Chapter 105: Precognitive Dream (Qin Lie)

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Aunt Liu was sitting in her room in a daze. Just now, she went to the madam's place to make a scene. Qin Lie came out without saying a word, only giving her a cold look. She didn't dare to utter another sound and returned home looking dejected. After that, she just sat there without moving.

Her personal maid stood by and advised her, "Although that young mistress's actions today were somewhat inappropriate, in my opinion, perhaps she truly didn't intend to humiliate you. Since she entered the manor, has she ever made things difficult for you? In fact, our lives are even better than before. Not to mention that most of the allowance given to the general has been given to us, just look at the things that were sent the last two times. Didn't you yourself say that when the second young master gets married, you'll have presentable jewelry to show off your power as a mother-in-law?"

She spoke with the utmost sincerity and compassion, but Aunt Liu could only shake her head absently, repeatedly saying, "You don't understand, you don't understand..."

Just then, a maidservant rushed in to announce, "Madam, the General has arrived!"

Aunt Liu's eyes immediately lit up. She hurriedly tidied her hair, straightened her clothes, and greeted them with a smile.

Before she even reached the door, Qin Lie had already walked in, ignoring her outstretched hand. He sat down in the armchair and then looked up at her.

Having served Qin Lie for so many years, Aunt Liu knew he disliked trouble and abhorred discord within the household. She had truly crossed a line today. However, she also knew he valued relationships and was protective of his own. She wondered how much she had the upper hand, and since she had been quickly stopped and no real scandal had occurred, she should be able to get away with it. So, she used her old address to beg for forgiveness: "Young Master, I acted impulsively today out of anger."

She knew Qin Lie's temperament; he was fair in rewards and punishments, and dared not show any other emotions. She simply narrated calmly, "That light armor wasn't something I went to ask for. It was Madam who sent it to me, saying that Young Master would be coming over that evening. I was overjoyed and prepared carefully, waiting for a long time without Young Master arriving. Then I heard that Young Master had gone to Madam's. I didn't say a word and went to sleep. But Madam sent a maid to ask for the light armor. I was already asleep, and being woken up was bad enough, but that maid was extremely arrogant. My maid only muttered a few words, and she wouldn't let it go, ridiculing me relentlessly. It was truly outrageous. Young Master knows my temperament; I'm always straightforward and can't hide anything. That's why I was so angry and impulsively went to Madam's courtyard to argue. Now, now I know I was wrong. Young Master, please forgive me this time, considering how many years I've served you!"

After she finished speaking, Weiwei knelt on the ground, only then daring to show some grievance.

Qin Lie listened patiently to her finish speaking, then spoke with a cold glint in his eyes, "You say you know you're wrong, but eight out of ten of your sentences are against Madam. How can I forgive you?"

He never concerned himself with matters in the inner quarters, so Aunt Liu assumed he was oblivious to the subtle nuances in the women's conversations. However, he remained perceptive and spoke so bluntly that Aunt Liu's face immediately paled, and she stammered, "Young Master, I'm innocent! I'm just clumsy and tongue-tied, and I would never dare to sow discord!"

Qin Lie grew increasingly disappointed and asked, "Do you still remember what you promised when your mother asked me to take you as a concubine?"

Aunt Liu would never forget the day that changed her fate.

The general's wife asked the young master to take her as a concubine. Although he did not refuse, he was not enthusiastic about it.

He only sent his wet nurse to ask her, saying that in consideration of her service to him, he gave her two options.

One option is to return her indenture and let her go home. In addition to five hundred taels of silver, she will also be provided with twenty acres of fertile land. When she marries in the future, the Prince's Mansion will also prepare a dowry. As long as she does not commit any crimes or act recklessly in the future, she can live a peaceful and harmonious life.

The other option is to become his concubine. Although she will enjoy wealth and honor in this life, a concubine is still a concubine. She must respect the lady and entrust her children to the lady for upbringing. She must not have any other thoughts.

If a woman in the world could live a peaceful and secure life as a wife, who would want to become a slave or concubine?

But Aunt Liu chose the second path because of Qin Lie.

Over the years, she never had a single day of regret, until recently...

She shook her head, casting aside those dangerous thoughts, and said dejectedly and unwillingly, "My little schemes naturally cannot escape your notice, young master. But young master, as a lady, is it appropriate for her to act this way?"

