Lu Qiao felt certain that the woman had seduced the Crown Prince, and then the Crown Prince had fabricated this lie to make the people in the Prince's mansion believe it.
Princess Ning De's face turned cold, and she stood up, "Let's go, come with me to have a look. My brother is not in good health. If there are people with ulterior motives around him, it will be of no benefit to my brother or the entire Nanyang Prince's mansion."
"Yes, Your Highness! This servant also feels that the woman has ill intentions. The Crown Prince has guards around him, why would he need a commoner woman to save him?" Lu Qiao sneered coldly, revealing a look of utter disdain.
Princess Ning De said nothing more, but her expression seemed to turn even colder. She wanted to see what kind of vixen dared to try and seduce her brother!
Soon, the mistress and her servant arrived in front of Zhen Lin's courtyard.
As expected, they saw a woman sitting in the courtyard, being served by the maids beside her.
The woman looked ordinary in appearance and had a somewhat commoner air about her. It was clear she was of humble origin, yet she sat there with a sense of entitlement, enjoying the maids' service.
"You can leave it here, I can do it myself," Lin Qingluo said.
Even though she knew she had "flown to the moon," and would enjoy wealth and status in the Nanyang Prince's mansion from now on, with people serving her for everything she did, it was still the beginning, and she was not yet accustomed to it.
Furthermore, she knew that every move she made now would be magnified. Before she officially became the Crown Prince's secondary consort, she had to be extremely cautious. Now that she had entered the Nanyang Prince's mansion, she realized how insignificant she had been before. Look at the opulence evident everywhere in this mansion; there was everything she had never seen before.
The maids, upon hearing Lin Qingluo's words, did not stop. Instead, they said, "You are the Crown Prince's savior, and the Crown Prince has already decreed that he will take you as his secondary consort. You are the master, and we are servants; naturally, we must serve you."
Lin Qingluo said no more. Yes, she was the master from now on, and they were servants. There was a clear distinction between master and servant, and she should accept this with peace of mind.
At this very moment, Lin Qingluo was unaware that two pairs of eyes were scrutinizing her.
Lu Qiao sneered coldly, full of disdain, "Your Highness, it's her! Look at her smug demeanor, pretending she doesn't need service while actually waiting for it. This servant understands this kind of person best. She must be thinking right now that she must stay in the Nanyang Prince's mansion to enjoy this wealth."
Princess Ning De's gaze was sharp as she scrutinized Lin Qingluo.
Unremarkable.
Extremely ordinary in appearance.
What was wrong with her brother? How could he be so easily deceived by such a woman?
Princess Ning De pursed her lips. After casting a chilling glance at Lin Qingluo, she stepped forward.
When she entered, the servants in the courtyard immediately bowed to Princess Ning De, "Your Highness."
Lin Qingluo immediately looked over. She had seen Princess Ning De before. Princess Ning De often did good deeds. Everyone she met would praise Princess Ning De with thumbs up, calling her a person of both talent and virtue!
Now, seeing her up close, she realized her own ordinariness.
Princess Ning De's noble bearing was cultivated from within. A single glance from her seemed to pierce through her completely.
She clutched her clothes, secretly telling herself, "It's alright, nobility can also be cultivated. She will live in the Nanyang Prince's mansion from now on, and with constant exposure, she will surely develop a noble bearing too."
After comforting herself, she also stood up and said, "Your Highness."
For some reason, she felt Princess Ning De's gaze towards her was chillingly cold.
A sense of fear immediately arose within her.
Princess Ning De walked up to Lin Qingluo, "I haven't seen you before. Who are you?"
This direct question made Lin Qingluo want to flee. She was somewhat afraid of Princess Ning De, but she managed to steady her emotions and then offered Princess Ning De a kind and appeasing smile, "This commoner was brought into the mansion by the Crown Prince last night, so Your Highness has not met this commoner before."
"Why do you not refer to yourself as a servant?" Princess Ning De demanded sternly.
Lin Qingluo was startled at first, then somewhat at a loss for words as she wanted to explain, but now she didn't know how to explain, as she had no official status in the mansion yet.
Just then, Zhen Lin emerged.
He pushed open the door and walked out.
He looked towards Princess Ning De, and seeing Lin Qingluo speechless under Princess Ning De's questioning, he stood with his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice, "She is the secondary consort I am about to marry. You should address her as Secondary Consort Lin."
"Crown Prince!" Seeing Zhen Lin, Lin Qingluo felt as if she had found a savior. With slightly reddened eyes, she walked towards him.
Seeing Lin Qingluo startled by his sister, Zhen Lin felt a pang of sympathy. He took Lin Qingluo's hand and continued, "She is my savior. Without her, I would be dead by now. Sister, you must respect her."
Lin Qingluo looked at Zhen Lin's protection of her, feeling a sense of pride and happiness. From now on, in the Prince's mansion, with the Crown Prince protecting her, she would never fear anyone! Even Princess Ning De would have to respect her.
Seeing this scene before her and hearing Zhen Lin's words, Princess Ning De's face showed nothing, but her heart was seething with anger. The woman by her own brother's side should be from a noble family, someone who could be of help to him.
Not an unknown commoner!
However, at this moment, seeing Zhen Lin's protection of Lin Qingluo, Princess Ning De knew that further words would be futile.
She nodded, "Alright, I understand. Brother, I have found a few more renowned physicians. They will be arriving at the mansion in a couple of days. This time, they should be able to cure you."
In the Nanyang Prince's mansion, only the person before her was her full brother; the others were born to concubines and were no different from strangers in her eyes. She could disregard her father in the mansion, but she could not disregard her own brother.
No matter what method it took, she had to cure her brother!
Upon hearing this, Zhen Lin's expression softened slightly. He knew that Ning De was always thinking of him and said gently, "Ning De, come here, let's talk further."
Princess Ning De was somewhat surprised, but she still followed him into the room.
After the brother and sister sat down, Zhen Lin said with a smile, "Ning De, the poison in my body should be more than half resolved."
"What?!" Ning De was greatly shocked, thinking she had misheard.
The last physician who saw her brother had declared that the poison could not be cured and that her brother did not have much time left.
Was he fabricating a lie now, perhaps to stop her from worrying?
"It was Qingluo who gave me her family's ancestral spiritual elixir. I know my own body best. Even without a renowned physician taking my pulse to confirm, I can be certain that more than half of the poison has been cleared," Zhen Lin said with a smile.
Princess Ning De frowned. She looked at Zhen Lin, and indeed, his complexion was not as pale as before; instead, there was a hint of color, a healthy complexion she hadn't seen in a year. She hadn't noticed it earlier when they were outside.