Chapter 116: Spicy Ninth Princess Consort 13

Despite arriving early, the daytime of New Year’s Eve actually held nothing for the women to do.

After breakfast, the Ninth Prince and his brother hurriedly went to the Imperial Study to find their father. The father and sons were to gather there before heading to Fengxian Hall together to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.

This was a grand sacrificial ceremony. Forget a prince’s Fujin like Su Huandan, even the mother of the nation like the Empress Dowager was not allowed to attend. This clearly reflected the low status of women during this era.

The entire day was spent in Consort Yi’s palace.

Su Huandan’s big-shot son did not have an official name yet.

At home, everyone simply called him the First Prince.

The Ninth Prince said that once the New Year festivities were over, Kangxi would bestow a name upon him.

The Legitimate Sons of the Aisin Gioro Princes were all named by Kangxi. They would only receive their names after surviving their first New Year festival following their birth.

In the early years, the rules were different. Back then, a child had to reach three years of age before being named and entered into the family registry.

It was clear that many rules of the Qing Dynasty were constantly changing, depending entirely on whether the rulers felt the need to modify them.

Otherwise?

Those in power loved using rules to keep you in check.

Yet, this situation was not entirely without benefits.

At least when Su Huandan managed the household, she found that rules were truly useful things.

With the household servants acting strictly according to the rules, it saved her a lot of worry. As long as she did not slack off, audited the accounts regularly, and kept the servants from deceiving her, managing the massive estate and properties of an Aisin Gioro Prince was much simpler than running a company.

Su Huandan never skimped on the rewards the servants deserved. As for the greedy and insatiable ones, she did not handle them herself. Instead, she passed them to the Ninth Prince. Whether he investigated before punishing them was none of her business; she only made sure she had not accused anyone wrongfully.

Thus, everything in the household went exceptionally smooth, except for the relationship between the couple.

“Smooth? As soon as this New Year is over, I’m throwing away the household keys. Do they think I actually enjoy running the house? With my own dowry, I have more than enough to eat and drink for a lifetime. If not for my status as a royal daughter-in-law, who would bother managing a courtyard full of concubines and illegitimate children? Yet despite all my hard work, the Fifth Prince actually complained that his little darling was being mistreated. He even wanted me to hand over half of the household management to her! Ha, the foolish idiot. Just wait, I’m tossing the keys right after the New Year. Let whoever wants to manage it take over.” Taking advantage of Consort Yi taking her three grandsons for an afternoon nap, the Fifth Fujin whispered into Su Huandan’s ear in the side hall.

Su Huandan nodded in agreement. These royal daughters-in-law, whether they appeared simple or devious on the surface, were all exceptionally clever women.

“You’re different from me. You’ve at least given birth to a son, so you must hold onto the household management no matter what. That’s the only way to protect your son and secure his inheritance. Since I don’t have a son, why should I exhaust myself only to get no thanks for it? Just wait. Once I let go this time, unless he begs me and gives me a son, I will never manage the household again.” The Fifth Fujin was planning to use the fuss the Fifth Prince made over his concubine to secure a son for herself.

Su Huandan wanted to clap in admiration. This was definitely something to learn from.

What was there to fear if a husband was a nuisance?

What was there to fear if one could not divorce such a man?

A real woman should grow stronger with every setback, constantly planning for her own interests. That was the only thing that mattered.

Otherwise, she would end up with nothing, and every time she looked back, she would only feel resentment.

After sharing her own situation, the Fifth Fujin did not ask about Su Huandan’s household.

In truth, the Fifth Fujin envied Su Huandan.

As fellow wives of princes, no matter how much they praised themselves for being dignified and poised, they still envied beautiful women.

Whether a woman had a beautiful face was truly important.

Su Huandan possessed a stunning face capable of bewitching any man.

That was why, even though she was constantly at odds with the Ninth Prince, he could never bring himself to stay truly angry with his wife.

The couple had been bickering for a long time, yet it did not stop them from having children. The Fifth Fujin was green with envy.

It was not that she wanted the Fifth Prince’s affection. She had no interest in a fool like the Fifth Prince, whose brain was the size of an almond. She only cared about giving birth to a son.

Otherwise, she would truly have to serve as the Fifth Prince’s managing housekeeper for the rest of her life.

She was also a daughter carefully raised by her clan. How could she be willing to live like a servant?

Thus, the Fifth Fujin deeply envied her sisters-in-law who had already given birth to sons, securing their futures.

She especially could not understand women like the Fourth Fujin, who had a son but chose to focus on her husband instead of her child.

It was as if she were out of her mind. How could a husband be more important than a son?

In this life, a woman could rely on her maternal family, her son, and her own dowry. The only thing she could not rely on was the illusion of love and affection.

Scheming day in and day out against the concubines in the backyard only eroded the affection between husband and wife, and she had failed to take good care of her son. The Fifth Fujin refused to believe that no one had tampered with Honghui^[1].

Honghui had been quite sturdy before he turned five, but later…

“So you see, none of these concubines are any good. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. Once the men pamper them a little, they get so carried away they forget who they are.” They were capable of doing anything.

Su Huandan thought to herself that for a concubine, only by removing the legitimate children who stood above her own could she secure the greatest benefits.

Simply put, it was all driven by self-interest.

Su Huandan had to agree with the complaints about the concubines. Otherwise, would she not seem too out of place?

Even though she did not have any concubines in her household at the moment, she still had to stand firmly on the side of the primary wives.

“The Imperial Maid Selection^[2] is coming up after the New Year. You’d better be careful. I reckon our mother-in-law will bestow a couple of them to your household.” This was what the Fifth Fujin detested the most.

On one hand, she would hold your hand and say she understood your hardships, but on the other, she would turn around and bestow concubines upon your household.

Seriously, who could possibly like a mother-in-law like that?

Su Huandan’s heart skipped a beat. Was the one who would fight her son for the family inheritance… about to arrive?

Three seconds later, she felt incredibly guilty. Her son didn’t seem to be the Ninth Prince’s biological child, so did that mean her son was usurping the inheritance meant for the Ninth Prince’s actual son?

No, she had to find out who her son’s biological father really was.

At the very least, she had to determine whether the Ninth Prince was her son’s biological father. Otherwise, helping her son take over the Ninth Prince’s estate would weigh too heavily on her conscience. She couldn’t do something like that.

Although she was essentially an ancient ghost, now that she had reincarnated, she wanted to live like a proper human.

With these thoughts weighing on her mind, she waited until mid-afternoon when the Ninth Prince returned to change his clothes, as the whole family was preparing to attend a palace banquet.

Su Huandan gave the Ninth Prince a rare smile.

The smile sent a shiver down the Ninth Prince’s spine. Did she want him to do something for her?

Over the past two years, he had realized that the Fujin’s anger had never truly subsided. Whenever she offered such a gentle smile, it meant someone had crossed her, and she wanted him to step in and demand satisfaction on her behalf.