Fei Pin Ying Qiang Volume 1 Chapter 18 Part2

The current emperor was the prior emperor's only legitimate son. The current emperor's closest uncles and their households had been reduced to civilians. As such, there were only distant members of the imperial line left. The closest relative of the imperial line's side branch was Prince Li. Back then, Li Chen's great-grandfather did not favor him, nor did Prince Li have ambition. Nowadays, he supervised Zongzheng Temple.　　

Of those members of the imperial clan that still remained were the prince consorts of the princesses and the n.o.ble relatives with t.i.tles that decreased in power every generation. For example, Marquis Jingchuan, Li Su. His ancestors settled in Jiangnan. In the past, the head of the household was a first-ranked prince. Now they were a marquis household. Perhaps Jiangnan truly was a place that supported people well, for Li Su was full and round. His first two sons were like as Li Yue had described: fat and pale. When the whole family gathered, Li Yue looked like he had been adopted.  　　

Li Yue did not know that his father would personally arrive at the capital. His face showcased his awkwardness. Li Su was extremely fat and did not throw a fuss at him. Rather, his brothers surrounded him and blasted him with questions, mostly about the circ.u.mstances in the capital.

Marquis Jingchuan was wealthy. They had a mansion in the capital. But Li Yue was unwilling to move there, preferring to stay at Prince Chun's estate. Li Su always used to nag him about it until his ears rang. This time, whether it was because his father was annoyed at him, Li Su did not ask Li Yue to stay at their mansion.　

Once Li Chen arrived at the emperor's main chamber, the emperor directly gestured him over. He flashed Li Chen a smile. "Previously, the people from your estate had reported that We received an additional granddaughter."

The people around Li Chen all congratulated him. The only imperial granddaughters came from Prince Chun's estate. Prince Jing said, "Second Brother is fortunate. I only have two naughty sons." 　　

Li Chen smiled. "Elder Brother is still young. There will still be a chance for more children."

One hand tugging his beard softly, the emperor broke into another smile. "This child was born on the first day of the lunar new year. At the start of the new year is when the whole family reunites. Good. We will bestow her a name. 'Chu,' meaning first."

Li Chen knelt on the floor. He respectfully said, "Son-Official thanks Your Majesty for the bestowment of a name."

Li Chen's second daughter Chu'er was Prince Chun's legitimate daughter. In the future, she would be a Princess of the Third Rank¹. And as such, the imperial palace would spare no effort in rewarding her. Once Li Chen returned to his estate, the infant had already been washed and clothed, soundly asleep.　

Li Chen took in the image of the infant, spending a while as he did so. Then went to see Qi Niqun.

Her exhaustion was apparent. She forced herself to speak with Li Chen. 

"This child was born at a good time," Li Chen said. "Imperial Father immediately bestowed her a name. It is indeed fortunate."

Yet, Qi Niqun felt sour in her heart. Found the situation hard to endure. She forced a smile. "This concubine thanks His Majesty for his grace."

"Go and rest. There's no need to waste energy mulling over the possibilities." Li Chen helped pull the covers over her body, instructed people to take care of her. Before he left, he said, "The princess consort should not think too much."

Shock crashed into Qi Niqun's form, hard and forceful like a tidal wave. Even after Li Chen had left, she continued to hold in her unwillingness in accepting her situation, biting her lips until nearly drawing blood.

…Why was it a daughter? How could it have been a daughter?!

The earliest she could give birth to another child was one and a half years from now. But the prince's eldest son would be four to five years old by then! And there was also Consort Wei… If she gave birth to a son…

Originally Qi Niqun had thought she was superior to Princess Consort Jing, Miss She. But now, she no longer felt this way. Only after giving birth to a son could one be considered superior. 

Thinking about how Consort Ji and Consort Wei would come congratulate her tomorrow, Qi Niqun felt a headache grow.　　

Qi Yunruo's management of the estate had come to an end. The servants in Lakeside View House were downcast. Those who supervised the servants in the estate had a good eye on people. Whoever managed the estate would be treated well. However, their master of Lakeside View House was not considered a true master. Even the people who serviced him had low status. In the future, who would put him in their eyes?　　

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That said, Qi Yunruo acted as if he were ignorant of this fact. Even though he had to return the stewardship, he seriously looked after the accounts so that there would be no mistakes. On the third day after the child's birth, the Day of Cleanse², the estate received a lot of gifts. Qi Yunruo spent every day recording the gifts sent for the second young miss of the household, and the tonics and medicines meant for Qi Niqun.

Because of the war, Li Chen chose not to rest. He went to the Ministry of Revenue every day, returning home with a frown each time. The people who attended by his side, such as Su Ge and Fengyuan, remained silent.　　

Once, when Qi Yunruo had went to look for Fengyuan, he saw that the other's face was dark to the point of frightening. Eye bright with curiosity, he asked, "In the past when His Highness was angry, was he like this?"

"Sometimes, His Highness would go find Young Master Ji Huan for a chat," Fengyuan softly said.

To which Qi Yunruo smiled yet did not speak.

In March, the Imperial Examinations would begin. I wonder if Brother Ji has prepared enough for it?

