Asking the Prince for Help

"The daughters of the East Lin family are quite good, while those of the Lin family are less so. However, I've heard that the Old Madam of the Lin family is a very upright person. She personally raised her eldest granddaughter, but unfortunately, she didn't take care of her later granddaughters."

"And then there's the Prefect's youngest daughter. Though she's young, she's gentler than most eldest daughters, and seems quite composed."

"The Gu family has several excellent Di Daughters, and their illegitimate daughters are equally outstanding! This shows that the matriarch is a reasonable person."

"Your Prince, what do you think of these?"

Nanny Wang and Zhao Jingyi, together, reviewed Jiangqian's well-mannered unmarried daughter in front of Qi Lingheng.

Qi Lingheng listened quietly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

He seemed to have closed his eyes.

Nanny Wang called out, "Your Prince?"

Qi Lingheng raised his eyes and said calmly, "All is well."

They're not as reluctant as they used to be.

But Nanny Wang still felt uncertain. She asked with concern and respect, "Does His Prince mean... that each one suits his taste?"

She was the Prince's wet nurse; based on her understanding of Prince, it couldn't be like that!

Qi Lingheng didn't refute Nanny Wang, only saying, "Of course, Mama's choice is good, it's just that it sounds a bit lacking..."

Nanny Wang asked anxiously, "What's missing?"

Qi Lingheng smiled slightly, "It's something that catches your eye."

After saying that, he left.

Nanny Wang and Zhao Jingyi, husband and wife, stared at each other in the hall.

Lacks visual appeal?

We haven't even met! You only know if there's any chemistry after you've met them. How can you assume they're not a good match just because of their family background?

Zhao Jingyi asked blankly, "How... how am I supposed to reply to Her Majesty?"

My sister specifically instructed me to write back to the Capital as soon as there was any progress.

Nanny Wang had no choice but to say, "Just write it down truthfully."

Zhao Jingyi sighed and said, "That's all we can do."

He went back and racked his brains, not knowing how to reply to his sister. He picked up his pen and looked around, feeling completely lost!

Nanny Wang also had to reply to secret letters from the Empress and the Emperor. After thinking for a moment, she told the truth.

The Prince seemed to have relented, but who knows what other ideas he was having!

She, as the wet nurse, really couldn't see through it.

The Lin Residence.

Xiruo inquired about a lot of information and had a long talk with Lin Yunwan by candlelight.

"The Lin Residence is divided into two branches, east and west. Actually, there were more than just these two branches, but the other members of the Lin clan did not develop very well. It was already a great achievement for a family to produce a Provincial Graduate who passed the imperial examination. So they gradually declined and relied solely on the two branches, east and west, for their livelihood."

"These two branches of the Lin clan, one living east of Jiangqian and the other west of Jiangqian, are called East Lin and West Lin."

"We are from West Lin. The Old Master passed away many years ago, and ten years ago, the Old Madam decided to divide the family property. However, it was just a division of property; the Third Branch of the family still lives together, Old Madam lives with the Eldest Master of the main branch."

"The Eldest Master once served as a third-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel of Personnel in Jinling. He had several very successful sons, two of whom I heard passed the Passing the Provincial Examinations. His students were also accomplished; the Eldest Master personally promoted several successful Provincial Graduate and one Presented Scholar to the highest level of the imperial examinations."

Lin Yunwan memorized everything after hearing it only once.

She asked, "What is the relationship between the Dong family and the Lin family?"

That is, Dong Shuangshuang's maternal family.

Xiruo said, "They used to be neighbors of the Lin Residence, but they've moved away now. I heard they sold their house and moved to a smaller one. The Lin family later bought the Dong family's house, combined it with the Lin family's house, and divided it into east and west Courtyards. After the family split up, it became where the Eldest Master and the Third Master live now."

Now half the street is lined with the Lin Residence's residences.

Lin Yunwan sighed, "Truly a prestigious family... West Lin is far inferior to East Lin, yet they've already achieved such respectability."

