Chapter 124,Part1: Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 124 Pt. 1
Chapter124,Part1: Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 124 Pt. 1
Translated by gingercat
Edited by gingercat
Once they were out of the main courtyard, Consort Wu noticed that Consort Yong seemed to be looking back at something. Curious, she couldn’t help but ask, “What is fourth sister-in-law looking at?”
Consort Yong retracted her gaze, looked at her, and curled her lips into a smile. “Nothing.”
From the side, Consort An inserted a sentence. “You’re probably unaware that your fourth sister-in-law and your fifth sister-in-law used to be very close back when they were in the boudoir. There are likely still some feelings.”
Consort Wu’s large eyes flickered a few times and she was about to say something, when Consort Yong’s voice interrupted, “What does second sister-in-law mean by having feelings? But I’m indeed the type of person to drink a lot of vinegar. However, His Highness respects me. He rarely brings back any Xiao San or Xiao Si who would upset me, saving me from a lot of trouble. Unlike in other households, where there are lots of concubines, being the mistress of the house would either exhaust or anger you to death. What do you think, second sister-in-law?”
Once these words were spoken, Consort An’s face immediately changed.
Consort Yong’s words were clearly scolding the locust tree while pointing at the mulberry tree. An Wang Manor has plenty of concubines and none of them were easy to deal with. Consort An struggled to deal with them and was often angered to the point where her chest ached.
“Fourth sister-in-law, are your words directed at second sister-in-law?”
Consort Yong remained indifferent. Her sharp eyes resumed their usual look, exquisite no matter how one looked.
“I don’t dare. As the saying goes, the eldest sister is like a mother, but since our eldest sister-in-law is not present, then the second sister-in-law is the oldest. As the younger sister-in-law, how would I dare to make a joke of my second sister-in-law? Second sister-in-law, you mustn’t misunderstand, I was only expressing my inner thoughts.”
The ability to manipulate words like this was lethal, capable of killing people without spilling blood and making people unable to grasp a handle. If Consort An made a big fuss, she would be seen as narrow-minded. But if she didn’t do anything, she would feel stifled inside. After all, Consort Yong had clearly meant to target her.
Consort An flicked her sleeves with anger, turned her head and left.
Consort Qing called out to her from behind and chased after Consort An.
The other consorts remained behind to talk with Consort Yong. Most of what they said was about Consort An. They talked about how she was only generous on the outside, but was actually a jealous narrow-minded woman. She could act however she wished back at her own fief, but now that they were in the capital, it wouldn’t be good to be called into the palace by Empress Wei. Perhaps even Consort Xian would be involved.
It was obvious that those who remained behind and spoke these words to Consort Yong were on her side. She also gave a brief explanation, saying that she didn’t mean to target Consort An, and that she didn’t know Consort An would feel so offended.
But whether that was the truth, everyone understood in their hearts. At least none of them were insensible enough to break her facade.
A maid led them the entire way to the hall where the banquet was set up. There sat Consort An drinking tea, with Consort Qing by her side, accompanying her. Noticing the arrival of her sister-in-laws, Consort Qing hurriedly stood up and greeted them.
Once everyone bantered around for a bit, allowing for a much more harmonious atmosphere, Consort Yong bowed her head to apologize. As the older sister-in-law, it wasn’t appropriate for Consort An to maintain a long face after the other had already apologized. The two then went on to chat and laugh together, as if nothing had even happened.
But both of them were clear in their hearts that it wasn’t nothing.
Once everyone was done eating, they remained behind for a while, drinking tea. It wasn’t until a message was sent over that the banquet on the princes’ side was also over that they each returned to their residences.
After returning to Yong Wang Manor, Yong Wang, who had a strong scent of alcohol on him and was getting his clothes changed by a maid, asked Consort Yong, “You quarrelled with second sister-in-law?”
Naturally, Yong Wang received news about this from a maid. He never bothered to hide from Consort Yong that he had planted his own people next to her. Although Consort Yong knew about it, she never expressed any objection to it and seemed to not care.
