At the moment Lin Ting stood up, Duan Ling’s heart inexplicably stirred, and he couldn’t help but look over.
However, he saw that she wasn’t leaving; instead, she was facing him, seemingly about to say something.
Duan Ling could sense Lin Ting’s nervousness.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her usually bright eyes were tinged with an imperceptible anxiety at the moment.
What was she nervous about?
He couldn’t help but feel puzzled and intensely curious.
Soon, Lin Ting spoke.
She said she wanted to talk to him, but instead of asking him to go out alone with her, she wanted to say it in front of everyone.
During the pause in Lin Ting’s words, Duan Ling couldn’t help but use his years of experience as an imperial guard to guess what she might say next.
He would just look into the other person’s eyes and guess, and he had almost never been wrong.
Just as Duan Ling was thinking of some things Lin Ting might say, she spoke again.
She said, “I want to marry you.”
I want to marry you.
Duan Ling’s heart involuntarily quickened, and he subconsciously repeated the phrase to himself several times.
The word “marry” was both familiar and strange to him.
It was familiar because he had often heard it from other people’s mouths, but it was strange because he had never thought that he would get married.
Why would Lin Ting say this to him?
Why would she suddenly want to marry him?
His intuition told Duan Ling that Lin Ting’s actions today must have some ulterior motive.
But so what……
He wanted to keep her by his side, to feel her presence, and getting married was not out of the question.
After a long silence, Duan Ling heard himself reply, “Okay.”
The voice was not loud, but the enunciation was clear, and it carried outside the main hall, where everyone could hear what he had said.
A single word stirred up a thousand waves.
As soon as the words left his mouth, many of the guests at the banquet were so surprised that they stood up and looked at each other in astonishment.
It was the well-trained Imperial guard who reacted quickly.
They neatly left their seats, stood in a row, and said in unison,
“We congratulate General Duan.”
The voices of the Imperial guards were loud and clear, as if they could be heard throughout the entire Duan residence, deafening.
When they offered their congratulations, their eyes fell on Lin Ting and Duan Ling in the main hall, with great respect.
Lin Ting was bewildered.
The Imperial guard had probably heard Duan Ling call Lin Ting “Seventh Miss Lin” just now, and they also congratulated her, saying,
“We congratulate Seventh Miss Lin.”
Seeing this, the guests realized what was happening and thought that perhaps Duan Ling and Lin Ting had already been in love, but they had chosen to use Duan Ling’s birthday to reveal their feelings and get engaged.
However, it was still a novelty to see a woman propose to a man in public.
Regardless, they had to offer their congratulations first, as it was a joyous occasion.
They all faced the main hall and said in unison, “We congratulate General Duan and Seventh Miss Lin.”
One after another, the congratulations, whether sincere or insincere, made Lin Ting’s legs go weak.
What was going on?
Why didn’t Duan Ling play by the rules?
Beforehand, Lin Ting had two scenarios in mind: one was that he would publicly and mercilessly reject her, causing her to lose face.
The other was that he would maintain his gentle image, kindly help her out of the situation by saying she was drunk and talking nonsense, and have someone take her home.
But Duan Ling did neither.
He actually agreed, and he did so in front of so many people.
Lin Ting was cornered now.
She couldn’t say she was drunk or joking.
If Duan Ling hadn’t agreed, she could have done that, but since he did, she couldn’t.
His agreement meant that he was also interested in getting engaged to her.
If she changed her mind now, it would be like she was toying with Duan Ling.
In that case, he would probably become the laughingstock of the capital.
Being rejected was not funny, but being toyed with under the pretext of drunkenness or a joke was, especially for someone of Duan Ling’s status.
The consequences of toying with Duan Ling were something Lin Ting couldn’t bear, and she couldn’t do it to him.
She couldn’t change her mind.
Only Duan Ling could.
Madam Feng was beaming with joy as she went over and took Lin Ting’s hand, speaking very affectionately,
“My dear, this is something that Ziyu should go to your house to propose.”
She said a few things about Duan Ling’s shortcomings.
Lin Ting was still in a daze, her ears ringing, unable to hear clearly what Madam Feng was saying.
She only knew that the other party was very happy, pulled her over to sit beside her, and treated her with even more care in her words.
Lin Ting’s father’s seat was taken by Lin Ting, so he had no choice but to move to a side seat.
From then on, Lin Ting was in a fog, with strangers constantly coming to congratulate her, warmly celebrating her engagement to Duan Ling.
Seeing Lin Ting’s absent-minded appearance, Madam Feng thought she was just too excited, and she took the initiative to shield her from the guests who came to congratulate her.
Lin Ting was not the only one who was absent-minded.
Duan Xinning was also in a daze.
She couldn’t believe that Lin Ting would say to her second brother, “I want to marry you.”
Weren’t they always polite but not really on good terms in the past?
Even if their relationship had improved recently, it couldn’t have suddenly become so good that they liked each other, could it?
But the fact was right there in front of her eyes.
Lin Ting liked her second brother…… and her second brother also liked Lin Ting?
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed.
It was too incredible.
Could it be that they had always been interested in each other and just pretended to be on bad terms to hide it?
Duan Xinning wanted to ask several times, but there were so many people congratulating Lin Ting that she couldn’t find an opportunity.
