The Chief Steward had already prepared his response. “Second Miss, I can’t get close to the prince either. For many matters, I can only make my best guess. Affairs within the residence are manageable, but dealings with people outside are difficult to handle this way indefinitely. If I misunderstand something, wouldn’t that ruin the prince’s plans?”
Cui Lanyin thought of Prince Wei’s ambitions regarding that position. Everything the prince’s residence did outside had to be handled with care. The Chief Steward did not understand Prince Wei’s intentions, and if he misread them, the consequences would be grave.
When she hesitated, the Chief Steward pressed his case even harder. “It won’t trouble Second Miss much. You only need to oversee the general direction. Whenever something is uncertain, you can ask the prince for instructions. I’ll handle the rest. There are plenty of people in the residence—they aren’t here merely to sit idle.”
Cui Lanyin thought of the various departments under the Chief Steward, each staffed with people who had their own specialties. They had all been left idle simply because Prince Wei had no use for them. If they were put to work properly, she truly would not need to do much herself.
It was not enough to merely say she had boarded Prince Wei’s ship; she had to show it through her actions.
She had already taken charge of the Qilin Hall’s businesses outside, as well as the examination of their accounts. This small matter of the prince’s residence should not be too much for her.
Prince Wei was at a crucial juncture. If she could lend him a hand, she ought not to shirk her duty.
“Then I’ll give it a try. Chief Steward, you can’t just leave everything to me.”
“Of course not, of course not. How would I dare make Second Miss labor?” The Chief Steward beamed with delight. “Then I’ll go to the Internal Household Bureau and request some palace maids.”
“But my uncle doesn’t like using palace maids, does he?”
“Second Miss doesn’t know this, but the Internal Household Bureau pays the monthly stipends of both palace maids and eunuchs.” Afraid that Cui Lanyin did not understand, the Chief Steward added, “That’s how it works for the princes’ residences. It’s different for the emperor’s brothers and those of the generation above them, so…”
So they might as well take advantage of what was free, since the opportunity would be gone once they passed it by. Judging by the Chief Steward’s expression, as though he had suffered a great loss by leaving those funds unused, he must have regretted it for a long time.
Thinking of the Qilin Guards whose origins were difficult to determine, Cui Lanyin still refused to give her assent. “My uncle dislikes having matters within the residence leaked outside. With too many people, it’s harder to prevent loose tongues. As for bringing in palace maids, let me ask my uncle first.”
The Chief Steward had been unable to make any progress precisely because he could not judge these matters. Now that Cui Lanyin could ask Prince Wei for clear instructions, this was exactly what he had wanted. Naturally, he had no objection. “I’ll await Second Miss’s orders.”
After observing her for so many days, the Chief Steward had developed complete confidence in Cui Lanyin. He felt that as long as she asked, Prince Wei would most likely agree.
“We’re short of eunuchs as well. If the prince gives his approval, I’ll request them at the same time. There are plenty of tasks in the gardens, and we can’t keep up with them all.” The Chief Steward wished he could recover all the resources he had previously wasted in one go. “As for the matter of too many people and too many mouths, even if Second Miss doesn’t mention it, I’ll keep an eye on it. No matter how many people we bring in, I can guarantee that not a word about the residence will get out.”
Cui Lanyin trusted the Chief Steward’s ability. She had lived in Prince Wei’s residence for quite some time now, and the people there truly did not leak information to outsiders. That was all thanks to him.
“I’ll speak with my uncle properly.”
The Chief Steward felt filled with renewed energy. Once he got busy, everything proceeded twice as efficiently. Before long, he had helped Cui Lanyin move into her new quarters.
Yi’an Hall was the main hall of the rear residence, and every detail followed the regulations for a prince’s estate. Naturally, it could not be like Chunxi Pavilion, which had streams running through the courtyard and had been built amid the garden scenery.
