Heartstrings Resonance: The Beloved Princess of the Female Power

Everyone saw that she was injured and didn't care about etiquette. Since Xiao Yao had brought her here, no one cared about it. So, everyone nodded in response to return the gift.

"Thank you, Mom," Luo Ran said softly, placing her uninjured hand gently on Mother Wu's shoulder, using her strength to steady herself. Her movements were light and graceful, possessing both a voluptuous charm and a fresh, natural air. Every movement she made was filled with feminine charm.

Mu Yunxi admired her beautiful face and couldn't help but lose focus. Perhaps sensing Mu Yunxi's gaze, Luo Ran turned to look at her. Mu Yunxi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded. She laughed to herself, "In this new life, I have a new hobby of looking at beautiful women. I must have liked looking at them in my previous life, too, right? I just didn't have the time." Sometimes she would lose focus when looking at Xiao Yao, and Xiao Yao would often find out and make fun of her.

Luo Ran raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth slightly raised, and smiled back. She secretly thought to herself, "How could there be a woman who, upon seeing my appearance, only admired me, without any jealousy at all? In my past life... it seems there wasn't such a person! Haha... that's quite interesting."

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Qin Fusheng said, "We've been talking for so long, but you still haven't invited anyone in. Stop standing around and come in." He then sent the servants to help him into the main door first, and instructed, "Dongliai! Tell the servants to serve the food! It's already 9 o'clock, and everyone should be hungry."

"Yes, grandfather, I will arrange it right away." In order not to be impolite, he said to Xiao Yao, "Madam, please do as you please. Donglai will take his leave first." He was a stranger and could not call Xiao Yao "sister" like Liu did.

"Okay!" Xiao Yao replied.

Wang also said, "We are here, you go and make arrangements properly."

"Yes, mother." After saying that, he turned around and left quickly.

Wang led Xiao Yao inside, saying as they walked, "It's all my fault. I forgot to invite you in while we were talking."

"Aunt, please don't say that. It's my fault. If you continue to be so polite, I will... lose face." Xiao Yao's face was full of shame.

Seeing this, Liu quickly stepped forward to smooth things over and took over the conversation, "Mother, where did Sister Lan and the others go? Why didn't my daughter-in-law see them?"

Wang said in a dissatisfied tone, "She heard that a girl her own age was coming, so she wanted to clear out the rooms in her courtyard and let Miss Yunxi live there. What do you think of this girl? Who does she think she is? And she still wants..."

Seeing that she was about to say something unpleasant, Mrs. Liu quickly interrupted her, "She is the eldest in the family, and her younger brothers all have to go to school. Her cousin Yuanjie'er is still young. I think she is happy to know that Xijie'er is coming and is about the same age as her!" The mother-in-law wants to win people over but has no sense of propriety. She just wants to flatter the powerful and bully the weak. It would be fine if she was that kind of person, but Xiao Yao is not that kind of person. Isn't this embarrassing?

Liu was afraid that she would be embarrassed, and Xiao Yao also appreciated her kindness and asked hurriedly, "I wonder how old Sister Lan is?"

"She's twelve. By July, she'll be thirteen," Liu replied.

"She is a few months younger than Xier." Xiao Yao said with a smile.

Mrs. Liu was surprised and asked, "I wonder what month Sister Xi is pregnant?"

"March." Xiao Yao said. Inwardly, she sighed that they were all on the road on Xi'er's birthday and didn't even have a bowl of noodles.

"She is four months older than my sister Lan. I think the two little sisters will have a lot to talk about." Liu said with a smile.

The way unmarried girls are addressed in the south and north of Zhao State is different. The northerners like to call them by their names directly, for example, Mu Yunxi is called Yunxi, while the southerners call them "jie'er" or "ge'er", for example, Qin Lan is called "lan jie'er". Xiao Yao and Mu Cheng are both from Qingzhou in the north, and they still keep the way they address them there.

