Chapter 38
Early the next morning, Cui Lanyin had Sangzhi return home to find Lady Jiang and Cui Lanzhi. She asked them to discuss the matter with Lady Chang and decide whether to invite the young masters and misses of the Yao family to Tianfu Temple on the sixteenth or seventeenth of the fourth month. Once they had settled on a date, they were to send the invitation to the Yao family directly.
Since the Chief Steward was so eager to handle things, Cui Lanyin sent Buyan over to tell him that she sometimes needed to avoid notice when going out, so the carriage should be kept discreet. A four-horse carriage was too conspicuous for her; it would be better to replace it with an ordinary one.
When the Chief Steward learned that Cui Lanyin still needed the carriage that day, he replied that it would be ready in half an hour.
Half an hour later, when Cui Lanyin arrived at the inner gate, she saw a blue-curtained carriage drawn by two horses. Clearly, the Chief Steward’s idea of keeping a low profile differed from hers.
“Second Miss, Yingcheng is unlike other places. Officials of every rank are everywhere, so a two-horse carriage is hardly conspicuous.” The Chief Steward had his own reasoning. “I’ve also prepared the four-horse carriage for you. When you go to the palace or visit someone, you’ll still need to ride in that one.”
Cui Lanyin could only sigh inwardly. Not only had her plan to replace the four-horse carriage with a less conspicuous one failed, but the Chief Steward had also given her a two-horse carriage. She now had two carriages all to herself.
Geng Dayou drove the carriage. With Chiyun and Chiyue accompanying her, Cui Lanyin and the others—four people in all—headed for the teahouse at Dongshui Pass Wharf.
The carriage stopped directly in the teahouse’s rear courtyard. Geng Dayou waited there while Chiyun and Chiyue escorted Cui Lanyin upstairs through the back door to a private room.
Having heard the commotion, Liu Heipi respectfully waited at the door to greet her. “Second Miss has arrived.”
The previous day, Chiyun and Chiyue had remained inside the carriage, and Liu Heipi had been too preoccupied with answering Cui Lanyin to pay them much attention. Now that he saw them clearly, his heart tightened slightly.
Liu Heipi’s martial arts skills were among the best in the jianghu. Otherwise, with so many people in the martial world—many of them righteous and dependable—Bailin would not have chosen him. His excellent skills were a major reason. They ensured that he would not lose face or authority when speaking on behalf of Qilin Hall.
But now, seeing Chiyun and Chiyue, he noticed their long, restrained breaths and their footsteps, as light and soundless as falling leaves. He immediately knew that their skills far surpassed his own, especially their mastery of lightness kung fu, which was rare even in the jianghu.
During this period, Liu Heipi had already represented Qilin Hall in settling two disputes. Each time, two experts had accompanied him to lend their authority. Including those he had seen previously, there had to be more than ten such people. Every one of them was a top-tier expert whom most martial artists could never hope to equal.
Chiyun and Chiyue were no different—and they were women at that. Liu Heipi could not help wondering just how many experts like them there were in Prince Wei’s residence.
After coming into contact with Qilin Hall and learning that it belonged to Prince Wei, Liu Heipi realized that he had once been nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well. He had believed that if enough heroes of the jianghu banded together, even the authorities would have to show them some consideration.
Only now did he understand that the truly top-tier experts were all within the imperial court. Any handful of them could emerge and lay waste to the entire jianghu.
Liu Heipi was once again immensely grateful that he had attached himself to Prince Wei.
Zhang Gui brought up tea and refreshments, and Cui Lanyin asked him to sit down as well.
She first said to Liu Heipi, “I’ve already spoken with my maternal uncle. As for the three shops we looked at yesterday, hand them over to Zhang Gui.”
Liu Heipi had prepared for this already. He immediately took out the keys and gave them to Zhang Gui. “If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me.”
Zhang Gui accepted them, then asked with a broad smile, “Second Miss, we’re not only opening a pastry shop, are we?”
“Of course not. One of the shops on the first floor will be a pastry shop. We’ll open a restaurant in the other two shops, along with the second floor connecting to them.”
Zhang Gui thought of the delicious dishes Cui Sheng had devised in the residence. “Second Miss, who will be the head chef when the restaurant opens?”
“I’ll have Sangzhi select a few people and train them.” Cui Lanyin continued, “The key positions must all be filled by people from our residence. Later, go to the residence and choose suitable candidates. If there aren’t enough, have my mother ask my eldest aunt. We can also use people from the second branch if they’re willing to help.”
