The Royal’s Little Lady

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T/N: I have changed the term ‘Yingfei’ to concubine and ‘Rufei’ to secondary consort. The previous chapter has also been edited. 

Gu Sui’er was stunned from start to finish. Even when Xiao Heng led her hand back to Tingzhu Courtyard, she still didn’t quite figure out what was happening.

 

“Third Master, what exactly is going on?”

 

“I requested for it to His Majesty. For now, you can only be a concubine.”

 

There were three ranks of women for a prince’s consorts: one principal consort, three secondary consorts1T/N: I’m not sure if it is there or two since in the previous chapter, the text said that a prince can have two secondary consorts, not three., and six concubines.

 

Xiao Heng knew that Gu Sui’er’s current identity did not allow her to be his principal consort, so he requested the position of a secondary consort. However, the Emperor only allowed her to be a concubine.

 

Still, being a concubine meant that she was a fifth-grade lady now.

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From Xiao Heng’s words, it seemed that he was regretful for only being able to get her the title of a concubine, but Gu Sui’er was already so dazed that she didn’t know what was happening anymore.

 

“What do I do as a concubine ah?”

 

She knew that the Madam, as a graded lady, was in charge of the day-to-day activities of the residence, making offerings to the gods and entering the Palace for New Year and such celebrations. Now that she had become a concubine, what was she supposed to do from here on? Could she handle it?

 

Xiao Heng held her hand and said softly, “For now, you don’t need to do anything. Just take care of Ah Chen.”

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In fact, even if she was merely a concubine, she still needed to manage the prince’s residence and enter the Palace in her graded lady’s uniform to pay her respects during festivals. This was because he did not have any other woman or a principal consort. 

 

But for now, he didn’t want to overwhelm her. Everything had to be done gradually.

 

After asking Xiao Heng many questions about a concubine, Gu Sui’er finally understood. Although a concubine had the word ‘concubine2T/N: The word here is 媵 (yìng) which means concubine. Basically, Gu Sui’er’s current position would be that of a ‘concubine consort’ (媵妃, where the 妃 or fēi means consort) if translated literally. But I didn’t use it because I felt that it would sound a little off in English.‘ in it and was not the principal consort, she was still a legitimate consort, the kind that Xiao Jin would have to kowtow to. Moreover, she had been conferred the status of a fifth-grade lady. 

 

She had suddenly become Xiao Heng’s concubine now.

 

What did this mean? This meant that when Xiao Heng’s name got registered in the genealogy, her name would also be added. It would say that his concubine, Gu-shi gave birth to his son Xiao Chen.

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This could be considered a matter of great joy.

 

She was unable to stop her lips from raising a little. Drawing close to Xiao Heng, she looked at him happily. However, after the joy, she suddenly remembered something.

 

Her little face fell instantly.

 

“Third Master, there is nothing between Jiang Zheng and me. He has not touched even a finger of mine.”

 

“I know.” Xiao Heng raised an eyebrow. “He wouldn’t dare.”

 

“That’s good.” Thinking of the matter again, she felt frustrated. “How could the eldest Young Miss do such a thing? She herself did something but tried to tarnish my reputation. Fortunately, you didn’t believe her and still made me a concubine. If it was someone skeptical, wouldn’t I have been harmed by her?”

 

Xiao Heng thought back to everything that happened and a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

 

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“You don’t have to worry about it anymore. You won’t see her again in the future.”

 

Prince Ningze resided in Ningze, which was a thousand li away from Yanjing City.

 

This was also the reason why Xiao Jin was so desperately unwilling to get married.

 

But now that she had caused such a big commotion, the family had no choice but to arrange to marry her off as quickly as possible to keep everyone’s lips sealed. 

 

The following events unfolded just as Xiao Heng had expected. Xiao Jin was punished and prohibited from leaving the residence, confined within the vicinity of her yard. Every day, she had to transcribe poetry and do embroidery.

 

About a month later, people from Prince Ningze’s family came to escort Xiao Jin for the wedding and Marquis Ruiding had to send her off in haste.

 

With Xiao Jin married off and Lu Qingyi rarely visiting anymore, the residence suddenly felt quite desolate. Xiao Xu felt bored by herself so she came to hang out with Gu Sui’er more often.

 

Xiao Xu had always tried to please Gu Sui’er, but now she even called her ‘Sister-in-law’.

 

Soon, Xiao Heng would become the fifth prince, and Gu Sui’er would become his concubine. Although her rank was not high, she was a legitimate consort and had already given birth to his eldest son. In the future, Gu Sui’er might not necessarily be easily overshadowed when Xiao Heng really marries a principal consort.

 

For Xiao Xu, clinging to Gu Sui’er’s thigh and pleasing her was naturally a good idea.

