After thinking it over, more than ten days had passed, yet there was still no word from Sheng Xiangqiao. Even if she were found, a girl’s innocence was likely already lost. If the prince’s heir were to discover this, it would be a disaster beyond measure.
Her husband must have grown more fearful the more he thought about it, which was why he told his elder brother.
Just as Madam Qian had said earlier, if the Prince were to become the emperor, every time he saw the Sheng family, he would be reminded of this disgrace. Wouldn’t Sheng Guiniang’s son then be despised by the sovereign, with no future left for him?
So the best solution, as her sister-in-law had suggested, was to sever ties between the Shengs and the Chengs to preserve her son’s future prosperity.
Thinking of this, Sheng Guiniang looked at her talented son, sorrow welled up again, and she clung to Cheng Tianfu, weeping bitterly.
Though still young, Cheng Tianfu was broad-shouldered and strong. He wrapped one arm around his mother, soothing her as if she were a younger sister: “Mother, don’t worry. Cousin Xiangqiao has already been found. She will return to the household in a few days.”
Sheng Guiniang’s sobs stopped abruptly. She lifted her head in confusion:
“Found? Why has no one told me?”
Cheng Tianfu poured her a cup of tea and said casually: “Perhaps Uncle thought your lips weren’t tight enough, so he didn’t tell you.”
Sheng Guiniang instinctively protested: “How am I loose-tongued…”
Before she could finish, Cheng Tianfu cut her off: “Wasn’t it you who told Father about Cousin Xiangqiao? Otherwise, how would Uncle have known?”
Sheng Guiniang lowered her voice: “But your father isn’t an outsider. Such a serious matter, of course, he should know…”
Cheng Tianfu fixed his gaze on her, his eyes complicated, and spoke slowly, word by word: “Mother, after all this, you should understand—there are some things you must guard against, even with your own husband.”
Sheng Guiniang had been pampered since childhood and was cherished by her husband after marriage. Gentle and uncompetitive, she was like a delicate flower raised in a greenhouse, untouched by storm or frost. Yet she was not foolish. Today, forced by her sister-in-law to divorce, and with her husband gone since early morning, she thought it through and trembled, tears flowing again: “The Chengs have gone too far, their hearts are vile! And Nianlang (Cheng Peinian’s nickname), how could he bear to treat me so?”
Cheng Tianfu said nothing, his eyes turning cold. He recalled what Uncle had told him: Sheng Xiangqiao had eloped with a scoundrel, and it seemed deeply connected to Tian Peirong of the Duke Ding’s household. Coupled with rumors that his father was secretly close to the newly widowed Lady Tian, Cheng Tianfu understood his father’s intentions.
Now there was indeed news of Cousin Xiangqiao: someone had seen her board a smuggling ship bound for the South Seas. According to imperial law, no vessel could set sail without official permits. Uncle knew Cheng Tianfu had once befriended men of the martial world, some of whom ran sea ships. Out of desperation, he sought Cheng Tianfu’s help to use those connections to trace Sheng Xiangqiao’s whereabouts.
Though young, Cheng Tianfu was steadier and more responsible than his father. Moreover, he was on good terms with the prince’s heir. If matters grew unmanageable, he would be needed to mediate between both sides.
That was why Cheng Tianfu had rushed back from the old estate. But after all these days, his father had let slip the Sheng family’s disgrace, leading to this farce of his sister-in-law forcing divorce.
Sheng Guiniang had always relied on her husband and son. Now that her husband’s support had collapsed, she was fortunate her son had returned. Her heart steadied somewhat, and she resolved to follow his lead in everything.
Meanwhile, Cheng Peifeng, after hearing his wife Madam Qian’s words, furrowed his brow, waiting for his nephew to come and demand justice. Yet he sat in the study for half a day without seeing him. Not until nearly noon the next day, unable to contain his impatience, did Cheng Peifeng order his old servant to summon his younger brother.
In the main household, Cheng Peifeng had three sons, so the second branch’s Cheng Tianfu happened to be the fourth in rank.
Although Cheng Peifeng was the head of the Cheng family, he was too lazy to manage the affairs of the younger generation in the inner quarters. Besides, Cheng Tianfu belonged to the second branch, and it was his father’s duty to discipline him.
Cheng Peifeng had not seen the fourth son, who was studying away from home, for a long time, and still thought of him as the mischievous child he used to be. But when the tall youth in a snow‑white robe entered the study, Cheng Peifeng was startled to realize that the little monkey of a boy had quietly grown into a young man.
After Cheng Tianfu greeted him politely, Cheng Peifeng said gently, “Your studies are not yet complete; this is the time you must apply yourself. As for your father’s affairs, you should not interfere.”
Cheng Tianfu looked calmly at his uncle and replied: “I returned this time because Grandmother caught a chill and was unwell. She missed me, so Uncle wrote a letter asking me to come back to see her. Before I returned, I truly did not know there was anything amiss with my parents.”
Cheng Peifeng gave a dry laugh, about to dismiss him, when Cheng Tianfu spoke first: “The heir of Prince Cining also came back to the capital with me this time. Later, he will accompany me to visit Grandmother. I must leave now and cannot stay to chat with Uncle. Please forgive me…”
Hearing that the prince’s heir was going to the Sheng household, Cheng Peifeng could no longer feign indifference. His beard curled in shock as he sprang up: “You… how could you drag the heir into this? This is courting disaster! Do you not know what shameful thing your cousin Sheng Xiangqiao has done?”
