Chapter 111: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" (Are You the One)

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 Chapter 111: 

 

Prince Sui, with his fashionable mustache, looked rather comical with wine splashed all over his face. 

Prince Sui was not one to tolerate such humiliation. Seeing Liu Mian Tang’s deliberate provocation and hearing her irritating tone, he decided to seize the opportunity to push her down. With her being pregnant, he could easily make it look like she accidentally knocked over the wine and slipped on the spilled liquid.

However, as he raised his hand, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his wrist. Someone had tightly grasped it.

Turning abruptly, he saw the Prince Huaiyang standing behind him with an impassive expression. The grip on his wrist was like a vice.

“Prince Sui seems to have forgotten his manners,” Prince Huaiyang said with a cold, mocking tone. “Instead of mingling with the dignitaries, you’re loitering among the women?”

Prince Sui forced a smile, trying to maintain his composure. “I was merely exchanging pleasantries with your wife. Surely, you’re not so petty?”

Prince Huaiyang smiled slightly, but his grip tightened painfully. Prince Sui let out a muffled groan, his face turning a shade of purple.

Seeing Prince Sui’s distress, Prince Huaiyang continued with a smirk, “If you don’t mind, I could stay and chat with you a bit longer.”

Prince Sui, nearly on the brink of kneeling from the pain, hissed softly, “You little bastard, is this all the strength you have? Try harder if you dare!”

Prince Sui was intentionally provoking Prince Huaiyang. If he could get Huaiyang Prince to break his hand, he would make a scene at the celebration and have this country bumpkin driven out of the capital!

Liu Mian Tang saw through Prince Sui’s provocation. The way men fight among themselves can sometimes be as childish as a three-year-old!

She quickly smiled and said to Prince Huaiyang, “Today is the joyous occasion of Duke Qing’s house warming party. The two princes should not overshadow the host. If you wish to spar, let’s set a date for a duel on the practice grounds. If you end up with a broken head, it will be by your own choice, won’t it?”

Prince Huaiyang understood Liu Mian Tang’s hint to not fall for Prince Sui’s provocation.

He slowly released his grip and smiled at Prince Sui, “Shall we schedule a day to go to the practice grounds?”

If it came to martial skills, Prince Sui could not match up to Prince Huaiyang, who was seasoned in battlefield combat. Prince Sui, without saying anything, glared fiercely at the smiling Prince Huaiyang. When he turned his gaze back to Liu Mian Tang, he saw her turning her hand to reveal a sharp hairpin, then slowly inserting it back into her hair.

It turned out that Liu Mian Tang had cleverly hidden the hairpin between her fingers, ready to use it if needed. If Prince Huaiyang hadn’t arrived in time, the hairpin would have pricked Prince Sui’s hand.

Liu Mian Tang had already planned to fall backward, crying out that Prince Sui was harming her child, intending to take the initiative and see who would dare to provoke whom!

Prince Sui knew that if he had truly pushed her, he wouldn’t have had a good outcome. He sneered and said, “No wonder Prince Huaiyang is willing to marry a female bandit king. This kind of unruly behavior, even at a banquet, is truly a force to be reckoned with in the capital!”

In Prince Sui’s view, Prince Huaiyang must have known about Liu Mian Tang’s past, as he had spent enough time at the North Street courtyard to know her background thoroughly.

Liu Mian Tang, though known as Lu Wen, had once assisted the current Emperor. Her past identity posed no real threat at this moment, so she didn't dwell on it. However, her heart sank when she realized that this Prince must have learned about her identity from his adopted daughter, Sun Yun'niang.

After Prince Sui finished speaking, he wiped his face with a silk handkerchief and left in a huff.

Prince Huaiyang, having heard Prince Sui's words, slowly turned to look at Liu Mian Tang. She was so anxious she felt like crashing into a wall and with reddened eyes said, “He... insulted me!”

Cui Xingzhou took her hand and reassured her, “He insulted you as a bandit, but you threw wine at him. It’s not like you came off worse. Don’t cry; it’ll ruin your makeup.”

Liu Mian Tang felt somewhat relieved, having managed to brush it off. 

But her anxiety persisted, and she tentatively asked, “But if what he said is true, if I really am a bandit leader... what would you do?”

Cui Xingzhou chuckled, “Where in the world do you look like a bandit leader? I married you, didn’t I? As long as you’re not a tenfold villain like Lu Wen, I’d even give you a mountain to be grand on…”

Cui Xingzhou’s words were obviously meant as a joke, but Liu Mian Tang couldn’t help but feel a bit shaken. Throughout the remainder of the banquet, she felt a bit dispirited, even losing interest in the golden thread pastries she loved. As she absentmindedly touched her stomach, her thoughts wandered to scenarios of secretly taking the child from the palace and living a wandering life. Her eyes grew red again with worry.

After Prince Sui left, Cui Xingzhou stayed close to Liu Mian Tang, not leaving her side. Noticing her discomfort, he reached out to touch her forehead, finding it not too hot, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Liu Mian Tang sniffled slightly and replied weakly, "It's nothing, just feeling a bit stuffed from eating too much and a bit drowsy."

At this moment, Cui Fu, sitting beside her sister-in-law Liu Mian Tang, immediately said, "If you're tired, don’t force yourself to stay here. I'll have someone arrange a room for you to rest. Take your maids and servants and lie down for a while. You can return to the manor when you feel refreshed."

