The Discovery

"The Prince himself said he wanted to marry Yun Wan as... his Principal Consort?"

Old Madam Lin couldn't believe it, and the cup in her hand fell to the ground.

That was the crisp sound that Nanny Fan heard.

She quietly went inside. Old Madam Lin saw her, glanced at her, and continued talking to her two sons.

Nanny Fan sat quietly to the side; in fact, even she was stunned.

Half an hour later, the two Lin Residence brothers left.

Old Madam Lin gradually came to her senses, and with her eyes closed, she asked Nanny Fan, "What do you think?"

Nanny Fan took out a piece of paper hidden in her sleeve and said, "Take a look at this first."

What is that?

Nanny Fan: "These are the words the Eldest Miss wrote when she first entered the manor."

After looking at it for a long time, even Old Madam Lin felt that something was wrong.

She hesitated and said, "This doesn't seem like someone who can't write."

Nanny Fan smiled, "The characters written by people who can write and those who can't will always be different. It's very likely that Eldest Miss wrote this with her left hand."

Others might not notice, but she is a master of calligraphy; a closer look reveals the differences.

Old Madam Lin nodded.

She held the paper again, examining it carefully for a long time before closing it and asking calmly, "Do you think it's Yun Wan... or is the second son hiding it from me?"

Nanny Fan thought for a moment and said, "The Eldest Miss doesn't have that ability, and what could she possibly want from the Second Master's mansion? You should ask the Second Master instead!"

"Ask him? If he told me the truth so easily, he wouldn't be my son!"

Old Madam Lin had an idea. "Find something else; this doesn't count."

She said coldly, "The evidence is irrefutable. Let's see what he has to say now."

Nanny Fan thought so too; any questioning should be based on reliable evidence.

"Old Madam, now that the Prince wants to marry the Eldest Miss, it's likely to be another troublesome matter."

Nanny Fan said, "The Lin Residence has no right to refuse Prince Huan. If the Eldest Miss's background is questionable, the Lin Residence will also face a lot of trouble."

Old Madam Lin, fiddling with her prayer beads, calmly said, "Let's wait and see. The Prince Huan's Residence won't really propose marriage and offer betrothal gifts right away."

"Prince Huan is the only legitimate son besides the Crown Prince, and he might very well become the heir apparent. So, Prince Huan Consort is..."

She paused for a moment, then said, "The Princess Consort will one day be the empress, and the palace will not be ambiguous when selecting people."

Nanny Fan nodded. "I heard that the Emperor and Empress sent a Granny surnamed Wang over. Presumably, she's the one who's here to assess the Prince Huan Consort."

"They might arrive the day after tomorrow, which would be a tricky situation."

Old Madam Lin said, "The Eldest Madam should prepare in advance."

The two guessed correctly; the next day, the Prince Huan's Residence sent out an invitation, saying that Nanny Wang would come the following day.

Before the Lin Residence family could even react to the fact that a Princess Consort was about to be born into their household, they began frantically arranging the banquet.

The Physician, fearing further trouble, personally kept an eye on the kitchen and the Matron and servants on duty.

The Second Branch's side also got busy.

Nanny Fan came over and said to Zheng Shi, "Although Nanny Wang said she came to pay her respects to the Old Madam, she also came to see the Eldest Miss. Second Madam, you must bring the Eldest Miss there with dignity, so as not to be a laughing stock."

Fearing that Zheng Shi might have another wicked idea, Old Madam Lin specially sent Nanny Fan to deliver a message.

Zheng Shi didn't sleep a wink all night yesterday.

The husband actually said, "That brat is going to be Prince Huan's Principal Consort!"

"How could that be! Sir, must you have misheard?"

Zheng Shi questioned Lin Huabin all night.

Lin Huabin couldn't understand it either, because judging from the way Prince Huan looked, he had no idea that Yun Wan was Zhao Jingyi's illegitimate daughter. No matter how he hinted, Prince Huan didn't react at all.