But Yi’an Hall had advantages of its own. Every door and window in the main hall and its side chambers was fitted with glass panes, easily surpassing all the benefits of Chunxi Pavilion.
Cui Lanyin had wanted a glass window for a long time. Now, faced with row after row of large glass windows in the main hall and side chambers of Yi’an Hall, she went to sit beneath each one in turn, feeling as though she had become wealthy overnight.
Once the move was complete, Cui Lanyin had recovered considerably after bathing and changing her clothes.
Today, Cui Fu and Cui Ran were sitting for the prefectural examination. Cui Lanyin had originally planned to return home, but now she was simply too weak to do so.
Although her headache had passed, this episode was different from the ones she had previously endured by sheer force of will. In the past, as long as she could get out of bed and rest for an hour or two, she would be as good as new.
After changing her medicine and receiving acupuncture this time, however, things were different. Perhaps because the medicine and needles had stopped the illness at its most intense point, the underlying problem still lingered. Once she was up, she needed an entire day to recover completely.
It was not particularly painful, but her body felt limp and she lacked some of her usual energy. Staying at home was manageable, but she could not endure going out.
Fortunately, everyone in the second branch knew about her condition. Cui Lanyin had Aiye take the two boxes of palace-made pastries sent by Empress Dowager Chen to the second branch as a greeting.
By the time the prefectural examination ended, it was already the end of the month. Cui Chang had decided to set out for Shanxi on the third day of the fifth month, and the two branches agreed to hold a farewell dinner for him together on the first day of the fifth month.
Since returning from the Funing Palace on the tenth day of the fourth month, Cui Lanyin had not gone there again. It was not that she did not want to go; Empress Dowager Chen had told her to stay away for the time being.
After Emperor Xuanning ordered every family to send their unmarried daughters to the palaces of Empress Dowager Li and Empress Dowager Chen, Empress Dowager Chen had sent Eunuch Qian to tell her that things were chaotic with so many people around, and that she should wait a while before coming over again.
Prince Wei had no interest in marriage, and Empress Dowager Chen was not one to meddle in other people’s affairs. Having those young ladies visit Funing Palace would be pointless. If one of them did something unruly, it would only create more trouble there. That was why Empress Dowager Chen had changed her mind—perhaps she was worried that, with those young ladies constantly before her eyes, she would once again take up copying scriptures to calm her mind.
Though Cui Lanyin was concerned, it would not have been appropriate for her to visit at such a time. Otherwise, people might think that as the prince’s niece, she had gone there to probe into something. She knew Empress Dowager Chen had also considered this and was therefore stopping her from coming, so she settled down to wait.
She had expected to wait for quite some time, but on the thirtieth day of the fifth month, not long after she had finished breakfast, Eunuch Qian arrived from the front.
Cui Lanyin had genuinely missed the people of Funing Palace during this period. She hurriedly rose to greet him.
She had just straightened her clothes and descended the steps beneath the corridor when Qian He had already passed through the moon gate and entered the courtyard.
“We’re not strangers, so there’s no need for Second Miss to be so formal. From now on, I’ll come in on my own.”
Cui Lanyin then called over the three parrots perched beneath the corridor. “Come, greet Eunuch Qian.”
The three parrots each hopped forward in turn and spoke two words.
“Lucky.”
“Ruyi.”
“Fortune.”
Qian He shook his head. “Second Miss chose the pretty ones, but not the cleverest. Tomorrow, I’ll have the other birds recite poetry for you. I’m sure you’ll like them.”
He turned his head and looked around. “Where’s that ugly gray one?”
“I had it hung beneath my uncle’s study. My uncle finds it noisy, so Grayfeather gets locked indoors for two out of every three days to reflect on its behavior. It was confined again yesterday. My uncle said that if Grayfeather still didn’t learn its lesson, he would send it back to me.”
Seeing the mischievous smile on Cui Lanyin’s face, Qian He understood at once. She had deliberately sent that gray parrot to torment Prince Wei.