Cui Fu then instructed a servant to show the Princess Consort to a quiet courtyard in the rear of the residence for a short rest.

Since the banquet had already begun and most of the preparations were completed, Li Mama also took her leave from Cui Fu and came to attend to her mistress.

Liu Mian Tang wasn’t truly tired. After resting for a while and drinking some sweet tea, her earlier gloom began to lift.

She wasn’t the type to dwell on things endlessly. Since the situation was unsolvable at the moment, she decided to let it go and just enjoy her time in the manor, eating, drinking, and spending time with the handsome prince. After all, Cui Xingzhou had deceived her before, so fair is fair in the game of life.

However, Li Mama seemed to be in a less cheerful mood. Having spent two days away from the Cui residence and at the Duke's, she had a clear understanding of how her young mistress was treated at her in-laws' house and couldn’t help but worry about Cui Fu.

Seeing Li Mama’s discomfort, Liu Mian Tang naturally noticed it and asked her what was wrong.

Li Mama spoke in a low voice, "Miss has been working too hard at the Duke's residence..."

Liu Mian Tang reflected on the situation she had seen with the Duchess of the Guo Family. The Duchess, from the esteemed Gai family of the capital, had married into the Guo family, a match that seemed appropriate at first.

However, the engagement between her son, Guo Yi, and Cui Fu had been arranged secretly by the Guo patriarch and the old Prince Huaiyang after a few drinks, without the Madam’s prior knowledge.

When she found out, the Duchess Gai was genuinely unhappy about the match. The Gai family and the Guo family were both distinguished scholarly families, whereas the Huaiyang Prince’s family was a non-royal vassal family, a temporary arrangement by the court that couldn’t compare with the established status of their families.

The Huaiyang Prince’s family had only recently risen to prominence, and Cui Fu had not been raised with the same status and education as a royal daughter. The Duchess Gai, used to a high level of refinement and social standing, found it difficult to accept her new daughter-in-law.

Cui Fu, unlike Liu Mian Tang, was not adept at navigating such complex family dynamics and had a stubborn personality, which only exacerbated the tension with Duchess Gai.

While Cui Fu was at her family’s home attending her brother’s wedding ceremony, Duchess Gai took the opportunity to arrange for a concubine for Guo Yi. This concubine was a secondary daughter from the Gai family, and she was also Guo Yi’s cousin.

After Cui Fu returned home, she discovered that Duchess Gai had arranged for a concubine, who was also a relative, for her husband. This deeply upset her, and she cried in frustration. On top of that, she had to handle the relocation festivities, which only added to her misery.

Liu Mian Tang frowned as she listened and asked Li Mama, "Even in a rural landlord’s family, such actions by a mother-in-law would be criticized. Why is Duchess Gai behaving so arbitrarily and outrageously? Doesn't Duke Qing say anything about it?"

Li Mama sighed and said, “I don’t know how it happened, but just like our old princess consort, Miss Cui also struggled with having children. After all these years, she has only given birth to Jin’er. So Duchess Gai had an excuse to add a concubine to the family. Moreover, Miss Cui has been away for a long time. Duchess Gai used the excuse that there was no one to properly attend to her son and brought in a new concubine. However, a proper mother-in-law should at least inform her daughter-in-law. Keeping it a secret and adding a concubine without informing the daughter-in-law could cause quite a scandal, especially if the daughter’s family is unruly. Besides, Duke Qing is always obsessed with mountains, rivers, and paintings, and he doesn’t care much about household matters.”

Liu Mian Tang raised an eyebrow and asked, “Doesn’t Guo Yi have any say in this? Does he just accept whoever his mother arranges for him?”

Li Mama chuckled a little, “It’s not as simple as just accepting. Not all sons are like our prince, who makes his own decisions. Besides, the new concubine, Yu Rao, is just seventeen and very beautiful. Recently, Guo Yi has been staying in her quarters…”

Liu Mian Tang felt a pang of frustration. Seeing her sister Cui Fu, despite her heavy makeup, couldn’t hide the exhaustion and redness in her eyes, Liu Mian Tang understood the situation completely.

She thought about how, if Cui Xingzhou took advantage of her pregnancy and brought in a delicate little cousin as a concubine, she wouldn’t just be angry—she’d be furious enough to take up a long sword and deal with them both.

No matter what, she couldn’t manage to maintain the facade of a virtuous wife like her sister Cui Fu, while also handling the chaotic moving banquet arrangements for the family!

Li Mama, seeing that Liu Mian Tang’s anger had turned her face red and her brows furrowed, quickly patted her on the back and said, “My dear Princess, please calm down. Why are you so upset? Such things are common in big families. The Guo family’s actions were indeed improper, but Miss Cui has kept the family’s troubles private. After a few private disputes with her husband, it ended there… Besides, our prince wouldn’t be so unreasonable. Please calm yourself!”

Perhaps due to her pregnancy, Liu Mian Tang’s emotions were especially volatile. Furthermore, since she had married into the Cui family, Cui Fu was like her own sister.

Seeing her sister-in-law treated so poorly by her in-laws made Liu Mian Tang feel as though the Cui family’s reputation was being trampled upon as if the entire Zhenzhou Cui family were dead and buried.

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