What to do if you receive the wrong package?

"However, this guess is too outrageous." Gu Yan shook his head, not daring to think in that direction any further.

However, she soon discovered that the truth was similar to what she had imagined, or even more outrageous than she had imagined.

Lin Bihua was regarded as the culprit by Prince Ning, so she had no choice but to stay away from him as much as possible. Wherever Prince Ning appeared, she would never appear in front of him, and could only hide far away and peek at him.

However, not long after, an epidemic suddenly broke out. Lin Bihua developed a persistent high fever shortly after returning home from the palace, seemingly having been infected with the epidemic.

Lin Ye was afraid that something might happen to his only granddaughter, so he rushed to the palace to see the emperor and finally invited the imperial physician back to his residence to diagnose Lin Bihua.

Unexpectedly, the female official in Prince Ning's residence also seemed to have been infected. Prince Ning wanted to summon the imperial physician, but learned that all the skilled senior imperial physicians had been called away by Marshal Lin, and the remaining young imperial physicians were doing their best.

The next day, Lin Bihua was alive, but the female official was dead.

What devastated Prince Ning even more was that after the female official died, her maid revealed something that chilled him to the bone.

It turns out that the maid saw Miss Lin and the female official together during the day and had some arguments. After the female official returned to her residence, she developed a high fever that wouldn't go down, which may have been intentionally contracted by Miss Lin.

Prince Ning was in a state of turmoil, and at that moment his hatred for Lin Bihua reached its peak.

When Lin Bihua woke up and heard about this, she immediately dragged her frail body to the Prince Ning's residence to explain, but the Prince Ning refused to let her in.

Seeing that Prince Ning was completely indifferent to her anxious explanation, she was deeply hurt by the indifference and mockery in his eyes. At that moment, Lin Bihua finally realized that Prince Ning and she would never have any contact again.

Lin Bihua was filled with disappointment and pain. She had once thought that sincere efforts would be reciprocated with sincere treatment, but now it seemed that it was all just wishful thinking on her part.

She silently left the Prince Ning's mansion, letting tears stream down her face. After returning home, she lay in bed for three days without eating or drinking. Marshal Lin could no longer bear to see her like this, so he took his granddaughter and went with the army to the northern wilderness, intending to get as far away from Zhongjing as possible, so as to put an end to her granddaughter's thoughts.

“Bihua lived in the Northern Wilderness with Marshal Lin and the troops for several years. She returned to Zhongjing last year because Marshal Lin was unwell. I thought Bihua had let go of my brother over the years, but who would have thought that this girl would become even more powerful. Wherever my brother appears, Lin Bihua can be seen within a hundred meters.”

After Duan Chenke finished speaking, the group looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Gu Yan, in particular, greatly admired Lin Bihua's persistence. But forced relationships are never sweet, and the Prince of Ning was not someone that could be forced into marriage.

------------------

Unexpectedly, two days later, Gu Yan received a handwritten letter from Lin Bihua.

The letter, written in elegant handwriting on plain white paper, clearly conveyed its contents in just two short lines.

"What did you write?" Zhou Yueran asked curiously, sitting to the side.

"She invited us to her house to admire the flowers the day after tomorrow." Gu Yan handed over the letter directly.

"Us?" Shen Mujin was somewhat surprised. "Besides you, there's something else going on with us?"

"Yes. The letter specifically said to bring you along."

“But it’s autumn now, what flowers are we admiring? Chrysanthemums?” Zhou Yuran also expressed her incomprehension.

"Maybe... How about you put together Jay Chou's 'Chrysanthemum Terrace' to fit the occasion?"

"Thank you for the invitation, but I am currently unwell and may not be able to perform on stage."

Shen Mujin suddenly thought of a question and quickly asked, "Wait, did Miss Lin only invite us, or did she invite other girls as well?"

Gu Yan spread his hands with an innocent expression.

"I don't know. It wasn't written in the letter."

"Shall we go?" Zhou Yuran hesitated slightly. "Miss Lin's relationship with Prince Ning is so strained, and we're staying with Prince Chu, but Prince Chu and Prince Ning are on good terms. Won't people gossip if we go?"

"I don't think so." Gu Yan thought for a moment and shook his head. "That day at the Prince's mansion, the Prince of Chu's attitude towards Miss Lin wasn't that bad. Besides, when the Prince of Chu told us about it, he called Miss Lin 'Bihua.' I mean, did the Prince of Chu ever call you 'Yueya'?"

“No…” Zhou Yuran was slightly taken aback, her eyes immediately drifting to the side, “I’m not familiar with him.”

"So, we'll have to see what secrets this flower-viewing banquet holds to find out. Listen to my instructions: when you get back, take good care of yourselves, and I'll make sure you all outshine everyone else."