“Second Miss, quickly, tell me what happened. I’ll tell the empress dowager about it when I return so she can have a laugh too.”
Cui Lanyin recounted several of Grayfeather’s misdeeds. Qian He laughed so hard that he could barely stand, then followed Cui Lanyin into the eastern side chamber.
This was where Cui Lanyin usually spent her time, and where she received those close to her.
Qian He looked around from the main reception hall inward. “Second Miss should have moved here long ago. The guest courtyard was too remote and too small. Living there must have been terribly stifling.”
Seeing that even Qian He did not think there was anything improper about her moving here, Cui Lanyin could only conclude that like truly gathered with like. Empress Dowager Chen was always saying that Prince Wei was a man who did not observe the rules, but she herself was hardly any better.
“Has the empress dowager been enjoying some peace and quiet?”
Qian He smiled with a knowing look. "I've managed to sort out a few threads, which is why the Empress Dowager sent me here. She wants Second Miss to come over and spend some time at the palace tomorrow."
"I'll head over first thing tomorrow morning."
"The Empress Dowager misses Second Miss terribly, if you ask me. You might as well leave right after you wake up tomorrow, so you can go to the palace and have breakfast with her. That way you'll get to stay longer."
"Sounds perfect. I've heard the silver-thread noodles in the palace are as thin as strands of hair, and I'll get to try them tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow I'll have Lei Fu make them for you. His silver-thread noodles are absolutely unparalleled."
Qian He showed no hurry to leave, and sat there chatting with Cui Lanyin about all sorts of everyday matters.
Suddenly, through the open window, they spotted a eunuch rushing past the ornamental hanging gate toward them. Buyu, who had seen him, hurried out to wait for him.
With the window open, the eunuch's voice as he spoke to someone on the corridor was perfectly clear to them.
"Elder Brother Dayou asked me to report to Second Miss: just now, Ming Shi from Young Master Cui Su's retinue, who's from Second Miss's family, came looking. He says Young Master Cui Su got into a fight with Xin Jixing, the younger brother of Princess Kang's natal family, out on the streets. Princess Kang sent people to instruct the Five Wards Military Office to arrest Young Master Cui Su. Somehow they persuaded the officers to hand Young Master Cui Su over to the Xin family, and now they're claiming Young Master Cui Su showed contempt for imperial relatives and deserves to be thrown in prison."
The Xin family was clearly planning to torture Cui Su privately to vent their anger before turning him over to the Five Wards Military Office. Cui Lanyin shot to her feet and strode outward, raising her voice to call, "Where's Geng Dayou? Bring him to me at once."
The eunuch quickly replied, "He's right outside the second gate. I'll go get him immediately."
"Don't panic, Second Miss. We need to get all the facts straight before we act," Qian He soothed her, walking alongside Cui Lanyin as she headed out.
Geng Dayou came rushing in with Ming Shi, who served Cui Su. Qian He spoke first, asking, "Is your young master hurt?"
"Not at all. Our Young Master Cui Su never comes out on the losing end of a fight. It's Xin Jixing who got pretty badly beaten up."
"Tell us exactly what happened."
"Young Master Cui Chang from the second branch of our family is leaving for Shanxi today. His old friend set up a banquet outside to see him off. All the other brothers in the family were either busy or at school, so Young Master Cui Chang asked Young Master Cui Su to come along and keep him company. It was supposed to be a nice, pleasant gathering, but then the people in the private room next door started spouting vulgar nonsense. Two out of every three words they said were about Second Miss, and no brother could stand for that. So Young Master Cui Su started the fight..."
"They couldn't win the fight, so they went to report to Princess Kang, and Princess Kang sent people to find the Five Wards Military Office?"
"That's right."
Qian He rubbed his hands together, a cold glint in his eyes. "Second Miss, we're going over to their place to get him back."
Cui Lanyin had been planning to go to the Five Wards Military Office to demand his release, and she stared at him. "Storm their place?"
