in the world, regardless of men and women, were so irresponsible!


    He clenched his teeth and fell to the side, wondering whether he would practice another set of boxing against the cold wind on a snowy night.


    ¡­¡­


    When he got up the next morning, Miantang slept very well. She stretched her waist, looked side way at her husband¡¯s face, and then leaned over. She touched his face with her long finger.


    With such a touch, Cui Jiu woke up, but his eyes were bloodshot and not very clear.


    Miantang is used to her husband. According to him, he has been suffering from persistent insomnia and has been unable to sleep well.


    Although it is a persistent disease, Miantang feels sorry for her husband. Taking advantage of Zhao Quan¡¯s presence today, she had to ask Servant Li to ask Zhao Quan if there was any prescription for insomnia.


    Early in the morning, Zhao Quan slept in a daze in the side room, so when he woke up, he simply got up, sat down on the small stool in the small kitchen, and drank the sobering hot rice soup brought by Servant Li.


    He will hurry back to the Jinjia Checkpoint with Cui Xingzhou to hand over the matters of army provision he escorted.


    Servant Li had just sent hot water to the main room. At the request of Lady Liu, seeing that Marquis Zhao¡¯s face was a little better, she asked him to help work out a prescription for insomnia.


    But after Servant Li finished, Marquis Zhao felt that Servant Li was making fun of him. Others may not know. Can Cui Jiu have insomnia?


    He never knew this guy had such a chronic disease¡­ Wait a minute. Could it be that Cui Jiu¡¯s red curtain is so enchanting that he doesn¡¯t sleep much all night?


    After having a great time yesterday and still finding a way to tell him that he is a loser. It¡¯s simply forcing people to cut off their responsibilities and end their friendship completely!


    At that moment, the highly skilled miracle doctor was so angry that he didn¡¯t even eat breakfast. When he went out and got on the horse with his servant, he shouted at the main room, ¡°Cui Jiu, I¡¯ll wait for you in the camp! And¡­ You are so incontinent. Be careful not to lose your energy before you reach middle age, and there will be no more scenery on the couch¡­¡±


    Miantang was just getting up to comb her hair. After hearing Zhao Quan¡¯s jealous shouting, she could not understand the meaning of it. She only thought that Zhao Quan¡¯s meaning was that her husband had suffered from serious insomnia and needed to be treated immediately!


    She couldn¡¯t help looking back at her husband with a worried face and said, ¡°What should I do? If Mr. Zhao¡¯s words are true, isn¡¯t it that you can¡¯t make it, husband?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was lying on the Kang to make up for his sleep, but when she heard Lady Liu say that he ¡°can¡¯t make it¡±, he slowly opened his eyes and smiled meaningfully at her, ¡°When the war is over, I will let you know if I can¡­¡±


    At daybreak, Cui Xingzhou finally got up and did not even bother to eat breakfast. After putting on his clothes, he wore a bamboo hat and return to the camp.


    Miantang leaned against the gate of the mansion and looked anxiously at her husband¡¯s back. What she thought were all Doctor Zhao¡¯s words.


    No, she has to read the medical books diligently to see how to match the prescription of medicine for insomnia¡­ How can her husband, who is young, be exhausted and die on the couch?


    With this in mind, after eating, she packed up and went to the pharmacy to remove the door panel and start the business.


    Although all the doctors in the city ran away because of the war, the Cui Ji medicine shop she opened became the only one in the town. However, the prescription she prescribed was either too strong or ineffective. Gradually, the people in the town also knew that the lady was a flower-like decoration. She looked smart and talked about pharmacology. But if the people were to try her prescription, they will tend to have diarrhea till their two pairs of liver and intestines are light!


    Therefore, although the medicine in the Cui Ji shop is good, the boss is not very reliable. If they have a prescription, it¡¯s fine. Otherwise, don¡¯t expect her to find any good medicine.


    So if it wasn¡¯t a serious illness, no one dared ask her to prescribe the medicine.


    It was a little cold in front of the shop. However, Miantang doesn¡¯t care about the quality of her business now. In these years of war and chaos, her original intention was just to make it convenient for the officials and family members in the town and help her husband.


    Now that her imported cart of Croton has made great achievements for her husband. Whether she makes money or not is not very important.


    So in the next few days, if someone came to get the medicine occasionally, she asked the shop assistant to get it. For the rest of the time, she sat on the counter, concentrating on her medical skills.


    However, the more she looks at it, the more she feels that she¡¯s not a doctor. If she compares her husband¡¯s symptoms with those in the medical book, her husband doesn¡¯t look like he is weak and sleepless. Instead, he looks like he is full of internal fire and needs to be properly vented!


    The more she looked at it, the more confused she became. After a few days, she was somewhat disheartened and lost her original high spirits.


    The snow that had been falling for several days had finally stopped. She asked Fan Hu and some shop assistants to clean the snow in front of the door.


    She put down the book, moved her neck, and decided to go to the medicine cabinet to prepare a pair of refreshing herbal tea for herself.


    At that moment, the sound of the wheels of the carriage came suddenly. Miantang looked up and saw that it was a carriage parked in front of the medicine shop.


    An old woman came in sweating and asked, ¡°Where is the doctor on duty in the hall? Come and see my madam quickly. She¡­ She is experiencing hard labor¡­¡±


    Miantang hurriedly said, ¡°We don¡¯t have a doctor in this shop. nanny, you should go elsewhere quickly to avoid delay¡­¡±


    Looking at Miantang¡¯s posture, the old woman felt that she was proficient in medicine. She knelt in front of Miantang with a plop, ¡°The heavy snow has blocked our way in recent days. We can¡¯t go too far. It is said that you are the only medicine shop in the area. Please give a helping hand to save my madam!¡±


    Liu Miantang is not unwilling to help, but she knows her skills. If she takes the case, it will cause two lives.


    The most urgent task is to find someone who really understands medical skills. Liu Miantang hurried to the front of the carriage and opened the curtain. A young woman was lying in the quilt, her belly was high, and crying in pain.


    Seeing this, Miantang no longer hesitated and immediately called the shop assistant to go to the Jinjia Checkpoint to find Mr. Zhao to save the patient.


    If she remembers correctly, Zhao Quan said that he would return to the State of Zhen after handing over the army provision. And the Wuning Checkpoint is the only way he must go through.


    She hasn¡¯t seen any motorcade in the past few days, so Liu Miantang is sure that Mr. Zhao hasn¡¯t left yet. If God favors her, maybe she can see Mr. Zhao on the way to the Jinjia Checkpoint!


    That shop assistant used to be the secret sentry on North Street. Now he has changed from dark to light. He is also a shop assistant. He is naturally familiar with horse riding. After taking the command, he turns over and goes to the Jinjia Checkpoint to hire the doctor.


    Miantang asked the nanny to help her madam down from the carriage and entered the wing room behind the medicine shop for a rest.


    Otherwise, it would be cold outside the shop, and the lady who was about to give birth could not bear it.


    At that moment, maybe the pregnant woman moved too much. The pregnant woman frowned with pain and involuntarily speaks. Miantang could hear it clearly. That sentence was not the language Chinese they used in Central Plains, but vaguely like the language of barbarians outside the Checkpoint.


    When the pregnant woman finished, her nanny, who was holding her by the side, turned pale.


    The madam of her family is not a lady from the Central Plains, and it is precisely because of this that the well-known midwife doesn¡¯t want to help her deliver.


    Now the barbarians outside the Checkpoint have attacked the city and occupied the territory. She doesn¡¯t know how many border citizens have been killed. The citizens in these border villages and towns all change the color of their faces when talking about barbarism, and hate those foreigners to the bone.


    So even if they take a huge amount of gold and silver, most people don¡¯t like to come and deliver for their madam. What¡¯s more, they don¡¯t have any extra money in their hands. In the end, that nanny can only deliver herself to save money for her madam.


    However, her madam is having her first child, and she doesn¡¯t know whether the baby is in the wrong position or for some other reason. After a long time of trouble, the child just didn¡¯t come out. The nanny had no choice, so she set up a carriage to find someone.


    Who would have thought that her madam was in great pain for a moment and could not help but say something in their barbarian language? If the boss of this medicine shop turned them out, what would she do?


    The people on the other side looked at the pregnant woman. Although she was very beautiful, she did look a little different from the Han people.


    However, to the surprise of the nanny, Miantang still let them wait in the wing room as usual after she was stunned. She also kindly brought a bowl of brown sugar water to the pregnant woman, so that she could replenish her strength.


    The woman also knew that she had just made a mistake, so she looked at Miantang gratefully and said nothing. She only bit the back of her hand and secretly endured the contractions.


    In fact, Miantang was shocked just now. It was not because she was disgusted that this woman was a barbarian outside the Checkpoint, but because she was surprised that she understood what this woman said!


    Miantang can never remember that she once learned the language of barbarian. But why did she know clearly just now that the woman said ¡°If I can¡¯t make it¡­¡±


    Miantang suspected that she was hearing hallucinations for a moment, and hoped that the woman would say more words.


    Perhaps the pain was too severe. The woman had endured for a while and then began to roll in pain. She also talked to her nanny again.


    This time, Miantang could hear clearly. The woman said tearfully in the corner of her eyes, ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore. Please cut open my stomach. Maybe the child in my stomach has a chance to live¡­¡±


    It seems that the woman can¡¯t hold on any longer. She only wants to die alone and save her child so that her child can survive.


    It¡¯s just that the words are too heart-wrenching and make people cry. Miantang was touched for a moment, and suddenly opened her mouth and replied, ¡°Why did you give up this early? Be strong. The doctor will arrive soon, and he will surely keep both mother and child safe¡­


    After saying this, don¡¯t mention others, Miantang herself was stunned. Oh My God, why can she speak in such a fluent foreign language?

 CH 47

    The pregnant woman was also slightly surprised when she heard Miantang¡¯s fluent barbarian language. Looking at Miantang¡¯s bright features, she could not be a person outside the Checkpoint. But why did she knows how to speak her native language so fluently?


    But there was no time to think about it, and another burst of unbearable contractions came. The woman grabbed Miantang¡¯s hand, as if she had caught the last straw, and held it tight.


    Miantang also held her hand and comforted her softly.


    It was also her fate. The highly skilled miracle Doctor Zhao Quan soon came to Cui Ji pharmacy.


    Just as Miantang expected, Zhao Quan returned from the Jinjia Checkpoint today. He happened to meet the secret sentry looking for him at the town¡¯s gate, so he stopped his carriage and horse, explained the situation, and soon came to the medicine shop.


    The study of Zhao Quan¡¯s medical skills is based on his talents and hobbies. He is very good at complicated diseases. However, in the gynecology category, he never looks at it due to his noble identity as the Marquis.


    Now the woman is having difficulty giving birth. Although he guesses that the fetal head is not in the right position, it is not easy for him to push the pregnant woman¡¯s stomach. Otherwise, the innocence of the woman will be destroyed. Isn¡¯t he going to be the ready-made father of the child?


    Miantang saw that Doctor Zhao, who is usually out of tune, had a lot of taboos at this time. She was fed up with him being a gentleman. So she finally broke the taboo of not talking to Zhao Quan and asked directly, ¡°What should I do? You teach me, I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    As soon as Zhao Quan saw that Miantang had finally spoken to him, he did not have the time to be happy. He only asked her to touch the pregnant woman¡¯s stomach to see where the head of the fetus was at the moment.


    Miantang reached out and touched it. At first, she was a little confused. At that time, the fetus in the pregnant woman¡¯s stomach was clever to even hiccup. It was easy to identify the small head now.


    It¡¯s just that the head of the baby is making people worried. The head of the baby is facing up.


    The first time Zhao Quan delivered a baby, he encountered such a thorny matter. If he could do nothing, wouldn¡¯t it be a great disappointment to Miantang?


    At that moment, the miracle doctor stirred up the fighting spirit. If the pregnant woman is unable to give birth smoothly, how could he show his ability?


    At present, the pregnant woman is given a unique acupuncture point, and the foot is stimulated by moxibustion. At the same time, Miantang was asked to give the pregnant woman a special massage technique to try to turn the fetus around.


    In this way, Miantang was so tired that her hand had no more strength. The pregnant woman¡¯s breathing was also like the air when she finally turned the head of her child.


    The next thing was taken over by Servant Li and other familiar old women.


    Fortunately, the baby was not big, and after the birth, it was very smooth. But when the baby came out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around the neck, and the face was purple and blue. If it was dragged any later, it would be hopeless.


    When the midwife hurriedly cut the umbilical cord, Zhao Quan quickly turned the baby upside down and slapped the baby¡¯s buttocks. The baby finally choked on a mouthful of amniotic fluid and cried out.


    Miantang was as tired as she had just given birth to a child. She poured herself into the chair with sweat and asked Fang Xie to pour her a cup of hot water.


    Because the woman had just given birth to a child, she was very physically exhausted and could not move for a while, let alone be affected by the wind. So Miantang asked her to rest in the wing room of the medicine shop for a while.


    The woman¡¯s face was pale and had not recovered. However, the soft baby was sleeping on her side. Although she was very tired at this time, she had a happy smile on her face.


    When Miantang came in to see her, she struggled to get up and thank her. Her Chinese was fluent, only with a slight accent.


    Miantang handed her sugar water to replenish, and asked, ¡°Where are you from and who is your husband?¡±


    At this time, it was not easy for the woman to hide her foreign identity from the benefactor. What¡¯s more, the medicine shop owner could speak the barbarian language, which added some trust and goodwill to her.


    So she said, ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Guri tribe outside the Checkpoint. I married a businessman inside the Checkpoint. He has been away from home for years, so¡­ Nobody was to take care of me this time¡­¡±


    When she said this, her eyes were a little red, and it seemed that there was some unspeakable grievance, but she hid it and did not say it. She even tried to hold back her tears and turned to look at the baby in her swaddling clothes.


    Miantang was considerate and did not ask again.


    When a foreign woman marries into the Checkpoint, it means she has no father or brother to rely on. She doesn¡¯t know what kind of man she married, but he had the heart to leave her wife, who was pregnant, without leaving enough silver for her to cope with unexpected needs.


    Miantang saw that in the delivery package she brought with her, the baby swaddles that wrapped the child were all made from the old quilt. This woman is obviously having her first child, and people usually make a new one. It can be seen that she is too poor to make a new swaddle for the baby.


    Moreover, the Chinese name of this woman is Lin Siyue. Her Chinese is very good. Her words and sentences seem to be educated. Her appearance and behavior are not like ordinary vagrants outside the Checkpoint. She doesn¡¯t know how her life was before she married.


    However, the old servant of Lin Siyue, chatted with Servant Li privately and told the truth. Where did her master go out to trade? Her madam was coaxed out by her husband!


    It turned out that Lin Siyue was married to the Hu family, a big family in nearby Tianqi Town. The Second Young Master of the Hu family went on a business trip outside the Checkpoint and got to know Lin Siyue.


    The Second Young Master is also good-looking. He is as handsome as a girl. After they met for a while, the two of them secretly agreed to live for life. Lin Siyue, despite her father¡¯s opposition, decided to elope with the Second Young Master to the Checkpoint.


    However, how can this woman who has made a private agreement get the approval of her husband¡¯s mother-in-law?


    The Hu family is rich, and it¡¯s not a family that can¡¯t afford to marry a daughter-in-law! Therefore, the old lady of the Hu family is also picky about Lin Siyue, and she refuses to agree with her second son to marry her as the legal wife.


    She had no other way, so Lin Siyue took on the role of concubine after eloping. Hu Lian, the Second Young Master, said that he would persuade his mother to change her mind after she gave birth to a son.


    However, when she became pregnant, the war broke out at the border. The Old Lady Hu gave an excuse that if there were foreign women at home would provoke the anger of the people in the village and even involve the family. In the end, she threw her twenty taels of silver and a roll of old bedding and coaxed her out of the house.


    From the beginning to the end, the Second Young master Hu who had sworn to Lin Siyue never showed up.


    Nanny Sheng is an old servant who is going to return to her hometown to live her life in retirement. The Second Young Master still considers some past relationship with the Lady, so he secretly gave her some money and asked her to take care of Lin Siyue, who was about to give birth.


    Nanny Sheng is kind-hearted. Looking at Lady Lin, she is too pitiful. So she took on the job.


    In the first few months, the Second Young Master sent someone to secretly give them money, but later he did not send anyone again. It was not until she went to the rice shop to buy rice on credit that she realized that the Second Young Master had married a new wife!


    Nanny Sheng could not bear to leave Lady Lin behind, so she decided to take care of her till her birth, before taking leave and returning to her hometown.


    It¡¯s just that she doesn¡¯t know what to do with this orphan and widowed who was abandoned by the man in the future.


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t expect this foreign woman who had difficulty giving birth had such an experience. It makes people angry.


    But this road was also chosen by Lady Lin herself. She can¡¯t blame anyone else now. What Miantang can do is to take care of the food and drink of the mother and son for free. If she is willing to go back to find the father, she will just give her some more money.


    However, Lin Siyue seemed a little wooden.


    Although she later learned that Nanny Sheng had revealed the secret she hides, she did not feel ashamed, nor did she feel the deep resentment of an abandoned woman. She just smiled at the child in her arms all day long. She could eat three meals a day. Besides nursing the child, she slept, as if her husband had really gone on a long trip.


    As for Miantang, the benefactor of saving their life, Lady Lin was also light-hearted. Although she thanked her, it was not extreme. She looked like she was living in her own home. She felt very comfortable.


    Lady Lin¡¯s behavior made Bi Cao hard to tolerate. She said to Fang Xie in private, ¡°She¡¯s a barbarian woman after all. There¡¯s no etiquette in the Central Plains. No wonder his man doesn¡¯t want her!¡±


    Miantang, who was dialing the abacus, frowned slightly and reprimanded Bi Cao, ¡°How can a man drive a woman out of the house when she has shortcomings? It¡¯s okay for a man to say that. If you as a woman also says so, it¡¯s no wonder that men all over the world look down on women!¡±


    Bi Cao listened and hurriedly lowered her head to grind the herbs.


    Miantang, however, really didn¡¯t care whether Lady Lin had the heart to repay her kindness. It was only a small effort for her to cure Lady Lin. she did not intend to be rewarded by others. Naturally, she would not be critical of the woman¡¯s words.


    After Zhao Quan treated the pregnant woman, he did not leave in a hurry. After saving the pregnant woman that day, he originally wanted to take a cup of tea and leave.


    Who would have thought that he was sitting at the counter and picked up several ¡°exorcism amulets¡± on the counter? When asked, he realized that it was the prescription written by Lady Liu.


    That word¡­ Even if Zhao Quan can¡¯t bear to scold the beauty and wants to praise her, he¡¯s speechless. After careful identification, the highly skilled miracle Doctor Zhao Quan was shocked.


    He thought that from the moment he study medicine, he would never dare to take the prescribed medicine of Lady Liu!


    At that moment, Doctor Zhao Quan has a kind heart of a doctor and he couldn¡¯t help but call Liu Miantang for a scolding.


    He didn¡¯t expect that he said so impolitely, Lady Liu was so convinced that she humbly asked him for a prescription.


    Zhao Quan was greatly satisfied with the feelings of many men who had been defeated by Lady Liu. For a time, he also wanted to show off, so he wholeheartedly taught her how to write a prescription.


    But even for the same disease, the symptoms of the patients are different, and the dosage of the medicine is different. How can it be explained clearly in a few words?


    Thus, after Zhao Quan show an example of treating a serious patient with abdominal water, it seemed that all the people in the city were sick, and the patients poured in one after another.


    Every time Zhao Quan treated a patient with his wonderful hands and kindness, Lady Liu looked at him with starry eyes.


    Several times Zhao Quan wanted to leave and return to the State of Zhen. But the words rolled in his throat and swallowed again that he can¡¯t tell. Thus, he sits in the medical hall, treating the long queue of patients outside the pharmacy.


    Miantang originally thought that the medicine shop she opened would make her lose all the money. Unexpectedly, Zhao Quan¡¯s arrival made the pharmacy finally see a profit from it.


    When Cui Xingzhou returned to the Wuning Checkpoint again, he could not help frowning when he saw that Zhao Quan, who had been away for several days, was still there.


    He stood at the corner of the street and stopped before he could turn out. The people in the medicine shop had not noticed him.


    Zhao Quan changed into a plain white robe and wore a blue cloth square scarf on his head. He was gentle and unrestrained. From afar, he seemed to match Lady Liu, who was also dressed in coarse cloth but with a slender waist and charming appearance, just like the original husband and wife.


    There was an old lady who had no eyesight, after she got diagnosed and was prescribed, she said in a loud voice to Miantang, ¡°Boss, your husband¡¯s medical skills are superb. We people from a radius of 100 miles away are lucky. We thank you both couple from the bottom of our hearts!¡±


    Hearing this, Zhao Quan was so happy that he smiled and said loudly, ¡°No worries, that¡¯s what we should do!¡± and the voice of Lady Liu¡¯s urgent explanation was suppressed.


    Cui Xingzhou stood aside and heard clearly. He was covered with northwest frost. He waved to Fan Hu and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that Marquis Zhao is still here?¡±


    Fan Hu cautiously and honestly replied, ¡°Report to Your Highness, you had instructed me a few days ago. If it is not necessary, I must not leave Lady Liu for half a step. I must protect her with integrity¡­ In addition, Marquis Zhao is not a villain, so I didn¡¯t report it¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked coldly at his honest and mindless subordinates. He felt that after the war ended, this group of secret sentries should be replaced from head to toe.


    Anyone who has a clear eye should know that Marquis Zhao is more dangerous than a tiger to Lady Liu!


    However, these secret sentries treated the Marquis as their own people.


    In this case, when they return to the State of Zhen, he will deploy them to the Marquis¡¯s Mansion to serve!


    He didn¡¯t bother to continue seeing Zhao Quan¡¯s pride in pretending to be her husband again and walked past with great strides.


    Miantang was busy taking the medicine. When she saw her husband returning with a bamboo hat, she immediately looked happy. She called her husband and hurried out.


    Zhao Quan is enjoying the pleasure of running a medicine shop with Lady Liu. He is immersed in this happiness. Unexpectedly, Cui Xingzhou did not stay at the Jinjia Checkpoint and returned. The Marquis immediately elongated his face.


    Cui Xingzhou gently greeted his good friend and asked, ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Brother Zhao returned?¡±


    Zhao Quan has now figured it out. Even if Lady Liu loves Cui Xingzhou very much now, her title is not legit. She can¡¯t even be counted as a concubine now. What kind of real married couple are she and Cui Xingzhou?


    His shortcoming is that he only met Liu Miantang after, and Cui Xingzhou had an advantage over him. If they get along with each other as they do in the Wuning Checkpoint, they will surely have feelings towards each other over time.


    Who is Lady Liu¡¯s true love at that time, nobody knows yet!


    Therefore, when Cui Xingzhou asked him, he said with high-sounding words, ¡°The border war is in full swing, the doctors have run away, and the poor people left are short of doctors and medicine. How can I have the heart to leave the people and return to the peaceful place in the south of the Yangtze River?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou continued to smile and said, ¡°Brother Zhao has such a heart of love for the people. It¡¯s excellent¡­ The newly recovered township is short of good doctors. Why don¡¯t I buy two more medicine shops for Brother Zhao there, so that Brother Zhao¡¯s medical skills can be brought into full play, What do you think?¡±


    Although those villages and towns were recovered, there was a danger of barbarian soldiers coming back at any time. What was Cui Xingzhou¡¯s reason wanted to buy a shop for him there?


    Hearing this, Zhao Quan glared at Cui Xingzhou angrily. He was about to open his mouth when he saw Miantang coming with a smile. Marquis Zhao immediately showed a gentle face and said, ¡°The Ninth Master thinks very well, but there are several important patients in the Wuning Checkpoint who need continuous recuperation. If I leave, their lives are in danger. How can I, as a doctor, give up halfway?¡±


    Miantang was listening, and could not help nodding approvingly.


    On that day, she was reprimanded by Zhao Quan, she had a deeper understanding of ¡°medical skills¡±, which was really beyond the reach of her layman.


    However, after Zhao Quan came to the Wuning pass this time, he no longer talked a lot of strange things and was devoted to relieving the people¡¯s worries. He helped people with pressing needs.


    At first, Liu Miantang thought of her husband¡¯s jealousy and did not want Mr. Zhao to stay. However, as Mr. Zhao said, several important patients really cannot leave him. If he is driven away, will it not cost the lives of those patients?


    Miantang doesn¡¯t have any private contact with Zhao Quan normally. To avoid suspicion, she specially rented another house for Zhao Quan in the town. When the war slowed down, she found a reliable doctor and thanked Mr. Zhao. She will ask him to return home before her husband comes back.


    She didn¡¯t expect that her husband would come to visit so soon. He happened to meet Mr. Zhao. This could not help but make Miantang feel short of breath, thinking about how to explain it to her husband.


    However, her husband has a good manner. When he saw Mr. Zhao, he talked and laughed happily, saying that he was worried about the country and the people.


    A pair of good friends confided in each other, and Miantang¡¯s half-hung heart gradually eased.


    However, when she returned to the mansion, Cui Xingzhou asked with a sullen face why she had not explained to the others the misunderstanding between her and Zhao Quan as a married couple?


    In fact, Miantang loves to see her husband¡¯s jealousy. He is a gentleman normally. However, when he looks at her ferociously, it adds to the strong and heroic spirit of her husband!


    So Miantang only hung her two thin white wrists around Cui Xingzhou¡¯s neck and sneered, ¡°Why didn¡¯t my husband talk about this when you were laughing with Mr. Zhao and only used it to reprimand me? Is it possible that you are also a man of friends like brothers and women like clothes?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou thought that her giggling face was really like a street wanderer. She was very smooth and rascally, and what strange words did she say? She must have been spoiled by Zhao Quan.


    Prince Huaiyang was completely gloomy. If anyone who knew his temperament saw him now, they would be scared to the ground.


    However, Miantang touched his tight cheek and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so unhappy. I have a lot to say to you¡­ By the way, husband, do you know why I can speak the barbarian language?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was shocked when he heard this, and then asked, ¡°How did you find that you can speak the barbarian language?¡±


    So Miantang told Cui Jiu about rescuing Lady Lin who had been chased out of her husband¡¯s house.


    Cui Xingzhou heard this and said lightly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you know the language. Maybe it was taught to you by Young Master Ziyu¡­¡±


    This is really what it calls it never rains but it pours. Miantang had just put Mr. Zhao¡¯s vinegar jar in place, and her effort was gone as she knocked over Young Master Zi Yu¡¯s old vinegar as she turn around.


    Miantang felt that in her journey from Lingquan Town, there was no hardship as tough at this time.


    For a moment, she also felt a little self-abandonment. She could not help but loosen her wrists and beat her head in frustration. ¡°What was the matter with me before? I learned chess from him, and I also learned barbaric language¡­ Could it be that he was the teacher of the females, and I happened to learn from him? I really¡­ Can¡¯t remember¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou saw how hard she hit, and immediately grasped her wrist, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t remember. It¡¯s not important¡­¡±


    Miantang stopped hitting herself, but snuggled softly in Cui Xingzhou¡¯s arms and said in a low voice, ¡°I never thought what a woman who was abandoned by her husband¡¯s family would be like before. But after seeing Lady Lin, I realized that she was so pitiful. Husband, will you turn over and forget my kindness and coax me out of the house?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou sighed for a long time. He forgot Liu Miantang¡¯s previous experience. Wasn¡¯t it because the bandit Lu Wen was tired of playing with her and threw her into the river?


    If it is more miserable, she is more pitiful than that foreign woman.


    But he still tried to prevaricate with her about Ziyu. Wouldn¡¯t it try to remind her of her painful memories?


    Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou could not keep his face tightened anymore. He held her up and said, ¡°You said it was not easy for me to come back once, but why did you get upset first? Since you can speak a barbaric language, it¡¯s really good. In the future when there aren¡¯t any interpreters to interrogate the prisoners before the battle, you can be used to support¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou is tall and strong, and his arms are steady and thick. It is a very safe and thick feeling to lie on it.


    After smelling the sandalwood-like sense on Cui Xingzhou, Miantang¡¯s heart calmed down. After all, her husband was not the irresponsible generation of the second son of the Hu family, who deceived an innocent girl into becoming a concubine. She and he were married with a marriage certificate. Her wild thoughts were groundless!


    So she said it with a smile. However, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s smile reduced, and said, ¡°¡­ Concubine. There is nothing wrong with being a concubine. For example, the girl should have known that she is a foreigner. How can she become the legal wife of a big family in the Checkpoint? But her man is not responsible. Otherwise, even if she is a concubine, she should be properly taken care of. It is better to live in a rich family than a nomadic life outside the Great Wall.¡±


    Miantang felt that only a man would say something like this. She opened her eyes slightly and said, ¡°If you can be a good wife, why do you want to be a concubine? If I were you, I would rather not be married than be a concubine!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s smile was even lighter, and he looked at her straight. After a pause, he asked, ¡°If I were to take you in as a concubine, are you willing?¡±


    Miantang, however, thought that her husband was joking. She only looked at his handsome face, hugged and kissed him, and said, ¡°If we can¡¯t be a husband and wife like this, I¡¯ll have a good time with you. Get a taste of your beauty of a handsome man first and when you¡¯re tired of it later, we¡¯ll part our way!¡±


    The tone of her voice is very much like the King of the mountain and the prodigal in the hook!


    Cui Xingzhou was also amused by her. He held her head with his hands and kissed her passionately. He then looked up slightly and looked at her with a slightly ferocious look. ¡°Leaving after sleeping with me, it¡¯s not that easy!¡±


    Miantang doesn¡¯t want to leave at all. She is her husband¡¯s legal wife. Naturally, she wants to live with him forever. She only plays with his long belt with her long finger and said in a soft voice, ¡°I won¡¯t leave until I have given birth to your child¡­¡±


    It¡¯s unbearable to be so charming. Cui Xingzhou¡¯s eyes were deep, and he almost lost his self-control. He only said to her in a low voice, ¡°When the war is over, we will return to the State of Zhen. I will let you have enough child!¡±


    However, the wish of Prince Huaiyang to extend his descendants could not be realized for a time.


    Because the first great victory of the Jinjia Checkpoint was a heavy blow to the arrogance of barbarians. Although the lost land in the border areas was not fully recovered, the enemy and they are no longer under the pressure of large armies as before.


    For a time, the people in the border areas were no longer in danger, showing a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere. But Cui Xingzhou got a piece of secret information. The barbarian soldiers didn¡¯t retreat. They were just like wolves surrounding their prey and waiting for an opportunity to move.


    Shanyu Agufan, the new barbarian, is a person that doesn¡¯t slack off. How can he give up?


    Speaking of it, this Agufan is a natural wolf.


    He was originally the old Shanyu¡¯s adopted son, but he killed his brother in name and took the throne in a bloody way. In fact, he was unpopular among the barbarian tribes.


    At that time, not everyone in the barbarian tribe agreed to attack the Great Yan Dynasty. However, Agufan¡¯s methods were bloody. For a time, he intimidated the general tribe, so they could only follow him.


    However, Agufan thought he was the savior of the barbarian tribe.


    The brother who was killed by him has no son but only one daughter. Now she is missing. So even if his brother doesn¡¯t die, can they still let a woman inherit the throne?

 CH 48

    The barbarians have the cruel and ruthless Agufan who is good at ruling, it is difficult for the border to be peaceful for a time.


    Cui Xingzhou also knows this and is ready for a lasting stalemate. Because the Jinjia Checkpoint has been stabilized, the Imperial Court will not have an Imperial decree to urge the war for the time being.


    It is said that Empress Dowager Wu¡¯s birthday is approaching, and all the civilian and military officers in court are devoted to celebrating this event. The Emperor does his best to be filial. He believes that they have no time to take care of the border matters. Instead, Cui Xingzhou can free up his hands and do something else.


    There was one thing that made him quite concerned, that is, Miantang could speak the barbaric language.


    Even Miantang doesn¡¯t know that she can speak the barbarian language. It can be seen that she learned it at Lu Wen¡¯s side during the period when she lost her memory¡­ This makes him think deeply. What did Lu Wen do for a living and need to contact barbarians?


    Cui Xingzhou reviewed the intelligence collected during this period and only said that the barbarian tribe had been doing business with the customs in the past few years. There was a merchant of the Great Yan Dynasty who dug taction iron ore in the barbarian land. Because the barbarian could not smelt, it was convenient for the merchant to cooperate with him and resell it privately, making a large fortune¡­


    When Cui Xingzhou heard about this, he thought of the money and weapons that the bandits kept on the mountain when the mountain was in chaos. He always felt that there was some connection between them.


    If the Imperial grandson Liu really secretly contacted the barbarians and seized the privilege of mining iron ore, he must have had frequent contact with the barbarians.


    Miantang was able to account for Liu at the beginning. She naturally also had contact with barbarians. It was normal for her to speak some barbarian language.


    However, it is still a question of where the iron ore is to be transported and who is the mysterious merchant sent by the Mountain of Yang.


    Regardless of whether is Liu the mysterious businessman or not, Cui Xingzhou thinks that such transactions should not be allowed to continue.


    So once he thought of this, Cui Xingzhou knew what to do next. He arranged for people to take advantage of the fact that he was recovering the towns in the Checkpoint to pull out those mysterious merchants.


    After having something in mind, Cui Xingzhou cast a wide net and sent many spies to investigate the iron ore affairs.


    If the iron ore is really related to Liu, the descendants of the former Crown Prince should be capable. When thinking of Lu Wen¡¯s competing with him and neither of them can get the upper hand in the beginning, Cui Xingzhou felt that the challenge in the future was very promising.


    However, whether the Young Master Ziyu is Bandit Lu Wen or the Imperial grandson Liu, he cannot be kept alive. Cui Xingzhou knew that he was incompatible with Lu Wen. If the former enemy became The Emperor, wouldn¡¯t the whole State of Zhen be slaughtered?


    But now isn¡¯t the time to do anything. He can only accumulate his strength in the Jinjia Checkpoint. Because of wartime at present, the number of soldiers in the State of Zhen is not restricted to the number of troops stationed for the Kings of different surnames, and the number of soldiers in the State of Zhen is several times larger than that in Jiangnan.


    He is far away from the Court and the Jianghu. He just needs to wait and see the changes and take action at the right time¡­


    Unlike Cui Jiu, her husband, who was full of plans for the great cause, Miantang¡¯s mind was much simpler.


    As military dependents in the border areas, it¡¯s enriching to earn a little money while taking care of her husband¡¯s basic necessities of life!


    Her life in the border town is much busier than that in Lingquan Town.


    Because Miantang not only takes care of the pharmacy but also takes care of the baby.


    Mrs. Lin didn¡¯t have a fixed place to live before she gave birth, and she didn¡¯t eat well. At first, she didn¡¯t have enough breast milk to feed. The baby was so hungry that it cried until the forehead was red.


    Nanny Sheng, who took care of Mrs. Lin, felt that she had done her utmost, so she bid goodbye to Mrs. Lin and left. Only Lin Siyue, the new mom who act with confusion, was left.


    Although Mrs. Lin has a room in the medicine shop, it¡¯s not easy to trouble the people in the pharmacy to take care of her in confinement.


    Seeing that the child was starving, she added water to the leftover rice to make rice soup and fed it to the crying baby.


    Although Miantang has never given birth to a child, she feels that she should not feed this rice soup to the baby in confinement.


    So she told the shop assistant to buy a goat with plenty of milk at a high price in the town so that the baby could drink milk.


    Of course, Miantang told Mrs. Lin to drink more too. Only after her body is well adjusted can she have enough milk. The baby still needs to eat her mother¡¯s milk to grow well.


    Lady Lin has been worried that Liu Miantang will turn her into the military. Because she found that the husband of Lady Liu was the Commander of Prince Huaiyang!


    However, her husband, who looked very cold, never questioned her, and Miantang never asked her about the barbarian tribe.


    When Lin Siyue discovered that Miantang was indeed a kind-hearted person, she put down her guard and often talked with Miantang in barbaric language.


    Although Miantang doesn¡¯t know how she learned the barbaric language, she adheres to the principle of being proficient in her skills. In addition, she can help her husband in the future thus, she loves talking with Lin Siyue in the barbaric language.


    According to Lady Lin, although there are barbarians outside the Checkpoint, they belong to different tribes and have different ideas. The one who is doing all these evil things was the King flag led by Agufan, and many tribes were forced to follow it.


    Miantang asked again why she saw two local barbarian merchants in the market a few days ago, but could not understand what they were saying.


    Mrs. Lin smiled and said, ¡°In fact, people from different tribes speak with different accents. The accent you use is pure and rare. Generally, only people from the Daqi tribe can speak.¡±


    Miantang was curious and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know it before, but you said you were from the Guli tribe, but I think your accent is similar to this Qiangshan Haipiao.


    Lin Siyue smiled stupefied and said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°I just learned it later. My previous accent is the same as Luewan Meiyo¡­¡±


    But Miantang noticed another detail.


    According to Lin Siyue, the people of the Daqi tribe are the descendants of the authentic royal family on the grassland, who migrated from the north of the snow mountain. Therefore, they who have high noses and deep eyes also disdain those flat nose barbarians.


    The Agufan Da Shanyu is said to have a flat nose. Liu Miantang heard this and looked at the baby she was holding.


    The baby just drank a small bowl of goat¡¯s milk, and after burping the milk, the little face showed a sweet smile. The bridge of her nose was as tall and straight as her mother¡¯s.


    Because the baby¡¯s head is really big, Miantang helped Mrs. Lin to give the baby the nickname, little walnut.


    Miantang held the sweet and soft baby in her arms, and she took the time to think about what she and her husband would be like in the future.


    However, she thinks her baby will also have a high nose bridge because neither of her parents has a short nose bridge!


    Thinking so, Miantang smiled sweetly.


