Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 86
Chapter 86 - The Mama Teaches Propriety
Yun Chu recalled that in her previous life, the Prince of Pingxi had remained unmarried well into his thirties or forties.
She had never heard of Imperial Concubine Yin matchmaking for the Prince of Pingxi.
Of course, it was also possible that in her past life she rarely stepped outside the doors of the Xie residence, and naturally knew nothing of these imperial matters.
Involuntarily, her thoughts drifted to the two children of the Prince of Pingxi's manor.
Clearly they had met not long ago, yet it felt as though an immensely long time had passed since they last saw each other, and a longing rose like a surging tide.
She did not understand why she kept dwelling on these two children, as if they should share some sort of deep bond from her previous life...
When Yun Chu returned to the Xie family, Chen Defu had just arrived to present the account books.
The ice shop had been open for over half a month, and the account books showed that it had already netted nearly forty thousand taels of silver.
Entering the sixth month, temperatures continued to rise, and the price of ice would increase somewhat, meaning even greater profits by then.
"Madam, the summer relief courtyard has already been arranged," Chen Defu reported, bowing respectfully. "It can open its doors to welcome the common people tomorrow. Does Madam have any further instructions?"
The summer relief courtyard was the place Yun Chu had previously mentioned, established in the name of the Yun family to provide a free cooling refuge for the common folk. Every day during the hottest part of the afternoon, blocks of ice would be placed in the four corners of the courtyard so that ordinary people who could not afford ice might also dispel some of the scorching heat of midsummer.
After pondering for a moment, Yun Chu instructed, "Prepare some herbal cooling tea and place it in the courtyard as well. Commoners in need may help themselves."
Chen Defu nodded and went off to execute the task.
Over these past few days, the business of the ice shop had grown increasingly prosperous; describing it as raking in a thousand taels of gold a day would hardly be an exaggeration.
Fortunately, she had instructed people ahead of time to open several more ice shops to disperse the customer base, otherwise there was no telling how many people would have been driven green with envy.
Meanwhile, Xie Jingyu was gradually becoming quite busy.
Previously, because he had offended the Marquis of Xuanwu, many of his official duties had been reassigned elsewhere by Magistrate Yu.
Now, having leaped overnight into the prospective father-in-law of King Anjing, he no longer needed to weigh whether King Anjing or the Marquis of Xuanwu carried more weight—there was simply no need to choose, as an increasing number of people came to flatter him.
The gloom that had previously hovered over the Xie family seemed to have dissipated just like that.
Although the old madam disliked Yun Chu, deep down she admired this daughter-in-law immensely. Had it not been for Yun Chu's godlike foresight, how could their Xie family have soared overnight into imperial relatives?
Once Ping'er officially became the princess consort, their entire Xie family would step onto an entirely different tier, no longer the minor, low-ranking household that anyone could casually manipulate as before.
Yun Chu received a number of invitation cards sent to her door by various madams, all of which she declined under the pretext of being busy preparing for the wedding.
While she was busy reviewing the account books, she saw Tingshuang hurriedly enter from the doorway. "Madam, someone has come from the palace."
As it turned out, Imperial Noble Consort De had dispatched a training mama to specifically instruct Xie Ping in palace etiquette.
A smile surfaced on Xie Ping's face. For Imperial Noble Consort De to do this meant she had accepted her as a future daughter-in-law, and she was determined not to disappoint the Consort.
She formally and correctly bowed to Mama Tang—no, Mama Fu—who had arrived. "From now on, I must trouble Mama Fu."
"This old servant is merely a servant and cannot bear a master's bow." Stepping aside to avoid her greeting, Mama Fu lifted her gaze and said, "Eldest Miss Xie's posture in bowing is incorrect. If you were to use such a posture to pay respects to the Emperor and Empress upon entering the palace, you would inevitably be charged with an offense."
Yun Chu stepped in to take over the conversation. "An ordinary household has no opportunity to enter the palace, and I was also negligent in teaching Ping'er these things. I ask Mama Fu to instruct her carefully. Our Xie family being punished for an offense is a minor matter, but I fear implicating Imperial Noble Consort De and King Anjing."
Lowering her gaze, Mama Fu replied, "Madam Xie, rest assured, this old servant came to the Xie residence precisely to teach the future Princess Consort of Anjing these rules of propriety. Until Eldest Miss Xie learns them, even if it takes a single day, this old servant will reside within the Xie residence for that day."
