Duan Ling lay on the bed for an unknown amount of time, the white fluid mixed with blood that smelled of rust dripped down and eventually solidified in the air.
An hour later, he got up to clean himself, immersing his scarred wrists in clear water to wash away the mottled bloodstains.
The water seemed to seep into his wounds, reigniting the pain.
He stared at his hands for a long while, his eyes taking in the ugly scars.
As the bloodstains clinging to his wrists were washed away by the water, the scars hidden beneath were fully exposed, and the flesh of several new wounds was turned outward, exuding a lingering bloody hue.
Duan Ling slowly raised his hand, running it over his wrist, feeling the uneven texture.
Even without looking, he could sense the ferocity of these scars.
Why, at the last moment, did he remember the image of her running towards him.
The doors and windows of the room were tightly shut, and unconsciously, the thick smell of blood filled every corner, pulling Duan Ling’s thoughts back.
He used a cloth to dry the water from his wrists, went to open the window, and then lit an incense burner filled with agarwood.
After the scent of agarwood had spread, he called for a servant to prepare hot water and bathed again, temporarily ignoring the basin of water that had become turbid with blood and semen, and without bandaging his wounds.
After bathing, Duan Ling went to his study and stayed there all night until dawn broke.
A sleepless night.
Lin Ting slept soundly through the night and, upon waking, lingered in bed for a while before getting up.
Last night, Madam Li had pulled her aside and asked a series of questions, saying that there had been a fire in Sanfang Street and wondering if Duan Ling had been injured while on duty there, and whether she had passed through Sanfang Street on her way back to the residence.
Lin Ting didn’t want Madam Li to misunderstand that she was deeply in love with Duan Ling, so she didn’t confess to Madam Li about going to Sanfang Street, only saying that she didn’t know, and Madam Li had then sent a servant to inquire.
Ah, her mother really treated Duan Ling as a future son-in-law, caring so much about him.
After washing up, Lin Ting lazily leaned on the windowsill to bask in the sun, thinking about ways to kiss Duan Ling for thirty breaths, but she dismissed each idea as it came, none of them being good.
Halfway through her thoughts, Lin Ting was drawn to the gossip coming from the courtyard.
The courtyard of Tingling House didn’t have so many rules, and the servants liked to chat while cleaning:
“Have you heard? Someone broke into Prince Liang’s mansion a few days ago and kidnapped Prince Liang’s woman, they really have guts.”
A maid who was pulling weeds:
“I heard about it too. Prince Liang was furious, swearing to find the mastermind and have him torn to pieces.”
Lin Ting raised an eyebrow.
As long as Duan Ling didn’t report her, Prince Liang would never find her.
A servant boy who was watering the flowers asked:
“Not only that, but the person also secretly sprinkled itching powder on Prince Liang’s bedding, and Prince Liang fell victim to it that very night, summoning the imperial physician in the middle of the night for treatment.”
“Guess what, this itching powder is different from the ordinary kind, it’s been modified. The imperial physician was at a loss at first and only figured out a cure the next day.”
His tone sounded a bit gleeful:
“Prince Liang scratched all night, almost tearing his face apart, and finally had to be tied up.”
“So malicious, kidnapping Prince Liang’s woman and then giving him itching powder?”
Lin Ting, who was eavesdropping:
Where am I being malicious?
Is giving itching powder malicious?
That’s already quite benevolent, isn’t it?
She pouted, taking a plate of sunflower seeds to nibble on.
The servant boy:
“This isn’t called malicious, it’s called meting out justice. You all know what kind of person Prince Liang is, a scoundrel who bullies men and dominates women. Only giving him itching powder is letting him off lightly.”
Lin Ting nodded in agreement.
Tao Zhu, who was supervising their work, was also full of gossip and couldn’t help but interject:
“Really? Did someone really break into Prince Liang’s mansion, kidnap his woman, and give him itching powder?”
The servant boy eagerly smiled:
“Sister Tao Zhu, why would I lie to you? This matter is now the talk of the town. I heard it from the fish-selling auntie when I went to buy vegetables yesterday.”
Tao Zhu pondered:
“So it seems, this person does have some real skills.”
In less than a moment, she added:
“But they’re still not as good as our Seventh Miss. If it were our Seventh Miss, she would definitely poison him. Our Seventh Miss is the most capable and clever.”
Lin Ting was shocked:
“Tao Zhu, you think I’m so decisive and ruthless?”
The cleaning lady was more cautious than them, lowering her voice:
“Keep it down, calling Prince Liang a scoundrel who bullies men and dominates women, are you trying to get yourself killed? No matter what he does, he’s the son of the emperor.”
The servant boy:
“What’s there to fear? I’m only saying it in the courtyard, I won’t go out and blab.”
The cleaning lady swept up the fallen leaves, pointing to the surrounding walls:
“Walls have ears, be careful not to implicate Seventh Miss. Hurry up and get back to work.”
Unable to discuss Prince Liang, they started talking about other things:
“Eighth Miss’s marriage fell through, and Concubine Shen fell ill from anger, she’s been bedridden for days.”
When it came to the affairs of the inner household, the cleaning lady became interested and didn’t urge them to work:
“A while ago, Concubine Shen was showing off in front of the Third Madam, look at how smug she was.”
Some of the maids didn’t know the details:
“How did the marriage fall through?”
“The son of the Vice Minister of Revenue is arrogant and proud, but Eighth Miss publicly humiliated him at a poetry gathering, causing him great embarrassment.”
