Chapter 29: Demoted to Commoner by Direct Order of the Emperor
There was a crackling sound, and everyone in the room was stunned.
Father and son sleeping with the same woman? That's too disgusting.
The Seventh Princess felt uncomfortable and her face was not looking good. She didn't want to be with a man like this. Not to mention being with him, she didn't even want to look at him.
The Seventh Princess is a relaxed and carefree person. Most of the time, she is smiling and rarely looks frowned.
Rupin couldn't hear the conversation between the system and Xiaojiu, and thought that the Seventh Princess was like this because she tore Xiaojiu's clothes. She thought the little girl was very cute, so she chuckled and comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay, the clothes are not strong enough."
Then she turned around and went to the counter to get a new one: "We still have a few here. Just take that one down and embroider a flower on it. Youyou really likes flowers and plants."
Ji Jinyou didn't expect that Seventh Sister would change her expression because of a piece of clothing belt. She quickly stretched out her little hands to hug her and praised her in a childish voice: "Seventh Sister is amazing, she is even stronger than Youyou."
The Eighth Princess secretly tugged at the Seventh Princess' sleeve, reminding her implicitly: "Seventh sister, it's just a piece of clothing. Mother and Mother are both making clothes for Little Nine. If this one is ruined, it's ruined."
The Seventh Princess came back to her senses, hugged the plump little girl in her arms, rubbed her, kissed her hard, smiled and nodded: "You are right."
Yes, he is just a dirty man. If you don't like him, just go and explain it to your father. Your father knows what Tong Tong said and will definitely not force her.
She reached out and took off Xiaojiu's skirt, holding it in her hand, and used it as an excuse: "Dangui in the harem of my mother is good at needlework, I'll give it to her to fix it."
After saying that, she secretly winked at the Eighth Princess, who nodded, signaling her to hurry up. The Seventh Princess took her little skirt and went out: "Little Eight, bring Little Nine to see me later."
"Seventh Princess, I will sew it later." Rupin said hurriedly, but failed to stop her. The Seventh Princess disappeared in a flash.
"It's such a hot day. It's just a piece of clothing. Why bother making a trip?" Rupin felt a little embarrassed.
Firstly, she felt it was unnecessary, and secondly, she was afraid that the Empress would find out and misunderstand that she was making a fuss. Youyou had just been loved by everyone, so she didn't want to implicate the child.
Seeing that Rupin was a little worried, the Eighth Princess comforted her, "Madam Rupin, it's okay. Seventh sister is weak, and the imperial physician asked her to run more."
Ji Jinyou thought of the system saying that Seventh Sister died at the age of nineteen, and nodded: "Seventh Sister, run more."
The two girls said this, and Rupin felt relieved and hurried to put clothes on Youyou. After all, the Eighth Princess knew how to fight and was much stronger than the Seventh Princess. Don't tear another piece of clothing or you'll have to run out again.
Rupin moved quickly and dressed the little girl in clothes and shoes. After she washed her face, she tied her hair into two buns.
The Eighth Princess was worried about the Seventh Princess, so she didn't wait a moment longer and immediately picked her up and walked out: "Madam Rupin, I'm taking my Ninth Sister to have breakfast with my Seventh Sister."
Before Rupin could answer, she ran out of the door carrying the fat child in her arms. She was so fast, as if she was afraid that someone would snatch the child away from her.
Jin Xing came over from the small kitchen carrying freshly made chicken wontons. Looking at the wind-like back, she asked anxiously, "Master, the young master hasn't had breakfast yet, why did the Eighth Princess take him away?"
"She said she wanted to take Youyou to Mingzhu Palace for dinner." Rupin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I don't know what happened to these two kids today. They are so anxious."
"Give me this bowl," Rupin took the bowl from Jin Xing's hand and said, "You can go with Youyou. You don't have to follow her all the time. Just wait from a distance and don't disturb the sisters from being close."
"I saved that." Jin Xing turned around and chased after him.
After Rupin finished her bowl of wontons, she quickly packed up and went to Fengyi Palace to pay her respects to the empress.
---
As this matter concerned her life, the Seventh Princess ran in small steps, panting.
Si Hua, the personal maid, followed him and said, "Master, what's wrong with you? If you have anything to ask me to do, I'm sweating from running in this hot weather."
