Lin Ting left in such a hurry that she didn’t notice the bedding on the bed had been changed.
Last night, Duan Ling had lost control again, soiling his clothes and the bedding, which had to be replaced.
She had been sleeping soundly and was unaware that he had struggled with his self-control on the other side of the bed.
As she walked out of Duan Ling’s room and hurried along the corridor back to her own quarters, she saw Tao Zhu before she even got close.
Tao Zhu was standing at the open door, looking around for her.
Lin Ting called out, “Tao Zhu.”
Tao Zhu approached her, “Miss Seven, where have you been?”
She had knocked earlier, but when there was no response, she pushed the door open and found the room empty.
She decided to wait at the door, thinking that if Lin Ting didn’t appear soon, she would ask the servants in the house.
Lin Ting cleared her throat and tried to explain naturally,
“I woke up very early today and went for a walk since you were still asleep.”
Tao Zhu didn’t suspect anything and pulled Lin Ting inside and said, “Let me fix your hair for you.”
The hair she had hastily tied up was a bit messy.
Shortly after Tao Zhu had redone Lin Ting’s hair, a servant came to invite them for breakfast.
The rain had stopped in the early hours of the morning.
After breakfast, their group left the house that morning.
As soon as the carriage reached the city gate, Lin Ting heard a commotion.
She lifted the curtain to look outside and saw a group of cavalry rushing out of the city.
Duan Ling got off the carriage to inquire about the situation.
The city guard hurriedly explained the situation to Duan Ling,
“Young Master Xie escaped from the city yesterday. Commander Feng received news that he is now in a small town about ten miles outside the city and has sent people to search for him.”
Duan Ling was a commander in the Imperial Guards and had not participated in the city patrols yesterday.
His subordinate, Commander Feng, had taken his place.
When he heard that Xie Qinghe had escaped the city yesterday, Duan Ling slowly turned to look at Lin Ting.
She was still holding the curtain, her head poking out of the carriage, and their eyes met in the air.
Lin Ting’s expression didn’t change at all; it was as natural as could be.
Duan Ling was the first to look away.
The city guard continued, “Commander Feng couldn’t find you yesterday and instructed me to ask you, ‘What should we do if we find Xie Qinghe? Should we bring him back for interrogation or kill him on the spot?’ “
If no one had helped Xie Qinghe, he wouldn’t have been able to escape the city.
It would be better to bring him back for interrogation.
But since Duan Ling was in charge of this case, Commander Feng had to ask for his opinion.
It was a major taboo in official circles to make decisions without consulting one’s superior, and the Imperial Guards dared not act in such a manner.
Duan Ling smiled slightly, his expression gentle but his eyes cold, and in the softest tone, he said the most ruthless words,
“Pass down the order: once Xie Qinghe is found, kill him on the spot. There’s no need to bring him back for interrogation.”
The city guard hesitated, “But… Commander Feng said that someone must have helped him escape. It would be better to bring him back for interrogation.”
Duan Ling seemed absent-mindedly straightening his clothes, still speaking gently,
“I said, once Xie Qinghe is found, kill him on the spot. There’s no need to bring him back for interrogation. Do you not understand?”
The city guard quickly nodded in agreement.
Duan Ling returned to the carriage and looked at Lin Ting: “I just went to handle some matters.”
She responded with a soft “Hmm.”
As the carriage entered the city, the curtains swayed gently, and sunlight occasionally streamed through the gaps, casting a warm glow on Duan Ling and he asked:
“Aren’t you curious about what happened?”
Lin Ting replied, “I heard. The fifth son of the Xie family took advantage of your absence and fled the city. Are you now taking people to capture him? You can drop me and Tao Zhu off here; we can walk back.”
He spoke calmly, “It’s no rush. I’ll take you home first.”
“Alright.”
There were several routes from the city gate to the Lin residence, with the shortest one passing through East Street.
The coachman initially chose this path, but Duan Ling noticed and instructed him to take a detour.
Lin Ting didn’t object.
She knew the reason-East Street was the first place where the plague had appeared.
However, since the authorities hadn’t yet confirmed it as a plague, not many people were aware of the situation.
Lin Ting watched as the carriage took the detour.
After escorting Lin Ting to the Lin residence, Duan Ling leisurely entered the house to have a cup of tea before leaving.
This was also a response to Li Jingqiu’s earlier invitation for him to come in for tea someday.
While Duan Ling was having tea, Lin Sanye and Shen Yiniang tried to curry favor, but Li Jingqiu kicked them away.
Lin Sanye was naturally angry but didn’t dare to lose his temper in front of Duan Ling.
Even after Duan Ling left, Li Jingqiu didn’t allow Lin Sanye to speak a single word to him.
Frustrated, Lin Sanye shamelessly went to Tingling Courtyard to find Lin Ting, asking her to put in a good word for him in front of Duan Ling.
He hadn’t been promoted in a long time and was in desperate need of connections.
Lin Ting ignored him, pretending not to hear, which infuriated him.
He stormed off in a huff.
Li Jingqiu praised Lin Ting for her actions and said:
“I’m telling you, no matter what he asks of you in the future, just refuse. He doesn’t treat you as a daughter, so you don’t need to treat him as a father.”
Lin Ting, not being one to entertain Lin Sanye’s nonsense, pulled over a chair and changed the subject:
“Mother, if you don’t have anything urgent, try not to leave the residence these days. Also, tell the servants to go out less.”
The Lin family usually had their food delivered by farmers, so there was rarely a need to go out unless they suddenly craved something different.
Li Jingqiu asked, “Why?”
