Higher Level Wife - 144 - You Brought This on Yourself

Chapter 144: You Brought This On Yourself

Author: White Pear Flower

Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/

Translated by Pill Bug

Edited by Gumihou

Prince Rong’s smile was bitter as he said, “Aih, I have truly lost my sense of proportion this time…”

He gave Jin Fengju a meaningful look, which Jin Fengju immediately understood. He turned to Jin Ming and said, “Go out and keep watch.

No one is allowed to approach.” Once Jin Ming left, he said, “Well, go on. It should be fine now. Just say it, what’s this heaven-shaking thing you’ve done?”

“I… I was at the brothel last year, in incognito, of course. Well, a courtesan caught my eye so I bought her out and kept her outside the palace. Your sister found out about it recently,” Prince Rong’s

head drooped.

Jin Fengju frowned, he said indifferently, “Raising a mistress isn’t something unusual for you. As for that woman, she can never marry into

royalty due to her low birth, yes? If the emperor finds out, he will surely berate you [a].”

Zhao Lun opened his mouth, then closed it. Then, he opened his mouth again before closing it. The prince repeated this action several times until he finally sighed a long sigh and said, “The problem is… that courtesan she… she is with child.”

“What did you say?”

Jin Fengju jerked his head up, and the teacup lid, which he had been in the process of leisurely and elegantly lowering onto his tea bowl, shook and clattered against the expansive porcelain, making a crisp ‘ding’.

Prince Rong smiled bitterly and said, “I had just learned about this recently. Fengju, you know how few offspring I have. This… I really cannot give up this child. But, but, if Qiu Ju were to give birth to a child and remain outside the palace… as a lone woman with a child, what would

people say? What would happen to the child? I cannot leave my royal flesh and blood alone to be set adrift and bullied by the common rabble, right?”

Jin Fengju’s reply was a flat, “Brother-in-law, she is a whore. So what if she’s a high-end courtesan? She cannot escape being a whore. Brother-in-law, surely I do not have to spell out the entire matter for you?

Prince Rong’s face was still bitter as he said, “Of course, I know all of this. It’s because I know this that I spoke to your sister about it. I wanted to discuss with her about arranging for a ‘chance meeting’ and having her recognise Qiu Ju as a sister-friend before taking her into the palace. Won’t this solve everything? H-however, I never thought that… that your sister would suddenly burst into flames when I broached this subject with her.

She has been maintaining a cold war against me for half a month now. I have been trying to meet with you and have you mediate matters between us, but you never had the time and matters dragged on until today.”

Jin Fengju sucked in a breath of cold air, stood up and paced, “No wonder my elder sister is annoyed with you. She is the little princess of this dukedom and yet you dared to ask her to admit a courtesan as a

sister-friend? Can she not be angry at you? What’s more, if you had favoured an ordinary woman from a good family, it would still be fine. It is only a matter of handing over a few more taels and bringing her in on a small sedan chair as a lesser concubine. Later, you can bestow her the title of concubine after she gives birth and with no great repercussion.

However, you just had to tease a courtesan and even get her with child. The current emperor is a person who places the most importance on status. Brother-in-law, ah, Brother-in-law, the way you handled things truly lacks consideration.”

Prince Rong, Zhao Lun swallowed. He stared at his brother-in-law and muttered, “W-well, she’s not just a courtesan, she is… the daughter of a- a fallen minister…”

As his voice faded away, Jin Fengju stiffened so much it was as though he had turned to stone.

Prince Rong sighed tragically and continued, “Aih, I also found out about this later on. Qiu Ju only told me about this after she was with child.”

“You… you…” Jin Fengju [b1]. If this was his own brother, he would have started scolding already. The person in front of him might be his brother-in-law, but he was a Prince of the country first. Not only was Jin Fengju unable to scold him, [a2] but he had to find a way to help this Prince wipe his ass. This matter angered Jin Fengju so much that he almost caught fire, in fact, his throat dried up in an instant due to the fire bursting up from his belly.

“You dare guarantee that child is yours?” After pacing back and forth and rounding a few circles, Jin Fengju stood still and looked seriously at Prince Rong, “You should also know that to marry into a wealthy family, especially a wealthy noble family like yours, women are willing to do anything.”

“It cannot be anyone else’s. I sent two trusted guards to watch that house day and night. The maids and matrons there are all senior people allocated from the village. So, there can be no mistake.” Prince Rong waved his hands frantically. “Also, the timeline all fits. There cannot be

such a coincidence.”

