Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"What are you looking at!" Ming Yan glared at him fiercely, "I can't think this way? In your eyes, I can only embroider and paint?"

Xie Niankang was confused by the bullying, but he would not argue with Ming Yan. He just said,

“You misunderstood, I don’t think it’s surprising that you think so.

My aunt, Princess Ling Yue, and your mother, whom you usually interact with, are not ordinary women in the inner house. It is only right that you have lofty ambitions. "

Mingyan hummed softly, her pretty face relaxed instantly, and the corners of her mouth rose slightly.

The empress couldn't help but smile again, and lovingly touched the cheeks of several children one by one, and said,

"You are all good children. From now on, the world belongs to you. Go and spread your wings and fly. Don't waste your talents and background."

Mingyu, Mingyan, Xie Niankang and others all nodded to indicate their agreement. Finally, they knelt down, kowtowed to the empress and said goodbye before returning to the carriage.

The empress watched their carriage gradually go away, blinked her wet eyes, turned around and said, "Return to the palace."

-

On the way back, because the novelty of going out had worn off, the schedule was much tighter and we stopped less often to rest.

After traveling for about a month, the prince, Ye Qingzhi and their group finally returned to the capital.

After entering the palace, he went back to the East Palace to take a bath and wash off the dust from the journey.

The emperor also sent a eunuch to convey the message, asking them to rest first and not rush to pay their respects, and to wait until the evening to have a simple dinner together.

The prince was quite energetic and he had never been pampered. When he was an imperial guard, he was used to traveling far and wide. This trip was very comfortable for him.

So, after washing up, the prince went to deal with the backlog of government affairs during this period. He is a real workaholic.

The Crown Princess and Ye Qingzhi both felt exhausted. Their whole bodies ached from sitting in the carriage, especially their buttocks. Even if they laid out more quilts, it would still be uncomfortable to sit for too long!

"Oh my, my butt is really suffering. Whoever wants to go on this long journey can go, but I won't go."

Ye Qingzhi returned to her room and lay on the bed. She felt comfortable everywhere. She hugged her pillow and quilt, humming in comfort while complaining all the time.

"Master, you've been gone for four months. It wasn't even summer yet, but when you come back, it's almost autumn."

Aunt Zhang looked at her master lying there without any manners and couldn't help but laugh.

"Before you left, you told us to take good care of the grape vines in the yard. These grapes are ripe and can be eaten."

"Yeah, I've been away for half a year. My god, this efficiency is really... incredible."

Ye Qingzhi began to miss airplanes and high-speed trains infinitely. That was what traveling was all about.

In my previous life, I didn’t want to go out and play. One reason was that I had no money in my pocket when I first started working as a social animal. When I became a senior social animal and had some money, I had no time because I was squeezed dry by the capitalists.

Now I have money, status and a lot of free time, but the tools I use to get around are really slow and make me uncomfortable.

She lost the desire to go out and play.

Just stroll around the area, run a horse, and soak in the hot springs. I will never travel far.

Unless her genius disciple, the Sixth Prince, could build a steam engine... Ye Qingzhi fantasized about it and thought that maybe if she waited another twenty years, it might really be possible.

Ye Qingzhi thought about it for a while, then stopped thinking about it and just closed her eyes and went to sleep. She might as well be dreaming, because dreams are where all kinds of things happen.

-

The next day.

Prince Su's Mansion.

Ye Qingzhi brought a cart full of gifts from the Western Regions to visit her mother and younger brothers and sisters.

"I heard from the prince yesterday that you are back. You are finally back. Mother has been thinking about you for a long time. Did you have a smooth journey? Are you not sick?"

When Mu Nianqiu saw Ye Qingzhi, he smiled happily, grabbed her arm, and looked at her carefully. Seeing that she looked a little thin, he felt distressed.

"Mom, we walked slowly on the road, and there were no accidents or illnesses. I am fine. This time, I brought a lot of specialties from the Western Regions, and there are many fun things for my brothers and sisters."

Ye Qingzhi asked her with a smile,

"Mom, where are Anze, Anya and the others? Can they walk? Can they call for help?"

"You came at an untimely time. I just fell asleep. I'll ask the nurse to bring me home when I wake up." Mu Nianqiu said with a smile.

"Anze can stagger along on his own, but Anya can't let go yet, and can walk on her own with the help of her little arm.

However, Anya can call daddy and mommy now, but Anze is a little slow in speaking, so he can't do that yet, he can only yell "ahh ...

"Haha... everyone has their own advantages. No one needs to laugh at anyone else for being stupid." Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.

"What you said is quite interesting." Mu Nianqiu also laughed and pulled her to sit down.

"When the two children are not around, we can talk to each other in peace. When they are around, they are babbling and you can't talk even if you want to. You have to watch them and play with them. Otherwise, they will keep calling you and get angry and tantrum."

"Oh, there's really no freedom when raising a child." Ye Qingzhi smiled and shook her head.

