“Pfft!” Madam Huang couldn’t help but giggle. She felt that Princess Shaoyi was really a wonderful person!
Meanwhile, Madam Ning smiled gently, as if she was a little shy. “I can’t compare myself to Sister Huang. As soon as Hedong’s Lion’s Roar is used, Military Advisor Huang will immediately kneel.”
Yu Youyao turned to look at Madam Huang.
Mrs. Huang gently held up the pure gold hairpin on her bun and said, “Men are men. If you don’t roar at them and scold them, they’ll definitely be spoiled.”
Yu Youyao kept feeling that she had heard something impressive.
Previously, there was King Li of Zhou who took the initiative to kneel on the washboard and couldn’t even shout. Later, when Madam Huang shouted, Military Advisor Huang immediately knelt down. Meanwhile, Madam Ning chased General Ning Yuan all over the ground with an 80-pound saber in one hand.
She ate a piece of pea cake and it melted in her mouth. It was very sweet and was a little more delicate than what she usually ate. “It seems very impressive!”
If this were in the capital, would she understand it better?
Mrs. Huang smiled and said, “This has to start with King Li of Zhou. There’s a thousand-man commander in the army who often beats his wife at home. When his wife really couldn’t take it, she guarded the entrance of the King’s Residence and complained to King Li of Zhou. King Li of Zhou slapped that person a hundred times in front of the entire army and even criticized him.”
“The gist of it is that if a man has the strength, and doesn’t use it on the enemy but on his wife, does he have any shame? With such a soldier, even I feel embarrassed. Do you have the strength but no place to use it? In the future, all of you will be given more training. As long as you don’t die from it, train to death. Let’s see if you still have the energy to cause trouble.”
“What’s the point of bullying women? Think about it. Why are you risking your lives on the battlefield? It’s for our father, mother, wife, and children, as well as our relatives. We can even risk our lives for them. How can we bully them ourselves? If you don’t treat your wife as a human, you might as well give her to the Di people and let them ruin her.”
“Look at how sparsely populated the North is. There are more men than women. How many men can’t even marry a wife? If you marry her, you’ll already be living a happy life with a wife and children, yet you’re still causing trouble. Aren’t you hated?”
Mrs. Huang imitated King Li of Zhou’s tone and learned these words. “This commander who hit his wife was so ashamed and became the public enemy of the army. All the soldiers in the army were tortured every day because of him. They hated him so much that their teeth itched. The soldiers who didn’t have a wife feel even more unbalanced. They were so distressed that they could make him die from distress. Meanwhile, the married soldiers who had wives looked down on him for hitting his wife.”
Madam Ning also pursed her lips and smiled. “With King Li of Zhou in front, the men in the army behind all doted on their wives. Later, when Old Huang counted, heh, good fellow, the number of men in the army who were no longer single actually increased compared to previous years. All the men who were single were all looking forward to a wife to get married to. Isn’t that tradition?”
Yu Youyao couldn’t help but want to laugh. “This tradition is… quite good.”
The power of an example was terrifying!
Madam Ning and Madam Huang could tell that Yu Youyao was very interested in military matters, so they also told her a lot of interesting things. Initially, they weren’t too familiar with one another, nor did they understand one another’s personalities. The three women, who had been keeping to themselves, became close immediately.
Yu Youyao had a big appetite. As she chatted, she ate a lot.
Madam Huang and Madam Ning looked at each other and smiled.
The You army was controlled by the nobles and their lives were not easy to begin with.
Huang Wenxian and General Ning Yuan’s monthly salary were mostly used by them to support the families of the soldiers who had died in battle.
Therefore, they had no choice but to live a meticulous life.
They had lived in the North for a long time and had long heard that the wealthy families in the capital lived extravagant lives. There were at least a dozen dishes in one meal. However, the young ladies ate less than cats. They only touched each dish with their chopsticks. They ate only half a bowl of rice and left the other half. Whatever they couldn’t finish was wasted.
At this moment, seeing that Yu Youyao did not have the bad habits of those young misses of aristocratic families, who ate and drank openly, the two of them heaved a sigh of relief.
Yes, their gaze confirmed that they were on the same path.
They chatted about the relationships between the various residences in Xiangping City.
After a while, Xia Tao came over to report, “Young Miss, Madam Ye is here to greet you.”
Yu Youyao was a little surprised. As she was mourning and had just come to the North, she did not know many people, so she only invited the few madams who usually interacted with her in the You army and took good care of her.
She did not expect Lord Ye’s wife to come too.
However, preventing an epidemic was still the government’s own business. She was stepping in for the refugees and sharing the government’s burden, so Lord Ye naturally had to support her greatly.
Yu Youyao put down her teacup and smoothed her wide sleeves. She smiled and said, “Please come in!”
Ye Xiaoci’s first wife, who was also Ye Hanyuan’s mother, came from the Yue family of the Linjiang Prefecture. The Yue family was a scholarly family in the Linjiang Prefecture, so their foundation could not be underestimated.
Great Madam Yue passed away a few years ago due to an illness. The current Madam Ye was the second wife, the legitimate daughter from a side branch of Madam Yue’s maiden family. She was known as Little Madam Yue.
Lord Ye and Great Madam Yue had three legitimate sons. The eldest son, Ye Hanyuan, had left the family. It was said that the second and third sons of the first wife were both rare talents.
It had been ten years since Little Madam Yue had married Ye Xiaoci. She had yet to have any children, and she probably wouldn’t have any in the future. It was terrifying to think about Ye Xiaoci’s intentions for continuing to marry Little Madam Yue.
Little Madam Yue was about 20 years old. She was very beautiful, and her eyes were gentle.
Yu Youyao showed her status as a princess, but she did not show off her status. Little Madam Yue only greeted her politely. Yu Youyao returned the greeting and quickly invited Little Madam Yue to sit.
Little Madam Yue followed suit and sat beside Madam Ning.
As soon as she sat down, a maidservant came over to serve tea.
The jade laurel tea was fresh and spicy in her mouth, but the aftertaste was still fragrant and sweet. The weather was wet and cold. As soon as the cup of jade laurel tea entered her stomach, she felt that even her blood was warm.
After the tea, Little Madam Yue smiled and praised, “Indeed, only a long-standing family like the Yu Clan can raise a woman with both talent and virtue like the Princess.”
There was no malice in Little Madam Yue’s words. It was just that both sides had just finished greeting each other and had not even exchanged pleasantries. If she praised her eagerly, it would seem too deliberate. From this, it could be seen that Little Madam Yue was not someone who was good at socializing. Her smooth personality seemed to be a little distant from the ways of the world.
Little Madam Yue didn’t know her personality and didn’t have any dealings with her in the past, so it wasn’t appropriate for her to praise Yu Youyao directly. Thus, she used the Yu family as an excuse.
This was the most common situation when people interacted with each other.