The Survival Rules of a Concubine's Daughter 135: Respect for Tea Before

  Inside the brightly lit Weiyang Palace, under the support of Empress Dowager Cixi's attendants, she sat back in her original position on the imperial couch, calmly gazing at Yang Qinniang and quietly said: "Alright, it's getting late, you should drink your tea quickly and enter the palace early."

  Yang Qining was overjoyed, and with difficulty got up from the ground, because she had been kneeling for too long, her knees were numb, and before she could get up, she fell to the ground again. Lady Yang was greatly distressed, and hurriedly came forward to help her up, her eyes filled with tears: "My poor daughter, for the sake of the Duke of Jing, why must you suffer so..."

  Empress Dowager Zhen also felt a pang of sympathy in her heart, and sighed repeatedly, "After all, it's the suffering of love, alas, poor child."

  Lu Shu's eyes fluttered with emotion, her expression complex.

  With a cold gaze and a faint smile at the corner of his lips, "Since the power of love is so great, what's the big deal about suffering these hardships?"

  Mrs. Yang was indignant and said, "Everyone has a heart of compassion, but how can Princess Wang be so unmoved by the suffering of Qingning? She truly has a heart of stone."

  The cold and unfeeling Emperor said, "Empress Dowager, you are wrong. If I had a daughter of my own, if she dared to disregard her parents' dignity for the sake of so-called love and insisted on becoming someone's concubine, I would send her to the temple to become a nun."

  Madam Yang glared with her round eyes and scolded, "The princess has never been a mother, so she must not know the hardships of being a parent and the compassion for one's children."

  "As Ruqin didn't even raise an eyebrow, she said: 'Although I am a concubine's daughter, I also know that being a parent is a deep affection. However, as a child, filial piety to parents is the natural order of things. What is filial piety? Buddhist scriptures say: It begins with serving one's parents, in the middle it is about serving one's lord, and finally it is about establishing oneself.' She stared at Yang Qining and asked coldly: 'I heard that Miss Yang has been well-read in poetry and books since childhood, her talents are exceptional, and she can recite "Nu Jie" (Women's Precepts) and other books on women's education. Does she know what this means? What is filial piety?'"

  Yang Qining was stunned, and Madame Yang's face turned iron-green with grief, anger, and hatred.

  Lu Shu Fei smiled softly at this time, "Unexpectedly, the wise and gentle Princess Jing is also a well-read woman."

  "Shu Fei is overpraising, but I must say that since childhood, I have been deeply educated by my father and brothers. As a child of the family, if one's character is not upright, it is not filial piety. If one is not loyal to their lord, it is not filial piety. If one is not trustworthy as a friend, it is not filial piety. Furthermore, among all virtues, filial piety comes first. Yang Gu Niang has abandoned her family's reputation for the sake of so-called love, which is unfilial. She has disregarded her mother's dignity and humiliated her, which is also unfilial. In order to fulfill her own desires, she has coerced the Empress Dowager with death, disrupting the imperial court's order, which is unfilial. Moreover, before marriage, she has privately interacted with someone, which is licentiousness. Licentiousness is the root of all evil, and filial piety comes first among all virtues. Such a person without virtue or morality dares to use love as an excuse to force their way into imperial matters, which is truly unrighteous. My Great Qing Dynasty governs with filial piety, yet such disloyal, unfilial, unrighteous, and immoral individuals still have the face to ask the Empress Dowager for her blessing? The Empress Dowager has been a role model for the world for decades, residing in the central palace, possessing both virtue and talent. She has governed the imperial harem with filial piety and righteousness, filling the world with benevolence. Now, at the time of her peaceful old age, someone intentionally tries to harm the Empress Dowager, making her appear unrighteous and immoral. This is truly a heinous crime."

  As Ruqin spoke, her words were slow but powerful, and the slightly raised tone was especially sharp in the empty hall. The Empress Dowager's expression turned solemn, and her gaze at Yang Qining was no longer kind. Consort Zhenlu could no longer maintain her elegant and calm demeanor, and she sat up straight, staring intently at Ruqin.

  Lu Shu Fei's face showed unexpected surprise, and her eyes, which were like emotions, had a few more depths of thought.

  Princess Qing'an was so anxious that she scratched her ears and cheeks, wanting to speak out, but she hesitated because of the strand of southern pearls she had given to Ruoxi, and could only hold back for the time being.

  Mrs. Yang and her daughter were so angry that their eyes turned black, their lips trembled but they couldn't utter a single word in refutation.

