Chaohui Hall.
Qi Tianming and the Old Madam sat in the main seats.
A嬷嬷 from the palace sat below them, with a young palace maid serving by her side.
The Old Madam knew this teaching嬷嬷, not very well, but had met her a few times. She also knew that this teaching嬷嬷 had a great reputation. This嬷嬷 had received favor a few years ago and left the palace, but for some unknown reason, she returned to the palace later and became a teaching嬷嬷, responsible for teaching Princess Jinrong's daily etiquette, who was the daughter of Consort An.
"Consort is thoughtful. Our family also wanted to find someone to teach Zhenzhen. We wanted to find someone like High嬷嬷, but we couldn't find anyone." The Old Madam's attitude towards High嬷嬷 was very good.
High嬷嬷 gently sipped her tea, a faint smile on her round face, "Old Madam flatters this old servant too much. It is this old servant's fortune to have the opportunity to teach the second young lady's etiquette. Please rest assured, Consort has no other intentions; she only wishes the best for the second young lady. The Consort has always doted on the young master, and the second young lady will be the one accompanying the young master for life. The Consort cherishes her more than anything."
This High嬷嬷 was also a clever person, proactively showing goodwill before the Old Madam could even probe.
The Old Madam breathed a sigh of relief. With the wedding only a few months away, Consort suddenly sending someone made her unable to help but overthink. What if Consort did not value this marriage and wanted to interfere? How could they possibly resist?
It was not surprising that the Old Madam had such thoughts. Currently, there were three adult princes under the Emperor's care: the Second Prince, born to the Empress; the First Prince, born to Consort An; and the Third Prince, born to Consort Xian. The Second Prince held the advantage of being born of the Empress, the First Prince held the advantage of being the eldest, and the Third Prince was clever and likable, holding a certain weight in Emperor Chongwen's heart. With the Crown Prince not yet established, let alone the adult princes, even the underage princes who had powerful backing harbored ambitions for the position of Crown Prince.
After all, a prince who didn't want to be emperor was not a good prince.
Consort An's backing was the Protectorate Duke's manor, and she had always protected Gu Sinian. If nothing unexpected happened, Gu Sinian was destined to inherit the Protectorate Duke's manor. Marrying a woman of comparable status would be of great help to the Protectorate Duke's manor and Consort An. Although Zhenzhen was excellent, she was ultimately a concubine-born daughter. Even if the Marquis could secure the position of Minister of Revenue in the future, it was likely not what Consort An valued.
Qi Zhenzhen was brought in by Fang嬷嬷. On the way, Fang嬷嬷 had already spoken about High嬷嬷, and Qi Zhenzhen felt a little apprehensive. The images of teaching嬷嬷 she had seen in dramas in her past life were too deeply ingrained. Would this嬷嬷 be like that?
Pushing aside her thoughts, Qi Zhenzhen paid her respects to everyone in the room.
High嬷嬷 nodded slightly. The second young lady's bowing posture was very standard, her demeanor graceful, and her eyes clear. If she hadn't known that this second young lady had lived a hard life in the countryside for several years, she would never have associated her with someone from the countryside.
"Second young lady is too kind to this old servant."
"嬷嬷 is here to teach Zhenzhen etiquette; she is Zhenzhen's teacher and deserves this bow from Zhenzhen," Qi Zhenzhen said with composure.
She indeed deserved it. Although High嬷嬷 called herself an old servant, she was a female official with a rank in the palace. Although Qi Zhenzhen was a young lady of the Marquis's manor, she had no rank.
High嬷嬷 was very satisfied with Qi Zhenzhen's humble attitude, and the smile on her lips was not hidden, "Miss, you jest. How can this old servant be worthy of the title of teacher? This old servant sees that Miss's etiquette is already excellent."
Seeing that this High嬷嬷 was amiable, Qi Zhenzhen felt a little more at ease, as long as she wasn't deliberately causing trouble for her.