allonlinenovel Chapter 131 Ye Shiqing's Plans
Chapter 131 Ye Shiqing's Plans
Ye Shiqing was especially happy today. Everyone came to the Crown Prince's residence to celebrate her son Wenhan's one-month birthday and brought many gifts. She was also dressed up very beautifully today, which made all the sisters in the residence envious. Although they had also given birth to children, none of them had given birth to an eldest son. Apart from the future Crown Princess's legitimate son, no one's child could compare with hers.
After returning to her room, she gently sat down at the table and turned her gaze to the two exquisite jade pendants placed there. The first to catch her eye was the pendant bestowed by the Emperor. It was meticulously carved from the finest Hetian jade, its color warm and pure white, as smooth and delicate as mutton fat. Upon closer inspection, one could see a majestic tiger carved on the pendant, striving to climb a mountain peak. Just as it was about to reach the summit, it suddenly turned its head, its eyes wide open and fangs bared, displaying the majesty and domineering presence of royalty.
Then, she picked up the jade pendant given to her by the Seventh Prince. It was said that this jade pendant was a precious gift from the Emperor to the Seventh Prince, a piece of jade of extremely high quality. The pendant was carved with a lifelike carp, leaping over the Dragon Gate, as if it would transform into a dragon at any moment. Its lines were smooth and natural, every detail meticulously crafted, imbued with a beautiful meaning.
These two jade pendants alone were already quite valuable, even enough to equal her entire dowry when she got married. Not to mention the generous gifts from the various families who came to congratulate her, including precious gold and silver jewelry, exquisite jade ornaments, and rare treasures such as calligraphy and paintings by famous artists. Faced with such wealth, Ye Shiqing couldn't help but feel a surge of joy, thinking to herself, "I'm really rich now!"
She gently waved her hand, signaling the wet nurse to carefully take the child aside and soothe him. Then, she sat up slightly and turned her gaze back to the long gift list from earlier that day. The list was astonishingly long, several meters long, densely filled with various precious gifts and congratulatory messages.
Just as she was about to examine the gift list more closely, she suddenly heard a series of light but hurried footsteps approaching. Then, a figure appeared at the doorway—it was the head eunuch of the household. This head eunuch always obeyed only the Crown Prince's orders and held a very high position in the household; therefore, even she, as a concubine, dared not easily offend him.
The head eunuch strode confidently to her, bowed deeply, and said in his slightly hoarse yet authoritative voice, "Consort Ye, His Highness the Crown Prince has specifically ordered me to organize the gift list for Wenhan's grandson's full-moon celebration and to collect the two jade pendants to be stored in a separate storeroom. I hope Your Highness will understand." Before he finished speaking, the head eunuch had already gathered all the gifts, the gift list, and the two exquisite jade pendants from the table into his robes. After doing so, he bowed to Consort Ye again, took his leave, and hurriedly departed, leaving Consort Ye staring at the empty table, a sense of loss and helplessness welling up within her.
Ye Shiqing's anger burned fiercely, almost bursting forth, but reason told her that she absolutely could not act rashly at this moment. After all, she had only returned to the palace a few days ago, and the Emperor and all the ministers were present today. If she were to act rashly, not only would no one care about her anger, but she might also bring unnecessary trouble upon herself. Thinking of this, Ye Shiqing gritted her teeth and squeezed out, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Eunuch!" With that, she could only watch helplessly as the head eunuch led the numerous precious gifts away into the distance.
Ye Shiqing was filled with resentment and had nowhere to vent it. She really wanted to smash everything around her to pieces. However, looking around, she realized that all these items belonged to her, and each one was quite valuable, making it impossible for her to bring herself to destroy them. In the end, she sighed helplessly and had to abandon the idea with resentment.
Then, Ye Shiqing turned to look at her son. The small figure stood to the side, obedient and quiet. The thought that this child would be her son in the future, and that he would inevitably obey her every word, and that everything he possessed came from her, calmed Ye Shiqing's mood a little, as if she had found some comfort.
Wenhan seemed oblivious to everything. He slept soundly in his wet nurse's arms, occasionally a slight smile playing on his lips, even appearing content. Little did he know that this act of impersonating the eldest son of the crown prince would change the course of his life forever.
Ye Shiqing was happily making her plans, but things didn't go as expected, and her scheme ultimately failed. However, this didn't make her feel frustrated or disappointed; on the contrary, she was secretly delighted. After all, apart from the Crown Prince and the shrewd steward, no one else knew that the enormous wealth had been quietly locked away separately. In this way, even if the plan failed, she could still hold her head high and be smug in the Prince's mansion.
Thinking this, Ye Shiqing decided to dress up carefully to dispel the gloom in her heart caused by her thwarted plans. She slowly rose, moved to the dressing table, and began to meticulously groom herself in front of the bronze mirror. She gently combed her cascading long hair, tying it into an exquisite bun and inserting a dazzling gold hairpin. Then, she carefully drew her eyebrows and applied rouge, striving to present her most charming self.
Just as Ye Shiqing was focused on her makeup, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching. She looked up and saw the Seventh Prince walking slowly towards her. She hadn't seen Ye Qingchen today, but she unexpectedly saw the previously sickly Seventh Prince. He now seemed to have fully recovered; his once pale and bloodless skin now had a healthy rosy glow, showing no signs of illness.
Looking at the radiant Seventh Prince, Ye Shiqing couldn't help but feel envious. Especially when she thought of Ye Qingchen's husband, a devoted and faithful man who would only ever marry her, this envy transformed into deep jealousy. In contrast, her own husband, whom she had painstakingly sought, not only had a harem of wives and concubines but also numerous children. If things continued this way, even more concubines would likely enter the household, and the number of offspring would only increase. Thinking of this, Ye Shiqing was filled with regret, regretting that she hadn't chosen to marry this seemingly frail but actually deeply devoted Seventh Prince. Ye Qingchen was truly blessed!