Chapter 117: The Spicy Ninth Princess Consort 14

Now was not the time for detailed questions. The Ninth Prince simply squeezed his Fujin’s hand before walking out of the room with his son in his arms.

Su Huandan unhurriedly draped a thick cloak over her shoulders and followed them out.

Led by Consort Yi, the group of son, daughter-in-law, and three grandsons made for quite an impressive procession.

As they neared the palace hall where the imperial banquet was being held, they ran head-on into Consort Hui, Consort Rong, and Consort De.

Among the four consorts, Consort Yi ranked second. One could not underestimate this ranking, for in the palace, such positioning always reflected one’s noble status.

For instance, Consort Rong and Consort De could only watch with resentment as a beaming Consort Yi entered the grand hall a step ahead of them.

What did it feel like to experience this right in front of their children, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren?

Consort Rong felt as though she would never be able to hold her head up in front of her daughter-in-law again. Yet, it was merely a passing thought. There was nothing she could do about it, and as she grew older, she had learned to let many things go.

Consort De, on the other hand, was furious. She detested having her children witness her humiliation, let alone her daughters-in-law. The older she got, the more sensitive she became to such matters, unable to let them go.

As for Consort Hui?

Until the day the First Prince was placed under house arrest, she would always remain the most carefree of the four consorts. On the surface, everyone had to show her respect.

Such were the benefits of having the First Prince as a son.

After the mothers finished competing for their ranking, the sons had to line up to enter the hall according to their order of birth.

When the Fourth Fujin walked past, Su Huandan was shocked by how much weight she had lost. The scent of medicine clung heavily to her.

Behind the Fourth Fujin followed the Fourth Prince’s concubine-born sons and daughters, but the legitimate eldest son, Honghui, was nowhere to be seen.

To be honest, seeing this scene and looking at the Fourth Fujin’s state made Su Huandan feel an even deeper, nauseating disgust toward concubines.

My own son is too sick to get out of bed, yet I have to bring concubine-born children who didn’t come from my own womb into the palace to fulfill my duties as the primary wife. This kind of torment is truly unbearable.

The imperial banquet was no different from previous ones. Su Huandan could not even detect much change in the dishes, though the imperial chefs’ skills were excellent.

Once the banquet, which possessed only solemnity and not a shred of warmth, came to an end, they rushed to leave the palace.

By the time they returned home, it was nearly midnight.

Fortunately, as an imperial prince’s Fujin, Su Huandan did not need to go to the palace the next day.

She could get some proper rest. But the Ninth Prince?

Heh, before the fifth day of the New Year, he had to enter the palace in the middle of the night every single day. He would return to sleep for less than two hours before having to get up and go to the palace again.

Such was the reality of primitive transportation; all their time was wasted on the road.

Even if you rode a horse in the capital, you could not gallop freely. Riding was only slightly faster than a carriage, and not by much.

Su Huandan had once remarked, “The carriage ride takes so long. You could use that time to take a nap inside. Why do you insist on stubbornly riding a horse?”

Wasn’t it freezing to ride a horse in the dead of winter?

And you certainly couldn’t sleep while riding!

Whenever she said this, the Ninth Prince would look at his Fujin with a complicated, wry expression.

Her tone did not sound like concern at all; she was simply criticizing him for not knowing how to enjoy comfort.

But he was young, a member of the imperial family, and the Manchus placed great importance on riding and archery. Unless his legs were broken or he was deathly ill, what would happen if he didn’t ride a horse into the palace?

His imperial Ama would break his legs. Besides, he could not afford to lose face like that.

He could not explain this to his Fujin, so he could only shake his head with a sigh and leave.

Starting from the sixth day of the New Year, beginning with the Crown Prince, the Aisin Gioro Princes began hosting banquets in turn again.

Su Huandan felt that the way the Great Qing imperial brothers took turns hosting banquets at the drop of a hat, five or six times a year, was incredibly tedious.

These rotating banquets were events that could not be skipped.

