good season

A few days later, more good news arrived: Zhao Tingzan, also known as Xiaobao, had officially become Murong Linlang's disciple!

Actually, it was the Crown Princess who brought this matter together.

When Mudfish came to the capital with Zhao Shiqing, it left Zhao Tingzan at Baihe Mountain. The child was born with red lips and white teeth, was lovely and cute, and was also clever and quick-witted. Murong Linlang liked him very much. When she had free time, she would let him kick his legs and practice his horse stance. When she was in a good mood, she would even teach him a move or two.

After Zhao Tingzan returned to the Prince's Mansion after recognizing his ancestors, it wasn't long before the Crown Princess discovered that her youngest son had actually learned martial arts. After asking Zhao Tingluo, she learned that the father of the seemingly aloof Master Murong was actually the number one martial arts master in the world.

The Crown Princess's mind worked quickly. Her youngest son had inherited his family's privileges, but in the capital, there were plenty of people with such privileges. However, there were differences between those with privileges. Some were able to rise rapidly in rank by virtue of their ancestors' privileges, while others squandered them. But many more died clinging to the privileges they had since childhood without making any progress, and some never even held a real position in their entire lives.

Take, for example, the younger brother of the Prince of Nan'an. He was a fourth-rank official at the age of four, but he has been idle all his life and has never held a job. Now he is almost seventy years old and is still a fourth-rank official. None of his children and grandchildren are successful. Even in his forties, he still has to ask his old father for household expenses. And his fourth-rank position is not hereditary. He dares not die, because if he dies, he will have nothing. His children and grandchildren will have to rely on the charity of the Prince's mansion to make a living.

Thinking about this, the Crown Princess shuddered. Her youngest son, whom she had finally found, could not live his life like this.

The eldest son was intelligent and quick-witted, and he also had the throne to inherit. Both the old prince and the eldest son would support the younger son, but the younger son still had to live up to his own potential. Zhu Yu of the Marquis of Baoqing's mansion was the heir apparent, wasn't the support from his family enough? In the end, he still brought about his own demise at a young age.

So, in the end, the younger son has to be capable; otherwise, he will not only waste resources but also drag down the older son.

She gave birth to her son, so she should take care of him instead of relying entirely on her eldest son.

The Crown Princess took the initiative to befriend Murong Linlang. They were of similar age, one was unmarried and the other was practically widowed, yet they hit it off immediately. The Crown Princess proposed that Zhao Tingzan become her disciple, and Murong Linlang readily agreed.

In Murong Linlang's opinion, Zhao Shiqing has grown up and will make her angry. She is not as fun as when she was a child, so she wants to take on another apprentice.

When Zhao Shiqing learned of this news, her heart ached terribly. From then on, her master would no longer be just her master; she would share her master with Xiaodouding.

Zhao Tingzan has a special status, and Murong Linlang took him as her disciple, so people from the Prince's Mansion would inevitably come and go from her residence.

Just like when she was in Liangdi, even though she lived on Baihe Mountain with her apprentice, the Liang Prince's Mansion would still send people over every now and then, so there were people from the Prince's Mansion both on and off the mountain.

Zhao Shiqing's identity could not be made public in the capital for the time being. Murong Linlang did not want to implicate her eldest disciple for the sake of her youngest disciple, so she moved out of Tianjing Hutong and into a house prepared for her by the Prince of Fu.

Murong Linlang moved away, and Zhao Shiqing, like an abandoned kitten, sat on the steps and sang for a whole hour: "Little cabbage, yellow in the field, six or seven years old, has a junior brother, better than me, junior brother eats noodles, I drink soup, I pick up the bowl, tears welling up in my eyes."

Everyone
Wan Ruyi: "Second Miss, I'll cook you some noodles. All the noodles are yours, but there's no soup."

Zhao Shiqing sniffed: "I'm a little thirsty, let's add some soup."

Everyone: You're just bored.

The Crown Princess did not publicize Zhao Tingzan's apprenticeship. Every morning, the Prince's carriage would take Zhao Tingzan there and bring him back in the evening.

However, it wasn't long before the matter was discovered. People frequently inquired about Murong Linlang's residence, and Zhao Tingluo, upon discovering this, quietly dealt with the situation.

Despite this, news still spread that the second young master of the Prince Fu's mansion, who had just been found, had taken a female master as his teacher. Murong Linlang breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully she had moved out of Tianjing Hutong.

Meanwhile, Princess Huixin's marriage to Lin Sen was officially settled, with the wedding scheduled for August. At the same time, the people that Manager Li sent to investigate the Lin family also returned.

