Chapter Fifty
Madam Liu’s family ran a protection agency, and she herself was skilled in martial arts. Before she married Liu Heipi, she had even accompanied her family on escort missions, traveling to many places across the country.
After marrying Liu Heipi, she did not simply settle down to manage the household. Liu Heipi entrusted many of his affairs to her, and she took charge of half of everything he handled outside the home.
Madam Liu was forthright and said exactly what she thought. Once seated, she briefly explained her circumstances.
“I’ve long wanted to pay my respects to Second Miss, but I was afraid that someone as uncouth as me might offend you. My husband repeatedly warned me not to come forward, so I put the thought out of my mind.
“Today, my husband sent me to ask Shopkeeper Zhang about a few matters. I happened to find Second Miss here. After thinking it over, I felt that sneaking away would be discourteous, so I asked Shopkeeper Zhang to come up and announce me. I never expected Second Miss to honor me by receiving me.”
Cui Lanyin smiled and invited her, “Madam Liu, do you have anything else to attend to later? Why not stay and sample the dishes at the restaurant with us? You can tell us what still needs improving.”
Madam Liu was flattered and quickly replied, “I’m free. I’m free.”
Madam Liu had traveled even more widely than Chiyun and Chiyue. The stories she told about the customs and local color of different places were fascinating, and Cui Lanyin found herself listening raptly.
Seeing that Cui Lanyin had no airs and did not look down on her in the slightest, Madam Liu gradually relaxed.
She had admired Second Miss Cui for a long time. While escorting caravans, she had met the daughters of several officials. They were all delicate young ladies who rarely ventured beyond their inner quarters, and whenever they saw a woman like her who traveled the martial world, they avoided her as though they feared being tainted by her vulgarity.
Knowing that there was an unbridgeable gulf between them, Madam Liu had never dared approach the young ladies or wives of official families.
Madam Liu only learned afterward about Liu Heipi’s threat against Cui Lanyin at the tea shop. Once she found out, she did not indulge him at all. She had pointed at Liu Heipi and berated him for several days, calling him a black-hearted schemer with nothing but evil in his gut.
At the time, Madam Liu had wanted to send someone to offer Second Miss Cui money and gifts as an apology. But before she could do so, Liu Heipi became a wanted man, pursued everywhere by the Five Boroughs Garrison Command, and she had been too preoccupied to take care of it.
Later, Liu Heipi had begged Second Miss Cui to settle the matter for him. He subsequently became the man in charge of Qilin Hall’s general affairs, rising in a single bound to become one of the more influential figures in the martial world. That alone would have been remarkable enough, but most important of all, Qilin Hall had Prince Wei standing behind it. Liu Heipi had effectively gained Prince Wei’s patronage.
Such a heaven-sent blessing had fallen upon their family, and it could be said that everything was thanks to Second Miss Cui.
A grand benefactor of that stature—and Prince Wei’s acknowledged niece, a noble young lady who went in and out of the palace every few days—was far too important for Madam Liu to even mention her earlier idea of offering money and gifts in thanks. Instead, she repeatedly told Liu Heipi that anything concerning Second Miss Cui must be treated as a matter of the utmost importance.
As for going before Second Miss Cui to pay her respects, Madam Liu had never dared entertain such a hope.
That was until a few days ago, when Second Miss Cui had taken the guards from Prince Wei’s residence and smashed up Princess Kang’s maternal family home. With that, she had established a fearsome reputation and become known among the people of Yingcheng as “Cui the Fierce”—meaning that wherever Second Miss Cui went, everyone had better tread carefully.
In Madam Liu’s eyes, Second Miss Cui was a heroic woman of extraordinary spirit, and she could no longer suppress her admiration.
Yet when she finally met the woman herself, she found a stunningly beautiful young lady whose delicate skin looked as though even a strong breeze might break it. This was so at odds with the bold and mighty Second Miss Cui of legend that Madam Liu wondered whether there had been some mistake.
After talking for a while, Madam Liu realized that she had judged her by her appearance.
Anyone who could sit so openly by the window, admiring the view of the Wuyang River without the slightest blush while looking at the pleasure houses across the water, had to be someone like her. Only a woman of Second Miss Cui’s courage would dare do such a thing.
Once Madam Liu understood that, she felt comfortable enough to speak more freely.
“I’d heard long ago that the Wuyang River was beautiful. A while back, I came to the shops twice, but I still hadn’t had my fill of the place. So I persuaded my husband to rent a pleasure boat one evening and take me on a tour of the river. It truly lived up to its reputation.”
“You took a pleasure boat along the river at night?” Chiyun and Chiyue’s eyes lit up. “Are women allowed to do that too?”
Cui Lanyin was equally intrigued. “Madam Liu, tell us what the river looks like at night. What kind of magnificent sight is it?”