    These days, when she chose soft cloth to make clothes for Mrs. Lin¡¯s son, little walnut, she could not help but reserve a set of small clothes for herself. Anyway, her husband said that she would be ready to have a baby when he returned. It is always right to prepare in advance.


    At this time, the medicine shop was about to close, and the clerk began to put up the door panel. But at this moment, someone suddenly kicked the door panel and came to the door.


    The baby in Miantang¡¯s arms was about to fall asleep. But he was frightened by the noise and began to cry.


    Miantang glanced over and saw a tall and thin young woman, supported by the old maid, enter the door with a tight face after two noble servants kicked the door.


    The old woman looked around and saw Miantang holding the baby. She then said to the tall and thin woman, ¡°It should be her, Lady¡­¡±


    It turned out that the woman with the noble servant kicking the door was the newly married Young Lady of the Hu family.


    In the beginning, the border war was tight, and the Hu family fled. The Old Lady Hu was deeply afraid that in the years of war and chaos, she had no protection and suffered losses. So she decided to let her second son marry the daughter of a Deputy General surnamed Zhou.


    When they became her in-laws, the Old Lady Hu had the gall to ask the Officer to arrange to protect her family.


    She just didn¡¯t expect that the border crisis would be resolved so quickly.


    People were in a panic in the beginning. Everyone thought that they could not return to their homes in three or five years.


    However, who would have thought that Prince Huaiyang, who was dispatched from the south of the Yangtze River, was younger than the previous veteran Generals, was so good in battle? It not only lifted the siege of the Jinjia Checkpoint but also pushed the battlefront forward a lot.


    The barbarians could not make a grand return for the time being, and those people who left soon returned.


    A large family like the Hu family naturally has a lot of land and a large courtyard. Therefore, after the situation was stable, their families discussed it and then returned to their homes.


    The new bride, Zhou, who has just married into the Hu¡¯s heard that her husband had a concubine of a different race before. However, she was coaxed out before she passed the door.


    Thinking that the concubine was pregnant and left, Zhou felt uncomfortable for a long time. In addition, when she found out that her husband returned after fleeing, he secretly asked someone to inquire about the whereabouts of Concubine Lin and wanted to buy a house outside to settle the woman, Lin, after her birth. She was furious.


    Yesterday, she had already made a scene in her own room. The Second Master Hu was scolded by their mother and was punished to kneel in the Buddhist hall.


    The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She only felt that it was the vixen who had been driven out that lured her husband secretly.


    She then interrogated her husband¡¯s servant. After he inquired about the whereabouts of Lady Lin, he brought her nanny, servant girls, and two soldiers sent by her father, and found them here in a threatening manner.


    When Zhou entered the medicine shop, she saw that Miantang was wrapped in green cloth, holding a newborn baby in her arms. She was beautiful and bright, and her figure was taller than that of ordinary women in the Central Plains. She immediately identified her as the abandoned woman, Lin Siyue.


    After the two soldiers kicked the door, they guarded the door with a posture of not letting people go.


    And the woman said to Liu Miantang, ¡°You are Lin Siyue?¡±


    Liu Miantang saw that their manner was not right and vaguely guessed that their intention was not good. She handed the crying baby to Fang Xie¡¯s hand and asked the servant girl to carry it to Lady Lin. She then turned around and said maintaining her composure, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The nanny raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Our Lady is the new wife of the Second Master of the Hu family. Why don¡¯t you come and greet her soon?¡±


    Liu Miantang heard that it was the new wife of the Hu family. She smiled and said, ¡°Are you feeling unwell? Do you want to buy medicine?¡±


    After listening to this, the old woman said, ¡°You little bitch, how dare you curse the main hostess of the family for being sick. What¡¯s your motive? Since the Old Lady Hu coaxes you out, you are no longer a member of the Hu family. Who knows which man¡¯s bastard you have delivered that you want to rely on our young master and coax him to buy you a house, What a bitch!¡±


    The intention of Zhou¡¯s coming today is to vent her anger.


    Looking at the manner of Lady Lin here, it looks like she opened her own medicine shop. Isn¡¯t all the money and silver spent¡­ on her husband?


    Thinking of this, she couldn¡¯t wait to tear Lady Lin up and take the bastard away!


    Didn¡¯t her husband take the excuse that the Hu family¡¯s bloodline can¡¯t be left out?


    She will then bring the little boy back. See how her husband comes out to find the vixen again!


    At the moment, she didn¡¯t want to talk too much. She only said with hatred, ¡°Come, ruin the face of this vixen for me!¡±


    After the women finish shouting and scolding, she wanted to come up to slap Liu Miantang, give her a heads-on, and then twist her arm to scratch her face.


    However, she didn¡¯t expect the medical shop clerk who had just been watching the bustle with his arms folded to come forward and attack her in the stomach with a punch nevertheless after she took a few steps, which made her step backward with an ¡°ouch¡± and fell to the ground.


    The two soldiers saw that a medicine shop clerk unexpectedly reached out to hit people, and rushed in wanting to hit the clerk.


    The guys in this medicine shop are all former secret guards. All of them are experts in martial arts and had enough accumulated anger on the way to the northwest.


    If they can¡¯t settle these rabbles of old women and small soldiers, they can really find a hemp rope to kill themselves.


    As a result, the two soldiers fell to the ground with a cry of ¡°ouch¡± and were tied with ropes by several clerks who came out of the shop.


    Liu Miantang took a sip of tea and moistened her throat, she then said to the Zhou who is dumbfounded, ¡°I thought what kind of immortal and virtuous wife did the Hu family marry that they don¡¯t care about the natural bonds and ethical relationships between members of a family, abandon their own bloodline and coaxed a pregnant woman out of the house without paying attention to her. But today, after looking at you, who doesn¡¯t have the beauty and manner, you are indeed a good match for the Hu family who has lost their conscience. Stinky fish and rotten shrimp are in the same pot. But how did you have the face to come here to rob the child and scratch the faces of people? Did the adult and child use your money for things? What do they have to do with the Hu family? ¡±


    The Zhou once heard that the servant of the Hu family said that although Lady Lin could speak Chinese, she was not a good talker. But seeing her today, this Concubine Lin is not only sharp-tongued and sarcastic but also looks like a high-ranking Lady. She is really angry!


    The Zhou didn¡¯t expect that Lady Lin would dare to be so arrogant. For a moment, she said angrily, ¡°My father is the Deputy General Zhou at the border. These two are my father¡¯s subordinates. You dare to attack the army soldiers of the Great Yan Dynasty, just wait for jail!¡±


    If she frightens ordinary people, it may have some effect. It¡¯s a pity that all the people in the shop are not ordinary people.


    From the official position alone, Fan Hu is much higher than Zhou¡¯s father! How can a small military general on the border of Grain Town use to scare them?


    So without waiting for Liu Miantang to speak, Fan Hu immediately said in a deep voice, ¡°It¡¯s the period of guarding the border now. The soldiers in the military camp within a hundred miles can¡¯t leave their posts without authorization and walk out of the camp. What¡¯s more, there are army provisions on the border. The soldiers there should be on guard day and night. They should not be careless. Which Deputy General Zhou your father is? He is so powerful that he even dares to send soldiers out of the camp at will, let his daughter command, and smash other people¡¯s shops! According to the law of the Great Yan Dynasty, you can wait to collect the corpses for your father!¡±


    Zhou didn¡¯t expect that a small medicine shop clerk would say things one after another. It seemed that he really mean it.


    She was in a panic for a moment. When Liu Miantang called the shop assistants to take them to the government to report, she immediately shouted in a shrill voice, ¡°I¡¯m just here to buy medicine. By the way, I only have a few words of conversation with you. How can you detain my people? They¡¯re just servants. They¡¯re not soldiers at all¡­ If you don¡¯t let them go quickly, we won¡¯t dare buy medicine from you.


    Liu Miantang saw that she had kept her shrewdness in, so he asked Fan Hu to let go of the soldiers and let them leave in dismay.


    But when she looked back and stared at her, her eyes were full of discontent, and she did not know what kind of trouble she would find in the future.


    Miantang took care of the trouble in the shop and turned to look for Lady Lin, only to find that she was packing her luggage and wrapping her baby tightly with a small quilt.


    Miantang frowned and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Mrs. Lin said softly, ¡°Today¡¯s trouble is caused by us. It¡¯s not good to continue giving trouble to you again. That woman¡¯s father is a military officer. If I¡¯m accused of collaborating with the enemy, won¡¯t it implicate you?¡±


    Miantang knew that what Lin Siyue said was not too much. If the Zhou family thought so hard after returning home and decided to make an article about Lin Siyue¡¯s foreign identity, it would really be a bad ending.


    It¡¯s not that Miantang is afraid, but that she is afraid of implicating her husband in the army.


    But she can¡¯t watch Lin Siyue go so helplessly. It¡¯s cold and windy now. She is a weak woman with no relatives and her child is not a month old. Where can she go?


    Miantang frowned for a moment and decided to let Fan Hu send Lin Siyue out of the Checkpoint.


    It happened that the soldiers of the Jinjia Checkpoint took turns to rest the next day. There were soldiers on the roads outside the Checkpoint, so Lady Lin left the next morning.


    Now the townships outside the Jinjia Checkpoint have recovered some. The border people there are both Han and barbarians. When Lin Siyue went there to settle down, at least she wouldn¡¯t look too conspicuous. As for the cost of food and clothing, as well as the silver for settling down, Miantang has also prepared everything. Even the quilt wrapping little walnuts is made by Miantang herself. Although the stitches are somewhat twisted, the cotton batt is thick enough. There are four pieces in total. Even if the baby urinates, it is enough to change.


    When Servant Li carried two large bags of things into the carriage, Lin Siyue watched in silence. She suddenly opened her mouth and said to Miantang, ¡°We people in the grassland tribe outside the Checkpoint remember one thing since childhood, that is, to thank people for their kindness. I will remember Lady Liu¡¯s help to both us mother and son. I will certainly repay Lady Liu¡¯s kindness in the future¡­ In addition, all the children in our tribe have the custom of recognizing adoptive parents from childhood. I wonder if Lady Liu is willing to be my son¡¯s adoptive mother?¡±


    Miantang listened to Lin Siyue¡¯s words and smiled carelessly, ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to repay me. If you can raise little walnut safely, it¡¯s better than anything. I¡¯m naturally willing to have such a young chubby son. From now on, he will be my adopted son!¡±


    Since she¡¯s his godmother, she would need to get some gifts. So Liu Miantang took a small jade pendant from her neck and hung it on the neck of little walnut.


    Lin Siyue smiled at Liu Miantang and took the child into the carriage. Fan Hu escorted them out of the Checkpoint.


    Looking at little walnuts with milk fragrance leaving, Miantang was actually reluctant to give up. So she stood in front of the store and waited for a long time before turning back to the store.


    At this moment, Cui Xingzhou also rode to her medicine shop.


    Miantang turns around and looks at her husband wearing a hat with a smile. She thinks that he really knows her heart and that she doesn¡¯t like other girls looking at his face. So every time he comes back to the Wuning Checkpoint, he wears a hat.


    After Cui Xingzhou got off the horse, Miantang went to take his hand affectionately, ¡°Are you taking me home, Husband?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked at her bright white face in the morning sun and straightened her sideburns. ¡°The military officers have just come to report that there are suspicious people near the town. I feel worried, so I come and have a look¡­¡±


    Miantang turned her head to see that there were indeed teams of officers and soldiers walking around. She said, ¡°Since you are on duty, please go into the shop and drink some water before you leave¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou nodded and took Miantang¡¯s hand and entered the medicine shop.


    Miantang only looked at her husband but did not look around, let alone notice that a man wrapped in a thick scarf was staring at Liu Miantang in disbelief.


    After Liu Miantang returned to the shop, the man saw Cui Xingzhou sitting on a chair and drinking tea. Liu Miantang dials the abacus on the counter to keep accounts. he looks up and memorized the name of the shop, turns around, and leaves quickly.


    In fact, he did not go too far. After leaving the Wuning Checkpoint, he came to a deserted temple in the countryside and hurried in.


    There were three people sitting on a mat in the shabby temple, and one of them was lying down. The person said to the middle-aged man who was lying, ¡°Big¡­ Young master, I just saw Lady Liu in the market of the Wuning Checkpoint¡­¡±


    The man¡¯s name was Lu Xian. It seemed that his leg was injured and he could not stand up for a moment. He only half-laid on the mat. After hearing this, he half-propped himself up and suddenly opened his eyes. ¡°What are you talking about? Who did you see?¡±


    Liu Kun, an old escort of the Shenwei escort agency, gasped desperately, ¡°I said I saw Liu Miantang, the daughter of the eldest Lady.¡±


    Lu Xian¡¯s eyes stared at him, ¡°Nonsense! Didn¡¯t the Mountain of Yang write that Miantang fell into the river¡­ And died?¡±


    Liu Kun said anxiously, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not wrong. I twisted my thigh and looked at it for a long time. Lady Liu looks very similar to the eldest Lady in our family. How many people can grow up like that?¡±


    Lu Xian burst into tears when he heard this, ¡°Did you hear that your daughter Miantang is still alive in heaven, SIster? She is not dead!¡±


    In the excitement, he wanted to stand up, but the pain in his leg was so severe that he could not stand upright at all. He could only ask anxiously, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you recognize Miantang so that she could come to see me?¡±


    Liu Kun said, ¡°There are many officers and soldiers in the Wuning Checkpoint today. I don¡¯t know if they are coming to arrest us. Besides¡­ Lady Liu is still holding hands with a Commander. I¡­ I dare not go forward!¡±


    Lu Xian was also shocked and uncertain, ¡°Are you mistaken? Miantang, that child is in love with that Young Master Ziyu wholeheartedly. How can he hold hands with others?¡±


    Liu Kun couldn¡¯t wait to pull out his eyes and show them to the eldest son of the Lu family, ¡°It¡¯s absolutely true. It¡¯s Lady Liu. She¡¯s in a medicine shop in the city¡­ If there are no other ways, I can pretend to be a patient for a prescription and send a message to Lady Liu to let her know that you are here.¡±


    Knowing that his niece was still alive, Lu Xian was naturally happy, and his discomfort was relieved. However, he still did not forget to tell Liu Kun, ¡°When you go to deliver the letter, be careful. You should know that we are being chased and killed by Agufan¡¯s men and horses, and also by the spies of Prince Sui. Don¡¯t bring any disaster to Miantang.¡±


    Liu Kun nodded repeatedly and took the ink cartridge, paper, and brush from the luggage package beside him. After adjusting the ink, he thought it over and quickly wrote a note.

 CH 49

    Liu Kun prepared the note and put it under his sleeve. He said goodbye to the Lu family and left the shabby temple to go to the Wuning Checkpoint.


    When he reached the city gate, he found that the gate was closed.


    Liu Kun asked a common man and found out that the government closed the city gate to arrest important fugitives in the city.


    Liu Kun had no choice but to return to the temple again and wait for another opportunity to enter the city.


    The city is indeed catching prisoners. Cui Xingzhou personally led the troops here to catch easy prey.


    His expectation is right. The iron ore is indeed inextricably linked with the Mountain of Yang. However, the owner of this iron ore mine has changed to another person.


    According to the report of the undercover agent who became the foreman of the iron mine, the previous merchants were indeed related to the Mountain of Yang. But now the people arranged by Lu Wen have been uprooted and replaced by businessmen who have a good relationship with Agufan.


    Moreover, there are signs of expanding the mining of iron ore. During the war, the barbarians captured many border people and asked them to work as coolies in the iron mine. They worked day and night there. They were exhausted. So they carried them out and threw them into the wilderness to feed the wolves. Now, in the wilderness outside the iron mine, wolves gather, and they are having a feast day and night


    The secret agent deliberately approached those mysterious businessmen. The accent of those people spoke with the flavor of the State of Hui, and it was obvious that they were citizens there.


    The iron ore resources outside the Checkpoint have always been abundant. But the barbarians can¡¯t bear the hard work of mining, and they can¡¯t make refined steel. Moreover, how much can they use for themselves? If they can be transported to the Central Plains for sale, they can get real gold and silver to buy the cloth and grain they need.


    Those who have the ability to sell refined iron outside the Checkpoint through numerous obstacles are not ordinary merchants!


    Although Cui Xingzhou did not hold down the real evidence, he also worked out the probable.


    It seems that those who have been uprooted are the old members of the Mountain of Yang. They have a close relationship with the Old Shanyu. But now the barbarians are in the power of Agufan, and the iron ore mine has been replaced by a businessman who has become good friends with Agufan. Those who have the ability to cling to Agufan are by no means, ordinary people¡­


    The State of Hui? Cui Xingzhou thought of the extremely low-key Prince Sui, who was practicing with his hair. Neither the disaster in the Mountain of Yang nor the war in the border areas had anything to do with Prince Sui on the surface.


    However, with the deepening of the secret investigation of Prince Huaiyang, it was gradually discovered that from the Mountain of Yang to the border Checkpoint, it seemed that there were the actions of Prince Sui.


    Cui Xingzhou wondered if he didn¡¯t seize the opportunity to gather the evidence of Prince Sui¡¯s collusion this time, how could he have a good conversation with Prince Sui about the past in the future and settle accounts?


    So he concentrated his manpower mainly on inquiring about the clues of Prince Sui and finally found out that the merchants who had secretly met with Agufan left the Wangqi tribe and were ready to return to the State of Hui going on the route of transferring from the Wuning Checkpoint.


    Therefore, when the mysterious merchants entered the Wuning Checkpoint, they were already like turtles in a jar. It was difficult for them to escape, and Cui Xingzhou caught them.


    Cui Xingzhou had already caught two of them when he was drinking a cup of tea in the medicine shop of Lady Liu. The other two were still fleeing inside the city with their excellent martial arts.


    But Prince Huaiyang was not in a hurry. Anyway, the gate of the Wuning Checkpoint is closed. They can¡¯t fly. How long can they hide?


    Sure enough, as Cui Xingzhou expected, the remaining two merchants split into two ways when they fled, each running their way.


    One was hiding in the city, picking out all kinds of remote places and playing hide and seek with the pursuers for a long time. He was not caught until noon.


    The other businessman was nowhere to be found. It turned out that the businessman had a plan. After dodging the chase, he unexpectedly chose a courtyard that seemed to have a good family situation and rushed in. There were only two people in the family. After entering the house, the businessman threatened the couple with a dagger, tied them up, and shut their mouths. He also took a suit from their wardrobe and put it on. He hid in the house, ready to escape the storm.


    He hid in the house and survived the whole day. The soldiers searched the inns and gambling houses in the city but found no one. They began to search each house in a team and caught him.


    After catching the prisoner, Cui Xingzhou borrowed the prison cell inside the Checkpoint to interrogate them on the spot.


    So several businessmen were taken to prison and interrogated that night.


    The interrogator ordered the jailer to hang the four people on the beam. Without saying anything, he held up the pricked cow¡¯s whip, dipped it in salt water, and whipped each of them five times.


    There¡¯s a particular thing about this whip. It¡¯s called the killing whip. The whip is made of fine silk cut from high-quality cowhide and mixed with forged iron wire. It is tough and strong. Once the whip goes down, you can slash a piece of flesh out.


    The interrogator practiced the whip to perfection. With a whip, only a bit of flesh is opened, without hurting the bones and the root, but it can give people the greatest pain and blood flow.


    If he makes the whip more poisonous, and whips in the area of one¡¯s arms or thighs, it will make the person feel unbearable pain. If the salt water on the whip is soaked into the wound, it will make the person feel extremely painful.


    As usual, after five lashes, the prisoner¡¯s skin was torn and his flesh was blurred. It seemed that they were seriously injured. Once the prisoners all thought that they were seriously injured and that they would die if they were whipped a few more times, it will save them the trouble to ask, and thus they would pour everything out without any more nonsense.


    But today, the interrogator inquired one by one, but none of them was willing to confess. Seeing that no one was speaking, he snorted and said, ¡°The body is like iron but it¡¯s fake, and the laws are like a furnace and it¡¯s real. I¡¯ll see how long you can last!¡±


    He then threw the whip away and ordered several officers to put on punches and beat the businessmen as sandbags.


    These businessmen know that they are involved in a big business, especially since the people behind them are all high in power. As long as they don¡¯t confess, only they will be the ones to die. However, If they do, their whole family will die.


    They were all not going to speak and let the interrogator use all kinds of severe punishments on them.


    The interrogator fought from the evening until the morning. Several people were covered with blood and fainted several times.


    Cui Xingzhou heard the report from his subordinate and said lightly, ¡°Since torture can¡¯t pry their mouths open, let¡¯s change the method. Tell them that if they don¡¯t speak, we will chop off their heads, wrap them in lime, and transport them back to the State of Hui. We can also find their families if they were to inquire about their whereabouts from the citizens in every village. At that time, the charges of adultery with barbarians in wartime will be enough for their whole family to be convicted and beheaded. If they are willing to confess the truth, I will try my best to protect their families and move them to other countries¡­¡±


    Sure enough, after the interrogator had relaid the words of Prince Huaiyang, several people were all motivated and spoke after weighing the pros and cons. The man behind them was Prince Sui.


    Even the route of smuggling iron ore and how to sell it were explained one by one.


    Cui Xingzhou looked at the lines drawn by them and the methods of distributing goods. They were all so ingenious that people could not imagine. He could not help sneering, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Prince Sui was still a master of management?¡±


    The subordinates in charge of the interrogation immediately added, ¡°It is said that these were all made by Lu Wen himself and secretly arranged with the Old Shanyu¡¯s personal followers by using the methods left by the merchants in the Mountain of Yang. Prince Sui is cunning and knows that there is a good future here, so he designed to remove Lu Wen¡¯s influence and replace him.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou raised his eyebrows. It was Lu Wen again. The former Crown Prince¡¯s orphan is not only excellent at chess but also has a good business mind. He is an all-rounder! Even his wives and concubines were taught well by him. Look at Miantang, and one can see how devoted Lu Ziyu this mentor is.


    If it¡¯s a woman, it¡¯s hard not to be attracted to such a capable man, isn¡¯t it? Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s face was cold again.


    He knew that Miantang must have given her heart to the bandit before she lost her memory. It¡¯s even more uncomfortable than knowing that she was together with the bandit.


    However, when she was captured by the bandit, Miantang was still young and had never seen any men. She was moved by the bandit who held the power of her life and death and could be forgiven.


    Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t think he¡¯s worse than Lu Wen, the defeated person under him. Even if Miantang recovers her memory, she should be wise enough to know what to choose, wash away the past, take the initiative to forget her past with Lu Wen, and live a good life with him¡­


    Although Prince Huaiyang felt that he should not pay too much attention to the private affairs of men and women, he decided to go back to the medicine shop to find Miantang the next day.


    Recently, he has been patronizing the war, and he has little time to accompany her.


    Now that Cui Xingzhou has made clear about the iron ore mine, he can take a break from his busy schedule and take a small holiday after telling his subordinates what to do next.


    Because the city was closed all day yesterday so that the officers and men in the city could arrest the suspects, fewer people were walking back and forth when the city gate was opened today. So that the medicine shop is rarely remote.


    Doctor Zhao, who had had breakfast in the tea shop in the city, came excitedly with a bag of crisp fruit, ready to give Miantang a taste.


    He didn¡¯t expect to see Cui Xingzhou sitting behind the counter as soon as he entered the store.


    This greatly disappointed the excited Doctor Zhao, who looked at Prince Huaiyang with his nose and eyes, and said angrily, ¡°You have taken my seat!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou raised his eyebrows, ¡°This is the Cui family¡¯s property. Did you bring your own chair?¡±


    Zhao Quan didn¡¯t like to see Commander Cui too deeply in the play. He just threw his long sleeves and sat on the opposite chair. He raised his chin and asked, ¡°The border guards are so busy and there¡¯s you, always coming to the Wuning Checkpoint, what¡¯s it like? I¡¯m here for the serious business of helping people. When a patient comes, don¡¯t you still have to give that seat back to me?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was not moved, but said, ¡°The medicine shop will close soon. The shop doesn¡¯t need you today, you can go back early and have a rest¡­ By the way, a letter from your family was sent to my camp. It was an urgent letter. It should be something urgent from your family. I brought it to you.¡±


    Zhao Quan absentmindedly received the letter and stretched out his neck to look around to see where Miantang was.


    Servant Li said that she was tired these days, and she was sleepy after counting the goods this morning. She went to sleep in the wing room. Even when Prince Huaiyang came, she did not get up!


    Only then did Marquis Zhao start to read the letter.


    Once he opened the letter and reads it, Zhao Quan¡¯s buttocks seem to be burned by a soldering iron, and he jumps out of the chair.


    Sitting opposite him, Cui Xingzhou couldn¡¯t help looking at him with his eyebrows tilted and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Zhao Quan was so angry that his cheeks were red that he said straight, ¡°It¡¯s a misfortune, it is really unfortunate!¡± He then gave the letter to Cui Xingzhou. He was so angry that he circled the store.


    Cui Xingzhou looked at the letter and puzzled, and said, ¡°This is a good thing. Congratulations to Brother Zhao¡­¡±


    At this time, Zhao Quan is not his usually careless and casual composure, only clenched his fist and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t slept with her for two years. What¡¯s there to congratulate?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s eyebrows gradually locked up when he heard this. He could not help blaming Zhao Quan, ¡°This is your family affair. Isn¡¯t it bad for her reputation¡­ to show me the letter so rashly?¡±


    Zhao Quan was so angry at this time that said, ¡°What reputation does she still have!¡±


    This is a family affair. Cui Xingzhou doesn¡¯t have much to say. What he can do as a good friend is to arrange a fast horse for Zhao Quan to return to the Zhennan Marquis Mansion to deal with the mess at home.


    The reason why Zhao Quan did not hesitate to show Cui Xingzhou was that he knew Cui Xingzhou was tight-lipped and he was not afraid.


    However, the thought that the letter was written by his mother without knowing it, and that she was overjoyed, made Zhao Quan feel angry.


    He was most afraid of trouble in his life. He thought that if he told the truth, it will cause chaos, and his family would cry and scream, and he would feel anxious to return to his hometown.


    He hopes that if he is blocked by barbarians and bandits on the way and returned with some injuries, those worldly affairs will not annoy him.


    Cui Xingzhou waved to someone and ordered him to prepare his horse immediately, and arranged for Zhao Quan to go on the road.


    He also knew that Zhao Quan had no idea what to do. He wanted him to decide by reading the letter for him.


    Therefore, before leaving, Prince Huaiyang said to Marquis Zhao, ¡°When you go back this time, you must not be impulsive, let alone make the whole house known. If the baby month is small, you know how to do it. Although you have a shallow relationship with her, her father is a senior official in the Imperial Court and the censor of the Imperial Court. If you make too much noise, his family will be disgraced and your family will rarely be quiet.¡±


    Zhao Quan knew that Cui Xingzhou was saying for his good, but he was angry now. He waved his hand and hurried off.


    After seeing off his good friend, Cui Xingzhou ordered the bodyguard to close the gate of the city and turned back to the medicine shop.


    He saw that the Miantang who had taken a nap had got up, her temples were a little scattered, her cheeks were pink, and she looked lazy and tired combing her hair.


    She had just heard her husband talking to Mr. Zhao in the wing room, but when she got up, she found that both of them were gone.


    Now that her husband is back, she asks where Mr. Zhao is.


    Cui Xingzhou said succinctly, ¡°He has something urgent at home, so he¡¯ll go back first.¡±


    Miantang was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect Zhao Quan to leave so suddenly. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with his family?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou said lightly, ¡°The concubine of his is pregnant. He will go back and have a look¡­¡±


    Miantang has heard that Mr. Zhao has many wives and concubines, so it is possible that he could be a father several times a year.


    His concubine is pregnant. It¡¯s a happy thing. He naturally has to go back.


    However, Miantang thought that her husband was as old as Mr. Zhao, but he have no bloodline under him. She could not help feeling guilty again. She asked her husband if he felt sad about knowing that Mr. Zhao was a father.


    Cui Xingzhou said meaningfully, ¡°It¡¯s not all wives and concubines who are pregnant can make their men happy too. You think too much¡­¡±


    So Miantang did not mention it.


    Her husband has always been so considerate that he would not tell her even if he was really upset. Fortunately, she has been in good health recently. Even in the cold weather in the northwest, her hands and feet will not be as cold as before. She thinks that if she wants a baby, it will be easier¡­


    While she was holding the warmer in her arms, she saw that Cui Xingzhou had asked the shop assistant to put the door panel of the medicine shop on. She stopped them and said, ¡°Although there is no doctor on duty, there are still people who come to prescribe medicine. Why is the shop closed so early?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou said, ¡°There were fugitives in the city yesterday, but now I don¡¯t know if there are any leftovers. It¡¯s inappropriate for you to open your shop like this. Wait until the street is clean, and you can open your shop again.¡±


    Miantang thought it was reasonable and asked, ¡°Shall we go home then?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou said, ¡°It¡¯s rare to have time. Let me take you out of the city to relax.¡±


    He always wanted to take Miantang to play, but the war was tense and he had no time to spare.


    Later, when the Jinjia Checkpoint was stabilized, there was Marquis Zhao stirred excrement in the medicine shop. He looked like he was the shopkeeper of the medicine shop all day, which was really in their way.


    Now Mr. Zhao¡¯s home is filled with ¡°happiness¡±, and Marquis Zhennan has returned to put out the fire. Cui Xingzhou was also happy to be free from the sight of him, so he thought of taking Miantang out of the city to play.


    Miantang was naturally willing to. Although she does things maturely, she was not 19 years old after all. It¡¯s the age of being playful thus, she went home and changed into a short hunting suit for riding.


    This attire was improved by the people of Hu. Miantang liked it very much when she first saw it in the clothing shop.


    After buying it, Servant Li helped her embroider delicate and elegant patterns on the plain cuffs and collar. She was also given a wide Satin belt.


    Therefore, the original coat with a wide waist appears to be close fitting and charming under the constraint of a wide waist seal. The beautiful legs with slender curves and the boots with soft leather soles are heroic.


    When Liu Miantang, with a long braid and a small whip, stood in front of Cui Xingzhou, who was reading a book, Prince Huaiyang was breathless and looked up and down for a long time.


    Liu Miantang could not understand his thoughts, so he asked nervously, ¡°Why? Is it not good on me?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou still didn¡¯t speak, but said faintly, ¡°No, it¡¯s very nice.¡±


    Naturally, he would not say that when Miantang came out wearing a hunting suit earlier, the free and easy whip swinging on her hand and the indescribable aura suddenly gave people a strange and alienated feeling.


    It¡¯s like the cat lying on his arm every day, not the woman in front of him¡­


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t like this feeling, so he took her hand and said, ¡°But I prefer to see you wearing a Ru skirt¡­¡±


    Miantang shook her pony whip and stood in front of the horse, smiling, ¡°But I can¡¯t ride in a skirt! I¡¯ll change my skirt to show you when we come back.¡±


    With that, she turned to get on the horse by herself.


    It¡¯s a pity that the injured foot couldn¡¯t support her strength, and only half of the action was exhausted. If Cui Xingzhou hadn¡¯t stretched out her long arm to hold her, she would have nearly fallen.


    Cui Xingzhou first landed on the horse, bent down to clamp her down, pulled her onto the horse, wrapped her in a long cloak, and then waved the horsewhip to urge the horse out of the city.


    But not long after they left, a man who covered his face with a scarf hurried to the medicine shop. He saw the notice that the medicine shop was closed and had a rest for a few days. He was so anxious that he stamped his feet. He thought how could he be so unlucky that they happened to close the shop!


    It looks like a customer who is eager to buy medicine¡­


    As for Prince Huaiyang, one month ago, when he led his subordinates to investigate the surrounding terrain, he accidentally found a nest of hot springs in the nearby valley.


    The hot spring is dense with water vapor. Although it is winter, under the transpiration of the hot air, it has become a paradise, protected from the cold wind and lush with green grass and wildflowers.


    When Cui Xingzhou found this place, he thought of Zhao Quan¡¯s saying that if there were conditions, she would let Lady Liu soak in the hot spring to better recuperate her hands and feet.


    So these days Cui Xingzhou called the soldiers to carry stones, built a small pool, and used a wooden trough to draw water, which can be used to warm the bubble.


    When Miantang came down and saw this place, she shouted happily on the horse, ¡°How did you find this place, Husband?¡±


    After that, she came down and walked around the small pond several times. She then couldn¡¯t wait to ask Fang Xie to take the food basket and take out some chicken eggs and bird eggs from it.


    At home, when Cui Xingzhou said he would take her to the hot spring, she asked Servant Li to prepare raw eggs and bird eggs.


    At this time, it was of great use. She only took a thin copper basin, scooped water, soaked the eggs, and then let them float in the spring.


    Cui Xingzhou asked her what she was doing, and Miantang said excitedly, ¡°Boiled spring eggs! Boiled with hot spring water, the egg yolk is coagulated in one place, but the egg white is thin and flowing. It¡¯s delicious to eat with some fish sauce. Ordinary firewood can¡¯t cook the same flavor.¡±


    Prince Huaiyang carefully prepared such a place, originally thinking of the beautiful scenery of languid and dedicated bathing in Huaqing hot spring. But who would have thought that she only wanted to cook eggs first?


    However, he brought her out just to make her happy, so Cui Xingzhou also sat on the folding rope chair moved by Mo Ru and smiled at her and said, ¡°All you remember is to eat. Who did you learn this from?¡±


    Miantang laid the eggs, took the handkerchief handed over by Fang Xie, wiped her hands, and said, ¡°When I was young, my uncle once took my mother and me to play in the State of Li. There were many hot springs there, and my mother often cooked them for me.¡±


    Speaking of this, Miantang was also melancholy. She doesn¡¯t know where her grandfather¡¯s family is now. Is he healthy?


    But before her sadness took shape, she was attracted by another beautiful scene in front of her.


    Cui Xingzhou began to undress and prepare to soak in the hot spring. Although he wrapped his lower body with a long towel, his muscular arms and narrow waist make people¡¯s eyes unable to move from it¡­


    Miantang was embarrassed, but she couldn¡¯t help looking up.


    After Cui Xingzhou entered the pool at the appropriate temperature, the steaming water vapor made his eyebrows and eyes hidden in the sea of clouds.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re cooking eggs, I¡¯ll soak them first, and I¡¯ll let you soak them later.¡±


    He can¡¯t help it. The pool is too small, and only one person can enter it at a time. Otherwise, it¡¯s a beautiful thing for two people to take a bath together¡­ Once Prince Huaiyang is not careful, his thoughts will drift far away.


    Miantang was preparing meals for a while, but she was also absent-minded. From time to time, she stole a glance at her husband who kept his eyes closed. His nose is tall and straight, and his side face is particularly beautiful.


    And the thin and shaped lips look cold and affectionate, but when kissing them, it makes her shy¡­


    When Cui Xingzhou was ready to take a bath, the hot spring egg was also cooked.


    For this picnic, cold rice was prepared, and Servant Li prepared thin slices of meat, stacked them in a food box, boiled them in a small pot, and then poured them with the prepared sauce and scallion flowers. After stirring, the rice became warm and ready to eat.


    When Cui Xingzhou came out, he put on his broad robe. Miantang had led the servant girl to set up a small table. After her husband changed his clothes, he could eat ready-made meals.


    Miantang asked Fang Xie to take out a pot of wine from the food box and said solemnly, ¡°This is the medicinal wine I made for your symptoms after studying for several days. You can drink it and see if it tastes good.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou raised his eyebrows and looked at the brown liquor. For a moment, he did not know what symptoms she was going to treat.

 CH 50

    Chapter 50: Tepidity Rice Porridge


    However, Miantang is very confident about the recipe for this wine.


    That day, she asked Zhao Quan if he had felt her husband¡¯s pulse. What were the symptoms?


    Zhao Quan said angrily that since he always lost sleep, he probably lost his energy and lack of Yang blood.


    Miantang kept in mind the symptoms mentioned by the miracle doctor. After consulting his medical skills, she did not spare good herbs and warmed up a whole jar of medicinal wine for her husband.


    As soon as it was ready today, Miantang filled a pot of it and brought it to her husband.


    After handing it to her husband, Miantang happily went to a small tent beside her and changed into a warm hot spring wrap.


    After all, it¡¯s a wild bath. If she doesn¡¯t wear clothes, it doesn¡¯t compromise the current customs of the Great Yan Dynasty.


    Mo Ru as a manservant, when Lady Liu comes out later, will need to withdraw himself from the barrier.


    Taking advantage of Miantang¡¯s absence, Mo Ru whispered, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ve examined the wine. It¡¯s not poisonous, but the level of Lady Liu¡¯s prescription varies. You¡¯d better not drink it¡­¡±


    But when Mo Ru reminded him carefully, Miantang stretched her head from the small tent and reminded him uneasily, ¡°Let Mo Ru warm the wine for you, Husband. Only when you eat it warm can it have efficacy!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou smiled at her, nodded, and waved Mo Ru out of the barrier.


    Mo Ru is always careful. It¡¯s normal for him to test for poison. Since the wine is not poisonous, it¡¯s okay to drink it.


    It¡¯s just that it¡¯s rare for Miantang to make careful preparations. If he doesn¡¯t eat, she must feel sad.


    Although Miantang is unreliable, it seems that no one in the neighborhood has eaten to death. Cui Xingzhou just treats it as clearing away inner heat and relieving fire.


    Looking at the way The Prince seemed to want to drink, Mo Ru sighed, warmed the wine for The Prince, and watched him sip the brown liquor with a worried face.


    Cui Xingzhou drank two mouthfuls. Seeing that Mo Ru still didn¡¯t leave, he couldn¡¯t help raising his eyebrows and said, ¡°Why are you still here?¡±


    Mo Ru quickly withdrew from the barrier.


    On the other hand, Miantang is changing into a bathrobe in the tent.


