Chapter Fifty-Five
For two days running, after Prince Wei returned, he remained silent and listless. Even when it was time to eat, he only did so because Cui Lanyin watched over him and insisted. Once the meal was finished, he would curl up on the luohan couch and sleep, and he rarely even meditated.
Cui Lanyin had already figured out the pattern. She knew that the day before, she had kept him talking for too long and made him recall the past, using up all the words he would normally have spoken over several days, along with all his energy in one go. After that, he lost interest in everything and needed several days of quiet rest to recover.
Prince Wei only had so many words and so much energy to spare each day. If he used them up in advance, naturally he would have none left afterward.
Once she understood this, Cui Lanyin felt much more at ease. Whenever she accompanied him in the study, she no longer tried to force him into conversation. Sometimes she brought out the account books to check, and sometimes she held a book and read. Only during meals would she draw him into talking about ordinary household matters.
After two days, the loneliness and weariness in Prince Wei’s eyes had lessened. When she spoke, he would occasionally respond with a sentence or two.
Several days later, on the seventh day of the month, Emperor Xuanning finally convened court. During the session, he announced that from that day onward, Prince Wei, Prince An, and Prince Ping would jointly oversee the administration of the state and preside over court affairs.
The news immediately caused a tremendous stir throughout the court and beyond. Moreover, the Li family had yet to show clear support for any particular prince, and undercurrents began to surge. The officials all started speculating about the deeper meaning behind Emperor Xuanning’s decision.
Then, that afternoon, Empress Dowager Li suddenly issued an imperial edict. In it, she praised Prince Duan and Li Yijin for their filial devotion, saying that the two had been worrying day and night over Emperor Xuanning’s illness and had therefore proposed moving up their wedding date to bring him good fortune.
Just as Chilin had predicted, the wedding date of Prince Duan and Li Yijin was brought forward, changed to the eighteenth day of the fifth month. They now had only eleven days to prepare.
The original wedding date in the sixth month had already been rushed. Moving it up another month, even with Empress Dowager Li’s edict claiming that it was done to bring good fortune to Emperor Xuanning, made the truth obvious once Li Yijin’s replacement of Li Yixin was taken into account. What else could the officials possibly fail to guess?
The several Grand Secretaries knew perfectly well that the rift between the two branches of the Li family had become impossible to mend.
On the surface, Empress Dowager Li’s edict was meant to provide an explanation for Prince Duan and Li Yijin. In reality, it was openly telling everyone that the two had become intimate before marriage and that Li Yijin was now pregnant, leaving them no choice but to move up the wedding.
Empress Dowager Li had always kept a low profile and rarely shown herself. This was the first time she had personally spoken out. Without even asking Prince Wei, Cui Lanyin could tell that Emperor Xuanning’s condition must not have improved.
Since Prince Duan was proving incapable of shouldering the burden, and the second branch of the Li family had begun harboring its own designs, Emperor Xuanning’s attitude had also grown increasingly ambiguous. Empress Dowager Li’s faction must have realized that many matters were not as firmly in their control as they had believed. They were beginning to lose their composure.
In Cui Lanyin’s view, Empress Dowager Li’s move was unwise. Instead, it exposed the rift between Emperor Xuanning and the Li family, and would likely cause those officials who were not firmly allied with the Li family to waver.
That was good news for Prince Wei. The more anxious the Li family became, the greater his chances of victory.
The eighth day of the month was the opening day of the pastry shop and the restaurant, but Cui Lanyin did not go to either establishment.
Ever since the Dragon Boat Festival, rumors had been spreading outside that both businesses belonged to her. People said that she had mocked Princess Kang for doing business on the far side of the Wuyang River, only to turn around and snatch those very same customers for herself.
Cui Lanyin knew without investigating that the Xin family was behind the rumors. They did not dare bear a grudge against Prince Kang, so they could only vent their resentment toward her over this matter.
The steward had wanted to send people out to explain, but Cui Lanyin stopped him. Once the shops opened, those making idle remarks would naturally quiet down.
Although Prince Wei had taught her to cast aside those tiresome rules of propriety, within Prince Wei’s residence she could behave as freely as she pleased and speak without restraint. Outside, however, she still had to put on a respectable appearance.
She herself might not care, but she had the entire Cui family behind her, including two younger brothers who had yet to marry. If she behaved too outrageously, people might refrain from criticizing her out of consideration for Prince Wei’s influence, but they certainly would not seek to marry their daughters into the Cui family.
That was simply how society worked. No one could live entirely apart from the world, and in many matters one could not simply stand one’s ground by force. One had to be tactful.
Take the great and noble families, for instance. They all claimed to disdain the smell of money, yet behind the scenes, which one did not conduct business or open shops under the guise of serving old retainers and family dependents? There was no need to look elsewhere. The major businesses in Yingcheng all had the shadows of powerful families behind them.
