Princess Ma, wife of Prince Gong, had her brows furrowed tightly.
She was Prince Gong's second wife. Although she was the second wife, the first wife died of illness two months after entering the household. Apart from her slightly inferior background, she was no different from the first wife.
Ma thought so too.
However, some people around her didn't see it that way. There were always some gossipy imperial wives who would say a few words about how Ma Shi had taken advantage of the previous primary wife...
At first, Madam Ma didn't take it to heart, but as the incidents occurred more frequently and over time, she couldn't help but become a little concerned. In particular, since Consort Jin had become pregnant and given birth one after the other, and not only that, but she also frequently tried to curry favor with the Emperor through the position of the eldest princess, Madam Ma's dissatisfaction grew stronger and stronger.
Ma adopted the eldest princess into her own house.
This decision is, to this day, the one that Mr. Ma considers the best and most successful move he has ever made.
The eldest son and eldest daughter were both raised by the Fujin (principal wife).
Even though Prince Gong's feelings for his wife, Madam Ma, were lukewarm, he still frequently visited the main courtyard for the sake of their two children. Furthermore, in the following years, Madam Ma gave birth to two daughters, both of whom died young, while only the eldest princess, raised by Madam Ma, survived unharmed. Although Prince Gong claimed he didn't mind, he secretly felt that Madam Ma was incapable of raising children, and his attitude towards her deteriorated day by day.
After the eldest princess entered the palace, Lady Jin lost her last trick to arouse Prince Gong's interest. The former favored concubine became a grasshopper in Madam Ma's hands, and she could be molded and manipulated at will without saying a word.
As for the eldest princess who entered the palace...
For more than a year now, whenever the eldest princess enters the palace during holidays, she is always respectful and polite, and the timidity in her eyes remains the same... including when I saw her in Chengqian Palace just now.
However, in just over half an hour, Madam Ma, who had just entered Xianfu Palace, noticed that the eldest princess's eyes were different. Her eyes flickered with light and shadow as she sat in the corner, secretly observing the eldest princess's every move, her brows tightly furrowed.
The family was in complete turmoil because of the concubine, Wu. No sooner had Wu Sangui declared himself emperor in Yunnan than Prince Gong took his granddaughter as a concubine—without the emperor's permission.
What do you mean by that?
Was it treason? Or was it a blatant attempt to humiliate the other side? Regardless of the possibility, the Emperor was furious. Not only did he strip Prince Gong of all his official positions, but he also ordered Prince Gong to study at the official school.
At twenty-one, he should be making his mark in the imperial court, but instead he's being forced back to his studies? These days, Prince Gong Changning has become the laughingstock of the entire capital.
When Ma entered the palace, she pretended to talk to the eldest princess, hoping to persuade her to plead for the prince.
As for whether the Emperor would dislike the First Princess because of this? After all, the First Princess is the Emperor and Empress's adopted daughter, so it's impossible... right? As for the few possibilities that surfaced in her mind, she quickly dismissed them from her mind and pretended not to know anything about it.
As it grew late, Madam Ma became increasingly anxious. Taking advantage of the moment when the Crown Prince and the Ninth Prince had walked away, she quickly stepped forward. However, the Princess Consort of Prince Gong was completely focused on the First Princess and did not notice that everyone in the courtyard was watching her.
Everyone knows about the Prince Gong's Mansion.
The wives exchanged knowing glances, like hedgehogs in a melon patch.
Princess Consort Gong walked up to the eldest princess and greeted her with a smile, "Eldest Princess."
The eldest princess's heart stirred slightly.
She suppressed her urge to get up and pretended not to hear the Prince Gong's wife's voice.
"Eldest Princess." Madam Ma's voice rose slightly. Her brows furrowed tightly as she stared at the eldest princess with fierce eyes, attempting to use her former authority to subdue the eldest princess.
However, what happened next was completely different from what she had expected. The eldest princess did indeed raise her head, but before Madam Ma could even raise a smug smile, she heard the eldest princess's displeased rebuke: "Princess Consort of Prince Gong, if you're looking for someone, you can go to the side. What are you doing, shouting and yelling in front of me?"
