10
The next morning when Mu Mingtang got up, she realized that she still didn’t have a dressing table.
Just as expected—she could never rely on those maids from the Jiang family. The two maids, ostensibly her dowry attendants, were actually spies. But now that she had arrived at Prince Qiyang’s residence, Mu Mingtang was confined to the main hall all day, and the two maids didn’t dare come inside. They took Madam Jiang’s money without having to wait on Mu Mingtang—how could she expect them to be obedient?
Mu Mingtang sighed and once again simply pinned up her hair casually. Her wedding had been a farce in name only; since the day itself had been so perfunctory, naturally there were no subsequent ceremonies like greeting her parents-in-law or worshipping at the family temple. At least it was a relief to skip those formalities. In her current state, she really wasn’t presentable to anyone.
But Mu Mingtang had no intention of making do forever. No matter the circumstances, life was what one made of it. Others could physically confine her, but if she also let herself go, disheveled and drifting through her days, then she would truly be imprisoned.
After tidying her hair and getting herself properly sorted, Mu Mingtang’s first task was to go to the sleeping chamber and greet Xie Xuanchen. “Good morning, Your Highness.”
Going too long without speaking to anyone would eventually drive her mad. Mu Mingtang had no choice but to treat Xie Xuanchen like a normal person, exchanging morning and evening greetings with him and discussing the daily menu with him. After she had wiped Xie Xuanchen’s face and changed his bandages, the meal delivery arrived. Breakfast at the royal residence was quite elaborate. Mu Mingtang enjoyed several beautiful pastries and only stopped eating when she couldn’t manage another bite. Then she packed up the food box and headed outside.
Today, she needed to find a way to get out—if only to find herself a mirror.
Just as expected, the guard captain stopped her at the entrance. Having learned from experience, Mu Mingtang was no longer afraid of him and even felt bold enough to haggle. “Captain, I know you have your duties and cannot let me leave. But I’m not trying to leave the residence—I just need to go to Qingxin Hall to look for my dowry. Although the main hall has everything, there was no mistress here before, so there isn’t even a dressing table. My clothes and jewelry are also in my dowry. You can’t expect me to live in this one set of clothes forever, can you?”
Yesterday, Mu Mingtang hadn’t been able to find any women’s clothing and had to keep wearing her wedding gown. Clearly, she couldn’t go on like this. No matter what, she needed to get her dowry.
Not only that, but she also needed to secure the right to move freely between Qingxin Hall and the Jade Qilin Hall.
The guard captain, worn down by Mu Mingtang’s persistence, had to concede. Their watch target was Prince Qiyang, not the Princess Consort. It seemed harmless enough for Mu Mingtang to step out briefly, as long as she didn’t leave the residence.
The captain’s attitude softened. He assigned two soldiers to accompany Mu Mingtang to fetch her dowry from the front.
Mu Mingtang glanced at the two soldiers trailing her every step and thought to herself that they weren’t there to help at all—they were clearly there to guard her, afraid she might run away. Since she had no intention of escaping, Mu Mingtang didn’t mind the tails in the slightest. In fact, she felt perfectly justified in ordering the two soldiers around.
Why waste free labor? Why be polite with them?
Having been poor before, Mu Mingtang valued money more than her own life. She had already stowed away her dowry inventory, and even the keys she kept on her person at all times. There was no chance of those dowry maids throwing their weight around or embezzling from her trousseau.
Mu Mingtang had always had an excellent memory when it came to money. Sure enough, she quickly found the dressing table. Her original plan had been to choose a small, compact one, since her partitioned corner wouldn’t fit anything large. But the Jiang family, wanting to put up a grand front, had all the furniture built tall and imposing—the dressing table in her dowry turned out to be far too big.
Mu Mingtang couldn’t leave the residence and had no right to be picky, so she had no choice but to accept it grudgingly. She directed the two soldiers to move several trunks of clothing. Her original intention was for them to carry together, but the two looked at each other and ended up with one man moving the items while the other stayed behind to guard her.
