The candlelight in the room flickered across the bed, casting the shadows of Lin Ting and Duan Ling—hers tall and his low.
She was sitting, he was lying down, his hand wrapped around hers, their shadows interwoven, just like their gazes.
After a moment of eye contact, Lin Ting’s gaze gradually lowered, landing on her own wrist.
The touch of the key was icy cold, but Duan Ling’s palm, which held hers, was warm, the heat spreading from her wrist to the surrounding skin.
Lin Ting didn’t push Duan Ling away.
Instead, she used her other hand to pick up the key, placed it on the small table by the bed, then looked back at him, maintaining eye contact.
“If you leave the key next to the silk pillow, it’ll poke you in your sleep. It’s better to keep it outside.”
She wasn’t lying to Duan Ling.
The reason she’d just reached for the key was exactly that.
Lin Ting had considered quietly taking the key to unlock the door and go out to find someone, but she hadn’t even managed to knock Duan Ling out with a Sleep-inducing Drug, let alone make him sleep deeply.
How could she be sure whether he was truly asleep or just pretending?
Even if he did fall asleep, he could still wake up at any time.
If she tried to sneak out and got caught, Duan Ling would be even more suspicious, convinced that she was plotting to go out and find someone else, that she was still scheming to “cheat,” and would only watch her even more closely.
What Lin Ting needed now was to gain Duan Ling’s trust, to have him willingly let her go out.
Of course, this “willingly letting her out” didn’t mean she could go wherever she pleased.
For now, Duan Ling couldn’t do that either.
So, it was fine if things stayed as they’d been recently—he’d take her to the yamen for errands, or occasionally stroll the streets with her.
Lin Ting had never thought about making a scene to get out, because that wouldn’t solve the root problem, only the surface.
Most importantly, if Duan Ling didn’t willingly let her go out, there was no way she could sneak past someone as skilled as him.
They both still had Nanli Poison in their bodies.
If Lin Ting got too far from Duan Ling, he’d feel pain.
If Duan Ling found her missing, he’d definitely investigate where she’d been and what she’d done.
In that case, her buying medicine would be exposed, so how could she accomplish her mission?
But “acting in secret” was a prerequisite for completing her mission.
Otherwise, Lin Ting could have hinted to Duan Ling that she had her reasons for what she was about to do, and that not doing it would mean death.
Because of this restriction, if she even hinted at wanting to do something and asked him not to interfere, she’d never meet the secrecy requirement for her mission—meaning she’d never complete it.
She couldn’t even hint to him.
Other than that, Lin Ting didn’t dislike or fear Duan Ling treating her this way.
She just needed to finish her mission, and for that, she had to get out.
So, she needed him to let her go out willingly.
Hearing Duan Ling’s silence, Lin Ting leaned over to look at him, her long hair brushing across his face as she smiled with her eyes curved.
“Did I wake you?”
Duan Ling focused on her eyes, then slowly released her hand.
“You didn’t wake me. I just haven’t fallen asleep yet.”
Lin Ting straightened up and moved to get off the bed.
“Then go back to sleep. I’ll go blow out the lamp.”
He responded with a soft “Mm.”
Once the lamp was out, darkness filled the room.
Lin Ting returned to the bed.
She wasn’t sleepy, but she could still lie there with her eyes closed and think.
She tossed and turned for an hour before finally drifting off, though her sleep was shallow that night.
In the latter half of the night, she woke up again.
When she did, Lin Ting found that Duan Ling wasn’t asleep either, but was sitting with his back to her.
She couldn’t help but sit up and tug at his sleeve.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Duan Ling heard Lin Ting’s voice and turned to look at her.
Lin Ting also looked at Duan Ling—his long hair draped over his shoulders, his features striking and vivid, his skin pale and lips red, even more exquisite than someone in heavy makeup, like a flawless doll.
She unconsciously tightened her grip on his sleeve.
Duan Ling gently curled his lips into a harmless-looking smile, his expression calm as he said, “I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to sit for a while. You go ahead and rest, don’t mind me.”
Lin Ting couldn’t sleep either and suggested, “How about I make you some calming soup?”
There was a small kitchen in the courtyard, stocked with plenty of ingredients—she’d noticed it last time she asked a servant to make a midnight snack.
“Calming soup?”
She picked up her folded outer robe, tied her skirt, and pulled a red silk ribbon from under her pillow, casually tying her hair into a high ponytail as she got out of bed.