    This bathrobe was prepared by Servant Li. It is said that it is popular for noble women in the Capital to wear this kind of bathrobe with a tight hem to soak in the wild. Even if they enter the water, they will not let the skirt float. The skirt is in the form of a bra. If they are worn on Miantang, it will show her snow-white fragrant shoulders and two slender arms.


    Perhaps because she had not practiced boxing for a long time, her arm lines became more tender and beautiful. Wearing such a tight skirt, she immediately showed a concave-convex curve.


    When Miantang came out of the small tent with her thick black hair, she was the fairy in the flowers, and her purity showed an unaware charm.


    She usually walks casually, but now, restricted by this narrow skirt, she can only take small steps. When her waist naturally twists, she shows the style of a little woman.


    After taking a bath, Cui Xingzhou is sitting on the mat in a broad robe and eating wine. When he turned around, he saw a beautiful woman with peach blossoms and pink skin tone in the green forest, reaching out to stir up the branches and vines, and coming slowly. Cui Xingzhou¡¯s breath could not help but stagnate.


    He thought he was used to the beauty of Liu Miantang. But this woman always shows a different style unexpectedly, and he feels that he can¡¯t see enough¡­


    Miantang carried her narrow skirt and walked to the pool. When she stayed close to the pool, her bare feet slipped and she almost slipped by the water.


    Cui Xingzhou got up and walked over with great strides, holding Miantang¡¯s arm and letting her slowly step on the stone steps and immerse herself in the pool.


    Her thin wrists are soft, and when he lets go, it makes people feel reluctant to part¡­


    After sitting down, Miantang looked up and said to her husband, ¡°Go and have some wine. I¡¯ll go and drink with you after a while!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou looked down at the lotus cheeks hidden in the steaming water, and he felt that the soldiers in the Northwest were all lazy-headed.


    Because there was no supervisor, they piled up such a small pool to save trouble. Even if it was bigger, he could still warm it with Miantang


    However, Miantang didn¡¯t know her husband¡¯s dissatisfaction.


    Servant Li kindly prepared a basket of dried flower petals for Miantang and a box of moisturizing cream made of mutton oil.


    Fang Xie sprinkled some petals into the pool earlier on while she was changing. She also covered her face with cream and steamed it with vapor.


    Now Miantang is sitting against the wall of the pool with a soft towel on her head. She only feels that the fragrance of flowers is overflowing, which cleanses and nourishes the soul!


    Although Servant Li¡¯s face is dark, she has a lot of ways for such women meticulous in nourishing and paying attention.


    It doesn¡¯t matter what kind of tea the person needs to gargle with after eating fish, or what kind of juice the person is required to gargle with when eating garlic, she never repeats it.


    As for other living rules, they are even more delicate and that made people annoyed.


    In the beginning, Servant Li only bothered the two little maids and she didn¡¯t bother Miantang very much.


    However, recently, the old woman has the signs of being unable to tolerate the people in the house, both big and small. So she has also begun to implicitly remind Miantang to pay attention to some etiquette, as well as eating and drinking.


    When this happened, Fang Xie and Bi Cao looked at her sympathetically.


    However, when Miantang was annoyed by being restrained, she also implicitly reminded Servant Li that no matter how well she taught, she is a married person. By learning so many rules, it¡¯s not like she has the life to marry into the high-ranked residence and deep door of the Princes or Ministers, so she asked Servant Li to have a rest and don¡¯t waste her time.


    Hearing this, Servant Li made amends to Miantang, saying that she had overstepped her bounds.


    However, Miantang could feel that Servant Li still had no intention to give up, and she would sigh whenever she saw something irregular.


    But to be fair, Servant Li¡¯s fastidiousness sometimes makes people feel comfortable.


    For example, the petal fragrance and dew in this hot spring are extremely delicious. When Miantang sits carefully in the pool, she only feels the hot air surging and the warm bubble is very comfortable.


    She could not help but lie down comfortably on the edge of the pool and look at the little tent not far away. Her husband was eating food and wine, but occasionally, he would look up and look back at her with deep eyes.


    At this time, the Ninth Master of the Cui family also wore long hair, but there was no feminine appearance. The muscles in the collar of his broad robe showed strong masculinity¡­


    Looking at her husband¡¯s deep eyes, Miantang also looked back at him and smiled sweetly.


    When she had soaked enough in the pool, Fang Xie and Bi Cao spread out a large cloth and wrapped her in it. After she went into the small tent and changed into a loose white robe, Miantang felt thirsty and went to the mat to drink with her husband.


    When Miantang was sitting at the table, she found that her husband had drunk most of her pot of medicinal wine.


    The Lady was greatly satisfied, so she asked her husband how he felt after drinking it. Cui Xingzhou was lying on a soft cushion, with his eyes hanging like sleeping. It was not until Miantang pushed him that he said, ¡°It¡¯s a little bitter¡­¡±


    Miantang drank the remaining half of the pot with the spout, tasted it, and said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed bitter. Do you want to add some rock sugar next time?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou still didn¡¯t speak, just closed his eyes and took a nap, but his eyebrows were slightly tightened as if he was intolerant of the alcohol.


    Miantang thought he was sleepy, so she took care of herself to eat the boiled spring eggs. In fact, the wine tasted less bitter when she served it with salty dishes. Miantang thought of the precious materials she used and didn¡¯t want to waste them at all. Thus, she drank all the remaining wine.


    When she had finished eating, Miantang felt a little hot. She didn¡¯t know if it was because she had soaked in the spring.


    So she leaned vaguely against Cui Xingzhou.


    Her husband¡¯s warm breath and his unique sandalwood-like smell made Miantang more impetuous.


    So she put her hand around Cui Jiu¡¯s neck and called out ¡°Husband¡±


    This lazy call-out, accompanied by a burst of fragrance, penetrated Cui Xingzhou¡¯s ear.


    He suddenly opened his eyes. Only then did Miantang find that her husband¡¯s eyes were red with bloodshot for some reason, being half drunk!


    Miantang couldn¡¯t help but get up and look down at her husband. Her washed white face was shining. It seemed to attract people to taste the tenderness and smoothness. Thick black hair poured down from her ears and fell on Cui Jiu¡¯s pillow. It even tickles his face, ¡°Husband, you¡­¡±


    She wanted to ask, ¡°Are you feeling unwell, Husband?¡± Cui Xingzhou suddenly extended his long arm and held her in his arms before she could say everything.


    Miantang can see that her husband¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple trembles slightly up and down, and his hand was also hot holding her.


    Next, he suddenly got up, picked up Liu Miantang, and went to the small tent¡­


    Bi Cao thought that The Lady was uncomfortable and wanted to go in to serve her urgently. But before she got close to the tent, she heard the Ninth Master say with a rough voice, ¡°Don¡¯t come in! Stay far away!¡±


    Bi Cao was still in a daze, but Fang Xie was clever and hurried her away from the tent.


    After a while, when there was a faint movement from the small tent, Bi Cao woke up, and her little face turned red. Hurriedly, she took Fang Xie and went further, out of the barrier surrounding the pool.


    But when they got out of the barrier, Bi Cao had sharp eyes and unexpectedly saw that the young servant, Mo Ru, was close to the brocade screen, and his ears were sticking close screen to listen to the sound and movement. That expression was like being shocked by the pain of sleeping with his wife.


    Bi Cao unkindly reached out and twisted his ear and whispered, ¡°The Ninth Master and Madam are resting. What are you listening to?¡±


    Mo Ru angrily flicked her fingers away and said, ¡°You know nothing about it!¡±


    It¡¯s perfectly normal for other dissolute young men to take a wild bath like this and play in the wild with their concubines in the daytime!


    But that¡¯s his Master, Prince Huaiyang, who is as calm as a mountain and able to remain unmoved in the wind and rain!


    Is his Master like that? Who does not know that Prince Huaiyang has the bearing to sit still and not be confused, and he is not a woman addict? After Mo Ru was extremely shocked, he determined that the female bandit had done something to hook up with The Prince!


    He has the intention to save The Prince, so as not to make a big mistake on his impulse. But Prince Huaiyang roared the words at Bi Cao earlier, and he also heard them.


    As a servant, how can he abruptly disturb The Master¡¯s pleasure?


    For a while, it was like an ant with hot feet turning outside the screen.


    However, the tent was far away from the screen. Except for a few cries from the willow lady at the beginning, the rest of the time was sporadic.


    In addition, the two little girls decided that Mo Ru had some bad habits and coaxed him away like a hen.


    But after half an hour, Mo Ru could not help it.


    He rushed straight into the surrounding screen, ready to go outside the small tent to ask about the situation of The Prince. If The Prince did fall for the trick, he will do his duty to rescue him!


    So while he was walking, he tried to ask The Prince if he wanted to drink water. The result was that he was so loyal that The Master said, ¡°Get out!¡±


    That sound of languor was accompanied by thousands of impatience, so he could only roll out of the screen gloomily and be giggled by the two idle servant girls.


    Prince Huaiyang has indeed fallen for the trick, and the problem is definitely with the wine.


    When he was a young student, he also enjoyed socializing with his classmates. Those dancers and prostitutes who accompany at the banquet also habitually use some drugs to promote the entertainment in the wine.


    Those dandies also know it, but they are only half pushing and half playing while drinking. Cui Xingzhou had drunk it by mistake when he didn¡¯t know it at first. Of course, he knew the taste of blood surging.


    But he is not an indulgent person. He even likes to be more disciplined than a monk in some aspects. But at that time, he was the only one who stood upright and unmoved amid the absurdity of drinking and feasting and even pushed away the woman who threw herself at him in disgust.


    He was so determined that people in the same trade admired him to the end and gave him the nickname ¡°real gentleman¡±. If there is such fun in the future, everyone will consciously avoid him.


    After all, no one can stand the feeling of having a person looking at you with clear eyes when you are a dissolute person, just like looking at a beast outside the sheepfold.


    It¡¯s not that Cui Xingzhou deliberately adheres to the way of a gentleman, but he feels that if he can¡¯t control his desires at will, how is it different from those reptiles and beasts?


    Cui Xingzhou is a person who is born with a strong desire for control. He does not allow his desires to be controlled in the hands of others, let alone in the hands of cheap women such as dancing and singing entertainers.


    But today, it seems that it is difficult to maintain the reputation of a ¡°real gentleman¡±.


    When he drank half of it, Cui Xingzhou noticed something was wrong with the wine. But to be honest, compared with those he had drunk before, the strength and drug properties of that wine are not worth mentioning.


    He should just have a rest.


    But it happened that in the water pool not far away, there was always a clattering sound of water. He could not help looking at it. Every time he touched it, he could see her looking at him with an innocent sweet smile.


    Later, when the beauty took a bath, the fragrance struck. She just sat beside him, wearing a wide robe and dark hair. Her delicate face looked like a shelled egg.


    She was next to him, and he suddenly felt that the drug was like a landslide, roaring and attacking, wrapping all reason, and shouting to take her into the account everywhere.


    Especially when she leaned close and looked at herself with exhalation, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s reason was completely swept away. He just wants to carry her into the tent and act recklessly.


    As a result, he did the same, and it was a full hour later that those senses slowly crawled back into his mind.


    The beauty in his arms has fallen asleep.


    At this time, she was very tired, so she put her arms around his neck and went to sleep. But the sweat on her forehead did not withdraw, and her eyes were still red as if she had suffered endless grievances.


    Cui Xingzhou kissed her gently on the corner of her mouth reluctantly. His lazy expression was like a full lion, showing endless complacency and laziness.


    She was even sweeter than he thought, but Cui Xingzhou never thought that their first time would happen in this wilderness.


    For the strictly self-disciplined Prince Huaiyang, this is a big derailment.


    He carefully release her wrist and prepared to get up to drink. But when he got up from the mat, he accidentally stepped on Miantang¡¯s wide white robe.


    When the two people were confused just now, the clothes had been padded under them.


    At this time, the blood stains on the snow-white lapels were like cold plums in the snow, which was shocking.


    Cui Xingzhou paused and slowly bent down to pick up the dress. He was extremely sure that it was Miantang¡¯s little red stain.


    But¡­ How can this be possible?


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief for a moment. He turned around and looked at Miantang, who was still sleeping. At this time, her eyes were still red. It reminds him that she once cried hard and always cried out for pain¡­


    As Lu Wen¡¯s wife and concubine, why is she still a virgin? Is it¡­ That Lu Wen has weak health and can¡¯t do anything but fake Phoenix?


    Although he couldn¡¯t understand it for a moment, an inexpressible ecstasy flooded Cui Xingzhou¡¯s heart. His Miantang has never been touched by other men. He is her first man!


    However, being the opposite of Cui Xingzhou¡¯s ecstasy. Miantang felt that she was crushed by crazy horses and carriages again.


    She heard that she was hit by a speeding carriage when she was injured, but she lost her memory when she woke up and forgot everything. Now, this feeling of pain and weakness is not much different from that of the carriage accident, isn¡¯t it?


    When she woke up from a nap, she found that she was lying in her husband¡¯s arms.


    He had been staring at herself, so when her long eyelashes moved, he would bring warm water to her mouth and let her drink to moisten her throat.


    ¡°Husband, you¡­ You are so¡­ It¡¯s really¡±


    Although Miantang was looking forward to asking her husband for a baby, she never thought of coming to the wild. Moreover, the intimacy of those equals was really beyond her imagination. Thinking of her forgetfulness just now, Miantang blamed her husband, but she was too shy to say it for a moment.


    Cui Xingzhou said faintly, ¡°I¡¯m abrupt, but the wine you make¡­ Has a lot of energy¡­¡±


    Liu Miantang stared slightly, struggled to get up, covered her body with a small towel and quilt, and asked at a loss, ¡°Is there something wrong with my wine?¡±


    When Cui Xingzhou asked her about the ingredients in the wine, she also confessed one by one.


    As a result, Cui Jiu told her without any concealment that these formulas for invigorating Yang have the potential of tiger and wolf, and some red light district uses it for their regular customers who are weaker to promote the entertainment.


    She might kill him giving him food so carelessly.


    Miantang could not be ashamed anymore when she heard this. Her eyes reddened slightly and she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to harm you, Husband. It¡¯s written like this in the medical book, and it¡¯s not marked that drinking will kill you!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t say anything but just patted her on the back to comfort her. It¡¯s always hard to say clearly that if men make up too much, women may die.


    So they bathed in the hot spring again. This time, they didn¡¯t even call the little servant girls. Cui jiu served her wholeheartedly.


    However, this time, Miantang was so dissolute that no matter how hard she try, it was difficult to get on the horse. She felt that her two legs were trembling when she walked.


    So when they went back, she went back by leaning by her husband¡¯s side in a carriage.


    When she looked up at his husband, he also looked down at her with a smile. For some reason, Miantang felt that her husband¡¯s smile was much more vivid than usual.


    She can¡¯t blame the old woman in North Street for telling her that she should always use their men, otherwise, no matter how good the relationship between the husband and wife is, it will become cold!


    Miantang can¡¯t remember how she used to be intimate with her husband. But the cold porridge that warms marriage from time to time is addictive!


    ¡­¡­


    Cui Xingzhou did not know that Lady Liu was cooking a pot of warm and unrestrained porridge in her heart.


    He just held Miantang tightly in his arms and thought about it. There was no need to hurry back to the Jinjia Checkpoint at night, and he could stay at the Wuning Checkpoint for more days¡­


    Spring is coming in the Northwest. In the cold wind, spring flowers are in the bud and ready to go!


    Unfortunately, the State of Hui in the South of the Yangtze River is rainy.


    In fact, the change of iron mines in the Northwest should start with Yunniang, who is eager to please her adoptive father.


    The Mountain of Yang has a mine in the Northwest, which was originally a private and secret matter. Unfortunately, Yunniang inadvertently revealed it to Prince Sui.


    The speaker has no intention, but the listener has the motive.


    Prince Sui learned from Yunniang, a righteous daughter, that there was civil unrest among the barbarians. After Agufan took power, he could not help but have some ideas.


    The barbarians have iron ore, but they can¡¯t get out of the barbarian land. They have no smelting skills and equipment, so they can only sigh at the precious mountain. In his status, the artisans and equipment for smelting iron ore are not a problem. Unfortunately, the Great Yan Dynasty¡¯s iron ore is limited and belonged to The Emperor. A vassal king like him has no way to start.


    This civil commotion gave him an opportunity to select several eloquent and capable subordinates and disguise them as barbarians.


    These people are very competent. They spent a month in the barbarians, got familiar with the situation of the barbarians, spent a lot of money, invited many people, got to know Agufan¡¯s confidants, wasted a lot of money again and twists and turns, and finally met Agufan, the new leader of the barbarians.


    Different from the old leader, Agufan has long had the ambition to expand outward.


    Now there¡¯s The Prince of the Great Yan Dynasty who has taken the initiative to come to talk, he is very happy. The businessmen who used to cooperate with the old Shanyu do not share their minds, so there is no need to keep them.


    Cooperating with Prince Sui can not only benefit from it but also learn about the Great Yan Dynasty¡¯s situation by taking advantage of Prince Sui¡¯s convenience. It can be regarded as an insider.


    So the two colluded and made an agreement. Agufan ordered people to kill all the original traders of the iron mine, to make room for Prince Sui¡¯s men.


    Because the former paved the way and the latter enjoyed the cool, the merchants sent by the former Mountain of Yang all arranged everything properly, and there was no need for anyone to bother anymore. The fat meat seized by Prince Sui was delicious.


    This business was going well and profited a lot. Prince Sui was proud of his unique vision but it was reported that the merchant who went to the barbarians to buy ore had disappeared suddenly. According to their itinerary, they should have returned long ago, but until now there are no signs of them.


    Prince Sui was so angry that he thought that these merchants had forgotten their interests and fled with the money. He severely reprimanded the staff in charge of this matter. While leading people to inquire about the place where the merchants went, he sent people to catch the families of these merchants.


    Soon after, the officials reported that none of the family members had been caught. The housekeepers and servants of these families were all there, except The Masters. The housekeeper was interrogated. The situation of the four families was the same. The Madam suddenly took her family on a trip a few days ago and since then, they have not returned yet.


    Prince Sui was not surprised. Since these businessmen had planned their escape, they would not leave their families behind, but he still lost his temper.


    But after a while, the spy who inquired about the whereabouts of the merchant reported that he had found traces of the escaped merchant¡¯s family members in the State of Zhen. They also found their families later. They planned to bring them back but found that they were all protected by officers and soldiers of the State of Zhen.


    The fat meat that Prince Sui had not yet tasted was taken away by Prince Huaiyang.

 CH 51

    Prince Sui was not a magnanimous man.


    Originally, Cui Xingzhou went to the Northwest to fill the hole of the Great Yan Dynasty. It doesn¡¯t have much to do with him, but Cui Xingzhou¡¯s blocking people¡¯s way of wealth should really be ruined.


    How can such a royal dignitary as Prince Sui tolerate such a tone?


    But more importantly, if the merchants he arranged were in the hands of Prince Huaiyang, then the deadly evidence of his adultery with the barbarians, Shanyu, would also fall into the hands of Prince Huaiyang.


    At present, the Grandma-Empress and the Empress Dowager are fighting fiercely. If Prince Huaiyang handed over his deadly evidence, there was no reason why the demon Empress Wu would not use it. At that time, wouldn¡¯t he, Liu Pei, only be beaten passively?


    Even if he can finally escape, he will also lose the reputation of virtue, courtesy, and filial piety that he has accumulated hard.


    Currently, Prince Sui decided to find out what is Cui Xingzhou¡¯s intention.


    However, in the Imperial Court, he has to arrange for his subordinates to watch closely.


    He must not let Cui Xingzhou¡¯s impeachment note go to The Emperor.


    In addition¡­ Those who know that he runs the iron ore business in private can¡¯t be kept either! It is said that the businessman who was contacting with the Mountain of Yang escaped from the assassins he sent. These individuals know the inside story of how he bribed Agufan.


    It seems that he needs to send more people to root out the weeds!


    In fact, Prince Sui was too worried. Cui Xingzhou worked hard to grasp the wolf tail of Prince Sui. How could he be willing to use it easily?


    The untimely supply of army provisions in the Northwest has always been a major problem. If Prince Sui had helped him to meditate up and down, the rice in the pot of the Northwest army would be much sweeter.


    So Cui Xingzhou was not in a hurry. He just stood still and let the b*stard, Prince Sui get angry.


    He is also busy day and night at present¡­ In recent days, spring in the Northwest has finally arrived late. It was a marvelous and romantic scenery night on the street.


    At this time, when people were to go out of the street, the grass and flowers are all over the street. It is just when spring is brewing.


    It¡¯s a pity that Miantang got up very late these days, which has the means of a little late in spring.


    Although the sun has risen for a long time, the master¡¯s room in the courtyard of a small town in the Northwest is still closed, and no one can get up to call for water.


    After a while, she stretched out her thin snow-white arm from the closed curtain and fumbled for the blouse hanging on the chair beside her.


    But soon, a strong hand wrapped it and pulled her back.


    Since Miantang went to the hot spring, she has been pestered by her husband for consecutive three days.


    At this time, she thought of the words that Doctor Zhao told her, ¡°be careful with drugs¡± and regretted it too much.


    Who would have thought that it was just a medicinal wine for nourishing the kidney, could make her husband forget about tiredness that he seemed to have changed his entire vibe?


    Miantang didn¡¯t even remember her wedding days, so she didn¡¯t know if her husband¡¯s vibe is due to being nourished too much. But she was sure that her small physical strength could not keep up with her husband.


    So when her husband wanted to come another round, she repeatedly asked for mercy and said, ¡°The shop has not been opened for several days, Husband. I must take care of it¡­ Should you also need to go back to the Jinjia Checkpoint?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s insomnia has been greatly alleviated these days. He got up this morning in good spirits. Just as he wanted to take advantage of the aftertaste of the satisfaction last night to rush to the top of the waves again, he heard the young lady¡¯s words of rushing him away like this, and his eyes were slightly heavy, ¡°Why? You want to chase me away?¡±


    Miantang lay on his chest, pursed her lips slightly, and said, ¡°Who chased you? But I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll delay your work¡­ Do you think I should prepare another pair of medicine to calm your inflammation for you?¡­¡±


    Prince Huaiyang raised his eyebrows and said succinctly, ¡°You are not allowed to dispense prescriptions to anyone in the future!¡±


    These days, he had been too addicted to the gentleness in the countryside. Cui Xingzhou decided to return to the Jinjia Checkpoint after breakfast.


    And Miantang felt that her waist was going to break after a few days of absurdity with her husband.


    Although her husband is usually gentle and deep. But in the dim light, such a refined man in the closed curtain is like a caged animal¡­


    Thinking of this, Miantang¡¯s heart warmed up and her cheeks immediately turned pink.


    Bi Cao is putting rouge on Lady Liu, and can¡¯t help praising her, ¡°Madam, your skin is indeed good. You don¡¯t have to put on any rouge to have nourished skin in white and red.¡±


    At that moment, Cui Xingzhou came over, looked at Miantang¡¯s combed her beautiful long black hair, and randomly selected a sparrow hairpin from the makeup box, ¡°I bought it for you. How about wearing it today?¡±


    Miantang nodded with a smile, half bowed her head, and asked Cui Jiu to put on the hairpin for her.


    After Miantang washed and dressed up, she went out with two little servant girls. Cui Jiu also rode out with Mo Ru and some bodyguards.


    Her husband said that he had accumulated countless mundane affairs in recent days and would come back in two days. Miantang thought about going to the medicine store today to meet some suppliers and buy some goods.


    Maybe it¡¯s because she can¡¯t open the shop these days. When she gets to the medicine shop and opens the door panel not long after, the customers who come to grab the medicine come in an endless stream.


    The staff in the shop were busy for a while, and Miantang did not have time to care about buying any goods. She just stayed at the counter to collect money.


    Just when there were crowds in the medicine shop, a man with a hood came in. After he asked the shop assistant for some medicine to treat trauma and stop bleeding, he came to Miantang to deliver the medicine money.


    But in the money he handed in, there was still a note.


    Miantang frowned and unfolded. There was only a line of small words on it, ¡°I¡¯m your uncle. I can¡¯t see you personally when I¡¯m in trouble today. There are many officers and soldiers around. Don¡¯t make any noise. Come to the West gate in the afternoon. Remember not to bring outsiders along!¡±


    Miantang looked up and saw the man pull down his scarf and show his face.


    She knows that face too well! It¡¯s Uncle Liu Kun, one of the escorts of her grandfather¡¯s family!


    When she was a little girl, whenever she went to her grandfather¡¯s house, Uncle Liu accompanied her to buy candied haws in the street.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the note, Miantang would have cried out.


    However, Liu Kun¡¯s eyes were delivered in time. He winked and reminded Miantang not to say anything. He then picked up his medicine bag and left.


    At that moment, Fan Hu came over, looked back at Liu Kun¡¯s distant figure, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Madam?¡±


    Miantang just lower her head to sort the money out and said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, go and get busy!¡±


    So Fan Hu went to sweep the floor.


    But Miantang¡¯s heart is about to boil. The handwriting on that note was her Uncle Lu Xian¡¯s.


    His handwriting is well written. In the beginning, her mother told her to learn to write from her uncle.


    Miantang was very excited to get the information from his grandfather¡¯s family. But under such circumstances, she¡¯s more worried.


    Why didn¡¯t her uncle come to see her in person? Why did she solemnly warn in the note that she was not allowed to take outsiders along?


    What happened to Uncle Lu Xian?


    Miantang thought for a while and thought that her uncle must have met with some difficulties.


    When she heard this, she took some cash out of the cash box. Wrapped a small package, and then prepared to sneak out at noon when the others were not paying attention.


    However, when she was about to go out, she found that she could not shake off those guys.


    Whether it was her excuse to stand outside the door or to choose colored thread from a sewing shop across the street, Fan Hu always led people behind her.


    Miantang was angry for a moment and frowned, ¡°You can take some of your brothers to have a drink at noon, Brother Fan. Don¡¯t always follow me!¡±


    She then took out a silver ingot and gave it to Fan Hu and his brothers.


    Fan Hu and the men looked at each other and tacitly turned to take the silver and left.


    Miantang was relieved and turned along the stone road leading to the West gate and went out of the West gate of the Wuning Checkpoint.


    Outside the West gate, there is a peach blossom forest. Miantang walks a little and saw Liu Kun.


    He looked warily at Miantang¡¯s back and confirmed that no one was following her. He whispered to Miantang, ¡°The Elder Master is seriously injured. He has a fever these days. Please follow me to see him¡­¡±


    Miantang had a lot to ask, so she got on the carriage with Liu Kun and hurried to the shabby temple.


    After getting off the carriage, Miantang couldn¡¯t help but cry when she saw her uncle who was so thin that he lost his appearance.


    It¡¯s just that she hasn¡¯t seen him for several years. How can her rich uncle be so thin in her memory?


    But her uncle was more shocked than her. He just struggled to get up and said with trembling lips, ¡°Miantang¡­ Child, you are still alive. Why don¡¯t you contact us earlier? My father and I were both hurt and fell seriously ill for you¡­¡±


    Miantang was a little surprised by her uncle¡¯s words for a moment, and only blinked and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine in my husband¡¯s house. Although I was sick earlier¡­ I didn¡¯t die. What do you mean, Uncle?¡±


    All the people in the shabby temple were shocked, Husband? Where exactly did Liu Miantang come from?


    The uncle and niece, whom they haven¡¯t seen for many years, are in constant confusion on both sides.


    When Lu Xian heard that his niece had lost her memory and had to be taken care of by her husband Cui Jiu, he was so anxious that he patted his thigh and said, ¡°When did you marry Cui Jiu? Don¡¯t you remember? When you were on the way, you contacted your Second Uncle, Lu Mu, and asked him to take you away as a robber!¡±


    Miantang¡¯s body was a little stiff, and she stared at him in disbelief. Her voice trembled and said, ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s impossible. My husband is so good. How can I think of running away from marriage?¡±


    Lu Xian shook his head reluctantly and said, ¡°What¡¯s so good? Didn¡¯t you run away from your marriage because you saw Cui Jiu who came out of the city to meet you and disliked his fat head, big ears, and disgusting face?¡±


    Miantang¡¯s expression was still frozen and he said, ¡°It¡¯s impossible, Uncle. His appearance is¡­ Wonderful¡­¡±


    Liu Kun, who was on the other side, understood and was so anxious that he patted his thigh and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you understand, Lady? You¡­ You have met a villain who cheated you for bed!¡±


    Miantang suddenly stood up, shook her head, and said intuitively, ¡°No, my husband¡­ He¡¯s not like that!¡±


    For a while, many doubts flooded her mind.


    At first, he treated her politely, alienated and indifferent, and he always refused to come home¡­ For a moment, Miantang¡¯s brain burst. Standing in this shabby temple, she seemed to have a fantastic dream. She even closed her eyes and tightly squeezed her palm with her fingernails, hoping that this dream would wake up soon¡­


    But at this time, there was a noisy voice outside the shabby temple. In the gradually dark night, the shabby temple was surrounded by officers and soldiers.


    In a blaze of fire, a tall man wrapped in a black cape led the officers and soldiers, who appeared at the shabby temple with a grim expression.


    Miantang slowly turned back and looked back at him with a wooden expression.


    He is still the same as usual, with an unspeakable noble spirit between his eyebrows, a thin nose and lips, and a righteous aura without anger¡­


    How can such a man be the son of a businessman? How could it be¡­ Her husband Cui Jiu?


    For a moment, Miantang couldn¡¯t think of anything in her heart. She just thought quietly. This morning, when her husband combed her hair, he gently asked her if she wanted to wear the hairpin he bought for her. She looked back at him with a smile, then lowered her head and asked him to put the hairpin of sparrow embroidery in her bun¡­


    Cui Xingzhou waved his hand and the soldiers who filed in surrounded the people in the shabby temple. After receiving the news from Fan Hu today, he came with his people.


    In fact, he stayed outside the shabby temple for a long time, so long that he knew that Miantang¡¯s Uncle Lu Xian was in the shabby temple. He also guessed that Lu Xian told Miantang that he was not her husband Cui Jiu.


    He stepped out of his long legs, walked steadily to Miantang¡¯s side, and reached out to pull her hand, but Miantang quickly pulled out the hairpin on her head and stabbed it straight at him at the moment he entered his arms.


    If her hand had not been hurt, she might still have had a chance to hit. But Prince Huaiyang had long known that she loved to stab people with hairpins, so he held her hand tightly, then looked deeply into her eyes and said coldly, ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡±


    Miantang stared with her eyes widely opened and said to him, ¡°Who¡­ Who are you?¡±


    Liu Kun had seen Cui Xingzhou before, but he could not see his face clearly when he was wearing a cape with a hat. Liu Kun only saw his approximate figure. Now the torch is bright, and he can see the villain¡¯s face clearly.


    To be honest, his appearance is really impeccable. Even Liu Kun, who has seen a lot, has to admit that he is a rare beautiful man.


    But since he is not bad looking and should not lack women, why should he coax Liu Miantang into deceiving her into being his wife?


    Thinking of this, Liu Kun came forward and wanted to save the young lady.


    Liu Kun has good skills. He is the number one escort in the Shenwei escort agency. But in front of Cui Xingzhou, his cold moves seem to have become fancy fists and embroidered legs.


    Seeing Cui Xingzhou standing still and turning his wrist with one hand, he easily defused Liu Kun¡¯s attack and hit the acupoint on his arm with a flick of his backhand.


    Liu Kun felt a shock in his entire arm, which hurt him so much that he stopped, lost his balance, and stepped a few steps back. The escort agency was supported by two other escorts.


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t look at anyone else from beginning to end. He just squinted at Liu Miantang he was holding.


    Just now she wanted to attack him! Thinking of this, the towering anger covered up the slight discomfort when his identity was exposed.


    However, Miantang¡¯s incomprehension and anger at this time had reached the peak.


    At that moment, she thought a lot. No matter what, it is an indisputable fact that he lied to her, and he knew that she didn¡¯t marry her, but he still does¡­ That!


    As Uncle Liu said, he is a shameless villain and a thief who deceives women for bed!


    At this moment, Liu Kun also shouted, ¡°Let go of our young lady quickly. We are the men you are chasing all the way. What is it got to do with her, a weak woman? If you are capable, why don¡¯t you come at us instead?¡±


    Miantang¡¯s pupil contracted slightly.


    Yes, what is he leading these people for? Did¡­ he come with a large number of officers and soldiers to arrest her Big Uncle and Uncle Liu?


    Considering that her uncle had said that someone had been chasing them and that her uncle was seriously injured, she raised her hand and gave Cui Xingzhou a hard slap in the face.


    Cui Xingzhou can actually evade. However, he did not evade but received the blow. His face was slightly deflected, but he was still expressionless.


    Miantang exerted too much force, and the whole person trembled slightly with anger. She continued to ask, ¡°What are you doing? Are you coming to catch my uncle?¡±


    Mo Ru, who was on the other side, couldn¡¯t help but defend his Master: ¡°If it weren¡¯t for our Master¡¯s timely arrival, you guys would have been made dumplings in the shabby temple. Instead of being grateful, you punched our Master and attacked him. It¡¯s a group of people who don¡¯t know how to appreciate it!¡±


    Speaking of this, several soldiers dragged several people into the shabby temple.


    All of them were wounded, and they were well grounded.


    Liu Kun flashed his eyes and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t they the ones who chased us all the way?¡±! Among them, the man with the scarred face is the one who seriously wounded their Eldest Master!


    Mo Ru continued to say to Miantang with righteous indignation, ¡°Madam, our Master heard that you left the city alone. He was afraid that you might have an accident. So he hurried to bring people here. In addition to the few who are surrounding the shabby temple, there are more than a dozen in the wild forest outside. If we don¡¯t come, how can you people, who are old, weak, sick, and disabled, fight against those people?¡±


    Lu Xian has a high fever, and because he has lost a lot of blood, he is not strong enough. But he has a very sharp eye for people.


    Although they have just heard that Miantang, who was injured and lost her memory, was cheated into marriage, he was very angry. But now looking at the man who pretends to be Cui Jiu. His appearance is extraordinary. He shouldn¡¯t be that kind of swindler!


    His move to repel Liu Kun just now is neat and clear, which shows that he has a deep foundation of skills.


    To be honest, just looking at his skills, he is better than Miantang¡¯s fat pig merchant assigned husband who was arranged by her wicked father.


    He¡¯s a good match for his niece.


    No wonder Miantang didn¡¯t believe her husband was fake just now. A man like him¡­ Will be robbed by girls wherever it is placed.


    Most importantly, Miantang has been missing for almost two years. She must have become a real couple with that fake Cui Jiu.


    Although Lu Xian is angry that this guy cheated on their daughter of the Lu family, from the perspective of the elders, the first consideration is the reputation and lifelong happiness of the daughter.


    So Lu Xian repressed his anger and reluctantly got up to say thanks to the fake Cui Jiu politely, which was to save face for each other. After he asked for the inner reason, he can then make plans. If he really loves Miantang and he is not a great evil person, he must always leave some opportunities for each other.


    But there is one thing. If this kid with full amour bullies his Miantang, he will risk his life and fight with this kid!


    Finally, there is a man who can speak logically in this shabby temple. Master Cui Xingzhou finally took back his fierce eyes and said to Miantang coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, this seriously injured gentleman. His injury is too serious. He needs to be treated in time. Even if you want to question me, you have to push back and send him back to the city for treatment first.¡±


    Miantang knew that what he said was reasonable, so she just struggled to free her hand and went back to help his uncle out of the shabby temple.


    Just now, for a moment, she really misunderstood Cui Xingzhou and thought he was going to be bad for her uncle.


    However, she could not find an excuse to forgive Cui Jiu for pretending to be her husband, so she had to send her uncle to the doctor first. She wanted to be alone and recall her absurd two-year life.


    After a large number of people arrived at the Jinjia Checkpoint, the military doctor rushed to the account to treat Uncle Lu.


    Cui Xingzhou sat on one side and asked those people why they wanted to chase them.


    After drinking the antipyretic Decoction prescribed by the doctor, Lu Xian¡¯s mind cleared up for a moment. Facing Cui Xingzhou¡¯s question, he avoided answering it and only asked who he was.


    Cui Xingzhou looked at Miantang, who had always turned her back on him, and said succinctly, ¡°I am the official of the Imperial Court who investigates the matters of the Mountain of Yang. What exactly is your relationship with the Mountain of Yang?¡±


    He didn¡¯t reveal his identity as Prince Huaiyang. He didn¡¯t say it for the time being because his soldiers fought with the Mountain of Yangshan to death, so as not to scare them. By letting them know that they are officials, and at the same time, simply pointing out their key points, which also saves them from trying to deceive.


    Lu Xian knows that he is an official, and this Jinjia Checkpoint is not accessible to ordinary people. The soldiers around him are respectful to him. It seems that his official position is not small.


    At that moment, he vaguely understood the reason why he lied to Miantang, and then he said, ¡°Did you want to use her as bait to catch the followers of the Mountain of Yang when you lied to Miantang?¡±


    Miantang¡¯s hand bandaging his uncle¡¯s wound was slightly stiff and even trembled when she heard this.


    Cui Xingzhou has been staring at Miantang¡¯s back and naturally saw her trembling. He took a deep breath, ¡°I rescued her from the water unintentionally. At that time, she was seriously injured and her tendons were cut off. I found someone to treat her. Unexpectedly, she lost all her memory and mistakenly thought I was Cui Jiu¡­ My last name is Cui and I am the ninth in the family. I didn¡¯t mean to deceive her¡­¡±


    Lu Xian listened to Miantang¡¯s original situation. His eyes were round and his lips trembled with pain. ¡°You said she¡­ Was she seriously injured in the water?¡±


    In fact, Cui Jiu also wanted to know the secret of this drowning. So he said, ¡°Mr. Lu, you¡¯d better tell me what you know. It¡¯s good for you and Miantang. If there¡¯s anything big, I¡¯ll help you look at Miantang¡¯s sake.¡±


    Lu Xian had long been dissatisfied with the Mountain of Yang¡¯s gang of people of the old East Palace, but Miantang was deeply in love with Master Ziyu.


