The Salted Fish’s Political Marriage - Chapter 7

The carriage pulled back its curtains as it headed toward the east side of the city. The copper bells on the corners of the carriage chimed in rhythm with the sound of horse hooves, echoing through the long streets of Chongjing.

Song Mingzhi could not help but brush aside the carriage curtain to look outside. The friends of Prince Qi were all notorious playboys in Chongjing. If he could not find a flaw in the Prince’s facade for now, perhaps he could try to approach the Prince through them to find clues.

By the hour of the dragon, the spring rain showed no signs of stopping.

Song Mingzhi lowered the curtain and slowly opened his palm. Inside lay a small bell.

While in a foreign land, A-Lang usually had no one to talk to, so Song Mingzhi hardly had to ask; A-Lang had poured out everything he knew. When the original host was seven or eight years old, he had once visited Chongjing with his parents. During the trip, he accidentally became separated from them and was nearly abducted and sold, but was fortunately rescued by a young gentleman who escorted him all the way back to the courier station. This small bell was a gift from that person. The original host had always deeply cherished this memory, regarding that gentleman as a hero and keeping the bell with him at all times.

The carriage gradually slowed down. The attendant’s voice came through the partition, interrupting Song Mingzhi’s memories. “Reporting to the Princess Consort, we have arrived at General Liao’s residence!”

Liao Wenbai’s father was a general responsible for leading troops to guard the capital. History books did not contain many records regarding him.

Song Mingzhi slowly put the bell away. “Very well, I understand.”

The lotus pattern carved on the bell looked extremely delicate, obviously the work of a master craftsman, and not something one could buy just anywhere. He thought it should not be difficult to find the owner.

As he spoke, the carriage slowly stopped in front of the General’s residence. Before Song Mingzhi could even alight, he heard a shout: “Welcome, Princess Consort!”

In Great Chu, there was a day of rest every ten days, and today happened to be a holiday. Upon receiving the news of Song Mingzhi’s visit, General Liao and his wife had rushed to the front gate immediately.

At this moment, the two were whispering to each other. “Wenbai said earlier that if the Princess Consort comes to the residence, we must absolutely not let him in. Sir, what should we do?”

“Do not listen to his nonsense!” General Liao lowered his voice and spoke to his wife. “You do not know the situation. Rumors are spreading outside that Prince Qi is deeply doted upon by this Princess Consort from Shulan. If we block him outside the gates, that would truly be unwise!”

Madam Liao suddenly realized. “That makes sense, that makes sense!”

Seeing that Song Mingzhi had already stepped down from the carriage, General Liao hurriedly stepped forward and bowed. “This subordinate greets the Princess Consort!”

Then, he silently exchanged a glance with his wife. “Prince Qi is currently resting inside the residence, so please, Princess Consort, move inside.”

After finishing his sentence, he turned and welcomed him in.

Mu Yanzhou had casually mounted a fast white-maned horse and, accompanied by an attendant, arrived at Liao Wenbai’s home.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. The people of Chongjing all said that this friend of Prince Qi, named Liao Wenbai, was just like him: a piece of rotting wood that could not be carved. As the second son of the family, Liao Wenbai had no official position to inherit and spent his days without pursuing any knowledge. Eventually, he spent a large sum of money to donate for a sinecure, meaning he did not have to go to work and just idled away his time at home.

By the time Mu Yanzhou arrived at the General’s residence, the day was bright. Liao Wenbai had only just woken up to welcome the guest, and at the same time, he sent someone to deliver letters, calling several other idle playboys who usually hung out with them to his home.

Not long after, a large table of people had gathered in the Yueyin Pavilion of the General’s residence. Outside the stone pavilion, a misty rain was still falling, but inside, the scene was lively.

Liao Wenbai sat at the round table, dumbfounded. “Wait, Your Highness, you came to my house early in the morning just to order food?” He had just woken up and had no appetite; he had been holding his chopsticks for a long time without being able to take a bite.

Just as he finished speaking, a maid brought over a plate of plum blossom cakes and placed them on the table. “Please enjoy, Your Highness.”

Liao Wenbai muttered, “This is truly strange.”

Prince Qi had arrived at the residence early this morning, and he had thought there was some major event. He had not expected that the Prince was merely ordering him to tell the kitchen staff to cook and serve wine. Although they usually drank together, who on earth would eat such heavy food early in the morning?

Mu Yanzhou wore green robes that hung loosely on him. His long hair was draped casually over his back, unbound by a crown, but held loosely by a hair ribbon. Even so, it did not diminish his air of nobility.

Mu Yanzhou was holding his wine cup. “What is the matter?”

Liao Wenbai asked silently, “Is it not strange to eat this early in the morning?”

Before he could finish, the other playboys could not help but chime in. “Exactly, and why is Your Highness not at the residence accompanying the Princess Consort today?”

According to rumors, the reason Prince Qi had not taken a wife or concubine by the age of twenty was that he was interested in men. Furthermore, it was said he only loved beauties and would not marry unless the person was a peerless beauty. The male favorites who had been sent to him in the past were rejected for this reason. Now that they saw him readily accept the imperial marriage and bring the number one beauty of the Western Regions back to his residence, they knew the rumors were indeed true.

Mu Yanzhou sighed softly and shook his head. “Sigh, do not mention it.”

Seeing this, the group immediately became interested. “What do you mean, Your Highness?”

