Chapter 65: Concubine Kang's child was stillborn

Upon seeing this, the Second Prince remained silent and just shook his head slightly.

After a while, the Seventh Prince calmed down and drank the tea that had cooled down beside him. "Don't worry, Second Brother. I will ask my father for marriage again if I have the chance. I will ask for the daughter of the Tao family."

The second prince waved his hands and said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. If you had brought it up at that time, your father would have thought that you were angry because the fourth prince had snatched the Song family girl away, so you had a quarrel. If you bring it up again, your father would have been suspicious."

The Seventh Prince said angrily, "It's all my fault for being useless. I messed things up. I should have gone to ask for permission from my father a few days ago. I just regret that I really don't want to ask for permission from my father."

The Second Prince: "It's okay, there's still a long way to go."

The Seventh Prince said in annoyance, "But I have delayed my second brother's business."

The second prince said tolerantly: "If I were you, I wouldn't do better than you. Don't blame yourself."

The Seventh Prince was touched and said solemnly, "Second Brother, if there is anything else you want me to do, I will definitely do it properly this time."

The Second Prince hesitated for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I will find a chance to go to the palace to see Xiaojiu and find out what you said first."

The Seventh Prince nodded heavily: "Yes, you should meet him as soon as possible. This is a big deal."

---

Ji Jinyou stayed in several palaces for a while, and another day passed. When she returned to Miaoyunxuan in the evening, she found a large wooden box on the floor in the hall.

Concubine Ru stepped forward and picked up the little girl, smiling and saying, "This was sent by the Fourth Prince, who said he had informed you before, so Mother accepted it."

"Fourth brother and Youyou told me about it." Ji Jinyou nodded her head and asked curiously, "What is it?"

"I don't know yet. It hasn't been opened yet." Concubine Ru said, and then ordered Jin Xing to open the box.

When the box was opened, everyone in the room was stunned to see a box of brand new silver ingots on the top layer, without even a lid on it, just lying there in plain sight.

Concubine Ru gave Jin Xing a look, and Jin Xing hurried to the door and closed it tightly.

Ji Jinyou's eyes sparkled as he walked forward, picked up one, looked at it from left to right, and showed it to Concubine Ru: "Mother, there are so many silver coins."

Concubine Ru quickly estimated that the silver ingots were ten taels each, and there were ten of them horizontally, for a total of eight rows, which meant eighty ingots. That was eight hundred taels of silver. No wonder the eunuchs had such a hard time carrying them.

But why did the Fourth Prince suddenly give Youyou eight hundred taels of silver?

She was now a concubine, and her annual salary was only three hundred taels. The Fourth Prince gave her eight hundred taels at once. This was too unusual.

Concubine Ru was full of doubts. She squatted in front of Youyou, held the little girl in her arms, and asked softly, "Youyou, did your fourth brother tell you why he gave you so much money?"

Ji Jinyou tilted her head and thought for a while, "No, Fourth Brother only said that he brought a gift for Youyou."

No merit, no reward. Concubine Ru felt uneasy and asked again, "Then do you know why your fourth brother suddenly wanted to give you a gift?"

Ji Jinyou shook her head. She couldn't tell how much of a reminder her painting had given to her fourth brother, because everyone had already talked about reminding her fourth brother to be careful when he was outside.

It was the first time for her to see so much white silver, so she was naturally happy. However, after Concubine Ru asked her this, she also felt that something was wrong.

"Youyou can't have it."

"We can't have it."

The mother and daughter said this in unison, and then both laughed.

Ji Jinyou put the silver ingot in his hand back into the box, "Then next time I see Fourth Brother, I will return the silver to him."

Concubine Ru was very pleased, she hugged the little girl and kissed her: "Youyou is so good."

Then he said, "Let's take a look at what's down there. If it's not expensive, you can stay. Your fourth brother wants to be close to you, and it's not good to reject his kindness."

Ji Jinyou nodded obediently: "Okay."

Jin Xing couldn't move so much silver by herself, so she called Hai Tang in, and the two of them carried the wooden box out and put it on the table.

Ji Jinyou lay down beside the wooden box and looked inside. She saw several pieces of fine material on it. They were bright in color and soft in texture. They were obviously used to make clothes for little girls.

Ji Jinyou liked it and patted it with her little hands: "Mother, Youyou wants this material."

"Okay, then leave it here." Concubine Ru nodded and ordered, "Put the material away."

Jin Xing and Hai Tang stepped forward and took out the pieces of fabric. Then they took out three small boxes from the box and opened them one by one.

The larger box contained some children's toys. The mother and daughter nodded and said they wanted them, so Haitang picked them up and put them away.

But when they opened the two boxes at the back, Rufei and Ji Jinyou were stunned again.