 

Gu Sui’er took care of Ah Chen every day and in her spare time, read books and practiced calligraphy. If she had any queries, she would ask Xiao Xu for help, and the latter would patiently teach her everything she knew.

 

Over time, the two became quite familiar with each other.

 

And so, the seventh month of the year arrived with its scorching days. Little Ah Chen was now ten months old and could already support himself up and take slow steps while holding onto the bed.

 

He was lively and active; he didn’t like to play on the bed. He preferred to get off the bed and chase the little puppy, Furball, on the floor.

 

Furball ran ahead, while little Ah Chen crawled behind, babbling loudly.

 

He was rather fast, using his chubby little hands to pull and his plump little legs to move forward until he finally grabbed little Furball’s tail.

 

After grabbing its tail, he got up and exclaim, “Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom!”

 

He could already say ‘Mom’ and would usually call out many times.

 

At this moment, Gu Sui’er was supervising the servants packing up.

 

She was moving into the princely residence.

 

The construction of the princely residence had been finished so all that was left was for Xiao Heng’s family to move there.

 

He had said that it was their own residence, so she could do anything once they moved there. She could plant trees if she wanted to plant trees, she could grow flowers if she wanted and so on. 

 

Initially, Gu Sui’er was a bit reluctant to leave the Ruiding residence and Tingzhu Courtyard. After all, she had been living here for so long since her arrival in Yanjing City.

 

It was here that she gave birth to little Ah Chen, and it was also here that she became familiar with this place and that man.

 

But in life, one must always look forward. The princely residence was bigger, newer, and more peaceful than here.

 

Gu Sui’er instructed Guizhi to pack everything before going inside to rescue little Furball from Ah Chen herself. She picked up her son.

 

Ah Chen had gotten a lot heavier; she could barely hold him now.

 

Gu Sui’er poked little Ah Chen’s forehead with her finger. “From now on, you must not bully little Furball. You are a person and it is a dog. People should not bully dogs, do you understand?”

 

It wasn’t clear if Ah Chen understood or not, but he hummed a few times and buried his face in Gu Sui’er’s neck as if he was acting spoiled and protesting at the same time.

 

Gu Sui’er was between laughter and tears. This child might be small, but he was quite cunning.

 

Just as she was thinking this, Guizhi came in and reported that Gu Baofeng had come.

 

After his name was changed from Gu Bao’er to Gu Baofeng, Xiao Heng had taken him to the Longqi Guards and assigned him a teacher for martial arts. He could only have one day off every month now.

 

The training of the Longqi Guards could season a person. In such a short period of time, Gu Baofeng’s rusticity had already diminished a lot. Today, he was dressed in a sapphire blue robe with a pouch embroidered by Gu Sui’er hung at his waist. He looked even more tall and upright, faintly exuding the imposing aura of a young soldier.

 

“Bao’er, how come you are here today?” Gu Sui’er was very happy to see her younger brother. She quickly instructed Nanny An to prepare some food for him.

 

“Fifth Prince didn’t tell you? He said you will be moving tomorrow, so he gave me a day off to help with the packing.”

 

As he spoke, Gu Baofeng walked over and took Ah Chen from Gu Sui’er’s arms.

 

Although he came to the Ruiding residence only once a month, little Ah Chen knew him very well and didn’t shy away at all. Seeing him, Ah Chen would raise his hands and motion Gu Baofeng to pick him up. Once held, he wouldn’t let go.

 

Now, Ah Chen rushed into his arms and didn’t let go, speaking loudly, “General, general, general, general3T/N: The word Ah Chen says is 将 which can mean a general of the army (original meaning) and also will/going to (as an adverb). Since it is mentioned earlier that Gu Baofeng has the aura of a soldier, I think it is better to choose the former option.…”

 

Gu Baofeng didn’t know what exactly Ah Chen was referring to, but he lovingly rubbed his little head and laughed, “Ah Chen, call me uncle!”

Thanks for reading ٩(๑ᴗ๑)۶! If you found any typo or want to suggest some corrections, feel free to do so in the comment section or on our discord server. And if you like my translation, please consider rating it on NU and supporting me on:

 

 

1T/N: I’m not sure if it is there or two since in the previous chapter, the text said that a prince can have two secondary consorts, not three.2T/N: The word here is 媵 (yìng) which means concubine. Basically, Gu Sui’er’s current position would be that of a ‘concubine consort’ (媵妃, where the 妃 or fēi means consort) if translated literally. But I didn’t use it because I felt that it would sound a little off in English.3T/N: The word Ah Chen says is 将 which can mean a general of the army (original meaning) and also will/going to (as an adverb). Since it is mentioned earlier that Gu Baofeng has the aura of a soldier, I think it is better to choose the former option.