Qin Linglong’s heart stopped the moment she saw the figure.
Her gaze was dazed as she watched the man walk in.
He was His Highness the Prince of Jin?
He was actually His Highness the Prince of Jin!
In all these years, no man she had ever met could compare to the Prince of Jin before her!
As he walked slowly, he seemed to have descended from the heavens.
His dark eyes lifted, and his gaze swept over her.
Qin Linglong instinctively held her breath. She had never imagined that one day she would marry someone like him, that he would choose her from among so many people.
Suddenly, she felt a pang of regret. If only she had been there on the night of the palace banquet, she could have witnessed that scene firsthand, where his eyes held no one but her, and their gazes would have met.
Alas, time could not be reversed.
Zhan Tianye’s dark eyes swept over Qin Linglong. Upon seeing her, the light in his dark eyes suddenly sharpened.
“Linglong pays her respects to His Highness the Prince of Jin,” Qin Linglong managed to regain her composure and immediately bowed courteously.
However, she could feel her voice trembling.
After calming herself, her heart beat even faster.
She quickly tried to steady her heartbeat.
But for some reason, under the Prince of Jin’s gaze, her heart refused to calm down; it continued to pound rapidly.
She knew she was losing control of her heart.
From this moment on, she was determined to become better, otherwise, she knew she would not be worthy of the Prince of Jin before her.
Xiao Huan, standing behind Qin Linglong, felt a flicker of doubt. When her mistress had seen the Prince of Jin at the palace banquet that day, she hadn’t seemed this agitated. In fact, Xiao Huan had felt that her mistress was genuinely smitten with His Highness.
That day at the banquet, when her mistress saw the Prince of Jin, she had only glanced at him twice. Why today…
Perhaps it was because there were too many people at the banquet, and her mistress had suppressed her feelings?
For a moment, Xiao Huan couldn’t quite understand.
Just then, both Qin Linglong and Xiao Huan felt a powerful chill sweep over them.
A sense of dread enveloped them from head to toe.
Xiao Huan dared not look up, but Qin Linglong bravely held her ground, watching Zhan Tianye, trying to discern his thoughts.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, when she met the Prince of Jin’s gaze, her heart couldn’t help but tremble violently.
It was a look that seemed to see through all her hidden thoughts, a single glance that made one’s soul tremble, and one’s knees weaken. If she hadn’t been so certain that she was the one favored by the man before her, she would have been terrified out of her wits.
However.
For some reason, she couldn’t feel his affection from his gaze.
Instead…
Instead, it was as if he were looking through her at something else.
With trepidation, she spoke, “Your Highness the Prince of Jin?”
“Everyone else, withdraw,” Zhan Tianye commanded coldly.
Xiao Huan was taken aback. Was she to withdraw too? This would leave her mistress and His Highness alone together. For some reason, Xiao Huan felt that something was not quite right.
As Xiao Huan hesitated, she suddenly felt a sharp glance sweep over her. She instinctively moved her feet, fleeing as if in escape. The palace attendants who had been serving by the door also retreated.
In an instant, only Zhan Tianye and Qin Linglong remained in the hall.
Qin Linglong felt as if her breath had been stolen. She couldn’t understand why he had asked everyone to leave.
It was daytime, and he wouldn’t do anything to her, would he?
Zhan Tianye took two steps closer to Qin Linglong, looking down at her from his imposing height.
“Who are you?”
Zhan Tianye’s voice was clear and cold as he asked.
Qin Linglong was stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Wh… what? This commoner is Qin Linglong, the daughter of the Minister.”
Had he not remembered her identity that night? Had he only remembered her as a person?
The moment she finished speaking, she could almost visibly see the light that had been in the Prince of Jin’s eyes, a soft glow, vanish instantly.
It disappeared without a trace.
The sudden change was unfathomable.
“Guards, show them out,” Zhan Tianye commanded towards the door.
Simultaneously, Zhan Tianye turned without hesitation and walked towards the exit.
Qin Linglong watched the scene before her in astonishment, an indescribable feeling welling up in her heart. Why did he leave so abruptly?
It wasn’t until the palace attendants came in, guided them out, and they had gotten into the carriage back to their manor, that Qin Linglong finally came back to her senses at Xiao Huan’s question.
“Miss, did His Highness the Prince of Jin declare his feelings for you?” Xiao Huan, seeing her mistress lost in thought the entire way, couldn’t suppress her curiosity once they were in the carriage and asked with a muffled laugh.
She was overjoyed for her mistress.
Her mistress had finally seen the dawn after a long night.
Upon entering the palace and seeing His Highness the Prince of Jin today, hadn’t he impatiently asked everyone to leave, wanting to speak with her mistress alone?
She was truly happy for her mistress!
Once the news of her mistress being summoned to the palace by His Highness the Prince of Jin spread, many would surely envy her.
But this was something others could only envy.
Qin Linglong, regaining her senses, looked somewhat dazed and shook her head. “No, he didn’t.”
For some reason, all that filled her mind was his indifferent departure after asking his question.
Could it be that he was displeased with her background?
She was indeed far inferior to Princess Ningde, but… did he truly value status so much?
“Miss?” Xiao Huan, seeing Qin Linglong lost in thought again, became even more confused.
What was wrong with her mistress?
What did her mistress just say? No? Had His Highness the Prince of Jin not declared his feelings? Was her mistress’s distraction because His Highness hadn’t declared his feelings?
Or was it something else?
“His Highness the Prince of Jin doesn’t seem to like me,” Qin Linglong bit her lip, the answer she had arrived at after much deliberation.
Xiao Huan immediately refuted, “How is that possible? You were personally chosen by His Highness the Prince of Jin!”
Personally chosen…
Qin Linglong put away her fanciful thoughts. “I must be overthinking.”
The Prince of Jin hadn’t spoken much with her, perhaps he was afraid that if they were alone for too long, it would lead to gossip and harm her reputation, which was why he had only asked one question before leaving?
Yes, it must be that.
…
Meanwhile, Princess Ningde of Pingyang Manor also received this news.
“His Highness the Prince of Jin actually requested to see Qin Linglong?” Princess Ningde frowned slightly, asking Xiao Huan with a hint of surprise.
Lu Qiao nodded, “Yes, Your Highness. Many in the capital know about it now. Could it be that His Highness the Prince of Jin truly favors Miss Qin? But the Miss Qin we saw a few days ago didn’t seem particularly special. If there was anything special, it was that she was too timid and lacked refinement. So, why would His Highness see her and not Your Highness?”