I was sold when I opened my eyes! My sick and disabled husband comforts me every night after he wake

Chapter 260 Madam Lin's Third Inquiry

Madam Lin then came to her senses. She glanced at Lan Zhi and gave an awkward smile.

"Then Your Highness, please sit here for a while. I'll go check on things and be right back."

Lan Zhi nodded with a forced smile.

"You go ahead and do your work. We'll sit for a while; we also need to get to Prince Xun's residence."

Mrs. Lin asked with a hint of reluctance, "Won't you stay a little longer?"

Lin Xingliang, fearing she might misbehave, quickly reminded her:

"Madam, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess are rushing to Prince Xun's residence for the wedding banquet. They won't have time to sit for long. You should hurry up and get busy! Why are you talking so much today?"

Seeing Lin Xingliang's unpleasant expression, Madam Lin realized that she had indeed been talking too much today. Her unusual behavior was likely to arouse suspicion.

She nodded to Lan Zhi and then turned and left.

Lin Xingliang then awkwardly shook his head and explained.

"It's understandable that I feel uneasy about my daughter's marriage, but please don't mind, Your Highness."

Lan Zhi shook her head dismissively, then looked at Wei Jianning.

"My lord, you and Lord Lin chat for a while. I'll go check on the children so they don't run around. We should head to Prince Xun's residence soon."

Wei Jian hurriedly instructed A Qi and Xiang Xiu,

"Keep a close watch on the Crown Princess and do not be careless."

After Ah Qi and Xiang Xiu nodded in agreement, they helped her out of the main hall and headed towards the back garden.

Today, the Imperial Censorate is decorated with red and green ornaments, creating a joyous and festive atmosphere.

Seeing the courtyard full of vibrant flowers and lush greenery, Lan Zhi couldn't help but feel envious of Lin Yuwei.

She's so lucky to have her parents arrange her wedding!

From afar, she saw Zhu Fangfei playing hide-and-seek with several children. Xiaoru and Xiaoyuan were angrily trying to persuade her to stop, but she wouldn't listen at all.

Seeing Lan Zhi approach, the two women exchanged a glance and then stepped aside.

"Ming'er, Mao Mao, Nana, stop playing, we should go."

The four children, who were having a great time, came running over, panting. Suddenly, Zhu Fangfei grabbed Mao Mao from behind and said triumphantly:

"You brat, I've got you!"

Mao Mao giggled and dodged away.

"This round doesn't count. We should go now and continue playing when we get back."

Zhu Fangfei then raised her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Seeing her slightly smudged makeup, Lan Zhi smiled helplessly.

"Look what you've done! Come on, I'll take you to Madam Lin and borrow some rouge and powder to touch up your makeup."

Zhu Fangfei casually raised her sleeve and wiped it again.

"It doesn't matter, since nobody recognizes me anyway."

Seeing this, Xiaoru and Xiaoyuan quickly came over together. Xiaoru reminded them:

“Miss, the master will also be going to the Prince Xun’s mansion later. If you go to see him looking like this, he will definitely think that you have suffered some injustice.”

Zhu Fangfei thought Xiaoru's words made sense, and she immediately nodded.

"Okay, I'll do as you say, let's go."

Lan Zhi then turned to look at A Qi and Xiang Xiu.

"You two take the three of them to the front yard and make sure they don't run around. Also, tell the Crown Prince to wait for me a moment."

"Yes, miss."

After receiving their orders, Aqi and Lanzhi went about their tasks. Only then did Lanzhi signal Zhu Fangfei to follow her toward the front yard.

Xiaoru and Xiaoyuan were about to follow, but Zhu Fangfei stopped them with a look, saying, "Go to the front yard and wait for me."

They stopped in their tracks, not daring to go any further.

When Lan Zhi brought Zhu Fangfei to the main courtyard, they happened to run into Madam Lin, who was standing in the courtyard wiping away tears.

It turned out that she had just watched Lin Yuwei get into the bridal sedan chair, and felt a little reluctant to part with her, as well as a sense of emptiness.

