Chapter 48 - Gigolos

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Although Emperor Huilin maintained his royal manners, his chopsticks moved obviously much faster, but he didn’t forget to feed Queen Zhou with fish.

Qiao Jinniang watched from the side. It was said the Emperor and the Queen loved each other very much, and now it seemed to be true.

The Queen couldn’t help but praise, “Miss Qiao is really good at cooking. Chen’er is lucky.”

Qiao Jinniang bowed her head, twisted the handkerchief in her hands in embarrassment, and thought for a while.

At the risk of being beheaded, she knelt down and said,

“Your Majesties, His Royal Highness has given me a letter of divorce. We’re no longer a couple, and I’ll have nothing to do with His Royal Highness.”

The Queen: “…”

It had been so many days, but Lu Chen still could not pacify Qiao Jinniang?

Emperor Huilin, who was scooping the fermented rice balls, put down the spoon and said,

“He came to the Hall of Diligent Governance early in the morning and asked me to grant you the position of crown princess. If you play hard to get, you can never be the crown princess.”

Qiao Jinniang knelt down and kowtowed. “Your Majesties, I’m not playing hard to get. I’m really through with him.”

Queen Zhou motioned her entourage to take Tuan’er away and asked slowly, “Then what about Tuan’er?”

Qiao Jinniang bit her lip and said, “Tuan’er is the flesh that fell from my body. I will always love him. But, I won’t trap myself in a fight with other women for the rest of my life for the sake of Tuan’er!”

Qiao Jinniang’s hands trembled violently, and her voice was nervous.

The Queen chuckled. “It’s rare to see a sober woman like you, but can you be rest assured that Tuan’er won’t be bullied in the East Palace without the protection of his mother?”

Qiao Jinniang replied indifferently, “With the blessing of Your Majesties, Tuan’er will surely have a smooth life.”

Emperor Huilin was truly annoyed. His Chen’er was definitely one of the best among men in terms of martial arts, appearance, and temperament!

Not to mention which woman in the world didn’t want the position of crown princess?

Was his son that bad?

Qiao Jinniang would rather take the risk of offending the Emperor and the Queen and give up the position of crown princess than be with Lu Chen?!

The Queen got up and helped Qiao Jinniang up. “Don’t be afraid. Although our country allows divorced women to remarry, but there must be some misunderstanding about the divorce letter you said.”

Qiao Jinniang pursed her lips and said, “If there was a misunderstanding, after so long, he should have found out who dared to pretend to imitate his handwriting, but he didn’t even check it!

“Besides, I grew up in an ordinary family and ordinary men usually won’t take concubines.

“Therefore, I’m short-tempered and jealous and can’t accept my husband to take any concubines, so I’m not suitable to marry into the East Palace! ”

Qiao Jinniang understood that although the Emperor and the Queen were benevolent, they wouldn’t like anyone talking bad of their son, so she simply took the blame on herself.

Emperor Huilin said coldly, “If you don’t want to, no one will force you to marry into the East Palace.

“However, you shall not reveal that Chen’er had married into your family in Lin’an!”

“Sure.”

Qiao Jinniang didn’t dare to look directly at Emperor Huilin, but she was very excited!

She thought that her happiness was very well concealed.

But the two people in front of her were the Emperor and the Queen who were sharp-eyed.

Emperor Huilin was surprised to see Qiao Jinniang so happy…

In addition to being annoyed, he couldn’t help but wonder what horrible things Lu Chen did to make Qiao Jinniang so happy to leave him?

After Qiao Jinniang left the private room, the Queen frowned and said, “Chen’er… alas!”

Emperor Huilin pondered and said, “Does Chen’er have any unmentionable disease that you and I don’t know?”

The Queen said, “No, he is just stupid!”

Emperor Huilin said, “Is he?”

The Queen no longer explained. She knew a large part of the reason why Qiao Jinniang was reluctant to marry into the East Palace was because of Emperor Huilin.

Men and women had different concerns. Why should she bother to play the piano to the cow?