Mu Yunxi, supported by the Qin family's maid, walked slowly, carefully examining the ancient gate's architecture. She marveled at the lifelike carvings of the stone lions at the gate, observed the mortise and tenon joints on the eaves, and gazed at the red-lacquered gate, marveling at the ingenuity of the ancient craftsmen. As soon as she stepped over the high threshold, she saw a row of sedan chairs. In this era, they were called sedan chairs, but these were open-topped, with roofless ones generally used at home; those with roofs were used when going out. Like sedan chairs, sedan chairs were divided into official and civilian ones, and the one before her was a civilian one.

Luo Ran, who was carried to the sedan chair by Mother Wu because she was injured and couldn't walk, looked at the little person who was carefully looking at the surrounding environment, and couldn't help but teasing her with a smile: "Haven't you seen enough of your family?" Mu Yunxi didn't answer, but just smiled at her.

In her previous life, she worked for a large company that dealt in building materials, construction, and architectural design. They also took on various external design contracts. Her original body only remembered the general shape, but she focused on the details and the craftsmanship.

Liu called out to everyone, "Hurry up and get on the sedan chair. Let's go to the dining hall in the backyard to have dinner."

Wang Shi was a little displeased to see Xiao Yao, who had only exchanged a few words at the beginning, chatting and laughing with Liu Shi. Seeing her father-in-law and husband already in the sedan chair, she called for the maids and servants to help her into the sedan chair as well, and they left together. Liu Shi smiled to mask her embarrassment, and invited Xiao Yao to the sedan chair. Her mother-in-law, born into an ordinary merchant family, always had a petty mindset, a small heart, but a big heart.

Mu Yunxi also boarded the sedan chair and followed the group to the dining hall. Along the way, she was still thinking about Luo Ran's smile, which seemed to hold an inexplicable allure. She didn't realize how long she had been walking. It wasn't until she heard Xiao Yao call out, "Xi'er, we're here." Coming to her senses, Mu Yunxi thought to herself, "Beauty can be deceptive!" She had only been here for two days, but it felt like ages. Thoughts that hadn't occurred to her in her previous life slowly surfaced.

Arriving at the dining hall, Mu Yunxi surveyed the roughly 100-square-meter space, figuring it was used specifically for entertaining guests. Over there, the Qin Wang family was already seated at the head table. After greeting each other, everyone took their seats. Qin Fusheng and his men weren't there, as ancient times emphasized gender equality. They dined in the dining hall in the front courtyard. Looking at the sumptuous dishes on the table, Mu Yunxi marveled at the profound breadth and depth of ancient culinary culture.

At this moment, a gentle voice came, interrupting her thoughts: "Please, Madam, arrange a room for me. I will go to the room to eat."

Mu Yunxi looked in the direction of the voice and found it was Luo Ran. She knew what was going on, as only her voice was so melodious and beautiful.

Liu seemed to have just remembered and quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I was so focused on the fact that it was already 9 o'clock and everyone should be hungry that I forgot that the young lady and Xi'er were still injured. It was really my negligence! But don't worry, we have arranged accommodations. We will send someone to take you there soon." After saying this, she turned to the maidservant beside her and said, "Go and call the sedan chair." Then, she said to her trusted maidservant, "You send the people there personally and make proper arrangements. Don't be negligent in the slightest." As if she suddenly remembered something, she frowned, hesitated for a moment, and finally made up her mind, "Forget it, I'll go myself."

But then Luo Ran said, "Madam, there is no need to do this. This mother can do it." She raised her chin slightly and pointed to the maid that He Liu had just instructed.

"This..." Liu was a little hesitant. Every move of this Miss Luo Ran was charming but not frivolous, and she also revealed a hint of nobility. If the servants did not treat her well and offended her, it would probably bring disaster.

Seeing this, Mu Yunxi said, "Aunt, are we living with Miss Luo Ran?"

"Yes, we're sharing one courtyard," Liu replied quickly. Originally, two courtyards were reserved for Xiao Yao and her daughter, but before they arrived, Xiao Yao had said that one courtyard would suffice for the three of them. When they'd gone to the clinic to find Luo Ran, she'd told them she'd be living and eating with them, and that Xiao Yao could just treat her like a niece.