Zhang Gui nodded and committed each instruction to memory.
Liu Heipi sat there listening, wondering what Cui Lanyin had summoned him for. He knew that taking the shop keys was certainly not the only reason.
This Second Miss was no sheltered young lady who never ventured beyond her boudoir. She was the one who could open a teahouse at Dongshui Pass, approach the Duke Dingguo’s residence to return Empress Dowager Chen’s dowry, and cow the entire household into submission. She was also preparing to open a pastry shop and a restaurant along the Wuyang River. Even his own wife, who had practiced a few moves of martial arts, lacked Second Miss’s bearing and courage.
After giving Zhang Gui his instructions, Cui Lanyin took out the ledger recording the properties accepted in lieu of payment and pushed it toward Liu Heipi.
“Send people to verify these shops and residences. For those that are far away, rent them out locally. As for the ones nearby or in good locations, make a list and report it to me.”
Liu Heipi accepted the ledger and looked through it. The shops and residences listed inside were scattered across various places.
“Second Miss, I had some men working under me before. But after joining Qilin Hall, I was afraid they weren’t up to the task, so I stopped using them. There’s no one in Qilin Hall who handles miscellaneous errands…”
“Use those men of yours. Just keep them under control.”
Liu Heipi barely managed to stop himself from kneeling before Cui Lanyin. Those men had followed him for many years. Now that he had climbed onto a high branch, he had abandoned them, and he felt deeply guilty about it.
Now that Cui Lanyin had allowed him to use them again, those brothers would at least have a connection to Qilin Hall. If Cui Lanyin found their work satisfactory, they would truly have stepped onto a road paved with gold.
Liu Heipi was so moved that his voice rose into a sharp pitch. “Second Miss, rest assured. I guarantee that none of them will harbor a second thought. We’ll carry out every one of your instructions without the slightest deviation.”
Cui Lanyin was not worried that any of them would harbor disloyal thoughts. The Qilin Guards under Prince Wei would completely overwhelm martial artists from the jianghu, and Liu Heipi should be well aware of that.
She then took out the list of businesses in which various parties held shares, compiled after she had sorted through everything the previous night. “Notify each of them that we’ll be sending people to check the accounts. Tell them to cooperate.”
When Liu Heipi saw whose businesses were listed and understood Cui Lanyin’s intentions, his blood began to race. Second Miss was about to stir up a tremendous storm in the jianghu.
“As for the accountants they’ve been using, keep them on after verifying that there are no problems.”
Liu Heipi committed this instruction to memory as well.
On her way back, Cui Lanyin stopped by her family’s home. After Lady Jiang had discussed the matter with Lady Chang, they decided that it would be best for Cui Fu and Cui Ran to relax for one day before sitting the examination the following day. They settled on going to Tianfu Temple on the seventeenth of the fourth month. The Yao family had already been informed, and they thought the date was suitable as well.
Only two days had passed since her last visit, yet Lady Jiang and Cui Lanzhi both looked rounder. Whenever they spoke, smiles appeared unconsciously on their faces.
After Hong Ji analyzed the situation for the family, they understood that Cui Lanyin and her family’s difficulties had been resolved. Prince Wei had even arranged for Cui Su to study martial arts, all because of Cui Lanyin. Hong Ji had said that this trip could very well lead to a promising future for him.
After Cui Sheng went to the Ministry of Works, he calculated the materials needed for several assignments with remarkable precision, saving the ministry a considerable amount of money and establishing himself there. Now, whenever he received an assignment, his superiors had him check the calculations first.
Lady Jiang no longer had anything weighing on her mind. Naturally, she had become more relaxed and put on some weight.
The same was true of Cui Lanzhi. She no longer had to rise early to pay her respects and observe rules before her mother-in-law. Whenever she wanted to eat something, her family prepared it for her. Hong Ji also treated her with great consideration. She could eat and sleep well, and her pregnancy was progressing better than that of most women.
Not wanting her family to worry over her marriage, Cui Lanyin told Lady Jiang and Cui Lanzhi about the Yao family’s intentions.
When Lady Jiang heard that the Fifth Young Master Yao and the Sixth Young Master Yao were both hers to choose from, and that such favorable conditions had even been offered, she recited “Amitabha” several times. “Good things really do come after many trials. I’ve met both young masters, and either one would be an excellent choice.”