"Even if there are a lot of servants around, as a mother, I really have no time to accompany my children, except when they are sleeping."

"How can the people serving me compare to my mother?" Mu Nianqiu said.

"They will only be close to you if you accompany them in person. If you leave them to the nurse, they will not be close to you and you will be upset again."

"That's the truth. I understand." Ye Qingzhi nodded with a smile.

"When are you going to have a child?" Mu Nianqiu asked her, after all, the topic had come to this point.

"Mom, I don't want to have children." Ye Qingzhi shook her head.

Mu Nianqiu looked at her unexpectedly, and after a moment of silence, he asked her softly, "Why?"

"There are too many reasons. I can give you dozens of reasons for not having children." Ye Qingzhi smiled and shook her head.

"In the final analysis, I was just too afraid to be responsible for a little life. I didn't want to be a great mother and limit myself. I was also afraid that I would do all kinds of sinister things because of my child in the future and become a hateful person."

Although Mu Nianqiu has a simple mind, she is a mother and she understands the weight of what Ye Qingzhi said.

"Really not wanting to?" Mu Nianqiu asked her again.

Ye Qingzhi shook her head.

"If you don't want to have a child, then don't have one. Maybe you are not destined to have children." Mu Nianqiu was silent for a moment, held her hand, and said gently.

"You have an older brother, two younger brothers and a younger sister. They will all protect you and be your support in the future. Didn't you say that Niankang is also related to you as a mother? That's enough."

"Mom, thank you. It's so rare that you can support me." Ye Qingzhi couldn't help but smile, her eyes a little warm.

Because of this rare understanding and support, she knows how difficult it is to be understood by others, so she feels it is even more precious.

"What's the big deal? I've been a vegetarian for so many years, and with the experiences of the past two years, I feel more and more that everyone has a destiny. In everything, follow your heart, don't force it, and don't get stuck in a dead end."

Mu Nianqiu smiled faintly and spoke to Ye Qingzhi to comfort her.

In the past, it was Ye Qingzhi who advised her and gave her many ideas, as if their roles as mother and daughter had been swapped.

And now, when Ye Qingzhi, the daughter, faces a major choice in life, she, as a mother, gives her the greatest support and tolerance.

Ye Qingzhi couldn't help but stand up, hugged her, leaned her head on her shoulder, and said softly, "Mom, thank you for your guidance."

Mu Nianqiu hadn't felt his daughter's coquettishness for a long time. Because of this closeness, he couldn't help but feel warm in his eyes.

She raised her hand and patted her back, thought for a moment and said,

"Mother doesn't know much, but the prince only favors you, and he doesn't have many children. If you don't want to have children, then the prince will favor others and start to ignore you. Will you feel uncomfortable?"

"I won't." Ye Qingzhi said, "I never thought that exclusive favor could last forever."

Mu Nianqiu patted her again and said softly, "Then I'm glad you can accept it. Mother is worried that you won't be able to let it go when the time comes. It will be hard to give birth, and it will be hard not to give birth either."

Ye Qingzhi smiled when she heard this, let her go, sat down opposite her again, and said to her,

“This road of not having children is indeed a road of struggle.

However, this road of struggle will only last for a few years of intense struggle. After that period of time has passed, no one will push for it.

However, once you have a child, you will worry about it until you die. From the moment of pregnancy, most of your heart is on the child, and you will fight for the child all your life.

Comparing these two aspects, it is easier to choose not to have children. "

Mu Nianqiu,...

Well, my daughter still has all the crooked reasons, but when I think about it carefully, there seems to be nothing wrong with what she said.

But this unconventional path is within the royal family, and my daughter is favored, so I don’t know to what extent she will fight.

"Mother and the prince are your way out." Mu Nianqiu said, "The prince truly treats you as his daughter."

"Mom, I understand." Ye Qingzhi nodded moved.

After talking for a while, the two children, Anze and Anya, woke up. They were already more than one year and two months old, and were well taken care of, with their bodies becoming plump.

Ye Qingzhi looked at her younger brothers and sisters, played with them for a while, and felt that children were very fun and cute.

This is how it is to take care of children. You just play with them for a while. No one will say that children are not cute. Their cuteness will also inspire you to want to have children.

However, if you spend 24 hours with a baby and raise him/her, you will be constantly adjusting yourself between breakdown and healing. If you cannot adjust yourself, you will explode with depression.

With her current status, she is naturally not afraid of the early period of raising the baby, because she has countless helpers to help her.

However, she was afraid of the calculations and struggles that her children would face when they grew up.

Besides, her views on child-rearing are totally inconsistent with the prince's, so why bother!

Maybe after having a child, at some point, she might even want to get rid of her leader and kill the father while keeping the son... Well, Ye Qingzhi thought about it, and her determination not to have children became more determined.

Oh, that’s not necessary. It’s really not necessary.

Xie Jin, who was discussing matters with the ministers, suddenly sneezed.