Chapter 4 Soul Silk

Two carriages, one in front and one behind, entered Chang'an from the Jinguan Gate, rumbling through the wide streets and alleys, heading towards Kaihuafang.

The carriage was an ordinary green oil-painted carriage. Although it was freshly painted, it was not enough to attract attention in Chang'an, where the powerful were everywhere.

As we approached West Market, the roadside was crowded with people and the carriages moved slowly. The driver knocked on the carriage wall and said, "Madam, the road is blocked. Why don't you dismount and have a cup of tea and rest for a while?"

There was a low response from the people in the car, and a graceful middle-aged woman was helped down by a nanny and walked into a tea shop on the street.

In the carriage behind, a young man also dismounted with his attendant and followed her into the store with a rather unhappy look on his face.

Seeing that the two were served by attendants and dressed in luxurious clothes, the tea shop owner naturally became more enthusiastic and greeted them attentively. He arranged clean seats by the window for them and served them tea and snacks.

The lady took a sip of her tea, looked up at the young man opposite her, and a look of surprise appeared on her face: "Huaijiang, what's wrong with your face?"

The young man originally had regular features and was considered a handsome young man, but now there was a whip mark on each cheek, a scrape on his chin, and a large blood scab on his forehead that had not yet solidified. Although the injury was not serious, his whole face looked like a tabby cat.

He looked resentful and said angrily, "I went to the mountain stream to wash my hands this morning and accidentally fell into the water."

The lady asked hurriedly, "Are you hurt? Wulin, how could you be so careless as to let Huaijiang fall like this?"

Wu Lin, the long-servant, curled his lips and stretched his arms, saying, "I fell into the water too. Look, I even twisted my arm."

"You didn't get cold after falling into the water in this weather?" The lady was relieved to see that they had changed their clothes. She then looked at her son's face. Apart from the scrape on his chin, there were no signs of a fall. She was puzzled, but seeing his indignant expression, she didn't dare ask. She only said, "Be careful from now on. Don't act rashly."

The young man named Huaijiang hummed and turned his head away impatiently.

As they drank tea, the idlers in the teahouse kept talking: "Boss Li, are there any ways to make money recently? Can you help me?"

"Well, with all the chaos and restrictions in this war, you want to get rich? I'll show you a way. Go to Shengfa Casino and place your bets on the Lingling County Lady's fiancée!" Boss Li was a truly rough man with a shaggy beard, but his expression was exactly like that of a gossipmonger. "Bet on Ling Tianshui, the one with the highest odds! A hundredfold odds! If you dare to place your bet, once he marries the County Lady, your one tael will turn into a hundred taels, and a hundred taels into ten thousand taels. You'll instantly become rich!"

"Such a good thing, have you done it?"

"No!" Boss Li grabbed his beard and laughed, "Who's crazy enough to think he can marry the county lady?"

Amidst the laughter, the woman by the window held the teacup in her hand and looked thoughtfully at the people who were talking.

The young man sneered, "Are they talking about the disfigured Princess of Lingling County?"

The attendant replied, "Isn't that the one from the Changhua Palace we were just about to visit?"

"I never could have guessed. Cui Fufeng wrote to me and asked if I would be willing to participate in the selection of her husband, but I flatly refused. I never imagined that she would be so active in selecting a husband that she would gather so many men in her backyard, becoming the laughing stock of Chang'an."

The attendant smiled mysteriously, "Who would have thought that Cui Jia Liulang is now one of her potential husband candidates."

"Hmph, blinded by greed, he also wants to marry a county lady as his assistant?" He sneered, "I'm different. If a man doesn't find a few beautiful women in this world, his life will be wasted..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and touched the burning scars on his face. Thinking of the girl who whipped him, he felt hatred and anger in his heart: "That tigress is extremely beautiful. I wonder which maid in the palace she is..."

When he gets to Changhua Palace and drags her out, he’ll hold her in his hands, squash her, and torture her to death!

Seeing the ferocious look on his face, the lady, although she didn't understand what happened that morning, still said in a gentle voice: "Huaijiang, they are the host and we are the guests. You should get along well with the people in the palace and don't cause trouble."