Madam Liu felt that Second Miss Cui and her two female guards were kindred spirits, so she naturally held nothing back.
“I disguised myself as a man that day. We rented a mid-sized pleasure boat and had singers and pipa players come aboard.”
“Was your disguise convincing?” Chiyun asked, studying Madam Liu’s build and features with some doubt.
“Ah...” Madam Liu covered her mouth and laughed. “How could it have been? My husband didn’t mind, and we were fairly generous with our money. When people have money to earn, they can pretend not to notice.”
Chiyun and Chiyue laughed together. Once they had finished, they urged her on. “Were the songs beautiful? Were the women pretty? Madam Liu, keep going.”
“The singing girls along the Wuyang River truly live up to their reputation. They’re all gifted in both beauty and art. I’m a rough sort and don’t know how to describe it, but when you listen to their songs, you forget everything else. Your whole heart sinks into the melody, and you can’t pull yourself out. Even after the song ends, you find yourself reluctant to leave it behind.”
She paused for breath, then continued, “At night, the pavilions along the Wuyang River and the pleasure boats on the water are all brilliantly lit. Their lights spill across the river, laying down a golden road that stretches far into the distance. The silk-and-bamboo music that reaches your ears is so intoxicating it melts straight into your bones. In a daze, you truly feel as though you’ve entered an immortal palace to revel in its pleasures.”
At this point, Madam Liu let out a wistful sigh.
“After taking that trip, I realized that being a man is even better than I’d imagined. I’ll have to cultivate plenty of virtue in this life. In my next one, I want to be born a man.”
Chiyun and Chiyue nodded vigorously in agreement. “Exactly. Because we’re women, we can’t be assigned many kinds of work. If we hadn’t followed Second Miss, we wouldn’t even have had the chance to come to the Wuyang River.”
Cui Lanyin was still immersed in Madam Liu’s description of the river at night. She very much wanted to experience it herself. But one thought was enough to tell her how difficult that would be. What man from a respectable official family would take his wife to ride a pleasure boat on the Wuyang River?
As they talked, noon arrived. Zhang Gui brought out all the signature dishes the restaurant planned to introduce. Madam Liu praised every one of them. She said that after so many years of traveling north and south, she had eaten at restaurants everywhere, but none could compare with this one. Once the restaurant opened, she declared, it would certainly be packed with customers.
Madam Liu was amusing and entertaining, and Cui Lanyin was in no hurry to leave. In the afternoon, she had Zhang Gui bring up the pastries that the pastry shop would soon be selling and asked Madam Liu to sample them as well.
It was not until the hour of the Rooster that Cui Lanyin finally said farewell to Madam Liu and headed home.
By the time she reached Prince Wei’s residence, it was already a quarter past the hour of the Rooster. Cui Lanyin had the carriage stop at the inner gate. After getting out, she went straight back to Yi’an Hall.
She called for Buyu. “Go to the front and tell my uncle that I ate rather a lot while sampling dishes and pastries at the shop around noon, and I’m still full. I won’t be having dinner tonight, so please ask him to dine without me.”
Buyu accepted the instruction and left.
In the study, after Prince Wei heard Buyu’s report, he flicked two fingers. Buyu was now able to understand all of his gestures, so she immediately lowered her head and withdrew.
Bailin and Chilin were both standing beneath the corridor. When they saw Buyu come out, they asked, “Did His Highness not ask Second Miss to come over?”
“The prince only flicked two fingers,” Buyu answered truthfully.
They waved Buyu away. As for the reason Cui Lanyin was not coming over, Bailin and Chilin both understood perfectly well.
During the day, each of them was busy elsewhere, but at night, whenever the prince retired, one of them was always required to return and keep watch on the roof of his study.
Bailin had been on duty the night before, so he had heard everything that happened in the study with perfect clarity.
How could Prince Wei’s skill have failed to notice Second Miss Cui leaving? Most likely, the moment Second Miss Cui awoke, the prince had already known.
And how had Buyan and Buyu, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly woken up? That fool Buyu had even claimed that the window had been left open and the wind had slapped him in the face. Never mind that the window had not been open—even if it had been, wind could not possibly have struck someone sleeping on the floor in the face. It had obviously been the prince’s palm force.
Ever since Prince Wei had called off Second Miss Cui’s engagement to the Yao family, Bailin had found the prince’s intentions increasingly impossible to fathom.
Was he interested in Second Miss Cui or not? Did he want to take things further, or did he truly see her as nothing more than his niece?
If he was uninterested, why did he take responsibility for everything concerning Second Miss Cui, no matter how big or small? But if he was interested, why had he shown no other sign of it?
