On this sunny day, the Prime Minister's residence was quiet. Suddenly, a servant rushed into Lin Qian's courtyard, panting, and said, "Miss, His Highness Prince Ning requests an audience, saying he would like to invite you to go out for a stroll."
Lin Qian sat at the table, a book in her hand. Hearing the servant's report, she couldn't help but sneer inwardly. This Prince Ning was truly persistent. But that was fine; she could use this opportunity to further implement her plans.
"His Highness Prince Ning? Ha, he arrived quite quickly." Lin Qian put down the book in her hand, a mocking smile curving her lips.
The maid Cui'er asked, puzzled, "Miss, haven't you been avoiding Prince Ning all this time? Why are you doing this today...?"
"Hide? Why should I hide?" Lin Qian stood up, walked to the window, looked at the distant blue sky, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes. "Since he wants to play, then I'll play along with him."
“But, Prince Ning, he…” Cui’er wanted to say something more, but Lin Qian raised her hand to interrupt her.
"It's alright. Go tell Prince Ning that I will dress up and go to see him."
"Yes, Miss." Although Cui'er was worried, she dared not disobey Lin Qian's order and could only turn around and leave.
Lin Qian watched Cui'er's departing figure, her eyes gradually turning cold.
In the original book, this Prince Ning is no good. On the surface, he is gentle and refined, but in reality, he is a ruthless, cunning, and hypocritical man. The reason he approached the original owner of this body was simply to exploit the original owner's affection for him to achieve his ulterior motives.
Unfortunately, the original owner was blinded by love and couldn't see the true colors of Prince Ning, ultimately leading to the tragic end of his family's destruction.
But she's not that idiot from the original owner of this body!
"Prince Ning, since you've come to me of your own accord, don't blame me for being impolite." Lin Qian's lips curled into a cold smile, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light.
...
An hour later, Lin Qian, accompanied by her maid, arrived at the garden pavilion.
From afar, one could see Prince Ning, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, sitting in a pavilion, sipping tea. His posture was elegant, and his handsome appearance extraordinary, as if he had stepped out of a painting.
If you don't know him, you might really be fooled by his appearance.
"This humble woman greets Your Highness Prince Ning." Lin Qian walked to the pavilion and slightly curtsied.
"Qianqian, there's no need for such formalities. Please rise." Prince Ning put down his teacup, stood up to greet him, and smiled gently. "I've come today to invite you to go for a spring outing outside the city. Do you have time?"
"Your Highness is too kind," Lin Qian covered her mouth and chuckled, but her eyes revealed no sincerity. "It is my honor to receive Your Highness's invitation."
Seeing how obedient she was today, Prince Ning was even more pleased. He reached out to hold Lin Qian's hand, but she subtly avoided it.
"What's wrong with Qianqian?" Prince Ning's eyes flickered slightly, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure.
"Your Highness, please forgive me," Lin Qian said, feigning fear. "I have been frail since childhood, and I fell seriously ill after falling into the water a few days ago. I am still not fully recovered, so it is really not appropriate for me to be too close to Your Highness, lest I pass on my illness to you."
The smile on Prince Ning's face froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered. He withdrew his hand and asked with feigned concern, "Is Qianqian still not fully recovered? Why didn't you tell me sooner so I could have sent the imperial physician to treat her?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness," Lin Qian said, lowering her eyes to conceal the mockery in them. "It's just a minor issue, I wouldn't dare trouble the Imperial Physician."
"Qianqian, what are you saying?" Prince Ning said, reaching out to take Lin Qian's hand again, this time more directly, his aim fixed on her slender wrist. "Why should we be so distant with each other?"
In Prince Ning's memory, Lin Qian should have been obedient to him and full of love. But ever since Lin Qian fell into the water and woke up, he always felt that Lin Qian was a little different, but he couldn't put his finger on what was different.
Just then, another servant ran over in a panic, bowed, and said, "Your Highness Prince Ning, Miss, someone from the palace just came and said that Her Majesty the Empress summons Your Highness Prince Ning to the palace immediately."
Prince Ning's hand froze in mid-air, his expression turning grim. Who was he to have Lin Qian reject him time and again? Did she really think he couldn't live without her?
“Since Her Majesty the Empress summoned me, I naturally dared not delay.” Prince Ning withdrew his hand, glanced at Lin Qian with a sinister look, and said with obvious anger in his tone, “Qianqian, rest well. I will come to visit you again when I return to my residence.”
After saying that, he turned and left, completely ignoring Lin Qian's reaction.
Lin Qian watched Prince Ning's departing figure, a mocking smile playing on her lips. It seemed this Prince Ning was nothing special after all; he couldn't even keep his temper up over such a small matter.
The servants in the front hall all lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound. They sensed Prince Ning's displeasure and were afraid of incurring his wrath. Sunlight streamed through the windows, spilling onto the floor, but it could not dispel the oppressive atmosphere in the hall.
After Prince Ning left, the air in the front hall seemed to freeze. The servants dared not breathe, fearing they might inadvertently incur misfortune. Lin Qian, however, acted as if nothing had happened, letting out a soft hum before leaving the front hall with her maid.
"Miss, are you just going to let Prince Ning leave like that?" the maid Cui'er asked cautiously, her tone tinged with confusion. In her eyes, Prince Ning was the most noble man in the world, and countless young ladies from prestigious families would kill to throw themselves at him. How could her young mistress not care at all?
Lin Qian stopped, a mocking smile playing on her lips: "What? You really want to go on a spring outing with him if I keep him here?"
Cui'er was so frightened that she immediately knelt down: "This servant wouldn't dare! This servant only..."
"Just what?" Lin Qian raised an eyebrow, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
Cui'er shrank back, no longer daring to hide anything: "This servant just feels that His Highness Prince Ning seems to be sincere towards you, Miss."
Lin Qian ignored Cui'er and walked straight to her courtyard. She knew that Prince Ning's invitation today was nothing more than a test, a test to see if she would still be the obedient eldest daughter of the Lin family after she woke up from the water. Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.
Meanwhile, in the Empress's bedchamber within the palace, a peaceful atmosphere prevailed. The Empress reclined languidly on a soft couch, a book in her hand, but she wasn't reading; rather, she was listening to her personal maid report something.
"Your Highness, I have already informed the Prince of Ning's residence as you instructed," the palace maid said meekly, with a hint of smugness in her voice. "I suppose the Prince of Ning has already returned to the palace by now."
Upon hearing this, the Empress smiled knowingly and said calmly, "He is quite obedient. I only used a little trick, and he obediently left the beauty he had obtained aside."
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