The survival rule of a concubine's daughter is 68: Good fortune returns home like a gentle breeze; the Fang family lives in peace, without worries.

  As soon as he heard this, his face turned red with rage and his eyebrows stood on end, "You!"

  Looking at her calmly, she let out a gentle sigh. "Second sister, we're both modern people and fortunate to have become sisters. That's why I'm offering you some heartfelt advice: don't underestimate the ancients, especially ancient women."

  In the past, people were not stupid at all. Those who knew etiquette could recognize a thousand characters at the age of five, defend themselves alone at ten years old, pass the imperial examination at fifteen, and become a scholar at eighteen. Those who knew martial arts could dance with knives at three years old, play with guns at five years old, defeat three big men alone at ten years old, and achieve military merit on the battlefield at fifteen years old. Nowadays, at just twenty-four years old, he is already a famous general with great achievements. Who can achieve such success in modern times?

  At the age of 15, she married, at 19, she gave birth to a child, and at 22, she followed her husband to Beijing, bought a house, managed servants, raised children, all by herself. Now, at just over 25 years old, what are modern women doing at this age? Some have already entered the workforce, while others are probably still dependent on their parents.

  She and Rú Shàn may have modern thinking, but if they really had to get married at 15, give birth, serve their in-laws, and manage the household finances, it's likely they would be utterly overwhelmed.

  He nodded silently, seemingly agreeing with Ru Shuang's words. However, he soon straightened his back and shoulders, his tone firm, "I understand what you're saying. But I won't admit defeat. Just wait and see, I'll make a name for myself and let those who looked down on me and oppressed me regret their actions."

  "As if on cue, 'Then I wish you all the best, sister, may your wishes come true.'"

  It's indeed different paths, no common goal.

  On the second day, the scorching sun shone brightly, and the venomous sunlight almost dried up the welcoming team.

  The procession of welcoming the bride rode horses from the Yu County Wang's mansion to the Fang's house, which took half a day. On such a scorching hot day, the son of the Yu County Wang, Li, was delicate and couldn't stand the heat, so he naturally wouldn't come in person to welcome the bride... This time, only the son of the Wang's mansion steward came to welcome the bride on his behalf.

  Because the groom was not present, all the traditional wedding customs were waived. Zhiliang, being a man of propriety and dignity, did not bother to recite a few lines of poetry at the gate to make things difficult for the groom. Zhilian had originally planned to show off his brother-in-law's prestige, but unfortunately, he was pulled away by Lin Shi to do something else. Lin Shi and He Shi stayed in Ruxiang's room, one folding the quilt and the other smoothing out the bed sheet, chatting about some auspicious words, not intentionally making things difficult for the groom according to custom, so the wedding procession smoothly escorted the bride out.

  Wearing a new outfit, with a red headscarf on her head, supported by the madam's arm, she knelt down and paid respects to Mr. and Mrs. Fang Jinglan. Fang Jinglan looked at her with complex eyes and said, "Be obedient to your parents-in-law, don't be willful or reckless." Li Shi glanced sideways and said, "Take care of yourself," then Ruxian was escorted out of the Fang residence by Zhi Lian and got into a flower sedan chair.

  After the welcoming procession went away, Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. Well, according to the rules and the 128 dowry prepared by Ruxian, almost all were officials. In the official families of the capital city, it was not considered excessive or shabby. With Ruxian's status as a concubine-born daughter and Fang Jinglan's third-rank official position, the dowry was just enough to be good. Although many were just nominal, what could be done? A concubine-born daughter, even if she married well, couldn't surpass the legitimate daughter, after all.

  Besides, Fang's family is not a wealthy one, and they have already done their best with these dowries.

  Although Li Shi and Rumei didn't think Ruoshan would have much room for survival in the Yu Prefecture Wangfu, Ruoshan's return gift was grand and lively.

  A magnificent red silk brocade with golden phoenix and cloud patterns, the lower hem of the garment and the skirt are embroidered with gold thread pheasant designs. On her neat and high bun, a bright and shiny five-phoenix morning sun gold silk gong bead inlaid with rubies large phoenix hairpin is pinned. Ruby droplet earrings with crimson gold tassels hang from her ears, and around her neck hangs a double-fish auspicious red agate good fortune lock pendant. On each wrist, she wears a pair of bright golden dragon and phoenix bangles. This outfit cannot be called anything but magnificent, the whole body shining with golden light, majestic and luxurious.

  Li looked with wide eyes, secretly resenting that this good girl's clothes were made at what time? The princess of Yu Prefecture was very unfriendly to her, how could she give her such a luxurious dress. If it was made in the girl's home, the three-product official of Fang Fu, the golden phoenix dress and the five-phoenix morning sun phoenix branch would be much more magnificent.