  As if to follow up on her words, she continued: "And as for the concubine of the Wang family, without mentioning whether their family background matches or not, at least they should have a gentle and virtuous character, be humble and respectful, and possess a dignified and elegant demeanor. But this Yang young lady, over these past few days, I, the princess consort, have observed her character and understood her as a person, how can she possibly live up to the four words 'dignified, gentle, humble, and respectful'? Not to mention being filial and obedient." Then she glanced around at everyone, finally looking towards Empress Dowager Shu: "I've long heard that Your Imperial Majesty's character is dignified and elegant, refined and noble, governing the harem with virtue, and earning a reputation for wisdom among the people. I dare to ask Your Imperial Majesty, can someone like Yang young lady possibly be worthy of the position of concubine in the Wang family?"

  Everyone's eyes were on Lu Shu Fei, who was silent for a moment before speaking. "It seems that what the King of Jing said also makes sense." The Princess Qing An and others glared at her, but she ignored them, only looking at Yang Qi Ning with a slight frown. "From an outsider's perspective, Miss Yang is pitiful for being so lovesick. But from the King of Jing's perspective, Miss Yang's actions are indeed inappropriate."

  She smiled faintly, stroking the hair by her ear, and the golden tassels hanging from the agate pin swayed against her cheek, bringing a slight chill to her skin. "The words of the Shu Empress are indeed true. From the perspective of an outsider, Miss Yang is pitied for being troubled by love, and it's worth sympathizing with her. However, if standing from the perspective of the Jing Wang Fu, Miss Yang's actions are quite inappropriate. If standing from my own perspective as the queen, such a disloyal, unrighteous, unfilial person who would seek death when things don't go their way... if they were to enter our palace gates, what peace could our palace still speak of?" She slowly looked around at the people nearby, then fixed her gaze on Lady Yang, saying coldly: "Lady Yang, before Miss Lian entered our palace gates, I still addressed you as 'Hou Fu Tai Jun'. I'll ask you a question: if one day there was a woman who claimed to love the Marquis of Qing Chang and insisted on marrying into the Yang family, would you reject her or let her in to be the marquis's concubine?"

  Mrs. Yang's face was dark, her lips trembling, but she couldn't say a word. In fact, it wasn't that she couldn't speak, but rather that she didn't know how to respond. This Fang Rong was cunning with words, skilled at using the quotes of sages and the conventional teachings of the inner chambers to suppress others. Her daughter's recent behavior had indeed tarnished her reputation, and Mrs. Yang wanted to refute it, but she was no match for him. She tried to use mother-daughter affection to counterattack, but he was even more adept at play-acting, his arguments clear and logical, leaving her with no way to retort.

  Ru Qing said, "Alright, let's get back on track. Yang Niang, the princess asks you, if you want to enter our palace gates, you must be a person of our palace in life and a ghost of our palace in death. Do you agree?"

  Yang Qining's calmness made her feel uneasy, things didn't go as she and Princess Qing'an had imagined, giving her a feeling of being at a loss, but at this time, she couldn't think much, could only carefully answer: "This is natural. When a woman gets married, she follows her husband, one foot into the husband's family door, then she becomes a member of the husband's family."

  "Very good, indeed worthy of being the young lady of the Yang family, you are truly knowledgeable about reason and propriety. However, after all, you have never been a concubine before, so you naturally wouldn't know the rules for being a concubine. As a concubine, one must not only attend to the king, but also serve the main wife. Not to mention every day, morning and evening, kneeling to present tea, standing to follow etiquette, one must also be content with one's position, lower one's eyebrows and be obedient, not provoke trouble or create disturbances. When the main wife is standing, you cannot sit; when the main wife tells you to go east, you cannot go west. Can you really do that?"

  Everyone's face changed, and Yang Qining smiled wryly: "The noble imperial concubine also has to be like this?"

  He smiled and looked at her: "Do you think you're worthy of being a concubine?"

  Yang Qining's face turned pale as she stared at her in disbelief, shouting: "I am the legitimate daughter of the Qingchang Marquis Manor, how can I not be a match?"

  "Oh? Do you think you're worthy of it? Apart from being the daughter of the Duke of Qingchang, what makes you worthy of the title of Concubine of the Wang Manor?"

  Yang Qining hesitated for a moment, then shouted: "Just because I am the eldest son of the Qingchang Hou Mansion, the younger sister of the Qingchang Hou Master, my mother is a noble lady of the imperial court with a first-class imperial decree."

  "What the princess is asking is not about your identity, but about your character. Are you dignified? Are you kind and gentle? You don't even observe the most basic filial piety, how can you talk about being dignified, kind and gentle?"

