However, even if Chu Lian hadn’t accepted the money today, the eunuch probably would’ve looked down on her anyway. Either action would’ve led to the same result, so why not let him know that she wasn’t someone he could bully? Even if he wanted to play his sneaky tricks on her next time, he would think twice before trying it again.
Chu Lian’s words made Xiyan come to a sudden realisation.
So it wasn’t such a simple event after all. There were all these unseen twists in the middle of it.
Chu Lian was a little down now. Anyone else would be pretty happy after getting a noble title, but she wasn’t the slightest bit elated. Conversely, she was deep in worry.
Who would want this honoured lady title? Royal Princess Duanjia had done her a disservice with this move.
What Chu Lian didn’t know was that this surprise gift hadn’t come about with just the efforts of Princess Wei and Royal Princess Duanjia. Prince Jin had also helped out in getting her this title!
When she returned to Songtao Court and saw the parlour full of gifts from the bestowal of her honoured lady title, she waved her hands and had Senior Servants Gui and Zhong take care of it.
Although she hadn’t been given an accompanying medal or token of immunity along with the noble title, the Emperor had personally picked out a name for her. That honour meant that she could stand on par with any feudal princess now.
An honoured lady was given a set of appropriate dresses for court gatherings and their matching headdresses. Other than that, she had also been given a small estate in the capital, about 6 hectares of good farmland and a hundred pieces of gold. These were all part of the standard awards for an honoured lady. Other than the special name ‘Jinyi’, the Emperor hadn’t added on anything more.
Chu Lian pointed at the headdresses and said a little helplessly, “Place those together with the phoenix tail hairpin that Royal Princess gave to me.”
Now that she had a noble title, she could wear the simplest phoenix tail hairpin and no one would say anything bad about her.
Senior Servant Gui held up a stack of court dresses. “Third Young Madam, why don’t you try these on? If they don’t fit, we have to adjust them as early as possible.”
Chu Lian had suffered a series of shocks and surprises this morning, so she wasn’t in the mood to play dress up. Furthermore, these court dresses were made out of cloud-pattern brocade and were extremely thick. If she tried them on, she would probably start sweating.
“I’ll try them tomorrow!”
Senior Servant Gui could only put away the clothes.
Chu Lian returned to her own little study and took out the purse that the eunuch had given her. She had only taken a short glance inside just now, and estimated that there was about 800 taels inside. After carefully counting, she realised that there were actually over 1200 taels’ worth of banknotes inside.
Imperial Concubine Wei really didn’t lack money at all!
Exchanging that golden qilin had earned her quite the tidy sum.
She handed the banknotes to Xiyan to keep safely together with the rest of her savings.
Then, Chu Lian drank a bowl of sweet soup, had a quick bath, and settled down for a nap.
Matriarch He gave Senior Servant Liu some instructions as she slowly savoured a bowl of birds’ nest soup. “Send someone over to Dalang’s wife and have her make two more outfits suitable for a fifth-ranked noble wife for Sanlang’s wife. And also, have her make two more phoenix tail hairpins.”
Senior Servant Liu voiced her acknowledgement of the orders, but didn’t immediately send someone off to execute them. She stood by Matriarch He’s side as if she had something to say but did not dare to speak up.
Matriarch He cast a sideways glance at her. “Why? Do you think this old woman isn’t being fair to Dalang’s wife?”
“This old servant doesn’t dare to question Madam!”
Matriarch He set down the jade bowl in her hands and said, “Xiangyun, I’ve given her enough time. Dalang can’t go without a male heir. If Dalang’s wife can’t even hold herself together over this small matter, then how will she face the day that Dalang takes a concubine? Dalang will be the one to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of this family in the future.”
Upon hearing Matriarch He’s words, Senior Servant Liu suppressed the concerns that she had wanted to bring up. She simply agreed with the matriarch and turned to do her bidding.
—
When Madam Zou received the news, she couldn’t hold back her rage and immediately threw a teacup to the ground, scaring the trembling maidservant who had passed on the message.
However, as angry as she was, she couldn’t disobey Matriarch He’s orders.
She tried her best to suppress the fire in her heart. At night, when Dalang tried to initiate intimacy with her, she didn’t have the mood to acquiesce. Although both husband and wife slept on the same bed, they had different thoughts in mind this night.
At the northern border in Liangzhou, the weather grew colder, as it had been since the start of August. While the nobles of the capital were still donning summer garments, the people of Liangzhou had to put on a thick coat in order to step outside.
In the simple city of Liangzhou, there was an unassuming little courtyard with only three rooms and an open air kitchen that had a stack of freshly cut firewood next to it.
There was still a small fire sitting on the range inside the kitchen. White smoke drifted up from it, and a strange smell was coming from the pot on the stove. A person stood up from behind the range with a face full of soot.
The entrance to the courtyard was pushed open with a creak, and a young man with a full beard stepped in. He was dressed in black with a sword at his waist.
Although he seemed a little dusty and worn from his travels, there was a resolute light in his eyes.
The soot-faced man quickly ran over to welcome his master. “Third Young Master, you’re finally back! Quick, come in and rest. The meal will be done soon.”
Laiyue took the package off He Changdi’s back and the long sword at his waist before leading his master into the main room.
This was He Changdi’s tenth day in Liangzhou.
This courtyard that he was staying in had been bought just ten days ago. He Changdi was now darker than when he first entered Liangzhou. The elegant line of his chin had been completely obscured by a dense beard, but his originally deep eyes had become even more spirited and determined.
