Chapter 58.2

At the small courtyard, the maids and the old female servants sat down by the back of the small kitchen, talking to each other.

Most of the time, it was the older women who talked. The maids’ mouths were not as quick so they spent more time listening.

Those from the small courtyard had received the news of Side Consort Hu returning to favour. Mentioning this incident, she smacked her lips and said, "I just knew that there is no way for that side to remain silent. There’s still that one supporting them."

"Exactly. She has the only child. If she gave birth to a son then she could probably completely suppress that side."

These women’s words seemed to be vague, but everyone understood what they meant. Since servants can’t discuss their masters, they could only resort to using pronouns.

Several maids listened with gusto, including Ah Xia and Xiaobao sitting by the side.

Mommy Zhao, who was one of the most talkative, saw Xiaobao looking thoughtful. She smiled, pointed at him and said to others, "Look at this little thing, he seems to understand it."

Everyone’s gazes followed her finger and they laughed.

As the only baby in the small courtyard, Xiaobao was very popular among the females. Since the little princess was the master, with the Side Consort Hu and Mammy Mu at the side, they couldn’t get too close to her.

On the contrary, Xiaobao was the son of a wet nurse. The female servants could afford to be a lot more reckless because his identity was as one of the common people. It's normal to pinch babies’ round cheeks and poke their chubby hands. There are even those unceremonious old ladies that like to kiss the cheeks.

Who asked babies to be so cute?

In this regard, Xiaobao was deeply disturbed and annoyed to death. It's a pity that he couldn't speak yet and he didn't dare to make any shocking actions. He could only suffer bitterly in silence.

The bitterness was endless.

A woman came up and hugged Xiaobao. She grinned and touched his pee-pee. "Look at how good our Xiaobao’s pee-pee grows!"

Xiaobao was stunned, his small eyes were blank.

Several women laughed. One of them said, "That one should have a child on hand to catch his interest. Perhaps then she’ll be more successful."

Then someone said, "What use is there to interest him? Without seeds, the field can't grow seedlings!"

The women’s words grew increasingly vulgar and it became more and more unbearable. Some of the maids seemed to understand but others did not. As for those who understood, their faces flushed, and those who did not look confused.

Xiaobao understood and was mortified. He immediately forgot about his pee-pee being played by someone. But these words also informed him that Father Emperor did not like that one from the Xu Family.

But he wasn’t surprised at that. What did surprise Xiaobao was that his father, who supposedly stayed at the Liuchun Pavilion last night, actually came to sleep with his mother.

Don't ask how Xiaobao knows, he won’t say it anyways.

What the hell was his father doing?

Xiaobao furrowed his little brow.

Jin Wang stayed at Liuchun Pavilion for five consecutive days. The servants were no longer shocked by that.

Because they know that even if there was no sixth day, there would still be another first day and second day.

Consort Jin was not surprised by this. When the maid reported it to her, she sneered. She couldn’t help but wonder why that person hadn't arrived yet. The two of them can fight each other, while she sits on top of the mountain to watch the tigers fight.

From then on, Consort Jin changed from her previous way of thinking.

She was already like this. What else couldn’t she accept? As long as she gave in to that person, she wouldn’t lose her position as the main consort.

But even with this way of thinking, it was still hard to accept.

At last, the reward from the imperial court finally arrived. With this batch of rewards came several beauties.

Regarding the matter of how Jin Wang has no heir, it has been a burden on Emperor Hongjing’s heart. After all, Jin Wang was his son, and one of the most outstanding of his sons. How could a Qinwang have no heir?

But, Jin Wang has never cared about this matter. On the occasions where he was summoned to the capital, he would come up with all sorts of excuses when Emperor Hongjing wanted to reward him with women.

There has been a rumour in the capital lately that Jin Wang has no heir because he liked men, nor women. It’s fine to like men. Many princes and nobles in the capital even raise boy toys, but it’s a big problem if the man can’t produce heirs.

Emperor Hongjing thought that it wouldn’t be good to go on like this. He chose two young women from noble families in the capital and bestowed them to Jin Wang along with a few other beauties.

The two noblewomen were given the titles of Side Consort. One was Liu Yan'er, the di¹ daughter of Marquis Ruyang, and the other was Xu Yueru, the shu² daughter of Duke Xuguo³.

Side Consorts were recorded into the genealogy of the imperial family and the two women were bestowed by the emperor. It stood to reason that Jin Wang Mansion would hang lanterns and decorations to celebrate. The night of the women’s arrival, the entire Jin Wang Mansion was red and bursting with joy. The servants were even bestowed wine and dishes in celebration.

It was night. Lingbo Pavilion and Haoyue Residence were brightly lit. The Side Consorts’ personnel were all looking forward to what was to come.

This time, two side consorts entered the door together. They did not carry the sedan chair nor worship heaven and earth to enter the bridal chamber. Whether they could ask for peace from the main consort the next morning and have face in front of Jin Wang’s other concubines, would depend on where Jin Wang chose to spend the night.

If changed to the capital, it would be impossible for two side consorts to enter the residence at the same time. But this was not the capital. It was Jinzhou. Fearing rejection, as soon as the imperial envoy had finished proclaiming the imperial decree, the two women were stuffed into the residence.

The two side consorts were extremely embarrassed. If it weren't for their many dowry servants, those who weren’t in the know would believe them to be random nameless concubines.

So whether they could earn back this face depended on where Jin Wang rested that evening.

After all, they were bestowed by the emperor’s decree. Even if Jin Wang didn’t want to, he still had to put up an act. The two of them had also asked around before coming to Jinzhou. It wasn’t that Jin Wang avoided women, but that he was busy with war all year round.

Jin Wang Mansion has a side consort who is heavily favoured, as well as a little princess. It is clearly a rumour that Jin Wang likes men!