This was the third time he had mentioned this today.
Lin Ting’s ears were ringing from hearing it.
She suspected Duan Ling was doing it on purpose, but looking at his serious expression, it seemed he genuinely wondered why her liking was different from others’.
Lin Ting explained, “I’m mainly worried that you’re too tired. After all, you were busy with your birthday yesterday, and last night you were summoned to the palace by His Majesty. You must have gotten back very late, and you’ve been busy all morning.”
“I’ve said it before, the imperial guards can go without rest for several days. I’m not tired now.”
Lin Ting gave in: “Alright then, thank you.”
She would have to think of a way later to make Duan Ling give up the idea of “keeping her by his side.”
Just as Lin Ting was about to step onto the carriage with the footstool, another carriage slowly pulled up beside them.
A person lifted the curtain and stepped out, calling out: “Commander Duan.”
She looked over.
This person had a pale face like a ghost, a delicate and effeminate appearance, a thin and slender figure, and was draped in a black outer robe.
Noticing her gaze, he casually glanced at her, but his eyes suddenly fixed on her face.
The complex emotions that flickered in his eyes were quickly hidden away.
Lin Ting had never seen this person before, but judging from his attire and voice, she could guess his identity.
He was likely from the Eastern Depot.
Duan Ling turned to the side and said, “General of the Depot.”
General of the Depot?
The head of the Eastern Depot?
Lin Ting knew that the Eastern Depot and the imperial guard had been at odds for a long time.
Tà XuÄ›nÃng coldly curled his lips and his gaze swept over Lin Ting again:
“I suppose this young lady here is the one who has become engaged to Commander Duan.”
Lin Ting kept her eyes lowered and greeted him:
“Greetings, General of the Depot.”
As Duan Ling’s “fiancée,” she had to be cautious in her dealings with his political rival.
She couldn’t be too respectful, nor could she be too rude, and she had to be wary of any potential retaliation directed at her.
Tà XuÄ›nÃng withdrew his gaze from Lin Ting’s face and got straight to the point:
“Commander Duan, you sure have a lot of pride. Our side has invited you to the Eastern Depot several times, but you keep refusing to come.”
Duan Ling replied modestly but firmly:
“I’ve been very busy with official duties. I hope you can understand, General of the Depot.”
Tà XuÄ›nÃng gnashed his teeth in hatred, wanting to tear apart Duan Ling’s good-looking face.
After Duan Ling had captured his confidant Wang Zhong last time, he also seized the child whom Wang Zhong valued more than his own life from him, using this to pry open Wang Zhong’s mouth and learn which officials in the court were his men, pulling them all down from their positions.
“Commander Duan, don’t be so ruthless. You might regret it. The emperor’s favor towards you now doesn’t mean it will always be there. Offending so many people won’t do you any good.”
Tà XuÄ›nÃng got tired just standing for a while and called a young eunuch to lie down so he could sit on his back.
The young eunuch, being weak, couldn’t lie steadily and almost threw Tà XuÄ›nÃng off.
He immediately flew into a rage, kicking and scolding the eunuch, and indirectly insulting him by saying:
“You wretch, do you also want to harm my family? I see you’re asking for death.”
Tà XuÄ›nÃng was very strong and in just a few moves, he beat the young eunuch until his nose and face were bruised and swollen, crying for mercy:
“General of the Depot, spare my life. I know I was wrong.”
Lin Ting couldn’t bear to see such a scene and couldn’t help, so she just turned her head away.
Tà XuÄ›nÃng, tired, said: “Get up.”
The young eunuch quickly got up and lay down on the ground, allowing Tà XuÄ›nÃng to sit on his back.
This time, he held on tightly and didn’t move at all.
Duan Ling said: “Thank you, General of the Depot, for the reminder.”
XuÄ›nÃng originally wanted to use other matters to warn Duan Ling, but seeing Lin Ting’s not-so-good expression, he had a change of heart and decided to leave after throwing out a few harsh words.
