Chapter 93 (2/2): Tangled Bonds and Hidden Locks

Duan Xinning remained outside, not leaving, and said softly,  “When Leyun wakes up, could you let her know I want to see her?”

She spent all day in her room, feeling depressed. 

Lin Ting was her only comfort.

“I’ll tell her.”

With that, Duan Ling returned to the courtyard.

Outside, Duan Xinning seemed to hear the sound of the door being locked. 

She asked Zhilan, “Zhilan, did you hear something?”

Zhilan, worried that Duan Xinning would bump into something, was being very careful and paid no attention to anything else.  

“No, I didn’t hear anything.”

Duan Xinning rubbed her temples and said, “Maybe I misheard. Let’s go back.”

Inside the room, Lin Ting was unaware that Duan Xinning had come. 

She was still lazing in bed until Duan Ling returned and she finally got up.  

“What time is it?”

“It’s a quarter past Xu.”

After catching up on her sleep, Lin Ting finally felt refreshed. 

But as she watched Duan Ling approach, she couldn’t help but recall last night, her heart pounding.  

Duan Ling isn’t going to act up again tonight, is he? 

She’d promised to help him, but her body couldn’t take it.

Whenever Lin Ting was too tired to refuse Duan Ling, he would bury his face near her heart and breathe softly. 

His gentle breathing seemed so fragile, as if begging for pity, his breath teasing her heart.

Listening to Duan Ling’s slightly sweet, gentle breaths, Lin Ting just couldn’t say no.

She knew he might be doing it on purpose, but she still fell for it. 

And then reality taught her a lesson: never be too soft-hearted. 

Being soft-hearted to others is being cruel to yourself.

Before, Duan Ling had hidden it well. 

Most of the time, he let her take the lead, and the frequency was just right—he’d stop whenever she asked. 

But last night… five times at the tea table, once standing, once on the bed, once face-to-face in an embrace.

She couldn’t stop even if she wanted to.

Was this the combined power of aphrodisiac and addiction? 

Lin Ting hurriedly shook off those messy thoughts and focused on her mission. 

Right now, the top priority was to buy more aphrodisiac.

But buying it again wouldn’t be easy. 

What if Duan Ling found out?

Time was running out for her mission. If she failed again, her life would be at risk. 

Lin Ting sighed silently, sat on the edge of the bed to put on her shoes, and asked casually,  “Where did you go just now?”

Duan Ling stood across from her, washing his hands. 

Water dripped from his fingers into the basin, sending ripples across the surface, distorting his reflection. 

“I went out to see Lingyun.”

Lin Ting stood up. 

“Lingyun came by? Why didn’t you call me to see her?”

He dried his hands unhurriedly.  

“You didn’t seem to have slept enough, so I let you rest. Lingyun wasn’t here for anything urgent; she just wanted to know why you hadn’t visited in two days. You can see her another day.”

Lin Ting was speechless. 

‘If I’d known Duan Xinning came, I wouldn’t have lazed in bed. Maybe I could have seen her.’

‘What a pity.’

Counting the days, she hadn’t gone out or seen anyone for two whole days and nights. 

Lin Ting changed the subject.

“Are you going to the yamen tomorrow?”

With the Nanli Poison, Lin Ting couldn’t be more than a hundred steps away from him. 

If Duan Ling went to the yamen, she had to go with him. 

If she got out, she’d have a chance to see people, and maybe buy aphrodisiac.

Duan Ling folded the handkerchief he used to dry his hands and responded with a question.  

“You want to go to the yamen?”

Lin Ting quickly washed up, grabbed Duan Ling’s hand before her own were even dry, and smiled as if it were for his sake.  

“You can’t always stay at home to handle official business. I’ve had enough rest. I can go with you to the yamen tomorrow.”

Duan Ling moved his hand in her grip but didn’t pull away. 

The water from her palm dampened his hand, bringing a cool sensation.  

“I won’t be going to the yamen again before we leave Ancheng.”

Her smile froze, her expression slipping.  

“Why? Is it because I said before that I wanted to sleep at home and didn’t want to go with you? That was just for that day, not forever.”

‘If he won’t go to the yamen, how am I supposed to go out and see people?’

Lin Ting was on the verge of losing it.

Duan Ling seemed not to notice her agitation.  

“It’s not because of you. I just realized I can handle official business from home. There’s no need to go to the yamen. What do you think?”

Lin Ting used the same excuse as last time.  

“Hauling documents back and forth is too much trouble.”

He sat down, looking up at her.  

“I’ve already told them not to send documents to the yamen anymore. They’ll deliver them here directly.”

