Chapter 395: Stay

Lin Xiang had just come out of his study when he saw Asang squatting by the door, and his old face twitched.

The maid was busily wiping her face with a handkerchief when she saw Lin Xiang come out. She quickly curtsied and explained, "My lord, this is what the young master ordered."

Asang remembered the secret her gentle brother had just told her: she had to be assertive so that her words might be taken seriously.

So she jumped up, her fingertips nervously gripping the hem of her clothes, and mustered her courage to shout, "Old man! Let me help you!"

Lin Xiang: ?

The maidservant inwardly thought something was wrong and quickly lowered her head to block Asang's way, saying, "My lord, children's words are just that—words—so please don't take them to heart."

Lin Xiang, of course, wouldn't stoop to arguing with a child. He simply flicked his sleeve with a cold face and said, "Take the money and leave now. I don't need your help. This matter is non-negotiable."

"It's still raining outside, sir. This child is dressed in thin clothes and might catch a cold."

The maid coughed tactfully: "Besides, the young master means to keep Asang."

"Nonsense! Bringing people into the manor without even knowing their background?"

"Young master said he wants to learn martial arts."

"Stay, stay, stay! Is staying not enough?" Lin Xiang was almost driven half to death with anger.

This kid uses martial arts to control me whenever things don't go my way. It turns out that everything I taught him is being used on me.

“My name is Asang. My family raised silkworms. My father drowned, and my mother later died of an illness. I am the only one left.”

Asang silently recited it several times before blurting it out in one breath, which made Lin Xiang even more suspicious that she might be a spy sent by Li Yuande.

But he quickly dismissed the thought that had just crossed his mind. Who would plant a spy or informant in a naive child, let alone a girl?

However, if it were Li Yuande...

"In that case, do you know the Mu Prince's residence?" Prime Minister Lin asked, bowing slightly.

Asang thought for a moment, then nodded seriously, "I recognize it."

Immediately afterwards, Prime Minister Lin took out an envelope from his sleeve, tapped it, and handed it to her: "In that case, find a way to go to the Mu Prince's Mansion and give this letter to a person named Zhong Heng."

If you return safely without anyone noticing anything amiss, I will grant your request.

Without hesitation, Asang first wiped her hands on the hem of her clothes before carefully taking the envelope and tucking it into her bosom.

Seeing this, the maid quickly suggested, "Why don't you change your clothes before you go?"

"No, just like this."

Asang refused her kindness and rushed into the dense rain without even taking the oil-paper umbrella.

Watching that slender figure gradually disappear into the misty rain, Lin Wanxian emerged from behind the pillar, carrying her zither, a smile on her face. "What does Father think of this child?"

Lin Xiang turned his head away, clearly still angry, "What's wrong with that?"

Stubborn as a donkey.

“It’s a bit too harsh for my father to make veiled criticisms.”

Lin Wanxian knew perfectly well that these words were a veiled insult, but she showed no anger whatsoever. Instead, she patiently retorted, "If Father truly didn't care, why did he secretly send people to protect her?"

"When did I issue such an order?" Prime Minister Lin turned his head and twirled the end of his beard.

"Uncle Lin just sent a few guards out of the mansion. They changed out of their formal attire and into ordinary civilian clothes. He must have a ulterior motive."

Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, that letter should have been completely blank; nothing was written inside.