The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

All in all, the emperor was quite satisfied with this meeting, and he had no idea what a big hole his beloved woman had secretly dug for him.

He was thinking about the things of the previous dynasty, so after leaving two palace maids at Xie Yuzhen's disposal, he left first.

After he left, Xie Yuzhen asked half of the palace servants to leave first. He did not ask the two palace servants in front of the emperor to leave. After all, Xie Yuzhen did not intend to do anything shameful to the emperor. "There are too many people in this palace, and it feels stuffy. Now that His Majesty has left, I will not support this ostentation anymore."

She smiled and explained to Lin Qiao, then turned around and called Xia Zhi: "Bring Yuanjun here to meet her cousin."

"Your Majesty values ​​me so much that I am terrified." Lin Qiao didn't expect that he would be able to see the princess this time when he entered the palace. In the prosperous dynasty, the richer the family, the more carefully the children were raised - the fifth princess was less than two years old, which was the age that needed the most careful care.

As a general rule, it is best not to see outsiders.

"Don't be polite, we are family, just sit down and talk." When Xie Yu really wants to treat someone well, from words to treatment, few people can resist. Even though Lin Qiao is more cautious and alert than her peers, she can hardly resist the warm offensive of this lady.

Not to mention, Lin Qiao herself was also very willing to make friends with such a current favorite concubine and future cousin to the queen.

She sat down as she was told and relaxed her posture a little to show her obedience to the words of her cousin Concubine Zhao.

"That's right, young man. You shouldn't be like those old pedants who keep complaining about women's wrongdoings. If you don't know, you might think their only son has died!"

"Cough cough!" Xie's mother choked on a mouthful of tea. The palace servants hurriedly took the teacup, patting her on the back or wiping her face.

Mother Xie first glanced at Lin Qiao, and then looked at Xie Yuzhen: "You are already a queen, why are you still so unstable? Don't be a laughing stock to your cousin."

"It was the man named Lu who started to complain..." Xie Yuzhen's face flashed with anger, and he asked Lin Qiao with a smile, "Does Guanying know about the family affairs of Master Lu, the Bachelor of Political Science?"

Lin Qiao was very sure that her cousin was trying to give her some advice, so she recalled it carefully and replied, "Although I have only been in Beijing for a short time, I have heard a little bit about it."

In fact, she had already inquired about the family affairs of several high-ranking officials and nobles who currently held the most important positions. Although she could not find out everything, it was better than nothing, and she could barely have a general idea in her mind.

This scholar Lu finally had a son when he was over 40 years old. This son became the treasure of the whole family. Everyone doted on him and finally lived up to everyone's expectations and became a dissolute little good-for-nothing who was as famous as Ding Dalang.

"Some time ago, that young master Lu wanted to get married. He originally had his eyes on the daughter of the Imperial Censor, but he had a bad reputation, so which good family would be willing to marry their daughter to him?" Xie Yuzhen couldn't help laughing as he spoke. "I don't know what's wrong with his brain. He thought that the girl's mother was from a merchant family, so he attached great importance to the bride price... So when that young master Lu went home, he urged his mother to 'buy' the shops from his sisters who had been married off before, so that he could propose marriage to the Imperial Censor's family."

"I guess he didn't spend much money to buy the shop." Lin Qiao said.

Xie Yuzhen nodded: "He wanted to buy a prosperous shop in a good location with just a dozen taels of silver. His sisters couldn't stand it, so they simply swapped the dowry shops among them and took Master Lu for a walk like a dog for half a year. It was not until the daughter of the Imperial Censor's family got married that he reacted."

"Guess how the lawsuit between this family ended up?"

Facing Xie Yuzhen's question, Lin Qiao did not answer with a long paragraph of information she had observed as usual, but pondered in her heart for a while before speaking: "In theory, a woman's dowry shop is her private property. While she is alive, neither her mother's family nor her husband's family can seize it. Master Lu's reputation is indeed not good, but he should not kill his own sister for a few shops, right?"

"Haha..." Xie Yuzhen covered the lower half of his face with a round fan and laughed, his shoulders trembling as he said, "He really didn't have the guts. He just realized he was being fooled, so he went straight to the shop to smash things, and then he was caught on the spot by the Jingzhao Prefecture's yamen runners."

Even though he was caught doing something illegal, the spoiled Master Lu, after paying the fine and returning home, continued to make a fuss about "buying" back his sisters' dowry shops at a low price.

His sisters had given their stupid brother some face because of the motto "Don't air your dirty laundry in public" that had been ingrained in their hearts since childhood. But seeing that he didn't leave them any wiggle room and his parents were obviously on his side, the sisters decided to jointly write a complaint and brought the matter of her family's seizure of her dowry to the Jingzhao Prefecture.

"Old man Lu originally thought that it was because I, who had a divorce in court with my ex-husband, set the precedent that made the women in the capital learn to be influenced by their husband's or mother's families to file a complaint and complain. Later, their family affairs became really ugly, and they had just finished the national mourning period, so it was really a mess. Your Majesty ordered Jingzhao Prefecture to submit this case to the Dali Temple and ask the ministers of various departments to judge it together."

Xie Yuzhen looked into Lin Qiao's eyes and said, "I was there at that time. I and several other adults believed that this dowry shop was originally the private property of the married woman. This young master Lu ignored the sibling relationship and forced my sister to sell it to him at a price far below the market price, using her mother's name. This is an act of disrespect and unfilial piety, and it is also a definite act of seizing someone else's property."

"Mr. Lu may have felt too embarrassed, so he just made a few remarks and then stopped talking."

In fact, she was so angry that she fainted because Xie Yuzhen pointed at her nose and scolded her.

The beautiful woman raised one eyebrow and said with a wicked smile: "I suggest that Your Majesty sentence Master Lu to a year of hard labor, so that he can experience the difficulties of making a living and avoid doing such stupid things in the future."

Young Master Lu's affair did not implicate Mr. Lu, who is still relatively useful at present, but since then, this old man has become more and more fond of impeaching Xie Yuzhen and gossiping about her behind her back.

"Of course, I am also selfish. I have always felt that a girl's things should belong to her, such as her husband, children, brothers... no one can take them away at will. It's a pity that although Dasheng can now set up female households, the officials are all men. There are too few people who can understand that it is not easy for a woman to set up a household and survive on her own."

"If there comes a day when women who have been wronged in the world no longer endure humiliation for the sake of women's virtues and family disgrace that should not be made public, then I will risk everything to give them justice!"

Words that touch people's hearts do not depend on literary talent or ambition, but only on whether they can touch the heart of the person being persuaded.

Although Lin Qiao is more stable than his peers, he is still too young compared to Xie Yuzhen, a veteran who has been immersed in interpersonal struggles for a long time and is full of nonsense.

Seeing the shock, emotion and reflection in the eyes of the young people below, Xie Yuzhen felt as if he saw a big golden fish finally swimming into his pond.