A commotion inside the room seemed to have alerted the palace attendants outside.
Zhan Tianye glanced in the direction the Snow Spirit Snake had disappeared, and said coldly, "Retire."
The palace attendants outside the door were startled by these two words and immediately fell silent, afraid of disturbing the Prince of Jin.
After the silence outside the door, Zhan Tianye looked at the note again.
He had originally intended to throw it away.
But for some reason, he felt a sense of reluctance, as if the person who wrote the note had an inexplicable connection with him, making him not want to discard it.
After a moment's hesitation, he pocketed the note.
...
The next morning.
As dawn broke.
The three little ones were already impatiently awake.
Yun Xiaojing grabbed the little snake that had coiled on the ground after its return. Seeing that the snake was no longer wrapped in cloth, he quickly asked, "Did you find my daddy?"
The little snake's head moved.
Yun Xiaojing immediately gave the snake a thumbs-up, "Little snake, you did a great job!"
"That's great! Daddy will definitely come looking for us after seeing our note," Zhan Xiaoli said confidently. He had grown up by his father's side and knew him better than anyone.
He knew Daddy would definitely, no, he would absolutely come looking for them!
He would never abandon them!
Zhan Xiaofeng was also incredibly excited, "We haven't seen Daddy for so long. I really miss Daddy."
Seeing Zhan Xiaoli and Zhan Xiaofeng lost in their wonderful imaginations, Yun Xiaojing blinked his big eyes and calmly reminded them, "Daddy didn't write back. Does that mean Daddy doesn't want to find us? You should be mentally prepared."
He had heard many such stories from storytellers, about fathers abandoning their wives and children.
Simply feeling that the old was not as good as the new.
Seeing Yun Xiaojing's suspicion towards their father, Zhan Xiaoli furrowed his small brows and persuaded, "Xiaojing, you have to believe Daddy. Daddy is not the kind of person you think. He would never abandon us."
"I think Daddy must have had a difficult reason," Zhan Xiaofeng firmly believed this.
The three little ones fell silent again.
These guesses and doubts would be answered when they met Daddy!
...
An hour later, the streets and alleys of the capital were bustling.
Everyone was talking about the news that had spread from the palace last night.
Everyone said that the eldest daughter of the Minister's Mansion had struck gold.
Then, all the other young ladies stayed home today, not receiving visitors, for fear of being ridiculed, saying they couldn't even compare to Qin Linglong.
After all, who in the capital would have paid Qin Linglong any attention before?
Yet, overnight, Qin Linglong had obtained everything they had dreamed of.
Wouldn't this make them lose all face?
However, even more embarrassed to face people now was Qin Lingyue. Her self-righteous behavior at the palace banquet had now completely become a joke, and people were talking about it with relish.
Before, discussions about the Minister's Mansion were almost all hearsay. After all, walls have ears, and everyone knew Qin Linglong was being mistreated in the Minister's Mansion. Now, Qin Linglong had gained power!
With the Prince of Jin backing her, the Minister's wife certainly wouldn't dare mistreat her anymore!
Indeed, this was the case.
During breakfast this morning.
Xiao Jia and Xiao Huan's lips couldn't stop curving upwards as they brought the breakfast from the kitchen.
This was the first time in many years that they had seen such a sumptuous breakfast prepared for them by the kitchen; it was clearly made with care.
Before, the young lady's breakfast was just plain porridge, sometimes with steamed buns, and sometimes not even buns.
They had tried many times before, argued many times, but the result was always the same: the kitchen simply didn't care about the young lady's meals and wouldn't change anything.
The young lady had resigned herself to fate.
After washing up, Qin Linglong saw the breakfast brought by Xiao Jia and Xiao Huan and was stunned for a moment.
Seeing Qin Linglong's surprise, Xiao Jia smiled and said, "Miss, the steward of the kitchen said that from now on, if you want to eat anything, just tell us, and they will prepare whatever you desire."
Xiao Huan was even more delighted, "Miss, you should have seen Manager Zhang's face today; he was smiling so hard his face was stiff. He must want to curry favor with you, or perhaps he's afraid you'll hold him accountable. These people never thought that you would one day become the Prince of Jin's consort."
Seeing the excited looks on Xiao Huan and Xiao Jia's faces, Qin Linglong came back to her senses. She realized that in just one day of her absence, the Minister's Mansion had almost completely changed.
She also thought about her current identity, no longer the bullied eldest daughter of the Minister's Mansion, but the Prince of Jin's consort. Qin Linglong's heart began to flutter with joy.
Before falling asleep last night, she had been thinking that it was a pity she hadn't met the Prince of Jin.
What kind of person was the Prince of Jin?
Seeing Qin Linglong come back to her senses, Xiao Jia covered her mouth and giggled, "Miss, you don't know, the Madam and the second young lady didn't have breakfast today. They woke up early and threw a huge tantrum, punishing quite a few people. Now they are all on edge, afraid of accidentally angering the Madam and the second young lady."
"Xiaojia, didn't you see how embarrassing the second young lady was in the palace last night? The Prince of Jin clearly pointed to Miss, yet the second young lady stood up and insisted it was herself. But it's no wonder; the Prince of Jin is so handsome and unparalleled in the world. Let alone the second young lady, all the women in the capital want to marry the Prince of Jin. But this good fortune fell upon our Miss, and the Prince of Jin fell in love with you at first sight!" Xiao Huan's eyes sparkled with excitement when she spoke of this matter, full of joy.
She was truly happy for her young lady!
"Handsome... unparalleled in the world?" Qin Linglong sketched the Prince of Jin's appearance in her mind, and her face couldn't help but blush.
The Prince of Jin...
Seeing Qin Linglong blush, the two maids exchanged knowing glances. Their young lady had finally seen the light of day after all the hardship!
"Alright, don't talk about this in front of others. It will only attract jealousy," Qin Linglong gently reminded them.
"Yes, Miss! But you were truly magnificent yesterday, you even hit the second young lady. I just encountered someone from the second young lady's retinue, and they said the second young lady's face is still swollen today, and even the ointment isn't helping," Xiao Huan said, her excitement growing as she recalled how decisively her young lady had acted last night.
She had never seen her young lady so imposing!
"What?" Qin Linglong blinked in surprise.
"Miss, aren't you surprised too? I think the second young lady's face is still swollen because she didn't sleep well all night," Xiao Huan didn't think too deeply about it.
Qin Linglong lowered her head and ate her meal silently. That woman had truly done what she dared not do.
In one day, her life had undergone a drastic transformation.
When she had the chance to see that woman again, she would definitely thank her again. And if she became the Prince of Jin's consort, she would definitely help if that woman needed anything.
...
The sky was clear and vast.
A guest arrived at the small courtyard. Yun Shu was somewhat surprised when she saw the visitor.