The Prime Minister's Residence.
"Madam, Miss has jumped into the lake!"
Before the Prime Minister's wife, Madam Lin, could even touch Lin Qingwan, she was stunned by these words, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes for so long finally burst forth.
But these tears should have been for her biological daughter, Lin Qingwan, who had just been found.
Lin felt a wave of dizziness and said in a trembling voice, "My Yanwan..."
"Quickly, save them!"
"Summon the imperial physician!"
A group of people followed Lin Shi into Jiang Yanwan's courtyard, leaving Lin Qingwan standing outside the door.
She was almost able to be held in her biological mother's arms.
But it's okay, she went home.
The winter wind cut her face like a knife. Lin Qingwan was wearing thin clothes because it was the only dress that looked decent, but it was still worse than what the maids in the Prime Minister's mansion wore.
Lin Qingwan was practically frozen solid when another old woman came out, looked her up and down, and without even calling her "Miss," simply said, "Come in."
What a huge garden.
Despite the cold weather, the pond water hadn't frozen, and fish were still swimming around. For the first fifteen years of her life, Lin Qingwan never dared to dream that she would be the legitimate daughter of Jiang Su, the Prime Minister of Da Ning.
Lin Qingwan was led into a small courtyard. Two plum trees stood in front of the house, and the room was stuffy with heat. The old woman pointed to a young, delicate girl, "This is Muxue. She will serve you from now on."
"Ask her if you don't understand anything."
The old woman hurriedly left after saying those two words, not forgetting to remind her, "Something happened to the young lady, and things are in chaos in the manor right now, so don't wander around."
This tone... as if afraid she would cause trouble for the Prime Minister's residence at this time.
The warmth in Lin Qingwan's eyes faded somewhat without her realizing it, but fortunately Muxue stepped forward in time to ease the awkwardness, saying, "This servant greets Miss."
This was the first person to call her "Miss," and she was also very beautiful.
Lin Qingwan reached out to help, only to reveal her hand covered in chilblains.
Mu Xue was startled, "What happened to Miss's hand..."
Lin Qingwan felt embarrassed and tried to pull her hand away, but Mu Xue held it even tighter. The little girl's eyes were red. "These are all old frostbite! Miss has suffered outside."
"This servant will go and get the ointment."
Lin Qingwan thought she would be looked down upon, especially since Mu Xue's hands were so white and soft, making her look even more disheveled.
However, the words "suffered" struck Lin Qingwan's heart. The thought of living under someone else's roof and suffering torment from her adoptive mother for fifteen years made her throat feel bitter.
She finally understood why her adoptive mother, Madam Cheng, didn't like her.
Cheng was originally a personal maid of Lin, the wife of the Prime Minister, who was also the birth mother of Lin Qingwan. Fifteen years ago, Lin was assassinated on the road to pray for blessings. She was so frightened that she went into premature labor and gave birth to Lin Qingwan. Fearing that she would not be able to escape, Cheng switched her own daughter with Lin Qingwan, so that her own flesh and blood would die in Lin Qingwan's place, so that the Prime Minister's family could continue its bloodline.
Thinking she was doomed, Lin was saved from certain death when the Prime Minister arrived just in time. Cheng, meanwhile, carried Lin Qingwan away from the pursuers and disappeared without a trace.
Cheng was disfigured and blinded by an assassin, but she survived with Lin Qingwan after many hardships. Half a year later, Cheng's husband came to them with a large sum of money from the Prime Minister's mansion. The two chose to settle in the mountains and did not send Lin Qingwan back to the Prime Minister's mansion.
Lin Qingwan began taking care of Cheng's daily life at the age of five, and even had to wash clothes by the lake in the cold winter. Even so, Cheng would whip her when she was unhappy, saying, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gone blind."
Lin Qingwan was grateful to her adoptive mother for raising her, and she always silently endured everything.
On the day she learned the truth, Lin Qingwan couldn't understand why Madam Cheng insisted on making her suffer outside instead of returning to the Prime Minister's residence. Madam Cheng's righteous act back then was enough for her to enjoy the rest of her life in peace.
It wasn't until Madam Cheng was terminally ill and longed to hear her own daughter call her "Mother" that Lin Qingwan realized that Madam Cheng was willing to suffer and mistreat herself so that her daughter could become the daughter of a high-ranking official and enjoy wealth and honor.
Lin Qingwan accepted it. She considered the fifteen years of being a slave as repayment for the kindness shown to her by the Cheng family in the past.
That Yan Wan... must be Cheng's daughter.
Qingwan and Yanwan, even their names are so similar, their mother and Cheng were truly like sisters.
It was only right that Jiang Yanwan enjoyed the life of a prime minister's daughter for fifteen years, since if the prime minister had arrived a moment later, Lin Qingwan would have lost her life.
Before long, Mu Xue returned with the ointment. She first washed Lin Qingwan's hands with warm water, then poured several kinds of medicated oil into the water and let Lin Qingwan soak for a while. Some of the frostbite wounds softened considerably.
Mu Xue carefully applied the ointment to her; it felt cool and slightly itchy.
"Miss, please bear with it. This ointment was a gift from the palace to the young master. It's very effective. I guarantee that after a good night's sleep, the cracks will heal completely. Just apply it once or twice more and it will be completely healed."
Lin Qingwan couldn't believe it, "Really?"
Mu Xue confidently declared, "This servant will not lie to you, Miss."
Therefore, Lin Qingwan gritted her teeth and suppressed the urge to scratch the itch.
After her hands were bandaged, she realized her parents were waiting to see her. Although Lin Qingwan grew up in the mountains, she had the blood of the Jiang family flowing in her veins, and she knew the rules without being taught.
Besides, even a maid is so doting on her. What if her own parents saw this...?
Lin Qingwan shook her head, "Let's tear it down first. If Mother sees it, it will only upset her for no reason."
When she uttered the word "mother," my heart skipped a beat with warmth.
Mu Xue's eyes darkened slightly. Huaguang Courtyard was in chaos. The madam was still with Miss Yanwan, and no one came to tell her to take good care of Miss Lin.
Lin Qingwan asked, "How did she fall into the water?"
The young lady of the Prime Minister's mansion must have been carefully served by her servants, how could such a big mistake have occurred?
Mu Xue hesitated, intending to brush it off, when a furious voice rang out in the courtyard.
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