Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"Put him back and let him talk." King Jing said calmly.

Ding Niu knew that he might not be able to escape death, but if he didn't have to be tortured, he felt fearful but also relieved.

Then he confessed.

Ding Niu was a slave bought by the palace from outside, not a eunuch transferred from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, he signed a death contract and his job was to sweep the front yard.

According to him, his family ran into difficulties some time ago and was in urgent need of money, but he had nowhere to turn to and could not raise any money.

Then he had a girl from his hometown who worked for Concubine Xu.

This fellow girl from the same village found him yesterday, gave him one hundred taels of silver, taught him a passage, and asked him to find an opportunity to say it in front of the prince.

The girl from the same village also said that if he died as a result of this, she would give his parents some money, so Ding Niu agreed.

The lie that he was the prince's spy was also a trick told to him by a girl from the same hometown.

However, he was too timid. He could still say this to the princess, but when he saw that the prince also intervened in the matter and wanted to torture him, he could not bear it.

Of course, he was also afraid that this would implicate his parents and family, so he thought it would be better to speak out and ask the prince to spare his family.

"It turned out to be Concubine Xu." The princess was a little surprised when she heard the person behind the scenes, but she was also upset by her stupidity.

How could these concubines be so bold? Even though one concubine, Zhao, has left, they are still not behaving themselves and dare to do such little tricks.

Fortunately, several concubines of high positions and Concubine Wu were quite law-abiding.

"Your Highness, do you want to personally take care of Concubine Xu's situation?" the princess asked Prince Jing.

Prince Jing frowned and thought for a long time before he remembered who this concubine Xu was. She was originally a skinny girl from Yangzhou, who he took in several years ago. He hadn't favored her for a long time.

"Who is Concubine Xu close to on a daily basis?" Prince Jing asked the princess.

"Concubine Xu is a lively person, she talks a lot, and when she has nothing to do, she always likes to walk around the courtyard.

Among the concubines in this mansion, except for Concubine Yao, who has a bad relationship with her, the others have a good relationship with her, at least on the surface."

The princess told Prince Jing what she had learned.

Because of her humble background, Concubine Xu always wanted to seek refuge with other women in the backyard to get some protection. She had previously sought refuge with Yao Yinyin, but they later broke up. Concubine Xu took advantage of Yao Yinyin's downfall to step on her madly, thus becoming enemies.

After Yao Yinyin was brought back from the ancestral temple, the object of frequent quarrels in the backyard was the concubine Xu.

It’s a good thing that the two of them don’t live in close yards, otherwise they would definitely quarrel every day.

"You handle it." After Prince Jing was sure that it was an internal household struggle and not an external political enemy, he let it go and handed it over to the princess to handle.

"What if it's just Concubine Xu? How should we deal with her?" The princess asked Prince Jing for his opinion.

According to the rules of the palace, instigating servants to sow discord and cause fights behind the scenes would not result in a direct death sentence, since it was not a crime of murder after all.

Instead, he was given twenty strokes of the cane, fined one year's monthly salary, confined to his home for six months, and required to copy the government regulations one hundred times.

However, because Concubine Xu instigated the relationship between the Princess and Concubine Ye, both of whom were her masters, her crime was more serious and her sentence could be increased as appropriate.

However, how the punishment is imposed depends on King Jing's intention.

Just like the concubine Zhao, according to the rules, she was just trying to win favor and didn't do anything too excessive, so she shouldn't be sent away, but Prince Jing still sent her out of the palace.

No matter what, Prince Jing is the most powerful in the palace. He has the final say on how to deal with these concubines, and they don't have to care about any palace rules.

"You have to follow the rules." King Jing said, then stood up and left.

Ye Qingzhi, who had been watching the show as a background the whole time, also stood up and wanted to go back to Lanyueju, as it had nothing to do with her.

"Qingzhi, do you have any opinion on this matter?" the princess stopped her and asked.

Ye Qingzhi thought about it and said seriously,

"I feel that the employment security provided by our palace to the servants is not perfect enough and needs to be improved, so as to prevent similar situations from happening again."

“???” The princess had a face full of question marks.

Job security? What the hell?

Aren’t you talking about Concubine Xu?

Prince Jing looked at her, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he decided not to leave in a hurry and just listen to what she had to say.

"Ding Niu was bribed because his family was in urgent need of money, but he had no formal channels to borrow money with low interest or no interest, so he had no choice but to take the risk. Even though he knew the end would be death, he still did it for the money."

Ye Qingzhi said,

"I think that in order to prevent such situations, the palace can come up with a policy that allows servants to apply for emergency relief funds when a major change occurs in their families. Whether or not the servants should repay the money afterwards, and how to repay the money, can be discussed later.

In this way, the emergence of the next Ding Niu can be avoided.

Of course, this policy cannot completely eliminate greedy and ambitious people, but it can win people's hearts and minds, making the servants more cohesive and feel a sense of belonging to the palace, so that they can work together to deal with crises and be more loyal to the princess and the prince."

Who in the family would understand? Many of the novels she had read about palace fighting and house fighting had similar plots. The maidservant around the heroine betrayed her only because she needed money and because she was poor, not because of ambition.

