Heartstrings Resonance: The Beloved Princess of the Female Power

She solemnly said to Mu Cheng, "Father, I want to find a more powerful martial arts master. Only by becoming stronger can I have enough power to protect myself and those I cherish. I don't want to be just a woman trapped in the boudoir. Although I returned safely from this dangerous situation, it was not without a price. It was paid for by the lives of Ning Zhi, Xiao Zhi and others.

In addition, the reason why the emperor values my father is not only because of his outstanding abilities, but also because he does not have a solid foundation in the court. My father is well aware of this. Our family is sparsely populated, and there is a lack of trustworthy people around my father. There are very few people available. The emperor temporarily promoted my father to the position of prefect of Youzhou because he had no background and no foundation. Only such a person can be truly controlled by him. Therefore, my father dare not make any mistakes when doing things. He must be walking on thin ice in this position, right? After all, as long as the emperor thinks that my father is biased towards a certain force, then my father is likely to be the first person to be "replaced." "Mu Cheng has been sitting there quietly, with his head down in thought.

Mu Yunxi took a sip of tea and continued, "So this time when the Liu family attacked us mother and daughter, father had no evidence, yet he dared to let Jing Qi pass the letter written to you by the Jingzhou prefect to the Jin family. Father, you know that without more evidence, it would be useless to report it to the emperor, and the emperor must have known about this matter for a long time but has not taken any action. So, you simply let Jing Qi and others deliver the letter to the Jin family to Duke Rong, and let the Jin family take action. This is also a disguised way of telling the emperor that you are doing this just to vent your anger and have no ulterior motives. The emperor is also happy to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between the tigers. He won't mind these little tricks of yours; perhaps they will even add fuel to the fire. Father, is what your daughter said correct?"

Mu Cheng only looked up at his daughter after hearing Mu Yunxi's question. Seeing her calm demeanor and her coherent analysis, he wanted to interrupt her several times to stop her from mentioning the emperor, but he also wanted to hear what she had to say. He only nodded after meeting Mu Yunxi's gaze, then stood up, opened the door, and checked to see who was outside. Seeing his actions, Mu Yunxi took a sip of tea and said, "I asked my mother to send everyone here away. I also asked Ayin to send Jing Qi, Jing Ba, and the two servants away, including the secret guards the emperor gave you." Now, only the two guards outside the gate remained.

Mu Cheng choked on his own saliva. Looking at his daughter leisurely sipping tea, Mu Cheng felt unreal and couldn't help but suspect that the girl in front of him was not his daughter. Mu Yunxi seemed to see through his thoughts. Slowly, she said, "Don't worry, father. I am the real Mu Yunxi." This wasn't a lie; her name was Mu Yunxi.

Mu Cheng stopped worrying and sat down with his robe lifted. He was no longer in a hurry. After all, his daughter was very different from before. After this trip, she had become more determined and he seemed unable to control her.

He simply picked up the tea and sipped it, his movements as leisurely as Mu Yunxi's. However, Mu Yunxi did not rush him, but waited quietly. After a long while, Mu Cheng slowly said, "You didn't rest at this time of night and came to see me. You didn't just want me to know these things, did you?"

Seeing that he finally spoke, Mu Yunxi told him in detail how the princess died, and also mentioned the matter of the Youdu spies and the inferences she and Princess Yongle had made together.

After hearing this, Mu Cheng first lamented the princess's suffering, then expressed shock at the potential for so many spies within Zhao State. Finally, he marveled at the intelligence of his daughter and the princess, who were able to deduce the enemy's intentions from just a few words. Regardless of whether these deductions were true or not, for two young women to be able to make such connections was truly remarkable. Furthermore, judging by the various decrees issued from the capital in recent days, this was not impossible...

But Mu Cheng didn't know what Mu Yunxi meant by this, so he asked, "So, what is Xi'er going to do?"

Mu Yunxi didn't answer her, but said, "Father, have you forgotten that I just said that I want to find a more powerful martial arts master to learn martial arts from?"

After hearing this, Mu Cheng couldn't help but laugh, his eyes full of relief and pride. He was very touched that his daughter wanted to become strong to share his worries. He walked over to Mu Yunxi and sat down, saying softly: "Dad knows that you are a smart child, and you can perceive these things so keenly. Dad is very relieved and happy that you can grow up so quickly. However, Dad still hopes that you can be happy. After all, you are a girl. All you have to do is find a good family to live a good life in the second half of your life. You don't have to worry about these things. As for learning martial arts, Dad asked you to learn just to make you strong and healthy so that you can defend yourself when encountering danger. I didn't think about asking you to protect yourself; protecting you and your mother is your father's responsibility."

