Chapter 47: Golden HairPin (1/2)

It was already dusk, the sky painted in hues of red and orange, with mottled light and shadows falling on the entrance of the study and onto Duan Ling. 

However, he stood with his back to the light, his features obscured in shadow.

Though he was dressed neatly, the hem of his clothes still bore some ambiguous creases.

Lin Ting’s hand on the doorknob stiffened. 

She instinctively wanted to glance back into the study but forcibly restrained herself, feigning calmness as she asked, 

“Lord Duan, why are you here?”

From the doorway, all she could see were rows of bookshelves. 

The small door leading to the backyard was behind the shelves, hidden by a hanging curtain, making it impossible to see directly into the rear courtyard.

Duan Ling didn’t look inside the study. 

Instead, he took out a golden hairpin and said, 

“I followed you here.”

“You followed me?” 

Lin Ting’s heart raced-not from attraction but from fear that the person inside might be discovered. 

“You followed me? So you’ve been here for a while? Why didn’t you knock or come in?”

“You left this at the Moonlight Pavilion. I came to return it. When you entered the study, you hung a sign on the door that said ‘Closed for Rest, Do Not Disturb’, and you locked the door, so I waited outside for you to come out.”

Lin Ting suddenly understood.

Thankfully, she had locked the door. 

If the Imperial Guards had discovered she was harboring Xie Qinghe, a fugitive wanted by the court, she would have been thrown into prison for interrogation.

Locking the door was a good habit, one she must maintain in the future.

But Duan Ling had recovered too quickly. 

She thought he would need some time, but no sooner had she left the Moonlight Pavilion than he had followed her to return the golden hairpin.

Lin Ting’s gaze shifted to the hairpin.

Duan Ling held the golden hairpin, his fingers lightly brushing over the pearls and jade. 

The bloodstains had long been washed away, leaving it as pristine as before.

Lin Ting took the slightly heavy hairpin. 

It was made of gold; if she had lost it, even without Li Jingqiu scolding her, she would have been heartbroken enough to wake up in the middle of the night and berate herself. 

“Thank you, Lord Duan.”

He replied, 

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to follow you here.”

She touched the recovered hairpin, half-believing his words. 

“I know. You came to return the hairpin. Thank you, Lord Duan.”

Duan Ling casually asked, 

“Is this study also owned by Miss Lin Qi?”

“Yes. This study is also mine. But there are too many bookstores in the capital, so business isn’t great. I don’t come here often.”

If she weren’t the owner, she wouldn’t have casually hung the “Closed for Rest” sign. 

Claiming to be a clerk didn’t fit, so it was better to admit it outright to avoid arousing Duan Ling’s suspicions and prompting him to investigate further.

As Lin Ting was about to put the hairpin away, Duan Ling reached out and took it back.

“Let me help you put it on,” he said, gently inserting the golden hairpin into Lin Ting’s dark, butterfly-shaped bun. 

He pushed it in inch by inch, his fingers brushing against her hair, the top of the pin soon enveloped by the strands.

Lin Ting wanted to decline, but Duan Ling acted too quickly. 

Before she could speak, he had already inserted it. 

Since it was done, it would be awkward to refuse. 

She let him place the hairpin, as it wasn’t a big deal and didn’t require excessive caution.

She glanced up, her eyes meeting Duan Ling’s chest and shoulders.

The crimson official robe accentuated Duan Ling’s slender frame, but Lin Ting had seen the body beneath the robe-fair as jade, lean but not scrawny, with well-defined muscles and a pronounced v-line that extended downward…

Lin Ting didn’t want to remember so vividly, but once she had seen it, it was impossible to forget. 

Whenever she was near Duan Ling, those details easily came to mind.

She lowered her gaze to the ground, trying to distract herself, but her eyes landed on his long legs.

Her gaze lingered for a moment before she looked away.

She had recently had an intimate encounter with the area between Duan Ling’s legs. 

Lin Ting was on the verge of losing her mind. 

