Lin Qingwan and Feng'er made dumplings together after breakfast.
She could make dough fish and sunflower-shaped dumplings, which made Feng'er's eyes widen in amazement.
"I have such good taste. You are beautiful and skilled. Unlike Father's two concubines, who are good-looking but not good-looking at all."
Lin Qingwan's hand trembled. "I accept the first half of what I said, but I'll pretend I didn't hear the second half."
Feng'er pressed close to her, "Then I'll say it again in your ear, none of them are as good as you!"
Lin Qingwan couldn't avoid it, and she was reluctant and dared not be angry with him. She had a sudden idea, "I'm so good, why don't I wait until you grow up and become your wife?"
Feng'er pouted, "Do you think I haven't thought about it!"
Lin Qingwan's hands trembled again, and she almost failed to wrap the filling.
“I’m only five years old. It’s not impossible for me to marry you when I’m fifteen.” He said earnestly, “But I’m not as powerful as my father right now, so I can’t protect you.”
"Nobody treats you well. The Prime Minister and his wife don't like you either. You have no one to rely on."
"I can say I like you without actually protecting you."
"That's not how a man behaves!"
Feng'er patted his chest like an adult, and his innocent eyes and brows really showed a manly air.
Lin Qingwan felt a soft, melting sensation in her heart, and her throat tightened.
She had never received any care, so she couldn't even withstand two words from a child; she opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word.
Mu Xue listened with tears welling up in her eyes. Even a child knew how difficult her life was, yet her relatives only blamed and took advantage of her, without a trace of warmth.
Physician Zhu, with his arm around Tong Di's shoulder in the corridor, couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this, "They say that everyone is born with their own mission; if this place is not good, then that place will be good."
"Why is it that nothing seems right when it happens to her?"
"Could it be that God has dumped all the world's sorrows on her?"
Tong Di's body tensed; the young prince's words struck him like a sharp sword between the eyebrows. He unconsciously wondered what he could offer Miss Qingwan.
He was only giving orders from the Crown Prince, and the gratitude and surprise in Miss Qingwan's eyes were not for him.
At this moment, someone from the Eastern Palace arrived.
Consort Su sent someone to fetch Feng'er and also brought Lin Qingwan a New Year's gift: two fluffy white birds kept in a gold-threaded cage.
"The concubine said that this little thing can help the young lady relieve her boredom."
Lin Qingwan saw the two birds huddled together, shivering from the cold, their eyes barely open, looking extremely pitiful.
The concubine meant that the bird in the gilded cage was herself.
She bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. But Qingwan doesn't know how to raise birds and can't take good care of them."
"If anything goes wrong, I fear I will disappoint Your Majesty."
The eunuch raised an eyebrow. "Miss Qingwan seems to be unaware of the rules. You can only express your gratitude for the gift from the Consort."
There is no right to refuse.
Lin Qingwan stood ramrod straight. "I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's kindness. I really don't know how to raise birds."
"You!" The eunuch's face turned fierce, clearly feeling that she was provoking the concubine by relying on the Crown Prince.
But before he could unleash his fury, Feng'er came out from inside and kicked him in the shin, "You bastard! Who do you think you are, putting on airs like that!"
The eunuch panicked, "Your Highness, please forgive me, this servant wouldn't dare. It was just that the Consort meant well..."
"What kind of intention is this! Who gives away a pair of birds during the New Year? I'll go back and tell my father that from now on, he won't give her a monthly salary, only birds. Would she be happy then?"
The eunuch broke out in a cold sweat and dared not say another word.
Physician Zhu couldn't help but chuckle, "The Crown Prince's son is truly a treasure."
Feng'er dismissed the eunuch for Lin Qingwan and said goodbye to her with reluctance, "Take good care of yourself. I'll bring Father to visit you when I have time."
Hearing this, Lin Qingwan also felt like a bird in a gilded cage.
After seeing Feng'er off, the Prime Minister's carriage arrived at the gate.
Mu Xue's heart tightened. "Miss, could it be the young master again..."
Before she could finish speaking, a servant lifted the carriage curtain, and Rong Ma helped Lin Shi down.
When Madam Lin looked up, she met Lin Qingwan's eyes and felt that they were even colder than before. The snowflakes falling all over the sky were not as cold as her.
Rong Ma whispered in her ear, "Miss Qingwan is standing there all alone, all lonely."
"She doesn't look well either, and she looks even thinner."
Madam Lin only knew that she was injured, but she did not know that she had almost lost her life. Although she disliked her for tarnishing the reputation of the Prime Minister's Mansion, she still felt uncomfortable seeing her so thin wrapped in a cloak.
Madam Lin also felt exhausted. "The Prime Minister said that she inherited her temperament from me. When I was young, I didn't respect people, and now I'm getting my comeuppance."
Rong Ma frowned slightly, unsure how to answer. She had advised the madam long ago, but the madam wouldn't listen, and now it seemed that nothing could make up for it.
For the first time, Madam Lin deliberately avoided Lin Qingwan's gaze and instructed, "Bring the things down, and you all go and wish her a Happy New Year first."
Jiang Zhenlin rarely showed a smile. As he walked towards Lin Qingwan, he took something out of his pocket. "Lin Qingwan, why aren't you home? What are you doing spending the New Year in someone else's yard?"
"Your mother and older sister have come looking for you. Pack your things and let's go back and have dumplings."
He pulled out a red envelope and waved it, raising his eyebrows at Lin Qingwan, "Let bygones be bygones. There's no need for family members to hold grudges from the past."
"I have a bad temper and haven't treated you well in the past. Today, I've brought you a red seal to ward off evil spirits, so you..."
He used all his good temper from the past ten years on this moment, and his smile was priceless. However, Lin Qingwan was not moved at all. When he walked over, she calmly turned around and went back to the courtyard, coldly saying, "Guard Tong, close the gate."
The door closed as soon as he finished speaking.
Jiang Zhenlin's laughter faded with the sound of the door closing. He couldn't believe he'd said so much, and she...
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