Yaoniang didnāt know how to coax her, so she could only say, āDonāt overthink it.ā
āFifth Sister-in-law, Iām not overthinking it. My mind has been extremely rational as I thought it through these past few days. I had lost quite a lot of sleep, wondering why am I losing to someone like her? How am I inferior to her? But I gradually realized that I was thinking too much. Itās normal for men to have three wives and four concubines. Iām just being jealous. But the problem is, I was fine beforeā¦ Really! I also want to be like what you said, win him over and not give up. But I find it very difficult, especially after everything that happened. He seemed to have changed into someone I no longer know. Someone whoās very coldā¦ā
Yaoniang felt the urge to cry.
She would rather Consort Qing be bawling her eyes out, instead of this calm narration of what her mind went through. How much disappointment did a bright and cheerful woman like her experience to wither so suddenly?
Yaoniang could barely imagine it. She thought to herself if Jin Wang suddenly changed one dayā¦ If he was no longer the way he was nowā¦ If his tenderness is shown to another woman and they do the most intimate thing that only she had ever done with himā¦ If he says all those things to her and even has her give birth to his childā¦
Yaoniang immediately felt like she had fallen into an ice cellar and she couldnāt help shivering. She forced herself to continue thinking about what would happen next and how she would feel. If that ever did happen, she would most likely go insane. No. She would definitely go insane.
After all, she was very happy with him that she wanted to completely dominate him and let no one else occupy him.
Does she like Jin Wang?
Yes, she does like him. And she has for a very long time.
āSeventh Sister-in-law, even if you donāt think about him, you still need to keep Yan Geāer and Zhuzhu in mind.ā Yaoniang also felt that her consolation was very weak. She even felt that she was being shameless. She wouldnāt be able to remain indifferent if the same thing happened to her, so how could she demand others to do the same?
But besides this, what other options are there?
This world treated women very harshly. In a normal family, if the husband takes a concubine, the wife can only watch it happen, let alone in the imperial family. For the imperial family, this behaviour was justifiable and expected. The priority has always been reproduction. If a prince ever had a lack of women, those above would always take the initiative to bestow a few.
Yaoniang hasnāt forgotten the large number of women in the rear courtyard of Jin Wang Manor. Even if Jin Wang never touches them, they are still his concubines in name.
This was a life-and-death battle. When she occupies more, others would have less. Unwilling to be abandoned, the only solution was to fight. If she occupies less, the others would step forward to take her place. After experiencing two lifetimes, Yaoniang had a very thorough understanding of the fierce battle between women in the rear courtyard.
Yaoniang felt quite disturbed and she no longer wanted to think about it anymore.
Consort Qing smiled faintly and said, āI have been thinking about Yan Geāer and Zhuzhu. Otherwise, I wouldāve already asked for a divorce already.ā
Just as she was talking, a maid hurried over. āConsort, the young master. Something happened to the young master.ā
Consort Qingās face turned pale.
Xiaobao and Yan Geāer were playing with the little dog named Doudou along with the two little girls.
They were originally having a great time. Then Xuan Geāer, that unruly brat, called a few others around the same age as him, to also come here to play. They were playing a game where some pretend to be officers and soldiers while others are robbers. As the officers and soldiers, their job was to capture the robbers. Carrying branches as swords, the robbers, officers and soldiers fought very energetically.
Noticing that it was getting rowdier, Xiaobao wanted to leave. After a few words with Yan Geāer, the four of them took Doudou and planned to move somewhere else to play.
While walking, Xuan Geāer, who was a robber trying to avoid the officers and soldiers, accidentally bumped into Yan Geāer.
The two of them were about the same height, but Xuan Geāer was stronger while Yan Geāer was weaker. Yan Geāer directly fell to the ground from the bump while Xuan Geāer was caught by the officers and soldiers behind him.
Xuan Geāer was the last robber left. If he was caught, it would be the officersā and soldiersāĀ victory. Those who were playing as officers and soldiers immediately burst into cheers, while the robbers complained about Xuan Geāer getting caught so easily. He was the fastest out of all of them yet he didnāt even run.
Xuan Geāer saw that he had lost and others were adding fuel to the fire with their loud complaints. At the same time, he recalled the previous grudge and his face flushed with anger. He threw away the branch in his hand and rushed towards Yan Geāer.
āItās all your fault!ā
The robbers, officers and soldiers, who were watching from the side, clapped their hands enthusiastically when they saw Xuan Geāer starting a fight.
One of the maids stepped forward but was reprimanded by one of the robbers. āStand back. This is a battle between men.ā Little brat, your hair hasnāt even grown, yet you already want to watch others fight.
