She could sense that the servants in Prime Minister Qin’s residence genuinely respected her.
“Where is Yuehan?” Jiang Lan asked, her brow furrowed with anxiety.
“Young Lord just returned and rushed straight toward the Prime Minister’s room,” the guard at the gate replied.
Jiang Lan nodded and quickly strode toward the courtyard of Left Prime Minister Qin Jianfu.
Her pace was swift, and when she reached the entrance to the Left Prime Minister’s courtyard, the servants made no attempt to stop her.
Jiang Lan walked all the way to the door of Qin Jianfu’s courtyard before halting her steps.
Compared to the courtyards in her own Jiang Manor, the Left Prime Minister’s courtyard carried a more solemn and dignified air.
However, the gentle voice of a woman from inside the room added a touch of guilt to Jiang Lan’s expression.
“Han’er, you shouldn’t have returned so casually like this. What will your wife think of your actions?” Qin Jianfu spoke earnestly.
Standing outside the door, Jiang Lan shifted her foot on the ground, producing a faint rustling sound to alert the mother and son inside.
“Who is it?” Qin Yuehan asked, his voice tinged with caution.
Jiang Lan stepped out slowly from beside the door, first bowing respectfully to Left Prime Minister Qin Jianfu.
“Mother,” Jiang Lan addressed her, taking her place beside Qin Yuehan.
Qin Yuehan had just been reprimanded by Qin Jianfu, and upon seeing Jiang Lan, his handsome face showed a hint of discomfort.
“Wife,” Qin Yuehan bowed to Jiang Lan, his peach blossom eyes evasive, not daring to meet her gaze.
“Why have both of you returned?” Qin Jianfu asked with a smile.
Seeing that Jiang Lan’s gaze toward Qin Yuehan was gentler than before, she had initially worried that the rumors outside would displease Jiang Lan.
Now, noticing that Jiang Lan’s eyes immediately settled on Qin Yuehan upon entering, her concerns eased somewhat.
“Jiang Lan heard that Mother was ordered by the Empress to remain at home and was deeply worried. I imagine Yuehan felt the same,” Jiang Lan said, standing tall and straight beside Qin Yuehan.
Seeing that Jiang Lan showed no intention of blaming Qin Yuehan, Qin Jianfu’s eyes revealed a faint smile. “You must have already heard about the confinement imposed on me and the Loyal Brave King.”
Jiang Lan nodded in response, then swiftly lifted the hem of her robe and knelt before Qin Jianfu, saying, “It is this daughter who has caused trouble for Mother.”
Jiang Lan’s kneel was firm and sincere, startling both Left Prime Minister Qin Jianfu and Qin Yuehan.
Qin Yuehan instinctively followed Jiang Lan’s lead and knelt as well, perfectly embodying the principle of the wife leading and the husband following.
Seeing him kneel, Jiang Lan instinctively reached out to block Qin Yuehan’s knees.
Thus, Qin Yuehan avoided the fate Jiang Lan had just suffered—after all, just imagining the thud made one’s knees ache.
Qin Jianfu felt a pang in her heart at Jiang Lan’s kneel, a mix of vexation and satisfaction, as if she had been outmaneuvered.
“Well done, Jiang Lan!” Qin Jianfu exclaimed, her voice hearty, clearly in good spirits.
Seeing that Qin Jianfu accepted her sincerity, a smile also appeared in Jiang Lan’s eyes.
Only Qin Yuehan, kneeling beside her, was utterly confused by these two women.
Matters of the court held no great obscurity for Jiang Lan, an official of Ling Country.
For Qin Yuehan, what he could hear was merely the surface.
Naturally, he did not know that his mother, Qin Jianfu, had been nitpicking Lin Moyu in court entirely to give some backbone to his humble-born wife.
One was intentionally shielding her own, while the other was intentionally showing goodwill. For a time, the atmosphere between Qin Jianfu and Jiang Lan was unprecedentedly harmonious.
Qin Jianfu reached out to help Jiang Lan up, and Jiang Lan, in turn, very considerately assisted Qin Yuehan to his feet.
“Mother, on my way here, I already sent someone to inquire at the Loyal Brave King’s residence. I heard it’s quite lively there,” Jiang Lan said, not bothering to conceal her petty actions in the slightest.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yuehan’s eyes revealed a curious expression.
Left Prime Minister Qin Jianfu indulgently patted Qin Yuehan’s head and gestured with her eyes for Jiang Lan to continue.
At the Loyal Brave King’s residence, Lin Yuezhi was filled with regret.
It was all because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut—why did she have to provoke that down-and-out Jiang Lan in public?
Now, things had taken a turn for the worse. She had always been frail and had grown up pampered by her father consort.
Yet now, she was being held down on a stool and whipped by Lin Moyu. If word got out, how could she ever show her face again?
“Mother!!! I was wrong!!! Please go easy on me—my butt is going to be beaten to a pulp!!!” Lin Yuezhi wailed, her voice full of vigor, showing no sign of being severely beaten.
Lin Yuezhi’s performance successfully summoned her doting father consort.
“Lin Moyu, you heartless wretch! Are you trying to beat my precious daughter to death? You…” A nimble man swiftly rushed out from the backyard.
Then, like a weary bird finding its nest, Lin Yuezhi cried out even more pitifully.
Lin Moyu’s hand gripping the paddle was tense with bulging veins, and her temples throbbed with a splitting headache.
“You just keep spoiling her. Do you know what she’s done?” Lin Moyu said, her breath unsteady.
Unfortunately, neither Lin Yuezhi nor her agile father consort were moved by Lin Moyu’s heartbroken demeanor anymore.