8
That day had been far too exhausting. After returning to her little partitioned space, Mu Mingtang quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, no one came to wake her, and sunlight couldn’t reach her corner. Mu Mingtang ended up sleeping well past dawn.
When she opened her eyes and saw the time, she was shocked. She sprang up, changed her clothes, and washed up. As she tied her garments, she silently marveled at her good fortune: after marrying, she didn’t need to serve her parents-in-law, and no one in the residence supervised her. Otherwise, sleeping in until midday on her first day as a married woman would have made her life very difficult indeed.
After dressing, Mu Mingtang realized another troublesome issue. The Jade Qilin Hall had everything—except a mirror. Presumably, because Xie Xuanchen had established the residence before marrying, with no mistress in the sleeping quarters, no dressing table had been prepared.
Without a mirror, Mu Mingtang could still do her hair herself, but she couldn’t go on like this forever. She remembered that her dowry included a full set of furniture. When she had the time, she would search through it.
For today, she would have to make do. Fortunately, Xie Xuanchen was unconscious, the guards outside wouldn’t let her leave, and she barely saw anyone. No one would laugh at her. Mu Mingtang hastily pinned up her hair and hurried to the western sleeping chamber.
A night had passed, and Xie Xuanchen looked unchanged. He hadn’t even moved from his position. But after being cleaned, he was undeniably different: today, he appeared much fairer, more refined, and even more like a pretty-faced pretty-boy.
Muttering to herself, Mu Mingtang wrung out her handkerchief, wiped his face, and reapplied his medicine. After finishing, she suddenly realized she had nothing left to do.
In the past, when she was struggling to survive—let alone later at the Jiang mansion—she had been busy every day learning etiquette and poetry, rarely having a moment of free time. She hadn’t expected that after marriage, she would end up living a life of leisure, simply waiting for meals to be served.
Mu Mingtang sat for a while, feeling too embarrassed to keep staring at Xie Xuanchen’s face. So she stood up, wandered around the hall, and began cleaning the main hall.
She was dusting in the easternmost room when she suddenly heard voices at the entrance. Mu Mingtang hurried over and opened the door to find the two maids from yesterday.
The place Mu Mingtang was marrying into was completely different from Jiang Mingwei’s situation. At the Jiang mansion, the maids had wept and wailed, none willing to be her dowry attendants. Mu Mingtang thought that everyone struggled to survive; these maids were just like her, people fighting to live. There was no need to force them to march to their deaths alongside her. So, she had proactively told Madam Jiang that she didn’t need any dowry attendants. In the end, the number of attendants was indeed greatly reduced. Madam Jiang assigned only two people to accompany Mu Mingtang to Prince Qiyang’s residence as her dowry maids.
Mu Mingtang knew full well that these two maids were not her attendants but spies sent by the Jiang family to keep an eye on her. But Xie Xuanchen’s reputation was so terrifying that the two maids didn’t even dare enter the Jade Qilin Hall. They only dared to stay outside the hall, speaking to her across the threshold.
Standing behind the high doorstep, Mu Mingtang suddenly realized that she was like an old turtle—the Jade Qilin Hall was her shell. No matter how loudly the people outside clamored, as long as she didn’t leave this hall, no one would dare do anything to her.
With that thought, Mu Mingtang straightened her back. Composing herself, she asked, “What are you here for?”
“We have come to pay our respects to Your Highness, and… to see if you are well and if there is anything you need.”
Mu Mingtang thought for a moment and then nodded. “Actually, yes. I remember that my dowry is stored in the corridor rooms of Qingxin Hall. Go and see if there’s a relatively small dressing table among it, and have someone bring it in for me.”
After saying this, something occurred to Mu Mingtang, and she raised an eyebrow. “Don’t think about embezzling my dowry. I have the dowry inventory right here, and I checked each item before the wedding. If a single piece is missing, I’ll come looking for you.”
The two maids exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering almost imperceptibly toward the interior. “We understand, Your Highness. How did you… get along with Prince Qiyang last night?”
Mu Mingtang gave a cold snort. “Didn’t you both listen last night? Whether I got along with him or not—don’t you already know?”
Her words made the two maids blush with embarrassment. They didn’t dare approach, yet they didn’t dare neglect the tasks Madam Jiang had assigned. So they had hidden at a distance to eavesdrop. But this was the main hall of a prince’s residence—did the builders intend to let outsiders hear what happened inside? Clearly not.
The two maids had listened for a long time and heard nothing. Noticing that there had been no major disturbances and that this counterfeit second young lady still seemed alive, they had set aside their worries and returned to their rooms to sleep.
