Chapter 148.1: All Given To Her
Chapter 148.1: All Given To Her
The dragon boats brushed past before the eyes, and a crowd of children of all sizes chased after the dragon boats along the river bank, seeing the servants following by their side all worried and fearful. If they were to accidentally fall down and get stepped on by the others…………
The dragon boats paddled past the section of the river in front of the imperial tent one after the other. “When placing the bets, all say sixth brother knows how to play best. Looking at it now, this really isn’t false at all. From the looks of it, sixth brother is sure to win today.”
Li Hong Yuan still maintained a careless appearance, having Gong Qinwang’s words thoroughly ignored. Towards this fourth older brother, whose presence wasn’t as strong as the other two, yet still insisted on bouncing around from time to time, Li Hong Yuan simply was too lazy to acknowledge him. In his previous life, this fourth brother got sorted out by Li Hong Yi, and with Li Hong Ming adding fuel to the fire, ended up being directly confined. Then, in less than half a year, he was sent to the underworld. That’s why, he simply didn’t need to specially take care of him. As long as he let someone properly keep an eye on him, not letting him exceed his range of control, then afterwards, when the appropriate time comes, he’ll just need to lightly give a push.
Gong Qinwang tightly clenched his fist, blue veins popping out from the back of his hand. It was very obvious, a certain person’s disregard made him very displeased.
And as the fifth oldest prince, the sickly wangye was also in a pretty good condition today, both mentally and physically. However, right now, getting pressed between number four and number six, he was also unbearably uncomfortable. He casted a glance at his fourth older brother. Sixth younger brother has been ‘obedient’ for a rare change today, so why the hell must you insist on provoking him for no reason? The one to suffer in anger in the end will still be yourself. Were your days too comfortable, needing to look for hardship to suffer?
Speaking of which, Gong Qinwang was also pretty miserable. In the imperial court’s three-way power struggle, he belonged to the weakest side, his authority not as strong as the other two. In addition to having a powerful in-law family, he was being suppressed by all sides. He sometimes was aware that he lived very pathetically, so it was inevitable for his heart to be somewhat twisted, unable to tolerate others ignoring him. That will make him feel he’s being looked down on, and with this many high officials present, it further made him feel humiliated. The demonic flames in his heart were blazing, making him momentarily lose his head somewhat, “Sixth younger brother, fourth brother is speaking to you, and this is the attitude you have towards your elder brother?” That voice uncontrollably raised by several decibels.
(T/N: I love these psychological nuances in the characters of this novel.)
Everyone’s line of sight all couldn’t help but turn towards him. What’s this, today’s ‘water problems[1]‘ even affected Gong Qinwang? His guts this thick? Getting washed over by everyone’s gaze, Gong Qinwang unconsciously stuck out his chest. He rather enjoyed this kind of ‘being at the center of attention’ feeling. How would he know that most of them were all inwardly scolding him for his stupidity, especially the Left Commander-in-Chief Qin Tian Ming. Knowing Li Hong Yuan’s true capabilities, Qin Tian Ming clicked his tongue inside. That skull was only pea-sized, yet he, Gong Qinwang, wanted the largest hat in the world. First setting aside whether or not he was able to snatch it over, even if handed to him, afraid he would just get crushed to death by the hat.
“Sixth brother……..”
“Noisy.” Li Hong Yuan finally spared him a glance, just it was ice-cold without the slightest warmth. “Whether or not one knows how to play, what does it have to do with you? And whether this prince wins or loses, it has nothing to do with you either. Rather, the bet you placed was quite big, this is slapping your face to make it look imposing? Why don’t you think about how many times you can lose with that bit of wealth of yours.”
Gong Qinwang suddenly shot up, his gaze seeming as if he wanted to have Li Hong Yuan swallowed whole.
Li Hong Yuan sneered, “Strong in appearance, but weak in reality.”
“Li Hong Yuan——-” Gong Qinwang’s stance appeared as if he wanted to pounce forward to teach a certain someone a lesson.
“Enough. Old four, sit down for this emperor, such a disgraceful thing.”
Gong Qinwang may be muddle-headed, but he didn’t lose his rationality, momentarily freezing in place. And after a long while, he finally stiffly sat back down.
