When Li Tiao arrived at the entrance of Yonghe Palace, she hesitated to move forward, knowing that the situation inside would not be pleasant.
However, although Li Tiao had made ample mental preparations from the moment she entered the palace gates to the Yonghe Palace, she still gasped when she saw what was placed in front of Consort De.
She curtsied to greet Consort De, but before she could make a move, a maidservant serving Consort De stepped forward and moved the cushion that was originally placed next to Consort De to Li Tiao's front.
"You were assigned to the fourth prince by the emperor. Although your status is not high, you were still married through proper channels. We are mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Although I don't need a concubine to perform all the etiquette of a daughter-in-law."
But you are now the only person serving the Fourth Prince, so I value you highly.
So I thought I'd have you perform all the proper etiquette for being a daughter-in-law today.
That way, even if the fourth prince has a concubine or a primary wife in the future, they won't dare to look down on you.
Li Tiao was furious inside, but she couldn't refute it because Consort De was right. In this era, the situation of a concubine was indeed as Consort De described.
Normally, there was no need to pay respects to Consort De at dawn and dusk, because one's status was not worthy.
However, if you greet her, it means your mother-in-law thinks highly of you.
However, Li Tiao politely declined. She lowered her eyes and glanced at the mat in front of her feet, where she could vaguely see embroidery needles inside.
Consort De made no attempt to conceal her wickedness.
"Your Majesty, I am grateful for your extraordinary kindness, but rules are rules, and I cannot allow Your Majesty to be gossiped about in the future."
"This humble servant is of lowly status and her words carry little weight; I truly do not deserve such a great favor from Your Majesty."
Consort De smiled, seemingly not at all angry at Li Tiao's "ungratefulness".
This made Li Tiao even more panicked, because it was too abnormal.
"Since you know you are of lowly status and have little influence, then fine. If you don't want to fulfill the proper etiquette between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, then let me ask you, what should a servant do when meeting his master?"
The moment the words left her lips, Li Tiao belatedly realized that what she had just heard about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship was merely an appetizer, and a rather stingy one at that.
This is the real meal for masters and servants.
As a mere servant, Li Tiao naturally had to pay her respects to Consort De, one of the six imperial concubines.
However, Li Tiao had not yet paid her respects. She paused for a moment, then moved aside from the cushion in front of her feet and prepared to bow and pay her respects.
However, the maids and nannies around Consort De, whether they had seen through Li Tiao's thoughts or came prepared, rudely pressed Li Tiao down and made her kneel on the cushion where the embroidery needles could be seen protruding!
Li Tiao naturally wanted to struggle.
She's not stupid; how could she be so foolish as to kneel down like that, risking her knees?
However, she was no match for the strength of the palace maids and nannies on her own, and her knees were about to make intimate contact with the mat.
A eunuch's voice rang out from outside: "The Fourteenth Prince has arrived."
Consort De paused for a moment, and the palace maids and nannies hesitated even more. Taking advantage of this moment, Li Tiao quickly broke free from their grasp and hid to the side.
Circumstances dictate that Li Tiao would not confront Consort De head-on at this time.
So after dodging, Li Tiao quickly knelt down to prevent Consort De from causing any more trouble.
"Your Majesty, it is true that I am of lowly status and have little influence. Your Majesty is of high rank and authority. I beg Your Majesty to spare me." Although Li Tiao did not want to confront Consort De head-on, she also knew that simply showing weakness would not work on Consort De.
Then, recalling how Consort De had once brought up Yunhui's matter before Emperor Kangxi, Li Tiao said:
"Your Majesty, the Emperor knew about Miss Yunhui's matter back then, but what happened? The Emperor granted our master a separate residence. This shows that the Emperor hopes that Your Majesty and our master can get along well, Your Majesty..."
Before Li Tiao could finish speaking, the fourteenth prince entered.
After paying her respects to Consort De, she glanced around the hall and asked, "Mother, isn't this Fourth Brother's princess? What is she doing here?"
"Since she is your fourth brother's concubine, it is only right and proper for her to come and pay her respects to me."
Consort De used minimal force to achieve maximum effect.
However, the Fourteenth Prince was dissatisfied with Consort De's words: "Mother, you didn't want to raise the Fourth Brother back then, but in the end, the Fourth Brother was raised by Father Emperor. Apart from the Second Brother, only the Fourth Brother has this honor."
Now you're actually lowering yourself to go after a concubine, what will people think of your son if word gets out?
What will Father Emperor think of his son? Mother, do you still want your son to achieve anything?
Li Tiao was stunned. Everyone said that Consort De doted on the Fourteenth Prince, but although the Fourteenth Prince's words were to some extent a way of extricating himself from the predicament, Li Tiao was also surprised to find that Consort De and the Fourteenth Prince were not actually a loving mother and son.
It seems that the fourteenth prince still harbors some resentment towards Consort De.
Given this, Li Tiao had no intention of letting such a rare opportunity slip by.
"This servant greets the Fourteenth Prince. In truth, Consort De did not make things difficult for this servant." Although she said this, Li Tiao's gaze seemed to drift towards the cushion where an embroidery needle could be seen.
The Fourteenth Prince sneered, "I'm not blind."
Seeing this, Consort De stood up from her seat at the head of the table and walked to the Fourteenth Prince's side: "Fourteenth Prince, everything I have done is for you, how could you..."
"All for me? Mother, if you really care about me, don't lower yourself to this level. Does a mere concubine need you to do this?"
Consort De harbored resentment, but faced with the grudges of her beloved Fourteenth Prince, she could only temporarily let Li Tiao go.
Seeing Consort De wave her hand, Li Tiao immediately bowed and said, "This servant will take her leave now, so as not to disturb Your Highness and the Fourteenth Prince's mother-son reunion."
Li Tiao slipped out of Yonghe Palace as if her feet were greased. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and leaned against the wall to steady herself. She dared not think that if the Fourteenth Prince hadn't come over, she would have been kneeling on the embroidery needle.
The thought made her knees buckle involuntarily.
"Your Highness, did Consort De make things difficult for you?" Chunxi saw Li Tiao come out and quickly came over to support her.
Li Tiao shook her head: "It hasn't happened yet. If the Fourteenth Prince doesn't come, things could get complicated."
"Thank goodness, thank goodness..."
Hearing Chunxi's still-frightened words, Li Tiao paused, then stopped walking. She looked at Chunxi and asked, "What do you mean by that? Did you bring the Fourteenth Prince here?"
"My lady, how could I possibly have such power? Not only do I not know the Fourteenth Prince at all, but even if I did, he wouldn't know who I am, so why would he listen to me?"
These words not only failed to dispel Li Tiao's doubts, but instead made her even more puzzled.
"Since you don't know the Fourteenth Prince, what did you mean by what you just said? What do you mean by 'it's alright,' alright?" After asking, thinking about Chunxi's relationship with the Fourth Prince, Li Tiao had an expectation that she herself was unaware of: "Or did you find the Fourth Prince, and the Fourth Prince found the Fourteenth Prince?"
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