According to the rules, only the primary consort can be called "Fujin". Other secondary consorts and concubines must be preceded by their surname or given name to indicate the difference between primary and concubine. However, this secondary consort's surname was Ulanara, and Gao and Su did not know how to address her, so they simply called her by her given name.
Xueying nodded slightly and said, "Get up."
Next, Mingyu began to talk to the two princesses.
Lady Gao and Lady Su stood solemnly before the principal wife, quietly awaiting Mingyu's reprimand, while Consort Xueying sat to the side, outwardly listening but inwardly observing everyone present.
Xueying heard that there were two princesses in the Prince's mansion, one surnamed Gao and the other surnamed Su. The servants had mentioned that Su was gentle, about the same age as herself, and very beautiful.
Looking at Gao, she was also very good-looking, but her personality was clearly more lively than Su's.
After the reprimand, Fucha Mingyu had someone bring out the rewards for the two princesses, Gao and Su. They were all bolts of cloth, with no jewelry. Gao and Su accepted the gifts and expressed their gratitude.
"Your concubine thanks Your Highness," the two said in unison.
"No need for formalities, please sit down," Mingyu said.
Then, she turned to Xueying. She despised Xueying, who was just a concubine. She only relied on her aunt being the Empress to marry into the Prince's mansion at the same time as her, the primary wife. It was a joke to outsiders that Xueying was the primary wife.
Mingyu suppressed her disgust and said coldly, "Consort, nowadays the Prince advocates frugality, so please do not be wasteful or extravagant in your daily attire."
Xueying happened to be wearing a leather-trimmed cheongsam today, and her words seemed to be a veiled criticism of her for dressing too extravagantly.
Xueying didn't know what to say, so she could only reply:
"I will follow the teachings of the Madam and from today onwards live frugally."
Madam Gao and Madam Su quickly agreed. "Your concubines were also wrong, but we will change in the future."
Seeing that Xueying dared not compete with her, Mingyu felt much more at ease and even mocked her, saying, "Logically speaking, with your background, your father is the Duke of Yingguo and your aunt is the Empress. You should have been the primary wife by now. If your father hadn't had that accident, you wouldn't have become a secondary wife. Alas! What a pity!"
Her seemingly gentle words, however, were like a venomous snake, biting Xueying's sore spot and causing her face to change. What she couldn't stand the most was people talking about her father, the Duke of Yingguo. Fortunately, after so much time, she was no longer the Xueying of the past. The ridicule of the world had given her a new understanding of this world. Compared to them, Mingyu's words were nothing at all.
Xueying regained her composure in a few breaths and said in a deep voice, "Replying to the Lady, no matter how good Xueying's background is, there will always be women with better backgrounds than me. It is already a blessing from several lifetimes to be able to serve by the Prince's side. Xueying is grateful enough, so how could she feel regret?"
Judging from her expression, Mingyue assumed that Xueying had understood the meaning behind her words.
This pleased Fucha Mingyu greatly. In a good mood, she waved her hand and said, "You are quite sensible. I have said everything I wanted to say. You may all leave now. This princess is going to rest."
Both Madam Gao and Madam Su stood up and, together with Xueying, bowed to Mingyu, saying, "Your concubines take their leave."
"Madam, it seems that Ulanara has realized her place today. The Prince still hasn't spent the night at her place," the maid Zixun said with a smirk.
“Gao is quite likable, and Su is also good-looking,” Mingyu said, frowning.
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