Chapter 65 Utilitarianism

When the wife of Marquis Qingyuan saw the maid being sent back, she was so shocked that she knocked over her teacup.

"What did you say? What's the matter! What did Xier say?" She chose this maid as the best one for Xier.

Since her eldest son was not close to her, she naturally wanted to win over her youngest son, so she gave him a beautiful maid with a good figure.

The wife of the Marquis of Qingyuan was afraid that her second daughter-in-law would marry into the family. If she turned out to be like her eldest daughter-in-law, neither of her two sons would be close to her.

Zhou Xi heard his mother asking outside the door, so he walked in and said in a deep voice: "Mother, I have no intention of taking a concubine."

A trace of jealousy and twisted expression flashed in the eyes of the Marquis of Qingyuan's wife. She smiled and said, "Ying'er isn't a concubine, she's just a maidservant. If you don't like her, just change her."

Zhou Xi was silent for a moment, then bowed and said, "Mother, I admire His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan and want to learn from him, so I will never accept anyone else in my life."

Ying'er cried, "Second Young Master, everyone knows that I am yours. How can I live my life in the future?" She was very arrogant and complacent before, and offended many people because she thought she would be a concubine in the future, and she would be laughed at to death if she went back in disgrace.

She cried so hard that I felt sorry for her. Tears were welling up in her eyes, about to fall but not yet. She was so pitiful that even the wife of the Marquis of Qingyuan couldn't help but soften her heart for a moment after she came to her senses.

Zhou Xilang's heart was as hard as iron, and he didn't even look at her. How could a woman's future matter? "I haven't touched you, so why can't I be a human being? What's the point? Reward her with fifteen taels of silver and let her leave the house and get married."

His monthly salary was only fifteen taels of silver, which could be said to be very generous.

Ying'er wanted to cry herself to death.

If she succeeded in becoming the second young master's maid, and then further became his concubine, she would receive a monthly salary of two taels of silver, as well as countless clothes and accessories.

Is this life of wealth and splendor that can be seen with the naked eye just a mirage?

The wife of the Marquis of Qingyuan was impatient to hear her crying, so she had her taken away.

He stood up and stared at Zhou Xi with a look of disbelief: "Xi'er, say that again? What do you want to learn from His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan?"

Was her son replaced by someone else?

Zhou Xi looked at the wife of the Marquis of Qingyuan, whose eyes contained a hint of jealousy and disbelief, and couldn't help but be in a trance for a moment.

He knew that his mother had suffered a lot because of his father's favoritism towards his concubine. Fortunately, his father would not favor the concubine over his wife. He also gave his mother respect and did not let the illegitimate son surpass the legitimate son.

But shouldn't she be happy that he didn't take a concubine and that her son would have a harmonious future with his wife?

What Zhou Xi didn't know was that some women would go to two extremes after experiencing misfortune in their own marriage.

Either she becomes a mother-in-law after being a daughter-in-law for many years and keeps rubbing her daughter-in-law, or she doesn't want her daughter-in-law to suffer the same hardships she suffered in the past. Of course, the latter is rare.

He sighed, sent the servant away, and then said, "Mother, haven't you also met Miss Xu? She and the future Princess of Yan are close friends. My son didn't refuse to take a concubine because of her, but to climb the high branches of His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan and Grand Secretary Su."

To him, beauty is nothing but a skeleton in the end and is far less important than his future.

Over the past few days, he has been carefully observing the news in the capital about His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan and the future Princess of Yan, and has made one thing clear: as long as he does not commit any crime, and the future wife and the future Princess of Yan have a good relationship, he will be able to take advantage of this favorable situation.

How can he get promoted smoothly without any connections?

He was not a fool. It would be the most foolish thing to do to ask Xu Siyu to ask for promotion on his behalf.

The current emperor still favors His Royal Highness Prince of Yan the most. Even if we take a step back, if the Crown Prince cannot ascend the throne, it will be His Royal Highness Prince of Yan who will succeed to the throne.

