Princess Li was dissatisfied and said, "Empress Dowager, if it was us, it would be fine, but Concubine Jin is not feeling well, and asking her to leave for half an hour is a punishment. How can entering the palace to pay respects be considered buying someone's life? Besides, the carriage of Yanxi Palace was running rampant outside, and it was the fault of the servants of Yanxi Palace. How can you blame Concubine Jin and us?"
The Queen Mother said angrily, "You said you came to the palace to pay respects, but did you kneel down to pay respects when you came in? You came in and gave me an explanation. Are you feeling guilty? What are you explaining?"
Princess Li is the kind of person who says, "You can't stand me, okay, come out and take a walk around, and then we can have a fight." But she is really not good at talking nonsense, and when I heard her say that, I was at a loss for words. My face turned the color of liver and I could only stare.
"Prince Li has arrived!"
It seems to always be like this, whenever there is a problem that cannot be solved, this gentleman will descend from the sky.
It is indeed Prince Li’s Law.
Because the prince does not need to enter the palace to pay respects, this is the regulation for women of noble birth. As for the prince, he can naturally enter the palace to pay respects, but there is no regulation.
Today, Prince Li happened to come to the palace to see the Emperor for something, and he sent Concubine Jin with him. He didn't want to come in, but if he didn't come in, he would feel uncomfortable because that was the rule. Since he was already here, and the person in question was the Empress Dowager, he had to come in to pay his respects.
However, when he arrived at the door and heard the conversation, he was immediately furious, but he still observed etiquette and asked someone to pass the message before entering.
After entering the palace, he also greeted politely, then stood up and said, "Empress Dowager, I heard the noise outside just now. Concubine Jin was bumped today, and she didn't forget to come in to pay her respects despite the shock. As the Empress Dowager, what you should do is first greet her to show your sympathy, and then listen to their explanation and then investigate the people who bumped into the Yanxi Palace. But you didn't distinguish right from wrong and accused them of being disrespectful. In my opinion, you are targeting them."
The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows and said coldly, "I heard that Prince Li is always polite and considerate. Why did he find fault with me as soon as he entered the palace today? Is this also a way of benevolence and filial piety?"
"Then Queen Dowager, please tell me what I did wrong? Where did I lose my manners?" Prince Li said confidently.
The Empress Dowager was speechless for a moment. He had just entered the palace and greeted her, which was indeed very polite.
She said calmly: "If you knew the etiquette, you wouldn't have lost my face in front of so many people."
"Etiquette is nothing more than reason. If you only follow etiquette but not reason, it's like getting married but not having the wedding night. You can't be considered a proper couple."
Although this metaphor is a bit harsh, it seems to be true.
After hearing Prince Li's words, everyone felt relieved.
The Queen Mother was furious and said, "Then do you think I should forgive them for being late to show my understanding?"
"They were late for a reason, and they explained it clearly. Being late is not a serious crime, so why should we use the word 'forgiveness'? The Queen Mother's words were inappropriate and she did not know how to be tolerant. This really disappointed me."
Some concubines were already laughing secretly, but the Empress Dowager glanced around and everyone fell silent.
"Also," Prince Li was not going to let it go so easily, "The last time I heard about Lady Chen being punished to kneel, I was furious. Although Lady Chen is a lady of honor, she is also a pillar of our Great Zhou. Without her, how can our Murong family be stable? Lady Chen comes from a military background and is a generous person, but she has to be restricted by palace rules. She is not a member of the palace, so she does not have to abide by these rules. The Queen Mother is different. She just said a few words to the old lady and she was punished for disrespect. She was punished to kneel outside regardless of her old age. I want to ask, which country's Queen Mother would treat her own generals and meritorious officials like this? If this matter gets to the ears of the Emperor, even if the Emperor does not explain it clearly, I will not tolerate such a ridiculous thing."
"You..." The Empress Dowager's lips trembled with anger. She punished Lady Chen because of past personal grudges and also because she knew that Lady Chen was highly respected and only by punishing her could she intimidate the people under her.
After dealing with Lady Chen, the concubines and princesses under her became obedient for a while, and she was proud of herself for a long time.
She had made up her mind that even if the emperor heard about this matter, he would not go against her because of something that had already happened.
Unexpectedly, the emperor did not come, but this stubborn boy came.
The word "Li" in Prince Li's name means etiquette and reason. She knew this man. Empress Dowager Long had always thought highly of him since he was a child and also respected his character.
Several thoughts flashed through her mind. She had intended to show off her power in front of the Regent Princess today, but she didn't expect that this group of people, who had not caused her any trouble before, came to provoke her today.
She didn't dare to argue with Prince Li anymore because he was extremely difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, she was able to save some face by finding fault with Xia Zian later.
Thinking of this, she took a deep breath and said calmly: "Since the prince pleads for you, let it go this time."
After saying that, she looked at Prince Li and said, "Your Majesty, please go first."
Prince Li originally wanted to have a discussion, but thinking that he had something important to discuss with the Emperor, he decided not to delay, as there would be plenty of opportunities in the future anyway.
However, he added at the end, "If the palace maids behind the Empress Dowager were standing normally, there should be two on each side. Now there are three on each side and two on the other side, which seems particularly abrupt. Perhaps this is why I feel so uncomfortable."
After saying this, he insisted that Huarong, who was standing outside the hall, go in and stand on the left. In this way, there would be three on each side, which was quite appropriate, and only then did he give up.
Seeing that Prince Li could find fault with such a small matter, the Empress Dowager dared not to embarrass Prince Li's wife anymore.
Her eyes finally slowly fell on Zi'an's face.
Even though Zi'an lowered his head, he could still feel her cold and sharp eyes. Well, it was finally his turn.
"Princess Regent, you just met me today, so you should have performed the three kneeling and nine kowtows ceremony. Even if you are ignorant, didn't anyone remind you? The princess came in with you, and she must have reminded you, but you didn't perform the formal ceremony. In addition, it has not been long since Queen Mother Sun passed away, and all the concubines in the palace are dressed plainly, but you are wearing a red satin formal dress. This is unfilial and you should be punished."
Zian smiled slightly, she had also done her homework.
"In reply to the Empress Dowager, before I entered the palace, Nanny Yang reminded me that I had to kneel and kowtow. So, I have already performed the kneeling and kowtow ceremony just now, just like the other ladies. As for the three kneelings and nine kowtows, they are just ordinary greetings. I am not a new bride, so if I kneel three times and kowtow nine times, it will be too complicated and will lose the close relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Moreover, when I married into the royal family, I also performed the great ceremony to the Empress Dowager according to the etiquette set by our ancestors."
What I mean is that when I got married, I had already performed the formal ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows with the legitimate Empress Dowager. As for you, a wild and unruly person who has no legitimate reason, how dare you ask her to perform the formal ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows
Can we all save some money
(End of this chapter)