Duan Ling was also surrounded by people congratulating him, completely encircled, to the point where she couldn’t even see his face.
Unable to ask Lin Ting or Duan Ling for the time being, Duan Xinning turned to Xia Zimo, who was sitting beside her, and asked,
“You usually get along well with my second brother. Have you ever heard him say that he likes Leyun?”
Xia Zimo paused and said, “No, I haven’t.”
She twisted her handkerchief and asked again,
“Then have you ever noticed that my second brother treats Leyun any differently?”
He thought for a moment and said, “No, I haven’t.”
After Duan Xinning and Xia Zimo had become intimate, they would sometimes have little tantrums when they were together.
This was one of those moments, and she was a bit upset now: “Why don’t you know anything?”
Xia Zimo felt extremely wronged.
He wasn’t really that close to Duan Ling.
Duan Ling liked to be alone, always staying in the cold and bloody Northern Commandery, and they didn’t meet often.
Even when they did meet, they only talked about court matters.
Moreover, Duan Ling never showed his emotions on his face.
He always greeted everyone with a smile.
How could anyone tell if he felt differently about Lin Ting?
It would be strange if anyone could tell.
Xia Zimo couldn’t tell, but he couldn’t say that directly to Duan Xinning.
He had to be more tactful: “Your second brother is an Imperial guard. If he wants to hide something, he can. It’s understandable that we didn’t notice.”
Xia Zimo countered, “But have you ever heard Miss Lin say that she likes your second brother? Or have you noticed that she treats him any differently?”
Duan Xinning thought carefully.
“No, when I mentioned my second brother before, Leyun didn’t seem to have a strong reaction. If she likes my second brother, why would she hide it from me?”
To please her, Xia Zimo had read hundreds of romance stories and remembered all the plots.
He thought of a possibility: “I think Miss Lin might be embarrassed and worried that you would mind her being with your second brother.”
“I wouldn’t mind at all. As long as Leyun is happy, I wouldn’t mind.”
Xia Zimo reached under the table to hold her hand: “Even so, Miss Lin is not you. She can’t be sure what you think. Keeping it from you is just because she cares too much about you as a friend.”
Duan Xinning didn’t argue with Xia Zimo.
If she were Lin Ting, she would have had the same concerns.
As for why Lin Ting chose to reveal it today, it must be because she felt the timing was right and didn’t want to keep it a secret anymore.
No wonder she felt Lin Ting was acting strangely today, first drinking several pots of tea, and then sweating in not-so-hot weather.
It was because she was nervous about this matter.
Duan Xinning understood and even felt sorry for Lin Ting, who had to bear so much on her own.
Just at that moment, Lin Ting came back to her senses.
She saw Duan Xinning looking over and made an excuse to leave Madam Feng to find Duan Xinning.
But before Lin Ting could think of what to say to explain, Duan Xinning hugged her:
“I know what you’re thinking. I don’t mind. You can like whoever you want. Our relationship won’t be affected by this at all. You don’t have to worry.”
Lin Ting froze, now truly at a loss for words.
Moreover, she still didn’t understand why Duan Ling had agreed.
It was better to wait and see for now, so as not to make things more complicated.
Xia Zimo, watching them hug, timely said,
“Congratulations to Miss Lin.”
Lin Ting: “……Thank you.”
She wanted to find Duan Ling to get some clarity, but just at that moment, someone from the palace arrived.
Emperor Jiade suddenly summoned him to the palace, and Duan Ling accepted the imperial order and left.
Not long after Duan Ling left, the birthday banquet ended quickly, and the guests dispersed.
Everything seemed to return to calm.
Madam Feng personally saw Lin Ting out.
Lin Ting didn’t know how she got back to the Lin residence.
Her mind was in complete disarray.
The news spread quickly.
What had happened tonight had already reached the Lin residence.
As soon as Lin Ting returned, Lin’s matriarch and Lin San Ye immediately sent people to inquire, but they were all sent back by Li Jingqiu.
Li Jingqiu, upon hearing the news, directly guarded the Ting Ling courtyard, waiting for Lin Ting to return, and did not allow anyone else to enter.
She did not know the ins and outs of the matter yet; how could they have the right to know first?
So as soon as Lin Ting entered the courtyard gate, she saw Li Jingqiu: “Mother.”
Li Jingqiu called for the servants to close the courtyard gate, dragged her into the room, and closed the door again and asked,
“Tell me, is what happened tonight true?”
“Yes.” Ling Ting replied.
Lin Ting walked towards the dressing table, absentmindedly sat down, and very slowly began to remove the jewelry from her hair.
When she got to the gold hairpin that Duan Ling had touched, her movements paused.
Why on earth had Duan Ling agreed?
This question had been troubling Lin Ting all night.
Without an answer, it felt like ten thousand ants were gnawing at her heart.
And when Li Jingqiu heard Lin Ting’s affirmative answer, her face lit up, but she said,
“You were too reckless. Even if you and Second Master Duan had already been in love, you couldn’t act like this. How could a young lady say such things to a man in public?”
Lin Ting sat in front of the mirror, looking at her own puzzled face, and did not reply to Li Jingqiu.
In fact, Li Jingqiu did not really mean to blame Lin Ting.
She just thought her actions were too reckless and without considering the consequences, so she just said a few more words.