The snow in the courtyard was glistening, and the candlelight inside the house was warm. Lin Qingwan had removed her makeup and hair, and was wearing a light blue trimmed long dress with a white fox fur coat over it. The white fur collar made her face look only the size of a palm, and her eyes were round and big.
Jiang Zhenlin's pent-up anger reached its peak, and Caibao and Qiuhong couldn't stop him at all.
This time he was even more furious than before. Even though Jiang Su had reprimanded him, he never felt that he had done anything wrong.
Lin Qingwan is his blood-related elder sister, but she has gone astray outside and shamelessly eloped with a scoundrel. When she returned to claim her family, she was only after the wealth of the Prime Minister's mansion and even wanted to force her elder sister Yanwan to her death.
Her mother didn't indulge her, so she instigated her father, and once she gained some power, she only remembered to bully her older sister Yanwan.
In short, Lin Qingwan is a troublemaker!
Lin Qingwan was already used to his rants, so her face remained expressionless. After hearing those accusations, she had a guess in her mind and said calmly, "What have I done to offend your good sister this time, that she's using you to humiliate me again?"
When Jiang Zhenlin saw that she not only didn't know her mistake, but also kept saying she was dragging his sister down with her, wasn't she just adding fuel to his fire?
"Your father just lifted your confinement, and you're already causing me trouble again. It's clear that the punishment wasn't severe enough."
These words made Jiang Zhenlin even more certain that she was using her father's influence to stir up trouble in the mansion.
"What exactly do you want?" He pushed open the door and entered, a gust of cold wind hitting Lin Qingwan's chest, making her shiver.
"That's what I should be asking you," Lin Qingwan said calmly.
"If I really did something to wrong Jiang Yanwan, why doesn't she come to me herself? Why do you always have to stand up for her? Is she feeling guilty, or is she trying to get you punished by Father?"
She was telling the truth, but Jiang Zhenlin wouldn't listen at all.
However, the word "punishment" still made him feel a little fear of his father, and he barely regained his senses. "I'm asking you, why did you let the kitchen make sour persimmon cakes? My sister likes sweet ones, and the manor makes sweet ones every year."
"You're arguing with her over a single snack? How can you possibly eat all that by yourself?!"
Lin Qingwan scoffed, thinking Jiang Yanwan had some clever tricks up her sleeve.
"The main family made sweet ones, but because Mother prefers sour ones, a small portion was made separately, and it was only sent to Lan Garden. How did she end up eating the sour ones?"
Jiang Zhenlin's eyes flickered. What?
Seeing this, Qiu Hong hurriedly came over to explain, "Young Master, you've misunderstood! Miss Qingwan also likes sweet things, so the kitchen made sweet ones."
When Jiang Zhenlin saw that it was Qiu Hong, he felt that the maidservant beside his mother would not lie to him.
"Then why are the persimmons my sister gave me sour?"
Qiu Hong didn't dare to reply.
Lin Qingwan looked at Jiang Zhenlin with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, "So you should go and question the kitchen, instead of coming to me to throw a tantrum over every little disturbance at the Prime Minister's residence."
Lin Qingwan really wanted to expose Jiang Yanwan's thoughts, but then she thought that as long as she and Jiang Yanwan faced off, Jiang Zhenlin wouldn't care about the truth at all; he just wanted Jiang Yanwan.
"You...I..." Jiang Zhenlin was speechless, thinking that perhaps his sister had made a mistake. But why did Lin Qingwan say such things about him!
"If you had behaved yourself, why would I have come looking for you!" he said, using the excuse of being drunk to find fault again.
Lin Qingwan narrowed her eyes, "If I have done something wrong, my father will investigate thoroughly. It is not your place to act wildly here."
This was the first time she had ever spoken harshly to Jiang Zhenlin. It wasn't that she didn't want to before, but she had had enough of her mother's favoritism and knew that no one would stand up for her, so she deserved to be bullied.
Jiang Zhenlin was clearly not used to her resistance, and his anger flared up again. "You..."
