As soon as Chen Anzhi returned, he turned the Jinnan Prince’s Mansion upside down. The sky was already dark, and it was time to rest, but Chen Anzhi stumbled out of Tanxiang Yingyue and immediately summoned everyone in the mansion to go out and search for Princess Que.
“I was only gone for a few months, and the person is missing?” Chen Anzhi paced in place angrily, counting on his fingers, scarred with burn marks. “I left after the new year, and it’s only been eight months. While I wasn’t home, you all didn’t take care of my woman! Letting evildoers break into the mansion and abduct her!”
He was both angry and anxious, thinking about how weak his Princess Que was. If she encountered bad people, she’d be terrified out of her wits!
Several stewards of the mansion were brought over, and with a dark face, he questioned them. However, they were all bewildered, completely unaware that a master had gone missing from Tanxiang Yingyue.
“Every gate of the mansion has guards 24 hours a day; it’s impossible for evildoers to break in and abduct someone without alerting anyone!”
“Then where is she? Why is she missing?” Chen Anzhi raised his voice.
“This…” The stewards looked at each other, unable to answer.
“Search! Everyone, go and search!” Chen Anzhi ordered. Not only the mansion’s male servants but also the maidservants and old women were all driven out to look for her.
“How could she be missing…” Chen Anzhi’s face turned pale. He sat down on a stone bench under the apricot tree, repeatedly stroking a string of white shell bracelets.
He even began to reflect on himself. When Princess Que was in the mansion, he didn’t dare to get close out of fear of disrespect. He kept thinking he should wait until she got used to life in the mansion, then he could slowly cultivate their relationship. Was he wrong? If only he had been more proactive when Princess Que was around.
A string of purple shell bracelets fell from his sleeve. Chen Anzhi picked them up and frowned.
“Did she bully you while I was away? Did she wrong you? After all, back in your homeland, you were a princess, and she had to kneel and salute when she saw you. Now that you’re here, she’s the main wife, and you’re the concubine. Do you feel hurt inside? Although everyone in the mansion says you two get along well, the statuses of main wife and concubine are different after all…”
Chen Anzhi spread his burn-scarred palm, placing the two bracelets side by side. The purple was bright, but how could it compare to the purity of the white?
Even today, Chen Anzhi still thought that if Princess Que were his primary wife and You Yuji his concubine, it would be more perfect.
“Where are you…” Chen Anzhi sighed, clenching his palm. His mind was full of his Princess Que, even reluctant to think about fetching You Yuji from the You family.
He couldn’t help but ponder who had abducted his princess. Thinking it over, Chen Anzhi thought of Sun Guangliang. Among the group of friends he knew, Sun Guangliang was the one who most loved women. Or perhaps his father, disliking the chaos in his backyard, secretly drove her away?
Chen Anzhi’s commotion naturally alarmed the Prince of Jinnan and his wife.
“She’s missing?” The princess had just given birth and was still weak. Her health had always been poor, and she had been bedridden almost every day for more than a month before giving birth, having long lost the heart to manage household affairs. She had just learned about Si Que’s disappearance.
“Don’t worry too much, focus on your recovery.” The Prince of Jinnan frowned in displeasure, clearly unhappy with the commotion Chen Anzhi caused as soon as he returned.
The Prince of Jinnan was about to reprimand Chen Anzhi for his carelessness when he saw Chen Anzhi and his brother Chen Shunzhi standing in the courtyard. Chen Anzhi was about to inquire about Princess Que with the princess, but Chen Shunzhi whispered to dissuade him, “Mother is still weak, it’s better not to disturb her…”
Prince Jinnan looked at the anxious face of Chen Anzhi from a distance, feeling something was off. This son of his, though not rebellious, often left people speechless with his actions. His genuine joy when he returned and bowed to his parents, and his happiness at having a new brother were real. Yet, in many other aspects, he was hard to understand.
It was unclear whether he was more concerned about himself or too foolish to realize how absurd his actions were.
“Father.”
Chen Anzhi and Chen Shunzhi immediately stopped talking when they saw Prince Jinnan approaching.
With a stern face, Prince Jinnan reprimanded Chen Anzhi, telling him to go back and calm down.
Only then did Chen Anzhi realize his actions were indeed inappropriate.
“Yes, I acted without considering properly!” he bowed deeply and left, feeling ashamed.
Chen Anzhi walked back, dejected, still worrying about his Princess Que and instructing the mansion’s people to continue the search. He was exhausted from his journey, but having been without a woman for over half a year, he didn’t want to spend his first night back alone.
Without much hesitation, he went to Chunxing’s room.
Among the few concubines in the mansion, Chunxing was the only one he found tolerable to sleep with. Of course, he still found her lacking, disliking her dullness and lack of charm.
As soon as he entered the room, the smell of medicine made him frown.
Chunxing was leaning weakly on the couch, looking haggard.
“What, are you so sick that you’ve forgotten to greet me?” Chen Anzhi scolded while spreading his arms, waiting for Chunxing to help him undress.
