Chapter 111: Precognitive Dream (Qin Lie)

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With a steady stream of income, Lingyi felt much more confident.

On one occasion, when I visited the Fifteenth Princess, I saw a little girl who was on the verge of death, abandoned by her parents outside the courtyard where they were treating patients.

The Fifteenth Princess saved her life, and Lingyi took her in, letting her live in the Princess's residence so that she wouldn't freeze or starve to death on the streets.

Later, more and more people like this came, including disaster victims who had finally made it to Jizhou but could no longer afford to raise their children, and women who had fallen ill and were abandoned by both their husbands' and their own families. Lingyi arranged for them all to live in the princess's residence. Originally, there were only Li De and his two sons in the princess's residence, and many houses were empty. Now, many people lived there, and a lot of land was cultivated to grow medicinal herbs for the fifteenth princess.

They are usually responsible for taking care of these medicinal herbs, but these few medicinal fields don't need that many people, so they haven't been idle and have been working hard to find other jobs.

One of them was originally a daughter of an official, and she went to "Wang Daliang's" place every day to help him identify medicinal herbs little by little.

Aunt Liu Cui is illiterate, so the Fifteenth Princess originally had to fetch her own medicine. Now that there's someone else to help, things are definitely much easier.

Moreover, this person was very sensible. Apart from coming over during the day to fetch medicine and do odd jobs, he didn't look at her much, say a word, or ask a question.

Not only that, but every day after she returned home, she would write down what she had seen and heard, so as not to forget it. She would also make a special note of the patients who came back for treatment.

The fifteenth princess gradually got used to using her hands, and was especially pleasantly surprised when she saw what she had recorded one day.

The young lady of the official family settled down and stayed. Lingyi paid her a monthly allowance, which was comparable to that of a first-class maid in a prince's mansion.

With her example, some clever people immediately came over as well.

Unfortunately, in order to avoid revealing her identity, the fifteenth princess needed someone who was clever and shrewd.

In the end, only one little girl who couldn't speak was left behind. Although she couldn't speak, she had the remarkable ability to remember everything she saw.

With her around, the speed of getting medicine was more than twice as fast. However, she was illiterate, so the young lady of the official family had to read it to her.

During the day, he accompanied the Fifteenth Princess to see patients, and after returning home, he learned to read with the daughters of officials.

At first, she was the only one learning, but later many people felt that being literate would be a better way to support themselves, so they also joined in listening to her lessons. The daughter of an official was a gentle and kind person, and she accepted all comers. Gradually, she had six or seven regular students, and a group of people followed her and wrote and drew on the ground with twigs.

When Lingyi learned of this, she specially prepared writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for them. Now, more than a year later, the little girl can write most of the names of medicinal herbs. Although the others cannot compare with her, they can at least read simple letters without any problem.

These seemingly insignificant little things filled Lingyi's heart with pride.

Previously, she was the emperor's daughter and the crown prince's sister; now, she is Qin Lie's wife and Huan'er's mother.

But in these people's hearts, she is simply herself, regardless of her identity or even her name; they are only grateful to her as a person.

Lingyi never told anyone that she derived a different kind of satisfaction from it.

This satisfaction and joy were so secretive that she didn't want to obtain them with other people's money.

Therefore, she politely declined, saying, "I can manage on my own right now, and I don't need your help."

In addition to the dividends from these two shops, she also received a dowry from her brother, the Crown Prince, and rent from those farmland and shops.

Qin Lie bit her chin, "What do you mean 'yours' and 'mine'? What's mine is yours."

Lingyi recoiled in pain, but seeing his displeased gaze, she realized she had spoken out of turn, so she moved back, hugged his waist, and looked up at him hesitantly, asking, "Could you take me with you on what you promised today?"

"What is it?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

Lingyi scolded him, "You promised Huan'er you'd take him to the horse farm in a couple of days!" She raised her chin, "I want to go too!"

He knew she was changing the subject, but he really liked her feigned arrogance, yet he was unwilling to agree to her so easily. "It's not that I can't, but you have to agree to one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

He leaned close to her ear, his voice hoarse: "From now on, Princess, you are not allowed to throw away the sheep casings I soak. Forget riding horses, even if you want to ride me, your husband will..."

