CH 137.1

Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 137 Pt. 1

Translated by gingercat

Edited by gingercat

When Jin Wang came back, Yaoniang was already asleep.

In a daze, Yaoniang suddenly felt the presence of someone behind her whose skin was slightly moist and cold, and she couldn’t help shivering. But after a short while, she gradually warmed up again.

She leaned back, nestled in the warm embrace, and without opening her eyes, she asked, “Qing Wang is gone?”

“Mhmm.”

“Did he give the golden seal to her?” Despite being half asleep, Yaoniang kept this matter in mind.

“That woman stole it.”

Hearing this, Yaoniang immediately woke up. She turned around and sat up to look at Jin Wang. “Steal, she really—” was truly daring.

Jin Wang snorted coldly and did not speak.

“What’s wrong?” Sensing that he was a little unhappy, she leaned closer. “You’re still remembering that time I called you biased? Fine, I was wrong. Punish me however you want.”

Jin Wang lifted his eyes and looked at her.

Her long hair was let down and the fabric of her red sleeping clothes was as thin as a cicada’s wings. In the dim yellow light, he could clearly see the white dudou she wore inside. He wanted to punish her like that, but it hasn’t been two months yet. Jin Wang calculated in his heart and realized there were still more than ten days.

He glanced at her without saying anything and saw that her little face was flushed. Thinking back to when she gave birth to the second child, her complexion was terrible for many days following. It seemed that the method of recuperation Doctor Liu mentioned was quite effective. He hadn’t endured all these days in vain. Thinking of this, his heart eased a lot.

“It’s not because of this, but because old seventh…” Jin Wang hesitated and didn’t finish the rest of the words. 

“What’s wrong? Could it be that he didn’t punish that Side Consort Han? Did she cry and make a fuss and then he simply let this matter go?”

So it was still a woman who understood other women best. No matter how arrogant one was in the officialdom, how powerful on the battlefield, or how dignified a gentleman, it wasn’t easy to be unaffected by the tears of a beauty. As soon as she whines coquettishly or twists her slender waist, all reasoning flies out the window.

Seeing that Jin Wang didn’t speak, Yaoniang became even more surprised. “So the matter is really over like that because she cried? This…”

Seeing how she cared more about others than herself, Jin Wang was a little dissatisfied. “Why do you care so much about other people’s matters? Do you not want to sleep anymore?”

“How is this other people’s matters? Doesn’t Qing Wang treat you well? Consort Qing is also good to me…”

“Since you don’t want to sleep, let’s do something else.” As he said this, Jin Wang turned and pressed her beneath him.

Yaoniang pushed against him. “It hasn’t been two months yet, and I’m still taking medicine.”

“We’ll do it like last time…”

Once it was over, after cleaning everything up, Jin Wang laid down like a satisfied big cat.

Yaoniang was lying in his arms. He ran his long fingers through her hair before saying, “Don’t worry about old seventh’s family matters. A couple quarrels at the head of the bed and makes up at the foot of the bed. You also don’t know what seventh sister-in-law is thinking. If this matter is managed well, then there won’t be any problems. But if you manage it badly, any interactions in the future could become awkward.”

“I also have no intentions to meddle in this matter.” Then she asked curiously, “Do you know something?”

How could Jin Wang know anything? At most, he could guess what Qing Wang was thinking. But in the end, this was all Qing Wang’s own private affairs. How could a grown man like Jin Wang interfere in this kind of thing?

“Just don’t worry too much about it. You can go to Qing Wang Manor to talk to seventh sister-in-law, or she can come here to look for you. As for other people’s family affairs, there’s no need to interfere.”

Since Jin Wang had said so much, Yaoniang thought that there might be something else added to the mix that she was unaware of and shouldn’t interfere with. She simply nodded and took note of this in the back of her mind.

Qing Wang left Jin Wang Manor and rode back.

The horse walked at a very slow pace. The two guards who came with him could only follow at this pace of a turtle’s.

Qing Wang’s mood was very complicated. He understood the meaning behind his fifth brother’s words that he had treated this matter too lightly. But in the end, she hadn’t made any big mistakes. Actually, he could understand her thoughts about her current situation, because he was also the same as her long ago.

