Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 266 - 248: Revealing the Truth

Chapter 266: Chapter 248: Revealing the Truth

Princess Wanping’s expression grew heavy with seriousness.

After a moment of deliberation, she said to Meng Qianqian, "You just focus on the treatment. No one will know you were here tonight."

The relationship between Meng Qianqian and Lin Wan’er was extremely delicate. If anything were to happen to Lin Wan’er, the Lu Family would undoubtedly pin the blame on Meng Qianqian.

Moreover, the citizens of the Capital City were unlikely to take Meng Qianqian’s side.

Princess Wanping’s words decisively cut through all the potential troubles for Meng Qianqian. She alone would bear all the consequences.

Meng Qianqian did not feign selflessness. After all, the fewer troubles, the better.

Princess Wanping bore no grudge against Lin Wan’er; no matter how hard the Lu Family tried, they couldn’t place the blame on her.

"Your Highness, I must trouble you to step aside."

Princess Wanping glanced at Lin Wan’er and said to Meng Qianqian, "Feel free to command the servants in the courtyard."

Meng Qianqian replied, "Understood."

Once Princess Wanping left, Meng Qianqian immediately wrote a prescription and instructed Steward Bao to head to the Governor Mansion with Brother Wu to retrieve the Miaojiang herbs from Liu Qingyun.

The two men rode swiftly, racing to the Governor Mansion.

Meng Qianqian ordered the maids to heat water, prepare scissors, bedding, and swaddling cloths.

A maid from the small kitchen entered and asked, "Young Madam of the Lu Family, would you like some ginseng soup to be stewed?"

Meng Qianqian considered for a moment. "Yes, stew some."

Lin Wan’er gave a bitter smile. "Ginseng soup is useless for me now."

"I know," Meng Qianqian nodded, "it’s for me to drink."

Lin Wan’er froze, then chuckled self-deprecatingly.

While sterilizing the scissors, Meng Qianqian remarked, "Save your strength. Otherwise, you’ll have nothing left when it’s time to give birth."

After speaking, she turned to the two experienced older women in the room and said, "I must trouble you two to carry her to the room next door."

The adjacent room had already been set up as a temporary birthing chamber under her instructions. It had to be said that the servants in the Princess Mansion were far more efficient than those of the Lu Family—quick and orderly, ensuring that Lin Wan’er received the best care and treatment in the shortest time.

The two women carried Lin Wan’er to the next room and gently placed her onto the bed, which was covered with thick bedding.

Meng Qianqian tied her hair up high, removed her intricate wide-sleeved outer garment, rolled up the sleeves of her white inner garment, and washed her hands thoroughly with soap.

Lin Wan’er’s condition was dire. Although Meng Qianqian used the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles to stabilize her heart, she still couldn’t hold on and fainted twice in just over half an hour. Her pulse stopped once.

"Lin Wan’er, stay strong!"

Meng Qianqian revived her for the third time.

Lin Wan’er wept with grievance. "Meng Qianqian... I can’t hold on anymore..."

Meng Qianqian replied, "Good people never live long; calamities last for a thousand years. How could someone like you not hold on?"

Clang!

Yu Zichuan burst through the door, covering his eyes, and handed over a bottle of medicine. "The medicine is here!"

Meng Qianqian took the medicine, and Yu Zichuan, still covering his eyes, stumbled out, bumping into things several times.

With the Miaojiang Protective Essence Pill, Lin Wan’er’s withered body seemed to suddenly be infused with boundless energy. Her pale face gained a hint of rosiness, and her breathing steadied.

One hour passed.

Two hours passed.

After enduring a night of agonizing labor, at the break of dawn, a sharp cry echoed through the desolate and lonely Princess Mansion.

"She’s given birth! She’s given birth!"

The maids and old women in the courtyard bustled with excitement.

In the side room where she had waited all night, Princess Wanping let out a long sigh of relief.

Lin Wan’er gazed weakly at the child cradled in Meng Qianqian’s arms.

