Sun Shi’s initiative to bring black chicken soup with a bashful face to make amends was completely beyond the Old Madam’s expectations.

Nanny Qin had just quietly told the Old Madam that Sun Shi had gone to the warm chamber to see Nanny Cai, and after coming out, angrily dragged Qin Yining away, clearly intending to take her anger out on Qin Yining.

The Old Madam had been waiting to hear someone report what kind of scene Sun Shi had caused again.

Who would have expected that after just this short while, both mother and daughter came back all smiles, as if no unpleasantness had occurred at all? Qin Yining didn’t look like she had been scolded at all, and Sun Shi had even taken the initiative to humble herself and apologize.

Both the Old Madam and Qin Huaiyuan understood what kind of temperament Sun Shi had, and they both gave Qin Yining approving smiles in unison.

“Old Madam, just now your daughter-in-law was momentarily impulsive. Everything was my fault. I was heartbroken for my daughter, but I’m not an unfilial daughter-in-law to my mother-in-law. You know my nature has always been like this – impulsive and then regretful. Your daughter-in-law is here to apologize to you.”

The more Sun Shi spoke, the more hoarse her voice became. These were already the softest words she could manage to say.

Just now, Qin Yining had analyzed that Qin Huaiyuan would definitely come, so it would be better to take this opportunity to perform well. At first, she hadn’t wanted to come and submit. But submitting became “retreating to advance” in Qin Yining’s words. Thinking about it, she felt it made sense – the relationship between herself and Qin Huaiyuan indeed needed repair, and she couldn’t let things become more strained. Only then did she temporarily follow Qin Yining’s suggestion.

Regardless of what Sun Shi was thinking inside, Qin Huaiyuan was satisfied that she could do this.

“Mother, don’t be angry anymore. If you get sick from anger, what would your son do? Sun Shi has a quick temper and speaks without thinking, but in her heart she’s still filial to you.”

With Sun Shi willing to submit and her son speaking well of her, both gave the Old Madam enough face-saving steps. The Old Madam also felt it was acceptable and didn’t want to make things difficult for her son, so she said: “Get up. We’re all family – don’t do this again in the future.”

Hearing this, Sun Shi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly opened the black lacquered mother-of-pearl food box, took out the black chicken soup, and personally held the spoon to serve the Old Madam.

The Old Madam had actually just had ginseng soup and didn’t want black chicken soup right now. But considering her son, she still ate half a bowl from Sun Shi’s hands.

Only then did Sun Shi’s heart completely settle, and she looked bashfully at Qin Huaiyuan.

Qin Huaiyuan nodded at Sun Shi with a calm expression.

Sun Shi’s face began to blush again, and her heart leaped with joy.

Seeing her parents like this, Qin Yining secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things. Mother’s actions of opposing the Old Madam and confronting her husband were too inappropriate. She had also spent great effort persuading them to reconcile, fortunately her words hadn’t been wasted.

The Old Madam smiled and beckoned Qin Yining to come to her side: “Your father and I were just talking about your affairs.”

Qin Yining stepped forward and asked: “Did Grandmother tell Father that I wasn’t studying properly and angered my teacher?”

“You little monkey.” The Old Madam was amused and chuckled: “If you weren’t studying properly, Grandmother would have rapped your knuckles first – why would I wait until now to tell your father? Just now your father said to have you move to Shuoren Study. Shuoren Study neighbors the back garden with excellent scenery, warm in winter and cool in summer. Inside are many of your father’s book collections – your father lived in Shuoren Study when he was young. Now those books are for you to read, to absorb some scholarly atmosphere. Tell me, isn’t that wonderful?”

When Qin Yining had toured the back garden, she had already noticed that elegant courtyard of Shuoren Study and inquired about its history. She was extremely pleased in her heart at this moment.

She said with joy on her face: “Thank you, Grandmother! Thank you, Father! If I go to Shuoren Study, I can often come to Grandmother’s place to mooch meals!”

Hearing this, the Old Madam laughed again, pointing at Qin Yining and calling her a “mischievous monkey!”

When Qin Yining said she would often come to mooch meals, although it was a playful remark, she was telling the Old Madam and Qin Huaiyuan that she understood father’s arrangement and would definitely not disappoint them.

Seeing that she understood immediately, Qin Huaiyuan was satisfied. Thinking of today’s events, he said in a calm tone: “Yi Jie’er, did you arrange for those maids to speak behind the artificial mountain?”

Hearing this, the Old Madam looked at Qin Yining inquiringly.

Sun Shi stared wide-eyed in surprise and exclaimed: “So you really did harm Hui Jie’er!”

Sun Shi’s voice was too shrill, completely destroying the originally lighthearted atmosphere. Hearing this, Qin Huaiyuan looked at her with displeasure.

Qin Yining no longer wanted to care about Sun Shi’s attitude toward her and pretended not to hear that sentence, smiling as she said to Qin Huaiyuan:

“In reply to Father, I did indeed arrange this matter. While I was copying books in the ancestral hall, Miss Huining instructed Bi Tong and Nanny Cai to trick Rui Lan out and frame her for stealing Grandmother’s jade bracelet. Rui Lan was beaten for no reason – if she hadn’t been lucky, she might have been beaten to death on the spot.”

“I can understand Miss Huining’s difficulties, but I cannot forgive her disregard for others’ lives just for momentary satisfaction. If she was dissatisfied with me, she could have come at me directly, but she didn’t dare and was incapable, so she went to harm an innocent maid by my side. How pitiful was Rui Lan?”