Early this morning, they had crept back to the entrance of the Jade Qilin courtyard. Inside the grounds, guards stood at every five paces, heavily armed soldiers at every door. The two maids were afraid of the soldiers with their real swords and spears, but even more so of Prince Qiyang inside the hall.
They dawdled for a long time until they realized that Mu Mingtang hadn’t stirred for quite a while. Fearing that something had happened to her, they finally dragged each other to knock on the door. By the time they reached the threshold, their legs were shaking so badly they didn’t dare knock—what if they woke that ferocious beast inside? So, the maids had simply called out Mu Mingtang’s name tentatively. Fortunately, Mu Mingtang had opened the door quickly.
Knowing that Mu Mingtang was still alive brought the two maids immense relief. Then they surreptitiously studied her, noticing that she looked energetic, her cheeks rosy, her features delicately beautiful without makeup—hardly the appearance of someone who had been tormented all night.
She had slept beside Prince Qiyang—and she wasn’t afraid?
Unsure whether to feel disappointed or relieved, the maids couldn’t resist trying to peek inside. Mu Mingtang noticed their eyes drifting behind her. She smiled and generously stepped aside. “Would you like to come in and see?”
The dowry maids didn’t dare. The moment Mu Mingtang revealed the hall behind her, both maids scrambled backward, as if some ferocious beast lay waiting inside. One maid was so frightened that she stepped on her own skirt while retreating and fell flat.
The fall made quite a noise. At that same moment, something inside the hall seemed to topple over. The two maids shivered in unison and fled without looking back. Watching them scramble away in panic, Mu Mingtang laughed and deliberately called out loudly, “Don’t forget to bring me my dressing table!”
Neither maid looked back. Mu Mingtang wasn’t sure if they had heard. She curled her lip and scoffed, “Cowards.”
She was about to close the door when the soldiers delivering food arrived. Just to bring a meal, a full two rows of twelve soldiers had come. Seeing Mu Mingtang, they visibly relaxed. The lead soldier placed the food box at the entrance, then immediately clasped his fists and said, “Your Highness, now that the Prince is married, it is no longer appropriate for us to enter the hall. From now on, tasks such as washing the Prince and feeding him will be entrusted to you.”
After speaking, the soldier didn’t even wait for Mu Mingtang to ask any questions before turning and leaving. Judging by the haste of their retreat, they left far faster than they had arrived.
Mu Mingtang sighed. She had only wanted to ask about the daily menu. From now on, she would be eating with Xie Xuanchen as well. The least they could do was arrange for a few dishes she actually liked.
At a loss for words, Mu Mingtang resignedly carried the food box inside. After just that brief encounter, she realized that many people in Prince Qiyang’s residence were overjoyed by her arrival—at least the soldiers who delivered the three daily meals no longer looked like they were carrying a heavy burden. The task of delivering and feeding meals even seemed to be rotated among them as part of their regular duty.
Just how terrified of Xie Xuanchen were they?
Carrying the liquid food into the sleeping chamber, Mu Mingtang sat down and examined Xie Xuanchen’s face from various angles. She simply couldn’t understand why everyone outside was so frightened. “He’s just a good-looking pretty-boy. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Shaking her head, she stopped dwelling on it and began slowly blowing on the congee to cool it.
Back when Granny Zhou was gravely ill, she too had been unable to chew solid food and could only consume liquids every day. To encourage Granny Zhou to eat more, Mu Mingtang had devised all sorts of easily digestible porridges, so she had considerable knowledge about congee. Today, as she blew on it, she let out a soft “Eh?”
She sniffed it carefully, then went ahead and tasted a small spoonful herself. She discovered that something had indeed been added—some kind of medicinal herb, carrying a faint herbal bitterness.
Not daring to give Xie Xuanchen anything medicated without knowing more, Mu Mingtang immediately took the bowl of congee and went outside to ask. The moment she stepped out, the sword-bearing head of the guards blocked her way. Without even looking at her, he said coldly, “Your Highness, please stop here. The Emperor has decreed that you need only remain in the hall and care for Prince Qiyang. Everything else is not your concern.”
So, she truly could not step outside at all. But Mu Mingtang didn’t need to go far, she raised the bowl to show the guard captain and asked, “Why is there a strange taste in the Prince’s meal? The Prince is gravely ill—do you dare mistreat him?”
Even the Emperor himself would not dare take responsibility for mistreating Prince Qiyang, let alone a mere guard captain. The captain quickly stepped back and clasped his fists. “This lowly one would never dare. Your Highness, you may not be aware, but the Prince’s food is specially prepared by the Imperial Medical Bureau. Since the beginning of this year, Prince Qiyang has refused to take his medicine. The Imperial Medical Bureau therefore had no choice but to mix his therapeutic herbs into his congee, and this must be done daily without fail.”
