Chapter 113: The Spicy Ninth Princess Consort 10

This “cold heart” did not mean he loathed her, but rather that from now on, he would never think of seeking out his wet nurse when things happened. From this day forward, the wet nurse was completely discarded by the Ninth Prince.

This outcome made Consort Yi incredibly happy. She quickly sent word to her maiden home, ordering them to keep the wet nurse alive for another eight or ten years.

To live for another decade, yet never be employed again, spending every day in fear that she might die within the Gorolo Clan… Heh, this kind of revenge was far more satisfying than simply killing someone.

Before and after Su Huandan gave birth, Consort Yi had already intimidated the servants around her. Afterward, the Ninth Prince began his own round of warnings. Essentially, if anyone dared to be less than fully committed, they could just wait for death.

Even though she was not originally nervous, Su Huandan was nearly driven to paranoia by this atmosphere.

Fortunately, she had always been quick to labor, and the timing was perfect. On the morning of Lunar New Year’s Day, she gave birth to a big, healthy son.

Consort Yi personally oversaw the delivery. Looking at her cleaned-up grandson, she was so happy her smile reached her eyes.

Her eldest son had also produced grandsons, but those were all born of concubines. How could they compare to a legitimate grandson?

Hadn’t everyone seen how much Kangxi favored his legitimate son, the Crown Prince?

When the superior acts, the inferiors follow. During the Kangxi era, the pursuit of legitimate lineage was quite fanatical.

Speaking of which, was Kangxi the top trendsetter of this era?

Everyone imitated him!

The Ninth Prince leaned in, wanting to peel back the swaddling cloth to confirm it was truly a son, but his mother slapped his hand away.

Consort Yi was strikingly beautiful and had a large frame. She possessed considerable physical strength. The Ninth Prince was slapped so hard he stumbled two steps to the left before regaining his balance. Once steady, he rubbed his arm and winced. “I really should let Imperial Ama see Mother’s strength. I still remember when I was little, Mother always acted like a delicate flower in front of him.”

She was quite the actress. With that kind of strength as a foundation, how did she have the nerve to pretend?

Consort Yi snorted coldly. “What do you know? Do you think your Imperial Ama doesn’t actually know your mother’s true nature? It’s all part of the romance, understand?”

The mother was willing to pretend, and the father was willing to watch. What did he know? He hadn’t even figured out how to handle his own Fujin yet, so how could he be expected to understand this?

Su Huandan heard the entire exchange from the inner room. She thought to herself that the royal mother and son were truly unrefined in their speech. Could a mother and son actually discuss such a topic?

After the “Big Boss” son was born, Su Huandan felt entirely relaxed.

Originally, they were supposed to move out of the palace in August, but Kangxi had been busy repairing Changchun Garden and going on his Southern Inspection Tour. He had run out of money, and the funds for his sons to establish their own households were nowhere to be found, so the matter was postponed.

There was no telling when they would finally move out.

This wait lasted until the end of June after the New Year.

Once word came that they could move, not only was Su Huandan incredibly proactive, but the Ninth Prince was also exceptionally enthusiastic.

As long as he could leave the palace, he would run outside to check on their new home and speak with the nobles who were gravitating toward him.

Every time he returned from an outing, he would imperiously slap down a thousand-tael banknote for Su Huandan.

These were all “tributes” he had received.

In a short amount of time, Su Huandan received thirty thousand taels from the Ninth Prince. This was all private pocket money he gave her, not counting the household expenses. The household accounts now held over eighty thousand taels.

At first, Su Huandan didn’t pay much mind to this money, but she soon began to feel uneasy.

Damn it, was this money coming from legitimate sources?

She couldn’t let her “Big Boss” son be sabotaged by the Ninth Prince.

“You’re just a woman, what do you know of outside affairs? Since I’ve brought this money back, I’ve ensured nothing will go wrong.” Did she really think the status of an Aisin Gioro Prince was worthless?

An Aisin Gioro Prince was very valuable, and there were plenty of people outside who coveted a connection.

