Good Man Operation Guide

Chapter 132.1- Rebirth of the Black Lotus (End)

Prince Linjiang, Lin Shiheng, was called into the palace and only returned in the late afternoon with a bang. The Princess Consort Mu Qingling was looking at the accounts of the Prince’s mansion when she heard the servant report that the Prince had returned, and smiled gently. She asked someone to send the accounts she had looked after to Lin Shiheng.

In the past few days, her body had gradually improved. She no longer felt weak to even breathe like before, and Mu Qingling knew it was because the poison in her body had been purged.

She could also roughly figure out who had poisoned her. Although she didn’t know why Mu Qingrong had pushed Prince Linjiang on her herself and then backtracked, and tried to scheme up afterwards, now that her greatest reliance had made it clear that he didn’t like Mu Qingrong, Mu Qingling didn’t have to hold back.

On her last visit, she had informed her mother of her suspicions. Now, her younger brother was growing up and enjoyed studying. He was still the son of a concubine, so her second Uncle was able to tolerate him.

The eldest family’s position in the Marquis’s household was certainly not as good as it could have been, but at least on the surface, her second uncle still cared about his reputation and treated his older brother’s widow and young son well.

Mu Qingling felt the tactics of her second uncle and second aunt when she wasn’t married were disgusting. They withheld funds behind the scenes but were generous on the surface, leaving the eldest family with no basis to speak out on.

They were all from distinguished families. Even if it was for the sake of their children, they all wanted to save face. Mu Qingling knew in her heart that the second family was sure that her mother wouldn’t speak a word for the sake of her children’s reputation. If it was in the past, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything even if she was bitter in her heart. But now, however, she was Princess Consort Linjiang.

In addition, yesterday, her husband had told her that he would like to see the first family separated, if possible.

Although this was said because he was disgusted by Mu Qingrong’s brazen behavior, Mu Qingling was still delighted.

In fact, it was easy for the Marquis’s household to separate. After all, the only elderly person left above was the Old Madam, who was still seriously ill and bedridden. It was reasonable to say that, since her second uncle had inherited the title before, but since her father was no longer there, the eldest family’s members should move out. However, at that time, she and her concubine born younger brother were still young, so no one in the household raised the issue.

Besides, at that time, her father had just died, and her uncle wasn’t crazy enough to let his widowed sister-in-law move out with his nephew and niece. Otherwise, it would become evidence that he didn’t tolerate them.

Now that her father had passed away many years ago and her younger brother was older, although she was married to the imperial family, the Prince’s reputation outside had never been very good. Now, when her mother raised the idea of separating the family, she believed that her second uncle would agree.

Mu Qingling had tidied up the upper and lower parts of the imperial mansion, and was about to send someone to buy a residence outside with her own personal money, when the maid serving by her side walked in with the proper etiquette.

“Madam, the Prince has sent someone.”

“Come in.”

The visitor, a servant boy, respectfully handed the box in his arms to the maid, and watched as the maid hand it to Mu Qingling.

“The Prince instructed this servant to bring this here, saying it was only to be considered as a congratulatory gift.”

A gift?

What kind of husband gives his wife a congratulatory gift.

Mu Qingling took it suspiciously and opened the box, which actually contained the deed to a residence and some land.

The servant kneeling below saw the surprise on her face and respectfully said, “His Highness heard that the Marquis of Zhongyi’s family is going to separate, so this is a gift to the Eldest Madam of the family."

This is for mother?

Mu Qingling was touched and surprised.

She was moved by the fact that the Prince had considered the situation so carefully and was surprised that he was even more kind to her than she had expected.

Mu Qingling, who was originally pampered as a child and then fell from grace after her father’s death, had known since childhood that she had to protect her mother and look after her youngest brother. Because of that, she had never considered herself as someone needing protection, but had always tried to protect those around her.

Now that she was being sheltered by her husband in this way, her heart was overflowing with thoughts, almost to the point of flooding her whole heart.

She pursed her lips, hid the tears in her eyes, and quietly said, “Go back and thank the Prince for me.”

The Prince was so kind to her, so she had to return the favor.

In the future, even if the Prince was truly ignorant and had a house full of concubines, she would still take care of it for him and do her part as a wife.