  Rushan and Li Sao made a bow to the old lady and Fang Jinglan couple, the old lady's expression was calm, but she was dressed in high spirits. Fang Jinglan carefully looked at Li Sao, who wore a long red brocade with dark patterns, a purple gold crown on his head, and had red lips and white teeth, like a jade tree in the wind. Standing next to Rushan, one was charming and the other was handsome, they matched well. Seeing Li Sao's care for Rushan, her previously annoyed and depressed heart was slightly soothed.

  But Li was different, seeing Ruxin's attire and mannerisms, which were full of the aura of a noble young master, he felt suffocated with anger, his earlier pride having long since fled. He slanted his eyes, his tone strange and sarcastic, "Young Master, my family's Ruxin, is he to your satisfaction?"

  Li's identity is not ordinary, and even if Li is resentful, she doesn't dare to be out of line. So her words are lengthy, with a hint of 50% resentment and 50% jealousy, but the tone is gentle.

  Li swept a glance at Ruoshan, who blushed and covered her face, a hint of shyness and blush flashing across her pale complexion.

  Rumi, who was standing by, got angry.

  "If you are well-versed in books and reason, gentle and soft-hearted, with a broad-minded and open-minded chest, recognizing characters and cutting words, then the son-in-law is most satisfied."

  In fact, putting aside personal grudges, Shi is indeed born beautiful, just like Zhang Niang. With her willow eyebrows, apricot-shaped eyes and melon-seed face, every part of her body exudes a charming aura. It's only natural that Li Xun, who has seen his fair share of beauties, would be attracted to her.

  Ru Xiang thought so, but Ru Mei was already furious. She looked at Ru Shan with disdain, staring at the clothes on her body, and pretended to be surprised: "Hey, second sister, this outfit of yours is really stylish. Did you bring it over yourself?"

  She smoothed out the golden phoenix cloud patterned brocade skirt, smiling demurely. "This was specially made for me by the young master." Under the gaze of Li's mother and daughter, who were both changing color, she slowly said: "The young master said that all my dowry clothes are some semi-new old clothes, the workmanship and fabric are also inferior, afraid that wearing them would be disrespectful to the identity of the young master's wife, so..." She shyly glanced at Li Xun, her daughter-in-law's demeanor was completely revealed. "So the young master specially had someone rush to make twelve sets of clothes for me."

  "Twelve sets?" Ru Mei screamed in her heart, even as the eldest daughter of the Fang family, Li Shi was biased, and she could only make five or six dresses for a season at most. If things were slightly worse, she would have to make three or four sets of clothes, and most of the time, she had to pick out last year's clothes to wear.

  Like a deliberate show-off, the success triggered Li Ruxue's jealousy. Ruxue smiled hypocritically: "Second Brother-in-law is so fond of Second Sister, Second Sister is really blessed." The tone changed again, and she said: "However, if it were King Jing Li Xiu who had seen Second Sister's body at that time, I'm sure it would be even more magnificent than what you're wearing today." She measured the embroidery on Ruxue's elegant clothes, covered her mouth and smiled lowly, "I suppose this pheasant can be exchanged for a brocade chicken."

  The Tianzi No. 1 Wang Shizi Fei can wear the nine-chui (brocade chicken) four-feng crown and the nine-di (pheasant) crown, with phoenix patterns on their clothes.

  The crown of the king's wife is a seven-jade pheasant coronet, and her clothes are decorated with pheasant patterns.

  It was as if she had been hit by a mallet, her face flashing with anger and killing intent, but her tone was soft. "Sister, what are you talking about? I can be with the young master, it's partly coincidence, partly heaven's arrangement, fate's destiny. Marrying the young master, I've never regretted it." She looked at Li Heng, her face gentle, and smiled sweetly.

  Li gazed at her, also tenderly and smiling with her, as if they were not a newlywed couple, but a loving couple who had been sweetened by time.

  Although Ruoxi is broad-minded, she can't help but emit some sour bubbles at this time, but she hides them very well. After emitting the sourness, seeing Ruxi's success, I might as well give her a blessing sentence with generosity and magnanimity, even if I don't like her.

  When it was time for dinner, Old Lady Yu had drunk three rounds of wine and, disliking the noise, returned alone to Songhe Hall.

  The lady sat in the inner room to dine, and as she disliked the golden phoenix sleeves getting in the way, she rolled up her sleeves a few times. As she did so, others also caught sight of the ruby gold bangles on her wrists. Not only were they made of gold, but they were also exquisitely crafted with great skill, shining brightly, and the rubies set into them looked as if they had just been mounted.

  As soon as she saw everyone's eyes fixed on the bangle on her wrist, she couldn't help but touch the bangle and smile at Li: "The dowry you gave me was all good things. Unfortunately, the Yu Prefecture Wangfu is not an ordinary family, and none of my jewelry can match up to it. In the end, it was your son-in-law who pitied me and gave me a box of jewelry, so I found this one to wear."