"Humph, there's only one orphan girl left in the palace, come on!"

He curled his lips in ridicule, while everyone in the teahouse was still discussing which of the candidates for the Changhua Palace was the most suitable to bet on.

Someone laughed and said, "Boss Li, this is certainly a way to make money, but it takes too long. Didn't the Princess of Lingling observe three years of mourning for her mother? And now, Madam Qi has only passed away three months ago. It will take another three to five years to settle the bet. You'll even have gray hair waiting!"

Boss Li squinted and said, "That's right. Where in the world can you find such quick and abundant opportunities to get rich?"

But then he heard Doctor Cha beside him laugh and say, "That's not necessarily true. In my opinion, it's not far away, but it's not near. Maybe within the next ten days or so, the Lingling County Lady will have decided on a husband."

When everyone heard this, they hurriedly asked what was going on.

Doctor Cha stroked his beard and said, "Think about it, everyone. According to ritual, the coffin of a state lady is kept for a hundred days before the funeral. Now, it has been three months since the death of Lady Qi, and the funeral is about to begin. And how can a funeral be held without her sons and nephews holding the spirit cloth in front of the coffin and leading the ceremony? So, who would be this person to preside over the ceremony?"

"Generally speaking, it should be the eldest son, but where are the male heirs in the Changhua Palace?" Everyone slapped their thighs, suddenly realizing, "If there is no son, the nephew should have led the funeral. But the Changhua King was born into a foreign royal family, and his nephew is now the King of Kucha, and they are currently at war with the Turks. How could he possibly come here to lead the funeral for the Lady of Qi?"

The Tea Master poured tea for everyone one by one and said: "Without a son, my nephew cannot come, so the only person who can preside over the funeral for Madam Qi is her son-in-law."

Everyone agreed, saying, "That's right! If Lingling County Lady is still unsure about her son-in-law these days, how will Lady Qi arrange the marriage?"

"So, on the day of Madam Qi's burial, once we see who holds the Soul Silk, we should know who the ultimate winner is."

"Exactly. Shengfa Casino has also recently announced that once the marriage is confirmed, compensation will be paid out immediately, without having to wait for the marriage to take place. After all, this is a done deal!"

Those who had originally thought they had three years to wait and see became impatient upon hearing this. They rushed out of the teahouse and ran towards Shengfa Casino to place their bets.

"Let's go and see the people in her backyard." The young man stood up, looking very excited. "Let's see if there's any solid news. I'll go and take a chance too!"

The crowd gradually dispersed, and they got on the carriage, heading east, and arrived at the gate of Changhua Palace in Kaihuafang.

Aunt Xuanji, who had been waiting here for a long time, hurried forward, asked the maids to open the curtains of the carriage, and personally helped the lady out of the carriage.

"Madam Dingxiang, you must have worked hard on the journey. We have already swept the courtyard. You and the young master can rest first."

The lady nodded and was about to ask the Lingling County Lady when she heard her son exclaim "Ah" behind her. He pointed at a maid behind Aunt Xuanji and said in a distorted voice, "You?"

The maid was Liuli. When she looked up and saw him, her expression suddenly changed. She subconsciously took a step back and hid behind Daimao.

Daimao didn't understand what he meant, so he turned around and asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Liuli held her hand in panic and shook her head to signal her not to ask any questions.

Lady Dingxiang also turned to look at her son and asked, "Huaijiang, what's wrong?"

"I met someone I know." He smiled coldly, and ignored Liuli who was hiding behind him. His eyes roamed over the maids, looking for the woman who dared to slap him in the face.

Madam Dingxiang was at a loss for what to do with her son. She could only nod to Aunt Xuanji and ask, "The county lady..."

Xuanji hurriedly explained, "The county lady was originally waiting for the madam in the mansion, but someone suddenly arrived from the palace just now. The queen summoned the county lady to the palace for questioning. Before she left, she instructed us to entertain the madam and the young master well and not to neglect them."

Madam Dingxiang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's a blessing for this child to be loved by the Emperor and Empress. I'll tidy up and wait for her return from the palace."