Novel Bin Chapter 194 “Promotion, Third Rank Princess”
At first he was still having trouble believing the story because over the years, no matter the healer or alchemists who came to see his son, all claimed they couldn’t do a thing. This was true even for the only senior alchemist of Da Xia, Master Jia Hou.
Back then he, the king, had been saddened by this fact. After all, Hou Qi was his favorite son and favored heir to the throne. But as time went on, all emotions will dampen. Slowly alienating himself from the queen and his deranged and mad son, he had all but in name banished the pair into the cold palace. If not for today’s news, he might not even have remembered their faces.
Originally he expected the queen to be old and haggard after so many years of solitude, but he was wrong. Pleasantly surprised by that fair skin, dark hair, and alluring eyes, that’s the sort of face one might find in a young maiden. The more he looked, the more the memories of old surged back to him.
On that fair day many years ago during that hot summer day, the flowers were in full bloom and he himself was but a young king still wet behind the ears. He didn’t expect much back then. Like all the usual meetings with the new ladies in wait, it was dull and uninteresting. Then she appeared… Liu Yun Xiu, the woman to become queen and his wife. One look, that’s all it needed. The unbridle shock and electrifying connection they shared at first glance, the emotions were so true and powerful…
Towards the affectionate gaze of the king, there’s bound to be those who are happy and those who are unhappy. While the dowager repeatedly nodded in satisfaction, Consort Luo was gnashing her teeth so hard that it nearly broke them.
As for the younger generation, Xia Hou Qi and Ling Yue only had approval in their eyes because the young beautiful appearance of the queen had much to do with our girl’s effort.
Back when Ling Yue first met with the queen, the woman was indeed haggard and in poor condition. No matter. Through the nourishment of the spirit fruits and vegetables provided by the Red Mist Sky and the rejuvenating effects of Master Longyu’s cosmetic Dan pills, all was well and great. No longer a washed up middle-aged woman, Queen Liu was now in her prime and even superseded herself in the younger years.
Wanting to confirm the sixth prince’s condition, the king went ahead and made the decision to call for addition help from the outside. Summoning the palace healers and some of the most senior of alchemists from the tower, everyone was able to confirm Xia Hou Qi had fully recovered, thus leaving no room for doubt at this point.
“Congratulations to Your Majesty, his highness the sixth prince is in perfect condition. Not only that, the spirit force inside his body is also comparable to a five-cauldron alchemist.” After taking an examination at the king’s request, Master Longyu found an unexpected surprise that wasn’t in his plan. Not only was the prince in tip top condition, the amount of spirit force inside that youthful body was extremely vigorous and dense.
Five cauldron?
Even for Ling Yue who had become accustomed to many surprises – especially her own – this news was quite the shocker. To think the boy would achieve such high results despite wasting away for so many years.
“Father, I want to become Master Longyu’s pupil.” Knowing Ling Yue was also a disciple of the old master, he takes this opportunity to carry out his plan to get closer to the girl. His intentions were simple. If they are of the same mentor, it would mean more opportunities to get closer and build up their relationship.
As a father, Xia Hou Yuan (king) does hold some guilt towards this son of his. Over the years, he’s been intentionally neglecting the pair, but now it turns out this son was a five-cauldron alchemist? No way he can refuse a request now that the boy’s asking for it.
As for Master Longyu, he naturally didn’t have any opinion about the proposal. Ignoring the fact that this whole show had been orchestrated by his apprentice Ling Yue, this old dwarf was also very happy to take on a talented individual like the sixth prince regardless of the boy’s background.
Recovery of the sixth prince, blooming of the rainbow peony, all of these events are considered a great omen by the dowager; therefore, the old queen’s attention naturally moved away from Hong Yu Ying and Nangong Qinglin.
Lucky for them, because after thirty and fifty rods respectively, the buttocks of these girls are blossoming with bloodstain flowers now. If not for the servants from their families coming to retrieve the girls, Hong Yu Ying and Nangong Qinglin wouldn’t be able to make it out of the palace intact.
“Ling Yue, this time the blooming of the rainbow peony and Hou Qi’s recovery is all thanks to you. Your contribution cannot be ignored.” The dowager didn’t forget to reward the girl for her achievement.
