The king tried to tempt a beautiful poor woman!

Resisting Lucrative Temptations
Zheng Mao was a dowry maid in the Chu kingdom. One day, King Cheng of Chu went up on a high platform that overlooked the inner palace. All court ladies looked up, hoping to get his attention, except for Zheng, who walked along as usual.
Seeing that she was different from the others, the king was surprised and said, “Hey! The lady who is walking, would you look up at me?”
Zheng did not reply or look up.
“If you look at me once, I will make you a consort (a court lady one level below queen),” the king said.
Zheng still did not look up.
“If you look up at me, I will give you one thousand pieces of gold,” the king went on. “Your father and brothers will also become officials.”
Zheng kept walking and did not look up.
Curious about her, the king came down from the platform and asked Zheng, “Consort is a prestigious position, and your father and brothers could have been important officials. You could have had all that by looking at me. Why did you refuse?”
“Your Majesty, I’ve heard that a woman should have good manners and maintain her dignity. If I looked at you when Your Majesty was standing on the high platform, that would not be dignified. If you tempted me to do so with a title or official rank and I looked up, it would mean I desired fame and wealth. I would be acting against my principles. Had I lost my manners and dignity, what would I have to serve Your Majesty?”
The king praised her for her actions and granted her the title of consort.
https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2023/12/6/213230.html


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The story reference:
https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2023/12/6/213230.html
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