Qin Lie stood up, put his hands behind his back, and said, "She is still young. Even if she has faults, it is not a reason for you to cause trouble."

His tone was unconsciously indulgent, how could Aunt Liu not hear it?

The myriad thoughts she had just suppressed seeped into her body like poison, shattering her already precarious rationality.

She chuckled briefly and asked in a soft voice, "Compared to me, Madam is naturally younger, but when the late Madam married into the family, she was only about the same age, and she never made such a mistake."

Qin Lie narrowed his eyes and looked at her: "Do you know what you're saying?"

Aunt Liu knew that Qin Lie was already warning her that if she didn't stop, she would surely incur his wrath.

Aunt Liu, filled with a desperate determination, said, "Young Master, of course I know. I'm afraid I've never known it so clearly before!"

She hastily wiped away the hot tears that streamed down her face. "Young master, do you know how happy I was then? I even thought to myself, 'At this moment, I've finally made it worthwhile to have lived this life.' But after I came back, I realized how incredibly foolish I had been!"

She pointed to the lounge chair by the wall and said in a pitiful voice, "You stayed here for several nights, making do with these few nights. You made do with these few nights, and I watched you night after night. As I watched, I thought and thought, how lucky she is to let the young master childishly huddle here, just to spite her! And how could she be so ungrateful, actually daring to make you angry? Does she know, does she know that even if the young master doesn't care about me, but only thinks of me in his spare time, I would have no regrets even if I died!"

"Enough!" Qin Lie didn't want to hear any more and turned to leave.

"Young Master!" Aunt Liu rushed over to hug him and stop him, but he dodged her to the side. Aunt Liu couldn't stop in time and fell to the ground. Qin Lie didn't stop walking and continued to walk out.

Aunt Liu's tears flowed uncontrollably, her mind completely snapped, and she cried out to his blurry departing figure, "Young Master, do you know, do you know? All the promises I made to you back then were lies, all that obedience and respect were lies! I hated Cheng Hui, I always hated her, I cursed her to die every day, and I would have been happier than anyone else if she had died! But now I realize that I hated the wrong person! I hated the wrong person! I hate it so much, why was she the one who went first and not me?! Then we wouldn't be seeing this today..."

Qin Lie walked towards the outer courtyard with a cold face, ignoring her cries.

He asked himself if he had ever mistreated Aunt Liu, and Hui Niang had treated her well. He never expected that she would turn out to be such a hateful, vicious, and jealous woman.

He really didn't understand why there was so much resentment in the backyard, which was like a military camp. He could reward and punish people clearly and let everyone stay in their place and do their job.

But then, thinking of those who truly felt no jealousy or resentment, he felt even more suffocated.

.

Lingyi only learned the next day that Consort Liu had been sent out of the Prince's mansion that very night, supposedly due to a sudden serious illness, and needed to recuperate at the estate. In reality, her return was far off, no different from those concubines who were banished to the cold palace.

She recalled that Qin Lie had told her a few days ago that he couldn't eat or sleep well without Aunt Liu. Although Aunt Liu had overstepped her bounds last night, she had given birth to Qin Can. Why should she be punished so severely?

Lingyi felt increasingly that her husband's heart was as hard as iron. She also remembered that Qin Lie seemed quite dissatisfied with her before he left last night, so she became even more wary.

Fortunately, Qin Lie had not returned to the inner courtyard since that day. Seven or eight days later, he learned from a casual chat with Zhen that Qin Lie would be going to war again soon, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Madam Zhen tried to persuade her, "What exactly is going on between you and your third brother? When things are good, you're all lovey-dovey, even your second brother couldn't help but joke that there are nails growing on the chairs outside because your third brother can't sit still and has to go back to the backyard to drink water. Suddenly you're at odds like this, acting like you'll never speak to each other again. Are you going to hold a grudge against him even after he leaves?"

Lingyi lowered her eyes, "How could I dare to argue with the general? I'm just afraid that he'll be annoyed if he sees me."

Lady Zhen said, "If he sees you upset, why would he take you back to the Prince's mansion?"

Lingyi smiled bitterly, "Actually, I've never understood why he would bring me into the manor when he clearly dislikes me so much."

