There is a Good Concubine in the Palace 2

Chapter 5: The Prince's Palace Has a Good Concubine 2

The beauty is so good at teasing me. I can’t take it anymore. My blood tank is empty. Chu Huaibei feels that his body is rapidly heating up. The warm quilt begins to steam. Slowly, his back is getting wet with sweat.

Just when Chu Huaibei was about to faint from the heat, someone first pressed against his neck, then hugged his waist tightly, opened his palm and touched him, and the next second, the owner of the hand froze there.

"Huzhi, are you awake?" Chu Huaibei asked softly. To avoid embarrassing the beauty, Chu Huaibei changed the subject, "It's almost morning. We have breakfast at morning. If you wake up late, you may have to go to the kitchen to heat it up yourself~"

Sun Mingsi listened, slowly retracted the hands and feet that were wrapped around her, and loosened the hand that he had been holding all night, "Okay, you're awake, I'll get up right away." After he finished speaking, he threw off the quilt and stood up, running to the side room to change clothes as if escaping for his life. However, Chu Huaibei had excellent eyesight, and he still saw his red and bleeding ears.

Chu Huaibei's lips curled up with great difficulty, his eyes filled with laughter. He moved his left hand, which had been pressed all night, and quickly stood up to get dressed. According to the palace's rules, breakfast was served on time at noon. If you woke up late, you had to go to the kitchen to heat up your meal. The palace was simple, and everyone had their own things to do. Chu Huaibei didn't want to heat up his own meal. This clay stove was difficult to light, unlike the gas stoves of his previous life that lit up at a touch.

After the two of them washed and dressed, they arrived at the dining hall just in time for the meal to be served. "Mom, we're here," Chu Huaibei said, pulling someone to sit on his mother's left. Little Yiheng was sitting on the right side of the concubine. Seeing the two of them come in, he happily called out "Dad~Mom~" "Oh~Daddy's baby~" Chu Huaibei replied cheerfully. "Well, good morning, Hengheng." Sun Mingsi looked at the child's bright eyes and nodded in greeting. His heart felt soft and tender, with an inexplicable swelling feeling, which caused ripples in his eyes, which were like a clear spring. He quickly lowered his eyelids to cover the emotions that welled up in his eyes, looked at the bowl in his hand, and slowly ate the food that Chu Huaibei had picked up for him.

After breakfast, Chu Huaibei went to the front hall to call someone in to do some work. Sun Mingsi was kept by the Concubine Dowager. First, she asked Aunt Wen to measure her clothes. Then, she took her to the side room where Hengheng often played. She talked about Hengheng's habits and preferences in detail. "From now on, when Shenzhi goes to the military camp, Hengheng will live with you." The Concubine Dowager said with a smile, touching the tiger-head hat on Hengheng's head.

"Mother, I... I will take good care of Hengheng." Sun Mingsi was unable to ask why he trusted me so much. In his opinion, it was outrageous that the palace trusted a person who he had only known for one day and had no idea about his background, even if he really had no ill will towards the palace.

Sun Mingsi played with the child for most of the day, feeling happy. The girls outside the mansion, who were determined to get Chu Huaibei, tore the embroidered handkerchiefs into pieces.

Within two hours, the noble families of the Northern Frontier Prefecture all received the news: the Zhenbei Palace had a new concubine. It was said that the Concubine Dowager had rescued a young woman on her way back to the city from praying for blessings, who had been seeking refuge with relatives but had been unsuccessful. The Prince immediately took a liking to her and inquired about her background. The young woman was now alone, her parents deceased, and her distant cousin, who had been doing business in Youyun City, had left the place and was nowhere to be found. The Concubine Dowager took her in as a concubine, to care for the Prince and the young master of the palace.

Zhou Wanwan was copying Buddhist scriptures in her boudoir when she heard the news. Her grandmother's birthday was in two months. Last year, she had embroidered the Hundred Blessings Screen. This year, she planned to copy all twenty-four scrolls of the sutra and offer them before the Buddha a month later as a birthday gift. The head maid, Zhicui, watched as her young lady's brush paused, leaving a single, bean-sized ink spot on the page. "Burn this paper," Zhou Wanwan instructed softly, putting down her brush and heading back to the inner chambers.

Looking at the beautiful girl in the bronze mirror, Zhou Wanwan's thoughts drifted away. Her father was the prefect of the northern border, and she was the eldest daughter. She had a wide selection of marriage partners, and few aristocratic families would refuse the man she chose. But when her father asked if she was willing to enter the palace, she hesitated for a moment before agreeing. She had met the Prince of Zhenbei. That spring, the Prince of Zhenbei had fought against the Mongol army three hundred miles from Youyun City, successfully repelling the enemy's fierce general, Na Hai, and preventing the Mongols from burning, killing, and looting. On the day she returned to the city, she happened to be gathering with some close friends at Sifangke. From the second floor, she happened to see the Prince of Zhenbei leading a group into the city. Clad in armor, Chu Huaibei sat upright on his horse. His sword-like eyebrows reached his temples, his eyes were like cold stars, his nose was like a hanging gallbladder, his lips were sharp, and his slightly softened jawline made him exceptionally handsome. It was likely that the friends present that day had some thoughts in mind.

I had thought my background meant I was guaranteed a place in the palace, but they kept pushing back on the marriage. No young lady from any family had gotten what they wanted. The Zhenbei Prince was already twenty-three, and I was eighteen. Now that the palace had a concubine, I was afraid my marriage would be difficult to achieve. My father's plan had ultimately come to nothing.