“Young Master Jiang, I’ve come back to acknowledge my ancestors, not to vent my anger on you. If you don’t like me, you can have my father send me away, or kick me out of the Prime Minister’s residence and sever all ties with me.”
Her words were extremely harsh, leaving no room for negotiation, yet every sentence was reasonable, like slaps landing repeatedly on Jiang Zhenlin's reddened face, making him feel unbearably annoyed.
Damn it! Nobody has ever dared to talk to him like that!
Jiang Zhenlin was so angry that he kicked the stool, knocking over the brazier in front of Lin Qingwan. The cold air seeped into her clothes, and her lips turned visibly pale.
"Even if I misunderstood you, it is a fact that you shamelessly eloped with someone, and it is also a fact that you went out to seduce men within two days of returning home."
"Do you think the Prime Minister's residence wants to be dragged down by you? If it weren't for the Jiang family blood flowing through your veins, what right do you think you have to speak to me here!"
His voice was almost hoarse from shouting; the entire Prime Minister's residence could probably hear it.
Lin Qingwan's eyes were bloodshot, her chest heaved, and her whole body trembled, as if a poisoned knife had been plunged into her heart, and a feeling of suffocation instantly spread throughout her body.
She staggered back a few steps, trembling, and closed her eyes, utterly exhausted and desperate. Jiang Zhenlin's mouth...it's truly awful.
Just as she was about to collapse, a servant from Lan Garden ran over, "Young Master, Madam has been poisoned!"
Orchid Garden.
"Mother!"
Jiang Zhenlin practically leaped into Lin's bedroom, but upon seeing his father Jiang Su inside, he quickly stopped and stood respectfully outside the screen.
Jiang Yanwan's nose was already red from crying, and she choked back tears as she tried to comfort him, "Ah Lin, the doctor said that it was fortunate that it was discovered in time and the poison has been controlled. As long as Mother wakes up, she will be fine."
Jiang Zhenlin spoke, then realized his voice was trembling, "When will you wake up?"
Jiang Yanwan frowned slightly, shook her head gently, but said, "Mother will be alright."
This made Jiang Zhenlin even more nervous than if he had been told the danger directly.
His knuckles were white from the force he used, and the veins on the back of his hands were bulging. "What happened? How could my mother be poisoned!"
Jiang Yanwan hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
Xia Yan choked up and said, "The royal physician examined everything the lady used today and finally found that the bottle of headache-relieving oil was poisonous."
Jiang Zhenlin felt a dull pain in his chest, and his eyes were bloodshot from the alcohol and his anger. "What kind of medicated oil?"
Xia Yan glanced at Lin Qingwan standing at the door and said weakly, "Aunt Rong said that Miss Qingwan asked Sister Qiuhong to send it over, saying that it is effective in relieving headaches."
It's Lin Qingwan again!
Jiang Yanwan glared at Xia Yan, "Say less."
Xia Yan bit her lip, "All the servants in Lan Garden have been questioned and investigated and there is no problem. Rong Ma had medicated oil on her hands and just vomited blood. What else is there to argue about?"
Ignoring the fact that Jiang Su was still inside, Jiang Zhenlin turned around and glared fiercely at Lin Qingwan, "It's you again!"
If he had a sword at hand, he would have stabbed Lin Qingwan to death without hesitation.
Although Lin Qingwan appeared calm on the surface, her heart was churning with turmoil. Especially when she saw the physician and pharmacist rushing in and out, their sleeves stained with blood, and Jiang Su's silhouette reflected on the screen, and the fact that he hadn't come out yet, it meant that Lin's condition was quite serious.
"My medicinal oil is not poisonous."
The calmer she remained, the angrier Jiang Zhenlin became. He rushed forward, grabbed her collar, and strangled her with such force that he almost killed her.
"How could the mother have fallen into a coma if she wasn't poisoned!"
"You're absolutely insane! You don't even spare your own mother! What good does this do you?"
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