So, when Ye Qingzhi heard Ding Niu's words, her first reaction was to think about this emergency relief fund.

If the palace had this guarantee, wouldn't this situation be prevented?

Except for those who are ambitious and want to climb up at all costs, ordinary people would not want to die for money if there is a way.

Their Jingwang Mansion is also a fairly large company. The number of employees, including the masters and servants in the mansion, people in the shops and farms, and those who are dependent on the palace, adds up to several thousand people.

If there is a sound and complete employee protection system, a relatively fair promotion mechanism, and regular brainwashing training, the loyalty of the subordinates will definitely increase rapidly.

In this way, the family can be peaceful and cohesive, and can also avoid many traps and attacks from external enemies.

"Well, that's right. We can set up the emergency relief fund you mentioned."

King Jing quickly analyzed the pros and cons of doing so in his mind. Although it would cost an extra sum of money, the benefits to be gained would be greater, so it was worth doing.

"Qingzhi, it has to be you! I was only focusing on the matter of Concubine Xu instigating Ding Niu, but you have even raised the issue to the level of how to make the servants in the palace more loyal."

Zhang Jingyi looked at Ye Qingzhi with admiration and said sincerely,

"I still have a lot to learn from Qingzhi!"

Ye Qingzhi quickly said a few humble words, thinking that the princess was really getting better and better at speaking.

Look, how high the level of praise is.

"Qingzhi, how should we deal with this emergency relief fund you mentioned? It's too late today to discuss it. Come to my place tomorrow morning and we'll discuss it in detail. Since it's a good idea, we should implement it as soon as possible."

Zhang Jingyi said with a smile again.

"Okay." Ye Qingzhi nodded with a smile.

This is to benefit the grassroots people and is also a good deed.

She also needs to accumulate more merits, otherwise it would be funny if she was blessed by her son and had good luck for a while, but ended up being extremely unlucky, or even endangering her life.

-

After Prince Jing and Ye Qingzhi left, the princess asked someone to call Concubine Xu.

Concubine Xu knew that her affair had been exposed. She did not try to argue, but knelt down and said earnestly,

"Princess, I did this because I wanted you to show your loyalty!"

"Oh?" Zhang Jingyi raised her eyebrows, showing interest, "Tell me about it in detail."

When Concubine Xu saw that she was not angry, she was encouraged and quickly exaggerated how Prince Jing doted on Concubine Ye and neglected Zhang Jingyi, leaving her with almost no face.

He tried his best to sow discord between Zhang Jingyi and Ye Qingzhi.

"Princess, what I asked people to say was not groundless. You know that I often walk around the mansion, and I often hear servants and maids say those things in private. They are even more unpleasant than what Ding Niu said!

Princess, you are the mistress of the palace, but now Concubine Ye relies on the prince's favor to monopolize the prince and only let the prince favor her.

Now, the prince won’t even enter the princess’ room. This… I feel sorry for the princess!!

This slave girl bribed Ding Niu in order to make this matter bigger than it actually is. She thought that there must be destruction before construction, and she wanted to make Concubine Ye cautious and not dare to disobey the princess and occupy the prince anymore!

Please understand, Princess. Although I have my own selfish desires and want to share a little bit of your favor, I stand with you!

Princess, you are tolerant and generous, and you may not want to care about who the prince favors more.

But you also have to consider the prince!

Once Concubine Ye gives birth to a son, given the prince's favor for her, it will definitely jeopardize the crown prince's position!

Moreover, as a mother, she must be strong. Now Concubine Ye is willing to put in some superficial effort and act as if she respects you very much in front of the princess.

However, once she has her own child, her heart will naturally become biased and she will only want the best for her child.

What is the best energy?

Of course it’s the position of the crown prince!

Princess, you can be kind and generous, but you can't be so shameless as to give up the title that belongs to the prince!

"I am a humble servant, and I am able to survive safely after entering the palace thanks to the care of the princess. I am willing to be the princess's vanguard. As long as I can help the princess to get rid of Concubine Ye, I am willing to sacrifice my life!"

After saying this, Concubine Xu kowtowed again, looking like she was willing to die for the princess and go through fire and water, and was loyal to her forever.

Zhang Jingyi stared at her for a while, then suddenly smiled.

"Concubine Xu, you really impressed me. I didn't expect you to be so eloquent."

"That's because every word I say comes from the bottom of my heart. It's all for the princess!"

Concubine Xu raised her head and looked at her, her emotions were so agitated that she seemed even more sincere.

These words she said were polished for a long time, and any mistress would be touched and moved after hearing them.

However, Zhang Jingyi put away the smile on her face and said in a cold and dignified tone,

"Concubine Xu, who taught you these words? If you confess voluntarily, I can show leniency and give you a lighter punishment.

But if you insist on not changing your ways, don’t blame me for being cruel.”

Upon hearing this, Concubine Xu turned pale, looked at Zhang Jingyi in disbelief, and shouted excitedly,

"Princess, why?! How can you protect Concubine Ye so much? What kind of love potion did she give you?!"

It's too difficult, too difficult. Even after such provocative words were said, the princess still remained unshakable.

Concubine Xu's defense was broken.