Lingyi was so embarrassed that she pushed him away, turned over, and faced away from him.

Qin Lie looked at her ears, which were gradually turning red, and chuckled as he leaned in and pulled her into his arms.

.

I thought I could rest and recuperate in Jizhou for half a year, but I didn't expect that I would only stay for a little over a month before I had to send troops to attack the capital again.

This was because the Southern Dynasty was assembling a large army, intending to cross the river and head north.

Xie Yu truly deserves to be called a capable minister. Despite the awkward position of being the puppet emperor's uncle, he managed to manage and win over the Southern Dynasty. He not only gained a foothold in the Southern Dynasty but also now holds great power. In just a few years, he has governed the Southern Dynasty in an orderly manner and now even has the spare capacity to lead troops north.

The current seventh prince, who is tyrannical, incompetent, and infamous, occupies the capital and is merely a sitting duck. However, if Xie Yu were to take the capital first, the situation would become extremely dire.

The people of today, having endured endless wars, have begun to yearn for the former glory of the Great Han Dynasty. Their long suffering has made them forget that it was Emperor Jiahe's tyrannical rule and obsession with Taoist cultivation that led to the current situation.

Xie Yu was the grandson of the former chief minister. Most of the old officials in the capital had received the former chief minister's favor, and in the hearts of the people, the former chief minister was no different from a god. No matter how much the various forces came and went in the capital, no one dared to touch the temple of the former chief minister.

Once they return to the capital, both the emperor and his ministers will be legitimate rulers, and the people will support them.

How could Qin Shiyan sit still any longer?

It's all his fault that while others were vying for control of the Central Plains, Qin Lie insisted on first pacifying the grasslands. Now, although he has swept across the grasslands earlier than expected, the world is about to fall into someone else's hands. It seems all his efforts have been for nothing. It's laughable that he even declared himself emperor first, and he can no longer even continue to be the Prince of Dingbei. How could he not be anxious?

As Qin Lie listened to his reprimand, he understood even more clearly that his father was an outstanding general, but he was not a qualified emperor.

He never imagined that Xie Yu, who had relied on the princess to protect Chengtai in his previous life, would have such skill and courage in this life.

Despite some doubts, he believed that brute force could overcome any obstacle. He thought that as long as they first captured the capital and then repelled the Southern Dynasty's army and the area south of the Yangtze River, all problems would naturally be solved.

Qin Shiyan wanted to hear those words, since Qin Lie had previously declined the position of Crown Prince, explaining that he was often away on campaigns and his health was failing, making him unfit for the responsibility. Now, upon hearing that Qin Lie was willing to lead the army into battle, he immediately became amiable and appointed him as a First-Rank General, ordering him to lead the army into battle immediately.

Inside the Prince's mansion, Qin Lie leaned back on the couch, watching Ling Yi pack his trunks.

In reality, he ate and lived with his soldiers and wouldn't have brought so much stuff with him.

But he didn't stop her; he just wanted to see her busy herself with chores and taking care of things for him.

After they finished packing, only the two of them were left in the room. Lingyi sat far away from him on the other side, her head down, refusing to look at him.

How could Qin Lie tolerate this? He leaned over and hugged the person, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of moist eyes.

His heart felt like it had been brushed by a feather, both soft and itchy, and he couldn't help but smile as he pressed his forehead against hers: "You're so reluctant to part with me? You're already crying like this before you've even left?"

Lingyi remained silent, so he coaxed her in a soft voice, "Don't worry, once we conquer the capital, I will immediately send someone to bring you there. After a few years, when the country is unified, we can be together year after year, forever, and we will never be separated like we are now."

He used to find these words grating, but today he could say them so naturally, and even felt they weren't enough.

Lingyi remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "I had no idea that my seventh brother had done such a thing. He has truly let down my late wife."

They hadn't mentioned Cheng Hui for a long time, and Qin Lie hadn't thought of her for a long time either. Hearing this, he was stunned for a moment, and after a long while, he stiffly said, "He is him, and you are you. You don't need to take his blame upon yourself."

Lingyi certainly wouldn't suffer like that, but when she thought of Qin Shuo and Qin Yinrong, one pretending to be mature and the other being spoiled and unruly, she thought it was none of her business before, but now that she thought about it, if it weren't for being forced to commit suicide by the Seventh Prince, how could someone like Cheng Hui have allowed the two children to develop such temperaments?

