Chapter 50: I want to marry you (2/2)

Lin Ting felt guilty and didn’t dare look at Lord Duan, lowering her head and trying to become invisible.

Most importantly, Lord Duan was the commander of the Imperial Guard, a higher rank than Duan Ling. 

His words and actions carried an invisible pressure that made one’s heart race. 

Lin Ting couldn’t help but feel awe and respect when looking at him.

She stole a glance at Duan Ling.

Duan Ling’s expression was soft, his reaction calm, completely unaffected by his father’s words.

He had joined the Imperial Guard purely for the thrill of killing, not out of loyalty to anyone. 

The Emperor? 

If he were loyal to the Emperor, he wouldn’t have killed Prince Liang so casually.

Lady Feng, sitting beside Lord Duan, had a slightly cold look in her eyes but smiled gently, reaching out to hold his hand: 

“Today is my birthday, and we have guests. Why are you two discussing official business?”

Lady Feng added, 

“If you want to talk about official matters, do it another day when you return to the Northern Garrison.”

Her words immediately extinguished his fire.

Lord Duan suppressed all emotions and said no more: 

“You’re right, my lady.”

Only then did Lady Feng release Lord Duan’s hand and instruct the servants to serve Lin Ting more dishes, telling her to eat more as she looked thin. 

No one else noticed the deep pinch mark left in his palm.

After the meal, it was still early. 

The younger generation was arranged by Lady Feng to chat in the garden, and Lin Ting and Duan Xinning were among them.

The servants brought by the guests were settled in another courtyard to have their meal. 

They were servants, so their meal would be later than their masters’. 

Some banquets didn’t even prepare meals for the servants, but Lady Feng was kind and had extra meals prepared for them.

Tao Zhu had also gone, so she didn’t follow Lin Ting to the garden and was having her meal in another courtyard.

The garden was connected by winding paths, with a well-arranged layout. 

Lin Ting walked along the bluestone path, passing through a hanging flower gate and a rockery with flowing water, and soon saw a variety of blooming flowers, some of which surrounded the water.

The weather was nice, and many butterflies were flying around the flowers. 

One even landed on Lin Ting’s shoulder. 

She raised her hand to touch it, but the butterfly flew away and landed on Duan Ling’s hand, who was walking behind her.

Duan Ling instinctively grasped the butterfly but released it when Lin Ting looked over.

The butterfly flew away again.

Soon, they reached the depths of the garden. 

Someone suggested playing a game of throwing arrows into a pot, but Lin Ting wasn’t interested and just stood by to watch.

Duan Xinning, however, was very interested in this little game and joined the noble ladies and young masters in playing. 

She didn’t manage to hit the pot even once, until Xia Zimo taught her, and she finally succeeded.

It was also because of this game that Duan Xinning stopped avoiding Xia Zimo, willing to look at him and even speak to him, occasionally touching hands secretly.

Of course, the one who actively touched hands wasn’t the shy Duan Xinning but Xia Zimo.

Lin Ting silently turned her head and saw Duan Ling’s face, which was as beautiful as a woman’s: 

“Lord Duan, aren’t you going to play?”

Duan Ling was an excellent archer and could hit the pot every time, which was why the game held no challenge for him: 

“I’m not too fond of this game. What about you, Miss Lin? Why aren’t you playing?”

She shook her head: 

“I’m not too fond of it either, and I just finished eating, so I don’t feel like moving.”

The latter part was the real reason.

Duan Ling smiled and walked a few steps away to the pond to look at the fish. 

Lin Ting was about to distance herself from him but heard him suddenly ask, 

“What’s your relationship with the fifth son of the Xie family?”

Lin Ting’s breath tightened, and she stopped in her tracks: 

“The fifth son of the Xie family?”

He turned to look at her and called a servant to bring fish food, then dismissed the servant and threw the food into the water to feed the fish: 

“Yes, the fifth son of the Xie family, Xie Qinghe. What’s your relationship with him?”

Lin Ting’s heart pounded as she looked at the fish in the water, countering with a question: 

“Why are you suddenly asking about him? What kind of relationship could I have with him?”

Duan Ling threw a bit more fish food into the water and said amiably, 

“I’m the Imperial Guard tasked with capturing him. I’ve investigated the Xie family and found that your mother once intended to arrange a marriage between you and him.”

Arranged a marriage with Xie Qinghe?

Lin Ting remembered. 

Li Jingqiu had indeed mentioned wanting to arrange a meeting between her and Xie Qinghe, but before any action could be taken, the Xie family was quickly raided.

“That’s true, but how is that related to your mission to capture the fifth son of the Xie family? As far as I know, before the Xie family was raided, many young ladies in the capital also wanted to marry him.”

Duan Ling stopped throwing fish food: 

“Did you also want to marry the fifth son of the Xie family?”

Why was his focus always so peculiar? 

She answered truthfully: 

“Not really. My mother wanted me to meet him, but it wasn’t my idea. The last time I met you at Nanshan Pavilion wasn’t my idea either.”

Seeing that he hadn’t answered her question, she repeated, 

“Does my mother’s intention to arrange a marriage between me and the fifth son of the

Xie family have anything to do with your mission to capture him?”

“Not at all.”

Duan Ling said.

He bent down, placed the fish food aside, and reached into the pond, stroking the fish that had surfaced for the food: 

“I’m just curious. If you were to meet him, what would you do? Report him to the authorities, ignore him, or lend him a hand.”