    He thought that he had secretly sent people to the Mountain of Yang to find Miantang¡¯s whereabouts, but he got the news that Miantang was framed by Yunniang, chased and killed, seriously injured, and fell into the water and died.


    In this way, it is consistent with the situation of Miantang who was rescued by Cui Jiu.


    In Lu Xian¡¯s view, Miantang and Ziyu are a bad relationship. Whether that Royal descendant will be rich and noble or end up dead has nothing to do with Miantang of his family!


    Since Miantang fell into the water and lost her memory because of him, it is a gift from heaven.


    She had forgotten her relationship with Ziyu and her experience with the Mountain of Yang. Such days are not what a boudoir woman should experience!


    Thinking of this, Lu Xian decided to hide the past of Miantang as the leader of the Mountain of Yang, ¡°Lu Wen¡±, and never let others know!


    The rest will be borne by her uncle!


    TL/Notes: O.O !!! Everything all happened at once¡­¡­ What are your opinions, do share them with me~~

 CH 52

    In this way, Lu Xian¡¯s words were mixed half-truly and half-falsely.


    Just a few years ago, their escort agency received a bid. It was a big escort from a young man named Ziyu in the Mountain of Yang. Thus they got to know Childe Ziyu and then became close friends.


    Later, by chance, Childe Ziyu had an ore business in the Northwest. The round-trip transportation had to be escorted by specially assigned personnel. At that time, the business of the escort agency was terrible. But hundreds of escorts in the escort agency are relying upon their business for meals.


    To make a living, Lu Xian ignored his niece¡¯s advice and decided to take risks. He volunteered to earn some fast money from smuggling.


    The Shenwei Escort Agency has the natural convenience of transportation from all corners of the world, and its network lines are ready-made. So the two sides cooperated until now. But later, he was surprised to learn that his niece had an accident, and he did not want to work for the Mountain of Yang anymore, so he proposed to hand it over.


    But no one has taken over from the Mountain of Yang. He is an old Jianghu man, and he sensed something wrong regarding this matter, so he arranged for the other people from the Shenwei Escort Agency to evacuate.


    However, they are still one step later, Prince Sui¡¯s men suddenly came chasing them, and they fight dirty with no mercy. Fortunately, many people on the barbarian side have deep friendships with them, so they escaped here.


    However, he was seriously injured, so his escort, Liu Kun, went to the city to buy medicine. He accidentally saw Miantang and stayed for a few days, waiting to meet her.


    Cui Xingzhou listened quietly and suddenly asked, ¡°Did you leave Liu Miantang alone on the Mountain of Yang when you went to the Northwest to transport coal?¡±


    Miantang also looked up at her uncle. At this time, she remembered what Servant Li had said before that she was the mistress of Childe Ziyu.


    At that time, she thought it was ridiculous, but now¡­ She thinks it may be true.


    Lu Xian gritted his teeth. Knowing that his niece¡¯s relationship with Ziyu could not be concealed thus, he told Miantang the truth so that Miantang would not be bothered by Ziyu in the future.


    ¡°It¡¯s also because I didn¡¯t take good care of Miantang. Miantang was young at that time, and the girls in the boudoir were just beginning to fall in love with each other. That Ziyu was a gentle young man, so they had some ambiguous feelings¡­ Miantang was good at accounting, so she took care of the daily accounts of the stronghold for that Ziyu. However, Miantang was a good child, and naturally abided by the etiquette of great defense before he talked about marriage with Ziyu. It¡¯s just that Ziyu was amorous. Besides provoking my niece, he also fell in love with other women and was framed by other women. She was ready to leave early on, but she was drowned by someone¡­ Now the Mountain of Yang has been offered amnesty and enlistment. Even if Miantang takes care of his account, she will be pardoned. You won¡¯t be able to punish her for it, Official. As for the smuggling of ore deposits, it is all my greed and has nothing to do with others. Let the national law handle it! ¡±


    Prince Huaiyang believed what Lu Xian said. After all, no one knows better than him whether is Liu Miantang innocent or not.


    As for Miantang¡¯s encounter with being murdered, it was related to that Childe Ziyu¡¯s unfaithfulness. Lu Xian¡¯s words are not too different from his previous conjectures.


    After receiving the confession from the Shenwei Escort Agency, he sent someone to inquire about it carefully. The old grandson of Prince Sui¡¯s wrongdoings evidence is all in his hand now.


    If his previous words of deceiving Miantang had not been exposed in confusion, today¡¯s trip to the shabby temple would have been fruitful.


    Thinking of this, looking at Lu Xian¡¯s pale and haggard face, Cui Xingzhou reassured him, ¡°According to the law, you should be beheaded for smuggling iron ore. But if Mr. Lu can cooperate obediently, I will treat you with courtesy, to ensure that Mr. Lu has no danger and survives this disaster safely¡­¡±


    This statement is very peaceful. If he doesn¡¯t think it over carefully, it seems that he can¡¯t hear the threat. He said this not only to Lu Xian but also to the woman who had always turned her back on him.


    When he finished his interrogation, the doctor also gave him acupuncture and moxibustion to relieve pain and treated the wound.


    Lu Xian has been scared all along running away from the chase that he couldn¡¯t sleep well. Now in the hands of the Military Officers and men, they are sleeping in a warm place and drinking hot soup.


    The hard work and heavy injuries all the way were unbearable to the iron man, so Lu Xian took the sleeping pills and went to sleep.


    Miantang sat on one side and didn¡¯t speak until Lu Xian shouted thirsty in his dream. She then got up and went out to look for water.


    But she didn¡¯t expect that as soon as she got out of the tent, she saw the Military Master, Cui Jiu, standing upright. She didn¡¯t know how long he had waited.


    Miantang didn¡¯t like to talk to liars, so she half drooped her eyelids and tried to avoid him in circles.


    But Cui Jiu had enough of Liu Miantang¡¯s cold eyes. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the carriage.


    ¡°Let go, what are you doing? I¡¯m going back to take care of my uncle!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou remained unmoved and said, ¡°He¡¯s under the care of a Military Doctor and a servant I sent. Can you help with his urine or wipe it yourself? Why do you stay there?¡±


    Miantang heard what his uncle said just now and believed it all. Her uncle said that she had previously admired Childe Ziyu, which coincided with the situation she had seen in her dream when she was getting along well with Childe Ziyu.


    However, she was unexpectedly harmed by someone and cut off the tendons of her hands and legs. Who was the person who did this cruel thing to her? Miantang still has many questions to ask her uncle.


    Now she doesn¡¯t want to think about Cui Xingzhou¡¯s bad debt of using herself as bait, and she doesn¡¯t want to talk to him again.


    But Cui Xingzhou was determined to speak all out with her.


    He won¡¯t blame her because she was young, didn¡¯t know people clearly, and helped tyrants. But now she has committed herself to him. Even if they haven¡¯t gotten married, she is his woman.


    She is almost nineteen now, and she is not a child. She should know something about the ways of the world. Although when he was in the shabby temple, he deliberately didn¡¯t hide from her and was slapped by her to relieve her anger. But she should also understand that it is not always possible for her to act according to her temperament like a shrew, then does she want to continue living?


    So when the carriage entered the Wuning Checkpoint and arrived at Miantang¡¯s temporary residence, Cui Xingzhou pulled her down, ignoring Servant Li and the servant girls who greeted them all the way.


    Servant Li was anxious to let Miantang go out of the city alone. She didn¡¯t know if she had met with anything unexpected. Unexpectedly, she watched The Prince pull Miantang back into the house with a grim face.


    Although she has long known that Miantang¡¯s identity is not simple, she also knows that The Prince is just using Lady Liu.


    But at the moment when the scam was uncovered, Servant Li still felt a sigh in her heart.


    These days, how The Prince and Lady Liu are, she sees everything in her eyes. Even a true couple cannot be compared to their loveliness.


    Unfortunately, the flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water are not permanent.


    Now the mirror is broken and the moon is hidden. The scam set by The Prince has finally come to an end.


    She just hopes that The Prince will remember his love these days and leave a way for Lady Liu to survive.


    After Cui Xingzhou entered the house, he closed the door tightly.


    Miantang felt that she hadn¡¯t noticed Cui Xingzhou¡¯s rudeness before. How could he look like a gentleman? She touch her wrists which were in pain after his grab, laughed in anger, and looked at Cui Xingzhou sarcastically.


    For a while, without Lady Liu¡¯s treating him with courtesy and showing consideration to help him undress and poured water, Prince Huaiyang poured two glasses of water for himself. After drinking one, he poured another one for Miantang and handed it to her.


    But Miantang didn¡¯t take it, only turned her eyes coldly and didn¡¯t look at Cui Jiu.


    Cui Xingzhou felt that her face was slightly puffed up, like an angry child, so he held her in his arms, pressed her against the tip of her nose, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Haven¡¯t you released your temper yet?¡±


    Miantang admired his skill of making big things smaller. How brazen he is to pretend to be someone else¡¯s husband without shame?


    She turned her beautiful eyes and looked askance at him. ¡°Do teach me how to calm down and not be angry when a young woman was cheated of her innocence and chastity, Military Master Cui.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou felt that he should talk with her about the reason carefully, so he thought carefully and said, ¡°¡­ You were seriously injured at the beginning. I ordered someone to help you out of the water and treat you wholeheartedly. I always deserve the name of a lifesaver, right?¡±


    Liu Miantang didn¡¯t speak, but her eyes were slowly turning red and misting.


    Cui Xingzhou looked down at her and said nothing. ¡°Think again. I never deceived you into calling me husband at first. You mistook me and just called me husband on your own.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± Liu Miantang was so angry that she could not speak. She pointed her finger at his nose.


    Cui Xingzhou held her hand, then he said, ¡°At first, I wanted to use you to lure the followers of the Mountian of Yang sect. But later I found that someone in the Mountain of Yang was against you, and I was worried about you. So I kept you by my side to protect your safety wholeheartedly¡­ But later, when I went out on the expedition, I was afraid that you would wait for me, and I was determined to let you live your own life. My divorce letter was written¡­ My identity may be false, but when did my caring and affection for you fake?¡±


    Liu Miantang was blocked from speaking. Just like Cui Xingzhou said, although he deceived her, he also saved her life. This is a book of gratitude and resentment that can not be calculated clearly.


    But this fake Cui Jiu took it for granted, which was really annoying. She stared him straight in the eye and said, ¡°So, I chased you for thousands of miles, that is to say, it was me who came sticking at you? When I finally slept with you for a few nights, it was also because I was excited by your appearance and stained your innocence.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou took her by the hand and said slowly, ¡°For this matter, you can¡¯t blame me for it. If I hadn¡¯t also drunk the wine you prepared, I wouldn¡¯t have been like that¡­ Who can resist the wine effect? You think I¡¯m a eunuch and can remain sitting still.¡±


    Liu Miantang¡¯s anger reached the extreme, but her tone calmed down. She broke away from Cui Jiu¡¯s embrace and knelt to solemnly salute, ¡°In that case, the ancients said that the kindness of saving lives should be returned by pledging to marry the lifesaver. I have already done so. Thanks to the Military Master for not rejecting me and enjoying it. So let¡¯s clear up our gratitude and resentment and say goodbye. I won¡¯t take the title of the Military Master¡¯s wife again, and ruin your reputation!¡±


    After that, she got up, opened the suitcase, took the luggage and prepared to pack some clothes, and took them to the barracks later.


    Her eldest uncle smuggled iron ore, and she could not escape the responsibility. She was also a member of the Lu family, so she naturally wanted to advance and retreat with her eldest uncle.


    Cui Xingzhou never tolerated coaxing women, but today he talked all his good words, but Lady Liu was completely uninformed. She was determined to pack her bags and leave. She was really stubborn!


    He strode over and stretched out his hand and lifted the cloth of the package!


    Miantang stretched out her hand to grab it, but her wrist didn¡¯t work well. She suddenly strained her old injury, which made her groan and shrinks up immediately.


    Cui Xingzhou knew her old problems and immediately threw down the wrapper, frowned, and reached out to skillfully massage her hand points to ease the pain in her hands.


    Since arriving in the Northwest, Cui Xingzhou has seriously learned some massage methods from Zhao Quan. When it rains and Miantang is in pain, he always ¡°happens¡± to come back and massage her hands and feet¡­


    As he said, his affection is indeed a little true¡­


    The sweetness of their relationship is still in front of them. How can it be easily forgotten?


    Miantang¡¯s tears finally burst out. Big drops of soybeans fell on the back of Cui Xingzhou¡¯s hand, which he was massaging.


    Cui Xingzhou had never realized before that crying without choking could be so torturing. He put his arms around her and said with heartache, ¡°Don¡¯t cry. I¡¯m not leaving you alone. It¡¯s okay¡­¡±


    But Miantang pushed him, ¡°What¡¯s your real name? Do you have wives and concubines?¡±


    Liu Miantang suddenly remembered that, depending on his age, it was the time for a man to start a family and business. Moreover, his speech and behavior, including Servant Li, did not seem to come from an ordinary family.


    If he has a wife, what is she? Isn¡¯t it a mistress?


    Cui Xingzhou avoided answering his name and only said what Miantang was most concerned about, ¡°I have not got a wife¡­¡±


    To be honest, for some reason, he suddenly felt very lucky that he had withdrawn from his cousin¡¯s marriage before going out to fight. But if he says at this moment that he is Prince Huaiyang, that sentence ¡°no wife¡± inevitably appears to be a little weak¡­


    When he said it, Miantang relaxed slowly and realized that she had just held her breath. She waited and waited for him to say his name. However, he didn¡¯t speak again. Obviously, he didn¡¯t intend to tell her, which made her heart sink again.


    After a while, her hand pain gradually eased, he then said, ¡°Although it¡¯s spring now, the Jinjia Checkpoint is in the valley, which is the source of the wind. It¡¯s much colder than the Wuning Checkpoint. In a few days, when your uncle¡¯s injury is stable, I will send someone and send him to the Wuning Checkpoint to recuperate. You should stay at home these days. Your uncle knows the bad doings of Prince Sui¡¯s collusion with the enemy. He will certainly not give up. I will protect you all and never let anyone lay a finger on you.¡±


    Miantang understands that Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t mean to scare herself. That Prince Sui of the State of Hui is really hard to deal with. There are only a few people around her uncle. If he is surrounded by the assassins of Prince Sui, his life will be at risk.


    So after thinking for a while, she nodded slowly.


    At this moment, Servant Li said cautiously outside the door, ¡°Master, Madam, dinner is ready. Do you want to eat?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou and Liu Miantang have suffered so much that they haven¡¯t eaten, so Cui Xingzhou asks Servant Li to bring them food.


    The food was cooked very diligently, with fine sprouts and hot and finely chopped bean jelly. It seems that they are all heat-clearing and reduce fire dishes.


    Miantang couldn¡¯t bear it. Cui Xingzhou quietly picked her some dishes and soup.


    After eating, Miantang felt that Cui Xingzhou wanted to stay overnight. She silently got up and picked up the quilt and pillow to squeeze into the servant girl¡¯s room.


    Cui Xingzhou was angry when she saw that she was still at odds with him. She only said in a deep voice, ¡°You stay and sleep. I¡¯ll go.¡±


    With this, he got up and went out of the house. After leaving the yard, he turned over and rode back to the Jinjia Checkpoint.


    In the following days, Cui Xingzhou did not go to the Wuning Checkpoint again.


    And he did what he said. After Lu Xian¡¯s injury stabilized, he was sent to the Wuning Checkpoint.


    Today, in the small courtyard of the Wuning Checkpoint, there are distinct factions.


    Servant Li and Fan Hu have both exposed their identities as watchers, and their status in the small yard has plummeted.


    Fang Xie and Bi Cao swore to heaven that they were sold by human traffic. After proving that they didn¡¯t know the identity of Master Cui at all, they managed to maintain their loyalty to their Madam¡¯s heart and occasionally got a smile from her.


    The rest were ignored by the Madam.


    Now that Lu Xian has recovered some strength, he can talk with his niece.


    However, he decided not to tell Miantang her identity on the Mountain of Yang. That kind of identity is too frightening. If it is known to others, Miantang will no longer be able to marry and have children like ordinary women and live a safe life.


    After all, which man dares to marry the female thief who rose in the Mountain of Yang? Even if he was Liu Miantang¡¯s uncle, he was sometimes frightened by his niece¡¯s boldness.


    To be honest, with that memory, her niece can¡¯t be integrated into any homestead in her whole life. Can you expect a female thief who dares to lead a revolt with her followers and live an ordinary life with her husband and child?


    But Liu Miantang lost her memory, and all the thrilling and exciting memories on the Mountain of Yang were wiped out in her mind.


    As an elder, Lu Xian felt that this was God¡¯s pity for Miantang.


    It¡¯s just that she has been cheated into being a married couple for nearly two years now. As her uncle, he sighed for a while. He always felt sorry for his younger sister, who died early. He didn¡¯t take good care of his niece, and let her make mistakes step by step.


    ¡°Miantang, did he tell you his name and identity?¡± Lu Xian asked tentatively when his niece was giving him medicine.


    Miantang¡¯s hand paused, lowered her eyelids, and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether he said it or not. Judging from the speech from Servant Li he assigned to me, he is of high birth and should be of an official aristocratic family¡­ I know very well that I am not of the same kind as him. After the matter of Prince Sui is settled, if he keeps his promise, we will leave the Northwest and go back to find my grandfather¡­¡±


    Lu Xian didn¡¯t expect that his niece would not drag at all. She had decided in her heart. From this point of view, Miantang¡¯s temperament is the same as that before she lost her memory.


    ¡°But¡­ You and him¡­ If it is publicized¡­¡±


    Miantang didn¡¯t want her uncle to worry too much about herself, she put her tone as light as possible, ¡°I¡¯m not a famous person where people all over the world can know me. Where can I not earn a living when I go out of the Northwest in the future? These are just things where people live together when they are in trouble. How many temporary couples were there in the countryside where people fled in the past? When they settled down stably, the exposed couples scattered. I didn¡¯t see anyone who wanted to die and let the other party be responsible to the end!¡±


    Miantang¡¯s statement is true. In the folk countryside, at the critical moment of life and death, people want to find a way to survive. That kind of chastity and reputation is for the women in the high noble¡¯s houses like the Marquis¡¯s Mansion. If they are placed in the mud pit of the humble people, the chastity of thousands of daughters can¡¯t be more useful than the steamed bread that cost 2 cents!


    So Miantang didn¡¯t take her chastity too seriously. And¡­ The person she slept with is not a greasy fat man.


    Although Cui Jiu is known to be a liar, he is so good-looking that she can¡¯t find fault with being thin or fat, or having some other disease. Even when he deceives people, his handsome appearance can show some affection.


    Miantang asked herself these days and felt that she could not be counted as a loss. Although she can¡¯t pick a man to compare with Cui Xingzhou in her memory, it¡¯s really hard to find such a man in the world. Besides his appearance, it¡¯s even harder to pick a man with a good waist.


    Fortunately, Cui Jiu has both¡­ So Miantang¡¯s heart is getting clearer and clearer. She feels that even if she has infatuated her heart with the wrong person, she is not at much loss.


    However, not everyone is as open-minded as she is.


    After Miantang finished feeding him the medicine, she was going out to get his meal. When he lifted the curtain, Cui Xingzhou, who had not been seen for several days, stood in front of the door with a tight face. She doesn¡¯t know how much he listened to what she and her uncle said.


    Miantang has reviewed herself in recent days. She felt that she was a bit ignorant of the present state of affairs because of her stiff words with him the other day. After the sensitivity and obstinacy of the romantic girl faded, the flattering Lady Liu appeared.


    ¡°Military Master Cui is back? Why are you standing at the door? It¡¯s windy here. Hurry in and sit in the room¡­ Have you eaten? I asked Servant Li to make your favorite stew.¡± Miantang smiled and greeted him warmly.


    She can¡¯t help it. Both she and her uncle have to live under the breath of the Military Master. They must always be decent in the face. Being polite and courteous is the rule of the world.


    How can Cui Xingzhou not see that she is dealing with himself? Look at that smiling gallantry! It¡¯s exactly the same as when she met some stupid big customers with a lot of money in the porcelain shop in Lingquan Town!


    And according to what she said just now, he is just a bowl of porridge to satisfy her hunger. If she has other food to eat, she can forget about him¡­ Women are like villains, and their nature is cold and difficult to feed. He has thoroughly understood the ancient holy teachings.


    It¡¯s just that they have been separated for so many days, but she still looks like she has pink cheeks and gentle eyes, as if she doesn¡¯t have too much lovesickness.


    Looking at her smiling red cherry lips, Cui Xingzhou only felt that there was a rush of blood jumping uncontrollably in his blood vessels¡­


    Cui Xingzhou had a bad time these days. His ¡°old illness¡± recurred and he began to lose sleep every night.


    His Young Servant, Mo Ru, has been working hard as well. When his Master practices boxing under the moon, he has to wait with a kettle and a towel. The eyes of the Master and Servant both turned red in recent days.


    Mo Ru thought that it was not a good way to endure like this, so he guessed The Master¡¯s intention and tried to ask The Prince if he wanted to go back to the medicine shop of the Wuning Checkpoint to find some medicine to drink.


    At that time, The Prince didn¡¯t say anything, but just lowered his head to write the documents. After a long time, he asked him to prepare his horse and go to the Wuning Checkpoint. It seems that he has adopted his proposal.


    But now Mo Ru can see that the medicine that can cure The Prince is not in the medicine chest drawer of the medicine shop, but the doorway of the small yard.


    But that ¡°medicine¡± is so greasy that it¡¯s not easy to eat. It¡¯s really not a good thing!


    As the saying goes, ¡°Never hit a smiling person¡±. Miantang is no longer angry with himself, and she has finally made some progress. Cui Xingzhou tried to relax his face and said, ¡°I want to eat your spicy fried food¡­¡±


    Miantang is not only good at stir-frying crabs but also sliced meat.


    After listening to the Military Master¡¯s order, Miantang immediately nodded and said, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll make two kinds for you.¡±


    Those two responded calmly and freely as if they had not torn their faces and had a fierce argument the other day.


    That ¡°Military Master¡± is too harsh! Cui Xingzhou never thought that he would miss that soft, sweet, and clingy calling of ¡°husband¡±¡­


    Miantang took Cui Xingzhou¡¯s food list and went to the kitchen to prepare meals.


    A few days ago, she was in a bad mood, and she also gave a lot of cold faces to Servant Li. Now she has figured it out and feels that she has gone too far.


    In any case, Servant Li has never wronged herself in her daily life. Her abdominal pain during the month has been alleviated by Servant Li¡¯s herbal soup and careful care.


    So while putting up an apron in the small kitchen, Miantang sincerely apologized to Servant Li and said ¡°sorry¡±.

 CH 53

    Servant Li is really awkward in the yard these days.


    This kind of spy or undercover agent doesn¡¯t have a few good endings since ancient times. She, Servant Li, is capable of housekeeping and working in the kitchen. She was a first-class servant of the Royal family. How respectable!


    As a result, she took The Prince¡¯s job and became a liar who cheated ladies in vain.


    Therefore, no wonder Miantang give a cold face to her.


    But the time she spent with Miantang was not short. She knew that she was from a bad family, but Miantang was too popular. This sudden break with Lady Liu was not easy for her even if she¡¯s hard-hearted.


    Unexpectedly, Miantang suddenly sincerely told herself that she was sorry, which shocked her!


    She immediately said that she could not take the weight of Madam¡¯s words.


    Miantang smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t call me Madam. I¡¯m not married to him. Just call me Lady Liu.¡±


    This is the truth, but Servant Li felt difficult and sigh to change the calling thus, she remains silent. She only helped Liu Miantang wash and cut the vegetables, and thinly slice the meat.


    Because of the help of another, Miantang can also make it quickly. After it is fried and seasoned, it is ready to serve.


    Servant Li had also made other side dishes and put them on the table first.


    So when Miantang carried the plate to the inner room, Cui Xingzhou had already sat cross-legged on the Kang Table with her uncle and started drinking.


    However, Lu Xian was injured and could not drink, so he used hot water instead.


    At first, he didn¡¯t expect Cui Xingzhou to take the initiative to have dinner with him, and he can¡¯t help suspecting that he was here to get some more information from him again.


    Miantang did those things on the Mountain of Yang under the name of ¡°Lu Wen¡±. Nobody knew about them except Lu Xian and his brother, Lu Mu. They even kept a secret from their father.


    Therefore, Lu Xian is not afraid that his escorts will slip their tongue when they are interrogated by the men of this Military Master Cui.


    However, if Military Master Cui always insinuates and sets traps in his words at any time, it will make people somewhat hard to deal with it.


    But when he got to the table, Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t lead him to the topic of the Mountain of Yang. He just asked Mr. Lu about the local customs, popular food, and interesting stories in the Northwest.


    Lu Xian, who had been in the northwest for long, is very familiar with these natures.


    So the two asked and answered one by one, and gradually began to talk more. That kind of leisurely spirit is no different from talking about everyday life.


    Seeing that he didn¡¯t mention the rebellion of the Mountain of Yang, Lu Xian gradually relaxed, but it was difficult to be as comfortable as Cui Xingzhou at first.


    However, when Prince Huaiyang is being polite and virtuous, the tone was friendly, and those who knew him dared not recognize him. In addition, his speech was originally very insightful, and the others would never feel bored chatting with him.


    As a person in the Jianghu, Lu Xian was originally a person who liked to talk and make friends. Sometimes, the friendship between men would rise sharply if he spoke the right words.


    Lu Xian felt that if Cui Jiu and his niece had been married in an open marriage, what a good couple they would be!


    It made Miantang a little surprised when she saw that Master Cui Jiu and his uncle were in a hot conversation when she was delivering the dishes.


    The Military Master Cui has lived in Lingquan North Street for so long that he has never talked to any neighbor more than three times. Why is he so hospitable to an escort who smuggles ore deposits?


    Miantang went out after delivering the dishes. However, Cui Xingzhou took the initiative to make a space in the hot Kang and said, ¡°Uncle is not an outsider. You can also come to the table and eat the dishes. Let the servant girls serve the rest.¡±


    In the past, when Zhao Quan and the others came to eat at home, Miantang would hide in the wing room to avoid suspicion, so Cui Xingzhou took the initiative to ask Miantang to stay and eat together.


    Miantang thought for a moment and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll eat next door¡­¡±


    Of course, her Uncle is not an outsider, but since Military Master Cui is not her husband, if they eat at the same table again, they are suspected of relying on others.


    Liu Miantang felt that although she didn¡¯t have to treat Cui Jiu coldly, she should also distinguish between inside and outside and avoid suspicion.


    However, Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t want her to be uncomfortable with him anymore. He only reached out and dragged her onto the hot Kang. He then ordered the servant girl to take a clean plate and put them in front of her. He also picked her favorite sweet and sour stewed shrimp for her.


    There are no shrimp in the wilderness of the Jinjia Checkpoint in the Northwest. Cui Xingzhou ordered people to buy this at a high price in villages and towns far away a few days ago.


    At that time, he did this just to make Miantang eat more happily, but unexpectedly, when the shrimp arrived, the love between the fake couple came to an end.


    Miantang looked at the golden shrimp on the chopsticks and naturally knew that it was specially bought by Cui Jiu.


    Although he took advantage of her with impure motives, he really took good care of her¡­ Miantang¡¯s mother passed away early. Her father and brother were also like a display and never cared about Miantang.


    This also allows Miantang to develop the temperament of repaying others as soon as she receives kindness from someone.


    Cui Jiu treated her well, bit by bit, although nothing happened in the first year. But after moving to Lingquan Town, all those memories, she will never forget forever.


    So he picked the dishes for her, and Miantang ate them silently.


    For a moment, Lu Xian looked at the pair of little children in front of him. They were a perfect match.


    Although his niece is open-minded and just wants to leave, how can he, who is her uncle, be so muddleheaded? One must know that, before the scam was revealed, his niece was so good to her husband that she couldn¡¯t let anyone say anything bad about him.


    It¡¯s a pity for him to see it so scattered!


    So when they got together, Lu Xian asked Cui Jiu what he meant.


    ¡°Miantang was in danger before and she was saved by you. The Lu family will never forget the kindness of saving her life. I¡¯ll salute you with a glass of water instead of wine.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou deserved this feeling, so he naturally raised his glass in return and exchanged a drink with Lu Xian.


    Lu Xian put down his glass and said, ¡°However, Miantang and you have been together for a year, without the betrothal gift or matchmaker. It¡¯s not a good thing for people to talk about it¡­ What¡¯s your plan?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou also thought about this point. This uncle is rarely an understanding and polite person. It¡¯s better to communicate with than Miantang, who is not sensible and shows a little temper.


    Since he mentioned it, Cui Xingzhou goes along with his words and said, ¡°It¡¯s natural to make up for it, but at present, there is war in the Northwest, and it¡¯s not suitable for marrying. Miantang lost her parents, and there are no decent elders in her father¡¯s family. When I return to the State of Zhen, I will need you to take charge of it. As for the betrothal gift, I will let others prepare it wholeheartedly so that Miantang won¡¯t be ashamed¡­¡±


    Lu Xian finished his question and waited with bated breath for Cui Jiu to answer. After listening to his sincere manner, Lu Xian breathed a sigh of relief.


    When they talked, Miantang kept her head down, obviously listening to what they said.


    Seeing Cui Jiu¡¯s intention to marry Miantang, Lu Xian could rest assured and ask, ¡°I wonder if you have any family members above you?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou nodded and said, ¡°My father passed away early, but my mother is still alive and healthy.¡±


    After listening to this, Lu Xian asked anxiously, ¡°Can you decide on this important marriage by yourself? You still have to tell your mother about it, right?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou didn¡¯t care and said, ¡°I can decide this by myself.¡±


    In the future, Miantang will be his high-ranking concubine after she has received the betrothal gift and the letter of marriage. She is so popular, that there should not be a problem for her to enter his mother¡¯s heart.


    Seeing Cui Xingzhou¡¯s certainty, Lu Xian felt relieved again. However, there is one more thing. It is still a problem not to make it clear.


    ¡°Since Military Master, you want to marry my niece¡­ Could you tell me your name?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou knew that his identity could not be concealed now, so he simply told it at one time.


    ¡°My name is Xingzhou, and the word is latent [Qian].¡±


    Lu Xian nodded. He thought the name Cui Xingzhou was elegant.


    But Liu Miantang, who had been looking down beside him, suddenly raised her head, looked at him in disbelief, and asked aloud, ¡°You are¡­ Cui Xingzhou, Prince Huaiyang, from the State of Zhen?¡±


    After listening to Miantang¡¯s words, Lu Xian was also late-witted. Right! Prince Huaiyang from the State of Zhen, the fierce Prince who almost wiped out the elite of the Mountain of Yang and made Miantang run off with her people¡­ Isn¡¯t that Cui Xingzhou?


    Thinking about this, Lu Xian looked at Cui Xingzhou in surprise and wondered if he was just the same name as Prince Huaiyang.


    But Cui Xingzhou said calmly: ¡°¡­ It¡¯s me.¡±


    For a moment, Lu Xian understood. No wonder Cui Jiu was able to release him from the camp and arrange for him to the Wuning Checkpoint without asking anyone for instructions on his illegal doings of smuggling ore deposits privately.


    He is the Marshel of the Great Yan Dynasty Military Camp in the Northwest. He was just letting a prisoner off, who should he ask?


    Lu Xian didn¡¯t speak for a long time. He wouldn¡¯t have thought that the one who cheated on his niece¡­ Was Cui Xingzhou, his niece¡¯s deadly foe!


    In the beginning, Miantang commanded the followers to fight guerrillas. She encircled Prince Huaiyang¡¯s men several times and made the soldiers of Prince Huaiyang howl.


    Later, the successive defeats of the State of Zhen¡¯s army may have angered Prince Huaiyang. He went so far as to personally lead the troops, bury traps, set traps, step by step, and lure Miantang, who was careless for a while.


    It was also the tragic defeat of Miantang that damaged many soldiers and caused the dissatisfaction of the old people of the Eastern Palace, who began to take the opportunity to attack Miantang¡­


    On the other hand, Prince Huaiyang, although he won a battle, still offered a high reward for Lu Wen¡¯s arrest, regardless of whether he was alive or dead!


    My God!


    After a while, Lu Xian realized that the two sworn enemies who used to fight against each other and who can¡¯t tolerate each other were husband and wife now. They lived together for nearly two years!


    For a while, when Lu Xian looked up at the pair opposite him again, there was no longer the feeling of compatibility. He just wanted Miantang to stay away from Cui Xingzhou and never let him find out!


    Liu Miantang¡¯s focus is obviously different from that of her Uncle. After seeing Cui Jiu finally nod his head and admitted it without hesitation, she also remained silent for a while and asked directly, ¡°You promised my uncle that you would ask for marriage. Would you marry me as your wife or serve me as a concubine?¡±


    This is actually a very good question to answer. But Cui Xingzhou looked down at her and said nothing.


    He is the hereditary King with a different surname. Even if he doesn¡¯t want to be nepotistic and marry an aristocratic woman with a strong family to shine on his family, he must at least marry a clean daughter.


    This is also why, in the beginning, he agreed to his cousin¡¯s marriage. His uncle¡¯s official title was not well-known, but he was still a regular official. In the future, his wife would not have taken her family status against him. In all aspects, his cousin is the best candidate for him. If he hadn¡¯t had the mind of delaying and, wait and see the situation when his Northwest accident happened, Cui Xingzhou wouldn¡¯t have ruined the marriage letter.


    However, Miantang¡¯s father was convicted and executed, and his brother was still in the process of being exiled for penal servitude. Her grandfather¡¯s family is just an escort in the Jianghu. Her uncle has recently smuggled ore deposits¡­


    Take ten thousand steps back, even if he is dizzy and bent on marrying the daughter of a sinner as his first wife, the elders, and his mother of the Cui family can never tolerate Miantang! When he is not at home and if her mother listens to the instigation of others, who can protect her?


    If virtue doesn¡¯t match, it¡¯s doomed to be a tragedy everywhere.


    Therefore, Miantang might as well have started as a concubine to avoid the exclusion of his mother and other relatives. At that time, he will dote on her with all his heart. What is worse than being his legal wife?


    His willingness to accept her and marry her as a concubine is enough to prove his feelings and importance to her. But why did this woman not see his concession, but advance by an inch and always think of impossible things?


    However, before he spoke, Miantang had given her answer firmly, ¡°You said that you can make your own decisions without telling your mother. Prince Huaiyang should not be disobedient and unfilial to his family. However, if you take concubines, you don¡¯t need to disturb the Old Princess Consort about such trivial matters¡­ I am not sensible before. Please forgive me for offending Your Highness!¡±


    With these words, she neatly went down on the hot Kang and knelt toward Prince Huaiyang, giving the highest standard of kowtow to him.


    Lu Xian also woke up after learning that he had spoken the wrong things. He immediately followed his niece to the ground and knelt in front of Prince Huaiyang.


    Cui Xingzhou was about to get up and help them, Miantang then said, ¡°However, I know my qualifications are vulgar and shallow, and I¡¯m not worthy of the admiration of Your Highness. My dead mother once gave me a family motto, so that ¡°when I became an adult, I would not be a concubine of others, and when I was down, I shouldn¡¯t be a second wife.¡± with this family motto, I really can¡¯t bear the love and kindness of Your Highness. Please don¡¯t pay attention to what my uncle said just now. He didn¡¯t know your honor, and he opened his mouth and put Your Highness in a difficult position¡­ ¡±


    In the beginning, her mother became the second wife of her father, but her father disdain her everywhere, always saying that she was inferior to her ancestors, so her dying mother¡¯s explanation was also a lesson from her blood and tears. Miantang speaks forcefully.


    Lu Xian was beating his mouth and heart at this time. If he had known that Cui Jiu was Miantang¡¯s life-threatening king. He would never say anything to make Cui Xingzhou responsible even if he die.


    Now, fortunately, his niece has self-esteem and doesn¡¯t want to be the concubine of The Prince. He immediately accepted good advice and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know that Your Highness is noble and had just talked nonsense. I would like to ask Your Highness to let me atone for my sins. Just treat that I didn¡¯t say anything¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s affinity of being courteous to the wise and condescending today is not much left. His face is as gloomy as thunder.


    Liu Miantang! How awesome.


    What was her mother¡¯s death motto? What? She feels humbled and unworthy! All excuses for not being satisfied!


    Does she treat his Royal Residence the same as the North Street Mansion in Lingquan Town? If she says she wants to be the main hostess then she can? He thought about everything for her and made concessions again and again, but she didn¡¯t know how to sympathize with him. It was as if he had given her so many grievances!


    Cui Xingzhou has always been proud. He has his bottom line for the things he does. Now he retreats again and again for Miantang, but nobody appreciates him.


    Cui Xingzhou will never do anything like this. So he let the two-person kneel for a long time before he said to Liu Miantang lightly, ¡°You¡¯ve thought it all over. Won¡¯t you regret it in the future?¡±


    Miantang didn¡¯t look up, but her tone was extremely firm, ¡°Please rest assured, I will never regret it!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou shook his fist tightly and said, ¡°Well¡­ I changed the shops and houses in Lingquan Town to your name a long time ago. Now the title deed of the medicine shop in the Wuning Checkpoint is also under your name. Tomorrow, I will ask Servant Li to give you all the land deeds. In addition, there are some land properties. You can be free in the future when you have money.¡±


    Speaking of this, Cui Xingzhou stretched out his long legs, got off the hot Kang, shook off the bottom of his robe, and walked out of the room with great strides.


    Liu Miantang saw that he had left, so she got up and helped his uncle up. At that moment, she heard a horse neighing outside the gate. It should be Cui Xingzhou who got on the horse and left.


