Apologies for the delay. Work decided to wait for me instead of getting done while I was on holiday, so I was too busy to translate. I still need to translate a bonus chapter… Aiya.
Translator: Jalyss
Editor: Odyssey
Chapter 53
Although the Guo Luoluo family was based in Shengjing, they also had a residence in the capital which was used for exchanging news between the two places.
Sanguanbao fully informed his daughter in the palace about the remaining manpower. Yun Xiu rarely used them, except to send regular messages. Recalling her father’s arrangement in the capital, she pondered for a long time and whispered to Ruizhu, “Contact Suo Etu and tell him to not have any involvement with Imperial Concubine Ping. Find a trustworthy person, take my plate, and go out of the palace. Take care not to be seen…”
Ruizhu listened carefully and nodded solemnly.
After Yun Xiu gave her instructions, she relaxed and leaned back a little.
If her elder brother really took up the official position of the Left Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Civil Personnel, he would always be constrained by Ming Zhu. There would be little room for him to show his talents. He might even get involved in party disputes, arouse the suspicion of the emperor, and become hated by the Hesheli family.
But then she thought about it. In addition to the reputation of the Guo Luoluo family, they would also benefit from it. It would be a pity to give up such a cushy job.
There were advantages and disadvantages to this matter, but the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.
She didn’t want her elder brother to take the post, and neither did their father. But the word ‘wishful thinking’ came to light. In the end, it was just an illusion that was beyond human reach.
Yun Xiu had a big dream. After letting go of her obsession of competing for favour, she became much more open-minded. She had done everything she could, and all that was left was to wait quietly…
She would do what she could and listen to the will of the heavens. If it didn’t work out, then there was nothing to complain about.
For a moment, she squinted her eyes thoughtfully. Ming Zhu’s move was very sinister and very different from his usual style.
She wondered who came up with the idea, and was it related to the harem?
When returning to the capital to report on work, the words ‘return to the capital’ come first, and then the words ‘report on work’ come after. Before that person arrived, they would put the report into their pocket and quickly write down the recommended candidates. It was as if they were afraid that someone would intercept it, so they quickly made their appearance in court.
This was against the rules.
This was acting first and reporting it after. Wasn’t he afraid that the Guo Luoluo family would bear a grudge against him?
…That’s right, Grandy Secretary Ming, don’t think that she was afraid.
She smiled and asked, “Where’s Yintang? It’s been so long, and the nanny hasn’t brought her. Could it be that he’s sleeping soundly?”
As she asked, the solemn atmosphere in the main hall disappeared.
Wen Yuan said with a smile, “Just now, the Consort was talking to us about business. The nanny didn’t want to disturb the Consort, so she is waiting outside. The ninth prince woke up earlier. This servant can just imagine that the ninth prince was kicking his legs outside the curtain to protest.”
The words made everyone laugh.
Yun Xiu’s eyebrows were curved and the corners of her lips were slightly raised. “You are right, he must have been waiting impatiently. To compensate, We will take him to Yongshou Palace today to see his tenth younger brother…”
***
The nanny’s feet seemed to be rooted to the spot. She was standing outside, giving her a chance to eavesdrop on what the Consort was saying.
Yintang was huffing angrily. He originally wanted to howl at the top of his lungs and move his hands and feet some more, but when he thought that the nanny was a woman and not as energetic as the emperor, he gave up.
If he couldn’t hold on anymore and let go, wouldn’t it be him who suffered?
Immediately after, Yintang heard the sound of the curtain being lifted, followed by a wave of greetings. He was moved into his mother’s arms.
What a happy surprise!
In Yun Xiu’s eyes, Yintang’s dark eyes were full of life, his white and tender cheeks were flushed with a healthy blush, and his chubby hands were placed beside his mouth, showing a rare well-behaved countenance.
She pinched her son’s round cheeks affectionately. “Why are you so good today? This is not the Little Nine that mother knows.”
Yintang snorted, the sound floating into the air. To everyone’s ears, it sounded like he was being sweet and coquettish.
