Wife, Please Stop Running Away!

027 : Mother-in-Law Asks When Are You Giving Birth

The role of a mother-in-law towards the daughter-in-law is very vital. It can be said that if fathers were strict since they are prioritizing their daughter's future when choosing a spouse, then mothers would be the one that will surely hold the whip of the horse when it comes to their sons choosing a bride.

They could not just hand their well-breed sons to others ah!

Technically, this had been a natural course of selection, especially to those families that were considered to have a great influence in the society. This can be usually seen in business-related industries where sons are mostly wed off to another business partner that seemingly have a wonderful and beautiful daughter. This had become the norm, thus those people who tend to become deviant would be treated as the black sheep of the family.

But this is the course during the modern society. Comparing it with the ancients, at least, the contract between these people is somewhat freely done and consensual. They have to do it in accordance to the law or else they will be implicated by the government and the public.

On the other hand, the ancients do truly hold about these marriage contracts, but most of the time were done to the benefit of the other party. Marriage contracts between nobles are only to ensure the safety of each other's wealth, rather than the feelings of their children. It will even reach to the point where violence is implemented just to control the youngsters.

Though, in this story, marriage contracts are used the same but violence is entirely banned. After all, if one is not a noble or a royalty, an individual can be married freely. Or if ever circumstances where a royalty fell in love with a commoner, then the parents only needed to confirm if their feelings were the same so they can arrange a contract. In that way, there will be less trouble and hassle in both parts.

But this is different in the case of the Emperor.

The harem had become a tradition ever since the first establishment of the empire. This had become the responsibility of the leader of the palace, and it can never be easily eradicated since most of the people had already accepted it as true and right. So, no matter the emperor wanted to become a eunuch* or reinforce monogamy, he will still be tasked to create a harem since this is a matter of the state.

[A/N: No, he's not going to be castrated like a eunuch. I just used it to say that if ever an emperor doesn't want a wife or is asexual.]

Xie MeiLin, as the Empress Dowager, is one of the people that decide if one can enter the harem or not. It is her responsibility to manage the Emperor's garden since the Emperor has not chosen his empress, and thus become a vital figure when it comes to the selection process. The Queen of the land has standards so only those who were qualified to enter can be guaranteed a title.

Currently, there're twelve concubines in the harem, excluding Lin Mian Mian. They were chosen by the Empress Dowager in accordance to her checklist with the criteria highly dependent on their skills and talents. If one will receive a score lower than the average threshold then they will be crossed out. Of course, Yan JinLong would have a say in these beauties since he will be the one marrying them, not Xia MeiLin.

Before, the Empress Dowager has no impression towards the harem. As long as they are obedient and was taking good care of their children than selfishly using them as trump cards, then she will not treat them badly and reward them. As a mother, she wanted to implant the wisdom to the ladies about the importance of becoming a queen if ever one of them will become the Empress someday. She did not want to have a daughter-in-law that is a wretch.

However, when Xia MeiLin first saw Lin Mian Mian, she thought that she had found the person that could brandish a sword when handling his rogue son.