Huaguang Institute.
Jiang Yanwan's face was covered in tears. "Mother, I... I really love the Prince."
“After the prince returned, he never looked at me properly, but he always protected Qingwan. I know it’s not Qingwan’s fault. But my father wanted to help her get closer to the prince, and I made a mistake in a moment of confusion.”
“I have brought shame upon my mother and the Prime Minister’s residence; Yan Wan deserves to die.”
She cried uncontrollably, and Lin's heart ached with sorrow.
Jiang Yanwan was about to kneel, but Madam Lin bent down to help her up, saying, "Mother knows, Mother understands everything."
“Jiang Mingyun is a madwoman. If she hadn’t deliberately tried to harm Qingwan, even if you had told her, she wouldn’t have caused all this trouble.”
Jiang Yanwan felt relieved and hugged Lin's arm, her tears quickly soaking her sleeve.
"Yanwan is sorry to Mother. I know I was wrong but I didn't have the courage to admit it. I was afraid that Mother would hate me and dislike me. Because in these fifteen years, everyone in the Prime Minister's mansion, even a blade of grass or a flower in the courtyard, has been the closest to me."
"Without you, I truly have nothing left."
"I'm so scared."
She was ill, her hair and makeup unkempt, and her pale, weak face accentuated by her white undergarment. Just standing there was enough to break one's heart. As she poured out her heart, Madam Lin's eyes also reddened, and she embraced her.
“Silly child. I know you mean no harm. I have taught you that one can be good, but one must never be weak. Especially for women in the inner quarters, being virtuous is not enough.”
"It's because your mother didn't teach Qingwan well, don't be afraid."
Madam Lin couldn't help but feel resentful of Lin Qingwan's stubbornness and cold-heartedness. After this incident, she also felt powerless. Lin Qingwan would never understand her, much less sympathize with her, and there was no need to expect her to come to her senses.
Not only was she ungrateful for Yan Wan's life-saving grace, but she also constantly compared herself to Yan Wan and complained about how good they were to Yan Wan.
This made Lin even more determined to make amends to Jiang Yanwan.
Jiang Yanwan leaned against her mother's chest, her voice muffled, "All of this originally belonged to Qingwan, not to me."
Madam Lin's eyes were resolute. "These originally belonged to her, but you saved her life. These are what she and the Prime Minister's family must repay you for."
“Silly child, Prince Jing doesn’t appreciate you, and you might not be happy even if you marry him. Without your husband’s love, how will you survive?”
Jiang Yanwan remained silent.
Lin finally spoke her mind, "Your father wants to set you up with the Crown Prince."
Jiang Yanwan was shocked. The Crown Prince?
“Prince Jing has become suspicious. It won’t be easy to get him to trust the Prime Minister’s residence wholeheartedly again. Your father doesn’t want to put all his eggs in one basket.”
Jiang Yanwan wiped away her tears and immediately grasped the main point, "But His Majesty favors the Prince, and Consort Ning is the head of the aristocratic family. The Crown Prince's maternal family has no hope, so in the end..."
Lin said, "The Crown Prince holds half of the military power in Da Ning. In the three years that the Prince has been away, the Crown Prince's power has grown rapidly. Judging from this situation, it will not be easy for the Prince to obtain this military power."
"In the end, it's still unknown who will win and who will lose."
Even so, Jiang Yanwan felt that her father had still taken a risk.
The crown prince only has military power and is not favored by the emperor. The late empress has been dead for many years and his family has declined. No matter how you look at it, he has no chance of winning.
Could it be that my parents are saying this on purpose to comfort me?
The next second, Madam Lin reassured her, "This matter is not urgent. Now is not the time to break ties with Prince Jing. Once your father allows you to contact the Crown Prince, the Jiang family will become the Crown Prince's ally."
Jiang Yanwan was somewhat tempted. If it really came to fruition, wouldn't she be the empress?
But if it fails, she will die silently.
