Professional Ethics of a Concubine

Prince Jing slept very soundly. It was already noon, and there was no sign of him waking up. He probably slept until noon, so he could have lunch directly after waking up.

Ye Qingzhi tossed and turned for half the night, and although she didn't get up early, she got up around 9:15 am.

By her standards, it wasn't too late.

For the ancients who often got up at 5 a.m., haha, this time is not too late? If it is later, you don’t have to get up and can continue your nap.

Seeing that Prince Jing was still sleeping soundly, Ye Qingzhi dressed quietly and left the room to wash up in another room. She also told the servants not to go in and out to disturb Prince Jing's sleep.

Ye Qingzhi sent a eunuch to the palace to report to the emperor, saying that Prince Jing returned late last night. He had not slept for several days and nights because of his hurried journey, so he might not be able to pay his respects to the emperor until the afternoon. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.

In addition to sending letters to the emperor, news must also be sent to the princess.

Ye Qingzhi asked Nanny Zhang to go in person and tell the princess about Prince Jing's hard work and injuries, and explained that he would not wake up for a while, and that she would pass on the message to the princess when he woke up.

Zhang Jingyi also learned about Prince Jing's return early in the morning. Knowing that he came back in the middle of the night and went to Lanyueju, she felt relieved.

She feels really good now that she doesn't have to serve him in the middle of the night with anxiety and worry!

After receiving Ye Qingzhi's message, Zhang Jingyi said to the maid beside her,

"Go and tell the prince and princess to go to Lanyueju to pay respects to their father and concubine later. You can stay there for lunch."

The maid took the order and went forward.

"Princess, aren't you going to pay your respects to the prince?" Nanny Zhou asked cautiously.

"The prince is injured and needs to recuperate. If the master does not take the initiative to pay respects, we don't know when the prince will come here."

"What would it look like if this princess went there?" Zhang Jingyi glanced at Grandma Zhou and said with a smile, "We really have to have a happy reunion dinner for the five of us."

"...I think Concubine Ye will not mind. With the Crown Prince and the Princess here, the Prince will not mind either. I am just afraid that you will feel uncomfortable."

As Madam Zhou was talking, she felt something was wrong and whispered,

"Besides, it's ok for you to go to the concubine's courtyard if you have something to do, but it would be a bit disrespectful and impolite to have a meal together there."

Zhang Jingyi heard this and shook her head and laughed when she thought of that scene.

"The prince will definitely go to the palace this afternoon. When he is free, I will go to pay my respects. Now Mingyu and Mingyan can go to express my condolences on my behalf."

If they really wanted to have a reunion dinner, she would prepare it in the main courtyard, instead of going to Concubine Ye's courtyard.

This is the face of a princess that she should maintain and she cannot lose it.

She didn't need to try too hard to please the prince. He would get annoyed if she hung around too much.

Apart from serving her husband, she only had to do her other duties as a princess and take care of the affairs of the inner chamber for the prince.

-

When Prince Jing woke up, he saw Ye Qingzhi half lying on the chaise longue in the room, reading a book.

"What time is it?" King Jing asked in a hoarse voice.

"It's already past noon (12 o'clock noon). Did you sleep well, Your Majesty? Are you still tired?"

Seeing that he woke up, Ye Qingzhi quickly put down the book, poured him a cup of warm tea, and leaned over to ask him with concern.

"Much better." Prince Jing took the tea and drank it, then pulled her over and kissed her.

As soon as the kiss came, he got angry. King Jing pulled Ye Qingzhi over and hugged her. His hands became restless. He wanted to make up for his thank-you gift to his teacher, fulfilling a wish he had for more than a month.

I really miss her and her body.

I felt motivated but weak last night, but now I've had enough sleep and rest, and the wound on my arm is no obstacle at all, I have to satisfy myself no matter what.

"Your Highness, the young master and the princess know you are back, so they came to pay their respects. They have been waiting for you outside for half an hour. Hurry up and don't let the children laugh at you."

Ye Qingzhi smiled and pushed him away. Seeing that he looked depressed, she held his face and kissed him, and whispered in his ear to comfort him,

"Wait till evening, I will serve you well and wear your favorite clothes, okay?"

“……”King Jing.

If you can't give it to him right away, don't flirt with him or paint such a rosy picture for him.

This is going to make him die of jealousy.

Prince Jing bit her little mouth unhappily before letting her go and letting the maid come in to help her wash up.

After everything was packed up, Prince Jing and Ye Qingzhi went to the front hall together.

"Greetings, father. Greetings, mother." Mingyu and Mingyan saw the two people coming and hurriedly stood up and saluted them.

"You must be starving. I've asked them to serve the food. Let's eat right away."

Ye Qingzhi said to them with a smile.

"Replying to the side concubine, mother, I just had some snacks, I don't feel hungry." Ming Yan smiled and replied, then looked at his father and said with concern,

"Father, you have lost a lot of weight. No matter how busy you are, you must take care of your health and eat well."

"That's right! Father is exhausted, my son and sister are sad, mother is sad, and concubine mother is the saddest."

Mingyu also nodded vigorously and spoke seriously.

Ye Qingzhi,...

It's strange that he can talk.

But why is she the saddest?

Prince Jing was amused by his son. He patted his little head gently and asked him directly, "Why is your concubine the saddest?"

Xie Mingyu said seriously, "Because my mother loves to cry, her eyes were swollen during the Chinese New Year, so she must be the saddest."

Ye Qingzhi,...

This boomerang takes a bit too long, it's really heartbreaking.

Prince Jing burst out laughing, glanced at the depressed Ye Qingzhi, changed the subject, and asked about the young master's recent schoolwork and tested him.

