The reborn girl always wants to escape, but the abstinent marquis hugs her and coaxes her!

Chapter 186: Holding That Person in the Palm of Your Hand

In the residence of the Minister of War in the capital, the head of the family, Lin Zhihen, was fiddling with the gold-stamped lotus sticker in his hand.

His brows furrowed deeply: "Master, haven't you come back yet?"

The butler stood by and said, "I'm back."

"What about people?"

"In... in the eldest lady's courtyard. The eldest lady has been having trouble eating or drinking these days, and the young master is very worried. So he found some of the young lady's favorite foods and is staying there with her."

"Oh, they really have a deep brother-sister relationship." After saying that, Lin Zhihen threw the card in his hand into the butler's arms and said coldly, "Go, take the card from the eldest son of the He family to the young master. I heard that the eldest son of the He family has recently hooked up with the Fourth Prince. I believe the Fourth Prince will also come over by then. You let him take care of it." "Yes!" The butler hurriedly put the card into his arms, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and went out.

……

In Mingyue Pavilion, Lin Jiaoyue was sitting on the windowsill with a sad face.

This most beautiful woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty, who was once famous in the capital, now has a sallow complexion, wrinkles at the corners of her mouth, and looks extremely haggard, without any trace of her former beauty.

Lin Yunce watched from the side, unfolding the snacks he brought one by one in front of Lin Jiaoyue.

Lin Jiaoyue just took a quick look and shook her head.

Seeing this, Lin Yunce's eyes darkened. "As for Mu Rong... you should just give up. The past two days I've been in the southern suburbs, all I've seen are scenes of him and the Princess Ping'an lovingly together."

"Even the former arrogant deputy general Mu Ai was ordered around by that woman and had to accompany her to dig things with muddy hands at the foot of the mountain." He had said this to Lin Jiaoyue when he came back from the southern suburbs.

But two days have passed, why doesn’t my sister show any sign of coming to her senses?

Lin Jiaoyue's eyes welled with tears, as if she had suffered a profound betrayal. She murmured, "Brother, since you've met her, can you please tell me how I'm inferior to her? Why would Mu Rong give me up for her? Why would the Emperor and Empress honor the daughter of a lowly sixth-rank official in front of so many people?"

"And what about me, my sister? Not only did the man who once swore an oath of love to me abandon me, but I was also thrown from my position as a princess to the dust."

"Jiaojiao, you can't think like that." Lin Yunce comforted him, "The Emperor and Empress may have misunderstood you. Once they're no longer angry, your father will plead for you. It won't be difficult for you to get your title back. They can even honor the daughter of a sixth-rank official, so there's no reason for them to ignore you, the daughter of a minister. But as for Mu Rong... it was actually the Fourth Prince you transferred your affection to first, so he might not have been unaware..." "Impossible!" Lin Jiaoyue's eyes were bloodshot, and she couldn't wait to interrupt her brother. "Absolutely impossible! The way he looked at me before the Qixi Festival banquet... there's absolutely no way he could have known!"

"..." Lin Yunce didn't know how to persuade him for a moment.

My sister has been outstanding since she was young and has been loved by the elders since she was in her cradle.

Later, she came to the capital with her father, and even the nobles in the palace praised her highly. From then on, her reputation as the most beautiful woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty gradually spread throughout the world.

At that time, my father was not yet the Minister of War, but my sister had already become friends with most of the noble ladies in the capital.

Meanwhile, Mu Rong's parents both died fighting on the frontier. With his reserved and taciturn personality, coupled with his noble status, he has no one to truly connect with. The appearance of his younger sister, however, brings a ray of light to Mu Rong amidst the darkness.

It was then that Mu Rong gradually became obsessed with his sister, almost to the point of obedience. His sister said that she didn't want their affair to be known to others, so he hid himself behind the scenes, and even his closest cousin Mu Qianyin was unaware of his intentions.

He thought that since Mu Rong could endure so much for his sister, he would never let her down in this life.

But who would have thought... that he would change his mind faster than turning the pages of a book!

At first, they all thought that he was just angry. After all, it was indeed inappropriate for Jiaojiao to give the purse to the Fourth Prince.