For a while, Jin Fengju could only feel as though his head was splitting apart. He rubbed his eyebrows for a long time before saying, “Don’t tell me that my elder sister’s visit this time, though it was to officially visit Younger Sister Fang, she plans to not return to the palace for the time being?”

“Fengju, you are really smart,” Zhao Lun laughed guiltily. “That’s why I escorted her here personally. How could we let others know that we are not getting along as a royal couple? Otherwise, won’t others find out just a short investigation?”

Jin Fengju covered his chest with a hand. He sat down on a chair, desperately trying to hold his temper in. He stared at Prince Rong and said through gritted teeth, “Are you even aware of how bad your situation is? After causing such a fuss, you… you… Brother-in-law, ah, Brother-in-law, what do you want me to say to you?”

Zhao Lun’s head drooped further and he said, “I, too, know that it is my own fault. I shall speak honestly, back then I only loved her for her beauty and gentleness and did not think about anything else. Who

would have thought she would be with child? I believe this must be nature’s blessing. Fengju, just say it, are you willing to help me or not?”

“Let me think,” Jin Fengju sighed. After some thought, he suddenly got up and said, “I shall go and persuade Elder Sister to return with you. Otherwise, if others found out, it would cause quite a bit of trouble.”

Zhao Lun smiled bitterly and said, “Surely you know your own sister’s temper? She is both fierce and stubborn. Once her mind has been

made up, not even the King of Heaven could force her to change. Once she starts to show her true nature, she would rather fight until the fish dies or the net breaks. Would she care if something troubles us or not? Otherwise, I would not have to come and ask you for your help.”

Jin Fengju threw up his hand in annoyance and said, “Brother-in-law really understands Elder Sister, you have described her perfectly, not a single word is lacking.”

Zhao Lun said dejectedly, “That is the fate of men with powerful wives. Fengju, you will never understand me, ah. In the palace, were I to give the hens a second look, your sister will sneer a few words at me.”

Jin Fengju could not help but laugh out loud at that, shaking his head, “You are also at fault for spoiling my Elder Sister too

much. As you say, she would sneer at you if you give hens a second look, so why on earth would you suddenly tease a courtesan? She ought to hunt you down with a knife.”

Jin Fengju said all of this, but in the back of his mind, he thought: Did I not pick up a powerful wife myself? Furthermore, Qiuning’s strength is not the same as Elder Sister’s. While Sister is a sharp-tongued person who speaks clearly to one’s face. Qiuning is a typical case of ‘soft on the outside hard on the inside’, once she is unhappy about something, she will

just hide in her heart, and her face would be the same as always. The most, most, most hateful thing is that once she has made up her mind, she would also never give up.

Suddenly, Jin Fengju felt some sympathy for this Brother-in-law of his and said in a gentler tone, “Enough. Brother-in-law should go back. Leave Elder Sister to me. The most important thing now is to properly cover up this whole business and not allow Prince Lie or Prince Hong to get a whiff of the matter.”

When Zhao Lun saw that he had secured Jin Fengju’s promise to help him, he could not help but be overjoyed. He threw himself forward to hug Jin Fengju and cried, “Fengju, ah. Your Brother-in-law can rest assured now that I have heard this. So long as it is your plan, I shall cooperate willingly. Just plan the thing to the best of your ability.”

The entire business had drained Jin Fengju of his energy. Without another word, he sent Prince Rong out the door before returning to his study.

Around noon, he sent a boy out to inquire after Jiang Wanying [c]. The boy returned to say, “Reporting to Master, Second Madam has left Health & Longevity Court. Clear Soft Pavilion has already set out the evening meal. When Second Madam saw this one, Second Madam said that she

fears Master has some matter he wishes to speak with her about, and had already made arrangements for Master as well, and asked Master to join them for a meal.”

Jin Fengju nodded, and he left the study for Clear Soft Pavilion. As expected, Jiang Wanying and the two children were already waiting

for him. Upon seeing him, Jin Zhenxuan and Jin Xiuzhen rushed over and began to shower their father with affection. Jin Fengju’s mood improved greatly and he picked up the pair of children, kissing and petting them for a bit while Jiang Wanying ordered people to remove the covers off the food.

She laughed and said, “I had no idea Lord Husband planned to eat here today and did not prepare your favourites. Though I must say, the suckling pig looks very well-roasted. As someone who likes meat, surely

this should fit Lord Husband’s appetite. Ah, yes, there is some hot mutton soup in the private kitchen. Qiu Xia, bring a large bowl of soup for Lord Husband.”

