Lan Jinqin's heart suddenly sank!
Yes, Jinshu should have been either sent to a brothel in Yangzhou to serve the dignitaries with other female members of the Lan family or died on the way.
But now she was standing alive in Shangjing.
Assuming another's identity and fleeing after committing a crime.
No matter which charge was exposed, she would surely be executed.
Moreover, the Lan family was charged with the great crime of treason.
Song Yinghuai was right. Apart from the Xu family, only he could protect Jinshu under the whole sky.
It was her own incompetence.
She neither could find evidence to reverse the Lan family's case nor make those who framed the Lan family pay for their crimes.
Now she couldn't even protect her third younger sister's life.
She could only watch helplessly as her once precious third younger sister fell into the dust and became a concubine's maid.
No, not even a concubine's maid. Song Yinghuai didn't even offer her that status.
Song Yinghuai, this irresponsible dog man who got what he wanted for free!
Lan Jinqin's eyes were red. Sitting beside her, Xiao Rencheng could even hear the faint grinding sound of her teeth.
Xiao Rencheng pondered for a moment and finally spoke up, "Madam Wen, things are not as you think. His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan treats the third young lady very well."
If Xiao Rencheng hadn't spoken, it would have been fine. As soon as he opened his mouth, Lan Jinqin felt her nerves snap. She suddenly roared hoarsely:
"Good? What kind of good is this?! Does Lord Xiao think it's good to make someone a concubine's maid?"
"Lord Xiao, His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan! Even though the Lan family has fallen, we are not reduced to the level of serving others with our beauty. Who allowed you to treat the family members of the founding hero like this! My Jinshu is only eighteen years old! She hasn't even been married yet! What will happen to her in the future... If our parents and elder brother knew about this, they would surely be so angry that they'd die!"
"You are trying to wipe out the Lan family completely!"
Xiao Rencheng was shocked. "I didn't mean that... Madam Wen, I..."
He was not as glib as Wen Zilong. Facing the woman he loved in a fit of rage, he was completely flustered.
He only said one sentence and then didn't know what to do. So he turned his eyes to Song Yinghuai again.
It seemed to say, You caused this trouble. You clean up the mess.
Song Yinghuai silently let Lan Jinqin vent for a while and then stood up.
Suddenly, he bowed deeply to Lan Jinqin with his hands clasped in front of him.
Lan Jinqin was exhausted after venting just now, but her mind was clear.
Now that Song Yinghuai suddenly bowed, she was extremely surprised.
After Song Yinghuai straightened up, he said in a deep voice, "At first, when the third young lady sold herself into the mansion, I didn't know her identity. I did many humiliating things to the third young lady. I dare not deny it."
"But I swear to all the gods and Buddhas in the sky that I will surely protect Miss Lan in the future. If I break this oath, may I lose the one I love!"
The man's voice was sonorous and powerful.
As his oath rang out, his well-defined face glowed with a breathtaking radiance.
Although it was just a short and light oath, it hit Lan Jinqin and Xiao Rencheng's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Although Lan Jinqin didn't know Song Yinghuai well, she knew that a man like His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan didn't make promises easily.
Once he made a promise, he would surely keep it.
But Lan Jinqin had suffered too much from men.
Back then, Wen Zilong swore to her in front of all the people in Shangjing that he would never let her down.
What happened now?
Lan Jinqin stared coldly into Song Yinghuai's eyes. "Your Highness the Prince of Yan, when you say you'll protect her, do you mean to let Jinshu warm your bed or, one day when you're in a good mood, take her into the mansion as a beauty?"
There were the main wife, the side wife, the good concubine, the beauty, the concubine's maid...
"Miss Lan." Song Yinghuai's heart tightened. He turned the Buddhist beads on his wrist and said in a deep voice, "I've never thought of taking the third young lady as a beauty."
So he would keep her as a concubine's maid to warm his bed forever?
Well, not to mention whether the Lan family would have a chance to rise again. Even if they did, Jinshu had already experienced such a...
Three years as a Yangzhou courtesan. Her noble status had been tainted with dust.
How could a prince like Song Yinghuai value her?
Lan Jinqin sneered.
All men in the world were really the same, equally shameless and despicable.
She resisted the impulse to splash the tea on the table at Song Yinghuai and said word by word, "Although the relationship between the Lan family and Your Highness is shallow, we've never had any grudges. There are as many beautiful women in the world as the stars in the sky. Why does Your Highness have to hold on to Jinshu..."