Duan Ling acted as if nothing had happened, lifted his hand to pull open the carriage curtain, and gestured for Lin Ting to get in.
She stepped over him and got in.
The moment the curtain dropped, Duan Ling also entered the carriage and sat opposite Lin Ting.
Her eyes kept shifting, avoiding looking at him.
Duan Ling didn’t look at her either, and instructed the coachman to go to the Lin residence.
As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage started moving, and Lin Ting’s body gently swayed along with it.
On the road, they didn’t talk much.
Shortly after getting into the carriage, Duan Ling closed his eyes to rest.
When the carriage arrived at the Lin residence, it happened to coincide with Li Jingqiu, who was about to go out.
At first, she didn’t recognize whose carriage it was.
Later, when she saw Lin Ting and Duan Ling bend down and get out, she recognized it as the Duan family’s carriage:
“Second Master Duan.”
Duan Ling nodded: “Madam Li.”
Li Jingqiu knew that their engagement was a done deal.
Today, Madam Feng had sent someone to find her, saying that the betrothal gifts would be delivered the day after tomorrow, and they would discuss the wedding date of the two children at that time.
So she teased without any reservation, laughing:
“I asked why Le Yun wasn’t in the mansion early this morning. It turns out she went to find Second Master Duan. She just saw you yesterday, and today she couldn’t wait to see you again. It seems she really doesn’t want to be apart from Second Master Duan for a moment.”
Lin Ting’s vision went dark for a moment, and she quickly tugged at her sleeve, lowering her voice:
“Mother.”
Li Jingqiu ignored her, her smile undiminished as she looked at Duan Ling, growing more and more satisfied the more she looked.
He had a good appearance, a good family background, and a gentle personality.
It was hard to find such a man even with a lantern.
But her daughter was no less excellent.
They were a perfect match, both in talent and appearance.
Li Jingqiu’s smile became even more radiant: “Is Second Master Duan off duty today?”
“No. I’ve just finished my shift.”
“Le Yun, you went to see Second Master Duan while he was on duty?” Li Jingqiu turned to look at Lin Ting,
“How thoughtless of you. You know the imperial guard has a lot of official duties. No matter how much you want to see Second Master Duan, you have to endure it.”
Lin Ting felt a bit helpless:
“I won’t go to see him while he’s on duty in the future……………”
Duan Ling softly said: “It’s fine.”
Li Jingqiu thought Duan Ling was even more reasonable and wanted to invite him into the mansion for a cup of tea:
“Second Master Duan, come in and have a cup of tea before you leave.”
He calmly said: “I have to go to the palace in an hour, so I won’t go in.”
Li Jingqiu didn’t insist on keeping Duan Ling anymore.
Going to the palace couldn’t be delayed.
Everyone could wait for him, but the emperor couldn’t: “Another day then.”
She watched Duan Ling leave and asked Lin Ting:
“Le Yun, what do you think the palace is like? I’ve lived most of my life and haven’t seen the palace yet.”
Lin Ting also looked at the receding carriage:
“The palace is not a good place.”
Li Jingqiu quickly covered her mouth, looking around to see if there were any other people, fearing that someone might overhear:
“What nonsense are you talking about? The palace is where the emperor lives. How could it not be a good place?”
Lin Ting pulled down Li Jingqiu’s hand.
She only said that because there was no one around:
“The palace is really not a good place. It’s a place that devours people without spitting out bones. You have no idea how many skeletons lie beneath the palace walls.”
Li Jingqiu was half-convinced and half-skeptical:
“Is the palace really as terrifying as you say?”
Lin Ting walked into the mansion: “Yes.”
At the same time, the carriage that left the Lin residence first returned to the Duan residence before heading to the palace.
The carriage couldn’t enter the palace, so Duan Ling walked in along the palace gate, following the eunuch to the alchemy room inside the palace.
The alchemy room was quiet.
After passing through the door and walking in for a dozen or so steps, one could see several alchemical furnaces, placed on special altars.
