Chapter 101: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" (Are You the One)

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 Chapter 101: 

 

However, according to He Zhen, those who followed the shabby man were dressed in proper attire. After the man claiming to be her brother was arrested, these well-dressed individuals mingled with the crowd and disappeared. Lu Zhong, having followed Lu Yi's instructions, had discreetly trailed them, but it was uncertain whether he would discover anything useful.

By evening, Prince Huaiyang finally returned. Despite the strong smell of alcohol on him, his mind was still clear. Liu Mian Tang had prepared a hangover remedy for him.

After sipping the remedy, Cui Xingzhou suddenly asked, “Has Li Mama been in and out of here for any particular reason?” Liu Mian Tang hadn't expected him to notice the activity in the bridal chamber from the front hall where he was drinking with the guests. It was likely that the guards outside the bridal chamber had informed the prince.

So, Liu Mian Tang straightforwardly explained the situation about her potentially guilt-ridden brother seeking to cause trouble.

Cui Xingzhou didn't frown but asked, “Should I go and retrieve him?”

Liu Mian Tang shook her head, thinking for a moment before responding firmly, “Not only should he not be brought here, but he shouldn’t even be allowed into the city of Zhenzhou! This situation is highly likely to be a setup. Besides causing trouble on our wedding day, if he’s indeed an escaped convict, simply meeting with him could be seen as harboring a criminal. Given that I’ve married you, he would become your brother-in-law. If someone in court uses this against you, it would be impossible to explain.”

By the end of Liu Mian Tang's thoughts, she was unexpectedly overwhelmed with sadness. Although her brother was not worthy of attending Prince Huaiyang's wedding, she herself had a past as a bandit. Even though the bandit group, Yangshan, had been pacified and she was not pursued by the authorities, it remained a shameful part of her past.

Wasn’t it the case that the current Emperor was also trying hard to erase any mention of his past association with Yangshan?

If Cui Xingzhou had married a woman with a spotless background and proper upbringing, there wouldn’t be such troubles now. Even on their wedding day, they wouldn't be troubled.

However, Cui Xingzhou didn’t dwell on these thoughts as much as Liu Mian Tang did. After his engagement to Lian Binglan, the Lian family frequently brought issues to him, and he had patiently addressed each one.

In contrast, Liu Mian Tang’s family was relatively simple. The Liu family was nearly extinct, and the Lu family’s younger members had been instructed by the elder Lu not to seek to benefit from Liu Mian Tang or cause her trouble, focusing solely on their own affairs and not adding to Liu Mian Tang’s burdens.

Cui Xingzhou had also considered the possibility that if the person in the county jail was indeed Liu Mian Tang’s brother, it would be reasonable for her to ask him to help her brother.

Cui Xingzhou had already prepared himself to be implicated in the situation. However, he was surprised to see that Liu Mian Tang had thought things through so carefully and even refused to meet her brother to avoid involving him.

For a moment, Cui Xingzhou was taken aback and said, "You used to cry your heart out when you first heard about your brother being captured. Why are you so willing to ignore him now? Rest assured, I will handle those concerns you have; they are not a big deal."

Liu Mian Tang reached out and embraced him, saying, "I know your abilities well. But really, there's no need... When I cried, it wasn’t out of pity for him. I was crying because of my father’s favoritism, which brought harm to both us and others. If I had strongly advised my father, perhaps our family wouldn’t have been destroyed. It’s not worth making you endure such troubles for someone like him... You don’t know his nature; he was spoiled by my father. If you help him, he will likely think he has found a patron even more capable than my father and might cause more trouble. That’s why I didn’t want you to help him."

Seeing Liu Mian Tang like this, Cui Xingzhou couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. She wasn’t as tough as she appeared. He knew that secretly, she had arranged for her uncle, Lu Xian, to discreetly provide money to the jailer overseeing Liu Zhanpeng. The money was meant to ensure that Liu Zhanpeng received timely medical treatment if he fell ill and was not subjected to excessively harsh conditions.

In Liu Mian Tang’s heart, her husband was more important, so she always considered his well-being first and made sure he wasn’t put in difficult situations. 

In this regard, she was more thoughtful and considerate than his own mother.

Thinking about this, Cui Xingzhou felt a pang of sympathy and wrapped his arms around her, comforting her, "You don’t need to worry so much. I’ll handle this matter, and you just focus on taking care of yourself."

Liu Mian Tang held him tightly, but she still felt a deep sense of melancholy.

In noble households, it was customary for women who were pregnant to live apart from their husbands. Thus, as night fell, Old Princess Consort Chu, concerned that her son might lose his moderation due to drinking, sent someone to urge the prince to sleep separately and avoid any drunken antics with Liu Mian Tang.

However, the prince had already bathed and was preparing to rest. He told the maid who came with the message, "Go back and reassure Mother that I am aware of the situation and will not cause any trouble. Now, I need to rest."