But Prince Jing is different. Many people believe that he will replace the Crown Prince, and Lin Qingwan will benefit from it. Even if he fails, with His Majesty and Consort Ning around, Prince Jing will not suffer too much.
Hmph, use the Empress's title to force her to step down to Lin Qingwan!
Jiang Yanwan immediately understood.
Before she could respond, Qin Ma said from outside, "Madam, the young master pushed Miss Qingwan and she hit her head, bleeding a lot."
"The Prime Minister is about to use family discipline."
Both Lin and Jiang Yanwan stopped crying at the same time. Jiang Yanwan said anxiously, "Mother, please go and comfort her."
As soon as Lin heard that it was related to Lin Qingwan, she knew that it was because of Lin's sharp tongue that she had angered Ah Lin. She was so angry that she felt uncomfortable inside and out. "It's her again!"
"Yanwan, take good care of your health. Consider your confinement as a form of recuperation."
Jiang Yanwan was very sensible. "I'm fine, Mother, go see Alin quickly."
Seeing that Madam Lin had left, she choked up again and said, "If Qingwan is still not happy, then Mother, please allow me to kneel in the ancestral hall."
Madam Lin frowned. "It's not her place to make decisions in the Prime Minister's residence."
After seeing Lin off, Jiang Yanwan calmly wiped away her tears. "Xia Yan, bring me some ice to put on my eyes, so they don't swell up tomorrow."
"yes."
Xia Yan returned after a long time. "The Prime Minister reprimanded the young master, but did not lay a hand on him."
Jiang Yanwan lay on the chaise lounge, and Xia Yan gently placed ice wrapped in a silk handkerchief on her eyes, then said, "Miss Mingyun sent word back. She said that as long as you help her get rid of Lin Qingwan, she will never implicate you, even if she dies."
“Otherwise…” Xia Yan swallowed, “she will never let you get away with this.”
Jiang Yanwan was indeed worried before, but now that she knew her father's attitude, she felt relieved. "Tell her that my mother already knows that I told her. If she exposes me now and upsets my mother, there's no guarantee when she'll be released from prison."
"The Prime Minister's residence will give her a dignified end. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."
"I don't believe she didn't want to kill Lin Qingwan herself."
*
The next day, the rumors reached Lin's ears.
"What can I say? I can only guess that the Prime Minister and his stepmother have a bad relationship. My mother has been living outside with her second wife all these years because I bullied her back then."
Lin didn't sleep well at night, so after breakfast she closed her eyes and sunbathed by the window.
Qin Ma's expression was complicated. "Originally, they should have been discussing Miss Mingyun's affairs, or at the very least, Prince Jing's protection of Miss Qingwan. But somehow they started talking about Miss Qingwan's background."
When Lin opened her eyes, Shuanghong quickly used her fan to shield her from the light.
"What's your background?"
Aunt Qin said, "That day at the Minister's residence, Miss Mingyun said that Miss Qingwan's background was unclear. At first, there were all sorts of rumors, but yesterday she suddenly said that Miss Qingwan was the legitimate heir of the Prime Minister's family, and Miss Yanwan was..."
Qin Ma dared not utter the word "counterfeit".
Lin's heart skipped a beat. "Go and find out who started this."
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly thought of Lin Qingwan.
The only one who benefits from this being exposed is her.
How is her injury?
Qin Ma said, "The Prime Minister went over to comfort her last night, and instructed the physician before leaving this morning. The wound has scabbed over, but it will take at least half a month for it to heal."
"The prince is coming to pick us up the day after tomorrow, and I'm afraid he'll be unhappy if he sees us."
Seeing that Madam Lin's expression was growing increasingly grim, Qin Ma continued, "Yesterday, the young master and Miss Qingwan had a quarrel, and some servants overheard them saying something... that they wanted the prince to lock the young master up in the Dali Temple as well."
"Outrageous!" Madam Lin smashed the teacup beside her and said angrily, "You're already so arrogant before even entering the Prince's mansion."
"I'd like to ask her if locking me up in the Dali Temple would suit her better!"
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