Professional Ethics of a Concubine

Xie Hongbao listened to such accusations, shook his head frantically, and argued angrily,

"Mother, it's not like that, it's not like that! You've twisted the truth! Father was the crown prince and the king, and the Chen family was the ministers. It was the Chen family that relied on father to gain power. How can you say that father relied on the Chen family!

Moreover, the Chen family annexed land in Qingzhou, bullied men and women, and committed countless crimes. My grandfather formed a clique in the court, controlled the government, and was corrupt and accepted bribes, which are also unforgivable crimes.

The emperor sentenced them to exile instead of immediate execution because his grandfather showed mercy to my father. How could it be said that my father harmed the Chen family?

Mother, what's wrong with you? Why can't you understand such a simple fact! You, you are really..."

Xie Hongbao swallowed the rest of his words, not wanting to say anything hurtful. After all, she was still his mother.

Chen thought her son would stand on her side. She was his biological mother. She had always taken care of him, accompanied him as he grew up, and loved him so much.

What is the King of Chu!

As a father, he had neglected his son since he was young and often scolded him. Chen felt that they did not have much father-son affection at all.

The son must be biased towards her.

However, the reality was not the case and was completely different from what she thought.

Chen couldn't accept it and felt as if the sky above her head had collapsed.

Therefore, after being refuted and disobeyed by her son, Chen felt her blood boiling, and she pointed at Xie Hongbao and cursed,

"You, you, you go out and your heart is on your father! You, you are the same as your father, both of you are ungrateful wolves! You, get out of here! You are not my son!"

Xie Hongbao turned around and ran away crying, feeling so miserable that he almost suffocated.

Wuuuu... He didn't understand why his mother had become like this.

Why was what she thought different from what he believed to be the truth? Why did she hate her father so much, and now she hated him too.

"Ouch! Ouch!" The nanny saw Xie Hongbao running out and slapped her thigh anxiously. She turned her head to look at the princess and didn't care about any rules. She said clearly,

"Princess, are you crazy? Although the prince and the young prince are your husband and son, they are also members of the royal family, your masters, and they are in charge of the life and death of you and the Chen family!

The Chen family is nothing now, and you still say things like that. Aren't you bringing new disasters upon yourself and the Chen family?

If you don't let go of the resentment in your heart, and waste the little affection between you and the prince, and exhaust the prince's filial piety towards you, the prince will only divorce you, and the prince will no longer recognize you. At that time, you will be left with nothing!"

Chen's body shook because of Madam's words, her face turned pale and she said,

"Yes, they are the Lord. What's wrong with me? I am nothing. Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the Lord. I don't even have the right to resent them..."

Mammy sighed, held her arm, helped her sit down on the bed, and continued to persuade her,

"Princess, you have to think positively. Whether the Chen family can get back on its feet depends on you.

What the prince said is not wrong. The Chen family was arrogant and made many mistakes before. You can't blame the prince and the emperor for being ruthless. The most important thing is to look forward and stand up again.

When the master and his men return to the capital, if they know that the princess is still angry with the prince and the young prince about the past, they will definitely advise the princess to let it go and cherish the present."

Chen sighed, but still unwillingly asked, "Mammy, aren't they at fault?"

“Princess, right or wrong is not important at all. What matters is who holds the power and who has the final say.” The nanny advised again.

Chen sighed again, "Mammy, I understand. I will think about it carefully."

The nanny thought that the princess could think it through and stop being so stubborn. Her words today were a way to repay the queen for saving her life.

-

Xie Hongbao ran out of the Prince Chu's Mansion, looking around blankly with red eyes, not knowing where to go.

He didn't want to go to the palace because of his mother. He didn't even know how to face his father and just wanted to be alone.

Xie Hongbao walked aimlessly on the street. His originally depressed mood gradually became cheerful because of the bustling atmosphere of the city and the people's praises for his father and the royal family.

Feeling happy and hungry, Xie Hongbao felt his purse to make sure he had money, then he walked to a small vendor and sat down, shouting to the owner,

"Give me a bowl of wontons, a big one."

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment!"

The shopkeeper responded with a smile and started to prepare wontons for him. After a while, a big bowl of fragrant wontons was brought to Xie Hongbao.

Xie Hongbao took out a silver note worth one hundred taels to pay. He had no change in his pocket, only the silver note.

When the shopkeeper saw the banknote, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Then he looked at the guest's clothes and knew that he was a distinguished person. He said helplessly,

"Oh, dear customer, your banknote is too big. Our store can't make change. Forget it and don't give it to me."

"How can that be possible? I can't take advantage of you." Xie Hongbao shook his head. "It's not easy for you to run a small business selling wontons. After I finish eating, I'll go find a silver shop to exchange silver and then pay. Is that okay?"

"Why not?" The shopkeeper laughed as soon as he heard it, and shouted in a high-pitched voice,

"Ah, the world is getting better and better. There are fewer and fewer arrogant young men, and more and more noble people like you who care about us ordinary people."

