Gong refused to accept it, looking at Wang's wife's head and saying: "I'm only 18 this year, isn't Wang's wife already 30? This 'sister' sounds awkward. From now on, just call me Madam."

  The queen mother bit her lip and squeezed out a "yes", then raised the teacup: "Madam, please have some tea."

  Gong still refused to accept, and said: "Just now, I heard Wang Niangzi call herself 'wife', which is not right. Although our Ye family is a merchant family, we cannot lower our status and become people who don't understand etiquette, just to make others laugh. Wang Niangzi comes from a humble background and doesn't understand this principle, so as the mistress of the house, I will teach you today, so that people won't laugh at our Ye family for not understanding etiquette. Remember, 'wife' is not something you can call yourself, you should refer to yourself as 'bixi', which is in line with your status. Do you understand?"

  Humble origin? Concubine?

  Wang Yiniang raised her head, staring straight at Gong Shi with trembling hands, the teacup rattling "clatter clatter" for a while before she could utter a word.

  This is her eternal heartache! If the Wang family's background wasn't inferior to the Zheng family at that time, or even not as good as the Jiang family, then the one sitting next to Xiaoming today and becoming the mistress of the Ye Mansion should be her, Wang Liyun, not some Zheng or Gong! Now, just because of her humble origins, she has to let this unmarried pregnant woman, Gong, teach her etiquette!

  She opened her mouth, wanting to mock Gong's family a few words, but the words turned around at the tip of her tongue and finally closed her mouth.

  She is not that brainless Zheng. Being able to see the situation, being flexible and yielding, this is Wang Liyun's greatest advantage. Now all the Ye family members in power are standing on the side of this woman who has brought shame to the family, if she were to offend her, she would be afraid of getting into trouble. It's better to go back and tell Old Madam about Gong's arrogant words and actions. Not giving herself face is equivalent to slapping Old Madam in the face! Thinking about it, Old Madam must also be unhappy in her heart. When the time comes, let Old Madam take care of Gong, this is the wisest approach.

  "Many thanks to you, madam, for your guidance." She raised her teacup, "Please have some tea, madam."

  Gong had already inquired about the personalities of each member of the Ye family before entering the Ye estate. She also knew a thing or two about this concubine's character. She thought that since Wang Yiniang had Old Lady Ye backing her up and was used to being arrogant in the Ye estate, as long as she provoked her, she would definitely not be able to bear it and cause a big commotion.

  But unexpectedly she swallowed this insult and provocation.

  It seems like this is personal!

  "Hmph, even if she is a celebrity, what's the big deal? Want to capture her, isn't it just a matter of reaching out and grabbing her? However, at this moment, I've just entered the door, and it's not time to confront the old lady yet. Giving her so much face, letting her know my identity, is already enough, and it's not suitable to be too blatant. There will be plenty of opportunities to deal with her."

  Gong's eyes flashed, and he finally reached out to take the cup of tea that Wang had been holding above his head for a long time. He pretended to drink it, but his lips didn't even touch the rim before he put it down.

  She is now pregnant with twins, and no matter who offers her tea, she won't drink it. Although she doesn't think Wang's wife has the guts to harm the child in her belly.

  "Alright, let's get up." Mrs. Gong put down her teacup, wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, and signaled to the maid behind her to give the red envelope to Aunt Wang.

  "Thank you, Mrs. Xie." Wang Ayi took the red envelope and backed away.

  Ye Lin, as the firstborn child of the Ye family and having an additional close relationship with the old lady, had always been pampered in the Ye household, getting whatever she wanted. As a result, she developed a spoiled and straightforward personality without much guile. Due to her influence, the Ye family had always followed the rule of seniority, not distinguishing between birth order or legitimacy. Therefore, after Wang Yiniang retreated, Ye Lin naturally stepped forward to prepare tea.

  Before Gong's arrival, Ye Lin had heard countless worries and complaints from Wang Niang, filling her heart with hatred towards Gong. Adding to that, she was swept away by Gong in the courtyard for so long today, making her legs ache, and just now her mother was humiliated and bullied by Gong. All these added up, making her resent Gong deeply. It was only because Wang Niang had repeatedly instructed her to endure before arriving that she reluctantly knelt down, turning her head to look at Li'er, hoping that Li'er would hand over the tea in her hands voluntarily.

  "Is this, Zhu'er?" Madame Gong asked with a warm tone, ignoring Ye Lin's obvious resentment.