  Li's face was extremely ugly, her chest was heavy as if she was about to erupt, while Ru Mei saw that she couldn't bear her complacent show-off and said with a fierce tone: "Wow, second sister is really unbeatable now, second brother-in-law is really deeply in love with second sister. Little sister is truly envious, little sister sincerely hopes that sister can always be pampered." She bit the last few words very heavily.

  Ruoxi's face stiffened for a moment, but she quickly smiled again, "Thanks for the kind words. My sister's husband is indeed very good to me. I also hope that my future brother-in-law will be just as good to my sister."

  Although the Yang family is also a marquis and has a prominent position, after all, it is not a royal title. Compared to the Second Prince, they are two ranks lower. Moreover, Yang Qitai's title is not hereditary, so how can he be compared to the Yu County Wangfu?

  The dishes on the table were rich and varied, but unfortunately, the people eating had different thoughts in their minds. Mrs. Hei called out to Ruoshan to serve the dishes as usual, and then said warmly to Ruoshan: "It's clear that the young master's brother-in-law is sincere towards his sister, I truly hope that the sister can be with her brother-in-law till they are old and grey, never parting ways."

  Ruxi's expression was pleased, and Linshi also said a few words of blessing as usual. Ruxi saw that the two sisters-in-law who had previously ignored him were now flattering him, and he felt even more pleased, involuntarily looking at Ruxiang.

  "Fourth sister," said Rulan's voice, drawn out, "although we weren't born of the same mother, after all, we're sisters. Usually, it's thanks to you that I've become what I am today, constantly pointing out and correcting me, sister's great kindness, I'll never forget."

  If it's good, only she can understand herself. Now that she has married a good husband and the man is nice to her, she has become arrogant, showing off her skills in her husband's family, and mocking her previous timidness.

  As he suppressed the urge to lash out at her, he looked sincerely at Ruoshan and said: "Second sister is absolutely right. Second sister is a person who does great things, but I am someone with no great ambitions, how can I compare to my sister?"

  Ruoxi finally spoke up and scolded Ruoshen for being lazy and neglectful, which made her feel better. They continued to pretend to be loving sisters.

  But Mei saw that she couldn't bear to see Ruxin showing off herself, and her anger was like a ball of fire with nowhere to vent. Then she saw Ruxin and Ruhua talking intimately, and a burst of evil flames erupted, and she suddenly scolded Ruxin, "Today is the day when your second sister returns home, how can you still dress so shabbily? It's not good to let outsiders laugh at our Fang family's daughters for being unable to hold their heads high."

  As soon as she knew that Ruoxi was uncomfortable in her heart, she didn't get angry at being scolded this time. She just smiled and said to Ruomei: "I'm just a concubine's daughter, I really can't go on stage, it doesn't matter, as long as my third sister can go on stage, that's enough."

  Ru Mei was relieved after being scolded by her, and saw Ru Shan sitting upright in the chair with a smile on his face, treating himself like a prince, even more infuriating, just about to explode, but was pulled away by Lin Shi.

  Although Ruoshan's return gift was not grand enough, she had already gained a belly full of envy from her natal family, which made it completely worthwhile. After finishing lunch and preparing to leave, Ruoshan bid farewell to Fang Jinglan and received a few words of blessing and affection. Ruoshan again took the opportunity to ask to see Zhang Yiniang, but Fang Jinglan hesitated, and Li Shi said: "I say, Ruo Shanniang, you're already a married-out daughter, it's better not to get involved in your natal family's private matters. As for concubine Zhang, don't worry, I'll take care of her myself."

  "Mrs. Fang is right, you're already a married woman, it's best to stay out of family matters."

  Fang Jinglan had a complicated attitude towards Ruxin. He was truly disappointed in her, and even if Ruxin was pampered by her husband, it couldn't change his disappointment in his daughter. Of course, the Yu Prefecture Wangfu was indeed noble, but now the various regional kings had already lost the hearts of the people, and the officials' evaluations were getting worse and worse. In Fang Jinglan's heart, although the Wangfu was high and unattainable, it was also deep and treacherous, and if one wasn't careful, they would get entangled. Fang Jinglan attached great importance to his reputation, and now being ridiculed by people in the official circles for clinging to power and nobility was even more unbearable than death. So when he saw Ruxin flaunting her husband's favor in front of him, he had already accumulated a belly full of fire, and coldly said: "Don't show off your Shizi Fei's prestige in front of me, wait until you've secured the position of Wangfei after ten or eight years, then come back to show off to me."

  Her face turned pale and then red, red and then black, she stared blankly at her father, had he really stopped loving her?

  After being rebuffed by Fang Jinglan, Ruxi still wouldn't give up and wanted to make friends with Zhili, but Zhili just gave her a cold glance and said: "Your brother-in-law has already had the carriage prepared for departure. As the saying goes, 'husband sings and wife follows', so you shouldn't keep your brother-in-law waiting any longer."

