Ever since Ye Zhou and Huang Mengling divorced, it would be a lie to say that his concubine Tang Miao had no thoughts at all. It was just that after Ye Zhou suppressed that thought, she became discouraged.
Tang Miao was a timid person to begin with. She had a little hope in her heart. After all, she was a "favored concubine." But once that little candlelight went out, she, as timid as she was, not only gave up her idea but also wanted to leave. Once the fire in her heart was extinguished, it turned to ashes.
Ye Zhou had three concubines in total. She gave birth to a son and a daughter, Li gave birth to two daughters, and Du gave birth to a son.
Ye Zhou has two sons and three daughters, but currently has no legitimate children. The title of Duke of Xiangguo is hereditary, but Ye Zhou has never asked to be named the crown prince.
In the past, when Huang Mengling was around, Ye Zhou was unwilling to register any of his children under Huang Mengling's name, so he had no legitimate children and did not ask for the title of Crown Prince.
Now that they are divorced, they live their lives as usual. The concubine is still a concubine, and the illegitimate children are still illegitimate children. The two illegitimate children are already in their teens, but there is still no sign of anyone asking for the title of crown prince.
Ye Zhou hadn't intended to make any of his concubines his wife, including Tang. It wasn't that Tang wasn't good; they'd been together for over a decade, so they still had feelings for each other. It was just that Ye Zhou felt the current situation was fine. He didn't want to risk another huge disappointment, a suffocating heart, and unspeakable pain. Fortunately, it was all over.
We'll observe the two sons for another two years and decide which one is the better one to inherit the title. At present, Tang's son Ye Feng seems better, but Du's son is three years younger and may lose due to his age. Let's wait and see.
In order to prevent the concubines from having any ideas, Ye Zhou called these three and told them directly that he would not appoint another legitimate wife.
When they came out of the door, Li and Du looked at Tang with pity. For more than ten years, he had "favored his concubine and ignored his wife", and now that his wife was gone, the concubine was still a concubine.
Tang Shi felt uncomfortable facing such a look, but what could she say? She smiled and returned to her room. Although she knew in her heart that she was just a scapegoat, she still felt a little uncomfortable when she finally realized the truth.
Tang Miao opened the box and found three silver notes. She received a monthly allowance of twenty taels of silver, and she would receive some extra silver on her birthday and during the New Year holidays, which made up about three hundred taels of silver a year.
Bearing the hated title of "favored concubine," she consciously stayed out of the house, kept to herself, and never caused trouble. She had food and drink in the mansion, new clothes every season, and a doctor at the mansion. As long as she didn't spend recklessly, she could save almost all her monthly allowance.
Over the past decade, she had saved over five thousand taels, which she intended to leave for her sons and daughters. However, as her children grew older and had their own friends, and as she began to broaden her horizons as a housekeeper, she realized that five thousand taels, which seemed like a huge sum to her, might not be much to others.
A piece of good ink costs over a hundred taels, and her son and his classmates eat together, and each meal costs another hundred taels. She only has three hundred taels a year, and she spends it casually.
She asked her son if he should bring more money with him when he went out. His son said no, he didn't want to buy such good ink. The meal was treated by others, and they dragged him to go because there were more people and it would be more lively.
She said, "Don't always let others treat you. I'll give you the money." Her son still said no, saying he always told others he had no money, except for his monthly allowance. Feeling a little sad, she exchanged five silver notes for 100 taels each and asked her son to keep them. A month later, her son returned them all to her, saying he had no use for them.
When her daughter came back from a gathering with the other girls, they were talking about a new pearl hairpin from Linglong Pavilion and a piece of flowing cloud brocade from Huansha Tower. She knew they were all worth a hundred or two hundred taels, and they were just ordinary items from the store. Other girls bought them, and her daughter looked at them.
The daughter, like the son, didn't want her money, and she also said she didn't need to dress so conspicuously.
Tang Miao was a girl from a humble family. She wasn't rich, but her family had plenty to eat and wear. Because she was beautiful and a bit ambitious when she was young, she signed up to be a maid in the palace. Her parents were heartbroken.
Alas. Tang Miao sighed. This was the path he had chosen. He felt that he was weak inside, with the will but not the courage.
Because of her good looks, she was favored by the current Queen Mother's concubines and was sent to Ye Zhou's mansion. However, she was timid and remembered the propriety, righteousness, and shame taught by her parents, so she didn't dare to do anything to Ye Zhou.
She had seen Huang Mengling playing with Ye Zhou in the garden. An unmarried girl, she threw herself into his arms, chatting and laughing, with seductive eyes and teasing words, which surprised Tang Miao so much that her face turned red and she left quickly.
Later, Ye Zhou married Huang Mengling as his wife, and the couple loved each other very much. She didn't know the background of Li and Du, but she felt that Ye Zhou would send all three of them away. She thought Ye Zhou was a good person, and since he didn't intend to marry her, she didn't sleep with her.
Later, Ye Zhou's elder brother became the emperor. Ye Zhou had too many things to do and was too busy to leave the mansion. Whenever he returned home, he was with Huang Mengling. Sometimes, the four of them were together, the emperor, empress, and Huang Mengling. If they met by chance, she would quickly bow and leave.
She had never been favored before, or rather, Ye Zhou had always been wary of them. Xuanyuan Hao had already become emperor, and the Queen Mother probably considered her a worthless child and stopped contacting her. She had been waiting for Ye Zhou to find the time to dismiss them, but in the end, he favored his concubine and killed his wife.
Why did he take the blame for doting on his concubine?
It has been more than ten years. She had thought about Ye Zhou's marriage back then. If the situation was not complicated, Ye Zhou would not have married Huang Mengling of a lower social status. The reason was probably that he really liked her and that Huang Mengling's family had no connection with the court. In the eyes of traditional noble families, the Huang family was just ordinary people.
Now that the situation is stable, the marriages granted by Prince Qing and Prince Yu are all of equal status. If Ye Zhou wants to remarry as a wife, he should be able to find a woman of equal status. The so-called not remarrying as a wife is probably to let the three concubines have improper thoughts.
Now that Ye Zhou had divorced her, she, the concubine who had "favored the concubine over the wife," had fulfilled her mission of taking the blame. Somehow, the thought of leaving suddenly came to her. She put away the five thousand taels of silver. A concubine, there was no such thing as a divorce. Should Ye Zhou's nod of agreement mean she could leave?
She hadn't had many friends in recent years. Aside from the occasions Ye Zhou asked her to appear, she'd basically stayed in the backyard. Could Wang Lingyi be her friend? Forget it. She had no background, and she was younger than me.
She fell asleep in a daze while thinking about all sorts of things. In a trance, it seemed like Ye Zhou came in. She nodded habitually, and got up to help Ye Zhou change his clothes. She only helped Ye Zhou unbutton two buttons, and with her hand still on the third button, she fell asleep leaning against Ye Zhou.
Ye Zhou had no choice but to carry her to bed and change his clothes. Ye Zhou looked down at her. She had always been beautiful, timid, and a little greedy for money. However, because of her timidity, no matter how many accounts she handled, she didn't dare to do anything.
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