It wasn’t that he had taken no action at all. His actions were simply scattered—one thing here, another there—and so slow and deliberate that they were entirely unlike his usual style.
Take last night, for example. If he had intended to keep Second Miss Cui, then shouldn’t he have taken things a step further? At the very least, he should have let her know that he did not wish to remain merely her uncle. Yet he had allowed her to leave.
And after letting her go, he had still been worried about her, using his palm force to wake Buyan and Buyu so that someone could escort her safely home.
All these twists and turns were enough to leave anyone bewildered. Bailin thought so, and Chilin felt the same.
He nudged Bailin with his elbow and leaned over to whisper, “Could it be that the prince has never been with a woman before and doesn’t know what to do next?”
Bailin was startled half out of his wits. “Watch your filthy mind.”
“What are you thinking?” Chilin rolled his eyes. “I mean, could it be that the prince doesn’t know how to get along with someone?”
“There are hundreds, even thousands, of books imprinted in the prince’s mind. Is there anything in this world he doesn’t know?”
“True.” Chilin’s face immediately fell. “Then why did the prince have to switch me to that dreadful assignment? I’m really not suited for it. Go plead with him for me and ask him to switch me back.”
Bailin gave him a sympathetic look. “The prince is trying to teach you a lesson. No one can change his mind.”
“I never made a mistake in my previous assignment. Why would the prince need to teach me a lesson?”
“You idiot. When Princess Kang died, you told Second Miss Cui the whole story without softening the details at all, frightening her half to death. You’ll have to stay in this assignment for a while. The prince won’t agree to transfer you back anytime soon.”
Chilin was the one who received a genuine shock this time. Forgetting to keep his voice down, he blurted, “The prince is punishing me because of Second Miss Cui?”
The instant the words left his mouth, a chess piece struck the study door with a sharp crack. The two men hunched their necks in unison.
The door opened, and Buyan stuck his head out. “The prince says you may come in.”
Bailin gritted his teeth and pointed at Chilin. “I knew you were unreliable.”
They lowered their heads and entered the study. Prince Wei was sitting cross-legged in meditation. The two men stood before the luohan couch, not daring to breathe too loudly.
A quarter of an hour later, Prince Wei opened his eyes. His gaze passed over the two men and settled somewhere ahead, as though he had fallen into distant memories.
After another long silence, he asked Bailin, “Do you remember Piaoqi?”
How could Bailin have forgotten? After Piaoqi had been sent away, Prince Wei had gradually become the man he was now.
Piaoqi had been a wolfhound. After they arrived at the imperial retreat, the Four Veteran Generals had given the young prince a puppy, not long after its birth, hoping it would ease the pain of losing his mother.
Prince Wei had been only six at the time and had not yet completely lost his childish innocence. He had named the puppy “Piaoqi,” declaring that it was his Grand Cavalry General.
Even then, Prince Wei had already begun practicing martial arts. He was extraordinarily strict with himself at such a young age. Without needing any urging from the Four Veterans, he spent every moment outside his studies training, leaving early each morning and returning late at night.
As a result, he had only a little time in the morning and evening to play with Piaoqi.
About half a month later, Prince Wei suddenly handed Piaoqi back to the Four Veterans and asked them to find the dog a companion, somewhere it could live freely and happily.
The Four Veterans were puzzled. Since he clearly loved having Piaoqi around, why would he send it away?
The young Prince Wei had simply said, “I have so many things to do every day, and so little time to give Piaoqi. Yet Piaoqi is shut inside my palace, waiting from morning till night for the brief moment when I return. That isn’t fair to it. It only has a dozen or so years to live; those years shouldn’t all be wasted waiting.”
Seeing that Prince Wei was determined, the Four Veterans had no choice but to find Piaoqi a little companion and a good place where the two dogs could run and play to their hearts’ content.
From that day onward, Prince Wei ceased to show any fluctuation in emotion. His thoughts grew so deep that no one could read his moods or feelings.
That did not change until he met Second Miss Cui. Only then did he begin to show signs of life once more.
Bailin could not understand why the prince had brought up Piaoqi now.
“Your Highness…”
Prince Wei ignored him and murmured as though speaking to himself, “Should I be selfish for once?”
A bold guess formed in Bailin’s mind. Was the prince referring to Second Miss Cui?
Did he want Second Miss Cui’s companionship, yet could not give her the love and lasting presence a woman hoped for? Did he not even know when he might grow tired of her? Was that why he had allowed matters to remain in their current state?
The more Bailin thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was the truth. Yet he did not dare ask.
Besides, the prince had chosen to keep Second Miss Cui by his side—but what sort of companionship did he want from her? Were they to continue in this ambiguous fashion, interacting under the pretense of being uncle and niece? Or did he intend to take things further?
If he did take things further, it would bring another great deal of trouble in the future.
