Heartstrings Resonance: The Beloved Princess of the Female Power

Little Wang looked at him in horror and asked doubtfully, "What should I listen to and what shouldn't I listen to?"

Qin Donghai and Qin Donglai were completely speechless. This person must be brainless. How could anyone hear them making up stories in the dining hall? Did she think no one would know?

Qin Donghai reminded: "What you said to Niang Canting."

"What's wrong with those words? They are just servants in the family. How can they take sides with outsiders?" Little Wang said disapprovingly.

Now it’s everyone...

Only the Qin Wangshi agreed: "Yes."

"Shut up!" Master Qin interrupted what Lady Qin was about to say. "You ignorant, foolish woman, there's no such thing as an impenetrable wall. There are thieves who can be thieves for a thousand days, but there's no such thing as a thief who can be on guard against them for a thousand days. Second brother, send all those waiting outside back out of the courtyard."

"Yes, father." Qin Donghai went out to give some instructions and came back.

Seeing her husband being so cautious, Wang Shi still said stubbornly, "Even if Madam Mu knew, she couldn't do anything to us, right? Officials can't just arbitrarily harm the people, right?"

Liu said angrily: "Yes, they can't do anything to you and me, but if they just try to make things difficult for us, it will be enough for the Qin family to bear. If they then accuse us of a crime, the Qin family will be gone. What else can we do?" Liu was so angry at the train of thought of this aunt and nephew that she didn't bother to follow the rules.

Wang glared at Liu fiercely.

He said without any confidence: "Officials also need to be reasonable."

Master Qin looked at her quietly and said in a low voice: "Even if we want to kill you, will we have no reason? How did you make up stories about the girl in the dining hall? How dare you compare her with the girls in the brothel? Not to mention the girl's identity, even if she was a girl from an ordinary family, you two would not be allowed to slander her like this and insult the girl's reputation. Aren't you two aunt and niece afraid of being struck by lightning?" Master Qin stopped talking because he was a little out of breath. He took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, poured out a few pills, and swallowed them with tea.

Seeing that no one spoke and they were all looking at him worriedly, he waved his hand, paused and continued: "While the distinguished guest is here, you two should stay in your own yard! If anyone finds you two coming out, you two should pack up and go back to the Wang family together!" Master Qin was just in poor health. When he was healthy, Old Master Qin also let him take charge of the family.

"Master, it's not that serious, is it? Isn't this a done deal? I don't need Madam Mu to repay her, and that girl won't know what we're saying to her. Just let it go, ah~" Wang was a little anxious, tugging at Master Qin's sleeve as she spoke. Master Qin rolled his eyes at her and pulled his sleeve back. "You still don't know you're wrong, you foolish woman! I despise myself for letting you trick me in the first place." Both sons and daughters-in-law were surprised. Master Qin glanced at them, and they quickly lowered their chins.

Wang felt embarrassed and quickly said humbly, "Master, I was wrong. I... I... I was attracted to you, wasn't it?" The two sons and daughters-in-law bowed their heads like quails. Listening to parental gossip was exciting, but also very embarrassing!

"Why don't we talk about it later?" Qin Donglai asked.

"Let's make it clear now! lest someone's mind is still unclear." Master Qin looked at Wang and Xiao Wang. Then he said, "They are all stupid, Boss, tell them your guess."

"Yes, father!" Qin Donglai stepped forward and bowed.

Then I told them again what I had guessed before.

Little Wang was the first to speak: "That's impossible. Which noble lady is like her?"

Liu sneered, "How many noble ladies have you met, sister-in-law?"

"Sister-in-law, you sound like you've seen this before." Little Wang was not convinced and gave Liu a cold look.

Liu smiled, "Yes, I'm lucky enough to have seen her. My brother went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and my parents took me with them. I still remember that when my brother entered the examination hall, my parents were going to take me to see the jewelry shops in Beijing. Then they saw a carriage with horses that were startled, and she got off to avoid danger. I heard from the people next to her that she was the granddaughter of Prime Minister Lin, the first-rank prime minister of the current dynasty. Not to mention her stunning appearance, but just her temperament, she was gentle and virtuous, with an elegant demeanor. I even painted her portrait when I went back! It's a pity that my painting skills were not good enough at that time, and I couldn't capture her beauty at all." Thinking of this, the upturned corners of her mouth slowly disappeared, and the appearance of the prime minister's granddaughter slowly emerged in her mind, slowly overlapping with Luo Ran's appearance. Thinking of this, she muttered, "That's not right. I heard that she was the chosen crown princess! She was sixteen years old back then. It's been so many years, and Luo Ran is only sixteen?" Liu's mind suddenly skipped a beat, and she suddenly widened her eyes in fear and grabbed Qin Donglai. Seeing her expression changing from time to time, several people were very curious about what she was thinking about.

Qin Donglai's hand was painfully gripped by her, but he dared not speak. His wife's expression was too frightening, turning pale and blue. The others were also frightened. Liu suppressed her shock and said solemnly, "Father-in-law, that girl might not be an ordinary official's daughter. She might be an ancestor that none of our nine clans can afford to offend."

"No, sister-in-law, what are you talking about? What do you mean by ancestors that none of the nine clans can afford to offend? Explain yourself clearly." Little Wang felt that Liu was weird, and her words made people uneasy.

"Shut up!" Wang said, motioning her to look at the expressions of the father and his two sons, which were exactly the same as Liu's just now.

