Jin Anazi now knew Lin Ting’s choice so he said:
“As you wish. If you die from the plague, I’ll come to collect your body. Wait, no-bodies died from the plague are given to the family, the bodies are burned by the authorities.”Â
Lin Ting wanted to smash a cup over his head but held back, fearing it would alert the Imperial Guards stationed outside.
“Don’t curse me, thanks.”
As far as Jin Anazi knew, despite the many deaths so far, the court still hadn’t found a cure for the plague.
What was most peculiar was that those who fell ill were taken away and then vanished without a trace.
Among the infected were court officials and members of prominent families.
After being taken away, they too disappeared, and their families remained tight-lipped.
Some even quietly prepared coffins.
The Imperial Guards hadn’t yet declared them dead, so why were their families preparing coffins in advance?
This was inauspicious.
The cure for the plague hadn’t been found yet, but that didn’t mean it never would be.
Unless those families already knew something that their loved ones were doomed to die.
Jin Anazi had tried to investigate but found nothing so he asked:
“Did Duan Ling ever mention where the infected are taken?”
Lin Ting answered truthfully: “No, he only said the authorities gathered them together. He didn’t specify where they were taken, and I didn’t ask.”
After all, it was considered classified information within the Imperial Guards.
She was puzzled: “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”
He wasn’t the type to meddle in others’ affairs.
Jin Anazi hadn’t finished his investigation and wouldn’t jump to conclusions so he replied:
“Just asking casually. It’s nothing. I’ll take my leave now.”
He headed toward the window.
Lin Ting suddenly remembered the person who had been following her and called out to him:
“Wait, after you leave North Long Street, could you help me look into someone?”
“Who?”
“The East Depot Director. When Lingyun and I went to the Eastern Palace, we noticed someone tailing us. I suspect it was ordered by this Director.”
Jin Anazi analyzed: “The East Depot Director? I’ve heard of him but never met him. The East Depot has always vied for power with the Imperial Guards. If he sent people to follow you, could it be to exploit Duan Ling’s weaknesses?”
Lin Ting shrugged: “Not sure. Just tell me if you can investigate. If you can’t, I’ll find another way.”
“I can. Fifty taels.” Jin Anazi replied.
“Go die.”
Lin Ting raised her leg to kick Jin Anazi, but he leaped out the window, evading her with his impressive lightness skill and agility.
In a few moves, he scaled the nearby rooftops and disappeared from her sight.
As soon as Jin Anazi left North Long Street, he began investigating the East Depot Director Lin Ting had mentioned.
He discovered that the Director had become a eunuch only in adulthood, clawing his way up over the years to his current position.
He had killed many people, and his ruthlessness was on par with that of the Imperial Guards.
Though Ta Xuening was now forty years old, he had a youthful appearance, looking only in his early thirties.
As for his life before becoming a eunuch—his origins, family, or whether he had a wife or children—Jin Anazi found no trace.
It was as if those details had been erased.
However, whether Ta Xuening had recently sent people to follow Lin Ting was something Jin Anazi could still uncover.
Ta Xuening had not only sent people to follow Lin Ting but also her mother, Li Jingqiu.
Jin Anazi could understand why he would tail Lin Ting to threaten Duan Ling.
But why follow Li Jingqiu?
To use Lin Ting’s mother as leverage against Duan Ling?
That seemed unlikely.
Using his connections in the martial world, Jin Anazi quickly gathered information on Ta Xuening, finishing his investigation by nightfall.
Part of the reason was that there wasn’t much to uncover about Ta Xuening.
He immediately returned to Beichang Street to find Lin Ting and told her about what he had discovered that day.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ting jumped up, grabbed him, and asked, “He even sent someone to follow my mother? Did you find out why he’s having people track me and my mother? Is it really because of Duan Ling?”
Jin Anazi pondered for a moment: “I’m afraid only Ta Xuening himself knows the real reason. His subordinates merely follow orders without knowing the details, so I couldn’t find out more.”
She worried, “Apart from sending people to follow my mother, has he done anything else?”
Leaning against the window, he idly twirled his long sword and said:
“No, at least not so far. Are you afraid he’ll harm your mother?”
Lin Ting pursed her lips: “Of course.”
When it came to Li Jingqiu, she couldn’t afford to be careless.
Jin Anazi hung the sword back at his waist and straightened up and said:
“Why don’t you tell Duan Ling? He’s a member of the Imperial Guards and has been clashing with the Eastern Depot. If he wants to investigate Ta Xuening, it would be much easier for him than for me.”
For some reason, she subconsciously didn’t want to involve Duan Ling in this matter.
Lin Ting gradually calmed down, returned to the table to eat dinner, and while thinking, she said, “Can’t I just rely on you?”
“It’s not that you can’t, but I’m just curious why you don’t want to ask him. Are you afraid of troubling him? But you’re about to get married, so why worry about bothering him?”
Lin Ting didn’t respond.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
She was startled and signaled Jin Anazi to stay quiet.
The Imperial Guards had already delivered dinner earlier, so it couldn’t be them.
Duan Ling had said he would stay at the Northern Administrative Bureau to handle official business tonight, so it couldn’t be him either.
“Who is it?”
“Duan Ling.”
Duan Ling calmly stated his name again.
Lin Ting was surprised.
It was already dark, and the reason she hadn’t urged Jin Anazi to leave was because she knew Duan Ling wouldn’t come tonight.
“Lord Duan? Didn’t you say you’d be staying at the Northern Administrative Bureau to handle official business tonight?”
Duan Ling’s tall figure was reflected on the paper door: “I finished early and came back.”
Lin Ting immediately became flustered.
She quickly pointed to the window, signaling Jin Anazi to leave, but he shook his head at her, silently saying it wasn’t possible.
