Chapter 337: The Banquet
The night was long.
When recalling it later, all that was remembered was the sound of peanuts crackling on the stove.
A crisp popping sound.
“Pop pop pop, pop pop pop.”
At the entrance of the Seventh Prince’s Mansion, drums and gongs were sounding, bustling with noise.
Today was the day the Seventh Prince was marrying his secondary consort.
The person bestowed by the Emperor was said to be a secondary consort; she couldn’t just be placed in the mansion without proper ceremony.
If he disobeyed the order, the Emperor would think he harbored resentment.
Today was the Seventh Prince’s day of great joy.
He had also invited his brothers.
And also his cousin, Second Young Master Jiang.
Several brothers came with gifts, but of course, they didn’t bring their wives.
After all, it was marrying a secondary consort; bringing one’s wife would give too much face to the secondary consort.
Second Young Master Jiang also came.
Actually, originally he was the brother of Jiang Yuluan, the Seventh Prince’s Consort.
Now he had become the Seventh Prince’s cousin.
It seemed they were all related somehow…
Anyway, Second Young Master Jiang felt that the Seventh Prince was quite handsome in appearance—a rare, tall, and imposing man.
His smile also seemed generous and open.
His conversation was very cordial.
But he instinctively disliked him.
There was a natural aversion.
Without any reason.
However, Jiang Changtian still accepted the invitation and went.
If you dislike someone, either stay away from them or bury them.
Jiang Changtian chose the latter.
After all, he couldn’t stay away; being related, he could only act as a dutiful cousin and start planning for his cousin’s funeral arrangements.
…
The location of the Seventh Prince’s Mansion in the city was relatively remote.
When the Emperor dislikes someone, he shows it in every aspect. The Emperor doesn’t need to act personally; his attendants will understand his intentions and even overinterpret them.
So the Seventh Prince’s Mansion was very remote.
It was almost at the edge of the city, backed by a mountain.
Others thought it was remote.
But Jiang Changtian thought the Seventh Prince’s location was excellent—backed by a mountain and facing a river. The entire capital couldn’t find a better spot.
Yet everyone only saw that it was remote.
Because it was remote, the grounds were larger, presumably not violating any rules.
A good person, seeing someone else’s large estate, might just exclaim, “How big!”
But the villain Jiang Changtian, seeing someone else’s large estate, got angry—too treacherous and cunning, even more treacherous than him, too pretentious.
As the drums and gongs sounded at the Seventh Prince’s Mansion.
Servants, a row of young women, came out to light the lanterns.
They were well-trained.
The Fifth Prince twisted his prayer beads in his hand. Stingy as he was, today he didn’t even prepare a sutra to give, only brought a golden saying: “Old Seventh, Buddha says that the bond between husband and wife is the result of three lifetimes of karma and accumulated causes. Do not indulge in beauty.”
Jiang Yuluan never liked the Fifth Prince; she thought he was stingy and superstitious.
But this time, gritting her teeth, she came out to greet him. Hearing the Fifth Prince’s words, she almost burst into tears.
One sees the bride’s smile, but who hears the old wife’s cry?
Jiang Yuluan, as the Seventh Prince’s Consort, had grown up with Grand Princess Huiyun and was quite presentable.
She was beautiful and generous, with a cheerful and straightforward demeanor, not like a woman confined to the inner chambers.
Although she was older, perhaps because she had never given birth, she looked very young.
The Seventh Prince was quite stunned by his fifth brother’s words. Although the Fifth Prince was obsessed with Buddhism, it didn’t stop him from having many beauties in his mansion. Others could say that, but the Fifth Prince couldn’t; in his mansion, the secondary consort was in charge, and the Fifth Princess Consort, like the Fifth Prince, had now taken to chanting sutras all day.
A smiling face is hard to hit. Although the Fifth Prince was very annoying, the Seventh Prince endured it and accepted it humbly.
The Sixth Prince had performed poorly during the last Earthquake. He was a bit regretful afterward—why had he dodged? Instinctively stepped aside. Sigh!
But the Emperor had given a maid to Old Seventh, so he went back and had someone investigate her background.
He wanted to see if there was anything to exploit. But after investigating, he found that the maid seemed to be the Emperor’s person. The Emperor probably didn’t trust Old Seventh either. He wondered if there were any of the Emperor’s people in his own mansion.
The Sixth Prince dutifully sent a plate of pomegranate-shaped gemstone flowers.
Jiang Yuluan was a bit displeased; when she got married, the Sixth Prince had also sent pomegranate gemstone flowers.
The other princes sent gifts by proxy.
The Ninth Prince came in person, bringing a pot of red coral—quite valuable.
Jiang Changtian also brought a gift: a basket of nuts and coarse grains, symbolizing a harmonious union lasting a hundred years, abundant harvest, and many children.
