Lin Ting stepped out from behind the screen, meeting Duan Ling’s eyes: “And you.”
It sounded a bit presumptuous.
The three people she had just mentioned couldn’t protect themselves in danger.
Duan Ling was different; even Jin Anazi might not be his match.
But Lin Ting wasn’t sure what Duan Ling meant by “Is that all?” so she added him to the list.
Duan Ling got up from the couch, his tone indecipherable:
“You want to protect me?”
Lin Ting found him increasingly inscrutable:
“I know it sounds presumptuous. If you don’t like hearing it, just forget I said it.”
Some martial artists didn’t like to hear such words.
He walked to the dressing table where the jade hairpin was kept, first touched her jewelry, then picked up the hairpin to tie his hair:
“No. Go practice your martial arts.”
Lin Ting ran to the courtyard to practice, sweating profusely after half an hour of intense training.
Duan Ling, having finished his morning routine and dressed, stood by the windowsill watching Lin Ting practice.
Her every move bore a faint resemblance to Jin Anazi’s style.
By the time the sky was fully light, Duan Ling had already settled onto the couch to read.
Lin Ting wiped her sweat with a handkerchief, went back to her room to bathe, and had just finished dressing when a servant knocked on the door, announcing that Duan Xinning had come to see her.
Lin Ting opened the door directly to greet Duan Xinning.
Outside the room, Duan Xinning looked up at the sound of the door opening.
Seeing Lin Ting’s freshly bathed appearance and considering the early hour, she must have thought something inappropriate, blushing and stammering, “D-did I come at a bad time?”
Lin Ting, seeing the blush on Duan Xinning’s face, knew exactly what she was thinking:
“No, you came at the perfect time. I just finished practicing martial arts and have nothing to do. What’s on your mind?”
One sentence dispelled the misunderstanding.
Duan Xinning, realizing she had overthought, blushed even more but leaned in and whispered something into Lin Ting’s ear.
After hearing this, Lin Ting’s face changed dramatically.
She grabbed Duan Xinning’s hand, avoiding the servants, and led her outside the courtyard, mindful that Duan Ling had good hearing and might overhear if they stayed too close.
“Haven’t I told you to be careful? How did this still happen?”
Lin Ting didn’t want Duan Xinning to end up pregnant out of wedlock as she had in the original story.
When she found out about Duan Xinning’s relations with Xia Zimo, she had repeatedly warned her to take precautions for contraception.
After all, there were quite a few contraceptive methods in ancient times, and with a bit of attention, pregnancy could generally be avoided.
The reason Lin Ting didn’t stop Duan Xinning and Xia Zimo from being intimate before marriage was that she couldn’t control it.
When two people were deeply in love and wanted to be intimate, how could she possibly stop them?
Besides, she couldn’t be by Duan Xinning’s side all the time.
Duan Xinning touched her still flat stomach, tears streaming down her face:
“I was careful, but something still went wrong. I don’t know what happened. What should I do, Leyun?”
Perhaps she had been too sheltered by her parents, with her entire life path chosen for her.
As she grew up, she didn’t know how to handle problems on her own.
Lin Ting took out a handkerchief and wiped Duan Xinning’s tears:
“Have you seen a doctor to confirm?”
“I’m afraid to see a doctor for a pulse diagnosis, in case Mother and Father find out.”
Having a doctor come to the Duan residence for a pulse diagnosis would surely not remain a secret.
Disguising herself and going outside the residence to see a doctor was feasible, but Duan Xinning, being timid, didn’t dare to go alone with a maid.
Lin Ting calmed down: “So you’re judging based on the fact that your monthly cycle hasn’t come this month?”
Duan Xinning cried pitifully, her eyes red and swollen:
“Yes.”
Her monthly cycle had always been regular, never late, but this month it had been delayed by a full ten days.
Lin Ting comforted her:
“Don’t cry. I’ll accompany you outside the residence to see a doctor today. It might not be as you think. Have you told Prince Xia about this, and what did he say?”
Why hadn’t he come to propose yet?
In the original story, he was quite prompt.
Duan Xinning sobbed, “No, he hasn’t. He left the city these past few days to find his father.”
Why was this plot deviating from the original story?
Lin Ting pushed aside her confusion; it was more important to take Duan Xinning to see a doctor first:
“Let’s go, we’ll leave the residence.”
But she needed to inform Duan Ling first.
Lin Ting asked Duan Xinning to wait outside the room while she went in and approached Duan Ling.
Duan Ling put down the book in his hand and looked at her:
“I just heard Lingyun’s voice. She came over early in the morning. Is there something she needs from you?”
Lin Ting avoided answering directly, simply stating:
“We want to leave the residence for a while.”
Duan Xinning didn’t want her family to know about this yet, and she hadn’t confirmed whether she was pregnant, so she didn’t tell him.
Duan Ling stood up and straightened her slightly crooked skirt strap: “Just the two of you?”
“Just the two of us,” Lin Ting watched as Duan Ling untied her skirt strap and retied it.
The knot he made was not only aesthetically pleasing but also perfectly centered, with the two ends of the strap cascading down her waist and nearing the hem of her skirt.
