Chapter Two
Looking at the delicate woman before her, the newly appointed Xia Qiangwei was extremely troubled. Qi Xiaoman, born and raised in the new society, had never seen such a "delicate" woman before. And this woman was none other than Xia Yuhe, the legendary mother of Xia Qiangwei and Xia Ziwei. Xia Qiangwei scoffed inwardly. No wonder she managed to climb into Qianlong's bed; Xia Yuhe was the epitome of Qianlong's ideal woman! She lacked the fiery, spoiled nature of Northeastern women, possessing a supple figure, a poetic and artistic air, and an understanding nature. Xia Qiangwei rested her chin on her hand, wondering who would prevail if she entered the palace and compared herself to Consort Ling. Xia Qiangwei looked at Xia Yuhe, tears streaming down her face, as if someone had wronged her. If she could act like this with her daughter, what would she do with Qianlong…? Heh heh, that would be quite interesting.
"Rose... My poor daughter, I know you are weak. If you leave, what will I do!" Xia Yuhe looked at her daughter's delicate appearance and felt very bitter. She regretted it and hated it, but she still thought about the person she both missed and hated.
"Mother, let's go find Father!" Then she tossed all the bundles to Qianlong, and started her own brothel as an old nanny. Hehe! That would be so much fun.
"You...you...how can you say such a thing? Don't you know me..."
"Mother, you yourself said that you've thought about it your whole life, longed for it your whole life, so why don't you go and find it instead of waiting here? Happiness is something you have to fight for, not something you can wait for." Xia Qiangwei looked at Xia Yuhe very seriously and attentively. Go, go, compete with Consort Ling for beauty and charm.
"Where do you expect me to look? I'm just a woman, I've never been far from home." Xia Yuhe backed away, her eyes blurry with tears.
Xia Qiangwei's lips twitched repeatedly. You know it's not easy for a woman to find someone, so why did you send Xia Ziwei? "Mother, don't you still have me and Ziwei? Don't worry, we will definitely help you find Father. Then we will definitely question him about why he didn't want us!"
“No, you can’t say such disrespectful things. Your father is a great man. He did this for…” Xia Yuhe swallowed the words that were about to come out. “Qiangwei, don’t say such things anymore. You’re tired. The doctor said you need to rest more. I’m going back to my room.”
Xia Qiangwei curled her lips. Xia Yuhe was out of her mind. She could send her daughter to the capital to find her father, but why couldn't she go herself? Tch, she had to go see Xia Ziwei. Before Xia Ziwei could fully become a saint, she had to correct her distorted values.
~~
Before Xia Qiangwei could even go to find Ziwei, Ziwei herself delivered herself to her door, accompanied by a little maid. Xia Qiangwei stared at the little maid for a while, and thought, "This must be Jin Suo! She really does look like Fan Moumou; you can tell she's a vixen from a young age."
"Sister, are you feeling better?" Xia Ziwei was very close to Xia Qiangwei. Seeing Xia Qiangwei standing, she immediately took her arm and sat down. "Why did you get up so soon after you recovered?"
"Lying down is tiring, so you might as well get up and move around. Maybe you'll recover faster." Xia Qiangwei carefully chose her words, trying not to reveal anything amiss.
"Sister, I feel like you've become a different person." Ziwei looked at Xia Qiangwei, scrutinizing her from left to right, her little face scrunched up.
"What's changed? I'm still your sister, aren't I? It's just that this illness has made me forget everything from before." Xia Qiangwei sighed, her face filled with sorrow. If only she could truly forget. She had just been admitted to university when she inexplicably ended up here. She hadn't even had a boyfriend before becoming the sister of the "Saintly One," and she hadn't even had a chance to be filial to her parents before becoming the daughter of the "Big NC" and the younger sister of the "Little NC." What the future held, nobody knew. But... since she was here, she would change the story. Since Ziwei called her "sister," she would completely change the possibility of her being a "Saintly One." Don't assume everyone is a good person, don't assume everyone is a confidante. Isn't there a saying, "Heaven's misdeeds can be forgiven, but self-inflicted misdeeds are unforgivable"? She didn't want to be implicated by the "Saintly One."
"Sister, sister, what are you thinking about? Did I affect you?" Ziwei looked at Xia Qiangwei with a pitiful expression.
Xia Qiangwei shuddered. What kind of person was this?! Had she said anything? No, the education had to start now. "Ziwei! I had a very, very long dream. Would you like to hear it?"
"What dream? Can you tell me about it? Can you really tell me about it?"
Xia Qiangwei's lips twitched, a sudden sense of powerlessness washing over her. A phrase flashed through her mind: "Either succumb to helplessness and conform, or erupt in resistance!" Should she succumb to conformity and become a lunatic, or resist and maintain a normal mindset? Conforming to lunaticity? Forget it! Reforming a lunatic is too massive an undertaking; she feared she'd be ruined. "Once upon a time! There was a princess who disguised herself as a man and went on a trip. She met a petty rascal, and the princess, so naive and innocent, was easily deceived by his sweet words. The two became good friends."
"That thug is so bad! Sister, what's a thug?"
"A petty thug is someone who makes a living by stealing chickens and dogs, and thinks he's done nothing wrong. He acts all high and mighty, like a chivalrous heroine."
"But aren't they all very pitiful?"
Where did you see them as pitiful?
"Don't they also make a living with their own hands?" Xia Ziwei looked at Xia Qiangwei with a puzzled expression.