The Seventh Princess had no words to say, so she kept silent and just ran with her head down.
It was the first time that Sihua saw her master running so fast. She was confused, but she couldn't ask anything. She could only follow closely and shout to slow down.
Halfway through the run, the Seventh Princess suddenly remembered that His Majesty was still in the previous dynasty at that time.
She stopped, holding her waist and gasping for breath.
After a while, he calmed down and thought it would be better to talk to his mother about this matter, so he changed direction and went to Fengyi Palace.
The Queen had just finished her breakfast. When she saw her troublesome daughter-in-law coming to her palace so early, she said in surprise, "Oh, the sun is rising from the west. I haven't seen our Seventh Princess get up so early in years, right?"
These words caused Dangui and Nanny Zheng, who were serving beside them, to burst out laughing.
The Seventh Princess had no time to respond to her mother's ridicule. She handed the small skirt she had been holding to Dangui, "Sister Dangui, this is Xiaojiu's skirt. I tore it. You can take it and mend it. Oh, and embroider more flowers and plants on it."
"Yes." Dangui took it with a smile, took it out, and went back to the house to sew.
The Seventh Princess walked up to the Queen, leaned over to her ear, and whispered what she had just heard from Xiao Jiu and Tong Tong. Then she hugged the Queen's arm and shook it: "Mother, you have to make the decision for me. I don't want to have anything to do with such a dirty man."
The queen remained calm and patted the seventh princess's hand: "Don't worry, your mother knows about this. I will tell your father later. You can go and have fun."
"I am not going there to play, I am going there to take care of the children." The Seventh Princess felt relieved, hugged the Queen and kissed her, then turned and left.
The queen couldn't remember how long it had been since the Seventh Princess had kissed her. She was stunned by the kiss, then she covered her face with her hands and said with a smile, "You are getting more ugly as you grow older. My rouge has become useless."
Nanny Zheng couldn't help laughing when she saw her queen saying one thing and thinking another.
The Seventh Princess was sweating all over, so she went back to the Pearl Palace first. When she was changing her clothes, the Eighth Princess came with Little Nine in her arms.
In order not to miss anything, the Eighth Princess ran all the way here carrying Little Nine in her arms. No matter how strong she was, Little Nine was a little fat and she was very tired.
As soon as she entered the room, she put the chubby girl on the ground, and then she collapsed on the couch, pretending to be out of breath: "Xiaojiu, you are going to tire your eighth sister to death."
Ji Jinyou knew that he was fat and felt very embarrassed. He chuckled, walked over, and clenched his two chubby hands into fists to massage the Eighth Princess' legs.
The Eighth Princess pretended to enjoy it and pointed at her shoulders: "Come, massage your shoulders again."
Ji Jinyou kicked off her little shoes, climbed onto the couch, and went to massage her shoulders.
The Seventh Princess came out in a clean outfit, picked up Youyou, and glared at the domineering Eighth Princess: "Xiaojiu ignore her."
The Eighth Princess immediately sat up and looked at her to see what was going on. The Seventh Princess put Little Nine's head on her shoulder and said with her lips, "I told the Queen Mother."
"That's good." The Eighth Princess was relieved and lay back down. "Seventh Sister, Xiaojiu hasn't had breakfast yet."
The Seventh Princess hugged her chubby sister and gave her a kiss. "Someone, go prepare breakfast. Don't let our Little Nine go hungry."
Ji Jinyou: [All right, Seventh Sister kissed me twice this morning. ]
System: [What's so strange about that? The Seventh Princess likes our Youzi. I just don't have a mouth, otherwise I would kiss you eight times in the morning.]
Ji Jinyou chuckled at the exaggerated tone of the system, but after she realized something was wrong, she immediately covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Princess Seven or Eight vigilantly.
The Seventh Princess immediately found a way for the little girl: "Our Little Nine also likes Seventh Sister, he smiles when Seventh Sister kisses him."
Ji Jinyou breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Youyou likes Seventh Sister."
When the fussy little girl said she liked it, the Seventh Princess's bad mood in the morning was immediately restored. She touched the forehead of the chubby girl with her forehead and imitated the mooing of a cow to amuse the child: "Moo~"
Ji Jinyou really didn't expect the Seventh Princess to suddenly do this. He was amused and couldn't stop giggling, and his little fat body was bent back and forth.
