The Empress Dowager in the palace was the elder sister of the Duke of Xingguo and Si Xuan’s aunt.
Upon hearing that Si Xuan had suddenly begun speaking and even hitting people again, she was so moved that tears streamed down her face, dripping into the teacup in her hands.
At her side, Nanny Wen hurriedly comforted her.
“Your Majesty, please don’t cry. This is good news.”
“I’m crying because I’m too happy.”
They were tears of joy.
The Si family had been passing down a single heir for three generations. When the Empress Dowager first learned that Si Xuan had become a fool, she had spent half a year unable to sleep properly.
Now there was hope. As long as there was improvement, there was a possibility of recovery.
“Someone, summon Director Zhang of the Imperial Medical Academy to the Duke of Xingguo’s residence and examine the Champion Marquis.”
After carefully reading the letter sent by her younger brother, the Duke of Xingguo, she felt even more gratified.
Turning to Nanny Wen, she said,
“Although Xuan’er is foolish now, he still knows how to like girls. These past few days, he’s been clinging to a young lady’s sleeve every day and refuses to let go. I trust Xuan’er’s judgment. That girl must be an excellent one.”
When Nanny Wen heard the Empress Dowager say she trusted a fool’s judgment, she thought to herself that a fool could hardly have much judgment. It was probably just a coincidence.
Still, she did not argue. As long as the Empress Dowager was happy, that was enough.
“I wonder which family’s daughter she is. If there’s a chance, I’d like to meet her.”
Remembering the favor her younger brother had asked of her, the Empress Dowager gave another order.
“Nanny Wen, prepare some gifts and send them to the Prime Minister’s residence. Tell them that I am apologizing on Xuan’er’s behalf. This matter need not be pursued any further. If Prime Minister Wang still wishes to pursue it, then he may come to the palace and take it up with me.”
At the Prime Minister’s residence, Prime Minister Wang looked at his eldest grandson, whose face was swollen like a pig’s head, and felt genuine anger.
Although his grandson had indeed grown up crooked and spoiled, people still should not have beaten him into such a state simply out of respect for the Prime Minister’s status.
It was utterly lawless.
“Who exactly beat Qing’er?”
One of the servants responsible for protecting Wang Qing replied,
“Reporting to Prime Minister, Young Master encountered Miss Feng at the Alluring Beauty Cosmetics Shop. The first person who struck him was an unfamiliar young lady. This servant does not know her identity. However, she only slapped Young Master once. Later, the foolish Champion Marquis appeared from nowhere and beat Young Master much more severely.”
The Champion Marquis had powerful backing and was not someone easy to offend.
But the unknown girl was another matter.
If she was unfamiliar, then she clearly was not one of the well-known noble ladies of the capital.
He, a Prime Minister of the realm, might not dare provoke the Champion Marquis, but would he fear some nameless girl?
The first thing he would do was shut down that cosmetics shop.
Then he would make that unknown girl wish she were dead.
Anyone who dared provoke the Prime Minister had to bear the consequences.
Just as Prime Minister Wang was about to send people to smash the shop, an imperial decree arrived from the palace.
It was a verbal order from the Empress Dowager.
She had sent gifts and commanded that the matter should not be pursued any further.
Since the Empress Dowager had spoken, Prime Minister Wang had no choice but to abandon his plans for the time being.
Even as Prime Minister, he could not openly oppose her.
Still, the resentment gnawed at him.
Let it go?
Impossible.
Once enough time had passed and the Empress Dowager forgot about the matter, he would find another excuse to destroy the shop.
And that girl who had struck his precious grandson?
She would definitely be cut into a thousand pieces.
Meanwhile, Zhang Hanyan insisted on visiting Lin Qianqian at the Lin Residence.
Early the next morning, she arrived together with Feng Shu.
They brought a large entourage of maids and servants.
Compared to them, the servants of the Lin Residence looked decidedly second-rate.
From a distance, Mother Sun could not help sighing.
The Lin Residence hasn’t been this lively in a long time.