After hearing what Mu Cheng said, Mu Yunxi gave him a heavy hammer and said in a tone that did not allow for refusal: "I don't want to get married. If my father thinks that I will bring shame to the family, you can kick me out of the house." Her voice was firm and decisive.

Mu Cheng's face didn't show anger or disappointment, but was filled with confusion and worry. He looked at his daughter in front of him, not understanding why she would have such thoughts. His brows unconsciously frowned, forming a deep "川" character. He sighed deeply, and then asked softly, "Xi'er, why do you have such thoughts?"

Mu Yunxi looked at her father quietly, a determined glint in her eyes. She said slowly, "Not all men in this world are as affectionate as you are. I don't want to gamble my life on a man's character." Her words revealed her distrust of marriage.

Mu Cheng felt a surge of helplessness after hearing this. He understood his daughter's concerns, but at the same time, he also hoped she could find her own happiness. He advised her in a deep voice, "The world is so vast, how can you be sure Xi'er won't find a good man? You must know that your mother and I won't force you to do something you don't want to do. Don't jump to conclusions too soon." He tried to get his daughter to open up and reconsider the topic.

Mu Yunxi felt a mixture of emotions. Seeing Mu Cheng's worried eyes, her heartache for herself almost overflowed. With a helpless sigh, she finally compromised, "If you absolutely must marry, it's fine. I don't accept having three wives and four concubines. I'll have no more than two children, regardless of whether they're boys or girls. If you're the one proposing marriage, please explain my requirements clearly. If you can accept them, you can learn about them. If not, just reject them outright. Also, there's no need to rush into finding me a partner now. Let's talk about it after I come of age. I'm still too young to understand these things."

If her mother hadn't mentioned just now that someone had come to propose marriage, she would have forgotten about it. In this era, people can get married when they reach the age of 15, but she didn't want to do it so early. Fifteen is too young.

Mu Cheng's eyes widened, and he was trembling in his heart: "No, my daughter, what do you mean you are not suitable to understand these things now? I see that you understand it. You decided your own life-long event without blushing or heart beating. Which girl can talk about her life-long event so calmly?" But she said: "Okay, Daddy is relieved, don't worry. Is there anything else?" Mu Cheng asked again.

"Remember to find me a great martial arts master! It's late, I won't keep you from going to find your mother. We can talk about other things tomorrow." Mu Yunxi said, stood up, performed a very standard etiquette gracefully, and then turned and left without hesitation. Mu Cheng was left standing there alone, with a helpless and doting smile on his face.

Mu Cheng's face flushed red after his daughter pointed out his secret thoughts so directly. He scratched his head a little embarrassedly. After Mu Yunxi left, he coughed twice in his room to cover up his embarrassment. Then, he walked out of the study with his hands behind his back. Seeing the two servants who had just returned, he pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Where have you been?"

The two servants answered honestly, "The princess sent us over to serve her."

Mu Cheng nodded and said in a serious tone, "Well. Since the princess asked you to serve her, then serve her well." Then he waved his hand for them to leave. After the servants left, Mu Cheng hurried to find Xiao Yao. He wanted to complain to her about the daughter she had given birth to.

When they arrived at the main courtyard, Xiao Yao had already fallen asleep. Mu Cheng looked at Xiao Yao with resentment. Xiao Yao could no longer bear being looked at, so she controlled her temper and lowered her voice, "Tell me, what's wrong? You act like a shrew as soon as you get here. Who offended you?" Then he remembered that his daughter had just gone to see his father, and asked doubtfully, "It was Xier? It can't be? She said she wanted to talk to you about some private matters, and she didn't tell me." There was some jealousy in her tone.

Mu Cheng laughed angrily when he heard her say: "Humph! She knows that I will tell you anyway, and she will come back as a cunning trickster after going out." Thinking of what Mu Yunxi said, he sighed again and repeated to Xiao Yao what Mu Yunxi said about not wanting to get married.

Seeing that Xiao Yao wasn't shocked at all, Mu Cheng was puzzled: "Did she tell you?"

Xiao Yao shook her head, "No."

Along the way, her daughter's eyes were always filled with doting when she looked at the princess. She had always felt that the look her daughter gave the princess was not as pure as the look between friends. She always felt familiar but could not remember it. After returning home and seeing the look in Mu Cheng's eyes, she immediately understood that feeling.

"Her daughter is Princess Xinyue!" She was shocked by her own thoughts at the time.

Thinking back to the questions Mu Yunxi had asked on the way home... Although she didn't want to believe it, her daughter had told her father today that she didn't want to get married. What had been uncertain before was now almost certain to be true. "Is this a heads-up so we can be mentally prepared? This... oh! I'm afraid it's true," Xiao Yao sighed helplessly.

Hearing Xiao Yao muttering, Mu Cheng frowned and asked, "What... is this true or false?"