  Ye Lin was taken aback, saying: "No, I am Ye Lin." After finishing speaking, she turned her head to glance at Ye Jiaming with great dissatisfaction. Her expression seemed to say, "Look, you married such a foolish wife, who doesn't even know what our family's children are called."

  "Then you are...the child born by Wang's wife?" Gong's expression on her face remained very gentle.

  "It's true." Yelin raised her chin with satisfaction. It was precisely because she was the daughter of Wang Niang that she was more favored in this mansion than Ye Zhuo, who was born to a legitimate wife, and had higher status and better food, clothing, and living conditions, which made her never think that being born out of wedlock was anything bad.

  Gong's face showed a look of astonishment, and he also turned to Ye Jiaming: "Isn't it supposed to be the eldest first, then the younger ones? Why is it Yelín instead of Yezhuo who comes up to serve tea first?"

  Ye Jiaming's face turned red. It is known that the world values legitimacy over illegitimacy. Even in law, it is stipulated that legitimate sons have the right to inherit titles and family property, while illegitimate children, even if they are the eldest, can only take a small portion of their allocated wealth after marriage and live separately; as for women, those born to wives and concubines also hold vastly different positions in marriage. This is also an important reason why Master Ye did not allow Zheng Shi to take Ye Zhuo out, nor did he agree to Gong Shi demoting Ye Zhuo from legitimate to illegitimate status. And now, how can he explain to Gong Shi the old lady's favoritism towards Wang Yiniang and her dislike of Zheng Shi?

  Yeh Lin's face was even redder than Bi Yejia Ming's. But her red face wasn't due to shyness, it was from anger. She was angry that there were distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate children in this world, and she was even more furious that Gong Shi had said such things in front of everyone, deliberately humiliating her by saying her mother wasn't good enough, and now humiliating her as well!

  Are we really so easy to bully?

  She raised her chin and looked at Madame Gong provocatively: "In our Ye family, we have always been discussing seniority first, and then legitimacy. All these years, even my grandparents never said anything. Moreover, because my mother is the granddaughter of my grandmother's brother, my grandmother has always doted on me more. Does Madam think that Grandmother was wrong to do so?"

  It's said that a mother knows her daughter best, and Wang Yiniang knew something was amiss as soon as Ye Lin lifted her chin. But it was too late to stop her. As soon as Ye Lin finished speaking, she hastily stepped forward and said: "I haven't taught Lin'er well, let her be rude to the madam." She pushed Ye Lin again, "Don't you hurry up and apologize to the madam?"

  "Mother, teaching, regardless of birth order?" Gong Shi ignored Ye Lin and Wang Niang, but turned her head to look at Ye Jia Ming with a mocking expression, the handkerchief in her hand seemingly unable to cover up the smile on her mouth.

  Ye Jiaming was looked down upon by Gong, and he turned his face to scold Ye Lin: "Who is your mother? Your mother is sitting here. I see that you are getting more and more unknown for respect. Still teaching! She's just a concubine, what qualifications does she have to teach you? Full of nonsense!" And then sneered at Gong, "In the past, no one taught them, but they didn't know how to behave. In the future, we'll have to ask you to send someone to teach them well."

  Gong smiled and didn't respond. She was already busy with her pregnancy, how could she also help the Ye family teach their daughter? Wasn't this just a case of having too much to eat and nothing better to do? She simply said calmly to Ye Lin: "Let's have some tea." Originally, Ye Lin had been so rude that she should have taught her a lesson. But the main event was yet to come, and she didn't want to waste her energy on Ye Lin.

  Ye Lin had never been publicly rebuked like this before, her face filled with annoyance and resentment. However, she felt a sharp pain on her back as Wang Yiniang pinched her with her fingers, signaling her to hold back her temper. She could only take the teacup from Li'er's hand and offer it to Gong Shi: "Madam, please have some tea."

  "Call your mother." Ye Jiaming's face, which had just relaxed, sank again.

  Ye Lin couldn't help but raise her head and stare straight at Mrs. Gong, saying: "Just now, Madam said she was only eighteen years old. It seems that she is only three years older than me. Calling her mother, doesn't Madam feel awkward?"

  "You, you..." Ye Jiaming pointed at Ye Lin with his hand, so angry that he couldn't speak. How come he hadn't found Ye Lin so annoying before?

  Thank you Qin Mu Jin for your daily rewards, thank you, it's costing you money!