Duan Ling walked straight ahead without looking around.
Ahead, Emperor Jiade, dressed in a Taoist robe, sat barefoot on the floor, facing the alchemical furnace with his eyes closed.
Duan Ling bowed: “Your Majesty.”
Emperor Jiade opened his eyes.
His turbid pupils revealed a keen intelligence.
He shook his loose Taoist robe and stood up:
“You’ve had a tough time.”
He needed a “medicinal person” to refine the elixir, and it was said that using such a person’s blood could grant eternal life.
A “medicinal person” was extremely rare.
Out of ten thousand people used to refine a “medicinal person,” not even one might succeed.
Some couldn’t bear the pain of the trials and committed suicide, while others couldn’t withstand the various medicinal properties and died during the trials.
Emperor Jiade had secretly refined several batches, and only one person had survived – Duan Ling.
As soon as he finished speaking, an eunuch came over with a tray holding a dagger and a bowl in front of Duan Ling:
“Master Duan.”
Duan Ling took the dagger and skillfully cut open his palm, letting the blood drip into the bowl.
Emperor Jiade had summoned Duan Ling to the palace last night for an urgent mission, and today was the day he came to the palace every two months to donate blood.
The bloodletting process was a bit slow, but Emperor Jiade patiently waited, walking around the alchemical furnace:
“Any leads on the disappearance of Prince Liang?”
“Not yet.”
Emperor Jiade looked at the half-bowl of blood and fell silent for a moment:
“What about the fifth young master of the Xie family?”
“There are some clues now.”
After the blood was sufficient, Duan Ling put down the dagger, didn’t let the eunuch help bandage the wound, and only sprinkled some hemostatic powder.
Emperor Jiade instructed the eunuch to take the blood down for the Taoist priest to refine the elixir.
Looking at Duan Ling with an appreciative gaze, he said:
“You may go back and rest for a few days.”
Duan Ling, used to this routine, returned the same way, left the palace, and got into the carriage back to his residence.
Five days later, Lin Ting went to the most famous jewelry shop in the capital.
It was Li Jingqiu who insisted on taking her there, thinking she should properly adorn herself.
The wedding date between Lin Ting and Duan Ling had been set for two months later.
Li Jingqiu knew that the Lin family’s status was far inferior to the Duan family’s, but she didn’t want her daughter to look shabby.
She hoped that her daughter’s attire and jewelry would be as precious as that of the third young lady of the Duan family, Duan Xiangning.
“Choose something you like,” Li Jingqiu said as she showed her gold jewelry.
Lin Ting knew Li Jingqiu’s little thoughts but pretended not to know:
“Mother, I already have plenty of jewelry. There’s no need to buy more.”
Li Jingqiu asked the shopkeeper to bring out the best jewelry:
“Choose, I said. Don’t make excuses. It’s not your money we’re spending.”
Lin Ting had no choice but to pretend to choose jewelry.
However, as she chose, she really got interested.
Gold jewelry was heavy and shone brightly, captivating her attention and making her like it.
“Do you like this?”
A clear and cool voice fell on her head.
Lin Ting, holding a gold hairpin, turned her head and found that Li Jingqiu and Tao Zhu had left at some point.
Standing behind her was Duan Ling.
“Master Duan, what are you doing here?”
Duan Ling took the gold hairpin from Lin Ting’s hand, raised it, and inserted it into her hair and said,
“Madam Li asked me to come and accompany you to choose jewelry.”
Lin Ting looked up at him and took a step back:
“Aren’t you on duty today?”
“Day off.”
Duan Ling took a step forward, looked down at her and the jewelry, picked up a gold hairpin, and said,
“Would you like to try this one?”
Lin Ting tried to take the hairpin:
“I’ll put it on myself……………”
Instead Duan Ling inserted the gold hairpin into her hair again.
The moment it was inserted, he bent down and kissed her lips.
When the shopkeeper, who was counting goods not far away, was about to come over, Duan Ling left.
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