Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 144 Pt. 3
Translated by gingercat
Edited by gingercat
“Bengong doesn’t have much to say, but if you want the land, you’ll have to step over bengong’s dead body first.” Despite her old age, Anqing Gongzhu’s aura and voice weren’t weak at all. One could easily tell that she has lived for a long time, but it didn’t appear to be a problem for her to live another decade.
“Benwang’s¹ intention coming here today isn’t to ask for the land, but to ask for great-aunt’s plans concerning this matter.”
“Plans? Bengong has no plans. Bengong only wants to ask if His Majesty plans to ignore the eldest gongzhu of the nation or if he plans to throw this aunt of his out of the city? If so, bengong will leave immediately, lest His Majesty be troubled.”
Anqing Gongzhu, bringing up the emperor once after another, was obviously trying to pressure Jin Wang with her seniority. How could he dare to agree? If he did, given Anqing Gongzhu’s temperament, she’d start kicking up a huge fuss in public. Then the entire imperial family’s face would be thrown away by her.
“It seems that great-aunt is still feeling agitated. Since this is the case, benwang will leave first and come back tomorrow.” After speaking, Jin Wang left.
One wouldn’t be able to pick out anything wrong with his behaviour but Anqing Gongzhu found it very off-putting.
The next day, Jin Wang came again.
Repeating what she said yesterday, Anqing Gongzhu was again classified as being in a state of ‘agitation’, so Jin Wang left once more.
This happened again for the third day, then the fourth day, and the fifth day.
Anqing Gongzhu couldn’t stand it any longer. “You brat, what are you playing at? If you come again, bengong won’t let you in the door!”
Anqing Gongzhu dared to do this, but as for the other men in the manor, not so much. The fuma died early, but Anqing Gongzhu has five sons and countless grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was one thing for them to bully officials, but Jin Wang was different. As a prince himself, who knows what the future holds. Just based on this identity itself was enough to stop others in their tracks.
After all, in this huge manor, only Anqing Gongzhu could technically be regarded as a member of the imperial family.
Jin Wang was indifferent and calm as usual, but he didn’t make the other party feel he was being rude. “Benwang is not playing with great-aunt. Benwang only wants great-aunt to calm down and discuss this matter peacefully.”
“Bengong is very calm.”
Jin Wang didn’t speak and only stared at Anqing Gongzhu. Even though he didn’t speak a single word, his gaze made people feel like he was saying, ‘Look, you’re being agitated again’.
“Just say what you want to say. Don’t worry about whether bengong is calm or not. Once you’re done talking, scram for bengong, and don’t come again.”
Jin Wang nodded and began to say, “Great-aunt is getting on in age, but from what benwang sees, it isn’t a problem for great-aunt to live to over 70. Even 100 years isn’t impossible.”
As soon as he mentioned this, Anqing Gongzhu laughed. She had always been proud of her long life.
“But great-aunt won’t be around forever. Now that benwang is a father, benwang can also understand the hearts of the parents, always wanting to help and protect their child. Shield them from the troubles in life, in every way possible, no matter how big or small. But when the child grows up, there will inevitably be a time when he’ll need to spread his wings and fly on his own. Having a tight protection set over him would only be breaking his wings. Instead of being a great bird who could fly free in the skies, he could only be a little bird who hides in the nest and eat what’s fed to him. If the big bird is not there one day, what will the little bird do?”
Following Jin Wang’s words, Anqing Gongzhu fell into deep contemplation.
The fuma was useless, and his sons even more useless. She tried beating them and scolding them, but she couldn’t bear to be too harsh on them. So she thought to herself that as long as she was around, the day would always go on. Although she was proud of her longevity, she felt like for every day she lived, she was fighting against the heavens.
She was afraid. She was terrified. But it was already too late.
It wasn’t that people hadn’t expressed similar ideas but as she got older, the number of people who dared to say this to her gradually decreased. Either they died or they felt she wouldn’t heed them even if they said it. No one knew how much she wanted someone to tell her this.