    Lu Xian was still terrified, ¡°Is¡­ Is he telling the truth? Is he really Prince Huaiyang?¡±


    Miantang¡¯s heart is much more complicated than her uncle¡¯s. Now she finally understands the reason why Cui Jiu left angrily when they chatted in Lingquan Town previously.


    It¡¯s because she had spoken ill-ly in front of the main character.


    At that time, he didn¡¯t order people to kill her, which was really giving mercy.


    Although their title of a married couple is fake, Liu Miantang still understood Cui Jiu¡¯s temper and temperament. He was a proud man from the bottom of his heart. She said so clearly today, he obviously had no intention of asking to stay.


    From then on, the bridge will return to the bridge, and the road will remain as the road.


    The next day, Servant Li brought a box full of land deeds. As for the silver notes, it was so overwhelming that make people gasp. However, Miantang didn¡¯t take it. She just told her to put it aside.


    Miantang didn¡¯t know whether Prince Huaiyang had also kept concubines outside before. When they parted, he¡¯s being so comprehensive.


    But when she recalls all kinds of things in Lingquan Town, Prince Huaiyang has the capital to be merciful everywhere. No wonder¡­ Lady He Zhen can¡¯t forget about him.


    In addition to his good looks, his generosity also adds color. Even if it is a romantic marriage, it will make people feel that it is very appropriate and satisfactory to have a match with The Prince, and there is no criticism.


    Prince Huaiyang has never returned since that time. He just left a message, saying that once Lu Xian¡¯s injury is alright, the Jinjia Checkpoint will send a guard to escort Liu Miantang and her uncle away and return to the current Lu family in the State of Xi.


    In the daytime, Miantang started to prepare for leaving the Wuning Checkpoint as usual.


    Liu Miantang naturally doesn¡¯t have to worry about the Royal servants like Servant Li and Fan Hu, but whether Bi Cao and Fang Xie can be allowed into the Royal Residence is an open question.


    Servant Li said that what The Prince meant was that the two girls were too vulgar to enter The Prince¡¯s Residence. Fortunately, they were good at doing menial work, so she gave their personal deeds to Lady Liu.


    Liu Miantang hesitated a little. Fang Xie and Bi Cao knelt in front of her crying. She only begged the Madam to show mercy and keep them with her. Otherwise, if they entered the Royal Residence, wouldn¡¯t they be under the control of hundreds of Servant Li? How can they be compared to a small house that makes people feel comfortable?


    Miantang saw that Bi Cao was crying and her snot was going to run into her mouth. She then said slowly, ¡°If you follow me, your life may not be as good as it used to be, and you will need to suffer a little. Are you willing to do that?¡±


    The two of them nodded hurriedly, and Miantang said, ¡°Fine, but there is one thing. Don¡¯t call me Madam. Just call me Lady Liu.¡±


    The two servant girls had been taught by Servant Li for half a year and they didn¡¯t dare to call her by other names. In the end, they reluctantly changed their calling to Liu Miantang as ¡°Lady¡±


    Lu Xian¡¯s injury was serious, but fortunately, he was treated in time.


    During this period, some unidentified people seemed to want to sneak into the Wuning Checkpoint, which was unfavorable to Lu Xian. But there are heavy soldiers around the house. Those thieves and rascals were captured before they got close.


    Perhaps, it was to make Prince Sui, who has always been unfaithful, feel secure. In April, Prince Huaiyang sent a memorial to the Court stating that someone colluded with Agufan to sell iron ore privately.


    The Empress Dowager Wu, who was holding court from behind a screen, was furious and ordered a strict investigation. Unfortunately, the memorial submitted by Prince Huaiyang gave only limited clues, implicating countless officials from all over the country and the final leader was never revealed.


    At one time, officials from all over the Northwest were killed countless times to make an example. The smuggling case of iron ore seems to have ended up like this.


    Next, it was time for the annual allocation and accounting of military salaries and supplies in the Imperial Court. Originally, the northwest army, which could not get any benefit at the back of the queue, has won the favor of the Ministry of Revenue this year. They not only get the majority but also the local Princes such as Prince Sui take the lead in making charitable donations.


    Both the government and the people wondered when Prince Sui and Prince Huaiyang were on good terms.


    The grain, grass, and supplies from the State of Hui were directly transported to the northwest. Without the exploitation of officials, there was no need to worry about the military funds in the northwest this year.


    However, on the commercial road from the northwest barbarian to the Great Yan Dynasty, local officials are constantly beheaded, so the common people in the Wuning Checkpoint heard about it. When there is nothing to do, they will also talk about this iron ore smuggling case that has caused a sensation in the local area.


    When the case happened, Liu Miantang was sweating for her uncle, and even Lu Xian had trouble sleeping and eating all day.


    After all, this smuggling case is interlinked. How can he, as a paver of the trade route, pick it clean? As long as an official confesses him away, all the people of the Lu family will be implicated¡­


    Thinking of the worst, Lu Xian once again regretted that he had not listened to Miantang¡¯s advice and waded through this muddy water. He hated that he was injured and couldn¡¯t immediately take his niece to escape from the control of Prince Huaiyang¡­


    However, when the iron ore smuggling case gradually calmed down, no one mentioned the name of Lu Xian of the Shenwei Escort Agency.


    Liu Miantang knew clearly that Cui Xingzhou¡¯s original words of protecting his uncle¡¯s integrity were not deceitful, but that only Prince Huaiyang knew what elaborate arrangements he had made.


    Because¡­ He will never come to this house in the Wuning Checkpoint again.


    Although Liu Miantang has no spare time in the daytime and is busy making arrangements for going home, she will habitually reach out to his pillow every time she sleeps and wakes up in the middle of the night. Every time she touches the cold pillow, it will take a long time for her to remember that she is no longer the wife of the Cui family, and there will be no one lying next to her pillow¡­


    So for the rest of the night, she couldn¡¯t sleep, but she forced herself not to think deeply about the reason why she couldn¡¯t sleep. Sometimes she simply gets up, lights up the oil lamp, and practices the abandoned calligraphy under the light of the firefly. Somehow, the loose font that has not been changed for a long time has actually been practiced a little¡­


    The important border towns in the northwest, after a series of the reshuffle of officials, have returned to peace.


    Miantang heard the news about Prince Huaiyang occasionally, which was also the words of the military dependents around him. It is said that the soldiers of the Jinjia Checkpoint have changed their usual defensive posture and started to fight back with all their strength to recover the important town occupied by barbarians.


    The command ability honed during the suppression of bandits in the State of Zhen has more room to play in the open region in the Northwest.


    It is said that all the soldiers and horses trained by Prince Huaiyang are like tigers and wolves. After all, how many commanders can eat and live with their soldiers day after day and practice in the hot sun and rainstorm? However, Prince Huaiyang, a hereditary king with a different surname, has done it up to this point.


    However, the soldiers complained a lot in private, saying that Prince Huaiyang has been training people and horses like he is not tired recently. His face is cold and his words are few. His ruthlessness is really frightening¡­


    Isn¡¯t he¡­ Sleepy? ¡±

 CH 54

    Cui Xingzhou hoped that he would know he was sleepy. But every night, when he was alone in the army bed, he was almost falling asleep. He always felt that there was an orchid fragrance revolving around his ears. It seemed that there was a soft voice asking, ¡°Do you want some water, Husband?¡±


    When he was dazed that he answered ¡°Yes¡±, his entire person was excited, and the long-simmering sleepiness disappeared.


    If he can¡¯t sleep well, he won¡¯t have a good temper either.


    In this way, the barbarians in the Northwest were chased again and again by some enchanted Prince Huaiyang. The Imperial Court frequently received good news from the Northwest.


    For a while, the name Prince Huaiyang suddenly became very popular among the people. This is the heart of Yue Fei and the talent of Wei Qing in the Great Yan Dynasty! The government and the public are also discussing the imminent victory in the Northwest.


    However, the people in the highest position in the Yuyu Palace think differently from ordinary people.


    When the soldiers reported the military situation, Empress Dowager Wu was smoking a pipe on the Royal Concubine¡¯s side bed.


    This is a tribute from the vassal state. The cut tobacco in the jade bottle is filled in the ivory carved pipe. The Palace maid holds the slender pipe in her hand and she inhales it gently. It seems that the hatred of the young widows has gone off a little in the smoke.


    It was the newly promoted General Shi who told her about this good thing. She then found it from the tribute which has the effect of soothing.


    She puffed smoke with her eyes closed, and said softly, ¡°You proposed to let Prince Huaiyang lead the army in the Northwest, saying that killing two birds with one stone could eliminate the hidden danger of a King with a different surname in the State of Zhen. But now, when Cui Xingzhou was in the State of Zhen, he only had less than tens of thousands of soldiers, and now he has more than 100000 soldiers! When he won the victory, the soldiers and horses in the Ministry of War together cannot be compared to the troops of the King with a different surname! How can you eliminate the worries of the constraints of The Emperor? After I take your advice, it turns out that I raised a big issue for The Emperor! General Shi, when you were in the State of Qing, you were dealing with Prince Huaiyang all day long. Do you have any way to relieve the worries of The Emperor? ¡±


    Shi Yikuan is a smooth person. He has been promoted quickly since he entered the Capital for the garrison. Now he is the right handyman of the Ministry of War. He is very good at sweet-talking and knows how to flatter people. Soon, he was favored by Empress Dowager Wu. His future is bright and boundless.


    For a time, he was a newly popular and rising Minister in the Imperial Court, and he was very comfortable. Along with his concubine¡¯s son-in-law, who was recruited, he has also become the favorite of the Capital¡­


    Hearing the question of Empress Dowager, Shi Yikuan hurriedly said, ¡°The Empress Dowager is kind and intelligent, and women are not inferior to men. It is because you have repeatedly saved the Great Yan Dynasty¡¯s land from danger. That Prince Huaiyang can resolve the war situation in the northwest, isn¡¯t it also due to the great blessing of the Empress Dowager?¡±


    The Empress Dowager Wu looked at General Shi and said, ¡°Don¡¯t talk about greasy flattery, or I will deploy you to go to the Northwest and continue to be a close neighbor to Prince Huaiyang!¡±


    Shi Yikuan quickly knelt and said, ¡°I mean, the Empress Dowager is very benevolent and powerful. Why are you worried that the Princes are not convinced? The whole court and the field know that Prince Huaiyang was alone before he went to war. Since he did not marry a proper wife, why not Empress Dowager choose a suitable Princess for him? After he became the Empress Dowager¡¯s son-in-law, he will be able to submit to the Empress Dowager¡¯s majesty like me¡­¡±


    The Empress Dowager Wu narrowed her eyes. She had one son and one daughter. Her daughter, Princess Wuhua, is now fifteen years old. It was time to choose her husband.


    However, not everyone can be the brother-in-law of the Emperor. She only had this one daughter, it¡¯s natural that she has to choose a decent one for her.


    Prince Huaiyang is previously just a local vassal king. How can he be her son-in-law? But now, he is strong and powerful, and he has made remarkable contributions to pacify the Northwest, so it is not easy to cut down the clan for a while.


    Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t the people all over the world denounce the Court as the traitor, Qin Hui? Since they can¡¯t crack down hard at the moment, it¡¯s better to recover appease.


    Cui Xingzhou met the Late Emperor in the Capital when he was a teenager. She was still an Imperial Concubine at that time. She saw him several times at the Palace banquet, and he was a beautiful young man. Now that he had grown as an adult, he must be good-looking too¡­ If he matches Wu Hua, I wonder will her daughter be willing to?


    However, Shi Yikuan¡¯s words are indeed a good prescription. Cui Xingzhou is a fierce tiger. If his neck is fastened and used by her, what else in the Great Yan Dynasty should she still worry about?


    Empress Dowager Wu took another puff of her cigarette, didn¡¯t speak again, waved her hand, and called the crowd down.


    When Shi Yikuan came out of the Palace, he intended to go back to the official office, but when he was halfway there, someone suddenly threw a note into his sedan chair.


    Shi Yikuan frowned and looked at it. He wanted to ignore it, but after thinking about it, he ordered people to turn around and go to a quiet teahouse in the Capital.


    When he brought his servant boy to the teahouse, a servant boy has long waited at the entrance and led General Shi around the winding corridor and turned to the back of the teahouse.


    There is a small quiet courtyard. The layout of the courtyard is the dry sand and stone landscape of the previous dynasty, which is very elegant.


    When Shi Yikuan opened the bamboo curtain and entered the room, he respectfully saluted the person sitting at the tea table, saying, ¡°I have come late, letting Prince Sui here waiting for a long time.¡±


    Prince Sui¡¯s period of filial piety has finally come to an end, he was finally able to return to the earthly world by rolling his hair up and shaving his mustache to restore some handsome looks. He waved his sleeve carelessly, asked Shi Yikuan to come and sit down, and poured him a glass of water on the way, ¡°What did the old woman say?¡±


    Shi Yikuan was not very courtesy too, so he sat down and said, ¡°I had just mentioned it to her according to your wishes. It seems that she is moved. However, in this way, isn¡¯t it raising his rank? He is now making you difficult, extorting, just like a mountain bandit. Once he becomes the son-in-law of the Empress Dowager, he will be more fearless.¡±


    Prince Sui sniffed and said, ¡°General Shi, you should be as kind and considerate as your son-in-law. Don¡¯t you know Cui Xingzhou¡¯s dog temper? How has the old witch¡¯s daughter been spoiled? If she really married over, there will be a good show. Do you think Prince Huaiyang will be grateful to the Empress Dowager?¡±


    Shi Yikuan gave a thumbs up and said, ¡°Your Highness is still smart. Killing people without showing the sword! But¡­ the matter of the Northwest iron ore, is it really over just like that?¡±


    Prince Sui emptied his teacup, narrowed his eyes, and said, ¡°The people who should die are almost dead now. Cui Xingzhou has benefited from this, so it is unnecessary to turn over my identity. However, if I don¡¯t return some benefit to him, wouldn¡¯t I look down on him too much?¡±


    Shi Yikuan poured tea for Prince Sui and said, ¡°You are a person with lofty aspirations, Your Highness. Things like Cui Xingzhou are just flies and cows bothering people. Don¡¯t take it too seriously.¡±


    Prince Sui looked at Shi Yikuan thoughtfully and said, ¡°This sweet talk is worth a thousand troops. I see that Cui Xingzhou is fighting blood and sweat on the frontline, which can¡¯t be compared to General Shi¡¯s flattery in the Capital¡­ Now that you have attached yourself to Empress Dowager, you probably don¡¯t take me seriously¡­ I have to even take some effort to see you now¡­¡±


    Shi Yikuan hurriedly said, ¡°You are thinking too much, Prince Sui. How could I be so ungrateful and forget the support of Prince Sui?¡±


    Prince Sui smiled and revealed his white teeth. ¡°General Shi is tied to a boat with me now, and I certainly am not worried about you rebelling¡­ After all, you may be the father-in-law of the future Emperor, and I need your help?¡±


    Shi Yikuan turned in his mind and looked warily at Prince Sui. He hesitated and said, ¡°Prince Sui¡­ You are drinking tea, not wine. How can you¡­ say something like that?¡±


    Prince Sui was deliberately surprised and said to Shi Yikuan, ¡°Why? Your son-in-law didn¡¯t tell you the truth and his true identity?¡±


    Shi Yikuan hesitated and said, ¡°What identity should he be?¡±


    Prince Sui kindly waved his hand and asked him close to listen to him. He spoke in a low voice for a while.


    Shi Yikuan¡¯s eyes slowly stared, his upper and lower teeth began to tremble, and he just said: ¡°You¡­¡­ Did you know his identity long ago? Why did you let me marry my daughter to him?¡±


    Prince Sui¡¯s smiling face gradually faded, and he said coldly, ¡°I naturally need to leave such a good thing to my people. Why? General Shi doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s a good thing? Seeking wealth in danger. Look at the dignity of the Wu family¡¯s relatives. If your son-in-law can succeed in one go, it¡¯s your Shi family¡¯s turn to be dignity!¡±


    Shi Yikuan¡¯s eyes were about to burst with blood. However, he is also an old fogey of official affairs. Such a big storm can¡¯t kill him at once.


    When the mood gradually calmed down, Shi Yikuan knew that if Prince Sui could lift him to his present position, he would also have to put a rope around his neck.


    In the beginning, he hid in the dark and asked himself to arrange the job of appeasement. It turned out that he also set a trap for himself secretly.


    But one thing that Prince Sui said was right, ¡°Wealth and honor are something to be sought in danger! Ziyu¡¯s identity is¡­ For Shi Yikuan, it depends on how he uses it¡­¡±


    He snubbed Prince Sui these days. No wonder Prince Sui gave himself a thunderbolt when he was in his prime.


    So Shi Yikuan knelt and took a few steps back, and said respectfully to Prince Sui: ¡°I¡¯m cultivated by Prince Sui, and it is your slaves of a different surname, Your Highness. The honors, splendor, and wealth, isn¡¯t all that bestowed by Your Highness?¡±


    Prince Sui smiled and felt that he was really a pearl of insight when he found such a flexible and extensible talent.


    Many villains are unjust. He¡¯s afraid General Shi will have more than one Master in the future. However, now that the reins are in his hands, Shi Yikuan doesn¡¯t dare to betray.


    And Cui Xingzhou¡­ If he could hold the reins of the dog one day and can freely order the mad dog of Prince Huaiyang at will, how arbitrary would it be?


    Prince Huaiyang, the mad dog held in Prince Sui¡¯s mind, was whipping sandbags under the scorching sun.


    The iron fist that simply twined the cloth fell on the shaking sandbag like raindrops, and sand was leaking from a broken place.


    Cui Xingzhou shook his head, and his shoulder and back, with his muscles knotted in an inverted triangle shape, were all covered with bright hot sweat.


    He waved the sweat off his forehead, and then said to the soldiers beside him, ¡°Go ahead and get another one!¡±


    Mo Ru was holding a towel and a water bottle beside him. He was serving carefully. Seeing that The Prince had stopped, he approached him carefully and said, ¡°This is the fourth sandbag you broke in three days, Your Highness. Do you want to have a rest?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou took the bottle, took a drink near the mouth of the bottle, and then casually asked, ¡°Is there any situation with the Wuning Checking?¡±


    Mo Ru can¡¯t really get hold of the timely situation thus, he stretched his neck and asked carefully, ¡°According to Your Highness means¡­ what should happen?¡±


    As a result, The Prince stared at him fiercely without saying a word, and then went on and continue to hit on the new sandbag.


    Mo Ru was rejected by his master, he is very depressed. But the Wuning Checkpoint has really no situation?


    However, from time to time, his Master always asked him to go back to the courtyard of the Wuning Checkpoint to pick up the clothes that were put there, not all at once. He thought of a coat today, and the innerwear tomorrow. He always let him run back and forth.


    So he was clear about the situation in the small yard: Recently, Lady Liu didn¡¯t even go to the medicine shop. She accompanied her uncle around the yard all day long, and recuperate his injured leg. The rest of the time she will be in the small kitchen and learn how to cook soup with Servant Li. Otherwise, she will return to the room and practice calligraphy for half a day¡­


    In Mo Ru¡¯s eyes, his Master has always been a wise Vassel King who is calm and self-sufficient, and mature in his youth. However, since he became close with Lady Liu, The Prince began to discard the classics and rebel against orthodoxy.


    The way his Master is now¡­ Disrespectfully speaking, he¡­ he seems like a young man, who was seduced out of his wits by the girl. Moreover, he still has to hold his temper in and not think about her. He only tortured himself day and night and was moody.


    Mo Ru was just thinking about it secretly. He didn¡¯t dare to say so in front of The Prince. He could only watch The Prince¡¯s iron fist explode one sandbag after another.


    However, at noon, the guards of the Wuning Checkpoint caretakers rushed in. After entering the military tent, they came forward and said arching their fists, ¡°Reporting to The Prince, Lady Liu and her family left yesterday after loading the carriage. But when Servant Li was packing up today, she found that Lady Liu had left the box of land deeds and silver notes. She didn¡¯t know what to do, so she sent me to ask what Your Highness means¡­¡±


    Cui Xingzhou was having dinner. He put down his chopstick after hearing it, he slowly raised his head and asked grinding his teeth, ¡°They left? When did they leave? Why did you only notify me after they left?¡±


    Prince Huaiyang¡¯s expression was so penetrating that the guard fell to his knees with a puff of fear and carefully reminded him, ¡°Do Your Highness still remember that you went to the Wuning Checkpoint for the last time and ordered us that when Mr. Lu¡¯s injuries have recovered, they can come and go freely. Just send someone to escort them to the State of Xi. Don¡¯t need to bother Your Highness¡­ So we didn¡¯t dare to disturb Your Highness yesterday.¡±


    Last time? The last time Cui Xingzhou left was when he was angry. He couldn¡¯t remember what he told the guards.


    Now he¡¯s surprised to hear that Miantang left last night. He immediately got up and rushed out of the tent, rolled over the horse, and rode straight to the Wuning Checkpoint.


    After arriving at the familiar courtyard, Cui Xingzhou rolled over, dismounted, and rushed into the courtyard. But there was no smiling face in the yard anymore, and said to him, ¡°You are back, Husband! Are you hungry? The food will be ready soon¡­¡±


    Servant Li saw that The Prince rushed into the house and came out slowly after a while. She went forward and presented the box containing the title deed and a letter to The Prince.


    Cui Xingzhou did not take the box but slowly reached out to take the letter. When he took out the letter paper and opened it, the handwriting on it could be counted as dignified and beautiful. The font was the font of the post he wrote to her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if The Prince would take time to read it when you are busy. Let me write a farewell message. Looking back on the past year, thanks to the care of The Prince, Miantang was able to survive the disaster and continue to be filial to my grandfather. I will never forget the grace of saving my life, and I will find an opportunity to return it to The Prince someday. As for all other things, they are all made by nature, and I have nothing to complain about. I will give back all the land deeds and silver notes. I hope that The Prince will be healthy and return as soon as possible.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou read every word of a short letter for a long time. He tried to find out if there was any hatred for him, even being sad about parting¡­


    But she said that she had no complaints, so does she have no love left for him?


    These days, he has been waiting for her to calm down and recall their previous sweetness.


    Unexpectedly, she left without even saying a word. Cui Xingzhou has always been convinced that Miantang loves him. However, this woman, who wanted to live and die with him, when she turned around and left, she was more determined than any other woman!!


    After all, Servant Li is old and experienced. Seeing The Prince like this, she knows his thoughts.


    Liu Miantang is so beautiful, and she has always thought of The Prince as her husband. Given a man getting along with such a beauty day and night, how can he not grow any feelings for her?


    But such a lovely girl has a hard temper!


    In fact, in Servant Li¡¯s opinion, Lady Liu is capable and tough as weeds. She can live well anywhere.


    But if she really entered The Prince Residence, she may not be able to live well. It¡¯s fine if the legal Princess Consort hasn¡¯t entered the door, but what happens after she entered?


    In any case, Servant Li could not imagine Lady Liu being content to remain in a lowly position, smiling obsequiously and calling others Madam.


    Although Servant Li has been a slave in The Prince Residence all her life, she is also the legal Madam when she returns to her own home. If she still has to be a slave when she returns home, there will be no time to breathe a sigh of relief in her life.


    If Lady Liu is jealous again, according to her method and means. She is afraid that those cruel concubines in the old prince¡¯s time are not enough for her to play. At that time, there will be no peace in The Prince¡¯s Residence.


    But these are all women¡¯s worries. Never expect a man in a high position to feel the same way. And although Servant Li feels sorry for Miantang, she still thinks more from the perspective of The Prince. Lady Liu would be better if she were an outer Mistress. If she entered The Prince Residence, it would be a storm and it would not be peaceful¡­


    So Lady Liu might as well leave like this. With her appearance and skills, she must be able to find someone who really loves her. As for The Prince, he is a man who wants to do great things. Even if he is bored in the Northwest and grows the thought of common young couples, he can¡¯t keep it for long. If he stays a little longer, he will forget everything.


    Just when Servant Li thought so, The Prince had gone out and got on the horse.


    Servant Li thought he was going to chase Lady Liu. She was trying to remind The Prince that they left early yesterday morning, and he¡¯s afraid he won¡¯t catch up.


    Unexpectedly, Prince Huaiyang turned his horse around and headed for the Jinjia Checkpoint.


    Servant Li sighed with relief and sighed again and again. She turned back to look at the empty yard. In fact, she felt very sad!


    Besides, the Lu family carriages that started their journey yesterday have arrived at the Jintuo River after a day. It is not too far from the Checkpoint after crossing the river.


    When they arrived at the riverside and were about to board the boat, Miantang slowly got off the carriage and turned to Fan Hu, the leader who escorted her, and said, ¡°Captain Fan, you can just send us here. You can turn around with your men. The iron ore case has been closed, and all the officials who are close with my Big Uncle have died clean and there is no more proof. Prince Sui doesn¡¯t need to chase my Big Uncle again. After crossing the river, the official road will be busy and there won¡¯t be any accidents.¡±


    Fan Hu tightened his face and respectfully presented a knife to Miantang, and said honestly, ¡°Lady Liu, The Prince once told me to send you back to the Lu family in the State of Xi safely. If I go back halfway, The Prince will also cut my head off. So if you think that we are annoying and want to drive us away, or you want to dump us in a way. You¡¯d better use this knife to cut my head off first so that if I die in front of you, The Prince may consider my loyalty and treat my dependants well.¡±


    When Fan Hu said this, he looked very serious, and then stretched his neck, asking Miantang to find the right bone to cut, so as not to roll the blade.


    Miantang also seriously asked Fan Hu how much he was paid for one month. Fan Hu was honest about the number. Miantang nodded, ¡°It¡¯s indeed not little, but it¡¯s not worth it to exchange for your life. You are too hard!¡±


    Fan Hu told Lady Liu that it was not a matter of money, but honor, the dignity of a man.


    When escorting her to the Northwest, Captain Fan¡¯s dignity fell on the wooden cart. So this time, it was the last chance to pick up a man¡¯s face.


    After hearing this, Miantang gave up the idea of dumping them. Otherwise, according to Fan Hu, he would kill himself every minute.


    Now Miantang has regained her dressing as a girl. After letting her bun down, she simply tied her hair in a thick braid and wrapped it in a blue cloth towel. She was also wearing ordinary coarse cotton clothes.


    It¡¯s the dress of ordinary girls, but if Fan Hu and others follow closely, the motorcade will look too eye-catching. Miantang then discussed this with Fan Hu. Since they are called the ¡°secret sentries¡±, they should go into hiding. They should be separated from the Lu family¡¯s chariots and horses and should not walk together.


    When she returned to the State of Xi and Captain Fan had almost picked up his face, he could go back quietly. The two will not interfere with each other.


    Miantang made this request. In fact, there are also her considerations.


    When they went on the journey together previously and when Bi Cao and Fang Xie were cooking, it was inevitable that she would need to prepare the potion for these bodyguards. They were big and tough and they have big appetites! Always reaching out for more food¡­


    Miantang felt that she could not support them with her present wealth.


    She didn¡¯t ask for any of the silver noted and the shop land title was given to her by Prince Huaiyang. Otherwise, she would be just like the outside Mistress he raised.


    However, the result of preserving her pride was that she and her uncle were a little short of money.


    Her eldest uncle was hunted down at the beginning, and he didn¡¯t bring much money and silver. People in the Shenwei Escort Agency also need to eat. So Miantang had also used up all the rice and flour in the small yard when she left with a thick face. She steamed several pots of steamed bread and took them away.


    She also had the silver dowry note that was with her when she was saved. But she doesn¡¯t want to use them as the journey fee for the time being, so she plans to save as much as she can.


    After those Royal Residence guards with high wages are cleared away, the toll and dry food can be almost maintained during their journey to the State of Xi.


    However, Fan Hu did not know that Lady Liu¡¯s request was because she disliked that they has big appetites.


    He knew that she had broken up with The Prince. He only thought that he and his subordinates were getting in the way of the Lady, and she was upset. So Captain Fan immediately agreed, and more than 20 guards disappeared without a trace in a short time.


    Lu Xian also felt more comfortable without these guards. So he said to his niece, ¡°It won¡¯t take us half a month to return to the State of Xi following the current schedule. If my father sees you back, won¡¯t he be overjoyed?¡±


    But Miantang didn¡¯t want to return so early. She still had something important to do.

 CH 55

    Because of his father¡¯s involvement in the case, her grandfather¡¯s Escort Agency was haunted by the family members of the scholar who died in the Academy case at that time, and they make a fuss and cried all day long at their place.


    Her father died clean, and all the family property was confiscated. So those crying family members went to ask her grandfather to pay the money.


    After her grandfather filled in the big hole for her dead father, he accidentally lost a big escort business. Her grandfather didn¡¯t pay timely enough and lose his reputation, and the business of the Escort Agency has plummeted ever since.


    If Lu Xian had not concealed his sick father from taking risks, the sign of the Shenwei Escort Agency would have been taken off.


    However, it was not easy to earn that money. Most of them were included in the accounts of the Mountain of Yang. That¡¯s right because it was Miantang¡¯s big uncle who dominates the Northwest mineral resources, and the old subordinates of the Eastern Palace are reluctant to give up, saying that Miantang is doing business for her family!


    After the surprise of Miantang¡¯s disappearance, Lu Xian and Lu Mu were not interested in the ore business. They scattered a lot of people to look along the river bank. It took a full year for them to be completely determined that she is dead.


    However, the good money in the Northwest can¡¯t be earned anymore. The barbarians have internal strife. Once their Kingdom changes, it will be replaced by others.


    Miantang knew that both her grandfather and uncle valued friendship. She would rather drink porridge by herself and have to support the escorts. Especially those old escorts, who have no special skills, can¡¯t be abandoned by her grandfather and uncle.


    But now that the financial resources in the Northwest are drained, Miantang doesn¡¯t want to go return empty-handed and add a burden to the family.


    So she wanted to import and sell some goods with her dowry before crossing the river.


    In the beginning, the war in the Northwest was so intense that the whole Northwest area was closed down. Even today when the war situation has greatly improved, the three Checkpoints in the Northwest are still closed.


    Many merchants who were going to transport goods to the Northwest were blocked in Jintuo Town along the river after crossing the river.


    A step forward, there are barbarians as evil as tigers and wolves. If they turn around and cross the river, who will pay for the freight?


    Therefore, many merchants are in a dilemma and simply stay in the town to sell their goods at a low price.


    They don¡¯t need much, as long as they can sell the amount of their Capital. After all, if they catch the return freight, they will lose more.


    However, the war has not stopped yet, the North and South trade routes are blocked, the passenger flow of Jintuo Town is not large, and many businessmen did not have good business with their carried goods.


    After Miantang stayed in Jintuo Town, she planned to stay here for a few days and lead Liu Kun and the others around the street to inquire about the price.


    Along the way, Miantang was confident.


    Seeing the manner of the Lady, Liu Kun asked, ¡°Are you gonna import some goods, Lady? These things are even less valuable when they cross the river. Why buy them?¡±


    Miantang smiled and said, ¡°So we are not crossing the river. We take the goods and sell them to the frontier of barbarism.¡±


    Hearing what Liu Miantang said, Liu Kun¡¯s eyes stared at her, ¡°Are you crazy, Young Lady! How can we escape from the den of tigers and dragons? Even if Prince Sui doesn¡¯t chase us, Agufan is not easy to deal with too!¡±


    Miantang planned to persuade Liu Kun to switch sides while her uncle was resting in the Inn. So she took out a map she had drawn these two days and showed it to Uncle Liu.


    ¡°Now the Northwest war has not stopped, but the barbarians have begun to retreat strategically and defensively. When we go to the border, we will not encounter Agufan. Although most of the Checkpoints are guarded by soldiers, Tiebei Mountain has a shortcut. It¡¯s loose when we enter and strict when we exit. If we catch the foggy weather, we can get in and out of some¡­¡±


    Liu Kun had been living in barbarism for so long, but he didn¡¯t know there was such a shortcut, so after listening to her, he was slightly surprised and asked Miantang how she knew it.


    Miantang moved the corners of her mouth as if smiling and slowly said, ¡°Prince Huaiyang ordered his soldiers to re-examine the border, especially the rugged mountains, to break through the lands of the Barbarian. He accidentally found that there was a mountain wall here, which was originally narrow and could not be surpassed. Later, he ordered people to widen it, to save them from those Barbarian soldiers making use of it who to make a secret attack guarding the three Checkpoints.¡±


    At that time, even when he came to the Wuning Checkpoint, he would sometimes start drawing at night. He did not guard her, and she did not deliberately go to see. However, she was born with good eyesight. She remembered this place when she served tea to him.


    Now that the three Checkpoints have been recovered by Cui Xingzhou, the military use of the shortcut here must be greatly reduced. Miantang is sure that there are fewer guards here. If they can get in there, there will be a large market for goods to be transported to the three Checkpoints where materials are scarce.


    There is no other way. Even if there is a war, people should wear clothes and take medicine!


    Miantang wants to earn a fortune and return to the State of Xi with dignity.


    Liu Kun can¡¯t make up his mind about such a big thing. He wants to tell the Elder Master about it. But Miantang said, ¡°I must do this. If you tell my uncle, won¡¯t he tag along? Can he move with his body now?¡±


    Liu Kun wanted to say something again. But Miantang said with a straight face, ¡°Now there are so many people in the Shenwei Escort Agency, and they are waiting for money to buy rice and meals. You and my uncle dared to smuggle minerals. How come you are afraid to take action against such ordinary things as rice oil? Are you waiting for my Uncle to find a way to make money for you while on his sick bed?¡±


    The words hurt her Uncle Liu¡¯s self-esteem! People in the Jianghu just make a living by hanging their heads on their waistbands. What¡¯s so terrible? Is he not as bold as a 19-year-old girl?


    And Miantang¡¯s words also spoke to his heart.


    Some time ago, the State of Xi sent a letter saying that The Old Master was ill, but he was reluctant to take medicine. Thinking of Old Master Lu, Liu Kun wished he could sell himself to make money.


    Miantang knew Liu Kun¡¯s temperament very well. Seeing that he was hesitant, she knew there was a chance, so she told him her plan in detail.


    Although Liu Kun did not know Miantang¡¯s earth-shaking activities in the Mountain of Yang, he knew that the Lady was capable. In the beginning, Lady Liu made the route arrangement for the coal mine.


    So after hearing what she said so thoroughly, he became more confident and decided to take up the plan and return to the State of Xi with a large amount of money.


    Looking at Liu Kun, Miantang did not forget to encourage him, ¡°This is the man I know, The Universe Master, Liu Kun!¡±


    Liu Kun looked askance at the young Lady of his family and thought that her smile was just like that of Master Lu when he was young!


    So the next day, when the Lu family motorcade set out, Liu Miantang covered her face with a scarf because of the cold, and let the carriage into the yard before getting on.


    After the motorcade left for a long time, Liu Kun and his two subordinates followed Liu Miantang in men¡¯s clothes and slipped out of the back door of the kitchen of the inn.


    At that time, they did not go out. They watched Fan Hu, who lived across the street, lead people to follow them all the way and set out.


    Miantang planned this way, there Fang Xie pretended to be her in her clothes with her face covered. If she could make use of the excuse of the cold and not get off the carriage, she could hide all the way. Fan Hu did not know that she would stay here on purpose and would protect her uncle wholeheartedly to return to the State of Xi.


    Now that she has got rid of all the burdens, Miantang feels that she has no more worries and can finally show her ability.


    As for the goods she wanted to buy, she also picked them out. Only the goods that were not easily damaged by turbulence, such as cloth and dried medicinal materials, were allowed.


    She has opened a pharmacy at the border for a long time, and she also knows the market of medicinal materials by heart, so when she receives the goods and haggles, she¡¯s being firm, stable, and accurate.


    In addition, some drug merchants are eager to get back some money so that they can leave here. They finally grit their teeth and sell to this unfamiliar young man at a low price.


    As a result, Miantang¡¯s banknotes were full of three trucks.


    She didn¡¯t dare to buy more. She wanted to take a walk first. So she has made an appointment with other merchants who are eager to shake off the bottom of the goods. When she comes back, she will study the remaining goods with them.


    Next, it is to deliver goods to the three Checkpoints.


    Liu Kun never knew that Lady Liu could read the map so accurately. She entered the Barbarian Junshan Mountain and had many split paths. But Liu Miantang¡¯s intuition was very good, and she came to the build shortcut smoothly.


    Miantang was not in a hurry. She first asked an escort to look around. The escort said that he found a piece of charcoal halfway up the mountain, indicating that someone once camped, but now there is no trace. Looking at the traces of coal, it should have been left a long time ago.


    Miantang nodded, the result was what she expected. The people of Prince Huaiyang were eager to push forward. This shortcut had lost its military value, and the local people did not know about it, which gave her great convenience.


    If she is right, the border will be lifted soon. At that time, she will not have the convenience of exotic goods, and the goods will not be sold at a high price.


    The opportunity to make good money is within these days in the gap.


    She has to make good use of it. After making enough money and having the capital to make a big deal, their journey will be smoother¡­


    When it comes to making money, Liu Miantang¡¯s eyes are bright. To be honest, Miantang heard her uncle say vaguely that she had helped Ziyu on the Mountain of Yang before and she couldn¡¯t figure out why.


    There are so many businesses that can earn money in the world. Why does she have to commit herself to a rebel to make a living? Could it be that she and that Ziyu had mutual feelings in the beginning? She really can¡¯t remember. She thinks that Ziyu should have forgotten too.


    After all, Cui Jiu also told her about the marriage of Ziyu and the daughter of Commander Shi¡­ Although Cui Jiu didn¡¯t have good intentions, it seems that her relationship with Ziyu has been completely broken.


    But why did he want to break her hamstring? In Miantang¡¯s intuition, she always thinks that this should have nothing to do with the sick Master Ziyu.


    In short, the person who broke her hamstring should live a good life. If such big revenge is not repaid, Liu Miantang will change her name to Liu Grandson Tortise!