It was clear that Yan Geāer couldnāt beat Xuan Geāer, so Xiaobao wanted to go up and help. Before he even made his way over, someone accused him of trying to win by numbers. Xiaobao was too lazy to pay attention to these little brats, and still wanted to go forward, but Xuan Geāerās robber accomplices suddenly rushed up.
āFight! Fight with me!ā
It seemed that boys were easily hot-blooded. With others on the side cheering them on, they dared to do what they normally wouldnāt. Yueyue and Zhuzhu hurried over and asked the maids to stop them. Several maids wanted to help but were blocked by the remaining officers and soldiers. As they blocked the maids, they scolded them for getting in the way and disturbing them.
Yuchan was also watching from the side, but it was inconvenient for her to make a move in this situation. If she did make a move, she would be accused of helping the young master beat up the others. Plus, from her point of view, the one who was fighting Xiaobao was the smallest. Although he was fast, he wasnāt the young masterās opponent.
The noise outside quickly drew the attention of those who remained inside. On the second floor, the men happened to be seated the closest to this side. An Wang and a few others came to the window together and looked down.
An Wang smiled and said, āOld Sixth, your son is the devil incarnated. How did he get in another fight again?ā
Lu Wang not only didnāt feel ashamed, but he looked proud instead. āThis kid is full of energy, I plan to start teaching him martial arts in another year or so. But what you said isnāt right. Second brother, we fought like this when we were young. How come when my son is doing it, he becomes the devil incarnate?ā
This was true. These princes often fought together when they were young. As long as they didnāt use weapons, no one stopped them. Emperor Hongjing didnāt let anyone stop them. Because of this, the various princes all grew up with good martial arts skills.
Besides Yong Wang. But Yong Wang had been a sly one ever since he was a child. He never took the initiative to provoke his brothers and he also preferred using more covert methods.
So when An Wang and the others saw such a scene, they didnāt have any intentions to stop the children. They simply stood by the window and watched.
Lu Wang said to Jin Wang, āFifth brother, the one from your family is still young. Yet he can already fight with the one from fourth brotherās family.ā
Jin Wang was too lazy to pay heed to Lu Wang.
Lu Wang was also accustomed to Jin Wangās expressionless face. He turned his head to provoke Qing Wang: āOld seventh, it seems like your kid is not my kidās opponent.ā
Indeed, Yan Geāer was thin, while Xuan Geāer was strong. Even though Yan Geāer was a few months older than Xuan Geāer, he was no match for Xuan Geāer at all. Xuan Geāer already pressed him under his body. Although Yan Geāer was able to fight back, it was a little challenging.
But Yan Geāer was also stubborn. He didnāt cry.
Qing Wang smiled reluctantly. āThis child has been thin and weak ever since he was young. He is not as strong as sixth brotherās child.ā
Lu Wang laughed and said, āItās good to be strong. Then he wonāt get hurt when fighting with others in the future.ā
Lu Wangās smile reminded Qing Wang of some things that happened in his childhood. His age was the closest to Lu Wang, and he was also beaten by Lu Wang the most when he was a child. Father Emperor did not let anyone intervene, so even though fifth brother wanted to help him, he could only watch from the side.
He has been beaten many times. Every time he went back, he would put more effort into mastering martial arts. Unfortunately, Lu Wang was very talented. He was the best at martial arts out of all the princes besides Jin Wang. And as Qing Wang learned more, the other party was also progressing. He wasnāt favoured in the palace and the martial arts master wasnāt as serious when teaching him, so he was never able to beat Lu Wang.
Now his son also couldnāt beat Lu Wangās son, despite Yan Geāer being older than Xuan Geāer.
Qing Wang was disappointed. Yan Geāer had been weak ever since he was small. He was born like that and it wasnāt something that could be easily changed. He wanted to have another son with Jirou, but it was a pity her stomach hasnāt moved ever since she gave birth to Zhuzhu.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of Cheng Geāer, who was born very strong. He was big and powerful. Although he was barely over a year old, he would cause chaos the entire day. The only thing he hasnāt done yet was rip the tiles off the roof.
Side Consort Han mentioned to him once that when Cheng Geāer was older, he should teach him martial arts. Although Qing Wang didnāt reply at the time, he was happy to do so. More than once, he had thought about how to best nurture Cheng Geāer.
He knew that Jirou would definitely be unhappy again, but if it wasnāt for Yan Geāer being a disappointmentā¦
Just as Qing Wang fell into a trance, a horrified scream suddenly came from downstairs.