It's like when she sees people displaced by war; even if it's not her fault, how could she remain completely unmoved?

She could do her best to help those people, but she was powerless to help Qin Shuo and Qin Yinrong, who were raised by the princess.

But things soon took a turn for the better.

After Qin Lie went to war, the old lady called her over and asked her to copy books for her.

Lingyi was not without doubts, after all, the princess had stopped bothering her for a long time, and the old lady had also stopped her from doing these things for a long time.

This doubt reached its peak when I saw those books.

She looked at the old lady in surprise, but the old lady seemed not to see her. Granny Qian smiled and said, "The old lady is far-sighted. The third young mistress will understand in the future."

A vague guess arose in Lingyi's mind, but it was too shocking to think about further, so she simply nodded in agreement.

"Besides that, there is something else," the old lady said slowly. "The Princess Consort has been made Empress, and she is busy with many things. It is no longer appropriate for her to personally raise the children. From now on, Shuo'er, Can'er, and Yinrong will all be under your care."

When Qin Shiyan ascended the throne, he issued an edict to make the old lady Empress Dowager and the princess empress. However, everyone in the palace continued to act as usual, except for the princess, whose address had been changed long ago.

When Lingyi came out of the old lady's courtyard, she not only brought back a stack of books, but also three children.

Qin Lie was away fighting all day and neglected to discipline his children, and the princess was practically left to their own devices. In any case, they all had their own wet nurses, maids, servants, and tutors. As their stepmother, as long as she didn't cut back on their expenses, sent them extra things regularly, and showed them concern from time to time, she could earn a good reputation. The more she interfered, the more likely she was to earn a bad reputation.

If Lingyi didn't know the cause of Cheng Hui's death, she would definitely have done that.

But now that she knew, and being a mother herself, she couldn't bear to see them live such a muddled and aimless life.

So she smiled and said, "Although I have been in the manor for a few years, I have only met you a few times and we are not familiar with each other. It is time for lunch now. Let's have a meal together first and then have a good chat."

The three women had different expressions, with Qin Yinrong being the most stubborn.

Once the food was served, Granny Zhao said with a smile, "Madam specifically asked the kitchen, and these are all the young masters and misses' favorite dishes..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qin Yinrong overturned the table. She had clearly been waiting for this moment, standing there looking at Lingyi with a mocking expression, "Who do you think you are? Do you think you're worthy to eat with us?!"

Although Qin Shuo and Qin Can didn't openly mock her, their eyes were filled with schadenfreude.

After calming Huan'er down, Lingyi looked up at them. She wasn't furious like Qin Yinrong had hoped for; instead, she remained gentle and even her voice was mild. "Tie up the three of them and send them to the princess's residence. They can come back after they admit their mistakes."

All three of them were stunned for a moment. Qin Yinrong was the first to react and screamed, "How dare you!"

Lingyi smiled slightly at her, the meaning of which was self-evident: she dared.

She certainly dared to do so. Currently, the old lady had personally entrusted the three of them to her in the Prince's residence, not to mention Lady Zhen. Only the Empress remained. However, because the Emperor hadn't appointed a Crown Prince, the Empress was constantly worried and anxious, even sending her confidantes to persuade Qin Lie to vie for the Crown Prince position. How could she possibly make things difficult for her?

The only one who could possibly stop her was Qin Shiyan, but everyone knew how much Qin Lie loved her. Who in the mansion would be so blind as to bother the Emperor with such a trivial matter and offend Qin Lie?

Qin Xiaoshan was already waiting outside. It didn't take much effort before the three of them were tied up, gagged, and carried out.

Apart from Li De and his two sons, all the residents of the princess's residence were women. There were also boys, but none of them were older than twelve.

Lingyi only provides them with a place to stay and simple food, but they need to work hard if they want to live well.

Some people can make a living by tending the medicinal herb fields, while others have to go out and find other jobs.

Lingyi tested their embroidery skills. Most of them were used to embroidery work, and those with excellent skills could make clothes for the shop. The wages for embroidery and dresses varied depending on the complexity of the design. As long as they were diligent, they would live a good life.

