Chapter 130: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 

 Chapter 130: 

 

However, because the Emperor left with Prince Huaiyang, any suspicions about a private relationship between the Emperor and the Princess were quickly dispelled. The Emperor had come specifically to seek out Prince Huaiyang for hunting, not to reminisce with the Princess.

On the other hand, Consort Yun was filled with hatred. She had finally found a secret medicine she hoped to use that night while serving the Emperor, intending to give birth to a dragon son soon. But because of the interference from Prince Huaiyang, the Emperor's heart had immediately shifted to that shameless woman, Liu Mian Tang.

Later, at the hunting grounds in the western suburbs, Prince Huaiyang displayed his prowess by hunting down a fierce tiger. He boldly declared his intention to skin the tiger to make a blanket for his Princess Consort. Nevertheless, he still showed some courtesy by presenting the tiger whip and bones to the Emperor as nourishment.

Liu Yu felt troubled and didn’t even manage to hunt a single rabbit. However, he did manage to have a private conversation with Prince Huaiyang in the forest, where their exchange appeared quite intense. Eventually, the Emperor emerged with a look of surprise and returned to the palace.

That night, Liu Yu was supposed to rest in Consort Yun’s quarters, but he felt so mentally exhausted from the day that he made an excuse about being tired and opted to sleep in his own chambers.

Unfortunately for Consort Yun, who had just bathed, had applied the secret medicine in vain, her efforts were in vain. Frustration turned to hatred directed at Liu Mian Tang.

Two days later, Consort Yun began to feel a severe itching and noticed some sores on her body. In the palace, if any concubine showed symptoms of a contagious illness, she would be sent out for isolation.

Thus, Consort Yun didn’t dare to summon the imperial physician. Instead, she enlisted the help of some former staff from the Eastern Palace to bring in a famous doctor posing as a member of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

To her dismay, the examination revealed that she was showing signs of poisoning, which appeared to be seeping through her skin.

The physician asked Consort Yun if she had used anything inappropriate in recent days. At that moment, the screen attendant immediately recalled the secret medicine and brought it out for examination, confirming that something was amiss.

For an ordinary person, this medicine would only cause itching and discomfort, but for someone who frequently relied on Danshen (salvia miltiorrhiza) for survival, it was deadly.

Consort Yun’s face turned ashen with fear. She realized that if the Emperor had spent the night in her chambers that day, he would have collapsed and died right there, and there would be no way for her to clear her name.

In a fit of panic, she slapped the screen attendant across the face. "You wretched maid! Where did this poison come from?"

The screen attendant, teary-eyed, replied, “I am wronged, Your Highness! Have you forgotten? This medicine was given to you by that wandering sorcerer who served Prince Sui. You asked someone to obtain it for you!”

Leaning back slowly, Consort Yun suddenly understood; she had become a pawn in Prince Sui’s game.

However, even if she realized this, there was little she could do. She had to swallow her anger, as the matter of her using secret medicine on the Emperor was something she could never reveal...

Thinking about this made her skin itch even more; it seemed to swell and break out in rashes.

Consort Yun was filled with fury but could not confront Prince Sui. She could only claim to be ill, saying she had caught a chill and would temporarily be unable to accompany the Emperor.

In the past, she had always believed that marrying Liu Yu would bring her happiness, but now she realized that life in the palace was even more turbulent than on the mountain of Yangshan. One misstep could lead to total ruin.

As she soaked in the medicinal bath to detoxify, Concubine Yun felt increasingly despondent. She was reminded that she had taken what Liu Mian Tang had discarded.

That intelligent woman—had she foreseen the kind of life she would lead with Liu Yu, which was why she left so easily?

Meanwhile, on the day that Cui Xingzhou returned to the Prince's Mansion, Mian Tang asked him if he had confronted the Emperor privately.

Cui Xingzhou looked at her and replied, “I merely clarified to His Majesty not to heed the slander of others. I, Cui Xingzhou, am not someone who strikes his wife. As for the rest, there’s no need for His Majesty to worry.”

Mian Tang pursed her lips into a smile and no longer asked.

However, as Cui Xingzhou shifted his gaze back to the scroll in his hands, his expression darkened slightly. He wouldn't tell Mian Tang that earlier in the hunting grounds, he had actually had a fierce argument with Liu Yu.

Cui Xingzhou understood that a defeated opponent needed to vent their frustrations, so he had allowed Liu Yu to shout at him in private. But one of Liu Yu's remarks had struck a nerve.

“You're merely a choice for Mian Tang now that she is lost and confused. Do you really think that once she regains her memories, she would choose to stay in the courtyard of someone she once considered an enemy?”

That statement happened to echo Cui Xingzhou's own insecurities.

He wasn't sure whether Mian Tang would regret marrying her former rival once she regained her memories of Lu Wen. After all, the rivalry between Prince Huaiyang and Lu Wen had been nothing but bitter conflict, with no sweetness to be found.

Meanwhile, Mian Tang was busy organizing the manuscripts from today's poetry society. Cui Fu, had already selected the best pieces for her to review before compiling them into a book.

Mian Tang had no understanding of these complexities. She merely skimmed through the manuscripts and, with a clear sense of self-awareness, selected her two poems.

After all, one was a piece she had plagiarized, and the other was a nonsensical insult—hardly fit for highbrow appreciation.

Once she finished organizing everything, she looked up and noticed that Cui Xingzhou had not turned a page for a long time. Curious, she leaned in closer and found him lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, gently touching his cheek.

Cui Xingzhou casually closed the book and tossed it aside, suddenly asking her, “If you regain your memories, will you regret marrying me?”

His question was serious, and Mian Tang felt she needed to consider her response carefully.

After thinking for a moment, she replied honestly, “I don’t know…”

Since she had no recollection of her past with Prince Huaiyang, she couldn’t say how the dark memories from those years would affect her feelings.

As soon as those honest words escaped her lips, Cui Xingzhou's expression darkened, and he stared silently at Mian Tang, his face clouded with gloom.

But Mian Tang wrapped her arms around his waist and said, “Why the long face? Even a divine doctor like Zhao Quan couldn’t cure me. I might never remember my past. Besides, I’m pregnant with your child—do you really think I’d just turn around and leave?”

Cui Xingzhou wrapped his arms around her and, after a moment of silence, said, “If you regain your memories, you’d better be wise. If you even think about leaving me, just see if I’ll let you go!”

Mian Tang stuck her tongue out at him, teasingly mimicking, “Right, right, I’m just your defeated foe, so I must know my place…”

She spoke in a mocking tone, using the phrase that Cui Xingzhou often repeated recently. It was a cheeky way to retort, and he might just want to spank her for it.

However, hearing her playful banter relaxed Cui Xingzhou's furrowed brow. He realized that he didn’t need to take Liu Yu’s words to heart too much. After all, if Liu Yu hadn’t hurt Mian Tang so deeply in the past, she would never have left Yangshan and found herself in danger. It was clear that Liu Yu simply wasn’t deserving of her.

But he and Mian Tang were quite different. Since they met, they had gradually opened up to each other, sharing hardships for years. Now that she was pregnant with his child, there was no need to worry excessively about that…

After this self-reassurance, Cui Xingzhou felt a weight lift from his heart. He simply held his beloved wife and gazed out at the bright moon and sparse stars.

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