Chapter 118: Spicy Ninth Princess Consort 15

The First Prince was completely baffled by the Ninth Prince’s maneuvering.

How should he put it? His Fujin hadn’t mentioned a single word about this to him.

The First Fujin had lost face so spectacularly; how could she bring herself to tell her husband about it?

The only reason Su Huandan had told the Ninth Prince was because she found living with him incredibly stifling. With all the rules and customs, she felt constantly wronged. If she didn’t make his life difficult when things happened, she would suffocate from bottling it all up.

The two of them had completely different mindsets.

Thus, the First Prince now felt that his own Fujin was the sensible one. Keeping minor matters to herself was her way of easing his burdens.

On the other hand, he thought the Ninth Princess Consort was terribly tactless, running to complain to the Ninth Prince over every little thing. Look at what she had done, making the Ninth Prince look like a clown, making a fool of himself in front of his brothers.

The First Prince gave a cold snort, turned on his heel, and walked away.

The sheer arrogance of his posture made the other brothers grimace in distaste.

You are just the First Prince, so could you stop putting on airs in front of your brothers? He acted grander than their Imperial Ama. Anyone who didn’t know the truth would think he was the emperor.

The Crown Prince was an expert at putting on a front. When he kept his composure, his expression was carved from the exact same mold as his father, Kangxi. No one could ever tell what he was thinking.

What was the Crown Prince thinking right now?

He was thinking about how foolish the First Prince was. The old man clearly saw that he, the Crown Prince, had grown to a point where his status, power, and capability threatened the imperial authority. That was why the old man had built up the First Prince to pit against him.

Yet the First Prince had actually taken the bait. How stupid.

Whether he could be dethroned as Crown Prince was something he couldn’t predict for now. But even if he went down, the First Prince would never sit on the throne.

Why?

Because of his age.

The First Prince was several years older than he was. Could he really outlive the old man to see him pass away?

Heh, he couldn’t even understand such a simple truth. He deserved to be used as the old man’s pawn.

The Crown Prince also departed, unhurriedly.

Once the Crown Prince left, Old Fifth and Old Tenth gave their regards to the Third Prince, picked up the Ninth Prince, and left as well.

The other brothers awkwardly took their leave one by one.

Old Eighth wanted to smooth things over on behalf of the Ninth Prince, but Old Third had absolutely no interest in listening, embarrassing Old Eighth right then and there.

Once everyone had gone, Old Third grinned so widely his teeth were fully exposed.

Excellent. The Ninth Prince had done a splendid job today, publicly putting the First Prince and the Crown Prince on the spot. A scene like this hadn’t been seen in years.

Seeing her husband’s grinning face, the Third Fujin silently cursed him for an idiot. Even if the First Prince and the Crown Prince fall, it won’t be your turn. You only know how to shrink back when trouble arises. Based on that alone, if a family had any other sons, they would never let you inherit the estate.

Even an ordinary family would consider this when choosing an heir, let alone the imperial family.

The Third Fujin felt that among these Aisin Gioro Princes^[1], the only ones with any real substance were the Crown Prince and Old Fourth. Neither of them showed their emotions on their faces. Regardless of whether it was an act, they could at least pull it off. Not letting others read them at a glance was a skill in itself.

Next was the First Prince. Whatever else might be said of him, he was genuinely capable in military affairs. Throughout history, there had been no shortage of martial emperors.

As for the rest?

The Third Fujin didn’t think highly of a single one.

Back home, as soon as everyone had left, the Ninth Prince sprang up from the bed. He slung an arm around Su Huandan’s shoulders and whispered, “Remember, if you ever feel wronged by the other sisters-in-law in the future, just tell me. I won’t go pick fights with women to avenge you, but I have plenty of ways to stir up trouble with my brothers.”

Hearing this, Su Huandan felt a bit sheepish. Women really did have a soft spot for being protected by their men!

Was her big shot of a son really the Ninth Prince’s child?

Su Huandan had been keeping things vague, avoiding the question entirely.

But now, she couldn’t avoid it any longer. It was time to ask.

Late that night, her son was snoring softly while the Ninth Prince snored loudly, their sleeping postures identical.

Su Huandan opened her virtual panel and tapped her Horse-Face Superior.

It worked instantly. As soon as the Horse-Face Superior appeared, he said with a chuckle, “Can’t hold it in anymore? You want to ask who your son’s biological father is, right? You trained under me for sixty years. I dare say I know you better than anyone else. When you are human, you aren’t actually as decisive as you were when you were a ghost. It can’t be helped. The Underworld’s yin energy has too strong an effect on a person’s temperament. When you were a ghost, you were not only more decisive and resolute in handling things, but you could even be utterly ruthless when necessary. From the moment you didn’t dare ask who your son’s father was, I was certain you would regret it.”

“You kept clamoring that you didn’t want to bear the Ninth Prince’s children, yet you can’t separate yourself from him. The two of you keep living tangled lives. As long as the Ninth Prince shows a bit of improvement, you start to feel that while he might not be the best, he is still quite decent compared to those below him.”

In the Horse-Face Superior’s eyes, it was perfectly normal for Su Huandan to think this way. In his long life, he had seen too much. Humans were always like this; their thinking would change every three to five years due to various factors.

Some mortals’ shifts in thinking were logical, while others’ were completely illogical.

To the Horse-Face Superior, Su Huandan’s shift in thinking was logical.

Mortals were all like this. When people spent enough time together, feelings would naturally develop. This kind of emotion was highly complex, not something that could be simply categorized as romantic love or familial affection.

Mortals themselves often said that human nature was complex.

To the Horse-Face Superior, this was not a flaw. In any case, it didn’t affect Su Huandan’s mission.

Su Huandan gave a sheepish smile. She felt there was no longer any need to ask.

“Don’t always expect that the marriage assigned to you in every reincarnation will be a good one. Reincarnation is random by nature. Even with my vast capabilities, I can’t choose a blessed life for you every single time. How to turn a life that has hit rock bottom into a thriving one is your business, and it is also a test of your abilities. Your son’s biological father is the Ninth Prince; it couldn’t be anyone else. Your marriage during reincarnation can change, as that is not forced, but the parents of a big shot’s reincarnation are determined by heaven. That cannot be changed.” Did she really think a big shot’s reincarnation could be handled carelessly, without any rules?

How was that even possible?

In the Primordial World^[2], where karma ruled, everything happened for a reason, and no one could escape this cycle.

Her Horse-Face Superior understood this truth, and after going through this ordeal, Su Huandan understood it too.

“Just live your life well. Think about the rewards the big shot will give you later. Don’t you think someone like the Ninth Prince is actually not that bad? As long as he can father the big shot’s son with you and bring you benefits, you don’t need to worry about anything else. Otherwise, I’d have to say you’re being rather ungrateful.” If he hadn’t lacked her luck, he wouldn’t mind transforming into a woman and reincarnating to give birth to a big shot himself. It was just that he wasn’t blessed with such fortune.

Su Huandan felt her superior’s words were incredibly intoxicating and completely brainwashing.

They were all adults. In the face of such benefits, and since she wasn’t being asked to commit murder, arson, or anything illegal that violated her morals, her previous concerns did seem a bit overly sensitive.

Suddenly, Su Huandan gained a new understanding of her identity as a Reincarnator.