After returning to the capital to farm, the abandoned concubine made a comeback.

The night was as dark as ink, making the lights in Lin Qin's room appear exceptionally bright.

She narrowed her eyes, listening to the light footsteps outside the door, a cold smile curling at the corner of her lips.

Goodness, they can't wait that long?

This palace is probably even more spectacular than she imagined!

"Who?" Lin Qin's voice was cold, carrying a hint of barely perceptible threat.

The footsteps outside the door paused, followed by the cautious voice of Zhou, the maid: "Your Highness, it's me, your servant Zhou'er."

Lin Qin raised an eyebrow. Oh, it's someone she knows?

She walked slowly to the door and opened it.

The maid Zhou held a steaming cup of tea in her hands, with a fawning smile on her face, but the smile looked somewhat insincere.

"Your Highness, it's chilly at night, so I've brought you a cup of hot tea." The maid, Zhou, lowered her head, not daring to look Lin Qin in the eye.

Lin Qin didn't take the tea. Instead, she crossed her arms and looked at her leisurely: "Tell me, who sent you?"

The maid Zhou's expression changed, and she almost dropped the teacup in her hand. "Your Highness, what are you saying? This servant was just..."

"Just what?" Lin Qin's eyes sharpened, and her tone turned cold. "Don't play dumb with me. Do you think I can't see through your little schemes?" She wasn't a naive girl. Having experienced various palace dramas in modern times, she could see through Zhou's maid's acting skills at a glance.

The maid Zhou was terrified by her gaze and dared not pretend any longer. She knelt down with a thud, her face contorted in a mournful cry: "Your Highness, please spare me! I had no choice! It was Madam Li, she..."

Lin Qin sneered, "It really was her!"

She knew that there was definitely more than one person in the Prince's mansion who wanted to cause trouble.

"Get up," Lin Qin said calmly, already having made up her mind.

In the following days, Lin Qin abandoned her usual leisurely lifestyle and began to investigate the movements of the business families in the capital, especially the largest business family, the Sun family.

Her expression was serious, and the entire business club was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

Soon, she discovered that the Sun family had begun to use their connections to smear her business image and spread various rumors in official settings.

The Sun family has truly mastered the art of "stabbing someone in the back."

At a grand banquet, Lin Qin held up her wine glass, feeling the strange looks from those around her, as if she were some kind of plague god, and they avoided her at all costs.

She sneered inwardly, thinking, "What a chaotic spectacle!"

These people are more difficult to please than her cat.

The oppressive atmosphere in the banquet hall was almost frozen, like the calm before a storm.

"Your Highness, look, isn't that Prince Zhao? He seems to be staring at you the whole time." Xia's voice rang in her ears, tinged with worry.

Lin Qin followed Xia's gaze and saw that Prince Zhao was looking at her with disdain, a mocking smile on his lips, his eyes as if he were looking at a clown.

Lin Qin withdrew her gaze, picked up her wine glass, took a small sip, and remained expressionless.

Lin Qin is not the kind of person who can be easily defeated. If they want to play, she'll play along to the end!

Just then, she saw Manager Sun walking towards her with a fake smile on his face.

Before Manager Sun could speak, Lin Qin interjected, "Manager Sun, your smile looks really forced."

Manager Sun's smile froze, seemingly not expecting Lin Qin to be so direct.

"Your Highness is too kind, I..."

He was interrupted by Lin Qin before he could finish speaking.

"I don't have time to joke with you." Lin Qin's eyes turned sharp. "You'd better pray that I don't find out what you've done."

Manager Sun's face was ashen, and his eyes flickered uncertainly.

He was about to retort when he saw Lin Qin's lips curl into a strange smile. She gave him a meaningful look before turning and leaving.

"Just you wait and see..." Lin Qin murmured softly.

After leaving the banquet hall, Lin Qin went straight to the study.

She turned on her computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she began collecting evidence of the Sun family's illegal business practices over the years.

Ha, do you really think she's a vegetarian?

In modern society, what haven't we seen? You think you can stump her with such a small trick?