"They've already bullied us right to our faces. Why hold back? Not only do we storm over, we make sure we beat the lesson so deep into them they'll never forget it. Then we'll see who else dares to run their mouths off about Second Miss."
"I'll send Chiyun to find my uncle."
"Prince Wei is still at the Ministry of War. By the time you go there and come back, so much time will have passed. What if they start torturing Young Master Cui Su..."
That was exactly the fear that had been gnawing at Cui Lanyin. She hesitated no longer. "Buyu, go get Chiyun and Chiyue."
"Wait." Qian He stopped Buyu in her tracks. "The two of them aren't enough. The palace guards we have in the estate aren't there just to look pretty. Get fifty of them to come along."
"I'll go right now!" Buyu dashed off at a run.
Bringing fifty guards—was this going to turn into a full-on brawl? Cui Lanyin was worried that if things got too out of hand, it would be hard for Prince Wei to clean up the mess. "Chiyun and Chiyue will be enough. Let's just get my brother out first and worry about the rest later."
"We need to get him out, yes, but we also need to put on a show of force that will make them too breathless to stand up to us, so that every time they see anyone from our family, they'll turn the other way and run."
Cui Lanyin was already beside herself with worry, and with Qian He there backing her up and fueling her resolve, she couldn't care less about the consequences. The nickname Cui the Bold wasn't given to her for nothing. "That's what we'll do!"
Chiyun and Chiyue moved with remarkable speed. By the time Cui Lanyin and Qian He reached the second gate, Buyu came back to report that the two girls had already gathered fifty guards waiting by the main entrance.
Cui Lanyin helped Qian He climb onto Prince Wei's carriage. When they got to the front of the estate, she noticed the chief steward was following them too. Before Cui Lanyin could say anything, Qian He pointed to the extra carriage he had brought with him and called to the steward, "Ride in that one of mine."
There were already so many of them, one more steward wouldn't make a difference one way or the other. The whole group set off in a grand, imposing procession straight for the Princess Kang's natal family's residence.
Princess Kang's maiden family was the Xin clan. Her father was the Vice Minister of War, which was why the Five Wards Military Office had agreed to hand Cui Su over to the Xin family to detain temporarily—they were showing face both to Princess Kang and to Vice Minister Xin.
The group traveled as fast as their horses could gallop, covering the distance that normally took half an hour in little more than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, and soon they pulled up outside the main gate of the Xin estate.
The gate guards of the Xin family, seeing the massive display of force, didn't dare step forward to question them, and immediately ran inside to report to their masters.
Qian He had no intention of waiting around for them. He stepped up onto the frame of the carriage, waved his arm and shouted, "What are you lot waiting for, lads? Break in there and get our man back!"
Chiyun and Chiyue had been waiting for exactly that order. The two of them signaled to the guards, and the fifty men charged forward. Within a few moves, they bashed the heavy main gate of the Xin estate wide open, and the whole pack poured in like ravenous wolves, causing chaos as they went.
Qian He, worried the guards might not be bold enough, shouted at the top of his voice from behind them, "Don't be scared! Smash whatever you want, hit whoever gets in your way, don't hold back! Your Grandpa Qian is right here, I'll take full responsibility for everything!"
"Grandpa Qian! Second Miss! Leave it to us!" the fifty guards cheered in response. Right after that, screams and wails of panic erupted from inside the Xin residence.
With Qian He leading the charge, Cui Lanyin didn't even have to lift a finger—she didn't get the chance to yell a single order.
Before long, two guards came out dragging a struggling Cui Su. His face was bruised and swollen, his clothes streaked with blood, and even in that state he was still yelling that he wanted to go back in and fight some more. Cui Lanyin felt a rush of both heartache and exasperation.
Seeing that Cui Su still had that much fire in him, Cui Lanyin knew he couldn't be too badly hurt. She yanked him straight into the carriage, checking him over carefully from head to toe. Once she confirmed that all his injuries were just superficial scrapes and bruises, the knot of tension in her chest finally loosened.