Cheng Tianfu looked steadily at his uncle, a mocking smile on his lips: “I truly do not know. Nor do I know where Uncle heard such gossip, taking absurd rumors as truth! Cousin Xiangqiao has merely caught a chill these past few days and cannot receive visitors. That is hardly disgraceful. In a few days, she will recover. Yet Uncle, on the basis of hearsay, forced my mother to divorce my father—now that is truly a family scandal!”
Cheng Peifeng narrowed his eyes, thinking the ignorant boy was spouting nonsense, unaware of the Sheng family’s dire straits.
But Cheng Tianfu had already strode out the door and could not be called back.
Too weary to deal with his unruly nephew, Cheng Peifeng hurried instead to have Sheng Guiniang sign the divorce papers.
When Madam Qian went again to the second branch’s courtyard, she found that Sheng Guiniang had already packed several carriages of luggage early that morning. With her dowry maids and servants, she had left through the side gate by her courtyard, following Cheng Tianfu back to her natal Sheng household.
Yet Cheng Tianfu did not go to his grandmother’s house as he had claimed. After receiving a letter delivered by a servant from the prince’s residence, he escorted his mother home, then rode to a lodge in the western part of the city. Inside, he tossed his whip to his servant Qing Yan and strode quickly through the corridors crowded with attendants until he reached the inner hall.
Heavy curtains dimmed the light, but Cheng Tianfu immediately saw his uncle Sheng Xuanhe kneeling on the floor, unable to rise.
Prince Cining sat on the high seat before the hall, eyes closed, fingering a polished string of jade walnut beads.
When Cheng Tianfu knelt beside his uncle to pay respects, Prince Cining slowly opened his eyes and said: “In your letter to your uncle, you claimed to have found a young girl who looks exactly like Sheng Xiangqiao. Is that true?”
Cheng Tianfu glanced at his uncle, knowing he must have been forced to reveal this under pressure, and replied: “I dare not say she is identical, but she resembles her seven or eight parts. However, she is not a noble daughter, only a child bride from a peasant family.”
Prince Cining’s long‑furrowed brow seemed to ease, and he said: “Nothing else matters. The likeness is what is most important.” He finally addressed Sheng Xuanhe, who had been kneeling half the day: “Lord Sheng, rise. Speak while seated.”
Sheng Xuanhe knew his lax household discipline had allowed his daughter to commit such a monstrous offense. Even if he lost his head a hundred times, it would not be enough. Now, thanks to his nephew Cheng Tianfu’s help, there was at least a glimmer of hope. Yet his heart was still heavy, and even when the Prince granted him leave to rise, he dared not do so at once.
At last, with Cheng Tianfu’s support, Sheng Xuanhe managed to drag his numb legs upright and shakily sit down on a nearby chair.
As for the Prince’s words—“the likeness is what matters most”—they were indeed true.
The betrothal between the heir and Sheng Xiangqiao had been a marriage granted by the emperor himself. Outsiders did not know the reason: it was because the heir, a royal grandson, bore a striking resemblance to the emperor in his youth, while Sheng Xiangqiao resembled a woman the emperor had once cherished.
The emperor was now old and had long neglected his consorts, yet he remained haunted by that youthful regret. Years ago, when he happened upon the twelve‑year‑old heir and nine‑year‑old Miss Sheng quarreling under the garden veranda, they looked for all the world like childhood sweethearts. In that moment, the emperor was overcome with tears, imagining what might have been had fate been kinder. He immediately decreed their marriage.
After the decree, Prince Cining rose above the other sons of the emperor’s consorts, becoming ever more favored.
It was said the emperor had once promised his beloved that she would be empress, but the wish was never fulfilled. Now he poured all his tender longing into this pair of children who resembled himself and her, as if to mend a broken dream.
Prince Cining knew well that his position as heir apparent was due to the emperor’s desire to fulfill that dream, and so he valued the marriage between the heir and the Sheng family.
But now, with Sheng Xiangqiao disgraced, if word reached the emperor, the dream would be tainted—and the throne he coveted might vanish.
Therefore, as long as Sheng Xiangqiao could be found, even if her purity was lost, the prince’s household would conceal the scandal. The heir would still marry her in a grand ceremony, preserving the emperor’s old dream.
Yet Sheng Xiangqiao, abducted, had vanished without a trace, and the empress had suddenly summoned her to the palace. The Sheng family stalled, claiming illness, but the truth could not be hidden forever.
Cheng Tianfu claimed to have found a girl resembling Sheng Xiangqiao. Even if she was but a straw to clutch, Prince Cining had to seize it. His meaning was clear: he cared nothing for the girl’s origins. As long as she bore that face, the Sheng family must raise her as their own daughter to marry the heir.
The emperor was aged, his life nearing its end, and the sickly crown prince was unlikely to live long. Once Prince Cining ascended the throne, he would have ways to make the false daughter‑in‑law vanish respectably, and the heir could then choose a proper crown princess.
Sheng Xuanhe, well aware of the schemes, nodded repeatedly at the prince’s command. After all, he had indulged his daughter until she committed a crime that nearly ruined the family. If a substitute could cover the shame, he would thank the ancestors.
After the discussion, Sheng Xuanhe offered to send men to Jiancheng to secretly bring the girl back. But the thought of a peasant child pretending to be a noble daughter was daunting.
Prince Cining waved it off, saying he would arrange it himself. Since the Shengs had caused the trouble, he would not allow mistakes—he would personally send men to fetch the village girl.
Cheng Tianfu was then kept behind to hear Prince Cining’s instructions about searching for Sheng Xiangqiao in the South Seas.
Though furious at the Sheng family’s blunder, Prince Cining now saw Cheng Tianfu as a blessing. The youth had already devised a remedy, easing his mind somewhat.