Madam Shen’s eyes were red, and her well-maintained face looked even more pitiful as she cried.
She kept murmuring about how pitiful Shan Ge was, refusing to get up.
Li Jingqiu strode up to them.
“What brings you here?”
Lin Ting stood by her side, watching them.
Lin Ting’s father was clearly unhappy with Li Jingqiu’s attitude, but he suppressed his anger because he needed her help.
“Shan Ge has been framed and needs to pay three thousand taels, or he’ll be taken to the authorities.”
Li Jingqiu was livid, barely restraining herself from slapping him.
“So you came to ask me for three thousand taels?”
He stiffly replied,
“Not asking-I’m borrowing it. I’ll pay you back later.”
Lin Ting couldn’t help but laugh.
Her father never paid back any money he took from the family.
His promises were worthless, and anyone who believed him was doomed.
Li Jingqiu glanced coldly at the still-kneeling Madam Shen and Lin Ting’s father.
“I don’t have three thousand taels. Whether you borrow it from the old madam or your colleagues, I don’t have it. Please leave.”
Lin Ting’s father didn’t expect her to refuse so quickly.
“But you still have your dowry-“
Madam Shen grabbed Li Jingqiu’s skirt, crying pitifully.
“Madam, I beg you to help us. Shan Ge usually calls you ‘mother.’ He’s your son too.”
Li Jingqiu remained unmoved.
“I, Li Jingqiu, have never given birth to a son. How could I have a son?”
Madam Shen clutched her hand, still crying.
“Madam, you can’t be so heartless. Shan Ge is the third master’s only son. If you hate me, I’ll kowtow to you.”
The phrase “only son” struck a chord with Lin Ting’s father.
He stopped Madam Shen from kowtowing and glared at Li Jingqiu.
“Are you such a vicious woman that you’d rather see me without an heir? Will you give the money or not?”
“I don’t have it. How can I give it?”
Lin Ting’s father was furious.
“What a misfortune to have married you.”
Li Jingqiu snatched a broom from a servant and started driving them out.
“Get out, all of you!”
Madam Shen cried even more miserably, while Lin Ting’s father dodged the broom swings.
“Do you believe I’ll divorce you?”
“Go ahead and divorce me.”
As they were arguing fiercely, Lin Ting stepped forward.
“I can help you raise three thousand taels.”
She didn’t say she had three thousand taels but that she could help them raise it.
Three thousand taels in the Great Yan Dynasty was equivalent to millions in modern times.
It wasn’t something one could easily produce, and if Lin Ting did so, it would raise suspicions.
Saying she could help raise the money was more believable, especially since she knew Duan Xinning.
Seeing their stunned expressions, Lin Ting repeated,
“I can raise three thousand taels.”
Li Jingqiu hit Lin Ting’s father with the broom again and turned to Lin Ting.
“Lin Leyun, have you gone mad!”
Even her father, an official, couldn’t raise three thousand taels overnight.
How could she?
Madam Shen immediately turned to Lin Ting.
“Seventh Miss, is it true?”
“Yes.”
Lin Ting’s father was skeptical.
“You? How do you plan to raise three thousand taels?”
Lin Ting pushed Madam Shen aside and stood between them.
“Don’t forget, I know the third miss of the Duan family.”
She used Duan Xinning as a shield. “But I have a condition.”
Madam Shen eagerly asked,
“Whatever the condition, I’ll agree.”
“Your agreement doesn’t count. It’s up to Father to agree.”
Lin Ting looked at her father.
“I want you to sign a promissory note for three thousand taels, to be repaid within five years, with no interest.”
Lin Ting’s father, who valued his pride, couldn’t ask her directly.
“I agree, but there’s no need for a promissory note between father and daughter.”
“No, there must be.”
Madam Shen, afraid her husband would refuse, pleaded,
“Third Master, if we don’t raise the money in five days, Shan Ge will be taken to the authorities. His health is weak, and he won’t survive it.”
Lin Shu, still kneeling, watched Lin Ting with admiration.
She envied her seventh sister’s courage to speak to their father like that.
If it were her, she would have been trembling and crying by now.
Lin Shu lowered her head.
Lin Ting’s father gritted his teeth and finally agreed.
“Fine, I’ll sign the promissory note.”
Lin Ting walked over and whispered something only he could hear.
“In addition, you must also sign a contract allowing me to leave the family and live independently. For now, no one else can know about this, including my mother.”
She wanted to secure this before her father could consider marrying her off for a dowry to raise the money.
Lin Ting’s father’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What? You want to—”
Lin Ting cut him off.
“Yes or no?”
Madam Shen, unaware of their conversation, was only thinking of saving Shan Ge.
“Third Master, you can’t abandon Shan Ge.”
Lin Ting’s father thought for a long time.
“Lin Leyun, have you thought this through? This is of no benefit to you.”
In his eyes, leaving the Lin family was not a good choice.
Lin Ting replied firmly,
“I’ve thought it through.”
She had been considering this for a while and was now secretly excited.
Once her father signed the contract, she would be free to make her own decisions, including her marriage.
Lin Ting’s father was furious but didn’t outright refuse.
He waved his sleeve and left.
Madam Shen, desperate, chased after him, crying,
“Third Master, Shan Ge’s matter can’t be delayed!”
Lin Ting didn’t follow, confident that her father would agree and return to her by the next day at the latest.
Li Jingqiu put down the broom and studied Lin Ting.
“Are you really going to ask Miss Duan for money for them? Are you afraid he’ll divorce me if I
can’t come up with three thousand taels?”