--------------

On the third day, the sky was clear and the autumn air was crisp and refreshing.

Zhou Yuran looked at the two people beside her, both dressed very simply, and asked with some surprise, "What's going on with you two? Weren't you going to outshine everyone else?"

Gu Yan smiled politely but somewhat awkwardly, "I just overslept and didn't have time."

"And you?" Zhou Yuran glared at Gu Yan, then turned her gun on Shen Mujin.

Shen Mujin pointed to Xuan Yi standing to the side and shrugged helplessly, "Some people wouldn't let me, so they took all my rouge and powder in the middle of the night."

"Sigh." Zhou Yuran could only sigh deeply, "This family can't do without me."

"Yes, yes, yes, we're counting on Miss Fang today. Please, Miss Fang, get into the carriage." Gu Yan fawned over Zhou Yuran, bowing and scraping, and even helped her into the carriage.

Shen Mujin expressed her strong dislike for this, and then quickly joined in.

As the carriage swayed and rocked along, Zhou Yuran looked at the two people on her left and right, as if she had thought of something: "They invited us to admire the flowers, should we bring some gifts in return?"

"!"

"good question."

Zhou Yuran's question stunned everyone. Gu Yan blinked and whispered, "It seems, perhaps, we should bring one."

"Then... what do we do now? Should we find a shop on the way and buy one?" Shen Mujin lifted the curtain to look outside, seemingly trying to confirm if there was a suitable shop.

"But the key question is, what should we give as a gift? We don't have the money for anything too expensive, and anything cheap is not presentable."

Gu Yan rubbed his temples. "Sigh! Yueya, could you ask this kind of question earlier next time?"

"Look, there's a jewelry store over there. Let's go buy a set of jewelry; it's a perfect gift for a girl," Shen Mujin said, pointing to a store in front of her.

"Okay, that's all we can do for now." Gu Yan nodded and quickly took out her money pouch to count how much money she had left.

Zhou Yuran moved to the car door, opened the door, and said to the driver, "Could you please stop here for a moment? We need to go buy something."

The coachman was actually a secret guard of the Prince's mansion, and he had already overheard the conversation between the young ladies inside the carriage.

The coachman stopped the carriage, turned his head and pointed to the box in the corner of the carriage, and said, "Miss Fang, His Highness knows that you ladies are going to the Lin residence to attend the flower viewing banquet today, and has already prepared a small amount of money, so you ladies do not need to prepare anything separately."

The guard's words instantly brought a smile to Zhou Yuran's face, and also made the two people inside the car who were still counting money cheer happily.

"Alright, alright, Your Highness is such a kind person! Then it's alright, you can continue on your way."

After Zhou Yuran finished speaking, she quickly crawled back into the carriage, and the three of them immediately pulled out the wooden box from the corner.

The wooden box has three layers. The first layer contains a set of gold jewelry, the second layer contains a set of white porcelain cups, and the third layer contains a set of jade Go pieces.

"Excellent, excellent! As expected of His Highness the Prince of Chu, look at this gift, it's wonderful!" Gu Yan wished he could give the Prince of Chu a thumbs up on the spot.

Zhou Yuran: "I must thank Your Highness when I get back. This family can do without me, but it absolutely cannot do without Your Highness!"

Although a minor incident occurred on the way, the three of them soon arrived at the entrance of the Lin residence.

Shen Mujin lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the various carriages outside the Lin residence, as well as groups of young and beautiful girls, and said, "It seems that Miss Lin invited more than just us."

“That’s even better. We won’t have to face Miss Lin directly, which will save us from awkwardness. To be honest, ever since I found out about her and Prince Ning, I haven’t known how to face her.” Gu Yan jumped off the carriage first, then turned around and helped the other two people off the carriage.

"Yueya, Ayan. Do you think that's Huabao?" Shen Mujin, the second person to get off the bus, had just stretched her back when she noticed a familiar figure not far away and quickly turned around to ask.

"Where? Where?" Gu Yan and Zhou Yuran looked in the direction Shen Mujin pointed. In the shadow of the carriage not far away, a girl in pink was standing with two other people beside her, one of whom was an older nanny and the other was a young maid.

"Hua Bao!" Gu Yan knew immediately that the old woman was Hua Bao.

Hua Yin was idly fanning herself with a handkerchief when she suddenly heard a familiar shout. Turning around, she saw three familiar figures running towards her.

“Ayan! Yueya, Mumu.”

"What brings you all here?" Hua Yin said happily as she caught the three friends who rushed towards her.

