novelTo be a Concubine or a Wife
| ← Ch.037 | Ch.039 → |
It is not without reason that Emperor Yuan Hui doted on the sixth prince Yan Yu. In the early years, Imperial concubine Hui was favoured, and the empress was sickly, so Imperial concubine Hui managed the harem on her behalf.
If not for the fact that Yan Yu had been taken out of the palace after he was born, it was likely that the person who would become the Crown Prince would not be the current Second Prince, but him.
After so many years of exile, after Emperor Yuan Hui found out the truth, he tried every means to find him back.
Unfortunately, it was obstructed until he was seven or eight years old.
When he returned to the palace, Emperor Yuan Hui originally wanted to change his name, but he refused it fiercely. In the end, Emperor Yuan Hui had to compromise, keeping his original name, only changing his surname from Li Yu to Yan Yu.
At that time, he was like a frightened bird, not used to coming to the palace. Emperor Yuan Hui cared him, so he tried his best to compensate him.
Fortunately, with the help of imperial concubine Hui's teachings, he gradually got used to the life in the palace, and gradually recovered to his normal child's appearance.
It was a pity that when he was ten years old, imperial concubine Hui passed away. Ever since then, his temperament had changed greatly. He was extremely taciturn, to the point where he almost spoke to no one.
Yan Tao liked him with his ability, so he recruited him into his team. Only after a few years did he improve. At least, he wouldn't always keep a cold face.
Of course, it didn't get too good. As his closest brother, even the Crown Prince and the Seventh Prince rarely saw him reveal his emotions. It was as if he was a completely different person from when he had just entered the palace.
At that time, he was like a small beast that had not been trained properly. He would bite anyone he saw, and at any moment, all the fur on his body would stand on end as he rampaged around with injuries all over his body.
Now that his wounds are healed, leaving scars on his heart, people didn't know how he's been unless he's willing to open them for them to see.
Just as he was speaking, a servant came in from outside the courtyard and reported, "Your Highness, the sixth prince is here."
Yan Tao put down his glass, "Quick, welcome him in."
Not long later, Yan Yu walked in from the door. He wore a long green persimmon robe with a jade sash hook tied around his waist. His figure was tall and slender, and he walked in a hurry.
He looked around and roughly saw how many people were in the room, and who were. He then walked over to Yan Tao and saluted, "Second Brother."
Today was a banquet, so there was no need to pay attention to the etiquette. Yan Tao quickly helped him up and asked the servant maids to prepare a new set of dishes, "Sixth Brother, why are you so late?"
"I heard from Seventh Brother that you asked father to build a mansion outside the palace. and father agreed."
Nothing had happened in the past few days. Therefore, Yan Tao had not seen him for a few days, so he did not know that he was going to build a mansion.
No wonder he felt that he hadn't seen him for days. So he was busy with such an important matter without making a sound ...
Yan Tao smiled. It seems that something has happened to this sixth brother. Otherwise, based on his personality, he definitely wouldn't have thought of these things.
Yan Yu sat beside him. As soon as he sat down, a maidsservant poured a cup of wine into the white porcelain wine cup in front of him.
Holding the cup, he raised his head and gulped it down in one gulp."Seventh Brother is right. I won't hide it from Second Brother. It is true."
This was Shaoxing good wine. It was cold and rich at the mouth. Before he came, the people present had all had a round of drinks.
When he arrived, all the targets were aiming at him, asking him to make three cups of wine as an apology.
However, Yan Yu did not refuse, because he knew that the wine was his no matter how he refused.
He had been drinking with Yan Tao since he was ten years old, and it had been five years. During these five years, he had slowly refined his alcohol tolerance. Although it wasn't enough for him to not get drunk, he had indeed rarely seen him drunk.
He drank three cups in one gulp and did not eat anything, so his stomach felt a little uncomfortable. He only slightly frowned and did not care anymore.
His stomach had never been good, and he drank heavily. His stomach often hurt all night, making him not sleep well.
After three cups of the punishment, the Seventh Prince's curiosity was piqued and he had to ask clearly, "Why did Sixth Brother suddenly want to build a mansion outside the palace?"
There were a total of eighty-nine people present. They were all the backers of the Crown Prince Yan Tao. There were also people from the six divisions such as the Marquis of Dingling and the Marquis of Xiangyang.
Normally, they dealt with matters for the Crown Prince and were already very familiar with each other. Therefore, when the Seventh Prince said these words, he didn't shy away from the others.