Although Lin Baozhu was also a noble young lady, she did not have many noble friends. Most of her visitors were merely the daughters of the Prime Minister’s household.
Yet Lin Qianqian, who had supposedly grown up in the countryside, knew so many aristocratic young ladies.
Impressive indeed.
The moment Zhang Hanyan saw Lin Qianqian, she immediately asked with concern,
“Has Prime Minister Wang caused you any trouble?”
“No. The Wang family probably doesn’t even know who I am. Since arriving at the Lin Residence, I haven’t even met Wang Shi’s daughter, Lin Baozhu.”
As far as she knew, the only people who recognized anyone were Wang Qing’s followers, and they only recognized Feng Shu.
She wondered whether the Prime Minister had bothered the Feng family.
“Sister Feng, has the Wang family come after your household?”
Feng Shu shook her head.
“No. I heard the Empress Dowager issued an order forbidding the Wang family from pursuing the matter further.”
Lin Qianqian understood immediately.
The Empress Dowager was the Champion Marquis’s aunt.
Since he had been the one who struck hardest, she was simply cleaning up the aftermath on his behalf.
The three girls chatted briefly at the entrance before entering the residence.
A large group followed Lin Qianqian through several twists and turns until they arrived beside the stables.
Zhang Hanyan blinked.
“Little Sister Lin, why are we here?”
“This is where I live.”
Her eyes widened.
“What? On the way here I saw plenty of perfectly good courtyards! The Minister’s wife actually makes you live in this tiny stone hut? One of these huts has already collapsed! How can anyone live here? What if this one collapses too?”
Even the normally composed Feng Shu frowned.
“The Minister’s wife comes from the Prime Minister’s family, yet she behaves with such petty narrow-mindedness.”
Both girls were straightforward by nature and immediately wanted to confront Wang Shi.
Lin Qianqian hurriedly stopped them.
“No need. A stone house isn’t the worst thing. I’ve lived in mud huts before.”
Zhang Hanyan shook her head.
“Little Sister Lin, you’re far too kind. This can’t be left alone. I’m going to tell my mother and ask her to help.”
The moment she said that, she turned around, intending to leave and report the matter.
However, she had barely stepped away from the stables when she bumped into a plump young girl.
The girl wore a peach-colored ruqun dress.
She was none other than Lin Baozhu, born in the same year as Lin Qianqian.
Her face was coated with an unnaturally thick layer of powder, making her look ghostly pale.
Her lipstick was an extremely vivid red, drawing attention to the black mole at the corner of her mouth.
The embroidery on her clothes was actually done with silver thread that shimmered brightly in the sunlight.
Clearly, Wang Shi never hesitated to spend money on her daughter.
The moment Lin Baozhu appeared, she pointed at Zhang Hanyan and shouted,
“You little bastard! I thought you had more backbone than this. Yet here you are, coming back home to live again!”
Excellent.
She had perfectly inherited both Wang Shi’s loud voice and lack of brains.
The first time Wang Shi had met Zhang Hanyan, she had mistaken her for Lin Qianqian as well.
Zhang Hanyan sneered.
“Just like your mother. The two of you are nothing but shrews. And both of you are blind enough to mistake people for someone else. What terrible manners.”
As soon as the argument erupted near the stables, Wang Shi received word.
Mother Sun hurried over.
“Madam, something terrible has happened! Miss Baozhu is arguing with someone in the residence.”
After a moment’s thought, Wang Shi concluded that there was only one person in the entire residence who would dare quarrel with Baozhu.
Lin Qianqian.
This time, she would definitely make that girl suffer and learn her lesson.
“Mother Sun, have people bring clubs. We’re going to the stables.”
Mother Sun pretended to obey and instructed the four maids in Wang Shi’s courtyard:
“Hurry up! Bring the sticks used for beatings and follow Madam immediately.”
As for herself?
There was no way she would carry one.
Not even if she brought a butcher’s cleaver.
No weapon in her hands would be enough to harm Miss Qianqian anyway.