"I'm going to rest now."

Yunling teased him with a hint of smugness, wondering what excuse he would use to get her to leave this time—whether she had forgotten something or the snowy scenery outside was too beautiful.

"Then I'll come again tomorrow."

The man's response surprised Yunling. Whenever he came to see her, he would try every means to get her to come out, but why was he so obedient this time? Something was wrong.

Yunling suppressed her curiosity and refrained from replying. After a while, she saw that the shadow imprinted on the window paper had disappeared, and she could still faintly hear some footsteps.

Yunling was puzzled. She quickly tiptoed to the window and gently pushed it open. The head that popped out from under the window almost made her faint.

"You scared me half to death! Didn't you say you'd come back tomorrow? Why are you hiding under someone's window?"

Lu Yinghuai stood up and said with a smile:

"Didn't you say you were going to rest? Why did you get up and open the window?"

Yunling was still flustered. Now that Lu Yinghuai was teasing her like this, she glared at him fiercely and slammed the window shut.

He's even interfering with her now, what an old bastard, he...he...he...

"It's warmer in this room."

As Lu Yinghuai spoke, he closed the door, brushed the snow off his clothes, and went to warm himself by the charcoal brazier.

"Who let you in?"

"I need to speak with Lingniang."

Yunling's words caught in her throat, neither here nor there. Since he was already inside, she decided to let him explain himself.

"What is it? Tell me."

Lu Yinghuai walked forward with a smile, opened his palm, and showed a small red bag.

Here you go!

"This is……"

Yunling curiously took the small bag, pulled the string, and saw something that looked like gold shimmering inside.

She quickly poured the contents into her palm, and plump golden beans rolled out of the bag. She counted them; there were fifteen in total.

"This is the New Year's money for Lingniang."

Yunling had never seen such a unique and generous New Year's gift before, and seeing that it was sent to her by Lu Yinghuai, a strange emotion instantly rose in her heart.

"Why are you giving me New Year's money? Do you think I'm a child?"

Lu Yinghuai did not respond immediately, but stared intently at the person in front of him. His eyes were extremely affectionate, and under the candlelight, they were both ardent and sincere. Although he did not speak, it was as if he had said everything.

Yunling suddenly sensed a wild beast about to pounce on its prey. She quickly avoided Lu Yinghuai's gaze, her heart pounding uncontrollably once again.

Lu Yinghuai took another step forward, closing the distance between them. Today was an auspicious day; he could finally say what he hadn't dared to say before, over that cup of Tusu wine. He took a deep breath and then spoke:

"Lingniang, it's me..."

"Little Lazyling, Little Lazyling, are you asleep yet?"

Pei Lin's shouting immediately made the two people inside feel guilty. Lu Yinghuai couldn't leave now, and Yun Ling knew Pei Lin's nature well enough to know he might break down the door at any moment, so she quickly responded:

What do you want?

Are you asleep?

Pei Lin's shadow drifted from the window to the doorway, and Yun Ling felt her heart leap into her throat. She didn't know what she was afraid of, but she just felt uneasy. She quickly replied:

"I'm resting now. Just tell me what's wrong, I can hear you."

Pei Lin also felt it was inappropriate to barge into the young lady's boudoir so late at night, but he also wanted to say it to Yun Ling face to face. He thought it over and over, pacing back and forth outside the door, and finally decided to speak up.

"Little Lazy Ling, let's go to Zhouqiao together on the night of the Lantern Festival."

"What are we going to do at Zhouqiao? Tang Ling said there are lots of interesting things to see on Yujie Street."

Pei Lin jumped up and down excitedly, then said:

"I have something to say to you, just the two of us, without anyone else."

Lu Yinghuai panicked, his breathing becoming heavier. The Lantern Festival was a perfect day for expressing affection, and Pei Lin's words meant he wanted to confess his feelings to Yun Ling. What if Yun Ling was moved by him...?

Lu Yinghuai felt incredibly tormented. He had prepared so many things to say to Yunling, but Pei Lin's interference made him afraid. He was afraid of being rejected, afraid that Yunling would say that the person she loved was Pei Lin.

He didn't want Yunling to go to the appointment. He felt that their relationship was already very good. He...he...but what right did he have to stop Yunling from going to the appointment?

He is nothing!

Yunling didn't think as much as Lu Yinghuai. In her view, Pei Lin had repeatedly and clearly told her that he didn't like her, so even if she went out on the Lantern Festival, it wouldn't involve their relationship. So she asked:

"If you have something to say, just say it now. Why wait until the Lantern Festival?"

"I'm going to say it during the Lantern Festival, will you promise me?"

Yunling had no idea what would happen in ten days or so, and she didn't know what would happen then, so she said:

"We'll see when the time comes."

"Promise me, promise me now, this is very important."

Pei Lin hurriedly took another step toward the door, his shadow becoming even clearer.

Seeing his imposing manner, Yunling was afraid that he might get agitated and push the door open, so she replied:

"Okay, I agree."

"Then it's settled. On the night of the Lantern Festival, it will just be the two of us strolling around Zhou Bridge. No one else is allowed to join us."

Upon receiving the response, Pei Lin felt elated, walking with a swagger. He didn't find the firecrackers in the streets noisy; instead, he regarded them as a celebration of his upcoming marriage with Yun Ling.

Compared to Pei Lin's joy, Lu Yinghuai seemed dejected. He didn't know how to face Yun Ling and was eager to leave this place that made him feel depressed.

"By the way, what were you trying to say to me just now?"

"No...it's nothing. I just wanted to wish Lingniang a healthy and peaceful new year, and that everything goes smoothly in the coming year."

Yunling gave a faint "Oh". She had almost thought that Lu Yinghuai was about to confess his feelings to her. It turned out that she had just made wild guesses and was being presumptuous. Fortunately, she didn't say anything, otherwise she would have made a big misunderstanding.

"I also wish the young master a happy and healthy new year, and all the best in the coming year."

**

"Second Aunt, wishing you a peaceful and healthy new year."

Yun Ruoxia glanced nervously into the private room and saw that Old Madam Yun and Old Madam Fan were still laughing heartily, so she replied to Wen Siqing as well.

"My lord, may you have a peaceful and healthy new year."

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. Following Yun Ling's instructions, Yun Shenghua and Zhang Shi invited the young ladies from the shop to a reunion dinner, and also invited the musicians. Naturally, Old Madam Yun brought along the Fan family, so there were a total of forty or fifty people, quite a large gathering.