The Ninth Prince had been feeling stifled because Su Huandan didn’t seem to value him, but he finally found some consolation outside the palace.

Su Huandan pressed him several times, but he never clearly explained the origin of the money. Her heart began to sink.

Normal nobles were plenty, but they wouldn’t usually send banknotes directly. Most sent gold or jade ornaments, antiques, or calligraphy and paintings. These were the types of items that looked good and maintained appearances. In this era, those who came forward with direct cash were mostly merchants.

Had the Ninth Prince started associating with merchants even before leaving the palace?

Was this his own idea, or was someone coaxing him?

However, this wasn’t the most critical issue.

If the Ninth Prince naturally enjoyed business, that was easy to handle. At most, she could give him some pointers; accumulating wealth was quite simple. But if he was being egged on by others, Su Huandan would rather beat that person into a permanent coma than let them lead him astray.

After all, she had already given birth to his son. She couldn’t allow any landmines to be buried in her son’s future.

Having made up her mind, Su Huandan stopped worrying about it.

If the Ninth Prince dared to follow Old Eighth, she would dare to turn the Ninth Prince into a vegetable.

Thus, after moving out of the palace, as Su Huandan inspected their new home, her gaze was strange when she saw that the Ninth Prince had specifically prepared a large greenhouse for her.

Su Huandan had been planning to secretly grow some medicinal herbs to concoct a potion that could turn the Ninth Prince into a vegetable, and here he was, thoughtfully providing a greenhouse.

This truly meant she could cultivate herbs regardless of the season.

Pointing at the greenhouse, Su Huandan gave the Ninth Prince a rare smile. “This is good. I like it.”

The Ninth Prince raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that he knew her preferences after all.

He had finally earned a smile from his Fujin; it hadn’t been easy.

His effort in preparing the greenhouse hadn’t been in vain.

Heh, the Ninth Prince was completely unaware that he was currently dancing with a wolf. He was still thinking that if he coaxed his Fujin a bit more, perhaps they could finally share a bed.

After moving out, the princes held another round of housewarming banquets. The primary guests were not their biological brothers, but rather court officials and retainers.

These housewarming banquets signified that the princes were now living in independent households and had truly established themselves. It sent a signal to the world: those who wanted to cling to their coattails should come forward now!

It was no exaggeration to say they received so many gifts their hands grew tired.

Once this round of banquets concluded and Su Huandan was organizing the family storehouses, she suddenly discovered that the Ninth Prince had become a tycoon.

Between the household division funds and the money received recently, there were two hundred thousand taels in the public accounts, with another three hundred thousand taels remaining.

Other antiques, paintings, and gold and jade ornaments filled two entire storehouses.

No wonder the Ninth Prince dreamed of moving out of the palace to start his own household; it turned out one could become overnight royalty!

On the surface, Su Huandan managed all the household properties and businesses.

Based on her calculations from previous years’ ledgers, as long as there were no major management issues and embezzlement remained minimal, the properties Kangxi had allocated to the couple should normally earn about thirty thousand taels of silver a year.

With annual expenses totaling over ten thousand taels, they could still save more than ten thousand. In truth, this was a very respectable family estate.

As long as the Ninth Prince didn’t recklessly throw himself into the Succession Struggle, the family would live a life of great wealth and comfort.

Su Huandan suspected that the Ninth Prince must be busy with his secret businesses.

Furthermore, those businesses were likely substantial and incredibly profitable, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to continuously fund Old Eighth’s bid for the throne.

The Ninth Prince would definitely never let her know about these businesses, let alone allow her to manage them.

Sure enough, the Ninth Prince happened to be at the Tenth Prince’s home at that very moment, telling him excitedly, “If this business takes off, it will earn at least two hundred thousand a year. When the time comes, there’s a share for you, and I’ll give a share to Eighth Brother as well.”

The Tenth Prince was speechless.

He wouldn’t give anything to his own biological brother, the Fifth Prince, but he’d give it to Eighth Brother?

Ninth Brother’s brain…