A box was filled with many pure gold jewellery, gold necklaces, gold bracelets, gold rings, gold hairpins, gold armlets, gold earrings... There was not a single mixed color. The whole box was filled with golden things but placed there in such a mess, like a pile of junk.

In the other small box were several land deeds. After taking them up and looking at them carefully, I saw a two-story house, two shops, and a manor in the suburbs of Beijing, all of which were in prime locations.

After reading the deeds, Concubine Ru was dumbfounded: "This, this, this..." She stuttered for a long time but couldn't say anything.

Jin Xing and Hai Tang were also extremely shocked: "Is the Fourth Prince giving all his wealth to our young master?"

Concubine Ru said nothing. His family background was not that bad. The Fourth Prince had been working for His Majesty in various places over the years and His Majesty had rewarded him with many good things every time. Among all the princes, it could be said that the Fourth Prince was the richest. Of course, this was said publicly, but it was unknown how he was doing in private.

But these are too valuable. Compared with these two small boxes, the eight hundred taels of silver are nothing.

Ji Jinyou was also extremely shocked, staring blankly with her eyes wide open. Fourth brother was too arrogant.

Ru Fei put the deed back, held the silly little girl with both hands, and asked again: "Youyou, think carefully again, why did your fourth brother give you such an expensive gift?"

Ji Jinyou leaned in Concubine Ru's arms and thought seriously. After thinking it over and over again, he guessed that it was probably his painting that played a big role, otherwise there would be no reason for such a grand undertaking.

But it was strange to think about it. After seeing her, the fourth brother didn't ask a single question. Wasn't he curious about why she suddenly wanted to paint a picture like that? I don't understand. I really don't understand.

Seeing the little girl's brows wrinkled, as if she remembered something, Ru Fei asked again: "Did you think of it, Youyou?"

Ji Jinyou didn't want to hide the truth from her mother, but she had tried many times before and couldn't tell the truth. So after thinking about it, she lied: "Youyou was dreaming."

This was nonsense, but Ru Fei understood it because Youyou had said before that she was dreaming. She asked Jin Xing and Hai Tang to put the title deed and jewelry back into the box, and the two of them went out to guard it.

After a while, only the mother and daughter were left in the room. Ru Fei held the fat little girl in her arms and sat on the couch. She asked in a low voice, "Youyou, tell me what you dreamed about this time?"

"I dreamed of Fourth Brother..." Ji Jinyou muted herself at this point, closed her eyes and fell onto Ru Fei.

Ru Fei's face changed and she lowered her voice even more: "Did you dream that your fourth brother was gone?"

Ji Jinyou opened her eyes, nodded her head, and continued without mentioning any key words: "Youyou draws a picture for the fourth brother, and the seventh sister gives it to the eldest brother, and the eldest brother gives it to the fourth brother."

Ru Fei heard this and squeezed the little girl's hand: "So, it was our reminder that saved your fourth brother from danger?"

Ji Jinyou nodded and shook his head: "Father sent people, and my elder brother also sent people."

Ru Fei understood, but she also became worried, frowning and asked, "Has anyone asked you why you painted that picture?"

Ji Jinyou shook his head: "No."

Concubine Ru breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps in the eyes of many people, Youyou's painting was just a coincidence.

She then asked, "Have you ever told anyone about your dream?"

Ji Jinyou shook her head again: "No, Youyou only told my mother."

Concubine Ru felt relieved, touched the little girl's face, and said solemnly: "Youyou, remember, you dreamed of those unexpected things, don't tell anyone except your mother, understand?"

It's not that she is afraid of trouble, but this matter is too magical, or too weird. It will not be good for Youyou if others know about it.

"Youyou, don't tell anyone." Seeing that Concubine Ru was nervous, Ji Jinyou promised seriously and covered her mouth tightly with a chubby little hand.

Concubine Ru was afraid of scaring the little girl, so she kissed her chubby face and comforted her, "But don't be afraid, Youyou, your mother will be there for you in everything."

Ji Jinyou pointed at the box with her little hand: "What about these?"

Concubine Ru thought about it seriously and finally sighed: "Let's keep it to ourselves for now. Some things can't be said in front of other people, lest it spreads and makes a big fuss. Mother can't see your fourth brother alone, so why don't we just pretend to be stupid for now."

Apart from this, she couldn't think of any other solution.

Concubine Ru held the little girl in her arms and looked at the box on the ground. As she looked at it, she felt that such a box of things was too valuable. It would be not good to accept it without saying a word.

She thought about it for a while, and then said, "How about, next time you see your fourth brother, you can tell him that it is too valuable and cannot be accepted, okay?"

Ji Jinyou nodded: "Okay, Youyou, tell your fourth brother next time you see him."

Concubine Ru nodded and asked, "What other dreams did Youyou have? Tell me everything."

