Xie Fengyue walked down the stairs and saw Butler Xie who had been waiting here for some time.
She leaned forward and motioned for him to lead the way.
The two of them didn't exchange too many face-saving greetings.
Xie's Mansion was formerly the Prince's Mansion of the previous dynasty, and was later occupied by the former Prince. He bought all the surrounding mansions and renovated them, covering an area of two to three hundred acres.
After the Emperor of Zhou came to power, he awarded this to the Xie family as a palace in the capital.
Taifu Xie did not waste this large house. Almost all the Xie clan members of Chen County who were officials in the court lived here. He only had two or three concubines, and they were all sent by others when it became common to keep prostitutes in the court.
Originally, Mrs. Xie stayed in the family, and these concubines were jealous when they were alone in the capital. Now that the real master is back, the concubines are like quails with a knife hanging from their necks, huddled in their own courtyard. , He didn’t even dare to leave the door again.
Although the Qian'an Dynasty was not like the previous dynasties in that they did not regard concubines as objects and could kill them at will, but it was still easy for the matron to deal with a concubine, and they were quite obedient.
However, there are some concubines who are dependent on them and are restless.
Zhao Ji in the mansion can be regarded as an outlier among the concubines. She was Taifu Xie's wife who took him with him when he went from Chen County to Shengjing.
It was also her good luck that she was diagnosed with pregnancy on the way to Shengjing. After arriving in Shengjing, it was found out that they were twins, and then she was treated as an aunt as an exception.
After ten months of pregnancy, she gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. They were only two years younger than Xie Fengyu, her direct daughter.
It was a pity that they were born into the wrong family. According to the Xie family's rules, children were not allowed to enter the family tree before they were crowned with hairpins. They could not even claim to the outside world that they were the sons of the Xie family.
This kind of rule is not limited to the Xie family. It doesn't take a day or two for a wealthy family to demote a direct descendant to a concubine. What's more, the concubine's son is directly sent to a distant family branch for foster care from the moment he is born.
After all, everyone knows the truth. If a century-old clan comes to attack from outside, it will be impossible to kill them for a while. They are afraid that the brothers will fight against each other and cause internal troubles.
Xie Fengyue followed Butler Xie to Madam Xie's yard for almost half an hour. When she came in, she saw Aunt Zhao and her concubine Xie Rui respectfully serving tea in front of Madam Xie.
She raised her eyebrows slightly and saluted Mrs. Xie.
Mrs. Xie didn't even look at Xie Fengyue, she waved her hand to signal her to sit down.
"This is your sister Xie Rui." She just said that and said nothing more.
On the other hand, Aunt Zhao on the side exclaimed: "Hey, this must be Fengyue who is in the name of Madam. She looks like this and has such a figure."
Mrs. Xie glanced at her with a cold face and did not answer.
She plucked up the courage, pulled the silent Xie Rui aside and said, "Rui'er will get haircut next year, but she won't have such a good life as Fengyue. Alas~"
Xie Fengyue had a good time to watch Aunt Zhao's bold behavior. If she were not Mrs. Xie's person, she would have been covered up and sold out.
She wanted to laugh but in this situation, she could only curl her eyes: "Mother, what do you want from me?"
Mrs. Xie couldn't be nice to her at all: "Today is the first time that you welcome guests on behalf of the Xie family. If you don't understand the etiquette, just ask your sister. She is already waiting at the concierge." If not. Aunt Zhao came very early today, and she was sure to have Xie Fengyue kneel and wait outside her room. When she thought of this, she silently glanced at Aunt Zhao, who was still smiling warmly.
Xie Fengyue only had less time to burn a stick of incense and was hurried away. She was happy and at ease. She turned around with light steps and was about to leave, but was stopped by Aunt Zhao: "Madam~ You see Rui'er has been in Beijing since she was a child. She knows her well." The names of various ladies in the capital are taboo, why not let her go with Feng Yue?”
Xie Fengyue was surprised that Aunt Zhao was so courageous that she even dared to say such things.
If she was the only one to welcome guests today, Mrs. Xie might have asked Xie Rui to come to disgust her, and let a concubine come to welcome guests with her direct descendants. Just stopping there would be a joke, but Xie Fengyu is here today. There is absolutely no way Mrs. Xie would allow her own daughter to be criticized like this.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Aunt Zhao was hit on the forehead by an empty tea cup.
She was in pain but did not dare to hide. She still knelt down submissively and let Madam Xie hold her legs.
"Madam, please calm down. Madam, please calm down. I am just giving you a suggestion. I am also kind-hearted. I am afraid that the two ladies will not recognize each other~"
Mrs. Xie sneered and kicked her: "I don't know what you are thinking about? I think your Rui'er is good, why don't you come back to Chen County with me next month?"
Just saying this, Aunt Zhao's face turned pale. She wanted Xie Rui to show her face in front of everyone, settle on a good marriage, and preferably get married in Mrs. Xie's name. Then her aunt could do it too. The status of the Xie Mansion in Beijing has been rising. After all, there is no serious master in the master's backyard.
Although her Rui'er is a concubine, she is also a concubine of the Xie family. She is not much better than the legitimate daughters of those small clans and clans outside.
But it would be different if Mrs. Woolen cloth.
Xie Rui saw that her aunt's words did not make Mrs. Xie's expression any better, so she spoke slowly: "Mom, calm down, my aunt is just too worried, and her starting point is good."
After hearing what she said, Mrs. Xie gave her a slightly different look: "It's been a year since I last saw you and your temper has become calmer."
"Thank you for the compliment, mother. Rui'er knows that she has a humble status and will not disturb Sister Yu and Sister Yue when they welcome guests."
Mrs. Xie snorted coldly and said to Aunt Zhao, who was hanging her head: "I have lived in vain for so many years, and your daughter is still not sensible."
Xie Fengyue watched such a good show and raised the corners of her lips.
The fire burned her inexplicably, and Xie Rui smiled and saluted her: "I was taken by Sister Yue's appearance before, so I calmed down. I hope you don't take it too seriously. My sister didn't salute you~"
She reached out to avoid hitting the smiling person, and besides, she spoke so sincerely, Xie Fengyue naturally would not offend her face at this time, and replied with a smile: "Sister Rui is really overrated. My sister is also born extremely beautiful."< br>
Xie Fengyue did not lie on this point, but Xie Rui was born well. She has bright eyes and white teeth, small and red lips, and her temperament is uniquely gentle and graceful for women from the South. Compared with her and Xie Fengyu who live in the North The grown-up woman is completely different.
Mrs. Xie felt extremely unhappy when she saw Xie Fengyue and Xie Rui flattering each other. She did not hide the disgust in her eyes: "Why don't you go to the mansion? The guests will arrive later. Should I just let Yu'er do her own work?"
Xie Fengyue confessed, turned around and left.
The three blazing gazes behind her seemed to burn a hole in her back.
Dear sons, please keep in mind that concubines, superiors and inferiors all serve the purpose of political rule.