The child was too heavy, and the Seventh Princess almost lost her grip on him. It was thanks to the Eighth Princess’ quick eyes and hands that she jumped up and caught him. She slapped the little girl on the butt and said, “You only like the Seventh Sister? What about the Eighth Sister?”
Ji Jinyou of course treated everyone equally, hugging the Eighth Princess' neck and saying, "Youyou likes Eighth Sister, too."
The eighth princess was satisfied, and imitated the seventh princess's funny behavior, imitating the sheep's bleating: "Mee~"
At this point, the three little girls all fell on the couch laughing and rolled into a ball.
After rolling around for a while, the three of them lay side by side. Princess Seven and Princess Eight were whispering to each other using lip language on Youyou's head, discussing what they would say later on, including what the Queen Mother and the Emperor would say.
Ji Jin lay quietly between her two sisters, sighing in her heart: [All of you, how can I remind my seventh sister to ignore the prince of Kangshun?]
The system didn't know either, but seeing that the little girl was really worried, it still gave her an idea: [How about you act out a play or something? ]
Ji Jinyou was worried. Being poisoned was easy to act out, but how should she act out this?
Seeing the little girl sighing in her heart, the seven or eight princesses looked at each other and started chatting.
The Eighth Princess deliberately said, "Seventh sister, I heard from mother that it seems that father has released news that he is going to choose a husband for you."
The Seventh Princess touched the small tuft on Little Nine's head and said, "I haven't stayed with my father and mother long enough. I don't want to get married so early. Besides, I can't bear to leave you, and even more so, our Little Nine."
She was speaking from the heart. She felt so comfortable in the palace. Now she could listen to Xiaojiu and Tongtong talking every day. Those stories were much more exciting than the storybooks.
When Ji Jinyou heard the two elder sisters talking about the seventh sister's marriage, he quickly pricked up his ears and listened carefully.
