The Beloved Imperial Consort Chapter 4

The Hour of Hai¹. In the palace, the Sixth Prince’s study.

Zong Zheng Lin finished writing the memorial and walked slowly towards the window to watch the mottled shadows of the trees and the far-off sky, which appeared gloomy due to the impending rain. There were no stars shining, only large dark clouds. The air felt stuffy. 

Very good. It matched well with the scenery. A storm was approaching……

At a place nearby the table, Wei Zhen was quietly giving a report about the information gathered by secret guards². His gaze laid upon His Highness who stood upright with his hands behind his back. As His Highness didn’t interrupt him or ask any questions, he knew that His Highness had already made up his mind.

Zong Zheng Lin listened to Wei Zhen’s report while contemplating the situation in the imperial court. He felt the strong need to fall ill once the case with the Provincial Governor of Qingzhou was fully resolved, to avoid the impending storm. It made no sense to do all the Crown Prince’s work and then rush to become his shield. 

Although the Crown Prince had triumphed over the First Prince in the Qingzhou Case, neither of them was a pushover. The First Prince had lost this time only because he was set up. Any perceptive person could see who was standing behind Zong Zheng Lin’s back.

Given the First Prince’s, Zong Zheng Chun’s, temperament, he would certainly seek revenge by any means possible later on. The Crown Prince had too many dubious private matters. It was impossible to cover them all and escape unscathed.

Zong Zheng Lin wasn’t afraid of anyone’s intimidation. If the First Prince were to drop by to make a scene in a fit of rage, all the better. It would only demonstrate to the Yuanchen Emperor how much his dutiful son was wronged for carrying out the Crown Prince’s tasks.

However, it was necessary to instruct the spies planted in each residence to cease their actions for a while and just monitor.

After finishing matters in the study, the Chief Steward respectfully asked, “Would you like to take a rest in the inner yard, Your Highness?”

He certainly wasn’t fond of controlling His Highness’s inner yard affairs. His Highness had been away for half a month and upon arrival, he had rested in the study for two consecutive days. Her Ladyship Consort Shu had already revealed her dissatisfaction, speculating whether those two concubines were to her son’s liking or not.

When calling to mind those two, Consort Shu believed that she had chosen them exclusively for her son.

Lady Kong was pretty and physically attractive. Young men loved beauties and were more willing to be intimate with women possessing an enticing figures. As a consort-mother, she would be naturally glad to see that happen. At this moment, Consort Shu wasn’t worried the tiniest bit about her youngest son indulging in lustful desires, as Zhong Zheng Lin had shown admirable self-discipline and restraint since childhood. This content belongs to thehlifestyle.com, if you see this translation elsewhere, it’s been stolen!

On the contrary, Lady Wu was well-behaved and dutiful, with a voluptuous figure ideal for producing children. As a weak-willed person, it was unlikely for her to compete with Lady Kong, which would result in fewer misconducts in the inner yard. Such arrangements couldn’t be wrong. Yet, things didn’t go as Consort Shu planned. It made her puzzled. Was it possible that….her son’s taste had changed?

Alright, Your Ladyship. You’re a wise person to start worrying about your son’s preferences so soon. After all, if that person wasn’t special, your son wouldn’t have been fooled by demoness Mu Xi Yao. But these are all after stories.”

But Consort Shu didn’t know. She was still lost in her thoughts. With her son’s temperament, she wouldn’t be able to get anything from him. Eventually, she was at her wit’s end. Right now, she only looked forward to having a sweet pillow talk with the Emperor, asking him to grace her son with two good-looking maidens from respectable families. With more people around, someone would naturally attract Zong Zheng Lin’s attention.

After entering the palace several times to pay a visit, it was inevitable for someone as sharp as Zong Zheng Lin to detect Consort Shu’s intentions.

Consort Shu of Tian Clan was favored. Although she had two sons, her eldest son’s future prospects were ruined due to his ear condition. Most of the time she felt guilty about the Fourth Prince. Therefore, she showered him with great care, watching over him all the time. She spoilt and indulged him excessively as a way of compensation.

In the end, Consort Shu knew that all of her hopes were pinned on her younger son’s shoulders. As a result, she placed extraordinary importance on him, being both affectionate and strict with him. When Zong Zheng Lin reached the age of six, palace protocol required him to move to the prince’s quarter, and since then, any wind blow and grass stirring³ would alarm Consort Shu.

Next year, Zhong Zheng Lin would hold a coming-of-age ceremony. His grand wedding was not far away. After the wedding, he will establish his own household. However, his current temperament was a tad bit too cold. He had no interest in the inner yard. Since he was still residing in the palace, there was Consort Shu to make arrangements behind the shadows, so he would settle in his concubine’s chamber once in a while. But once he moved out and established his own residence, she would not be able to do anything. As this residence will have its righteous Princess Consort, Consort Shu won’t be able to freely meddle with her son’s inner courtyard affairs. By that time, if Princess Consort failed to win her son’s favor and let him remain indifferent, what was she going to do then?

The Imperial Family attached great importance to producing offspring, so much that…….the more Consort Shu thought, the more anxious she became. She even began to seriously scheme about her son’s marriage. Back then, when the Fourth Prince got married, she asked him about his wishes beforehand and only then bestowed him with the marriage to the one he was fond of.

Now it was the Sixth Prince’s turn to choose a consort. She needed to be carefully selected. This extraordinary woman must not become his hindrance. Consort Shu started to recall which maidens from prestigious and noble families in the capital could still catch up with the next selection.