After Hong Ji told Cui Lanzhi about the Yao family’s standing among scholars, she was even happier for her sister. “This is incredible! I’m going to have a top scholar for a nephew.”
Over the next two days, Zhang Gui came to Prince Wei’s residence twice, and Cui Lanyin settled all the arrangements with him for the pastry shop and the restaurant.
Liu Heipi could not very well come to Prince Wei’s residence, so he spent his idle time at the teahouse. Since there had finally been some progress with the matter he was handling, he sent word back with Zhang Gui when Zhang Gui came over.
The old accounts had to be sorted out before they could be reconciled. Aside from assigning tasks to Zhang Gui and Liu Heipi, Cui Lanyin spent most of her time organizing the books.
Once she became busy, she could no longer stay in the study for such long stretches as she had during the previous two days. Still, she accompanied Prince Wei for both lunch and dinner. She would arrive a little early before the meal and leave a little later afterward. Altogether, she could stay for about two hours over the two meals, which was not a short time.
It was only that Prince Wei had become quiet again over the past two days. When she asked him something, he would take a long while before answering with an “Mm.” If she asked more questions, he would manage only two words at a time. Cui Lanyin began to lose heart, wondering whether she had annoyed him by seeking him out and talking to him so often.
It was only after Bailin and Qinglin both told her that Prince Wei would spend several days every month neither eating nor drinking, sleeping continuously through them, and that his current condition was already far better than usual, that she felt reassured.
The seventeenth happened to be a day off. Cui Lanyin had dressed and was just about to board her carriage at the inner gate when she thought of Prince Wei at home and went to the study at the front of the residence.
After entering, Cui Lanyin’s eyes took quite a while to adjust to the darkness. “Why haven’t the curtains been drawn back?”
Seeing Buyan standing silently in the corner, Cui Lanyin waved her hand. She could guess that Prince Wei had forbidden it.
She walked over to the luohan couch. Prince Wei was neither dozing nor meditating. He sat there with a hollow look in his eyes, as though his mind had wandered somewhere far away.
“Uncle?” Cui Lanyin raised a hand and waved it before his eyes.
“Mm,” Prince Wei answered.
Cui Lanyin beckoned to Buyan. “Uncle is awake. Hurry and draw back the curtains. Open the windows too. So many flowers have bloomed in the garden, and their fragrance is drifting in. Just smelling it puts one in a good mood for the whole day.”
Buyan hurried to carry out her instructions. The room soon brightened, and through the open windows came the faintest trace of floral fragrance, dispelling much of the oppressive gloom inside.
“Why haven’t you gone?” Prince Wei asked.
“I came to tell you, Uncle. I’ll be leaving shortly.”
“Everyone is merely passing through.” Prince Wei murmured the words, then leaned back casually and flicked his fingers once.
Yet Cui Lanyin could not bring herself to leave just like that. The Prince Wei before her seemed even more desolate and devoid of interest in anything than he had been when she first came. He looked as though he had seen through everything in the world.
A sense of panic rose within her. She was afraid that Prince Wei would never turn back from this state. She did not want the uncle who had always protected her to disappear.
Cui Lanyin moved closer and sat beside him, her hand nervously tightening around his arm. “Uncle, how can everyone be merely passing through? I’m still here, aren’t I?”
Prince Wei pulled his arm free. His eyes cleared, and he said, “Go on. I’m fine.”
“Uncle, what’s wrong? I feel so uneasy.”
“I was only thinking about my childhood. In a few days, it will be the anniversary of my mother’s death.”
He had lost his mother at the age of six. At such a young age, he had already seen so much of the world’s coldness and fickleness. Others could rely on time to forget, but every detail had been etched deeply into his mind. From time to time, it would replay itself before his eyes just as it had today, again and again, year after year. No matter how abundant his energy and vitality were, such memories would eventually consume them all.
Cui Lanyin’s heart clenched.
“Uncle, then I won’t go. I’ll stay home and talk with you. The day after tomorrow, I’ll go with you to pay respects to your grandaunt.”
Remembering how helpless she had been when Lady Tan passed away, Cui Lanyin found a string of tears sliding down her cheeks before she even realized it.
Prince Wei reached out and touched her face with one finger. He stared at the tear on his fingertip for a while before saying, “Apart from my mother, you’re the second person to shed tears for me.”
“In the end, everyone comes and goes alone. Try to see it more clearly.”
Our Qiqi is just too clever. There’s rarely anything he can’t see through, so… [wicked grin] [Let me have a look]
