Hi everyone! Just letting you know that I’ve started translating a new novel called Wishing You Eternal Happiness. Do check it out!
Happy weekend!
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Translation: marchmallow
Feng Sheng had always believed that nothing in this world was too difficult for her. This was not because she was arrogant, but rather because she was a person with high aspirations and determination.
So long as one had the determination, one could always weather through anything.
However, since she gave birth to Jin ge’er, she felt that her own confidence had been challenged.
Jin was the name the Jianping Emperor had chosen, meaning ‘fine jade’. All the children in the imperial household were named this way, each name holding a certain meaning to some extent. Prince Wei ought to have been the one to name his child, but it was a rare occurrence for the Jianping Emperor bestow one to his grandson. Even Little Sixteen was first given a nickname upon his birth, his given name only selected when he was almost a year old. This was relative to the fact that it was common for children to die prematurely.
Prince Wei and Feng Sheng primarily had a lengthy discourse about the names they had hand-picked for both male and female offspring, but the Jianping Emperor suddenly granted them one, rendering useless all the prospective names they had sifted out.
The name Jin ge’er was conferred on his first bath three days after his birth, enough to merit everyone’s surprise.
Jin ge’er was born huge. The momo had asserted that he did not at all resemble a newborn child. Feng Sheng had not seen many newborns, so she had assumed that the other was merely flattering her for some reward. However, when she carried him in front of everyone on the day of his full moon banquet,1 they all lauded him for the same thing, so she was convinced that it was true.
It was not until she noticed how rapidly Jin ge’er was growing in less than three months that the wet nurse could already barely carry him did she realize he was a little fat.
His good foundation perhaps stemmed from the ample nutrition in his mother’s womb, or perhaps because of the wet nurse’s breastmilk. Jin ge’er was fed well until he grew so plump that his little arms and legs resembled lotus roots. He was also quite spirited. Whenever it was time to change his diapers, if he were to fuss, he would be capable of landing a painful kick with one foot.
She was definitely not at all like this when she was a baby. Feng Sheng had heard from her mother on more than one occasion that her mother had been in poor health during her pregnancy, so the child she bore had been frail. It had taken a long time for her to raise Feng Sheng to the size of a normal child. She supposed that her son took after Prince Wei.
But scrutinizing the small round face in the swaddling clothes, the little meatball so fat that the outline of his eyes were barely visible, she did not dare convey that to Prince Wei. Instead, she directly expressed a few words to the imperial noble consort. The imperial noble consort didn’t dislike that Jin ge’er was so fat and was actually quite happy about it. This was because Little Sixteen was born small, and the imperial noble consort had once worried that she would not be able to raise him well for him to live long enough.
As she stroked Jin ge’er’s plump cheeks, she told Feng Sheng that Prince Wei had been similar in his infancy, just that Prince Wei was born little. At that time, she had still dwelled in the empress’s palace. Back then, the empress’s second prince had just passed away, and no one in the palace had been fond of her.
There had only been one young maidservant waiting upon her then. The maidservant had been too inexperienced to understand that a woman should convalesce for a month after childbirth. No one had taken care of her, and she was merely given whatever food was available in the kitchen. At that time, she wasn’t even given a wet nurse and thus began breastfeeding by herself. She feared her nutrition would be insufficient, so she gobbled more meals containing a lot of rice and meat. It was a very ordinary diet, but she still managed to produce enough breast milk, so she no longer feared that her child’s sustenance would be at risk.
Prince Wei had originally been very small, but after feeding him like so for three months, he grew to an extent where he appeared as if she had blown air into him. When he was a hundred days old, she could no longer carry him.
As the imperial noble consort narrated this, she gestured at Feng Sheng.
Feng Sheng estimated that Jin ge’er was more or less about as big. She immediately breathed out a sigh of relief and mused that the next time Zong Yue ignored his son, she would tell him that he had been the same when he was a child. What face would he still have to dislike his own child?
Her musings so pleased her that her expression had given her away amidst her reverie. The imperial noble consort grew curious and probed her about it. Having no desire to lie to the imperial noble consort, Feng Sheng confessed to her about Prince Wei’s attitude towards Jin ge’er. She explained it very ambiguously, but the general implication was clear.
The imperial noble consort began to laugh, which Feng Sheng found rather baffling until she grew a little embarrassed.
“Mother……”
“Alright, Mother won’t laugh at you. Mother won’t meddle with a young couple’s affairs.”
In fact, Feng Sheng had an idea as to what the imperial noble consort was so amused about. She herself also thought that Zong Yue was a little childish. Such a big man was getting jealous over a baby that he would sulk to her about it all the time, and only if she coaxed him would his heart feel at ease.
In the end, these were matters within the bedchambers, and letting others learn of it was rather indiscreet. Even if it were the imperial noble consort, Feng Sheng could only pretend that she didn’t understand. She responded evasively and looked for an opportunity to skip the subject.