Song Yinghuai knew that Lan Jinqin couldn't believe his oath. He just said lightly:
"Marquis Lan is a founding hero. I've admired the old marquis's heroic appearance since I was a child... I believe that the case of the Lan family's treason back then was not as simple as it seemed on the surface."
Lan Jinqin was shocked. She looked at Song Yinghuai suspiciously. "What does Your Highness mean by that?"
Did Song Yinghuai also think that the Lan family was wronged?
Or was he just trying to test her in order to gain an advantage in the struggle for the crown prince and bring down the Crown Prince's faction?
"The Crown Prince is now showing signs of decline. If there is a turn in the case of the Lan family's treason back then, all the just people in the world will surely rise up against those who framed the Lan family."
The position of the Crown Prince was now unstable.
He and Xiao Rencheng had already guessed that Wen Zilong was an important suspect.
Based on Lan Jinqin's attitude towards the flower note that day, they were sure that Lan Jinqin must also know what Wen Zilong had done.
As Wen Zilong's wife, if Lan Jinqin could reveal some clues to help them speed up the process of getting the evidence to reverse the Lan family's case.
The fall of the Crown Prince meant a lot.
Lan Jinqin naturally understood.
The more Lan Jinqin thought about it, the more shocked she became. "Why is Your Highness the Prince of Yan telling me, a woman, these court affairs?"
Song Yinghuai picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then put it back on the table. He said calmly:
"If I just wanted to take the third young lady as a concubine's maid or a beauty, I wouldn't bother to care about the Lan family's affairs."
Couldn't he protect just a concubine's maid or a beauty?
Xiao Rencheng had already replaced all the register of Caiyu's native place.
As long as she didn't let it slip, she would always be the daughter of that Lan bodyguard.
The daughter of a Lan bodyguard whose case had been reversed by Xiao Rencheng. He could take her in however he wanted.
As soon as Song Yinghuai finished speaking, a strange thought flashed through Lan Jinqin's mind.
She accidentally swept the teacups on the table to the ground. "Your Highness, do you mean..."
Song Yinghuai stared into Lan Jinqin's extremely shocked eyes and said calmly, "Yes."
Not long ago, he also thought that it would be most suitable to give Caiyu the status of a side wife.
She didn't need to bear the pressure of having an heir and didn't need to face Concubine Yao's nitpicking.
But last night, Caiyu would rather let him take her virginity with a jade dildo to protect her dignity.
If he, a man, were to let down such a wife, how could he be called a man?
No matter how difficult the situation she faced in the future, he would surely clear all the obstacles for her one by one.
Lan Jinqin was in a mixed mood. She didn't know whether she should take a gamble and trust the man in front of her.
She had indeed figured out an important clue in the past two days. Maybe it would really succeed.
But...
She struggled in her heart for a long time. Finally, she didn't dare to trust him completely. She just got up dejectedly and said:
"Your Highness, don't joke. No matter how risky your plan is, even if it succeeds, you won't be able to pass the Emperor and the Empress."
Even if he succeeded in the struggle for the crown prince, the Emperor and the Empress would never allow a woman who had been a Yangzhou courtesan to be the Crown Princess.
It was true that with Song Yinghuai's strength and scheming, if he really made a bold attempt, maybe Jinshu would have a chance.
But Lan Jinqin didn't believe that after Song Yinghuai became the Crown Prince, he would take such a risk for Jinshu.
He was just... trying to use the matter of the Lan family to help himself ascend to a higher position.
Lan Jinqin didn't believe, and Song Yinghuai didn't force her. He just ordered Han Fen to send her back to the Wen Mansion properly.
Xiao Rencheng stayed in the Imperial Study for a long time tonight to discuss important matters, so he stayed in the Prince of Yan's Mansion.
Xiao Rencheng said, "Tonight, the Crown Prince and his party lobbied the Emperor, saying that the troops in the Yan region were being frequently mobilized and accusing you of having the intention of treason. They requested the Emperor to confine you in Shangjing just like the Princes of Zhou and Qi."
"Several of us, including the Minister of Works, Xiang Fengzhu, didn't strongly oppose it because we didn't know what Your Highness's next plan was."
Song Chengyuan had threatened him with the young master of the Lan family a few days ago and asked him to stay in Shangjing.
Song Yinghuai had already expected this attack today.
Song Yinghuai pondered for a while and said, "None of you should act rashly. If the Crown Prince's party requests tomorrow that I postpone my return to Yan, you just agree with the Crown Prince's proposal."
Xiao Rencheng: "But... wouldn't this be admitting that you have the intention of treason?"