“Your title as princess was personally bestowed by me, but there’s always those who are too ignorant and blind to know this. Fortunately a child like you is so generous and won’t dwell on others lack of manner. As we all saw today, the Lan House’s ability to tutor their daughters are exemplary. To match that achievement, I shall bestow upon your mother the title of ‘Second Rank Court Madam’ and you ‘Third Rank Princess’. I like to see who will dare disrespect you again in the future.”
Note: I completely made up the Court Madam title because there’s nothing remotely close to what was used in Chinese. The original title is like an honorary one representing their good teachings at home, counterpart of what an official in court is like. Technically, Madam Lan is higher rank than her husband now that she’s second rank. Ouch!
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What a wily old lady. It’s not like the dowager doesn’t suspect there’s something dubious going on here, just that she’s very happy on where the direction was heading to. The queen reuniting with the king, her favored grandson recovering from mental derangement, what more can she ask for?
In no time at all, this sensational news had taken the capital by storm.
There are many titled princesses in the kingdom of Da Xia, but to give a court rank to that title, now that’s something that doesn’t happen often. In fact, it’s extremely rare for its tantamount to being recognized by royalty.
It wasn’t only Ling Yue benefiting from the reward either this time. Madam Lan gaining the title of Second Rank Court Madam also brought great benefits. That’s equal to a wife of a duke in status! A duke, not a marquis! Even for Zhu Ge Rou and the other noble ladies of the various houses, they all have to perform a proper greeting when facing Madam Lan in the future.
Needless to say, there’s also the fact that Xia Hou Qi just became the apprentice of Master Longyu, meaning Ling Yue was now the junior sister of the sixth prince. Even if someone wants to make trouble for the second miss of the Lan House in the future, they will have to think twice now that there’s this connection.
By the time Hong Feng and Zhu Ge Rou became aware of this news, it’s also the moment when their precious daughter Hong Yu Ying arrived at home in her stretcher. Blood could still be seen seeping out of her butt.
Speaking of Hong Yu Ying, she did have quite the bad luck today. First was being pushed into the water, then thirty beatings by the rod. And let’s not forget her punishment was handed down by the dowager herself, no way the guards would hold back this time. Consider herself lucky none of her bones were crushed in the process.
As for Nangong Qinglin, her state was even more miserable. As a cultivator of the spirit force with no training to her physical body, she didn’t even last to the end of her punishment before fainting. By the time she returned home in the stretcher, her mother wailed so hard that even the great General Goldsword had turned green.
“Yu Ying, my precious daughter, how did you become like this?” Seeing the miserable state of her eldest daughter, Zhu Ge Rou nearly broke out into tears.
“Mother, its Nangong Qinglin and that shameless bitch Lan Ying Yue…” Hong Yu Ying pins all the blame onto the two like she’s the victim.
Following today’s shameful ruckus, it’s a certainty Consort Luo would look at her in a different light from now on. Forget about becoming the crown princess, it’s likely she wouldn’t even be able to enter the palace.
“Quit raising a fuss sister. That girl had just been raised to a third rank princess because of your folly. Now you and I will have to bow before her every time we meet at the Grand Martial Hall. It’s all your fault you know that? Not only did you screw yourself over, you also let the girl benefit from your mess!” Steaming upon his return, Hong Yu Long blamed it all on his sister.
Having his sister being beaten was a small matter, the big matter was the recovery of the sixth prince!
From the very beginning the Hong House had been supporting the fourth prince from behind, therefore Hong Yu Long had been destined to follow this path upon his birth. And over the years, the boy did just that without fail. Carrying out various tasks for the fourth prince, Hong Yu Long had done more evil deeds than most men twice his age. Of course, it was all carried out behind the backs of his family, meaning Hong Feng and Zhu Ge Rou had no idea.
Take this flower gazing party for example. He had been against his sister taking part in the crown princess selection the entire time, but their parents wouldn’t agree. And now this happened, what to do!
“Hong Yu Long, are still my brother?! I’ve become like this and you are still giving me those sarcastic remarks. Father! Where’s father?! He loves me so much, he will definitely help me get payback. So what if that girl’s a third rank princess? Father is the royal tutor, way better than some filthy tramp.” Increasingly angry, her missy tantrum starts acting up again and thus began the usual trashing of items in the room.
“Father was called into the palace by Consort Luo, most likely to clean up your mess.” Giving her sister a cold grunt, Hong Yu Long ignores the spoiled girl to seek out the crown prince for further discussion on how to deal with the sixth prince.