Amidst their chat, Prince Wei arrived to fetch Feng Sheng.
The pair bade farewell to the imperial noble consort and left Xianfu Palace.
They had brought a wet nurse with them today. They could only take a seat in the carriage outside the palace, and the wet nurse didn’t have enough strength to carry Jin ge’er until they were outside, so Prince Wei simply took his son and let Jin ge’er rest on his shoulder.
This month’s wet nurse could already tell apart his likes and dislikes. Jin ge’er liked leaning on his father’s shoulder. It was probably because Feng Sheng, the wet nurses and the maidservants were all women, and their strength and height were insufficient to garner his fancy. They would sway and tremble when carrying him for fear that they would drop him. Prince Wei was very tall, and his sturdy shoulders and powerful arms elicited Jin ge’er‘s fondness for him.
On top of that, this hundred-day old baby could already be held upright and had been accustomed to viewing scenery from a high place. How could he accept a sudden change in height? Every time Jin ge’er leaned on Prince Wei’s shoulder, he would always blather unintelligible words, then he would giggle and gurgle at Feng Sheng, scrunching up his fat face, looking a bit cute and a bit ugly.
Feng Sheng heaved a little sigh. She and Zong Yue could both equally be considered good-looking, so she had by all means hoped not to birth an ugly child.
This concerned her a little. On the way back, Prince Wei asked her what was wrong, and she flatly admitted the truth. Prince Wei stared at her with an odd gleam in his eyes, and only after a while did he finally blurt out the phrase, ‘such utterly inane conjectures’.
Although Prince Wei had thrown Feng Sheng such words, when he turned his head to observe Jin ge’er lying on the kang with his small face flushed red from wanting to turn over his body, some type of indescribable worry tickled his heart.2
On the other end, Prince Wei had actually arrived with the Jianping Emperor.
He had originally gone to the palace to pay respects to the Jianping Emperor. Upon hearing that he was heading to Xianfu Palace, the Jianping Emperor went with him. When the two arrived, the young eunuch outside the palace hall was about to report. The Jianping Emperor waved his hand, and the young eunuch immediately held his voice in.
The father and son pair listened to the mother-in-law teasing her son’s young self in front of her daughter-in-law. One was a little awkward, and the other like so. When Prince Wei strode in, the Jianping Emperor stood outside and remained unmoving.
Only when Prince Wei left with his wife and child did the Jianping Emperor enter.
“How come Your Majesty is here at this time?” She asked such a question, but really, how could the imperial noble consort not perceive that both father and son actually arrived together? Why the Jianping Emperor hadn’t come in at that time, there was naturally no need to ask more.
“You had a rough time then.”
Of course, mused the imperial noble consort in her heart. However, she replied with a simper, “What is Your Majesty saying?”
The Jianping Emperor could still recall the circumstances in those years. The empress had offered him the person on her own accord. He was the crown prince, what kind of outstanding beauty had he not seen? When it came to women’s charms, he was fastidious and exercised self-restraint. Even if his etiquette had been poor, he would not have bedded just anyone, especially a person serving the empress.
However, the empress had seemed to be quite serious. He could sense her ardency and also had an inkling as to why she was persistent, so he did not refuse the third time. It was originally supposed to be something perfunctory. He had not put much thought into it except that this one was more delectable than he had expected. Then, he one day noticed the palace maid next to the empress darting disdainful glances at her.
How could a high palace maid by the crown princess’s side be so arrogant? Naturally, they had done other things their mistress had heavily rewarded them for. On one hand, the empress sent a person to his side, but on the other, she regarded that said person as a thorn in her eyes behind his back. In the Jianping Emperor’s heart, who was still the crown prince then, the empress had been wise, gentle, magnanimous, and understanding. In the palace and even in large influential families, when the mistress was pregnant, she would make use of a person below her to solidify her favor. There were numerous examples of such things. Since she made the decision, why had she suddenly taken such a hostile turn?
Perhaps around that time, the Jianping Emperor had already borne some opinions about the empress.
However, the empress was his main wife. It wasn’t worth it to fall out with the empress because of some plaything, so he never called for her anymore. He had only gone when the empress mentioned her. Later, when she became pregnant, the empress had also just given birth to the second prince. When the other was about to give birth, the second prince passed away.
He had once gone to visit the empress and caught sight of her. She was such a dainty person, yet her stomach was so huge. He instructed the people under him to treat her with utmost care and to watch over her. Later, when she gave birth to Prince Wei, he had not gone because the empress had just lost the second prince. On Prince Wei’s full moon, he dropped by to take a brief look, but at that time, there had been a lot of matters on the imperial court, so he couldn’t pay much attention to her.
When he saw her and Prince Wei again, Prince Wei was already a hundred days old. He ate well, and he was fair and fat. He thought to himself that the empress was still magnanimous, yet never did he expect that such an incident had transpired in between.