Mu Qingling never wanted to monopolize Lin Shiheng, she had been taught that it was normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines, and that as a wife, she must manage the household for him, and must not be envious.

As an ancient native, Mu Qingling never had any thought in her head about a lifetime of love as a couple.

And of course, above all, she had no love for her husband.

After all, having just married and fallen into a coma, having to deal with Mu Qingrong’s fussiness all the time since waking up, and needing to find the time to manage the affairs of the Prince’s mansion, Mu Qingling really didn’t have the time to develop romantic feelings.

What’s more, her husband was a member of the Imperial family. According to common sense, as a Prince, Lin Shiheng could have two side consorts, and the rest were naturally concubines whose names couldn’t be written down on the Imperial Family’s family tree.

Even if Lin Shiheng himself didn’t go looking for a woman, the Empress Dowager would certainly give her son one.

Mu Qingling was well prepared mentally and had some of the small courtyards renovated, waiting for the young concubines to live in them.

However, she waited and waited, but she didn’t see any woman brought back by the Prince.

Even the Empress Dowager hadn’t uttered a single word about bestowing a side consort to him.

Mu Qingling breathed a sigh of relief. Although she said she didn’t mind being a gracious wife, as a woman, who would want to share their husband with a bunch of people, or even have their children share their father with other people’s children later on?

If the Prince and Empress Dowager didn’t mention it, she wouldn’t take the initiative to do so, just to show off her generosity and virtue.

Just as she was relieved, she became pregnant.

Mu Qingling was delighted while her heart was at her throat.

After all, if she was pregnant, she wouldn’t be able to share a room with the Prince, and the Empress Dowager would have to give him a side consort or concubine.

Maybe the Prince himself wouldn’t be able to hold it in and look outside.

She was worried. The Prince loved to go to the brothel for fun. What if he found a girl from a brothel?

Fortunately, Lin Shiheng didn’t bring back a woman until Mu Qingling safely delivered a daughter.

Even the Empress Dowager, the few times she came to the Palace to pay her respects, she only cared about the child in her belly and never mentioned that she was going to send any concubines in the mansion.

Mu Qingling’s heart tightened when she found out the baby was a girl.

She loved her daughter. In her eyes, either daughters and sons, this was her child and should be loved, but the Imperial family valued a male heir and her daughter was somewhat average.

Mu Qingling was a little worried that her daughter wouldn’t be loved by the Prince.

This fear soon proved to be unwarranted.

Prince Linjiang was so excited to be a father for the first time, even took the initiative to hold her and change her nappy. He went to the palace to ask the Emperor for help in naming his daughter, and was named Princess Longyu on the spot.

Since her birth, she was pampered by everyone, whether it was her father, her Emperor Uncle, or her Imperial Grandmother; all of whom treated her as if she were the apple of their eye.

As a result, she was brought up with a reputation for being blessed with Imperial honor. Compared to some of the less fortunate young girls in the capital, she had the luxury of being brought to the Imperial Palace by her father, to play with some of her cousins, and to be taken out of the house by her mother and to play at her grandmother’s residence.

The young Princess’s favorite people were her father and mother, followed by her younger brother. As there had never been any other woman in the mansion, she had always thought that in the whole world, except for her Emperor Uncle, all other families were monogamous and had no concubines.

This notion didn’t change until she was a little older. After her mother had finished teaching her, her father would take her to see the lanterns outside the mansion.

If one ignored the three layers of guards and maidservants around them, the family looked like an ordinary family, with the father holding his daughter and the mother carrying a lantern, walking happily through the crowd.

“Although most men in this world have three wives and four concubines, when Longyu gets married, father will definitely find you a good husband who doesn’t take concubines and is devoted to you. If I can’t find one, Longyu doesn’t have to get married. Father and mother will support you for the rest of your life.”

“What about Father? Will Father take a concubine like most men?”

“Father won’t take a concubine. Those women are not as beautiful as your mother.”

The young Princess didn’t know that her father was serious and that he had found her a husband who would be devoted to her. She was too young to understand that, and she only clapped her hands in joy and agreed.

When she made a fuss about getting down and walking on her own, the young Princess got down and walked forward with her lantern under the careful care of her servants. When she looked back, she saw her mother looking at her father and smiling. The smile was full of happiness.