Chapter 228: Horrible Rules Teaching
The next day
"Miss, Miss, wake up quickly, the two maids have arrived." The anxious voice of the maid Xiaolan sounded in Lin Yuxin's ears.
Lin Yuxin turned over, covered her head with the quilt, and muttered, "Don't make noise, let me sleep a little longer."
Xiaolan had no choice but to continue pulling the quilt: "Miss, you can't sleep anymore. Madam has said that you must learn the rules today. If you don't get up, Madam will blame you and we will all be punished."
Lin Yuxin sat up reluctantly and rubbed her eyes: "It's so annoying. Why should I learn the rules properly?"
Xiaolan hurriedly helped Lin Yuxin wash and dress, and after a while, she led her to the front hall.
The two maids had been waiting here for a long time. When they saw Lin Yuxin, they bowed and said, "Hello, young lady."
Lin Yuxin responded perfunctorily and sat down on the chair.
One of the maids said, "Miss, let's start learning the rules today."
Lin Yuxin curled her lips: "What's the point of learning rules? It's so boring."
The nanny's face darkened: "Miss, this rule concerns your reputation and the honor of your family. You can't take it lightly."
As she spoke, the nanny began to explain various etiquette norms. Lin Yuxin felt drowsy and soon began to daydream.
Seeing this, the nanny raised her voice and said, "Miss, if you don't study hard and make a fool of yourself at a banquet in the future, don't blame me for not reminding you."
Lin Yuxin said nonchalantly: "I don't care if it makes me look bad."
At this moment, the two maids looked at each other and recalled the advice Xiao Cui, the maid of Miss Lin Yuxi, had given them last night.
"Madams, my young lady asked me to tell you two that we need to let the second young lady know the seriousness of this teaching. You can tell her about those cases where the family suffered because of ignorance of the rules and violations of taboos.
It would be better to talk about those cases where women went out of line and secretly married men outside their family, and ended up in a miserable situation, to sound a warning to the second young lady!"
Thinking of this, a maid spoke decisively,
“Miss, do you know that there was once a young lady from a marquis’s mansion who also didn’t like to learn the rules.
Once when she entered the palace to attend a banquet, she walked recklessly and accidentally bumped into a noble who was pregnant with the royal heir. As a result, she was charged with the crime of murdering the royal heir.
Not only was she thrown into prison, but her entire family was also implicated and exiled three thousand miles away."
When Lin Yuxin heard this, her heart tightened, but she still said stubbornly: "It's her bad luck, it has nothing to do with me!"
Mammy shook her head: "This is not bad luck, this is the result of not knowing the rules. Miss, you must not make the same mistake again."
Another maid continued, "There was another young lady who sat in an indecent posture and made loud noises while eating. A prince saw her and thought she was uneducated. He originally intended to arrange a marriage with her family, but gave up because of this. In the end, the young lady could only marry a poor scholar and live a hard life."
Lin Yuxin was so engrossed in what she heard that she straightened her back unconsciously.
Seeing her reaction, the nanny continued, "Miss, please don't take it lightly. If you learn this rule well, you can stand out in front of others and marry into a good family. If you don't learn it well, it will be troublesome."
Lin Yuxin said nothing, but she began to have doubts in her heart.
Seeing this, the two maids worked at full speed and said:
"Miss, think about the third daughter of Duke Liu's mansion. She thought she was extremely beautiful and flirted with all the gentlemen at the banquet. As a result, she was rumored to be shameless and in the end, she couldn't even find a good marriage."
Lin Yuxin widened her eyes: "Really?"
The nanny nodded: "How can this be false? And the young lady from General Wang's mansion learned to sing opera from a troupe, and she started singing on the street. People said she was crazy and brought shame to the family."
"Miss, let me tell you another true story that I got by chance.
There was once a young lady from a marquis's mansion. She had read too many vernacular novels and disguised herself as a man to escape from the mansion. She was determined to find a so-called ideal husband and was so bold as to set her sights on the princes of the current dynasty.
Later, when she was having dinner in a restaurant, she heard someone calling a young prince, and she naively thought that he was a true noble, so she tried to get close to him!
Later, after I gave my body to him, I found out that the young man was only surnamed Wang, and he called me Master outside, but he was actually the son of a wealthy merchant, and he was married!"
Lin Yuxin was so absorbed in listening that she couldn't help but ask, "What happened next?"
The nanny sighed and said, "Later, the girl got pregnant before marriage, and the family had no choice but to let the girl become the young master's concubine.
But no matter how nice it sounds, isn't she still a concubine? A noble lady from a marquis's mansion became a concubine of a businessman. It's really sad to think about it!
And more importantly, that man is not a good man!
Ever since the young lady got married, he always asked her to go back to her parents' home to ask for benefits. If she didn't get what she wanted, he threatened to tell everyone about the secret relationship between the young lady and him, so that everyone would be miserable!"
Lin Yuxin took a breath of cold air. This guy is actually a Zhongshan wolf!
After hearing several stories in a row, Lin Yuxin was terrified and no longer dared to cheat. She carefully followed the nanny to learn the rules.
"Miss, walk with your head held high and your chest held high, and walk with light steps," the nanny said as she demonstrated.
Lin Yuxin followed suit, and if she made any mistakes, the nanny would recite the rules like Tang Monk chanting sutras. Only when Lin Yuxin got it right would she turn the page and move on to the next item.
"Miss, you must chew slowly and quietly when eating."
Lin Yuxin couldn't help but complain: "This is too troublesome."
The nanny coughed lightly and said seriously, "Miss, this is not a problem, but the foundation of your future life. Think about it, after you get married, your parents-in-law, sisters-in-law, concubines, and so many eyes will be on you. You can't be careless."
In this way, under the guidance of the nanny, Lin Yuxin was exhausted and had back pain at the end of the day.
At night, lying in bed, Lin Yuxin thought: "These rules are really hard to learn, but those stories are too scary! They are just like the methods used to abduct women and children, which makes people terrified! It was not easy to survive in ancient times!"
In the following days, although Lin Yuxin would still slack off occasionally, as soon as she stopped, the maids would start nagging like Tang Monk chanting sutras about all the terrible consequences that might occur if she didn't learn the rules well.
Lin Yuxin felt aggrieved, but had to continue studying obediently.
After several days of training, although Lin Yuxin complained bitterly in her heart, she did not dare to be lazy anymore.
That day, Lin Yuxin followed her mother to her aunt's house. Seeing a cousin sitting in an indecent posture, she subconsciously said, "This is against the rules. People will laugh at us."
Mother Lin looked at her in surprise and felt very relieved.
Lin Yuxin then realized that she had actually blurted out the rules taught by her nanny, but seeing her mother's satisfied smile, she could only give an awkward but polite smile.