Troublemaker Prince C35
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 35
You Yusui actually wasn't stingy at all. In the past, the holiday gifts he sent to the Xie family every year were always of the highest standard. Now, the spending money he gave Huo Xiling was casually worth thousands of gold, and ordinary palace servants who did their work well could earn an extra month's salary.
You Yusui was only stingy toward people who were hostile to him, like the First Prince and Third Prince. Of course, if it had been his first life, he probably would have eagerly sent good things to their doorstep and sincerely offered his blessings.
Thinking about it now, You Yusui felt he had been pitifully naive. To survive in the imperial family, where was there any need for true gentlemen? To become an emperor, one had to be ruthless and cold-hearted, with only the realm in mind and no room for personal feelings. His Father Emperor clearly had never wanted to hand the throne to him; otherwise, the teacher assigned to him in his youth wouldn't have been such a pedantic and stubborn true gentleman.
Perhaps from the very beginning, You Fengyun had never intended to cultivate him as the heir apparent.
Thinking this way, You Yusui lowered his eyes, his body emanating a few traces of loneliness.
"Whatever gift Your Highness sends them, it's already good enough that he didn't give them a couple of punches." Huo Xiling looked at You Yusui holding his hand and said with a smile.
Hearing this, You Yusui laughed, the loneliness on him swept away completely. He suddenly thought of Imperial Physician Cui Yan, who had indeed received those two punches from Huo Xiling.
"This prince isn't unhappy. This prince was just thinking about whether Imperial Physician Cui's eyes have healed yet, and whether his blind date went smoothly." You Yusui returned the same smile and said.
That day, the only one who got injured was Imperial Physician Cui. You Yusui had gained a teacher who didn't care about anything, who even discussed which story books had interesting plots with him and took him out to eat, drink, and have fun—completely unlike a proper teacher.
As for Imperial Physician Cui's blind date that day, it was naturally a complete failure. With two black eyes, even Cui Yan's refined scholarly aristocratic bearing couldn't make up for it. In the end, this blind date failed in exactly the way Cui Yan had least wanted.
"The First Prince and Third Prince have sent out invitations widely, inviting court officials to attend their wedding banquets. Imperial Physician Cui must have received an invitation as well." Xie Ling, who was processing documents for the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace nearby, said to You Yusui while he reclined on a lounge chair.
The First Prince and Third Prince were holding their weddings on the same day and had invited all the ministers. This was equivalent to choosing sides—attending whichever prince's wedding banquet was equivalent to supporting that prince. Of course, not going wouldn't be a problem either, except one would likely be resented by both the First Prince and Third Prince.
"So which family's wedding banquet is he attending?" You Yusui asked while eating some fruit.
Without lifting his head, Xie Ling replied: "The First Prince's."
"The Cui family supports the First Prince?" You Yusui raised his eyebrows. That shouldn't be right. The First Prince, who had the support of most officials from humble backgrounds, shouldn't be able to win over a top aristocratic family. Even if he wanted to, his Father Emperor would absolutely not allow it.
"No, Brother Cui said he felt the First Prince's wedding banquet would be the most entertaining to watch." Xie Ling finished writing the document in his hand with a flourish, then twisted his body and looked at You Yusui. "Actually, I quite want to go watch the excitement too."
You Yusui paused, thinking carefully. His eldest imperial brother's wedding did indeed have much entertainment value.
The lady had gotten pregnant before marriage, the bride would marry him with a big belly, the Li family wished they didn't have this daughter, the First Prince wished this had never happened, and the Imperial Noble Consort wished even less for this daughter-in-law.
Adding it all up, it was simply full of entertainment. No wonder Cui Yan would choose to attend the First Prince's wedding banquet.
"You still want to go? Aren't you afraid grandfather will break your legs?" You Yusui said to his young cousin.
"If I can't go, I can't go. When Brother Cui comes back and tells me about it, it'll be the same." Xie Ling said listlessly.