If it were just eating and drinking, Su Huandan wouldn’t have minded so much.

The main issue was that once the Aisin Gioro Princes left the palace to establish their own estates and took charge of various official duties, it became impossible to avoid having the other sisters-in-law pry for information at these banquets.

On the sixth day, when they went to the Crown Prince’s estate, the Crown Princess Consort subtly brought up Fiyanggu in conversation with her.

On the seventh day, at the First Prince’s estate, the First Fujin did not pry for information, but she did deliver a subtle, pointed barb at Su Huandan.

Her implication was that as noble daughters of the Eight Banners, they should have some self-respect and not act so subserviently in front of the Crown Princess Consort.

Su Huandan: …

When was I ever subservient?

Besides, the Crown Princess Consort was quite amiable. At least she did not speak with her chin raised, raising her eyebrows and rolling her eyes like the First Fujin did.

Speaking of using status to oppress others, the First Fujin was the one who loved putting on airs as the eldest daughter-in-law of the imperial family.

Was it so hard to speak and get along in a gentle, friendly manner?

Did she have to be so difficult? Did she only feel satisfied when she was trying to control others?

Su Huandan was about to retort when the Fifth Fujin spoke up. “What you say surprises me, Eldest Sister-in-law. Second Sister-in-law was merely making casual conversation. If you wish to know what she said, I was present as well. Shall I repeat it for you?”

These words nearly left the First Fujin unable to back down.

Su Huandan noticed that after the Fifth Fujin spoke, she gave her a subtle shake of her head. Only then did Su Huandan refrain from retorting herself.

And the fact that the Fifth Fujin dared to directly confront the First Fujin was something no one had expected.

All the sisters-in-law looked at the Fifth Fujin in astonishment.

She had always been quiet, appearing timid and gentle. Many of the imperial princes’ Fujins even assumed that because her Ama was only a minor fifth-rank official, she would lack confidence and live cautiously after marrying into the imperial family.

Only today did they realize that the Fifth Fujin possessed a sharp tongue and a spine of steel.

As they left the First Prince’s estate, the Fifth Fujin said to Su Huandan before boarding her carriage, “Your Fifth Sister-in-law thanks you. With this incident, I can completely wash my hands of managing the household.”

Su Huandan boarded her carriage, feeling a pang of bitterness in her heart.

The Fifth Fujin had only protected her because they were sisters-in-law married to full brothers, fearing that Su Huandan would not be able to handle the First Fujin in the moment and lose face.

What household management rights?

The Fifth Fujin had already completely let go of them on New Year’s Day.

It was said that the concubine whom the Fifth Prince doted on to the point of losing all reason had even brought her own mother into the estate. The mother and daughter were reportedly gearing up to prepare for the banquet on the tenth day of the New Year.

Once they returned, Su Huandan huffily recounted the First Fujin’s words to the Ninth Prince.

The Ninth Prince gritted his teeth. The First Fujin dared to push his Fujin around simply because he was currently just an unranked Aisin Gioro Prince without a title, while his eldest brother was now a Commandery Prince.

If his Fujin was being pushed around, how was that any different from him being pushed around?

It was at times like this that the Ninth Prince realized the importance of his Fujin more than ever.

He now deeply understood the truth that husband and wife were one, sharing both honor and disgrace.

On the eighth day of the month, the Ninth Prince got his revenge. He drank until he was nearly drunk, grabbed his eldest brother’s hand, and began to wail in public.

“Eldest Brother, your younger brother just happened to run into Fiyanggu at a restaurant. The man knelt and kowtowed to greet me, so could I really be so stingy as to not treat him to a meal? It was just a small matter, yet Second Sister-in-law questioned my Fujin about it, and then First Sister-in-law lectured my Fujin, telling her not to keep sucking up to Second Sister-in-law. I…” Having said everything he needed to, the Ninth Prince’s head lolled to the side, and he slid to the floor, fast asleep.

First Prince: …

Crown Prince: …

The other brothers: …