見小胖姑娘往上仰着小腦袋看她們倆，八公主給七公主使了個眼色，接着問：“那父皇要是下旨給你賜婚呢？”
“那得看是誰。”七公主語氣滿是嫌惡：“要是那個什麽康順侯世子那樣的，打死我也不要。”
季瑾悠眼睛一亮：【統統，七姐姐看不上那個人哎。】
系統：【那我就不知道了，劇情裏頭沒寫七公主怎麽想的，只寫老皇帝同意了婚事。】
季瑾悠：【可是，現在這麽多事都不同了，說不定這次陛下不同意了呢，畢竟七姐姐聽起來好像很讨厭那個康順侯世子呢。】
七公主為了讓小姑娘安心，又說了一句：“小八，要是父皇逼我，你就配合我演一場一哭二鬧三上吊的戲哈。”
八公主哈哈笑：“好，到時候咱們看誰演得真。”
一聽七公主這堅決的語氣，季瑾悠放心了，小胖身子蛄蛹着往上拱了拱，腦袋擠到兩位姐姐之間，也說：“七姐姐，悠悠也幫你演。”
想到昨兒小姑娘假裝肚子痛的可愛模樣，七八公主笑着把小姑娘一頓揉，悠悠咯咯笑着躲，三人又鬧成一團。
不多時，思畫帶着宮女送了早飯進來，就擺在榻上的桌上，三人坐起來吃早飯。
季瑾悠小胖手拿着筷子夾小籠包，手還不太好使，費勁巴拉夾了半天也沒夾起來一個。
八公主看得有趣，樂得直拍桌子：“七姐你看，小九的手長得跟包子一樣，還要去夾包子。”
七公主瞪她一眼，伸手把小姑娘抱到自己懷裏，接過她的筷子，夾了一個小包子喂到小姑娘嘴邊：“來，七姐喂你。”
季瑾悠想說沒必要，她自己真的能吃。
可看着七姐姐殷切的目光，她只好張嘴把那小包子吞了。
就這麽的，七公主抱着悠悠喂完了整頓飯，小姑娘可沒少吃，吃了十個一口一個的小包子，兩塊金絲糕，喝了一小碗牛乳雞蛋羹，外加小半碗雞絲粟米粥，圓滾滾的小肚子眼看着就鼓了起來。
季瑾悠覺得，其實她還能再吃一塊金絲糕的，可七八公主都被她的食量吓到，怕她撐着，不肯再給她吃。
季瑾悠有些意猶未盡地舔了舔嘴唇：【統統，我是不是真的吃得有點多了，兩個姐姐加起來也沒我吃得多呢。】
系統安慰道：【不多，不多，我們悠崽只能活六十六天了，多吃點怎麽了。】
季瑾悠：【是哦，誰知道我下輩子到什麽地方去，可不得趁着現在有的吃多吃點。】
原來小九這麽能吃，是因為這個原因。一聽系統這話，七八公主對視一眼，都心疼得不行。
小姑娘不過三歲的小小年紀，知道自己活不久了，不哭不鬧，還整天想着提醒這個，挽救那個，她怎麽就那麽懂事，那麽乖哦。
這麽乖的孩子，她只想趁活着的時候多吃幾口，她們還攔着不讓，兩位公主自責不已，又心酸得不行。
七公主一想到要是沒有小九，她活不過十九歲，還會和一個惡心的髒男人過日子，眼淚就差點兒掉下來。
她把懷裏的小姑娘抱緊，和她貼了貼臉：“往後，小九就跟着七姐姐一起吃飯，七姐姐天天給你準備好吃的。”
八公主也心懷感激，要是沒有小九，她母妃就會被孫才人害了，她也湊過來，摸着小九的小腦袋，哽咽着道：“八姐姐也每天給你找好吃的。”
見兩個人突然多愁善感起來，季瑾悠不解：【統統，姐姐們怎麽了，怎麽好像很難過？】
系統：【不知道啊。】
七八公主怕小姑娘察覺出什麽，調整情緒，故意嘻嘻哈哈笑鬧幾句，把這事打岔過去。
算着陛下差不多下朝了，兩人便抱着小姑娘出門：“小九，我們去給陛下請安哦。”
季瑾悠巴不得能有機會多在皇帝面前露露臉，最好讓更多的人知道她得陛下喜愛。
這樣的話，那些想害她和母妃的人也得多掂量掂量，于是拍着小巴掌捧場：“給父皇請安。”
金杏等在院子裏，正和明珠宮澆花的宮女小聲聊着天，見幾位公主出來，忙跟着一起往外走。
三位公主各自帶了一名宮女，一行人來到禦書房外。
梁全候在殿外，見到三人，笑着上前請安。
八公主小聲一問，得知康順侯父子從前朝跟着來了，此刻正在裏頭，而皇後也剛剛進去。
七八公主對視一眼，跟梁全說了一聲，留下宮女在外頭等，抱着季瑾悠悄悄進門，直奔偏殿。
殿內，一臉喜色的康順侯父子給皇後請了安。
皇後笑着點了點頭，說了起，随後一眼都不多看，走到陛下身邊，悄悄給他使了個眼色，示意他進內殿有話說。
皇後一向端莊大氣，從來不搞這種神神秘秘的小動作，文昭帝不知道皇後今兒這是怎麽了，居然當着臣子的面擠眉弄眼的。
見皇帝不動，皇後只得低聲提醒：“小九。”
一聽小九，文昭帝立馬精神了，吩咐康順侯父子倆稍候，他起身帶着皇後進了內殿。
皇後也不繞彎子，直接開口問：“那父子倆是來求婚事的吧？”
文昭帝點頭：“是，康順侯世子想尚小七。”
“陛下，臣妾不贊成，小七也死活不肯。”皇後态度堅決，見文昭帝皺眉，她低聲說：“今兒早上，小七和小八親耳聽到那個桶桶說……”
聽完皇後轉述桶桶的話，文昭帝嫌棄地啧了一聲：“這父子倆怎麽這麽不講究呢，這天底下是沒女人了還是怎麽的，竟然睡一個。”
皇後問：“陛下，那這事您看？”
皇帝慶幸：“得虧皇後你來得早，再晚來一會兒，朕就要答應了。”
“是啊，幸虧臣妾來得及時。”不然她的小七就要掉進火坑了，皇後笑容溫和，可笑意卻不達眼底。
可笑，給她的小七張羅婚事，竟然越過她這個母後，連問都不要問上一句，陛下可真是沒把她們母女倆放在心裏。
