Chapter 142: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 

 Chapter 142: 

 

Guo Yi was known as a humble gentleman in public, but he was infuriated by Li Guangcai's taunts, his anger causing him to lose all decorum.

Without further ado, he directly grabbed Li Guangcai by the collar.

When scholars got into a fight, it wasn’t much different from village bumpkins—they pulled collars, tugged at ears, and exchanged punches.

Since Guo Yi had only brought a young servant with him to find Cui Fu, that servant quickly ran off to fetch help as soon as the two men started rolling on the ground.

By the time the servants from the Duke's household rushed over to join the fray, Cui Fu’s side also arrived with reinforcements.

Liu Mian Tang walked ahead and keenly noticed that Li Guangcai was quite skilled in the brawl, currently on top of Guo Yi, landing punches to Guo Yi’s face.

Seeing that Li Guangcai hadn’t lost his footing, Mian Tang felt there was no need to rush in and break up the fight.

As the servants from Duke Qing’s household began to surge forward, she quickly exchanged a glance with Fan Hu, who understood that his Madam was not afraid of a little chaos. He led a few men to intercept the incoming servants, shouting, “The two gentlemen are discussing matters! It’s best for us servants not to interfere…”

At that moment, the old Duke’s wife, supported by her son’s concubine Yu Rao, watched in frustration as Fan Hu blocked the way. She stomped her foot in anger, saying, “Are you discussing matters with your fists? My son is being beaten to the brink of death—hurry and save him!”

After Li Guangcai vented his frustration, the servants from the Duke's family finally pushed him away and helped their young master to his feet.

Guo Yi, with blood streaming from his nose, still refused to back down. He pointed at Li Guangcai, saying, “That is the mother of my son! Why do you need to hover around her like this, being so attentive? Walking together to enjoy the flowers like this is truly improper!”

Li Guangcai dusted himself off and replied calmly, “Miss Cui is my fiancée. Today, with Prince Huaiyang and the Princess Consort accompanying us, enjoying the plum blossoms in the open Plum Garden, what law or family rule have we violated?”

His words shocked everyone. When had Cui Fu become engaged to him? Why did no one know about it?

Mian Tang quickly glanced at Cui Fu, only to find her wearing a look of surprise, clearly unaware of any engagement herself.

However, Cui Fu opened her mouth to deny it but didn’t say anything. Since she was indeed out enjoying the plum blossoms with Li Guangcai today, if scrutinized closely, it could be deemed improper, but it wasn’t a major breach of decorum.

But now that Guo Yi was fabricating a story about her and Li Guangcai meeting secretly, and having been the first to throw a punch, drawing a crowd of onlookers, she knew there was no way to clear herself.

Since Li Guangcai had just claimed that she was engaged to him, it now made sense for them to enjoy the plum blossoms together in a refined manner, leaving no room for criticism.

If she denied it now, it would reflect poorly on her as a divorced woman provoking a fight between her ex-husband and an unrelated man, which would be embarrassing.

Thus, although Cui Fu was annoyed by Li Guangcai’s reckless words, she had no choice but to tacitly accept the situation.

Liu Mian Tang realized the source of Li Guangcai's audacity and whispered to Cui Xingzhou, “It’s no surprise he’s your peer; he’s just as shameless. Deceiving his way into a marriage like this will surely lead to a bad end!”

Cui Xingzhou was not pleased that his sister was being so improperly wooed. However, considering the gravity of the situation regarding his sister's reputation, he felt there would be more to discuss with Guangcai later.

When Guo Yi heard about Cui Fu's engagement to Li Guangcai, his eyes widened, waiting for Cui Fu to refute it.

However, Cui Fu lowered her head and remained silent, almost as if tacitly agreeing with the claim. Guo Yi, enraged, pointed a finger at her and exclaimed, “If you intend to remarry, then Jin'er cannot stay by your side. I will send someone to take our son back tomorrow! If you refuse to let Jin'er return, I will file a lawsuit with the Cheng Tian Court. Even if you are the legitimate daughter of Prince Huaiyang, you must abide by the law! Let’s see if the laws of Great Yan allow one to strip the legitimate son of his rights!”

After threatening her, Guo Yi disregarded Yu Rao, who was tending to his bleeding nose, and stormed off in anger.

The Duchess was trembling with rage, insisting that she would sue Li Guangcai.

Mian Tang raised an eyebrow and asked Li Guangcai's servant, “Who started the fight first?”

The servant shouted back, “It was Duke Guo who, without a word, first grabbed our master by the neck!”

Mian Tang turned to the Duchess and said, “So it's acceptable for your son to strike others, but no one is allowed to retaliate? Moreover, you need to explain how you’ve insulted my sister's reputation today. Even if you don’t pursue legal action, Prince Huaiyang’s residence will not let this go unchallenged!”

Duchess Qing was so furious that she could hardly speak and led her people away in a huff.

Cui Fu, equally enraged, shot a fierce glare at her newly declared fiancé, Li Guangcai, before turning to leave as well.

Once they returned to the private room in the restaurant to rest, Cui Fu removed her cloak and adjusted her hair, then turned to confront Li Guangcai. “Who said I would marry you? You just declared in front of so many people that I’m your fiancée!”