    In Liu Miantang¡¯s mind, there are too many things to do, which temporarily diluted the sadness of parting. That kind of sadness of an abandoned wife is only suitable for the Lady who has no worries about living.


    Liu Miantang has more than one hundred people to support, and her seriously ill grandfather is waiting for filial piety. Even if she thinks of the sweet past with her handsome fake husband, she has to wait until she is free.


    Miantang is now on her journey during the day. At night, she discusses with others the next schedule. When she returns to her small tent in the wild, her legs are sore and she is so tired that she can immediately fall asleep once she closes her eyes.


    The sorrow that was supposed to be overwhelming had no time to bother her.


    By the time they got to the third Checkpoint, Miantang and her party were all worn out. Miantang felt that she was stinky. But they are waiting to sell their goods as soon as possible!


    So Miantang can¡¯t take care of matters like washing her clothes. She found a street corner and displayed her goods. Someone came to buy them immediately.


    In the beginning, there were not many people, but gradually there were repeat customers who brought people to buy. Even unidentified barbarians came to buy goods.


    Miantang is not a military family member now. She is full of speculation and profiteers, and her sense of morality is immediately lowered.


    As long as the barbarians don¡¯t buy swords and curing medicine, or they aren¡¯t those barbarians and bandits, and they have real gold and silver, and they are willing to pay three times higher than the Han people, she will also sell them!


    In addition, they also buy one and give one for free. If it was some small injuries, this half-doctor will give them a prescription!


    Because of the advice from Lady Lin, Miantang also has some experience with barbarian accents.


    She found that the people who came to buy her medicine several times were all barbarians with high noses and the accents of the tribe of Wangqi. It can be seen that they were not from the same tribe as Agufan, and what they bought was also medicine for simple colds and old diseases. It seems that someone was seriously ill, so they came to the three Checkpoints to buy medicine regardless of the danger.


    But the next day, the person who came to buy the medicine became an acquaintance of Miantang.


    When Miantang saw Lady Lin appear in front of her carriage with several tall attendants, she couldn¡¯t help looking up.


    She is now dressed in men¡¯s clothes, and her face is not very clean. She wonders if Lady Lin can recognize her.


    Unexpectedly, Lady Lin burst out laughing and said to her, ¡°Little brother, I think you¡¯ve been busy for a long time, it¡¯s also time to have a cup of tea. Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?¡±


    This remark made several old women who bought medicine look at them. They thought that the barbarian woman was too indiscreet to pull a man to drink tea in the street.


    No wonder they say that barbarians have no etiquette. Even if they are women, when they see handsome Han people, they can rush into the bed curtain!


    However, the little brother who was asked was also impolite. He nodded and said yes, and then followed the barbarian woman.


    When she arrived at a courtyard, Miantang looked at the respectful men who were with Lady Lin. Some of them looked familiar. They should have bought medicine with her before.


    Miantang then asked, ¡°It seems that Lady Lin has found your relatives. I didn¡¯t expect you to have also come to the three Checkpoints.¡±


    Lady Lin said, ¡°Simple words can¡¯t explain why am I here, let¡¯s go in and talk.¡±


    She pulled Miantang into the room and saw two barbarian women playing with little walnuts on the Kang.


    When little walnut saw Liu Miantang come in, he stood still and stared at the dirty young uncle who let things drift.


    Miantang was so embarrassed that she was afraid that she would stink the baby upside down if she were to hold her godson.


    Lady Lin directed at the two old women and said, ¡°Go, boil bath water for this distinguished guest, and get ready all kinds of food to eat.¡±


    The two women were ordered to leave immediately. Lady Lin didn¡¯t disdain Miantang either. She took her hand and sat down on the Kang, saying, ¡°Time passed quickly. You and I haven¡¯t seen each other for several months. If I hadn¡¯t gone to the street today and heard my servant say that he bought medicine at your store yesterday, I would have missed the chance to see you.¡±


    Miantang looked at Lady Lin and said, ¡°Are you feeling unwell?¡±


    Lady Lin shook her head, Pointing at the baby climbing towards Miantang, she said, ¡°It¡¯s my son. He has been suffering from a high fever for several days, and I am so worried that I led people to the three Checkpoints to seek medical help. But I didn¡¯t expect that the three Checkpoints were blocked for many days, and there was no place to buy medicine. I was going to send someone to break through the blockade to find and buy herbs, but you came here. Besides, your prescription is very good. My son got rid of his high fever when he took a pair of medicine juice, and now he has the strength to be naughty again!¡±


    Yea, Little Walnut is rubbing his little finger against the back of Miantang¡¯s hand. His Godmother is a little dirty. Little Walnut is serious about cleaning it up. Miantang can¡¯t help laughing or crying.


    TL/ Note: Little Walnut is so cute O.O


    Next, Lady Lin said what happened after she left Miantang.


    It turned out that after Fan Hu had sent her to the place for resettlement, Lady Lin¡¯s father¡¯s trusted subordinate found her. Her father was the chief of the tribe.


    Although her father was away, there was still his remaining prestige or influence. Their tribe suffered misfortune and was suppressed by outsiders. Someone must rise and lead and revive the glory of the tribe of the past.


    Lin Siyue, as the new leader of their tribe, carries all their hopes and makes the originally loose people more cohesive.


    Lady Lin spoke vaguely and did not mention the name of their tribe. Liu Miantang didn¡¯t ask too much in detail too. After all, it¡¯s a barbarian affair. As a drug merchant, she should not be too inquisitive.


    But Lady Lin is curious about why she is like this now as a family member of the army. Miantang didn¡¯t want to reveal the identity of the Northwest Commander to the barbarians. She simply said that she couldn¡¯t get along with Cui Jiu. They had already split up for good and no longer lived together.


    If it were changed to another woman, she would ask the reason carefully. However, in Lin Siyue¡¯s opinion, it is too normal to abandon a man or two.


    She only nodded and said, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t that we require men to have children, they wouldn¡¯t be of much use. I followed the businessman to the Checkpoint to avoid disaster in the tribe. In fact, even if his family didn¡¯t drive me away, my child and I wouldn¡¯t stay long¡­ But Military Master Cui looks good. It¡¯s not a loss if you can¡¯t live with him. You can find a better one in the future.¡±


    Miantang laughed and thought that her astounding the world with her extraordinary idea was perfectly normal in the eyes of barbarian women. She thinks she also took a fancy to the looks of the Second Young Master of the Hu family at the beginning. So she used his appearance and gave birth to a son through him! After all, the custom of barbarians does not distinguish between grandchildren.


    Lin Siyue¡¯s son is the Little Prince of their tribe.


    Miantang then took a hot bath in Lin Siyue¡¯s place. Lin Siyue also took out her clean coat and asked Miantang to put it on.


    Little Walnut became more clingy after Godmother washed and smelled good. Looking at her Godmother¡¯s beautiful face, he smiled shamefully and had to make a wet kiss on his Godmother¡¯s face.


    However, after Miantang had enough to eat and drink and when she was packing the food for her Uncle Liu when she was leaving, she still touched a pot of ash in the kitchen and smeared it on her delicate face.


    Uncle Liu and the others are resting in the cart and horse shop after selling their goods. Seeing Miantang carrying the food box, they ate like a wolf.


    With the support of the rich, the medicinal materials of Miantang soon sold well. If they didn¡¯t manage to purchase, they still directly ask them when will the new stocks come again next time.


    However, Miantang¡¯s imported cloth is not selling well. Most of the people who came to ask were to buy broken pieces of cloth and go back to repair them. Now the war is not over, and the people at the three Checkpoints who ran here from breathing under the hooves of the barbarians. They don¡¯t care about beauty.


    Miantang secretly wrote it down, drew up the list, figured out the goods to be imported next time, and asked where the largest ranch was.


    She then took the cart of cloth and talked with the rancher. Finally, the rancher agreed to exchange five sheepskins for the cart of fine cloth.


    On the way back, Miantang sat in the empty carriage and cut the sheepskin. Uncle Liu helped her poke the hole with an awl and sew it with thick thread. He made a simple and plump sheepskin coat, and also made a sheepskin ear cap for Uncle Liu and the others.


    Now it is Autumn, and the Northwest is colder than other places. At night, it¡¯s like winter.


    When she left, she left not only the title deed of the house but also the sable cloak lining of the sky-high price.


    While preserving her noble character, Miantang was also very cold, especially when she was on her way to the countryside, the night wind, and her yearning for the sable coat were endless¡­


    So along the way, she wore her Uncle Liu¡¯s half-worn fur coat.


    Now that she had the sheepskin jacket she sewed, she returned it to Uncle Liu. The sheepskin jacket is very plump. It can be covered with a thick cotton jacket. A thick hemp rope is tied around the waist and it is tight. She is not afraid of the cold wind anymore.


    Miantang is a young girl who loves beauty after all. After wearing new clothing, she stands on the carriage and asks if she looks good.


    Uncle Liu straightened his sheepskin cap, looked at her little dirty face looked at her bloated clothing, and said pointedly, ¡°Like a shepherd¡­¡±


    Seeing Miantang¡¯s face broken down, Uncle Liu hurriedly mended the situation and said, ¡°But look warm!¡±


    Miantang nodded with a little satisfaction. After all, this new clothing made others¡¯ eyes feel comfortable.


    The way back is not as rushed as when she came. For example, she sat on the cart and watched the red sun gradually set in the sky. In the vast field, the scene of ¡°Long river with the round setting sun¡± was also very magnificent.


    In the light of the dizzy red sun, Miantang had some time to think about the war situation that she heard about at the three Checkpoints. It is said that the hundred and thirty thousand troops of Prince Huaiyang were assembled and headed for the area where the Barbarian army went deep under the command of the Marshal.


    It is said that Cui Xingzhou, Prince Huaiyang, took the lead in the oath-taking rally of Masters in the State of Zhen, and all the soldiers had their epitaphs. They vowed to drive away the Barbarians to the North of Qiyin Mountain so that the Barbarians would not be determined to invade the Central Plains within a hundred years.


    Some of the people who said these things saw it with their own eyes at the Jinjia Checkpoint and followed other people to see them off for ten miles.


    It is said that Prince Huaiyang has a bright golden helmet and a strong heroic style, which makes the people in the street cry and shout hoarsely¡­ In that grand scene, even the old man will give birth to the blood of a young boy!


    Miantang breathed a sigh of relief and half closed her eyes to imagine that a man with long legs and a broad back like him would look so beautiful in a thousand man¡¯s armor. If he wore shiny gold armor, he would certainly look more powerful!


    Thinking about it, Miantang gently hummed a tune. That is a military song that inspires soldiers when they march. This is what she overheard him humming when she was bathing with him in the hot spring. The tone is low and not suitable for women to sing.


    However, when Miantang deliberately lowered her voice, she even sang the military tune with a sense of desolation, accompanied by the squeaking of wheels, and as the journey moved on, she could not look back¡­


    In fact, there are not many boring and melancholy moments like this, which are more valuable than bath water for Miantang.


    When she returned to the Jintuo Town again, the money and silver in her hands became sufficient, and her whole person looked like a spinning top again. This time, she had understood the market in her mind and formed a team of ten carriages at a time. In addition, it is not only for transporting medicinal materials but also supplies such as iron pots, salt, oil, and noodles.


    However, after Miantang had made some calculations, she still felt that there was not enough oil and water.


    She thought for a moment and remembered what she saw in the pasture when she changed the sheepskin. So she crossed the river. After some wrangling with the sheep traders on the other side of the river, she agreed on a price. If she can bring back the special black tail fat sheep on the Grassland of the three Checkpoints this time, the sheep traders are willing to pay a high price to collect them.

 CH 56

    Because of the war, those fat sheep with black tails became very popular.


    The Masters in the Checkpoint are picky! They are not short of money and silver. If they can get it, they will sell it at a high price when it is not easy for them to enter the Checkpoints.


    Miantang negotiated the price, and she was confident.


    The last time she exchanged sheepskin with the Master of the farm, she also talked briefly with him. When the barbarians attacked the farmer, he ordered the herdsmen to drive a large number of sheep into the dense forest in the river branch and hide with his family. Only a few lambs and old and weak cattle were taken away by the barbarians.


    But the border has been blocked for too long, and no one knows when will the ban be lifted.


    If he can¡¯t sell sheep, his daily expenses will be unbearable.


    So when he heard that the boy with a dirty face wanted to buy his sheep, although he was uncertain of the truthfulness, he gave a low price even though he was skeptical.


    When Miantang came to the three Checkpoints for the second time, she asked two escort agency assistants to sell medicine and daily necessities on the street corner. She followed Uncle Liu to the ranch to negotiate.


    The rancher didn¡¯t expect that this ugly boy could really afford to buy sheep. The man on the grassland did not have the hypocrisy and courtesy of the businessmen in the Checkpoints, so he simply sold 200 sheep to Liu Miantang at the previous price.


    Liu Kun looked at the sheep and worried. It was not a dead thing, but how can they move it to the carriage?


    Miantang had already discussed this with the rancher. He borrowed five herdsmen to drive the sheep so that they could get to Jintuo Town.


    Hearing this, Liu Kun whispered to Miantang, ¡°If you let people follow us, wouldn¡¯t that shortcut for the Checkpoint clearance be exposed?¡±


    Miantang was marking the sheep¡¯s foreheads one by one with vermilion paint. Hearing Liu Kun¡¯s words, Without looking up, she said, ¡°Otherwise, this shortcut can¡¯t be used again. The border will be lifted as soon as half a month later. By then, a large number of businessmen will come in and we will have nothing to do. After doing this, we will have a lot of money in our pockets, so we won¡¯t be ashamed to see the people when we return. But if we still remain here, I¡¯m afraid that we will become fat sheep in others¡¯ mouths.¡±


    Liu Kun was surprised to hear that and asked Miantang why she said so.


    Miantang tilted the leather hat, showed her bright eyes, and said, ¡°On the street today, there are two barbarians who have been whispering behind us. Their dialect is a little heavy, and I can¡¯t hear it clearly, but I heard them say the word ¡®Hu¡¯. Hu is the jargon for barbarians to kill more people. It is similar to the meaning that sheep should be killed when they are fat. Those two people have followed us for a long time these days. It seems that our business has more or less come to an end. They are going to attack when we leave the town. ¡±


    When Liu Kun was shocked, he was still a little ashamed. He is an old man in the Jianghu. Why hasn¡¯t he noticed that someone follows them?


    But Miantang burst into a smile and said, ¡°Those barbarians can track wolves on the grassland, they are sneaky one after another. What¡¯s more, these two are experts at first sight. If they didn¡¯t know that I can speak barbarians, they might not give themselves away. But I don¡¯t know how many of their friends are there except these two who came to check us out¡­¡±


    Liu Kun actually knows the barbaric language, but old people have no advantage in learning foreign languages, and they are not as good as Liu Miantang. So apart from some daily and business words, he really can¡¯t understand anything else.


    Miantang asked Liu Kun to take over and continue to give the sheep redheads, while she rubbed her hands on the wool, took out the map from her bosom, and muttered to herself, ¡°If I were the robber, where can I do it without fail¡­¡±


    Liu Kun looked sideways at the Young Eldest Lady Liu of their family and suddenly felt that she was a very nice little girl. He doesn¡¯t know why the banditry composure always leaked out.


    If it was changed to another girl and be watched by barbarian bandits. Won¡¯t they panic and ask their elder uncle to discuss the countermeasures? But looking at her reading the map, it seems that she is thinking about how to take care of those b*stards!


    That ruffian spirit is just like that of Master Lu Wu when he was young!


    Unexpectedly, the Master¡¯s shrewd and capable spirit has not been inherited by his two sons, but by his granddaughter!


    Sigh, the Old Master is seriously ill and his energy is not as strong as before. Otherwise, the prestige of the Shenwei Escort Agency will not fall sharply!


    Liu Kun couldn¡¯t help thinking of the past glory of the Escort Agency. Wherever he goes at that time, who doesn¡¯t call him Master Liu with respect?


    When he thought about the ¡°clever¡± business he was doing, he couldn¡¯t help feeling frustrated.


    But the most important thing at the moment is the matter of being watched.


    After Miantang¡¯s advice, Liu Kun paid attention this time. Isn¡¯t that true that there are two sneaky barbarians following them?


    In fact, the three Checkpoints are a mixed zone of good and bad. In the past, there were even a large number of bandits and swordsmen gathering here. But now, after being recovered by Prince Huaiyang, some local officials such as sheriffs have been set up to manage a group of militiamen to maintain order on the street.


    So the number of barbarians is less than before, But there are still many barbarians merchants who are free from nomadic life.


    It was precise because of this that Liu Kun had not noticed the two barbarians who followed them.


    Miantang bought a large number of black tail sheep, and the purpose of this trip has been achieved. What¡¯s more, the goods she shipped the second time sold almost as well. After all, iron pots and salt are used by every household.


    Although Miantang resells well salt, it is not as white as the well salt in Sichuan, and it doesn¡¯t look good. However, such salt made by digging wells to extract brine can easily escape the official tax and was difficult to trace, so the price Miantang sold was also very low.


    Although the people at the three Checkpoints can also eat salt, the price is very high, comparable to the price of meat. Many poor families can¡¯t bear to give up money. They haven¡¯t eaten salt for a long time. So when they bought a small jar, they can¡¯t wait to dip their fingers in it and put it in their mouth to fill the taste. Only a little bit of it can make them feel alive.


    In a short time, a small cart of well salt and six or seven iron pans were sold out, while the medical materials were collected by the boss of a local medicine shop for processing pills.


    Miantang¡¯s cart is emptied and can be loaded with sheep. However, so many sheep can¡¯t be loaded into the cart at once. Miantang only asked people to pick up the old and weak sheep and load them into the cart, so that they wouldn¡¯t be unable to walk when they were driving.


    After loading, Miantang and the others spent the night in the cart and horse shop before they started on the road. The sheep and the cart must be watched, but Miantang didn¡¯t use anyone else. She volunteered to stay overnight.


    Since she knows someone is watching. On this return trip, Miantang did not want to rush. Moreover, driving a large number of sheep, there is no way to be too fast.


    However, after leaving the town, those who followed disappeared.


    Miantang knew that it was the bandits who had found out the route of their departure and set traps at the boundary of the field in the morning.


    Although Liu Kun often escorted goods, at that time, the escorts of the Escort Agency deployed almost everyone. Many people were brave, and the officials along the way were well organized. As long as they don¡¯t take shortcuts and go into the wild, they will not have too many accidents.


    But now there are only four of them, not counting the borrowed herdsmen and cart drivers. Among them, Miantang is still useless and can¡¯t be fought against at all.


    Liu Kun knew it was a dangerous journey with tigers in the mountains.


    Therefore, when he was about to reach the desolate land, Liu Kun could not help but persuade the Eldest Lady to stop going forward. They could stay for a few days. After the border was unsealed, they could go back from the main road.


    But Miantang said firmly, ¡°No. If the ban on official affairs is lifted, I¡¯m afraid these sheep won¡¯t sell at the agreed price. Don¡¯t worry, Uncle Liu, I have a good idea¡­¡±


    With these words, she approached Uncle Liu and whispered in a low voice.


    Liu Kun¡¯s eyes widened as he listened, and he looked suspiciously at the ten carriages ahead. The carriage was also full of sheep. They were all single sheep who were weak and could not keep up with the large army. They were temporarily moved to the carriage. So when it was dark, they only felt there was a bunch of white flurry moving on the cart.


    A group of horses and sheep walked slowly into the wilderness.


    When they came to a canyon, Miantang suddenly ordered the caravan to stop moving forward and prepare to take a rest on the spot and cook some hot soup for dinner.


    Several herdsmen were puzzled and said to Miantang in men¡¯s clothing, ¡°Little brother, there will be a stream after crossing the valley. Isn¡¯t it more convenient for us to camp there?¡±


    Miantang was unmoved and said, ¡°Just rest here.¡±


    Since the Master spoke, other people naturally listened, so they stopped to prepare for camp.


    But when they stopped, the bandits in the dark turned eager with red eyes.


    If they go a little further, they can just enter the canyon. There are hidden traps they have buried. They can easily outflank these dealers.


    But now, they have given up such a good campsite and stayed only at the bare edge of the road.


    When the time comes to encircle and suppress them, it will be hard to go around the wilderness


    Just as the leader of this gang of bandits frowned, one of his subordinates came up to him and asked in barbaric language, ¡°Do you want to wait until dawn?¡±


    The bandit shook his head. According to his original intention, he did not want to leave a single person alive. But now, the most important thing is to rob their silver and fat sheep.


    The three Checkpoints is a place where barbarians and Han people mixed. It¡¯s easy for them to turn back to the barbarians. At most, they can avoid the limelight first and then make a living in the three Checkpoints again.


    With this in mind, the bandit leader decided to launch a sneak attack while they were slack in preparing meals.


    Barbarian bandits are also tough. There is no prologue to ¡°This mountain is opened by me¡±. When they can cut people with a knife, there is absolutely no other nonsense.


    So when they emerged from their hiding place, they quickly approached the camp with fierce eyes and prepared to kill them in the wilderness and feed the wolves.


    One of the bandits took the lead in shooting a powerful feather at the dirty boy who was standing on the carriage!


    He thought that boy would fall, but unexpectedly, he blocked his face with a small iron pot, and the arrow was blocked by the iron pot with a clang.


    The boy was very quick. After blocking the arrow, he immediately jumped off the carriage with a sharp iron whistle, and then disappeared into the white fluffy sheep.


    The coachman and herdsman in the motorcade were ordered by Miantang in advance to drill into the sheep once they heard the whistle.


    They didn¡¯t know the situation for a moment, but they still did as ordered.


    The bandits couldn¡¯t help laughing when they saw this situation. These soft Han people are really interesting! Is it safe to shrink their neck and hide in the sheep?


    What a group of undead lambs!


    But when they put down their minds and rushed forward with all their strength, more than twenty ¡°sheep monsters¡± suddenly appeared in the sheep pile of the semi-circular carriage.


    It is too late for the bandits to see that the sheep standing up are actually big men with sheep¡¯s horns. Those big men were all armed with bows and arrows, and they were all good at shooting at the bandits like raindrops.


    With a whine, the bandits fell to the ground. Even if some people managed to push away the arrow rain, they were also cut to the ground by the big men who jumped out of the carriage with wide and long sabers.


    Liu Kun did not hide with the cart drivers. He took two escorts to fight against the bandits with the sheepskin men hiding in the carriage.


    The battle ended much faster than expected. Without a cup of tea, most of the bandits were killed. Only one or two of them fell off the cliff and escaped.


    When Miantang emerged from the flock, Liu Kun was cleaning up the battlefield with the men who helped him, and mending the sword for the undead bandits.


    As for the cart drivers and herdsmen, their legs trembled with fear and they are still in a state of shock.


    Miantang walked over and arch her fist at the leading man, Ah Lian, and said, ¡°Thank you for your help. I really wronged you for letting you huddle in the carriage and sheep all the way.¡±


    Ah Lian returned according to the barbarian etiquette and said in skilled Chinese, ¡°You are the Godmother of our Little Prince and the benefactor of our tribe. It¡¯s not worth thanking me for killing bandits.¡±


    It turns out that these people are all Lin Siyue¡¯s subordinates.


    When Miantang found that she was being watched by barbarian bandits, she thought that relying on herself was not enough to ensure a safe journey.


    She then thought of asking Lin Siyue for help.


    When Lin Siyue heard Miantang speak, she did not hesitate to send the warriors from the tribe to Miantang for help overnight.


    So Miantang decided to make use of the plan. On the night when she was ready to leave in the cart and horse shop, she let these barbarian warriors hide in sheep¡¯s clothing on the ten carriages loaded with sheep, to confuse the bandits who followed them and make them unclear. She then stopped in the open field where arrows are suitable for shooting and wait for the bandits to take the bait.


    As expected, the bandit had no patience. After they stopped, they began to show themselves.


    Those cart drivers didn¡¯t even notice that there were so many people in the cart. They stared straight for a moment and complained that their Master didn¡¯t tell the truth.


    Miantang smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not telling you guys, but I¡¯m afraid that you all will be scared and show it in your expression. If the robbers sense something wrong, they may be more prepared. There may not be only a dozen of them by then. If there are a large number of hungry wolves, we will require some effort even if we are prepared, right?¡±


    The cart drivers and the herdsman said that if he had said earlier, they would not have taken the job, and they would have left!


    But now that they have traveled more than half the way, according to this Young Master¡¯s temperance, he will never pay for anything unless they reach their destination. So there is no other choice. They have to go on their way. They just hope it will be smooth and no more robbers!


    Miantang was relieved of her worries. The rest of the journey can be traveled safely and boldly.


    Because they are in the wild, they can only eat cold food when they travel in the daytime. Only at night can they use a little more effort in cooking.


    To thank the warriors of the Guli tribe for their help, Miantang asked the coachman and the herdsman to help her the next night. She found some wild fruits and dug some wild vegetables and wild ginger. Liu Kun selected three fat sheep. After slaughter, he cut the meat into large pieces and put them into the pot one by one. He then threw several handfuls of wild vegetables and sliced wild ginger into the pot. After they were boiled, he directly dipped them in the condiment.


    For a while, even if there was no wine, people drank the mutton soup and ate heartily.


    The taste of the Black Tail Sheep is originally fresh, tender, and fat. It does not need too rich seasoning to cook. When it is cooked, it will have a special flavor if it is eaten with salt. What¡¯s more, Miantang took out her chili oil and mixed it to resist the mutton smell. The feeling of spiciness beat on the taste buds.


    Not to mention the warriors of the ancient tribes, even Liu Kun thought the chili oil was very fragrant.


    After asking Miantang, he knew that the chili oil was made by crushing small peanuts, which are special in Jiangnan, together with spices such as cardamom, licorice, dried orange peel, and licorice, and then fried them with ginger and scallions. After filtering the dregs, poured the hot oil on the Lingnan red fine chili powder. Even the fine sesame seeds in it were imported from far away.


    Liu Kun originally asked casually, but he didn¡¯t expect that the jar of pepper oil that Miantang carried with her was so particular.


    Miantang smiled bitterly. Originally, she was tricked into being a military family member. All day long, except for the medicine shop, she only dived herself in the kitchen and let Servant Li teach her how to cook and serve her husband.


    She hasn¡¯t learned anything else. The Prince¡¯s Residence has a very picky taste of the wealthy. Thus, she learned a lot from Servant Li. Even this jar of chili oil was learned from Servant Li.


    When she came out of the Wuning Checkpoint, except for a few big pots of steamed buns, Servant Li almost emptied the small kitchen. She brought her all kinds of spices, including three big bags of her favorite preserved pork with honey sauce.


    Unfortunately, on the way, Fan Hu and others were so able to eat that they finally used up her snacks to replace them with steamed bread.


    Fortunately, there is still such a jar of chili oil left. When Miantang stays here, she also takes it with her. Even a hard cake can be appetizing with chili oil.


    Miantang now thinks of her relatively comfortable days in the house for the past two years, and she has a feeling of ¡°her previous life¡±.


    After the chili oil in this jar was used up, she also decided not to recall the past events around the kitchen stove and the house¡­¡­ Now, the jar she had been eating thriftily was quickly shared by everyone.


    In the future¡­ she probably won¡¯t think about it again! Miantang closed her eyes and drank a bowl of mutton soup.


    During the meal, Miantang chatted with Ah Lian and inquired about the situation of the barbarians.


    According to Ah Lian, Agufan is a tyrannical man, and he was not supported by the tribes of the barbarians. He was fine when he won the war, and everyone shared the meat with him to pursue profits.


    But now Agufan has been beaten by Prince Huaiyang, and all the tribes following him have begun to be dissatisfied. The war he ordered to fight is even more guilty and tiring. He hopes that both sides can make peace soon.


    However, Prince Huaiyang had no intention of making peace. It seemed that he would kill Agufan completely.


    Miantang listened quietly and suddenly asked, ¡°Did your Guli tribe fight with Agufan?¡±


    Ah Lian spat on the ground and said, ¡°Who will associate with the rich wolf who eats rotten meat? Even if the people of the Guli tribe are dead, we will never surrender to Agufan¡­¡±


    After saying this sentence, Ah Lian seemed to consciously make a mistake, so he kept silent and stopped talking. He just kept eating mutton.


    Miantang held the bowl and drank the mutton soup slowly. For some reason, she suddenly had some strange thoughts.


    She once heard Cui Xingzhou tell the story of the change of the barbarian throne when he told the pillow side story.


    For a moment, she suddenly thought of the barbarian Old Shan Yu who died at the hands of Agufan. It is said that the only daughter of the old Shan Yu disappeared after her father¡¯s death.


    It coincides with the time when Lady Lin committed herself to the second son of the Hu family. Besides, Lady Lin can speak Chinese and has a good conversation. She should have invited Han people to be teachers when she was very young. The young daughter heir of ordinary tribes has no such ostentation¡­


    Now, these warriors around her look very different from those barbarians with flat noses, not to mention ordinary barbarian herdsmen.


    Listening to what they said was the pure Wangqi accent that they could understand, Miantang couldn¡¯t help wondering whether Lin Siyue was the Old Shan Yu¡¯s missing daughter.


    However, since the other party didn¡¯t want to be investigated, Miantang was also insightful and didn¡¯t ask, but urged them to turn back quickly.


    If her guess is correct, Lin Siyue and his son, Little Walnut, are also in danger.


    If Agufan knew that the Old Shan Yu¡¯s bloodline was still alive, he would definitely want to eliminate them. So Lin Siyue can¡¯t be short of people around her.


    So in the early morning of the next day, Miantang invited Ah Lian to come over and thanked him again, saying that they were about to arrive at Jintuo Town. They didn¡¯t need to escort her further and asked them to return.


    Ah Lian refused. He only said that his hostess had told him that they must escort Lady Liu to a safe place before heading back.


    But Miantang said seriously, ¡°I heard that Prince Huaiyang has planted many spies in Jintuo Town. You look too conspicuous. If you get close and are arrested by those officers and soldiers for interrogation, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t get away for a while. Then Lady Lin will be left alone. What will you do then?¡±


    Ah Lian hesitated. The leader and the Little Prince are the last hope of their tribe. If anything goes wrong, nothing can be made up for.


    Miantang is very good at persuading people. Thus, she persuaded Ah Lian to return in the end.


    Miantang breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ah Lian and his subordinates leave. This group of strange soldiers of Ah Lian had seriously injured the bandits, so the rest will not be a big issue. Even if the bandits wanted to revenge, they were powerless for a moment and could not hinder themselves.


    This time, the goods are mainly sheep, all of which are breathing animals with hair. They should try to hurry up on the next journey and leave the Northwest as soon as possible. She also hopes that Lady Lin and her son can have a happy life.


    Sure enough, the journey behind was very safe, and they came to Jintuo Town smoothly.


    It was quite a sensation that such a large group of sheep was driven into Jintuo Town. After all, it¡¯s not easy to bring a flock of sheep here at this time. Sheep dealers in the town came to Miantang one after another to talk about purchasing, and the prices they quoted were higher than each other.


    Finally, Miantang divided the sheep into three groups and sold them to the three highest bidders.


    Liu Kun¡¯s smiles wouldn¡¯t stop. Although the journey was risky, the profits were also very rich, which was worth four or five times the normal times. Miantang took Liu Kun and several escorts, changed all the silver into silver notes, wrapped them in thick oilcloth, and sewed them into the interlayer of the sheep¡¯s jacket and they won¡¯t take off even sleeping at night.


    It is said that when they got up the next morning, Miantang and the others left early. Miantang found a small forest and changed back to women¡¯s clothes. She also asked several escorts of Liu Kun to shave off their beards.


    A man who walks the Jianghu has a beard. How can they shave it? Liu Kun and the others refused to agree.

 CH 57

    Chapter 57: Returned to the Lu Mansion


    But Miantang said, ¡°It¡¯s too attractive that we are driving so many sheep. I¡¯m afraid the officers and soldiers will come to find us today. If we don¡¯t cross-dress, we will be in trouble.¡±


    When she chatted with the goat dealer yesterday, she knew that there were many smugglers here.


    In the eyes of officers and soldiers, these smugglers are liked like fat lambs.


    Since Empress Dowager Wu listened to the Court behind the curtain, she has collected exorbitant taxes and levies. In particular, in the Northwest Territories, prostitution is prevalent, and serious businessmen cannot earn money at all.


    The sheep traders are all local people, and they always bride the officers and soldiers according to the annual festivals. Thus, no one bothers them when they buy or sell generally.


    However, after making money, all merchants from other places will be wiped out. The fine and the tax money paid in arrears, combined with the threat of going to prison, have made a considerable impact, which is equivalent to a trip in vain.


    Miantang doesn¡¯t want to put in all the effort and didn¡¯t get any benefits, but contributed to others¡¯ good deeds, so she sets out in the dark and changed her costume.


    Between silver and beard, it seems that it is much easier to choose.


    Liu Kun and the two escorts no longer hesitated. They shaved their beards. For a moment, their faces were bare. They looked at each other and felt that even their parents could not recognize them at a glance.


    Miantang smiled and said, ¡°In this way, there is no risk.¡±


    As expected, when the day dawned, some officers and soldiers set up tables on the road to check the merchants. They were far away. The people who stopped people had seen them in the livestock market near the river, but they were in civilian clothes at that time. They looked at the money carefully next to the sheep traders.


    Now they are going to arrest people in their official skin. This is the only way to enter the Checkpoint, and they are sure of it.


    When Miantang was seen sitting in a carriage pulled by a small donkey with long pigtails and cotton skirts, the officers and soldiers stopped her to ask.


    When they heard that this Lady was going to leave for her husband¡¯s family, the guards looked at Miantang carefully.


    They did not recognize Miantang as the boy of yesterday¡¯s livestock market. After all, such a beautiful girl can¡¯t stand the black-faced smuggler in a sheepskin coat!


    Damn it, that kid is so smooth. Because that kid has been dallying and hasn¡¯t traded, they have no patience and went to have some wine. They originally thought after having their wine and sleep, before going to hold them down again.


    But when they raided in the middle of the night to search the cart and horse shop, the boy left quietly. If they manage to hold down that boy and several beards man, they will be richer in oil and water, so they rush here all the way to find the dirty boy!


    This is the only way to enter the Checkpoint, and the gate can only be opened in the morning, so they are not afraid that they will escape ahead of time.


    Although Miantang has a long scarf covering her mouth and nose, looking at her exposed eyebrows, they can guess that this is a stunning beauty.


    The usual boring hobby of officers and soldiers is to search for the beautiful ladies and married women in the past, and carefully check whether they have brought anything inappropriate.


    Now, as soon as they see such a big lady sitting in the carriage, those lecherous soldiers are ready to take action, staring at Miantang and asking her to come down for a body search.


    Miantang frowned slightly and was about to stab the bladder of the cow she had brought yesterday, making some stinky smell. Suddenly, there was a riot behind the motorcade waiting for inspection. It was said that someone was beating and robbing.


    For a moment, the officers and soldiers ran to the back one after another, without continuing to check on Miantang, and waved to let her enter first.


    Besides, when the hitter at the back of the motorcade saw the officers and soldiers coming over, he knocked down the person with a black face. He looked at the carriage and said, ¡°How dare you stop the Northwest Army special mission?¡±


    The token bluffed the servants into nodding their heads and dared not stop them again.


    Fan Hu put away his token, looked at his subordinate men behind him, and said nothing.


    Lady Liu is too good at causing mental and physical suffering. If he hadn¡¯t kept his spirits up, he would have lost her all the way. It¡¯s just that God sees for the sake of his 80-year-old mother, and blesses him to finish this job safely. From then on, he will return to the fields and return to his hometown¡­


    In this way, Miantang and her party finally entered the Checkpoint without danger. After a long journey, they finally arrived at the boundary of the State of Xi.


    Before turning back to the Lu family, Liu Kun saw people in the escort agency galloping on the official road one after another. One of them was Lu Mu, the Second Master of the Lu family.


    Liu Kun hurriedly called for the Second Master.


    The Second Master didn¡¯t recognize Liu Kun at first, but when he heard his voice, he stopped his horse and looked back. But he looked at it for a long time before he found that this old guy with a shiny egg-liked face¡­ Was actually Liu Kun!


    At that moment, the Second Master was so angry that he cursed, ¡°Liu Kun, you are crazy! Where did you take Little Liu? My Elder Brother found that she was gone, and he was so worried that he nearly knocked himself to death in front of my father!¡±


    Lu Mu is different from an upright uncle. He is very devilish and he is super good at words that he naturally scolds Liu Kun in anger now.


    Liu Miantang put out her head from the carriage and shouted, ¡°Second Uncle, it¡¯s windy today. If you say more, you will fill your mouth with sand!¡±


    Lu Mu turned his head and looked at the smiling Miantang. When he saw her, he felt a sigh of relief. He flew off the horse and ran to the carriage. He pulled Miantang down and looked at her solemnly. After he was sure that it was his niece, he cried, ¡°You are really an inconsiderate girl. Why don¡¯t you send letters home for so long?¡±


    Miantang looked at her Second Uncle, who had always been close to her. Her eyes were full of tears, but she only said ¡°It¡¯s a long story, I¡¯ll tell you in detail when we go home.¡±


    So the people on both sides gathered in one place and marched toward the State of Xi. After a day of walking, Miantang¡¯s heart slowly breathed a sigh when she finally reached the city gate of the State of Xi.


    Lu Xian was injured, so the team didn¡¯t go fast all the way. When he was almost at the border of the State of Xi, he found that Miantang was not the one who had been hiding in the carriage.


    This has made the Eldest Master panic. But now that they are at home, she always has to report the news back. So he had to see his father first.


    Great joy and great sorrow are taboos for the elderly. Lu Xian dared not tell his father that he had found Miantang and lost her again.


    So he secretly told Lu Mu, his Second Younger Brother.


    Lu Mu knows that Liu Miantang has a big idea. He thinks that since Liu Kun is following her, there should be no big deal.