You Yusui couldn't help but chuckle softly, then said. "This prince thought about it—my own brothers are getting married, and this prince not sending gifts would seem improper. How about this, little cousin, you make the trip for me."
"Really?" Xie Ling, with his youthful temperament, instantly became cheerful.
You Yusui looked at his young cousin's smile and felt that spending a little money to let his cousin go watch his own brothers' entertainment was quite nice.
"Mm-hmm, come draft a gift list. Just send a few boxes of peanuts, melon seeds, dates, and dried longans. Don't send much else." You Yusui said.
Just as the Eastern Palace was preparing congratulatory gifts, the Li and Su families began sending the dowries.
Although the Li household was hung full of red silk and covered with the character for "double happiness," from masters to servants, everyone's faces were tense, without the slightest appearance of joy. It didn't look like the legitimate daughter was getting married, but rather like they were sending off a plague god.
They weren't looking forward to this marriage at all, and their attitude was already very clear—after marrying Li Xiyue off, they would act as if they never had this daughter.
The other branches of the Li family also had many complaints about this daughter of the main branch. Originally, their daughters could have married into high-ranking families, but now when selecting marriages, they had to lower their standards by a level. All of this was thanks to Li Xiyue's shameless affair, so how could they not harbor resentment?
Thus, in this strange atmosphere, even Li Xiyue, who had been intoxicated with happiness about becoming the First Prince's consort, could clearly feel something was wrong.
When the wedding attendant covered her head with the bridal veil and helped her walk out the Li family's main gate, Li Xiyue couldn't help but turn back and call out "Father, Mother."
She saw Father Li standing on the steps coldly saying, "A married daughter is like spilled water. From now on, don't come back."
Hearing this, Li Xiyue's heart jumped in alarm. She immediately wanted to step forward and ask why, but the wedding attendant beside her gripped her tightly and pressed her into the bridal sedan.
"The auspicious hour is almost here, Miss, please hurry into the bridal sedan. Don't miss the appointed time."
"Hurry, hurry, start the celebration music."
As the words fell, the sedan carried by eight people was lifted away, and boxes of dowry items were also lifted up. It looked like a ten-li red dowry procession befitting a noble young lady, but in reality, when departing, aside from her parents, not a single other person from the Li family saw her off.
At the Su family, Su Yingying's parents reluctantly bid farewell to their daughter dressed in wedding clothes. Mother Su cried like a tearful person, giving Su Yingying countless instructions and reminders. Su Yingying's elder brother even personally carried his sister onto the bridal sedan.
After the wedding escort departed, Mother Su cried, "It's all because you're incompetent—how else would my daughter marry into such a shameful place?"
Before this incident happened, Mother Su had already picked out a family for Su Yingying—the son of Minister Su's student, a warm and dignified person with strict family teachings, well-read and courteous. Both father-in-law and mother-in-law were easy to get along with. Though not as prestigious as the imperial family, at least there would be freedom.
"What's done is done. As parents, all we can do is prepare more for our child." Su Yingying's father, Su Zhou, said.
To prevent Su Yingying from being looked down upon, the dowry basically contained half of the Su family's wealth. They also added many estates and shops for Su Yingying, all to ensure their daughter would live better after marrying.
By the time dusk deepened, the two wedding processions finally arrived at the First Prince's Prince Yan Mansion and the Third Prince's Prince Wu Mansion respectively.
At this moment, the Crown Prince's Chamberlain from the Eastern Palace brought junior eunuchs to Prince Wu Mansion to deliver four boxes of gifts.
The Senior Official of Prince Wu Mansion was somewhat surprised by this—this was the guest who had sent the most gifts.
Xie Ling presented the gift list and said, "I still need to go deliver gifts at Prince Yan Mansion, so I won't stay."
Xie Ling came in a hurry and left in a hurry. Before the Senior Official of Prince Wu Mansion could say anything, he had already boarded his carriage and left.