  After running into a not-so-big-or-small soft nail, she stiffened her face and had to come to the gate, only to see Ru Qing laughing with Li Sao: "Congratulations to Second Brother-in-law and Second Sister on their white-haired union, never to be separated."

  She smiled slightly, took two steps forward. Gently grasped Li's hand, glanced at Ru with a loving gaze, "Thank you for your kind words, sister will live her life well." Then turned around, softly said: "Let's go, husband."

  Li He didn't respond to her, but instead stared at Ruoxi with tightly pursed lips, and a complex light flashed across his pale face, which could only be seen in the depths of his eyes. Li He finally turned his head and smiled warmly at Ruoxi: "It's so hot today, let's change into something lighter."

  With a bashful expression, "Husband, which one do you think I look good in?"

  Li hesitated for a moment, "That set of pale blue is good."

  Ruxi nodded and smiled, then ordered the maid to go get the carriage. After the maid left, Ruxi smiled brightly at Lin Shi and the others, saying: "Sister-in-law, fourth sister, I'm leaving now. When you have time, come visit me at the Yu Prefecture Wang Fu."

  He and others nodded in agreement, indicating they would.

  Ruoxi adjusted the ruby earrings on her ears, gave a charming smile, and proudly got into the luxurious carriage with Li Xiang, which was adorned with embroidered phoenix and dragon patterns.

  ……

  As it turned out, Ruxi was doing well in her husband's family and Li Sao was really good to her, which was unexpected by everyone. After the initial jealousy and envy, most people returned to normal, but only Li Shiyu still harbored resentment and often found fault with Zhang Yiniang.

  Zhang Yinniang was confined at home but never stopped moving around.

  In the past, because of Rú Shàn's affair, she was banned from leaving her house and Li Shi intentionally reduced her food, clothing, and expenses. But now Zhang Shi is not what she used to be, as she has made money from doing business and has become more confident, no longer putting up with Li Shi's nonsense. Now that Rú Shàn has returned home and found out that she is living well, Zhang Shi's confidence has grown even more. After the ban on leaving her house was lifted, she dressed beautifully every day, waiting for Fang Jinglan to visit her, but after many days, there was no news, and when someone asked around, it turned out that Fang Jinglan had been staying with Zhu Niang all along, which made Zhang Shi so angry that she gritted her teeth. As a result, she often provoked Li Shi against Zhu Niang in front of him.

  Mrs. Li indeed had a grudge against Mrs. Zhu, and today when Mrs. Zhu went to pay her respects, she was made by Mrs. Li to kneel in the scorching sun for an hour on some pretext or other.

  The Li family's punishment of the concubine's quarters has become more and more severe, coincidentally today Ruhua followed Old Lady Lin to the temple and won't return until nightfall. Fang Jinglan and his son went to the government office, He Shi returned to her natal home. There was no one in the house to speak on her behalf, Zhu Niangniang knelt for over an hour under the scorching sun, finally unable to bear it, she fainted. Li Shi only then felt afraid and hastily ordered someone to carry her back. When Ruhua found out about the matter later, Zhu Niangniang was lying in bed, both legs severely swollen and unable to walk again, she couldn't help but feel extremely angry.

  Although Fang Jinglan later scolded Li severely after learning about the matter, Ruqin was still not satisfied and found Xiaoyue, a maid by Zhu Niang's side, and others to inquire about it. After learning that Zhang Niang had been instigating from behind the scenes, Yin Ya gritted her teeth in anger and secretly vowed: If you are not benevolent, then don't blame me for being unrighteous.

  That day, like a romantic gesture, she took out a pair of embroidered plum blossom and bamboo silk insoles from her needlework box made of stiff colored paper to Li's courtyard. She deliberately tried to please and show off a bit, then presented the insoles she had made herself to Li, saying: "Mother works hard for this family every day, but I can't help mother with anything, only relying on mother for everything, so I could only use my meager skills to make a pair of insoles for mother. Mother, try them on and see if they fit."

  Mrs. Li saw that Ruoqing was so clever and also saw the shoe pads handed over by Ruoqing, which were all needle-eyes made with needles, and she felt a little guilty towards Zhu Niang, and called Ruoqing a good child, a clever child, and asked her to sit down for lunch, and kindly asked if the servants in the house were obedient, whether they listened to her, and if there was anything lacking.

  Here is the translation:

  "First, she was deeply moved and thanked Li. Then, she praised Li's kind heart, saying that good deeds would be rewarded. Finally, with a tone of extreme admiration, she spoke highly of Ruxin, "Those servants are indeed not diligent enough, but fortunately, Zhang Niang took charge and scolded them a few times, and after being punished several times, they have finally become more subdued. It's all thanks to Zhang Niang, but also because Second Sister married into a noble family, and Zhang Niang relied on her daughter's status to dare to be so reckless in teaching those servants a lesson. This time, my daughter has benefited from Second Sister's glory."

