Chapter 84 Lin Qiao Arranges a Marriage for Her Brother

The moonlight was as clear as water.

Lin Shiyuan looked at Yao Qingling again.

When he was in the South, the rules for women there were very strict. Even if a woman got divorced, her family would consider it a disgrace.

Today, all the women of the Yao family went out to welcome the old lady, but Yao Qingling was nowhere to be seen. Lin Shiyuan assumed that the Yao family had punished her.

But her complexion was rosy and her eyes were bright, showing no signs of injury.

Her face, and her whole being, exuded a quiet elegance in the moonlight, and possessed a calm and refined temperament, making her impossible to regard as an ordinary beautiful woman.

She was not a weak woman who could be manipulated at will.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the man, inhaling her faint fragrance, felt his heart flutter.

He coughed lightly and casually said, "I don't own a house in the capital. Without the Emperor's permission, I cannot leave the capital. Lin Qiao said that Madam Yao is familiar with the capital. Could she help me choose a temporary residence?"

"Huh?" Yao Qingling opened her mouth, not expecting that this was the real reason he had come to see her.

Qingling thought that there are many house buyers in Beijing, so as long as you find a legitimate one and don't get scammed, it's fine.

However, since Lin Shiyuan helped her find Zhou Zhining's hiding place, she couldn't push the matter away.

He nodded: "Okay."

She readily agreed.

Lin Shiyuan assumed she was straightforward and smiled slightly: "Then I'll leave it to you."

It was not early, and Qingling was dressed lightly. After the conversation, she returned to her residence.

This time, Lin Shiyuan stood with his hands behind his back, watching her retreating figure until she entered the door, at which point he turned his gaze away.

Lin Qiao walked over and said, "Brother, your subordinates have houses in the capital for you to live in, and they don't charge you any money. Why waste your money? Housing prices in the capital are very expensive."

Lin Shiyuan glanced at her and said in a serious tone, "It's fine for me to stay with my subordinates for a few days, but if I stay for too long, people will say that I'm taking over their property."

If your superiors live in your own house and don't leave after a long time, who wouldn't be worried?

Lin Qiao didn't understand adult matters, but she said, "Brother, you're no longer a general. Anyone who gives you a house to curry favor with you is just pitying you."

Lin Shiyuan: "..."

He felt that Lin Qiao had been somewhat neglected in the absence of him.

Lin Qiao, unaware that she had precisely stepped on her brother's toes, continued, "Brother, you don't need to lead troops into battle, and the Emperor doesn't have any other duties for you. Now that you have some free time, you can find a sister-in-law."

“Brother, you’re already twenty-five. In the capital, young masters and nobles of this age usually have several concubines and children running all over the place…”

The little girl, acting like a little adult, has begun to worry about her brother's lifelong happiness.

There was nothing they could do; they were each other's only family.

During the days when her brother was imprisoned, Lin Qiao was very worried; no one discussed with her how to save him, and she was afraid that her brother would be beheaded. What should she do in the future?

Lin Shiyuan ignored her and strode forward, letting Lin Qiao ramble on.

Suddenly, Lin Qiao jogged up and shouted, "I understand!"

Lin Shiyuan, whose mind was wandering to all sorts of random thoughts, was startled by her: "What do you know?"

“I know why you bought a house in the capital.” Lin Qiao ran up to him, looked up at him, and walked backward with her hands behind her back. “When you were in prison, you were worried that the Emperor would behead you. Did you regret not leaving an heir for the Lin family? Were you worried about leaving me all alone in this world?”

"The girls in the capital are all worldly-wise. You're no longer a general, but if you have a house to settle down in, you can still find a nice woman."

"Miss knows many good girls. Once you have property in the capital, I'll ask her to introduce you to a girl, okay?"

Lin Shiyuan's mind conjured up the image of Yao Qingling, elegant and dignified. She possessed a calm demeanor, was bold yet meticulous, courageous and resourceful—a suitable woman to be the matriarch of the household… It was a pity that some people were blind to her…

No, wait, why is he thinking about these things?