One month after Prince Chun's legitimate daughter, Young Miss Chu, was born, news struck the capital. Due to General Si De's recalcitrance, General Situ Xu had perished on the battlefield. The battle at the border had been lost.　　

The emperor was furious after reading the report. Situ Xu brought 100,000 troops to support Si De's 120,000 troops. The two did not get along from the start. Although Situ Xu had an imperial edict, Si De had been stationed at the border for many years. For the past few months, they could not agree with one another on many matters. Then Situ Xu decided to attack the Qiang people. But Si De felt it wasn't a good idea. Therefore, Situ Yu went to lead his troops to battle on his own, lost tens of thousands of men and steeds, and lost his own life.

Situ Xu had attacked rashly, but Si De was late in providing support. If it weren't for the fact that it would be inappropriate to replace the general in charge of the border battle, the emperor would have recalled Si De for punishment.

Count Ziyang, Qi Suxiao, and General Huwei, Zhao Wei, both asked for permission to lead troops to battle. However, the emperor hesitated. He could not make a decision at the moment.

Meanwhile Qi Yunruo had just arrived at Winter Plum Courtyard to return the stewardship to Qi Niqun.

As Qi Yunruo spoke, Qi Niqun listened. They did not express their emotions at the slightest.

"…It must have been hard on Third Brother to work so diligently for the estate for so long. Thank goodness you were here, or else I would not have felt relieved." 

Qi Yunruo placed down the ledgers and the detailed catalogue of the gifts received and sent by the estate, the notes of things he learned along the way, and the instances of reward and punishment in the estate these past few months. Everything was recorded clearly and with ample detail. Even Qi Niqun couldn't help but praise him after reading it. However, she mocked him in her heart. Why did he work so seriously? He wasn't even a master of the estate. After offending so many people, who would remember the good things he had done?

After Qi Niqun took back the stewardship, the first thing she did was to reward everyone handsomely. From the concubines, the supervisors of the servants, to the servants, everyone received something. All at once, everyone praised her. That compared to the princess consort, Consort Ji had been cheap and frugal. Moreover, that the previous steward, Qi Yunruo, was rigorous and demanding. He himself was already impoverished. What could he even use to reward others?

The people in the forecourt, especially those of Ink Lotus Courtyard, also received rewards from Qi Niqun. In fact, Su Ge and the others were summoned to her residence so she could personally reward them. "You few attend to His Highness," said Qi Niqun. "Compared to others, you've worked harder. These past few months must have been tough for you."

Su Ge smiled. "We do not dare accept Your Highness, the princess consort's praise. We are originally slaves. To service the master is our duty. It is not something we should be rewarded for."

"Eunuch Su Ge is too modest."

Su Ge's heart was not so easily swayed. He refused the reward many times before finally receiving Qi Niqun's eight gold ingots and a jade medallion.

Naturally, Lakeside View House's servants were not dragged down by others. Qi Yunruo sat at a desk, fingers brushing along the bracelet Qi Niqun had rewarded him, not a word escaping his lips. 

It was made of silver, gourd vines engraved into its surface, representing good fortune and wealth. It came in a brocade box and Granny Song had personally delivered it. 

The bracelet was identical to the one given to Concubine Ying. Granny Song smiled.

As Granny Song made to leave, she paused in her steps. Then slowly, she said, "Unlike some people, that Concubine Ying still has a rank." The door shut behind her.

Qi Yunruo carefully placed the bracelet back into its box.

He left the house. Stared at the lake's surface. The ice was melting. Where the sun hit the hardest lay exposed, revealing the frigid waters beneath.

Qi Yunruo gazed in the direction in which the lake water spread, following it, until it could no longer be seen.

Alright, huge announcement guys. FPYQ will be moving to Chrysanthemum Garden. However, chapters 1-18 will stay here on my blog. Chapter 19 and onward will be hosted on Chrysanthemum Garden, and will be up on Sat.u.r.day October 19, 2019. By doing so, I hope to reach more people and share this wonderful novel with a larger audience.

Regarding the Patreon poll, here's what I've decided: I will open up a Patreon for donations and keep the sponsor chapter system on ko-fi/paypal. You can decide whether you want to pledge as a general donation or toward the sponsor chapter progress. Just be sure to message me on my contact page with your Patreon name and the project if that's the case. The donation will be toward the coming month (Since Patreon charges the patrons at the first of the month and I won't count the amount unless I actually have it on hand.)

If I manage to get a certain amount of patrons, then I might switch to an advanced chapter system. But for now, we're going with this.

Anyway, enough with the announcements. Next chapter, we'll get to see something good. How good? It made me squeal in my chair hahaha.

If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a like or a comment below, or on NU ?

Princess of the Third Rank: (郡主) Jùnzhǔ. From Wikipedia– translated as “Princess of a Commandery” or “Princess of the Third Rank”. It was usually granted to the daughter of a qinw.a.n.g, or a Prince of the First Rank. Day of Cleanse: (洗三那日) The third day after a baby is born in ancient China, they would bathe the baby a lot. All of the relatives would come to send gifts and give auspicious remarks to the baby.