  Her eyes were cold as she stared at Li's face, which seemed to have accumulated a layer of evil energy. In her heart, she sneered, Zhu Niang was the concubine, but she was also someone you brought into the mansion yourself. You had every right to scold or beat her, but it was absolutely unacceptable to bully her so openly and brazenly. Even if you were instigated by Zhang Shi, even if you were jealous of Zhu Niang's favoritism, it would be understandable for a first wife to bully a concubine, but in this family where the concubine had been legitimized, such blatant bullying was infuriating.

  Aunt Zhu was bullied, and though she didn't want to swallow her blood and teeth, she also didn't want to let it go. But making a big deal out of it wouldn't do her any good either. She thought about finding help, but it wasn't right or proper, so in the end, she could only use the same method to deal with you. You, Zhang, like to order others to take the lead for you, fine, I'll learn from you and order Li to deal with you.

  Mr. Li likes to bully his concubine, today let her be bullied enough.

  Afterwards, Li was indeed provoked by Ruqing and had a needle-and-thread-like struggle with Zhang every day. As the legitimate wife, it was only natural for her to try to put pressure on the concubine. However, Zhang was not an ordinary concubine; she was used to calling the shots when she was in favor, so even though she had lost favor now, she still refused to admit defeat, refused to be controlled, and refused to be scolded. Now that her son's wife was unreliable, but her daughter was reliable, with her daughter as a support, Zhang's battle with Li was truly magnificent.

  During this time, she would occasionally reveal some information in front of Li, exaggerating Zhang's good qualities and making the mother-daughter duo worship her. In front of Zhang, she would intentionally leak that Zhang had lost favor because Li was secretly sabotaging her. Then, she would wait for them to turn on each other like dogs.

  From Linglong's mouth, it was heard that Li had again found an excuse to deduct Zhang's share of the silver, and also found a reason to punish all the personal maidservants around her. With a hum in his heart, he let Linglong keep a close eye on the situation over there, as long as no one lost their life, let them make trouble.

  Zhang's family borrowed illness and did not go to pay respects, Li's family brought people and horses to kill Zhang's courtyard, let Liu's mother and others cook thick and bitter medicine for her to drink, Zhang's family was also afraid that Li would poison the medicine, where dare to eat, but also can't help it, one day after another, several large bowls of medicine were poured in, even more bitter than Huanglian, no longer dared to pretend to be ill.

  Zhang's mother-in-law "recovered" and asked Li to pay her respects, but Li made her pour the chamber pot, sweep the floor, and serve her meals. If she was slightly dissatisfied, she would scold and beat her, even making her kneel as punishment. After enduring for a period of time, Zhang finally lost her temper and had a big argument with Li. Li then used "disobedient children offending their superiors, unforgivable" as an excuse to ask someone to invite the family law.

  The women around Zhang were not to be trifled with either, and they soon clashed with Li's people. The two sides were at odds, and in the end, Li was defeated. Li was furious, but eventually, Rongyu couldn't bear it anymore and joined the fray with her own servants. They managed to fight to a draw, but not before several clothes were torn and some hair was pulled out. In the end, they gained the upper hand.

  The mistress and the concubine started a fight, regardless of whether the mistress was right or wrong. The concubine and those below her dared to offend their superiors, and they were also unforgivable for their great crimes. Then, He Shi made a grand entrance at this time. After Li Shi, who was as beautiful as a beauty, beat Zhang Shi until she was almost done, she hastily ordered the servants to separate the three parties, comforted Li Shi for a while, but Zhang Shi was still the aunt, and He Shi was after all a junior. She didn't dare to judge what was right or wrong in the elders' house, so she could only let Li Shi slap Zhang Shi a few times to vent her anger, and then had someone take Zhang Shi back home, who was crying and wailing loudly.

  Zhang was dragged away, crying and shouting all the way, scolding He for being a coward and not helping her. She also scolded Zhi Lian for being unfilial, saying that his own mother was being bullied and he didn't even come to help. Later, she thought of Zhi Lian not being in the house and scolded Lin for being useless, saying that her own mother-in-law was being bullied and couldn't even fart... At this time, Lin was vomiting into a spittoon, it turned out that Lin had eaten something bad... So, the two mothers-in-law were fighting, she wanted to help but was powerless.

  That night, Fang Jinglan returned to the mansion and Li Shi immediately reported her wrongdoings. Fang Jinglan was furious and Zhang Shi was confined again, but Li Shi also received a severe scolding from Fang Jinglan.

  "It's getting more and more out of hand, quarreling with the concubine all day long. Previously, you punished Zhu Niang for no reason, and now you're finding fault with Zhang Shi again. Are you ever going to stop? As the mistress of the house, you have no dignity, acting like a shrew. With Mei about to get married, having a mother like you is a disaster waiting to happen. Don't ruin your daughter! Zhang Shi may be hateful, but you can just keep her locked up in the house and not let her out if she's that annoying. Why must you constantly clash with her? No matter how much you dislike her, she's still Rong's mother, so show some respect. If you don't like her, just ignore her." Finally, Fang Jinglan warned Li Shi sternly, "Luckily, the virtuous daughter-in-law is cautious and has someone guarding the back courtyard. Otherwise, if today's incident gets out, I'll have your skin." His tone was severe as he said, "If there's a next time, I'll divorce you." With that, he stormed off in anger.

