Lin Qingwan thought the Crown Prince wouldn't agree to change Gao Ying and the others' place of exile, or that it would be too complicated. Therefore, she didn't sleep well all night, thinking about what other ways she could persuade the Crown Prince.
But she had nothing, except that the young prince liked her.
However, there are not many people in this world who are truly kind to her, and no matter how wicked she is, she cannot take advantage of the young prince.
But to everyone's surprise, Shen Xu came the next day and said that the Crown Prince had agreed.
Lin Qingwan couldn't believe it; she had just agreed?
Coming to her senses, she looked at Shen Xu carefully and asked uncertainly, "Does the Crown Prince have any requests?"
A hint of surprise flashed across Shen Xu's face; she was surprised that she could guess correctly.
"have."
Lin Qingwan paused, then asked curiously, "What?"
Shen Xu calmly replied, "It is His Highness who wishes to see you."
"The snow was heavy the past two days, and Chaoning Street was flooded. The Ministry of Works is in a mess right now. The Imperial Guards are helping to clear the floodwaters, but several people still froze to death. The Crown Prince has been busy dealing with this matter and hasn't spent time with His Highness for several days."
I see.
Lin Qingwan nodded, "Alright, if I return early today, I will go to see the young prince."
Shen Xu said, "The Crown Prince said there's no rush, and he'll send the young prince to the courtyard on East Street tomorrow at noon."
This way, there will be more time.
Lin Qingwan saw Shen Xu off, saying, "Please thank His Highness the Crown Prince for me."
Shen Xu nodded and said to himself, "During his tenure, Vice Minister Gao accomplished absolutely nothing. Every year, suggestions for dredging and modifying the canals were rejected by him because he had no money. Now look what's happened, the canals are blocked for several streets."
"The Imperial Guards are so busy that they can't even keep up with changing their boots; they're constantly soaking in stinky water."
"Yesterday, even the Crown Prince went into the water himself."
"It looks like it's going to snow again."
Shen Xu was preoccupied with the matter of Chaoning Street, feeling both dissatisfied and helpless. "If another outbreak occurs, it will be troublesome."
The last sentence made Lin Qingwan's eyelids twitch.
Her adoptive father and Mr. Ruan were both in the medicinal herb business. She had heard many tragic stories of epidemics. Once an outbreak occurred, no amount of money or herbs might be of any use.
The adoptive father's last business deal was in a small town in the southwest where an epidemic broke out. He raised the price to twice the usual amount and sold inferior goods as superior ones.
Cheng was worried at the time, "If the government finds out, it will be all over."
The adoptive father said nonchalantly, "They won't find out."
"The village is under lockdown. The medicine and treatment are just for show; they don't cure anything. In another half month, the whole village will be burned down."
"Who would know the herbs are fake?"
Perhaps it was retribution, but whether the village burned down half a month later, Lin Qingwan didn't know, but her adoptive father developed boils all over his body and died a few days later.
Thinking of this, Lin Qingwan stopped Shen Xu, "Lord Shen, please wait a moment. I have a few medicine packets here. Please take them over for the Crown Prince and the others. I will prepare more later."
Shen Xu's eyes lit up, and he didn't stand on ceremony, "Thank you."
Lin Qingwan wrote down a prescription and asked Muxue to take it to the clinic for Manager Tao, saying, "Prepare more of these medicinal herbs."
She thought for a moment, then sorted out the money Jiang Su and Zhao Yan had given her before, saying, "Use it all to stock up on medicinal herbs. Pick the best ones and don't worry about the price."
"Miss, why did you suddenly ask Manager Tao to prepare so many medicinal herbs?" Mu Xue thought she was preparing to open a pharmacy.
Lin Qingwan thought of Shen Xu's words and her expression became solemn. "It's better to be prepared."
*
In front of the Prime Minister's residence.
When Lin Qingwan arrived, she saw that Lin was wearing a very plain silk cotton dress, with a snow-white fox fur coat over it, and her hair ornaments were also very simple.
