Chapter 120: The Prince’s Birthday

Could it be that Xiaoyao Hou has the intention of rebelling?

According to the original owner's memories, the old prince spent his days wandering the mountains and rivers, taking his beautiful wife on voyages across vast landscapes. The emperor had repeatedly asked him to return to court to serve as an official and assist in government affairs, but Xiaoyao Hou had refused each time. He claimed he longed to retire to the countryside and simply couldn't adapt to the court, so he pushed Jiang Lin into the service. Could this all be a scheme between father and son? Qin Xiangnuan narrowed her eyes, her mind racing with thoughts. Was Jiang Lin approaching her to exploit Qin Guang, or did he have other motives?

Once doubts arise, they will take root and sprout infinitely and grow slowly.

Qin Xiangnuan pretended to be calm and looked up at the lantern. The candlelight emitted a faint light through the red paper. She pointed to the left and said, "Just a little more." Jiang Lin blinked, raised his head, and took both hands off the wooden ladder and reached out to fiddle with the red lantern.

"You..." Jiang Lin was concentrating on adjusting himself and wanted to lower his head to ask Qin Xiangnuan again, but his body shook violently twice.

Just as he was about to lose his balance and fall, Jiang Lin suddenly kicked the wooden ladder with his toes and landed gracefully on the ground. The red lantern swayed gently in the air due to the force. As night fell, Jiang Lin stood across from Qin Xiangnuan in the swaying red light. Their eyes met, their minds filled with different thoughts. Qin Xiangnuan apologized, "I heard my cousin calling me, and when I turned around, I lost my aim."

"Don't bother with me, my prince."

Qin Xiangnuan said this, but she was surprised. Jiang Lin's skills were definitely not as simple as they appeared. He usually concealed his skills, but just now, taking advantage of Jiang Lin's complete relaxation and lack of defense, Qin Xiangnuan put him in danger. In less than two seconds, he kicked over the wooden ladder. The slight force was enough to break the ladder's crossbar.

This kind of internal strength is unmatched even at her peak. Perhaps Qin Xiangnuan will be defeated in less than a hundred moves.

"Little sister, what are you looking at? Auntie asked us to come over and help!" Qin Feng, with black coal dust on his face, ran over from a distance and stood directly between Qin Xiangnuan and Jiang Lin. He used his back to block Jiang Lin's scrutinizing eyes, and put his arm around Qin Xiangnuan's shoulders and took her to the kitchen.

On the way, Qin Feng breathed a sigh of relief. He looked back and saw that Jiang Lin hadn't caught up with him. He leaned over to Qin Xiangnuan's ear and whispered, "Little sister, we have to be careful and not provoke that young master. No matter what, he is also the prince of Xiaoyao Marquis's Mansion and his current status is still a noble. He is different from us. If he really gets angry, we have no way to resist."

"Don't forget, the one in the capital..."

Qin Xiangnuan knew he was referring to the Seventh Prince, Gu Mingqi. The original owner's absurd relationship had left a deep psychological scar on the General's Mansion, to the point where they no longer wanted anything to do with the capital's powerful. As the siblings lowered their heads and whispered, Anfeng happened by. Upon hearing them mention Jiang Lin, he initially considered pretending to be oblivious and turning away, but the more he thought about it, the more angry he became. He coughed twice, attracting their attention.

"Oh, what a coincidence."

Qin Feng greeted him awkwardly, unsure how much An Feng had heard. Qin Xiangnuan knew that An Feng had extremely good hearing and must have heard everything, so she looked at An Feng openly without hiding anything.

An inexplicable atmosphere flowed through the courtyard. An Feng frowned and said to Qin Xiangnuan, "Third Miss, General Qin Guang has always been open and honest, and he's not one to gossip behind people's backs. I think the people in the General's Mansion are the same. My master knew that you were in danger on Phoenix Mountain. He worked tirelessly, stayed up all night, and even broke several horses to rush to Phoenix Mountain to rescue you from the cave. Does this count as a life-saving favor?"

"Even though he has his own unspoken difficulties, he has done nothing wrong to the General's Mansion. You said you wanted to have a good New Year in this village, so the master specifically told An Feng and me to go to town to buy things, and even brought back two thick shirts and a padded jacket for you. He also brought people from the General's Mansion with him, and yet you're saying behind our backs that the master has ulterior motives and a fickle temper." An Feng stiffened his neck. "Although you've done me a favor, I can't pretend I didn't hear it."

"I won't mention these things to the master, but please don't mention them again in the future."

An Feng stood up for Jiang Lin and muttered as he turned to leave, "Poor master, he's so obsessed with fulfilling other people's wishes, but no one knows his own birthday." Birthday? Qin Xiangnuan heard these two strange words and gestured for Qin Feng to help in the kitchen. She called out to An Feng, "Is today Jiang Lin's birthday?" An Feng covered his mouth. He hadn't expected Qin Xiangnuan's hearing to be so good.

He stammered and lowered his head, wanting to find an excuse to leave.

Qin Xiangnuan raised her hand to block his way, narrowed her eyes and said, "You swear to me that you will listen to me in everything, and you will not disobey my orders except for taking action against Jiang Lin. I want you to tell me everything now!" An Feng sniffed, feeling torn.

Now that he has two masters, he is really caught in the middle and can't do anything well.

"Yes, today is the prince's birthday." An Feng made up his mind and said with his eyes closed, "When the Marquis was in the mansion, he never allowed anyone to celebrate the prince's birthday. He is usually very good-natured, but he would get angry whenever the prince's birthday was mentioned. Over time, this became a taboo that could not be mentioned in the mansion. Coincidentally, the prince's birthday fell on the New Year's Day, and no one was able to celebrate for him. We all felt sorry for him."

What secrets were hidden in Jiang Lin's birthday? Qin Xiangnuan instinctively sensed something was wrong, but she didn't show it.

"Today, we wanted to celebrate for the prince, but he said that he didn't want to make it public and didn't want you to know." After An Feng finished saying everything, he swallowed his saliva, clasped his hands together and shook them at Qin Xiangnuan twice, "Miss Third, can you pretend that you don't know? Or if the prince asks, don't say that I said it by mistake..." Otherwise, the prince might really punish him to feed the horses.

An Feng groaned inwardly, but Qin Xiangnuan didn't respond. She just patted his shoulder and said with a sympathetic tone, "I'll do my best."

"Please don't..." Do your best!

An Feng seemed to be able to foresee the tragic fate that was about to happen to him. He had a sad face and his shoulders drooped.

Qin Xiangnuan rested her chin on her hand, thinking silently. After a while, she walked to the kitchen and found a bag of flour and two eggs in the corner. She grabbed the eggs, shook them in her hand, raised an eyebrow, and rolled up her sleeves to burn the firewood more vigorously. "Let me show you my skills."

She licked her lips and felt that tonight was a good time to obtain intelligence and information!