Chapter 873: Honorable
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In that case, it was inevitable that her praise would be a little lacking. It was fine to be polite to others, but it was a long way to go if she wanted to befriend someone.
Yu Youyao smiled. “Madam, you flatter me.”
The Yu Clan was from the north, while the Ye Clan was from the south. They were the two great clans of power in the north and the south. Since ancient times, there was a saying that the Yu was in the north, while the Ye was in the south. At the end of the previous dynasty, the reputation of the Yu Clan had once overshadowed the Ye Clan and became the number one power in the previous dynasty.
Unfortunately, their success was due to Duke Zhonglie, but their failure was also due to him.
In this dynasty, although the Yu Clan was favored by the Imperial Court, every disciple who rose to an important position in the court was placed in an important position, but were not used to their full potential. As a result, the Yu Clan gradually declined.
This lasted for hundreds of years.
In terms of family history, the Ye and Yu clans were on par. However, in terms of foundation, the Yu Clan naturally could not compare to the Ye Clan, which had many talents and subordinates in the court.
Therefore, anyone could praise Yu Youyao using the Yu family.
Only the Ye family could not.
She wouldn’t think too much about it, but it might not be the case for someone else.
When Little Madam Yu mentioned the Yu family, if Yu Youyao replied, she would definitely have to be humble. She would bring up the Ye family and reply humbly with praise.
If they were of the same status, humble words would be modest and polite. However, if they were not of the same status, humility would turn into self-depreciation, and their relationship would be split into levels.
From Little Madam Yue’s standpoint, wasn’t it obvious that Yu Youyao would be embarra.s.sing her?
She had to clearly tell Little Madam Yue that she had said something wrong just now!
As expected, when Little Madam Yue heard that Yu Youyao had thanked her and had nothing else to say, she couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. She immediately reacted and her face turned pale, feeling a little awkward.
The etiquette between people was often very subtle. It took into account the family background, ident.i.ty, and status of both sides.
Fortunately, Yu Youyao quickly changed the topic and smiled. “I learned from Ms. Ye in the past. I was taught by her for many years and treated her as my mentor. Speaking of which, I have some affinity with the Ye family.”
Little Madam Yue suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. “All these years, it’s all thanks to your residence taking good care of Lady Qiu that she can live a more peaceful life.”
No matter how talented this woman was, others inevitably pointed fingers at her.
It was also because there were few people in the Yu Residence that Old Madam Yu had the reputation of being a chaste woman. Old Madam Yu had taken a fancy to Lady Qiu, and even the others had to think highly of her.
Little Madam Yue changed the topic and smiled. “A few days ago, Lady Qiu sent a letter to my Master. In her letter, she mentioned that the princess was her favorite disciple and asked my master to take care of her more.”
In her letter, Lady Qiu praised Princess Shaoyi.
Master did not say anything else.
However, just from the fact that he had held this letter and pondered for a full half an hour, she knew that he had seen a lot of other things from it.
Master had been in the prefecture capital of Liaodong for many years and had never interfered in the conflict between the n.o.bles and va.s.sal lords. However, after Princess Shaoyi came to Xiangping, Master’s att.i.tude had clearly changed.
Not only was the Xie family tactful, but more importantly, Princess Shaoyi’s words and actions were in line with the interests of the government. It was true that she was part of the va.s.sal lords.
However, who in this world would be enemies with a truly smart, visionary, and magnanimous person?
Yu Youyao was very touched and quickly asked, “After I came to Xiangping, I sent a peace letter and some specialties of Xiangping to Ms. Ye. I haven’t received a reply from Ms. Ye. I wonder how Ms. Ye is doing.”
After leaving the capital, she would send a peace letter to her relatives and teachers every time she went to a place. She would also send some local goods. This had also become a tradition.
After coming to Xiangping, other than settling down in the Yu Garden, she had also been dealing with these trivial matters.
It had only stopped over the past few days.
Little Madam Yue smiled. “Lady Qiu is quite good. Due to the Princess’s kindness and her mentor’s reputation in the capital, she’s even better than before. Countless people have come to ask for calligraphy pieces and guidance.”
Yu Youyao was a little relieved. She had arranged for someone to take care of Ms. Ye in the capital. In the future, if the capital was in chaos and Ms. Ye was willing to come to the North, she had also arranged for someone to escort her.
After chatting about Ms. Ye, they chatted about the rest and became much closer.
After that, a few madams came over to greet them one after another.
Not long after, the living room was filled with people.
Yu Youyao said politely, “I’ve grown up in the capital since I was young. The etiquette and rules in the capital are different from those in the North. I’m new here and don’t know much about the local customs in the North. I came to the North this time at the invitation of King Yue Fei. All of you are also family members of King Yue Fei’s officials. You’re older and more knowledgeable than me. Please forgive me if I’m negligent.”
All the madams present quickly expressed that they didn’t deserve it.
Before seeing Princess Shaoyi, they might have had some thoughts of examining and testing her because she was young.
Princess Shao Yi was wearing a large black sleeved shirt and a purple ceremonial robe. The color and patterns used were all based on the rules of the imperial family. Ordinary mingfu often used patterns based on their grade, such as the long-tailed pheasant pattern, peac.o.c.k pattern, magpie pattern, and so on. However, Princess Shaoyi used the seven-tailed phoenix, which hung on her shoulder, revealing a n.o.ble aura.
No one dared to really underestimate her as a thirteen-year-old girl.
At this moment, Princess Shaoyi had taken the initiative to express her goodwill. How could they not agree?
The atmosphere immediately became lively.
The topic of discussion among the madams of the various families was definitely the prevention of the epidemic that Princess Shaoyi was concerned about. Someone had suggested that they wanted to raise donations. The money obtained from the donations would be used to buy spices and medicinal herbs related to the epidemic. They would be handed over to Princess Shaoyi’s incense shop to make the incense medicine needed to avoid the epidemic.
This suggestion received strong support from all the madams present.
Next, they had to discuss how to arrange the donation, who would be in charge, and how much money each family would contribute…
For a moment, a few madams looked troubled.
Yu Youyao also knew that all the madams present were all subordinates of King Yue Fei. They also relied on the Imperial Court’s compensation and lived a relatively poor life.
At the very least, in her opinion, other than a few madams who looked more exquisite, most of the people present, including Madam Huang and Madam Ning, had worn their old clothes many times.
It was not difficult to guess that this was already the best outfit they had. They would most likely rotate among several outfits when they went outside.
Yu Youyao narrowed her eyes slightly, feeling a little bitter.
If this were in the capital, even the family of an ordinary seventh-grade official would not be so shabby.
“Let Madam Huang and General Ning Yuan take the lead in the donation. How much we donate is voluntary. It’s already very rare for everyone to have such intentions.”
Everyone couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief, and a sincere smile appeared on their faces.
It was obvious that they really wanted to donate. However, it was not easy for everyone, so it was inevitable that it would be a little difficult.