Could it be that she had a moment of awakening in her childhood?
But perhaps she was too young at the time, her body too fragile, and her willpower not strong enough, so the memories of that awakening were forcibly erased.
Because she had to act according to the original novel’s villainess setting, she couldn’t awaken.
After growing up, she fully awakened, remembering that she was a modern person who had transmigrated into the book.
Now, no longer controlled by the villainess setting, the system emerged, trying to bring everything back to the “right path.”
Could that be the case?
But whether it was or not didn’t matter much anymore.
She was determined to complete the remaining two tasks and break free from the system.
Just after two quarters of an hour, Duan Ling arrived.
He lifted the beaded curtain and walked in, approaching Madam Feng.
“Mother, Father.”
Lin Ting glanced over and noticed that Duan Ling had changed his clothes.
The red outfit he was wearing now was different from the one he had on while sitting in the pavilion in the backyard for the portrait.
Was it because it was too hot today, and he had sweated, so he changed before attending to official duties?
Speaking of which, she was feeling a bit warm too.
This red dress was beautiful, but it had too many layers.
Even with the lightest and finest fabric, it was inevitable to feel hot while walking.
Her gaze on Duan Ling involuntarily shifted upward, stopping at the corner of his lips.
The rouge that had been there earlier was completely gone, wiped clean without leaving a trace.
Lin Ting averted her eyes.
Madam Feng hung the prayer beads on her wrist.
“I heard from Leyun that you took the portrait. Why didn’t you bring it for us to see?”
Duan Ling replied without changing his expression, “The painter advised before leaving that the ink on the portrait wasn’t dry yet, so it’s best to hang it up to dry first.”
Lin Ting knew immediately that he was lying.
The wind in the backyard was strong and had long since dried the ink.
Moreover, he had rolled up the portrait and taken it away-how could it not be dry?
Even so, she saw no need to expose Duan Ling.
Perhaps the portrait wasn’t very flattering, which was why he didn’t show it to others.
It was like how she would quietly delete unflattering or blurry selfies in the modern world, not letting anyone see them.
Lin Ting remained silent.
Hearing this, Madam Feng didn’t insist on seeing the portrait.
As long as it was completed successfully, that was enough.
“Were you handling official duties earlier?”
Duan Ling didn’t answer directly.
“I was dealing with an out-of-control matter.”
“Did you handle it well?” Duan’s father interjected.
He usually didn’t ask what the matter was or the process-only the result.
“It’s been handled.”
As he said this, Duan Ling glanced almost imperceptibly at Lin Ting, who was secretly stuffing three small pastries into her mouth, seemingly testing how many she could eat at once.
Duan’s father nodded in satisfaction.
“You’ve always been reliable, except for that incident where the Xie family’s fugitive escaped the city.”
When Madam Feng heard Elder Duan’s voice, a flicker of impatience crossed her eyes, quickly masked by a gentle expression.
“Since everything is settled, why don’t you sit down and chat with us?”
She began to turn her prayer beads again.
“No matter how important official duties are, they can’t compare to the people right in front of you. Ziyu, you must remember this.”
Duan Ling replied, “I will remember.”
Elder Duan fell silent and continued to sit in the corner, sipping his cold tea.
Lin Ting naturally noticed the tension between Madam Feng and Elder Duan, but it didn’t surprise her.
In this world, there were many couples who appeared harmonious on the surface but were deeply estranged.
What could be the reason for their estrangement?
Duan Ling took a seat beside her.
As soon as he sat down, Lin Ting caught the strong scent of agarwood.
Though the aroma was intense, it wasn’t overpowering.
She wondered if Duan Ling’s room had been burning agarwood incense when he changed his clothes.
Lin Ting glanced at him a few times.
Meanwhile, Madam Feng, looking at Lin Ting in her bright red dress, suggested, “Today, the State Preceptor is parading to exorcise evil spirits and pray for blessings. Why don’t you go and watch?”
Whenever the Great Yan faced a major disaster, such as an outbreak of plague, the State Preceptor would parade through the streets to drive away evil spirits and pray for blessings, scattering lucky bags filled with silver coins to ensure the nation’s future peace and prosperity.
During such times, the streets would be bustling with activity, almost like a festival.
Duan Xinning, afraid that Lin Ting might refuse, quickly urged, “Leyun, they say that picking up a lucky bag brings good fortune. Let’s go, shall we?”
In truth, even without Duan Xinning’s persuasion, Lin Ting would have gone.
Not just for the good luck, but also because the lucky bags contained money.
Naturally, she would want to pick one up.
Lin Ting went to change out of her “formal” red dress and into her usual clothes before heading out with them.
Before changing, she briefly considered going to Duan Ling’s room to change and then lying on his bed to complete the task.
But it was impossible.
The Duan residence had a guest room for her to change in.
What excuse could she use to go to Duan Ling’s room?
They weren’t married yet.
Moreover, others would be present.
So, Lin Ting dismissed the idea of using the changing as an excuse to enter Duan Ling’s room and lie on his bed.
For now, Lin Ting stopped thinking about the task.
She took Duan Xinning’s hand and walked forward, but as soon as she did, she realized something was off.
This hand couldn’t possibly belong to Duan Xinning.
She turned to look beside her and saw Duan Ling.
While Lin Ting had been lost in thought, Duan Xinning had spotted Xia Zimo across the street and, assuming Lin Ting knew, had gone over to him.
Lin Ting instinctively tried to let go of Duan Ling’s hand, but he held on tighter, his fingers interlacing with hers and locking her hand in place like a clasp.
Her eyelashes fluttered.
Before she could speak, Duan Ling said, “Didn’t you want to hold my hand?”
Lin Ting suspected that if she explained she had meant to hold Duan Xinning’s hand, he would retort with, “Don’t you like me?”