“Oh?” Mu Mingtang looked down at the bowl and suddenly asked, “And what happens if it’s omitted?”
The guard captain’s face abruptly turned grim. He gave Mu Mingtang a cold, hard stare and said stiffly, “This lowly one advises Your Highness not to be negligent. Prince Qiyang must have his three daily medicated meals without exception. Otherwise, the Prince will fall into a frenzy. When that happens, nothing can be done except to wait for His Highness to exhaust himself and collapse. You and the Prince share the same quarters. If the Prince becomes agitated, you will undoubtedly be the first to suffer harm. This lowly one advises Your Highness not to entertain any illusions of luck.”
After speaking, the guard captain paused, then continued with an impassive, unyielding tone: “This morning, when the medicated meal was delivered, Your Highnesses had not yet risen. This lowly one and his men did not wish to disturb you, so we withdrew the meal. The dose from this morning has been added to today’s bowl of congee. This congee is not inexpensive. Your Highness would do well to return and feed Prince Qiyang as soon as possible.”
Such a small bowl of congee, yet there was so much significance attached to it. Mu Mingtang acknowledged with an “Oh” and asked, “What exactly is added to the congee to make it so effective?”
The guard captain lowered his head, no longer looking at Mu Mingtang. “This concerns secret formulas of the Imperial Medical Bureau. This lowly one does not know.”
Mu Mingtang wanted to ask more, but seeing how unyielding the guard captain was, she realized he would not answer. She sighed and turned to go back inside. Just as she reached the doorway, she suddenly turned around and asked, “Every medicine has its side effects. I am not ill—there are no medicinal herbs added to my meals, are there?”
The guard captain had tensed up, but upon hearing her question, he slowly relaxed his shoulders. “Your Highness may rest assured. There is a dedicated person preparing Prince Qiyang’s medicated meals. Your meals come from a separate kitchen.”
“That’s good then.” Mu Mingtang nodded, turned, and closed one of the hall doors. She gave the guard captain a gentle smile. “Thank you, Captain.”
Mu Mingtang lived up to her name—her brows were gently curved, her almond-shaped eyes held a bewitching gleam, and her red lips were delicate and bright. She had the radiant, charming quality of springtime crabapple blossoms. Her smile over her shoulder was like the melting of snow in spring, instantly causing flowers to bloom for miles around.
The guard captain knew full well that this woman was a person under his watch, yet he still couldn’t help but be momentarily distracted. In that brief instant of distraction, Mu Mingtang had already closed the other door and disappeared behind the luxurious, striking purple-carved wooden doors.
The guard captain immediately collected himself and silently grew wary. Setting aside the fact that she was the Princess of Qiyang, the mere fact that she was the Prince’s woman meant that no other man should be looking at her.
After returning to the room, Mu Mingtang hid behind the door and sniffed again. That lingering, bitter medicinal scent seemed even stronger now.
So, they had added double the dosage of herbs—no wonder she had detected it. Since childhood, Mu Mingtang had possessed a peculiar ability. It wasn’t particularly useful in most situations, yet inexplicably, when shopping, she could somehow find valuable items. If you placed two stones before her, she could strangely sense which one was more precious.
Her father had joked that Mu Mingtang had the nose of a treasure-hunting rat, born with a gift for attracting wealth.
Whether she truly was a treasure-hunting rat, Mu Mingtang didn’t know, but her intuition was very sharp, and she had always trusted it. If not for this ability, she would have died countless times while fleeing for her life.
Now her intuition told her that this bowl of medicine was off. Without a second thought, Mu Mingtang poured it into a flowerpot. Fortunately, there were now two people in the Jade Qilin Hall. Mu Mingtang planned to feed Xie Xuanchen the bowl of plain congee from her own meal allowance and eat the other dishes herself. It wasn’t much, but it was better than making him drink medicated congee laced with who-knew-what.
When Mu Mingtang tried to feed him the congee, Xie Xuanchen seemed resistant, refusing to open his teeth no matter what. She tried several times, and a fair amount of the already modest portion spilled. Helpless, Mu Mingtang gently wiped the grains of rice from the corner of his mouth and said, “Your Highness, Prince Qiyang, rest assured. I am probably the person in this world who most wants you to stay alive and well. If anything happens to you, I will be the first to meet a terrible end. I would never harm you.”
After speaking, Mu Mingtang found herself ridiculous. He was unconscious—how could he possibly hear her? But whether by coincidence or not, Xie Xuanchen slowly relaxed his jaw. Delighted, Mu Mingtang quickly fed him the congee.
After finishing the bowl of congee, Xie Xuanchen seemed to have exhausted what little energy he had. His body relaxed, and he sank into a deep sleep.
**