Chapter 101 – Qing Transmigration Tale (10)
Third Prince glanced at Fifth Prince. He was thirsty after eating peanuts. Five used his teacup to hold the peanuts. Four had taken his teacup to replace. He had just kept on eating dry peanuts, and he had not drank a sip of water. Did he feel good? Five looked like he had benefited so much. If not to fill the mouth, who wanted to eat the same thing over. He grabbed the cup that Si Ye had been turning around, and drained the tea inside. He then said to Five, “This older brother will gift you a cart of peanuts, and you can peel them at home.” Then he said to Si Ye, “Four, pour some water for your brother. So thirsty.”
Si Ye used the teapot and poured a cup for Third Prince.
Third Prince drank and then looked at Si Ye, saying, “Four, you are so clever. I was just thinking why you did not drink tea but held the cup and did not let go. You know that your older brother is thirsty, and not give me water to drink? Tell me, how can you be so bad?”
Si Ye looked innocently at Third Prince. “Third Brother, you think too much.”
“Never mind. Who does not know who,” Third Prince suddenly murmured.
The brothers all heard this, and they had their own thoughts. Who among the brothers did not know each other’s thoughts?
Eighth Prince was the most awkward, and felt that Third Prince was speaking to him.
After building up for a while, these older brothers all understood, especially Commandery Prince Zhi.
By the time the banquet officially started, Lin Yu Tong had lost thirty taels of silver.
Eldest Princess Consort said with a smile, “Fourth Sister-in-law has lost greatly.”
Lin Yu Tong said with a smile, “It is because of my poor skills. I wholeheartedly accept my losses.”
Just this bit of silver. Even if they won, who would take it away? They would just reward the servant girls and grannies serving in the room.
Eighth Princess Consort said, “Fourth Sister-in-law, you did not find a good helper. If the crown prince came, I fear you will only win.”
Such words were not pleasant to listen to.
She mocked Si Ye for following the crown prince and only knowing to curry favor with the crown prince. It also caused people to feel that people dared to win against Lin Yu Tong because Si Ye did not command the respect for people to let her win.
It was the same logic as playing cards with the servants, and the servants did not dare to win. If this was the crown princess, no one here would dare to win against her.
The words were unpleasant, but were true. However, when they were said so directly, seemed to intent to cause trouble.
Lin Yu Tong sighed inside. Who made it that Si Ye was not very eye-catching right now? Her status was not very different from the third, fifth, and seventh princess consorts. While Seventh Prince was a bit crippled, Kangxi paid the most attention to him because he did not fear arousing any discontent and speculation from other people. So Seventh Princess Consort lived with a lot of respect. There was no reason for people to be below others. Everyone had equal status, and they played based on skill. No one thought of the things involved.
Eighth Princess Consort was speaking of Lin Yu Tong, but this time, she offended the other three princess consorts at the same time. It was like the three were villains who only knew to curry favor.
What could Lin Yu Tong do? Could she truly start an argument for this? She pretended to not hear and said to Eldest Princess Consort, “Sister-in-law, what good things did you prepare today? Let’s taste it. It is rare to have a day of relaxation.” She completely ignored the other, and pretended the other had just gave a fart. She did not fear the other, but there was no reason to argue about this.
Eldest Princess Consort did not like people related to the crown prince, but in terms of hate, she would hate people like Eight who dug at other people’s walls. So she smiled and said, “Even if it is the delicacies of the sea and mountains, who would care? However, I invited two female storytellers. Everyone can be entertained, and laugh.”
“This is good!” Third Princess Consort smiled first. “Our ye supports a little troupe, but I don’t like to listen to them. They will squeal and squeak and not be able to finish singing a line in a long time.”
Tenth Princess Consort agreed with this. She came from Mongolia, and she had a hard time even with the Han language, much less listening to opera.
Everyone laughed, and got seated. No one responded to Eighth Princess Consort’s words.
Eighth Princess Consort immediately looked bad.
Lin Yu Tong sometimes would think that Eighth Prince and Eighth Princess Consort, this couple, felt a bit inferior inside. They seemed to always want to prove themselves.
Eighth Prince’s birth mother came from the state bondservants. The state bondservants were where the families of people who had committed great crimes went. This Wei-shi likely had such a history. The men of her family likely had all been executed. Such a woman was able to get close to the emperor. What had been involved likely was not simple. The palace was in reality very strict, and you could not meet the emperor if you wanted to. Wei-shi had been successful in getting close to the emperor. If she had not plotted this, then someone had helped her.
So her position had not been elevated all this time. Also, other than Eighth Prince, she never had other children.
This proved that Kangxi had something against her.
Because of the awkward status of his birth mother, this Eighth Prince may feel inferior inside, especially when compared to his brothers. He was kind to others because at the start, he had no political capital.
Now, he had dug the walls of the big brother he had followed all this time. In terms of character, he was lesser than others.
He lost in terms of loyalty.