Seeing that he answered fluently, King Jing nodded with satisfaction and praised him twice.

Mingyu grinned, his father's assessment was much stricter than the teacher's teaching, and to be praised proved that he was very capable.

Later, I can ask Brother Kang to tell him two more stories!

Prince Jing also asked about his daughter Mingyan's daily life and her schoolwork with concern, but his attitude was not strict, and he focused on making her happy and content.

King Jing has completely different standards for his son and daughter.

After having lunch together, Mingyu and Mingyan went back to their own courtyard to take a nap. Prince Jing was not in a hurry to enter the palace because he knew that his father would take a nap.

He didn't spend much time with Ye Qingzhi. After dinner, he went to the study and wrote a work report on his achievements, which he would present to his father later.

Relevant evidence was also sorted out and handed in together.

After Prince Jing finished all this, he saw that it was getting late, so he got on the carriage and entered the palace.

The emperor woke up from his nap and was waiting for him. He had already told the eunuchs that there was no need to inform them when Prince Jing arrived, they could just let him in directly.

"Greetings, father." Prince Jing entered the imperial study and kowtowed to pay his respects.

"Don't kneel if you are injured." The emperor waved his hand and looked at him carefully.

"You've lost a lot of weight. It seems like this line of work is not going well for you."

"Although things were not going smoothly and I encountered some assassinations, I gained a lot and finally lived up to my father's trust."

Prince Jing gave a naive smile, took out the memorial and evidence and handed them to the emperor for review.

When the emperor heard him say that he had suffered many assassinations, his face suddenly darkened and he immediately asked,

"Are you injured anywhere?"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. My left arm is slightly injured, but it's no big deal. I've already applied medicine." Prince Jing said indifferently.

Sensible, patient, strong, and a good kid.

The emperor felt distressed and immediately ordered the imperial physician to check on him again.

Prince Jing immediately thanked his father for his concern with a touched look on his face.

While waiting for the imperial physician, the emperor read the memorial submitted by Prince Jing, gave Prince Jing a seat, and asked him to drink tea and wait on the side.

Part of the content of the memorial was evidence of various crimes committed by members of the Chen family, such as bullying men and women, oppressing the people, taking human lives, and annexing land. It can be said that they had done all kinds of bad things.

Some others flouted the imperial authority, treating government servants as their own slaves, building mansions that were beyond their means, and changing the sacrificial procedures and supplies, etc., all of which crossed the royal bottom line.

There was also last year's drought in Qingzhou. Half of the court's disaster relief money and grain went into the pockets of the Chen family, a quarter went into the pockets of Qingzhou officials, and the remaining quarter reached the hands of the victims.

The emperor looked at the evidence, his face becoming increasingly gloomy. After reading it all, he gritted his teeth and said,

"In just twenty years, Qingzhou will already be the territory of the Chen family. When the crown prince ascends the throne, haha, in another ten years, the entire Zhao Kingdom will also belong to the Chen family."

"Father, please calm down." Prince Jing stood up and said softly, "It's not worth getting yourself hurt by this traitor."

To say that the consolation was indeed a bit perfunctory, but Prince Jing felt that the Chen family indeed deserved to die, and the crown prince was even more incompetent. He was too lazy to defend them, and saying one more word would make him seem too fake.

The emperor felt that his words touched the heart. He let out a breath, suppressed his anger, looked at the memorial, and asked him to explain in detail how he had investigated one or two things.

After a while, Doctor Hu came and Prince Jing lifted his sleeve to reveal the wound.

Doctor Hu was a man who knew how to handle things. When he saw that the wound was a little inflamed, he immediately said that it was a serious matter, and that if Prince Jing didn't change the medicine and rest properly, his arm might be disabled.

King Jing,

Doctor Hu is a sensible man. When he was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he should have been more polite to this old man.

After hearing this, the emperor's face suddenly turned ugly. He immediately asked Prince Jing to go back and rest, and asked Doctor Hu to change his medicine and treat him.

"You should rest in the mansion for the next few days. When your wounds are healed, you will take up your post at the Dali Temple and assist Gu Zheng in resolving the backlog of cases that were transferred from the Ministry of Justice."

The Emperor spoke up,

"Handling cases is something you are good at. I just asked you to help. When the cases are almost handled, you can go to the Ministry of Personnel and learn all the operations of the Ministry of Personnel from Lord Fang.

After you are familiar with the Ministry of Personnel, you can go to the Ministry of War and consult your uncle on military matters. You can become familiar with all military deployments and personnel matters."

"Your son obeys your command." Prince Jing responded. Although he knew that the appointment to the Ministry of Personnel was a signal that his father had begun to formally train him, Prince Jing was still quite surprised.

At present, there is no prince serving in the six ministries. They are all directly involved in the decision-making of the court, or are responsible for some royal sacrifices or serve in the clan house to protect the royal relatives, etc.

Prince Jing felt like he was a brick and could be moved wherever he was needed.

However, he did not reject it.

Understanding the operation of the six ministries would also help him gain a thorough understanding of all court affairs, so that he would no longer have a superficial understanding, which would be of great benefit to him.

After leaving the palace and returning to the palace, Prince Jing first went to the study to meet with the palace staff and dealt with some affairs before going to Lanyueju.

When Ye Qingzhi saw him coming, she greeted him first, and then told Chunyu to prepare dinner.

"Have you been waiting for me?" King Jing asked her with a smile.

"Yes, I knew that Your Highness went to the study room after returning from the palace, and I thought that you would come over soon, so I simply waited for Your Highness to have dinner together."

Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.

"So good." King Jing hugged her and kissed her, then said, "Father has given me a few days off to recover from my injuries."

"That's great. Your Highness should take a good rest for a few days and eat more to gain some weight back."