“As for Bi Tong and Xiao Ai who were thrown out, Bi Tong was caught by me for stealing my jewelry, and Xiao Ai also had habitually unclean hands. Both of them got what they deserved. Going out to find new livelihoods won’t starve them to death.”

“So today, I merely let the truth come to light.”

“Merely?” Qin Huaiyuan chuckled: “Your ‘merely’ was quite a big deal. You could have come directly to me or told your grandmother – why did you have to bring this matter before the Crown Prince? Weren’t you afraid of ruining your father’s career?”

Qin Yining could hear the half-real, half-fake complaint in Qin Huaiyuan’s words, and also saw the Old Madam’s furrowed brow when Qin Huaiyuan mentioned his career.

She wasn’t nervous and continued: “I naturally thought of these things, but Father’s career won’t be affected. The Crown Prince has a gentle temperament and is devoted to calligraphy and painting. Although he has aspirations to govern diligently, he lacks that talent. What he lacks is exactly what Father possesses.”

“Father is politically astute, with sophisticated methods and extremely accurate judgment in assessing situations. The Crown Prince will rely heavily on Father’s strategies in the future. Whether from his nature or his considerations for the future, he won’t care about such trivial matters among girls. Moreover, Father also taught the Crown Prince his first lesson in front of him.”

Qin Huaiyuan asked: “Which lesson?”

Qin Yining smiled: “You taught the Crown Prince what benevolence is.”

Hearing this, Qin Huaiyuan burst into hearty laughter.

Clearly, this little girl had used the Crown Prince’s presence to checkmate him, knowing that as a teacher he naturally couldn’t kill servants in front of the Crown Prince, thereby saving Bi Tong and Xiao Ai’s lives. Now she could even eloquently say such words.

Qin Huaiyuan laughed uncontrollably, patting Qin Yining’s shoulder: “Yi Jie’er’s skill at seamless flattery has reached perfection.”

Seeing her son so happy, the Old Madam also began laughing.

In recent years, Qin Huaiyuan rarely had such hearty laughter.

Moreover, carefully savoring Qin Yining’s words, the Old Madam was surprised to discover that when Qin Yining acted, she had already considered reactions from all sides, and her criticism of current affairs was extremely precise. She truly was her precious eldest son’s own daughter!

The Old Madam pulled Qin Yining over and tapped her nose tip: “You mischievous monkey, clearly you were being naughty yourself, yet you can say all these roundabout things. This time Hui Jie’er was wrong first, so what you did is forgivable, but you’re not allowed to do this again in the future!”

“Grandmother’s teaching is correct, granddaughter will remember.” Of course she wouldn’t use schemes to harm innocent people, but when someone bullied her, she absolutely had no reason to swallow her anger and endure silently.

After Qin Huaiyuan had his laugh, he felt all the stuffiness in his chest had dissipated. Having some understanding of Qin Yining’s capabilities, he also had new considerations for her future arrangements.

He wouldn’t marry a girl with a foolish mind to a place requiring intrigue and deception, because even with high family status, life wouldn’t be happy, and if things went wrong, the girl might even lose her life. But someone clever and good at assessing situations must be placed in an important position.

“Mother, you’re tired today – rest early. Your son and daughter-in-law will take our leave first and come see you again tomorrow.” Qin Huaiyuan stood up.

Sun Shi was still in shock from the earlier revelations and hadn’t recovered. Seeing Qin Huaiyuan stand and bow, she was stunned for a moment before reacting and also bowing.

Seeing Sun Shi’s appearance, the Old Madam knew her son would inevitably have to spend considerable effort explaining things. She sighed and waved her hand: “You may go.”

After Qin Huaiyuan and Sun Shi left, Qin Yining smiled and said: “The people helping with the move should be almost finished. Granddaughter also takes her leave.”

This was to give the Old Madam space to rest.

The Old Madam nodded and told her to go settle in.

Nanny Qin smiled as she helped the Old Madam lie down: “Does the Old Madam have nothing more to worry about?”

The Old Madam lay on her back, looking at the Five Blessings Holding Longevity pattern on the canopy and sighed: “In this household, there’s always one good and one bad, pulling at each other. The main branch is like this, and the second and third branches are the same. I’m old and truly don’t have the energy to manage so much.”

Nanny Qin smiled: “Where is the Old Madam old? This servant still wants to serve you for another fifty years.”

The Old Madam chuckled: “Fifty years? Wouldn’t we both become old demons then?” After laughing, she added: “Speaking of moving, how is Hui Jie’er doing?”

Nanny Qin thought for a moment and said tactfully: “Miss Huining is fine, just feeling wronged in her heart. She’s probably crying in Snow Pear Courtyard right now. But everything around her has been properly arranged. This servant had Mrs. Ge go as the supervising nanny, and also selected Fugui and Caiyun, two senior maids from beside you, to serve first. The newly purchased maids will arrive tomorrow, and we’ll pick the best ones for Miss Huining.”

The Old Madam nodded: “Mrs. Ge is indeed a dutiful person. I hope she can peacefully advise Hui Jie’er somewhat. I used to think Hui Jie’er was extremely sensible – how did she become like this now… Sigh!”

Nanny Qin smiled and comforted the Old Madam for a while, coaxing her to rest.

As for Qin Yining, she had already brought her entourage to Shuoren Study and had specifically invited Nanny Zhan to come live there as well.

Nanny Zhan had thoroughly understood the temperaments of all the young ladies during these days in the Qin household. Knowing that Qin Huining was restless and would definitely cause much trouble living in Snow Pear Courtyard, when Qin Yining extended the invitation, she gladly agreed.