So it was the same with Cui Lanyin. Everyone knew that the pastry shop and restaurant were hers, but as long as she and the Cui family did not go there themselves and the shops conducted their business properly, everyone could turn a blind eye. No one would have anything to criticize.
That was the unspoken rule among the upper echelons of society. Princess Kang and the Xin family had simply been too greedy before, trying to profit from every possible source.
Of course, Cui Lanyin had no intention of staying away from the shops forever. Once this period had passed, she had the mask Chilin had given her, and the steward had arranged an ordinary oil-canopied carriage for her. She could disguise herself with Chiyun and Chiyue, and then she could go whenever she pleased.
Relying on her confidence in her father, Cui Lanyin had great faith in the shops’ prospects. Given enough time, she believed the pastry shop and restaurant would make a name for themselves in Yingcheng. Even if they could not become the very best, they would not fall far behind.
Both businesses required long-term management, so she did not place much importance on their earnings on opening day. On the morning of the eighth, she sent Geng Dayou over to help, while she remained at the residence and attended to her own affairs.
It was not until noon, after Cui Lanyin had finished her meal, that Geng Dayou came hurrying back to find her, drenched in sweat.
“Second Young Miss, we’re running short of ingredients. Zhang Gui has already sent people out to buy more, but at this hour, even if they return, they won’t be able to bring back everything we need. Could you transfer some supplies from the residence kitchens to tide us over?”
It was only noon, and they were already running short? Cui Lanyin wondered whether something had gone wrong.
“Didn’t we prepare quite a lot in advance? Is the shortage at the pastry shop or the restaurant?”
Geng Dayou was usually a steady man, but at that moment he sounded like a chatterbox.
“Second Young Miss, both places are running short. You should have seen it. The customers just kept coming in wave after wave without a break. The restaurant couldn’t seat them all, and they would rather wait than go somewhere else. Zhang Gui had no choice but to put low stools outside and have them sit there while they waited. Those people didn’t mind at all—they simply sat on the stools and waited.
“The pastry shop was much the same. The moment the doors opened, servants from various households came to buy pastries. The smallest orders were five or six boxes. On top of that, people waiting outside kept buying as well. Inside the pastry shop, everyone was packing pastries so quickly they were practically striking sparks.”
“They bought that much without even having tasted them?”
“Yes.” Geng Dayou glanced at her, looking as if he wanted to speak but did not dare.
Cui Lanyin said, “Why are you hesitating? Say whatever you have to say. Do you really think I’ll blame you?”
“Second Young Miss, whether they were buying pastries or dining at the restaurant, they all had to tell Zhang Gui which household they came from, and ask him to pass the information on to you. Among those buying pastries were Prince Jing’s residence, Grand Secretary Shen’s residence, Minister Gu’s household, and more than a dozen others. The Yao family and the Tan family sent people as well. As for the restaurant, most of the customers were from military families. There were even members of the Meng family among them.
“There are many more I can’t remember. They’re all prominent households in Yingcheng.”
Geng Dayou studied Cui Lanyin’s expression.
“Second Young Miss, I think all these people came for your sake. They’re here to raise your standing.”
If even Geng Dayou could see through what was going on, how could Cui Lanyin possibly not understand?
Truly, the world is full of unexpected turns. In just two short months, she had gone from being the poor, overlooked Second Miss Cui of a fallen marquess household, to the Second Miss Cui that every noble family in Ying City was vying to befriend. She had stepped right into the very center of the Great Ying realm's power circle.
All of this was simply because she was staying in Prince Wei's Manor. Since no one could get to Prince Wei directly, they all came to her instead.
Just yesterday, Emperor Xuanning had announced that Prince Wei, Prince An, and Prince Ping would jointly oversee state affairs. Among the three, Prince Wei was the eldest, and his maternal clan was the most prominent, so he had instantly become the most eye-catching figure of the lot.
Prince Duan was under a pre-wedding confinement, and the mourning period for Princess Kang had not yet ended. Once the mourning was over, Prince Kang would have to observe a three-month confinement as well, leaving both of them in rather awkward predicaments.
On top of that, the incident where Princess Kang's rank was demoted right before she drowned was far too coincidental. Ordinary people might not connect the dots, but it could not fool those seasoned, cunning senior officials in high positions. They would not speak of it openly, but they had already written off Prince Kang in their hearts.
It was not the same as when they had all served in the Ministry of War. Prince Wei did not shirk his government duties. Just sitting there, he carried such an imposing aura that even if he barely spoke a word, Prince An and Prince Ping would unconsciously defer to his judgment in all matters. After just two days, the joint state oversight was already being led entirely by Prince Wei.
In such a situation, since Prince Wei refused to socialize with outsiders at all, it was only natural that everyone would come to her to curry favor.
