The jade pendant connects the past and present; the exiled crown prince's wife takes her entire

Only when they were far away did Jiang Jinning begin to feel a little scared.

She hunched her shoulders as usual, trailing behind Zhao, looking somewhat uneasy.

Zhao turned around, frowned and glanced at her. Seeing that she was so frightened that she almost curled up, she quickly softened her expression.

However, this etiquette... she, who had been upright since childhood, simply couldn't stand it.

"Straighten your back, straighten your shoulders, and look straight ahead."

Jiang Jinning did as she was told, knowing that Zhao was instructing her, and felt both happy and ashamed.

She shouldn't have talked back; it made things difficult for her mother.

"I know it's wrong to talk back to my elders, but they can't wrong me, they can't take my cornbread, and they certainly can't discipline my mother!"

Every word she said was for her sake, and Zhao felt a pang of tenderness in her heart; how could she possibly blame her?

Even her two children probably couldn't do that.

"You did nothing wrong, so stand tall and face people without fear. You did a great job just now. I... your mother is so proud of you."

Jiang Jinning looked up in surprise, subconsciously straightened her back, raised her head, and revealed a clear smile. Even though she was covered in dust, Zhao felt that she was like a pure mountain spirit who came to the human world to bring blessings.

"Yes, I want to learn from the Great General and the Young General, and be a person who stands tall and upright."

When the general was mentioned, Zhao's expression sombered.

"Don't learn from him, he's no good..."

"I believe the General is a great hero!"

With tears still welling in her eyes, Zhao looked at her in astonishment upon hearing this.

Everyone said the general was a traitor, and even Qingyan never said a word to him. She vaguely understood that something was wrong, perhaps because it was not easy for her to know. But no one had ever told her so firmly that her husband was a hero who stood tall and upright.

Tears blurred her vision, and the frail body suddenly seemed taller. A pang of sadness rose in Zhao's heart, and her heart softened completely.

She wanted to slap herself and ask herself why she had treated such a wonderful girl so coldly.

Back at their resting place, Jiang Jinning, who had been like an enraged little beast in front of Liao Shi, became as helpless as a quail in front of Song Qingyan.

She whispered her defense, "It's their fault. They didn't apologize and even hit my mother. I was just trying to protect her..."

Song Qingyan glanced at her again.

The little girl who was bullied at first dared to speak out against injustice today, and now she even knows how to defend herself, and doesn't think she did anything wrong.

This is a significant improvement for her.

Song Qingyan was happy for her, but he didn't want to encourage her behavior. He knew that even when protecting others, one should also protect oneself.

His face had barely hardened when Madam Zhao spoke up: "This isn't Jin Ning's fault. She's timid, so you should say less."

So they've already protected her?

This surprised Song Qingyan.

He knew that his mother was harboring some resentment. Although he had tried his best to persuade her in the past, she could not hold a grudge. It had only been a short time, and he, her own son, had already been relegated to the back of the list.

He was very curious about what the little girl had done to make her mother accept her.

He then shook his head.

The little girl is innocent and naive. Her mother is not unreasonable; once she understands, she will naturally treat her well.

Jiang Jinning didn't think too much about it. Seeing Zhao speak up for her, her face flushed with excitement. She didn't even think about giving Song Yanqing the steamed buns and water. Instead, she turned and gave them to Zhao. Her eyes were clear and pure, without a trace of impurity.

Song Qingyan caught nothing, finding it somewhat amusing.

The girl seems easy to talk to, but she's actually quite vengeful.

This made Zhao a little embarrassed, and she coughed several times.

"Mother, why are you speaking up for this jinx? If it weren't for her, the Duke's mansion wouldn't have been confiscated, and now she's caused you and Grandmother to have this falling out. She's a jinx!"

Song Wanzhen naturally disliked the second wife and Liao Shi, but she disliked Jiang Jinning even more. Jiang Jinning was always timid and cowardly, and always causing trouble. If it weren't for her causing trouble, her elder brother and mother would not have had to suffer any grievances.

"Zhen'er!" Zhao looked at her disapprovingly, "You shouldn't speak to your sister-in-law like that."

"I don't acknowledge her as my sister-in-law!"

When Song Wanzhen saw that her mother was actually speaking up for Jiang Jinning, she ran out crying.

Jiang Jinning wanted to pursue her but was afraid she would encounter danger, but Song Qingyan stopped her.

"Ignore her, she'll come back when she figures things out."

After all that had been said, Zhao finally realized the changes in her son.

She got up and touched Song Qingyan's forehead, finding that his fever had subsided, and immediately smiled.

"Your fever has gone down, no wonder you could talk for so long."

Zhao's words reminded Song Qingyan. His eyes darkened as he recalled the beatings he had endured along the way. He then collapsed onto the cart, looking utterly helpless.

"You should rest quickly and lie down. I was just about to say that your injuries are improving, but..." Zhao was naturally a little anxious because she didn't know the truth. "I was wrong. The herbs by the roadside are not very effective and can't heal the wound. If there were medicine, that would be good."

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Seeing that Song Qingyan showed no signs of improvement, Jiang Jinning assumed that the medicine she had brought was insufficient. She thought to herself that she should quickly make the entwined flower she had on hand and go to change the young general's dressing as soon as possible.

During the day, they had to travel quickly, so Jiang Jinning didn't dare to take the materials out in front of others. She could only secretly take out the materials package at night.

The material kit Liang Cheng gave us contained a diagram. It didn't depict a peony or a peach blossom, but rather a flower that most powerful people wouldn't cultivate. It had a beautiful name; its scientific name was Lycoris radiata, also known as the spider lily or Manjusaka.

Everyone felt that it symbolized sorrow, blooming without leaves, growing leaves without flowers, flowers and leaves never meeting, and the living and the dead forever separated.

I also felt that it was a flower that guided the souls of the dead on the journey to the River of Oblivion, which was not auspicious enough.

Jiang Jinning liked it very much; it clearly symbolized passionate courage and rebirth from the ashes.

The red spider lily is much simpler than the peony, especially since this kit also provides cardboard—oh, in the fairy realm, it's called a slice. I don't know what kind of paper this slice is made of, but it's much sturdier than Dali paper, and it's also cheaper.

While everyone was asleep, Jiang Jinning secretly began wrapping the bandages by the moonlight. Although it was hard on her eyes and hands, the thought of changing the young general's bandages made her feel no fatigue at all.

In just one hour, she had made six spider lilies, and then spent another half hour kneading out the stamens.

It has to be said that this fairyland is indeed a fairyland. Even a single flower is made of wire. You should know that in Dali, iron is controlled by the imperial court, let alone these extremely fine and pure wires.

It seemed that there was copper wire in the fairyland, but it was more expensive than iron wire, which she couldn't understand.

It took another fifteen minutes to assemble it, and the spider lily hairpin was finished. Jiang Jinning carefully hid it, thinking of going to change the dressing the next night.