Chapter 145 – Sending Off Outside the City

In a moment, the chubby boy gnawed his mother’s neck wet.

 

Miantang knew that Xiaoyi’er was hungry and wanted to eat milk, and she didn’t care to interrogate Cui Xingzhou further. She quickly carried her son back to the house.

 

But after her son started eating, she couldn’t help but recall the situation when she saw the young lady of the Shi family, Shi Xiujin, when she went hunting in the East Paddock.

 

The young lady was quite beautiful, and when she looked at Cui Xingzhou, her eyes were a bit off. At that time, she suspected that she had thought too much. Now it seems that her own pig trotters are cooked very well and fragrant, how can he not attract the saliva of other dogs?

 

Cui Xingzhou followed in and looked at Miantang’s enraged expression, then chuckled and said, “Why, are you still angry? Shi Yikuan is blackmailing me using my promising future, treating all men in the world like his son-in-law, Ziyu. Does he think I am the one who can be blackmailed easily?”

 

Miantang leaned her head against Cui Xingzhou’s arms and said in a muffled voice, “I’m not happy that others are thinking about you.”

 

Cui Xingzhou looked at her jealous expression, which was both fierce and cute. His heart turned gentle that he only hugged both his wife and son and said, “I am all yours now. You sleep with me every day, how can I still have the energy to provoke other women?”

 

Miantang was finally amused by him and said, “I’m like a lascivious rascal. Who’s the one that wanted to sleep day and night with me? You’re the one that looks like you haven’t had enough.”

 

Cui Xingzhou tightly hugged her and said, “Unfortunately, I’m about to lead the army and we need you to be on the journey first. Do you want to take advantage of this and sleep a few more times?

 

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaoyi’er, who had eaten and drunk enough in Miantang’s arms, became angry and pouted his little buttocks, splashing hot little dog urine at his father.

 

Cui Xingzhou looked at his wet robe and his son who felt comfortable. Then, he yawned and leaned against Miantang, who fell asleep in her arms. He was staring at him for a moment and wanted to teach him a lesson, but he didn’t know who to turn to.

 

Miantang smiled and handed Xiaoyi’er to him, “I think you should change your son’s diaper before you leave.”

 

Cui Xingzhou sniffed the faint scent of milk on Xiaoyi’er’s body, feeling that the mother and son in front of him made him reluctant to let go. Unfortunately, the departure was imminent and cannot be delayed.

 

At present, there was not much time left. When Cui Xingzhou’s team has assembled, Cui Xingzhou, Li Guangcai, and other subordinates begin to set off toward the North Sea.

 

Because there was no expedition ceremony held, there was naturally no large number of people to see off.

 

It was just the colleagues who are familiar with each other in the court, came along the main road to deliver a bottle of wine.

 

There are naturally many military dependents like Miantang. Each one was carrying large and small bags, instructing them to take care of themselves.

 

However, unlike those reluctant family members, Miantang did not have much sadness. After all, in a few more days, she also had to follow closely and set off.

 

Considering the impact on the morale of the army, Miantang, with her baby crying incessantly, naturally found it difficult to set off with the army. So she was planning to go to the northwest like before, not far away, just following the tail of the army.

 

It will be fine to depart after a day, and when she bid farewell to her husband, she naturally didn’t have any sorrow.

 

However, on the way back, Liu Miantang saw a carriage with a Shi’s Mansion sign hanging by the long pavilion next to the main road.

 

And Lady Shi Xiujin, whose eyes were red, had just come down from the pavilion, and she doesn’t know which family member of her mansion had gone to the North Sea battlefield too.

 

Previously, Miantang didn’t know Lady Shi’s thoughts, but now she just learned that Shi Yikuan was threatening and tempting her husband to marry his little daughter. Now that when she saw Lady Shi coming here on purpose, tears streamed down the roadside pavilion with a childlike expression, it resonates in her heart.

 

At present, she was too lazy to be polite and gave Shi Xiujin a cold glance. She lowered the curtain and prepared to return to the residence.

 

Shi Xiujin really came to see Prince Huaiyang today.

 

When her father knew that she was in love with Prince Huaiyang, he rebuked her for not being proper, but turned around and voluntarily revealed the intention of marriage to Prince Huaiyang.

 

Shi Yikuan was a person who was good at speculation. The original meaning was that he wanted to send his daughter to the palace to make things better. The two sisters serve together to consolidate the throne of the Shi family.

 

After all, he had married an unattractive concubine’s daughter, and if the emperor disliked her, it would be understandable.

 

It was necessary to add another legitimate daughter to express his father-in-law’s apology.

 

But his concubine’s daughter, the queen, invited Shi Xiujin’s mother, who was her stepmother, into the palace and chatted happily all the way. While passing by the Cold Palace, she even heard the voice of Imperial Concubine Yun crying inside the walls of the Cold Palace.

 

Every word spoken by his concubine’s daughter was very appropriate, but for some reason, she was able to scare her legitimate mother back to Shi’s Mansion and became seriously ill. She even said that if he sent her youngest daughter to the palace, she would fight against him. For a moment, the house became restless, and he was so angry that he even took in two new concubines, which was considered to have killed his wife’s momentum.

 

However, after such a commotion, he also knew the meaning of his concubine’s daughter in the palace. The emperor’s body was weak and he couldn’t get close to too many women. Even if he sends her sister to the palace, she has the ability to make her younger sister who was in love sit alone in the cold palace, half crazy and half stupid like Imperial Concubine Yun.