"They prey on people's sympathy. They're capable but lazy, never doing honest work. They could work as waiters in restaurants, they could work as laborers, but they choose to rob and cheat. What are they if not thugs!" Xia Qiangwei was about to give up on reforming this idiot. Good heavens! Why did she have to become Xia Ziwei's older sister? "Look at Jin Suo, then look at Baozhu. They earn money through honest work. Although they work as servants, they take their money with a clear conscience. Those thugs, though they also take their cheated money with a clear conscience, will face retribution." People in ancient times believed in karma, right? Even if reasoning didn't work, scaring her would be better.
Xia Ziwei glanced at Jin Suo, then at Baozhu standing behind Xia Qiangwei. It was unclear whether she nodded in agreement or just pretended to understand.
Xia Qiangwei didn't care whether Xia Ziwei understood or not, and continued to tell the story she made up. "That little rascal had been around the streets for a long time and naturally knew how to judge people. He could tell at a glance that the princess disguised as a man was no ordinary person and was actually a woman. He thought that if he could marry this lady, he would never have to worry about anything in the future."
"That scoundrel is wicked! The princess genuinely considers him a friend; how could he possibly try to take advantage of her?" Xia Ziwei interrupted Xia Qiangwei's story again. Xia Qiangwei curled her lip, thinking, "You're willing to marry a servant's servant, aren't you?!" "That princess wouldn't really marry that scoundrel, would she?"
"The princess grew up in the deep palace, deeply favored by the emperor, unaware of the treacherous nature of people outside. Little did she know that the scoundrel, driven by greed and the emperor's sweet words—'I will never part from you until the mountains crumble and the seas run dry'—was so flattered that she believed she had found legendary love, and thus boldly engaged in an affair with him." Xia Qiangwei finished speaking, glancing at Xia Ziwei's expression, and curled her lip. Educating a saintly mother was indeed a long and arduous task!
"That scoundrel is so wicked! How could he bully such a kind princess!" Xia Ziwei exclaimed indignantly. Jin Suo, standing behind Xia Ziwei, suddenly added, "I think this princess is too shameless. If she hadn't slept with that scoundrel, if she knew that men and women shouldn't touch each other, she wouldn't have been taken advantage of by him."
Xia Qiangwei looked at Jin Suo. This Jin Suo was indeed a clever person; she understood immediately. Xia Qiangwei nodded, but sighed inwardly. It was a pity that Jin Suo was made a servant. "Jin Suo is right. Ziwei, you need to think about it from a different perspective. If the princess were well-versed in books like 'Precepts for Women,' would she befriend a scoundrel? Would she still be taken advantage of by him? Unlawful relations are punishable by being drowned in a pig cage."
"But didn't Mother say that love is the greatest thing in the world?" Xia Ziwei hesitated. She didn't know who to believe. She had read the "Admonitions for Women," but she hadn't taken it to heart.
"If Mother truly believed in her greatness, would she have been abandoned here? Why won't that man take Mother to the capital?"
"I..." Xia Ziwei didn't know what words to use to persuade her sister. She felt that her sister's words made sense, but she couldn't say that her mother's words were wrong. She didn't know what to choose.
"Ziwei, do you want to know how the story ends?"
Xia Ziwei bit her lower lip and nodded, although she felt the story wouldn't end well.
"After the princess returned home, she told her father about it and insisted on marrying a petty scoundrel. The emperor was heartbroken; his beloved daughter had done something so shameless. He couldn't bear to punish her, but he couldn't persuade her otherwise. The emperor decided to let the princess see the scoundrel's true colors, so he took her on a private visit. When the emperor saw the scoundrel, he was so angry he wanted to kill him on the spot. But then he changed his mind and had the princess sit behind a screen. The emperor said to the scoundrel, 'Here are three thousand taels of gold. You can leave now.' The scoundrel drooled over the gold; he had never seen so much money before. But the scoundrel was clever and immediately refused."
"Isn't he just after money? Has he fallen for the princess? The power of love is truly great." Xia Ziwei interrupted Xia Qiangwei again.
"Miss, please let the eldest young lady finish telling the story!"
Xia Qiangwei was utterly disappointed in Xia Ziwei, inwardly cursing her as an incapable good-for-nothing. "The princess behind the screen also thought the scoundrel was sincere and was about to go out to plead with the Emperor for a marriage decree, but the scoundrel's words made her faint with anger." Xia Qiangwei deliberately paused, looking at the three people's wide eyes. "The scoundrel said, 'Sir, if I marry your daughter, my future wealth will be many times greater than this. Do you think I'm a fool? If I marry your daughter, I'll have everything I need for life—clothes to wear, money, fame, and fortune. You, sir, must grant me fame and fortune. Of course, I can forgo concubines, but with money, I can go to any brothel or any establishment and have plenty of girls to accompany me. Would I give up a lifetime of glory for a mere three thousand taels of gold?'"
"That scoundrel is utterly shameless!" Xia Ziwei angrily slammed her teacup onto the table. "His Majesty should kill this scoundrel!"
"Young Miss, what happened to that princess later?"
"She committed suicide! After this incident, she suddenly realized how shameful she was—a disgrace to the royal family, a disgrace to her ancestors, a disgrace to her loving father. She had no face to live, so she took her own life..." Xia Qiangwei sighed after speaking. "People need to be discerning. I don't oppose love, but family background is a prerequisite for love. If the families are not well-matched, love becomes a tool for others to exploit. Ziwei, do you remember that?" She might become that big-nosed Fu Erkang's tool in the future!
"Sister, although I don't understand it very well, I will carefully memorize the precepts for women and learn to judge people carefully, just like Mother said, I will not become another Xia Yuhe. Sister, let's tell Mother to go find Father!"
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