The three of them exchanged a glance. What else could they not understand? Calculating the time sixteen years ago...wasn't the granddaughter of the old Prime Minister Lin the current Empress? And this old Prime Minister Lin, now eighty years old, was a veteran of three dynasties in Zhao State and was highly respected by His Majesty.

. . .

Twelve years ago, the new emperor ascended the throne and announced to the world that Crown Princess Lin was promoted to Empress, and his four-year-old eldest daughter was promoted to Princess Chang and given the title of Yongle. He also issued a general amnesty. However, his two-year-old second son only had the title of Second Prince.

Several people gasped, and then looked at Wang's aunt and niece, "What a sin!" Master Qin slapped his thigh, then coughed violently, "Cough cough cough cough!" Wang hurried forward to help him calm down, but was pushed away by him.

He straightened up and asked, "Big Boss's Wife, is the painting still there?"

Liu thought for a moment and said, "It should be in my dowry box. I'll go look for it." Then she was about to leave.

Qin Donglai held her back and said, "Don't look for it anymore. It's in Lan'er's room."

Liu's face was full of confusion???

Qin Donglai explained, "A few days ago, you went back to your parents' home, and Lan'er came to me and said she wanted to copy one of your paintings. Your dowry mother, Mother Xie, said that all your old paintings were in the dowry box, so I took the initiative to open the small storeroom and let her choose. She chose a portrait, so I gave it to her."

"How do you know it's that one?" Liu was puzzled and still wanted to go to the small storehouse to look for it herself.

"Because it says gentle and virtuous, with elegant temperament." Qin Donglai looked at her helplessly.

Seeing that Liu's face had turned even worse, he quickly added, "I specifically told her to keep these memories of your childhood safe."

Liu said anxiously, "I'll ask Chunhong to get it right away," but then she thought something was wrong. "No, I'd better go myself." Just as she was about to leave, Qin Donglai stopped her.

"I'm fast on foot, I'll go." Then he turned and left.

The side courtyard was completely silent, with only the anxiously waiting Qin father and son, Liu, and the still confused Wang aunt and niece. "Didn't you say you had seen noble ladies from the capital? Why are you suddenly looking at portraits? Could it be that Miss Luo Ran is a young lady from the capital?" It was rare for Wang to be so clear-headed.

Master Qin tried his best to suppress his anger, but he was thinking in his heart what to do if it was true?

At this time, the main house of Qingzhuyuan...

Mother Wu whispered to Xiao Yao, "Steward Sun came to report that Old Master Qin has fallen ill and asked if Madam would like to visit him."

"Huh? Chen Shi looked quite energetic! How come he suddenly fell ill again?" Xiao Yao asked puzzledly.

"I don't know. Manager Sun didn't say." Mother Wu replied.

"Go and ask him to come in," Xiao Yao ordered.

Mother Wu responded, “Yes!”

After a few breaths...

Not only Manager Sun and Doctor Chen came, but Mother Tian also arrived shortly afterwards.

Mother Wu led the group to the reception room and met Xiao Yao. Doctor Chen bowed and said, "Greetings, Madam. Young Master Qin asked me to come and see the two young ladies." Mother Tian greeted them and stood aside with Steward Sun.

"Thank you, Doctor Chen. Madam Wu, go and see if the two young ladies have gotten up." Then she called to the maid, "Chun Cai, right? Go and make a pot of hot tea." The two of them went out in response.

Xiao Yao looked at Doctor Chen in front of her, knowing that he must have just come from Old Master Qin's place, so she asked, "How is Old Master Qin's health? What happened?"

Doctor Chen smiled and said, "Old people are in poor health as they age, and it's easy for them to get sick again and again." Seeing that he was just giving her a perfunctory answer, Xiao Yao stopped asking questions. However, Mother Tian, who was standing by, breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the maid came in with hot tea. "Doctor Chen, have a cup of hot tea first."

Doctor Chen was genuinely thirsty, so he thanked Xiao Yao and drank without hesitation. Xiao Yao pondered, "What's going on with Old Master Qin? How could Doctor Chen not even have a sip of water?"

Doctor Chen had just finished his tea when he offered to see the two young ladies first. "I wonder if you two young ladies are available now?" Mother Wu, who had just entered the room, nodded to Xiao Yao, indicating that she was available.

Several people accompanied Doctor Chen to check Mu Yunxi's pulse, then checked Luo Ran's pulse, checked the injuries on his hands and feet, and then returned to the reception room.

Doctor Chen said to Xiao Yao, "Apart from the previous injuries, the two young ladies are fine. Continue taking the medicine my father prescribed for two days. I'll come back in two days to see if they need a change of dressing." Xiao Yao felt relieved after hearing this. She thanked Doctor Chen and signaled Mother Wu to send the patients out.

Mother Tian stepped forward and bowed to Xiao Yao, saying, "Leave this matter to me, Madam, rest assured!"

"Then I'll have to trouble Mother Tian." Xiao Yao thought that Mother Tian might have something to say to Doctor Chen.

After they left, Steward Sun, seeing the matter was settled, brought up Old Master Qin's situation. "They say it's a relapse of an old illness, but I don't know anything else. However... when I came to the courtyard, I heard the maids whispering that... not long after the Qin family's old mistress went to the old master's courtyard, she heard that the old master had fallen ill." Qin Fusheng's illness couldn't be concealed; after all, all the masters of the family, big and small, frequented Qin Fusheng's courtyard. The Wang aunt and niece didn't avoid anyone when they went.

"Okay, I get it. Since they don't want to say it, we'll just pretend we don't know." Xiao Yao thought of what Qin Wangshi said, and she was afraid that this matter was related to them.