Professional Ethics of a Concubine

Half a month later, Xie Niankang returned to the capital. As he had learned that the old lady was in poor health, he did not dare to delay for a moment and rushed back to the capital at full speed.

"Great-grandmother, I'm back! I'm Niankang, can you hear me clearly? Can you see me?" Xie Niankang walked to the old lady's bed, held her hand, and said loudly.

The old lady had rarely woken up in the past two days, but when she heard Xie Niankang's call, she opened her heavy eyelids again, looked at him and smiled.

Xie Niankang's tears suddenly fell, and he held her dry hand and touched his face.

"The good boy has become darker and his face has become rough..." the old lady said in a very low voice.

But Xie Niankang still heard it, and immediately laughed, and took her hand and rubbed it on his face again.

"Hahaha… The sea is too rough, there's nothing we can do. I hope my rough face doesn't hurt my great-grandmother's hand."

"Haha... that's impossible." The old lady was also amused by him, and her voice seemed to get louder.

"Come, tell your great-grandmother, where have you been for more than two years..."

"I've been to so many places that I can't finish telling you even if I spend ten days and ten nights." Xie Niankang wiped his tears and said with a smile.

"Don't worry, great-grandmother. Let me explain it to you slowly..."

The old lady smiled and shook her head gently, "I'm leaving now. I don't have time..."

Xie Niankang couldn't hold back his tears again, wiped his tears, and continued to say to her with a smile,

"Great-grandmother, I will tell you something interesting so that the Black and White Impermanence will be so engrossed in your story that they will forget about taking you away..."

The old lady smiled again, tears rolling down her cheeks. This time she opened her mouth and said silently,

"Okay, you tell me..."

Xie Niankang wiped her tears, held the old lady's hand, and began to talk. The old lady kept looking at him with her eyes open and listening.

Everyone else in the room kept silent, just listened together, and when they heard something particularly new and interesting, they couldn't help but exclaimed.

He kept saying this for an hour, and at that moment, a loud shout came from outside.

"Wow, wow, wow... Grandma! The unfilial grandson is back!"

It was Xie Lin, the eldest son of the first wife, who came back. Over the years, he had been transferred to serve as an official outside and was not allowed to return to Beijing.

The old lady, who had kept her eyes open, suddenly closed her eyes and stopped breathing after hearing this shout.

All the descendants of the Xie family have returned, and after seeing them all, her wish has been completely fulfilled, and she can leave.

Xie Niankang was stunned for a moment, subconsciously holding the old lady's hand tightly, and shouted loudly, "Great-grandmother, please don't leave us..."

The others immediately knelt down, crying loudly.

The old lady passed away.

-

The emperor wanted to hold a state funeral for the old lady and bury her with great ceremony. No one in the court or the country objected.

Throughout her life, the old lady was very kind to Emperor Gaozu. Later, when Emperor Gaozu started an uprising, she used the whole family to help him.

The old lady also saved the life of the retired emperor. She was the retired emperor's aunt and the grandmother of the current emperor.

No matter from which point of view, she deserves the national funeral. The whole country should mourn and pay tribute to her.

After taking care of the old lady's funeral and letting her rest in peace, it was already the coldest time of winter.

This year, because of the passing of the old lady, there were no lights and decorations, no festive red, and the palace was drenched in mourning inside and outside.

The New Year passed in a quiet and cold manner, and time came to the fourth year of Qiansheng.

Spring goes and summer comes, and in the blink of an eye, half a year has slipped away.

Mingyan was handling government affairs when he heard the eunuch announce that Marquis Xie wanted to see him. He was stunned for a moment in surprise before he ordered the eunuch to bring the person over.

"Greetings, Princess." After Xie Niankang came in, he bowed to Mingyan.

"No need to be so polite. You are leaving again and want me to say goodbye?" Mingyan stood up and asked Xie Niankang.

"My lady," Xie Niankang bowed politely again.

"We plan to leave next month. Mingyu is also clamoring to go this time. My father will be accompanying us. Your Highness does not need to worry about his health and safety."

Mingyan smiled and said, "I'm not worried about him. If he wants to go, then let him go. Otherwise, he will make a scene."

Xie Niankang also smiled, "Compared to before, Mingyu has matured a lot."

