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Chapter 132.1
Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 132 Pt. 1
Translated by gingercat
Edited by gingercat
Wang Defang watched as Jin Wang helped the woman out of the carriage.
Today’s Jin Wang was completely different from the him on that day. That day, he was so handsome he seemed out of this world, with a sense of dignity engraved deep in his bones. But today, he was so striking that one didn’t even dare to look at him.
One had to admit that clothes were what makes a man. At this moment, he was so dazzling, he resembled an immortal descending from the heavens.
If one ignored how he was holding a child in his arms as well as the presence of the woman next to him.
So this woman was the legendary favoured concubine who gave birth to Jin Wang’s two sons? The side consort surnamed Su? She was only so-so! Isn’t she just another fox spirit?
“Fang’er, what are you looking at? There are a lot of people here. Quick! Put the curtains back down.”
The person speaking was Eldest Madam Wang
Today, the Wang Family sent Eldest Madam Wang and her younger daughter, Wang Defang, to come to Qing Wang Manor for the celebration.
As members of a cabinet minister’s family, there were bound to be many things to be careful of. Alas, it was also impossible to stay completely clear of the capital’s murky waters. In times like this, the importance of the female family members is shown. When it isn’t appropriate for the men of the family to come forward, the women were the ones who stepped in. Even if something were to go wrong, all that needs to be said was that the women were insensible.
She followed her daughter’s gaze and frowned immediately.  “Which family did this woman come from? How ignorant of the womanly virtues! It’s one thing to show up in front of the public under broad daylight, but to walk side by side with men? How disgraceful!”
Eldest Madam Wang had a long face and squinty eyes. She was getting on in age and was dressed in an indigo-coloured top matched with a dusty blue skirt. Her hair was coiled up into a single bun. Her outfit made her appear plain and rigid.
Usually, Wang Defang felt her mother was too rigid and fussy, but at this moment, she couldn’t agree more with what her mother said.
“Mother, do you also think this woman’s behaviour is inappropriate?” She asked with a smile, embodying the restraint a proper young lady of any noble family should have.
In the eyes of Eldest Madam Wang, this was more than simply inappropriate behaviour. This woman was a vixen who attracted both bees and butterflies. Eldest Madam Wang was born in the Kong Family from Shandong province. As for which Kong Family, naturally it was the Kong Family that descended from Confucius himself. But she wasn’t part of the direct lineage and is instead a member of the side branches that are barely known at all.
Despite being only a member of the side branch, her surname was still Kong. Eldest Madam Wang had always been proud of bearing the surname Kong.
She also took pride in her familiarity with the Women’s Four Books and treated it as the embodiment of the perfect woman’s behaviour. It was unsurprising for her to feel Yaoniang’s appearance to be an eyesore.
“Stop looking, lest your eyes are contaminated. The older you are, the less you listen to your mother’s words. Sit properly. Soon we’ll be getting off the carriage.”
Wang Defang’s eyes flashed with impatience, and she lowered the carriage curtain.
On the other hand, Jin Wang had already taken Yaoniang into Qing Wang Manor. He stayed in the front yard, while Yaoniang and Xiaobao rode in a sedan chair and went to the back yard.
The entire Qing Wang Manor was very lively. The servants were all dressed up as they rushed about. Along the way, they saw many well-dressed female family members, led by servants, here to visit.
The sedan chair arrived at a courtyard, which looked very quiet compared to the hustle and bustle outside. Before Yaoniang even got off the sedan chair, Consort Qing came out to greet her from inside.
“You’re here. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.” Consort Qing said with a smile, but Yaoniang had this feeling that something was wrong. After Consort Qing led her inside, she suddenly realized that Consort Qing’s eyes were a little red, as if she had been crying.
Sure enough, upon entering the room and sitting down, Consort Qing changed from Yaoniang’s initial impression of liveliness. Her entire body seemed to hunch over with melancholy while she remained silent.
“What happened to you?”
Consort Qing seemed to be a little distracted. She gave a quick laugh after hearing her words before saying, “It’s nothing.” Then she turned towards Xiaobao who was being held by Yu Chan at the side. “Come here. Let Seventh Aunt carry you.”
Xiaobao obediently let Consort Qing carry him. Seeing him behave so well, Consort Qing smiled, and ordered her servants, “Go call the eldest young master and eldest young miss.”
Not long after, both Yan Ge’er and Zhuzhu arrived.
Yan Ge’er was three years old while Zhuzhu was only two years old. The older brother was holding the hand of his younger sister, and the two little children were brightly dressed. Seeing this harmonious scene, Yaoniang’s eyes brightened.
Zhuzhu, who was two years old, had her head almost entirely shaved, save for two small puffs of hair. With a gold longevity lock inlaid with jade around her neck and a pair of large dazzling eyes, she resembled a tender little dumpling that one couldn’t help but adore.
She was still a little unsteady with her walking, so Yaoniang picked her up and placed her on her lap. She couldn’t bear to put her back down. “Zhuzhu is so beautiful. Jirou, you are truly blessed.” Jirou was the name of Consort Qing.
Consort Qing couldn’t help laughing and jokingly said, “Little fifth sister-in-law, why don’t we have an exchange? I’ll swap Zhuzhu for Xiaobaos. Are you willing?”
