Harem Daily Life

Granny Zhao refilled Princess Jing's tea. Seeing that her mistress's anger had not subsided, she whispered, "Princess, you should coax the Prince. He has come all this way. You should just agree verbally and actually do it. Why make him angry and leave? Who knows when the Prince will step into our East Courtyard again?"

Granny Zhao was heartbroken, but Princess Jing sneered, "When we were still in love, we thought he was handsome and dashing, but now we see he's just so-so."

She took a sip of tea: "I asked you to keep an eye on that vixen, have you made any progress?"

Granny Zhao said, "I heard that the West Courtyard just managed to scrape together enough rent a few days ago to pay the rent for the shops owned by the imperial family. Aunt Liu said that those shops aren't making any money, and she's thinking that she won't renew the lease after it expires this year."

Princess Jing narrowed her eyes: "How could it not make money? I had a hard time getting those shops rented from Her Majesty the Empress, and they were all gold shops! She really has no vision; the shops ended up losing money in her hands?"

Granny Zhao shook her head noncommittally and sighed, "That's right. I think she probably feels that paying rent is not worthwhile, unlike the Prince's own shops which can operate without rent."

"He can't even afford this small rent cost, how stingy. He's just a cheapskate who's good at making people happy in bed, but good for nothing else."

Speaking of this, Granny Zhao hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, there is something else. I am not entirely sure about it, but I have some clues. I don't know if I should say it or not."

Princess Jing glanced at her and said, "You are someone I brought from my maiden home. What are you hiding from me? Just say it."

Granny Zhao leaned closer to the Princess and whispered a few words in her ear, which made the Princess frown.

"She has some nerve, daring to drug the Prince!" Although Princess Jing was disillusioned with Prince Jing, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"We need to catch her in the act, otherwise words are meaningless and she might turn the tables on us. Either we find the powder in her room, or we let the prince discover it himself..." Zhao Mama suggested, not wanting the straightforward princess to act impulsively and alert the enemy.

Princess Jing calmed down and thought it over carefully. After a while, she said, "Then let's keep an eye on things and let the prince find out for himself. Find an opportunity to slip in some clues, but don't be too obvious. I won't get involved in such detailed work. I'm afraid that if I can't help but say it in public, it will only cause trouble."

Zhao Mama quickly agreed. Back then, the Madam sent her to accompany the young lady on her wedding day so that she could help the young lady resolve these complicated matters. She needed to think carefully about how to get the news to the Prince's ears.

In the west courtyard of Prince Jing's mansion, Aunt Liu saw that the dishes on the table were getting cold and the prince had not yet come over, so she sent someone to invite him again, but still could not get him to come.

"Ha, she only went to the East Courtyard once and didn't even stay overnight. Why doesn't she even come to my West Courtyard anymore? Could it be that the Princess Consort has spread rumors about me, making the Prince dislike me?" Aunt Liu was so angry that she couldn't eat.

The maidservant advised, "Perhaps His Highness is tired these past few days and wants to rest. Don't worry, Madam. You're currently favored; how could His Highness tire of you? Besides, last night, it didn't go on until so late..." The maidservant blushed and dared not continue. Ever since Madam Liu obtained the secret medicine from the madam of the Drunken Spring Pavilion, which greatly enhanced His Highness's virility, he had been enjoying himself immensely every night these past few days.

Aunt Liu took a deep breath and slowly calmed down: "However, I'm still not sure. Didn't you manage to get someone into the East Courtyard when I asked you to do it before?"

The maid shook her head: "The servants serving in the East Courtyard, apart from the dowry maids that the Princess brought from the Xu family, are only those she bought herself. The Princess holds all the indentures, so our people can't get in."

Aunt Liu lamented, "It's all my fault for not having a good family background. I only have a pretty face. Otherwise, I would have dragged her down and taken her place myself."

She was merely a concubine in the Prince's mansion, and although she managed the household affairs, her status was ultimately lowly. Invitations were sent from various families in the capital, inviting the Prince's family members to a banquet at his residence, but in the end, only the Princess Consort could attend, or if the Princess Consort didn't go, the Crown Prince's wife would; it was never her turn.

She also wanted to travel around like a mistress, expand her network, and climb into the upper class, but unfortunately, her status as a concubine was not enough!

The maid seemed to see through her thoughts, her eyes darkened, and she said, "I think the Princess Consort is quite well-behaved. Why don't you get closer to her, Aunt? If you get the chance in the future, she can put in a good word for you. At the very least, if the Princess Consort is going to a banquet on behalf of the Prince's Mansion one day, it would be a good thing to bring you along."

Aunt Liu suddenly felt relieved, and her bad mood from being rejected by the prince today finally improved. She then focused on how to win over the Crown Prince's wife.

As for Princess Jing, she continued as usual, playing, eating, and having fun as she pleased, without taking Prince Jing's words to heart at all.

Prince Jing was depressed for several days and hid in his study without going to any courtyard. Just then, Prince Yu and Prince Jing invited him to the palace to accompany His Majesty to appreciate paintings, so he left his residence and went straight to the palace.

He Linzhang was highly accomplished in calligraphy and painting. His calligraphy and paintings were among the best in the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, he never used his real name, but instead used the name "Mr. Yougui".

The painting I'm admiring today is one that "Mr. Yougui" auctioned off five years ago. Now it's worth 20,000 taels of silver and was bought back by Lord Qi of the Hanlin Academy to be presented to the royal family for collection purposes.

Lord Qi is a leading figure in the calligraphy and painting world of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If he says the calligraphy and painting are good, then they are good. He Linzhang was not in a position to accept gifts from his subjects, so he told him to keep them for himself. He only arranged a calligraphy and painting exhibition and invited all the princes and ministers who love calligraphy and painting to come to the palace to appreciate them.

Normally, Prince Jing is the most active on such occasions. He is a leisurely prince with a high level of skill in calligraphy and painting. He often comes up with insightful comments when appreciating masterpieces. However, he was unusually silent today, which made Lord Qi unable to stand up for himself when facing Mr. Yougui's paintings. He kept wondering if he had misjudged the paintings. Why didn't Prince Jing comment on them today?

"Your Highness, what do you think of Mr. Yougui's 'Fun Trips to the Suburbs of Beijing'? Compared to ten years ago, isn't this work from five years ago a step up?" Lord Qi wanted to get Prince Jing to say a few words to avoid an awkward silence.

Prince Jing glanced at it, his face expressionless: "Hmm... it's nothing special. However, his brushwork is quite vigorous and powerful, the lines flowing naturally like clouds and water; as for the coloring, it's just right and perfectly natural—this is clearly Mr. Yougui's consistent level!"

He Linzhang glanced at it. It was painted after he took Tao Yanyan to "Yueyan Xiaozhu" outside the capital. The back view of the beauty in the painting was Tao Yanyan.

Hearing Prince Jing's neutral assessment, He Linzhang said, "Does Prince Jing think this painting is just at his usual level? Didn't he realize that he poured a lot of emotion into it?"

He was completely obsessed with Tao Yanyan, loving even just her back view.

Prince Jing had been troubled for many days. After listening to His Majesty's words, he looked at the painting carefully again, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Compared to previous paintings, it is indeed somewhat different."

"Oh? Tell me about it?" He Linzhang and the others held their breath in anticipation.

Prince Jing snorted coldly: "This Mr. Yougui is probably bewitched by a beauty, like a young man who has fallen in love, his paper is full of affectionate words. Doesn't he know how old he is, still drawing such pictures of beautiful women?"

He Linzhang: “…”

Is it that obvious?