Lin Huabin's mansion wasn't wealthy, but the master was treated with the same respect as maids and servants, so it wasn't shabby at all.

I wonder what kind of extravagance the Lin family's Eldest Branch must possess!

"Dong Shuangshuang told me today that the Old Madam is a very straightforward and reasonable person."

Xiruo nodded. "That's true! I heard that when the Eldest Master was young, he was so playful while studying that he even had his page read to him. When the Old Madam found out, she didn't punish the page, but she severely punished the Eldest Master in front of the servants."

"Young lady, can you guess again how the Old Madam punished the Eldest Master?"

Lin Yunwan thought for a moment and said, "Corporal punishment is the lowest form of punishment. If it weren't for corporal punishment, there would be all sorts of ways to punish people, depending on the Old Madam's perspective and personality."

Xiruo laughed and said, "This Old Madam is really an interesting person. She punishes Eldest Master by forbidding him from studying, and makes the page read for him. At the same time, she lets the Eldest Master play as much as he wants."

"That pageboy was originally a natural scholar; after a month of studying, he was quite accomplished. But after only a month, the Eldest Master saw that even the pageboy was more motivated than him, and he couldn't keep up. He told the Old Madam that he would no longer be playful and would devote himself to studying."

This Old Madam's methods are truly ingenious!

The Eldest Master of the Lin family the legitimate heir. If he is worse at studying than a page, the Lin clan will laugh at him!

Not only did he lose face, but his reputation also suffered if word got out.

Lin Yunwan asked curiously, "What happened to that pageboy afterward?"

Xiruo smiled and said, "That's where the Old Madam's wisdom lies. She pitied the talented pageboy for not having a good background, so she supported him to study with the Eldest Master. I heard that he passed the imperial examinations long ago, was freed from slavery, and is now the Eldest Master in Jiangqian."

"This story has long been considered a celebrated tale in Jiangqian's tale."

Lin Yunwan greatly admired the way the Old Madam of the Lin family conducted herself.

There's one more crucial thing she hasn't asked yet.

"Where did Miss Lin's wet nurse go before she left the Lin Residence? How did she bump into her stepmother's stomach? What were the servants attending to the Madam doing at that time?"

No matter how much the Zheng Shi mother and daughter accuse Miss Lin of making a mistake when she was four years old, the flaws in their arguments are too obvious!

Would four-year-old Miss Lin deliberately bump into her stepmother's stomach and then injure the back of her own head?

Lin Yunwan absolutely refused to believe it.

She said, "I know there are inherently bad children, but children are children after all. They can't do things on their own, even if they go through a lot of trouble."

Xiruo paused for a moment before saying, "Miss, you've raised some strange questions. Miss Lin's wet nurse and the servants who attended to the Madam have both left the manor."

"It's not a big deal that Miss Lin's wet nurse left the manor; it's only right that she left since she no longer needs to breastfeed the child. It seems reasonable that the maidservant who served the Madam was dismissed for making a mistake."

Xiruo continued in a low voice, "But I heard that the maidservant serving Madam was Madam of her dowry maids! She was exceptionally beautiful. At the time, no maid in the entire West Lin Residence could compare to her. The maidservant also had a very good personality; when I inquired, not a single person had a bad word to say about her. Madam actually married her off to a distant place..."

Lin Yunwan frowned.

Would a girl like this really make such a fatal mistake?

She's a beautiful and capable maid; how could the mistress of the house not take a liking to her? How could Zheng Shi bear to marry her off so far away?

It seems this maid is even more important than the wet nurse who serves Miss Lin!

She asked Xiruo, "Do you think it's easy to find out where that maid is?"

Xiruo hesitated for a moment and said, "Miss, the quickest way is for you to ask the Prince for help."

She stepped forward and tried her best to persuade Lin Yunwan: "The Prince is thorough in his work and it's easier for him than for us. If you really want to find out the truth, I really think there's no need to go to such lengths."

Lin Yunwan was genuinely tempted.