Chapter 15: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" (Are You the One)

 FlamingoBees 

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 Chapter 15: 

 

However, Li Mama, being the loyal servant of the prince, reported every detail of Liu Mian Tang’s daily activities and her interactions with others, including what was said, to Cui Xingzhou.

Upon hearing that the shop was deserted and that no one was coming to meet or recognize Liu Miantang, Prince Huaiyang didn’t say much. 

After all, to catch a big fish, one must have enough patience. He was willing to allocate some effort for Lu Wen, the bandit. 

Although Prince Huaiyang knew little about Lu Wen, he felt a sense of sympathy and shared regret, reminiscent of the “why must the lord turn to banditry” sentiment. 

Even though Lu Wen was not on the right path, he was a talented strategist and military leader, often pushing his adversaries into desperate situations. He was especially skilled in tactics such as feints and surprise attacks.

He originally paid little attention to this ragtag group of bandits, but seeing his subordinates suffer losses due to their treachery ignited his competitive spirit. He decided to personally step in, commanding and leading a surprise raid on the bandits. This attack dismantled their stronghold and severely crushed Lu Wen’s arrogance.

After losing their base, Lu Wen and his men were left like stray dogs, and during their escape from pursuit, they abandoned the severely wounded Mian Tang.

Although Lu Wen tried to regroup and counterattack fiercely, perhaps due to fear or the shock of their losses, he made frequent mistakes in the past year and gradually fell into decline.

Now, the bandits no longer pose a significant threat to the stability of Zhenzhou. However, Cui Xingzhou was still interested in capturing Lu Wen to see what kind of person this bandit, who had once challenged him so fiercely, really was.

This was why he meticulously arranged for Liu Mian Tang to be a pawn in this game. 

Liu Mian Tang was originally left to die in the river. If Cui Xingzhou had not happened to rescue her while reporting to the capital, she would have been drowned and fed to the fish.

Later, when some of Lu Wen's surrendered subordinates recognized the woman as Lu Wen’s beloved wife, Cui Xingzhou personally intervened, ensuring her treatment and bringing her back to Lingquan Town once she was able to endure the journey.

Considering how beautiful Liu Mian Tang was, Lu Wen would likely have been reluctant to abandon her if he hadn’t been fleeing for his life.

With this in mind, Cui Xingzhou decided to keep Liu Mian Tang in play for a while longer. The schemes of the lady from North Street had to be maintained for a bit more time.

Thus, after five days, seeing that he could no longer use learning chess as an excuse to avoid returning home, Cui Xingzhou instructed his servant, Mo Ru, to prepare civilian clothes. After changing into them, he left the barracks.

The weather was gradually warming, and the evening breeze was quite pleasant. So, before reaching North Street, Cui Xingzhou had the carriage stop and decided to walk a bit in the night air to clear his mind.

Timing his arrival perfectly, he reached the gate of North Street’s residence just as it was late at night, and the neighborhood watchmen who had been chatting at the gate had all gone home to sleep.

He arrived quietly and left just as discreetly, which was perfectly fine.

However, this time, the usually quiet North Street had some activity.

Cui Xingzhou, with his keen hearing, noticed the movement and signaled to his servant, Mo Ru, to quickly hide around a corner and listen to the conversation ahead.

"Dammit, there's no woman in Lingquan Town that I can't handle! She acts so high and mighty and seems capable, making me think she's a military officer's wife from Zhenzhou! Who knew she’s just the wife of a porcelain dealer? If I don’t put her in her place, it would be a disgrace to my reputation!"

The speaker was none other than the nephew of the garrison who had harassed Liu Mian Tang on the street some time ago.

After he had received an injury from Liu Mian Tang using a hairpin to stab him in the neck, he had been staying home to recover, behaving quite submissively for a while.

Since he had been involved in bullying and other improper deeds, he was afraid to tell his family the real reason for his injury. Instead, he just told them that he had been scratched by a bamboo pole while walking, covering up the truth.

Now that he had recovered and was out again, he happened to be around when a new shop in town opened. He had brought his lackeys to watch the commotion.

To his surprise, he saw Liu Mian Tang standing behind the counter, calculating on an abacus.

The beauty of the woman was even more alluring than before, but the garrison nephew was too frightened to approach.

Her hair was adorned with hairpins, and if she had managed to deal him another blow, it would have been quite a bad situation!

However, knowing what her family did for a living, this young master was now clear about the situation.

She was merely an influential outsider merchant with no substantial backing—nothing to be overly concerned about! Furthermore, it seemed that her husband was idle and often away from home, leaving the house without any men.

This was truly an unclaimed piece of tender meat. If he didn't take advantage of it, it would be a real shame!

Women always act virtuous and chaste until they are actually pursued. Once they’re in bed together, they develop a taste for it and often become infatuated themselves.

For this roguish young master, who was quite experienced in seducing and violating respectable women, this was nothing new.

He only needed to prepare a good ladder to scale the wall, and then quietly make his way to her bed. As long as the woman was married and her husband was away, she would have no choice but to suffer in silence if taken advantage of, unable to make a fuss for fear of ruining her reputation.

Given that this woman seemed to have some skills, his two henchmen had thoughtfully prepared a pipe of knockout smoke. Once they entered the courtyard, they would let the smoke in through the window paper, ensuring she would be helpless and unable to call for help, with no one coming to her aid.