  Yang Qining was stunned, she had nothing to say for a moment, and could only look around for help. Her eyes glanced at the Empress Dowager, but saw that the Empress Dowager's expression was cold and stern, and her heart skipped a beat. She then looked at Zhen Lü Taifei, who seemed not to have noticed her, but was staring intently at Ruoxi. She sought help from Lu Shu Fei, but the latter turned away, moving her line of sight elsewhere. Her heart sank, and finally she stared tightly at Qing An Gong Zhu.

  Princess Qing'an also wanted to help, but unfortunately, she had just opened her mouth when a cold glance was shot over, "The other day, the string of pearls that my sister gave me was checked by the imperial physician and found to have a large amount of musk. To avoid suspicion, it's better for my sister to keep her mouth shut."

  Princess Qing'an's face changed slightly, but as someone who had been in the palace for a long time, she raised her chin and said proudly: "There is no evidence, sister-in-law can't talk nonsense."

  "Little sister is indeed innocent and clean, unfortunately, someone has already confessed everything."

  Princess Qing'an's face changed, and she forced herself to calm down. "Who? Who confessed? Humph, this princess isn't someone who can be intimidated by you, don't try that trick."

  "As if amused by his coldness, 'Whether or not I deceive you, wait for me to deal with the matters at hand, then summon Concubine Feng into the palace and she will be yours to do with as you please.'"

  Princess Qing'an thought that Madame Feng didn't know about the string of pearls, so she felt fearless and coldly laughed: "Fine, let's see what crime you'll accuse me of later." She said this and sat down with a huff, but in the end, she didn't dare to speak carelessly again.

  Yang Qining saw that no one was willing to help her again, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. She gazed at her with a hint of disdain and said calmly: "With your character and behavior, you're not even qualified to be a concubine, let alone a side consort." Seeing her still wanting to retort, Yang Qining coldly rebuked: "Don't try to use your identity as the daughter of the Duke of Qingchang to pressure me. If you dare say another word, I'll consider it as you unconditionally throwing yourself at my husband, and even then, I'm not interested."

  Yang Qining's eyes were about to split open, and suddenly he became furious, "I'd rather die, being humiliated to such an extent, I might as well smash my head to death..."

  As she spoke, she was about to rush towards the pillar, but Lady Yang tightly held her back, crying and shouting: "My poor Ning'er, how can you be so unfortunate? You were already suffering for love, and now you've been trampled on like this. If you die, I won't live either. Let's just go die together, mother and daughter."

  Yang Qining hugged Yang Tai's wife and cried out: "Mother, daughter is unfilial, implicating you. Mother, just let daughter go to death, daughter couldn't fulfill filial piety, letting mother also suffer from white eyes and grievances, mother, daughter owes to you, owes to you..."

  Mrs. Yang's eyes were blurry with tears, although she was extremely angry with her daughter's incompetence, after all, she was her own flesh and blood, how could she bear to see her suffer injustice? So while crying, she shouted: "You ungrateful girl, you are not taught well, it is your mother's fault, let me take the blame for you today." Then she glared at Ruoxi with a hateful gaze, sorrowfully saying: "Today, let everyone know that my daughter and I were both forced by this noble, dignified, kind-hearted Princess Jing."

  Zhou's mother and others were so angry that their faces turned red, and Chen Xiang couldn't help but rebuke: "Old lady, you are being unreasonable, seeking death and trouble for yourself has nothing to do with our princess!"

  Linglong also hated and said: "I've grown up like this for so long, it's the first time I've met such a shameless person."

  "It's just...” Yuqin wanted to speak, but was stopped by Ruoqing raising her hand. Ruoqing said calmly: "Madam, be careful what you say. Death can be lighter than a feather or heavier than Mount Tai. If Old Madam really died, it would also be because of being driven to death by her own unworthy daughter, what does that have to do with me?"

  Mrs. Yang, Zhang Dàmǔ, said again: "Miss Yang is even more unreasonable. Since you wholeheartedly adore our Prince Wang, and the power of love is so great, why still bother with trivial titles? By doing this, aren't you making me, the princess, question your love, and wonder how much water has been added to it?"

  Yang Qining stumbled and almost fainted...

  Mrs. Yang was also so angry that she couldn't speak, pointing at Ruoqing and unable to say a word. According to Ruoqing's logic, she didn't even dare to die now, if she really died, it would be her daughter who had angered her to death.

  Digression

  Chui Chui Chui, again Chui, drag them all out and execute them