"The corn and potatoes you brought back last time created the first big harvest, and the yield is indeed very high." Ming Yan said again.

"I will try to bring back some vegetable seeds this time when I go out to sea. If there is anything that Princess likes, I can bring it back for you."

Xie Niankang asked her again.

Ming Yan smiled and shook his head, and said confidently, "Da Zhao has all the rare things outside. Those merchants are even crazier than the people in the court. For the sake of silver, there is nothing they can't bring back."

Xie Niankang laughed at what she said, "Indeed."

After talking about this, the two fell silent again.

This time, Xie Niankang took out a gift box from his sleeve, handed it to Mingyan, and said with a little apology,

"This is your coming-of-age gift. It's two years late, I hope you don't mind."

"It's great that I can still receive it." Mingyan took it with a smile, opened the box and saw that it was a pearl hairpin, very beautiful.

"Thank you. I like it very much." Ming Yan closed the box without asking whether it was the pearls he dug himself or just bought casually.

No matter how precious the feelings are, it is of no importance in the face of inevitable separation.

"As long as you like it." Xie Niankang smiled and bowed to her, "Then I will take my leave."

"If you are tired of wandering and want to rest, you are always welcome to come back." Ming Yan said with a smile, "There is always a place for you here."

"No way, are you still going to reserve a position for me as the Imperial Consort?" Xie Niankang asked in a shocked tone.

Mingyan stretched out her foot and kicked him away!

Xie Niankang got up from the ground and ran away from her, but after running for a while he stopped, turned around and waved at her with a smile.

"I will always bless you and wish you happiness and health for the rest of your life."

Mingyan smiled and waved at him, saying goodbye to him and to her own young love.

-

The Queen sent Mingyu away, who insisted on going to sea. She was so upset and worried that she fell seriously ill and could not get out of bed.

Ye Qingzhi took over the palace affairs and divided them among the other three concubines. She wouldn't have to do much work herself.

So, most of the time, she would go to sit with the Queen, chat with her, and relieve her depression.

"Qingzhi, I'm glad you're with me. What's the point of giving birth to a son?" The queen said angrily, holding Ye Qingzhi's hand.

Ye Qingzhi immediately agreed with her words, "That's right. Come on, let's not be angry anymore. Look at this new rouge I made. The color is so good. Get up and sit in front of the mirror. I'll put on some makeup for you."

The queen sat in front of the mirror, watching her rub the paint on her face, and asked her,

"Why are you always fiddling with something now? You're much more diligent than before, and you don't like to lie down and read idle books anymore."

"It's boring to lie down all the time." Ye Qingzhi said,

"I just like to mess around a bit now, find new hobbies, and learn new things, just in case they can be used."

"If you don't like doing something or don't want to do something, who can make you do it? Don't force yourself to learn it."

The Queen's attitude was very doting. She said this because she didn't want Ye Qingzhi to push herself too hard.

There is no need to try every possible means to coax the emperor, so what is the point of working so hard?

"By the way, I heard that a few days ago, a minister proposed to the emperor to hold a beauty contest."

The Queen said, "The reason they proposed the selection seems to be because you can't have children?"

"Yes, that's true." Ye Qingzhi smiled nonchalantly.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Those ministers were directly rejected by the emperor. If anyone had the courage to mention this matter again and again, he would have punished them and transferred them directly to Beiyan to carry out construction."

The Queen laughed when she heard this. "I think they are just idle. The Emperor is not without children. Why did he have so many children? He should find something for them to do so that they dare not make random suggestions anymore."

Ye Qingzhi nodded vigorously, and after applying rouge to the queen, she let her admire herself in the mirror.

"How is it? My makeup skills are pretty good, right?"

"Yeah, it looks good. I feel younger now. Qingzhi, you are so smart. As long as you put your heart into it, there is nothing you can't do."

The queen smiled and praised her.

"It's the purse you gave me last time. The embroidery is very good, much better than mine. After I saw it, my hands started to itch. I wondered if I should embroider something when I have nothing to do."

"It's just to kill time." Ye Qingzhi said, "I'll embroider a screen for you on your birthday next year."

The queen exclaimed in amazement at first, then quickly said, "Don't embroider it yourself, or you will get too tired."

Ye Qingzhi,...