看出皇後不高興，文昭帝後知後覺自己疏忽了，可他并不覺得自己有什麽大錯，他是皇帝，不光是這些孩子們的父皇，更是這天下之君，做任何決定需得全面衡量。
皇子公主們，生為皇家子嗣，既然享受了這身份的榮華富貴，自然也要承擔這身份的責任。
再說，那麽多孩子的婚事，不都是他給指的，大部分不都過得好好的。
可這兩天，因為桶桶那些爆料，一會兒是什麽孫才人茉莉花的，一會兒又是什麽他因為不知道哪個妃子冷落皇後的，二人之間的氣氛很是有些微妙，文昭帝就不敢把這大道理跟皇後講。
未免寒了皇後的心，文昭帝還是好聲好氣解釋了一番：“早些年，康順侯為了大盛南征北戰，出生入死，如今雖天下太平，可他還帶着十萬大軍鎮守邊境，這麽多年勞苦功高。”
“他子嗣稀薄，就生了那麽三個兒子，兩個大的又都戰死，只剩下世子這麽一個小兒子，厚着臉皮求到朕這兒了，朕一想，兩個孩子不管從家世，還是容貌上，也還算般配，這才想着應下。”
“只是萬萬沒想到，這對父子往後竟能幹出那等龌龊事來。”
皇帝這番解釋也算合情合理，皇後也是通情達理之人，便笑了：“臣妾不是怪陛下，只是事關小七一輩子，臣妾難免緊張了些，得虧小九，不然小七怕是要掉到火坑裏了。”
一說到這，皇後一愣，反應過來，“等等，說是小七死後，那康順侯世子才和他那小姨母攪和到一起的，不是，小七好好的，怎麽就死了？”
文昭帝：“我還正想問你這事呢。”
皇後臉色一沉：“不行，陛下，臣妾得去問問那不省心的去。”
文昭帝拍拍皇後的肩：“放心去吧，這裏的事交給朕了，朕會找個理由拒了。”
“多謝陛下。”皇後行禮，起身走了，到了外殿，和康順侯父子稍微點了點頭，出了門。
繞過屏風之後，她并沒走，就站在那靜靜聽着，聽到皇帝借口小七有了心上人拒了那對父子之後，這才徹底放下心來，擡腳準備回宮。
結果一偏頭，就見三個小腦袋從低到高摞在一起，正趴在偏殿門上探頭探腦地往裏看呢。
看着那三雙大眼睛，皇後又好氣又好笑，低聲訓道：“像什麽話，給本宮過來。”
七八公主牽着小九從門後出來，跑到皇後身邊，兩人嘻嘻笑，“母後。”
季瑾悠仰頭左右各看了一眼，覺得自己不笑，好像有些不大合群，也跟着嘻嘻笑。
“整日嬉皮笑臉的。”皇後嗔了兩個大的一眼，把小姑娘抱起來，在那軟乎乎的小臉蛋上親了一口，擡腳往外走：“看我們小九多乖。”
七公主不服氣，“母後你偏心，明明是我們三個在這偷看，也是我們三個嬉皮笑臉，怎麽你就罵我們兩個，不罵小九。”
The Eighth Princess also agreed: "That's right, that's right, Xiaojiu is also a little bad boy, isn't he, Xiaojiu?"
Ji Jinyou also felt guilty, and he laid his head on the queen's shoulder, speechless.
The group went to Fengyi Palace. The Queen put Xiaojiu on the couch and asked the Eighth Princess to play with her. She took the Seventh Princess to the inner room. As soon as she entered the room, her face turned cold: "Tell me, what did you hear from Tongtong? What happened after you died?"
Seeing the Queen's worried look, the Seventh Princess smiled and hugged the Queen's arm, confessing honestly: "I thought I had fooled her, hehe, it was Tongtong who said that I could only live to nineteen..."
After the Seventh Princess finished her honest confession, the Queen was so angry that she reached out to slap her: "I told you to read less of those messy books and take a good rest, but you refused to listen."
The Seventh Princess said coquettishly, "Don't worry, mother. I am trying to change. If you don't believe me, ask Little Eight. She insisted on sleeping with me these past two days and stared at me."