“The son of the Vice Minister of Revenue decided she wasn’t a suitable match and insisted on having his father cancel the marriage.”
An eleven-year-old maid was puzzled:
“Just over such a small matter?”
The cleaning lady patted her:
“You’re still young, you don’t understand what matters to wealthy families. Besides, this marriage was already Concubine Shen reaching high, she had to fawn over the Vice Minister of Revenue’s family in every matter, how could she allow Eighth Miss to treat them so casually.”
The little maid seemed to understand but not quite.
“However, Eighth Miss still has a chance to salvage this marriage, and that is to publicly apologize to the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue.”
“But she refused, Concubine Shen forced Eighth Miss to go, but she still wouldn’t speak, enduring Concubine Shen’s beatings and scoldings, she’s quite pitiful.”
The servant boy clicked his tongue:
“Eighth Miss actually dared to defy Concubine Shen, that’s unheard of.”
“I also think this doesn’t seem like something Eighth Miss would do. In the past, Eighth Miss was someone without her own opinions, always led by the nose by Concubine Shen. Did someone teach her to do this?”
Hearing this, Lin Ting stopped listening, put down the sunflower seeds, and decided to go to the Duan family to find Duan Xinning, as they hadn’t seen each other for a few days.
But as soon as she arrived at the Duan family, before she could see Duan Xinning, she was taken away by Feng Ye’s maid.
Feng Ye kept Lin Ting chatting for a full half hour before letting her go, her words probing into Lin Ting’s preferences and also mentioning Duan Ling.
Lin Ting listened with one ear and let it out the other.
Although she responded with a word or two to save face for the elder, she wasn’t overly enthusiastic, to avoid misunderstanding.
When she was finally able to leave Feng Ye’s courtyard, Lin Ting felt relieved.
Duan Xinning still didn’t know that Lin Ting and Duan Ling had been arranged to meet by their mothers.
Hearing from the servants that she had gone to Feng Ye’s courtyard, she only thought that her mother liked this friend of hers.
So Duan Xinning didn’t disturb them, waiting in her room for Lin Ting to come, and upon seeing her, said:
“It seems my mother really likes you. In the past, she rarely took the initiative to meet outsiders.”
Lin Ting knew the real reason but awkwardly said:
“Madam Feng has been very kind to me.”
Duan Xinning was just making a casual remark and quickly put the matter aside, sitting with Lin Ting on the Luohan bed:
“Actually, if you hadn’t come to find me today, I was planning to go and find you.”
“Then we must be on the same wavelength.”
Unexpectedly, Duan Xinning suddenly showed a worried expression:
“Leyun, I’ve done something wrong.”
Lin Ting’s hand, which was rubbing her temples, paused, and her expression became subtle, thinking of the restricted-level scenes in the original novel:
“What wrong have you done? Did you and Prince Xia secretly taste the forbidden fruit?”
Duan Xinning blushed deeply, covering Lin Ting’s mouth, afraid that she would say something bold again.
Even though they were alone in the room, with even their personal maids waiting outside, Duan Xinning still couldn’t bear to hear such things, her face burning red.
“What are you saying! Me, Prince Xia, we’re completely innocent now, it’s not what you think.”
Duan Xinning stammered to explain,
“I borrowed my second brother’s book, but…”
Lin Ting pulled down Duan Xinning’s hand:
“Did you ruin your second brother’s book?”
Duan Xinning clutched her handkerchief, her face as red as if it were about to bleed, and she was too embarrassed:
“It’s not that I ruined my second brother’s book. Second brother is kind, even if I did ruin his book, he wouldn’t say anything.”
“Then what exactly did you do?”
Lin Ting couldn’t figure out what she could have done wrong.
“When I returned the book, I accidentally slipped a spring palace painting inside. I only realized it when I came back. Did I do something wrong?”
Duan Xinning mustered the courage to say this.
The grape fell from Lin Ting’s fingers, dropping back into the flower-patterned bamboo basket:
“Spring palace painting? You said you slipped a spring palace painting into your second brother’s book? Duan Xinning , you’re something else.”
Duan Xinning was too embarrassed to look at her, covering her face with her handkerchief:
“I didn’t mean to.”
Lin Ting, stunned, picked up the grape:
“Wait, you look at spring palace paintings? You used to not even read novels with sexual content, only those about emotions. Now you’re into spring palace paintings?”
Duan Xinning recalled the contents of the spring palace painting, her head lowering more and more, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s:
“I was just curious, I haven’t looked at them much.”
“You’re so unfaithful, looking at such good stuff and not calling me.”
Duan Xinning was about to die of embarrassment:
“Good Leyun, don’t tease me. I know I was wrong, and I’ll never hide things from you again.”
Lin Ting ate the grape and stopped teasing Duan Xinning:
“This is easy. Before your second brother finds out, sneak into his study and get it back. It’s not like you haven’t sneaked into his study before.”
“No, I can’t.”
She was puzzled:
“Why not? Did your second brother lock his study?”
“No, my second brother took that book to the Northern Imperial Prison.”
Duan Xinning had recently had insomnia and asked Duan Ling for a book that was difficult to understand.
Reading it for a while made her sleepy, it was very effective.
He took it to the Northern Imperial Prison?
Lin Ting was surprised and helpless:
“The Northern Imperial Prison… You’d better think about how to explain to your second brother that you put a spring palace painting in his book.”
Duan Xinning’s eyes darted around:
“I told my second brother this morning.”
Lin Ting: “What did you say?”