Chunxing, suffering from a cold and feeling weak, remained on the couch, speaking softly, “This concubine is ill, afraid of passing it to the young master.”
“You!”
Chen Anzhi angrily dropped his arms, feeling that Chunxing had lost her only redeeming quality of obedience. He angrily pulled out a chair and sat down, grumbling, “Pour me a cup of water!”
A maid took a step forward, but Chen Anzhi glared at her, stopping her in her tracks.
With no other choice, Chunxing stood up, poured a cup of tea, and respectfully handed it to Chen Anzhi. He glanced at Chunxing, making her hold it for a while before taking it. After drinking, he asked, “Have you seen Princess Que recently?”
Chunxing shook her head without looking up.
“When was the last time you saw her?”
It was unclear if Chunxing had even heard him properly, as she continued to shake her head, still wooden.
“Did your fever fry your brain?” Chen Anzhi was infuriated by Chunxing’s response, feeling a strong urge to kick her.
But as a gentleman, he couldn’t hit a woman, so he smashed the tea cup in his hand instead, the porcelain shattering at Chunxing’s feet.
Chunxing stood quietly with her head lowered, her face expressionless.
“Everyone is against me!” Chen Anzhi thought that returning to the capital, his territory, would bring him great joy and prosperity, but everything was going wrong.
“When I’m not home, the people in the mansion are so neglectful of my woman, they don’t even know when the princess went missing!” Chen Anzhi stood up, pacing around the room and complaining nonstop. “And that bastard Wangjiang, thinking he can get away with anything just because he climbed up the social ladder. Does he think I can’t do anything to him?”
Chunxing, who had been standing lifelessly with her head down, suddenly looked up, her eyes wide open, and her voice was louder than usual. “Who did you say?”
“That beast Wangjiang!” Chen Anzhi angrily pointed towards the door. “That scoundrel is still alive, it’s as if the heavens are blind!”
Chunxing stared at Chen Anzhi, a tear rolling out of her wide-open eyes.
Since the day she was rescued from the lake, she had hardly shed a tear. This single tear, like rain after a long drought, brought a glimmer of life back to the barren ground.
Chen Anzhi was bewildered. “Why are you crying?”
He took a step forward, intending to wipe her tears, but Chunxing suddenly burst into laughter. She laughed and laughed, eventually squatting down and holding her stomach, laughing hysterically.
Chen Anzhi was even more confused. The person in front of him, behaving so strangely, didn’t seem like the Chunxing he knew. Was she possessed by a ghost? He took a step back, cautiously observing her.
Chunxing continued to squat there, both crying and laughing like a madwoman.
“You’re insane!” Chen Anzhi flicked his sleeves and left quickly, fearing he might also be possessed by a spirit.
—
That night, it wasn’t just the Jinnan Prince’s Mansion that was restless.
In the Princess’s Mansion, Princess Huarong looked at the few people kneeling before her, her hand holding a letter trembling slightly.
“Chui Xingxian!” Princess Huarong handed the letter to her consort. “Our daughter is still alive!”
Despite having mentally prepared himself, Chui Xingxian was still a bit dazed.
They had long believed their daughter had died young, and now being told that Yu’er was still alive? The shock and joy left Chui Xingxian momentarily speechless.
Ever since Princess Huarong saw the birthmark on Cuiyu’s heel by chance, she had been deeply concerned and immediately sent people to investigate Cuiyu’s background. Cuiyu had not lived in the capital as a child and had been sold several times. Princess Huarong had to search various places and bring the relevant people to the capital.
The people kneeling now were those whom Princess Huarong had brought from different places. After interrogating them and comparing the timelines, the truth finally came out. The girl who had fallen into the water that day was indeed her biological daughter!
During this period, Princess Huarong had tried to convince herself that the birthmark might just be a coincidence, not wanting to get her hopes up only to be disappointed again. Countless times, she had hidden in a corner, watching Cuiyu busily take care of her shabby bun stall, always wanting to rush over and take her away.
Now that she had both witness and physical evidence, she no longer had to worry that it was all in vain.
“Let’s go, let’s bring her back now!” Princess Huarong stood up, her voice choked with emotion.
Chui Xingxian hesitated for a moment and said, “It’s too late now, let’s go tomorrow? It will take some time to get there, and she should be asleep by now…”
Knowing Princess Huarong’s temperament, Chui Xingxian was merely testing to persuade her, not expecting her to agree. But to his surprise, Princess Huarong considered his words for a moment and nodded.
“You’re right. She’s so busy every day. It’s not good to wake her up just after she’s fallen asleep…” Princess Huarong slowly sat back down, tears still hanging at the corners of her eyes.
Such a hard-hearted person, yet her eyes were still filled with tears.
Chui Xingxian firmly nodded and held her hand. “At first light, we’ll bring our daughter home!”
Their adopted son, Cui Ling, standing nearby, joyfully added, “Tomorrow, we’ll be reunited as a family!”
—
The next morning, as soon as Chen Anzhi woke up, he asked Wangshan if there was any news about Princess Que. Hearing a negative reply, he felt dejected for a while before putting on his splendid clothes and leaving the mansion. As he touched the silk of his fine robe, a smile slowly replaced his frown.
