The envelope had nothing written on the outside.
Jin Anazi handed it directly to Lin Ting, knowing that Duan Ling wouldn’t snatch it to look.
Trying to hide it would only make things more suspicious, so it was better to act naturally.
Jin Anazi said calmly, “This was entrusted to me by a friend from the martial world to pass on to you.”
A friend from the martial world?
Lin Ting couldn’t tell who had written the letter, but in front of Duan Ling, she had to pretend she knew, especially since she had previously told him she enjoyed making friends widely.
“Alright,” she replied.
After accepting the letter, Lin Ting tucked it into her sleeve without opening it immediately.
“When did you leave North Long Street?” she asked.
She had left early that morning and wasn’t aware of what had happened there.
“Just now.”
Jin Anazi had left later than Lin Ting, which was why he had only just arrived at the Lin residence.
Duan Ling also approached, showing no interest in the letter, a faint smile on his lips.
“Young Master Jin.”
Jin Anazi turned to him, his iron sword in hand, his mask appearing even more grotesque in the sunlight.
His voice was as cold as ever.
“Lord Duan.”
Before they could exchange more words, the gates of the Lin residence opened, and a maid came out to sweep.
The maid only recognized Lin Ting and Duan Ling, her attention solely on them.
She called out joyfully into the house, “Seventh Miss is back!”
Other maids, hearing this, turned and went inside to inform Li Jingqiu.
Seeing this, Jin Anazi said he had other matters to attend to and took his leave.
Lin Ting didn’t try to keep Jin Anazi.
His identity was special, and it wasn’t convenient for him to enter the Lin residence as her friend.
More importantly, Jin Anazi disliked having too much contact with strangers.
Even when conducting business at the bookstore, he kept his distance from customers.
She watched Jin Anazi leave, suddenly realizing she should have invited Duan Ling into the house for tea.
She had been in such a hurry earlier that she only remembered to thank him.
“Lord Duan, you…”
“I need to return to the Northern Garrison. Please convey my regards to Madam Li.” Duan Ling glanced at Lin Ting, then at Jin Anazi’s retreating figure, before returning to the Duan family carriage.
“Alright.”
Lin Ting no longer rushed into the house.
Instead, she stood on the steps, watching the carriage drive away.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a pang of loss.
However, this fleeting sense of loss was quickly replaced by the joy of soon seeing her mother.
Lin Ting didn’t dwell on it.
She dashed past the maid and ran into the house, heading straight for Tingling Courtyard.
Along the way, she didn’t even greet Third Master Lin, who was leisurely strolling at home, passing by him like a gust of wind.
Third Master Lin was momentarily stunned by the wind she left in her wake, almost failing to recognize who had rushed past.
After a moment, Third Master Lin realized that Lin Ting had seen him, her father, yet hadn’t stopped to greet him, completely disregarding him.
How outrageous.
Had she forgotten her own surname after climbing onto the Duan family’s tree?
She was a Lin, a member of the Lin family.
No matter what, he was her biological father.
The more Third Master Lin thought about it, the angrier he became.
He immediately put down the watering can and wanted to chase after her to scold her.
But after taking a few steps, he remembered that Lin Ting had secretly established her own household without informing anyone.
In that case, she was indeed no longer a member of the Lin family, and thus, he had no right to reprimand her.
Third Master Lin had no intention of revealing Lin Ting’s secret establishment of her own household, as he found it disgraceful.
Moreover, because he wanted to forge a connection with the Duan family, he kept it to himself.
In the eyes of outsiders, she was still a member of the Lin family, and the Duan family would likely offer some support to the Lin family.
Forget it, he wouldn’t bother arguing with a junior.
Third Master Lin swallowed his anger, grinding his teeth in frustration.
Madam Shen, who had been standing not far away, witnessed the scene and walked over, saying, “Seventh Miss is really too unruly. You are her father, yet she acts as if she didn’t see you.”
Third Master Lin’s anger had no outlet, and hearing Madam Shen’s nagging only made him more annoyed.
“Shut up! How dare you speak of her like that?” He blamed her for her children’s lack of success, overshadowed by the daughter Li Jingqiu had borne.
Madam Shen fell silent, not daring to say another word.
So what if Lin Ting was engaged to the Duan family?
It wasn’t anything extraordinary.
Whether the marriage would even go through was uncertain.
Why were they making such a fuss over her?
Though she thought this, Madam Shen didn’t show it, instead speaking gently to appease Third Master Lin.
While they were talking, Lin Ting had already run far away.
She ran so fast that she was nearly at Tingling Courtyard before anyone could catch up.
Her voice rang out before she even arrived, “Mother!”
Li Jingqiu had just received news of Lin Ting’s return and was about to go out to meet her.
As soon as she stepped out of the courtyard, she heard Lin Ting shouting at the top of her lungs.
But unlike before, she didn’t scold her for not maintaining the demeanor of a noble lady.
Instead, her face lit up with joy.
During the days Lin Ting had been trapped on North Long Street, Li Jingqiu had thought a lot.
As long as her daughter was safe, everything else was trivial.
So what if she spoke a little louder?
It just meant her daughter was healthy and full of life-something to be happy about.
Li Jingqiu hurried forward, circling Lin Ting to inspect her, her eyes reddening.
“You’ve lost weight.”
