On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Prince Jing's Mansion sent out an invitation, inviting Lin Qingwan to go to the outskirts of the city to enjoy the flowers the next day.
Well, in the end, they preserved Lin Qingwan's dignity.
Lin Qingwan felt a huge weight lifted from her heart. It seemed that her father had put a lot of effort into this matter these past few days. After all, if she were to serve Prince Jing in such a lowly manner, it would truly bring shame to the Prime Minister's residence.
But regardless, she was grateful to her father.
Mu Xue didn't think too much about it and excitedly prepared her clothes and jewelry for tomorrow. "I heard that Consort Ning likes hibiscus. Many years ago, the prince bought a piece of land in the suburbs and hired flower experts from all over the country to bring over all the famous varieties in the world."
"Except for the coldest days of the year, hibiscus blooms in the flower cellar almost all year round. The Imperial Concubine's palace also has fresh flowers every day."
"Don't be fooled by how much the young lady acts like a princess; the prince has never taken her to see flowers."
Mu Xue felt extremely pleased.
"I reckon that once you go to the flower garden tomorrow, your affair with the prince will likely be settled. On New Year's Eve, the Imperial Concubine will bestow a grand reward upon you. When you go to the palace to meet His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine, the matter will be settled."
Mu Xue's smile never faded, but Lin Qingwan was not only unaffected, she also felt an unprecedented unease. She had been mentally prepared when she agreed to the prince's request at the Minister's residence, but now that the moment had actually arrived, she felt uncertain again.
Firstly, she didn't think she possessed anything that could attract Prince Jing. Secondly, Prince Jing still harbored resentment over what happened three years ago, and the Jiang family couldn't be expected to prove their loyalty. Therefore, his coldness towards Jiang Yanwan was understandable, but there was no need for him to provoke her. If he still wanted the Jiang family to work for him, he could simply accept Jiang Yanwan.
"Miss, which outfit do you like?" Mu Xue was happy on her own and didn't notice the worry in her eyes.
Lin Qingwan pondered for a moment, then pointed to the lotus-green dress from last time, "Since Your Highness likes this one, there's no need to choose anything else."
Mu Xue had originally intended to suggest that she would look better in yellow or blue. However, upon hearing that the prince liked it, she swallowed her words.
She thought of Tong Di and couldn't help but feel sorry for him, "Alas, Guard Tong is a good man, but he can't protect you."
Lin Qingwan took a medicinal bath at night. She hadn't had a relapse of the poison for more than half a month. However, she couldn't always rely on others, so she instructed Muxue and Manager Tao to prepare several doses of strong medicine in case of emergency.
The next morning, Madam Lin asked Rong Ma to come and help her with her makeup, and then they went to Lan Garden for lunch together.
Lin Qingwan thought Jiang Yanwan and Jiang Zhenlin would also be there, but she didn't expect that only her father and mother were there.
Jiang Su served her some food, saying, "These are all your favorite dishes. After you've eaten, I'll see you off out of the city."
Lin Qingwan's eyes flickered as she looked at Jiang Su with surprise.
Lin remained expressionless. "The Prince appreciates you; he has even sent an invitation. Your father and I cannot disobey his orders. But you must remember that you are a daughter of the Jiang family. You must not be arrogant or humble in front of others, and you must never try to curry favor or gain favor for your own purposes, lest you tarnish the reputation of my Jiang family."
Jiang Su coughed lightly, "It's not that serious, Madam, don't frighten Qingwan."
Madam Lin's expression was resolute. "I'm not bluffing. Nor do I necessarily want her to give the Jiang family face. The Prime Minister's residence has no face left to show her these days."
"Since you've chosen this path, you should stand tall and be a good person. Showing off your looks won't last. If you want to truly establish yourself in the public eye, you need to be disciplined, have a good mind, and genuine skills."
"If you don't have the ability, even if the Prime Minister paves the way for you, you'll just be an incompetent princess who can be bullied by anyone in the Prince's mansion."