—After enduring hardship in the army for so long, now that he was finally back, of course he had to gather with a few friends to enjoy food and entertainment.
Chen Anzhi didn’t expect to run into Lin Yingying.
He and his friends were sitting in a private room on the second floor of Zuixian Pavilion, listening to tunes and eating delicacies. Sitting by the window, he listened to the pipa music while looking out at the lively scene below through the open window. Although the nation was in mourning and it wasn’t appropriate to indulge in pleasure, his friends had arranged for the pipa performance to celebrate his return to the capital, and Chen Anzhi was quite pleased.
Chen Anzhi felt that this was the kind of life he was meant to lead; the hardships in the military were a thing of the past, something he would never experience again.
When he saw Lin Yingying, he thought he was seeing things.
“Yingying? Isn’t she dead?”
Old Hu, who frequently patronized Cuiyu and Lin Yingying’s stall, had opened a pawnshop on this street. After getting to know them well, he found it too troublesome to buy buns daily, so he paid extra for Cuiyu to deliver them to him each day.
Lin Yingying was hurrying back after delivering buns and soy milk to him. The shop’s business was getting better, and Cuiyu couldn’t handle it alone, so she had to hurry back.
“The young master is interested in that woman?” A friend teased, “Oh, she does have a nice sway when she walks. Tsk, tsk.”
“You’re mistaken.” Chen Anzhi frowned, picking up the wine cup in front of him and drinking it all. He disliked others scrutinizing his women and didn’t want anyone to know that one of his concubines had been abducted by mountain bandits.
Chen Anzhi discreetly signaled to Wangshan.
The meal ended quickly, and Chen Anzhi found an excuse to leave his friends, hurrying with Wangshan to Cuiyu and Lin Yingying’s bun shop.
It was mid-morning, not a mealtime, so the shop had no customers. However, Cuiyu and Lin Yingying were busy in the back kitchen preparing lunch, leaving only the little girl Yaya to watch the front.
When Yaya saw the distinguished-looking Chen Anzhi approaching, she immediately turned and shouted inside, “There’s a customer!”
Lin Yingying grabbed a cloth, wiped her hands, and hurried through the narrow passageway.
“Coming, coming. What can I get for you…” Lin Yingying’s words choked off when she saw Chen Anzhi standing there, her face turning pale. She instinctively took a step back, realizing there was no escape.
“It’s really you. You’re actually alive!” Chen Anzhi exclaimed in surprise.
Lin Yingying bit her lip, unsure how to respond.
Chen Anzhi frowned and scolded, “If you were unharmed, why didn’t you return to the prince’s mansion? Instead, you’re showing yourself here. Don’t tell me you were never abducted by bandits but ran away with some wild man?”
Lin Yingying instinctively wanted to refute but then changed her words. “You must be mistaken, young master.”
“Pretending not to know me?” Chen Anzhi stepped forward, grabbing Lin Yingying’s wrist and pulling her out. “Let’s go to the authorities and find out which wild man you ran off with. See if I won’t convict you of adultery!”
Panic surged in Lin Yingying’s heart. She didn’t want to go to the authorities; it was a place that consumed people. Chen Anzhi was a young master, and the authorities wouldn’t uphold justice for a powerless commoner. If Chen Anzhi sent her there, she would face severe punishment and then be executed for adultery.
“I don’t know you, let go of me!” Lin Yingying panicked and tried to push Chen Anzhi’s hand away.
Chen Anzhi, consumed with anger at the thought of his concubine running off with another man, forcefully pulled at Lin Yingying. She was no match for his strength and fell to the ground. Desperately, she grabbed the edge of the bun shop table, gripping it tightly with white knuckles, refusing to let go.
The commotion drew the curious eyes of passersby.
Feeling humiliated by the onlookers’ stares, Chen Anzhi felt his face burning with shame. He raised his foot and kicked at Lin Yingying’s hand that clung to the table leg.
The sole of his shoe, rough with sand and grit, scraped the delicate skin on the back of her hand, causing it to bleed.
Despite the stinging pain, Lin Yingying clung to the table, unwilling to let go, even though she knew it was futile.
Chen Anzhi lowered his voice and warned, “You… you unfaithful woman, let go and come with me to confess your crime!”
“I didn’t…” Lin Yingying’s eyes reddened. She wanted to argue that she hadn’t run off with another man but had been abducted by bandits and had barely escaped. However, remembering Jiang Yunche, she lost the confidence to refute Chen Anzhi loudly.
Suddenly, the pulling force slackened, and Lin Yingying’s shoulder slammed into the table edge from the momentum.
A hand appeared in her field of vision. Startled, Lin Yingying looked up slowly, recognizing the familiar hand and then the unsmiling eyes of Jiang Yunche.
Her heart pounded as she looked at his offered hand but dared not take it.
Jiang Yunche gazed deeply at her, then firmly grasped her shoulders and helped her up. Lin Yingying tried to push his hand away, frantically signaling him with her eyes, almost despairing as she shook her head.