Jiang Yanwan was overjoyed, but pretended to dissuade him, "Ah Lin, don't say that about Qingwan. The servants are still here."
Jiang Zhenlin's fiery gaze faltered, and he roared at the servants in the courtyard, "Get out of here, all of you!"
Jiang Yanwan was shocked! She had painstakingly shattered Lin Qingwan's dream of becoming a rich young lady in front of the servants time and time again, but Jiang Zhenlin was protecting her? He should have been the one making the most noise when there were more people around.
Lin Qingwan hadn't expected Jiang Zhenlin to act this way. Her fingers curled slightly, and when she looked up, the anger that had been surging in her eyes had been suppressed. "Young Master Jiang, none of you dare to displease Prince Jing. Oh, there's no need to displease Prince Jing. Even the head steward of the Prince's mansion doesn't dare to offend him, yet you ask me to refuse."
"If you want to use me as a shield, shouldn't you at least be a little more polite?"
Her cold gaze fell on Jiang Zhenlin's nape like frozen snowflakes, sending a chill down his spine.
Lin Qingwan's voice was even colder than her eyes, "If I refuse the prince's reward, the prince will be angry and take it out on my father, and you will still blame me in the end."
"You!" Jiang Zhenlin wasn't so angry that he couldn't speak, but rather that she had hit the nail on the head and he couldn't refute her.
He found Lin Qingwan extremely annoying!
No one had ever dared to question him like that before, especially since she had no idea who Prince Jing was. He was only doing it for her own good!
She's a complete bastard!
Jiang Zhenlin never had the habit of turning off the engine first. A vein throbbed on his forehead. "So what if it's your fault? You'll just get a scolding and a little punishment from your family. It's not like it'll cost you a piece of flesh!"
"You're absolutely... incredibly stupid!"
Lin Qingwan really wanted to slap him and then leave!
She was incredibly stupid; she shouldn't have come back.
At this moment, Madam Lin returned from the front. Jiang Zhenlin's curses could be heard clearly from outside. Her face was as black as the bottom of a pot. She stared at Lin Qingwan's back and said sternly, "Kneel down!"
"The Prime Minister and I openly warned you that you should not accept this."
Lin pointed at Lin Qingwan, her eyes blazing.
Lin's background meant that even when she was furious, she would only close her eyes and show a face full of disappointment.
“Mother.” Jiang Yanwan quickly helped her up, tears welling in her eyes, “Qingwan doesn’t understand these things. Perhaps she likes those fox fur coats. It’s my fault for not preparing winter clothes for her earlier.”
"Please don't get upset and harm your health."
Jiang Yanwan immediately accused Lin Qingwan of a crime with a single sentence, implying that she had returned only to covet wealth and status.
Following this, Madam Lin recalled the words of the two old women behind the rockery. Her gaze fell on Lin Qingwan's hand, where the wounds were almost invisible, and she said, word by word, "Tell me what other injuries you have on your body today, and let the royal physician treat you!"
Lin thought to herself, "This person is perfectly healthy, able to eat and drink, yet he's caused so much trouble with just a few chilblains!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingwan felt as if her heart was being torn apart. She slowly rolled up her sleeve, revealing a patch of white skin covered in a crisscross pattern of old and new whip marks, some dark, some light, some straight, some curved, each one a shocking sight.
Lin gasped, and Jiang Yanwan turned her face away, not daring to look. They had never seen anything like this before.
Jiang Zhenlin scanned the wounds one by one. He knew martial arts and could tell that they were from being whipped. Some old marks were covered with new ones, and he could imagine how much pain she must have been in.
"This..." For the first time, Jiang Zhenlin felt his heart tremble in his chest, his voice tinged with blood, "Who dares to hit you like this?"
"You are of the Prime Minister's bloodline. Who dared to treat you like this? Tell me, I'll wipe out their entire family!"
If Jiang Zhenlin had said that on Lin Qingwan's first day back at the Prime Minister's residence, she would have been so happy she would have cried, and she would have felt that even if she died right away, it would have been worth it.
What a pity.
A layer of light clouded over Lin Qingwan's bright eyes, making Jiang Zhenlin feel very uncomfortable.
Lin Qingwan ignored Jiang Zhenlin, glanced at Jiang Yanwan, and replied to Madam Lin, "Can the royal physician remove these scars for me?"
Lin subconsciously leaned towards Jiang Yanwan, wanting to look up but lacking the courage to look at the scars again, but her mind was clear.
“You have many opportunities to explain to me clearly. If the Prime Minister and I had known that you were injured, we would not have ignored it.”
"Is it really necessary for you to deliberately leave behind the ointment bestowed by Prince Jing, and then use the servants to embarrass the Prime Minister's residence?"
Lin Qingwan slowly lowered her sleeves. "Mother, what makes you say that?"
Madam Lin pursed her lips. "You asked Mu Xue to deliver the things to the Prime Minister's room. If you hadn't deliberately left a message, how would the people below have known!"
This is why Lin decisively turned back that day and did not go to Ningsi Garden.
Lin Qingwan looked bewildered and innocent, "I still don't understand."
"You still won't admit it?" Madam Lin thought she had a good temper, but she was always easily provoked by her. "Qin Ma, bring those two old women and Mu Xue over here. I want to see how long she can keep up this stubbornness!"
As soon as Qin Ma stepped out the door, Jiang Su stopped her.
His sharp eyes locked onto Lin Qingwan, pressing down on her like an invisible mountain, making it hard for her to breathe.
Jiang Su said, "The things from last time have all been sent to the study untouched."
Madam Lin was surprised, and then saw Jiang Su glance at the hairpin in Jiang Yanwan's hair and say, "Except for the gold hairpin that Madam took for Yanwan, the rest are still here."
Madam Lin's almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief, "Prime Minister."
Jiang Su's eyes were deep yet revealed a glint of shrewdness. He said in a calm tone, "Madam should investigate which treacherous servant spread this rumor."
As he said this, he glanced at Jiang Yanwan, who gasped and dared not look up.
Before Madam Lin could recover, Jiang Su rebuked Jiang Zhenlin, "Outsiders haven't done anything yet, but you're arguing so fiercely in the mansion. What kind of behavior is this?"
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