There were some cold dishes on the table. Yan Yu put a peanut brine on a plate. He didn't have time to eat it, and replied while fiddling with it, "Sometimes, it's more convenient to have a mansion outside of the palace."
As he said this, the image of Xie Zhen smiling back flashed through his mind.
Ever since he had seen her that day, he had been busy building his house.
He didn't admit it was built for Xie Zhen, because even he didn't realize that he had already planned their future.
He had missed her so many years, so he had to do something to relieve the pain of his love to her.
Even if she said she hated him, it wouldn't help.
Yan Ren was a straightforward person, so he didn't say anything else when he thought of it: "Why didn't Sixth Brother find it troublesome in the past?"
"It can't be for the sake of getting a wife, right?"
He put the peanut into his mouth and chewed it for a while without replying.
Finally, Yan Tao rescued him, by letting the servant maids to fill Yan Ren's cup with wine and teased, "As Seventh Brother asks about this, could it be that you have set your sights on a girl?"
Yan Ren drank all the wine in his cup in one go, and his face did not even turn red."Does second brother not know me?"
"If I had a girl I like, I would have told you!"
This was the truth. The crowd burst into laughter, and the atmosphere instantly eased by a lot.
Yan Tao looked at Yan Yu without batting an eyelid. He lowered his head and listened silently to the group's conversation. Occasionally, he would interrupt them with a sentence or two, not mentioning in the slightest why he had built his own mansion.
As his younger brother, his thoughts were deeper than most people. He could not guess what he was thinking. It could be seen how fast he had grown up all these years.
Unknowingly, he had grown into an outstanding man.
Yan Tao smiled, stood up and toasted everyone, and quickly joined in the conversation.
A group of men gathered together and talked about nothing but women.
It was either that the girl in the building was pretty, or that the girl in the courtyard had a pleasant voice. In the end, some people found it boring to say it, so they began to carry out the wine orders.
Yan Tao had a concubine to perform the wager game. A beautiful woman sat with him and a fine wine was in front of him. For a while, the scene was quite lively.
After three rounds of drinks, it was getting late. The few of them bid farewell to each other and left in low spirits.
When Yan Yu got up, Yan Tao stopped him, "Sixth Brother, wait."
He had to sit down again.
After everyone had left, Yan Tao sat with him on the square table, and dismissed the maidsservants in front of him. He spoke in a manner that made one want to ask, "Sixth Brother, are you hiding something from me?"
It was rare for Yan Tao to ask a question so straightforwardly. Presumably, because he was too absent-minded today, he had asked him to deliberately leave him behind.
Yan Yu drank a lot of wine, and his eyes were somewhat dizzy. He drank a cup of tea and woke up, "Second Brother, you're overthinking. I'm fine."
Yan Tao asked again, but he still gave the same answer.
It wasn't that he was depressed, but his guard was too high.
There weren't many people in the palace who could be trusted, and even though he'd been with the crown prince for four or five years, there was no guarantee that Yan Tao would be unfavorable to Xie Zhen after he said it.
Alright, since Yan Tao could not get an answer out of him, he would not ask any more. After all, his goal isn't here.
He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then slowly began to speak, "Do you remember the handkerchief that I picked up on the day of the Old Lady's birthday in Duke Dingguo's Mansion?"
Yan Yu didn't understand what Yan Tao meant. Of course, he remembered that Yan Tao had been so focused on giving it to him that he didn't take it."What happened to the handkerchief?"
"It's a long story."
Yan Tao let out a long sigh. He told her about light sleep he used to sleep lightly, and how he could sleep soundly with that handkerchief from beginning to end. After saying that, he rubbed his forehead and said, "Ever since the fragrance dispersed, I have been unable to sleep peacefully for several days."
When Yan Yu heard this, he could not help but frown."Second brother plans to ..."
That handkerchief was picked up in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion. Now that he thought about it, the figure that he saw from afar looked very much like Xie Zhen
Was the handkerchief hers?
What a coincidence!
Yan Tao told him that the Crown Princess was giving a banquet in the backyard, "Although it's a little difficult to find her, it's better than finding a needle in a haystack. I hope I can find someone's girl."
If it was a noble daughter, then it would be alright. But if it was a servant maids from another family, then it would be difficult to find one ...
Yan Yu asked him, "If Second Brother find it, what will you do?"