"...Oh? Eldest Princess."
"What do you mean by 'Grand Princess' or 'not a Grand Princess'? Granny Xia, who did Prince Gong's wife bring with her?"
Granny Xia stepped forward.
Her gaze swept coldly over Prince Gong's wife, and she replied in a deep voice, "Your Highness, Prince Gong's wife entered the palace alone and did not bring anyone with her."
Granny Xia smiled enigmatically: "This person shouting and yelling, could they have gone mad?"
"Who, who's shouting like that?" Prince Gong's wife felt a sense of foreboding. She quickly took a step back and raised her voice, "Eldest Princess, Eldest Princess, I never imagined you would be so disobedient and unfilial after entering the palace, refusing to acknowledge your stepmother—"
Upon hearing that Prince Gong's wife had pinned the blame for disobedience and unfilial piety on the eldest princess, everyone who had been listening nearby frowned.
Wan Anran couldn't help but take a step forward.
She interrupted Madam Ma directly: "Princess Madam, please be careful with your words."
Madam Ma recognized her.
After all, Consort Wan was one of the main characters today, but she was not taken seriously by the mere consort of Prince Gong. She said with a stern face, "This is a matter between me and the eldest princess. It would be better if Consort Wan did not interfere."
"If Your Highness can't say, then surely I can?" Consort Xuan's face turned completely cold. She stared at Prince Gong's wife with displeasure: "There is no eldest princess here, only the eldest princess! The eldest princess is of noble birth, personally raised by Her Majesty the Empress. Her father and mother are the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress. They are not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry outside."
"You're good at flattering the eldest princess, surely we are?" Wan Anran nodded emphatically, delivering the fatal blow: "Or does the Princess Consort of Prince Gong think she has more right to speak than Her Majesty the Empress?"
The two sang in harmony.
Consort Xuan and Wan Anran worked in perfect unison, directly pinning a huge, huge blame on Prince Gong's wife.
There was the case of Prince Gong, who did things behind the Emperor's back.
If the wife of Prince Gong were to disrespect the Empress and Princess, it's likely that if these words were to get out, the very existence of Prince Gong's mansion would be in serious jeopardy.
Madam Ma's heart skipped a beat.
The gazes of the surrounding imperial wives felt like thorns in her back; just thinking about the consequences of these words getting out made her sweat profusely. Princess Consort Gong immediately realized she had been too naive and had forgotten that the current situation was completely different from the past.
What should we do then?
With a determined look, Madam Ma knelt down before the eldest princess, her humility so profound that it startled all three of them.
Princess Consort Gong choked with sobs: "Your Highness, I beg you, please plead for the Prince! He has doted on you since you were little, and Yongshou has always treated you like his own sister. Now you have suffered such a calamity..."
She wiped away her tears as she recounted the hardships she had endured.
For example, how Prince Gong was entangled with that Wu woman and had no choice but to take her as a concubine; or how much Yongshou missed the eldest princess after she entered the palace, and how he visited Jinshi every few days...
The implication was that everyone in Prince Gong's mansion was a pure white lotus, untainted by the mud, and that everything else was just dirty water thrown on them by others.
The eldest princess was surrounded by people in the middle.
Looking down at the tearful and snotty-snotty Madam Ma, the shadow that had been hanging over her heart vanished in an instant.
It turns out she was nothing but a paper tiger.
"But even now, do you still want to lie to me?" A hint of mockery flashed in the eldest princess's eyes. She looked around and saw Consort Xuan's anger, Consort Yi's disdain, Noble Lady Nara's seriousness, and Noble Lady Wan's worry. The eldest princess's mood instantly brightened.
She gazed intently at Madam Ma, the wife of the deceased.
Then the eldest princess spoke up, saying, "Princess Consort of Prince Gong, I will inform Father Khan about this matter."
"The eldest princess!?"
"The eldest princess!?"
The ones exclaiming in surprise were Wan Anran and the others.
