Chapter 220 - Childhood Sweethearts

When Tong Yingying heard about the ‘Equal Wife’ matter, she was shocked. The Crown Prince was so stupid! How could he push the Zhou family, who was loyal to him, to Prince Huai?!

Tong Yingying didn’t think about choosing Prince Huai. Prince Huai’s mother was already dead. Although he had the Empress Dowager to help him, he was probably the next Prince Mediocre.

Tong Yingying set her sights on Prince Chu. Consort Chu had a soft and weak personality, and Prince Chu was infatuated with art and literature. Tong Yingying would often see Prince Chu in the gatherings of literati.

When Prince Huai married Li Lingling, they didn’t have a grand wedding. And this time, because time was too limited, the wedding was also hastily arranged.

The guests had just been to the Zhou Mansion to attend Zhou Sisi’s wedding, and only a few days later, they came to the Prince Huai Mansion to attend another wedding of hers.

When Qiao Jinniang met Prince Chu and Prince Qi, she somehow felt that they looked at her in a very strange way.

Lu Chen stood in front of Qiao Jinniang and said, “Brothers, do you have any problem with the Crown Princess?”

Prince Qi said, “How dare I? I just want to thank the Crown Princess for giving very valuable advice to my wife. After listening to her advice, my wife has driven away all my concubines, which saved me a lot of money!”

Qiao Jinniang pretended not to understand what he meant. “You’re welcome. This is what I should do. Only when Brother and Sister-in-law are harmonious can our Lu family be prosperous and can our country get better and better.”

Prince Qi: “…”

Where did his younger brother find this shameless woman? Couldn’t she get that he was mocking her?!

“Brother.” Lu Chen looked at Prince Qi unhappily.

Prince Qi was frightened. He didn’t blurt out what he thought just now, did he? He hurriedly said, “What can I do for you, Your Royal Highness?”

“You’ve been looking at the Crown Princess for too long!” Lu Chen frowned.

Prince Qi: “…”

In Prince Huai’s mansion, although the male and female guests were not separated, the female guests stayed in twos and threes.

As the Crown Princess, Qiao Jinniang was surrounded by a lot of people. Qiao Jinniang asked Consort Qi, “Sister-in-law, did you drive away all Brother’s concubines?”

Consort Qi said firmly, “After listening to your kind advice that day, I felt that what you said made a great deal of sense. Among all the princes, only my husband is the most useless. It must be because he had too many concubines.

“So I reported it to Mother, and she also thought those words made sense and allowed me to send away those women.

“Prince Qi will not be allowed to take any concubines until he gets on the right path!”

In the front yard, Prince Qi in was drunk and cried to Lu Chen, “Brother, although I had once coveted the throne, I never did anything about it, and after you came back, I don’t even dare to covet it!

“Can’t I just be a dandy, listening to my concubines singing and dancing all day long? But that tigress, instigated by the Crown Princess, actually drove all my beauties away!

“She even forced me to study! I don’t want the throne. Why should I learn these things?!”

Lu Chen looked with disgust at the snot and tears his brother left on his clothes. “Brother, you’re a prince after all. You should study something so as to share some of the burden for Father.”

Prince Qi said drunkenly, “I’m not going to learn those things. I haven’t liked them since I was a child. Only Eldest Brother and Prince Mediocre liked these things. I just want my beauties!”

Prince Chu was not drunk. Seeing that Lu Chen was in a good mood, he asked, “Your Royal Highness, you really love the Crown Princess! But she won’t be the only woman you marry, will she?”

“The Crown Princess is my sister-in-law after all. It’s not right for her to instigate Consort Qi and my wife to send away all our concubines, right?”

Lu Chen glanced at Prince Chu and said, “What’s not right? It’s been nearly ten years since you and Sister-in-law got married.

“If you treated Sister-in-law kindly, how could she send away all your concubines just because of a few words of Jinniang?”

Prince Chu: “…”

“Your Highness, there is a young scholar asking to meet you outside, saying that she has found the Plum and Snow Painting you’ve been looking for.” A servant reported to Prince Chu.

Hearing this, Prince Chu got up and went outside only to see Tong Yingying who was wearing a loose white robe. Tong Yingying saluted Prince Chu. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Prince Chu’s impression of Tong Yingying was very good, but after she was discovered to have falsely taken others’ credits, Prince Chu no longer admired Tong Yingying as much as those literati anymore.

However, he didn’t want to be too rude to a woman many years younger than him.

“Do you have the Plum and Snow Painting?”

Tong Yingying presented him a painting drawing a woman partly exposing her shoulders. Then she hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, Your Highness. I think I took the wrong painting.”

Prince Chu was a little tempted. Tong Yingying had been crazily extolled by those literati, and she was literally their goddess.

But now she was obviously seducing him, which made Prince Chu a little complacent.

When Prince Chu was about to look at Tong Yingying in the painting, suddenly the face of the women in the painting seemed to become his consort’s.

Consort Chu didn’t drive out all his concubines like Consort Qi did, but all his concubines and servants were on her side now.

Now Prince Chu didn’t even have the slightest say at home. He threatened to divorce Consort Qi, but she was not afraid at all.

If he took Tong Yingying as his concubine, he would be even more isolated at home!

Forget it!

Hell with the goddess Tong Yingying. Marrying her as his concubine would only make his life even harder.

Prince Chu put on a straight face and said coldly, “What the hell is this painting?! Take it away. I just want the Plum and Snow Painting!”

Tong Yingying looked at Prince Chu in disbelief. She had always been the literati’s goddess. Since when did even the artsy Prince Chu look down on her?

...

Li Lingling forced a smile to entertain the guests.

Seeing Qiao Jinniang talking and laughing with Consort Qi and Consort Chu, she was instantly annoyed. She was a consort too. Why did she have to accept the appearance of another Consort Huai?

Fulu walked up to Qiao Jinniang and said, “I heard about what Zhou Sisi has done. Is she really retarded or is she faking it?”

“I don’t know, but she is your sister-in-law now.” Qiao Jinniang smiled.

Fulu sighed and said, “In fact, I kinda understand why she did so many crazy things. Imperial Cousin was very kind to her when he was young. When we were young, every time we were playing together, the boys always doted on her as if she was a real princess, which made me really jealous.”

Qiao Jinniang said, “Oh? How did he dote on Zhou Sisi?”

Fulu said, “He would give Zhou Sisi whatever she wanted. If Zhou Sisi was too tired to walk, he would carry her on her back. Everyone knew they were childhood sweethearts. If Zhou Sisi hadn’t become retarded later, she would have been the crown princess.”

Consort Chu had been winking at Fulu, but she seemed to be blind today.

And Consort Qi also said obliviously, “Yes, His Royal Highness was very good to Zhou Sisi when he was young, and whenever he had something he liked to play with or eat, he would save a portion for Zhou Sisi.

“If I were Zhou Sisi, I might also want to marry a cousin who treats me so well even if I’m retarded.”