Why couldn’t people just delete memories with a single click?

Lin Ting glanced at Duan Ling. 

How could he be so calm, as if nothing had happened? 

Had he really forgotten it all, treating it like a dream?

If he could forget it as a dream, so could she. 

Lin Ting refused to be outdone.

The tassels of the golden hairpin brushed against Lin Ting’s loose strands of hair, and Duan Ling’s hand, holding the hairpin, inadvertently brushed against her as well, his fingertips lightly grazing her hair, causing a faint tickle.

Lin Ting resisted the urge to scratch her head.

Had Duan Ling never helped someone put on a hairpin before? 

He was taking his time. 

All he had to do was insert it into her hair-why was he fussing over the angle? 

But these thoughts remained unspoken, as Lin Ting only vented them in her mind.

She waited patiently.

Duan Ling suddenly said, 

“I thought Miss Lin Qi would return to the Lin residence after leaving the Moonlight Pavilion. I didn’t expect you to come alone to the study.”

Lin Ting replied, 

“I left some books to dry in the backyard. I need to collect them before it gets dark.”

As he adjusted the hairpin, his fingers inevitably brushed against the ribbons hanging from her hair. 

“Collecting books… Miss Lin Qi still has the leisure to collect books. But then again, you’ve said it yourself, you’ve treated the events at the Moonlight Pavilion as a dream, so you naturally wouldn’t dwell on them.”

Lin Ting sensed that Duan Ling had come specifically to test whether she would truly keep the matter confidential.

With a sincere expression, she said, 

“Though I, Lin Leyun, may not be particularly capable, I am a woman of my word. To put it dramatically, even if I were thrown into prison, I wouldn’t betray you, Lord Duan.”

Duan Ling’s hand paused as he adjusted the hairpin. 

“You truly are a woman of your word.”

Lin Ting subtly pulled the door behind her. 

“Of course. In business, integrity is paramount. As the Analects say, ‘Without trust, a person cannot stand; without trust, a business cannot prosper; without trust, a nation cannot thrive.’ “

His smile was as gentle as a spring breeze, yet there was a hint of something strange in it. 

“I believe you won’t speak of this. You don’t need to repeat it so many times.”

She thought to herself, wasn’t it you who used the excuse of returning the hairpin to test whether I would keep it secret?

Hypocrisy at its finest. 

Lin Ting kept her expression neutral, focusing on managing her emotions. 

“I understand. From now on, I won’t mention a single word.”

They were standing too close. 

Duan Ling could smell the fresh, pleasant fragrance of Lin Ting’s hair, and he unconsciously slowed his movements as he adjusted the hairpin.

Just as Lin Ting was about to remind him to hurry, Duan Ling finally inserted the hairpin fully and withdrew his hand. 

“There, Miss Lin Qi.” 

Lin Ting, under his gaze, tried to close the study door as naturally as possible and said  “Thank you.”

As the door was about to close, Duan Ling raised his hand to stop it. 

Lin Ting’s heart skipped a beat as he asked softly, 

“May I come in and take a look?”

She blurted out, “No!”

“Why not?”

Lin Ting forced a smile. 

“I need to return to the residence to attend to some matters. The study is empty, and I can’t entertain you. Perhaps next time? When you come again, let me know, and I’ll give you a proper tour.”

Just as she finished speaking, a voice called out from inside the study, 

“Lin Leyun, what are you doing at the door? If you’re not leaving, come back and help me move the books. They’re still piled up in the backyard after drying today.”

Due to the angle, the person coming from the backyard only saw Lin Ting and didn’t notice Duan Ling.

Moreover, since Duan Ling was a martial artist with skills on par with the speaker, he hadn’t detected any presence other than Lin Ting’s outside the door.

Lin Ting froze on the spot. 

Why did Jin Anzai have to speak up now of all times, ruining her act? 

If she didn’t know better, she would have suspected him of being a spy for the Imperial Guards.

Duan Ling’s eyes curved slightly. 

“Didn’t you say the study was empty and you couldn’t entertain me?”