Li Guangcai remained calm, “I’ve been an official for many years with limited salary. The property and houses left by my deceased parents have been registered and submitted to Prince Huaiyang, who made it clear that you will marry according to your own wishes after your first marriage. Therefore, he cannot decide for you. I just blurted it out in a moment of panic when Guo Yi accused me of being too familiar with you. If you don’t wish for it, once the fuss dies down, just have Prince Huaiyang throw my marriage proposal in front of my colleagues and say that my destiny clashes with yours, and it would not be appropriate to marry. Just like that, we’ll consider the engagement nullified…”

“You…” Cui Fu was momentarily at a loss for words as Li Guangcai defended himself with such intricate reasoning.

Cui Xingzhou noticed that Liu Mian Tang was watching the unfolding drama with keen interest, as if she were about to grab a handful of melon seeds and set up a stool to enjoy the show.

He then pulled Mian Tang away from the partition and into the next room. “Since this is a matter between the two of them, we don’t need to be involved. The food is already served, and their family’s vinegar fish is delicious. You should try it while it’s hot.”

Due to nursing, Mian Tang had been eating bland food without much salt recently, making her meals quite tasteless. Now that little Yi’er had grown a bit, she could finally enjoy some savory dishes.

Upon hearing Cui Xingzhou's words, Mian Tang fixed her gaze on the quivering, gelatinous crystal pig's trotter, picked up a generous piece to satisfy her craving, and then savored the well-seasoned vinegar fish, feeling as if her entire tongue had come back to life.

However, she found Li Guangcai to be rather cunning. Now that she thought about it, someone as refined as Guo Yi could resort to violence; it must mean that Li Guangcai's words were particularly cutting and provocative!

Could it be that Li Guangcai had deliberately incited Guo Yi into a fight?

With that thought, Miantang couldn't help but ask, “Was what Lord Li said just now true? Isn’t he afraid you’ll throw his marriage proposal back in his face in front of your colleagues?”

Cui Xingzhou replied slowly, “It should be true. However, I’ll soon be heading over the Lingnan region to take up the position of Commander of Beihai, and he will accompany me. By then, it will likely be just the two of us in the military tent, so he naturally isn’t afraid of losing face.”

Mian Tang abruptly halted mid-bite, staring at him wide-eyed.

What in the world was Beihai? That area comprised the Two Guang regions, known for its miasma and various tribal groups; it was hot and unbearable and had always been a place for exiling criminals.

Why would he be going there for a position? Why hadn’t she heard anything about it?

Cui Xingzhou shook his head helplessly and said, “I initially planned to bring you out to have some fun and not mention these matters. Beihai is facing invasions from the Japanese, and it’s causing quite a stir. The local forces have suffered several defeats and have had no choice but to request aid from the court. Unfortunately, that area is full of the former faction loyal to the palace family, tangled in intricate relationships. The emperor can’t mobilize them, so they can only send me to take charge...”

Liu Mian Tang understood that it wasn’t solely because the former palace faction was difficult to mobilize. Ever since the death of Prince Sui, the conflicts between the Shi family and the Yangshan faction had intensified. Each side had been desperately vying for power to fill the void left by the palace family, employing every possible scheme and unscrupulous means.

Even Cui Xingzhou’s faction, the Zhenzhou group, had remained inactive and had never involved themselves in the power struggles. Yet, both factions looked down on Prince Huaiyang. It was hard to say that this assignment of a high-ranking court official like Cui Xingzhou to such a troublesome area didn’t have anything to do with the machinations of those two factions.

Or perhaps Emperor Liu Yu was trying to discard Cui Xingzhou after using him, wanting to push him out of the way. Of course, if Cui Xingzhou didn’t want to go, he could find countless ways to refuse. Yet, he accepted this unwanted task...

As her mind raced with thoughts, she slowly finished the food in her mouth and said, “I want to go with you... and our child.”

Cui Xingzhou expected her to be angry and question him about why he took on such a hot potato of a task. 

However, to his surprise, she didn’t ask a single question. Instead, she was as determined as before to follow him to the Northwest.

His heart warmed at her words, but he replied sternly, “This is nonsense! Yi'er is still small; how can he withstand the hardships of traveling? I’ve already discussed with the emperor that the condition for my trip to Beihai is that he allows you and Yi'er to return to Zhenzhou. Once sister's marriage is settled, she and mother will also return to Zhenzhou.”

Liu Mian Tang slowly put down her chopsticks and, without changing her expression, said, “You are my husband; how could I allow you to be a thousand miles away from me? I know it will be tough there, but I can't bear to separate from Yi'er and leave him to be raised by mother and the wet nurses. Since he is our child, he should be with his parents wherever we go. If he can’t endure this little hardship, then he might as well have been born into another household, living off his ancestors’ merits and waiting to die like a spoiled rich kid.”

After all, she was a woman who had been a bandit, and her words carried a ruthlessness that ordinary ladies would never express. Now that she had said this, no matter how Cui Xingzhou tried to persuade her, it would be useless. Even if he forbade her from going, she would surely find a way to sneak along.

Cui Xingzhou had never regretted his decision to go to Beihai to eliminate the Japanese pirates. But at this moment, looking at the stubborn woman in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of regret.

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