That night, Lin Qingwan dreamed that she returned to that damp and dilapidated little house, where Cheng was yelling and whipping her. When she was in despair and could not bear it any longer, Jiang Su reached out and pulled her out of the darkness.
"Qingwan, you've suffered so much."
"With your father here, you can live a peaceful life from now on."
Lin Qingwan opened her eyes, the corners of her eyes and the spot where the pillow had been pressed together were already wet with tears.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to break free from the dream for a long time.
"Miss, the Prime Minister has sent some dried persimmons from the kitchen. One type is sweet, and the other is slightly sour. He wants to ask which flavor you prefer, and then have the chef make that one from now on."
Qiu Hong's voice came from outside the window, and Lin Qingwan finally came back to reality.
Dried persimmons?
Lin Qingwan had only heard from the servants of the wealthy family that rich households would make fresh persimmons into desserts for their young ladies, both to alleviate the cooling properties of the persimmons and to maintain their fresh taste. When they were freshly made, the aroma would fill the entire courtyard.
Half an hour later, she looked at the two plates of persimmon cakes in front of her, which looked and smelled delicious, and was flattered.
"Miss, please try which one you like. The kitchen will wait for my reply." Although Qiu Hong was a maidservant by Lin's side, she was gentle and kind.
Mu Xue's injuries hadn't healed, so she had been taking care of Lin Qingwan closely for the past two days, without saying much or being negligent.
Lin Qingwan tasted each one; she preferred the sweeter one.
But thinking of Madam Lin and Jiang Yanwan, she first asked Qiu Hong, "What flavors did the manor usually make in previous years?"
Qiu Hong paused for a moment, then understood what she meant. She patiently explained, "Madam's appetite is poor in winter, and she prefers slightly sour food. However, Madam cannot eat too much, and since Miss Yanwan likes sweet food, she has instructed the kitchen to make all the dishes sweet."
After a moment's thought, Lin Qingwan said, "I also prefer sweet ones."
Qiu Hong nodded, "This servant will go and report back immediately."
"Wait a minute," Lin Qingwan added, "Have the kitchen make some more sour dishes for Mother."
When Jiang Su learned of this, he was quite pleased and had his steward deliver a box of pastries bestowed upon him by the palace to Ningsi Garden.
Lin Qingwan embroidered a handkerchief for her father overnight and even scented it with incense, just like the one Jiang Su had given her, which made Jiang Su feel even more at ease.
When Jiang Yanwan found out, she teased her, "You're only good at doing servant's work, hmph, you're not presentable."
Xia Yan reminded her, "Miss, please keep your voice down. The steward said that the Prime Minister wears that handkerchief every day and likes it very much."
Jiang Yanwan pursed her lips, feeling that even a sip of tea would get stuck between her teeth.
During this period, Lin mentioned Hu's second son twice more, but Jiang Su glossed over them.
As December approached, Madam Lin became busy and had no time to dwell on the matter anymore.
The servants' attitude towards Lin Qingwan changed drastically. Private gossip was almost nonexistent, and Jiang Zhenlin stopped causing her trouble. Life seemed to improve instantly, and even the gardeners who went to Ningsi Garden to prune the plum trees were extremely respectful.
It snowed lightly that day, and the sun came out at noon. The bright red plum blossoms were covered with glistening frost flowers, which looked more beautiful than jewels when the light shone on them.
"Miss, I've set up a shed under the eaves and brewed hot tea. Would you like to go out and take a look at the plum blossoms?"
Granny Lai has been incredibly diligent lately, running around doing chores and calling me "Miss" so affectionately.
Lin Qingwan put down her pen; the handwriting on the paper was even more vibrant than that on the two posters.
Granny Lai stood outside the door, smiling obsequiously, her eyes full of expectation and flattery. Lin Qingwan knew what was going on and stretched, "Okay."
Granny Lai was taken aback when she agreed so readily, then grinned so wide her mouth almost reached her ears.
"That's right, it's not good to stay cooped up in the house all the time, you should come out and get some fresh air."
Granny Lai quickly took a cotton cushion and placed it on the chair, then worked hard to make the stove burn brightly.
Lin Qingwan sat for a while, then shrank back. "Qiuhong, go get the key from Muxue and get me a fox fur coat."
"Yes." As soon as Qiu Hong left, Granny Lai's eyes lit up even more.
Not long after, Qiu Hong brought over the fox fur coat and saw Lin Qingwan with her eyes slightly closed, facing the sun, looking very relaxed.
She gently wrapped the person in the fox fur coat, glanced around, and asked, "Where's Granny Lai?"
Lin Qingwan didn't seem to care, but said, "I remember there was a begonia red fox fur coat among the ones the prince gave me. I heard it was Yanwan's favorite. Get it ready and have Granny Lai send it to Huaguang Courtyard."
Qiu Hong thought that she intended to ease the tension between herself and Jiang Yanwan, just like the other day when she asked the cook to make slightly sour persimmon cakes for the lady.
"good."
Qiu Hong thought Miss Qingwan was a good person. Although she had been away for fifteen years, her elegance was innate, unlike Jiang Yanwan, who was raised with gold and silver.
When Qiu Hong found Granny Lai, she only called out once, but the woman was so startled that she didn't even notice that her handkerchief had fallen. Qiu Hong saw that it was covered in mud, and thought she would wash it clean and return it to her another day.
Lin Qingwan didn't return to her room until lunchtime, glancing intentionally or unintentionally at the compartment in the inner room where the ointment was kept.
"Qiuhong, could you get me some ointment?"
Qiu Hong's expression tightened, and she hurriedly looked at her hands. "Is it too cold outside? Is the back of your hands red and itchy, Miss?"
"A little."
Qiu Hong asked which bottle it was and quickly fetched it to apply the medicine to her.
Seeing her nervousness, Lin Qingwan reassured her, "Don't be nervous, you'll be fine after applying the medicine."
"It's all my fault, I should have advised you to go back to your room sooner."
Lin Qingwan chuckled softly, "Mother is still angry with me. These past few days when I went to pay my respects, Rong Ma always said that Mother is still not feeling well."
"There's a bottle of medicated oil over there. Take it to your mother later. Applying it to her temples can relieve her headache."
Qiu Hong knew that although she didn't say it, she was thinking about the Prime Minister and his wife. "The Madam will like it."
"I hope so."
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