Lin Ting, who had actually gained weight: “……”
Perhaps in a mother’s eyes, a daughter could only ever lose weight, never gain it.
Even if she had gained weight, her mother would still think she had lost it and insist on feeding her more.
Li Jingqiu’s heart ached.
“You’ve lost so much weight. You need to eat more to regain your strength. I’ve had the kitchen prepare your favorite dish-three pig trotters. You must finish them all later.”
Lin Ting swallowed hard.
No one knew her better than her mother.
Three pig trotters were just the right amount-not too many, not too few.
Tao Zhu stood behind Li Jingqiu, her eyes also red, her voice choked with emotion.
“Seventh Miss.”
They had rarely been apart for so long, especially under the dangerous circumstances of the plague.
Lin Ting comforted them for a while before sitting down to enjoy the feast Li Jingqiu had prepared for her.
The food on North Long Street hadn’t been bad, but nothing compared to home.
After eating, she spent some time chatting with Li Jingqiu.
Li Jingqiu stayed at Tingling Courtyard until evening before returning to her own courtyard.
After bathing, Lin Ting lay down on her bed and took out the letter Jin Anazi had delivered to her.
It turned out that Xie Qinghe had heard about the plague and, worried for their safety, had instructed someone to write this letter.
He had been cautious, not using his own handwriting or his own people, instead entrusting it to a Jianghu acquaintance of Jin Anazi to deliver it to her.
The letter mentioned that he knew a renowned Jianghu physician who could be sent into the city if they needed help.
When Xie Qinghe had arranged for the letter to be delivered, the court had not yet found a cure for the plague.
Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have sent the letter at all.
After reading the letter, Lin Ting burned it, as instructed.
The letter had also said that if they didn’t need it, they should burn it and not reply.
Xie Qinghe was quite loyal, still thinking of them during such a time.
She burned the letter and lay back down.
The room was very quiet, so quiet that she could almost hear the sound of the candle burning.
Lin Ting turned over, facing the inside of the bed, and couldn’t help but think of the nights Duan Ling had lain beside her.
Duan Ling’s body carried the scent of agarwood, and as soon as he lay down, the bed seemed to absorb the fragrance.
For several nights in a row, she had fallen asleep enveloped in that soothing aroma.
Now that the scent of agarwood was no longer lingering on the bed, Lin Ting found herself feeling somewhat unaccustomed to its absence.
It must be because the aroma of agarwood was so soothing that she had grown fond of it.
Yes, that had to be the reason.
Unfortunately, agarwood was too expensive, and she couldn’t afford it.
She wondered if she could use her first big reward package to exchange for an endless supply of gold and jewels in the future.
Unable to sleep, Lin Ting got up and lit the incense burner in her room, adding some fragrant herbs that also smelled pleasant.
Since she didn’t have agarwood, she could use its “budget-friendly alternative.”
The incense burner slowly released smoke, and the fragrance spread, permeating the room.
She took a deep breath but ended up coughing— the scent was too strong, likely because she had added too much in her inexperience.
Previously, it was Tao Zhu who had prepared the incense for her.
Lin Ting hurriedly got out of bed, opened all the windows to air out the room, and extinguished the incense burner.
As the fragrance gradually faded, she stood by the windowsill, gazing at the light rain outside in a daze.
Feeling a slight chill, she rolled back into bed.
Lin Ting wanted to fall asleep quickly, so she sprawled out on the bedding, closed her eyes, and lay still.
But she couldn’t maintain the same position throughout her sleep; it made her uncomfortable.
Within a short while, she had turned over several times.
As her fingertips accidentally brushed against the soft bedding, she suddenly recalled the sensation of her fingers running through Duan Ling’s long hair.
During those nights on North Long Street, Lin Ting had accidentally slipped her hand into Duan Ling’s hair while lying in bed.
Since they shared the same bed and she tended to move around a lot, she occasionally bumped into him.
Lin Ting patted her head, thinking that late nights always made her mind wander to strange places.
She turned over, shifting from lying on her back to lying on her stomach, burying her face in the bedding.
After some time, Lin Ting finally fell asleep, but she had an absurd dream.
In the dream, Duan Ling was only wearing a loose red inner robe, the belt around his waist hanging loosely.
She kicked him, her foot pressing against his face.
But Duan Ling wasn’t angry; instead, he opened his mouth and bit her toes, his tongue moving as he licked them one by one, then trailed up her ankle.
At this point in the dream, Lin Ting woke up, her body burning, her face flushed, and sweat dripping down her cheeks onto the back of her hand.
Why did she have such a dream?
Was it because she had once said that Duan Ling wasn’t worthy of licking her feet, so she dreamed of him doing just that?
But she had made that comment a long time ago—if she were going to dream about it, it should have happened back then, not now.
Besides, those words were spoken before she had awakened to her true feelings; they didn’t reflect what she really thought.
They say dreams are the opposite of reality, and that’s certainly true.
Duan Ling was a nobleman raised in a prestigious family-how could he possibly lick her feet, and with such meticulous care?
Even if he did have some affection for her, he wouldn’t do something like that.
Lin Ting wouldn’t even lick her own feet, let alone expect someone else to.
Although Duan Ling had a peculiar hobby of collecting people’s eyes, it didn’t mean he had other unusual preferences, like licking feet.
It was too absurd, so absurd that Lin Ting wished she could delete the memory of this dream fragment.