Nevertheless, he no longer found it surprising. Over the years, the empress’s pretense had already vanished before him. The reason why he didn’t prod her was simply because he was still heedful of their status as husband and wife.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
These words were stuck in his throat, and in the end, he couldn’t ask. What good would it be to ask? What could she say? Perhaps he wouldn’t have believed it at that time. On the contrary, he maybe would have concluded that it was her deliberate means of competing for favor. He was born in the palace and had lived here for many years. Every flowery and beautiful face possessed their own thoughts. In order to vie for favor, they would pursue everything to its brutal end, so much so that some would even exploit their own children.
He had seen so much that his heart had long doubted the nature of humans, and most of the time they were precisely as he had initially thought. As the years passed, he grew more and more interested in this delicate woman. He even felt that he had disappointed her too much.
This kind of thought was quite baffling. He, an esteemed monarch of a country, actually felt that he had disappointed someone. He was keenly aware that such feelings were out of bounds, yet he still indulged them. With such thinking, coupled with the fact that he had recently been treating the Central Palace rather favorably, a kind of subtle and ineffable guilt actually bubbled up in his heart.
“You also mustn’t always just look after Little Sixteen. Zhen isn’t asking you to govern the six palaces, but you can help the empress if you have nothing to do.”
The imperial noble consort looked at him and laughed. “Little Sixteen is still young. Besides, isn’t Her Majesty good at managing these things? If Her Majesty doesn’t have the energy, then it would’ve been fine. Since Her Majesty is still healthy, it would be somewhat unwise for this humble concubine to meddle too much.”
“Who ever said you’re unwise?” He was obviously no longer young, yet here he was looking like he was throwing a tantrum.
The imperial noble consort laughed in response, as if he was merely ferocious in appearance but feeble in essence. What else could she say?
He touched his nose. “Since you find it troublesome, then leave it. The empress is actually quite diligent. She likes tackling everything by herself despite her poor health. Zhen has gone to see her a few times just to check on how she is.”
The imperial noble consort blinked. Was this an explanation?
Whether or not it was, she didn’t want to think too much.
“Her Majesty has been intelligent since she was young. Unlike this concubine, her family had taught her the ways of a mistress. This concubine doesn’t know anything, so instead of causing trouble, it’s better to look after Little Sixteen. Now, Prince Wei also has someone in his rear court. Feng’er, that child, raised Jin ge’er extremely well. He looks exactly like Prince Wei when he was a child……”
The imperial noble consort and the Jianping Emperor chatted about a family’s daily affairs. As he listened, his thoughts couldn’t help but drift towards the Chen family.
The empress had initially expressed goodwill to the imperial noble consort because of the Chen family. Now, the Chen family felt that the imperial noble consort was nursing a grievance. In fact, how could she not have suffered any grievances? When the imperial noble consort was a child, she had gotten lost and had since been subjected to a multitude of hardships. Later on, even after serving him for several years, she actually could not enjoy her share of good fortune as the empress had always suppressed her. Hence, she conducted herself cautiously and solemnly in the palace for fear of obstructing the empress’s sight. But because the wind had blown towards the imperial noble consort too strongly the past two years, he wanted to use the empress to keep the attention on her under control, lest Prince Wei and his retinues would have thoughts they shouldn’t have.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty……”
The Jianping Emperor returned to his senses and saw the imperial noble consort’s beautiful eyes gazing at him.
“Zhen was lost in thought. Zhen suddenly remembered that the people sent to Yangzhou will be back in a while. They reported that they’ve found a few things related to what happened in those years.”
The imperial noble consort’s eyes flickered. “Does it have anything to do with the Chen family?”
The Jianping Emperor didn’t keep it from her and nodded.
It had always been in his nature to dislike those who played tricks on him, yet the Chen family actually dared to leap on the emperor’s head to stir trouble. Their methods were so clumsy that it made the Jianping Emperor marvel in wonder. No wonder that in recent years, the Chen family was no longer as astute as before. There were too few people who could handle things well.
But although the Chen family’s methods were clumsy, they were hard to fault, so the imperial noble consort could only stubbornly elude and never give a clear word. However, the Jianping Emperor’s disposition was one that disdained being confounded, so he had ordered someone to investigate this matter privately. Because it was a very strenuous matter to probe into, it had taken too long, and he only recently learned of the results.
“In fact, this concubine is neither curious about the past nor wants to acknowledge them as blood relatives. Your honored self knows Her Majesty’s temperament. Whether or not it’s true, she isn’t willing to accept me, so it’s better to save the trouble.”
The Jianping Emperor’s brows creased. “Whether or not she’s willing has nothing to do with you. You don’t need her willingness in your affairs.”
Hearing this, it naturally wasn’t good for the imperial noble consort to say anything more.
1 满月: full moon – a baby’s completion of its first month of life
2 These two very sensible and intelligent people are actually worried that their child might be ugly. Lmao