Meng Qianqian weighed the little one and skillfully wrapped her in swaddling cloths. "It’s a girl, five pounds and eight ounces."

Lin Wan’er choked on her tears. "Can I... hold her?"

"Yes."

Meng Qianqian gently placed the little one in Lin Wan’er’s arms.

Lin Wan’er lowered her head to look at the wrinkled little creature, and tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.

"I’ll leave now. You two, mother and daughter, have some time together."

"Meng Qianqian..."

Lin Wan’er called out to her, "I have something to tell you."

Meng Qianqian glanced at the maids and old women in the room and said, "You all leave first."

"Yes, Young Madam of the Lu Family!"

The servants quickly left the room.

Meng Qianqian turned around, looking at the weak Lin Wan’er on the bed. "What is it you want to say? If it’s about your impersonation, I already know."

In the past, Lin Wan’er would have been utterly shocked.

But for some reason, at this moment, only one thought crossed her mind: Of course, I knew it would be impossible to fool you.

Lin Wan’er said, "Why didn’t you ask me just now about the Twelve Guards? If you had used my life to threaten me, I would definitely have told you."

Meng Qianqian simply replied, "Oh."

Lin Wan’er seemed perpetually unable to understand Meng Qianqian. She had countless opportunities to exploit or dominate her, yet she never seemed to do so.

But to say Meng Qianqian was soft-hearted—she wasn’t.

Meng Qianqian’s heart was harder than a blade.

She just... just...

Had principles.

Yes, that was it—principles.

Lin Wan’er had lost, thoroughly and completely.

Or perhaps, from the very beginning, she was never qualified to contend with Meng Qianqian.

"Are you really Meng Qianqian?"

Lin Wan’er asked, dazed.

She wondered if the woman she tried to compare herself to was the Meng Qianqian Lu Lingxiao spoke of. Yet the person she met in the Capital City seemed like a woman of unreachable heights.

"You should rest."

Meng Qianqian shook her head, clearly disinterested in such trifles.

"My name is Xiao Li. I’m Lin Wan’er’s neighbor."

Lin Wan’er—or rather, Xiao Li—began recounting her past at the border.

Her father was a gambler, her mother a shrew. She had seven siblings, and life was desperately impoverished.

Lin Wan’er’s father was a blacksmith who, according to some, later joined the army. Xiao Li would often visit Lin Wan’er, as she was the only neighbor willing to befriend her.

The other neighbors kept their distance from her family.

One day, her parents were scolding and beating the children again. She fled to Lin Wan’er’s house out of fear, only to find the Lin Family under siege by masked assailants fighting fiercely with Lin Wan’er.

It was only then that Xiao Li discovered the gentle and kind Lin Wan’er had such extraordinary combat skills.

Ten masked men attacked—Lin Wan’er killed seven.

At that moment, she and the remaining three were all gravely injured, unable to gain the upper hand over one another.

Then, one of the masked men spotted Xiao Li, seized her, and used her to threaten Lin Wan’er.

Lin Wan’er pulled a token from her bosom. Later, Xiao Li learned it was the Execution Order, but at the time, Lin Wan’er said:

"This is a rescue token from the Black Armor Guards. Once I release the firework signal, every Black Armor Guard within a hundred miles will arrive. If you’re smart, let her go and leave now. Otherwise, you all will die today!"

The masked men threw Xiao Li aside and fled.

"Wan’er! Wan’er, you’re hurt! Let me find a doctor for you!"

She was flustered and frantic.

She didn’t want Lin Wan’er to die. Lin Wan’er was the only person in the world who was kind to her, secretly giving her food and teaching her to read.

"Xiao Li..." Lin Wan’er propped herself up with her sword, kneeling on one knee.

"I won’t survive... When my father returns... Please tell him... Wan’er is unfilial... She cannot... care for him in his old age... But Wan’er... has fulfilled her mission..."

Lin Wan’er died—she died in front of her.

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