The twilight was like silk, piercing through the light mist and falling onto the window of Tingling Courtyard.
The room, with its tightly closed doors and windows, remained dim.
The curtains hanging beside the bed were a deep shade of purple, and inside the canopy, it was as dark as night.
The sheer curtains obstructed the view, and from the outer room, only faint sounds of a person shifting could be heard.
Tao Zhu entered, first glancing into the room through the curtains, then cautiously opening the window.
As the sunlight poured in, the room brightened a little, but not enough to pierce the canopy and disturb the person inside.
Last night, Lin Ting had stayed up late, and Tao Zhu didn’t want to wake her.
Fearing the room might become stifling, she opened the window that faced the morning sun.
Just as Tao Zhu was about to leave, a hand suddenly reached out from inside, as if trying to grab something.
Before Tao Zhu could check, the curtain was lifted from the inside.
Lin Ting half-emerged from the bed, breathing heavily, and looked at her:
“Tao Zhu?”
Tao Zhu, who was always attentive, saw sweat beading on Lin Ting’s forehead, her brows slightly furrowed, her breathing uneven.
She guessed that Lin Ting had been disturbed by a nightmare, so she quickly walked over and lifted the curtain:
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Lin Ting sat on the bed with a sigh and rubbed her temples:
“Yeah, I had a nightmare.”
“Dreams are the opposite of reality, Miss Seven. You don’t need to take it to heart.”
Tao Zhu wiped the sweat from Lin Ting’s forehead and called for another maid to bring in some water from the outer room.
She dampened a cloth to gently clean Lin Ting’s face.
The sunlight grew brighter, and Lin Ting looked out the window, squinting against the light:
“You don’t know how terrifying the dream was. My shop was completely gone, and someone stole all my money.”
Tao Zhu chuckled in disbelief.
Was Lin Ting really dreaming about the shop and the money?
To be honest, Tao Zhu never thought highly of Lin Ting’s business.
She didn’t understand why Lin Ting, who could live a life of luxury, would choose to work so hard, constantly out early and coming back late, exhausting herself in business.
Even now, Tao Zhu still couldn’t understand.
Today, however, she realized how seriously Lin Ting took her business.
She treated it like her lifeline, thinking about it during the day and even dreaming about it at night.
Tao Zhu considered trying to persuade her to calm down.
With a serious tone, Tao Zhu said, “A woman’s greatest concern should be her marriage, not business. I think you’re getting your priorities wrong. Besides, the business world is not kind to women, and this might harm your reputation.”
Lin Ting didn’t care:
“What does it matter if they don’t like it? I make my own money with my hands.”
“That’s true, but gossip will eventually affect you. It’s not safe for a woman to be out on her own. Please don’t take it the wrong way; I truly wish you well.”
Tao Zhu placed the cloth aside.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Ting said, “Tao Zhu, I don’t want to end up like Eighth Sister, seemingly carefully chosen, but actually casually married off. I don’t want to be stuck in some courtyard, living the life of a wife and mother for the rest of my days.”
“You and Eighth Miss are different. You are the legitimate daughter; she is a concubine’s daughter…”
Lin Ting took out the golden God of Wealth pendant she had removed before bed and hung it around her neck:
“In my eyes, there is no difference. If we don’t do anything, just live off the Lin family, the result will be the same.”
In the books, her fate was pitiful.
After repeatedly stirring up the relationship between the male and female protagonists without success, she remained unrepentant, falling into disgrace, and still could not escape being married off to a man chosen by Master Lin.
At that time, Lin Ting had been abandoned by everyone, without anyone to turn to, isolated and helpless.
Master Lin always put his reputation and interests first.
He could never tolerate Lin Ting staying unmarried at her age, remaining in the Lin family.
When he learned that the man could help the Lin family in the official world, he immediately agreed to the marriage.
The man had some influence and power in the capital.
Seeing Lin Ting fail to connect with the young master of the Shian Marquis’ household and instead offend him, Master Lin, fearing she wouldn’t be able to marry at all, hastily chose him.
But Lin Ting, proud and arrogant, couldn’t accept marrying a man with less status than the Shian Marquis’ son, and a man addicted to Five Stone Powder.