As long as Jiaojiao admits her mistake, he will be back to normal.

But who would have thought that he would completely turn to Xu Rongrong, and his public request at the Qixi Festival banquet was known to the entire court.

When he was in the southern suburbs, he also observed the way Mu Rong looked at Xu Rongrong. That kind of affection... was even deeper than when he looked at Jiaojiao back then.

At that moment, he couldn't tell whether he was happy or sad.

Mu Rong was his good friend, but Jiao Jiao was his only sister. Between the two, he would always choose his sister. So when he learned that his father and sister's true target was the Fourth Prince, and that capturing Mu Rong was simply to aid him, he was saddened but kept everything secret.

But I think he should already know it.

Otherwise, why didn't he reply to any of the letters he sent to Mu Rong in the past six months?

Thinking of this, Lin Yunce sighed. "Even if you, Jiaojiao, figure out why Mu Rong chose Princess Ping'an, what good will that do? You can't change the outcome... But you still have the Fourth Prince. With your talent and looks, even without the status of a princess, the Fourth Prince will definitely welcome you home."

Lin Jiaoyue sneered, "Brother, how did you know that the Fourth Prince would still treat me the same way as before?"

"He is so infatuated with you..." Lin Yunce murmured.

"Brother, do you know that the Fourth Prince did not return the gift to our family for this year's New Year's gift?"

Lin Yunce was stunned when he heard this: "How could that be? I remember he gave you a unique headdress during the Mid-Autumn Festival!"

"Yes, he did give me a set of white jade jasmine headpieces during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Although he is a prince, he doesn't have much money. I'm afraid he spent all his savings to buy such a set."

Lin Yunce also remembered that expensive headdress, which even his father praised highly.

Praise him for caring about his sister...but why only for a few short months?

He didn't understand.

Seeing this, Lin Jiaoyue smiled bitterly and said, "Brother, don't you understand? He treats me like this because His Majesty dislikes me... It doesn't matter if I've lost my status as a princess, I'm still the legitimate daughter of the Minister of War. But being disliked by His Majesty is hopeless for him! How could he be willing to have anything to do with me?"

Lin Yunce murmured, "Are they really so ruthless?"

He was a military general and joined the army before he was twenty.

Although he was protected by his father's status as the Minister of War, his own performance in the Jingji Guard was also remarkable.

He was already the General of the Capital Guard when he just turned twenty, and this summer he would marry the great-great-granddaughter of Prince Min.

As high-spirited as he was, he rarely engaged in such intrigues. Therefore, he couldn't understand why a man would give his beloved a helping hand when she was in the most difficult time...

Mingyue Pavilion fell into silence for a long time.

In this silence, the housekeeper came and brought the gilded lotus sticker:

"Mr. He sent you an invitation yesterday, inviting you to the Lantern Festival banquet on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. I wonder if you will go?"

Lin Yunce was slightly stunned, and it took him a long time to figure out who the butler was referring to: "Is it Mr. He, the third place winner in this year's imperial examination?"

"Exactly. Because of his outstanding performance, he is now serving as a Bachelor of Imperial Reading in the Hanlin Academy. He is the most popular scholar among the current candidates."

Lin Yunce nodded impatiently when he heard this. His sister was deep in thought and depressed, so how could he have the time to deal with such a scholar who was busy scheming for personal gain?

"I see. Go and tell him that I'm on duty on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and I'm afraid I won't be able to attend the banquet."

The butler hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice again: "The master said... the Fourth Prince will also be in attendance."

"Then I won't go!" The Fourth Prince actually treated his sister like this. Even if he was a prince, he didn't want to get close to him!

"Wait a minute!" Lin Jiaoyue called to the housekeeper, and then looked at Lin Yunce, "Brother is going! And he is going to take his sister with him!"

"Why do you do this when he treats you like this?" Lin Yunce looked puzzled.

Lin Jiaoyue smiled slightly, a hint of coldness in her smile: "Only by holding the most authoritative person in the Great Zhou in my hand can I trample everyone under my feet. The Fourth Prince must be that person!"