Li De had already treated Qin Yinrong and the others quite well, as instructed by Ling Yi. At least they didn't have to clean the houses they were assigned, and the beds and bedding were all brand new, no worse than what they usually used. However, if they didn't work, they could only eat thin porridge and pickled vegetables. Because they were young, they could only get two yellow steamed buns a day, which made their throats feel dry.

At first, the three were extremely arrogant, refusing to eat and even smashing bowls and plates in protest. Li De, who came from the palace, was not intimidated by such behavior. He remained respectful on the surface, but secretly wrote it down and calculated the amount to be deducted from their future meals.

After being hungry for less than two days, the three of them lost their pride and drank every last drop of porridge. Unfortunately, their steamed buns were taken away, and for the next two weeks, they only had one left. Qin Yinrong, being a girl, ate less and could barely keep herself full. The other two, however, couldn't hold on for more than three or four days. They went to Li De to admit their mistake, saying that they shouldn't have let their sister talk back to the madam and that they knew they were wrong. They hoped that he could convey their message to Lingyi to release them as soon as possible.

Upon hearing this, Li De said regretfully, "Young masters, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I made a mistake and I can't pass on the message!"

"Is there a right or wrong way to admit a mistake?" Qin Shuo and Qin Can looked at each other, and finally Qin Can asked, "What exactly did we do wrong?"

Li De respectfully said, "This is the general's wife's intention, to let the young masters and ladies figure it out themselves. Please forgive me for not being able to tell you."

Qin Yinrong walked in from outside and said loudly, "Since you are a slave, you should act like one! Your master threw you here with a bunch of lowly people, so there's no future for you! As long as you let us out, my grandfather is the emperor and my father is a great general. With us speaking up for you, you'll have a bright future ahead of you!"

Li De glanced at her, his face still showing his usual submissiveness. "What you say is right, young master. It's just a pity that the most important thing for a servant is loyalty. Otherwise, which master would dare to use him? Don't you think so?"

Qin Yinrong was immediately speechless with anger: "This is hopeless!"

Half a month later, Li De came to report: "The eldest son is honest, while the second son is slick. The two of them don't interact much with others, only chopping wood and carrying water together. The second son is reluctant to exert himself, so the eldest son always does more. As for that young lady, she has a clever mind. Seeing that those people can only read and write at night, she came up with an idea to teach them during the day. She only needs to give each of them one copper coin a day, and they can learn for three days, five characters a day, guaranteed to be taught and mastered."

Lingyi asked curiously, "Does she really know how to teach it?"

Li De said, "She made up a rhyme and pasted those words everywhere—on trees, walls, and doors. You can see them as soon as you look up, so it's hard not to learn them. Now there are quite a few more students, and they've even been eating meat these past two days."

Lingyi laughed: "What a clever little devil."

More than half a month passed, and Qin Shuo and Qin Can continued to guess and speculate every day, still unable to figure out what they had done wrong.

They didn't return for a long time, and even Madam Zhen came to persuade Lingyi that things couldn't go on like this.

After pondering for a moment, Lingyi went to the princess's residence in person.

As Li De had said, once inside, there were indeed papers everywhere, large sheets of paper with words written on them, and now there were even drawings.

The painting depicts a sun above a moon and a moon next to a sun. The characters are poorly written, but the painting is quite lifelike. It's no wonder they are father and daughter; she has quite a bit of Qin Lie's artistic talent.

Li De called the three of them to the hall. When they saw Ling Yi, Qin Shuo and Qin Can had lost their arrogance from that day, but Qin Yinrong was still haughty.

Lingyi sat in the hall and asked them, "Do you now know what mistake you have made?"

Qin Shuo and Qin Can still couldn't guess, and pleaded with her: "Mother, Mother, we really know we were wrong, please let us go back! We still have homework left by our teacher, and it will definitely be delayed if we stay too long."

Lingyi said, “You don’t need to change your address to call me Mother just to go back. You each have your own birth mother, and I don’t care about a mere title.”

The two men awkwardly called the lady back, but still pleaded to go back.

Lingyi then looked at Qin Yinrong, "And you? Do you know where you went wrong?"

