nycdaug Chapter 209 Meeting
Chapter 209 Meeting
Shangguan Mufeng, Madam Yu, Old Madam Yu, and Yu Zhe all arrived immediately. They accompanied Prince Duan and waited all day until the children were safely born.
Seeing that Prince Duan had gone to the nursery, Madam Yu and Old Madam Yu hurriedly entered the delivery room.
"Zisu, are you alright?"
Seeing her daughter's tired face, Madam Yu asked with heartache.
Zisu: "Mother, don't worry, I'm in good health, I'm just a little tired, I'll be fine after a nap!"
Madam Yu wrung out a hot towel and wiped the sweat from Zisu's forehead: "Good child, get some sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up!"
Zisu slowly closed her eyes.
Mrs. Yu moved a chair and sat down in front of her daughter, staring at her daughter intently, her heart filled with a mixture of heartache and relief.
My daughter's first pregnancy resulted in a prince and a princess, which...
Great, that's fantastic! From now on, that old hag, Consort Qin, will have no excuse to let Prince Duan take a concubine!
That old man, it's one thing to arrange concubines for Prince Duan, but he even wants to arrange a concubine for his son, a daughter of a powerful family! If that's the case, if my daughter hasn't given birth to her eldest son yet, this concubine will be her biggest threat! You can't trust a man's sweet words. Although Shangguan Mufeng treats her very well, she doesn't feel completely at ease.
In this world, it's all too common for men to have multiple wives and concubines. She never thought of herself as some kind of angel who could make her husband devoted to her and never betray her under any circumstances.
Similarly, the same principle applies to perilla.
Yu Zhe and Shangguan Mufeng sat in the courtyard, drinking tea and chatting.
Madam Yu and Madam Yu walked out of the delivery room and into the nursery. At that moment, the midwife had just finished washing the two little ones. Madam Yu and Madam Yu quickly stepped forward, each taking one of the babies and personally dressing them.
Madam Yu held the little prince, her face full of affection: "Oh my, my little grandson, he's so cute! In the future, he will surely be as intelligent, wise, brave and valiant as his father!"
Madam Yu chuckled and said, "Look at this little princess! When she grows up, she will definitely be as beautiful and lovely as her mother, loved by everyone!"
Prince Duan stood to one side, listening with delight.
Hehe, my daughter and my son, whether they resemble their father or mother, are both extraordinary. However, it's better for a daughter to resemble her mother. Just thinking about how his little daughter will grow up to look like a miniature version of Zisu makes his heart swell with joy.
Daughters are wonderful; they are like warm, comforting cotton-padded jackets, so sweet and soft. When she grows up, he will dress her up beautifully with the best clothes and jewelry.
Prince Duan named his son Xiao Hua and his daughter Xiao Jin.
On the third day after the baby's birth, Lu Shi arrived uninvited.
The gatekeeper came to report: "Your Highness, Consort Lu has arrived."
Prince Duan frowned, clearly displeased.
Consort Qin waved her hand: "Since she's here, let her in!"
Although she really didn't want Mr. Lu to come in, she couldn't go too far in front of so many guests. However, she felt very uncomfortable.
When Madam Lu arrived at the banquet hall, she ignored everyone else and went straight to the cradle, reaching out to touch Xiao Jin's little face.
Upon seeing this, Madam Yu quickly stopped her, saying, "Wait a minute! Your nail guards are so sharp, be careful not to hurt the child's face! This is a girl, if her face is hurt, it will leave a scar!"
Ms. Lu wore pointed nail guards.
"What are you worried about? It's just a touch! If you're this delicate, you won't be easy to raise! Besides, I'm the child's grandmother, so why can't I touch him? You're an outsider, what right do you have to talk to me like that!" Madam Lu sneered, completely disregarding Madam Yu.
Prince Duan strode forward, dragged the cradle away from Madam Lu, and coldly glanced at her, his gaze filled with icy glints. He uttered words as sharp as ice: "Grandmother? What kind of grandmother are you? You are nothing but a lowly person. How are you qualified to be the grandmother of my daughter! In front of my mother-in-law, you are nothing. You poisonous woman are not even as good as a beggar on the street!"
Madam Lu looked embarrassed and argued, "Your Highness, I am your elder. It is extremely disrespectful of you to speak like this!"
Prince Duan sneered: "Elder? You are nothing but a lowly concubine taken by my father. How are you qualified to be my elder? When my sister was just born, you scratched her with your nail clippers. Although I was young at the time, I still remember it clearly! Today, I originally did not want you to enter the house, but I think you are quite old now, and perhaps you will not do such a vicious thing again!"
Unexpectedly, you remain incorrigible and attempt such a foolish and vicious act again! Guards, drag this wicked woman away and give her thirty strokes of the cane! From this day forward, this wicked woman and her children are forbidden from approaching the Prince's residence!
What?! This Lu family member is so vicious?!
The ladies and gentlemen present were all stunned! No one expected that, even though this woman had the protection of the old Prince Duan, she would still have the audacity to try to slash the face of the Prince Duan's daughter!
This isn't courage, it's utter stupidity!
Who is Prince Duan? He's not one to shy away from trouble, much less a woman with ulterior motives. Even though this woman is his father's concubine, he wouldn't be afraid of her in the slightest!
Madam Lu was dumbfounded. She never expected that Prince Duan would be so ruthless, daring to humiliate her in public. She knew that while she did intend to disfigure Prince Duan's daughter's face, she hadn't even had a chance to do so yet!
Two burly women immediately came over, one on each side, and grabbed Lu Shi, intending to take her outside for a beating.