“It’s a pity. I may not be able to eat the Sweet-scented Osmanthus Fermented Rice Balls in the future.”

Emperor Huilin said to the Queen, “Don’t worry. Although she can’t be your daughter-in-law, you can still summon her to the imperial palace to cook dinner for you. Even if she doesn’t want to see Lu Chen, she has to consider Tuan’er!”

The Queen smiled. “That’s true. Tuan’er is more useful than his father.”

Qiao Jinniang had thought that she could stay with Tuan’er for a day.

But when the Emperor and the Queen left, they took Tuan’er away.

She certainly hoped that Tuan’er could be closer to the Emperor and the Queen. With their protection, Tuan’er’s life would be more secure.

“Jinniang! Jinniang!”

Hearing Fulu’s voice, Qiao Jinniang turned back. “Princess.”

Fulu said, “You finally recovered from your thoughts. I’ve been calling you for so long. What kind of dishes did you cook for my uncle just now? The whole restaurant was full of fragrance!”

Qiao Jinniang replied. “Eight Treasures Duck. I can make it for you if you want to eat it.”

Fulu nodded hastily. “Okay!”

In the kitchen, Jinniang absentmindedly added a lot of salt when cooking the duck. By the time she reacted, she had to change to another duck.

She should be happy, but why was she so absent-minded?

Qiao Jinniang tried to cheer up, put the Eight Treasure Duck into the pot, and after about two quarters of an hour, she took the Eight Treasure Duck out and brought it to the private room where Fulu was.

Fulu rubbed her stomach and said, “You are finally back. I’m starving.”

Jinghua smiled. “You ate so much just now. Are you still hungry? Be careful, you won’t be able to find a man to marry if others hear that you are so gluttonous.”

Fulu said carelessly, “I don’t care. If I can’t get married, I’ll just raise some gigolos like you do. I’ll be so jolly and unfettered.

“There are very few nice men in this world. Since I can’t marry my imperial cousin, I might as well find a few gigolos to make me happy every day!

“Jinniang, do you think so as well?”

Zhou Siming coughed and said, “Princess, I’m a nice man. Don’t count me in!”

Jinghua laughed and said to Fulu, “Don’t talk nonsense in front of Miss Qiao. She’ll be scared by you!”

Although the princesses were used to raising gigolos, in the eyes of the noble ladies, raising gigolos was a sign of slutty behavior, so they despised this behavior in private.

Qiao Jinniang didn’t know this woman, but she was gorgeous and was sitting in the seat of honor, so she must have a high status.

Jinniang replied, “Princess Fulu is right. If I can’t find a nice man to marry…

“I will hang out with her, make merry and raise gigolos. Anyway, I have no shortage of money.”

Princess Fulu said, “It just so happens that I’m short of money! If I want to raise gigolos, I’m afraid that my father will not give me money. When the time comes, you pay the money and I’ll help you catch the men you like!

“You know what, my cousin sisters are really good at snatching handsome gigolos in the opera troupes!”

Seeing that Princess Fulu was talking more and more outrageously, Zhou Siming stepped on Fulu’s feet underneath the table, motioning her to shut up.

If these words were to reach the Crown Prince’s ears, would Fulu be spared?

She was literally instigating the Crown Prince’s wife to raise gigolos!

Was she trying to teach Qiao Jinniang to cuckold His Royal Highness?

Fulu said crossly, “Zhou Siming, why are you stepping on my feet?”

Qiao Jinniang asked Fulu, “Do we have to snatch to get a gigolo?”

Fulu said, “Of course. There aren’t many good-looking men in the world, and we can’t touch handsome literati, not to mention military generals.

“So we can only find gigolos from the actors in the opera troupes, but only a few of them were handsome.

“Besides, I am now used to my imperial cousin’s handsome face, so my standard is very high. That makes it even harder for me to find a satisfactory gigolo!”

Qiao Jinniang thought for a while and said, “Does money work?”

At the door of the private room, Lu Chen’s face was all dark. So, Li Yun was not enough for her? Now she even thought of raising gigolos!

In the entire Chang’an, which man could be more handsome than him?