When she saw Lan Zhi, she immediately composed herself, stepped forward, and asked,

"Crown Princess, are you looking for me?"

Although Lan Zhi disliked her, she needed her help now, so she still said with a smile:

"Madam Lin, her makeup is smudged. May I borrow your rouge and powder?"

Madam Lin looked Zhu Fangfei up and down, and asked curiously:

"Who is this girl?"

Lan Zhi introduced herself somewhat awkwardly:

"She is Miss Zhu."

what?

Upon hearing those three words, Madam Lin felt her face burning and her heart pounding with anxiety, like the kind of anxiety one feels when someone has done something wrong and is afraid of being exposed.

She nodded hurriedly and said:

"Alright, this way please, both of you."

Lan Zhi led Zhu Fangfei behind Madam Lin until they arrived at Madam Lin's room. Madam Lin ordered the servants to touch up Zhu Fangfei's makeup, while she and Lan Zhi sat in the outer room, drinking water and waiting.

"Excuse my bluntness, but I noticed you were treating Miss Zhu very well just now. Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case!"

Seeing the puzzled look on Madam Lin's face, Lan Zhi couldn't help but chuckle.

"Is Mrs. Lin very disappointed?"

Madam Lin hurriedly shook her head, then pulled at the handkerchief in her hand and explained:

"That's not what I meant. I just feel that you shouldn't be interacting like this."

"Which one should it be? Neither of them speaking to each other? Or treating each other as enemies?"

Mrs. Lin hesitated for a moment, then simply spoke frankly.

"At least you shouldn't be walking together, and you even considered that her makeup was ruined and you were afraid she would embarrass herself in front of others, which shows that you don't dislike her."

Lan Zhi's lips curved slightly, revealing a beautiful smile.

“She is, after all, a member of my Crown Prince’s household. If she makes a fool of herself, she makes a fool of the Crown Prince’s household.”

Madam Lin nodded as if she understood.

"I never expected that you would be so thoughtful at such a young age."

As she said this, she looked at her with expectant eyes.

"By the way, I heard that if a mother has a birthmark, the child will inherit it. I wonder if the Crown Princess has any birthmarks?"

She actually wanted to know if she was really her daughter.

Lan Zhi shook her head without even thinking.

“Mrs. Lin, you are overthinking it. I have no birthmarks and they will not be passed on to my children.”

Her reply caused Madam Lin's chest to tighten, and her mood plummeted to rock bottom.

Could she be overthinking things? Is she really not her daughter?

Undeterred, she continued to press for answers.

"Could it be that you have a birthmark on your back that you can't see?"

Lan Zhi felt rather helpless in the face of Madam Lin's strange question.

Of course she knew she had a birthmark on her back, but Wei Jianning told her about it after he discovered it. To this day, she still doesn't know what her birthmark looks like, after all, she doesn't have eyes on the back of her head.

Since we don't know what it looks like, let's just pretend it doesn't exist!

"Mrs. Lin, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Madam Lin quickly raised her hand to pick up the teacup, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"It's nothing. I just heard that some mothers have birthmarks that are easily passed on to their children, so I was just asking around. Please don't mind!"

Lan Zhi frowned slightly. Seeing that Zhu Fangfei had finished touching up her makeup, she got up to say goodbye to Madam Lin and then led Lin Fangfei to the front yard.

Mrs. Lin stood there disappointed, having lost interest in seeing her out or in investigating further.

She thought she must be crazy. When she first saw the pair of little bells, she suspected that Lan Zhi was her daughter, but later she found out that she was wrong.

Now that she knows Lan Zhi is not Ling's biological daughter, she suspects again that Lan Zhi is her daughter, but she doesn't have the birthmark that her daughter has.

Did she really think too much?

She's not her daughter at all?

But how do you explain those silver bells?

Yes, Cui said that the person who took Lan Zhi back was Ling Jiawei. If you just ask him, you'll know the truth.

She admitted that she missed her daughter terribly and dreamed about her.

She took a deep breath, stood at the doorway, and stared blankly in the direction where Lan Zhi's figure had disappeared.