She had heard it so often that she even began to feel as though she truly did like him.
She decided not to reveal the truth.
“But holding hands in public isn’t appropriate,” she added, explaining why she had tried to let go after realizing it was him.
Duan Ling chuckled.
“You’ve already proposed to me in public. Why care about holding hands now?”
Lin Ting was at a loss for words.
As a modern person, she didn’t really mind holding hands in public.
After all, they had kissed many times-why fuss over holding hands?
Yet, even so, it felt entirely different, simply because the person holding her hand was Duan Ling.
Lin Ting’s fingertips curled slightly.
At that moment, Duan Xinning and Xia Zimo walked over from the opposite side.
She was holding two sticks of candied hawthorn in her hand: “Leyun.”
Duan Xinning had already told Xia Zimo earlier that she would be going out today to watch the national priest’s parade for exorcism and blessings.
She had also mentioned where she would be going first, so it was no coincidence that Xia Zimo was here.
She handed the larger stick of candied hawthorn to Lin Ting and said: “The national priest will arrive on this street in half a quarter of an hour. Let’s have some candied hawthorn first.”
Lin Ting took it and bit into one: “Not bad, not too sweet, so it won’t get cloying.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Duan Xinning noticed Lin Ting holding hands with Duan Ling and blushed slightly.
They were the ones involved, yet they weren’t blushing—instead, it was her who turned red.
She then glanced at Xia Zimo.
Xia Zimo didn’t miss the look Duan Xinning gave him and reached out to hold her hand.
However, Duan Xinning dodged him, covering her face with a handkerchief, and said shyly, “There are so many people on the street. Don’t do that.”
He had no choice but to withdraw his hand, feeling a bit envious of Lin Ting’s boldness-she just held hands without hesitation.
Xia Zimo had known Duan Ling for quite some time.
Although he didn’t fully understand him yet, he felt that Duan Ling wasn’t the type to take the initiative to hold a woman’s hand.
So, it must have been Lin Ting who initiated it, especially since she was the kind of person who would publicly propose to Duan Ling.
Lin Ting had no idea what Xia Zimo was thinking about her at that moment.
She quickly finished her stick of candied hawthorn and focused intently on the direction of the street, waiting for the national priest to arrive so she could grab the blessing bags.
After a short wait, the national priest arrived.
He was seated in an open-sided sandalwood sedan chair, dressed in Taoist robes, holding a horsetail whisk.
With his white hair and youthful face, he looked like an immortal.
Behind the sedan chair followed several groups of people: dozens of Taoist priests, a dozen musicians playing Qin music, and hundreds of soldiers sent by the emperor to protect the national priest.
When the other music stopped and the suona sounded, the national priest slowly opened his eyes, chanting incantations.
He grabbed a handful of blessing bags from the basket in front of him and tossed them out of the sedan chair.
The blessing bags were thrown into the air and then fell back down, like blessings descending from heaven.
The moment Lin Ting saw the blessing bags, her eyes lit up.
She immediately let go of Duan Ling’s hand, rushed forward, jumped up, and grabbed seven or eight of them, stuffing them into her arms before continuing to grab more.
Duan Ling looked at his now empty hand and then at her, who was still grabbing blessing bags.
Duan Xinning was stunned by Lin Ting’s speed.
She was grabbing them so fast that Duan Xinning didn’t manage to get even one: “Leyun…”
Xia Zimo knew Duan Xinning wanted one, so he also tried to grab some, but he only managed to get two.
When he saw how many Lin Ting had grabbed, he couldn’t help but wonder if she had colluded with the national priest.
Otherwise, how could she have guessed where he would throw them and run there in advance?
Lin Ting didn’t tell them that she had dragged Jin Anazi to grab many blessing bags and wedding money in the past, so she had gained experience.
Just by looking at the thrower’s eyes, she could tell where they would throw next.
Later, Lin Ting couldn’t carry so many and was afraid of dropping them, so she ran back to Duan Ling.
She was in such a hurry that she didn’t have time to think.
She stuffed everything into Duan Ling’s arms, saying, “Hold these for me, and be careful not to drop them.”
Then she handed a few to Duan Xinning, adding, “These are for you.”
Duan Ling: “…………..Alright.”
Lin Ting wasn’t entirely at ease, glancing back every few steps to make sure Duan Ling had a firm grip before rushing off to grab the next round of lucky bags.
She was so aggressive in her pursuit that even the Grand Master, sitting in his sedan chair, couldn’t help but notice.
The Grand Master had even forgotten to toss the lucky bags until Lin Ting reminded him, “Is it over already? That was so quick! I remember there were a lot more last year.”
Snapping back to reality, he continued tossing them.
Lin Ting leaped high, catching the lucky bags just before they hit the ground.
The Grand Master’s eyelids twitched as he recalled that during last year’s parade, there was also a girl who was exceptionally skilled at grabbing lucky bags.
She had been masked then, jumping up just like this.
Lin Ting managed to grab over a dozen this round, only stopping when she ran out of hands to hold them.
She ran back to Duan Ling, beaming as she counted her “spoils.”
Duan Xinning stood to the side, watching Duan Ling, who was now piled high with lucky bags.
She wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.
In the end, she pulled Xia Zimo away to buy lanterns, afraid she might burst out laughing in front of Duan Ling.
As Lin Ting was counting the lucky bags, a royal guard made his way through the crowd and whispered something to Duan Ling.
Duan Ling listened with his usual calm demeanor.
After finishing her count, Lin Ting noticed the guard approaching and then leaving.
She handed a lucky bag to Duan Ling and casually asked, “Another urgent matter?”
Duan Ling took the lucky bag from Lin Ting, looked at her, and replied calmly, “No. It’s Xie Qinghe. He’s leading the Xie family army in a rebellion.”
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