    However, after a few days, Lu Mu still didn¡¯t receive any news thus, he was getting less confident.


    Lu Xian decided to go back and find Miantang along the way he came from. However, he was stopped by his wife, Quan, who only said that Lu Qingying, the Second daughter in his family, was about to arrange a marriage. The other party¡¯s family background was good, and Childe¡¯s mother would come to see her in person. If he left at this time and could not receive her personally, wouldn¡¯t it be disrespectful?


    Lu Mu was also hesitant. Lu Xian was angry seeing this scene thus, he said that he would just go by himself and let his Second Younger Brother entertain his future son-in-law at home.


    Lu Mu felt that his Elder Brother¡¯s tone was not right and there was a means of teasing, so they began to quarrel. He only said that it was not him who lost her, even if their father knew about it, he could not blame him.


    As a result, the two brothers became angrier and angrier. Their quarreling noise was so loud that Lu Wu, who came by with a cane at some time, heard it.


    At this time, Miantang¡¯s affair has been leaked. The two brothers knelt in front of the Old Master Lu. After telling the truth honestly, they all got a beating with his crutches.


    However, the Old Master Lu also knew that his eldest son was seriously injured, and his body and bones could not take in this suffering. So after asking about the cause and effect, he asked Lu Mu, his second son, to lead people to find Miantang.


    The Old Master spoke clearly in front of his second daughter-in-law. He just said to his second son, ¡°Don¡¯t blame your brother for all the dirty things. If it weren¡¯t for the Mountain of Yang gang you knew first, will your brother and Miantang fall into the thieves¡¯ den? But now you¡¯re taking advantage of the influence and authority of your father-in-law¡¯s, Third Brother Quan, pretending to be what you are not and not care about the matter you caused? Let me tell you if Miantang can¡¯t be found, the second girl in your family can tell her future in-laws that her father died outside! If they got married, my grandson-in-law can also save to toast a cup of tea! ¡±


    Even if the Old Master Lu is ill, he is still the pillar of the Lu family. Lu Mu and his wife were scolded so badly that they could not get away using the matter of their daughter¡¯s blind date.


    So Lu Mu went out of the city to look for Miantang.


    Unexpectedly, God helps him!


    He met Miantang on the way without a day¡¯s effort.


    When they returned to the Lu Mansion, it was time for dinner.


    The family of both Masters gathered together to form a big table and were dining with the Old Master, but the Old Master didn¡¯t have the appetite. Thus, they were also not good at feasting wholeheartedly, and the hall was a little dull for a while.


    At this time, the servant boy at the door shouted, ¡°Old Master! The Second Master and Lady Liu are back!¡±


    The whole family looked at each other and suspected that they had heard the wrong thing.


    The Old Master Lu walked out without crutches in a hurry.


    When he saw Miantang behind his second son, the Old Master¡¯s chest heaved violently and slowly stopped moving.


    When Miantang saw her grandfather, whom she had not seen for a long time, she burst into tears. She threw herself at her grandfather¡¯s feet and sobbed out, ¡°Grandfather¡­¡± and could not speak anymore.


    However, the Old Master, Lu Wu, did not reach out to help her up but suddenly raised his hand, as if to slap her.


    The Elder Master, Lu Xian, was frightened by his father¡¯s action. He just wanted to take a few quick steps to protect Miantang and let the palm fall on him.


    The Old Master Lu has practiced Iron Palm before. Although he is old and seriously ill, he is angry and has strength in his hands. Miantang¡¯s delicate body and bones can¡¯t bear it.


    But when the palm as big as a fan was about to fall, the Old Master¡¯s wrist reversed and the palm fell on his face with a slap.


    The Old Master used a big strength. The sound made Miantang feel that her eardrums were hot.


    She immediately got up and hold her grandfather, who had been beaten by himself, and sobbed, ¡°I¡¯m not sensible. You can take your anger out on me. Why are you beating yourself?¡±


    However, Lu Wu suddenly shook her hand away and said nothing more. He only waved to his old servant, took the crutch, and went straight to his study.


    Miantang knew that her grandfather was angry with her, so she did not dare to delay much, nor did she greet her aunt and cousins. She just followed Lu Wu all the way and came to the door of the study.


    After entering the room, Miantang did not speak much but knelt in front of her grandfather¡¯s desk.


    This study was specially arranged by the old man when he was young to improve himself and reach the realm of all talents.


    The brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the desk are all of the best quality. It was collected by her Grandfather one by one when he was wandering around. The bookshelf behind the desk is full of books, all of which are big ones. The old man has not turned them over for decades and has not even folded the pages. Although occasionally covered with dust, the old servant diligently brushed them down, and they are still brand new.


    The Old Master picked up a thick book from the bookshelf, sat down on the desk with a stiff face, and looked down. Although he turned the pages too often, it seemed that he could see everything at a glance, but he seemed to be very engaged in reading. He didn¡¯t even glance at Miantang kneeling in front of the desk.


    Miantang looked up secretly and saw that the cover of the book that her grandfather had read was a book written by Yan Shigu with four characters, ¡°To reject falsehood and decency¡±, which was very profound. She¡¯s afraid he could not understand the preface with his accomplishments.


    Miantang stood aside and did not dare to remind his grandfather had chosen the book by faith or with another intention. In short, it was better to let the Old Master calm down first.


    Therefore, Miantang said, ¡°I¡¯m not sensible, Grandfather. I haven¡¯t returned any news in these years, which makes you worried.¡± Speaking of this, she couldn¡¯t help crying when she thought of her grandfather¡¯s love and the pain of being alone outside.


    Lu Wu couldn¡¯t help feeling distressed when she cried. He had only one daughter in his life and loved her very much. It was a pity that she died early when she met someone bad. Miantang looks like her mother. Whenever she sees Miantang, Lu Wu thinks of her daughter.


    Lu Wu sighed at this thought, put down the thick book in his hand, asked the old servant to find Liu Kun, and asked, ¡°Let me ask you, what has she done without telling her Big Uncle?¡±


    Liu Kun did not dare to lie in front of the old escort leader. At the moment, he honestly told the doings of Liu Miantang¡¯s reselling of goods. At the end of the day, he did not forget to praise Miantang and said, ¡°Our Lady is smart and resourceful. If it were changed to an ordinary person, they won¡¯t be able to think of a way to make money¡­¡±


    Before Liu Kun finished speaking, the Old Master Lu slammed the table and scolded Miantang, ¡°Your Big Uncle said you lost your memory and forgot everything about the mountain. I thought you would restrain a little more after that. Unexpectedly, even if you lost your memory, you still dare to act as you were before. If you go on like this, are you not afraid of causing a huge disaster?¡±


    Seeing Lu Wu scolding Miantang, Liu Kun couldn¡¯t help feeling sorry for Lady Liu and spoke with the means of smoothing, ¡°Old Master, you can¡¯t say that. She did these for the sake of the whole family¡­¡±


    Lu Wu waved his hand and said, ¡°Who asked her to support the whole family? Her surname is Liu, not Lu! Since she¡¯s a guest, why should she come to support the owner¡¯s family? Even if I die of hunger, I don¡¯t need my granddaughter to exchange money risking her life! Keep all the money you earn here. If you dare to take a penny, believe it or not, I will go down with a cane and kill you this unfilial person!¡±


    Miantang lowered her head, fiddled with the silk handkerchief in her hand, and speak softly, ¡°Since I¡¯m a guest, why did grandfather open your mouth and initiate to kill me? Can¡¯t it be that your Mansion is a shop in crime? Do you want to get some human flesh buns?¡±


    The whole family of the Lu family, only the Liu girl dared to talk back to him, and she also said with logic. This stupid girl has not changed since childhood for this point.


    Lu Wu was retorted by his granddaughter. He was so angry that he could not say anything. He got up and wanted to beat her. He was stopped by the old servant and Liu Kun. Liu Kun now has no beard on his face, and his expression is very clear. He only sighed ¡°My Liu girl! Are you going to kill your grandfather? Don¡¯t you hurry and apologize soon?¡±


    Miantang knelt obediently and faced Lu Wu and said, ¡°My grandfather has always loved me, and I know he can¡¯t bear to beat me¡­ I know my mistake, and I will never do it again. Don¡¯t be angry with me, Grandfather¡­ It¡¯s just that my father had spent a lot of money on the Lu family at the beginning, and I have to pay off these debts¡­ I was in a hurry and went off the road¡­ I was wrong.¡±


    Lu Wu¡¯s round eyes stared for a long time. Finally, he didn¡¯t need to be held back by the others. He looked at Liu Miantang who was kneeling, sighed, waved the old servant and Liu Kun back, and then said to Liu Miantang, ¡°Get up, since you are not convinced, what kind of filial piety are you pretending?¡±


    Miantang looked at her grandfather¡¯s suddenly aging appearance. She didn¡¯t get up. She only hold her tears back and said, ¡°I really knew I was wrong. Grandfather had taught me before. The Lu family¡¯s family motto is to be right in doing things, not to speculate¡­ I just wanted to make money quickly, and I forgot all your admonitions¡­¡±


    Lu Wu gets up and walks over. After lifting Miantang, he turns her wrist and looks at the faint scar on it. Although Zhao Quan used the best scar medicine for her at the beginning, she broke her hamstring, There was still a scar on the skin, ¡°You were young at that time, and you were close to your restless Second Uncle. After listening to his words, you kept a secret from me and get associated with the people in the Mountain of Yang. I was busy with your father¡¯s affairs at that time, and I neglected to discipline you. Now when I think about it, I blame myself so much that I can hardly sleep. But you have grown to be a big girl now, and there are some hows and whys, even if you forget the teachings, you should understand.¡±


    Looking down at Miantang, The Old Master sighed, ¡°Remember, those people who were forced to join rebels said that they were helpless. Which of them was law-abiding deep in their bones? Rather than being forced, they made it by themselves. They wanted to earn something from nothing. To seek comfort was to sit on a pile of bones and get prosperous. Such people are not worth meeting. When your Grandfather, I, was young, I went to different places to make money to make the family feel better. But in retrospect, what¡¯s the use of making so much money? I didn¡¯t even teach my sons well. Because I made some dirty money, I wanted to make your mother more prominent, but I was deceived by your father¡¯s good looks and made her marry the wrong person¡­ Your father made an appointment for you without my permission, and you almost fell into a hopeless marriage. Now that it¡¯s your generation, I just want you to be down-to-earth and live a good life. Don¡¯t think about reviving the reputation of the escort agency. Those are men¡¯s things, and we don¡¯t need you! ¡±


    Speaking of this, he took Miantang by the hand, just like when she was a child, and came to the bookshelf. He opened a dark box and took out several oil paper bags from it.


    When he opened it, there were all neatly stacked silver bills.


    Miantang looked at her grandfather in surprise. He said kindly, ¡°These are the dowries I prepared for you girls. Daughters are different from sons. If they don¡¯t have decent dowries, how can they raise their heads in their husband¡¯s families? So I haven¡¯t touched the money in the family even if the family usage is lacking. The biggest one is what I prepared for you. Forget about the past things. I had instructed the people in the family that no one should mention your past things. I will ask a good matchmaker to look for the family in a few days. I don¡¯t require him to be rich, but he must have a good character and know how to cherish people. If you marry well, I will have no regrets in my life¡­ ¡±


    Miantang looked at the biggest oil paper bag, and the dowry inside was three times the others. Her eyes were moist.


    When her grandfather said that she was an outsider and a guest just now, she felt uncomfortable and felt that his words were too hurtful. But now looking at his intentions, she knew that her Grandfather loved her more than his other granddaughters.


    She did not speak but buried her face in her grandfather¡¯s lap. Finally, she let go of all her worries, turned the grievances and sufferings of these days into tears, and let them out.


    Lu Wu touched her head, feeling the warmth of his knees wet with her tears, and a big stone fell to the ground in his heart. His little candy had finally returned to his side.


    The Lu family¡¯s Mansion in the State of Xi was built by the Old Master when he was young. Later, when the Shenwei Escort Agency was doing well, Old Master Lu bought another Mansion and moved out. Now that the luxury houses have been sold, the Lu family has returned to the State of Xi. Although it is not as big as the later houses, it is decent enough for the gentry to live with generations.


    It¡¯s just that when it was the girl¡¯s generation, the room seemed a little cramped. Fortunately, Lu Qinghe, the eldest daughter of Lu Mu, the Second Uncle, married a year ago and left a boudoir for Miantang to live in.


    Fang Xie and Bi Cao, the two little girls who served her, were punished for kneeling until their knees were swollen. They can only walk slowly when taking bath water.


    Fortunately, the young lady came back in time, otherwise, they would be tied up and sold according to the meaning of the Old Master Lu who was blowing beard and glaring eyes. Miantang looked at the two little servant girls who were frightened. She was also very comforting. She only said that her grandfather was a hard-spoken and soft-hearted person. He is easy to get along with. Let them not be afraid when they see the Old Master Lu later.


    Fang Xie was fine. She had learned her lesson these two days. She was so scared that she picked up all the lessons that Servant Li had taught her. She just did things quietly.


    However, Bi Cao was naturally talkative and told Miantang exactly how they had returned to the Lu family. Especially the argument between the Elder Master and the Second Master.


    Miantang listened quietly, closed her eyes, and soaked in the bathtub, gradually knowing the sequence of events.


    As her grandfather said, although she has a blank memory, her view of many things will naturally change when she gets older.


    If she were forced to marry now, she would also think of another way. She would never go to the Mountain of Yang with her uncle as she did in those days.


    She used to be closer with her Second Uncle who had a lot of bad ideas, but now when she thought of it, her Second Uncle is a person much more secure in personal gain than her Big Uncle


    The next day, when her Second Aunt brought her daughter, Lu Qingying, to her house to see her, Miantang knew it.


    Both uncles have two sons and two daughters.


    The Second Aunt, Quan¡¯s eldest son, Lu Zhifu, and Lu Qinghe, the eldest daughter who has been married. The rest is Lu Qingying, 16, who has not yet been married, and a nine-year-old younger son, Gui¡¯er.


    Quan¡¯s father used to be a petty official in the State of Xi, and he was a close friend of Lu Wu. Later, he took the money and silver from his in-laws, the Lu family, and now he has got a position of a County Magistrate in other provinces.


    Quan is now a serious official family member. When talking to her husband, Lu Mu, she also seems to have the attitude of marrying down. Her second daughter, Lu Qingying, also felt extraordinary after being with Quan for a long time. When she talked to her brothers and sisters, she always had the attitude of being born into the wrong family. The tiredness is not the grievance of the official lady.


    With regard to cousin Liu Miantang, the adults at home hide her secrets. However, Lu Qingying still heard something from her mother.


    Although she did not know Miantang¡¯s livelihood in the Mountain of Yang, she knew that her reputation had been tainted after all, and she might not be able to marry any good family in the future.


    For a moment, she looked at her cousin with some contempt.

 CH 58

    The Liu family committed a crime in those years, and implicated the Lu family, making her grandfather lose a large amount of money in vain. Now Miantang, with a different surname, comes back to be a freeloader.


    Lu Qingying, like her mother, was not very happy when they thought of this.


    Look at the two servant girls in Miantang¡¯s yard. They are more ostentatious than the official Lady of the Lu family. For a moment, Lu Qingying was even more unhappy.


    So when she got into the room, she looked around. When she saw the new quilt cover and the creased curtain, she felt that she had been taken advantage of.


    However, Quan is slightly calm which is better than her daughter. She is just like her husband, Lu Mu, who is good at surface skills.


    Therefore, when the Second Aunt came into the room and took Miantang¡¯s hand, she asked her about her experiences in recent years with a face of feeling sorry.


    Miantang¡¯s experiences were all unspeakable. She just said according to her grandfather and uncle¡¯s agreed version that she was seriously ill, had no clear mind, and could not remember many things. She asked to stay at a famous doctor¡¯s home for the past two years to recuperate.


    After evading her Aunt with a few words, Miantang had nothing to say.


    The rest is to listen to her Aunt keeping her countenance asking how much money she earned from reselling things when she was in the Northwest before.


    Miantang felt that these words were so tactful that it¡¯s not what her Second Aunt could figure out and ask. It was probably her Second Uncle who wanted to know, so he sent her Second Aunt to ask.


    She smiled and did not reveal the truth. Although her Grandfather scolded her and didn¡¯t want her money, she was duty bound to revitalize the Lu Family Escort Agency. There were too many places that required money.


    Yesterday, she came out of her Grandfather¡¯s study to have dinner with everyone. She heard her Second Uncle mention briefly that he has started a tobacco business with a noble man, but he lacks some capital and can only stare at others to make money.


    However, in accordance with the past practice, her Second Uncle should most likely clash with the God of Wealth and suffer losses most of the time than earning when doing business. If she revealed her total earnings in the Northwest and her Second Uncle opened his mouth to borrow money from her, she would not be able to evade it.


    Her Second Uncle did not expect that after a few years of absence, Miantang became more and more cautious with her words. The 19-year-old girl was as steady as a woman in her thirties. Seeing that she is unable to open Miantang¡¯s mouth for a moment, she explained the difficulties of the Lu Mansion and the hardships of having more people to eat.


    Miantang took advantage of Quan¡¯s sighing, handed the prepared envelope to Quan, and said, ¡°Second Aunt, I¡¯m staying in my Second Uncle¡¯s yard now, and I have to spend money on eating and drinking. These are some money my mother left me in those years. They are not much, but there are also enough for my spending currently. In case everyone has trouble and frugally to have meat dishes for my return, please accept them, Second Aunt.¡±


    After Quan took it over, she said Miantang was too outspoken, but her finger poked the envelope and took a quick glance. It was shocking when she saw it was a hundred taels of silver note.


    Quan didn¡¯t expect Miantang to be so generous, and she pushed the envelope back with a smile on her face.


    Miantang had to follow her to make modesty. She has to only say that yesterday she heard that her Second Uncle was going to do business, and she can treat part of the money as an investment to become a shareholder before Quan accepted.


    Miantang did not want to live as a freeloader, which surprised Quan and even her cousin showed a smile on her face.


    However, no matter how Quan asked about the dividend of Northwest reselling, Miantang always talked about other things and didn¡¯t answer.


    When her cousin asked her if her marriage got any news, Miantang smiled again and said, ¡°I just came home, and I want to be filial to my grandfather. The marriage is not urgent¡­¡±


    After listening to this, Quan said, ¡°How can you stop worrying? You are 19 years old. If you don¡¯t marry, you will have no choice. But don¡¯t worry. Your Big Aunt and I will also think about it. Let me show you better ones.¡±


    After all, she is with a different surname. It¡¯s always inappropriate to stay here. Quan, who is her Aunt, sincerely hopes Miantang can marry off.


    Now that they talked about the marriage of the daughters, they naturally talked about the marriage that Lu Qingying wanted to see recently.


    Next, Lu Qingying took the lead and showed off to Miantang that her grandfather, the County Magistrate, arranged a marriage to connect her.


    When it was said that the Su family would come to visit her in a few days, Lu Qingying blushed slightly and could not hide her excitement.


    Miantang smiled and listened to the show-off between the mother and daughter, but she sighed in her heart.


    No wonder the old people said to go to the outer world and take a look at the bigger world. It will changes the view of people and things differently.


    She used to think that her Second Aunt could speak and understand, and be friendly. But now she felt that the official family members who have been promoted in the way are not as dignified as an old servant in the Royal residence.


    It¡¯s no wonder that Servant Li always looks at her unfavorably and wants to scold her when she gets the chance¡­


    In Quan¡¯s overwhelming show-off, Miantang was temporarily distracted.


    The family chat ended when Quan suddenly remembered that the window paper in his yard had not been changed.


    The future in-laws may arrive at some time. She has to command the old servant to change the window paper in front of the door full of distinguished guests. She then gets up and asks her daughter to go back.


    However, there were so many things like changing window paper in her room that there was not enough staff. Finally, Quan asked for help from the two maids who were seconded to Miantang.


    Bi Cao spoke straightly and asked Quan, ¡°We are both gone. Who will serve the lady?¡±


    Her words immediately aroused Quan¡¯s angry eyes. Lu Qingying was also not very happy, ¡°I just asked you to do some chores, not taking you forever. Shouldn¡¯t it be that my cousin can¡¯t pour herself a cup of water without you?¡±


    Miantang smiled a little and said calmly, ¡°Second Aunt doesn¡¯t know. My hands and feet hurt a few years ago, so I can¡¯t use my strength. It hurts so much that I can¡¯t carry a jug of water. The servants around me know my problem¡­ But it doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t drink water for a long time. Just ask them to help you¡­¡±


    Lu Qingying was hated. This time Miantang came back and somehow became much quieter. So that the Second Lady Lu almost forgot what kind of person she was actually.


    When she was young, because she was jealous that Miantang wore the same skirt as her, but she was better looking, Lu Qingying encouraged her brother, Lu Zhifu, to bully Miantang and came out with the idea of throwing mud into her skirt.


    At that time, Miantang just laughed as she does now. And then, she doesn¡¯t know how Miantang makes it. She cheated her and her brother to the edge of the garden gardener¡¯s pit where fertilizers for potted flowers were piled up.


    An eleven-year-old girl poked both of them into the stinking flower pit with a bamboo pole and slapped her butt with a bamboo pole to prevent her from standing up.


    It was not until the adults heard the crying that they came to their rescue. Miantang was also spanked by her mother. However, Miantang didn¡¯t shed any tears even after being beaten and scolded by the adults. She still stared at them which make her have nightmares when sleeping.


    However, since then, Cousin Liu has become more skilled in deceiving people, so that the children in both houses dare not provoke her for no reason.


    Now, Lu Qingying was reminded of Miantang¡¯s once similar smile and got a goosebump. She can only turn her words and said, ¡°How can you do without drinking water for a long time¡­¡±


    Miantang said so, and Quan couldn¡¯t borrow both of her servant girls. So she left Bi Cao behind and took Fang Xie back to the courtyard.


    When Quan and her daughter left, Bi Cao couldn¡¯t help muttering to Miantang, ¡°The Old Master said clearly at the dinner table yesterday that the young lady¡¯s daily monthly expenses will be paid by the Old Master. Why did you bother to be so generous and give them so much silver, young lady?¡±


    Miantang smiled and said nothing. Her Second Aunt was just a petty thief. She gave Quan some benefits in exchange for peace. Miantang thought it was a good deal.


    However, Fang Xie didn¡¯t come back until nightfall. She didn¡¯t know how much work she had done in the yard of her Second Aunt. She was so tired that she asked Bi Cao to massage her waist.


    Miantang asked her about the situation, and Fang Xie whispered, ¡°The Second Madam has been changing her ways to ask about your affairs for the past two years. I only work in silence and did not reply to her. Maybe this action made the Second Madam angry so she asked me to do all the dirty and tiring work. Thankfully Bi Cao is absent, otherwise, she might have said something with her mouth that didn¡¯t guard the door!¡±


    Bi Cao was not convinced, ¡°Why would I leak it? Are you the only one who got the true biography of Servant Li and I don¡¯t understand anything?¡±


    The two girls bickered and didn¡¯t know anything about the rules.


    Miantang is too lazy to care about them. She leans on the couch and eats soft and glutinous yellow peach with crystal sugar. However, she sigh with emotions that if Servant Li were here, the two little girls would have to kneel at the head of the well to scoop water and place it on their head heads as punishment


    From servant to master, Miantang can¡¯t help but lose her mind for a moment, thinking that whether the Military Master Cui is still camping in the wild or patrolling in the city¡­


    In fact, Military Master Cui was more comfortable than Liu Miantang thought.


    There are many barbarian tribes, but they are not monolithic. They are not only stubborn fighters but also eager to make friends with the Great Yan Army and pull down Agu Shanyu.


    Cui Xingzhou is now at a banquet held by barbarians to connect the feelings of the tribe.


    It was said that the banquet was held in the territory of barbarians. In fact, the desert grasslands around were already in Cui Xingzhou¡¯s hands.


    Although this place is not a place where Han people live for a long time, Cui Xingzhou has to prepare some tender strategies to win people¡¯s hearts.


    Therefore, Cui Xingzhou is tolerant and friendly to the tribes who do not want to depend on Agufan.


    To welcome this distinguished guest, the Barbarian Chaxi Tribe gathered a group of young women from the tribe to dance with the drum beat of the Huqin.


    They all wore thin skirts, narrow sleeves, and short clothes, showing a slim waist, and danced beautifully and charmingly.


    These days, the Great Yan soldiers of Cui Xingzhou can¡¯t even see any female pigs. Suddenly, there are so many young women in front of them. They really can¡¯t take their eyes off.


    However, as the Mashal of Northwest, his visions were a little blurred. He sat on the back of the cowhide chair, and his eyes seemed to go beyond the dancers in front of him¡­


    The accompanied Chaxi leader observed his words and expressions for a long time. Some of them could not hold the mind of this Marshal.


    It is reasonable to say that in the Changxi counterattack battle not long ago, the Marshal exterminate 10000 people left over by Agufan in one fell swoop, laying a solid foundation for him to pacify the Northwest. He should be happy.


    Now the tribal leaders who wanted to fight for peace with him formed a line, but why did he not smile at such a festive banquet? His eyes looking at the women didn¡¯t even have a slight temperature than the barbecue on the table¡­


    To ingratiate himself with the great general, the leader of Chaxi had done enough homework. He suddenly remembered that he had the reputation of ¡°integrity and strong will¡±. It suddenly occurred to him that Prince Huaiyang did not deserve a false reputation. He was indeed a master that is hard to please¡­


    However, the leader of Chaxi wanted to try again, and he was still unwilling and said, ¡°The Grand Admiral has been working hard recently. I wonder if you would like to take a bath and have a rest after the banquet. These dancers are young women in the tribe. They are as pure as fresh flowers on the grassland without rain and dew. You can see if you want to pick some to serve you in the bath and have a rest?¡±


    When he said this, the leader of Chaxi was ready to be rejected by Cui Xingzhou.


    Unexpectedly, Prince Huaiyang, who was bored staring at the wine glass, suddenly looked up at the girls who smiled at him generously and slowly pointed to one of the slim, plump women with bright features.


    Seeing that Cui Xingzhou had not rejected his offer, the leader of Chaxi was also very happy. He immediately asked the girl to come forward and accompany Prince Huaiyang to enter the tent and serve later¡­


    And Mo Ru, who was waiting on the side, also breathed a sigh of relief.


    As he said, where isn¡¯t there plenty of fish in the sea?


    The Prince was a little freaky a few days ago. He doesn¡¯t play with sandbags anymore. In addition to discussing the military situation with the generals, when he¡¯s alone, he can not talk all day.


    Others may not feel anything. But Mo Ru has been around The Prince every day, he is just like a master made by ice for thousands of years and he didn¡¯t have a slight warm temperament.


    Mo Ru knows that The Prince¡¯s unusualness must have something to do with the Lady Liu who left.


    But in Mo Ru¡¯s opinion, although Lady Liu is beautiful, with her background and experience, being the concubine of The Prince is also considered out of her league.


    A handsome and talented man like The Prince, even if he is arrogant in nature, he should be able to recover soon after being defeated by Lady Liu!


    Unexpectedly, with the gradual advance of the Northwest Army and farther from the Jinjia Checkpoint, The Prince¡¯s sense of depression became more and more intense.


    Just yesterday, when he was washing clothes for The Prince, he carelessly ruined a piece of intimate innerwear. In fact, he can¡¯t be blamed for his strength. It¡¯s really the person who sews the clothes. His hands and feet are too clumsy. The thick stitches can leak rice particles. It can be seen that it was made by Lady Liu.


    Mo Ru thought that it was just a piece of rags and it won¡¯t matter. Anyway, he brought a lot of innerwear for The Prince when he packed his luggage.


    But the next day, when The Prince changed his clothes, he saw that he had brought new clothes and asked where the old clothes were. When he said that it was ruined when washing, he was so angry that he almost kicked himself into the wild and fed the wolf.


    Mo Ru went to the stream skulkingly to find the clothes he threw away and present them to The Prince.


    However, The Prince¡¯s temper came and went quickly. He just stared at the shabby innerwear and said after a long time, ¡°Since it¡¯s broken, just throw it. Why do you pick it up?¡±


    His Master is God, and the thunder and rain are all the kindness of the Master. Mo Ru naturally dared not say more. However, he felt that the anger and moodiness of The Prince should be over soon.


    Today, at the banquet, he actually picked a beautiful woman. Mo Ru felt gratified. He only thought that once the lotus and brocade tent has been built, when The Prince has been comforted by the soft jade fragrance in other places, everything about Lady Liu can pass without trace, right?


    So when The Prince doted on a woman, it was as if he were about to enter the bridal chamber, expecting and nervous.


    The candlelight flickered in the Marshal¡¯s tent, and the light didn¡¯t go out all night.


    Mo Ru admired The Prince¡¯s physical strength, which was like the endless waves of the River.


    On the second day, Mo Ru got up early to boil water and prepared a handkerchief for The Prince to call.


    To his surprise, the Lady cried and swollen her eyes, rubbed her hands and wrists, and came out of the tent haggardly.


    Mo Ru stared at her for some reason, looking up and down. For a moment, he didn¡¯t know what happened to The Prince yesterday.


    The girls in the grassland are somewhat uncivilized and tough. The girl dared not breathe in front of Cui Xingzhou, but she leave no mercy for a servant boy like Mo Ru. She just held her wrist and said, ¡°What are you looking at? Are you going to teach me to write characters for the whole night too? You Han people¡­ Are really¡­ Sick!¡±


    Mo Ru was confused to be scolded. When he entered the tent with a water basin, he found that the desk was full of waste papers. And The Prince lay on the bed with his clothes on, looking straight at the leakage of the tent.


    At this moment, he finally understands the meaning of the barbarian woman¡¯s words.


    Because they are barbarians, they can¡¯t write Chinese even if they speak it fluently. But looking at the paper on the ground, The Prince taught with great care. The strokes were vigorous in style.


    But being forced to write for a whole night¡­ It¡¯s too pitful¡­ No wonder that girl cried till her eyes were swollen¡­


    Mo Ru suddenly understands why The Prince chose that girl. Just because of the girl¡¯s size and nose, she is very similar to Lady Liu. But when The Prince taught Lady Liu to write before, they were lovey-dovey, filled with sweetness. There isn¡¯t a time when The Prince forces people to write to swollen wrists!


    How could he have known that The Prince was not better, but was more ¡°ill¡±.


    However, it was hard for a servant like him to say anything. He can only worry.


    At this time, Fan Hu, who escorted Miantang back to the State of Xi, came back and said that Miantang had returned to her hometown in the State of Xi.


    The Prince called Fan Hu to the Marshal¡¯s tent and listened to Fan Hu¡¯s detailed account of all the wanton and unthinkable actions after Miantang left.


    When he was listening, especially when he heard that Miantang used people as sheep to fight against the bandits with lesser people, his handsome face, which had been frozen for a long time, slowly overflowed with some thought-provoking laughter.


    At first, it was a very shallow smile, but then he could not restrain himself and suddenly burst into laughter.


    This is the first time The Prince smiles these days, and it is still such a pleasant and clear laugh. Seeing The Prince¡¯s laughter without etiquette, Mo Ru and Fan Hu were at a loss. They didn¡¯t know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.


    After a moment of self-laughter, The Prince gradually stopped laughing, his eyes became calm and deep again, and said to Fan Hu, ¡°Take a break today, and go back to the State of Xi tomorrow morning and keep your eyes on Liu Miantang.¡±


    Fan Hu thought that he could finally unload the burden and relax his nerves that has been tight for a long time when he came back. But unexpectedly, he still had to carry on without taking a breath.


    If Fan Hu was alone, he actually wanted to cry bitterly. It¡¯s a pity that he was stared at by The Prince¡¯s fierce eyes and could only grit his teeth and accept the task.


    But he was a little confused. He used to keep watch on Liu Miantang to follow the vine and catch the villain, but why now? So he carefully asked The Prince what he was looking for when he returned this time.


    The Prince did not seem to have a good idea. He just silently looked at the lines of the carpet in the Marshal¡¯s tent.


    What is he looking for assigning the task to watch over Miantang? After she left him, she did not eat any lesser, slept less, and still made a fortune.


    Now that she has returned to the State of Xi, with family protection, and will not be short of food and clothing.


    It seems that Liu Miantang doesn¡¯t even think about him at all.


    What about himself? It was still better when he was separated from her in the beginning, but during the night, he remembered her sweet smell and softness, and he couldn¡¯t sleep.


    After a while, he will be fine.


    However, after a long time, he didn¡¯t feel anxious at night anymore. But his mind was like playing a scene and kept recalling the daily life with Liu Miantang.


    However, every time he recalls the little things he had with Lady Liu, he becomes more and more aware of the fact that he had completely broken off contact with her and had nothing to do with her ever since. The warmth, like the washed clothes, can¡¯t be mended anymore¡­


    Yesterday, he asked the woman to his tent. He wanted to have a good vent with her. For women, except for some differences in facial features, which one is not the same?


    He always thinks of Liu Miantang. It¡¯s really because he doesn¡¯t taste enough beauty. However, Cui Xingzhou immediately felt wrong when the woman came close to him with a sycophantic smile.


    The smell of the powder is too strong, not sweet enough, the smile on the face is too flattering, not devoutly warm, and the voice calling him is too rough, not like the charming and slightly hoarse tone¡­


    In a word, everything didn¡¯t agree with Cui Xingzhou¡¯s taste, which made him lose the slightest interest. Fortunately, the woman had a nose that could barely satisfy his eyes.


    So Cui Xingzhou asked her to sit at the table, just looking at her side face, and asked her to take a brush and write at the table¡­


    At that moment, Prince Huaiyang felt as if he was back in the North Street Courtyard of Lingquan Town. The apricot flowers in the courtyard were in full bloom. He sat by and watched Miantang write by the porch window with a brush. She smiled with pink cheeks and bushy hair on her temples. From time to time, she looked up at him and whispered, ¡°Do you think my handwriting is good, Husband?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou clenched his hands. He suddenly felt inexplicable anger. Why did he think about her so much, but she seemed to forget about him!


    Is she suffering from amnesia again? There are too many unsettled accounts between him and her. Don¡¯t think of leaving like this, and live the rest of her life carefree!


    Thinking of this, Prince Huaiyang slowly told Fan Hu, ¡°You should keep an eye on Liu Miantang, and never allow her to rush to get engaged and married before my triumphant return!¡±


    Fan Hu is now as tough as bamboo after thousands of blows. After hearing The Prince¡¯s unimaginable order, he continued to ask in a deep voice, ¡°If Lady Liu insists on getting married¡­ do I need to tie her up to see Your Highness?¡±

 CH 59

    Mo Ru thinks that Fan Hu is really stupid, why should Prince Huaiyang be like a ruffian in the countryside and tie up a woman?


    But Cui Xingzhou seemed to think it over carefully after listening to Fan Hu¡¯s words. He then said, ¡°Just tell her to wait for me¡­¡±


    As for what will he say after he went back to see her, Cui Xingzhou had not thought about it yet. But their separation was so sudden and hasty. Cui Xingzhou always felt that he should see her again¡­


    At present, the Northwest is about to be pacified. The day of his return is not far away. At that time, he will pass by the State of Xi and can go to see her.


    He only hopes that when the time comes, she will not have the idea of remarriage¡­ Cui Xingzhou did not realize that he used the word remarriage as if she had married him.


    At that moment, someone entered the military tent and reported that the leader of the Chaxi tribe wanted to introduce a person to Prince Huaiyang. Cui Xingzhou asked, ¡°Who is he going to recommend?¡±


    The guard who came to report said hesitantly, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s a masked woman¡­¡±


    Prince Huaiyang did not expect the leader of Chaxi like the business of being the middleman to bring together men and women to engage in improper relations. He frowned and said, ¡°No!¡±


    The bodyguard immediately went out to convey The Prince¡¯s meaning.


    But at that moment, a woman outside the door said, ¡°I am the daughter of Kesi Shanyu of the Wangqi tribe. I am here especially to see Prince Huaiyang!¡±


    Cui Xingzhou hears this and is reminded that Kesi Shanyu is the old Shanyu who was killed by his adopted son Agufan.


    If he were still alive, there would not be such a war at the border.


    Thinking of this, he said in a low voice, ¡°Let them in.¡±


    When the leader of Chaxi led a masked woman into the Marshal¡¯s tent, the woman took off her headscarf, looked up at Cui Xingzhou, but cried out, ¡°How come¡­ it¡¯s you?¡±


    It turned out that Lin Siyue, the daughter of the deceased Old Shanyu, came here to see Prince Huaiyang, seeking to revive the tribe.


    However, she never thought that the man sitting in the high seat of the Marshal was Lady Liu¡¯s husband, Military Master Cui!


    Cui Xingzhou was also shocked when he saw Lady Lin. He did not expect that the merchant¡¯s abandoned wife treated by Liu Miantang was actually the daughter of the barbarian Old Shanyu!


    Both of them were a little preoccupied for a moment, and the leader of Chaxi was confused.


    If it had been a few days ago, he would have dared to speculate that Prince Huaiyang has taken a liking to the Old Shanyu¡¯s daughter. However, after such a flower-like girl was brought into the tent by Prince Huaiyang and wrote big characters all night, the leader of Chaxi felt that he could not see through these Han noblemen.


    However, Cui Xingzhou took the lead in saying, ¡°You said that you are the daughter of the Old Shanyu. What¡¯s your proof?¡±


    Lin Siyue had already prepared. She ordered her attendants to present the eagle head seal of the Old Shanyu. The seal was sent by the Great-Great-Grandfather Emperor when the barbarians were in good relations with the Great Yan Dynasty.


    But now the usurper Agufan searched everywhere, but he did not find the seal. So the seal he uses now is only a private gold seal, which is not true to the name.


    This is also the reason why Agufan has been searching for Old Shanyu¡¯s daughter all the time.