Jin Fengju and the two children sat down at the table with over two dozen types of dishes. This has always been Jiang Wanying’s way. He heard that back when she was still a young girl in the boudoir of the Duke of Lu’s estate, her lifestyle was even more lavish. It was only after marrying into the marquisate that she scaled down her spending. This spread could be

considered very frugal for her.

Jin Fengju could not help but be reminded of Fu Qiuning’s table which never had more than six dishes on it. If he did not visit, the mother and children would often only have one meat and one vegetable dish with

one soup. It was truly too plain.

However, now was not the time to think about such things.

He looked at Jiang Wanying and said, “Is Elder Sister staying at Old Madam’s place? How is she feeling now?”

Jiang Wanying shook her head and said solemnly, “Not good. Although she chatted and laughed with us, I could see that her eyes were not smiling. In fact, they were very cold. She is now staying in Old Madam’s

courtyard, but she never said when she would return to the palace. Surely she is not planning to stay in the estate for a few days?”

Jin Fengju’s brows drew even more tightly together. When Qiu Xia served the mutton soup, he had a few sips before hesitatingly venturing, “Did you and Elder Sister speak about me? If I were to persuade her, would I be successful?”

Jiang Wanying picked up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks and placed it into his bowl. She shook her head and said, “From what I can tell, Lord Husband had better not approach her, or you could strike a

landmine. Earlier, I made a few playful comments but was answered by sarcasm from Elder Sister. Elder Sister Fu was the smart one. Having noticed the bad atmosphere, she did not open her mouth at all. Sure enough, the one who speaks less makes fewer mistakes.

If Lord Husband were to visit Elder Sister only, it may still be fine. However, if Lord Husband plans to persuade her about something, it is better to save your time and not go and suffer. Just how powerful is Elder Sister’s mouth? It is not as though you did not know. Otherwise, how did she take down His Highness?”

Jin Fengju smiled bitterly and said, “It is better not to say such things in the future. He is a prince who may one day sit on the throne. It is taboo to randomly talk about taking him down.”

Jiang Wanying asked, “Just what is happening? The prince left just like that. As a Princess Consort, it is not right for Elder Sister to casually return to her maternal home, ah. Although they may claim that it is no different from visiting relatives, it is clear that she quarrelled with His Highness over something. However, I have no idea what. If Lord Husband knows, perhaps you could enlighten me? See if I could snatch an opportunity to persuade Elder Sister.”

Jin Fengju thought: That’s right, Wanying is a woman. Perhaps she will understand Elder Sister’s heart better than I do. If I were to try and persuade her, I fear that Elder Sister will just think that all the crows under heaven are just as black [1], that this younger brother of hers and

Prince of Rong are the same kind of loathsome creature and just refused to listen to me at all.

Thus, he gave Jiang Wanying a general account of what happened. At the end of it, he said, “I shall leave this matter to you. It is best if we could persuade Elder Sister to change her mind as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if Prince Hong or Prince Rong catches Brother-in-law’s tail and openly berates him before the emperor… well, all I can say is that this is no joking matter.”

[Gumihou: Gotta say, this guy sure knows how to delegate]

Pill Bug TL Notes:

[1] “All the crows under heaven are just as black” ->

Chinese idiom, meaning to lump everything together and treat them the same

[a] Gumi’s comments:

[a1] If the emperor finds out, he will definitely berate you

Basically, he’s implying that Elder Sis should not be angry since Prince Hubby could not marry this mistress and should just suck it up. Class act man. Bravo.

[a2] Not only could Jin Fengju not scold him, he also had to find ways to help him wipe his ass clean.

Yeah, this is definitely the beautiful line that the author put in to make us think that JFJ is a suCh a gReAt MaN~~

[a3] “Let me think,” said Jin Fengju.

Is really code for ‘let my other wife, whom I ignore unless I want her help, to think for me’

[b] Deleted:

[b1] Deleted: …said two “you” words in a row

Completely unnecessary, I think it was meant to be dramatic, but it’s just draggy.

[c] replaced ‘the situation’ with ‘Jiang Wanying’s whereabouts’

Because the author is trying her best to avoid openly saying that JFJ was already planning to farm the problem off to his convenient dog within the estate. You know, the dog he was planning to put down once he had achieved everything of note?

Kitchennovel.com has a new Membership System!!

Please click on the table below to check it out~