Suddenly, Lin Ting saw Duan Ling’s long eyelashes flutter, and then her eyelids gently trembled.
Clearly, she was about to wake up.
In the next moment, Duan Ling indeed opened her eyes.
She almost immediately retracted her neck.
But before she had the chance to leave, in just a few seconds, no matter how fast she ran, she wouldn’t be able to get away from here.
It might even lead to the misunderstanding that she had failed in an assassination attempt and was now a hurried, escaping assassin.
It would be better to face the situation calmly.
Their eyes met, and Lin Ting’s heart began to race.
Her left hand rested on the outer side of the beauty couch, and Duan Ling lay on it, gazing up at her.
Duan Ling glanced at Lin Ting’s slightly pursed lips, then looked directly at her wide-open eyes, not missing any subtle changes in her emotions: “Lin Qi Gu Niang, what are you doing?”
Lin Ting jumped up like a spring, stepping back a few paces, knocking over a chair.
“I didn’t mean to offend Lord Duan.”
Duan Ling sat up, propping herself up on the beauty couch.
Her collar loosened slightly, revealing her collarbones in the dim light of the ship’s cabin, which flickered like jade.
Her cheeks were shadowed, and her bone structure became even more defined.
They say beauty lies in the bones, not just the skin.
This was the first time Lin Ting felt the weight of that saying so vividly and closely.
However, she wasn’t in the mood to admire the beauty now.
He stared at her: “You…”
Lin Ting interrupted: “I didn’t know you were in this cabin. I only realized when I walked in, and I was about to leave when the jade bead hanging from my waist fell and rolled under the beauty couch. I was going to pick it up.”
Duan Ling looked under the beauty couch and indeed saw a translucent jade bead.
He paused, bent down to pick it up, and handed it to her: “Is this the jade bead you mentioned?”
“Yes, yes, that’s the one!”
“Thank you, Lord Duan,” Lin Ting said with a grateful expression, taking the bead with both hands and carefully reattaching it to her waist.
“This was a gift from my mother, I can’t afford to lose it.”
Duan Ling smiled faintly, the corners of his eyes tinged with a faint pink from the alcohol: “Indeed, important things should be kept safe. It’s good you found it today.”
After handing her the bead, he took a step back: “Sorry to disturb your rest, Lord Duan.”
When Lin Ting saw Duan Ling open his eyes, she quickly thought of a way to slip away.
She took advantage of his distraction to drop the jade bead from her waist, letting it silently roll under the beauty couch.
Next to the beauty couch was a table, and the jade bead had fallen in the middle.
To avoid moving it, she could only steady herself by leaning on the couch to pick it up.
She thought this explanation had no flaws.
Even if Duan Ling felt something was wrong, he definitely wouldn’t think she was trying to kiss him.
Duan Ling straightened his posture, fastened his belt, and picked up the teapot on the table, pouring himself a cup of tea.
After sipping a few times, he said: “It’s fine, you didn’t do it on purpose.”
Her eyelids twitched.
He glanced back at the tea leaf floating in his cup, tracing the pattern on the cup with his fingers: “Why is Miss Lin Qi here at this time, and not with Duan Xinning? How did you end up alone in the cabin?”
“I saw Young Master Xia and Duan Xinning having something to discuss, so I came down from the boat to walk around.”
Duan Ling didn’t interfere with Duan Xinning and Xia Zimo’s relationship.
He found it strange that Xia Zimo constantly surrounded Duan Xinning, trying all sorts of ways to please her, like a dog wagging its tail.
Although Duan Xinning was his biological sister, Duan Ling had little emotional attachment to her.
Whatever they wanted to do was up to them, as long as it didn’t cause trouble for the Duan family.
Hearing Lin Ting’s words, Duan Ling spoke in a soft tone: “You’re thoughtful.”
Lin Ting couldn’t tell whether he was praising or criticizing her, so she simply chose not to think about it: “I won’t disturb Lord Duan any longer. You can continue to rest.”
As she spoke, she stepped backward, almost at the door.
Duan Ling gave a casual glance at the beauty couch Lin Ting had touched, as if lost in thought.
After setting the teacup down, he stood up and walked past her: “I’ve rested enough. I’ll go for a walk.”
Lin Ting had planned to leave as well, but Duan Ling stepped ahead, and she had no choice but to follow behind, stepping in the shadow of his tall figure cast on the wooden floorboards.
As they left the cabin, the view opened up, and all they could see were the pure white lotuses.
The air was filled with the scent of lotus flowers.
Lin Ting took a deep breath, and as the boat entered a lotus area, she remembered the taste of lotus seeds.
She leaned over the redwood railing, reaching to pick a few lotus pods.
Just as Lin Ting was about to eat, she noticed Duan Ling had turned his head to look at her, probably hearing the sound of the lotus leaves being pulled apart.
It wasn’t polite to eat alone, so she picked a large lotus pod and offered it to him: “Would you like one?”
With that, she handed it to him.
Lin Ting had the habit of washing the lotus pods in the lake before eating them, so the pod still had lake water on it, droplets falling from it, soaking Duan Ling’s palm as they trickled down his fingers.
