Lin Ting waved her hand, forcing a smile:
“No need to trouble Lord Duan.”
Duan Ling didn’t overlook Jin Anzai beside Lin Ting:
“Master Jin.”
He nodded: “Lord Duan.”
As the distance closed, Jin Anzai was even more certain that the redness on Lin Ting’s and Duan Ling’s lips was identical.
There was even a slight tooth mark on the corner of Duan Ling’s mouth, clearly made by someone else.
Duan Ling let the curtain fall, and the carriage passed them, gradually disappearing into the distance.
Jin Anzai looked at Lin Ting with a meaningful gaze, no longer blocking her or questioning her about her lips:
“You can go back.”
“No, you need to hear my explanation.”
This time, it was Lin Ting who wouldn’t let Jin Anzai leave. She grabbed his collar and pulled him back.
He must have misunderstood her relationship with Duan Ling.
Jin Anzai: “No need to explain, you’re right, it really has nothing to do with me.”
Lin Ting held onto Jin Anzai tightly:
“I don’t care, you have to hear my explanation. The Emperor is sending Duan Ling to Suzhou to investigate the turmoil. I invited him to Nanshan Pavilion today just to see him off.”
Hearing about the turmoil in Suzhou, Jin Anzai was slightly stunned, then brushed off her hand, saying calmly:
“But didn’t you say your relationship isn’t good? If it’s not good, why see him off?”
“To improve the relationship.”
Jin Anzai understood: “Oh, to improve the relationship… and then kissed him?”
Lin Ting refused to admit it:
“Which eye of yours saw me kissing Duan Ling? You dare to spread rumors about the Imperial Guards? We just ate some very spicy dishes together.”
She didn’t want others to know she had kissed Duan Ling; it would cause misunderstandings.
“Alright, you’re right, I believe you. Are you satisfied now? Lin Leyun, when did you learn to cover things up like this? It really makes me look at you in a new light.”
Jin Anzai pushed her away and walked back to the bookstore with ease.
Lin Ting didn’t chase after him; she would explain another day.
Now, she needed to go home and ice her lips.
A normal kiss wouldn’t have left her lips in such a state, but Lin Ting was so afraid of failing that she had kissed with all her might, rubbing vigorously.
She touched her noticeably swollen lips, vowing never to kiss so hard again.
No, there wouldn’t be a next time.
Back at the Lin residence, Lin Ting entered through the side door, avoiding the servants, and went straight to Tingling Courtyard.
She lay down in her room and called for Tao Zhu to fetch some ice.
Tao Zhu knew Lin Ting had gone to see Duan Ling.
Seeing her in this state now, she couldn’t help but let her imagination run wild.
Holding the ice to Lin Ting’s lips, she said tearfully:
“Miss Qi, what happened between you and Lord Duan? Did he bully you?”
She was the one who “bullied” him.
Lin Ting’s face warmed: “Nothing of the sort.”
Tao Zhu sniffled: “Really?”
Lin Ting also wrapped some ice in a cloth to apply to her lips, wanting to reduce the swelling quickly:
“Really, why would I lie to you? Lord Duan didn’t bully me; in fact, I feel a bit sorry for him. Oh, never mind.”
Tao Zhu looked at her with tearful eyes:
“That’s good, I thought Miss Qi you…”
“What did you think?”
“Nothing, it’s good that Miss Qi is fine.”
Tao Zhu thought Lin Ting had feigned affection towards Duan Ling to make him think she liked him, even going as far as to kiss him.
That would have been too great a sacrifice; fortunately, it wasn’t the case.
But Tao Zhu still felt sorry for her young mistress:
“Then what’s wrong with your lips?”
Lin Ting lied without changing her expression:
“I ordered a table full of spicy dishes at Nanshan Pavilion, they made my lips swell. It’s not what you think.”
While Jin Anzai was hard to fool, Tao Zhu was very easy to deceive, and she believed it:
“So that’s it. Don’t eat so many spicy dishes in the future, it’s not good for your health. Look how swollen your lips are.”
Lin Ting felt guilty: “Alright.”
As she continued to apply the ice, the numbness in her lips gradually subsided, replaced by a comfortable sensation.
Lin Ting fell asleep, and Tao Zhu kept applying the ice.
In a short span of fifteen minutes, Lin Ting had a nightmare and suddenly woke up.
Applying ice for too long can also harm the skin, so Tao Zhu stopped shortly after Lin Ting fell asleep.
She sat on a small stool next to the bed, embroidering, and when she saw Lin Ting wake up, she put down her work and went over.
“Did you have another nightmare?”
Lin Ting wiped the cold sweat from her forehead:
“Send someone to find out if Duan Ling has left the capital.”
In her nightmare, Duan Ling didn’t kill her after the kiss, but after leaving the capital, he sent Imperial Guards to assassinate her.
Too terrifying.
Even though it was just a dream, Lin Ting took it seriously because it wasn’t impossible.
She wanted to sincerely apologize to Duan Ling once more before he left the capital, hoping to get his promise not to kill her.
Lin Ting got up, seeing Tao Zhu standing still, she urged:
“Go and send someone to find out quickly.”
