Chapter 114 – The Widow’s Adopted Daughter (part 14)

Wang Si Qin was excited. She knew that after tonight, she would embark on another path! It would be the road of her dreams.

When they came out, Li Su smiled at Wang Si Qin. “Si Qin, do you really regret it? This road may not be easy. It might be hard and you might have a lot of burdens.”

In the dark night, the faint light from the lanterns shone on Wang Si Qin’s face. Her face was dull, but her eyes were full of dazzling light.

“Mother, do you know? Actually, I liked the name Bei Chen a lot and thought it was suitable for me. I hope that one day, the name Wang Bei Chen can be known to the world!”

Li Su smiled helplessly. How could this girl be more domineering than her, a transmigrator?

When she was young, she had imagined what it would be like to travel back to ancient times with her rich modern and historical knowledge. She imagined that the ancients would applaud as she played in the middle. She would thrive and ten thousand people would support her.

But with the passage of time and the increase in knowledge, she realised that these thoughts were nothing but fantasy.

If she really travelled back to ancient times, then she may not even speak or understand what others said since there was no Mandarin in ancient times. Mandarin evolved from the language spoken during the Qing dynasty. She may not even know the characters, except for some of the traditional characters. Also, she may not even know how to wear the clothes.

The most important thing was that she underestimated the IQ of people from ancient times.

Gradually, Li Su no longer dreamed of travelling back to ancient times. She never thought that 10 years later, she would possess this system and really travel back to ancient times. Of course, these worlds mostly had only a framework. Many places had been subconsciously assimilated by the author, so there were no differences in language or other aspects. But, Li Su was still an ordinary person, so she no longer had those unrealistic fantasies.

She never thought that her daughter would be this domineering.

“Okay, mother supports you! Good luck!” Li Su said with a smile.

Wang Si Qin smiled slightly. Perhaps it was because she knew that her mother would support her unconditionally, which was why she was so headstrong! She knew that no matter what happened in the future, her mother would never give up on her. This was enough!

Since then, Wang Si Qin had the opportunity to go to the study with Xiao Yan Xi and the others every night.

On the surface, this incident did not cause any disturbances in Yong An Mansion. Yong An Mansion’s authority meant that others did not have any objections to this decision. But, there were some who were worried. For example, the old madam. The old madam was probably the person who cared the most about Li Su and Wang Si Qin in Yong An Mansion.

Unlike other people’s concerns, the old madam only cared about Li Su and Wang Si Qin’s happiness. If her granddaughter refused to marry again, then that was fine. There were uncles and cousins who could take care of her.

But Si Qin didn’t choose the usual path, which made her worry. If Si Qin learned these things, then how would she marry in the future?!

The old madam was very worried, but when she saw Si Qin’s spirited appearance everyday and her sons praise Si Qin, she had no choice but to compromise. Forget it. As long as they were happy, then it was fine! If she lived for one day, then she has her eyes open for a day. If she is dead, then there is the eldest and second oldest child.1 As long as Yong An Mansion existed for just another day, then they couldn’t let their mother and daughter lose their support.

Li Su saw that the old madam was relieved, so she too was relieved. In fact, she was afraid that the old madam would object. The old lady was auspicious and everyone in the mansion paid their respects to her. If the old lady objected, the Si Qin would not be able to tread on this path easily.

On this day, Li Su was writing a storybook, her head bowed. She wrote the story of a real ancient heroine, Qin Liangyu2. She was the only woman in Chinese history who was conferred a military merit, and the only woman whose legend was passed down. In her previous life, Li Su had been to Shizhu in Sichuan, and had learned about this legendary woman. Later, she searched up Qin Liangyu on the internet and sincerely appreciated that such a woman led a magnificent life. Qin Liangyu was more amazing than those so-called heroines who relied on men in TV dramas!

“Young miss, the imperial princess is here,” Cai He, the maid, said softly.

Li Su was writing vigorously and was a little unhappy when she heard those words. The mansion knew the morning was her writing time, so they would generally not bother her. After all, they all were waiting to see the new play.

It was just that Imperial Princess An He had come, so Li Su didn’t dare to offend her rashly.

“Understood. Ask the imperial princess in for tea. I will come after I wash my hands.” Li Su put down the pen and carefully put the paper away.

“Welcoming the imperial princess.” Li Su bent her knees.

“Cousin doesn’t need to be so polite. Please sit down,” Imperial Princess An He said softly.

Li Su noted that she was 7-8 years younger than herself and still had some childish features. But, she straightened her waist and pretended to be an adult. Li Su thought it was a bit funny.

Of course, she didn’t dare to laugh out loud. Although the other person was young, she had a higher identity.

“Why has the imperial princess come here? Is there something wrong?” Li Su asked softly. Not long after Imperial Princess An He married into the mansion, Prince Lu died. As Prince Lu’s only daughter, she had to keep filial piety for her father. On weekdays, she stayed behind closed doors in Peaceful Courtyard, except for when she had to pay her respects in the morning and evening. She rarely dealt with other people in the mansion.