The cool, refreshing touch.
He didn’t throw the lotus pod away, which was basic etiquette for a noble, but he didn’t give it back to her either, nor did he seem interested in peeling it and eating it.
Lin Ting, with a fresh lotus seed in her mouth, observed him, wondering if he didn’t know how to peel lotus pods.
After swallowing the seed, she asked: “Lord Duan, would you like me to help you peel the lotus pod?”
As a noble young lady from the capital, Duan Xinning had always been served by others, not knowing how to peel lotus pods to get the seeds out.
It was Lin Ting who taught her how to do it.
Otherwise, Duan Xinning wouldn’t have voluntarily asked the servants to pick lotus pods to eat today.
As for Duan Ling…
Lin Ting really wasn’t sure if he knew how to peel a lotus pod.
She remembered a movie she had watched before she crossed into this world.
It was about a rich girl who had been pampered and never touched lower-class things.
At home, she only ate apples that the nanny had peeled for her, and she thought apples were white.
When the rich girl went bankrupt and lost her nanny, she went to the market to buy apples herself and realized they had a red skin.
Lin Ting wondered if Duan Ling might be one of those people.
Lin Ting stretched out her hand to take the lotus pod back, but Duan Ling avoided it: “No need to trouble yourself.”
“Oh.”
She peeled a few lotus seeds for herself, leaned against the railing, looking at the scenery on the lake, observing Duan Ling as if unintentionally.
He, too, leaned against the railing, holding the green lotus pod in his left hand.
Duan Ling didn’t stay with Lin Ting for long.
Within less than a quarter of an hour, he left.
At twilight, the lights on both banks lit up, casting reflections on the heart-shaped lake.
The sound of oars echoed, and the painted boats gently glided over the water, resembling fire dragons playing with the lotus flowers.
There were many boats decorated with lanterns on the lake, and they inevitably came across one another.
The people on them could see or hear each other’s movements.
Lin Ting, who was sitting on the deck enjoying the breeze, glanced at the boat docked across from hers.
The boat across was carrying scholars who had come to admire the lotus and compose poetry.
Although the imperial exams wouldn’t happen until February next year, scholars still made wishes during special occasions, hoping to succeed in their careers.
It was said that wishes made at the Lotus Viewing Festival by the Heart Lake were likely to come true, so they had come together.
After finishing a poem in which the lotus symbolized their ambitions, they turned around and saw Lin Ting.
They froze, looking at her across the gently rippling lake.
Seeing her in a lotus dress, holding several lotus pods, she looked like a lotus fairy jumping over the water to a boat.
They instinctively averted their gazes, not daring to speak casually, fearing to offend the lady.
However, they had spent so long in the academy without much contact with women, so they couldn’t help but steal glances.
Why was she staring in this direction?
They wanted to ask if she needed help, but they couldn’t bring themselves to.
In the end, a slightly bolder scholar stepped forward: “Is there something you need, miss?”
Lin Ting smiled at them, the silk ribbons in her hair floating in front of her shoulders, making her appear even more lively.
The reason she was looking at them was because she recognized that this group of people were scholars from Wen Chu Academy.
In the past, she had disguised herself as Fu Chi’s fiancée to gather information from them for the study business.
Although Lin Ting recognized them, none of them recognized her.
That day, she wore a veil, didn’t show her face, and even masked her voice.
If they had recognized her, that would have been strange.
Regardless, she had deceived them back then, and now, even though they didn’t know it, she still felt a little embarrassed.
So, she raised the lotus pod in her arms and asked, “Would you like one?”
She had picked too many lotus pods, and Lin Ting couldn’t eat them all by herself.
She didn’t want to take them back to the Lin family either.
The scholars blushed and quickly declined.
They were focused on their studies, with the Four Books and Five Classics, righteousness, propriety, and integrity in their minds.
How could they accept something from an unfamiliar girl?
It wasn’t proper.
Above the gangway was a higher deck, where Duan Ling was standing at the railing, admiring the lotus flowers.
With just a slight lowering of his eyes, he could see Lin Ting speaking to the scholars.
He lowered his eyes, leisurely peeling a lotus pod and extracting the lotus seeds from the small holes.
Having witnessed Lin Ting trying to give the lotus pods to the scholars and being rejected, Duan Ling only ate one lotus seed.
He didn’t eat another and tossed the second one away, saying, “It’s nothing special.”
He then left the deck.
On the gangway, Lin Ting wasn’t embarrassed by their rejection.
She tilted her head, turned, and began eating the lotus seeds while holding the lotus pod.
Sitting on a chair, her green skirt ribbons and pink-white hem hung down to the wooden boards.
A few scholars felt a bit regretful and kept glancing at her.
They could only see a figure in light blue, and seeing her focused on eating the lotus seeds, the lotus pods on the gangway began to pile up.
They couldn’t help but marvel at how much she could eat, even more than they could.
It was unclear who first mentioned the Xie family, but the scholars started to become animated again: “I heard that the fifth young master of the Xie family has been missing for some time.