She had nothing to say. 

Normally, documents had to go to the yamen first to be registered before being distributed to the officials. 

But Duan Ling, using his Imperial Guard authority, just had them sent straight to him.

After a moment, Lin Ting couldn’t hold back.  

“I want to go out for a walk.”

Duan Ling took out some tea leaves to brew. 

The water used to rinse the teapot sent up wisps of steam, curling in the air. 

He asked calmly, “When do you want to go out?”

She tested, “Tomorrow.”

He poured out the water from rinsing the pot, and more steam filled the air.  

“Ancheng hasn’t been peaceful these days. It’s best not to go out, lest you run into danger. Why not wait a few more days?”

With things said to this extent, what else could Lin Ting say?

She sat by and watched Duan Ling make tea.  

“How many days is ‘a few more days’?”

His hand holding the teapot paused almost imperceptibly.  

“You want to go out that badly?”

Lin Ting couldn’t keep her mouth shut. 

She picked up an apple and took a few bites, speaking as she ate.  

“I’ve been cooped up in this room for two days and nights. Of course I want to go out. Just tell me how many days is ‘a few more days.'”

After rinsing the pot, Duan Ling poured in the freshly boiled water. 

In no time, the room filled with the fragrance of tea, mingling with his own scent.  

“I’m not sure yet. When the time comes, I’ll let you know.”

Lin Ting thought to herself, ‘is ‘when the time comes’ the day we leave Ancheng?’

‘If that’s really the case, by then I might already be a corpse.’

Whenever she felt uneasy, Lin Ting liked to touch her Jin Caishen Pendant. 

She reached for it, but found nothing.

She was startled, so much that she stopped eating the apple.  

“Where’s my Jin Caishen Pendant?”  

‘This isn’t a good sign.’

Duan Ling calmly reminded her.  

“You gave it to me to wear last night. Did you forget?”

Lin Ting remembered.  

‘That’s right. I was so exhausted last night that I wanted him to finish quickly. So I agreed to whatever he said, including letting him wear the Jin Caishen Pendant. But I only agreed to let him borrow it for one night.’

‘After all, it’s real gold and a god of wealth—how could I just give it away? I rarely let anyone touch it. Lending it to Duan Ling was already an exception.’

‘But come to think of it, Duan Ling isn’t short of money, nor does he believe in gods or Buddha. Why would he want to wear it? Just because I had it custom-made and it looks nice? And didn’t he say just one night? Why hasn’t he given it back?’

Still, Duan Ling isn’t the type to covet a little gold.

Lin Ting’s heart settled down.

The tea was ready.

Duan Ling poured her a cup first.

As Lin Ting took the cup, she glanced at Duan Ling’s neck, but couldn’t see the Jin Caishen Pendant hidden under his clothes—only a faint glimpse of the red string. 

The string hugged his skin, disappearing beneath his collar.

She looked away, not wanting her mind to wander to unsuitable thoughts. 

After waiting a while and seeing he still hadn’t offered to return it, she couldn’t help but say, “Did you forget something?”

Duan Ling poured himself a cup, swirling it gently so the tea sloshed inside. 

He looked puzzled.  

“Did I forget something?”

Lin Ting didn’t beat around the bush, holding out her hand.  

“You haven’t returned my Jin Caishen Pendant.”

He lifted his hand, removed the Jin Caishen Pendant from his neck, and placed it in her palm.  

“Sorry, I forgot you only agreed to lend it to me for one night.”

Was it Lin Ting’s imagination, or did Duan Ling’s voice lift slightly at the end of ‘one night,’ as if he were smiling, but also hinting at something she couldn’t quite grasp?

Duan Ling put down his cup without taking a sip.  

“I’ll go prepare your bath.”

Lin Ting: “…….”

***

After bathing, Lin Ting sat idly on the windowsill, looking at the view through the bead curtain. 

She still didn’t mention being locked in, and after a while, she returned to bed to read a storybook, acting as if nothing was different.

Lin Ting had slept nearly all day, so she wasn’t sleepy at night and felt quite energetic.

Duan Ling, on the other hand, seemed very tired. 

After drying his long hair, he lay down beside her to sleep, leaving the lamp on so she could read.

Lin Ting finished the whole book in one go. 

Just as she was about to get up for a drink of water, she spotted the door lock key by Duan Ling’s pillow.

The hundred-step limit of the Nanli Poison was a straight line. 

So as long as she didn’t go too far, she could sneak out of the room and courtyard to find someone, and the poison wouldn’t act up.

Lin Ting reached for the key, but the moment her fingers touched it, a hand grabbed her.