Which superior liked people like this?
Eighth Princess Consort, her eniang had been a shu-daughter born from a princely lady of Commandery Prince An. Her a-ma had been executed. She grew up in Commandery Prince An’s establishment, but without any parent, she may not have lived well in the inner courtyard. One could say that she was living under another’s roof. She was able to become the eighth princess consort because Kangxi wanted to insert his sons into controlling the Eight Banners. Commandery Prince An was the leader of the Blue Banner.
In such a situation, the support that Commandery Prince An’s Establishment was able to give Eighth Princess Consort was limited.
She was more active than the other princess consorts, and she frequently invited the women of officials to her home, and made connections all over the place likely because she want to prove to Eighth Prince that he had not married the wrong person.
Lin Yu Tong thought of this, and spread her hands.
Eldest Princess Consort had prepared fruit wine. Tenth Princess Consort said that it was not very enjoyable, and switched for strong liquor.
Lin Yu Tong immediately frowned. She could not drink this. The people present likely all knew the original’s tolerance. She thought about pouring it into her pocket space, but then the tenth and fourteenth princess consorts were very fanatic. They would present it, and supervise from the side.
It was always the younger toasting the older. Eldest Princess Consort drank the most. Third Princess Consort and Lin Yu Tong drank about the same. Fifth Princess Consort cheated and dodged a bit, and did not drink much.
The liquor was very strong. When servants came to say that the men were going to leave, Lin Yu Tong swayed a bit when she suddenly stood up.
Si Ye was standing outside with his hands behind his back, talking with the third, fifth and seventh princes, waiting for their princess consorts to come out.
Third Prince first turned and because he saw that Third Princess Consort needed two people to support her because of her swaying, he muttered, “This group of women are so amazing. Us men have not gotten drunk, they have…… They are rebelling against the heavens……”
Fifth Prince’s relationship with his princess consort was ordinary. Today, Fifth Princess Consort was made brave by the alcohol. Seeing Fifth Prince come to welcome her, she did not even look and moved around him.
Si Ye saw that Lin Yu Tong was relatively normal. When she came close, he found that she had drank too much. Her eyes were teary, and she swayed when pulling his sleeve.
Si Ye’s heart trembled as she swayed and he helped her into the carriage. He thought of what had happened last night, and worried that this person would be drunk and cause an embarrassment in public.
Lin Yu Tong drank the water from the pocket space and felt better halfway. She was not completely drunk.
“In the future, I do not dare to drink,” Lin Yu Tong leaned on Si Ye’s shoulder and said.
Si Ye patted her back and said, “How come you drank?”
“It’s nothing! Before the meal, Eighth Sister-in-law said some inappropriate words,” Lin Yu Tong said with a smile, “Tenth Sister-in-law does not want people to feel that she is very close to Eighth Sister-in-law. Same with Fourteenth Sister-in-law. I see that Ninth Prince and Tenth Prince follow behind Eighth Prince, and they get together to make sure others see them, but in terms of sincerity, they may not be so. Eighth Prince has power, they will follow, but once……”
“You have to look at their brains. Are they able to outplot Eight? If Eight drags them into the water, it will be difficult for them to come on shore,” Si Ye said in a low voice.
Lin Yu Tong nodded. She had not thought of this. It seemed that her brains were not enough.
She heard Si Ye say, “Fourteen will not be able to grab onto Commandery Prince Zhi. Based on age, Commandery Prince Zhi is sixteen years older than Fourteen, and able to be his a-ma. Is it possible to have any relationship with him, so young? Only Eight does not refuse anyone. He wants to take benefits from Eight, and is not sincere with the other. He thinks the other is stupid? Do not mind him, let him just do it.”
Lin Yu Tong hummed in agreement, and was a bit muddled.
Returning home, Si Ye went to the front yard. Lin Yu Tong had a good sleep, and then felt better, even the tiredness of the past lightening.
Thinking that she had to hold a banquet the day after tomorrow, and they did not have any entertainment, she could not just sit there.
So she sent someone to call over the old granny. She drew a picture, and had people use wood to make some sets of mahjong.
In reality, mahjong existed right now, but they were very different from the modern mahjong. The pictures were different, even the number of tiles and the method of playing was different. Also, they were very small, just as long as a knuckle.
It was the modern mahjong the most fun to play.
The old granny watched for a while and said, “This is easy, have them work through the night, and they were be done tomorrow.”
Lin Yu Tong said with a smile, “If the others are rough, it is fine. Just make a fine set that I will have use for.”
In the end, when she looked the next day, there were nine full sets. She did not know had a kind of wood they were made from. They were very heavy, and the sound they made was very pleasing.
Lin Yu Tong first gave the simple playing method to Shi Liu. “You bring this today to deliver to the niangniang in the palace.”
This was a duty with a reward. Shi Liu joyfully agreed.
Yesterday, it had been Commandery Prince Zhi. Today, it was Third Beile. The new year was like this, visiting one family after the last.