Before Lin Shiyuan could even clear that image from her mind, Lin Qiao said, "We don't need to be picky... Sister Taoye loves money, but she's actually a very good person, and she's Miss's trusted maid..."

Lin Shiyuan, unable to bear it any longer, flicked her forehead with his finger: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Lin Qiao clutched her forehead and cried out in pain. "That's ruthless! They're beating me up like a common soldier!"

Lin Qiao glared at him reproachfully, then, feeling a surge of retaliation, she blurted out, "Brother, don't be so arrogant. Do you have a lot of money? How will you support your family after you marry your sister-in-law?"

"Miss hired me as a guard, and I earn twenty taels of silver a month. It's no problem to support you, but I wouldn't be happy to support your whole family!"

Lin Shiyuan was taken aback, looking at the little girl's smug expression, he was both amused and exasperated.

The next day, Lin Shiyuan waited at the side gate on time.

Yao Qingling got up early and first went to Cangbo Courtyard to pay her respects to the old lady. After having breakfast with her, she left the mansion.

Upon seeing Lin Shiyuan, he smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"It's alright." Lin Shiyuan was dressed in a simple blue cloth outfit; although the fabric was not expensive and there was no gold or silver embroidery, the heroic temperament he had developed from years of military service was not something everyone possessed.

Especially in this bustling capital, where the air is thick with the decadent atmosphere fostered by extravagance and debauchery, his refined and heroic spirit makes him all the more special.

Yao Qingling had only seen him at night before, or when he was sitting in a prison cart. Today, under the bright sunlight, it seemed like she was finally seeing him clearly.

She couldn't help but take another look.

It's not the kind of looking a woman gives to a man, but the kind of appreciation one has for beautiful things and scenery.

Lin Shiyuan had mostly interacted with men in the past, but he had also met women, including many beautiful women, noblewomen, and even women from Ying Kingdom who dressed charmingly and were specifically there to seduce men.

He also knew what he looked like, so when he went to the battlefield, he would wear a mask resembling the Black and White Impermanence.

Being good-looking isn't a good thing for a man; he resents the way others look at his appearance.

At this moment, however, he did not reject the look in Yao Qingling's eyes.

It was clean, without any frivolity, disdain, or provocation.

Yao Qingling's outfit today was also simple, but she wore a cone-shaped hat.

—After all, she is a woman, and a divorced one at that. Appropriate concealment can save her a lot of trouble.

Yao Qingling boarded the carriage, and Lin Shiyuan accompanied her from outside.

Walking like this was quite boring. Yao Qingling glanced at the man outside the carriage. After walking for a while, he was slightly sweating, but his breathing was steady and he wasn't out of breath at all.

"Lin Shiyuan," she called to him.

The soft, gentle female voice was like a finger lightly strumming a zither string. Lin Shiyuan's heart skipped a beat. He turned to look at her, and Yao Qingling said, "Have you been to the capital before?"

Ling Shiyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, looked into the distance, and shook his head: "No."

He was from Qinghe. After joining the army, he fought continuously until he became a commander of a thousand men, after which he settled down in the southern border region. After winning a few more tough battles, he became the General Who Guards the South.

The emperor's edict went directly to the southern border.

At that time, the southern border was unstable, and the name of the butcher was known far and wide. The emperor did not summon him to the capital, but ordered him to guard the south.

Lin Shiyuan himself never expected that his first trip to the capital would not be on a tall horse through the city gates, but in a prison cart.

When Yao Qingling heard him say "no," she thought of the image of him sitting in the prison cart in the bustling city.

She fell silent for a moment.

This is a poorly chosen topic.

She thought for a moment, then asked, "What kind of house do you want? A single-courtyard house? A two-courtyard house? Or a three-courtyard house? How much money have you prepared?"