“You learned about that quite fast.”
“How did second sister-in-law offend you?”
Consort Yong snorted without speaking.
Yong Wang smiled and approached her. “Is it true that something happened to your ex-lover?”
Actually, even before going to Jin Wang Manor, Consort Yong already had a premonition that the plan had been exposed. She just didn’t expect that Jin Wang would be so cruel to even forbid her from showing her face on special occasions.
Seeing Consort Yong ignoring himself, Yong Wang touched his nose and said, “There’s something else I forgot to tell you. Old fifth seems to want to divorce his wife.”
Consort Yong, who had been leaning back lazily on the couch, suddenly sat up straight. Seeming to have realized that she overreacted, she leaned back and asked with a frown, “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“This prince forgot. That day, Li Dequan went to Jin Wang Manor and stayed there for a while. The next day, Father Emperor called old fifth into the palace. When he came out of Qianqing Palace, old fifth’s face wasn’t pretty. Yesterday, there happened to be our people serving the emperor. They passed on a message, saying that Father Emperor and old fifth were speaking in riddles.” He then repeated what Emperor Hongjing and Jin Wang had said that day.
After hearing all this, Consort Yong couldn’t return to her senses for a long time.
After a long while, she asked, “So, Jin Wang truly wants to divorce his wife? But Duke Xuguo—— “
Yong Wang chuckled then sat down beside her. “Old fifth’s temper has been incomprehensible ever since he was a child. You’d think you know what he’s doing, but then he’d end up doing something completely unexpected. If this was someone else, they’d probably choose to bear with it. But since the one we’re talking about is him, this prince isn’t surprised at all.”
Not everyone could endure their wife stirring up trouble with others. For Jin Wang to endure for so long, was already beyond Yong Wang’s expectation.
“Is it because of that woman surnamed Su?”
Yong Wang’s eyes sparked with interest. “You probably haven’t noticed but which of the men from the Shen Family has concubines? After all these years, the second son of the Shen Family only has one wife. Although the eldest son of the Shen Family has a shu son, people say it was only because he was drunk. Back then, this incident had caused a big stir in the capital.” Eldest Madam Shen was a jealous woman and she had kicked the child’s mother out of the house.
“She should’ve been killed!” said Consort Yong suddenly.
“Look at you. Worried about your ex-lover?”
Consort Yong felt a little uncomfortable with Yong Wang’s tone. She raised her eyebrows, curled the corners of her lips, and looked at him sharply. “Regardless of my previous relationship with her, back then, it was for your sake that I used her. Over these years, because of her, Jin Wang had suffered quite a number of losses at your hands. As a person with character, you can’t eat at the table then scold your mother once you leave. That’s not something in my, He Wanyi’s, dictionary!”
This was He Wanyi’s real face. She says whatever she wants. Her words were often so sharp that others couldn’t help but feel her bluntness. But this trait of hers was what made her so charming. Just like a rose with thorns.
Yong Wang raised his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay. It’s me who’s wrong, it’s me who’s mean and shameless. But what do you want to do? Have her come to our house and be sisters with you…?” Before his words even settled, he changed his tone. “It’s impossible for old fifth to divorce her. He thinks that Father Emperor won’t allow it. Father Emperor still wants to leave the daughter of that Wang Family to Zhao Zuo. How could this opportunity be given to Jin Wang?”
Consort Yong rolled her eyes before she said, “You don’t need to worry about this.”
“Fine, if you don’t want me to care about this then I won’t. But you better not mess things up. That Wang Defang can marry whoever, as long as he’s not one of this prince’s good brothers.” As Yong Wang spoke, he started to make moves on Consort Yong. He enjoyed seeing this fiery and poisonous look of hers. He’d feel an irresistible impulse every time he sees her like this.
Consort Yong’s eyebrows creased lightly, but she allowed Yong Wang to act as he pleased. The maids had already retreated back when the two had started talking, so they were the only ones left in the huge room. Not long after, the intertwined figure of the pair could be seen on the couch.