Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"Alas, Lord Shen blamed Lord Ji for forcing his daughter to death, and Lord Ji blamed Lord Shen for not being worthy of being a father. Both of them felt that the other was at fault, not themselves."

Prince Duan sighed softly, looked at the people in the Bo Mansion, and asked,

"Master Zhu, Madam Zhu, Madam Zhou from the second house, and Zhu Ruijin, Shen Xunxiang's ex-husband, who do you think is right and who is wrong? Who should be blamed? Are you wrong?"

"After Shen Xunxiang got married, she had no children for three years. She was also jealous and wouldn't let my son take a concubine. I was lucky enough to tolerate her for three years.

It's fine that she's not decent enough on weekdays, but she also humiliated Min Ru like that, thinking that everyone is as promiscuous as she is. She caused Min Ru to hang herself and almost die. Of course, it was all Shen Xunxiang's fault!"

As Shen Xunxiang's mother-in-law, Mrs. Zhou took the lead and started with a crazy attack, belittling Shen Xunxiang to the point of being worthless.

"Mother, Xunxiang is not as bad as you say! She is already dead, why do you still want to ruin her reputation!"

Zhu Ruijin's eyes turned red, and he couldn't help but said painfully,

"If you hadn't threatened to die and forced me to divorce my wife, Xunxiang wouldn't have died!"

"That bitch is dead, and you're still on her side! What I said is all true. How could I have ever ruined her reputation..."

Mrs. Zhou glared at her son, her eyes full of anger.

It was obvious that the conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been going on for a long time. Mrs. Zhou was extremely angry when she saw that her son was still defending the deceased Shen Xunxiang.

"Mrs. Zhou, please calm down first. According to you, Shen Xunxiang is not a good wife and does not follow the rules of etiquette. She deserves to die and does not deserve any sympathy, right?"

Prince Duan asked.

"Yes! She deserved to die! She jumped into the well and died. That made me look up to her. I finally understood what a chaste woman should do."

Mrs. Zhou raised her head and spoke with confidence.

Princess Ling Yue frowned and glared at Madam Zhou. She really wanted to kick her and knock off her proud chin.

The Ninth Princess also clenched her fists, took a few deep breaths and tried to restrain herself, for she was really afraid that she would rush up and punch her.

People like the Crown Princess and Princess Changping, who were good at cultivating their qi, did not change their expressions much. It was mainly because they were old and had heard and seen this too many times, and had become numb to it.

Mrs. Zhou is a typical example of a woman who, after many years of being a daughter-in-law, eventually becomes a mother-in-law, and takes out all the oppression she has endured over the years on her daughter-in-law.

“Well, I have learned that twenty years ago, you deliberately designed to snatch my sister’s marriage in order to marry into the Bo Mansion.

In public, you had physical contact with your future brother-in-law, and finally you successfully married into the Earl's Mansion. Your sister was so angry that she chose to marry far away from Beijing.

Why didn't you jump into the well and die twenty years ago when you are so unethical, unchaste and conscienceless?

How do you have the nerve to live to this day and confidently accuse another woman? May I ask what basis do you have for doing so? "

Prince Duan looked at her and asked with a smile without any anger in his voice.

Hearing this, there was an uproar in the crowd again.

Some older ladies suddenly remembered that this incident had indeed happened and could not help but look at Mrs. Zhou with contempt.

The Ninth Princess clenched her fists, cheered secretly, and couldn't help but smile.

She also realized that although this was called a debate on etiquette and law, in reality it was just a starter attack on these three families.

Prince Duan had already prepared all the evidence of their crimes.

When it comes to matters of etiquette and law, no one is any cleaner than anyone else.

Once checked, they'll find a bunch of dirty tricks. Pick any one of them and according to the rules of etiquette, they'll be humiliated to death.

Mrs. Zhou's face suddenly turned red when her ugly deeds were exposed in public. She wished she could disappear right away.

She couldn't help but look to other people in the Bo Mansion for help.

But her husband ignored her and didn't even look at her.

The mother-in-law looked at her, but her eyes were full of disgust, and she even had the urge to strangle her.

When Zhu Ruijin heard about this, he turned to look at his mother in disbelief. The accusations and complaints in his eyes also deeply hurt Mrs. Zhou.

Mrs. Zhou stood there. Although the charcoal fire in the room was burning brightly, she began to shiver all over and felt cold.

"Mrs. Zhou, why? Speak up. How can you still have the nerve to live after doing such a wrong thing?"

Prince Duan continued to speak slowly.

"I, I..." Mrs. Zhou was so ashamed and angry that she couldn't help but yelled after being questioned again and again.

"Everyone can make mistakes! I didn't kill anyone, why can't I live?"

When Uncle Zhu and his wife heard this, they covered their faces with their hands, looking ashamed to see people.

They are all in their fifties and sixties. Now because of their own family affairs, they have lost everything, and they just want to find a hole to hide in.

"Then what grounds do you have to force Shen Xunxiang to die? Compared to what you did back then, what she did is nothing."

Prince Duan asked again.

"I, I..." Mrs. Zhou couldn't answer and was questioned again. Finally, she fainted.