"We're all going to the same place. This lady will lead the way!" Mu Yunxi stood up, holding onto the table, and said to Xiao Yao, who was sitting at the main table, "Mother, Aunt Wu can just come with us. You can stay here with the aunts." Mu Yunxi really didn't like this kind of nagging, thinking it was a waste of time. Although she was very hungry, she wanted to lie down for a while, so when Liu arranged for them to eat in their room, she didn't refuse.

Aside from maintaining her girlish demeanor in front of Xiao Yao, befitting her age, she didn't try to act pretentiously in front of outsiders. Unbeknownst to Mu Yunxi, Xiao Yao and Mother Wu had already noticed something was amiss. They simply attributed it all to the recent disaster, believing that Mu Yunxi had been frightened and devastated by Ning Zhi's death, losing her former innocence and becoming a completely different person.

"Okay!" Xiao Yao looked over worriedly and instructed, "Mother Wu, take good care of Xi'er and Miss Luo Ran."

"Yes! Don't worry, ma'am." Mother Wu responded solemnly.

Xiao Yao knew Mu Yunxi must be feeling unwell, and she had been worried about her injuries along the way. However, as a guest, she couldn't make demands on her host. Staying at an inn or a clinic wasn't safe. Mu Yunxi needed to recuperate from her injuries, and the Qin family was the best and safest choice.

Mu Yunxi was helped onto the sedan chair by Liu's trusted maid, and Mother Wu also picked up Luo Ran and gently placed her on the sedan chair.

Liu still wanted to go with them, but she couldn't get away, so she could only ask Madam Tian to bring more maids and servants. She was afraid that if she went, her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law would say something inappropriate and offend Xiao Yao. She could only stand at the door of the dining hall and watch Mu Yunxi and the others leave. Turning back, she saw the disdainful looks from her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law, but she didn't bother to argue with them, just pretending not to see them and went over to greet Xiao Yao with a smile.

Here, a group of people walked towards the yard. On the way, Mu Yunxi closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. She was really too tired. Luo Ran looked back at her, and couldn't help but feel a trace of pity in her heart. She knew that Mu Yunxi was more seriously injured than her. Most of her body was scratched, and the more serious ones were on her hands and feet. Her hand was broken, her foot was sprained, and the bump on her head was not to be mentioned. She secretly rejoiced, "Fortunately, I protected my head when I jumped off the carriage, otherwise, with such a big stone, I would have died again. God has already let her live again once, and she dare not bet that God will give her a second chance to live again."

……

Arriving at the residence, the first thing I saw was a circular archway with the words "Green Bamboo Courtyard" inscribed on it. Entering the courtyard, to the right was a rockery and flowing water. Next to the rockery was a small clump of green bamboo, with numerous shoots of varying heights poking out, resembling small peaks. Further in, there was a main room, two side rooms to the east and west, and two servant rooms.

Mother Tian asked, "The furnishings in the east and west wings are identical. Which one would Miss Mu like to live in?" Mu Yunxi glanced at Luo Ran, who casually said, "You choose!" Mu Yunxi didn't hesitate and pointed to one room. "Help Miss Mu to the west wing," Mother Tian instructed the maid. The room was elegantly decorated, and Mu Yunxi took a few casual glances and was very satisfied. Although Mu Yunxi was not picky about the room, who wouldn't be happy to live comfortably?

"Miss, do you want to rest on the bed or lie on the couch for a while?" the old woman who was supporting her asked carefully.

Mu Yunxi looked at the exquisite beauty couch: "Come on the couch!" The old woman helped Mu Yunxi lie down gently.

Madam Tian, Liu's trusted servant, pointed to the maids and servants who had followed in and said, "This is the servant Chen, Madam Chen, and the maids Liu'er and Xing'er. Miss Mu is not feeling well, so please tell them if you have anything to do."

"Your servant greets the young lady," the maids and servants came forward to greet her.