"Reporting to Your Majesty, Ninth Prince has arrived!" the maid Qiuwen announced to the Eighth Prince's wife, who was painting. The Eighth Prince's wife was dressed in a golden-leaf-yellow cheongsam with gold-embroidered leather shoes, and wore a set of eight-treasure tourmaline headdress. However, her beautiful face was full of frost.
"When Ninth Prince arrives, tell me what to do. Just go to Huichun Courtyard," said Eighth Prince's wife.
"Eighth Sister-in-law, what are you saying! When Yintang arrives, he must pay his respects to Eighth Sister-in-law and cousin!" Ninth Master said with a smile, his face, which had a slightly devilish appearance.
The Eighth Prince's wife then put down her brush, took the handkerchief handed to her by the maid, wiped her hands, and said, "Your Eighth Brother is with Madam Chen!"
“Chen only gave birth to a daughter, she poses no threat to Eighth Sister-in-law at all, so Eighth Sister-in-law need not worry about it!” Ninth Master said.
"But your eighth brother goes to their place from time to time, and even allows her to raise the second princess." A sharp glint flashed across Minghui's face as she spoke. The eighth prince used to never visit his other concubines; she was the most favored among all the wives.
Ninth Master laughed and said, "Cousin, sometimes a man needs a few more women. I'm not trying to criticize you, but your magnanimity as the primary wife is really not as good as the other sisters-in-law."
It turns out that when the Eighth Prince's wife was betrothed to him, it was considered a marriage of convenience. Everyone knew that the Eighth Prince was a prince of humble origins, without a maternal family to rely on, and thus had no advantages. Guo Luoluo Minghui, on the other hand, was the niece of Prince An, and her father was also a member of the Guo Luoluo family who had been granted a title. She was born into a noble family and had a brighter future than even the princesses. If her parents hadn't died young, she probably wouldn't have married the Eighth Prince. Therefore, after marrying her, the Eighth Prince never visited his concubines. Zhang and Mao had served him before his wedding.
The Eighth Prince's wife's exclusive favor among the princes' wives was unparalleled, and she enjoyed immense popularity. However, she remained childless, never even giving birth to a princess. This made it difficult for her to explain herself to her in-laws. A wife who had no children and yet insisted on keeping her husband and refusing to serve his concubines caused her reputation to deteriorate, even displeasing Emperor Kangxi.
When the Ninth Prince heard what the Ninth Prince said, his wife raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "If everyone were like the Ninth Prince's wife, the Ninth Prince could stay overnight in brothels with his grandfather and not know that he is the proper wife."
Ninth Master meant well by offering advice, but seeing that Eighth Princess Consort wouldn't listen, he could only say, "Eighth Sister-in-law, now is not the time for you to be jealous. You should quickly send someone to call Eighth Brother over. I have important business to attend to!"
Although the Eighth Prince's wife was unhappy that the Eighth Prince had begun to favor Chen, she was still sensible and immediately said to Qiuwen, "Go to Huichun Courtyard and invite the Eighth Prince!"
Meanwhile, Eighth Prince was playing chess with Chen Ruzhu. Unexpectedly, Chen Ruzhu was gradually gaining Eighth Prince's favor. The Second Princess was now three years old, at the age where she loved to talk and could run around everywhere. Perhaps it was her that made Eighth Prince willing to visit Huichun Courtyard. In any case, Chen Ruzhu had now undergone a complete transformation, no longer possessing the ignorant and arrogant demeanor she once had.
"Reporting to Your Highness, Qiuwen from the Fujin's quarters has arrived, saying that the Eighth Fujin invites the Eighth Prince back!" said the maid Yufen.
Chen glanced at the Eighth Prince, then looked at Yu Fen and said, "Go tell Qiu Wen that the Eighth Prince will be going to the Fujin's place later!"
Eighth Master slowly put down the chess piece in his hand and said, "I haven't even spoken yet, and you've already spoken for me?"
Madam Chen smiled and said, "My lord, the princess has matters to attend to, so I dare not keep you here. Hailanzhu, come here, your father is leaving soon, quickly talk to him!"
"Father, don't go!" Hailanzhu ran into Eighth Master's arms and said in a childish voice.
"Father, once you've finished your business, come and keep Hailanzhu company, okay?" Eighth Prince said, holding his second princess. The eldest princess was born to Zhang Shi and was now ten years old. In the past, because of Eighth Prince's wife, Eighth Prince had never been close to her. Now he realized that the child was something he couldn't let go of.
“Alright, then Father must come!” Hailanzhu pouted.
"I acquired a string of jade yesterday, which is very suitable for you and your son. I'll have someone deliver it to you later!" Eighth Master said, putting Hailanzhu down.
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness! But I only hope that Your Highness can visit Hailanzhu more often," said Madam Chen.
"Hmm, I haven't been here long!" Eighth Master said, stroking Chen Ruzhu's cheek.
"This humble servant respectfully sees you off, sir!" Madam Chen blushed slightly and curtsied.
Eighth Master turned and left, and only then did Madam Chen get up.
"Master, the master has already left!" Yu Fen said, helping Chen Shi up.
"Go and prepare Eighth Master's favorite red ginseng tea," Chen said.
“Master, the master has been summoned by the Fujin (principal wife), I’m afraid he won’t be allowed to return,” Yu Fen said.
“He promised Hailanzhu he would come, so he will!” Chen said.
Meanwhile, the Eighth Prince arrived at the main courtyard of his Eighth Princess Consort.
"Eighth Brother!" Ninth Master was having tea with Eighth Princess.
"Ninth Prince, you've arrived!" Eighth Prince walked over and sat down next to Eighth Princess.
"Ninth Brother has brought a lot of tea, saying it was collected from the south! Your Highness, would you like to try some?" said Eighth Prince's wife.
“Yes, Eighth Brother, you love drinking tea the most. Why don’t you try the tea that your younger brother brought?” Ninth Master said.
Eighth Master nodded, and then waited for Qiu Wen to bring up the tea.
"I'll go check with the kitchen and have them prepare some dishes that Ninth Brother likes. Why don't we stay for a meal?" Eighth Prince's wife said tactfully.
"Thank you for your trouble, Eighth Sister-in-law!" Ninth Master said, cupping his hands in greeting.
After the Eighth Prince's wife and her maids left, the Ninth Prince said, "Eighth Brother, that person is currently in Wang Huiling's villa."
Eighth Master stared intently at the tea leaves floating in the teacup, and slowly said, "Let him go! It seems Wang Huiling is going to give up on him. But we can't let him speak again."
“Eighth Brother, now is a great opportunity. Why not take this chance to get rid of him?” Ninth Master said.
Eighth Prince pondered, "No, if Fourth Prince dies, Father Emperor will probably investigate thoroughly."
“But Eighth Brother, he’s already the closest person to that position. We don’t have much of a chance!” Ninth Master said.
“I told you not to touch those things, but you insisted! You might as well just give them all up!” said Eighth Master.
“Eighth Brother, how can we get by without money? We’ve done this several times before without any problems. I never expected to be so unlucky this time. Why did we have to run into him?” Ninth Master said.
“Perhaps it is fate, Ninth Brother. Now that Fourth Brother is at the height of his power, we must abandon Zhu to protect the general!” said Eighth Master.
Ninth Master cracked the two Bodhi seeds in his hand, saying, "This Fourth Brother is now trying to cut off our source of income. Eighth Brother, let's not back down anymore. If we keep backing down like this, he'll force us into a corner with nowhere to retreat!"
Eighth Master remained silent. He said, "Ninth Brother, we can't touch him now!"
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