Lin Qingwan's heart skipped a beat. Her mother had always thought that she had returned for wealth and status, which was why she had given such a harsh but well-intentioned warning.
She felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. "It's too late for my mother to teach me now. You should have taught me how to make choices when I first came back."
"Or if you were willing to give me another way out, things might not be like this today."
Lin's brow furrowed, and Jiang Su spoke up in time, "Your mother is doing this for your own good. It won't hurt to remember these words."
Lin put down her chopsticks. "I'm done eating."
Lin did not come out when they set off.
Jiang Yanwan was nowhere to be seen, but Jiang Zhenlin was already waiting outside the door. When he saw her come out, he said coldly, "You can say that your back injury is not healed and you are not going."
Lin Qingwan curled her lips, "Young Master Jiang, are you planning to kick me out of the Prime Minister's residence once and for all?"
Jiang Zhenlin gritted his teeth, "When did I ever say I was going to kick you!"
"That's true. Young Master Jiang doesn't need to give advance notice when he kicks someone. Whether they live or die is all up to luck."
Jiang Zhenlin was speechless after her retort, and watched helplessly as she boarded the carriage. "You don't know what's good for you!"
She deserved to have a bad time in Shuiyuan Town, and even after returning to the Prime Minister's residence, she was disliked by everyone.
Caibao was thankful that he hadn't lost his temper, and chased after him, asking, "Young Master, where are you going?"
"When you go out for drinks with friends, tell your mother that I won't cause any trouble."
After all, he was going to Jingbei Army after today, so he decided to indulge himself one last time.
*
Jiang Su escorted Lin Qingwan all the way to the city gate, saying, "Don't worry, your father will take care of everything."
"Even if the prince is not satisfied with the Jiang family, he will not make things difficult for you. You should control your temper and not provoke him."
This was the first time he had explicitly told Lin Qingwan that she could consider him a supporter, which was incredibly precious to her.
“I know my father doesn’t want to break ties with Prince Jing. If the prince truly cares for me, I will do my best.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Su's eyes lit up, and he raised his hand to press on her thin shoulder, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."
Lin Qingwan comforted herself, thinking that perhaps all the suffering she had endured before was Heaven's way of bestowing upon her the immense wealth and honor of Princess Jing.
Once the carriage left the city, guards from Prince Jing's residence came to pick it up, and the journey was smooth all the way to the flower garden on the outskirts of the city.
As soon as you get off the bus, you can smell a wonderful fragrance, giving you the illusion of springtime.
She was greeted by Changfeng, a guard of Prince Jing, who led her into the flower garden. When they arrived at the inner courtyard, a maidservant greeted her and took her inside. Muxue could only wait outside.
The flowerbed was not what I had imagined; there were few guards in the yard, and it had a lifeless feel to it.
Because of the fumes from the floor heating, Lin Qingwan was sweating profusely after only a few steps, and her breathing became a little uncomfortable. "May I rest for a bit?"
The maid who was leading the way did not answer and kept walking forward with her head down.
Lin Qingwan sensed something was wrong, but seeing no one else, she quickened her pace to catch up, patting the maid's shoulder, "I..."
The maid trembled with fright at her touch, clutching her ears and shrinking into a corner, which startled Lin Qingwan as well.
"What’s wrong with you?"
She crouched down and asked softly.
The maid noticed her movement, slowly raised her head, looked at her with a panicked gaze, then pointed to her ear and waved her hand.
Lin Qingwan's eyes flickered; she couldn't hear.
The maid pointed to her mouth again, opened her mouth, and the dark, gaping mouth nearly made Lin Qingwan fall over in fright—there was no tongue!
A tingling sensation ran up my back.
The maid took a handkerchief from her bosom and handed it to her. Lin Qingwan opened it with trembling hands, and there was a word "run" written in blood.
What happened?
Before she could think further, Zhao Yan's languid voice came from inside the room, "Miss Qingwan is here?"
The maid immediately pulled the handkerchief back, trembling all over, but kept gesturing with her eyes for her to leave!
Lin Qingwan's hands and feet were cold when the door was pushed open from the inside.
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