Yan Tao never thought about it. At first, he just wanted her to tell him what the fragrance was on the handkerchief was, but after having that dream, his state of mind unknowingly changed a little.
"I'll first bring her into my mansion, then I'll make my plans."
Yan Yu didn't say anything, but his expression was serious.
After bidding farewell to Yan Tao and leaving the crown prince's mansion, he had a bad feeling about this.
After taking a few steps forward on his horse, he turned around and went back to the door. He then asked the servants at the door to inquire about the people who had came to the crown prince's mansion today.
When he heard the words "Duke Dingguo's Mansion" from the servants, his face immediately darkened. He pulled the reins of his horse and galloped in the direction of the Duke Dingguo's Mansion.
At this time, Xie Zhen and Xie Xun were on their way home.
They were sitting in the carriage, discussing what had happened at the feast.
The Crown Princess had asked each of them to embroider a pattern, but it didn't seem like they were competing in talent at it. It was more like they were making use of this opportunity to choose some person.
Xie Zhen suddenly remembered that the Crown Prince had been married to the Crown Princess for many years, and he had no side imperial concubine and a liangdi ...
(note: liangdi is a high level concubine of Crown Prince, who's status is higher than other concubines but lower than the crown princess)
For a moment, she was alarmed. The tip of the needle stabbed into her finger, and very soon, blood began to flow out.
She lowered her head and licked it, her mind spinning rapidly. She had never heard of the kind of girl the crown prince liked. Judging from his current posture, could it be that he liked being clever?
With that thought, she quickly put down the needle and thread.
Yes, it might be for that reason.
Otherwise, why would she ask them to embroider for no reason?
After the reaction, Xie Zhenhe was not in a hurry to embroider the jasminum floweral flower, instead, he took the time to embroider a leaf.
It wasn't that she looked down on the Crown Prince's Palace, but the Crown Prince already had a Crown Princess. Besides, she seemed to have a good relationship with him. If she was lucky enough to be chosen by the Crown Prince, what else could she be but a concubine for?
No matter how noble a concubineine's status was, she was still stepped on by her principal wife.
Since she was young, she had been taught by Madam Leng that she would rather marry into an ordinary family as a principal wife than become a concubine for an influential family.
So when she came back to herself, her first thought was to give up.
As expected, her crooked leaves didn't catch the Crown Princess eye. Instead, Xie Ying's embroidered flower pattern earned her the best in one fell swoop.
The Crown Princess and the other wives were full of praise for Xie Ying. To be able to embellish this flower pattern in such a short time, it was unbelievable.
Xie Ying was reserved on the surface, but she was very happy in her heart, especially when she looked at Xie Zhen, she was so proud of herself.
Xie Zhen didn't mind at all, she even sincerely smiled and said, "Congratulations, third sister, you're the best in embroidery. I really can't compare to you."
Xie Ying said with confidence, " as long as the fifth sister diligently practices, you can also improve."
When Xie Zhen thought of it, she couldn't help laughing.
"What is elder sister laughing at?"
Xie Xun asked curiously, sitting on the other side.
Xie Xun didn't know that she'd lost the game on purpose. She thought she was going to be upset, and she comforted her several times on the way.
As Xie Zhen was about to explain to her, there was a knock on the side of the car.
Before Xie Zhen could ask, the curtains were flung open in a gust of wind and almost flung across her face.
Xie Zhen sat back and stared at the bony hand on the curtain. Looking up, she saw an unhappy face.
Yan Yu stared at her, his brow furrowed.
The coachman had to stop the carriage by the side of the road. He wanted to scold the man for his lack of manners, but seeing that he was not dressed like an ordinary man and seemed to know the girl, he swallowed the rest of his words.
Xie Zhen came to her senses, and she said...
"Why are you here?"
She originally wanted to call him" Brother Xiao Yu", but thinking about how they were both so old and how he hated her, wouldn't he be even more unhappy if she called him that?
So, she paused for a moment, saving that name.
He didn't notice. He asked her, "Have you ever lost a handkerchief?"
Xie Zhen was a little stunned, she didn't understand what he meant.
Looking at her confused expression, Yan Yu added, "Did you lose a handkerchief at the Old Lady's birthday banquet?"
"It was embroidered with jasminum flower, and it also carried with fragrance that allowed one to sleep peacefully."
Xie Zhen sat up and asked, "Did you pick up the handkerchief?"
After he said that, Yan Yu's face turned black.
| ← Ch. 037 | Ch. 039 → |