The person who was pleasantly surprised was the wife of Prince Gong. She was relieved and was about to praise the eldest princess for her kindness and compassion.
Before Consort Ma could speak again, the eldest princess continued, "However, as a princess, I am not familiar with the affairs of the previous dynasty. I can only mention them to you. As for other matters, I ask Father to investigate thoroughly and seek justice for Prince Gong and you."
The meaning behind those words was obvious to anyone with eyes.
The eldest princess simply doesn't believe what Prince Gong's wife said!
Princess Consort Gong's face darkened.
Wan Anran tried hard to suppress her laughter, even feeling a sharp pain in her stomach. She took a deep breath, her face serious, and then greeted the other wives with a smile: "Would you ladies like to come in and see the Eleventh Prince? He's awake!"
The wives, having eaten their fill of melon, nodded repeatedly.
As a melon-eating weed in the melon patch, everyone here is stuffed with gossip today, and we'll probably have plenty to talk about for the next month, no! For the next three months!
Encountering the twelfth prince's convulsions in Chengqian Palace was one thing, but the scene before them—the Prince Gong's wife weeping and pleading with the eldest princess—was something else entirely. The wives were both amused and embarrassed—they had truly lost face!
"Yes, yes, let's go inside."
"Speaking of which, we haven't seen the Eleventh Prince yet!"
The wives responded one after another.
They hurried in, and their eyes were immediately drawn to the eleventh prince as soon as they entered the hall.
Yinzhen heard the commotion outside.
He wasn't sleepy at all; he stared outside with his big, round eyes wide open, making inquisitive noises.
Everyone gasped in shock.
It's obvious at a glance that the eleventh prince is much healthier than the twelfth prince!
The wives' eyes lit up.
They happily gathered around the cradle, gazing at the eleventh prince with delight: Look at him, so fair and chubby, so plump and round, he's just like a little fairy boy beside a Bodhisattva!
Compared to their excitement, Yinzhen's face darkened considerably. He sternly frowned, his eyes wide with anger, and he grumbled in dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately, Yinzhen was not the black-faced prince of later generations.
He was wearing a small red bib, kicking his little hands and feet energetically. His spirited and energetic appearance melted the hearts of all the wives.
Having had a son and a daughter who both died young, Princess Consort Yu, who had nowhere to express her maternal love, was the first to exclaim, "They're so adorable!"
Amidst the sidelong glances of the many wives, she belatedly came to her senses. The wife of Prince Yu blushed and coughed dramatically. Even so, her gaze lingered on the eleventh prince, wishing she could steal the little guy home and raise him herself.
The intense gazes also fell upon the other wives, who were teasing the eleventh prince with their gifts—mostly small gold and silver trinkets. After all, before entering the palace, everyone assumed it was a full-moon celebration for the two young princes, and each person had brought two gifts.
Yinzhen tried several methods but could not drive away the wives around him. He thought about it again and again but could not remember having been surrounded by wives in his previous life.
He simply lay down in the cradle.
Yinzhen decided that as long as he closed his eyes, he would know nothing more...
How could I not know?
The next moment, Granny Zhao stepped forward and happily helped the Eleventh Prince change into a small cotton-padded jacket, then put on a tiger-head hat and tiger-head shoes made of wool. After dressing him up, the Eleventh Prince became round and chubby.
This was a completely different kind of cuteness compared to when he was wearing a bellyband. The wives clutched their chests, taking turns hugging the Eleventh Prince, patting and kissing him affectionately: "The Eleventh Prince is such a good boy!"
"If it were our family, they would definitely start howling."
"That's right, that's right! Consort Wan is truly blessed!"
The wives marveled.
Yinzhen was extremely frustrated. Crying was indeed a good tactic, but... was he really supposed to cry in front of so many people?
Yinzhen: …………
Oh well, let them be, let them touch and kiss each other.
The little dumpling, who was neither crying nor making a fuss and was soft and cute, was the only one of its kind. Surrounded by a group of wives, listening to basket after basket of sweet words, a blush rose on Yinzhen's cheeks.
I listen to it occasionally.
It seems pretty good...?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