Lin Ting replied calmly,
“I have my own plans.”
She called for a servant to bring hot water and pushed Li Jingqiu into the room.
“Mother, you must be tired. Let me help you soak your feet tonight. Don’t think about this anymore.”
Li Jingqiu, who had nearly been driven to anger by her husband, was indeed exhausted and didn’t press further.
“Just be careful with your actions in the future.”
Lin Ting’s prediction proved correct.
The next day, her father returned, looking grim, with a contract allowing her to live independently and a promissory note for three thousand taels.
She handed over the money, and he handed over the documents.
Having achieved her goal, Lin Ting was overjoyed.
She ordered servants to buy meat for a barbecue and sent someone to invite Duan Xinning over.
She also explained the matter of the three thousand taels to Duan Xinning, asking her to help cover for her.
Duan Xinning, of course, agreed, though she was curious about how Lin Ting had managed to get three thousand taels.
Her own monthly allowance was much higher than Lin Ting’s, but even she couldn’t easily accumulate three thousand taels.
The only way to get such a sum was to ask her parents.
“I earned it through business,”
Lin Ting vaguely explained, still not revealing the existence of her bookstore.
Duan Xinning was too naive, and her second brother was Duan Ling.
If she accidentally let it slip, it could cause trouble.
Duan Xinning wasn’t particularly interested in business and only asked a few questions before changing the subject.
“My second brother has gone to Suzhou.”
Lin Ting, who was teaching Tao Zhu how to barbecue, took a chicken wing to grill, sprinkling sesame oil and cumin on it.
“I know. He left yesterday.”
She rolled up her sleeves slightly, fanning the smoke.
The small courtyard gradually filled with the aroma of barbecue, the smoke drifting upward, mingling with the chirping of birds in the trees and the sizzling of meat.
Duan Xinning, smelling the delicious chicken wings, swallowed.
“How did you know?”
“I heard it from someone.”
“Oh.”
Duan Xinning didn’t suspect anything and sipped the sour plum soup Lin Ting handed her.
“Father said the unrest in Suzhou is related to remnants of the previous dynasty. I wonder if my second brother will be in danger.”
Lin Ting flipped the chicken wing, comforting her.
“Your second brother is blessed by the heavens. He’ll be fine… Do you want some pepper?”
“Just a little.”
“Here you go.”
Lin Ting sprinkled a bit of pepper on her chicken wing.
Duan Xinning wanted to learn how to barbecue and asked a servant for a skewer of meat to grill.
“Leyun, it seems my second brother has a lover outside.”
Lin Ting’s hand trembled, nearly dropping the chicken wing.
Duan Ling had a lover?
She didn’t recall that in the original story, but perhaps the butterfly effect had caused it.
If that was the case, her forceful kiss was even more unforgivable, especially since he already had someone.
“Who is your second brother’s lover?”
Duan Xinning shook her head.
“I don’t know. I only found out yesterday.”
Lin Ting felt uneasy.
“Yesterday?”
“Yesterday, just before he was about to leave, he received a letter and went out. When he came back, there were teeth marks on his lips. I think it was his lover.”
Duan Xinning burned one skewer and replaced it with another.
Lin Ting, the culprit, silently continued grilling, not asking further.
She wasn’t his lover-what had happened was entirely out of necessity.
Duan Xinning didn’t notice her unease.
“This is the first time I’ve seen traces of a woman’s cosmetics on my second brother. I really want to know what his lover looks like.”
Lin Ting lowered her head.
“Actually, the other person might not be your second brother’s lover.”
Her words were so soft, almost like a whisper, that Duan Xinning didn’t hear them.
“I wonder where my second brother is now.”
At that moment, Duan Ling was at a post station seventy miles from the capital.
This place was far from the bustling and lively capital.
Situated to the north against the mountains and not near any water, it was somewhat desolate and sparsely populated.
Duan Ling had set out first yesterday, with the Embroidered Uniform Guard following behind, and they only caught up today.
After they had eaten the meal prepared by the post station’s official, it was already late, and Duan Ling went upstairs to rest first.
The post station had been built many years ago, and the rooms were inevitably a bit old.
However, the interior was simple and clean, without any unpleasant odors or unnecessary decorations just a bed, a table, a chair, and a waist-high cabinet in the corner.
The window faced south, toward the mountains.
Duan Ling closed the window, placed his bundle and his Xiuchun saber on the table, and raised his hand to undo his wrist guards.
As soon as the wrist guards were loosened, his sleeves slid down, revealing wrists marked with mottled scars.
The wounds, treated with high-quality medicine, were healing like reddish-brown centipedes.
He didn’t look at them for long, lying down on the bed to rest, but soon got up again.
As soon as he closed his eyes, the image of Lin Ting pressing him down and kissing him forcefully appeared in Duan Ling’s mind.
The addiction arrived as expected, churning within him.
In no time, Duan Ling was drenched in sweat, his long hair damp and appearing even darker, making his lips redder and teeth whiter, creating a strikingly beautiful contrast.
His fingers clenched together as if trying to grasp something, but in the end, they grasped nothing, forming a fist instead, the veins on his wrist and the back of his hand bulging fiercely.
The addiction was growing stronger each time, and it came more and more frequently.
Duan Ling struggled to resist touching it.
He still wanted to control his own body, not to be controlled by the addiction and dragged into the filthy mire.
But just then, the bright orange handkerchief tucked in his sleeve fell out.
A familiar feminine fragrance wafted into Duan Ling’s nose, and in an instant, he was utterly defeated, completely losing control.
A few drops splattered onto the handkerchief.