The ninth prince was so young, but could he actually respond to the Consort’s words?
After being surprised, Wet Nurse Dong said with a smile, “Consort, the ninth prince does not only attract attention, but is also very smart. When he goes to school in the future, he will definitely be the one who comes out on top.”
Yintang had been so happy, but when he heard this, his movements froze. Weren’t Wet Nurse Dong’s words harming him?
There was a limit to how she could make his mother happy. She could just praise him, so why bother mentioning studying?
Yun Xiu moved away Yintang’s restless hand. After she heard what Wet Nurse Dong said, she nodded in agreement and suppressed her smile. “We think so too. If he can’t get first place, then that would be a waste of his intelligence that is higher than the average person!”
Then, she sighed softly. “I hope that what happened in Shang Zhongyong1 will not happen to Little Nine.”
Yintang was completely stunned: “…”
First?
Haha, who were they kidding? He would be the number one son of rich parents.
He was determined to be the biggest playboy. Of course, this did not involve studying.
If he really got first place, his masters in his previous life would die in peace… Bah, they were already dead.
No, that was not the point.
Did she not feel guilty for comparing a 2 month old baby to Shang Zhongyong?!
Wet Nurse Dong was a little confused. She was just giving a routine compliment, so why did the Consort bring up Shang Zhongyong?
Soon, her confused expression subsided. “That should not be. Don’t worry, Consort.”
Yintang: “…”
He really couldn’t feel relieved in this situation.
The ninth prince’s resentment was about to overflow. In the midst of his endless thoughts, Yun Xiu stepped into Yongshou Palace with a smile on her face. “Look who’s here. I brought Little Nine to keep Little Ten company!”
The noble consort was covered in snow-white fox fur, leaning on the long seat. She looked at Yun Xiu with a smile. “I knew it was you. You came at the right time. Yin’e has just drunk his milk, so he is now very energetic. It is a good time for him to see his ninth older brother and hopefully familiarise himself with his face.”
…
Yintang sighed when he thought of the noble consort in his younger years, and then was shocked when the noble consort said ‘Yin’e’.
It took him a lot of effort to stop his excitement about meeting his tenth younger brother.
Before he could recover, Yintang met the other baby’s gaze.
Little Ten was only half a month old now, and he looked a bit smaller than the ninth prince. He still had a light blush on his face. Overall, he looked very different from the little monkey he was when he was born.
One was upright while the other was lying down. One had double eyelids, and the other had phoenix eyes.
The two looked at each other for a long time…
Yintang’s eyes widened little by little, and so did Yin’e’s.
It was as if they were competing to see whose eyes were bigger. Sparks were flying and neither wanted to admit defeat. In the end, Yin’e was defeated—
First, he lacked the energy, and second, he was born with smaller eyes, which made him unable to fight.
Yintang waved his hand and squeaked. In addition to his excitement, there was deep dismay in his eyes
That little one thought he had bigger eyes than him? That little one was squinting at him like with his sunflower seed eyes.
He was overestimating his abilities!
Yin’e: “…”
Yin’e looked away and instead stared at the bed while drooling.
The ninth prince squeaked again, and then said ‘gaga’, which sounded like mockery. Then, with Yun Xiu’s support, he worked hard for a while, trying his best to stretch out his chubby hand.
When Yintang saw that he couldn’t reach Yin’e, he gave up angrily and switched to kicking his legs.
He kicked forward, heading towards Yin’e’s drooling mouth. It looked like he wanted to put his feet into his tenth younger brother’s mouth.
Yin’e: “…………”
The noble consort covered her mouth and smiled, but Yun Xiu noticed something was wrong.
She coughed, pinched her son’s little feet, and stuffed them into his clothes without any effort. To the background sound of Yintang’s protest, she said without changing her expression, “Little Nine is too naughty. I will have to teach him a lesson later.”
“It’s just the children playing. He’s only a few months old. What does he know?” The noble consort found it funny. She reached out, tapped Yun Xiu, and scolded her. “I’m trying to teach you a lesson.”
