It has to be said that in this era, status and position often determine many things. No matter how much money you have, it's useless. A single word from someone in a higher position can take everything back.

As concubines, unless they were concubines of emperors or princes of high rank, they could be disposed of by the principal wife. Even if they were good concubines, they could not be sold. They were not proper mistresses in the household, and even the head of the family could not change that.

After displaying his power at Fushou Hall, Song Xia went to her son's Hanhui Courtyard. Seeing her son looking dejected, she frowned and asked, "What did your father ask you to do?"

"The father didn't do anything, he just tested his son's homework."

Song Xia's gaze darkened. She remembered that she had clearly said she would no longer force Yu Qing to do her homework. Did Zhou Yongli just ignore her words?

"Mother, where are you going?"

"Don't worry, Mother won't do anything. Here, drink your tea."

Seeing that he hadn't drunk a drop, Song Xia felt relieved. After her son fell asleep, she rushed to Zhou Yongli's study.

At this moment, Liu Fangniang was crying and complaining to him about Song Xia's insistence on setting rules for her.

“Yonglang, is it wrong to ask Madam to return home? But now that Madam has married into the family, she is a member of the Zhou family. How can she stay in the Prince’s mansion all the time? I’m afraid people will laugh at Yonglang if word gets out.”

"She actually went crazy at Niangfushou Hall?"

"My aunt was also frightened and didn't eat much for dinner."

"She's outrageous!"

"I think you're the ones being presumptuous!" Song Xia kicked open the study door, her eyes sharp as she looked at the two men. Before they could say anything, she threw ink and paper at Zhou Yongli.

She rebuked Liu Fangniang: "You lowly concubine, how dare you spread rumors and mislead the public in front of the master! Guards, slap her!"

Zhou Yongli was initially embarrassed, but seeing her behavior, he was filled with anger: "Let's see who dares to do that!"

Song Xia said, word by word, "This county princess says slap me!"

The people serving her were all brought from the Prince's mansion, and they didn't listen to Zhou Yongli at all. They forced Liu Fangniang to kneel down and then slapped her hard across the face.

"Yonglang, ah! Yonglang, save me!"

“If you continue to stop me, why don’t we go with you to the Prefect of the Capital to settle this matter and see which law allows a concubine to speak ill of the mistress of the house?”

Zhou Yongli paused, gritting his teeth: "We're all family, why are you so angry?"

"Oh? Family? This county princess was personally granted this rank by His Majesty. Who is family with her, a mere concubine? My lord is the Vice Minister of Rites. Don't you even understand this basic etiquette? My lord is angry now, but why didn't you stop Aunt Liu from talking nonsense earlier?"

"I……"

"Is it wrong for me, the county princess, to have a concubine serve me? Even the imperial concubines in the palace have to go and adorn the Empress's hair with flowers on the first and fifteenth of each month. It seems that my leniency over the years has only made some people forget their place!"

Zhou Yongli was speechless after being confronted, because it was indeed his and Liu Fangniang's fault.

At this moment, Liu Fangniang was beaten so badly that she couldn't speak. He closed his eyes with heartache and said, "Fangniang's face is already swollen. Can you tell someone to stop?"

"So you can't stand it, sir? She speaks ill of the mistress and stirs up trouble. Even if she were a good concubine, I, the county princess, have the right to sell her off."

Zhou Yonglang glared at her, seemingly filled with resentment.

"You've already started to hate me?" Song Xia sneered. "You deceived me and the Prince's Mansion back then, and I haven't even settled that score with you yet. If it weren't for me keeping an eye on things, do you think my father would have let you remain the Vice Minister of Rites so peacefully? I haven't held your relationship with Concubine Liu accountable all these years either. I'm just re-establishing the rules in this mansion, and you've already started to hate me? Zhou Yongli, who do you think you are?"

Zhou Yongli felt a jolt in his heart and awkwardly looked away.

He felt incredibly humiliated, but at the same time he couldn't understand why Song Xia had suddenly started to hold a grudge again.

Doesn't she want to change her mind and come back to me?

"Fangniang didn't mean anything by it just now. I was just saying it casually to appease her. It won't really mean anything..."

"What else do you want to do to me? Can't I tell if you didn't mean it?" Song Xia interrupted him, and only when she saw that Liu Fangniang had been knocked unconscious did she order her men to stop.

But before Zhou Yongli could even breathe a sigh of relief, she added, "Go and fetch a doctor. Don't delay her from going to the main courtyard to establish the rules early tomorrow morning."

Zhou Yongli knew that it was no use saying anything now. Why didn't anyone inform them before Song Xia barged in?

It seems that Fangniang will have to suffer for a while until Song Xia's anger subsides.

Little did he know that Song Xia's anger would never subside, and Liu Fangniang would be bound by rules for the rest of her life!

"Did you ask Yuqing about her studies today, my lord?"

"What else do you want? I'm his father. Did I ask him if there was anything wrong with his homework?"

Song Xia smashed the teacup again, and the shards bounced directly onto the unconscious Liu Fangniang, making Zhou Yongli's eyelids twitch.

Song Xia glared at him fiercely: "I said before that no one is allowed to force Yuqing to study anymore. Doesn't my lord understand?"

Zhou Yongli was filled with shame and indignation, but he didn't think he had done anything wrong: "How can a man not study? How can he not make contributions and achieve something?"

"He is my son, Song Xia. Does he think he can live a life of glory and achieve great things without working hard? Does my lord really think he got his current status on his own?"

"You! Song Xia, you shrew, don't think I won't dare to touch you!"

“You just don’t dare.” Song Xia sneered. “Zhou Yonglang, if His Majesty hadn’t been looking out for my father, would he have promoted you to Vice Minister of Rites? Don’t you even know how many things you’ve allowed your mother and Liu Fang’s mother to do that violate the rules of propriety? My Yuqing has just gotten a little better, and you want to force him to his death? No way.”

"He's my son too, how could I possibly force him to his death? You're talking nonsense."

"Whether it's nonsense or not, you know in your heart, Zhou Yongli. My Yuqing will always be the eldest son of the Zhou family. You want to leave the Zhou family to Zhou Shuqing? That's impossible. As for the illegitimate son, giving him 10% of the family property is an act of kindness from Yuqing and me."

"You..." Zhou Yongli was speechless again, and he was also particularly afraid of this possibility.

How could his and Fangniang's child, his most cherished son, be tragically separated in the future?

Looking at Zhou Yongli's expression, Song Xia knew what he was thinking: from now on, no one in this family would be able to get close to her Yuqing, and no one would be able to use any more tricks.

"I was too lenient before, which led to everyone daring to act recklessly in this mansion. I, the county magistrate, will see who dares to do so in the future!"

She looked at each of the servants in the study, and they were all silent as cicadas in winter.

Zhou Yongli clenched his fist and said in a muffled voice, "Song Xia, if that's the case, don't expect me to take care of Zhou Yuqing anymore."

"He has enough of me as his mother; he doesn't need a hypocritical father."

Zhou Yongli was so angry that his face turned ashen. Only after she left did he come to his senses and think about going to see Liu Fangniang.

Liu Fangniang's face was so swollen from the beating that her original appearance was barely visible, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth down to her neck.

Zhou Yongli gritted his teeth: "How could she be so vicious!"

However, he didn't realize that if he hadn't repeatedly indulged her and if Liu Fangniang hadn't repeatedly instigated her, how could she have ended up like this?

People should recognize their own status, otherwise someone will always come along to help them recognize it.