Before Gu Yan and the others could reply, the nanny behind Hua Yin coldly reminded them, "Ahem, Princess Consort, you still need to be careful with your words and actions when you're out. So as not to tarnish the reputation of the Prince or the Empress."

Hua Yin, with her back to her, rolled her eyes to the sky, but when she turned around, she immediately became very kind and obedient: "Thank you for reminding me, Granny Li. I was a little excited and lost my composure. Please forgive me, Granny. I have now arrived safely at the Lin residence. Granny, you have worked hard accompanying me all the way. Please go back to the residence with the carriage and rest."

Gu Yan: What an amazing face-changing act!

Granny Li glanced at the three people behind Hua Yin and shook her head with some concern. "The Princess Consort should avoid contact with these girls from ordinary families. They don't know the rules and might corrupt the Princess Consort."

Gu Yan and the others knew about Hua Yin's current situation, so they had to suppress their displeasure and nod and smile while listening to Li Mama's disdainful words.

Ah ah ah

In truth, I had long wanted to pin Granny Li to the ground and rub her against the ground.

Fortunately, the maid next to Granny Li was one of Hua Yin's people. Seeing that Granny Li still wanted to continue talking about her young master's wife, she took Granny Li's arm and said with a smile, "Granny Li, the young master told us to return to the manor as soon as possible after we escort the young master's wife to safety. You've been jostled around in the carriage for half a day, so let me help you get back to rest as soon as possible."

Despite her petite stature, the little maidservant was surprisingly strong, managing to drag Granny Li onto the carriage before departing amidst the smiles of Hua Yin and Gu Yan.

"Goodness, you're making my face stiff from laughing so much." Gu Yan rubbed his cheeks, somewhat speechless.

"You've only been doing this for a short while, but I have to do it every day. I feel like I'm going crazy." Hua Yin was finally able to relax for a moment, but she looked rather haggard.

"Where is the Crown Prince? Isn't he on your side?" Zhou Yuran asked as she walked.

"Don't even mention it. He's a man after all, and there are some things he can't control even if he wants to. But he did manage to put a little maid among these old women for me. Xia Jin is one of my own, and she can help me out sometimes, so at least I have a chance to catch my breath."

After entering the Lin residence, the four followed the servant leading the way into a large garden. Looking at the tables, chairs, and other facilities in the garden, they consciously found a secluded corner to sit down.

"What, you also received an invitation to Miss Lin's flower-viewing banquet?" Gu Yan looked at the green plants in the garden and the pots of chrysanthemums on the ground. It really was a chrysanthemum viewing party.

"Miss Lin?" Hua Yin asked, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't this the autumn banquet hosted by Madam Lin?"

"What autumn banquet?"

"And who is Madam Lin?"

Gu Yan and the others were somewhat bewildered.

"Ayan, did you come to the wrong place?" Shen Mujin turned her head and asked.

"No, I don't think so..." Gu Yan was a little unsure, so he quickly took out the letter to confirm again.

"Hey, your invitation is different from mine." Hua Yin took out her invitation from her pocket. In comparison, Hua Yin's invitation was indeed more impressive, and the two were quite different.

"What's going on?" Gu Yan was a little confused. "The time and place are correct."

"Ayan, is the Miss Lin you mentioned Miss Lin Bihua?" Hua Yin thought for a moment and then asked.

"Yes, Hua Bao, you know Miss Lin too?"

Hua Yin said, "I've been to some events with Jian Yuheng before and met Miss Lin a few times. If Miss Bihua invites you, then there shouldn't be any problem. After all, the host of this banquet, Madam Lin, is considered Miss Lin's elder."

"An elder?" Gu Yan thought of Lin Bihua's background and deliberately lowered his voice to ask, "It is said that Miss Lin's parents passed away many years ago, and she was raised by Marshal Lin. Where did this Madam Lin come from?"

Hua Yin looked around, then moved closer to the group and whispered, “You’re right. This Madam Lin was once a maid to Bi Hua’s mother. The two were very close. When Lin’s mother married Lin’s father, Madam Lin married Lin’s father’s former deputy, who is now General Jing’an. Later, when Lin’s parents died in battle, Madam Lin stayed by Lin’s side for those years.”

"Oh, I see." It was definitely worth the trip; I learned something new.

The group was huddled together, whispering something, when the appearance of a maid interrupted their conversation.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Bai?" the maid asked Gu Yan somewhat uncertainly.

"It's me. Who are you?"

"I am Miss's personal maid. Please come with me, Miss Bai and the other young ladies. Miss is waiting for you elsewhere."

Lin Bihua actually sought them out alone?

Gu Yan and the others exchanged glances and finally decided to go with the little maid. Zhou Yuran even forcibly dragged Hua Yin along, ostensibly to take her to join in the fun.