Lin Ting blinked and said smoothly, 

“I’m a law-abiding citizen of Great Yan. Naturally, I’d report his whereabouts to the authorities.”

Duan Ling chuckled softly, pushing away a fish that was trying to nudge his finger: 

“Really?”

“Really.” Lin Ting picked up some fish food from the ground and fed the fish that hadn’t eaten yet, watching his expression as she spoke, 

“I have no connection with the fifth son of the Xie family. There’s no need for me to take risks for him.”

Duan Ling lowered his gaze, watching the water slip through his fingers and disappear into the pond: 

“That’s good. I hope Miss Lin keeps her word.”

Lin Ting, stroking the slippery fish, hesitated before asking, 

“If you’re ordered to capture the fifth son of the Xie family and fail, what will happen?”

He tilted his head slightly to look at her, his eyes reflecting her image: 

“What do you think will happen?”

“Will the Emperor punish you?”

Duan Ling touched a fish that swam past Lin Ting’s hand and smiled, his expression bewitching without him realizing it: 

“So, if the Emperor were to punish me for this, would you help me capture the fifth son of the Xie family sooner?”

She laughed awkwardly and said softly, 

“How could I help you capture him? I don’t have the ability.”

“Is that so?”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. 

For a moment, he wanted to crush the fish that kept brushing against his hand, but he let it swim away and stood up to wash his hands.

Lin Ting scattered the remaining fish food and also washed her hands with clean water, taking out a handkerchief from her sleeve to dry them: 

“You’re the Imperial Guard. If you can’t catch him, how could I possibly… You still haven’t told me if the Emperor will punish you.”

Duan Ling’s eyelashes fluttered slightly: 

“I’m not sure. Who can guess the Emperor’s thoughts? They say the Emperor’s heart is hard to fathom. But as long as the fifth son of the Xie family leaves the city, I can capture him.”

She had a bad feeling.

“Why do you say that as long as the fifth son of the Xie family leaves the city, you can capture him?”

Duan Ling said slowly, 

“Because I’ve ordered the city guards to feel the faces of all men leaving the city to prevent them from disguising themselves. Women usually aren’t checked, but any woman similar in height to Xie Qinghe will be detained.”

After hearing this, Lin Ting’s hand slipped, and the handkerchief she was using to dry her hands fell to the ground.

He caught it.

Lin Ting was silent for a moment: “Oh.” Duan Ling was effectively blocking Xie Qinghe’s way out of the city. 

It would be extremely difficult for him to leave, and staying in the city for too long wasn’t a solution. 

He couldn’t stay indoors forever, always worrying about the Imperial Guard coming for him.

Duan Ling placed the handkerchief back in her hand: 

“Xie Qinghe doesn’t know martial arts and was severely injured in the imperial prison. The fact that he hasn’t been found by the Imperial Guard yet means someone has been helping him all along.”

Lin Ting clenched the handkerchief and then released it, keeping her expression neutral:

“Possibly.”

He took a step toward her but maintained a proper distance: 

“Do you think those helping him would try to get him out of the city?”

“How would I know?”

Duan Ling gazed into Lin Ting’s eyes and said with a smile, 

“If they dare to help Xie Qinghe leave the city, I’ll capture them all. Those who help him

will share his fate and die. I want to see if they’re willing to die for him.”

A young master approached Duan Ling: 

“Lord Duan, let’s go have a drink.” 

Within the Duan family, they called him Lord Duan, but outside, they referred to him as Lord Duan or Commander Duan.

Duan Ling stopped discussing the matter and left with them: 

“Miss Lin, excuse me.”

Lin Ting: “Alright.”

After hearing Duan Ling’s words, Lin Ting lost all interest in eating, drinking, and having fun.

She found a place to sit and zoned out for half an hour. 

Duan Xinning wanted to go to her but was held back by Xia Zimo.

Lin Ting’s bottom hurt from sitting, so she walked along the garden’s stone path to stretch her legs.

As she walked, she came to a pavilion covered with a thin layer of gauze. 

She vaguely saw a tall figure sitting on a bench by the railing, with what seemed to be a pot of wine beside him.

Outside the pavilion, a cool breeze blew, and the green water rippled. 

Lin Ting felt a sense of familiarity-this seemed to be the pavilion she had visited as a child, where she had almost pushed Duan Ling into the water.

A very unpleasant memory.

Intuition told Lin Ting that the person sitting in the pavilion was still Duan Ling. 

Wasn’t he supposed to be drinking with those aristocratic disciples? 

Why was he alone in this pavilion? 

Perhaps he had finished drinking-after all, half an hour had already passed.

She tiptoed, hoping to leave quietly without disturbing him, but a voice from the pavilion called out, 

“Who’s there?”

Lin Ting turned and lifted the thin curtain to enter. 

“It’s me. I was just passing by and saw someone inside, so I stopped to take a look.” 

She added an explanation to make it clear she hadn’t followed him there.

The pavilion was filled with the aroma of wine, and so was Duan Ling, exuding an intoxicating scent.

Duan Ling watched as she walked in.

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Lin Ting hesitated, wondering if she should call a servant to help him back to his room in case he was drunk. 

His alcohol tolerance was better than hers, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get drunk.

She bent down and waved her hand in front of his eyes. 

“Lord Duan, you…”

Her hand was caught.

Lin Ting froze as Duan Ling leaned up and kissed her, his tongue delicately teasing her pursed lips before slipping in.