 

When Prince Sui’s power was overthrown, Empress Shi was plotting behind Liu Yu’s back, and the city government beneath the surface of her carelessness was something that people couldn’t help but fear.

 

Shi Yikuan was well aware of the strength of this daughter, and for a moment, he lost his heart to send her younger daughter into the palace to serve one man. He then thought of casting a wide net and becoming the father-in-law of several more heroes. Prince Huaiyang was naturally the first to win over.

 

In addition, his youngest daughter truly admires him, and when it comes to the matter of marriage, it was also natural.

 

As for Liu Miantang, the hostess of the royal family, Shi Yikuan did not take it to heart at all. Although Liu-Shi was born delicate and beautiful, her daughter’s beauty was unmatched.

 

After all, she was a woman who has already married and had a child in the residence, and which man wasn’t the one that abandon the old for the new? Moreover, compared to Liu Miantang, who has no background to speak of, his legitimate youngest daughter was innocent and can bring more political assistance to Prince Huaiyang.

 

But he didn’t expect Prince Huaiyang to have a gloomy face. Before he could finish speaking, he mercilessly coaxed him out.

 

Shi Yikuan’s face was of no use for a while, so when he returned home, he became furious and let Shi Xiujin rest her thoughts.

 

Lady Shi had originally ignited endless hope, but unexpectedly it was shattered. Her daughter’s thoughts could not be accepted for a moment.

 

Today, she heard that it was the day when Prince Huaiyang’s troops were deployed, so she sneaked out behind her father’s back and brought only her maid to the road outside the city.

 

Just now, by the pavilion, she was seeing Prince Huaiyang, dressed in shining armor and a golden helmet, riding on a horse with a dignified demeanor, even more mesmerizing than his usual broad robe and jade belt.

 

How could such a brave man not become her husband without causing resentment in people’s hearts?

 

And now, when she saw the Huaiyang Princess Consort, she immediately thought that it was all because of this woman that she couldn’t tie the knot with Xingzhou.

 

Why can’t this woman, like the virtuous woman in the drama, be willing to voluntarily surrender to a concubine, fulfilling her husband’s future and preventing her from expediting to a wilderness like the North Sea?

 

People often think in this way, thinking from the perspective of being advantageous to themselves. Shi Xiujin’s thinking in this way was more rational and straightforward, and she determined that Liu Miantang was not virtuous enough!

 

The family members who saw off are all on the same main road back and forth. When walking on the main road, it was okay, the carriage was driving back and forth.

 

However, when it arrived at the Moat not far from the city gate, the bridge deck was equipped with a crossbar that allowed the carriage to slow down, to avoid bumps on the bridge deck. So most of the family members got off the carriage by the bridge and walked over.

 

So Miantang, like other female relatives in the residence, got off the carriage and passed by with the help of the maid.

 

Although most of them are military dependents and are familiar with each other, they often walk and talk, which was very lively.

 

Many of the military dependents lived in the same town as Miantang when they were in the northwest, and they had all taken medicine from her pharmacy.

 

It was just that at that time, their husbands’ official positions were not very high, let alone not knowing that Liu Miantang was from the Huaiyang Royal Residence. And now, most of their husbands have been promoted, with a few even generals, and the landlady of the Northwest Small Pharmacy was even more impressive, as she has become the Huaiyang Princess Consort.

 

In the eyes of these military dependents, they never believed that Liu Miantang was the outer mistress of the prince.

 

How capable Lady Liu was in the northwest town back then, as everyone can see, the prince did not pick the flowers of the legitimate daughters of the feudal family, but chose the women who lived and died with him, which was the most admirable!

 

This feeling of sharing joys and sorrows with men was something that only those who have shared experiences can deeply appreciate.

 

Although Liu Miantang was esteemed as a princess consort, she was exceptionally familiar with these military dependents. The calling of sister-in-law also followed the tradition of the Northwest. Although they are mostly women from rural backgrounds, their husbands are all battlefield brothers who go through life and death with Prince Huaiyang.

 

Liu Miantang’s kindness towards them was like that of her own sister-in-law, which warmed the hearts of the women who had just bid farewell to their husbands, feeling that the Prince and his wife were truly approachable.

 

Shi Xiujin also got off the carriage and prepared to cross the bridge. Looking at the women in front with loud voices and rural slang in their words, she really couldn’t look up to them in her heart.

 

Looking at Liu Miantang getting along with them again, her heart became even more disdainful. A dignified hereditary princess consort, but her words were like those of a rural woman and a village maid. She really doesn’t know what Prince Huaiyang had in mind for her.

 

The group of little maids under Shi Xiujin knew the struggles and grievances of their young lady. Looking at the chaotic scene ahead, their heart was also angry.

 

One of the little maids was a show-off, and suddenly spoke in a sharp voice, “You guys, don’t you know how to avoid when seeing the ladies of the Shi family traveling? Don’t you know that our young lady is the legitimate younger sister of Empress Shi?”

 

If it comes to venting on behalf of the master, Bicao in the Huaiyang Prince’s Residence was also one of the best among the people.

 

Upon hearing how domineering the servant girl of the Shi family was behind her, Bicao immediately exclaimed, “Today is the day when the State of Zhen army going to the North Sea to set off. The soldiers who went to see off were all the military dependents of various prefectures. How did we know that even the daughter of the Shi family came to see off too? Of course, we didn’t know how to avoid it. Let me ask, which member of the Shi family did your Lady send off?”