Three days later, the largest business summit in Beijing was held.

Lin Qin made a stunning appearance, exuding confidence and professionalism in a sharp business suit.

When Manager Sun saw her, his face turned deathly pale, and his eyes were filled with terror.

At the summit, Lin Qin presented the evidence she had prepared beforehand, exposing all the despicable things the Sun family had done over the years.

The business tycoons present were stunned and condemned the Sun family's despicable behavior.

Manager Sun was speechless, his face ashen, and cold sweat poured down his face.

Lin Qin won this business debate without a doubt.

After the summit, everyone's attitude towards Lin Qin changed 180 degrees, and they all came forward to curry favor, their admiration overflowing.

Lin Qin smiled slightly, secretly pleased: I am the queen, my confidence shines!

Back at the Prince's residence, Lin Qin sensed that something was amiss.

The servants were all on high alert, as if something was about to happen.

She walked into the garden and saw Zhu Ling standing there, his back looking somewhat forlorn.

"What's wrong?" Lin Qin stepped forward and gently hugged him.

Zhu Ling turned around, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes: "Prince Zhao came to the palace today and complained to the Emperor about you, saying that you have no respect for your elders and are not virtuous as a woman..."

Lin Qin sneered: "Sue me? What evidence does he have?"

Zhu Ling sighed: "There's no evidence, but Father seems to listen to him completely..."

Lin Qin felt a warmth in her heart; Zhu Ling was worried about her.

She looked up into his eyes and said firmly, "Don't worry, I'm fine. We'll deal with whatever comes our way."

Zhu Ling hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "Qin'er, thank you for always being by my side."

The two embraced, filling the palace with a warm atmosphere.

However, this warmth did not last long.

The next day, a new guest arrived at the Prince's mansion—a young and beautiful concubine.

Dressed in magnificent attire, with a gentle smile on her face, she bowed to Lin Qin and said, "This humble servant greets Your Highness."

Lin Qin looked at her, and a sudden feeling of unease rose in her heart...

Is this concubine really as kind as she appears?

The newly arrived concubine is named Li Yue'er. As soon as she entered the palace, she presented herself as gentle and virtuous, calling her "Princess Consort" in such a sweet way that anyone who didn't know her would think she was the real Princess Consort!

She not only tried to win Lin Qin's favor in every way, but also pretended to be weak in front of Zhu Ling from time to time, sobbing and complaining that she was new to the place and unfamiliar with everyone, and that Lin Qin's cold attitude towards her made her feel very wronged.

Zhu Ling saw it all. Although he still favored Lin Qin in his heart, Li Yue'er's acting skills were too good, making him a little unsure of what to do.

He found Lin Qin and wanted to ask her what had happened.

Lin Qin was busy analyzing the movements of the remnants of the Sun family and didn't take Li Yue'er's little trick to heart at all. She shrugged and looked innocent: "I didn't do anything. Did she just make a scene for herself?"

Zhu Ling felt a little uncomfortable looking at Lin Qin's nonchalant attitude.

He frowned, his tone carrying a hint of reproach: "Qin'er, Yue'er just arrived, please take good care of her."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qin rolled her eyes. Good heavens, was this going to be a "domineering prince falls in love with me, but I only want to focus on my career" scenario?

A cold smile curled at the corner of her lips, her tone languid: "Take care of me? Fine, Your Highness, how do you expect me to take care of you? I'm just a farmer, I only know how to grow pumpkins, I don't know how to serve people."

Zhu Ling was speechless, choked by Lin Qin's sarcastic tone. He glared at Lin Qin and stormed off.

Lin Qin watched his retreating figure, her heart completely unmoved, and she even felt a little amused.

That evening, the moonlight was hazy in the courtyard of the Prince's Mansion, and Li Yue'er began her performance again.

She pretended to bump into Zhu Ling by chance, then cried out with a wronged expression, "Your Highness, have I done something wrong? My sister, the Princess Consort, doesn't seem to like me. She's always speaking coldly to me. I'm so scared!"