She forced a laugh. 

“He’s not a person.”

But Duan Ling recognized the voice. 

The Imperial Guards had an excellent memory, and he never forgot a voice. 

“Isn’t that Young Master Jin’s voice? Miss Lin Qi, why do you say he’s not a person?”

Lin Ting, resigned, said, 

“Jin Anzai… In my eyes, he’s not a person.”

Duan Ling chuckled softly. 

“You really know how to joke. But only those with a close relationship would make such jokes.”

Jin Anzai, who was now standing in front of the bookshelves and still hadn’t detected Duan Ling’s presence, calmly pulled the cord hanging in the study, lighting the candles in the backyard.

For convenience, there were two mechanisms to light the lamps-one inside and one outside. 

Lighting the lamps during the day was a signal to Xie Qinghe in the backyard to be cautious, indicating potential danger.

After pulling the cord, Jin Anzai walked past the bookshelves to the door. 

He first glanced at Lin Ting, whose hair now held a golden hairpin, and then at Duan Ling, whose eyes still carried a faint trace of redness. 

“Lord Duan.”

Duan Ling looked at Jin Anzai, who had stepped behind Lin Ting, and greeted him politely. 

“Young Master Jin.”

After meals, Jin Anzai would always immediately put his mask back on, and today was no exception. 

So he was now wearing his mask. 

“Lord Duan, are you here to read or buy books?”

Duan Ling remained as gentle and approachable as ever, like a kind and noble young master. 

“I came to return a golden hairpin to Miss Lin Qi.”

Jin Anzai leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed. 

His eyes swept over the golden hairpin in Lin Ting’s hair, and his voice, like his demeanor, was calm. 

“Return a hairpin? How did her hairpin end up in your hands?”

Even though Lin Ting knew Duan Ling wouldn’t reveal what had happened earlier, she still felt a bit flustered.

Duan Ling replied with ease, 

“The hairpin was left at the Moonlight Pavilion, and I happened to find it. I tried to call out to her, but she left too quickly, so I followed her here.”

Jin Anzai, whether he believed Duan Ling or not, glanced back and forth between them. 

“Lord Duan, were you also at the Moonlight Pavilion today?” 

It was common knowledge that the Moonlight Pavilion was the largest brothel in the capital.

“It was part of the Imperial Guards’ routine inspection.”

Lin Ting chimed in, 

“Yes, it was a routine inspection. What a coincidence that I happened to run into Lord Duan during his inspection of the brothel. But then again, I’m a law-abiding citizen, so it has nothing to do with me.”

Jin Anzai shot her a sideways glance. “…” 

Law-abiding citizen? 

She had the nerve to say that.

While Duan Ling wasn’t paying attention, Jin Anzai scanned the area outside the study to see if any other Imperial Guards were accompanying him. 

He wanted to confirm whether Duan Ling had truly come only to return the hairpin or if he had discovered Xie Qinghe’s presence in the study and was using this as an excuse to investigate.

Jin Anzai asked, 

“If you only came to return the hairpin, why have you been standing at the door for so long?”

Duan Ling’s smile didn’t waver. 

“I wanted to take a look inside the study, but Miss Lin Qi said it was empty and she was in a hurry to return to the residence, so she couldn’t entertain me. I didn’t expect Young Master Jin to be inside.”

The reason she didn’t want him to enter the study was undoubtedly because of Xie Qinghe. 

Jin Anzai understood this. 

“I see. Lord Duan, please come in.”

Lin Ting turned to look at Jin Anzai, her eyes signaling frantically: 

What are you doing? 

What about Xie Qinghe?

Jin Anzai blinked coolly, conveying: I know what I’m doing. 

If you lie to him and refuse to let him in, he might become suspicious. 

The best way to dispel his doubts is to let him in.

She raised her eyebrows: I know that would make him suspicious, but letting him in isn’t a solution either. 

Xie Qinghe is a living person, and as an Imperial Guard, he’ll easily notice him.