Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The Duke frowned and went straight to Furong Garden.
In the Furong Garden, Mu Qiangian was gently rouging her lips with a piece of lipstick paper.
The mammy on the side said, “Madam, the Duke is back. You said that this child is his. How can he acknowledge this child as his?”
‘Mu Qiangian said, “He will.”
‘When the Duke entered the room, he saw Mu Qiangian who was very thin.
‘Mu Qiangian was from Yunzhou in the Southwest. Her father was involved in the illicit salt dealings not long ago. All the men in her family were executed and all the women in her family were demoted to official prostitutes.
‘Mu Qiangian’s elder brother was the Duke’s friend, so when he saw his sister became an official prostitute in Chang’an, he helped redeem her.1
It happened that the Duchess wanted to marry Ruoyi to Zheng Bo, so the Duke wanted to use Mu Qiangian to show his dissatisfaction to the Duchess.
But he had never touched her, so how could she be pregnant with his child?
Concerning the time, Mu Qiangian should have already been pregnant when she was still in the Mu family, so this child had nothing to do with him.
Seeing Duke Anyuan, Mu Qiangian saluted and said, “Your Excellency, please forgive me for being rude. My unbor child is the only offspring of the Mu family. Since you and my brother are sworn brothers, please acknowledge this child as yours for the sake of my brother!”
Duke Anyuan coldly glanced at Mu Qiangian’s lower abdomen and said, “Miss Mu, I redeemed you just because I can’t bear to see my friend’s sister be driven to prostitution, but you shouldn’t have gone to provoke my wife. Do you know my wife almost had a miscarriage because of you?”
‘Mu Qiangian was a bit stunned. Was the information she got about the Duke wrong?
His Highness said that the Duke didn’t like the Duchess and only loved his Concubine Qian.
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So when Mu Qiangian saw Duke Anyuan, she deliberately imitated Concubine Qian. She had thought the Duke liked her. Otherwise, he would not have brought her to the Duke Mansion.
Duke Anyuan said, “No matter who is the child’s father, you can’t stay in the Duke Mansion anymore. I’ve redeemed you, so you’re free now. It’s up to you whether you want to go back to the Southwest or stay in Chang’an.”
With that, he ordered mammies to pack up Mu Qiangian’s belongings.
‘Mu Qiangian panicked. Why didn’t the Duke fall for her? Why was it different from what she expected?
Now how would she explain to His Highness?
Qiao Jinniang was a little helpless when she heard that Duke Anyuan ordered Miss Qianqian to leave the Duke Mansion.
Because her mother would definitely hesitate again.
Yuyan said, “I heard the Duke’s servant explaining to Madam that the Duke had never touched Miss Qianqian.
“He was just angry that Madam had wanted to marry Miss Ruoyi to Zheng Bo.”
Qiao Jinniang snorted coldly. “So he used Mu Qiangian to piss Mom off?
“Mom is wrong about Ruoyi’s matter indeed, but how could Father deliberately infuriate Mother with another woman?”
Hongling combed Qiao Jinniang’s hair and said, “Miss, you may not know but that’s the way the Duke and Madam get along.
“Their relationship is not as bad as rumored.
“Whenever the two of them had a fight, the Duke would go to Concubine Qian, and Madam would be more disappointed with the Duke, thinking that Concubine Qian was his true love.
“However, the Zheng family would persuade Madam to regain the favor of the Duke, and Madam could only surrender reluctantly.
“As this process repeated over and over again, the misunderstanding between the two deepened, and their relationship worsened.
“In fact, if the Duke didn’t like Madam, why would he enter her yard?
“Moreover, since Miss Ruoyi’s mother gave birth to her, the Duke had never set foot in her yard again.”
Qiao Jinniang chose a gem necklace to put on and said, “That’s sick. If Father really loves Mom, how could he use another woman to deliberately piss her off and even ask the Zheng family to force Mom to submit to him?”
If Lu Chen dared to do this to her, she would never forgive him.
Fulu, who was sitting on the side and waiting for Qiao Jinniang to dress up, said, “Exactly, my father will never do this to my mother. When they have a fight, they will just vent their anger on me, alas!”
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Qiao Jinniang got up and said, “Okay, Princess, let’s go to see the house.”
Even if the Duchess didn’t divorce, Qiao Jinniang still wanted to have her own house in Chang’an.
It would be better if she could dig a tunnel from her house straight to the East Palace, but Lu Chen probably would not agree.
Fulu’s Princess Mansion was located opposite the Mansion of Princess Shou’an, which was very close to the imperial palace. Several Princess Mansions were located here, and each was more luxurious than the other.
Fulu said, “This mansion was built when I was a child.
“However, I have been living in my mother’s Princess Mansion, so I just use this Princess Mansion to entertain guests occasionally.”
Qiao Jinniang looked at the huge mansion and asked Fulu, “Are you willing to sell it to me?”
Fulu said, “Yes, after I sell it to you, I can ask my imperial uncle for a better one.”
Qiao Jinniang: “…”
‘The Princess Mansion was well-furnished and had a very beautiful view, and the yard was simply huge.
And it was large enough to accommodate Huixiang and the others.
Although they could live in the restaurant, it was too crowded.
After receiving the silver note, Fulu enthusiastically invited Qiao Jinniang to be a guest in her mother’s Princess Mansion.
This was the first time Qiao Jinniang came to Princess Shou’an’s Mansion.
As Princess Shou’an was His Majesty’s biological sister, her mansion was even no worse than the East Palace.
‘When they entered the mansion, they saw a couple embracing each other by the lake. The woman was beautiful, and the man looked a bit like Fulu.
“Father, Mother.”
Qiao Jinniang went over and saluted. “Princess, Prince Consort.”
Princess Shou’an said, “Arise. We will be family soon. Just call me Auntie.”
Qiao Jinniang blushed slightly and said, “Auntie.”
Fulu said, “Mother, I sold my unsalable Princess Mansion next door to Jinniang for a total of 100,000 taels of silver!”
Princess Shou’an tapped Fulu’s head. “Hand over the silver note. As a child, you can’t have so much money with you.”
Fulu snorted. “I’m not a child. Qin Miaomiao is about to get married, and Jinniang is only two years older than me, but her son has already been able to recite Historical Records.
“Why do you always treat me as a child? Jinniang can spend 100,000 taels of silver at will, why can’t I?”
Princess Shou’an said, “If you are as smart as Qin Miaomiao and Jinniang, you can take as much money as you like.
“Ljust don’t want you to waste your money. Don’t worry, this will be your dowry in the future.”
The Prince Consort asked, “Miaomiao is about to get married, but you don’t even have a young man to propose to you, alas!”
Princess Shou’an also looked distressed and said, “There are many good young men in Chang’an. Why are none of them interested in Fulu?”
Fulu snorted. “That’s because they know they are not good enough for me, so they dare not come to propose to me.”
‘When Qiao Jinniang saw the three of the family talking happily, she was really envious.
“Princess is so cute. She will definitely find a good husband.”
Fulu said, “Exactly. If no man proposes to me, I’ll be Jinniang’s sister-in-law!”
Princess Shou’an said, “Oh, come on, spare Qiao Lu. He’ll be the next Duke Anyuan.”
“But I’ma princess. Am I not worthy of him? It’s not bad to be Jinniang’s sister-in-law. Mother-in-law is soft-tempered, Father-in-law is powerful, and Brother-in-law is still young, so don’t have to deal with Brother-in-law’s wife…”
“And Qiao Lu is only one year younger than me..”