He glanced at the table not far away, where the servants had laid out the breakfast:
“You haven’t had your morning meal yet. How about having it before you go?”
Lin Ting, preoccupied with Duan Xinning’s situation, reluctantly suppressed her urge to eat:
“No, I’ll just grab something on the street.”
Duan Ling didn’t insist: “Alright then, go ahead. When do you plan to be back?”
It was morning, and they were going out of the residence to see a doctor, not to wander the streets.
It wouldn’t take long; it was possible they could be back before noon.
She pondered for a moment and said, “It shouldn’t be too late. Did you plan to take me out today?”
He smiled faintly: “No, if you want to go out with her, just do it. Come back early.”
Lin Ting left immediately.
After leaving the residence, they changed into plain clothes, put on hats, and instructed the coachman to wait with the carriage in a small alley.
They then took a detour to find the doctor.
To avoid drawing attention, they didn’t even bring a maid.
The doctor at the apothecary, seeing their ordinary attire and the absence of a serving maid, took them for ordinary women and didn’t pay them much mind.
He asked Duan Xinning to extend her arm and felt her pulse through a handkerchief.
While the doctor was feeling her pulse, Duan Xinning was on pins and needles, clutching Lin Ting’s hand with her other one.
The doctor didn’t take long to finish, then inquired if Duan Xinning had been sleeping poorly, had a poor appetite, and felt depressed lately.
He concluded that her delayed menstrual cycle was due to a deficiency in her vital energy and blood.
Duan Xinning’s mood swung wildly as she stammered, “So, I’m not pregnant?”
The doctor, with years of medical experience, had seen many women who mistakenly thought they were pregnant.
He was unfazed and nonchalantly wrote a prescription for a tonic to replenish her vital energy and blood:
“No, you’re not. I’ve been a doctor for decades, and I’ve never been wrong once.”
The heavy burden on Duan Xinning’s heart was lifted.
The doctor had no reason to lie, and she had indeed been sleeping poorly and eating less because Xia Zimo had been dragging his feet about proposing.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Duan Xinning said gratefully.
Lin Ting took the prescription to get the medicine.
It was just a tonic for replenishing vital energy and blood, which Duan Xinning could openly take back to the residence.
If anyone asked, she could simply say she wasn’t feeling well and had bought these medicines while out, and since there was nothing wrong with the medicine itself, it wouldn’t raise any suspicions.
The apothecary was short-staffed, and getting the medicine took a bit of time.
As Lin Ting leaned against the medicine cabinet waiting, she suddenly thought of a way to complete her mission.
Once they had the medicine, they didn’t linger on the street but returned to the residence immediately.
Lin Ting first went to Duan Xinning’s courtyard to accompany her while she took the tonic.
Afterward, she went back to find Duan Ling.
Duan Ling had stayed in his room the entire time, not going out.
He was either reading books or going through documents.
Only when he saw her return did he put these things down.
They hadn’t had breakfast together but had lunch together.
In the evening, Lin Ting bathed first.
While Duan Ling was taking his bath, she stripped naked and lay on the couch, covering herself up to the neck with the bedding.
She left her clothes on the side of the bed, where he could easily see them.
A moment later, Duan Ling returned, and as she had hoped, he saw the clothes by the bed.
Before he could ask, Lin Ting explained, “I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately. I read a medical book that said sleeping naked might help improve the situation. I wanted to give it a try for one night.”
This excuse was better than saying she liked to sleep naked.
After tonight, she could say this method didn’t work for her and wouldn’t need to try it again.
During their conversation, the bedding slightly slipped, but Lin Ting didn’t notice, her attention fully on him.
Duan Ling glanced at the bit of Lin Ting’s shoulder that had been inadvertently exposed, then lowered his eyes and bent down to get into the couch, covering her with another blanket she had taken out:
“Having trouble sleeping lately? Why haven’t I heard you mention it?”
Lin Ting finally realized her shoulder was exposed and pulled the bedding up:
“It’s just been the past couple of days. I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”
He lay down beside her: “If this method doesn’t work, we’ll call a doctor to the residence tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Lin Ting replied, feeling a bit guilty.
Fifteen minutes later, Lin Ting finally heard the “mission accomplished” notification from the system.
She felt insecure without clothes on and wanted to put them back on, but she couldn’t take back what she had said.
She had to continue lying there as she was.
She couldn’t even use the excuse of going to the bathroom to get dressed, as there was a clean chamber pot in the room.
Lin Ting was worried that she might move around in her sleep, so she forced herself to stay awake, planning to wait until Duan Ling fell asleep and then sneakily get up and get dressed.
If he saw her the next morning, she could say she had woken up early, got dressed, and then went back to sleep.
But fate didn’t give Lin Ting that chance.
Almost every time she moved, Duan Ling would wake up.
After several rounds of this, Lin Ting, who was already exhausted and couldn’t keep her eyes open, finally succumbed to sleep.
The next morning, she woke up naked in Duan Ling’s arms.
His nightclothes were as thin as his undergarments.
Unlike the time on North Long Street, this time there was no barrier between them.
She was naked, and he was only in his undergarments and nightclothes, holding her closely, just like any ordinary couple.
At that moment, Duan Ling moved.