Lin Sen's cousin is his aunt's daughter, named Luo Liqiong.

Luo's father lost both parents at a young age and built his business from scratch. He married and had a daughter at the age of thirty, but unfortunately, he worked too hard and fell ill, passing away at the age of thirty-eight.

Although the Lin family had some wealth, the expenses of supporting several scholars in succession were increasing, with only expenses and no income, and they were running out of money.

Just then, news of Luo's father's death reached the Lin family. Luo's mother and Lin's mother were full sisters, and they also had a brother who had passed away a few years ago. Now, only the widowed sister-in-law was left to support the family business with her two teenage nephews.

Lin's mother and father went to Jiang'an County, where Luo's mother lived, and persuaded Luo's mother to take her seven-year-old daughter, Luo Liqiong, with them to the Lin family.

Six months later, Luo's mother, driven mad by her longing for her deceased husband, went insane, ran into the street, and was trampled to death by a frightened horse.

Luo's father had no parents or brothers, and Lin's uncle had also passed away. Therefore, the Lin family took in Luo Liqiong.

Since Luo Liqiong was young, the family business left by her father was naturally handed over to Lin's parents to manage.

Lin Sen was three years older than Luo Liqiong. The two were childhood sweethearts and grew up together. Luo Liqiong married Lin Sen and gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The delivery was dangerous. Although Luo Liqiong survived, she never had a child again.

From the moment Luo and her daughter moved into the Lin family home, the Lin family's wealth increased. With enough money, Lin's father sought out renowned teachers for Lin Sen. Later, he spent a lot of money to pull strings and was introduced to a great Confucian scholar.

Although Lin Sen was of average talent, he was a student of great teachers and had good luck, so he passed the imperial examinations and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations).

After he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, Luo Liqiong was sent to a remote village due to illness. The two children were raised by Lin's mother. It was at that time that Luo Liqiong's status changed from the legal wife to a concubine.

Yes, this matter had already been carried out before the marriage ceremony. In other words, once Lin Sen passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, the Lin family discarded him after he had served his purpose.

Princess Huixin remained unsettled for a long time after hearing the results of the investigation.

Luo Liqiong was not from a poor family at all; the Lin family had wiped out her entire family fortune!
Luo's mother went insane after only six months in the Lin family, most likely because of the Lin family.

The Lin family got Luo Liqiong pregnant and gave birth early on, just to make her completely devoted to the Lin family. By having a child, they could tie Luo Liqiong down and make Lin Sen go from being a cousin of the Luo family to being the Luo family's son-in-law, so that they could enjoy the benefits of the family's wealth without any guilt.

The Lin family has taken advantage of the Luo family, and now they want to bleed them dry.

Although she had no power or influence, she was still a princess. Although her dowry was not as good as that of other princesses, the royal family would still give her a lot for the sake of face.

Moreover, with a princess as a daughter-in-law, the Lin family's descendants will be able to transcend social classes.

Princess Huixin even thought that, given the Lin family's usual practices, there was a high chance they wouldn't let her die a natural death.

Although she could live in the princess's mansion, she had no loyal servants. Once she and Lin Sen had a child, Lin Sen only needed to bribe one or two servants to find ways to kill her.

Princess Huixin was neither an innocent and naive young lady from a noble family, nor a naive girl from a poor family who had never seen the world. She grew up in the palace and had seen many unknown and insidious schemes. These schemes could be guarded against for a while, but not forever.

How many of those concubines in the Cold Palace, who never saw the light of day, were fools? They were all full of scheming. Most of them did not lose because they were less skilled, but because of momentary carelessness. A moment of carelessness led to their downfall, and they not only lost themselves but also implicated their families.

The Lin family, a family that is not respectable, is not worthy of her. If she were to die in their scheme, how could she be willing to accept it?

"This marriage is unacceptable, and the Lin family must not be allowed to stay!"

Princess Huixin made up her mind that even if she remained unmarried for life like Princess Jiarou, she would not want to marry someone like Lin Sen.

"Go find Luo Liqiong, alive or dead!"

Steward Li accepted the order and left. He sighed, wondering what Princess Huixin was planning to do.
When Lord Meng left the capital, he only asked him to manage the shop as before, and he had been doing so all these years. Occasionally, he would run errands for the two princesses and help them with small things, which were all insignificant and he would not care.

Even when Princess Huixin asked him to investigate the scholar and the Lin family, he didn't take it to heart.