Imperial Princess An He was a little embarrassed, and hesitated before saying, “Since I want to be filial to my father, I recite Buddhist scriptures on weekdays. My husband said that I am still young and my temperament is not stable. My husband said that filial piety in the heart is enough and father will feel it in heaven. My husband asked me to do something else. Grandfather emperor also implied the same thing.”

Li Su didn’t understand what Imperial Princess An He meant, but she listened patiently.

Imperial Princess An He continued. “My husband gave me a few scripts. I read them and they were wonderful.” After speaking, An He shot Li Su an embarrassed look.

Li Su had a realisation. She looked at Imperial Princess An He with a smile on her face.

“I heard from my husband that these scripts were originally written by cousin. I wanted to ask if cousin has any new ones?” Imperial Princess An He looked at Li Su expectantly.

Li Su held back a laugh. It turned out that Imperial Princess An He was here for a manuscript. Li Su smiled and stood. She turned around and took a stack of manuscripts from the table. “This is the new one about the legend of Qin Liangyu. It is about a legendary woman who was a legendary general. This is the first volume. Imperial princess can take it and read it first!”

Every time she finished writing a storybook, someone would copy it, compile it into a book, then send it to the troupe bookstore. Generally, her inked works would not spread outside.

Imperial Princess An He’s eyes lit up and she quickly picked it up. “Thank you, cousin.”

“If I write a new one, then I will ask the maid to send it to Imperial Princess. Then, Imperial Princess can hand the read manuscripts to the maid.” Li Su smiled.

Imperial Princess An He nodded. “Thank you, cousin. I have these top-quality four treasures, a writing brush, ink stick, ink slab, and paper3 that grandfather emperor awarded. I hope cousin doesn’t dislike them.” The maid behind Imperial Princess An He walked forward with the items in her arms.

Li Su hurriedly said, “Imperial Princess should keep the items that His Majesty awarded. How can Imperial Princess give them to me?”

Imperial Princess An He smiled shyly. “I am actually not proficient in poetry or writing. My husband also doesn’t like these. Leaving these four treasures with me is a waste. Cousin is different. I like the characters that cousin has written. They have distinct personalities. It would have been nice if I was able to meet cousin earlier.” Although she had been favoured since she was a child, everyone around her treated her like glass. They repeatedly told her about things that she could not do. Over time, she had become accustomed to living a life of restraint and respect.

But, after she read her cousin’s story, she realised that women could live like this. The world created by her cousin was so beautiful. The women in those stories were lovely and respectable. She wanted to be such a woman.

Although it was impossible to change now, it did not prevent Imperial Princess An He from wanting to be close to Li Su.

“I am still in the filial piety period, so I can’t stay for long. I will head back first. But, I will come often to talk to cousin in the future. Please don’t mind this,” Imperial Princess An He said softly.

Li Su nodded. “I will wait for Imperial Princess.”

After Li Su sent off Imperial Princess An He, she sighed a little. She finally understood how spoiled Imperial Princess An He was. Somehow, in the chaotic mess that was the imperial family, Imperial Princess An He managed to remain sweet and naïve. Li Su could only imagine how tightly protected Imperial Princess An He had been.

The old emperor took great pains for this granddaughter. He thought of everything. She had been in Yong An Mansion for a few months, but was still sweet and naïve.

It wasn’t easy.

In the fight between the young emperor and the prince regent, the young emperor finally won, but Yong An Mansion paid a heavy price for it! Of course, Yong An Mansion was loyal, but the young emperor also did whatever it took. After all, the young emperor was not a good character, so he did whatever it took to achieve his goals. Yong An Mansion was his sword against the prince regent. As for what happened to this sword, he may not care at all. When Yong An Mansion was almost destroyed by the prince regent, the young emperor did not make a move even though he was sad and indignant.

The tragedy of Yong An Mansion was likely a step in the young emperor’s plans!

The young emperor ignored the decline of Yong An Mansion.

She could only say that he was a successful emperor!

There were more variables in this life, such as Imperial Princess An He. Even if the young emperor was colder, Imperial Princess An He was his niece. He had to worry about this.

In addition, the young emperor was still young. If she could get closer to him through Imperial Princess An He, then could Yong An Mansion be given more protection? Although it might not be useful as the young emperor was still selfish. When things were dire, he would still sacrifice them. But, at least he would always be concerned, wouldn’t idly sit by, and wouldn’t contribute to the flames.

Li Su thought this was a good method. As for the political intrigue, she would let the smart people deal with it. She could only use ordinary methods.

Li Su bowed her head and began writing the storybook.

1.(她活著一日，就為她們張目一日，她若死了，還有老大老二呢) I have no idea what this means.

2.(秦良玉) Qin Liangyu: female general known for defending the Ming dynasty from attacks in the 17th century.

3.(文房四寶) The writing brush, ink stick, ink slab, and paper are referred to as the ‘four treasures of the study’, which is how it was written here. I wrote them out for simplicity.