She had occupied the original owner’s body, and now that she had harmed Madam Sun, the original owner’s grandmother, justice had been served. The injustice against the original owner’s mother had also been redressed. She would also support Feng Yuanping until his dying day. In this way, she could be considered to have repaid the debt of occupying someone else’s body.
The trace of guilt in her heart also dissipated, and Feng Jin felt completely at ease.
Feng Yuanping watched Feng Jin’s resolute retreating back, a sharp pain in his chest, tears of regret trickling from the corners of his eyes. This was his only daughter. From childhood to adulthood, he had never loved her properly. He had even believed Madam Sun’s words and sent her to a manor in the countryside, where she had suffered greatly.
It was all his fault. He had wronged Miao Qing, and even more so, he had wronged Feng Jin. He would never be able to repay the guilt he felt towards Feng Jin in this life.
“Prime Minister Feng, the Young General has ordered me to escort you back.”
Lu Shi appeared before Feng Yuanping and cupped his fists in greeting. In the imperial court, this old fellow Feng Yuanping had caused the Young General no end of trouble. If it weren’t for the fact that he was the Young Madam’s father, he wouldn’t have come to escort him back.
“Good…” Feng Yuanping replied faintly. The moment he turned around, his previously upright back involuntarily hunched, looking much older.
Feng Yuanping took a step forward, paused, and turned his head to look in the direction Feng Jin had left. He sighed helplessly, his steps somewhat unsteady as he departed.
“Prime Minister Feng, please get in the carriage.”
Lu Shi lifted the carriage curtain and respectfully invited Feng Yuanping to board. He then jumped onto the carriage and drove away.
“These pastries are quite novel. I’ve never seen them before?”
Feng Yuanping picked up the pastries on the desk and took a bite. The taste was peculiar; he had never eaten such pastries before.
“These were made by the Young Madam herself, using seasonal flower petals for the filling. The method of making these pastries is new, so it’s natural that Prime Minister Feng has never eaten them.”
Although Lu Shi’s words were unintentional, they fell on Feng Yuanping’s ears and took on a different meaning. This was his own biological daughter, and as a father, he had never tasted pastries made by his daughter. If he told people this, few would believe him.
He stuffed the remaining half of the pastry into his mouth, a smile of contentment on his lips, as if these pastries were specially made for him by Feng Jin.
“If Prime Minister feels these pastries suit his taste, please take some back. The Young Madam usually makes some pastries and puts them in the carriage.”
“Good… good…”
Feng Yuanping agreed repeatedly and packed up all the remaining pastries, perfect for taking back to savor slowly.
Lu Shi escorted Feng Yuanping to the manor where he was currently residing and instructed the guards stationed there to patrol carefully. After arranging everything, Lu Shi returned to the Ling family to report.
…
“He’s been delivered?”
Ling Mohan, with his back to Lu Shi, recognized him by his footsteps.
“Reporting to the Young General, your subordinate has safely escorted Prime Minister Feng back to the manor and, as per the Young General’s instructions, has urged the guards stationed in the manor to keep a close watch.”
“Well done. It’s getting late, you may go and rest.”
“Your subordinate withdraws!”
Lu Shi bowed and retreated. As soon as he stepped out the door, he bumped into Feng Jin, who was coming towards him.
“Greetings, Young Madam.”
“Guard Lu, did you just escort Prime Minister Feng back?”
“Indeed!”
Feng Jin lowered her eyelids, concealing the emotions on her face. When she lifted her eyelids again, her eyes were filled with a faint smile: “It’s getting late, go back and rest. Oh, by the way, I’ve clarified today’s matter with Cai Qing, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
“Thank you, Young Madam. Your subordinate will withdraw now.”
With the matter weighing on his mind resolved, Lu Shi was so happy that his mouth was about to stretch to his ears. He thanked Feng Jin with a beaming smile and hurried away, his steps filled with excitement.
Feng Jin pushed open the door and walked into the room. She saw Ling Mohan furtively fiddling with something at the dressing table. Since his back was turned, it was difficult to see clearly.
“What are you doing?”
‘Thump… thump…’
The sudden noise from behind startled Ling Mohan, and the things in his hands dropped to the floor.
“My skin-nourishing water, firming essence… and the pearl powder I just ground…”
Feng Jin looked heartbroken at the spilled skincare products scattered on the floor. Her feelings at this moment could only be described as being cut by a knife.
These were all products she had painstakingly developed, and they were now gone.
She glared fiercely at the culprit and asked through gritted teeth, “Why were you messing with these things?”
Ling Mohan skillfully concealed the fleeting embarrassment on his face, cleared his throat, and said faintly, “I just saw that your dressing table had gotten dusty, so I thought I’d help you clean it. You spoke suddenly behind me, and my hand slipped, causing me to drop it on the floor.”
Blaming everything on Feng Jin, Ling Mohan remained uninvolved.
Feng Jin was too focused on her skincare products to carefully consider Ling Mohan’s words. She quickly knelt down, picked up the scattered items, and hurried to salvage them.
She placed them back on the dressing table and wiped it clean with her hand; not a speck of dust remained, completely unlike what Ling Mohan had said.
“Were you really cleaning just now?”
“Of course. Is there any reason for me to lie to you?”
Ling Mohan put on an air of self-evidence, but his heart was uneasy. Fearing that Feng Jin would discover the truth, he tightly clutched a porcelain bottle in his sleeve.
“But Cai Qing clearly came to clean this morning, and there wasn’t any dust on the tabletop.”
Carefully observing the man’s expression, Feng Jin felt increasingly that something was wrong. She tapped the bottles and jars on the dressing table. A quick glance revealed that one was missing.
Combining this with the man’s previous behavior, Feng Jin understood what had happened.
She turned to the man who was still feigning composure and extended her hand: “Give me what you hid, will you?”
“What… what thing? I don’t know.”
Even at this point, Ling Mohan refused to tell the truth. He turned and sat on a chair, picked up a teacup with the hand that wasn’t holding anything, and took a sip of the clear tea.
Feng Jin patiently walked to his side and extended her hand to Ling Mohan again: “The things on my dressing table, you dare say they weren’t hidden by you? General Ling, I won’t have to personally turn you upside down. Hand over the item.”
Seeing that he had been discovered, Ling Mohan stopped pretending and directly took out the item hidden in his sleeve, handing it to Feng Jin.
“Why did you take my whitening cream?” Feng Jin asked, completely puzzled.
Was he so idle that he had to fiddle with her skincare products? Feng Jin couldn’t understand Ling Mohan’s intention for doing this.
“Why do this?”