This incident made Concubine Ru feel like she was facing a great enemy, and her face was filled with worry. Ji Jinyou didn't dare to reveal anything else, and hurriedly shook her head: "No more."

Ru Fei never thought that a three-year-old child could lie, so she heaved a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, that's good."

After the mother and daughter finished their whispered conversation, Concubine Ru called Jin Xing and Hai Tang in and asked them to put the box of things into the inner room, then put it in the bedroom and locked it with a big lock, thinking that she would return it to Youyou when he agreed with the Fourth Prince.

But the Fourth Prince had been traveling outside for several months, and as soon as he returned to the capital, Emperor Wen Zhao gave him a short vacation to let him relax. He did not come to the palace for the next two days, and Ji Jinyou had not seen him, so the matter had to be put aside for the time being.

In the past two days, according to the original plot, nothing major happened. Every day when Concubine Ru woke up, she would ask Youyou if she had any dreams. She asked for two days in a row, and after finding that she had no new dreams, she stopped asking.

However, she repeatedly reminded her that if she dreamed of anything important, she must tell her and she would think of a solution. Ji Jinyou nodded her head and agreed, but she had her own ideas in her mind and could not tell her.

For several days, the palace was peaceful and calm, and the dull and depressing atmosphere of the past few days gradually dissipated.

The lotus flowers in the pond of the Yu Garden were in bloom. When it was not so hot in the morning and evening, the concubines who had been well behaved for a long time came out for a stroll one after another.

On this day, the seventh and eighth princesses were ordered to leave the palace to visit the eldest prince's wife, but Ji Jinyou stayed in Miaoyunxuan and did not go out.

Seeing that Concubine Ru had been sitting there doing embroidery all day, she was afraid that she would damage her eyes and neck, so after the sun set in the afternoon, she dragged Concubine Ru out to see the lotus flowers.

Jin Xing and Hai Tang brought two young palace maids and some snacks and fruits with them.

When they reached the lotus pond, Concubine Ru found a pavilion to sit in. She reached out and took the sweaty little girl into her arms. She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her sweat. She asked softly, "Are you tired from walking?"

Youyou swung his two chubby legs and said, "Youyou, you're not tired. Is mother tired?"

Concubine Ru seldom moves around, and after walking for such a long time, her legs are really a little sore, but she can't show weakness in front of the little girl, so she smiled and put her cheek close to the little girl: "Mother, you are not tired either."

Seeing that his mother was panting but still stubborn, Ji Jinyou laughed and didn't expose her. He slipped off Ru Fei's legs and said, "Mother, sit down. I'll go pick some flowers."

Concubine Ru hurriedly ordered, "Jin Xing, Hai Tang, you all follow along, and watch carefully."

The two of them agreed, leaving two young palace maids to accompany Concubine Ru and quickly followed the little girl.

In the early years, every summer, people would accidentally fall into the pond while picking or viewing lotus flowers. Therefore, Emperor Wen Zhao ordered people to build a circle of steps around the pond to prevent the wet and slippery ground at the edge of the pond.

Ji Jinyou walked slowly on the stone steps, her big eyes constantly searching the lotus pond for beautiful lotus flowers that were within her reach.

Jin Xing knew that her young master liked to do everything herself, so she kept silent and followed behind. Hai Tang walked on the other side. Both of them stared at the short and stocky girl with full concentration, not daring to miss her.

Ji Jinyou walked for a while and found that there were many beautiful lotus flowers, but every time she stretched out her hand to pick them, she found that her arms were too short. She looked around and saw that the lotus flowers were blooming lushly beside the plank road in the middle of the lotus pond, so she went there, and Jin Xing and Hai Tang followed closely as usual.

The little one and two adults came to the crooked plank road, and sure enough, there were many lotus branches stretching out.

Ji Jinyou walked to a half-bloomed pink lotus, leaned over to smell it, squinted her eyes and smiled: "It smells so good."

Having said that, he reached out to pick one. After twisting his two chubby little hands a few times, he plucked the flower, turned around and handed it to Haitang, and then went to pick another one.

I picked five in a row and was about to go back when I heard a scolding coming from the bend of the plank road ahead: "Cry, cry, cry. Every time you cry in front of me, you are so unlucky."

Ji Jinyou looked up, but she was too short and couldn't see the scene over there at all under the shade of the tall lotus leaves, so she stretched out her little hands for Jin Xing to hold.

Jin Xing reached out and picked up the little girl, and asked softly, "Young Master, shall we go back?"

Ji Jinyou shook his head and put a chubby little finger in front of his mouth, signaling her not to speak.

Jin Xing nodded in agreement, holding the little girl and standing quietly. Now that her master has been promoted to a concubine, and the little master is especially favored by His Majesty, the Empress, and the Imperial Concubine, they no longer need to take the little master away as they did before when something happens.

