Demoted from wife to concubine? Reborn, the mistress of a noble family plots another high-status mar

Chapter 379

Yun Xiyue looked up at him, not knowing what he had said to the Empress Dowager, but his eyes were encouraging.

"Speak!" The Empress Dowager picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then continued to make things difficult for her.

Yun Xiyue replied, "Your Majesty, my life was saved by the Emperor, and I have always been grateful. I never thought of trying to curry favor with the Emperor."

"But the Emperor is very kind to me, and I... feel warm inside. But I also know that if I marry him, I will only become a stain on his reputation."

The Empress Dowager paused, then snorted, acknowledging that she was a stain on her reputation.

"The Empress Dowager is also a woman. I think you should understand and appreciate the difficulties women face. Although I am a second wife, does that make me inferior?"

"Am I forced to become someone else's concubine?"

"You are the Empress Dowager, and you should be a role model for all women in the world. But how many women in this world are born as noble as you?"

"Many women suffer injustices in their husband's family, but they can only swallow their anger and endure it all. I, Yun Xiyue, simply refuse to do that. Am I wrong?"

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly. "Your marriage to Shen Yue was your own choice. No matter how difficult it is, you have to endure it yourself. That is the model a woman should be."

"So what if I am the Empress Dowager? When I was young, I went through the same thing. Being a royal daughter-in-law is nothing more than a glamorous facade."

“But if everyone were like you, not allowing their husbands to take concubines, it would be improper and a heresy. In the world, wealthy men often have multiple wives and concubines. The man you married is not an ordinary person, so you have to accept that. And your Yun family’s initial proposal not to allow concubines was domineering.”

In her eyes, a merchant has no right to stand up against the powerful and wealthy.

The entire Yun family were unorthodox and unconventional.

This is also why she dislikes Yun Xiyue so much.

"If we follow your family's rules, if you enter the palace, wouldn't the Emperor only be able to favor you?"

Yun Xiyue said, "That's the marriage rule in our Yun family. When Shen Yue came to propose marriage, we made it clear beforehand that if he couldn't keep his promise, he shouldn't make any more.

"How is it that the Yun family is being domineering? I am the only daughter in the Yun family. My parents made this request because they didn't want me to suffer. Later, it was the Shen family who wronged me first. They are unkind, unjust, and malicious. Why should I have to swallow my anger?"

As she spoke, she remembered her past life and became angry.

“If the emperor wants to marry me, he cannot love only me and cannot have only one wife. I am unwilling to do so.”

"Because I know that this kind of lifelong fidelity is something that no man in the world, except my father, can do, so I am unwilling to enter the palace."

Murong Yu's eyes were deep and dark, and he clenched his fists, but he could only watch from the side.

The Empress Dowager looked up at him and said, "Your Majesty, did you hear that? She said she doesn't want to marry you."

Murong Yu's face was cold and stern, his thin lips pressed tightly together.

"It seems you also want the Emperor to promise not to take concubines and that you are willing to marry your son, is that it?" the Empress Dowager sneered.

This is utterly absurd!

Yun Xiyue glanced at Murong Yu, then lowered her eyes and said, "This subject did not mean that. Your Majesty saved this subject, and I should repay Your Majesty's kindness by marrying you."

“We agreed that as long as the Empress Dowager agreed to the marriage, I would enter the palace to marry him. I will not break my promise to the Emperor.”

The Empress Dowager was surprised, as she was unaware of such a promise between the two.

She looked at the Emperor.

Murong Yu nodded, "Mother..."

The Empress Dowager raised her hand to interrupt him, "It's not that I can't agree to this marriage, but I have a few conditions. If you can meet them, then there will be no problem."

Yun Xiyue and Murong Yu looked at her together.

"First, Your Majesty must bestow your favor equally upon all the concubines in the harem, especially Consort Pei, whom Your Majesty must give a child to in the future. Second, if both Consort Pei and the Empress give birth to princes, the most virtuous must be chosen, and the eldest son must be chosen, not the legitimate heir. Third, you may get engaged first, but the wedding ceremony can only be held after the legendary physician has come to the palace and cured my illness. Fourth, Yun Xiyue must be respected and praised by all, virtuous and dignified, and recognized by the world, and must not bring shame to the royal family. Fifth, I haven't decided yet; I will tell you when I have."

Murong Yu, unable to bear it any longer, stood up and said angrily, "This is tantamount to disagreeing."

"Ah Yue, let's go."