The Senior Official of Prince Wu Mansion, who hadn't planned to keep him for drinks at all: ......
"How strange." After saying this, the Senior Official of Prince Wu Mansion opened the Eastern Palace's gift list.
"'Early Birth of a Noble Son' four-piece set!"
What was this? At that moment, the Senior Official of Prince Wu Mansion felt as if he could no longer understand the gift-giving customs of Chang'an nobility.
Prince Yan Mansion and Prince Wu Mansion were quite far apart. By the time Xie Ling arrived, the First Prince and Miss Li of Prince Yan Mansion were about to perform the wedding ceremony.
Seeing this, Xie Ling directly delivered the gifts quickly, entered Prince Yan Mansion's great hall, and found Cui Yan to eat melon seeds and watch the show together.
The Senior Official of Prince Yan Mansion, shocked by Xie Ling's lightning speed after the Senior Official of Prince Wu Mansion, looked at the gift list Xie Ling had handed over and couldn't help but voice his confusion, "'Early Birth of a Noble Son' four-piece set?"
At this moment, standing in the great hall, First Prince You Yuyi felt his face burning hot, as if everyone was staring at Li Xiyue's belly and making contemptuous sounds.
Li Xiyue was already three months pregnant. Her condition could no longer be concealed. Her belly publicly announced the shameful things they had done.
You Yuyi felt that some aristocratic families weren't sincerely attending his wedding banquet, but rather came to laugh at him.
The embarrassing wedding ceremony passed quickly. Without a second thought, You Yuyi had someone send Li Xiyue to the bridal chamber. Without even a glance, he went to attend to the guests.
When the moon reached its zenith and the crowd was about to disperse, Xie Ling, sitting beside Cui Yan, said, "Brother Cui, I thought something would happen."
"Who says nothing happened?" Cui Yan drank a cup of wine and said to Xie Ling with a smile. "The newlyweds haven't consummated the marriage yet."
As the words fell, the half-drunk You Yuyi was sent back to his bedroom. Li Xiyue, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, hurried forward to support You Yuyi.
In the bridal chamber, the wedding candles burned brightly. The bride, wearing her bridal veil, supported him. However, You Yuyi's heart was extremely vexed. Marrying a wife who couldn't give him any assistance made him feel utterly stifled.
Moreover, the reason he was forced to marry her was because this woman had personally caused it.
"This prince won't sleep here tonight. You sleep alone." You Yuyi's brow revealed traces of disgust.
Li Xiyue panicked at once. The Li family's earlier attitude toward her had already made her anxious for a long time. Now hearing that her husband refused to share the room with her on their wedding night, she became even more terrified.
"If you're not staying here tonight, then where are you going?" Li Xiyue asked.
A nanny sent from the Imperial Noble Consort's palace said, "The Imperial Noble Consort naturally prepared candidates for the prince—all charming beauties. The princess consort need not worry."
The Imperial Noble Consort was extremely dissatisfied with this daughter-in-law. From the wedding night, she began thinking of ways to humiliate her. However, she hadn't expected that Li Xiyue, who had been pampered by her family since childhood, was not a girl who would swallow her grievances. She directly grabbed You Yuyi and demanded an explanation.
"I'm still carrying your child, and on our wedding night, you want to sleep with other women. You Yuyi! Do you have no heart at all!" Saying this, Li Xiyue pulled off her red bridal veil and clawed at You Yuyi's face with her hands.
Seeing this, You Yuyi hurriedly flung her away and cursed. "Shameless woman, what madness are you having!"
Li Xiyue was violently thrown to the ground, her expression instantly becoming pained. Her hands clutched her belly. "The child, the child......"
The nanny beside them couldn't help but cry out. "The princess consort is bleeding!"
This scream instantly sobered You Yuyi's drunkenness. He hurriedly said, "Why aren't you calling for an imperial physician!"
Cui Yan, who had been waiting at Prince Yan Mansion for a long time, revealed a smile. It's my turn to take the stage.