She would rather harm herself than marry, and she died the day before the wedding.
Lin Ting bent over to put on her shoes, not needing Tao Zhu’s help.
After standing up, she patted Tao Zhu’s shoulder:
“I know you truly care about me, but this is my heartfelt truth. Please just trust me this one time.”
The last sentence sounded almost like she was acting coquettishly, and Tao Zhu couldn’t resist, falling silent.
Lin Ting, rushing to finish the business with only two days left, quickly washed up, grabbed a few buns to eat, and ran out.
She bumped into Master Lin at the front gate, returning from the court.
Master Lin looked at her with a dark expression, scolding her harshly:
“Look at you, running around like that with no grace. What will people think if they see you? It’s disgraceful to the Lin family.”
For a moment, Lin Ting almost wanted to retort:
What is the proper way for a daughter to behave?
Tao Zhu, who was good at reading the room, quickly made up a lie:
“Master, Miss Duan Xining has an appointment with Miss today. Seeing that the time is getting late, Miss hurried out to avoid keeping Miss Duan waiting.”
When Master Lin learned that Duan Xining was waiting for Lin Ting, he swallowed his words of scolding:
“Then go quickly.”
Lin Ting hurried off.
After changing her appearance, Lin Ting, accompanied by Tao Zhu, went to Wenchu Academy in the guise of being Fu Chi’s fiancée, who had traveled to the capital to find him.
However, she kept her face partially covered with a sheer cloth.
In the capital, one had to be careful, to avoid being recognized by anyone who had seen them before.
However, the beauty mark on Lin Ting’s face was particularly clear as she revealed the upper half of her face.
Her eyes were lively and full of spirit, with long, slightly red-tipped lashes.
The high bridge of her nose lifted the thin veil, and it was clear from her features that she was no ordinary beauty.
The scholars at the academy, seeing Lin Ting’s elegant demeanor, would not suspect that she was deliberately pretending to be Fu Chi’s fiancée.
After all, there was no benefit in ruining her reputation by acting recklessly.
Lin Ting displayed sincerity, and within just a few words, she gained their trust.
They admired Fu Chi for having such a fiancée, but also pitied her for traveling so far to the capital.
They spoke to Lin Ting without reserve, telling her everything they knew.
Although Tao Zhu didn’t understand why Lin Ting was so interested in Fu Chi, she still played along.
The Wenchu Academy was located at the end of Corner Street, far from the bustling market.
A sign with the words “Wenchu Academy” hung over the entrance.
Inside, there was a front hall and a back hall, with a dozen rooms in the back.
Lin Ting and the scholars were seated in the front hall.
One of the students said, “I’ve always wondered why Brother Fu carried a handkerchief embroidered with peach blossoms everywhere. He treasured it so much that no one was allowed to touch it. Now that I think about it, it must have been given to him by his fiancée.”
Another student replied, “Not only that, I often saw him sitting under the peach tree by the city gate with a book in hand, sitting there the whole day.”
Lin Ting silently took note of this.
Someone sighed, “Brother Fu is the most diligent among us. He wakes up the earliest and sleeps the latest. You can tell he’s destined for great things. But why did he suddenly disappear?”
“Don’t worry, Miss, we’ve already reported it to the authorities. As soon as we get any news, we will inform you.”
Lin Ting fell into deep thought.
Fu Chi had been missing for quite some time, and the government hadn’t provided any updates.
This might be why someone so eager to find out his whereabouts had turned to the academy for a deal.
Everything had been progressing smoothly, until Duan Ling’s arrival, which disrupted the “everything is under Lin Ting’s control” situation.
For some unknown reason, Duan Ling was also investigating Fu Chi.
Lin Ting considered slipping away, but before she could, the Imperial Guards had surrounded them.
The academy students, fearing the Imperial Guards, distanced themselves from Lin Ting and Tao Zhu, even though Duan Ling appeared polite and approachable:
“Miss Qian, we suddenly remembered some things we need to attend to. We’ll leave now.”
They scattered immediately, leaving Lin Ting and Tao Zhu alone with him.
