Upon hearing Ning Wan's words, a flash of murderous intent crossed Jiang Yuwei's eyes. Then, she gently held Ning Wan's head and comforted her.
"Wan'er, you did very well. But next time you encounter something like this, you must prioritize protecting yourself. Answer her whatever she asks. You don't have to tell the truth, but your priority should be getting yourself out of trouble. Do you understand?"
Ning Wan obediently responded.
Jiang Yuwei smiled and patted Ning Wan's head. She had once suspected Chen Guixiang, Ning Chunlin, Sun Shi, and Xu Qianqian.
But she never expected that it was Aunt Lin, whom she had only met once, who had hurt Ning Wan so badly. She wouldn't even spare a child. It's easy to imagine how vicious Aunt Lin's methods are!
As soon as Ning Wan left the Princess's courtyard, Concubine Lin became anxious to find out what was going on, which now further suggests that Concubine Lin is inextricably linked to the Princess's illness.
Actually, Jiang Yuwei became suspicious of Aunt Lin after smelling the perfume on her during the flower-adorning banquet. However, this did not prove that Aunt Lin had harmed the princess. For now, they could only slowly collect evidence and settle old scores when the time was right!
Jiang Yuwei thought that Ning Wan had already woken up, and it wouldn't be appropriate for her to stay in the Princess's courtyard forever, so she said to Yun Qing at the door:
“Yunqing, Wan’er has woken up now, and we’d like to move to Jinglan Pavilion. However, she’s had a persistent high fever, and I’m worried she might catch a cold. I’ll need you to hold Wan’er for me in a bit, and I’ll wrap her in several more blankets. Fortunately, Jinglan Pavilion isn’t far from Diancui Courtyard, so that should be safer.”
Upon hearing this, Yun Qing quickly nodded in agreement:
"Yes, madam."
Jiang Yuwei carefully dressed Ning Wan, then found a thin quilt to wrap her whole body and covered her head with cotton cloth. Only then did she let Yun Qing pick up Ning Wan and cover her with a thick quilt in Yun Qing's arms.
Jiang Yuwei was also holding a quilt in her arms. If they went out later, Jiang Yuwei could use the quilt to shield Ning Wan from the wind.
The two carried Ning Wan out of Diancui Courtyard and hurried towards Jinglan Pavilion. Ning Huaizhi and Ning Zhao had already checked and tidied up the room where Ning Wan and Jiang Yuwei were sleeping before they started looking around outside the courtyard.
Soon, Ning Huaizhi saw two hurried figures walking towards them, so he rushed forward and took Ning Wan from Yun Qing's arms, carefully holding her in his own embrace, while softly comforting her:
"Wan'er, hang in there a little longer, we'll be there soon."
As he spoke, he ran up and carried Ning Wan to the bed. Jiang Yuwei and Ning Zhao followed behind, while Yun Qing went to stand guard outside the courtyard gate.
Jiang Yuwei first helped Ning Wan lie down on the bed, then covered her with a thin blanket before reaching out to touch her forehead. Seeing that she didn't have a fever, she said:
"Wan'er, take a nap first. Mother will go out and make you something delicious. We'll eat in a little while."
Having said that, he was about to call Ning Huaizhi out when Ning Zhao stopped him.
"Mother, who hurt Wan'er like this? Tell me, and I'll kill him right now!"
Jiang Yuwei gave Ning Zhao a deep look and slowly said:
"It's Aunt Lin."
Ning Zhao knew of this Concubine Lin; he had seen her once at the Flower-Adorning Banquet. He never imagined that a concubine from a royal household would be so ruthless towards her own sister. Enraged, he picked up his sword and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei shouted sternly:
"Halt! Are you going to kill Prince Jing's concubine in the Prince's mansion? Do you know this concubine's family background? Do you think an ordinary woman can become the prince's woman?"
Jiang Yuwei's persistent questioning made Ning Zhao stop in her tracks. She turned to look at Jiang Yuwei with a resentful expression and cried out:
"Mother, what about Wan'er? What will happen to Wan'er? She almost died! Are we just going to let it go like this?"
Jiang Yuwei walked up to Ning Zhao, took out a handkerchief, wiped away his tears, and slowly spoke:
"You are a man, and the future pillar of our family. You cannot shed tears easily, and you must not act rashly!"
Jiang Yuwei pulled Ning Zhao to sit at the table and patiently said:
“We must avenge Wan’er, but not now. Right now, we certainly believe Wan’er just because she said that Aunt Lin hit her. But will the others in this mansion stand on our side? Will they believe us? Or to put it more bluntly, will Prince Jing believe Wan’er’s words or Aunt Lin, who has been his bedmate for decades?”
Upon hearing this, Ning Zhao slammed her hand on the table in anger.
"What a load of rubbish, Prince Jing's Mansion! If we'd known the people there were all crazy, we wouldn't have come!"
Jiang Yuwei glared at Ning Zhao and continued:
“Zhao’er, you must not be rash in your words and actions. Be careful, walls have ears. Your mother and father will discuss this matter of Aunt Lin at length. We have just arrived in the capital and our power is not yet stable. If you had rushed into Aunt Lin’s courtyard just now and hurt or killed her, have you thought about whether your father, mother, Wan’er, and Aunt Zhou would still be able to live peacefully?”
Ning Zhao was shocked upon hearing this, realizing she had indeed been rash. She quickly stood up, bowed respectfully to Jiang Yuwei, and slowly spoke:
"Mother, I was too naive. I will remember your teachings from now on and think things through before I act!"
Jiang Yuwei nodded and said:
"You don't need to worry about Aunt Lin's matter. I have my own arrangements and will definitely not let Wan'er suffer such injustice for no reason. In the future, when you see Aunt Lin, you must be wary of her and learn to pretend that nothing is wrong on the surface. Do you understand?"
Ning Zhao bit her lip, and after a long while, she nodded to Jiang Yuwei with red eyes and said:
"Mother, I understand."
Jiang Yuwei patted Ning Zhao on the shoulder and said:
"Mother knows you will do a good job. Alright, Mother will go out to cook. You stay here and watch over Wan'er."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei beckoned Ning Huaizhi to come out of the house.
"Yuwei, do you really have a way to deal with that Aunt Lin?"
Jiang Yuwei nodded and said:
"Huaizhi, don't worry, I'm not fighting alone. The princess will help me. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, don't you think?"
Ning Huaizhi could only nod with a worried expression after hearing this.
"I'm so incompetent. You and the child have to suffer and endure it. If you need me to do anything, you must tell me. Don't bear it all alone, okay, Yuwei?"
Jiang Yuwei walked towards the small kitchen and said to Ning Huaizhi, who was still standing outside:
"Okay, I need you to help me start the fire now. Let's cook Wan'er her favorite meal and make her happy."
Upon hearing this, Ning Huaizhi hurriedly went into the small kitchen and started a fire.
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