But now, the person Princess Huixin asked him to find turned out to be Lin Jinshi's ex-wife.

Butler Li had a vague feeling that this matter was not simple.

Before he set off, he wrote a letter and had his son deliver it to the official post station. The recipient was Master Meng.

Lord Meng passed away two years ago. Now, the head of the Meng family is Master Meng, who is also Empress Meng's younger brother.

A few days later, Steward Li brought a woman to Princess Huixin; she was Luo Liqiong.

For the past few years, she has been living in that small village, which, ironically, is still owned by the Luo family.

The people in the village didn't know why she came to live there, and when they asked her, she wouldn't say.

It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but that she dared not. Her two children were still with the Lin family. The Lin family said that if she kept her mouth shut, her son would still be the eldest grandson of the Lin family, and the Lin family's business would also belong to her son. If she spoke out of turn, they would give the two children away for adoption.

So she dared not. Like the other women in the village, she farmed during the day and spun and wove at night. She made clothes and shoes for her children every year, hoping that one day she could see them wearing her clothes.

She waited and waited, for several years, until recently, when she finally heard news about the Lin family from a steward.

Lin Sen passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi!
Lin Sen is going to be a prince consort!
Her two children were not only sent to the Lin clan, but also adopted by one of Lin Sen's cousins ​​who died before marriage.

These news came like a bolt from the blue, leaving Luo Liqiong filled with regret and resentment.

That year, the steward whom her father had trusted before his death secretly came to her and told her that the Lin family had been embezzling money while managing her business for the past few years. Now they had solid evidence, and if she wanted to manage the Luo family's business herself, they, the stewards, could help her take it back.

After the manager left, she thought about it for a few days. Just as she decided to take over the business left by her father, she woke up in the middle of the night and found her cousin on top of her.

Afterwards, her cousin vowed never to let her down. Her aunt and uncle arranged a marriage for her and her cousin. Before she could even recover from the shock, she became a daughter-in-law of the Lin family.

Not long after, she heard news that the steward who had come to see her that day had accidentally fallen into the water and drowned.

At this time, she discovered that she was pregnant.

Her two children, whom she had given birth to with great difficulty, were taken away by Lin's mother just after they were a month old. From then on, she never appeared in public again. She was locked up in the back of the Lin family's residence. Her cousin, who had once sworn never to betray her, seemed to have become a different person and never even shared a room with her again.

She knew she had been deceived, but she still held onto a sliver of hope that the Lin family would treat her two children well.

Therefore, she obeyed the Lin family's every word. When they sent her to the estate, she didn't make a fuss.

Over the years, she has been very obedient, but they still gave her child away for adoption. Her child is not the eldest son or grandson of the Lin family, and the family property that the Lin family took from the Luo family will not fall into her child's hands.

The next day, Luo Liqiong quietly left the village; she was going to the Lin clan to pick up her child.

However, she had been trapped by the Lin family since she was seven years old and had never seen the dangers outside. She also had no money, so she fell into the hands of kidnappers not long after she escaped.

Shopkeeper Li met her by chance. The kidnapper sold her to two bachelor brothers in their forties or fifties. When the two brothers came to pick her up, she screamed and shouted like a madwoman. Shopkeeper Li happened to be passing by and heard the woman shouting loudly, "I am a girl from the Luo family of Jiang'an. I am from a respectable family! I want to report this to the authorities!"

Luo family girl from Jiang'an!
Manager Li immediately thought of Luo Liqiong, and without saying a word, he bought her for twice the price.

This job came to me without any effort at all.

Princess Huixin was very happy. She went to the candy shop and met Luo Liqiong.

Although Luo Liqiong was only twenty-two years old, she looked haggard and her eyes were lifeless, making her appear ten years older than her actual age.

"You're looking for your child? I can help you."

Luo Liqiong stared in astonishment at the woman before her. She had never seen such a noble woman before, not even the young ladies from wealthy families she had met with her father when she was a child.

"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.

Princess Huixin smiled: "Someone who hates Lin Sen just like you. He harmed you, and now he's trying to harm me."

A look of confusion flashed across Luo Liqiong's eyes. Suddenly, she realized who the person in front of her was.
"Are you a princess?"

Princess Huixin nodded, gently took her hand, and said in a tender voice, "You have suffered all these years."

Her hands were so warm, so soft, and her skin as smooth as silk. Luo Liqiong instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, worried that her hands, rough like tree bark from years of labor, would scratch the princess's delicate skin. (End of Chapter)