  Li was scolded by Fang Jinglan, feeling angry in her heart but unable to vent it out. After Fang left, she punched the pillow fiercely and cursed with gritted teeth. However, afterwards she indeed calmed down a lot.

  As if to avenge Zhu Niang, she stopped and on the second day, together with Zhu Niang, they spoke eloquently and sincerely in front of Li Shi, pretending to be well-behaved. Li Shi was scolded by Fang Jinglan last night and felt uneasy, seeing that Zhu Niang and her daughter were still as usual, she felt a little relieved and also felt guilty, so she pretended to be gentle and asked Zhu: "Is your leg injury healed?"

  "Thanks for your concern, madam, I'm almost fully recovered." Zhu Yiniang lowered her head and eyes as usual.

  Mrs. Li's face flashed with a hint of guilt, but as the legitimate wife and mistress, even if she had done something wrong, there was no reason for her to apologize to a concubine. After letting Concubine Zhu sit for a while, she recited a few words about "being diligent and keeping one's place" before sending her away.

  As Ruqing stayed, Mrs. Li said with a loving face: "Good child, the cushion you sent me earlier is really comfortable, it's hard to repay your filial piety. But I don't have anything good to give you, here are some fabrics from the Yang family, take a look and choose a few pieces, after measuring your size, I'll make you a few new sets of clothes tomorrow."

  She gazed longingly at the dozen or so pieces of colorful fabric placed on the large, dark wood round table. She reached out to touch them and felt softness like velvet, smooth as a swan's feathers, yet delicate as an infant's skin, thin as cicada wings. The most precious thing was that they felt cool to the touch; wearing them in hot weather would definitely be extremely refreshing. These fabrics were top-notch goods, whether it was the embroidery or the patterns, and the Marquis of Chengchang's household had indeed been generous.

  As she saw the Li family, it didn't seem like they were just pretending. In her heart, a wave of emotions rose and fell without surprise. "Mother, all these fabrics are gifts from the Qingchang Hou Mansion to my third sister. How can I possibly want them?" Her eyes scanned around in circles, and indeed, she discovered many good things. Roughly counting, there were actually thirty or forty chests, filled with top-grade porcelain and precious treasures. Wow, this was the benefit of marrying well! Even if her future husband didn't receive favor, at least she would have all these valuable items by her side. If she married a poor and useless man, she would have wasted her youth and money, ultimately gaining nothing... Cough cough, marrying well is still better.

  Li saw Ruqing being so humble and liked him even more. Seeing that Ruqing refused to choose, he simply picked a few satisfactory ones and handed them over to Ruqing.

  She gazed at the pile of fabrics in front of her, all of which were high-quality satins. There was a piece of green fine silk, and two pieces of woven gold brocade and embroidered gold satin, all of which were high-grade materials. They felt smooth to the touch. Li Shi was indeed generous, as the Qing Chang Hou Fu had sent over eighteen pieces of fabric, and Ruyi had received six of them. Moreover, they were all good materials. Given Li Shi's usual stinginess and narrow-mindedness, it was surprising that she was being so generous this time... Hmm, something fishy was going on!

  She saw her hesitant expression, and Li said in a soft voice: "Earlier, I was busy with Ruo Shan's affairs, and I neglected you. Look, the young lady of the Fang family is still wearing last year's clothes, it's really a mother's dereliction of duty. Now that Ruo Shan has married out, I finally have some free time to take care of your wardrobe. This way, when you go out, you'll look more spirited."

  She stared at these fine fabrics, wondering in her heart if Li had eaten the wrong medicine today or if her head had been squeezed by a door. She actually broke the rules and brought out the fabric sent by the Qingchang Hou Mansion to dress up this little concubine.

  Like feelings are in a dilemma, and also afraid of being short-handed by others, where dare to want, said to Li Shi: "Like feelings first thank mother for her kindness to daughter here, but I'm young, clothes are already enough, no need to do. Let's make clothes for third sister instead."

  Li's eyes sparkled, and she smiled: "You silly child, although you're not my biological daughter, I've always treated you the same as your three sisters in terms of food, clothing, and everything else. And now that the Yang family has given your sister this silk fabric, which she can't even wear out herself, giving it to you is also a thoughtful gesture. Take it."