They had brought emergency golden wound healing powder and hemostatic medicine with them when they left. Qian He called over one of the eunuchs who had come with him to dress Cui Su's wounds and apply the medicine.
A commotion broke out at the Xin family gate. Two men who looked like household guards galloped out on horseback. The chief steward was just about to order his men to stop them, but Qian He stopped him with a cold laugh. "Let them go call for backup. Saves us the trouble of going to track everyone down one by one."
After hearing Cui Su confirm that the Xin family had indeed tortured him privately, the anger Cui Lanyin had been holding back the whole time finally exploded.
And with Qian He going to such lengths to stand up for her, she couldn't afford to look weak. Even if Prince Wei punished her with a period of meditation facing the wall when she got back, she had no intention of letting this matter rest. No matter who was involved, she was going to make every last one of them pay.
About three quarters of an hour later, Princess Kang herself arrived first, followed by fifty guards from the Kang Palace. The moment her carriage stopped, Xin Chong, the Princess's father, arrived with his eldest son Xin Jitang, accompanied by over thirty hired toughs they had gathered, and officers from the Five Wards Military Office right on their heels.
Three groups of people were now facing each other in front of the Xin family residence.
When they saw Xin Jixing tied to the front of Prince Wei's carriage, Princess Kang and Xin Chong flew into a rage. "In broad daylight, have you all no regard for the law? Who gave you the audacity to commit such outrageous, bandit-like acts?"
From inside her carriage, Princess Kang, so furious she could barely contain herself, yelled sharply, "Father, don't waste words on them. Bring Jixing back here, and beat them to a pulp! If we don't teach them a lesson, they'll never know that even the horse-faced deity has three eyes!"
One of her men poked his head out from their group and shouted, "Everyone from our estate, charge over there and give Young Master Jixing his revenge!"
With his daughter having spoken up, Xin Chong no longer held back. He waved his hand, and the more than thirty stewards he had brought along charged forward, joined by the fifty guards of Princess Kang. At the same time, the two dozen or so Xin family stewards who had been hiding behind the gate also burst out swinging their wooden cudgels.
But for years, the Lin Guards had never slacked off even a little, and the guards of Prince Wei's Manor were no ordinary batch of guards.
Even with two or three dozen extra Xin family stewards rushing into the fray, that only made it fifty against over a hundred. Outnumbered more than two to one, the Prince Wei's Manor guards did not so much as blink an eye before meeting the assault head-on.
Chiyun and Chiyue stood by the carriage with their arms folded, warding off anyone who tried to barge over while barking directions, "Pin them down and beat them. If any of them so much as manages to get back on their feet, you don't get to come out on assignments with us ever again."
That was a threat no one could ignore. The Prince Wei's Manor guards were already bored out of their minds as it was, and the thought of being sent home with nothing to do made them fight like they had all popped strength tonics, sweeping through the opposing crowd like a whirlwind.
A quarter of an hour later, the fifty Prince Wei's Manor guards had beaten the over hundred assailants into a scattered, writhing heap on the ground. They even forced Princess Kang off her carriage, leaving her to scurry behind the safety of the Xin Manor's main gate, shielded by Xin Chong.
Princess Kang was so furious she lost all composure. From behind the gate, she shouted at the top of her lungs at the officers of the Five Wards Military Office, "Are all of you dead? Seize this pack of insolent thugs at once!"
Qian He then wrenched open the carriage door and sat there with legs spread wide, his demeanor towering and unyielding as he boomed back, "I dare say no one here dares to lay a hand on them!"
At that point, the chief clerk finally saw his chance to step into the fray. He strode forward with deliberate, stately steps, turned to the leading officer of the Five Wards Military Office with a smile, and questioned him, "Just who was it that took the Young Master Cui Su that we handed over to the Xin family earlier?"
