A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace Chapter 1091: Confidence in Success
Previously on A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace...
Amidst this flawless balance.
Hai Feng displayed zero response to the three concubines' entrance.
Onlookers hoping for drama felt let down.
Yet...
Though the Fifth Prince’s Mansion stayed calm, the Sixth Prince’s Mansion buzzed with excitement.
The Sixth Prince, pampered rotten by Empress Dowager Zhen, was a total good-for-nothing.
Brutal in temper, lustful, addicted to gambling, lazy to the bone, riddled with vices and devoid of merits.
His legs turned to jelly, and Zhao Junyao couldn't rein him in properly.
As long as he avoided massive scandals, all turned a blind eye, allowing his reckless ways.
Suddenly, three stunning beauties showed up at his mansion.
Exotic stunners boasting slender waists, endless legs, and voluptuous hips that thrilled him to no end.
That very night they stepped in, music and dances filled the air, with revelry lasting till dawn.
All three had their innocence claimed, becoming his playthings.
In the ensuing days.
The trio rotated in attending him, keeping the Sixth Prince totally enchanted.
They shoved aside the Main Wife, other concubines, and every maid in the He Residence.
Lady Zhu trembled in fury, clueless on how to act.
Following her prior flop in appealing to Empress Dowager Zhen.
She knew full well her mother-in-law favored the master above all; as a mere niece, she could never outrank him.
Thus, she abandoned hopes of the Empress Dowager Zhen stepping in.
She took the lesson to heart.
Inner courtyard matters demanded her own scheming.
Over the master’s doting, her Main Wife status mattered most.
Hence, birthing a legitimate eldest son was essential.
Only a son would solidify her place in the Royal Family.
After deep deliberation.
The Sixth Princess Consort realized the trio's favoritism might not be all bad.
Far preferable to that wretch Xia Ruyi gaining it.
Foreign women could never bear the Prince’s heirs, serving only as fleeting amusements.
Once sated and the thrill faded, they'd get discarded.
Her duty lay in handling the fallout wisely.
Such as: preparing extra contraceptive brews and forcing them down.
With everything set.
The Sixth Princess Consort sighed in relief, enjoying life more than ever.
Particularly witnessing Xia Ruyi and the concubines lose favor together.
Her spirits soared like soaking in hot springs amid blizzards or devouring ice treats in blistering sun.
’Hmph! Favored once or not, you remain under my thumb?!’
’I’m still the Family Matriarch at least—what’s Xia Ruyi got?’
She reveled as ruler of the rear courtyard.
While Xia Ruyi and the two concubines braced like facing dire foes.
In battling for his affection.
Inner courtyard schemes poured forth endlessly.
Fresh theatrics erupted daily, more vibrant than any stage play.
Regrettably...
All the fuss proved pointless.
The Sixth Prince brimmed with vigor.
His mind wholly seized by the three beauties, no space left for others.
This particular day.
The Sixth Prince roused late from a sweet dream.
Squinting, he meant to flip over for a quick kiss on his beauty.
Yet his hand grasped empty air.
Eyes flying open, he saw the bed deserted.
This sparked his wrath.
His face, bloated from overindulgence, twisted in rage.
"Someone come!"
The servant boy dashed in from outside.
"What commands does master have?"
The Sixth Prince let out a yawn.
"Where’s my beauty? Where have my beauties vanished to?"
The servant boy scratched his head in terror, whispering low.
"My lord!"
"Concubine Lan felt unwell and summoned the concubines, claiming they must tend to her illness..."
The Sixth Prince’s features contorted in fury.
"Tend to illness?"
"Concubines attending a consort?"
Unless he misremembered, solely the Main Wife could demand service from concubines.
What gall for a concubine when the Family Matriarch stayed silent?
The angrier the Sixth Prince grew with each thought.
With a resounding ’bang,’ he smashed the table.
The teacup and teapot rattled, water splashing out.
The servant boy dropped to his knees in fright.
"My lord! The consort insisted it’s by the rules—concubines can’t overnight with the Prince. I dared not break them!"
Imperial Family rules bound tight.
They scraped by at the bottom, obeying every superior.
Safest path: stick to the rules!
But... who was the Sixth Prince? The top wastrel among royals.
Rules meant nothing to him—like serenading a bovine.
And so, the servant boy endured fifty lashes and was locked away in a dark room for reflection.
Amid the freezing chill.
With fifty whips on his back and confinement in that dark room, even without dying from the beating or being crippled, the icy cold would drag him straight to Yama.
But.
The Sixth Prince had no leisure to ponder if the servant boy would encounter Yama.
He dashed to Concubine Lan’s courtyard without even putting on proper clothes.
...
Concubine Lan was truly sick, aching in her hands, feet, chest, everywhere.
Could it be those prettier, younger, curvaceous beauties by the bed that provoked her fury?
Or perhaps the menacing glare of the fierce-eyed Sixth Master, looking ready to devour her, that terrified her?
Either way, she lay limp on the bed, too weak to rise.
The Sixth Prince eyed the three beauties kneeling close by.
Then he stared at Concubine Lan’s ashen face on the bed, rage filling his gaze.
He charged ahead, seized Concubine Lan by the collar, and snarled fiercely.
"Did you call them here?"
"You must have a death wish!"
Concubine Lan nearly pissed herself in terror.
"My lord... I... this concubine..."
The Sixth Prince shoved her back onto the bed, her head slamming into the bedpost.
Pain exploded for Concubine Lan, stars bursting in her vision amid flowing tears.
"Lord..." she said, voice quivering.
The Sixth Prince sneered coldly.
"What? Feeling wronged?"
"What do you have to be wronged about?"
"Can you be more wronged than them?"
He jabbed a finger toward the three kneeling beauties.
Concubine Lan stood stunned, too frightened to utter a word.
Yet inside, she wondered in confusion;
What wrongs do they suffer? Just some outsider women snatching my man and shaming me.
A pack of seductive foxes.
Hmph! Your downfall awaits once the favor fades.
As these thoughts swirled, Concubine Lan shredded her handkerchief but kept her head bowed low.
The Sixth Prince vented his curses harshly for some time.
Since she came from the Empress Mother, he held back from severe punishment, merely slashing her allowance and grounding her in her quarters.
Still, the fury burning in his chest demanded release.
Concubine Lan got off lightly, but her personal maidservant did not.
The Sixth Prince ordered her flogged and tossed into a dark room just the same.
As the proverb says.
When beating a dog, heed its owner.
With her trusted maid punished so, how much arrogance remained for Concubine Lan?
Her allowance slashed and confinement imposed, followed by her maid’s beating and removal.
In an instant, the once-splendid Concubine Lan plummeted to rock bottom, mocked by all.
Gossip swirled throughout the Sixth Prince’s Mansion.
Even Lady Zhu couldn’t resist sneering.
"I told you so!"
"These women are formidable, subduing all the concubines and maids!"
Chief maid Ying Tao felt a twinge of concern.
"Master, if they are so formidable, what if... they threaten our status?"
"Impossible!" Lady Zhu declared with full confidence.