In the palace, Consort De looked at the mahjong Lin Yu Tong had people deliver. She played twice and got addicted. She called for the noble ladies in the palace to play.
She had two sons, and her status in the palace was steady. Right now, even her grandsons were grown. She did not care about favor. She called these people here, and her money box was right there. She easily gave silver when she lost, and if she won, after the game, she would send some bolts of cloth as a reward, to repay what they had lost.
These noble ladies did not have children or favor. They had a hard time in the palace. They were happy to curry favor with Consort De.
Lin Yu Tong returned from Third Prince’s establishment and pulled Si Ye, Hong Hui and Hong Yun to teach them to play.
This was easy to learn, and after a few rounds, they all learned.
“You plan to have people play this tomorrow?” Si Ye asked.
Lin Yu Tong said with a smile, “What else to do? Give each person a bag of peanuts and have them peel?” Then she laughed.
Si Ye laughed as well. “It is very good. Then this.”
Hong Hui and Hong Yun had not reached the time they were interested in this. They played with these like toy blocks.
Si Ye sent the two children off to sleep. He looked at Lin Yu Tong. She was dressed in Han robes. In the past, he did not dare to imagine this. A white little shirt with golden flowers caused her chest to appear full. Her waist was slender. Her bell-like sleeves were edged in silver. She had a water green dress without any pattern. In the winter months, she dressed like this, able to control the color, and she did not look very weak and thin.
“What are you doing?” Si Ye saw a needle in Lin Yu Tong’s hand and asked.
“Making a robe for Hong Hui to wear for sleep. Right now, he is not wearing a belly cloth now, but he should take more care when sleeping at night,” Lin Yu Tong said.
“You should have the grannies order his sleep a long time ago,” Si Ye said in dissatisfaction.
This was more than required. Even the movements in sleep had to be regulated. Was this humane?
“You suffered, you want your children to suffer as well?” Lin Yu Tong said. “Also, sleep is a private matter. Other people cannot know. Is Ye so orderly in his sleep?”
Si Ye thought of the two of them rolled up together at night.
The two talked and laughed for a while, the topic moving far away.
The next day, Lin Yu Tong woke up early. She saw the people prepare, and went to the kitchen herself to see how the food was being prepared.
Si Ye and Lin Yu Tong only personally welcomed Commandery Prince Zhi and his wife, and the Third Prince and his wife. The rest Si Ye left up to his retainers.
When there were enough people, Lin Yu Tong took out the mahjong. There were some servant girls there to show them how to play.
Si Ye was in the front, and started a table with Commandery Prince Zhi, Third Prince, and Fifth Prince. This was so perfect. When they wanted to talk, they could talk when they wanted to. But if they did not want to speak, people could focus completely on this, and let other people’s words pass through one ear and out the other.
Commandery Prince Zhi played two rounds and smiled at Third and Fifth Prince. “Four is so cunning. He hides such a good thing and does not share.”
Si Ye stared at the cards in his hand and after a moment, said, “It is this brother’s fault. This brother thought that Big Brother was busy, and did not dare to bring it out?”
Commandery Prince Zhi played a blank tile and said, “You are not idle as well? What good job did your crown prince brother give you?”
Fifth Prince, sitting opposite him, silently took the blank tile.
Si Ye was sitting below Fifth Prince and he took a card again, saying, “A job from Khan A-ma. This brother did not know that the crown prince had said something.”
Then he played an eastern wind.
Fifth Prince took that as well. It was once again Si Ye’s turn to take a tile.
Third Prince was sitting opposite Si Ye, and after Commandery Prince Zhi. Even now, he had not touched a tile. These people were so dislikeable. “Five, can you wait for your brother to touch a tile before you take?”
Commandery Prince Zhi opposite played a ten thousand. Fifth Prince looked innocently at Third Prince, and put down his tiles. He asked Si Ye uncertainly, “Fourth Brother, is this a winning hand?”
Third Prince looked first. It truly was.
Dang, he had not even touched a tile, and immediately lost five taels of silver. Commandery Prince Zhi was the house, and lost ten taels.
“Does not count! Does not count!” Commandery Prince Zhi rolled his sleeves up. “Just now was a try. We start again now.”
Third Prince and Si Ye said, “It originally was just a try.”
Fifth Prince’s face fell. They were his brothers? They would cheat him of a few silver? He was the youngest at the table and had no one to complain to.
Coincidentally, Nine came with Eight and Ten. He used Nine to replace him. “You play here. Have Fourth Brother teach you. I will teach Eighth Brother and Tenth Brother.” If he changed tables, he would be the older brother, and he would be able to cheat his brothers.
- Grafting Life Chapter 100 – Qing Transmigration Tale (9)
- Grafting Life Chapter 102 – Qing Transmigration Tale (11)
- Grafting Life Chapter 103 – Qing Transmigration Tale (12)
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