Henyee Translations

  Henyee Translations

  The Duchess said angrily, “Sister-in-law, Tuan’er is Jinniang’s son. How is it possible for her to abuse him? As for whether the Crown Prince will punish her or not, it’s not up to you!”


  After being scolded, Mrs. Zheng finally shut up and awkwardly ate the food in front of her.

  In the afternoon, Qiao Jinniang took Tuan’er to the Jin Garden to have him try on the clothes she made for him.

  The little rice ball tugged at Qiao Jinniang’s sleeve and said, “Mother, what about Daddy’s clothes?”


  Qiao Jinniang pinched the little rice ball’s face and said, “You like Daddy so much?”


  The little rice ball sighed. “No, if you don’t make clothes for Daddy, he will snatch mine again. The dough figurine you bought for me last time was snatched by Daddy.”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “No, Daddy has divorced Mommy, so he won’t grab your clothes again. Besides, your clothes don’t fit him.”


  Tuan’er held a doll in his hand and said, “But these dolls, Daddy will snatch them away. The little bunny you made for me was snatched by him.”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “Don’t worry. Daddy doesn’t like Mommy anymore. He won’t snatch your stuff again.”


  In the study of the East Palace that day, Lu Chen had already made it clear that he despised her, so he would definitely not snatch Tuan’er’s doll.

  The little rice ball smiled happily. “Daddy said that I have a new name. It’s called Lu Xi, which is from the Book of Songs.”


  The corners of Qiao Jinniang’s lips curved slightly and she said, “Oh, Tuan’er knows a lot.”


  Tuan’er said proudly, “Yes! I can already recite the Book of Songs!”


  Qiao Jinniang thought Tuan’er was bragging. When he left Lin’an, he couldn’t even speak clearly. How was it possible for him to recite the Book of Songs now?

  The little rice ball wagged his head rhythmically and began to recite a poem in the Book of Songs…


  Qiao Jinniang was surprised to find that he recited it correctly. “Who taught you this?”


  “I went to find my cousins to play with me, but they all had to study in school, so I read articles with them.”


  Qiao Jinniang rubbed the little rice ball’s head and said, “Tuan’er is awesome, but do you know the meaning of the word “Xi”?”


  Tuan’er shook his head.

  Qiao Jinniang said, “It means dawn and implies new life.

  “You will no longer be the young master of Myriad Taste in Lin’an, but the imperial grandson Lu Xi.”


  The little rice ball hugged Qiao Jinniang, kissed her face and said, “Tuan’er will always be Mommy’s baby.”


  Qiao Jinniang hugged the little rice ball tightly and a drop of tear fell from the corner of her eyes. Her son was so sensible, but she was so cruel.

  After the birthday banquet.

  Everyone gathered around to gossip about Qiao Jinniang and the Crown Prince.

  In just one afternoon, there were several versions of the story.

  The maids in the East Palace came to urge the little imperial grandson to return to the East Palace.

  Qiao Jinniang could only reluctantly send the little rice ball into the carriage, and Tuan’er held her hands and said, “Mom, can I still come to play with you tomorrow?”


  “Of course, you can come if you want,” Qiao Jinniang said.

  Tuan’er smiled while holding the rabbit doll in his hand and returned to the East Palace.

  Lu Chen had just returned from the imperial palace and saw Tuan’er secretly hiding something into his secret wooden box.

  He walked over and found a few very delicate dolls.

  One of them was a white rabbit doll wearing a chest-length skirt, which looked a lot like Qiao Jinniang.

  Lu Chen picked up the doll, and Tuan’er boy jumped up and shouted at Lu Chen, “Mine, Mom gave it to me.”


  Lu Chen raised the doll high and said, “You already have so many dolls. I will keep this for you.”


  “Hmph, Mommy said you don’t like her anymore, so you won’t snatch my dolls. She is a liar, and you’re bad. I’m going to tell Granny!”


  Tuan’er was about to go out to the East Palace with his short legs.

  Lu Chen picked up Tuan’er, hugged him in his arms and said, “Did you go to see your mother today?”


  “Um.” Tuan’er took the opportunity to take the rabbit doll back into his hand. “There were bad people bullying Mommy today.”


  The maid next to Tuan’er saluted Lu Chen. “Your Royal Highness, a man and a child came to the Duke Mansion today, claiming that they were the husband and child of Miss Qiao when she was in Lin’an…”


  Before the maid could finish, an eunuch came to report that the Emperor wanted to see Lu Chen.

  On the way to the Hall of Diligent Governance, Lu Chen learned that some people had pretended to be him and Tuan’er in an attempt to ruin Jinniang’s reputation.

  When Lu Chen arrived at the Hall of Diligent Governance, Minister Zhou of Public Security said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, that child is not actually that man’s son.

  “The man is just a hooligan in the outskirts of Chang’an, and the child is just a child of an ordinary villager.

  “They were hired by Prince Mediocre’s concubine, Qiao Ruoshui, to cause trouble at the gate of the Duke Mansion.”


  Emperor Huilin frowned and said to Lu Chen, “I’m afraid the whole of Chang’an will know you had once married into a merchant’s family in Lin’an tomorrow.”


  Lu Chen said, “It’s alright. I’m not afraid of people talking about it behind my back.”


  Emperor Huilin said with worry, “I don’t think Qiao Jinniang seems to be willing to marry into the East Palace, so it will be difficult to put an end to this matter.”


  Minister Zhou cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, Miss Qiao has announced that she has divorced His Royal Highness and that you have granted her freedom of marriage.”


  Emperor Huilin: “She announced it herself?”


  Lu Chen’s face was dark, but he simply said, “Father, don’t worry about me. I will try hard to make her willingly marry into the East Palace!”


  Emperor Huilin was full of doubts. When was he worried about this?

  …


  The next day, everyone was gossiping about Qiao Jinniang and the Crown Prince in Chang’an.

  The story of a Duke’s long-lost daughter being found back was already dramatic enough.

  Now her love story with the Crown Prince was even more dramatic.

  Many Pingshu performers made a lot of plays based on their story.

  For a time, the tea houses in Chang’an were booming.

  The most widely spread version was that after Qiao Jinniang learned that she was the daughter of a duke, she abandoned her husband and her son and tried to find a new husband from noble families.

  After coming to Chang’an and being engaged to Li Yun, however, she found out that her ex-husband turned out to be the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince divorced her.

  Qiao Jinniang was invited by Fulu to come to a teahouse to listen to Pingshu.

  She didn’t expect to hear this.

  She fanned with a fan in anger, but instead of calming down, she got even more and more angry.

  Fulu grabbed a handful of melon seeds and handed them to Qiao Jinniang. “Take it easy. These Pinshu performers described me as a super ugly woman. They said when babies saw me, they were too scared to cry!

  “Humph, I really want to put them all in jail! ”


  Eating the melon seeds, Qiao Jinniang heard the Pingshu performer on the stage say,

  “In the royal banquet, Qiao Jinniang saw a handsome man slowly walk over, with fair skin, chiseled features and bright eyes.

  “Only then did she know that her ex-husband who was despised by her was the Crown Prince! At this time, Qiao Jinniang quickly knelt down and begged tearfully. ‘Honey, I know I was wrong. ‘…”


  Then the Pinshu performer knelt on the ground and kowtowed to beg for mercy in imitation of a woman.

  The people below burst into laughter, clapping their hands and applauding…


  Qiao Jinniang lunged to her feet in rage and said angrily, “Was this Pinshu performer bought off by Lu Chen?”