  "Mother, as a concubine's daughter, I'm already deeply grateful to be treated with such love and care, living and eating together with my sisters. You're busy with so many things, taking care of grandmother and managing the household chores, but I couldn't help with any of it. It's already weighing on my conscience that you have to remember to send me this and that. These fabrics are a token of your thoughtfulness towards me, and I'll just accept them as is. If we really need to make clothes, we should prioritize making some for my sisters instead. As the younger sister, it's not bad if I wear their hand-me-downs either. I've heard from the elderly in our household that our family's expenses are increasing, so we can't afford to be wasteful anymore. Moreover, these were gifts from the Yang family for my sisters, how could I possibly accept them? If the Yang family finds out, wouldn't they be angry?"

  Li was first surprised, then laughed and said, "Ah, you little girl, so young yet so sensible. This is something that even Shan Niang and Rumei can't compare to, no wonder everyone loves you so much." As she spoke, she emotionally hugged Ruomei in her arms, showing great affection.

  Her face flushed with shyness, she said in a soft voice: "Mother is overpraising me. Second sister has extraordinary talents, third sister is naive and beautiful, but I am not comparable to second and third sisters."

  Li shook her head, "Xiang'er's skills are not ordinary, I don't dare to comment randomly. However, when it comes to being sensible and knowing what's important, no one is better than Qing'er."

  "Mother, you're joking. Second sister has always been diligent in her studies and hasn't paid attention to anything else. Now that she's found a suitable husband, it's all thanks to her own abilities. I can only admire her for it. I'm not as talented as second sister, so I'll just have to work hard to make up for it. I won't be able to help mother with her worries, but I'll do my best to avoid causing her any more trouble."

  After saying this, he suddenly felt a little disgusted with himself. Such disgusting words could be spoken out loud, and yet his face didn't flush or his heart skip a beat. It seems like he's ready to become an actor now.

  "Ah, I've lived for half my life and this is the first time I've met someone as sensible as you, Qing Yu. No wonder your father dotes on you so much! I used to think he was biased towards you, but now that I hear what you have to say, it seems I'm the one who's narrow-minded. Any mother would love a daughter like you who understands things so well." Then she took out the silk fabrics from the table and handed them back to Ruoxi, smiling with wrinkles all over her face. "Qing Yu, dear, take these back. They were given by others anyway. I'm just doing someone a favor. There's also a share for Zhu Niang. Zhu Niang has been diligent in serving your father and me since she entered the household, and now that she has a daughter like you who is so sensible and understanding, I feel that we have neglected her and her mother all these years. So I wanted to get some good fabrics to make a few sets of clothes for you. Coincidentally, the Yang family sent over their betrothal gifts at this time, and I think the colors are excellent. Why bother opening up the warehouse when we can use what's already available? Here, choose for yourself. In a few days, the old lady from the Celebratory Mansion will come to discuss your third sister's marriage. At that time, who knows how busy you'll be with your sister's wedding preparations? You might not even have time for yourself."

  Blushing and smiling shyly, speaking in a soft and sincere voice, looking at Li with great emotion, and saying some "heart-to-heart words".

  Upon returning to the Writing Pavilion, Linglong couldn't wait and smiled mischievously: "If I had known that Madam would be so generous, earlier on, the young lady should have put in more effort and flattered Zhang Yiniang and Er Gu Niang to the skies. That way, Madam might have given you even more."

  With a burst of laughter, she glanced at her and scolded with a smile: "I also think I'm shameless enough, but I didn't expect there's someone even more shameless than me. You're really thick-skinned." She originally thought Li was feeling guilty, but it wasn't entirely that. Previously, Ruoqing had been boasting about her own greatness in front of Li, probably stirring up jealousy in Li's heart, so in order to turn the tables on Ruoqing's excessive flattery towards Zhang's mother and daughter, she could only make a big show of herself.

  The old lady of the Qingchang Marquis's estate will also bring a matchmaker to the Fang estate to formally discuss the marriage, and when they see that the mother and daughter are dressed too shabbily, won't it lose face for the Li family?

  But these materials are for the mother and daughter to save face, not to let her lose out.

  Suddenly, she felt a little grateful. If she hadn't married into a wealthy family, would Li have sympathized with this "weak and small" person?

  As Ru Mei and Yang's wedding was scheduled for this January, the Yang family also began to prepare for the wedding. Li gave her daughter a dowry and prepared everything for the wedding. Ru Mei was also confined to her room, embroidering her wedding dress.

  No more provocation like a good fight, no more harassment like beautiful times, and the days of love passed smoothly.

  The Li family has also been in high spirits lately, and the Qingchang Hou Mansion is indeed courteous and considerate. It can be said that they have given enough courtesy. Thinking back to the betrothal gifts given by the Yu Prefecture Wang Mansion earlier, Mrs. Li was quite pleased.

  Ruqin also lost her voice in front of Li Shi, admiring her for a while, and praised Li Shi to the point where she was overjoyed. She treated Ruqin extremely well and was very patient with her. Occasionally, she even gave some of the gifts sent by the Yang family to Ruqin. She also stopped being difficult with Zhu Niangniang. With Li Shi's improved mood, the backyard of Fang Fu became a harmonious place.