From Madam Zhen down to the maids, they all described Qin Lie as stern and unsmiling, yet fair and just in his dealings, fair in rewards and punishments, and rarely angered. But in her presence, he would inexplicably become angry, as if everything she said was wrong. It seemed that his dislike for her was the reason he was so easily provoked.

Sometimes she even thought that it would be better to stay in the princess's mansion. But since she was already there, she might as well make the best of it. Since she was powerless to change anything, she could only think about what would be good for Huan'er if she entered the mansion, and stopped vainly envying other possibilities.

Just as Zhen was about to say something, Huan'er turned over, and their eyes were immediately drawn to him.

She has been spending a lot of time with Lingyi lately, and has seen Huan'er more often than Bing'er. Huan'er is beautiful, and everyone who has seen her likes her. Otherwise, the old lady would not have asked Granny Qian to come and bring Huan'er to her courtyard so that she could see and hold her.

Madam Zhen was no exception. She even considered adopting Huan'er into her own family, but since Lingyi regarded Huan'er as her precious darling, this plan was bound to fail. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh softly.

Lingyi knew what she was thinking and advised, "Second sister-in-law is only in her early thirties. If she seeks medical treatment in time, she may be able to have her own child."

Madam Zhen had tried countless remedies, and even if she hadn't considered it, the Zhen family wouldn't have stood idly by. Over the years, she had prayed to countless deities, tried countless folk remedies, even resorting to snakes, insects, poisonous ants, and children's urine—all to no avail. She was always proud and never spoke of these things to anyone; if someone mentioned them, she would only suspect mockery. But when Lingyi said this, Madam Zhen didn't take it to heart at all, only smiling bitterly, "I've tried everything, but it hasn't been very effective, so I've given up on it."

Lingyi said, "Second sister-in-law, don't be discouraged. When it comes to medical secrets for childbirth, there is no place in the world with more than the Imperial Palace, especially the female physicians in the palace, who are most skilled in treating women's illnesses. I have an older sister whose mother was a female physician with superb medical skills. My sister has also been well-versed in medical books since childhood and has surpassed her mother. It's just that we are separated now. If you can find her, I believe your wish will be fulfilled."

Knowing that Lingyi was not lying, although she was moved, she sighed and said, "In this chaotic world, such a princess is probably no longer alive. Even if she were still alive, we are now just living in a remote corner, and there is nowhere to find her."

When Lingyi mentioned the Fifteenth Princess, it was certainly for Zhen Shi's sake, but she also had the ulterior motive of asking Zhen Shi to ask Qin Xu to find the Fifteenth Princess's whereabouts. Hearing her say this, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, but I didn't show it.

Unexpectedly, because of her words, two months later, when the recently renowned physician Wang Daliang came to Jizhou to practice medicine, Zhen Shi once again had the desire to seek medical treatment. She took Lingyi with her, disguised themselves, and went to consult a doctor. After waiting in a long queue, she finally arrived in front of the physician.

This doctor was unremarkable in appearance, wore patched clothes, spoke little, had a rather cold attitude, but spoke with great arrogance.

After years of seeking medical treatment, the Zhen family had only heard doctors who had deliberately exaggerated the situation to raise their own value. They would then use their persuasive words to guarantee her safety. This was the first time the Zhen family had heard someone so blunt, sentencing her to death with just a few words.

But for some reason, the more Wang Daliang acted this way, the more convinced she became, even though she had only come with a sliver of hope.

She wouldn't easily agree to acupuncture and herbal baths, only asking Wang Daliang to write the prescription first. Once the prescription was written and she saw that it didn't contain anything strange or unusual, Zhen Shi decided to give it a try, albeit reluctantly.

As they were about to leave with the medicine, Lingyi, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Since we're here, why don't you take my pulse, Your Excellency?"

Wang Daliang paused slightly, then lifted his half-drooping eyelids to look at her. Lingyi, behind her veil, held back her tears and said softly, "I have been feeling unwell since giving birth to Huan'er. I beg the divine physician to give me a proper diagnosis and treatment."

These former imperial sisters, once living deep within the palace, can no longer recognize each other face to face and can only reveal their current situation in such a veiled way.

[Author's Note]

We can discuss the plot and character settings, but let's not argue.

All the mistakes are the author's fault.

All the problems are the author's problems.

The side stories were almost finished, there was no need, really no need.

love and peace...