Fine. It wasn’t Mu Mingtang doing the heavy lifting anyway, so she had no objection. The soldier made several trips, finally moving all her clothes. Only then did Mu Mingtang instruct them to lift the dressing table. She followed the two men out, locked the door, and headed back to the Jade Qilin Hall.
As she approached, Mu Mingtang noticed that all her red lacquer trunks were piled at the entrance. They were so terrified of Xie Xuanchen that they didn’t even dare enter the hall. Speechless, Mu Mingtang turned directly to their leader, the guard captain. “Captain, you’ve piled everything at the door. Are you expecting me to move it myself?”
The guard captain also felt embarrassed. He coughed and said, “This lowly one would never dare. I beg Your Highness to lead the way.”
Mu Mingtang snorted, turned, and pushed open the hall doors. After walking a few steps, she looked back impatiently and urged, “Hurry up. What are you standing around for?”
Mu Mingtang clearly saw everyone take a deep breath. Only then did they pair up to carry the furniture, and a team even drew their swords to escort their comrades carrying the items inside. Mu Mingtang clicked her tongue in disdain. “Look at you—so cowardly. A sesame seed has more guts than you!”
Being openly ridiculed by a young woman was embarrassing for everyone. Yet no matter how embarrassed they were, they didn’t dare put down their swords.
Mu Mingtang had intended to put the dressing table in her own little partitioned space. But once inside, everyone visibly moved toward Xie Xuanchen’s direction. Mu Mingtang suddenly realized—of course. She was the Princess Consort. She was supposed to be sleeping with Xie Xuanchen.
Now it was Mu Mingtang’s turn to be embarrassed. She couldn’t very well announce that she slept separately from Xie Xuanchen. Dejected, she watched as several tall, sturdy guards carried the dressing table and trunks all the way to the innermost chamber, carefully placed them beside Xie Xuanchen’s bed, and then sprang up as if the floor were burning their feet. In perfect unison, covering for one another, they retreated from the sleeping chamber. Before Mu Mingtang could even speak, the soldiers had already closed the great doors behind them.
…They ran fast. Mu Mingtang looked gloomily at the tall, sturdy dressing table and trunks, then measured them against her own small arms. She had to admit—there was no way she could move such heavy things by herself.
The clothes were one thing; she could carry them bundle by bundle back to her own space. But what about the dressing table?
Would she have to do her makeup in front of Xie Xuanchen every day from now on?
Mu Mingtang was thoroughly exasperated. But no matter how much she complained, she still needed to do her hair. She sat down at the dressing table, and from the mirror, she could even see Xie Xuanchen’s face.
For the sake of ventilation, she had tied back all the drapes on her first night there, and the bed curtains around Xie Xuanchen’s bed remained open all day. Mu Mingtang felt extremely uncomfortable, if Xie Xuanchen opened his eyes, wouldn’t he see her face straight on?
Perhaps it was psychological, but as she thought this, she really began to feel as if Xie Xuanchen was about to open his eyes. Startled, Mu Mingtang didn’t even have time to pin up her hair. She whipped her head around in a panic to look at Xie Xuanchen.
Xie Xuanchen was still sleeping quietly. His sleeping face was as beautiful as a painted scroll.
Mu Mingtang stared at him for a long time, then decided she had been cooped up alone for too long and was starting to see threats everywhere. She turned back and continued fixing her unfinished hairdo, inserting hairpins, tassels, and beaded flowers one by one.
In the past, when she had to imitate Jiang Mingwei, Mu Mingtang could only use silk flowers, ribbons, and similar accessories. She could look at the beautiful jeweled hairpins but not touch them. Now that she had a large box of jewelry of her own, she could finally indulge her own preferences and pick out all the sparkling ornaments she liked.
Mu Mingtang chose her accessories with great care. As she became more absorbed, she forgot the outside world entirely. By the time she finished dressing herself up, she was utterly delighted and couldn’t resist admiring herself happily in the mirror. By then, she had completely forgotten about Xie Xuanchen.
