Heartstrings Resonance: The Beloved Princess of the Female Power

Qin Donglai was also shocked by his mother's thoughts, especially the phrase "Marrying off a daughter to repay a favor is nothing." And yet, even the future father-in-law was being called that, something that hadn't even come close to happening. He was a fifth-rank prefect! The governor of a state! Did her mother think he was just a small-time county magistrate? And yet, she treated him like a cabbage, even defaming him so badly? The aura of Miss Luo Ran was unlike any other girl from an ordinary family. He had been in charge of the family business for years and had met all manner of people, both great and small, but the subtle nobility that emanated from Miss Luo Ran was unlike anyone he had ever met, like someone from "that kind of family." And Xiao Yao called her Miss Luo Ran. In Zhaoguo, there weren't specific rules for addressing daughters of wealthy families or officials, but most people unanimously referred to them as "Miss." He could sense Xiao Yao's deep respect for her; no matter how much she tried to hide it, her eyes couldn't deceive him. Thinking of this, Qin Donglai felt a chill run down his spine, his blood rushing back. He had a feeling that if word of this got out, both the Qin and Wang families would be doomed.

Seeing that he was still in a daze, Leng Liu ignored the rules and etiquette and directly pulled him out, "Stop being in a daze and go!"

Qin Donglai grabbed Liu's hand and said, "Wait a minute, Mother Tian, go and call that maid." As the life and death of the two families was at stake, Qin Donglai was terrifyingly calm at this moment.

After being married for many years, Liu saw Qin Donglai like this and thought he might have guessed something, so she said, "I'll go to my grandfather's yard first, and you take care of things here."

"Okay, go quickly and don't make your grandfather angry and get hurt." Qin Donglai was worried about Qin Fusheng's health, but the lives of dozens of people in the Qin and Wang families were more important.

"Yeah." Liu hurried to Qin Fusheng's yard anxiously.

Xiao Yao came to the yard and looked at Mother Wu who had been waiting there and asked, "Where are the two young ladies? Are they all okay?"

"She had breakfast, took her medicine, and rested. I guess she's tired," Mother Wu replied. Xiao Yao saw that the doors to the side rooms were closed. The maids and servants waiting at the door greeted her from a distance. She nodded in response and walked towards the main room. Mother Wu whispered as they walked, "Miss Luo Ran doesn't want to live in the main room." Xiao Yao nodded, indicating that she understood.

The two maids standing at the main door stepped forward and saluted, "Your servants Chunhua and Chuncai greet the Madam." "Yes." Xiao Yao walked into the house without stopping. Looking at the room's decoration, she nodded with satisfaction and said to Madam Qin who followed her, "Thank your eldest young lady for me. She is so thoughtful."

"Yes." Mother Qin replied.

"Mother Qin, take the two girls to rest. Mother Wu is here. I will call you if anything happens." Xiao Yao said to the three of them.

Thinking that the master and servant might have something to talk about, he said "OK" and went downstairs with the two maids.

Qin Donglai called the little maid, who looked familiar. She was a servant of the Qin family, the youngest daughter of the housekeeper Qin, fourteen years old, named Qin Xiaoshuang.

Qin Donglai asked coldly, "I remember you were serving Lan Jie'er, how could you be guarding the dining hall?"

Qin Xiaoshuang lowered her head and trembled, her voice trembling as she spoke, "Yes... yes... Miss Lan... asked me to go. When she heard that a young lady had come to the house, she was so happy that she packed up early and went to pay her respects to the old master, the master, and the old ladies. Because the eldest young lady's wife was not at home and the eldest young master was busy, the young lady had no choice but to go to the old lady and said that she wanted to go to the door to welcome the distinguished guest and see what the young lady of the official family looked like. She also asked the old lady if she could let the young lady live in her courtyard. The young lady said that she could give up her room to the young lady, but the old lady rejected her request. She also told the young lady to go back to her room and not embarrass herself." As she spoke, she forgot to be nervous because she was unfair to her own girl. In fact, what Qin Wang said at the time was even more unpleasant.

Qin Donglai didn't interrupt her, motioning for her to continue. "Then the young lady returned to her own courtyard. I heard from the servants up front that in addition to the official's daughter, another young lady had arrived, who was as beautiful as a fairy. They asked me to come and see if I could get along with her. But when I arrived at the dining hall, the dishes were already served, so there was no reason to go in. The waiters in the dining hall were all assigned, and I was afraid of disturbing the distinguished guests, so I went to the butler and asked him to assign me a job there. The butler asked me to guard the dining hall door and listen to his instructions. He also specifically told me to wait until the distinguished guests left before leaving. Then I heard what the old lady said." At this point, Qin Xiaoshuang quickly glanced at Qin Donglai's face. Seeing that Qin Donglai didn't blame her and her father, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she quickly added, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just...it's just...the old lady and the others were talking openly, and the dining hall was quiet, so I overheard...that's why I overheard. That official's wife was very unhappy when she left. If she knew about this, our Qin family would be...in trouble. So I thought it would be best to let the eldest young lady know, so I came here." Xiao Shuang lowered her head and her voice became quieter as she spoke. She had been afraid that the old lady would see her and blame Miss Yu, so she had chosen a discreet spot. When Liu left, she hadn't noticed her.

Qin Donglai said, "You did a great job. Among the servants who stayed in the dining hall and heard what the old lady said, do you know any of them?"

"They are all from the family. I know them." Qin Xiaoshuang replied.

