After the eldest sister-in-law of a fishing family became a widow, her disabled younger brother-in-l

Chapter 197 Waiting for Prince Jing to Propose

Li Shiying burst into tears of joy and hurriedly walked outside, just in time to meet Madam Li. She was startled to see her daughter crying.

"Oh dear, what's wrong? Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

Madam Li felt extremely sorry for her only precious daughter and quickly pulled her into her arms. "Tell your mother what happened!"

"Mother... His Highness Prince Jing is back! He's alive!"

Li Shiying smiled through her tears, while Madam Li's face was filled with disbelief upon hearing this.

After all, Prince Jing had been missing for almost two years, and there were all sorts of rumors circulating, but no one knew if he was still alive. She had already considered the worst-case scenario, but she couldn't say such things to her daughter.

Therefore, the family had always avoided talking about it, afraid of touching on Li Shiying's painful memories. But their precious daughter was stubborn and determined to be with Prince Jing. She kept sending people out to inquire about Prince Jing's whereabouts and burned incense and prayed to Buddha every day. Unexpectedly, she actually managed to bring him back.

"It's good to be back! It's good to be back!"

Madam Li was naturally happy, and gently patted Li Shiying's back to comfort her. After all, as long as Prince Jing returned, her daughter would no longer have to worry every day!

Li Shiying's shoulders trembled slightly with joy, which inevitably brought back memories of her first meeting with Song Jinglan when she was a child.

That was when she was eight years old and accompanied her father to the palace banquet. Although Li Shiying had always been a quiet person, she was young at the time and the banquet was very long. She could only sit for half an hour before she couldn't sit still anymore, so she secretly slipped away to the back garden for a walk.

The lotus flowers in the pond were in full bloom in the summer. Seeing that no one was around, she had the idea of ​​picking one. However, the edge of the pond was covered with moss. As soon as Li Shiying got close, she slipped and fell into the pond. She was not a good swimmer at all and panicked. She struggled in the pond and tried to shout for help, but she swallowed several mouthfuls of water and could not make a sound.

The palace banquet was grand, and almost all the palace servants were there to serve. No one noticed Li Shiying, who had secretly left her seat and accidentally fallen into the water. Just as Li Shiying was struggling and about to slowly sink to the bottom of the pool, Song Jinglan appeared.

Li Shiying didn't remember how she was rescued. When she opened her eyes, she saw a young man with a cold and aloof expression. The young man looked a few years older than her. When he saw that she was awake, he looked away and called two palace maids to lead her to the Empress's Palace to change her clothes.

In the midst of her panic, she didn't have time to ask who her savior was. Later, after inquiring, she learned that the person who saved her that day was none other than Song Jinglan, the emperor's younger brother.

After this incident, Song Jinglan's image was firmly imprinted in Li Shiying's heart.

Even though Song Jinglan has rarely appeared in public over the years, and has now disappeared for two consecutive years, Li Shiying has never given up her love for him. Even though she is of marriageable age, she has firmly rejected all the suitors who came to propose marriage, and is only waiting for Song Jinglan.

“My poor child has waited for Prince Jing for so long.”

Madam Li hugged Li Shiying with affection, "I was worried that if His Highness Prince Jing didn't come back, Ying'er would really become an old maid. Fortunately, Heaven has eyes, and His Highness Prince Jing has finally returned!"

"mother!"

Li Shiying said with a hint of embarrassment and anger, "What are you saying?"

"What? There are no outsiders here, so you can't say anything, Mother?"

Madam Li smiled, but then a hint of worry appeared in her eyes. "Although Prince Jing has never proposed marriage, he seems to be rather lukewarm towards you, Ying'er. Tell your mother the truth, are you really confident about your relationship with Prince Jing?"

"Didn't Mother also say that His Highness Prince Jing has never been engaged?"

Li Shiying was quite confident about this, "Even the Empress once planned to bestow a marriage between me and His Highness, so His Highness naturally treats me differently from other women."

"That's what you said."

Hearing this, Madam Li felt somewhat relieved, and then joked, "His Highness has indeed remained detached from women all these years. It seems... the position of Princess Consort is reserved for our Ying'er. Speaking of which, among all the girls in the world, only our Ying'er is worthy of His Highness Prince Jing."

Upon hearing this, Li Shiying's cheeks flushed even more. Now that Prince Jing had finally returned, she realized that she was indeed getting on in years, and their marriage could no longer be delayed. This time, she had to find an opportunity to properly arrange the marriage between her parents and Prince Jing.

After leaving the palace, Song Jinglan returned to his residence. As soon as he entered, he saw Steward Li approaching him with a joyful expression.

"Your Highness, have you really taken a son outside?"

Steward Li's face was full of surprise. He rubbed his hands together and tentatively asked, "Did you bring the young prince back with you this time when you returned to the capital? Does that mean our Prince's mansion will have a new mistress? If so, this old servant must make proper preparations! His Highness Prince Jing's marriage... this is a very important event!"

Upon hearing this, Song Jinglan immediately frowned and cast a cold gaze at Jiang Feili, who was not far away.

His subordinates would never leak this information without his permission, not even his trusted Steward Li.

Only Jiang Feili, who thrives on chaos, would be capable of doing something like this without authorization.

Jixiang sighed silently to herself. His Highness and Miss Jiang were having a falling out, and even the young master was nowhere to be found. Why was this young marquis bringing up such a sore subject?

"What? Is this something that can't be discussed?"

Jiang Feili blinked innocently, "Manager Li kept asking me about your recent situation, and I figured it wasn't anything serious, so I told him."

Song Jinglan's expression immediately darkened, but his expression toward Steward Li was still barely amiable.

"His Majesty is critically ill now, so this matter should not be publicized."

Song Jinglan said, "Manager Li, these are turbulent times, so please keep this a secret and do not let it be spread."

Reminded by Song Jinglan, Steward Li realized his mistake and hurriedly said, "Oh dear, this old servant was so happy that I forgot about the current situation! Please rest assured, Your Highness, this old servant will keep my mouth shut and will absolutely not tell anyone about this!"

Upon hearing this, Song Jinglan nodded, then walked towards Jiang Feili with a dark face, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and led him to the study.