After finishing her toilette, Mu Mingtang was obviously in high spirits. Humming a tune, she organized the clothes from the red lacquer trunks into the wardrobe in her partitioned space. Even when she fed Xie Xuanchen his lunch, her mood remained noticeably bright.
In the afternoon, after all her tasks were done, Mu Mingtang now had some money at her disposal. She began to ponder how to nourish Xie Xuanchen’s body.
The kitchen didn’t know that she was feeding her own congee to Xie Xuanchen, so the liquid meals they sent were the most ordinary kind. Such congee was fine for a healthy person, but not appropriate for a sick patient.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t leave the residence. That meant the task of buying things fell on the guards outside. Military orders were strict, but there was also a saying: “Money makes the devil turn the millstone.” If she could catch the guard captain off guard, she might be able to try.
Mu Mingtang sat in the sunlight, slowly shelling almonds. She had traded a jade hairpin for these nuts, asking one of the guards to buy them for her from outside.
The guard captain wouldn’t let Mu Mingtang leave the Jade Qilin Hall, so she took advantage of moments when he wasn’t looking to quietly bribe other guards to buy her snacks. She claimed she was simply bored and wanted something to nibble on to pass the time. She was only fifteen, close in age to many of their younger sisters, yet she would spend the rest of her life in confinement. Even the guards, bound by their military orders, couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sympathy.
More importantly, a jade hairpin was worth far more than nuts. Since Mu Mingtang gave them the hairpin, they couldn’t exactly give her change. How much could a fine, all-green jade hairpin be pawned for? And how much did a handful of roasted nuts cost?
That was how Mu Mingtang obtained her outside snacks. She hadn’t gone to all this trouble just to eat them herself, of course. Her plan was to grind these almonds and hazelnuts into powder and mix them into the congee she fed Xie Xuanchen.
Xie Xuanchen had slept for a long time and rarely saw sunlight. He urgently needed nutrition. But Mu Mingtang didn’t dare ask the guards to buy her things like eggs or goat’s milk—that would be too obvious. She was afraid her actions might be discovered, so she started with nuts, slowly building up his strength.
Shelling hazelnuts and almonds required patience. Mu Mingtang was in the middle of cracking shells when she heard a noise at the door. Thinking it was the meal delivery, she didn’t look up and said, “Just leave it at the door. I’ll come in a moment.”
After speaking, she found it strange that the meal delivery had come so early. But after her voice faded, there was no response from the door for a long time. Suddenly sensing something wrong, Mu Mingtang raised her head sharply—and saw Xie Xuanji standing at the doorway, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
Mu Mingtang’s fingers instinctively curled inward, but then she calmly left the pile of nutshells exposed on the table. Since Xie Xuanji had appeared here, he most likely already knew about her little schemes. There was no use hiding it now—it would only make her look guilty.
She wiped her fingers with a handkerchief, then stood up unhurriedly. “So it’s Prince Jin. This humble wife offers her apologies for not welcoming you from afar.”
Xie Xuanji walked into the great hall and glanced at the furnishings around him, frowning slightly. Mu Mingtang couldn’t tell whether he frowned because the Jade Qilin Hall was so lifeless and dreary, or because Mu Mingtang seemed so at ease even in such an environment.
The guards were too terrified to set foot through the door, but Xie Xuanji appeared to have no such qualms. He stopped in front of Mu Mingtang, looked at the large pile of nutshells before her, and asked, “Where did these come from?”
“Where do you think they came from, Prince Jin?” Mu Mingtang showed no sign of panic. She wrapped the shelled nuts in a piece of paper and said, “I stay indoors all day, not even allowed to step outside for fresh air. I just wanted to eat some nuts—is that a crime as well?”
Xie Xuanji was not about to raise a fuss over such a trivial matter. As long as Mu Mingtang had been carried alive into Prince Qiyang’s residence, their goal was achieved. What happened to her afterward was of little concern to the Emperor.
Having a few nuts bought from outside was hardly a serious offense. Had it not been for something the residence steward presented to Xie Xuanji, he would not have made a special trip to see Mu Mingtang today.