The plank road was not very high, and the large green lotus leaves were crowded together, more than half a person's height. Ji Jinyou was held in Jin Xing's arms and could only see the tips of the heads of the people in front of him. There were two women and probably a little boy, but he could only hear crying but couldn't see anyone.

A woman's voice full of apology rang out: "Madam Kangpin, Seventeen didn't mean to cry. He must be feeling uncomfortable somewhere."

Concubine Kang spoke in a stern and extremely impatient tone: "Lü Zhaoyi, in my opinion, this is all your habit. Children are ignorant, and you, as a mother, should be stricter, otherwise His Majesty will think that I failed to discipline him when he sees him like this."

After saying that, she whispered to the Seventeenth Prince, who was leaning against Lu Zhaoyi's legs and crying non-stop, "Don't cry anymore. If you cry again, I won't give you any food tonight."

Who knew that this scolding had the opposite effect. The seventeenth prince cried even harder, but he didn't cry loudly. Instead, he cried in a suppressed manner, and it was obvious that he was scared.

Kangpin was furious and turned around and walked forward: "You came out to admire the flowers and you can't stop crying. Go back."

Lu Zhaoyi agreed, holding the seventeenth prince's hand and hurriedly followed.

The three of them walked through the lotus leaves, turned two bends, and saw a young and two adults standing in front of them. Concubine Kang and Lu Zhaoyi were both stunned, as they obviously did not expect that there were people standing here.

Ji Jinyou struggled to get down to the ground and saluted the two of them. Jin Xing and Haitang followed behind and saluted as well.

Kangpin didn't want to pay attention at first, but when she remembered that Rupin was already Concubine Ru, and the mother and daughter were both favored, she forced a smile, nodded, and walked forward past a few people.

"Ninth Princess." Lu Zhaoyi smiled kindly and greeted her, then followed with the still crying Seventeenth Prince.

Ji Jinyou looked at the backs of the three people for a while. Not wanting to get too close to them, she squatted down and reached out to pick a flower bud. But in her heart, she couldn't help asking: [Tongzhu, why is Concubine Kang so fierce to Lu Zhaoyi and the Seventeenth Prince? It seems to me that the Seventeenth Prince is very afraid of Concubine Kang.]

The seventeenth prince was concentrating on crying and did not notice these words, but Concubine Kang and Lu Zhaoyi both turned their heads around at the same time. Concubine Kang looked unhappy and Lu Zhaoyi looked surprised.

A little girl was seen squatting on the plank road picking flowers, with two palace maids squatting on her left and right to protect her. No one was looking in their direction.

Before the two could react, a man's voice rang out: [Kangpin and Lu Zhaoyi lived in the same palace, got pregnant one after another, and gave birth on the same day. As a result, Kangpin's child was stillborn, while Lu Zhaoyi's child survived. Kangpin felt unbalanced and was always unhappy with the mother and child. When no one was around, Kangpin would scare the Seventeenth Prince, and sometimes slap him or pinch him. That's why the Seventeenth Prince was so afraid of her and cried whenever he was with her.]

Hearing this, Concubine Kang's face froze, but a sarcastic smile flashed across Lu Zhaoyi's lips.

Ji Jinyou said angrily: [How could Concubine Kang be so bad? Doesn't Lu Zhaoyi know about this? ]

System: [Lu Zhaoyi knows about it. Even if he can't see it, the Seventeenth Prince is not dumb and will definitely complain to Lu Zhaoyi. However, due to the difference in status, Lu Zhaoyi can only swallow his anger.]

Ah, status, status, a higher status is so overwhelming. Ji Jinyou sighed in her heart, picked the lotus flower, put it on her face, and asked again: [Why is it that after Lu Zhaoyi gave birth to a prince, he is still just Zhaoyi? ]

System: [Because on the day when the seventeenth prince was born, Emperor Wen Zhao happened to be seriously ill, and there were rumors in the palace that the seventeenth prince was missing.]

Ji Jinyou wondered: [Then Your Majesty believed it? ]

Your Majesty has fought in the battlefield and killed countless people. How could you believe this?

System: [If Emperor Wen Zhao was young, he would have certainly not believed it, but as he grew older, he became suspicious and half-believed it. Anyway, he felt uncomfortable, so he did not promote Lu Zhaoyi, and he also disliked the seventeenth prince.]

Ji Jinyou: [Then Lu Zhaoyi and the seventeenth brother will have to suffer.] If they cannot rise in rank, they will have to live under Concubine Kang.

System: [The only pitiful one is the Seventeenth Prince, Lu Zhaoyi is not pitiful, Youzi, guess why? ]

How could Ji Jinyou guess: [Tell me everything quickly, Youyou can’t guess. ]

System: [In fact, the seventeenth prince was born to Concubine Kang, and the one who died was born to Lu Zhaoyi.]