Jiang Yanwan stood to the side with a bitter expression. She had lost a lot of weight in the few days since she last saw her, and there were dark circles under her eyes. The tip of her nose was slightly red, whether from the cold or from wanting to cry, it was hard to tell.
Seeing Lin Qingwan come out, Jiang Yanwan pursed her lips and said, "Miss."
Jiang Yanwan cared deeply about her reputation, and all those little tricks she used in the past were to maintain her status as a fake heiress in the eyes of everyone in the Prime Minister's mansion.
Now, seeing her bowing and scraping before others in front of so many servants, Lin Qingwan couldn't help but praise her for being able to bend and stretch.
"It's your adoptive mother's 100th-day memorial. Isn't it inappropriate for you to wear a smoky red color? She is, after all, your biological mother. She was making plans for you even on her deathbed."
Jiang Yanwan lowered her head, "Mother... no, Madam said my birth mother liked the color 'Yanxia Hong'."
The title "Madam" made Lin's expression slightly harden, but she did not object.
Seeing that Lin Shi did not react, Jiang Yanwan's grief deepened.
Lin Qingwan said, "But it doesn't matter. She wants to see you the most, so it doesn't matter what she wears."
Jiang Yanwan was seething with anger inside, but she couldn't show it at all.
She lost to Lin Qingwan.
But it's not over yet. Her father is counting on her to enter the Eastern Palace, so she'll still be useful to the Prime Minister's family! Even if she doesn't succeed, Lin Qingwan won't be able to cause trouble for long.
Prince Jing will not let her go; she will suffer a fate worse than death!
Just thinking about Lin Qingwan's fate made Jiang Yanwan able to endure everything!
Shuiyuan Town is not far from the capital. For the past fifteen years, Lin has asked people everywhere to inquire about Cheng's whereabouts. She never expected that Cheng would be with Lin Qingwan in such a close place.
Yesterday, she summoned Jiang Zhenlin and asked him in detail about Lin Qingwan's past in Shuiyuan Town. From initial disbelief to heartbreak, Lin became increasingly uneasy as they got closer to Shuiyuan Town.
"Prime Minister, you shouldn't have kept it from me," Madam Lin said, choking back tears as she grasped Rong Ma's hand.
Rong Ma also felt a pang of sadness, "The Prime Minister is afraid that you will be sad."
"It's all in the past. Now that Miss is back, she will no longer suffer."
Lin has been suffering greatly these past few days. "Why would Cheng Min treat Qingwan like this? Is she upset that I didn't bring them back?"
“Madam, didn’t you ever think that if Amin could bring Miss Qingwan to Shuiyuan Town, why couldn’t she return to the capital? Just like before, she entrusted someone to send her suicide note back to the mansion. Why didn’t she entrust someone to send it back to the Prime Minister’s mansion fifteen years ago?”
"And her husband."
Rong Ma said with a solemn expression, "Back then, he said that Cheng Min and Miss Qingwan had no hope. He took the compensation you gave him, kowtowed on behalf of Cheng Min, and left the capital."
"He should have told you immediately after he found Cheng Min."
Rong's mother had wanted to say these things for a long time.
"If the couple doesn't want to come back, fine, but how can they take the bloodline of the Prime Minister's family and wander outside, even abandoning their own daughter?"
Lin felt a tightness in her chest, as if a huge whirlpool was slowly dragging her down.
She was nervous, scared, and powerless to change anything.
"Aunt Rong, what do you want to say?" Madam Lin's voice trembled slightly.
Rong Ma sighed, "This servant doesn't know either."
"I just find this whole thing very strange."
"Even if we assume that Cheng Min likes Miss Qingwan, or that she went through thick and thin with Miss Qingwan and can't bear to part with her, then she should treat her well. How could she..."
Lin could no longer avoid the question. She twisted the handkerchief in her hand and whispered, "That's right, it doesn't make sense."
Helpless, Rong Ma said, "Madam, this matter should have been investigated long ago, when Miss Qingwan returned, no, when you saw Cheng's suicide note."
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