Yun Xiu thought to herself, how could this be considered just children playing?
Yintang, the devil incarnate, was openly bullying his younger brother!
If she ignored it and allowed Yintang to continue, the noble consort would definitely feel distressed. After feeling distressed, she would then come to settle the score with her.
Yun Xiu snorted and did not refute the noble consort. Instead, she stared at Yintang closely.
When she saw that he started to pretend to be innocent again by blowing bubbles and showing a sweet toothless smile to the noble consort, Yun Xiu had nothing to say.
“Look, the ninth prince is still smiling at me!” The noble consort said in surprise. “This child looks really good.”
She looked at Yintang carefully. The more she looked at him, the more she fell in love with him. She was about to reach out and hug him. However, Yin’e burst into tears at the top of his lungs.
The sound of crying filled the air and now it was Yun Xiu’s turn to feel distressed.
Before the noble consort had time to respond, Yun Xiu frowned and immediately said, “His throat is too tender. What should be done if he breaks down in tears?”
After saying that, she leaned down.
Before her fingertips touched Yin’e, an alarm bell rang in Yintang’s heart. Some bold words appeared in his heart: Was he the only one who could cry?
As soon as the ninth prince closed his eyes, he also started to hear the devilish sound in his ears. “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—”
Yun Xiu: “…”
Noble Consort: “…”
***
After coaxing their children, they felt exhausted.
“Why do the two princes look like enemies?” the noble consort murmured. “Are they comparing themselves to each other?”
Yun Xiu felt guilty and suspicious at the same time. In the end, her guilty conscience prevailed.
She echoed the noble consort’s words, then changed the subject and talked about Tuyue’s upcoming appointment in the capital. “My father is so anxious. I can only hope that the emperor can be a little considerate and let my brother escape Ming Zhu…”
The noble consort was in confinement in Yongshou Palace these days. This was the first time she learned that such changes had taken place in the Guo Luoluo family.
She suppressed the smile on her face and said with a sullen expression, “This was done in a very unethical way. It is not like Ming Zhu’s usual style. It is more like the intrigue between the concubines. Who else but Consort Hui could come up with such an idea?!”
Yun Xiu nodded. “It’s not just Consort Hui. Have you forgotten the one from Yonghe Palace?”
A few days ago, Consort Hui hosted the fifth princess’s one month ceremony, and the noble consort also heard about it. She was startled, then suddenly realised something. “Yes, Consort Hui can’t think of such a sinister method. There must be someone helping her.”
With a little thought, the cause and effect could be neatly linked.
“This is really, really…” The noble consort didn’t know how to comment. She said with a sneer, “It’s not enough for her to be arrogant in the harem, but she is so arrogant in front of the court!”
After saying that, she looked at Yun Xiu steadily. “I originally thought that when I was out of confinement, I would deal with Mrs. Nala and cut off her claws, then take advantage of this to establish power… Now It seems that the time has come and we can’t wait any longer.”
Hearing this, Yun Xiu raised her eyebrows. “Noble Lady Liang and the eighth prince?”
The noble consort had a smile in her eyes while she nodded slowly.
“It turned out that the trump card was hidden here.” Yun Xiu chuckled, and then said in a low voice, “If another case like Imperial Concubine Wu’s happened, wouldn’t everyone be happy?”
The noble consort thought for a moment and her eyes brightened. “You mean…”
“Let Consort Hui lose her status as the eighth prince’s adoptive mother. Instead, she can raise the fifth princess.” Yun Xiu said with a smile, “She will win some and lose some, so she won’t suffer, right?”
1.(傷仲永) Shang Zhongyong: a piece written by Wang Anshi, which describes the story of a young man named Fang Zhongyong. Fang Zhongyong was talented and intelligent, but did not continue studying. He eventually fell behind everyone else. The message was that, even if a person was very talented, it was difficult to succeed if one did not study hard. It also sent a message about how continual learning played a key role becoming more talented.↩
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