Zhou Xi believed that His Majesty had never considered the possibility of letting a illegitimate prince inherit the throne.

Because he deeply loved the late Empress Yuan Yi, it was impossible for him to allow other princes to succeed to the throne. It was obvious that Prince Jin was the whetstone for the Crown Prince.

If the time-traveling girl Luo Tang'er knew Zhou Xi's thoughts, she would definitely suspect that he was the man who held the script.

The wife of the Marquis of Qingyuan was slightly stunned, and then listened to Zhou Xi's detailed explanation for half an hour. She realized that her son was not obsessed with his future daughter-in-law, and she was also very concerned about Xier's future.

However, the Qingyuan Marquisate had limited connections, and the Marquis had no real power, so he only had an uninspiring job.

Most of the resources of the Marquis' Mansion had to be taken care of by the eldest son, and she was powerless to do anything.

After listening to her son explain the reason bit by bit, she no longer objected to him doing so.

After all, the future is what matters. Xier is still young, so it doesn’t matter.

Zhou Xi's mouth was almost dry when his mother finally gave in. He could only smile bitterly inwardly, hoping that his future wife would be able to stand up for herself.

The sky was turning pale, and Su Yiyi had to get up to pay her respects before dawn. She stretched her sore body, and found that King Jin had already gotten up early.

Yesterday she had finally managed to please Rong Jinyu, which prevented him from being disgusted with her.

Ignoring the discomfort in her body, she looked rosy-cheeked as she got off the bed and tried to change Prince Jin's clothes. Her voice was hoarse, "Your Highness..."

Rong Jinyu wore a jade crown on his head, looking wicked and charming. With the help of his personal maid, he put on the Qilin jade pendant. He looked at Su Yiyi, who was dressed coolly in just a bellyband, his eyes darkened, and he walked straight to her...

At this time, the Princess of Jin was in the main courtyard.

Concubine Feng was sitting at the lower left, gently fiddling with the teacup with her crystal clear nails painted with beautiful nail polish.

In the main hall sat a dozen beauties of varying sizes, all with their heads lowered, not daring to look at Princess Jin and Concubine Feng.

When gods fight, the devils suffer.

The Princess of Jin was wearing court dress, a five-phoenix crown on her head, light makeup, and delicate eyebrows. She looked very dignified and beautiful.

Concubine Feng spoke in a coquettish tone and a light voice, "Your Highness, why hasn't Sister Su come to pay her respects yet?" After saying this, she raised her eyelids, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

She was wearing a rouge-red Shu brocade long skirt embroidered with acacia flowers and wavy patterns. Her hair was covered with pearls and jade. She had a beautiful appearance, was charming and attractive, and her every move was full of charm.

Glancing at Concubine Feng, Princess Jin smiled, her smile not reaching her eyes. She said softly, "Qingyin, go check quickly. Is Concubine Su up late? If she's not feeling well, there's no need to come and pay her respects."

Then he smiled and said, "Sister Feng, please don't be jealous. Yesterday was Sister Su's wedding day. It's inevitable that His Highness will love her more."

She sneered, "Your Highness is full of vigor and vitality. The princess sympathizes with Concubine Su's difficulties, but she shouldn't be so arrogant." Who hasn't served in the emperor's bed?

And the Princess of Jin, she is obviously the kindest-looking one with a bitter heart, yet she pretends to be magnanimous, haha.

Isn't this statement implicitly saying that Su Yiyi is spoiled because of her favor?

She pretended to be so kind and generous, like a wife, but in her heart she had to grit her teeth and swallow her anger.

His Highness only goes to her courtyard on the first and fifteenth days of the month because there are too many women in the palace.

Even though she was so favored, Rong Jinyu only stayed at her place one-third of the time when he went to the backyard.

Thinking of this, Concubine Feng couldn't help but envy Su Zhenzhen, who had the same fate as her but a different one.

On second thought, this sister Su is the concubine sister of the future Princess Yan.