Story of Consort Xi

Chapter 12: Fourth Prince's Residence

At Fourth Prince's Residence

Ling Ruo was unaware how long she was unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness, all she felt was a burning sensation in her mouth and throat. Seeing a figure beside her, she croaked: "Water... I need water..."

Upon realising that Ling Ruo was awake, maid Mo Yu quickly went over to the table to pour a cup of tea for Ling Ruo. Almost grabbing the cup over from Mo Yu, she swallowed the refreshing content in a single gulp, before asking for another cup.

"Have I slept for very long?" Ling Ruo asked after she had finally satisfied her thirst. She remembered that the sky was already dark when she began to faint, and right now the sun is already up and bright. Ling Ruo assumed that she had slept for at least an entire night.

"Miss, you have slept for a full four days! You had high fever and kept rambling incoherently in your sleep. Your humble servant was afraid that you would never wake up." Mo Yu said. She then quickly left to prepare a bowl of porridge for Ling Ruo. It didn't take long for her to return with the porridge.

"Thank you." Ling Ruo smiled. Her smile was enchantingly beautiful, just like a blossoming lotus in the middle of a tranquil pond. In a daze, Mo Yu uttered: "Miss, you are so pretty, just like a fairy. Even Ce'fujin [1] Lady Nian cannot compete with your beauty."

Ce'fujin Lady Nian? Ling Ruo's confusion was quickly answered. Fourth Prince Yin Zhen is 26 years old. Thirteen years ago, it was arranged for him to marry Lady Ulanara as Di'fujin. Although the husband and wife were not in love, they treated each other with respect and courtesy. Over the years, he was gifted Lady Li as Ce'Fujin. As for Ce'fujin Lady Nian, she was only recently gifted under Emperor Kang Xi's decree a few days ago. Despite only allocated the rank of Ce'fujin, the wedding was held over seven days and did not lose out to the wedding of a Di'fujin. Even Emperor Kang Xi and Yin Zhen's birth mother Consort De attended the wedding for Lady Nian.

During the wedding, Mo Yu was allocated to serve at the front yard and had the chance to meet Lady Nian. Mo Yu was awe-struck by Lady Nian's good looks, and believed nobody could compete with her beauty. However, Mo Yu never expected to meet yet another gorgeous lady within such a short period of time. In comparison, Mo Yu liked Ling Ruo much more, as Ling Ruo was not pompous and arrogant, unlike Lady Nian.

"What about you? How did you become a servant in the Fourth Prince's residence?" Ling Ruo asked curiously. Mo Yu had explained many things regarding the current affairs in the Fourth Prince's residence, but never once did Mo Yu talk about her own background.

Smiling at Ling Ruo, Mo Yu said: "Your humble servant just signed a servant contract this year, but only for a period of three years. I only entered a few days before yourself, my lady."

"Why did you have to sign the servant contract? There isn't anyone else in your family?" Ling Ruo asked in between her bites of porridge. It may be loneliness, it may be boredom, but Ling Ruo found that she enjoyed talking to Mo Yu.

Mo Yu shook her head: "No, both my parents are still well and alive, and I also have an elder brother and a younger sister. My elder brother is already twenty plus years old and past the age for marriage. Due to poverty, he has been unable to marry. This year, he managed to find a lady who was willing to marry him, but the wedding required some money. As such, I decided to sign the servant contract to earn some money to find my brother's wedding."

Stroking her long hair, Ling Ruo continued asking: "Mo Yu, tell me more about the Fourth Prince."

"The Fourth Prince..." Mo Yu crunched her nose in response, "I actually do not know anything about the Fourth Prince. I have only met His Highness once in this one month, and I was very far from him. However, I heard the other servants mentioning that His Highness always pulls a long face and rarely smiles. Many people are afraid of him." Moving closer to Ling Ruo, Mo Yu whispered: "I also heard that the people in the Capital gave His Highness a nickname – Cold-blooded Prince."

Cold-blooded Prince? Ling Ruo laughed at that thought. What an apt nickname. Both her encounters with the Fourth Prince were cold and rude. In comparison, the Eighth Prince, who was nicknamed "Virtous Prince", had a much better reputation.

"My Lady, you should thank Lady Wen. When you were sick, it was still the period of Lady Nian's wedding. The entire residence was busy with the event and had no time or effort to spare to look after you. Your condition was getting from bad to worse, and there was nobody to send the physician over. Thankfully, Lady Wen noticed and approached Housekeeper Gao personally to request for a physician. After the physician's visit, Lady Wen also visited you several times until you began to recover."

If Mo Yu did not mention, Ling Ruo would never had known. Ling Ruo said: "Indeed. I guess I will have to show my gratitude to Lady Wen."

[1] 福晋Fujin is an aristocratic title for a nobleman's wife. However, a man can have many wives in ancient china. Hence, the term Fujin is further classified to differentiate the ranks of the wives:

- 嫡福晋Di'fujin: The primary or main wife. She holds the authority to manage her husband's harem. Limited to 1.

- 侧福晋Ce'fujin: The secondary wives. 侧 Ce means "beside", and are generally considered to be eligible to stand next to the "Di'fujin". They have the right to assist in managing the harem, but Di'fujin will make the final decision. Limited to 2.

- 庶福晋Shu'fujin: The tertiary wives. 庶 Shu means "ordinary", and thus only hold the title without any/much power. Limited to 4.

There are more women who do not even hold any title within the nobleman's harem. 

[Translator's note]: Apologies for missing last week, was too busy IRL to allocate time for the translation work.