Chapter 119: The Spicy Ninth Princess Consort 16

Outside of quests, one’s life belonged to oneself. She could live however she wanted, and it was nobody else’s business.

That was what Su Huandan used to think.

Looking at it now, she had been a bit too naive.

Greedy for rewards, she had chosen the sub-quest to give birth to a big shot. Even now, she did not think it was a trap. After all, the benefits she received were rare and precious, so she had no intention of giving up this path to wealth.

But this choice had also invisibly placed restrictions on her reincarnated lives.

Wanting to reap the benefits while also living completely as she pleased, was that not the equivalent of taking a salary and doing no work? It was practically sabotaging herself.

Just because the boss did not catch you once or twice did not mean no one knew what you were doing.

Ruin would come sooner or later; that was exactly how it went.

Therefore, Su Huandan felt that whether one was a human or a ghost, one had to be extremely cautious when making choices. Once a choice was made, there was no point in overthinking it. She just had to work hard to do the job well without slacking off. After that, she could look forward to a bright and glorious future!

Besides…

After her Horse-Face Superior left, Su Huandan opened her eyes and looked at the Ninth Prince sleeping on the warm daybed opposite her. Her future might not actually be that frustrating.

If she felt unhappy, she could just take it out on the Ninth Prince.

Yes, she had been a little annoyed earlier about her superior playing tricks on her.

Now she felt completely at ease. At least in this life, she could bully the Ninth Prince with a perfectly clear conscience.

I’m giving birth to such an awesome son for you, so what if I bully you a little?

It’s not like you’ll lose a piece of flesh anyway. I’m just annoying you to vent my own negative emotions.

With these thoughts in mind, Su Huandan slept soundly until dawn. After getting ready, she carried her son and followed the Ninth Prince to Old Fourth’s house.

After yesterday’s scene, the First Fujin^[1] and the Crown Princess completely ignored Su Huandan today, treating her like air.

Aside from exchanging greetings when they first met, they did not speak to her again.

Su Huandan was glad for the peace. Just because they were destined to be sisters-in-law did not mean they were worth befriending.

The Fourth Fujin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that the First Fujin and the Crown Princess would be displeased and make things difficult for the Ninth Princess Consort.

If that happened, it would be very hard to smooth things over.

After all, she was only the Fourth Fujin. She did not have the status to tell the First Fujin and the Crown Princess to back off.

On the other hand, the Fourth Fujin sympathized with the Ninth Princess Consort. It was a completely undeserved disaster. Just because those two wanted to fish for information for their own husbands, they had targeted and pressured the Ninth Princess Consort in every way possible. The Fourth Fujin thoroughly disliked this behavior.

She feared that one day, she might also end up in the Ninth Princess Consort’s position.

There were many imperial daughters-in-law who shared the Fourth Fujin’s sentiments.

Thus, it was not without reason that women in this era preferred to marry the eldest di sons^[2].

The eldest always held all the advantages. Even if they did something wrong, they did not need to apologize to their juniors, and they could still put on airs with perfect confidence.

Just as the Fourth Fujin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the First Fujin and the Crown Princess had settled down and the day would pass peacefully, the Eighth Fujin started causing trouble.

The Eighth Fujin had been stewing in anger all night.

Yesterday, her husband had lost face to Old Third for the Ninth Prince’s sake. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, making the Ninth Princess Consort look especially eyesore to her.

If not for you, would my husband have lost face like that?

“Is Ninth Sister-in-law’s family lacking in Etiquette Matrons^[3]? Your manners are truly lacking. It was just some casual gossip among sisters-in-law, yet you had to go back and complain to the Ninth Prince? The Ninth Prince doted on you and threw a tantrum. Poor my husband, who only wanted to speak up for the Ninth Prince, ended up losing face to Third Brother.” The Eighth Fujin unleashed a torrent of words. This was practically tearing off all pretense of politeness. No one had expected this, and everyone stared at the Eighth Fujin in stunned silence.