Tao Zhu wanted to ask why, hadn’t they just met?
And wasn’t Lord Duan leaving tomorrow?
But hearing the urgency, she didn’t ask:
“Alright, I’ll go now.”
The news she brought back was that Duan Ling was preparing to leave:
“Miss Qi, Lord Duan is preparing to leave. Are you planning to see him off outside the city?”
“Yes.”
Lin Ting felt as though forcefully kissing Duan Ling had committed some heinous crime, and after the kiss, she was constantly worried he might punish her.
As night fell, thousands of lanterns lit up the capital, and the streets were bustling with activity.
Ox carts and horse carriages weaved through the intricate network of streets and alleys, among which a carriage bearing the Duan family lantern moved forward.
In no time, the carriage stopped.
Ahead was the city gate, where the guards were to conduct inspections.
The guards approached and, seeing it was the Duan family carriage, dared not obstruct, even skipping the document verification process, directly allowing passage.
However, Duan Ling halted the carriage, his long fingers lifting the curtain as he looked outside.
Under the bright lanterns, Duan Ling’s thin lips appeared as if coated with a thick layer of rouge, an unusually enchanting red that accentuated his striking features.
His tone was soft and unhurried:
“Why aren’t you inspecting?”
The guards had also heard that the Emperor was sending Imperial Guards to investigate the turmoil in Suzhou and guessed it was him upon seeing the Duan family carriage:
“You are Lord Duan, certainly not harboring any fugitives. There’s no need for inspection.”
Duan Ling smiled faintly:
“Would you let other officials pass without inspection as well?”
The guards immediately broke into a cold sweat, understanding the implication in Duan Ling’s words.
They realized their direct passage allowance was dereliction of duty.
Trembling, they knelt:
“Lord Duan, it was our negligence. From now on, no matter whose carriage it is, we will conduct thorough inspections, not giving Xie family’s fifth young master any chance to escape the city.”
Duan Ling looked down at the kneeling guards:
“Why kneel so quickly? Rise.”
The guards stood up nervously.
He seemed not to intend punishment but instead amiably reminded:
“Why are you still standing there? Aren’t you going to inspect my carriage?”
“Yes.”
The guards didn’t expect this Imperial Guard Commander to be so approachable.
Wiping their cold sweat, they meticulously inspected the carriage to ensure no one was hidden inside or beneath.
As they inspected the carriage, Lin Ting caught up: “Lord Duan!”
Duan Ling paused the hand that was about to lower the curtain and turned to look behind.
He saw Lin Ting standing on another carriage, not waiting for the coachman to set the footstool, she hastily jumped down, holding her skirt as she ran over.
The guards didn’t stop Lin Ting because they were still within the city, and she wasn’t trying to rush out.
Moreover, she seemed to know Lord Duan.
Since they were acquainted, she must have come specifically to see him off at the gate.
Lin Ting stopped only when she reached the Duan family carriage, panting:
“Lord Duan.”
As she approached, the evening breeze carried a hint of sweet fragrance.
Duan Ling lowered his head, his expression as usual:
“Why has Miss Lin Qi come?”
Lin Ting had run so fast that her cheeks were flushed, with a thin layer of sweat on her temples:
“I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I still want to apologize to you once more.”
Duan Ling: “Apologize?”
What she was about to say wasn’t suitable for others to hear, so Lin Ting leaned close to his ear:
“Lord Duan, I’m truly sorry for kissing you. I know I was wrong, and it will never happen again.”
He blinked: “Didn’t you already apologize to me at Nanshan Pavilion?”
Lin Ting: “I feel that my sincerity at that time was insufficient to express my apology to you. How about this, you tell me what you want, and I’ll go get it for you. Then we’ll be even.”
Duan Ling’s knuckles tapped against the windowsill, as if deep in thought:
“What I want…”
She continued:
“If Lord Duan truly dislikes me, from today onwards, I will no longer appear before you. This matter doesn’t require death to be resolved. How about that?”
He lowered his gaze, still gentle:
“What are you talking about? I have no such intention.”
Lin Ting, feeling uneasy, was about to say more when her nose twitched slightly, suddenly catching a whiff of blood:
“Why is there a smell of blood?”
She looked over in confusion, discovering that the blood scent was coming from Duan Ling’s wrist.
Blood flowed along his snow-white skin, forming a frightening red line, dripping down.
“Has your old wrist injury reopened? Let me find something to bandage it.”
Lin Ting, burdened with guilt for having forcefully kissed Duan Ling, wanted to do something for him.
She took out the wound medicine she always carried with her from her waist, along with a handkerchief.
Just as she was about to touch Duan Ling’s wrist, her hand was caught by him:
“No need to trouble yourself. This isn’t an old injury reopening, but a new one. I have a condition that requires self-harm to suppress. It’s fine if left untreated.”
What condition requires self-harm to suppress?
Lin Ting had never heard of such a thing:
“What condition?”
Duan Xinning had never mentioned Duan Ling having any illness.
“A very strange condition.”
Duan Ling slowly released Lin Ting’s hand