“When I was young, I heard from Father Emperor that when my great-aunt was young, she was a reasonable person, who knew right from wrong. Great-aunt complained that Father Emperor did not want to see you. However, it’s not because he doesn’t want to face you but because he’s unwilling to break your heart. On one side is a respected elder. On the other is a hero who contributed meritorious service to the country. He can’t bear to hurt either person, so the vicious one could only be this grand-nephew. The words that were said earlier may have been rude and ugly, but they were from the heart. Hopefully, great-aunt can understand.”
Anqing Gongzhu was silent. Her expression showed hints of shock, enlightenment then reminiscence. All in all, she felt extremely complicated.
“Great-aunt, you must understand that you won’t always be there to protect and shield them. Why don’t you release your hold and let the younger generation fight for achievements on their own? Once the mutual affection is completely worn away, it’s impossible to restore it to the way it was. But with this mutual affection, as long as they conduct themselves properly, Father Emperor won’t treat them badly. What more, if cousin brothers gain some achievements in court, wouldn’t that reflect on you as well?”
“But—”
“Is great-aunt worried about being shamed for having the gongzhu manor moved? Actually, you really don’t need to worry about this. How could Father Emperor have the heart to take back the manor where you’ve lived your whole life? The environment outside the city is complicated and it isn’t a suitable place for you to live. This is why Father Emperor ordered people to choose a place in the suburbs where the birds sing and the flowers are fragrant. The gongzhu manor would also be built more spacious and sophisticated than the one here. As for the manor here, it’ll be kept for you. When you want to live in the capital you can stay here. When you want to live in the suburbs, you can live in the new manor. If cousin brothers have any specific place in mind for the new manor, benwang can bring it up to the emperor.”
Anqing Gongzhu was taken aback, then she sighed after a while. “The emperor is considerate.” She looked at Jin Wang again, her expression a bit complicated. “You as well.”
Jin Wang’s face reddened.
Once he left Anqing Gongzhu Manor and returned home, he went straight to Rongxi Courtyard.
Noticing the cold aura around him, Yaoniang wondered whether the negotiation had gone south. She started brainstorming ways to coax him so that he’d no longer be angry.
She inched over until she reached Jin Wang’s side, and pretended to clean up the Kang table in front of Jin Wang. Although it was obvious that the Kang table had already been tidied by Hong Chou and the others, she still moved around the teacups, as though it was a very important task.
She thought to herself, she couldn’t be too obvious lest he feels even worse. Right when she was wondering how she should bring it up, someone grabbed her around the waist and hauled her onto the Kang.
“How’d you know this would work?”
It worked? That means he did it!
Yaoniang smiled a little embarrassedly. “We’re both mothers. Although the gongzhu is a bit old, she’s still a mother. Children are the debts of their parents. The more children they have, the more debts they have.”
Seeing both Jin Wang and Xiaobao looking at herself, she explained to Xiaobao, “Mother doesn’t think of dear Xiaobao as a debt.” Then she said to Jin Wang: “This saying isn’t something I made up but a popular saying among the common people.”
After a pause, she continued, “No matter where under the heavens, talking to a mother about her children is the best way to move her heart. As long as it’s said in a genuine and non-exaggerated manner, it shouldn’t be too hard to sway her.”
Jin Wang had expanded along this line of thinking, before finally winning over Anqing Gongzhu.
No one’s a fool. Whether one was sincere or not, it’s not hard to tell. This was why the people from the Ministry of Works were kicked out every time. Their attitude had even provoked Anqing Gongzhu to the point that she vowed the only way the manor could be demolished would be over her dead body.
But it was also because of this that Jin Wang succeeded.
While Jin Wang and Yaoniang talked, Anqing Gongzhu was thinking quietly in her manor.
She thought for a long time. Once she finally thought through everything, she entered the palace with the dragon head staff.
This time, she was making the trip to give thanks.
It was said that after Anqing Gongzhu thanked Emperor Hongjing for his kindness, she started crying while confessing her mistakes. She also expressed how ashamed she felt for taking advantage of his generosity.
It was originally a pair of aunt and nephew sitting together and talking. But then it suddenly escalated to a scene of waterworks and heightened emotions. This wasn’t a problem. The main thing was that there were also several ministers present at the time.
These high-ranking officials witnessed the aunt and nephew performing a grand show of love and filial piety. At the same time, they lamented to themselves that an important contributor to the current situation mustn’t be neglected, Jin Wang.