Today, the guard's nephew had his servant break a plate to confirm that no men from the Cui family were at home. So he prepared his tools for the night, with the servant carrying the ladder, ready to climb over the wall of the Cui residence on North Street.

As night fell, he instructed the servant to set up the ladder, preparing to sneak in.

Excited by the prospect of encountering the beautiful woman, the young master couldn’t help but tremble with anticipation, muttering curses to himself to bolster his courage as he prepared to carry out his misdeed.

However, what he didn’t know was that his actions were being closely watched by Cui Xingzhou, who was hidden around the street corner.

Initially, Prince Huaiyang thought it was finally the rebels making a move to meet with Liu Mian Tang and stayed hidden, waiting to see if the wall would be climbed.

But at that moment, a scout who had been stationed around the Cui residence on North Street approached and whispered to the prince, informing him that the intruder was the guard's nephew who had been wounded by Liu Mian Tang. The scouts knew him well; he was a notorious lecher in the town, known for pursuing respectable women but had no connections with the rebels.

The scout had noticed that the man’s servant had recently purchased mosquito repellent and sleep-inducing herbs from the pharmacy, which when combined, could create knockout smoke. The servant had also bought powerful aphrodisiac pills, said to enhance virility, to ensure the woman would be rendered helpless.

Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou frowned, quickly understanding the true intentions of the wall-climber.

Although the woman in the residence was not his own, he had come to know through their limited interactions that Liu Mian Tang was not the kind of woman to easily succumb to such advances.

Although this woman had already lost her chastity, she had completely forgotten about it. Now, she considered herself a proper lady from a respectable family. If this scoundrel succeeded in his vile act, she would be overwhelmed with shame and could very well take her own life in despair, thereby ruining his entire plan to lure the enemy.

With this in mind, without uttering a word, Cui Xingzhou strode swiftly to the edge of the courtyard wall and, with a swift move, knocked out the two lackeys keeping watch.

He didn't bother knocking on the door. With a flex of his waist and a light push off his toes, he vaulted over the courtyard wall and landed inside.

As he touched the ground, he quickly made his way to Liu Mian Tang's room. The window paper had already been poked through, and a bamboo tube lay discarded on the floor.

Liu Jian Tang's door was wide open, and the rogue had already snuck inside.

With a cold expression, Cui Xingzhou took long strides forward, ready to drag the debauchee off the bed.

But the next moment, a piercing scream echoed through the room, followed by a flash of golden light as something was hurled at him.

Cui Xingzhou instinctively blocked it, feeling a searing pain in his arm as though he had been branded. He grimaced and let out a low grunt.

Just then, Mo Ru climbed over the wall using a ladder and loudly called for Li Mama. Suddenly, the courtyard burst into light as the lamps were lit.

"My Lord... why is it you?"

Cui Xingzhou was about to kick the attacker when he realized that Liu Mian Tang was standing there, tears in her eyes, clutching a brass kettle.

The rogue who had broken in was soaking wet, jumping around in agony, with his face flushed red and steaming as if he'd been doused with scalding water.

When the entire Cui household courtyard was suddenly lit up, the scoundrel, ignoring his pain, hurriedly tried to flee through the door. However, Cui Xingzhou showed no mercy and kicked him hard, sending him flying across the room. He crashed heavily onto the table, which collapsed under him with a loud clatter.

As it turned out, when the rogue broke in, Liu Mian Tang had not yet fallen asleep.

Mr. Chen's hand-painted work had made no progress, and the shop's business was not improving, leaving her restless and unable to sleep. On top of that, she knew her husband might return home late and may knock on the door, so she had been lying on her bed in a state of half-sleep, waiting.

Then, she heard a rustling noise coming from the courtyard. At first, she thought her husband had returned, and she quickly got up to greet him. But when she reached the door, she saw a faint light coming through the window, and the paper had been pierced.

She froze, and as she watched the bamboo tube being inserted, she immediately understood—some lowlife had come creeping in.

Her maternal grandfather had been in the escort business, traveling the martial world. What trickery had he not seen? Mian Tang had grown up hearing stories from her mother about her grandfather's adventures, so she was well-versed in all sorts of shady tactics.

She saw the thick smoke being blown inside and wanted to call for help but hesitated, unsure how many people were outside and whether the thieves had already subdued Li Mama and the others.

So, she dared not make any sudden moves. Quickly, she ducked behind the screen, wetting a handkerchief in the washbasin and covering her face to avoid inhaling the knockout smoke. Then, she grabbed the scalding copper kettle from the small charcoal stove. When the intruder entered, she swung it fiercely, dousing him with the boiling water.

But there was someone else behind him!

Without thinking, Mian Tang used the kettle's base to strike the second figure—only to realize she had scorched her own husband!

By the time Li Mama lit the courtyard lanterns and Mo Ru had dragged the two unconscious henchmen inside, Mian Tang finally understood. It had been her husband who had returned home, catching the thieves as they scaled the wall and rushing in ahead to save her.

Although she hadn’t witnessed her husband vaulting over the wall, the kick he had delivered to the scoundrel just moments ago was swift, firm, and brimming with masculine energy. It made Mian Tang’s heart flutter with admiration.

Her husband’s moves weren’t just for show—they were powerful and filled with true strength!

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