"Granny, what do you mean? Can't we all stay? We're all adults now!" someone said anxiously.
When they arrived, the whole of Yanzhou knew they were coming to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury. If they couldn't stay, how would they get married when they went back?
"The Great Chen Code stipulates that any official serving in the court may take three concubines. If no children are born within three years, then one more concubine may be taken. The nine of you present have already exceeded this limit. Moreover, Lord Shen is the consort of a princess, and should not have taken a concubine within three years!"
"However, your affair has caused quite a stir in the capital. Our princess, with her compassionate heart, has brought you to the capital. You must not disappoint our princess's expectations of you!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd could hardly contain their anger. They had come here with the intention of staying in the capital!
"What will happen to us if we can't become your concubines?" someone asked.
“Naturally, we will send you back to your place of origin.”
Upon hearing this, those who were still dazed instantly came to their senses.
"Send them back to their place of origin!" someone exclaimed.
Everyone back in their hometown knew that they had come to the capital to become concubines for wealthy families, and would become their wives' wives. If they couldn't stay, who would marry them back home? And how could their own families possibly want them to stay!
A sense of crisis gripped everyone present, except for Qin Man.
She glanced at everyone's expressions, considered her own wishes, mustered her courage, took a few steps forward, and asked the old woman, "Old woman, if I want to go back, approximately how long will it be before I can leave?"
Granny Xing glanced at her up and down, seemingly surprised that she wanted to leave before the first day even began.
Of course, not everyone present came of their own volition; some may have been forced by their families. But this Qin Man, Granny Xing remembered, was the daughter of a concubine.
"Miss Qin, are you sure you want to leave now?" Granny Xing's sharp eyes scrutinized her, as if trying to see through her body to her soul. "If you go back, have you considered that neither you nor your aunt will have an easy life?"
Qin Man shuddered. Of course she knew that her life and her aunt's life would not be easy, but would her aunt's life be better if she stayed in the capital?
She pursed her lips. "My aunt's life is difficult, and it's not my fault!"
It was her unfaithful and heartless father!
Her father, lusting after her mother's beauty, forced her into marriage, only to be captivated by a new woman. Her mother, then, became a discarded plaything, bearing the brunt of her mistress's husband's infidelity.
All of this was caused by her father; what does it have to do with her?
Seeing the stubbornness and resentment in her eyes, Granny Xing thought to herself, "This girl is quite stubborn! If she's so stubborn, why was she so willing to come here in the first place?"
"If you want to go back now, you shouldn't have come in the first place. You could have saved yourself the trouble of making the trip!" Granny Xing mocked.
Qin Man's eyes filled with tears, and she bit her lower lip tightly, no longer uttering a sound.
Granny Xing sized her up a few times. "Are you going back? If not, return to your seats! Today's morning lesson is about how to greet the mistress!"
Seeing Qin Man choke, some people gloated, while others secretly sympathized. Having witnessed the power of Granny Xing, everyone obediently stood in the cold wind.
Granny Xing used a ruler to instruct them on their posture, striving to train their movements to be uniform.
These young ladies had all studied piano and dance since childhood, so their stamina was naturally excellent. However, having not woken up early and not eaten anything, many of them began to feel dizzy and lightheaded after standing for half an hour.
Unfortunately, Granny Xing was extremely strict. Some people tried to feign unconsciousness to get away with it, but Granny Xing had them lifted up and said to everyone, "Miss Huang from An County, Yanzhou, is eliminated! How can someone with such poor physical condition serve our princess and prince consort!"
Ms. Huang, who had been pretending to faint, immediately woke up when she heard that she had been eliminated.
"I can keep going! I can keep going!"
However, the old women supporting her had already dragged her away.
Everyone subconsciously swallowed, wondering if they would be next.
Qin Man watched Miss Huang being dragged away and couldn't help but feel envious. She had been forced to come to the capital by her family, and after being humiliated by Granny Xing, she was filled with anger. She never expected that there would be a path of elimination.
She can also fake fainting!
"Alright, go back to your rooms. We'll go to the hall later, and I'll teach you the proper dining etiquette."
After hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and went back to their rooms.
"Oh my god, I wonder how Miss Huang is doing! She's not going to be sent back to Yanzhou like this, is she? That would be so embarrassing!"
"I don't want to go back! My dad said if I can't stay, he'll marry me off to a leper if I go back! I don't want that!"
"Hey, Qin Man, didn't you just say you were going back? Why did you insist on staying?"
"I think some people just talk the talk, but actually do something completely different!"
"That's right! She kept saying she wanted to go back, but it turned out that Miss Huang was the one who left first!"
Qin Man listened to their mocking words and went into her room.
I thought that after standing for a while in the morning, I could have breakfast and rest, but I didn't expect that breakfast would involve serving food and handing out handkerchiefs. It was all about serving people! In the end, we didn't even get to eat our fill and just drank water to fill our stomachs.
Qin Man, on the other hand, deliberately broke a bowl, but Granny Xing only made her pick up the pieces, pay for the damages out of her own pocket, and then let it go.
After the morning classes ended, the young ladies were so tired that they could barely lift their arms.
"Even my aunt doesn't have this many rules when she stands at home!"
"Yes, even my mother didn't treat the concubines like this! It's just being a concubine, why are there so many rules! My wrists are so sore, these are the hands I use to play the piano! And I've been carrying plates for so long!"
"That's absolutely ridiculous!"
While peeling apples, Yongle told Song Yaozhu about the young ladies' embarrassing behavior as if it were a joke.
Song Yaozhu extended a finger and pointed at her from a distance.
"Stop with your perverse tastes! Is it really meaningful for you to torment these girls like this?"
Yongle swung her legs up and down, "This is boring! But they made me unhappy first! I don't offend others unless they offend me, but if someone is shameless, this princess will definitely go up and slap them a few times!"
As she spoke, she took a big bite of her apple and muttered, "There's a girl in here who's quite interesting. Granny Xing told me that she keeps making mistakes and wants to be eliminated. But Granny Xing won't let her have her way, and this little girl is almost going crazy with anxiety, hahaha!"
Song Yaozhu was speechless. "Instead of wasting your time messing with these girls, you should think about how to help your husband deal with those officials in Yanzhou!"
"Don't worry, I have my own plan!" Yongle chuckled, looking confident of victory.
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