Lin Qingwan picked up the teacup, her brow furrowing slightly as she smelled the aroma. It was the same fragrance that Prince Jing had drunk in the pavilion that day.
Through the rising steam, she couldn't quite make out her father's appearance. Their first meeting after returning home, from a distance, made her feel that her father was extremely imposing; a single question about whether Madam Cheng had taught her proper manners made her afraid to call him "father."
She was very clever when she received two rewards from the Prince, trying to use her father's influence to gain a foothold in the household.
The truth is that her father stood up for her and treated her better than expected.
She often thought that her father cared about her, but he didn't show it because of her mother.
It wasn't until she discovered at the Minister's residence that her father intentionally wanted her to curry favor with Prince Jing that Lin Qingwan was brought back to reality.
Just say she wasn't destined for it.
Before she could speak, Jiang Su broke the silence, "What do you plan to do about Mingyun's matter?"
Lin Qingwan put down her teacup. "The Dali Temple should investigate however it needs to."
Seeing that she hadn't drunk her tea, Jiang Su's eyes darkened slightly. "The second branch of the family has indeed been spoiled rotten by your grandmother. You haven't done anything wrong either."
Lin Qingwan waited patiently for him to finish speaking, and sure enough, Jiang Su changed the subject, "Jiang Mingyun is willing to be a dog, and the Prime Minister's Mansion will not stop him, but there is no need to get entangled with a dog forever."
"She lost a leg and was imprisoned in the Dali Temple. The poisoning, framing, and murder are all facts. It's harder for her to live than to die."
Lin Qingwan said, "So, Father's intention is also to release her."
Jiang Su replied, "Once she enters the Dali Temple, she cannot interfere with the investigation at will. Once the results are in, we can replace her exile or imprisonment with sending her to a nunnery to spend the rest of her life."
Lin Qingwan was surprised. She thought her father would bring up the Jiang family and handle the matter internally, just like her mother did.
Lin Qingwan lowered her eyes, "I will do as Father says."
Jiang Su paused for a moment, then said, "You'll need to inform the Prince then."
Lin Qingwan originally wanted to ask her father directly why he wanted her to act as if she was deliberately seducing Prince Jing, but she changed her mind now, "Father intends for me to become Prince Jing's consort?"
Jiang Su took a sip of tea, his pupils inadvertently contracting slightly. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, hidden deep within. When he spoke again, there was a hint of helplessness in his voice, "Even if I have no intention, can I change Your Highness's mind?"
"Qingwan, don't overthink it. You are a true descendant of the Jiang family, and this marriage was originally meant for you."
Lin Qingwan felt a heavy blow to her heart, and a hint of shock couldn't help but surface in her eyes. She didn't actually care about these things, but she had never received any affirmation from the Prime Minister's residence. Now that her father had said this, the grievances in her heart only intensified.
But she didn't reveal a thing.
"His Highness clearly prefers you. Rather than letting Yan Wan marry into his family and suffer neglect, it would be better to grant His Highness's wish. It might not be a bad way out for you either."
"I only hope that if you can win the prince's favor, you will not hold a grudge against your mother and Yan Wan in the future."
As Lin Qingwan left the study, she was absent-minded. Her father concealed the sharp glint in his eyes and appeared calm and reserved, which coincided with the image of a kind and forbearing man she had imagined.
It was a valid reason, both for her and for Jiang Yanwan, but she still couldn't be sure if her father was telling the truth.
Just as she was about to step onto the arched bridge, Jiang Zhenlin suddenly appeared with a dark face, "Mother punished my older sister, saying she didn't take good care of you."
Lin Qingwan's thoughts were somewhat scattered. When she saw that it was him, she gave a faint "oh".
Jiang Zhenlin frowned. Oh? That's it!
“I told you my sister was punished, did you hear me?” Jiang Zhenlin grabbed her sleeve, raising an eyebrow. “My sister is still sick.”
“What does the Minister’s family’s affairs have to do with my sister? Go and talk to Mother and ask her not to punish my sister.”
Lin Qingwan raised an eyebrow. "If she hadn't told Jiang Mingyun about Lin the butcher, would so many things have happened?"
Jiang Zhenlin hadn't thought about it at all. He wanted to get angry when he heard her criticizing his older sister, but today the sun was rising in the west, and he unusually thought things through.
He didn't know about this, but his mother had indeed mentioned it to his older sister.
But so what?
"Isn't it all because of your indiscretions? If you hadn't had anything going on with that butcher, how could Jiang Mingyun have caused trouble?"
"You've ruined your own reputation, so who can you blame?"
Lin Qingwan laughed in exasperation, "That's right, I smell so bad, Young Master Jiang would be better off staying away from me."
"You!" Jiang Zhenlin saw her about to leave and hurriedly grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards Huaguang Courtyard. "You absolutely must go and plead for my sister today!"
"She's still sick; confining her to her quarters and forcing her to kneel is tantamount to killing her!"
Lin Qingwan was half-dragged and half-pulled for a while. "Let go."
"Jiang Zhenlin, let go of me!"
This was the first time she had called Jiang Zhenlin by his full name. The crisp words came out of her cold voice, and Jiang Zhenlin shuddered as she broke free.
Coming to his senses, he frowned and was about to curse when he saw Lin Qingwan roll up her sleeves and gently blow on his wrist, which had been pinched so hard. A red mark around his wrist bone blocked his throat.
He didn't put in much effort, so how did he become famous?
"Delicate."
This was the lightest curse he had ever uttered in his life.
Lin Qingwan felt a surge of anger. "You didn't kick me so hard I vomited blood and had to see a doctor, and now you're saying I'm being delicate just because I'm in pain? Jiang Yanwan has been sick every day since I came back, but you never say she's being delicate."
Jiang Zhenlin said, "Is this ever going to end? I misunderstood you about kicking you. Later, I sent the medicine boy over, but you refused to watch. When the old women in the kitchen laughed at you for eating fish soup noodles in the middle of the night, I taught them a lesson for you. I even had someone send you bird's nest, but you refused it."
"I thought you were so magnanimous, but it turns out you just say it whenever you think of it."
"Are you planning to send me to the Dali Temple too? Now that you've climbed up to Prince Jing's influence, your whole family can't say a word against you, can they?"
Lin Qingwan was really annoyed by his entanglement, so she turned around and left with a cold face.
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