“Yes, I know how to make calming soup.”
Except for special occasions, Lin Ting usually slept well and rarely needed calming soup.
But while she didn’t drink it, she could make it, because her mother Li Jingqiu sometimes had trouble sleeping, and Lin Ting had wanted to make calming soup for her by hand, so she learned how.
After Lin Ting got out of bed, she didn’t move toward the lock, even though the key was right there beside the bed.
She deliberately waited for Duan Ling to unlock the door.
Duan Ling glanced at Lin Ting, then finally got up to follow her, taking the key to unlock the door.
There were no servants around, and since they stayed in the room most of the time, no one lit the courtyard lamps.
The moonlight was faint, leaving everything in darkness.
Lin Ting took a lantern and walked out with Duan Ling, crossing the dark stone path at an unhurried pace, heading straight for the small kitchen.
The first thing she did upon entering was set down the lantern and light the oil lamp.
As soon as the oil lamp flared, Lin Ting rolled up her sleeves to look for ingredients for calming soup, washing them clean.
“Can you light the fire for me?”
Duan Ling went to the stove to light the fire.
Once the flames flared up inside, he put out the fire striker in his hand and turned his head to look at Lin Ting.
Lin Ting stood at the small sink, her apricot-colored Qiyao Ruqun fluttering in the breeze, her high ponytail hanging to her waist, the red silk ribbon embroidered with the character “Ting” woven into her hair, a few stray strands framing her face, her nose elegantly arched, lips lightly tinted red.
She rolled her sleeves up to her elbows, water splashing from the sink, but only wetting her wrists.
Duan Ling watched for a moment, then looked away.
Lin Ting worked quickly, and soon the calming soup was ready.
She served him a bowl.
“Try it.”
Duan Ling took the bowl and drank it in one go.
“Have you made calming soup for someone before?”
Lin Ting pulled over a small stool and sat beside Duan Ling, also drinking a bowl.
“I made it for my mother before.”
He didn’t ask further.
Lin Ting didn’t know if calming soup would work for Duan Ling, but she knew it worked wonders for herself.
After returning from the kitchen, she lay down and was soon fast asleep, not even thunder could wake her.
Duan Ling stayed awake, his expression unreadable, as he pulled Lin Ting into his arms, untied her high ponytail, his fingers running through her silky hair, twining with the silk ribbon, not letting go for a long time.
The silk ribbon became creased.
Duan Ling suddenly realized—it wasn’t that he didn’t want Lin Ting to seek out others, it was that he was afraid she would.
Duan Ling knew the feeling of “fear.”
He’d seen it countless times interrogating prisoners in the imperial prison—some feared they wouldn’t survive the torture, some feared implicating their families.
He understood it, had witnessed it, but this was the first time he’d truly experienced it himself.
It felt as if his heart was being gripped by someone, every action and thought pulled by this emotion, losing control, the path ahead shrouded in uncertainty and confusion.
***
Rain pattered down, tapping endlessly on the glazed tiles of the roof.
Lin Ting listened to the rain, sitting cross-legged on the Luohan Couch, playing chess with Duan Ling.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
She still hadn’t taken a single step out of the courtyard, and could count on one hand the times she’d even left the room, let alone seen anyone.
During this time, Duan Xinning had come looking for her once, but they still hadn’t met.
Lin Ting held a black chess piece, speaking casually, “I’ve been sleeping well lately, not even thunder can wake me. Why not let those servants who used to serve in the courtyard come back?”
Duan Ling, holding a white piece, kept his eyes on the board and didn’t answer directly.
“Have you felt inconvenienced these past few days?”
“Not at all.”
These days, it was Duan Ling who’d been “serving” her.
If Lin Ting said she felt inconvenienced, wouldn’t that mean he hadn’t done a good job?
Truthfully, Duan Ling had served her very well—preparing three meals a day, bathwater, even washing her clothes.
She simply stretched out her hand for clothes, opened her mouth for food.
After being locked up for several days, not only had she not lost weight, she’d even gained some.
Duan Ling spoke gently, “Since you’ve not felt inconvenienced, it doesn’t matter whether they serve here or not. Linguan needs people to care for her during her pregnancy, and Zhilan can’t manage alone. It’s best to leave them in her courtyard.”
Lin Ting placed a black piece in the center of the board.
“I’m not asking for all of them back, just a few, so you don’t have to wash my clothes every day and can focus on your work.”