The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The so-called distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is just a part of rites and laws. Apart from legitimate and illegitimate children, there are also heaven and earth, monarch and ministers, father and son, master and apprentice, clan relations and family ties, and blood is thicker than water, broken bones are connected by tendons. It's just that some families don't like to teach their children to read and understand, and only teach them to argue about legitimate and illegitimate children. If they just make a noise behind closed doors in their own houses, other people won't make a fuss about it. They will only say that this family has a bad tradition and should be avoided.

Moreover, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate sons was originally intended to maintain family heritage. The son who inherits the family business is the legitimate eldest son, and the rest, no matter who born them, are illegitimate sons. This distinction is made to avoid the sons fighting over the family property. For daughters who cannot inherit the family property, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate sons is not so clear.

Even if the wife of the principal house loves to favor her own daughter, she would not openly treat a concubine's daughter so harshly. What the wife of the Marquis of Jingjun has done is much more excessive than treating a concubine's daughter harshly, and it even involves the concubines in the inner palace!

"I also wanted to let them go, but I am a woman in the boudoir and don't understand much, so...I did something wrong. Please forgive me this time, Your Majesty." Liu Hong kowtowed in panic.

The queen couldn't stand it anymore, so she ordered the palace maids to hold her down and stop her from knocking. She then asked, "Since the scholar has a title, it's not my business to manage him. How come Liu Xiaoyi used the name of your servant?"

Liu Hong didn't understand. Was this letting her go or not?

She subconsciously raised her head and said, "Ah?"

Liu Hongshi thought that giving the concubine her maid's name was nothing, it was just to humiliate the little bitch so that she could vent her anger...

When the queen saw her stupid look, she felt her head hurt even more.

Concubine Ning glanced at the Queen and became annoyed: "What name is written on Liu Xiaoyi's household registration? Whose name did you report in the Marquis of Jing County? Concubine Xie was right when she said you are a stupid woman. Even pigs are smarter than you!"

Xie Wei really didn't expect her to speak so bluntly.

Although Concubine Ning was a second-married woman like Xie Yuzhen, she was the only daughter of the Grand Princess and a princess of the royal family. Later, she was given the surname of the emperor, and was considered a daughter who returned home. It’s just that no one knows why she entered the palace... With such a prominent background, she can actually say such vulgar and straightforward words, and it seems that she and the Queen are used to it.

Xie Wei really found it interesting and couldn't help but look at Concubine Ning a few more times.

Concubine Ning had said so much, if Liu Hongshi still didn't react, she would be unworthy of her species: "Of course it's Liu Jindie..." After saying that, her whole swollen and red face turned pale in an instant.

Seeing this, Xie Ruizhen immediately gave Liu Xiaoyi a look.

The latter understood and knelt on the ground silently. The sound was so painful that Xie Yuzhen felt a phantom pain in his knees. However, Liu Xiaoyi knelt heavily on the ground as if she didn't feel it. She didn't say a word, but just shed tears helplessly, her thin shoulders shaking constantly.

"Liu Xiaoyi, get up quickly!" The Queen was also startled by her. Seeing her endless grievances that she dared not speak out, she felt pity for her. "Since you have entered the palace, you are a member of the royal family. If you have any grievances in your heart, just tell me!"

Liu Xiaoyi refused to stand up. "Please let me kneel down and tell you. Before the beginning of this year, I didn't know that I was the daughter of the Marquis of Jing County. I have lived with my mother in a nunnery in Jing County since I was born. I have never seen my father's family. The nun of the nunnery saw that we were helpless and she was kind-hearted. She paid for my mother to be registered as a female household. I was registered under my mother's household."

She looked so pitiful when she spoke. She clearly wanted to cry, but she forced herself to hold back the sobbing sound in her throat, only with a few tremors in her clear words. Seeing this little look, even Xie Yuzhen felt a little soft-hearted, not to mention the queen who was always cold on the outside but soft on the inside.

The queen asked in a gentle voice, "Isn't your mother a concubine in the Marquis's mansion? How can she be a female household?"

"My mother was originally from a good family and was hired into the mansion. She never signed a marriage contract and was a good citizen. Later, when the mistress drove my mother out of the mansion, my father was not at home. My mother even asked for a letter of release as a concubine, but there was no seal of my father on it..." Although there was no seal of the Marquis of Jing County himself, there was Liu Hong's, so the Jing County government recognized the letter of release as a concubine, and with the kindness of the nun who spent money, the girl's household was finally approved.

Liu Xiaoyi's statement was much more organized than Liu Hongshi's, and there was nothing illegal about it. The queen nodded repeatedly, motioning her to continue.

"My mother rented a room in a nunnery and made a living by doing embroidery and washing clothes for others. She was young and inexperienced at the time and didn't know she was pregnant until her belly grew bigger. She later went to the Marquis of Jing County's mansion and wanted me to recognize her, but my mother heard that the Marquis of Jing County's mansion had lost two concubines in a month, so she gave up the idea of ​​recognizing her."

Liu Xiaoyi said this sadly. It was not that she intended to flatter Liu Hongshi again, but the two concubines were tortured to death by her. Everyone in Jing County knew it, and Liu Xiaoyi's biological mother did not dare to send her daughter back because of this.

"My mother's surname is Xu, and everyone calls me Madam Xu. My mother gave me the name Yueyuan, which is also my registered name." When Liu Xiaoyi said this, she finally couldn't help but cover her face and cried out loud.

While she was crying, she said in a shrill voice, almost screaming, "After I was found by the Marquis's Mansion, Madam used the excuse that my father's seal was not on the release letter and sent my mother to Shuiyue Temple in the suburbs of Beijing as a runaway concubine... I beg the Queen to save my mother!"

Liu Xiaoyi... No, Xu Yueyuan had no intention of plotting anything at this moment. She just cried and begged: "That is not a place for good people. I... I have deceived the emperor and my mother is deeply sinful. My mother is a burden to me. She is not at fault at all. Please show mercy to my mother. I am willing to die to atone for my sins!"

She banged her head hard on the ground and blood came out at once.

Xie Yuzhen was shocked by her decisiveness, and couldn't help but think of his own mother. He went to see the queen. The queen seemed to be shocked by the truth, and a bit of hatred appeared on her solemn face: "Hurry up and help Xu Xiaoyi up. Gaosheng, take a few people out, take this imperial decree and ask Jingzhao Prefecture to send some officers to surround Shuiyue Temple and rescue Madam Xu. Yunrong, go and invite His Majesty."

She arranged everything in an orderly manner and personally went forward to help up the exhausted Xu Yueyuan. When Liu Hong saw that the things she had done were exposed, even though she was stupid, she knew that a disaster was imminent. She knelt on the ground and trembled, unable to speak.