Commoners would send such gifts for celebrations.
Jiang Changtian also sent this.
Openly, in front of Jiang Yuluan, he said, “Wishing Seventh Brother a harmonious union lasting a hundred years and an early birth of a son.”
No choice—after all, he had inadvertently killed the Seventh Prince’s son, reducing his family by one person, so he had to include this blessing.
When Jiang Yuluan saw Jiang Changtian, she had mixed feelings.
Half of her childhood memories were of her Mother, and the other half were of Grand Princess Huiyun.
The Grand Princess had been very good to her, and even her marriage was thanks to the Grand Princess.
But her Mother had swapped the Grand Princess’s child.
She took the Grand Princess’s child but didn’t treat him well.
Jiang Yuluan felt somewhat embarrassed to face Jiang Changtian.
He still bore the surname Jiang and hadn’t changed it.
Her Mother had also died, died in prison, a miserable death, and had received her retribution.
Regardless, that was still her Mother.
The person before her was also her Mother’s murderer.
Jiang Changtian didn’t speak to Jiang Yuluan.
Jiang Yuluan didn’t initiate conversation either.
Originally, the princess consort hosting her husband’s marriage to a secondary consort was a bitter pill to swallow. Jiang Yuluan was very depressed and unwell, but she didn’t want to fall ill and be looked down upon by her sisters-in-law.
Because she had grown up with Grand Princess Huiyun, she had a proud temperament and didn’t get along well with her sisters-in-law.
The Seventh Prince had always been very good to her, and she had scoffed at the other sisters-in-law’s veiled suggestions about taking concubines for their husbands.
Back then, she was also someone who loved and hated clearly, wanting to love passionately.
She modeled herself after Grand Princess Huiyun in every way.
But now.
Life had worn down her pride, and she even graciously arranged the banquet for her husband’s marriage to the secondary consort.
It was a small family banquet; the Seventh Prince didn’t hold a grand feast, just with his brothers.
No ministers sent gifts; the Seventh Prince was very cautious.
Walking into the mansion.
One could see that the servants at the Seventh Prince’s Mansion were very well-trained.
The Sixth Prince felt that Old Seventh was indeed insidious.
He always acted outside as if his wife couldn’t manage things, innocent and carefree, only interested in romance.
Making everyone think the Seventh Prince’s Mansion must be chaotic.
But inside, the mansion was orderly and efficient. The Seventh Prince’s Consort had been unfairly maligned.
Old Seventh was really something, always using his wife as a front.
Actually, the Sixth Prince was somewhat mistaken about the Seventh Prince. The mansion was sometimes chaotic; the Seventh Prince was very relaxed with Jiang Yuluan. He had been saying he loved his wife for decades, and he himself believed it.
The current order in the mansion was partly due to Yu Luan’s niece, Jiang Wan, that Fairy Liu. Unexpectedly, this young lady really had skills. As a guest, she had just arrived and could already manage a part of the estate.
Also, the new secondary consort, the maid Song He, was well-trained. She was like the Emperor’s senior secretary; managing a mansion was more than enough for her. After all, competing for a position in the Emperor’s presence in the palace required fighting through thousands of troops; her work ability was strong.
The Seventh Prince treated her as a subordinate, and she acted as before.
She had a clear sense of self. The Seventh Prince said he loved his principal consort and married her only to appease the Emperor, telling her to know her place.
Song He was very sober and placed herself in the position of a matron.
She was experienced and continued to manage affairs.
But the Seventh Prince’s Consort, Jiang Yuluan, felt that this time was different and that she was threatened.
Not to mention how the Seventh Prince tried to appease her.
Anyway, the brothers ate, drank, and chatted lively.
Jiang Changtian felt even more that the Seventh Prince was too deep.
Clearly knowing that he had killed his second son, yet he still called him ‘cousin’ affectionately. Previously, he had sent people to kill him, and in such large numbers, when he was still nothing.
Casually sending so many people—how many men did the Seventh Prince actually have? Unfathomable. Those were probably just a drop in the bucket of his forces.
Dealing with a small fry like him, he sent that many people.
Too terrifying.
Jiang Changtian was on high alert.
At that moment, the Seventh Prince looked extremely cordial, seemingly drunk, holding his hand and calling him ‘cousin.’
Then he kept saying ‘Yu Luan,’ and when the servants helped him to the bridal chamber, he was directly calling out ‘Yu Luan’ and heading toward the Seventh Prince Consort’s quarters.
In the secondary consort’s room, Song He wore a pink wedding dress.
She sat calmly until it was quiet outside, then took off her outer robe and headdress, washed, and lay down by herself.
She lay perfectly flat.
She slept peacefully, hands placed on her chest, like a peaceful corpse.
Thank you for reading + listening 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
