Just as she was about to stand up for her tea, she suddenly heard footsteps outside. Her heart pounded again, and she was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to stand or sit. The footsteps stopped halfway through, and her heart seemed to settle down as well.

After waiting for a while, she felt her heart couldn't be contained any longer. The footsteps started again, heading straight into her room. Yunling was secretly pleased, but she didn't know where this strange feeling came from. She bit her lower lip and waited silently.

"Lingniang, are you resting?"

"What is it?" Yunling realized that her tone was a little excited and excited, so she quickly stopped herself. She lowered her voice and said, "I'm sleepy and I'm about to rest."

"Okay, I'll come again tomorrow."

Yunling snorted at him.

"I will not fall for your tricks twice."

After saying that, she crossed her arms and lay back down on the recliner with a hint of resentment. She should have just said what was wrong; he always coaxed her, but now she was throwing a tantrum.

Lu Yinghuai, who was outside, first heard the man snort at him, then heard the recliner creak, as if it were carrying anger. He couldn't help but chuckle, and quickly knocked on the door, saying with a slightly aggrieved tone:

"Lingniang, my stomach is a little upset."

Yunling immediately sat up, thinking of going out, but then quickly stopped, gripping the armrests tightly with both hands, and asked:

"You've been out all day, haven't you eaten anything?"

"We ate lunch, but we went to Zhouqiao before it got dark, and then..."

Go to Zhouqiao... Yunling remembered that on New Year's Eve, he broke into her room and overheard Pei Lin talking to her outside. Could it be that he had been remembering this all along and had been waiting at Zhouqiao just to wait for her?

"What a fool, what a complete fool."

Yunling muttered something softly, then stood up and opened the door. She saw Lu Yinghuai leaning unsteadily to the side, and couldn't help but call him "big idiot" again.

"Tang Ling made lactose dumplings today, and there are some left. Would you like some?"

"Eat, of course I'll eat."

Yunling headed straight for the kitchen. Halfway there, she turned around and saw Lu Yinghuai still walking slowly. She sighed, but couldn't bear to watch, so she turned back, grabbed his hand, and pulled him away.

Lu Yinghuai seized the opportunity, took Yunling's hand in return, and intertwined their fingers. The road to the kitchen was not long, but he was satisfied. Even without eating the lactose dumplings, he was already full.

After eating the milk sugar dumplings, the snow showed no signs of stopping. Lu Yinghuai washed the bowl, his hands were a little cold, making it difficult to take Yunling's hand. But unwilling to part with her like this, he grabbed a snowflake and said:

"Lingniang, let's build a snow lion."

"I won't."

“I don’t know how either, but…” Lu Yinghuai said, grabbing a handful of snow and gently throwing it at Yunling, “I can have a snowball fight.”

Caught off guard, Yunling was hit by him for no reason. Furious, she grabbed a handful of snow and chased after him, throwing it at him.

Having heard the rustling in the yard early on, Tang Ling, Gangzi, and Zifu secretly gathered together. Three heads peeked out from the window, and six eyes followed the two figures in the yard, looking left and right.

Gangzi was initially dissatisfied and spoke up:

"I don't know what our boss saw in him. He's only slightly better looking than me, his family background is alright, but his character is... not good at all. I'm afraid he's full of bad ideas."

“My husband is quite famous in Bianjing. There are many young ladies in the capital who admire him. It is your good fortune that he has taken a liking to you. You are still criticizing my husband. You really don’t know what’s good for you.”

"Hey, I'm saying..."

"What do you mean by that?" Tang Ling interrupted Gangzi and directly retorted to Zifu, "What's wrong with my lady? If it weren't for your husband's persistent pursuit and his occasional feigned grievances and shamelessness, my lady might not have even fallen for him."

"That's right, that's right. My eldest daughter has looks, figure, and money. Let alone marrying into a small Lu family, she could marry into a family with a higher status."

Zi Fu was unhappy that they were outnumbered two to one, and even more unhappy that they were casually discussing Lu Yinghuai, so he said bluntly:

"Even if your eldest daughter is a thousand times better, she still comes from a village. Being a farmer is one thing, but now she's a merchant, so her status is even lower. Do you think those wealthy and powerful families are blind? Marrying a merchant's daughter might ruin your future."

话语刚落，刚子就赏了他一拳，随即压着他狂揍，唐灵知晓他这话说的不差，所以她也在担心裴家，可今日见是陆应淮带云苓回来，又见两人亲昵，便知云苓钟情的是陆应淮。

With this in mind, everything becomes much easier. Since Yunling is destined to become a member of the Lu family, she is Zifu's mistress. How can a servant speak ill of their mistress? Logically, she should be slapped.

Therefore, Tang Ling also helped Gangzi beat Zi Fu, determined to teach him a lesson so that he wouldn't speak recklessly and upset Yun Ling.

Zi Fu was truly wronged. He was merely telling the truth, so why were these people so unwilling to listen to the truth? Moreover, two of them ganged up on him, bullying the few with the many. This was unfair. He thought he would have to talk to Lu Yinghuai sooner or later and invite another person to come, so that he wouldn't be at a disadvantage when fighting these two barbarians in the future.

When Lu Yinghuai saw the injury on Zifu's face and learned the reason for the incident, he wished he could fire him. He would never hire anyone else to cheer him on.

Yunling slipped away from Pei Lin's world in this way, so how could he repeat the same mistake and push her away again? Naturally, he wasn't in a good mood when dealing with Zifu.

"If you continue to speak so impulsively, you can forget about staying here. I can't tolerate someone as important as you. Lingniang is my life. If she leaves, I'll lose my life too. You'd better think it over carefully."

Zi Fu gained no advantage whatsoever, and felt the pain in his face intensify. Lu Yinghuai was the best master he had ever met; he didn't treat him like a real servant, and always shared half of the good food with him when they dined out. He couldn't live without him, so he had no choice but to adopt a more respectful attitude.

"I understand, please don't be angry, I won't do it again."

Lu Yinghuai knew that this person was honest and cared for him, always trying to win him over, and that he had a good heart, so he didn't say anything more.

After the Lantern Festival, the festive atmosphere in the capital gradually faded. Pei Lin did not return, and everyone sensibly refrained from mentioning the matter.