  It's probably because they were too excited and the Fang Mansion had been peaceful for too long, so they didn't have any preparations to be vigilant in times of peace.

  In early July, the scorching sun was like a fire, and the intense sunlight could cook an egg in half a day. The officials were all driven into the backyard, and after attending the morning court session, they did not dare to step out of their homes again. The emperor was also considerate of his ministers' hardships, and after the morning court session, he allowed them to return home to rest and recover. The civil officials thought about state affairs, while the military generals practiced their martial arts, and at the same time, they comforted their families in the backyard... Everyone was busy, but the Imperial Guards were even busier, wearing brocade clothes and carrying large blood-red cloaks, looking like heroes. These days, they were catching people on the streets every day, mostly from grain shops. It was said that a type of rice sold in these shops had caused many ordinary people to fall ill, and some had even died. The victims took the rice to the government office to report. Ma Wenshan, the third-rank official of the capital, was a diligent and kind-hearted official who loved his people. Upon hearing this, he immediately sent the rice to the Imperial Hospital for verification, and the conclusion was that the rice contained an extremely toxic substance, which was made by boiling peach kernels and then soaking them in water with the rice.

  Ordinary people who understand medicine know that fresh apricot kernels contain amygdalin, a toxic substance. Once it comes into contact with water or acidic substances, its toxicity is triggered. And when the apricot kernel is refined into juice, its toxicity is increased by a hundredfold.

  But peach kernel oil is extremely difficult to extract, and one kilogram of oil requires thousands of extractions. Who would normally take the time to extract oil from peach kernels after eating their fill? It's likely that there was an ulterior motive. As a result, the mighty and benevolent Magistrate Ma immediately led his men to seal off the rice seller, and upon investigation, they discovered over 1,000 kilograms of poisoned rice. All of this rice had been soaked in toxic liquid. Calculating based on the ratio of one kilogram of oil to 20 kilograms of rice, how much peach kernel juice would be required for these thousands of kilograms of rice?

  Then, according to the plot, the clever Magistrate Ma had already anticipated the extreme seriousness of the matter. On one hand, he petitioned the imperial court, and on the other hand, he sealed off the rice shop and interrogated them with severe punishment. After a thorough investigation, they finally caught a wealthy merchant from Jiangxi who was secretly buying large quantities of apricot kernels. They also uncovered their workshop for extracting apricot kernel oil. Under intense interrogation, it turned out that this case was linked to an earth-shattering conspiracy.

  These trivial matters, as it happens, are only half-understood, but in short, the peach kernel juice has been tracked down to the White Lotus Sect. The White Lotus Sect has been opposing the imperial court since the founding of the Qing dynasty, with a tendency to overthrow the government, and when they don't have enough power, they resort to clandestine activities. Now, it's said that they've extracted the peach kernel juice to poison the people's food. This involves the White Lotus Sect, which is a matter of national survival or extinction. As a result, nearly half of the Imperial Guards were deployed, and they couldn't care less about the scorching sun, rushing back and forth in various business establishments.

  The Jin Yiwei were all good at searching for evidence, and soon they found the list of rice shops that sold rice from the White Lotus Sect's branch. They then arrested all the merchants who sold poisonous rice according to the list and interrogated them one by one. The wise and powerful Magistrate Ma, following the principle of "not letting a single bad person go and not wronging a single good person", carefully questioned all the rice-selling merchants. Some unknowing businessmen who only sought cheap deals were punished with having half their property confiscated. Those who knowingly sold problematic rice were charged with treason and had their families exterminated. It was heard that many merchant households in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces had been searched, and more than a dozen large and small grain shops in the capital city had been sealed off. The most famous and largest business in the capital, the Liang family, was also searched and annihilated on charges of treason.

  Other small shrimp were punished according to the severity of their crimes, some were fined and others had their homes confiscated. After investigating back and forth, it was found that Fang Jinglan was responsible.

  Digression

  Friends, I do have drafts stored up, but it's not possible for me to release everything at once. What would I do after releasing them all? Write new ones on the spot? Writing and posting in real-time has many drawbacks, with many mistakes and typos, and some plot points might be missed. And what if something unexpected comes up one day and I'm unable to update? That's why storing drafts is a must. Please forgive me, friends.

  I understand that you want to read everything at once and get a sense of satisfaction, but as an author, I have my own difficulties too. As a newcomer, I can't afford to go on hiatus, or else I'll starve. Moreover, the internet speed is slow, so I'll just give a simple answer to your questions.

  The previous book was on 17K, titled "庶女当道" (The Rise of a Concubine's Daughter). Updating one chapter per day with 10,000 words is already my limit. To be honest, I don't have many drafts stored up, and now I'm taking advantage of the National Day holiday to write as much as possible. I can barely play or do anything else, woe is me! Can someone please wish me a happy Mid-Autumn Festival? Poor me~