But the Eighth Fujin did not care at all what others thought of her. She wanted to make a scene, to let everyone know that she and her husband were not to be trifled with.

Thus, ignoring the look on Su Huandan’s face after hearing those words, she turned to target the Third Fujin. “Third Sister-in-law, you are the Ninth Sister-in-law’s cousin, after all. We all know the Donggo Clan has lax rules, but the imperial family showed the Donggo Clan great respect by letting your family produce two imperial Fujins in a row. Shouldn’t you be deeply grateful? Shouldn’t you be constantly learning the rules?”

The Third Fujin trembled with rage, her eyes glaring at the Eighth Fujin as if she wanted to devour her alive.

Su Huandan was not one to back down either. Her face turned dark with anger. Did this woman really think she was only bold at home, capable of nothing but picking fights with the Ninth Prince?

Pushing away the Fifth Fujin’s hand, which was gripping her arm tightly, Su Huandan gave her a reassuring look. Then, she spoke in a slow, deliberate tone, aiming directly at the Eighth Fujin. “Eighth Sister-in-law, your words are truly amusing. My husband and I share a close relationship, so how does it concern you if we share some pillow talk behind closed doors? Eighth Sister-in-law, you are an elder sister-in-law, yet you poke your nose into your brother-in-law’s bedroom affairs. Are your manners supposed to be good? Well, it makes sense. You grew up in your maternal family’s home, so even if the Gorolo Clan wanted to teach you the rules, they couldn’t find you. You say my husband dragged Eighth Brother down. Let me ask you: as an older brother, was Eighth Brother wrong to want to speak up for his younger brother? Since Eighth Brother didn’t think it was wrong and chose to do so, he should have expected whatever consequences followed. Surely Eighth Brother isn’t like you, only doing things for personal gain?”

“Furthermore, whether our Donggo Clan has good rules is not for you to judge. Neither Third Sister-in-law nor I have a criminal Ama who was beheaded. Eighth Sister-in-law, with a background like yours, you were still able to marry an imperial prince. It seems you understand the meaning of ‘imperial benevolence’ better than anyone.” The Donggo Clan had bad rules?

Unworthy of being an imperial prince’s Fujin?

Then what about you, the daughter of a criminal official?

If keys are three for ten yuan, how many do you think you’re worthy of?^[4]

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed.

They were on the verge of a physical fight.

The Eighth Fujin’s background truly could not withstand any scrutiny.

First of all, her Ama was a criminal official who had been beheaded for gambling.

Secondly, she had always lived with her maternal family, and her maternal grandmother had passed away early. Living with her maternal family without a single female elder related by blood, how could anyone have bothered to properly teach her etiquette?

Finally, the Eighth Prince loved to show off too much. What did the Ninth Prince’s business have to do with him? Did he really need to step in and try to smooth things over?

At this point, the Fourth Fujin closed her eyes. She could not control this situation anymore, so she might as well not bother.

The pent-up frustration in the Third Fujin’s chest finally dissipated. Her cousin was indeed capable; someone like the Eighth Fujin, who practically begged to be humiliated, deserved to be dealt with exactly like this.

The Fifth Fujin turned it over in her mind and did not find anything wrong with Su Huandan’s words. At worst, it was just a bit inappropriate to expose someone’s shortcomings to their face, but it was hardly a major issue. At most, it would end with a brief confinement later.

Since it was no big deal, the Fifth Fujin naturally sided with Su Huandan. After all, they shared the same mother-in-law.

“Eighth Sister-in-law, I do not mean to sound harsh, but you should speak to Eighth Brother when you go back. If the Ninth Prince truly does something inappropriate, he has his Fifth Brother to guide him. Tell Old Eighth to leave things be and stop overstepping his bounds.” How ridiculous. Their two families were the ones who shared the same mother.

The Eighth Fujin: …

She had thought she could reign supreme today, only to have her secrets laid bare, turning her into an absolute laughingstock.

Shamed and infuriated, the Eighth Fujin let out a shriek and lunged straight at Su Huandan!