Tao Zhu quietly tugged at Lin Ting’s sleeve, asking with her eyes what they should do, as Duan Ling recognized them both.
If their identities were revealed, it would be troublesome.
Lin Ting whispered, “Stay calm. He might not recognize us. Don’t speak when he questions us. Let me handle it.”
At this point, Tao Zhu, though anxious, could only pretend to be calm.
Duan Ling walked over and sat across from Lin Ting, with a stone table between them.
Above them, an oak tree stood, and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind seemed to strike Lin Ting’s heart.
Lin Ting was worried about being discovered, but she couldn’t let her nerves get the best of her.
“You are Fu Chi’s fiancée?”
Duan Ling stared into Lin Ting’s eyes, his hand resting on the table slightly shifting, before glancing at Tao Zhu beside her, then slowly returning his gaze to Lin Ting.
He had heard from his informants that Fu Chi’s fiancée had come to Wenchu Academy, so he had come to meet her.
Lin Ting feigned weakness and softened her voice:
“Yes. Officer, what has happened to him? It’s been a year since he last sent a letter.”
Tao Zhu was surprised to learn that Lin Ting had the ability to change her voice, producing different sounds.
Duan Ling absentmindedly tapped the edge of the table, no longer looking at her eyes, but instead glancing at the fallen leaves:
“You… are also from Suzhou?”
There was a trap in his words, but Lin Ting quickly caught on.
She looked at his jade-like profile and calmly responded:
“Sir, you’re mistaken. I’m not from Suzhou. Both he and I are from Yangzhou, Linze.”
He smiled.
“I must have remembered wrong. My apologies. May I ask how to address you, Miss?”
“I’m surnamed Qian.”
Upon hearing her say her surname was Qian, Duan Ling called her Miss Qian:
“Do you have the letter Fu Chi wrote back to Yangzhou Linze with you?”
Lin Ting quickly responded:
“I was in such a rush to come to the capital that I didn’t think to bring anything with me, including the letters he wrote to me. Sir, why would you want those letters? Would they help you track his whereabouts?”
“Perhaps they could.”
“In that case, I’ll write a letter to Yangzhou right away and have someone from my family send it over.”
Lin Ting lied without hesitation, fully stepping into the role of Fu Chi’s fiancée.
Duan Ling’s lips curled slightly, and he glanced at her hands resting on her lap.
He didn’t quickly look away; in fact, he gazed at them a moment longer.
He didn’t refuse:
“Thank you, Miss Qian.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Of course, Lin Ting didn’t have any letters from Fu Chi, but that didn’t stop her from lying.
After all, lying was nothing difficult.
She figured that by the end of the day, there would be no “Miss Qian” left in this world.
Duan Ling asked her a few more questions, to which Lin Ting answered flawlessly.
Tao Zhu remained silent, listening to their conversation with a sense of helplessness, restraining the urge to leave.
She felt uneasy around Duan Ling, as Lin Ting had often spoken ill of him, making her uncomfortable in his presence.
Before long, a quarter of an hour passed.
Lin Ting didn’t want to waste any more time with Duan Ling— the more they spoke, the more likely she was to reveal a flaw.
She pretended to cough a few times.
Duan Ling looked up at her, and Lin Ting expressed her apology:
“Sir, I’m not feeling well, and I can’t stay outside for too long. It’s time for me to head back. Once I receive the letter, I will personally deliver it to the government office.”
He showed no airs of authority, responding amiably:
“Your health is the most important thing. It’s no trouble. May I ask, Miss Qian, if you could kindly provide us with your address in the capital, so we can notify you of any news regarding Fu Chi?”
Lin Ting:
“…Alright.”
Duan Ling:
“Someone, bring ink, paper, and a brush for Miss Qian.”
Lin Ting wrote down an address without the slightest hesitation.
It was a real address in the capital, but it had nothing to do with her.
After writing, she handed the paper to him with both hands.
Their gazes briefly met, and Duan Ling once again lingered on her eyes for a moment before taking the paper, still faintly smelling of fresh ink.
He lowered his gaze to read.
This handwriting…
It reminded him of the note he had received that day with the words “I like you” written on it.
Hahaha, Duan Ling must feel like he’s going crazy