This bet quickly spread throughout the capital by the end of the day. Duan Mingxi immediately instructed Duan Pingchang to leak information and deliberately split the boat teams into a North Team and a South Team.
The age-old rivalry between North and South wasn’t limited to dragon boat races—it extended even to court politics, where officials were divided into northern and southern factions.
Many dragon boat teams in the capital had secretly recruited skilled southern rowers. Teams like the Imperial Weaving Bureau’s and the Dingyuan Marquisate’s, composed entirely of southerners, were rare but not unheard of.
Mingxi kept the news under wraps. Until the race, the rowers from these two teams were forbidden from showing their faces and trained at secret locations.
When the news reached Xu Donglin, it had already become the talk of the town.
Xu Donglin recalled the team sent to him by Duan Pingchang and felt a twinge of unease.
Hands clasped behind his back, he paced his room. No matter how he thought about it, this couldn’t be a coincidence.
If the gambling operation in the capital weren’t controlled by Duan Pingchang, and if the one leading the bets weren’t Duan Mingxi, he might have brushed it off.
But it was them!
And before this, they’d even sent him a team composed entirely of southerners!
D*mn!
This was practically handing him free money on a silver platter. That father-daughter duo from the Duan family was truly impressive. He’d already been taken aback by their last maneuver, but this? This was next-level.
Upon returning home, Xu Donglin instructed his wife to wager a large sum on the Imperial Weaving Bureau’s team.
Madame Xu was reluctant. Her husband’s modest post barely afforded public appearances in past years. Joining the fun this year was fine, but betting? That was just throwing money into the river!
Still, she didn’t dare go behind his back and change teams. Sulking, she begrudgingly placed the bet with Duan Pingchang and didn’t speak to her husband for three days out of sheer irritation.
Xu Donglin, for his part, only muttered, “Short-sighted woman,” but said no more. When the money came rolling in, she’d know who was right.
Thanks to this, Xu Donglin took a personal interest in the race. Winning money was secondary—he absolutely couldn’t lose face in front of his wife!
The buzz grew louder and louder, even reaching the palace.
Upon hearing about it, the emperor became intrigued and summoned the crown prince and his other sons to inquire further.
It didn’t take long to find out that the mastermind behind it all was none other than Old Four’s unwed fiancée. The emperor pondered for a moment before recalling her and cast a teasing look at his stern-faced son.
With such a wooden expression, how did he end up fancying such a feisty woman?
The emperor’s gaze was so direct that the others couldn’t hold back their laughter at Duan Wang’s stoic face.
Duan Wang stood there, lips pressed together, immovable as a mountain.
The emperor, finding it amusing, decided to poke some fun. “Old Four, which team did you bet on?”
Jin Wang immediately chimed in, “Royal Father, you don’t know? When Fourth Brother heard Miss Duan put together a team for the Dingyuan Marquisate, he disbanded his own team and put all his money on theirs.”
The emperor felt a headache coming on as he tried to recall what that future daughter-in-law of his looked like. She’d attended the longevity banquet, but he couldn’t quite place her—there had been so many people that day.
At the longevity banquet, he entered the palace, but he couldn’t recall it clearly. With so many people there that day, he had long since forgotten.
Who would have thought that after all these years of being oblivious, his son would suddenly figure things out? All the people his royal mother sent were turned away, and now, once he had an epiphany, it was extraordinary.
How did he fail to notice that his quiet and reserved son was actually quite good at charming people?
“Is everything your older brother said true?” The Emperor looked at Duan Wang and asked.
Xiao Muchen slightly furrowed his brow and cast a sidelong glance at Jin Wang before raising his head to look at his father. “It’s true.”
And then?
Aren’t you going to explain?
The emperor looked at his son in surprise. “That’s all?”
The crown prince, Yu Wang, and Qi Wang had not expected their father to take such an interest in this matter. Now things had escalated: Fourth Brother’s wife hadn’t even entered the family yet, but she’d already caught the emperor’s attention twice.
The first time, it was because Fourth Brother insisted he’d marry no one but her.
The second time, he dissolved his estate’s fleet for her.
To outsiders, it seemed like he was consumed by infatuation, abandoning ambition. Shouldn’t their royal father be angry about this?
Why, then, did he not only appear unbothered but even seemed pleased?
The brothers were baffled. Could it be that their deliberate reports to the palace had gone too far and backfired?
Their faces turned grim, but they had to maintain an appearance of brotherly harmony before the emperor, a task that was suffocatingly frustrating.
After sending his troublesome sons out of the palace, the emperor went to Consort Shu’s Cuiwei Palace for lunch.
Consort Shu was pleasantly surprised. The four senior consorts were all older now, and the Emperor preferred the younger, fresher concubines. However, the senior consorts had accompanied him for many years and had sons to support them. While they no longer shared his bed, their rewards and status were far beyond what the younger concubines could hope for.
Even so, it wasn’t common for the Emperor to dine with them—once every ten days or half a month was already considered good.
“Have you heard about the trouble that the young wife of Old Fourth has been stirring up recently?”
Hearing this, Consort Shu noticed the Emperor’s faint smile but felt her heart tighten.
After so many years by his side, she knew that a smile on the Emperor’s face didn’t necessarily mean he was pleased.
Was this a casual question, or was he probing for something?
Her mind raced, but she spoke in a mildly complaining tone, “I said from the beginning she wasn’t suitable to be a Wangfei, but Old Fourth insisted on choosing her himself.
“After all, she grew up in a merchant family and followed her adoptive father around doing business since she was young. Her ways are completely different from those of noblewomen in the capital. She just can’t sit still.
“Look at the things she’s done—it’s embarrassing! I haven’t even stepped out of the palace gates lately for fear of being laughed at.”
Who was she afraid of laughing at her?
Only a handful of people in the palace would dare mock Consort Shu, but she subtly planted a seed of doubt in the Emperor’s mind.
She thought to herself: if I criticize and belittle my daughter-in-law like this, surely the Emperor won’t get upset. If I were to speak in her favor instead, that would be the real problem.
“She grew up traveling with her adoptive father? You never mentioned this before,” the Emperor said, looking at her in surprise.
Consort Shu’s face showed a trace of helplessness. “That’s what the Duan family girl told me herself. At the time, I couldn’t help but wish time could turn back. If I had known, I wouldn’t have let Old Fourth attend the banquet at Shangyang Palace that day.”
The Emperor couldn’t help but laugh at her words. He had favored Consort Shu in the past precisely because of her personality—she always managed to make him happy during their conversations.
“If you dislike that Duan family girl so much, why not pick two girls you like to be secondary consorts for Old Fourth?”
Hearing this, Consort Shu’s heart clenched, but her face showed a conflicted expression.
“You’re unwilling?”
Consort Shu sighed. “It’s not that I’m unwilling. I’m just afraid Old Fourth won’t agree.”
“He dares?” The Emperor’s expression turned stern.
“He wouldn’t dare,” Consort Shu quickly replied. “The child is filial. If I truly selected someone, even if he didn’t like them, he wouldn’t say anything.
“But his nature is so serious and reserved. Even if something bothers him, he keeps it bottled up and suffers silently.”
“Your Majesty, I only have this one son. All I wish for is for him to live a peaceful and happy life. Knowing something would upset him, how could I bear to make him suffer?”
“It doesn’t matter whether I like her or not—as long as he does. Just like when I entered the palace and met Your Majesty, I’ve never regretted it. To meet Your Majesty is my life’s greatest happiness. So I hope my son can experience the same joy.”
The emperor froze, his dark eyes fixed on Consort Shu. She had no regrets?