This shows that Prince Huan himself wanted to marry Yun Wan.

He also asked the Prince why he wanted to marry Yun Wan as his concubine. Was it really because of a young woman's reputation?

"Isn't it a bit too... hasty for Your Prince to take a concubine like this?"

He didn't know what he was thinking at the time; he just blurted out the truth.

Qi Lingheng's face darkened. "What does Lord Lin mean by this?"

Lin Huabin was terrified.

Eldest Master Lin stepped forward and said, "Your Prince, I only feel that my Niece is not good enough for Prince; I mean nothing else."

Qi Lingheng's expression softened. "I've heard that Miss Lin family is studying under Nanny Fan, who serves the Old Princess Consort. She's well-educated, reasonable, and knowledgeable in music. How could she be unfit to be a concubine? Lord Lin, you don't need to look down on your Niece."

"Your Prince is right."

Eldest Master Lin gave his younger brother a wink, signaling him to shut up.

After the two brothers left, they tacitly agreed that the Prince was probably attracted to Yun Wan's beauty.

When Lin Huabin returned, he told Zheng Shi the same thing, and he sighed deeply, "Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman!"

Zheng Shi couldn't sleep at all.

She felt like she would never sleep well again in her life!

"My lord, if the Prince had saved my Jiao'er —and Jiao'er's so beautiful! Wouldn't the Princess Consort be our daughter?"

Lin Huabin felt suffocated and his mind was in turmoil; he didn't want to talk to her.

Zheng Shi had stayed up all night, and now when she saw Nanny Fan, her eyes were bloodshot.

She was extremely jealous, but as the legal mother, it was her duty to take her Di Daughter to the door for a match.

She clenched her fists and said to Nanny Fan, "Please tell the Old Madam that I will bring Yun Wan in her finest attire tomorrow, and I will absolutely not let the Lin Residence lose face."

Nanny Fan said, "There's no need for elaborate attire; just be dignified."

"People from the palace aren't necessarily concerned with luxury; being dignified and virtuous is the first thing we look for."

Zheng Shi nodded listlessly.

Even after Nanny Fan left, she remained in a daze, unable to comprehend how everything had changed overnight!

"It's my fault that Yun Jiao is in trouble..."

"Did I help Yun Wan?"

A maidservant came in and said, "Madam, Nanny Fan has woken up."

Remembering that she still had something to ask, Zheng Shi said, "If she's better, bring her over to see me quickly!"

She hadn't yet figured it out: it was Yun Wan who went to pick up Wenhai's mother, so how did she become her Jiao'er?

A small reason caused her Jiao'er and Yun Wan to be separated forever, one in heaven and the other on earth.

Why should I?!

When Nanny Fan left Lin Huabin's residence, Nanny Zhao followed her.

"Nanny Fan, this is some paper that the Eldest Miss used to practice calligraphy on and didn't burn completely."

"I don't know if it will work, but you can take a look."

The Xuan paper had long since burned to ashes, leaving only a yellowish corner, but it contained exactly one and a half characters.

Nanny Fan took a look, she didn't say anything at first, but only asked Nanny Zhao, "This is from the Eldest Miss's room, are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"

"No."

Nanny Zhao said, "The Eldest Miss's room has the most ashes. The maids often have to clean it up. I recognize the copper basin that holds the ashes; there's no mistake."

She hadn't intended to say it, but she couldn't help herself. "... Only the Eldest Miss would write such scribbles. Even the master wouldn't."

This isn't some kind of scribbles.

Nanny Fan didn't want to talk too much with someone who didn't understand. She politely said, "Thank you."

Carrying the small amount of burnt paper, I went back to find Old Madam Lin.

"Look, what is this?"

Although it was only one and a half characters, Old Madam Lin recognized it. She gripped the corner of the paper tightly and gritted her teeth, saying, "This is not something a country girl could write."