Compared to the Zhou family's tranquility, the Zheng family was in a state of agitation over the news. First, the legitimate daughter, Zheng Jinyue, ran to her mother's room and cried, bluntly accusing the Prince of Zhenbei of disregarding the future princess's dignity by hastily appointing a concubine. This was a slap in the face of the future princess. Zheng Jinyue had always believed that the position of princess was hers, and that the previous delay in the marriage was due to the interference of the prefect's family. The prince's palace's behavior now infuriated her, completely losing her mind.

Concubine Wang of the Zheng Mansion and the illegitimate daughter, Zheng Jinyao, also had many thoughts on this matter. Originally, when the prefect interfered with the marriage, Zheng Tongpan and Concubine Wang promised: if the prefect and the palace finally got married, they would send the third daughter, Zheng Jinyao, to the palace as a concubine; if the palace chose Yue'er as the princess, the matter would be dropped. Now that a concubine suddenly appeared, and before the princess entered the palace, it seemed that what Zheng Jinyao hoped for was even more difficult. Zheng Jinyao sobbed on Concubine Wang's shoulder, slowly soaking a large area of ​​her clothes. Concubine Wang patted the girl's back, wondering if she could still persuade her husband.

Putting aside the thoughts of the women in the backyard, the men in the study in front were also discussing countermeasures. Zhou Ming, the governor of the northern border, was discussing this matter with his staff. Zhou Ming snorted coldly: This kid is as difficult to deal with as his father. Back then, his father took the opportunity of returning to Beijing to report on his work and knelt in front of the Imperial College for three days, which moved Feng Huai, who was upright and never involved in party disputes, to marry his only daughter to him. Now that Chu Huaibei has no way to go back to Beijing to find such a girl from a noble family, bringing an orphan back home is also a solution. This kid has always been smart, but he is worried about the short-sightedness of the evildoers in his family. The staff listened to the master's complaints and did not dare to respond. There are some things that the master can say himself, and he may not like to hear others express the slightest disdain.

Seeing that his master had calmed down, the staff member spoke up, "Master, are you still going to send the young lady to marry? I'm afraid she will be unpopular even if she enters the palace."

"No! My daughter deserves better! I'll send the letter today and inform Minister Zhou about this, so he can make other plans." Zhou Ming said as he picked up his pen to write a letter. The letter first listed the important matters in detail, and then concluded with a sentence about the matter. After years of official service, he knew this well: the more important the matter, the less he should say too much.

At the same time, Northern Border Magistrate Zheng Wenxiao was also discussing this matter with his staff. Zheng Wenxiao possessed considerable talent for scholarship. Amongst his numerous students, his five generations of ancestors had been peasants. His natural talent alone had earned him the favor of private school teachers, leading him to be accepted as a student. He first achieved the top three honors, then, three years later, both the first and second place prizes, becoming the most celebrated champion of that year's imperial examinations. He possessed a high aspiration, yet was also a master at assessing the situation. He was well aware of the power dynamics between the imperial court and the Zhenbei Prince's Palace, and thus frequently played both sides, striving to maximize his gains.

He had originally thought that his teacher had told him to marry his legitimate daughter to the prince's mansion so that the emperor could strengthen his control over the Zhenbei Prince's mansion, and he was happy to take advantage of this ready-made opportunity. After all, being the father-in-law of the Zhenbei Prince only had more advantages than disadvantages. As long as his daughter could successfully give birth to a legitimate son of the prince's mansion, the military power of the Zhenbei Prince would be his family in 20 years. When the Zhou family revealed their intention to marry into the prince's mansion, he had made two plans. If the legitimate daughter couldn't be sent, he could send a concubine's daughter as a concubine. Who knows, his daughter might be able to lead the way and give birth to a legitimate son, and that day could be something he could look forward to.

As for the current adopted son, Chu Yiheng, Zheng Wenxiao simply ignored him. Who would care about an adopted son when they already have a biological son? Giving him a chance at a future was a matter of conscience. Thinking this way, Zheng Wenxiao rubbed his fingers against the tabletop and asked his staff, "What do you think of this?" The staff paused for a moment. "I think the Prince of Zhenbei doesn't want to be associated with any of the aristocratic families in the northern border. He'd rather have an orphan than compromise. I'm afraid if this news gets to the emperor, the court will be gloomy for several days."

Zheng Wenxiao could somewhat guess at the emperor's thoughts. None of his trusted generals were capable of fighting. Three had come before him, one had been killed by Na Hai, one was seriously injured and looked unlikely to survive, and one was a coward who had remained invisible for six or seven years. The northern border was crucial; if it couldn't be defended, the Mongol army could march straight to Fengjing. The Northern Guardian Princes had guarded the border for four generations, each one a brave warrior, lacking in both strength and wisdom. No one doubted the Chu family's contributions to the border defense. However, the current emperor's throne wasn't so gloriously acquired, so he was wary of the Chu family.

The emperor had mixed feelings about the Chu family, repeatedly hinting at them accepting a woman from an aristocratic family as his concubine, but the Chu family always managed to find loopholes, forcing the emperor to compromise. This time, the Prince of Zhenbei simply chose an orphan as his concubine. Even if the marriage were granted, the woman entering the palace would likely receive little favor, only to be resented by trusted ministers. Who would want to send their precious daughter to sit in the cold?

"I'll send a letter as quickly as possible." He reached for his desk, picked up his pen, and began writing, scribbling down all the information he'd gathered recently. Some matters, he thought, were best left to the higher-ups; after all, he couldn't make the final decision. Zheng Wenxiao dried the ink, carefully folded it, and placed it in an envelope. He stamped the seal with his personal seal and handed it to the staff member standing nearby. The staff member took it and hurried away.

Chu Huaibei didn't bother to guess what the various families were thinking; he just wanted to get his hands on military power.