Looking at Li Yue'er, whose face was streaked with tears, Zhu Ling felt even more puzzled.

Could it be that he really misunderstood Lin Qin?

He gently comforted Li Yue'er, unaware that a pair of eyes were coldly watching them from the darkness.

The owner of those eyes was Lin Qin. A cold smile curled at the corner of her lips as she watched Li Yue'er's clumsy performance, already having a plan in mind.

Since she wants to play, then let's play along with her!

The next day, Lin Qin, contrary to her usual behavior, took the initiative to invite Li Yue'er to have tea and chat.

Seeing Lin Qin take the initiative to be friendly, Li Yue'er was secretly pleased, but she still pretended to be weak and carefully sat down opposite Lin Qin.

"Sister, what do you think of this tea? I specially had it brought back from Jiangnan." Lin Qin's lips curled into a cryptic smile.

Li Yue'er picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and feigned surprise: "Sister, this tea smells so good! You have such good taste."

Lin Qin looked at Li Yue'er's hypocritical smile and sneered inwardly, but on the surface she still smiled and said, "I'm glad my sister likes it. From now on, we are family, so we should get along well."

"Of course!" Li Yue'er smiled even more brightly, as if she and Lin Qin were truly sisters.

“In that case, little sister, why don’t you stay here a little longer today? After all, I’m quite bored in this palace all by myself.” Lin Qin’s smile deepened, but her tone carried a hint of barely perceptible danger.

Li Yue'er felt a chill run down her spine. Her smile froze, and she was about to say something when she saw Lin Qin raise her hand and gently place it on the table.

"This Prince's mansion is about to become quite lively."

Lin Qin clapped her hands, and several maids filed in, carrying all sorts of account books and documents.

Seeing this scene, Li Yue'er's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition arose spontaneously.

"Little sister, I've heard you're good at managing the household. I've been a bit busy lately, so why don't you help me take a look at these account books?" Lin Qin looked at Li Yue'er with a smile, but there was a hint of coldness in her eyes.

Li Yue'er's expression changed. How could she possibly know anything about account books? Her purpose in entering the Prince's mansion was not to manage the household!

Just as she was about to refuse, she heard Lin Qin continue, "Little sister, you don't think these are trivial matters, do you? That would be too disappointing for your older sister."

Li Yue'er was caught in a dilemma, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and take the account book, pretending to look through it.

She couldn't understand these complicated accounts at all; she only flipped through a few pages at random before feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

Lin Qin didn't rush her, but slowly sipped her tea with a playful smile on her lips.

After a long while, she finally spoke, "How is your condition, little sister? Is there any problem?"

Li Yue'er stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Seeing this, Lin Qin stopped beating around the bush and pointed directly to one of the accounts, saying, "Sister, what's your explanation for this account?"

Li Yue'er's face was deathly pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

This account contains the money she secretly embezzled!

She never expected that Lin Qin would find out so quickly!

"I...I don't know..." Li Yue'er tried to argue, but Lin Qin interrupted her.

"Don't know? It doesn't matter, I know." Lin Qin sneered, throwing the evidence she had prepared beforehand in front of Li Yue'er. "These are all evidence of your embezzlement of public funds!"

Li Yue'er collapsed to the ground, her face ashen.

Zhu Ling arrived just in time and saw this scene. His face darkened, and he sternly rebuked Li Yue'er: "How dare you do such a thing!"

Li Yue'er tried to explain through tears, but her explanation was completely unconvincing.

Zhu Ling felt disgusted when he saw her fake tears and banished her to the cold palace.

Seeing this, everyone in the Prince's Mansion respected Lin Qin even more, and a fair atmosphere emerged within the mansion.

However, the calm was only temporary.

Lin Qin returned to her room, and her maid Xia Xia ran in excitedly: "Your Highness, it seems that the business families in the capital are about to unite!"

Lin Qin sneered: "Unite? Let them unite then. I want to see what tricks they can pull!"

Outside the window, night was deepening, and everything in the Prince's mansion was shrouded in darkness.

In the distance, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached...