Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"I was just joking with the Crown Princess in private, and it was also to reassure you. You are now the most distinguished woman in the Great Zhao. No matter who you are facing, you must show your courage."

Ye Qingzhi said with a smile,

"If your elder sister wants to cause trouble for you again and say something disrespectful, we don't need to talk about teasing this time. Just let someone around you slap your elder sister in the face."

"Wouldn't it be too arrogant to hit her directly?"

Zhang Jingyi's heart was instantly moved, but she couldn't help feeling a little nervous, fearing that her words and actions were not right and would bring bad things to Prince Jing.

“No, first of all, when you were Princess Jing, you had a very good reputation and received many praises from the Emperor, so your position was already solid.

Now you are the Crown Princess, and now there is no Queen either. The Emperor probably won't appoint another one. Your status and position is even more honorable than when you were the Crown Princess!

If your elder sister still can't figure it out, you can just have someone discipline her. It's not that you are arrogant, but you are maintaining the reputation of the royal family. No one can find any fault with her.

If you give in at this time, people will think you don't have the dignity of a crown princess."

Zhang Jingyi nodded, thinking about these changes, and felt a little unsure of the scale and the rules for a moment.

From what Qingzhi said, she had to be secretive before and had to be gentle and generous, but now it seems that it is not necessary anymore, and she has to be dignified and majestic.

Seeing the confusion in her eyes, Ye Qingzhi spoke again,

"Crown Princess, a year ago, when you first became Princess Jing, you felt that you had to rely on your natal family and needed them to back you up, so you couldn't fall out with your sister and mother.

So, I will teach you some teasing words, mainly to choke them and make them feel aggrieved. "

Zhang Jingyi nodded heavily, yes, that's right.

In the past year, she has been trying to be tolerant and harmonious in her interactions with her mother's family, giving them enough face.

However, after all, she was born a concubine's daughter, and she had all kinds of troubles with her natal family before. In the past year, although her natal family did not dare to give her the cold shoulder, she was still not close to them.

Prince Jing was very distant towards his father-in-law, the Duke of Zhenguo, because there were too many people available and he basically had no use for him.

The Duke of Zhenguo felt guilty and did not dare to take the initiative to get close to Prince Jing, so their relationship was neither good nor bad.

Even if they were relatives by marriage, the relationship between the Fang family and Prince Jing’s Mansion was not as close.

"Can we break up now?" Zhang Jingyi asked Ye Qingzhi.

"Crown Princess, unless there is a big accident, His Highness will definitely become the Emperor. Then, your relationship with your family will undergo a major change.

You can no longer think about relying on them, giving them enough face and benefits, and you can no longer expect them to support you when something happens.

Princess, just look at the Chen family who were just confiscated and exiled. They are a ready-made example.

Throughout history, because there have been many cases of dictatorship by external relatives, the emperor would subconsciously guard against this.

Even though some emperors relied entirely on their Yue family to ascend the throne, once they secured their position, those who were not stupid and capable would turn against them and try to weaken the power of their foreign relatives.

Therefore, you, Crown Princess, must also adjust your attitude. Your mother's family affairs are no longer your private affairs, but rather court affairs, and should be handled by His Highness.

Your parents' family are no longer your support, but an object you need to restrain so that they do not become a burden to you.

You rely on your son, and you don’t depend on the emperor, your husband, but on etiquette, laws and rules!

You are the legal wife and the queen. As long as you don't make any mistakes, the emperor cannot depose you, and the ministers will all stand on your side because they want to maintain orthodoxy.

Therefore, you no longer need to be soft with your natal family members, but should display the royal majesty and let them know their status as subjects. "

After hearing her words, Zhang Jingyi suddenly understood the key point.

To put it bluntly, although the prince and the crown prince are both members of the royal family, there is a fundamental difference in their status.

This difference will determine your attitude towards words and deeds, as well as your relationship with your mother's family. Is it a relationship of mutual achievement or a simple relationship between a superior and an inferior?

"Qingzhi, you have taught me another crucial lesson."

Zhang Jingyi looked at Ye Qingzhi with emotion and said gratefully,

"Qingzhi, thank you! Without your words, I might have to take a lot of detours to figure out the truth here, and I might even make mistakes, which would disappoint His Highness."

"Don't underestimate yourself, Crown Princess. You are already very capable now. You can handle things with ease. His Highness often praises you."

Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.

Zhang Jingyi smiled comfortably.

-

That afternoon, Lady Sun, wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, came to Prince Jing's mansion with her married daughter Zhang Furong and brought generous gifts.

The cheap son-in-law whom she had looked down upon at the beginning not only transformed himself into Prince Jing, but also became the Crown Prince in just one year. Sun must be regretting her decision to death.

Over the past year, whenever she thought of Prince Jing, she felt so suffocated that she couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and wished she could slap herself twice to vent her anger.

Now, Prince Jing has become the crown prince, and in a few years, he will become the emperor. However, Sun did not vomit blood anymore. Instead, she immediately prepared generous gifts and brought her own daughter to the house to ease the relationship.

Sun did this because she was awakened by her own master.

The former concubine's daughter has become the Crown Princess. Don't even think about controlling her. You can only try to curry favor with her.

Because she no longer needs to rely on her parents' family, they no longer have the right to control her.

On the contrary, if past grudges are not resolved, the Crown Princess can easily punish them and make them uncomfortable.

Sun felt guilty, so he was afraid.

So, without delaying for a moment, he learned in the morning that Prince Jing was officially named the Crown Prince, so he immediately brought his daughter to the house, and then brought people here in the afternoon.

Of course Zhang Furong didn't want to come. She was forced and lured by her mother and dragged here!

She was also very angry.

Because she had rejected the marriage proposal with Prince Jing and let her concubine's sister marry in her place, she had become a laughing stock among the noble ladies in the capital.

Whenever she went out to a party, everyone looked at her with glee and asked her in a sarcastic tone whether she would regret it.

Not only outsiders, but also her husband and in-laws think so of her.

She still pretends that she has no regrets.

However, she really wanted to shout to those people, "I regret it. Don't you regret it if this happens to you?"

This was Zhang Furong’s first visit to Prince Jing’s Mansion.

She followed her mother all the way to the princess' main courtyard. Looking at the luxury and grandeur of this royal residence, she felt even more regretful.

When she got in front of Zhang Jingyi and saw her increasingly majestic face and her noble temperament, Zhang Furong's eyes turned red. She was so angry that she wanted to slap her and scratch her face.

When she was a child, Zhang Jingyi was like a pug following her around, timid and submissive.

I told her to go west, but she didn't dare go east.

But now, not only do I have to bow my head, I also have to kneel down and greet her!

This immense wealth originally belonged to you!

"Look at my sister staring at me with hatred. She has made no progress at all and is still so willful and brainless."

Zhang Jingyi looked at her without getting angry. Just a few words and a contemptuous attitude were enough to instantly break down Zhang Furong's defenses.

"Wuwuwu... You stole my good marriage, you became the Crown Princess, and you started to act so arrogant, forgetting how you were like a lapdog by my side when we were kids..."

"How dare you!" Zhang Jingyi slapped the table with a cold face, "Madame Zhou, slap me in the face!!"