Seeing that Mu Mingtang still looked utterly clueless, Xie Xuanji suppressed his displeasure, took something from his sleeve, and held it out before her. “Then what about this?”
Mu Mingtang glanced down—it was the green jade hairpin she had given as a bribe. So that guard had pawned it after all.
Mu Mingtang couldn’t directly hand over silver, so she had used accessories to bribe the guards. It wasn’t as if she liked those elegant, simple pieces anyway. Using them as favors was perfect. If it had been a shiny gold hairpin, she wouldn’t have been willing to part with it.
That style—understated and elegant—was what Jiang Mingwei liked. The Jiang family had naturally prepared her dowry according to Jiang Mingwei’s taste, so Mu Mingtang had ended up with quite a few pale, delicate accessories. She glanced at the hairpin only briefly before looking away. “Yes, it’s mine. It’s perfectly natural for me to dispose of my own dowry. Are you going to meddle in that too, Prince Jin?”
Suppressing his anger, Xie Xuanji said, “Even if you’re acting out of spite, you shouldn’t squander your dowry like this. You used to love this hairpin. Now you’ve sold it cheaply just for a bit of food?”
Mu Mingtang found this utterly baffling. “I don’t like it. Isn’t it fine to sell it in exchange for food?”
“You’re still being stubborn.” Xie Xuanji looked at Mu Mingtang, hesitating as if he wanted to say more, his gaze heavy. “After marrying him, you’ve been reduced to such straits. Just for a few snacks, you have to pawn your dowry.”
“I really don’t like it!” Mu Mingtang felt deeply wronged. “I’ve told you, I don’t like it. If it weren’t for the fact that the craftsman worked hard to carve the jade, I would have thrown it away. Using it to get some food is actually putting it to good use. Besides, you were the one who married me off to your cousin. Why can’t I leave this residence—don’t you already know why?”
Xie Xuanji still didn’t believe her. He sighed and said, “You’re still angry with me, I see. Prince Jin’s residence is right next to Prince Qiyang’s. There’s a small eastern gate that leads directly into the garden of Prince Jin’s residence. If there’s anything you want in the future, you can come to me.”
Mu Mingtang’s face immediately darkened. She fixed her gaze on Xie Xuanji and suddenly gave a cold laugh. “Oh? What exactly are you implying, Prince Jin? Your beloved has returned, you’re reunited with your old flame and basking in glory, and now you feel a bit sorry for the stand-in you discarded? I am your sister-in-law. My husband is gravely ill in bed, and you’re telling me to come through the small gate to your residence? What do you mean by that?”
Xie Xuanji seemed to smile. He stepped forward, instantly closing the distance between them. “Do you really think that after that travesty of a wedding ceremony, you are truly my sister-in-law? I was the one performing the rites for the entire first half of the ceremony.”
“Performing rites is still substituting.” Mu Mingtang immediately tried to step back, but she couldn’t evade Xie Xuanji. In her haste, she nearly fell. Xie Xuanji grabbed her arm. Realizing they were now even closer, Mu Mingtang panicked. The moment she regained her balance, she tried to shake off his hand. “You bastard! Let go of me!”
Mu Mingtang had thought that in broad daylight, Xie Xuanji wouldn’t dare do anything. But when she looked up, she noticed that the great hall doors had been closed at some point. The vast, empty hall held only the two of them.
Her heart turned cold. She quickly wrenched herself free from Xie Xuanji’s grasp and stumbled back several steps. “Xie Xuanji, I am your sister-in-law. Are you going to defy all human decency?”
“You actually take this marriage seriously?” Xie Xuanji gave a soft laugh. “He has been unconscious for a long time. Even if he wanted to do anything, he lacks the strength. What kind of future can you have with him? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll understand what to do.”
“What should she do?”
Both Xie Xuanji and Mu Mingtang were startled. They whipped their heads around and heard, from the innermost sleeping chamber, the sound of something heavy striking the edge of the bed.
Mu Mingtang immediately understood—that was the sound of Xie Xuanchen’s iron cuffs. Those chains were forged from dark iron, extremely heavy. Only those shackles could produce such a loud noise.
**