What Cui Lanyin had not expected was just how many people there would be. Ever since Princess Kang's accident, she had become extremely cautious, terrified that she might be unwittingly used by others and ruin the grand plans Prince Wei had in mind.
She told Sangzhi to take Geng Dayou to the kitchen to sort out the ingredients, then returned to her bedchamber. She lay down on the bed, but could not fall asleep at all.
Giving up on sleeping, she walked out to the corridor and called for Grayfeather to come over.
Ever since the Duanwu Festival, even though she had told Grayfeather not to blurt out random poems, and the parrot had nodded its head repeatedly to show it understood, Cui Lanyin still did not dare to trust it completely. She no longer let it go to the front study.
But she also did not want to keep it cooped up all the time. After asking Xiaoman, the palace eunuch who looked after parrots, and learning that a smart, spiritual bird like Grayfeather would not fly away if allowed to roam freely, she had the chain tying it removed, letting it move about freely in the Yi'an Palace and the manor's gardens.
Grayfeather really did know its limits. It figured out the routine in just one day. It would wander the gardens during the morning and afternoon hours when Cui Lanyin was handling her affairs, and stay by her side for the rest of the time. Most often, it would perch on her large desk, and when it saw that she was in a good mood, it would land gently on her shoulder and chat with her.
To make amends for its earlier missteps, Xiaoman had taught Grayfeather a number of auspicious phrases and poems. Grayfeather had obviously been badly frightened by Prince Wei's earlier threat to "stew it", so for the past two days, it had not recited any of those romantic, amorous lines at all.
Once the midday nap time was over, the Chief Administrator came over, placing a stack of invitation cards on Cui Lanyin's desk. "Second Miss, all of these were sent over by various households."
"Are these from families that can't be turned down? Do I need to ask my uncle about them?" Cui Lanyin asked, confused. Everyone in Ying City knew that Prince Wei never accepted any invitations. The invitations he received piled up by the basket, and the Chief Administrator would always take them to the kitchen to use as kindling.
The Chief Administrator spread the invitations out for her to see. "These are all addressed to you, Second Miss."
Afraid that she would follow Prince Wei's example and turn down every single invitation, he explained things to her carefully. "You can ignore most of these, but there are a few that it would be improper to decline." He picked out the invitation from Prince Jing's Manor. "Prince Jing is the clan head, and this invitation is for the birthday celebration of Prince Jing's Grand Dowager Consort. You really must attend this one, Second Miss."
"His Highness is at a very critical juncture right now. Connections that should be secured still need to be secured. If His Highness is unwilling to handle these matters, then you have to take on this responsibility." He spoke in his usual smiling, gentle manner, but his words made Cui Lanyin's heart skip a beat.
She realized that the Chief Administrator knew exactly what was going on all along. His attitude had never wavered—back when Prince Wei and she had offended Prince Duan and Prince Kang, he had been the same, and now that Prince Wei was clearly rising to power, he remained just as steadfast.
Such a Chief Administrator, who was wholeheartedly devoted to Prince Wei's Manor, was someone she should value greatly. The suggestions he put forward deserved her full attention.
"Then you may send a reply to Prince Jing's Manor, Chief Administrator. I will mention it to Uncle later."
With these thoughts weighing on her mind, Cui Lanyin spent the whole afternoon glancing at the water clock over and over. As soon as the hour of the rooster came, she brought Buyu with her and waited outside the corridor of the study to greet him.
That day, however, he was running late. It was not until the end of the rooster hour that she saw Prince Wei walking over from the front hall. Not waiting any longer, Cui Lanyin trotted over to lead him into the study.
The moment they stepped inside the study, she asked, "What kept you so late today?"
Prince Wei shook his arm a little, and Cui Lanyin immediately knew he had done a huge amount of writing that day. She slipped her arm through his and gently rubbed his arm to soothe his fatigue. "Did something unexpected come up?"
"Yes." Prince Wei turned the question back to her. "What did you need to see me about?"
Cui Lanyin guided him to sit down on the luohan couch, sat down beside him to keep rubbing his arm, and told him about how so many households had showed up to show their support when her shops opened. "Uncle, is this all right? The young ladies from Grand Secretary Shen and Minister Gu's households are both staying at the Empress Dowager's palace. What do they mean by doing this?"
The lady in the aqua blue dress she had seen at the Funing Palace that day was Grand Secretary Shen's granddaughter, and the pretty young lady in the pink dress with the almond-shaped eyes and rosy cheeks who had exposed Meng Ru's shortcomings was Minister Gu's youngest daughter.
"I will allow both of those young ladies to return home tomorrow."
"So the Shen and Gu families are trying to get to me, to beg for their daughters to be allowed to leave the Funing Palace?"
"Yes."
"Uncle, shouldn't we wait a few more days? If you let them go the very day after their families showed up at my shops, everyone will think that I talked you into it. Won't even more people come to me trying to pull strings through me after that?"
Here you are [kiss emoji]