The city gates are becoming stricter, and anyone with an unclear identity is being taken to the authorities.”
“Yeah, I often see the officers on the street checking household registers and permits.”
“Don’t mention it. Last time, I nearly got thrown in jail.”
A scholar who had accidentally lost his household registration papers and was going out to get them replaced was detained by the patrolling officers and nearly thrown into prison.
While still eating lotus seeds, Lin Ting secretly listened in on their gossip about the Xie family.
“Hasn’t the Jinyiwei caught the fifth young master of the Xie family yet?”
In most of their minds, the Jinyiwei, trusted by the emperor, was extremely powerful, with many spies.
Capturing someone would be easy.
A young man in a green robe laughed: “The Jinyiwei isn’t all-powerful. Besides, the fifth young master of the Xie family isn’t just anyone.”
Someone fanning himself interjected: “I suspect the fifth young master of the Xie family has already left the city.”
“Liu brother, what makes you say that?”
The scholar called Liu lowered his voice: “From what I know, the raid on the Xie family wasn’t because of factionalism, but because of their connections to remnants of the former dynasty. They’ve offended His Majesty’s most sensitive point.”
The group was shocked and exchanged glances: “Liu brother, you shouldn’t spread such rumors. Where did these remnants of the former dynasty come from? The Xie family were founding contributors; how could they be involved with remnants of the previous regime?”
Lin Ting quietly continued listening.
“It’s true that the Xie family were founding contributors, but the Xie family also had a significant position in the former dynasty. General Xie was always loyal to the previous dynasty. After his death, his son, General Xie, swore loyalty to the current emperor.”
They all spoke of General Xie with great respect.
Scholars were always moved by loyalty, even if it was to the previous dynasty: “Ah, General Xie was truly a remarkable person.”
Lin Ting fell into thought.
This year was the eighth year of Mingyuan, and the Great Yan had overthrown the Great Xia.
The change of dynasties had been less than eight years ago.
When they spoke of remnants of the previous dynasty, were they referring to the royal family of the Great Xia?
Lin Ting tried to recall the plot of the original story, but found her mind empty.
When reading limited texts, she often skipped over the plot chapters and focused on the more intimate parts.
She only remembered how the main couple engaged in various “playful” activities.
Never mind, it wasn’t her concern. Lin Ting decided to find Duan Xinning.
On the night of the Lotus Viewing Festival, the curfew was temporarily lifted.
When the moon was high in the sky, the bright lights still shone, and fireworks burst open.
The combination of both made the night sky look as bright as day, and the citizens who came to the lake to enjoy the lotus flowers and release lanterns grew in number.
Lin Ting and Duan Xinning each held a lotus lantern, and the maid beside them passed them pens.
On the lotus lanterns, they wrote their wishes and released them into the lake.
This was an essential part of the Lotus Viewing Festival.
Duan Ling did not participate.
He stood leaning on the railing, watching them play with their lotus lanterns.
Xia Zimo, unlike Duan Ling’s detached personality, eagerly participated in the lantern lighting.
He picked up a lotus lantern to join in and muttered, “What should I wish for?”
Duan Xinning bit her lip, hesitating to write, occasionally sneaking glances at Xia Zimo.
While they were still debating what to wish for, Lin Ting, without a moment’s hesitation, wrote her wish: “May the God of Wealth bless me with great fortune.”
If there was even a slight hesitation when writing, it would be disrespectful to the God of Wealth.
Lin Ting, satisfied, held her lotus lantern and walked toward the boat’s bow.
Passing by Duan Ling, she casually asked, “Aren’t you going to release a lotus lantern?”
Duan Ling instinctively glanced at her, and the words on her lotus lantern caught his eye.
“May the God of Wealth bless me with great fortune.”
The handwriting was always neat, though the phrasing was a bit odd and crude, but it didn’t stop Duan Ling from understanding the meaning.
He withdrew his gaze: “I don’t believe in such things.”
Lin Ting opened the small door at the bow of the boat, squatted down facing the rippling lake, and gently released the light lotus lantern into the water: “Better to believe in it than not.”
She watched her lotus lantern drift away: “Don’t you have anything you want?”
Duan Ling spoke softly, but his words, with no regard for the devout worship of the gods, clashed with conventional beliefs: “If I want something, I will take it myself. I don’t rely on these illusory gods.”
Lin Ting grinned: “Whether it’s releasing lotus lanterns during the festival or praying to gods, it’s all about intention.”
“Intention?”
He turned to look at her.
She used her hand to stir the water, making the lotus lantern drift farther: “Yes. You say you’ll take what you want, but does that mean you’ll always get it? Not necessarily.”
The water rippled, and Lin Ting withdrew her hand, with water still dripping from her fingertips: “That’s when you need an intention. Some people can’t survive without one, and having one is always better.”
Duan Ling didn’t argue with Lin Ting, following her words: “Miss Lin Qi is right.”
Lin Ting was contemplating whether to get another lotus lantern and write the wish “Please let me complete my task smoothly,” but making too many wishes at once might render them ineffective, wasting an opportunity.
Thinking this, Lin Ting observed Duan Ling.