Mu Yanzhou set down his wine cup, picked up a piece of fish, and looked back toward the pavilion. “The Princess Consort suddenly remembered my stomach ailment and not only changed my three meals a day to simple, bland food but also locked away all the wine in the residence.”

After saying this, he could not help but sigh softly.

“No wonder then.” Liao Wenbai looked at Mu Yanzhou with sympathy.

Unexpectedly, he saw the Prince glancing outside continuously, and he could not help but ask, “Prince Qi, what are you looking at?”

Mu Yanzhou said casually, “Oh, you speak of the Princess Consort; I hope he does not come looking for me.”

“Do not worry!” Liao Wenbai immediately patted his chest. “I have already followed your instructions and warned my parents. I may be unreliable, but are my parents unreliable?”

Mu Yanzhou felt relieved. “That is good.”

Beside the round table, another person also picked up some meat. “Why do you seem so dispirited today, Your Highness? You seem unusually sleepy.”

“Yes.”

Mu Yanzhou raised his hand to press his brow and continued. “Besides that, he insists on forcing me to study and be ambitious. Yesterday, not only did he send a whole roomful of books to Huiming Hall, but he also sat there, staring at me as I read seriously, and did not leave until after midnight.”

Liao Wenbai: “!!!”

The others, who had not reacted much before, suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie and righteous indignation.

Playboy A: “That is outrageous!”

Playboy B: “Going too far!”

Playboy C: “As a Princess Consort, is it his place to manage you like this?”

Liao Wenbai, who hated studying the most, was even more resentful. “Exactly! I heard that when he was in Shulan, he was just a prince heir of a vassal state, right? Not to mention that Shulan is only one of the tributary states of our Great Chu. Tell me, what right does he have to control Prince Qi?”

Playboy A: “Exactly, sticking his nose in other people’s business!”

Inside the small stone pavilion, the mood instantly exploded.

Mu Yanzhou picked up his wine cup and could not help but frown. “What?”

One of them seemed to suddenly think of something. “In my opinion, he simply does not know his place. If I were you, Your Highness, I would take in a few more side consorts at once. Once the back courtyard becomes lively, he will not have the time to meddle in your affairs.”

Liao Wenbai echoed, “Yes, there are so many beauties in this world!”

At the same time, General Liao and his wife walked through the residence and brought Song Mingzhi to the front of the stone pavilion. Then, the General turned to him and said, “Reporting to the Princess Consort, the Prince is right here. This subordinate will no longer disturb you.”

The pleasantries passed through the thin curtain of rain and reached Mu Yanzhou’s ears. He suddenly set down the wine cup in his hand. With a light clack, he lowered his eyes and interrupted, “Do not talk nonsense.”

The noisy chatter stopped immediately.

Liao Wenbai was startled. “Ah?”

The stone pavilion instantly became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Song Mingzhi ordered A-Lang to wait with Yuan Jiu below the stone pavilion. Alone, he held an umbrella and walked toward the direction of the Yueyin Pavilion.

The Yueyin Pavilion was surrounded by water on all sides, connected to the shore only by a small stone bridge at the entrance. All the movements inside the pavilion were clearly visible through the curtain of rain.

The diagonal wind suddenly dissipated. Song Mingzhi’s steps paused involuntarily.

Mu Yanzhou casually picked up a silk handkerchief to wipe away the raindrops on his fingers. The atmosphere inside the stone pavilion was slightly awkward. After a moment, someone laughed dryly. “Joking, we were only joking.”

Liao Wenbai also did not understand what was happening, so he could only stammer to smooth things over. “Yes, everyone, er, we have no intention of being disrespectful to the Prince and the Princess Consort.”

“Yes, yes, it was a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!”

After a few words, the expressions on the faces of the group gradually relaxed. At the same time, Mu Yanzhou finally picked up the wine cup again. He smiled faintly and said with deep meaning, “You do not understand.”

Playboy A, B, and C: “?”

They were puzzled.

Liao Wenbai also could not help but ask in confusion, “You, what do you not understand?”

Was the Prince not complaining today that life after marriage was not as he had wished? They all understood that!

Mu Yanzhou drank the wine in his cup in one gulp. With a smile, he began to speak: “The men and women in your back courtyards only care about the money in your hands. That is why they do not care if you are sick or dying, as long as they have money to spend. Let alone caring about your future, or managing your diet, health, and studies.”

Playboy A: “No, that is not.”

Mu Yanzhou: “If you died, they would be quite relieved.”

Playboy B: “Your Highness, you cannot say it like that.”

Mu Yanzhou closed his eyes and smiled. “But the Princess Consort is different from those people.”

Liao Wenbai’s thick-headed brain still had not figured it out. “How is this different?”

The sky cleared up without anyone noticing. The rain mist dissipated completely. Across the small stone bridge, Song Mingzhi clearly saw Mu Yanzhou smiling as he said: “Although, I truly cannot stand this kind of life, I know very well in my heart that my beloved Consort forcing me to study, drink porridge, and quit alcohol, all of this is because he cares about me and wants what is best for me.”

“Therefore, you do not understand.”

Having finished several cups of strong liquor, the men at the table were getting muddled. After listening to Mu Yanzhou’s words, no one knew who it was that silently asked him: “So, what exactly are you trying to say, Your Highness?”

Mu Yanzhou twirled the wine cup between his fingers. He suddenly opened his eyes and said earnestly:

“He cares about me.”

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