Everyone was surprised by how quickly Meng Qi adapted. Mrs. Liu and Meng Juan were ready to laugh at her. They assumed she would back down or throw a tantrum before the day was up, but they hadn't expected Meng Qi to endure it so firmly.
When Wang heard Madam Guo say that Aunt Guan hit Meng Qi's hand with a stick, she covered her mouth and asked, "How thick was the stick?"
Mother Guo measured it with her hand and said, "It should be like this. I didn't see it either. The tea maid took a peek when she went in to change the tea."
Wang slammed the table, "How can you do this? If you make a mistake, you can teach her later. Sister Qi is so smart, she will definitely learn it. I thought I was just pretending, but how come you really hit her?"
Seeing Wang's agitation, Meng Wan quickly stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, mother. The fact that Fourth Sister didn't cry out in pain proves she can handle it. And I think this might have been done intentionally by Aunt Guan."
"Oh? How do you mean?"
"Look, no matter what we do, we have to show our power. My daughter thinks it's not that the fourth sister is not a good student, but they want to establish their authority and suppress the fourth sister's arrogance so that they can get away with it later."
Wang nodded. "Even if they wanted to save their reputation, they shouldn't have really hit your sister's hand. I couldn't bear to do that."
Meng Wan sat down next to Wang, took her arm and said with a smile, "Fourth sister is not the type to suffer any loss. Since she can endure it, it proves that she has her own rules in mind. Mother, haven't you noticed that Fourth sister has changed a lot recently and has become much more sensible? When I was chatting with my daughter the other day, it seemed like she had become a different person."
Wang looked up in surprise. "Really? I never asked you what you talked about the other day."
Meng Wan pursed her lips and smiled. "My fourth sister and my daughter have analyzed the whole story of her and Hong Zhe. She now truly believes that Hong Zhe is using her, and that Third Aunt and the others are fanning the flames."
Wang said "Amitabha". It was very good that Meng Qi could realize this. At least she would no longer have unrealistic fantasies about marrying King Rui with Hong Zhe.
"So, mother, don't worry. I actually think it's a good thing to have these two maids in the palace teaching you strictly. Even though Fourth Sister is a daughter of a marquis's mansion, her manners aren't too bad, but they're naturally still a step below the palace's requirements. Being stricter now will reduce the chances of her making mistakes when she goes to the palace in the future. Also, when they return to report, especially since the female historian from Prince Rui's mansion is still here these past two days, if they tell Prince Rui that Fourth Sister studies diligently and accepts instruction with an open mind, Prince Rui will definitely have a very different impression of her."
Only then did Wang show a hint of a smile.
Mother Guo breathed a sigh of relief and continued with a smile, "Second Miss is absolutely right. Fourth Miss can even endure something like a slap on the hand. What else can we say about her heart and character? Let them see if those rumors are true."
Wang snorted, "You're right, I was wrong. Besides, Sister Qi's temper needs to be tempered." Then she said with a bit of a downcast look, "If she had married into a family of equal status, we could still speak up for her if she was wronged. But that's the royal family, we can't get our hands on them even if we spend a lot of money."
Meng Wan thought about Nanny Sang and Aunt Guan. She was happy to accept any food and drink, and even the newly made cloak, but she refused to accept any silver or jewelry.
"So, let Fourth Sister learn from them. This way, she'll make fewer mistakes in the palace and be less manipulated by them. Mother, please don't send Madam Guo to check on her anymore. After all, this is our home, and it's our eldest wife's courtyard, so it can't go wrong. If you send someone to check on her every day, even if it's under the guise of sending gifts, after a while, they'll inevitably have other ideas."
Wang sighed and nodded, "I'll listen to you, Qiuxia. Tell the people in Sister Qi's courtyard to serve her more attentively. No one is allowed to disappoint the Fourth Young Lady."
Meng Wan sighed in his heart. With your educational method, it is a miracle that Meng Qi has turned out so well.
The days passed quickly. The two ladies from Prince Rui's Palace came basically once every five days and stayed for one night.
Meng Qi sat at the desk, holding a brush in his hand, and sorted out what the two of them had said today about the situation in Prince Rui's Mansion.
Ms. Zhang focused on Prince Rui’s two wives and several children.
Prince Rui married two wives. The first one was Lin. Her father was originally a fifth-rank official. Because his daughter was selected in the imperial examination, Emperor Jing'an betrothed her to Prince Rui. His family was granted the title of Viscount Yongkang.
Lin was the eldest daughter of the Lin family. She treated Prince Rui with respect and lived a quiet and peaceful life. Unfortunately, she was unlucky and died of complications during childbirth when giving birth to a son.
Because the child was too big, he could not be born in the womb for a long time. This also led to the fact that King Rui's eldest son, Song Baimo, was not a very smart child and had mediocre qualifications.
Seeing their eldest daughter lose her life, the Lin family became anxious. The family got the title of Viscount because their daughter became the Princess of Rui. If they lost this marriage and had to rely on a baby alone, the family line would be severed.
Therefore, the Lin family thought of marrying another daughter to replace the eldest daughter in order to ensure the long-term prosperity of the Lin family. Unfortunately, the Lin family had no other legitimate daughters of the right age, so they had no choice but to choose the most beautiful concubine daughter.
At first, Prince Rui disagreed. Firstly, Lin had only been gone for a short time, and secondly, the younger sister had replaced the older sister, which was something Prince Rui couldn't accept. However, the Lin family said that it was for no other reason than to take care of the eldest young master. No matter how good the wet nurse or the maid was, they were no match for his own aunt.
The Lin family's plan was to let someone in first, no matter what title they gave him, and then they would make him the legitimate wife after the one-year mourning period for Lin was over, and everything would be done naturally.
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