"Okay, just tell your father who they are!" Qin Xiaoshuang looked up and saw Butler Qin standing respectfully beside her.

He replied "yes" and went aside with Butler Qin.

……

Looking at the list, Qin Donglai asked Qin Xiaoshuang, "Are you sure these are the ones?"

"Apart from the old lady and the second young master's wife who serve them closely, these are the only ones who do." Qin Xiaoshuang thought for a moment and confirmed.

Qin Donglai looked into her eyes and said, "All of it."

Xiaoshuang was frightened and stunned. Butler Qin pulled her and signaled her to speak quickly. Xiaoshuang came to her senses and quickly told everyone everything.

"There's no need to tell Sister Lan about this. The eldest young master's wife and I will tell her. You didn't go to the dining hall today. Remember?" Qin Donglai looked at her and said.

Hearing Qin Donglai's words, Butler Qin quickly knelt down and said, "Thank you, Young Master." Seeing that Qin Xiaoshuang was still stunned and seemed to have not reacted yet, Butler Qin pulled her again and said, "Why don't you thank the Young Master quickly?"

Qin Xiaoshuang saw the look in her father's eyes and seemed to have just realized what was happening. She kowtowed several times. As she kowtowed, she said, "Thank you, Young Master. Thank you, Young Master."

The knock on her head was so severe that Qin Donglai felt the pain for her. "Go down."

"Yes," Qin Xiaoshuang said, and stood up and left. He was still dazed when he got up. No doubt, it was from the kowtow.

"Young Master, these people...?" Butler Qin asked.

"Sell them all, and then check if they have told these words to anyone else. If they have, sell them all together." Qin Donglai sighed and continued, "Sell the ones who served closely together, so as not to alert the people in Qingzhuyuan."

"Yes, does the old lady need to reassign someone?" Butler Qin asked again.

Qin Donglai thought for a moment and said, "No need for now." After thinking about it, he felt that it was not appropriate and said, "Choose a few capable women to go over, the kind with strong strength. Also, go and call the second brother over."

"Yes." Butler Qin responded and went down to do his work.

Qin Donglai leaned back in his chair and rubbed his brows. Not long after, Qin Donghai arrived.

"Brother, what do you want from me?" Qin Donghai asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Qin Donglai recounted the entire incident, told Qin Donghai his own conclusions, and then asked doubtfully, "Do you know about this?"

Qin Donghai hadn't come back to his senses yet when he suddenly heard Qin Donglai ask him this. He blurted out, "How could I know? If I knew, would I let her do this?" His tone was a little angry.

Then he said dissatisfiedly, "I guess my husband and mother came up with this stupid idea on the spur of the moment. They don't even consider their status and yet they want to climb up the social ladder." Thinking about what Qin Wang said, he was also furious. How could he tarnish the reputation of a girl for no reason? Thinking that if what his eldest brother had just inferred was true, then the Qin family would really be finished. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He said in a bit of frustration, "How could mother be so foolish! Isn't this just pushing the entire Qin family into a fire pit?"

Qin Donglai said seriously: "Therefore, this matter must be handled properly and must not be allowed to affect the future of the Qin family. I have instructed Butler Qin to sell out everyone who knows about it, including people around mother and my younger siblings. From now on, you will control them." He looked at Qin Donghai meaningfully. He was a good brother, but it was not easy for him to say anything bad about his younger siblings.

Qin Donghai also knew that his elder brother was doing this for his own good, so he nodded and said, "Yes, I understand."

Qin Donglai called a servant and said, "Go to the gatehouse and ask who went out today, especially after Madam Mu and the others came in." After the servant left, he said to Qin Donghai, "Ask your sister-in-law if she sent anyone back to the Wang family to report this. Mother will definitely not admit it."

"Okay! I'll ask her later." Qin Donghai said.

At this time, a servant came to report, "Second Brother Qin said that there are some new faces around our house, and asked what to do, Young Master?"

"You go and make arrangements and send more people to the security department. You can handle the rest." Qin Donglai handed it over directly to Qin Donghai. He has always been responsible for the security of the Qin family. When he came to Qin Donglai, he reported here.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Qin Donghai left quickly.

Just as he was about to take a sip of tea to relax, another servant came in to report, saying, "The old man is angry, and the eldest young lady asked you to go over quickly." Qin Donglai pinched his brow helplessly and said, "Let's go." As he walked quickly, he asked the servant who delivered the message, "Have you called a doctor?"

"Dr. Chen who came to see the patient yesterday just arrived. I heard that the old man was angry. I saw that Dr. Chen was about to lose his temper. Fortunately, he arrived in time and gave the old man a few injections. Now the old man is fine." Xiao Si also hurriedly followed and replied with a little breath.

"Do you know why the old man is so angry? Is there anyone else present?" Qin Donglai asked knowingly. He needed to know how many people saw this and how many people heard it. Qin Donglai was a very perceptive person, and it was very far-sighted to hand over the Qin family to Qin Fusheng.

"I don't know. The old man needs to rest, and there are only two or three people serving him in the yard. We are all very careful when doing things nearby. We almost walk around for fear of disturbing the old man. I was just clearing weeds by the pond next to the yard when I heard the noise and rushed over. When I got there, I saw Doctor Chen giving the old man an acupuncture. As for the others, I don't know. When the eldest young lady asked me to come and invite you, I met a few people on the way who were rushing there. I think they were also working nearby." The servant recalled.

"Did you hear any noise?" Knowing that Qin Fusheng was fine, Qin Donglai walked slower and slower, at his normal pace.