The others all produced a kind of ‘as expected for it to be this way’ feeling. Le Cheng Emperor’s bias towards Jin Qinwang was long without borders. Despite clearly knowing this, each and every one still invited themselves to be humiliated every time. However, there were also those that suspected whether or not Jin Qinwang had some demonic powers, making even the most rational person all can’t help themselves when facing him. In the end, it was still because he was too infuriating. And when all is said and done, it was still their jealousy acting up, because as someone who didn’t have any abilities, he possessed too much.
Someone believed, among all the princes, Jin Qinwang’s private assets, afraid, were even more than the sum of all of the others’ added together. As such, to be capable of not having even the slightest thought, then one undoubtedly must have seen through the mortal world, stepping out of the three realms[2].
Jin Qinwang’s dragon boat, from the start, has maintained the lead. And afterwards, this lead widened more and more, maintaining until the end. In the last one hundred zhang, the other dragon boats, even if they madly chased after with all their might, they still could only shorten the distance by a little.
However, for those that were purely watching for the excitement, they have never cared who exactly won or lost. What they watched was just this process, and what they experienced was just this atmosphere, enjoying this festivity.
Aside from those direct bets in private, the rest of the winnings, Li Hong Yuan accepted it all without hesitation. Other than the things from the people that had betted on him getting returned to their rightful owners, they also additionally received three things that were more or less of the same value. Actually, under normal circumstances, it was always just one, but who let him win. He had too many things and was also willing. In other words, rich and willful, no one could do anything about it.
“The rest, all send to the Luo family.”
One has to know, besides the winnings that were divide out, the rest was still more than half. This amount wasn’t small, but to just give it all away without batting an eye, as expected, facing such an individual, you really can’t have a temper.
But, did this mean that Jin Qinwang very much cared about this current fiancee?
“Sixth brother, can you have what your third sister-in-law betted given to me?” Li Hong Ming said with a smile. He rather didn’t say anything like exchange. After all, Li Hong Yuan had pearls and jades before him. If Li Hong Ming were to then do something like use the things on himself to exchange with Li Hong Yuan, then it would inevitably appear deliberate. Thus, he directly stated his request. One was to make clear his attitude towards his own wangfei, and secondly, it was to also show off his ‘deep brotherly feelings’ with Li Hong Yuan, something that others can’t compare.
“Don’t look at this prince.” The things have already been given away.
Li Hong Ming smiled, understanding his meaning.
This attitude greatly differed from Gong Qinwang’s. That’s why, even if Jin Qinwang’s temper wasn’t good, it wasn’t completely because of him. As long as your attitude towards him was good, he’ll also be a bit more polite towards you. Thus, Gong Qinwang could only hehe.
The things were packed up and sent out one by one. And the ones heading towards the Luo family naturally attracted the most attention.
After learning the reason, this caused quite an uproar. Afterwards, quite a few people had their gaze casted towards the quiet Ruan family. They originally thought, even if this one wasn’t the main consort, after entering Jin Qinwang Manor, she would still be able to single-handedly take control of the rear court. Looking at it now, this seemingly wasn’t the case. Previously, when Jin Qinwang didn’t do anything, they didn’t think much of it, but now that he’s taken action, this disparity was just too obvious. In reality, often times, the matter didn’t lie in how many things, or its quality’s good or bad, but rather the attitude. Even if Jing Wan occupied the majority, and Ruan Fang Fei took up a small portion, no one would say anything. One was the main consort, and one was the side consort; ‘inequality’ within the reasonable range, that was just how it should be.
[1] Technically it’s translated as ‘water filth’, but this is referring to how the recent troubles, specifically Jing Wan and Ruan Fang Fei’s, were both related to ‘water’. Jing Wan was ‘affected’ by the heavy humidity from the water, and Ruan Fang Fei’s servant girl turned up dead in the waters.
[2] This is referring to the three realms in Buddhist teachings, also called Trailokya. You can read about it in detail here on its wikipedia page.
T/N: Aside from Rui Qinwang, who’s probably the smartest one among Li Hong Yuan’s brothers, both Kang Qinwang and Gong Qinwang have the same masochistic tendencies towards Li Hong Yuan, like Luo Jing Ying with Jing Wan.
Also I’ve always viewed the fifth prince with the idiom of ‘the old man losing his horse, how is it not a blessing in disguise’. The fifth prince is inconvenienced because of his sickly body and is unfit for the throne, but at the same time he also ends up being the safest and probably lives the most peaceful life compare to his brothers.