“Didn’t something happen on East Street? I heard several people died.”
Li Jingqiu didn’t take it seriously: “People die from illness every day. Let’s just focus on our own lives; why bother about others?”
Lin Ting countered, “It’s different this time. The illness on East Street is contagious.”
“It’s not as serious as you’re making it out to be. Didn’t they die because they couldn’t afford treatment? That’s what the officials said they didn’t mention it being contagious.”
Li Jingqiu picked up some melon seeds to snack on.
Lin Ting couldn’t explain the full situation to Li Jingqiu but she just said:
“Just listen to me. For now, try not to leave the residence unless necessary. Stay in the courtyard. We can’t control the rest of the Lin household, so let’s just take care of our own courtyard.”
Seeing how serious Lin Ting was, Li Jingqiu finally took her advice: “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
After instructing Li Jingqiu, Lin Ting also sent someone to inform Duan Xinning to avoid going out as much as possible.
Then, for three consecutive days, Lin Ting stayed indoors.
Partly because she hadn’t seen Duan Ling-he had become even busier since Xie Qinghe’s escape -and partly because she was worried about catching the illness, she decided to stay inside.
On the fourth day of Lin Ting’s self-imposed seclusion, Duan Xinning personally came to the Lin residence to visit her.
Duan Xinning came to find Lin Ting because the Crown Princess had invited her to the Eastern Palace for a meeting.
She didn’t dare to go alone with her maid, nor did she want to ask her mother, Lady Feng, to accompany her, as it would seem like she didn’t trust the Crown Princess.
Since this was a matter among the women of the household, Duan’s father couldn’t directly intervene.
He simply reassured Duan Xinning to go without worry, saying the Crown Princess wouldn’t harm her.
If she was truly afraid, she could bring a trusted close friend along, as bringing a friend to the Eastern Palace carried a very different meaning than bringing Lady Feng.
Duan Xinning wanted Lin Ting to accompany her.
Lin Ting listened quietly as she finished speaking: “The Crown Princess invited you to the Eastern Palace? Have you had any interaction with her before? I’ve never heard of it.”
“We’ve only met a few times.”
Duan Xinning had occasionally seen the Crown Princess at banquets or on the streets, but they had never spoken much or met privately.
That’s why she didn’t dare to go alone with her maid she wasn’t used to interacting with strangers.
Lin Ting poured her a cup of water and told her not to worry:
“Has the Crown Princess ever invited you to the Eastern Palace before, or arranged to meet you elsewhere?”
Duan Xinning drank the warm water Lin Ting had poured for her, feeling less nervous: “No, never.”
Lin Ting was puzzled.
That was strange.
The Crown Princess had no reason to win over the Duan family through Duan Xinning.
The main issue was that the Crown Prince couldn’t get too close to the Duan family, as both father and son were members of the Imperial Guard.
If the Crown Prince became too close to the Duan family, the Emperor might suspect he was already coveting the throne.
If there was no need to win them over, what was the Crown Princess’s purpose in inviting Duan Xinning to the Eastern Palace?
Lin Ting pondered for a while: “Maybe you should politely decline?”
Duan Xinning bit her lip: “The Crown Princess has sent me invitations several times recently, and I’ve declined each time. If I refuse again, it would be inappropriate.”
She had to give face where it was due; refusing too many times would disrespect the Crown Princess.
Indeed, she couldn’t decline again.
Lin Ting considered for a moment: “Then I’ll go with you. When is it?”
“Today at noon.”
The Crown Princess had invited Duan Xinning to meet at the Eastern Palace at noon, so they set out at the end of the morning.
Before getting into the carriage, Lin Ting had a faint feeling that someone was hiding in the shadows, watching her.
She glanced around outside the Lin family’s gate but saw no one.
She suppressed her thoughts and entered the carriage, but immediately after, she lifted the curtain to look outside.
Sure enough, Lin Ting saw a figure emerge from the shadows.
He was dressed in brown clothes, wearing white boots, and a small pointed hat.
It seemed he wanted to follow the carriage, but when he realized she had noticed him, he pretended to pass by and left.
Lin Ting frowned.
Was he following Duan Xinning, or was he following her?
She stared in the direction he had gone.
Duan Xinning, seeing Lin Ting looking outside, leaned over to take a look and asked her:
“What’s wrong? What are you looking at?”
Lin Ting lowered the curtain, deep in thought and replied:
“It seems someone is following us. That person looked a bit like a eunuch. Although he was dressed like an ordinary commoner, very low-key, he appeared thin and frail, with a habit of hunching his back. His face was pale, beardless, and he had no Adam’s apple.”
His walking posture was also unusual, resembling that of a eunuch who had been castrated in childhood.
“Eunuch…”
Lin Ting couldn’t help but recall the Eastern Depot Director who had come to her with some inexplicable words.
Could it be someone he sent?
If it was him, then today this person was probably here to monitor her.
Why would he do this?
Did he really intend to use her to threaten Duan Ling?
But it didn’t seem like it.
It couldn’t be to protect her, could it?
They didn’t even know each other.
“Following us?” Duan Xinning was shocked and immediately felt a sense of fear, instinctively wanting to lean out and get a clearer look.
But Lin Ting stopped her and said,
“It’s just a suspicion, I can’t be entirely sure. He’s gone now.”
Duan Xinning was still uneasy: “Why would someone be following us?!”
Lin Ting reassured her, “I don’t know, let’s not worry about it for now. After we return from the Eastern Palace, I’ll send someone to investigate and let you know the results.”
At noon, they arrived at the Eastern Palace.
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