Lin Qingwan originally planned to pretend to be lost when the others came looking for her, but she didn't expect Jiang Mingyun to actually get burned while playing with fire.
The ancestral hall was filled with paper money and incense oil. The fire blazed up and shot into the sky, filling the entire plum grove with thick smoke. She was already dizzy from being surrounded by plum trees, and now she couldn't tell which way was which.
The hallucinogenic drugs had no effect on her, but her body was even less able to handle them. She felt cold after taking only a few steps, and her feet felt like they were in a swamp.
Soon, a cacophony of voices could be heard ahead, but no one noticed her even after a long wait.
Gradually, the voices faded away. She tried to call out, but her throat was dry and hoarse.
She leaned against the corner of the wall, wrapping herself tightly in her cloak; even such a large fire couldn't warm the coldness in her internal organs.
"Oh, you treasure this cloak I gave you so much?"
The deep, chuckling voice of Prince Jing descended from the sky, and the dry warmth emanating from his body enveloped Lin Qingwan. He braced himself against the wall behind her, making a gesture of surrounding her.
Lin Qingwan's heavy eyelids lifted twice, and she said hoarsely, "Your Highness."
In the firelight, her skin was as white as snow, and her eyelashes were thick and black, like wings wet with rain. Before anything happened, she landed headfirst on Prince Jing's shoulder.
"Tsk, you've crushed me to death."
He had seen plenty of women throw themselves into his arms, but this was the first time he had ever seen Lin Qingwan clinging to a fox fur coat, barely alive.
The guard behind him said, "Your Highness, the fire is almost out."
Even if a prince climbed over the wall to enter the courtyard to help put out a fire, it wouldn't sound very good to others.
Just as Prince Jing was about to get up, he noticed that Lin Qingwan's slender yet strong fingers were tightly gripping his clothes. Even though she was unconscious, her brows and eyes were still furrowed, as if she was afraid of being abandoned.
After looking at him for a while, Prince Jing picked him up and said, "The Jiang family's estate is poorly managed. It's one thing that they were slow to put out the fire, but they didn't even care about the people."
The guards, seeing him heading out, cried out urgently, "Your Highness, it's not that way!"
"Nonsense! No matter how reckless I am, I can't carry someone over the wall and go out, can I?"
The guards stared in disbelief as Prince Kei swaggered forward.
After an incense stick has burned.
Lin Qingwan suddenly woke up when she felt someone taking her pulse. She immediately withdrew her wrist and stared warily at the kind-looking military doctor outside the gauze curtain.
Qin Ma stepped forward immediately, "Miss is awake. Tell the army doctor if you feel unwell."
"A military doctor?" Lin Qingwan asked, puzzled.
Qin Ma said in a cold tone, "Miss, you got lost in the plum grove and were rescued by His Highness Prince Jing."
"You kept clinging to the prince's clothes."
Lin Qingwan then remembered that she had indeed seen Zhao Yan before she lost consciousness, and then...
Looking down, he saw that his right hand was indeed holding the bright red prince's robe that Prince Jing had been forced to take off.
She took a deep breath; she had a bit of a headache.
Qin Ma continued, "Now that you're awake, let's first get the Prince's clothes..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Mingting shouted menacingly from under the window, "Lin Qingwan! What did my sister do to offend you? How dare you ruin her reputation like this!"
"They even want to burn my father's memorial tablet!"
Jiang Mingting and his mother left early and were unaware that it was Prince Jing who carried Lin Qingwan out of the plum grove.
He poured three basins of cold water over Jiang Mingyun's head to relieve the effects of the medicine. Jiang Mingyun regained some consciousness but then started to have a fever again. When she learned that she had done something shameful in front of everyone, she hated Lin Qingwan to death.
Jiang Mingting naturally wanted to seek justice for his sister from Lin Qingwan.
Jiang Mingting pushed open the door and rushed in, pointing at Lin Qingwan's nose, "Why did you bully my sister!"
His dark eyes reflected a sky-covering black aura, somewhat resembling Jiang Zhenlin's. However, Jiang Zhenlin was a legitimate young master of the Prime Minister's mansion, fearless and audacious, while Jiang Mingting's ferocity concealed repression and resentment.
“I did not bully Jiang Mingyun. She took me to see the plum blossoms but disappeared halfway, causing me to get lost in the plum grove and almost be burned to death by the fire.”
"I haven't even looked for her yet, and you're already questioning me."
Lin Qingwan spoke with self-righteousness and disdain in her eyes.
Jiang Mingting angrily said, "Yun'er said that you drugged her and locked her in the sacrificial room!"
"What deep-seated hatred do you have for Yun'er that you would do this to her?"
Lin Qingwan remained calm and composed. "What a joke! Where would I get a drug to harm her?"
“She set me on fire first, and you then spoke ill of me. I’d like to ask you what grudge I have against you.”
Anyway, it was just Jiang Mingyun and her at the time. Lin Qingwan insisted that they each had their own version of events, and even if she was not innocent, Jiang Mingyun could not be innocent!
Jiang Mingting, of course, believed his sister. Seeing Lin Qingwan's cunning, he was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. "You!"
"I'm going to report this to the authorities. Let's see how you still dare to talk back under torture."
Lin Qingwan said, "Then you'd better hurry, or things will get even more complicated once the effects of the medicine wear off on your sister."
These words provoked Jiang Mingting to lose all reason, and he rushed forward to grab Lin Qingwan.
Lin Qingwan was on guard and nimbly dodged, but was caught off guard when he grabbed her outer garment. Winter clothes are padded and not easy to tear, but with a little force, Jiang Mingting pulled half of Lin Qingwan's body.
Her eyes hardened, and she kicked Jiang Mingting in the ribs.
The other party was not expected to make a move, and in a fit of rage, grabbed a nearby stool and smashed it over her shoulder.
Lin Qingwan could have dodged, but Jiang Yanwan came upon hearing the noise, calling out to Qingwan with concern and walking quickly, blocking the doorway.
Lin Qingwan couldn't avoid it in time. She turned her back, and the stool slammed into her back, causing her to cough up a lump in her throat.
Jiang Yanwan was surprised, but her eyes couldn't hide her satisfaction. "Qingwan!"
Still not satisfied, Jiang Mingting picked up a teacup from the table and threw it at her. Lin Qingwan grabbed Jiang Yanwan's waist with both hands, endured the pain and turned to the side. With a "bang", the teacup hit Jiang Yanwan's eyebrow bone solidly, causing it to swell up immediately.
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