He had been running all over the city these few days and slimmed down quite a bit. In return, his body had become more toned with muscle. If He Sanlang the Fair could be compared to a handsome, tall bamboo tree previously, then the current He Sanlang was now a straight, tall pine standing by a cliff.
When Laiyue saw the dust covering his master, his heart ached for his master’s plight. He served up some tea and water before saying, “Young Master, rest here in this room for now. This servant will get you some good food to eat.”
He Sanlang was indeed a little tired by now. He washed his face and hands before resting on a bamboo chair with his eyes closed. It wasn’t until a strange smell seeped into the room that He Changdi opened his narrow eyes and looked towards the table.
“What is this?”
Laiyue cast a guilty glance at the food on the table and said, “Young Master, it’s porridge.”
The corner of He Sanlang’s eyes twitched. Could that white and yellow slop with pieces of wheat bran mixed in be called porridge? It was bad enough that the appearance was so strange. However, there was also a weird smell accompanying this ‘porridge’.
Laiyue’s face showed an expression full of suffering as he said, “Young Master, you know that this servant doesn’t know how to cook. However, there’s also a limit to the food available here in Liangzhou, so this is the best this servant could do…”
What Laiyue didn’t say was that they didn’t have much money left on them and it wasn’t enough to buy any good ingredients.
Polished rice cost 1000 coins per kilogram back at the capital. Out here at the border, polished rice cost ten taels of silver per kilogram!
It was bad enough that it was so expensive, but commoners weren’t allowed to buy polished rice even if they had the money to do so. Liangzhou had been embroiled in tussles over the border for years and wasn’t well maintained. How could the quality of life here be any good?
Since there was a shortage of goods, when Laiyue had gone shopping earlier today, he had only been able to buy some millet, sorghum, and wheat bran.
He couldn’t even find any fresh vegetables, fruits, or even wild-caught meat.
There was only a single place selling alcohol in this bleak and desolate place. The alcohol was simply some watered down low quality wine.
Laiyue had never needed to cook while serving his young master before. His culinary skills were close to non-existent. Making something edible was already a commendable feat for him.
There were monthly raids by the Tuhun soldiers here and the whole city was almost empty. They were indeed in dire straits.
He Changdi glared fiercely at Laiyue. This manservant was way too useless; how could he be even more pampered than his own master?
Laiyue’s legs turned to jelly under that intense stare. He had to summon up enough courage to say, “Young Master, if you think that my cooking is bad, then why don’t I buy back a maidservant for you tomorrow?”
There were plenty of poor families forced to sell their sons and daughters to survive in this city. It was quite cheap to buy a girl to cook and clean for you.
He Changdi took up the wooden chopsticks at the side and harrumphed. “Buying a maidservant? Are you going to raise her then?”
After hearing He Changdi’s words, Laiyue immediately shut up. Although it was only a single maidservant, he couldn’t afford to keep her. He had to eat and drink! The money they brought was barely enough for the two of them as it was.
Too lazy to continue talking to this useless manservant of his, He Changdi held his bowl in hand and took a sip with his brows furrowed.
As expected, this ‘porridge’ tasted as bad as it smelled. Even the Chinese olive porridge made by the barbarians was better…
For the sake of keeping his body fueled, He Changdi forced himself to drink down the entire bowl. It wasn’t the time to be picky. After the morning market in Liangzhou closed, there were barely any street stalls or shops open. Even if they wanted to eat something better, they didn’t have the money for it.
Laiyue drank down a bowl of ‘porridge’ with a bitter expression. When he was done, he stared at the empty bowl before him with a blank expression and began talking to himself. “If only Third Young Madam were here… Even the lousiest ingredients become heavenly dishes in her hands…”
As he daydreamed about a heaping bowl of braised meat, Laiyue felt that he had become even more of a glutton after these few months…
“What did you say?” When He Changdi heard Laiyue’s mumbling, he abruptly turned his fearsome gaze onto his dazed manservant.
Laiyue shrunk back and quickly kept silent.
He Sanlang glared at him again before standing up and leaving for his room. He had been out the whole day and was really tired by now.
Lying on the simple bed made of mud, He Changdi rested with one arm behind his head and one arm on his chest. Perhaps due to Laiyue’s words, what flashed through his mind wasn’t the anger, regret, and hatred from his previous life, but the memory of Chu Lian having breakfast in the parlour of Songtao Court.
Shrouded by the steam from the food, her face seemed to lack the perverse ruthlessness and eccentricity he had seen before, and she seemed like a totally different person from that wicked woman of his previous life.
Even though their faces were exactly the same, he felt that they were completely different people.
What in the world was going on?
Could the allure of food be that great? So much so that it could change his mind towards someone so sinister and venomous?
With an unsettled heart, he shut his eyes before opening again. His thoughts returned to those few meals he had had in Songtao Court.
He realised that that wicked woman could use even the most simplest of ingredients to cook up a tasty meal.
Those wontons and scallion pancakes he had the other day were just made of flour, vegetables, and some meat.
If Chu Lian were here by his side now, what culinary delights could she make with the millet, sorghum, and wheat bran?
No matter what, it would surely be delicious.
When he realised where his thoughts had led him, He Changdi’s slender body abruptly froze up. His expression turned ugly and gloomy.
He rubbed his temples in frustration. It must have been his fatigue, coupled with Laiyue’s words. Otherwise, how could he be missing that wicked woman who had condemned him to a life not worth living!
Sometimes, it wasn’t good to keep talking about others. While He Sanlang was regretting his thoughts and trying to force himself to sleep, a series of furious knocks at the door interrupted him.
“Young Master, Young Master! The estate sent some letters for you!” Laiyue excitedly exclaimed.