"Forgive my ignorance, I do not understand your meaning, Miss."
"The handle of your whisk is made of deer bone."
Upon hearing this, the old lady and the others immediately changed their expressions!
Master Jingming was still confused: "So what if it's deer bone?"
Shen Qiyin sneered: "Now I believe that the Daoist has really been cultivating in the mountains for a long time, and doesn't even know what the scenery is like down below the mountain."
"When the late emperor was still a prince, he was seriously wounded in a battle, but was saved by a deer, which saved his life."
"Later, when the late emperor ascended the throne, he issued an edict to designate the deer as the auspicious beast of our Great Zhou."
"When His Majesty ascended the throne, in order to show his filial piety to the late Emperor and his respect for the establishment of his hegemony, he ordered the relevant departments to compile new laws, which clearly stated that all citizens of the Great Zhou Dynasty are not allowed to hunt or kill deer, and are also prohibited from using deer bones and blood."
"Those who violate the law shall be punished the same as those who commit treason!"
Master Jingming stood frozen in place, his face deathly pale.
Shen Qiyin continued, "Could it be that the Daoist is not a person of my Great Zhou?"
“Even if they are citizens of a neighboring country, once they enter the territory of my Great Zhou, they must abide by the local customs and laws.”
Master Jingming felt a buzzing in his ears and his heart was filled with turmoil. The whisk in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".
Shen Qiyin bent down to pick it up for him, but said, "Taoist Master, take it carefully, this is evidence of your crime."
Master Jingming was so frightened that he almost dropped his whisk again.
"Grandmother, why aren't you sending someone to report this to the authorities? What are you waiting for?" Shen Qiyin returned to her seat and leisurely sipped her tea. "If we delay, we might be accused of harboring a criminal, which wouldn't be good."
Only then did Madam Shen realize the seriousness of the problem. Just as she was about to send someone to report to the authorities, a timid voice, still somewhat childish, suddenly rang out from the corner.
"Grandmother, please wait a moment."
Shen Mengyin quickly looked up in the direction of the old lady, but only for a moment before hurriedly lowering her head.
Old Madam Shen despised her timid and coy son the most.
He's like a rat spirit.
A daughter should be poised and confident; that would show the Shen family's good upbringing.
But no matter how much she pleaded, the girl remained timid and incompetent.
But Shen Qiyin felt that her fourth younger sister was the most "promising" and the most composed among all the children in the Shen family!
In her previous life, after she was sent to the estate, apart from Shen Ruyin who visited a few times, the only other person who would visit her from time to time was Shen Mengyin.
She rarely spoke, and most of the time she just sat quietly by her bedside, or helped Ren Dong with her chores.
It's been like this for a whole year.
Among the Shen family members who were either seeking her favors or plotting against her, Shen Mengyin was practically a "white moonlight" figure.
But looking at it from a different perspective now, how could a little white rabbit possibly be raised in a wolf's den?
pity……
She was blinded by her own limited perspective at the time.
She longed for a pure family bond, free from any self-interest or scheming. People were kind to her not because she was of any use, but simply because she was Shen Qiyin.
The appearance of Shen Mengyin filled the void in her heart.
So she taught her medicine and guided her painting skills, gradually transforming her into her own likeness.
Then one day, people outside started spreading rumors that the second daughter of Guangrentang was actually the fourth young lady of the Shen family!
Even now, Shen Qiyin admires the other party. To be able to lie low for so long in order to achieve one's goal is no ordinary person.
However, at present, no one in the Shen family has seen through her true colors.
Old Madam Shen was completely unaware of what was going on, and she scolded her in annoyance: "Adults are talking, what right do you, a little child, have to interrupt!"
"But...but there's something my granddaughter doesn't understand..."
Shen Mengyin looked up again, this time looking at Shen Qiyin: "How did Second Sister know that the handle of that whisk was made of deer bone? If it was a momentary misunderstanding, wouldn't that be a false accusation?"
She added at the end, "I... I was just talking nonsense, please don't be angry with me, Second Sister."
Shen Xiyin said coolly, "You know it's nonsense, so why don't you shut up?"
"I……"
"Still talking!"
Startled, Shen Mengyin shut her mouth and looked to Old Madam Shen for help.
The latter, unusually, sided with her.
"What Fourth Sister said makes sense."
"Second Girl, how did you tell it was deer bone?" Don't keep fiddling with it, she might be mistaken again: "Besides, if it really was deer bone, why would Master Jingming knowingly commit such a crime?"
Shen Qiyin: "Perhaps he was incredibly audacious, or perhaps even he himself didn't know that it was deer bone."
"The reason I know this is because when I was practicing medicine at Guangrentang, a medicine vendor secretly brought me a piece of deer bone to sell. By burning it and observing its color and smelling its aroma, I could determine whether it was genuine or not."
"Besides, deer bones themselves have a very foul smell, and the master said that only rosin can counteract it."
"As soon as I came in, I smelled a very strong pine scent. Although it is one of the seven fragrances of Taoism, it is used in certain rituals. For daily use, sandalwood should be the main fragrance."
"Even if we were to use rosin, no one would use it on a fly whisk."
After speaking, she looked at Jingming: "Daoist Master, I wonder if what I said is correct?"
Master Jingming broke out in a cold sweat.
No wonder when his master passed the whisk on to him, he instructed him to fumigate it with pine resin from time to time. So that's why!
Shen Qiyin then looked at Shen Mengyin and said with a gentle smile, "Has my sister learned what she taught me?"
"Mengyin... Thank you for your guidance, sister..."
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