Feng'er stared at her intently, afraid that Lin Qingwan would refuse. "My beauty, Father may not have any other man to talk to, but he is the Crown Prince."
"They have a lot of money and soldiers."
"You can have anything you want."
Lin Qingwan saw two rows of eunuchs standing in the courtyard and wished she could shut this little tyrant up immediately. "Your Highness, that's not the point."
"Then what are you worried about?" Feng'er really couldn't think of anything her father was ashamed of.
Fortunately, a perceptive eunuch outside the door spoke up in time, "Your Highness, shall we light the lamps now?"
Upon hearing this, Feng'er immediately perked up and asked Lin Qingwan, "Can we wait until Father arrives and order together?"
Lin Qingwan was flattered and surprised, "The Crown Prince will come again?"
She assumed that Zhao Cong wouldn't come tonight since he hadn't come with Feng'er.
“The palace banquet isn’t over yet.” Feng’er pouted. “Grandfather is biased. Seventh Uncle’s people made a mistake, and Seventh Uncle was forgiven after kneeling for two days. They even got to have a hot New Year’s Eve dinner.”
"The Imperial Kitchen only makes dishes that Seventh Uncle and Consort Ning like; none of them are Father's favorites."
Upon hearing Zhao Yan's name, Lin Qingwan felt a chill run through her from head to toe; the fear of losing blood was etched into her very bones.
Feng'er grasped her hand, "My beauty, your father is just like you, with no one to love him."
"Are you willing to wait with me for Father to come?"
A bittersweet ache rose in Lin Qingwan's heart; the longing in Feng'er's eyes was so much like her own past self. During those years in Shuiyuan Town, she too had longed for her parents.
"good."
The Prime Minister's Residence.
Because of Prince Jing's affair, Consort Ning did not invite the women of various households to the palace for a banquet this year. Lin Shi thus escaped a disaster and was spared from being ridiculed by others because of Lin Qingwan.
Jiang Zhenlin had originally planned to go to Jingbei Army after the Lunar New Year, but it was delayed because the Gao family's matter had not yet been investigated. Lin Shi was eager for her son to be able to spend the New Year at home.
Jiang Su returned from the palace wearing a dark blue long robe. The candlelight illuminated the wrinkles around his eyes, making him look slightly tired.
"You've been so busy talking that the food has gotten cold." He sat down, lifted his robe, and picked up his chopsticks to serve his wife some food first.
Madam Lin asked Qin Ma to bring up the warm soup, saying, "Prime Minister, please have some soup first. You've been so busy these past two months, and the children have been a worry for you."
"Now we can finally rest for a few days. Let's cancel all the events scheduled for the first month of the lunar year."
Lin spoke cryptically, but Jiang Su knew that the whole capital was talking about Prince Jing and Lin Qingwan, and even the Crown Prince had gotten involved. The only way for the Prime Minister's residence to remain calm and not give others any new gossip to add to the situation was to remain silent.
"I'll do as Madam says." Jiang Su smiled. "What were you two talking about just now?"
As soon as Lin's smile faded, Jiang Su knew it must be related to Lin Qingwan.
Jiang Yanwan had just failed to get her mother's consent and was now in a hurry to persuade her father. "Qingwan refuses to come back because of that Mr. Ruan. Yanwan sees that he treats Qingwan very well, and the two of them probably have feelings for each other."
"Qingwan has gotten into such a big mess, it would be better to let that gentleman take her away."
Jiang Yanwan peeked over, but her father's face remained expressionless, making her even more unsure of what to do.
Jiang Zhenlin was the first to object, "That man surnamed Ruan is just a merchant, we don't even know his family background. Letting him marry Qingwan is a laughing stock!"
Jiang Yanwan hadn't expected him to be even more resistant to the matter than her mother. She had assumed that Jiang Zhenlin, who disliked Lin Qingwan the most, would definitely approve of her actions. However, his reaction made Jiang Yanwan even more uncomfortable.
"There are all sorts of rumors about the flower nursery, so even if Mother wants to find Qingwan a good family, it will be difficult."
"Besides, Qingwan has suffered so much, she probably hates us to death. We might as well let her have her way this time."
“Why does he hate us?” Jiang Zhenlin couldn’t control himself and raised his voice. “It’s because she wouldn’t listen to advice and insisted on marrying into a higher social class! She also talked back to her mother and bullied her older sister. She brought it all on herself.”
“Even her parents didn’t blame her, so what right does she have to blame us?”
Jiang Zhenlin met his father's cold and stern gaze and immediately softened his expression. "In short, I do not agree to let her marry that man surnamed Ruan."
Lin also said, "Yan Wan meant well, but someone surnamed Ruan is indeed unsuitable."
No matter how bad Lin Qingwan is, she is still a descendant of the Lin and Jiang families. How can she casually marry a lowly merchant?
Thinking of this, Madam Lin was furious again. She had already suffered such a great loss in the flower nursery, and yet she still had to fool around with other people outside! What did she do wrong in her past life to give birth to such a restless daughter!
Jiang Yanwan was deep in thought. "What does Father think?"
She had misunderstood her father before, but now she knows that he protects her and even intends for her to marry into the Eastern Palace in the future. Lin Qingwan is now a useless pawn, and her father will definitely not protect her anymore.
Unfortunately, Jiang Su's words disappointed her.
Jiang Su looked at Madam Lin and said, "Neither A-Lin nor Yan Wan managed to persuade the child to come back. It seems that Madam will have to go there and coax the child back."
He was talking about the child, or perhaps he was just trying to appease him!
This was hard for Jiang Yanwan to accept!
Lin said defiantly, "She only knows how to make me angry!"
Jiang Su smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Isn't Qingwan's personality just like Madam's? When you were young, you were even more stubborn than her. No lady or young lady in the whole capital dared to raise their head in front of you."
Lin was taken aback, and the anger on her face subsided considerably. Thinking of Lin Qingwan's wretched nature, she wasn't so angry anymore.
"The Prime Minister is teasing me again."
Jiang Su said, "It's not good to keep bothering His Highness the Crown Prince. Please make the trip tomorrow, Madam."
Jiang Zhenlin, worried that his mother would be upset, said, "I'll go too!"
Jiang Su glared at him. "Don't cause trouble. It will only backfire."
Jiang Zhenlin was unconvinced, but dared not refute it on the surface, and simply said, "Oh."
Jiang Yanwan clenched her fists tightly under her sleeves. How could her father let Lin Qingwan come back! Although her mother and Alin kept saying they didn't like Lin Qingwan, they still treated her like family when it came to important matters.
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