Listening to Tian Fu Shan’s deliberate mention of the inner yard, Zong Zheng Lin assumed that it was Consort Shu’s idea. In the end, he was a filial son. Moreover, he had not entered the inner yard for a month. He couldn’t say that he was without any urges. After a moment of silence, he raised his foot and walked in the direction of the inner yard.

His steps were steady. Yet, whenever he thought about going to a concubine’s chamber, he felt a lack of interest. Remembering the usual manners of his two concubines, even the little urge he had gradually faded away.

Lady Kong’s powder scent was too heavy, making her seem extremely vulgar. Despite her enticing body, as soon as she spoke, she became very unlikable. Furthermore, her pretentiousness was offensive to him. 

The other concubine, Lady Wu, was even worse. Just the sight of her irritated Zong Zheng Ling. Even if someone were to beat her, she was unlikely to utter a word. She resembled a wooden pole when she stayed in her chamber. Furthermore, her personality was timid and fearful. Zong Zheng Ling, who was already indifferent, felt even less inclined to talk when he was put in the same room with Lady Wu.

Wei Zhen, who was following him, noticed the sudden cold air emitting from His Highness. It took him a moment to realize why. By the second gateway, he excused himself and withdrew. Judging from His Highness’s complexion, Wei Zhen could tell that he was unhappy.

Later, when his Master demanded water, Wei Zhen would need to return and prepare it. He assigned two guards by the doorway to carry out their night duties. After His Highness finished, they were to light the lamps.

In the end, Zong Zheng Lin still entered Lady Kong’s quarters.

As soon as he saw the people who came out to greet him at the door, the man’s face darkened. Lady Kong’s enticing figure was wasted on her; her foundation was too poor to sustain that graceful and alluring demeanor. Looking at the woman shaking like a leaf as she bowed and paid her respects in front of him made Zong Zheng Lin feel annoyed.

Suddenly, he recalled a graceful silhouette. However, he felt it was absurd and suppressed the strange feeling.

Upon entering the chamber, Zong Zheng Lin directly ordered: “Settle.”

He may as well not give Lady Kong any opportunity to annoy him.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Lady Kong replied in a high-pitched voice with seven twists and eight turns⁴.

Zong Zheng Lin was displeased. For the first time ever, he frowned.

Lady Kong felt wronged. Any sensible man ought to know that she was showing a discreet gentleness and extreme shyness! Yet, His Sixth Highness was as steady as Mount Tai, not reacting to her moves at all.

Since being bestowed to the Sixth Prince’s inner yard, this was the first time Lady Kong saw His Highness explicitly express his mood, let alone with a frown! It frightened her to the point her legs went weak. 

She quickly returned her voice to normal, not daring to speak again. She just went over and carefully helped him freshen up.

Lady Kong was aware that she wasn’t favored. She was already holding back a lot. On top of that, she was still unclear about His Highness’s preferences. She also felt mad!

There were only two women in the inner yard. She wasn’t favored, and Lady Wu was even less so. There was no way to vie for favor at all. If one was to vie for a favor, there needed to be some competition, right? But where did His Highness’s “love” lie? Without any example or ways to inquire, Lady Kong had no other choice but to carefully serve His Highness and secretly take notes of his moods

Lady Kong knew how to be tactful and engage in small talk, but the other party was someone of high rank and too powerful, making people fearful of him.

Zong Zheng Lin’s demeanor exuded a cold aura. No matter how many tricks had Lady Kong up her sleeve, she didn’t have the courage to use them. After both of them undressed, Lady Kong became completely prim and didn’t dare to move. Zong Zheng Lin, with a rigid face, turned to look at the woman’s body beneath him. There was no tenderness, only lust in his eyes. He then started to move, satiating his needs.

After slaking his lust, Zong Zheng Lin felt that it wasn’t as satisfying as when he got himself off. Lovemaking between men and women was unnecessary. As usual, he left the chamber without using any water and marched straight to his quarters in the front yard.

If Mu Xi Yao knew what Zong Zheng Lin was currently thinking, she would certainly cry out bitterly: Damn you, beast! Great Boss chooses his dish according to the one who serves it. He had a particular liking for ravishing her body with his insatiable appetite.

The following month, Zhong Zheng Lin reluctantly visited Lady Wu’s quarters once, but he had not entered the inner yard again afterward. 

The Chief Steward, Tian Fu Shan, was bewildered about how to report this to Consort Shu.

It was impossible for him to tell her that His Highness was indifferent by nature and that in this matter he was also indifferent. Usually, the ones attending to His Sixth Highness were all manservants. The only women that had served him closely were only those two new concubines. His Highness was used to having manservants as he wasn’t fond of female attendants. Consort Shu also didn’t force him on this matter. To this day, Zong Zheng Lin’s resting quarters were cleaned daily by Tian Fu Shan himself. Therefore, those soiled underpants obviously meant that his Master would rather relieve his needs by himself than have someone else attend to him.

This was a complicated matter. Either His Highness didn’t like women, or the women in the residence were not to His Highness’s liking.

Translator’s notes: 

[1] The hour of hai refers to 09-11 PM.

[2] Secret guards refer to guards that were oftentimes selected from orphans. They would undergo secret training after which they become responsible for the safety of their master, performing the assassination, surveillance, and other tasks under orders of their master.

[3] Wind blow and grass stirring is an idiom that means a sign of disturbance or problem.

[4] In seven twists and eight turns refers to an improper manner

List of TBIC Character

Relationship Diagram  (by Sith Kazar)