"Xiao Hao, how dare you! I am not some concubine, I am your father's concubine, and I am also listed in the royal register!" Madam Lu struggled desperately and shouted sharply.
Prince Duan: "Don't worry, after today, you will be removed from the royal register! I didn't settle scores with you back then because I was too young to support my sister. When I grew up and the scars on my sister's face healed, I planned to let you off this time to avoid making the Prince Duan's mansion a laughing stock! However, you have remained incorrigible, so don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Just then, the old woman came to report: "Your Highness, Your Highness, Princess Dowager, Princess Jiahe has arrived!"
Princess Jiahe, Xiao Rufang, was the younger sister of Prince Duan and the daughter of Consort Qin. She married the eldest son of Princess Fu'an. Four years into her marriage, she had only given birth to one daughter, while her husband had several concubines and a large number of illegitimate children.
For the past three years, Princess Jiahe's husband, Shen Jian, had been serving as a prefect in a place three thousand miles away. He had only returned to the capital a few days ago to report on his duties. To this day, Zisu and Princess Jiahe have not yet met.
Today is Princess Jiahe's first visit to her parents' home since returning to the capital. These past two days, she's been busy tidying up the house and hasn't had a chance to visit her mother and brother at the Prince's residence. Today is the third-day celebration for Prince Duan's two children, and she finally managed to find the time to come and offer her congratulations.
She had heard about how Lady Lu had scratched her face with her nail clippers when she was just born countless times. In the past, whenever Lady Lu was mentioned, Consort Qin would grit her teeth with hatred, and would often bring up the story of how Lady Lu scratched her face.
Today, Lady Lu has once again shown her wicked intentions, attempting to disfigure her niece's face! This is intolerable! Princess Jiahe, who was in the courtyard, heard Prince Duan's words and couldn't help but rush over. She raised her right hand high and slapped Lady Lu's exquisitely made-up face hard.
"You shameless wretch! How could you be so vicious? What grudge could a newborn child have against you that you would want to disfigure her face? Today, we'll settle all our scores, old and new!" Princess Jiahe raised her foot again and kicked Lu Shi hard, then ordered the two old women, "Drag her out and beat her severely, show no mercy!"
Feeling guilty, Lady Lu was startled by the sudden appearance of Princess Jiahe, and even more so by Prince Duan's imposing manner and words! What?! He actually wanted to strip her of her title as a concubine?! Oh no! To make her a lowly concubine?! How could this be?! She didn't want to be a lowly concubine, nor did she want her children to become illegitimate children!
In the Western Liang Kingdom, a concubine was considered a wife, and her children were considered legitimate sons and daughters, though not officially recognized. However, they were not looked down upon. As for maidservants, they could be given away as gifts and had no real status. Daughters and sons born to concubines also held very low status.
Now, as the head of the Duan Prince's Mansion, Prince Duan is qualified to petition the Emperor to strip his father of the status of the concubine he left behind.
Madam Lu struggled violently, then knelt on the ground with a thud, kowtowing and begging for mercy: "Your Highness, I was wrong. I kowtow to you and beg you to be magnanimous and spare me this once. Please don't strip me of my status as a concubine! I beg you! From now on, I promise I will never come uninvited again, I promise I will never harm anyone in the Prince's mansion again, I promise I will live an honest life and never cause any more trouble!"
Prince Duan stood with his hands behind his back, coldly looking at her: "Give you a chance? Back then, when you injured my sister, didn't I give you a chance? Also, when we divided the family property, I gave you 100,000 taels of silver, and allowed you to take away the large amount of property and gold and silver treasures you swindled from Father. Those properties and gold and silver treasures added up to at least 800,000 taels, if not a million, right?"
"So much money, so many properties, and you still aren't satisfied! Today, you want to slash my daughter's face—what are you plotting?! Not only did you harm my sister, but now you're trying to harm my daughter. Do you think I'm made of clay?! Today, I'm making this clear: you can forget about being a concubine! Furthermore, I'll reclaim the property you swindled from my father and donate it to the court for the Northwest army's expenses!"
Before he finished speaking, he waved his hand forcefully again: "Quickly drag him out and give him thirty lashes first!"
The two old women quickly pulled the person out.
After recovering from her shock, Consort Qin quickly added, "Hao'er, thirty strokes of the cane aren't enough, add twenty more!"
Prince Duan calmly nodded: "I will listen to my mother!"
Princess Jiahe quickly stepped forward and bowed: "Jiahe greets Mother Consort and elder brother!"
When Consort Qin saw her daughter, she couldn't help but burst into tears of joy: "Oh, Fang'er, when did you return to the capital? Why didn't you tell me? If you had written, I would have had your elder brother come to fetch you!"
Princess Jiahe: "Mother, I've been back for two days. I know my sister-in-law is due to give birth in the next few days, and my brother couldn't leave, so I didn't write to you. These past two days, I've been busy tidying up the house, and Yun'er hasn't been feeling well either, so I haven't been home!"
Shen Yun is the daughter of Princess Jiahe, and she is four years old this year.
Upon hearing this, Consort Qin felt extremely distressed: "Is Yun'er feeling any better?"
Princess Jiahe: "Yun'er is much better, it's nothing serious, just from traveling. The child is still a little unwell today, so I didn't bring her along to avoid infecting my niece and nephew. I'll bring her over for Mother to see another day when she's fully recovered!"
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Princess Jiahe said, "Mother, elder brother, I would like to visit my sister-in-law!"
Zisu did not leave Rongruitang before she had finished her postpartum confinement.
Consort Qin: "Very well. Speaking of which, you and your sister-in-law haven't met in a long time. If you met on the road, you wouldn't even recognize each other."