The queen stared at her coldly for a while, then held her hand and sighed, "Your brothers and sisters have left the palace, and you are the only one left by your mother's side. You must not get into any trouble, understand?"
"I understand. I will take care of my health in the future." The Seventh Princess promised hurriedly, and then told the Queen the reason why Xiaojiu ate so much at every meal.
"How pitiful." The queen felt sad. "From now on, you and Xiaoba can bring Xiaojiu to my place or to the Royal Concubine's place to eat."
The Seventh Princess asked, "How about adjusting Rupin's share as well?"
The Queen shook her head and said, "With so many eyes watching us, it's better not to overdo it, or the other concubines will complain. You don't have to worry about the adults' affairs. You and Xiaoba just need to take good care of Xiaojiu."
The Seventh Princess nodded in agreement, and the mother and daughter went out.
The Queen went to take care of the palace affairs, and the Seventh Princess took Ji Jinyou back to Mingzhu Palace. In order to reassure the little girl, the Seventh Princess pretended to be surprised and said, "Xiao Ba, what a coincidence, today the father and son of Kangshun Marquis are here to ask for marriage. Thanks to my mother who was with my father, my mother didn't like the son of Kangshun Marquis and told my father that she didn't agree."
Ji Jinyou felt relieved, [Everyone, Seventh Sister doesn't have to fall into the trap. ]
System: [That's useless. She won't live past nineteen anyway.]
Ji Jinyou was also worried: [Then how should I remind her? ]
Seeing how worried the child was, his face was wrinkled into a bun. The Seventh Princess asked with a smile, "Xiaojiu, your Eighth Sister has been trying to squeeze in with me to sleep lately. Do you want to join in the fun?"
The opportunity came, Ji Jinyou's eyes lit up, and she nodded: "Youyou sleeps with sister."
It must be very comfortable to sleep with a fat baby in your arms. The Seventh Princess rocked the little girl in her arms and smiled happily: "It's settled then."
The three of them walked back happily. Ji Jinyou thought that her seventh sister needed more exercise, so she pointed in the direction of Yu Garden and said, "Youyou wants to go see the flowers."
The two of them were originally taking care of children, so they immediately agreed when they heard it. The Seventh Princess even specifically asked Sihua to go back and get some snacks and tea.
Several people walked towards the Yu Garden. As soon as they entered the Moon Gate of the Yu Garden, they saw two little boys fighting not far ahead, as if they were snatching something.
The Seventh Princess and the Eighth Princess recognized that they were the Fifteenth Prince and the Eighteenth Prince, and they both ignored them and carried Xiaojiu towards the pavilion.
The old emperor had many concubines and especially many children. He had nine princesses and even more princes, a total of eighteen.
Ji Jinyou also recognized them. She saw the Eighteenth Prince being pushed to the ground. She immediately rushed over and hugged the Fifteenth Prince's legs. She asked curiously: [Everyone, what are the Fifteenth Prince and the Eighteenth Prince doing? ]
Hearing the voices, the two boys looked over.
The unreliable system flipped through the pages: [Oh, there was another incident today. The Fifteenth Prince stole the bird that the Eighteenth Prince had picked up, and beat the Eighteenth Prince until he cried. In the end, the incident was reported to their mothers. The Fifteenth Prince's adoptive mother, Concubine Dun, reprimanded the Eighteenth Prince's mother, Concubine Ning, for this.]
When the Seventh and Eighth Princesses heard that there was something interesting to watch, they slowed down their pace.
The two little princes over there opened their mouths in shock. They clearly didn't see the man, but why was there a man talking, and so clearly?
Ji Jinyou sighed: [That Concubine Dun is quite good to the adopted son, the Fifteenth Prince. She even stood up for him when the children fought.]
She grew up in an orphanage in her previous life, and no one protected her when she had arguments with others. She was particularly envious of those children whose parents stood up for them.
But she was very lucky in her life, because her mother, Concubine Rupin, protected her in everything.
The system sneered: [What good is good? Concubine Dun had no good intentions. She used the name of love to make the fifteenth prince so naughty that he didn't know his place. In the end, he was used as a gun and made a big mistake. The emperor directly ordered him to be demoted to a commoner. He was deposed on the streets and died not long after.]