    After seeing the seal and being introduced by the leader of Chaxi, a big tribe of barbarians, Lin Siyue¡¯s identity is certain. Cui Xingzhou also understood why she was able to send so many warriors to Miantang when she turned to Lin Siyue for help, that Fan Hu, who was hiding in the dark, had no use and was paid freely for workers.


    However, Lin Siyue questioned the identity of Prince Huaiyang. She looked straight at him and said, ¡°Are you really Cui Xingzhou, Prince Huaiyang?¡±


    Cui rowed slowly and said, ¡°I¡¯m not being chased. Why do I need someone to disguise?¡±


    Lin Siyue, however, raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°That means you pretended to be a Commander, cheated on a young lady in the Wuning Checkpoint, and then abandoned her?¡±


    Cui Xingzhou¡¯s face darkened when he heard the words. Mo Ru on the other side said angrily, ¡°How dare you slander The Prince! Is Prince Huaiyang someone you can offend?¡±


    According to him, it¡¯s the opposite. Although his Master did cheat on the Young Lady, he never said to not take responsible!


    The leader of Chaxi on the other side was also anxious and gave an eye signal at Lin Siyue. They came here to ask for help from Prince Huaiyang, but she suddenly said this. Won¡¯t all their efforts be in vain?


    Lin Siyue also knew that she should not ask, but she couldn¡¯t help fighting for Lady Liu when she thought of the dirty little face and the hard work of shipping and selling goods in the cold wind.


    However, Cui Xingzhou¡¯s face darkened for a moment, and he calmed down and said, ¡°She is just throwing a little temper with me¡­ But I still want to thank you for taking trouble for Miantang and sending someone to protect her to Jintuo Town safely.¡±


    Lin Siyue is not sure after hearing Cui Xingzhou say so. Since Cui Xingzhou can know about Liu Miantang¡¯s transportation of the Black Tail Sheep, is it true that, as he said, the two people are just having a small fight and have made up?


    But she learned Chinese when she was a child. She knew that the red tape of the Central Plains could never become the Princess Consort of Prince Huaiyang, depending on the origin of Lady Liu.


    Then this Prince is too stingy towards the outer Mistress. As the Marshal of the Northwest, he has to rely on his outside Mistress to open a pharmacy and buy goods privately to support his family?


    Lin Siyue is defending injustice for Liu Miantang, but he is here to shoulder the great task of revitalizing the tribe. So she could only suppress her anger, droop her eyelids, and order people to present her written statement.


    Because her father was granted the title of the great ancestor, and Agufan was just a usurper. Now Agufan is in decline. Lin Siyue wants to seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revitalize the Wangqi Tribe.


    Cui Xingzhou has read the offer letter, which roughly means that the daughter of the Old Shanyu wants to win the Imperial Edict so that she can speak up to Agufan and avoid further division among the barbarians.


    In fact, before that, some people had tried to talk about this matter to Prince Huaiyang, who never answered.


    The Great Yan Dynasty has no obligation to maintain the prosperity of the barbarians. And now Prince Huaiyang doesn¡¯t need external help to defeat Agufan.


    If he didn¡¯t see Lin Siyue today, Cui Xingzhou would not have paid any attention to such requests.


    Therefore, when he wanted to reject the offer, he suddenly thought of Liu Miantang.


    This Young Lady is slick and not a model to follow. But Cui Xingzhou can occasionally learn some life lessons from her. For example, Lady Liu often said in his ear, ¡°Leave some mercy in life, so that when meeting in the future again, it won¡¯t be too bad.


    On reflection, whether she is in the porcelain business or the medicine business, she has made the most of her contacts accumulated in a short time.


    At present, the daughter of the Old Shanyu has a good reputation among the barbarians. It doesn¡¯t matter if he refuses at this time. But he will also offend the tribes of all sizes on the grassland.


    Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou hesitated and thought for a moment, ¡°I have understood the meaning of yours. The Old Shanyu was granted the title by the Former Emperor, and he is highly respected. It is rare that you have the intention to be in good relations with the Great Yan Dynasty again. I will tell the Court the story and wait for the title to be conferred again¡­¡±


    Lin Siyue sent people to test the means of Prince Huaiyang, but she was repeatedly rejected. She doesn¡¯t have much hope today. But she didn¡¯t expect Cui Xingzhou to be easy to convince this time. It¡¯s really surprising.


    To express his sincerity, Cui Xingzhou wrote a memorial letter to The Emperor in front of the daughter of the Old Shanyu and Chaxi leader and sent someone to deliver it quickly.


    Mo Ru looked aside and felt that The Prince of his family seemed to be much more tactful. In this way, Prince Huaiyang was completely benevolent. If The Emperor rejects this matter, it does not concern Prince Huaiyang. But if he agrees, the future Queen on the grassland will also be full of gratitude for Cui Xingzhou¡¯s kindness and righteousness.


    Sure enough, when Lin Siyue left, the dislike of Prince Huaiyang at the start had decreased a lot, and her face also showed some respect.


    However, before leaving, Lin Siyue did not rest assured and asked about Lady Liu¡¯s whereabouts. Cui Xingzhou said without changing the composure of his face, ¡°If you are free in the future, I will take Lady Liu to the Wangqi Tribe to taste the authentic horse milk wine on the grassland.¡±


    Hearing what he said, Lin Siyue was relieved. So she asked the guards to take the beef jerky and cheese specially made by the Wangqi Tribe, as well as the unique cold dispelling herbs on the grassland.


    ¡°I prepared these for Lady Liu, but she was in such a hurry that I forgot. It would be best if Your Highness could bring them to her for me. Especially the herbs, which are unique to the grassland. It can only bear fruit once every five years. The shell can be ground into medicine, which is good for her cold and the damaged hamstrings and bones.¡±


    Cui Xingzhou ordered Mo Ru to take it, and said to Lin Siyue, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will definitely bring it to her!¡±


    After that day, The Prince was a little happier and told Mo Ru to keep the items entrusted by the daughter of the Old Shanyu properly.


    In fact, Mo Ru wanted to ask, ¡°Have you finally found an excuse to find Lady Liu, Your Highness?¡±


    However, looking at Cui Xingzhou¡¯s powerful iron fist in the moonlight, he still shrank his neck and decided to act confused.


    On the grassland, the Northwest Marshal brought Lady Liu¡¯s tactfulness into full play.


    However, when it was the ancestor of smoothness, Liu Miantang, encountered some problems.


    The difficulties of Shenwei Escort Agency are far more serious than she thought.


    In fact, her grandfather has accumulated a lot of money over the years. Even if she had paid a large amount of silver for her father, it would not have ended in bankruptcy.


    However, his family values benevolence and justice and needs to support too many founding members. The business of the Escort Agency has plummeted, so the income cannot make ends meet. In these years, the money was earned by the boss. But the earnings were bad in the latter and the Northwest had to make a living by selling farmland.


    But even the largest camel can¡¯t stand such gnawing. If her grandfather sold his last farmland, the Lu family property accumulated over a long time would have few left.


    After Miantang had a rest for two days, she asked the accountant to copy the list of the senior escorts who are still in the Lu family receiving the monthly salary to her.


    The treasurer who handled the accounts had wandered the Jianghu with the Old Master when he was young. According to his seniority, Liu Miantang had to call him Second Grandpa Zhang.


    So after listening to Miantang¡¯s instructions, he looked up at Liu Miantang from the thick account book and asked, ¡°What do you want this for, Lady Liu?¡±


    Liu Miantang asked Fang Xie to move a bench for her, Sitting in the charcoal basin in the accounting room, she roasted her hands and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t New Year¡¯s Day coming? I haven¡¯t been back to the Lu¡¯s for a long time! I¡¯m not a child now, and I can¡¯t spare the etiquette. I don¡¯t want to bother my Grandfather, so I thought about asking you to write a list for me. By then, I can arrange the priorities of these uncles according to the level of monthly salary, and visit them one by one to give them a gift. It can also be regarded as a flavorsome visit on behalf of my grandfather.¡±


    Grandfather Zhang likes to hear this, but he still reminds her according to the elders¡¯ practice, ¡°Those who can fight with the Old Master Lu are all capable and practical, so why arrange the priorities? It doesn¡¯t matter how many fruit wines you will be sending, if you are willing, those uncles will appreciate your heart.¡±


    Miantang smiled and rubbed her hands, ¡°That¡¯s the truth, but I¡¯m not a good talker like you. If you are busy, just give me the latest account book of their usual expenses, and I can just copy one myself.¡±


    These words are exactly what the Second Grandpa Zhang hopes for. He was old this year, he would not like to do such delicate work. Besides, there was nothing to be afraid of reading the usual monthly interest book. So he asked the young worker to take three thick books and handed them to Fang Xie.


    After Liu Miantang came out of the accounting room, she happened to pass by her Second Uncle¡¯s yard and looked into the moon gate. Not only did the window paper change, but also the lanterns under the corridor were changed. They were all made of gauze with plum blossom patterns. When the flower candles were lit, the ground under the corridor would be dotted with plum blossoms, which was very elegant.


    However, such fashionable lanterns are not cheap, and the territory of the State of Xi can not be bought!


    Liu Miantang looked and returned to her room. Let Fang Xie polish the ink and let Bi Cao lit up the incense. She spread the paper and copied the list in the account book.


    Bi Cao doesn¡¯t understand why writing must burn incense. In fact, Miantang didn¡¯t quite understand it too. but Cui Jiu wrote carefully in the curly fragrance when he was writing in North Street. Some habits have been imperceptibly influenced, so Miantang now needs incense to copy an account book.


    Reminded by Bi Cao, Miantang found that she was also infected with the bad habit of the extravagance of The Prince¡¯s Residence. She should practice frugality in everything after being back in the State of Xi. So when she saw she hasn¡¯t started, Miantang let Bi Cao put out the incense fragrance.


    But somehow, after the incense was extinguished, the words written were not as good as they were just now. Miantang secretly believed in evil, so she asked Bi Cao to burn the incense again.


    Bi Cao was also scared to do it over and over again. She lit up the incense and said, ¡°This incense is used to drive away mosquitoes in the mansion. Although it is not as harsh as earthly incense, it is not a valuable thing. Please rest assured, Young Lady. At most I will buy you a box with my monthly money. It¡¯s enough to copy a scripture!¡±


    Fang Xie glared at Bi Cao and said, ¡°If you continue to be garrulous again, be careful the Young Lady will deduct your monthly salary so you can¡¯t be generous in front of the Master!¡±


    Bi Cao put out her tongue and quickly knelt in front of the table. She spread the written list on the mat on the ground for Miantang, waiting for the ink to dry, and then gathered it together.


    Miantang spent almost half a day before she finally finished copying the account of the seniors raised by the Lu Mansion.


    As a result, there are a total of 160 households alive and not alive.


    It is needless to say that those who are still alive are orphans and widows. Lu Wu also pays them every month to take care of them.


    After Miantang finished writing the list, Bi Cao asked, ¡°Do you want to order fruit snacks next, Lady? The paper used to wrap snacks in the room is not enough, so we have to buy more¡­¡±


    Miantang waved her aching wrist and said, ¡°No, we will go door to door from tomorrow for a secret visit.¡±


    The two servant girls looked at each other. They didn¡¯t know what is the Young Lady up to.


    But Miantang really went in disguise the next day. She combed a married woman¡¯s hair again, wore a hood with gauze, and led two servant girls, pretending to be a businesswoman who came from other places to buy shops. She went door to door according to the address on the list.


    Miantang¡¯s visit mainly depends on asking questions. When the weather is good on each street, there are always groups of old women chatting together. Under the pretext of renting a house or shop in the street, Miantang quietly inquired about the situation of the neighbors.


    After all, her skills of chatting and gossiping on the bench in Lingquan North Street are not a false reputation, and it is easy to quickly reach a consensus with these old women.


    However, the results of visiting these days have made Miantang¡¯s heart choke.


    The elders who led the monthly expenses spent most of their days in prosperity.


    For example, Master Cao, who was in charge of water transportation for her grandfather, went to the Lu family and cry about poverty. He only said that he had lost his wife and it was not easy to raise his three children. So her grandfather gave him two extra monthly expenses. However, when the escort agency was not doing well, he set up another stall to attract the old customers of Shenwei Escort Agency at a low price.


    In the beginning, although his water transportation capital was not very abundant, he relied on the Lu family to eat reliably and slowly did his business little by little to build up. But maybe he was afraid that the Lu family will find out about his doings so he didn¡¯t dare to be in the limelight, but let one of his nephews take care of the business. However, his nephew used to be a farmer in the countryside. He always said that he can¡¯t make the decision. He had to ask his uncle about everything.


    Neighbors often heard that Mr. Cao was leaving in a hurry and scolding his nephew for his bad work.


    There is also Mr. Zhan, who once went through the bandit stronghold alone with her grandfather. He always liked to talk about sharing life and death with her grandfather. He also received higher monthly expenses than others and bought countless properties in the countryside. Although Mr. Zhan is low-key, he has a wife who likes to show off. One time, when she was inadvertently making shoe soles with the neighbor¡¯s women, she made a slip tongue and said that she had hired a dozen tenants alone!


    For such rich families, there is a great number in the top ranks of the register. Her grandfather valued friendship, but most of the elders who had exhausted their family¡¯s resources had found a new livelihood. They had a good life, but they still take the benefits from the Lu family for granted.


    However, there are also some who need the help of the Lu Family, but only a dozen.


    Miantang walked away and secretly felt sorry for her grandfather. To be honest, after her grandfather fell ill, she was not energetic enough, and there were also omissions in management. Most of the so-called brothers who lived and died together with him has grown to have bad intention. They move in their ways and carry on a secret affair, emptying the escort agency from inside to outside, and each made a fortune. But they still accept the pension money from the Lu family for granted.


    When Miantang came back from outside, she called her Big Uncle and told her about her investigation. She asked him if he knew about it and why he didn¡¯t reduce their given monthly expenses.


    Lu Xian was so worried that he waved his hand, ¡°My little ancestor, if you were not careful, you would almost stab the hornet¡¯s nest! Don¡¯t reduce the monthly money in front of your grandfather!¡±


    It turned out that Lu Xian was also aware of these people¡¯s secret actions.


    But when he said he would not give the monthly expenses anymore, the group of elders agreed to kneel in front of the Lu Mansion and cry. They only said that they had devoted most of their life to the Shenwei Escort Agency. However, the Escort Agency disbanded and leave them unattended. The Elder Master is now charging them with being greedy and trying his best to find an excuse to dump these useless old people. They are not determined to die, and if that leads to death, they will bend themselves to the task unto death.


    Grandfather valued friendship and could not listen to it. He was so angry that he almost whipped Lu Xian alive in front of the ancestral temple. Since then, no one in the Lu family has dared to mention the word ¡°monthly money reduction¡±.


    Miantang, however, did not move her eyebrows and asked, ¡°What did my Second Uncle say about that?¡±


    Lu Xian sighed, ¡°Your Second Uncle knows how to be an upright man, and he also advised me not to worry too much. After all, those elders sold their lives for the Escort Agency, so they should be divided. Besides, it¡¯s not like the Lu family can¡¯t afford to support them, so why provoke a group of people to kneel in front of the Mansion and let the Old Master bear the name of injustice¡­¡±


    Miantang frowned slightly, but unexpectedly, her Second Uncle, who was careful about everything, will speak on behalf of the outsiders.


    Her grandmother passed away early, and Shen-Shi, the wife of her Eldest Uncle, was loyal and honest, unlike Quan-Shi, her Second Aunt. So now the head of the Lu family is Quan-Shi. All the bills, including the distribution of the monthly salary, are under the charge of the Second Room.


    After returning home after so long, Miantang paid attention to everything. Her cousin Lu Qingxia under her Elder Uncle has been married. It is said that her dowry was not rich at the beginning. When her Elder Cousin Lu Zhirong got married, it was not too dignified. Her Second Cousin Lu Zhihua has not married yet. It is said that she has left school early to learn business with her mother¡¯s side brothers.


    However, when she came to the second room, it looked super wealthy. The average daily food and clothing are different from that of the people in the entire Mansion.


    However, Quan said it reasonably. She only said that these are her dowry subsidies. Her parent¡¯s Mansion is the official family. She can¡¯t live a miserable life just because she married a merchant!


    However, according to Miantang¡¯s understanding of her Second Aunt, she is not a person who will help her husband¡¯s family with her private savings. And as she looked coldly, her Second Aunt was considerate and convinced by her Second Uncle.


    Only those men who have earned some money from outside can speak confidently in front of their official wives like her Second Uncle!


    That night, because it was not the beginning of the month, it was unnecessary for the whole family to get together. Miantang accompanies her grandfather to dinner as usual.


    She just looked at her grandfather and sighed. Lu Wu puts down his soup bowl and asks her why she sighs.


    Miantang said honestly, ¡°When I was young, my mother said that my grandmother was a very powerful person, and you were afraid of her, so I thought it would be better if she were still here¡­¡±


    Lu Wu almost choke on the soup he had just drunk. His old story of being afraid of his wife was revealed by his granddaughter. So he stared and said, ¡°Little bastard, are you going to piss me off? As I say, you look just like your grandmother! I don¡¯t know which misfortune will be in your hands in the future!¡±


    Miantang smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care about other people¡¯s affairs, but I care about my grandfather¡¯s affairs!¡±

 CH 60

    Lu Wu didn¡¯t know what Miantang was plotting. Hearing what she said, he just thought it was a child¡¯s act of coquetry and just laughed without taking it seriously.


    Miantang also laughed, but her smile was more thought-provoking.


    The next day, she called her uncle and asked how many of Lu¡¯s Escort Agency¡¯s regular customers were left.


    Lu Xian was asked by his niece with a look of shame and said, ¡°Our Escort Agency used to focus on long escorts, but later it lost its reputation because of the loss of escorts. The rest of it was the short escort business in neighboring states. Those who didn¡¯t make money stayed, but just enough to support a few numbers of them, better than nothing.¡±


    Miantang then asked about the water transport and camel transport that the Lu family had run. Without exception, there was little left to make money.


    Miantang nodded and said to her uncle, ¡°My grandfather doesn¡¯t want the money I made earlier. You know his stubbornness, but the family needs money urgently. That place was my grandmother¡¯s dowry in those days and nothing could be sold. Since this is the case, it¡¯s better to make some allowance for the family. You can check the business in the Escort Agency and sell the price to me so that when you have money, you don¡¯t have to sell the farmland.¡±


    Lu Xian looked at her suspiciously and said, ¡°What are you going to do now? Your Grandfather won¡¯t let you cause any more trouble. You¡¯d better stay at home and after a few days, It¡¯s right to find a good matchmaker to arrange your marriage¡­¡±


    Miantang didn¡¯t wait for her Elder Uncle to finish his nagging but only asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t sell it, I¡¯ll think of another way to deal with it. By then, don¡¯t say that I¡¯m not sensible and cause trouble to the family¡­¡±


    If the other children of the Lu family said this, Lu Xian would only think that they were young and said something tough. But it was Miantang who said this, and Lu Xian¡¯s heart began to beat.


    After all, he hasn¡¯t lost his memory. He knows what kind of things she can cause! Since she wants the little mess left in the Escort Agency, just give it to her. If she has something to do, she can be more honest in the State of Xi.


    Now Lu Wu doesn¡¯t care about common affairs at home. So Lu Xian thought about it and went to discuss it with his Second Brother again. Hearing this, Lu Mu asked, ¡°How much silver is Miantang going to give?¡±


    Lu Xian said honestly, ¡°One thousand taels¡­¡±


    Lu Mu¡¯s eyes were wide open when he heard. They should be thankful if that small Escort Agency could earn 100 taels a year. How could she buy it with 1000 taels of silver?


    So he asked Lu Xian carefully, ¡°At the beginning, someone on the Mountain of Yang said that she escaped with a sum of money, could it be¡­¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Lu Xian scolded his Second Younger Brother viciously, ¡°Those people in the Mountain of Yang who get rid of somebody as soon as they have done their job only know to blame it on Miantang! If Miantang really takes that large amount of silver, can the b*stard in the Mountain of Yang be so peaceful and honest and don¡¯t come to look for Miantang?¡±


    Lu Mu hurriedly put out the fire for his Elder Brother and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that Miantang did this. It¡¯s just¡­ where does she get so much silver?¡±


    Lu Xian calmed down and said, ¡°You don¡¯t know what Miantang is capable of. She sold some black-tailed fat sheep under the northwest ban. In the families of dignitaries in the Capital now, the sheep are sold by grams. They are expensive. She also earned some money, which is probably used to supplement her family in this way.¡±


    Lu Mu nodded repeatedly and praised Miantang as a good child who was thinking about the family. He then said, ¡°Since Miantang is thinking about the Lu family, you should not pour cold water on the child¡¯s mind. She is a girl and she will have to rely on our Lu family to support her when she gets married. If our family is arrogant, the girls in our family will suffer a lot in the future on their husband¡¯s side!¡±


    Lu Xian sighed when he heard this. Finally, Lu Mu helped him make up his mind and agreed to exchange the remaining scattered standard of the Escort Agency to Miantang.


    Although Miantang is also a member of the Lu family, her surname is Liu after all. So the Escort Agency signed a contract. On the day when the new owner was changed, Miantang asked someone to hang two strings of firecrackers. With the crackling sound, the old plaque of the ¡°Shenwei Escort Agency¡± that had lasted for decades was removed.


    Seeing the new plaque hanging, the people around looked at it with wide eyes and carefully read the words on the plaque, ¡°Con¡­ Conscience Escort Agency!¡±


    Someone shook their head and said that the new owner of the Escort Agency was not very knowledgeable. The new name is not as strong as the old name of the Escort Agency.


    However, Miantang turned a deaf ear to the comments made by the people behind her. She only smiled at the plaque she wrote in her handwriting. She thought that her characters could be used in the elegant hall one day. It was a rise in the face!


    Because the new Escort Agency opened, she recruited some more assistants, some of whom were orphans who had been funded by the Lu family for a long time.


    A young man named He Quansheng heard that the Granddaughter of the Lu family had bought an Escort Agency and offered him to be an escort. His father was also an escort of the Shenwei Escort Agency in those years. Unfortunately, he was later infected with typhoid fever. Since he was out of town, he was not treated in time, so he died.


    Miantang sat on the counter of the Escort Agency and drank tea. She looked up and down at the young recruited orphan through the cup of tea. He was very handsome with thick eyebrows and big eyes. So she asked, ¡°You want to be an escort, but what are you capable of?¡±


    The young man did not say a word, but stood in the hall and hit a set of long fists. The fists sounded and worked well, but they were not gorgeous. They were all real martial art skills.


    Miantang is a connoisseur. She can¡¯t help nodding. Although this young man lacks some of the martial arts skills compared to the Military Master in the North Street House, he is already good enough.


    ¡°Good martial art skills! Unfortunately, our Escort Agency is small and can¡¯t afford to pay you a high salary. Are you still willing to do that?¡±


    He Quansheng looked at the bright and beautiful Lady in front of him and looked away with embarrassment, But he said honestly, ¡°My mother said that she has not received any less favors from the Lu family these years. She always tells me to repay the kindness of the Lu family when I grow up. I went to my uncle before, and he said that he is not short of people, but you are short of capable people¡­ I don¡¯t want monthly money. The Lu family has given me and my mother monthly money for ten years. When you don¡¯t need me, I will leave again.¡±


    Miantang nodded when she heard this. Her grandfather has been benevolent and righteous all his life, but he has not always been a greedy wolf. So she pointed to the plaque on the top of her finger and said, ¡°Although my premise is shabby, it has the word ¡®conscience¡¯ on it. You are a conscientious young man, and naturally, you can stay here.¡±


    Therefore, Miantang¡¯s small and shabby Escort Agency was officially opened.


    The opening of a new escort agency always needs to earn some popularity. At the moment, it needs to lower the escort bidding money to attract some customers. It even put out a sign reducing half of the escort silver for the merchants who come in within a month.


    The elders of Shenwei Escort Agency will drink tea in the teahouse in the State of Xi every once in a while. When they talk about the new Conscience Escort Agency, they all laugh helplessly and shake their heads.


    Just to say that this Granddaughter of Master Lu is an irrepressible master. She always causes trouble! From ancient times to the present, they have never heard that there is a female boss in the Escort Agency¡¯s business and made famous for it!


    Sure enough, there were few people at the gate of Conscience Escort Agency in the following days.


    However, Lady Liu, the boss of the store doesn¡¯t seem worried. She eats and drinks the same every day. She also goes to the canal from time to time to see the fading landscape of the river in winter.


    After some time, the people in the family couldn¡¯t stand it anymore.


    On this day, when the women of the two rooms gathered together to sew cloth and clothes, Shen-Shi, the Eldest Aunt, could not help but say to Miantang, ¡°Your Eldest Uncle is a fool. How could he be so muddleheaded as to sell you the deed of the Escort Agency? A few days ago, father heard about your absurd things and he scolded your two uncles so badly that he asked them to return the silver to you¡­ The silver was originally divided into three parts by your two Uncles, and the portion given to your Elder Uncle was not touched. He wanted to leave it for you as a dowry. As for¡­¡±


    The Second Aunt Quan interrupted her sister-in-law, ¡°What do you mean that our family divided the money from Miantang? Elder Brother runs businesses in the Northwest and owes a lot of money. The one in our house is honest. He wanted to use the money from the Escort Agency and fill the hole for the Elder Brother. As for the other two portions, we did not divide them for anybody but placed them for public use and future needs¡­ A few days ago, we, the Second Master Lu, borrowed a part of the money from my dowry to pay for public spending. Now it has been exchanged for money, he must pay back the money he owes us, right? ¡±


    After listening to this, everyone was silent for a while. Everyone knew that Quan always seemed to have an endless dowry. Since they said so, it was difficult for anyone to check the accounts of the second room.


    Miantang had seriously injured her hand before and could not do the handcraft for too long, so she cut it for a while, and then stopped to eat the red bean fried cake made by her aunt. After hearing Quan¡¯s hasty words, she smiled and said, ¡°There are so many places to spend money at home. If you distribute the money all at once, there will be no money left. Since my Grandfather has already scolded them, please ask my two uncles to accept it. As for my dowry in the future, you all don¡¯t have to worry about it¡­¡±


    Second Aunt Quan quickly said, ¡°Yes! Miantang doesn¡¯t really want to do any escort business but changing her ways to help the family. Don¡¯t be embarrassed, Sister-in-Law. Our Miantang is rich now, and this little money means nothing to her¡­¡±


    Shen-Shi still wanted to talk, but Quan-Shi had already brought the topic to the Su family who was coming to see them. She only said that the Su family would soon arrive in the State of Xi. At that time, everyone would have to help and treat the distinguished guests well, so that their Second Lady could have a happy marriage.


    For a while, everyone laughed and talked, and it was not good for Shen-Shi to kill the atmosphere by mentioning the topic of letting the second room return the silver anymore.


    Besides, Young Master Su, who was eagerly awaited by the second room of the Lu family, finally arrived at the State of Xi on time the next day.


    For the sake of the Young Master of the Su family, the appearance of the Lu family has been renovated by the family of second room. If the Su family still isn¡¯t here, she¡¯s afraid the second room will demolish the old house and rebuild it.


    However, Miantang did not stay with the Lu family to welcome the future wealthy son-in-law. She also had a party today.


    Because she used to do business with the He family in Lingquan Town. So Liu Miantang is sure that the He Family will come to buy the best dye for coloring these days.


    Looking at the entire Great Yan Dynasty, only the ancestral green, condensed from the saliva of a tortoise in the State of Xi, can reflect a simple and elegant vibe when painted on the porcelain plate. It has been monopolized by the He family.


    Miantang has heard from He Zhen that her father likes to eat the local crispy duck and the drunken crab with big tongs in the State of Xi, so he will come to the State of Xi for a few days every year when he comes to buy the ancestral green dye.


    Remembering the past, Miantang figured out the time and walked around the dock of the canal every day. She finally awaited the He family¡¯s merchant ship to arrive.


    What¡¯s more, two people were coming down from the boat. In addition to the Second Master He, the Third Lady He Zhen has come to the State of Xi with her father.


    When they saw Liu Miantang in a hood and cloak, He Zhen called out in surprise, ¡°Madam Cui, haven¡¯t you gone to the northwest? Why are you here?¡±


    The He family is in Lingquan Town, so naturally, they don¡¯t know about the break up of the fake couple of the Cui family in the northwest. Recently, she had a lot of worries in her heart. Seeing Lady Liu, she seemed to have seen the savior. When her father turned to tell the boatman, she whispered to Miantang, ¡°Since you¡¯re gone, I don¡¯t even have anyone to talk to¡­ Do you know that Prince Huaiyang¡­ Is going to bestow a marriage!¡±


    Hearing this, Liu Miantang slowly raised her head and looked at He Zhen silently. The He family is an Imperial Merchant. They know a lot about things in the Capital.


    He Zhen was immersed in her sadness and said, ¡°I heard that the Empress Dowager intends to marry her own daughter to Prince Huaiyang¡­ In the future¡­ there will be no more chance.¡±


    Miantang knows what He Zhen means. Since ancient times, Which Emperor¡¯s son-in-law dares to take concubines? Once Cui Xingzhou has become the son-in-law of Empress Dowager, he can save his mind from taking in concubines and can only concentrate on harmonizing with the Princess.


    He Zhen had imagined that if Prince Huaiyang would give up his marriage, she might still have a glimmer of hope. Who would have thought that he would marry a Princess in the future? In this way, it¡¯s better to marry his cousin who is virtuous and tolerant!


    She pour the things she kept in her for a long time, but she didn¡¯t see Lady Liu comforting her as she had done before. She just looked at the river in silence, and her expression was as calm as a calm river.


    He Zhen is a little awkward and asked, ¡°By the way, why are you here?¡±


    Miantang seems to have woken up. She smiled and said, ¡°Come here to see the water transport.¡±


    He Zhen did not doubt, so she enthusiastically recommended, ¡°The Cao Family Shipping Company, which my family knows well, has a reasonable price and is the best for transporting. You might as well go to their business for transportation of goods.¡±


    But Miantang shook her head firmly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need their family ones.¡±


    He Zhen asked strangely, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    Miantang smiled and asked directly, ¡°I heard that his family started when they were separated from the Shenwei Escort Agency to take delivery of escort orders privately. Not long after the establishment of their Shipping Agency, most of the orders they received will encounter the officers and soldiers setting up checkpoints and charging the vehicle and shipping tax for a second time. Even if the escort money is not much, it will still be more expensive after adding it all together.¡±


    Each time, the He family entrusted the Cao family¡¯s shipping company to transport fuel and sometimes asked them to transport porcelain back to the State of Xi and go to the Capital.


    Because every time taking this route, they always take the Cao family¡¯s boat, and others can¡¯t be compared.


    However, the Second Master He has started his business early. He used to entrust the Shenwei Escort Agency to deliver goods. Later, when the Shenwei Escort Agency goes down, he also changed his source of shipping. It seems that since then, the vehicle and ship taxes have increased. However, he sent the shopkeeper to follow the boat, which was indeed taken by the officers and soldiers.


    Miantang listened to the Second Master He, she smiled and said, ¡°The shipping routes were revised by all the escort agencies. The tax on cars and ships was not issued by the Imperial Court. The Cao family changed the route of the old escort agency and went to the State of Lian, where the taxes were heavy. The officers and soldiers of the State of Lian colluded with many escort agencies. The extra tax money was divided into 40% and 60% of the money collected by the escort agencies. Such a sneaky shipping company that earned two parts of the money from one trip of escorting¡­ If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t dare to use it.¡±


    Although the He family has always been traveling by boat, they are not in the escorting industry. How could they know that there are so many ways? However, to admit that he had been cheated on for many years, the Second Master He was not very willing, so he still defended them and said, ¡°But the current route of the Cao family is a day faster than before!¡±


    Miantang was too lazy to argue with him. She asked directly, ¡°Can¡¯t Second Master He deliver the goods one day earlier but have to make up for it with silver? That¡¯s right¡­ Your family doesn¡¯t lack this silver, but people like me should be careful. Otherwise, there will be a lot of silver in a year!¡±


    He Zhen saw that Miantang is going to leave, so she quickly asked, ¡°Then which company are you looking for, Madam Cui?¡±


    Miantang didn¡¯t know either, but she said with an insinuation in that remark, ¡°If I want to transport things, I will find the new Conscience Escort Agency. Their shipping business is really good!¡±


    After saying that, Miantang brazenly pulled the flag for her family, and then got on the carriage and left. Only the Second Master He and his daughter were left staring at each other.


    Lady Liu is shrewd. Who doesn¡¯t know in the entire Lingquan Town?


    After listening to what she said, it confirmed Lady Liu¡¯s shrewdness. She even investigated every detail of the water transport so carefully.


    After a discussion, the father and daughter decided not to eat the crispy duck first, but to go to the Conscience Escort Agency, which Lady Liu said. Although the He family doesn¡¯t lack money, as Lady Liu said, they can save some freight and make a considerable profit in one year.


    When they went to the Escort Agency, an old man welcomed them. After asking about the price and seeing that their store was all new ships, the Second Master He decided to temporarily ship some unimportant goods to give it a try. If this shipping company was reliable, he would also follow Lady Liu¡¯s example and use this Conscience Shipment.


    Thus, the Conscience Shipment finally opened and received its first order list after changing the plaque.


    The Master was calm and relaxed, but Fang Xie and Bi Cao, the two little girls, kept being worried for their Lady.


    Because they knew that all the money left by the young lady was used to buy boats. If there isn¡¯t any business, they would lose all of it.


    Miantang was not worried. Although she deliberately misled the He family, everything she said about the Cao family¡¯s boat trip was true.


    The Cao family did not make money cleanly, and there were some secrets hidden in it. Once the merchants were suspicious, they will lose their reputation and were unable to retain old customers.


    After the He family switched to the Conscience Escort Agency, they certainly did not dare to use large goods for the first order. so Miantang did not buy many ships, which was enough to deal with.


    She drew the freight route herself. When Zhao Quan was transporting military rations to the northwest, he once told her unintentionally that to facilitate the transportation of military rations, the Imperial Court opened the river channels of the four counties. Local officials are not allowed to set up checkpoints along the way. Once found, they will be severely punished.


    Besides, many military ships are coming and going, and the river is very safe. Many small merchants who can¡¯t afford to hire escorts follow the military ships far away, which is safer.


    The He family tried Conscience Shipping Company and found that the new water transport shipping company was fair with the price, and the time for shipping goods was not slower than the high-price route.


    The Second Master He transferred all his business with the State of Xi to the Conscience Escort Agency.


    His family had a large number of goods shipped at one time. After two orders, the Escort Agency¡¯s account book was revitalized and new ships could be bought.


    She doesn¡¯t know why. The news regarding something fishy about the Cao Family¡¯s Shipping Company spread. Many merchants who have dealings with the Second Master He has also signed with the Conscience Boat Shop.


    Not long after, the Cao family asked to see Lady Liu.


    It was the Elder, Master Cao who came here with several seniors from the Escort Agency and claimed to be helping their nephew to negotiate. But the color of his face was nasty.


    Once he entered the Escort Agency¡¯s hall, he began to talk about his past merits and virtues. He pretended to be Liu Miantang¡¯s elder. He said that Lady Liu was not authentic and that she bullied the people on the same side. Even if she opened the Escort Agency, there was no reason for her to steal from other businesses. If she doesn¡¯t come up with a rule today, he will drag her to Lu Wu for judgment.


    The rest of the bearded old men were also pretending fairness in stopping the fight but were actually helping their own side. They seemed to be trying to persuade Master Cao to calm down, but in fact, they were still accusing Miantang of acting badly.


    Miantang kept still when he was talking until Master Cao had said enough, and Miantang slowly glanced at him and said, ¡°I dare to ask Master Cao, is the shop you entered the Shenwei Escort Agency?¡±


    Master Cao glared, which of the seatings is not used by the Shenwei Escort Agency before? But¡­ The name of the Escort Agency has changed. It¡¯s called the Conscience Escort Agency.


    Thinking of this, he still said angrily, ¡°Even if this is not the Shenwei Escort Agency, it¡¯s always the property of the Lu Family! Don¡¯t beat me about the bush. Little girl, you are so unruly in everything you do. Just wait and see if your Grandfather will scold you to death!¡±


    Miantang smiled, then slowly stopped smiling and said, ¡°My Grandfather told me that my family name is Liu, not Lu, and I will be the daughter-in-law of another family when I get married. I bought this Escort Agency from the Lu family with real money and silver. How can it be regarded as the property of the Lu family? You, Master Cao, have a priceless love and gratitude for the Lu family as if you were the parents of the Lu family. How will the Lu family honor you, that¡¯s the business of the Lu family? What does it matter to me?¡±


    When she said this, Master Cao just choked and stared. He didn¡¯t know what to say. Because now the leader of the Conscience Escort Agency is indeed Liu, not Lu.


    But she is so unruly in her own business that his Shipping Company has had no list in recent days. How can he compromise? So he ignored this and angrily asked Miantang to see Lu Wu.


    But before his hand come close, a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes raised his hand and pushed him aside, glaring at his big eyes and saying, ¡°Old man, how dare you try to touch our Young Lady?¡±


    The people on the other side recognized that this was a descendant of the He family and hurriedly said, ¡°Hey, how dare you beat your uncle? When your father was alive, he had to call Master Cao his elder brother!¡±


    He Quansheng stared, ¡°Who is family with him? My mother said that we should be conscientious. When my father died, who was present to help us? It was the Lu family who took care of us. Did you work in the Lu family for nothing? Did you not receive rich monthly silver in any month? Why did you become the ancestors of the Lu family in the end? All day long, you always took the things you did in the past to take credit. I¡¯m so ashamed to see your actions and you still have the face to make a scene in our Escort Agency. Others don¡¯t know, but I know how you emptied the Escort Agency bit by bit! ¡±


    These elders were derided by the young man, and their faces turn from black to white. Master Cao was so angry that he overturned the table with one hand.