Since his mother was from Goryeo, he was the only prince in the palace with mixed blood. Back when Qing Wang was still young, he had heard the servants in the palace talking about how women from another country serving His Majesty wasn’t unprecedented. But none of them had given birth to a prince. If it weren’t for Her Majesty and that one always fighting each other, the seventh prince wouldn’t have been born.

As for who that one was, Qing Wang didn’t know at first. Only later did he find out it was his fifth brother’s mother consort, Consort De, who was also his former adoptive mother. In his vague memories, she was a very warm and easygoing woman.

When he was young, Qing Wang didn’t understand what freedom was. He only understood it once he grew up.

Princes without their mothers lived a very hard life in the palace.

Back then, Qing Wang had thought more than once that it would’ve been great if his mother had been Consort De. That way, even if Consort De was gone, he’d still be able to live in the palace with his head held high like fifth brother. Although life may be hard, at least he wouldn’t be always hearing whispers of ‘that seventh prince’…

While fifth brother’s hardships came from the power struggle between the brothers, all his hardships come from those inconspicuous eunuchs in the palace. No one respected him and none of those eunuchs took him seriously. Those eunuchs’ minds have long grown distorted and twisted after being so servile for such a prolonged period of time. Having someone with a ‘higher’ status than them to humiliate, gave them a sense of satisfaction and pleasure.

Qing Wang still remembered when he first moved to Fifth Ganxi Institute, he rarely got enough to eat. The eunuch who had served him never gave him enough food. Once he finished his main dish, the eunuch would put the dessert on a shelf that was too high for him to reach. Then he’d grab a chair and sit and watch as he struggled to reach up for the rest of his meal.

Once, he tried to use a chair to boost his height but accidentally fell. When someone asked about his injuries, the eunuch said that he had been too naughty and fell from trying to climb the shelves. After that, no one asked any more questions. Once his wounds healed, the eunuch still put his dessert on the shelf that was too high for him to reach.

In the end, that eunuch was beaten to death by his fifth brother. At that time, fifth brother was but a few years older than him, yet he was so powerful. Later, Qing Wang finally realized why his fifth brother was so powerful. His fifth brother’s mother consort was different from his own mother consort.

Because his mother consort was different, Father Emperor never put him in his eyes. Because his mother consort was different, no one cared how good his studies were. Because his mother consort was different, none of his brothers bullied him, because they didn’t see him as one of their rivals. Because his mother consort was different, the eunuchs in the palace rarely took him seriously.

Later, no one dared to bully him or look down on him because he was under fifth brother’s protection.

Qing Wang had been very curious about what kind of person his mother consort was. Once he was old enough to understand and have people listen to him, he asked an old palace maid, who had served his mother consort, to come and work at his side.

From the mouth of the old palace maid, he learned a lot of things about his mother consort. She had been a very weak but kind woman, yet she lived a hard life. She experienced the pain of leaving her home and being despised by others. Fortunately, she later met Consort De and was able to live under her protection for so many years and even give birth to him.

Just like how fifth brother protected him.

After experiencing what he had, he could understand why Huizhen would do such an absurd thing. It was the instinctive behaviour of a drowning person desperate to grab at any life-saving straw. Because in the past, he had also been eager to prove himself, to be valued by others, and to be treated with special regard.

She was indeed wrong, but ridiculous as her reasoning was, he could understand. Unfortunately, others couldn’t understand. Even fifth brother couldn’t understand, because he had never suffered through all that.

Since he empathized with her, he subconsciously tried to explain on her behalf. Was fifth brother disappointed in him for that? Did he think he was too spineless and gullible?

“Your Highness…”

Someone called for him. Only then did Qing Wang realize that he had already returned to the manor without being aware of it.

He handed the reins to the servants and strode inside.

Halfway through, he realized this was the way to the main courtyard. He automatically stopped, hesitated for a while, before returning to his study in the front yard.

In the main courtyard, someone reported to Consort Qing. “Your Highness, His Highness has returned from Jin Wang Manor and is currently resting in the study in the front yard.”

Consort Qing nodded and waved away the informant.

After sitting for a while, Consort Qing stood up. She asked the servants to prepare the soup she had made in advance, and a maid to carry the lantern, before setting off for the front yard.