Liu Mian Tang had a habit of kicking off the covers while she slept, and now that it's early autumn and the nights are getting cooler, Cui Xingzhou could still cover her with a blanket as needed. Having someone beside her was even better than a hot water bottle.

As for his mother’s concerns, Cui Xingzhou felt they were unnecessary. After enduring the hard benches on the northern street for a whole year, how could he not withstand a few months now?

After Liu Mian Tang freshened up, she lay down beside Cui Xingzhou, her body fragrant and refreshed. Despite being his wife for almost two years, it was only now that she was officially recognized as his spouse. Today, their friends and family had all witnessed it, making it undeniable.

Feeling a deep sense of emotion, she couldn't help but whisper close to his ear, "Husband..."

Cui Xingzhou hadn't heard that sweet, affectionate term for a long time, and it filled him with a warm, intense feeling. With the intoxicating fragrance of Liu Mian Tang enveloping him and her soft, warm presence in his arms, he found himself unable to resist. He embraced her, kissing her tenderly on her cherry-like lips.

However, Liu Mian Tang, exhausted from the day's events, soon fell asleep after only a short time of playful teasing with Cui Xingzhou. Cui Xingzhou, under the moonlight, counted the ornaments hanging from the bed's beam for a while before heading to the courtyard to practice his martial arts.

The next morning, after a restful sleep, Liu Mian Tang woke up and noticed that her husband, as usual, was still lying in bed, sleeping late. Since today involved serving tea to her mother-in-law, she had to wake him up, gently coaxing and shaking him until he got up.

Cui Xingzhou, with a grumpy face from lack of sleep, begrudgingly went to serve tea to his mother. 

Due to the wedding, Cui Xingzhou's sister, Cui Fu, had returned to her family home to assist their mother with the preparations. Although she was not in favor of Lian Binglan, she was taken aback to discover that her future sister-in-law came from such a background.

She had originally received news that her brother was getting married and, knowing that their mother was not adept at handling such matters, had come back early to help. However, upon returning to the manor just a few days ago, she learned that the wedding had been rushed due to the bride’s condition, and her mother had been less concerned about the details.

This revelation left Cui Fu fuming, and she could hardly believe her mother’s nonchalant response: “Since they’re rushing into marriage, it’s best to keep it under wraps as much as possible…”

Cui Fu had always felt powerless against her mother’s decisions. She believed that if she had been at the manor, she would never have allowed her brother to marry such an unsuitable bride. Yet, now that the situation had reached this point, she, as a married elder sister, felt she could only stand by while her brother married someone she deemed unworthy of the title of Princess Consort.

Today, she and her mother had woken up early to wait for the newlyweds to serve tea, but the couple was noticeably late. Her brother, still looking groggy and unkempt, seemed to have not slept well. Cui Fu couldn’t help but wonder about Liu Mian Tang’s behavior the previous night—why, with her condition, she couldn’t let her husband rest peacefully and had to cling to him all night.

Cui Fu suspected that Liu Mian Tang might have been worried about her husband’s potential disfavor or jealousy if he had other concubines, but such behavior seemed petty for a woman of her status as the primary wife.

Cui Fu thought it might be time to remind her mother to properly instruct the new bride on her duties.

Meanwhile, Liu Mian Tang was unaware of her sister-in-law’s disapproval. She carefully knelt and presented the tea to her mother-in-law, showing the proper respect.

Old Princess Consort Chu quickly instructed a maid, “Help her up. She’s already had to kneel and bow so much yesterday. We don’t want her straining herself today. There are no outsiders here, so there's no need for such formalities.”

Cui Fu felt her mother was too lenient, lacking the authority expected of a matriarch. She recalled how, when she married into the Duke Qingguo family, her mother-in-law had made her stand and serve at the dining table for a whole month to establish her rules and discipline, given her background as a noblewoman from the Prince family.

Cui Fu, having married far from her own family, felt she had to endure her grievances in silence. Meanwhile, Liu Mian Tang, with her modest background, seemed fortunate to have such a accommodating mother-in-law.

Comparing her own situation with Liu Mian Tang’s, Cui Fu felt a sense of unfairness. She voiced her concerns, saying, “Mother, you’re being too lenient. When I was pregnant, I had to greet my mother-in-law every day, and she never reduced the formalities. This is the proper etiquette for running a household. If everything is waived, it would create disorder and make her think the household is too casual.”

Cui Fu had always been known for her strong will and sharp tongue. Her assertiveness often led to conflicts in her marital home, where she had no one to back her up. Her strict adherence to rules was partly due to her blunt manner.

Cui Xingzhou understood his sister’s temperament and interjected, “Mian Tang is not ignorant of the rules. Sister, you’ve only been back a few days and may not know that she is very respectful and dutiful to Mother. It’s just that she has been recovering from a precarious pregnancy and needs to rest more. It’s only natural for Mother to be more lenient with her.”

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