Yun Chu nodded and instructed someone to arrange lodgings for Mama Fu in the eastern side room of Xie Ping's courtyard.
She calculated mentally: with the wedding taking place in three months, Xie Ping would get to act as King Anjing's princess consort for about half a month, so the etiquette she learned through such bitter toil wouldn't go completely to waste.
Indeed, Xie Ping's toil was bitter.
She had assumed learning palace etiquette would be just like studying books, but who could have imagined it would be so agonizing.
Early in the morning, Mama Fu made her stand in the pavilion with a book balanced on her head and two plates held in both hands, having to maintain the stance for a full hour before stopping.
Once the standing exercise was finished, it was time to practice walking. How simple could walking be? Yet Mama Fu made her clamp a fruit between her thighs, and while walking, the fruit was not allowed to drop nor could it be crushed. If she made a mistake, she had to start all over again until her skirt didn't sway the slightest bit while walking, at which point Mama Fu would be barely satisfied.
During this process, Mama Fu would also occasionally strike her with a disciplinary ruler.
Her arms were beaten until they were red, yet she didn't even dare to touch them, continuing to learn how to walk with an empty stomach.
After a day of instruction came to an end, Mama Fu placed a pitch-black bowl of medicine in front of Xie Ping. "Eldest Miss Xie, drink this bowl of medicine."
Xie Ping caught a whiff of the nauseating scent and frowned as she asked, "What is this?"
"An abortifacient," Mama Fu replied indifferently. "Seven days after a man and woman share a bed, conception can occur. By drinking this bowl of medicine, Eldest Miss Xie will not become pregnant."
In King Anjing's manor, the morning after any woman shared a bed with the Prince, she would be fed a contraceptive decoction.
Since so many days had passed, they could only resort to an abortifacient.
Xie Ping's expression stiffened.
She and King Anjing had not reached that final step, so she was not pregnant at all.
"Eldest Miss Xie is not yet wedded to King Anjing. If your belly were to bulge before marriage, wouldn't that make our Prince a laughingstock to others?" Mama Fu said coldly. "Moreover, Eldest Miss Xie has not yet reached her capping age and is unsuited to carry a child. Drink it."
Xie Ping bit her lip. "Mama, rest assured, I will not cause such scandalous incidents."
She knew that whether it was a contraceptive decoction or an abortifacient, it would cause tremendous harm to a woman's body. Terrified that she might end up like her mother and find it difficult to ever conceive again, she resolved that this medicine could not be drunk.
Glaring coldly at her, Mama Fu saw that she had no intention of drinking the medicine and stepped forward directly, pinching her chin.
"This old servant must offend."
A bowl of pitch-black medicine was forced down Xie Ping's throat. Choking violently, she coughed and clutched her throat, gasping, "F-Fu, Mama, you are teaching me propriety, yet how can you yourself be so devoid of it... I-I am the future Princess Consort of Anjing, how dare you be so rude!"
"You are still Eldest Miss Xie for now," Mama Fu stepped back a pace. "Once Eldest Miss Xie becomes the Princess Consort of Anjing in the future, this old servant will let the Princess Consort dispose of me as she pleases."
Xie Ping coughed until tears streamed down her face.
She was still within the Xie residence, yet a mere servant dared to force her into doing something she was unwilling to do.
Once she married into King Anjing's manor in the future and entered Imperial Noble Consort De's territory, would there even be any room left for her to speak?
Would every single servant dare to ride roughshod over her head and bully her?
Biting her lower lip, Xie Ping got up and hurried to the inner chamber, sticking her fingers down her throat and desperately trying to vomit the medicine back out.
Yet everything was in futile vain.
What happened in Xie Ping's courtyard naturally reached Yun Chu's ears.
She shook her head slightly. "This is only the beginning."
What did being harassed by a mama amount to? Marrying into King Anjing's manor in the future and meeting with disaster when King Anjing fell would be the true calamity of total annihilation.
As she was thinking, she raised her head and saw Xie Jingyu walking into the Sheng Residence.
Clad in moon-white robes and exuding a scholarly and refined demeanor, he strode over with long steps, making it amply evident that his mood was quite favorable.