Yaoniang didn’t answer, so Zhuzhu shouted, ” No change, no change. I stay in same place as older brother.” Her milky voice was simply heart-warming.
Yaoniang put Zhuzhu back down and let her rejoin her brother, then she let out a quiet sigh. “It’s nice to have a daughter. I thought that my second child would be a daughter. Who would’ve thought it was another stinky brat?”
Consort Qing’s eyes flickered, and her smile couldn’t help but fade. “Look at what you’re saying. Others can’t help but envy you for this blessing, yet here you want another daughter.” She paused then glanced at her daughter. “Daughters are good and she’s like my intimate cotton-padded jacket, but it’s always better to have more sons.”
Her words were a bit too meaningful. Even if Yaoniang wanted to act dumb she couldn’t, so she asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Consort Qing smiled reluctantly and said, “It’s nothing.”
“You’re still saying it’s nothing. Your eyes are already red. Why are you so sad on such a good day?”
Before Consort Qing could say anything, Yaoniang’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly realized that Consort Qing had given birth to a son and a daughter. Yan Ge’er was the eldest son, but today’s celebration was for the second son. So he was not borne by Consort Qing, but by another woman. How could today be a good day for Consort Qing?
Given her status, she was also seen as the ‘other woman’, at least by those consorts. Yaoniang was embarrassed to death.
Xiaobao glanced at Yaoniang and sighed in his heart. This silly mother of his finally realized. However, Qing Wang Manor’s affairs were more complicated than she thought. If he remembered correctly—
Xiaobao looked at Zhuzhu. From what he could recall, he didn’t have a younger cousin sister. But there was this once when Yan Ge’er was drunk and told him how he used to have a sister. Except that she had died when she was very young.
In his previous life, Xiaobao had been sick all year round, but he still knew a lot about Qing Wang Manor. In his memory, ever since he could remember, Qing Wang had lived in the capital. It wasn’t until he was older did he learn that after his father took the throne, he resolutely cut off the other princes.
An Wang, Dai Wang, Qing Wang, Wu Wang all remained in the capital. But when compared with Qing Wang, who remained a loyal follower of Jin Wang since the beginning, An Wang and others were barely known in the eyes of the public. Besides wearing the hat of a qinwang, they rarely appeared in front of others. Instead, it was Qing Wang, a supporter and confidant of Emperor Jin’an, that ended up having both power and glory.
In his previous life, even though Yan Ge’er was the elder son of Qing Wang, he wasn’t favoured. The one favoured by Qing Wang was his second son. However, his Emperor Father paid much attention to Yan Ge’er and had mentioned more than once he had the talent to be a general. Before his last bout of illness that eventually claimed his life, Yan Ge’er had been sent to the border by his Father Emperor.
All these thoughts flashed through Xiaobao’s mind in an instant. He didn’t dare to continue his thoughts, his mother was still feeling embarrassed. All of a sudden, he slipped off Consort Qing’s knees, ran to Yaoniang, and pointed at Yan Ge’er and Zhuzhu. “Brother, sister.”
Consort Qing also felt a little awkward and quickly interrupted with a smile. “Xiaobao wants to play with your brother and sister, right? Yan Ge’er, come play with your younger brother and bring your sister along as well.”
The three little peas came together. It only then did they realize that despite Xiaobao being the youngest, he wasn’t small at all. He was taller than the two-year-old Zhuzhu, and only half a head shorter than Yan Ge’er.
Xiaobao was a relatively big child for his age and the other reason was also because Yan Ge’er was too thin.
Consort Qing couldn’t help sighing. “Little fifth sister-in-law raised your child so well. Yan Ge’er, this child, has been small ever since he was born. No matter what I do, he doesn’t seem to grow. He worries me to death.”
When it came to parenting, Yaoniang had more than enough to discuss. She couldn’t help asking if Yan Ge’er had a bad appetite, did too little activity, and so on. With their mothers deep in their conversation, the three little children held hands and went out the door. With the maids watching over them, they wouldn’t be in any danger.
Yan Ge’er was holding Xiaobao’s left hand. Zhuzhu was the shortest here, but she still wanted to act like the older sister and hold his other hand. Not only that, but she also said to him, “Brother Xiaobao, I have a puppy at my house. If you behave, I’ll take you to see it.”
A puppy? Xiaobao looked at the little bean sprout in front of him and sighed. “Alright.”
The three of them went to see the dog together. They let the puppy out and played together in the yard.
This puppy wasn’t a rare or exotic breed, but a small rural dog. It had a black nose, black circles around its eyes, and four small black paws, but everything else was tan coloured
It looked a little ugly but it was very cute with the baby fat on its belly jiggling as it ran. Following behind Zhuzhu, it started biting on her skirt.
Yan Ge’er wanted to protect his sister, so he threw a small branch towards it, but the puppy was not afraid at all. Yan Ge’er was also reluctant to hit the little dog, so he could only stand there with worry, but helpless to do anything.
Xiaobao stood at the side and also looked helpless, but he wore a smile on his face.
At this time, a few servants hurriedly walked in from outside, but they were stopped as soon as they were about to enter the courtyard.
Consort Qing came out when she heard the movement.
One of the maids leading the group of servants respectfully said, “Your Highness, Side Consort Han invites you over. The guests have almost all arrived and are waiting for you.”
Consort Qing’s face immediately darkened. Only after a long pause did she say, “This consort will head over right now.”