Over the next few days, Xiao Qingyin had Situ Zhi stay with Qin Wenjun, feeding bats, drying pills, and playing games with Tianci.

Situ Zhi was very reserved at first, but after spending two days with Tianci, this warm-hearted young man, she gradually relaxed.

His expression was no longer tense.

He even took the initiative to ask about the treatment: "Miss Xiao, when will you prescribe the medicine for me?"

Xiao Qingyin countered, "Do you want to take your medicine?"

Situ Zhi honestly replied, "I don't want to."

"Then you don't need to worry about it."

Xiao Qingyin chuckled softly.

"You can do whatever you want while you're with me, without having to think about anything else."

Situ Zhi frowned: "You can do whatever you want? Can I not practice the piano then?"

"sure."

A hint of relief appeared on Situ Zhi's face.

However, dark clouds soon gathered again.

"No, Mom will be unhappy if I don't practice the piano."

"Your mother wants you to join the orchestra?"

"Um."

"Why?"

"Because... my sister joined the orchestra."

younger sister?

Xiao Qingyin was momentarily bewildered. Didn't Princess Yongfu only have one daughter?

Seeing this, Situ Zhi added, "She is the daughter of my father and Aunt Qin after they got married. She has a great talent for music. She could play all the famous pieces when she was six years old, and she can also compose her own music."

Xiao Qingyin understood.

"Your mother always compares you to her, doesn't she?"

Situ Zhi lowered her head and stammered, "Yes, Mother said that if I could play better than her, Father would divorce Aunt Qin and come back to us."

Xiao Qingyin: "..."

That night she sensed that Princess Yongfu was a bit paranoid, but she didn't expect her to be even more insane than she thought.

No wonder some people in later generations said that a child with mental problems must be the one in the family who is the least ill.

She had heard the story of Princess Yongfu and the Earl of Shunyi. The Earl of Shunyi was a man obsessed with music, who neglected worldly affairs and devoted himself to various musical instruments.

He managed to cultivate himself into one of the top musicians in Da Xi.

He went to the music academy and got a teaching position.

Princess Yongfu fell in love with the Earl of Shunyi because of a pipa performance, and persuaded her grandmother to grant her and the Earl of Shunyi a marriage.

Unexpectedly, the Earl of Shunyi only had eyes for musical instruments and completely disregarded his wife.

Only by playing the piano in front of him can I get him to look at me more.

However, Princess Yongfu's musical skills were poor. After playing too much, the Earl of Shunyi got annoyed with her instruction and stopped staying at the mansion, spending all his time outside.

Princess Yongfu tried every magic trick, but instead of improving their relationship, it made the Earl of Shunyi increasingly disgusted with her.

When Princess Changning turned one year old, he obtained a promise from the emperor with his newly composed music, and used this promise to divorce Princess Yongfu.

Princess Yongfu naturally could not accept this.

She continued to pester Shunyi, hoping to reconcile their broken relationship.

The Earl of Shunyi made a bold statement that he would only live with someone whose musical skills surpassed his own.

Princess Yongfu practiced the zither desperately, but the more she practiced, the worse it sounded. She could only watch helplessly as the Earl of Shunyi married a musician from the Imperial Music Academy. The two of them, husband and wife, composed one moving piece after another and were regarded as a perfect couple.

Princess Yongfu was deeply affected and lived a secluded life thereafter.

Aside from palace banquets, he rarely participated in any social activities.

Xiao Qingyin realized after hearing Situ Zhi's words that she was placing her hopes on her daughter and tormenting her.

Do you like playing the piano?

She asked Situ Zhi.

Situ Zhi nodded, then shook her head.

"I really liked it when I was a kid, but I couldn't get it right no matter how much I practiced, so I stopped liking it."

This has worn away their interest.

Xiao Qingyin sighed.

"You can take a break for a while. If you find that you still enjoy playing the piano, you can start playing again."

Situ Zhi hesitated: "But the orchestra..."

Do you think you'd be happy in a band given your current state?

Situ Zhi remained silent.

Once she joins the orchestra, her mother will definitely make her compete with that younger girl, which will only make her more nervous. How could she possibly be happy?

Her mother only ever cared whether she could win.

I don't care whether she's happy or not.

"Don't think too much about it. Just treat this time as stolen time. You can do whatever you like and not care about anyone's opinions."

Xiao Qingyin comforted her.

A smile appeared on Situ Zhi's face.

"Okay! I'll give it a try."

She didn't touch the musical instruments Princess Yongfu sent her, but instead wrote and painted according to her own wishes, and occasionally played with Tianci.

Those hallucinations would still come out from time to time, but Tianci thought she was playing house. When she heard that a mysterious person was following her, he would excitedly pull her to hide.

Her heart gradually calmed down, and the strange phenomena she saw became fewer and fewer.

Xiao Qingyin compiled a set of pharmacopoeias that she had edited in Nandan and planned to publish them in Daxi. Because they lacked illustrations and she really liked Situ Zhi's writing style, she asked her if she could help with the illustrations.

Startled, Situ Zhi quickly waved her hands, saying, "I... I've never formally studied painting. I've only copied painting manuals. I can't paint like that."

"Your copying style is quite distinctive."

Xiao Qingyin smiled.

"Just draw the herbs I gave you, just like you copied them."

"Shall I test the draft first?"

"good."

Xiao Qingyin asked her to paint two pictures, and she was very satisfied with the finished works.

"Just draw it like this."

For the first time, Situ Zhi felt that she was somewhat useful.

She was greatly encouraged and spent her days painting, except for eating and sleeping.

At first, the lines were a bit restrained, but as I continued drawing, they seemed to develop their own soul, becoming more and more unrestrained.

Even he himself was moved by his own work.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!