She had occupied the original owner's body. Now that the original owner's grandmother, Madam Sun, had received her retribution, and the original owner's mother's grievances had been vindicated, she would also support Feng Yuanping until his dying day. In this way, it could be considered repayment for occupying someone else's body.
The slight guilt in her heart dissipated, and Feng Jin felt completely at ease.
Feng Yuanping watched Feng Jin's resolute departure, a sharp pain in his chest. Tears of regret dripped from the corners of his eyes. This was his only daughter, and he had never truly cherished her since she was young. He had even believed Madam Sun and sent her to a country estate to suffer hardships.
It was all his fault. He had failed Miaoging and, even more so, Feng Jin. He could never repay the guilt he felt toward Feng Jin in this lifetime.
"Prime Minister Feng, the Young General has ordered me to escort you back."
Lu Shi appeared before Feng Yuanping and cupped his hands in greeting. In the imperial court, this old man Feng Yuanping had caused no small amount of trouble for the Young General. If it weren't for the fact that he was the young madam's father, Lu Shi would not have bothered to escort him back.
"Alright..." Feng Yuanping replied faintly. The moment he turned around, his once straight back involuntarily hunched, appearing much older.
Feng Yuanping took a step forward, paused, and turned his head to look in the direction Feng Jin had left. He sighed helplessly and walked away with a slightly unsteady gait.
"Prime Minister Feng, please get in the carriage."
Lu Shi lifted the carriage curtain and respectfully invited Feng Yuanping into the carriage. He then leaped onto the carriage and drove away.
"These pastries are quite novel. I've never seen anything like them before?"
Feng Yuanping picked up a pastry from the table, took a small bite, and tasted it. The flavor was unique; he had never eaten such a pastry before.
"These were made by the young madam herself, using the petals of seasonal flowers for the filling. The method of making these pastries is new, so it's natural that Prime Minister Feng has never tasted them before."
Although Lu Shi's words were unintentional, they took on a different meaning when Feng Yuanping heard them. This was his own flesh and blood daughter, and as a father, he had never tasted anything his daughter had made. It was unlikely many people would believe it if he told them.
He shoved the remaining half of the pastry into his mouth, a smile of contentment on his lips, as if these pastries were specifically made for him by Feng Jin.
"If Prime Minister feels these pastries suit your taste, please take some back. The young madam often makes pastries and keeps them in the carriage."
"Good... good..."
Feng Yuanping repeatedly agreed and packed away the remaining pastries, looking forward to savoring them slowly back home.
Lu Shi escorted Feng Yuanping to the manor where he was currently residing and instructed the guards stationed there to patrol carefully. After arranging everything, Lu Shi returned to the Ling manor to report.
...
"The person has been delivered?"
Ling Mohan, with his back to Lu Shi, identified him by his footsteps.
"Reporting to the Young General, your subordinate has safely escorted Prime Minister Feng back to the manor and, as per the Young General's instructions, has urged the guards at the manor to maintain strict vigilance."
"Well done. It's getting late, you may retire."
"Your subordinate takes his leave!"
Lu Shi cupped his hands and withdrew. As he exited the door, he bumped squarely into Feng Jin, who was approaching.
"Greetings, young madam."
"Guard Lu, did you just escort Prime Minister Feng back?"
"Indeed!"
Feng Jin lowered her eyelids, concealing her emotions. When she raised them again, her eyes were filled with a faint smile. "It's getting late, you should go and rest. Oh, and I've already clarified today's matter with Cai Qing, so you don't need to worry too much."
"Thank you, young madam. Your subordinate will take his leave."
With the matter weighing on his mind resolved, Lu Shi was so happy his mouth nearly stretched to his ears. After gratefully thanking Feng Jin with a beaming smile, he hurried away, his steps exuding excitement.
Feng Jin pushed open the door and walked into the room, only to see Ling Mohan furtively fiddling with something at the dressing table. Since his back was turned, it was difficult to see clearly.
"What are you doing?"
*Thump... thump...*
A sudden noise from behind startled Ling Mohan, and the items in his hands fell to the ground.
"My skin-nourishing water, firming lotion... and the pearl powder I just ground..."
Feng Jin looked at the spilled skincare products on the floor with heartache. Her feelings at this moment could only be described as knives piercing her heart.
These were all things she had painstakingly developed, and now they were ruined.
She glared fiercely at the culprit and asked through gritted teeth, "Why were you messing with these things?"
Ling Mohan expertly concealed a fleeting look of embarrassment and coughed lightly, his voice bland. "I just noticed dust on your dressing table and thought I'd clean it up for you. You spoke suddenly behind me, and my hand slipped, causing me to drop them."
By placing all the blame on Feng Jin, Ling Mohan managed to extricate himself from the situation.
Feng Jin, consumed by her distress over her skincare products, didn't ponder Ling Mohan's words too deeply. She quickly squatted down, picked up the scattered items from the floor, and hurried to salvage them.
After rearranging them on the dressing table, she wiped the table clean, which was spotless and showed no sign of dust, not at all as Ling Mohan had claimed.
"Were you really cleaning just now?"
"Of course. Is there any reason for me to lie to you?"
Ling Mohan appeared to be stating the obvious, but inwardly he was a bundle of nerves, afraid Feng Jin would discover something. The hand hidden in his sleeve tightly gripped a porcelain bottle.
"Cai Qing clearly came to clean this morning, and there wasn't any dust on the tabletop."
Studying the man's expression carefully, Feng Jin grew increasingly suspicious. She lightly tapped the bottles and jars on the dressing table, and a quick scan revealed one was missing.
Coupled with the man's earlier behavior, Feng Jin now understood what had happened.
She turned to look at the man who was still feigning composure and extended her hand. "Hand over what you hid, please?"
"What... what are you talking about? I don't know."
Even at this point, Ling Mohan refused to tell the truth. He turned and sat on a chair, picked up a teacup with the hand not holding anything, and took a sip of clear tea.
Feng Jin patiently walked to his side and extended her hand to Ling Mohan once more. "The things on my dressing table, dare you say they weren't hidden by you? General Ling, I won't need to personally search you. Just hand over the item."
Seeing that his deception had been exposed, Ling Mohan stopped pretending. He directly took out the item hidden in his sleeve and handed it to Feng Jin.
"Why did you take my whitening cream?" Feng Jin asked, completely bewildered.
She couldn't understand why Ling Mohan, with nothing better to do, would insist on messing with her skincare products. She also couldn't fathom Ling Mohan's intentions.
"Why did you do this?"