It was the time when the Imperial Guards were patrolling the streets, and a squad of them happened to be right below Lin Ting’s room.
If Jin Anazi jumped out of the window now, they would definitely see him.
He was confident he could escape from these Imperial Guards, but they would see him coming out of Lin Ting’s room, and she would be in trouble.
Lin Ting followed Jin Anazi’s gaze and also saw the squad of Imperial Guards downstairs.
Duan Ling spoke again: “What are you doing in there?”
She hurriedly thought of a solution: “I’m changing clothes. I’ll open the door once I’m done.”
Damn it, why did Duan Ling have to show up just as Jin Anazi had sneaked into Beichang Street?
Lin Ting considered that Jin Anazi and Duan Ling were equally skilled in martial arts.
If Jin Anazi couldn’t hear Duan Ling’s breathing,
Duan Ling wouldn’t be able to hear Jin Anazi’s deliberately concealed breathing either.
She pulled him toward the wardrobe and shoved him inside.
The bed was solid and couldn’t hide anyone, and the room wasn’t large.
The only place to hide someone was this small wardrobe.
She had no other choice.
“Lin Leyun, do you think this can fit me?” Jin Anazi mouthed.
Although Jin Anazi was slim, he had long limbs and was tall.
This inn wardrobe, which was half the size of a regular one, felt a bit cramped for him.
Lin Ting also mouthed, “It has to work. Just bear with it and get in. You can’t get trapped in Beichang Street.”
The Imperial Guards…
They would thoroughly investigate the trapped individual.
Jin Anazi:”….”
She forcefully pushed Jin Anazi inside, and he awkwardly squeezed his long legs in, his entire body pressed tightly against the cabinet, looking utterly disheveled.
As soon as Jin Anazi entered, Lin Ting closed the cabinet door and went to open the door for Duan Ling.
Duan Ling watched the sweat trickling down her cheek and slowly asked, “Why are you sweating so much?”
Although it was a bit hot today, staying indoors and changing clothes shouldn’t cause this much sweat.
Lin Ting lied without hesitation, “I’ve been sitting around all day, so I just did some jumping exercises to stretch my muscles and worked up a sweat. I only changed clothes when I heard your voice, so I didn’t have time to wipe off all the sweat.”
Duan Ling took out a handkerchief scented with agarwood and handed it to her, “Here, wipe it off.”
“Thanks.”
Lin Ting didn’t stand on ceremony with Duan Ling and took it to wipe her face.
She had given him a few handkerchiefs before, so it was a mutual exchange.
Duan Ling entered the room and sat down.
Lin Ting wanted to find an excuse to send Duan Ling away, giving Jin Anazi, who was hiding in the wardrobe, a chance to leave.
“Lord Duan, haven’t you been busy patrolling the streets and handling other official duties at the Northern Administrative Bureau these past few days? Have you returned home at all?”
Duan Ling’s nose twitched almost imperceptibly, and he looked up at her with a smile, “I went home first tonight before coming to see you.”
So she couldn’t use the excuse of him needing to go home to send him away.
Lin Ting felt troubled inside but kept a smile on her face as she sat across from him, glancing at the wardrobe behind him.
“That’s good. Have you had dinner?”
Duan Ling replied indifferently, “Same as the past two nights, I had dinner before coming here.”
Inside the wardrobe, Jin Anazi silently listened to their back-and-forth conversation.
The mention of “the past two nights” implied that they had been together those nights, sharing a bed before even getting married?
And tonight?
Was he supposed to stay in this tiny wardrobe all night, watching them sleep?
Jin Anazi shifted his legs, which had gone numb from being curled up, making no sound.
Lin Ting took advantage of Duan Ling’s distraction to glance at the wardrobe.
“I’ll be leaving tomorrow, so you don’t have to stay with me tonight.”
“Are you trying to send me away?”
With a look of genuine concern for him, she said, “Of course not. I just sleep poorly and worry I’ll disturb your rest. You have work during the day, and it’s not good if you don’t sleep well at night.”
Duan Ling removed his wrist guard, and his sleeve loosened, still covering the scars on his hand.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind. Besides, we’ll be sharing a bed in the future, so we’ll have to get used to it. I’ll adapt to you, and you’ll adapt to me…”
Lin Ting followed his words, “You’re right, but there’s no rush. We can take our time to adjust. You’ve been too busy lately and need to rest well. After all, health is the foundation of everything.”
Please agree, she prayed.
Although Duan Ling hadn’t heard the phrase “health is the foundation of everything,” he could roughly guess what she meant.
“I’m used to it, so it’s fine. Don’t worry.”
Lin Ting, feeling nervous, wanted a drink of water, as usual, and poured herself a cup to sip.
Duan Ling suddenly asked, “Why do you have someone else’s scent on you?”
Lin Ting, who had just taken a sip of water, spat it all out, some of it landing on his face.
“What did you say?”
What did he mean by saying she had someone else’s scent?
Lin Ting instinctively sniffed herself.
Duan Ling patiently repeated, “Why do you have someone else’s scent on you?”
The water she had spat onto his face slid down his skin, reaching the corner of his lips.
As he opened his mouth to speak, the water flowed into his mouth, and he swallowed it.
Only then did Lin Ting remember to fetch a handkerchief to wipe his face, but the only one she had was the one he had used to wipe her sweat earlier.
Her own handkerchief was placed by the couch, so she quickly walked over to get it.
Just as she picked up the handkerchief, the sound of the wardrobe opening echoed behind her.
Lin Ting’s body stiffened, and she turned around abruptly.
“Lord Duan!”
Duan Ling looked at Jin Anazi inside the wardrobe and said softly, “So it’s Young Master Jin.”