Qin Yinrong said proudly, "I understood from the beginning that you wanted me to say that I was wrong for disrespecting my elders, for lacking manners, and for wasting food because of a moment of impulse!"

Lingyi asked, "Since you knew, why didn't you say so?"

Qin Yinrong snorted, "You want me to bow down to you? Dream on!"

Looking at her familiar expression, it's not hard to guess that this person not only has a talent for painting, but also a temperament just like Qin Lie's.

Lingyi said, "You think that since you've become a junior tutor, life here isn't so bad, so you're thinking of staying here as long as possible, preferably until your father comes back and sees how I treat you. He'll feel sorry for you and punish you severely, won't he?"

Qin Yinrong's thoughts were exposed, but she remained defiant: "You said you wouldn't go back unless you admitted your mistake. Are you afraid of being punished by my father, so you're going to break your promise and insist on taking me back?"

Lingyi raised her chin, and Li De immediately stepped forward with the account book. "Since the young master became a tutor, regardless of the cost, 623 sheets of Xuan paper alone have been used, totaling 3.7 taels. In addition, 3 jin of white rice have been used for paste, totaling..."

"Enough!" Qin Yinrong interrupted him, glaring at Lingyi. "You want to settle accounts with me?"

Lingyi laughed: "When you teach them to read and collect copper coins, don't you keep accounts? If being a teacher were so easy, would there be any illiterate people in the world? If I don't let go, can you still continue to be this 'little teacher'?"

Qin Yinrong's face turned from red to white. Finally, she gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and said, "Fine, I admit my mistake and will go with you!"

She wasn't bowing her head; it was just that ever since she came to the princess's residence, every time she felt hungry, it reminded her of the meal she had overturned. She was simply apologizing to herself!

Lingyi looked at Qin Shuo and Qin Can again, "Don't you realize your mistakes yet?"

The two exchanged a glance, then looked at Qin Yinrong, but Qin Yinrong also shook her head helplessly.

Lingyi sighed softly and stood up. "You've been here for over a month, brothers, barely surviving on coarse rice and yellow flour buns, relying solely on your physical labor. You've only managed a few meals of oily food thanks to your sister. She's been good to you, yet when you knew she was about to make a mistake, you not only didn't try to stop her, but you were also just relieved that she was there to shield you, doing what you wanted to do but dared not!" Her tone became stern. "Is this how you brothers behave?! Forget being brothers, as men, who taught you to be so irresponsible?!"

Qin Shuo and Qin Can were struck dumb. You could say whatever you wanted about them, but they were proud of their father and wanted to become great generals and heroes like him. Yet they were directly rebuked for lacking responsibility. After hearing these words, their faces turned pale.

Qin Yinrong was used to standing up for her brother, and her first reaction upon hearing this was to refute him, but when she opened her mouth, she found that she had nothing to say.

Yes, just because everyone spoils her and she doesn't have to be punished, does that mean her brother can comfortably hide behind her?

Was she born to be a bad person?

Besides, this kind of brother is not the kind of brother she wants!

Lingyi continued, “You each have your own courtyard in the manor, but now that you’re here, you must understand that once you leave the manor, others will see you as members of the Qin family, while within the manor, others will only see you as children of the same general. As the saying goes, if one suffers, all suffer; if one prospers, all prosper. You are brothers and sisters bound by blood. Even if you don’t love and help each other, you should at least not gloat or instigate and deceive each other!”

All three of them lowered their heads in shame, including Qin Yinrong.

Lingyi stopped talking and softened her tone, saying, "Since we said that you would all share the same fate, and one of you has admitted your mistake, then all three of you will be exempted from punishment this time. Go back to your residence today."

Qin Shuo and Qin Can were overjoyed, but Qin Yinrong, remembering those smiling faces and the calls of "Little Teacher," felt her steps become heavy and hesitated, saying, "But...but I've already accepted tuition fees, and I haven't finished teaching them yet..."

Lingyi noticed her reluctance and smiled, "I told you to go back to the manor today, but I didn't say you couldn't come here again. It's just that if you want to write in the future, you'll have to bring your own brush and ink, as we really can't afford to support you here."

Qin Yinrong snorted, "I didn't need you to support me in the first place!"

They were just kids after all; though they were sharp-tongued, a smile had already spread across their faces.

[Author's Note]

Final stage