Xie Hongbao grinned and ate a wonton, then said,

"This is called leading by example. The emperor and the crown prince love the people like their own children, so the nobles below will not dare to abuse the people."

"Yes, yes, you are indeed a cultured young man!" The shopkeeper immediately gave Xie Hongbao a thumbs up and said with a smile while wiping the table.

"In the past few years, the capital has changed every year. The people's lives are getting better and better, the streets are getting busier and busier, and there are more goods from other countries and regions.

There are more businesses and more people, but there are no more bullies who take advantage of their power to collect protection fees, who ride horses on the streets and bump into people and things, or who molest young ladies.

When we were doing small business here before, we were always worried that thugs and bullies would come to collect protection fees, and we would have to hand over most of the money we had worked hard to earn.

However, now as long as we pay business taxes to the government, we don’t have to worry about ruffians and bullies, because the government will protect us merchants!

Whenever there are bullies who come to collect protection money, we just need to go to the government to file a complaint, and they will be arrested the next day. Hahahaha, don't mention how safe we ​​feel!"

"Haha...Hearing what the store owner said, it means that the prefect is doing a good job. He is not taking money without doing any work, and he is doing good things for the people."

Xie Hongbao also laughed heartily upon hearing this, and naturally evaluated the work performance of the prefect of the capital.

The shopkeepers were all stunned when they heard this, thinking that this young nobleman must be of high status, as he spoke of the prefect as if he were talking about his own servants.

After Xie Hongbao finished eating the wontons, his stomach felt warm and full, and he felt a little better. "Shopkeeper, wait a minute. I'll go change the money."

"Oh, no, no, the King of Chu has returned with his army today, and we ordinary people are happy too. This bowl of wontons is a treat for the nobles, and we celebrate the prosperity of the Great Zhao."

The shop owner smiled and waved his hands, thinking it was a good omen. Now he didn't feel bad about spending the money for a bowl of wontons because he made more money.

Xie Hongbao was even happier when he heard him say that, and he immediately slammed the 100 taels of silver on the table.

"The King of Chu and I are relatives. I am happy to hear you say that. I will give you all the banknotes. Hurry and put them away to prevent others from snatching them away. I am leaving now."

After saying this, Xie Hongbao left.

"...Oh! Sir, wait a minute!" The shopkeeper waved and called out to him.

Seeing that he had really left, the shopkeeper quickly put away the hundred taels of silver note, looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was paying attention.

Although the public security is good now and there are not many thieves and robbers, this is a hundred taels of silver after all. Money can tempt people, so it is better to be careful.

When they returned to the house, the shopkeeper gave his wife a hundred taels of silver and asked her to keep it.

"Where did you get a hundred taels of silver?" The proprietress widened her eyes in surprise and looked at the silver note over and over again, fearing that it was a fake.

"It was just given to me by a young nobleman, who said he was a relative of the King of Chu. He was in a good mood today, so he gave it to me." The shopkeeper said with a smile, also looking excited.

"Thank you, King Chu! We are all blessed by this noble man!" The proprietress clasped her hands together, held the banknote between her fingers, and said gratefully,

"I will burn incense and pay my respects to the King of Chu when I get back!"

"Yes!" The shopkeeper nodded vigorously, thought for a moment and said, "How about we put up a sign tomorrow saying that the King of Chu said our wontons were delicious!"

"...Ah? The King of Chu didn't come to eat either." The proprietress said worriedly, "This is a lie."

"A relative of the King of Chu is the King of Chu, isn't that right?" the shopkeeper said. "The King of Chu is the most famous person in the capital right now. If we take advantage of his fame, our wontons will surely sell well."

"My son's father, you are smart." The proprietress nodded vigorously, "Let's burn more incense to the King of Chu. I hope he will not blame us after he finds out!"

"No big shot would care about this, don't worry." The shopkeeper said confidently.

The next day, the store hung up a sign like this, and it really attracted a lot of customers.

The daily turnover increased more than five times compared to before. All their wontons were sold out and they couldn’t even make them fast enough.

When other small merchants saw this situation, they suddenly realized that they seemed to have found the code to wealth.

For a time, every street and alley was filled with shops that had been frequented by the King of Chu’s relatives, and they all praised the food and services they had eaten!

When the prefect heard that someone had reported this matter, he fell silent.

There have been a lot of strange things happening in recent years, and people have become bolder and more willing to follow suit in anything that is related to this.

You said that this matter undermines the dignity of the King of Chu, which is true. These lowly merchants are obviously taking advantage of the King of Chu.

But everyone admired the King of Chu, followed his trend to eat the food he had eaten, and used the things bought by the King of Chu, which was also a recognition and support for the King of Chu.

The prefect was at a loss.

He has never encountered this kind of thing. Should these small merchants be arrested or not?