"Ah, look, another one fainted." Prince Duan sighed and shook his head.

"I have discovered that ethics cannot restrain these evil-hearted people, but they can force those truly kind women to death. How is such ethics different from a man-eating tiger?"

Prince Duan's words made everyone silent and began to think deeply.

"As a man, you may not be able to empathize with women, so please think deeply about what I say:

In your next life, you will be reborn as a woman with all your memories, and you will have to spend your life under the constraints of various etiquettes, living in the backyard, obeying men, and thinking hard about giving birth to a child and relying on the child to gain a foothold? Are you willing?"

After saying this, Prince Duan smiled again and said,

"I am unwilling to do so, and I believe in Buddhism and believe in the afterlife.

Therefore, in order for me to be reborn as a woman in my next life so that I can live like a human being, instead of being a man's plaything, and having to give birth to children to survive, I support the prince's policy.

This king thinks that the prince is a true gentleman, with a broad mind, kindness and generosity, and he truly practices not to do to others what you do not want done to you. This king is proud of the prince!"

Everyone,...

Haha, the part about flattering can be deleted, no need to say more.

After Prince Duan finished speaking, everyone began to discuss.

After the previous criticism of the three families and Prince Duan's words, it is not one-sided that still believes that rites and laws cannot be abolished.

"I have never thought there is anything wrong with etiquette, but after listening to Prince Duan's words today, I suddenly had an epiphany!

If you put yourself in their shoes, who would want to be born a woman? Their lives are too hard! "

"Yes, they are also our daughters, sisters or mothers, our closest relatives. Why can't we be more tolerant of them? Why do we have to restrict them with those etiquettes?"

"If women are not restrained by etiquette and do not observe the code of conduct for women and commit adultery at will, how can the purity of bloodline be guaranteed?!"

"That's right! Men have to carry on the family line, continue the incense, bring honor to the family, and support the family! Men can take the imperial examinations and enter the officialdom, but what else can women do besides giving birth to children!

If we don't use etiquette to restrain them, what will happen if they deliberately confuse their bloodline? "

……

"Haha, yes, under the constraints of etiquette, we women can only be trapped in the back house and cannot meet with men outside at will, because our role as women is only to give birth to children, and we must use this method to ensure the purity of our bloodline."

At this time, the Ninth Princess stood up and said,

“But we are also human beings, not animals. As human beings, we have thoughts and the ability to resist, and we know what is unfair!

When we women are oppressed so badly that we begin to awaken and resist, and would rather destroy our bodies than have children, the only outcome for you men is destruction. What about carrying on the family line and bringing honor to the family? Haha, that's just wishful thinking!

When that time comes, you can treat us women in even more inhumane ways, tie our hands and feet, tie us to the bed, and make us unable to even destroy ourselves, but just keep giving birth to children.

Then I would like to ask, at that time, will your behavior still be righteous and filial? You men are not even worthy of being human beings, but you still talk about propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honoring your ancestors. It is simply ridiculous. "

This explosive statement stunned everyone, and some people even shuddered after thinking about it deeply.

Some people found it funny and thought it was impossible, but some were deeply moved.

After the Ninth Princess said these explosive words, she smiled sweetly at everyone, revealing two dimples, and then sat down again.

Everyone was a little dazed by her smile and stared at her, finding it hard to imagine that such a cute girl could say such words.

"Ahem, what my sister meant just now is that she strongly supports the Crown Prince's policies, so I'm going to provide you with another extreme idea of ​​how to improve the living environment for women. Just for reference."

The Seventh Prince quickly stood up and explained to everyone with a smile in order to smooth things over.

Girl, if you don’t want to have a baby, there’s no need to say it so loudly.

Look how scared everyone is. You are a complete weirdo.

"Ahem, okay! Now raise your hands if you oppose the Crown Prince's decision." Prince Duan quickly brought the subject back.

For a moment, no one raised their hand. It was unclear whether it was because everyone was stunned by the Ninth Princess's speech.

"Since no one objects, that's great! To implement the prince's new policy, everyone present must work together."

Prince Duan said quickly, and took out a thick booklet.

"You are all people of high moral character and respect. One word from you is worth thousands of words from ordinary people.

This ideological change requires you to set an example first and to do everything you can to promote it vigorously. Please do as I have said above..."

Prince Duan asked the eunuchs to distribute the booklet, one copy to each person, which listed what they had to do.

For example, writing books to criticize the persecution and harm of ethics on women, or holding similar debates in restaurants or teahouses to promote new ideas.

For example, modifying the family rules and clan laws, and sending people to educate the clan members in the hometown, slaves in the mansion, tenant farmers, etc.

Everyone,...

I feel like I've boarded a pirate ship. No, I feel like I've joined some powerful organization.

The Ninth Princess looked at the contents in the booklet and couldn't help but raise her eyebrows excitedly.

That’s awesome, she loves DaZhao!

She hopes that Dayan can one day become like Dayan Zhao.

The Ninth Princess looked at her brother, the Emperor, beside her, and could not help showing anticipation.

When my brother ascends the throne, can he also carry out similar reforms and strictly prohibit women from being rewarded, abducted, or given away like goods?