CH 98.1

Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 98 Pt. 1

Translated by gingercat

Edited by gingercat

It was already two days later when the procession from Jin Wang Manor arrived.

Over the past two days, Jin Wang took Yaoniang around Tongzhou. This Tongzhou was at the end of the canal and was also known as the breadbasket of the capital. Anyone who wished to enter the capital by water must first go through Tongzhou, and from there it was only half a day’s travel to the capital.

This was the first time that Yaoniang had no scruples appearing in public. Jin Wang took her to eat at all the famous restaurants of Tongzhou and also bought her a lot of things.

Yaoniang felt her impression of Jin Wang being refreshed constantly. She never knew he was so familiar with the life of a ‘commoner’. In her impression, Jin Wang was an otherworldly being. If asked to buy vegetables from the streets, he was the type of person to bring back an egg that cost him ten taels of silver.

But she was proved to be wrong. Jin Wang was very familiar with the prices of the market. He knew the value of everything from a bowl of wontons sold by street vendors to jewelry that cost thousands of taels.

Yaoniang later asked him out of curiosity. Jin Wang merely raised his eyebrows and didn’t say anything. Later from Fucheng’s explanation, she learned that being a feudal lord wasn’t only about giving orders. He had to understand both war and economy, and the best reflection of the economy was the local prices of that season.

Although Tongzhou was closer to the capital and its prices were higher than those of Jinzhou, there wasn’t an astronomical difference.

“Your Highness, you’re really amazing.”

Yaoniang never hesitated to praise him. Although Jin Wang didn’t show anything on his face, he would take Yaoniang around to more places. If it weren’t for the brothels being a bit too inappropriate, perhaps he would’ve even taken her there to stroll around a bit. But he did take Yaoniang to see the opera house, expanding her horizons.

So when she learned that the consort and the others had arrived, Yaoniang felt a bit reluctant to leave.

“When we go to the capital, there will be more delicious foods and fun places, but once we enter the capital, there also won’t be as much freedom.”

This was the real reason why Jin Wang brought Yaoniang out to relax. Yaoniang was born into a small family. Although his manor had many rules, many of them didn’t apply to her. But it would be different once they entered the capital. They would be under the eyes of the public and there were many dragons and snakes mixed amongst the people. In the capital, there were also many people who enjoyed fishing in troubled waters and the women liked to bring up the word ‘rules’ the most.

“When we arrive at the manor, this prince will find someone to teach you etiquette since you may need to enter the palace sometime and meet with His Majesty.” It wasn’t actually a possibility, but a certainty. However, Jin Wang didn’t want to put too much pressure on Yaoniang.

But when he didn’t get any reply, he turned around and realized that she was actually playing with Xiaobao. The mother and son were amusing themselves with a mouse folded from a handkerchief.

“Did you hear this prince?”

Yaoniang had put the little mouse in her hand and asked Xiaobao to guess which hand it was in. She didn’t hide it well at all, but to coax her, Xiaobao deliberately guessed the wrong hand many times. He would only choose the right one sometimes, amusing Yaoniang to no end and provoking constant laughter.

“Yes, of course. You said you will find someone to teach me etiquette, and that I may need to enter the palace…” As she spoke, she showed two fists to Xiaobao again.

Xiaobao guessed wrong again, despite the obvious tail exposed from one of her hands.

Jin Wang’s face was tense. So dumb that he was about to lose brain cells from watching them. The big one was stupid and the small one was also stupid.

Yaoniang didn’t even notice his expression at all. Amused, she laughed and said, “Look at Mother’s hands. There’s a difference.” 

The next round continued.

Jin Wang suddenly felt troubled inside.

The rules for feudal lords to enter the capital were not the same as ordinary commoners. After meeting up with Consort Jin and the others, Jin Wang ordered people to hand over the papers to the capital.

A day later, the papers were returned with a red mark of approval from the emperor.

It took another day for officials from the Court of State Ceremonials to arrive.

Recently, the Court of State Ceremonials was busy to death. To celebrate the emperor’s fiftieth birthday, many foreign envoys and feudal lords were coming to the capital. As the ones responsible for the reception, there must be no negligence anywhere. If something happened, a light consequence would be arousing the feudal lords’ or foreign envoys’ displeasure. A heavy consequence would be offending His Majesty himself.

Compared to those foreign envoys, the feudal lords were more difficult to deal with. These vassals were divided into two types. One was the local lords near the borders, while the others were those with the blood of the imperial family, coming from all the country’s various regions.

Fortunately, it was Jin Wang this time. Although Jin Wang was a bit on the cold side, it was better than being moody and unpredictable. Last time, when it was Lu Wang entering the capital, he flogged several officials from Court of State Ceremonials. It made people feel bitter, but they didn’t dare say a word of complaint.

After the officials from Court of State Ceremonials arrived, they announced the imperial decree. Jin Wang’s procession could finally enter the capital.

The capital was a prosperous city.

Sitting in the carriage, they passed through the towering city gates then what came into their eyes was a bustling city full of grandeur. The wide streets where dozens of horse-drawn carriages travelled were lined with shops and vendors. The pedestrians on the streets were brightly dressed, crowding around each other, making it very lively.

This was the first time for Yaoniang to come to the capital. It was like entering another world.

From just peering through the carriage window in secret, despite her limited view, it was more than enough to surprise her.

When they arrived in the inner city, the situation was different. The roads became even more spacious and clean, while the buildings looked increasingly magnificent and gorgeous.

It took another hour to arrive at Jin Wang Manor. This Jin Wang Manor wasn’t like Jinzhou’s Jin Wang Manor. Its area and layout were a bit inferior, but it was already extremely rare to have such a large mansion in the inner city, where an inch of land was worth its weight in gold.

Jin Wang needed to enter the palace, so he didn’t stay at the manor for long. 

The others settled themselves in on their own. Fortunately, their living spaces were already arranged in advance, so there weren’t any issues.

Yaoniang’s residence was a courtyard behind Jin Wang’s study. This place wasn’t as good as Rongxi Courtyard, but it was still spacious and well decorated. For this trip, the few maids who served Yaoniang were brought along. Xiao Shunzi and others were also there to help, so there were no worries about lacking manpower.

After sitting in the carriage for most of the day, Yaoniang was dead tired. She asked Hong Chou and the others to clean up a place, so she could lie down, then held Xiaobao to sleep.

When she woke up, it was already evening.