Sang Zhi looked up in astonishment.
"Admitting you're wrong when you haven't done anything wrong just emboldens others and hurts yourself. You have to stand up for yourself. Everyone has a moral compass and can tell right from wrong. If a child can tell the difference, how could an adult not?" Ye Qianning understood his predicament. Feeling a hint of exasperated affection for him, she added, "Constantly admitting fault just makes people bolder. Your apologies merely give the villains an easy way out and provide those who want to be biased a legitimate reason to side with them. Brother, have you ever thought that if you insisted on making the truth known, you might actually be protected?"
Sang Zhi was utterly shocked by her words. 'Insist on arguing for the truth? Would Father really protect me?'
He had never considered any of this. For as long as he could remember, everyone had told him the same thing: don't anger the various Concubines, and don't offend the other Princes.
