Chapter 82 Scaring Away the Matchmaker But the more Aunt Zhao listened, the paler her face became: ...

Looking at Lin Zhichu, whose face was pale and pitiful, Luo Qinzhi felt a mix of emotions: "Miss Lin, it is indeed not safe for you to be here alone."

"Fortunately, Sister Yu Jiao is still here. Now that the blacksmith Wang has been discovered, he certainly won't dare to come again."

"But how you plan to live your life from now on is something you'll have to think about carefully yourself."

These words were spoken in a tactful way, but Lin Zhi understood them perfectly. Even a teenager could see that if he wanted to live a good life in Pingyi, he needed to have the skills to make a living.

If we rely solely on Sister Yujiao and Cousin, I'm afraid they won't be able to take care of us in time.

Lin Zhi lowered his eyes and nodded: "Thank you very much, Brother Qin. You should go back and rest early too."

Seeing the bruises on Feng Yujiao's hands, Lin Zhi applied ointment to her by candlelight.

"Although the injury is not serious, if you want to recover quickly, you should not lift anything strenuously for the next couple of days."

Feng Yujiao stared intently at Lin Zhi's profile, then suddenly asked, "Sister, are you really willing to stay in Pingyi?"

"Although I have read many books, I can still see that you are not a woman like us who are used to being careless."

"Your hands are so delicate and smooth; they're obviously the hands that hold embroidery needles."

As she spoke, Feng Yujiao reached out and grasped Lin Zhi's hand, but then noticed the gruesome scars on her fingers. "This..."

Lin Zhi smiled and didn't try to hide: "Sister, you're overthinking it. I'm just an ordinary woman. Now that I've come here to stay with my cousin, I have a place to stay that shelters me from the wind and rain, and a good sister like you. I'm more than satisfied."

"As for today's events, I've made some plans. Once my cousin returns, perhaps we won't have to worry anymore."

Feng Yujiao frowned slightly, but she felt that Lin Zhi was thinking too simply. How could Wang the blacksmith, who had been a bachelor for so many years, be willing to let go of such a heavenly beauty now that he had his eye on her?

She just hoped that Pei Mingli could come back soon so that he could protect her.

Early the next morning, Aunt Zhao was invited to Lin Zhi's house. Feng Yujiao went there in person, but Aunt Zhao hesitated until she arrived at Lin Zhi's door.

"Yu Jiao, your aunt thought you were the one who wanted to find a partner. How come this is someone from this family?"

"My aunt came by a few days ago but was turned away, so maybe we should just forget about it..."

Aunt Zhao refused to take another step forward, but Feng Yujiao wouldn't let go either: "Auntie, what are you saying? This Lin family girl is so beautiful, why worry about not finding a good husband? You won't be shortchanged on the money then!"

When the topic of money came up, Aunt Zhao hesitated again. "Can you really make that decision for her? Even someone like Wang the blacksmith doesn't want her. Why should I bother trying to win her over?"

Feng Yujiao also lost her patience. "Auntie, if you're afraid of this and that, then I won't come to you anymore. I'll go find Aunt Deng instead!"

Sure enough, as soon as Feng Yujiao let go of her hand and turned around, she was immediately stopped by someone.

The two matchmakers, Aunt Zhao and Aunt Deng, already disliked each other. Now that they had such a good opportunity, why would they give it up to their rivals?

After thinking it over, Aunt Zhao gritted her teeth and agreed, "Alright, I'll go!"

"A little brat like you, you think you can eat me up?!"

That being said, Aunt Zhao still felt a little guilty when she met Lin Zhi.

After all, she was the one who started what happened last night. Although the blacksmith Wang failed, she was still afraid that Lin Zhi would find out that it was her idea.

"Miss Lin...didn't you say you didn't want to meet her before? Why have you changed your mind today?"

Lin Zhi reached out and poured a bowl of tea for the person, then smiled gently: "It's all because a thief broke into the yard last night. I was so scared that I couldn't sleep well for half the night, just thinking about what Auntie said."

"Auntie, please don't blame me for being young and ignorant. I really didn't know it was so dangerous back then. I thought there had to be a man in the house."

Aunt Zhao, whose back was still somewhat hunched, straightened up after hearing this: "Hey! That's right, how can a house be called a home if there isn't a man in it?"

"If you, a little woman, do everything, you'll scare people away."

Lin Zhi nodded very seriously: "Auntie, you're right. But I'm in a hurry right now. I'm really eager to get married."

"That blacksmith Wang from yesterday, when will he get engaged?"

Aunt Zhao smiled so much that her eyes almost disappeared when she thought of the silver that Wang the blacksmith had taken out: "Quick! He's so quick, he prepared the wedding clothes and quilts in just half a month and got married!"

Before Aunt Zhao could continue to be happy, Lin Zhi frowned unhappily: "Half a month? That's too long!"

"Long?" Aunt Zhao wondered if she had misspoke or misheard.

"Miss Lin, these past two weeks have been incredibly hectic. What's the rush? Is something urgent?"

Lin Zhi paused for a moment, then shook her head with a forced smile: "No... I just thought that things might change if we waited too long, so getting married sooner would put my mind at ease... cough cough cough!"

Lin Zhi's acting was so bad that even Aunt Zhao could tell something was wrong at a glance.

Seeing her cough violently, he couldn't help but wonder, "Miss Lin, are you... sick?"

Lin Zhi covered her mouth with a handkerchief but quickly waved her hand, saying, "No, no, it's just a slight cold, I'm already taking medicine."

“Aunt Zhao, since that’s the case, I agree. You should go and discuss the marriage with Blacksmith Wang as soon as possible. I won’t see you off.”

As if her backside was on fire, Aunt Zhao was in a great hurry to get rid of the person. Standing outside the door, she looked at the closed door in front of her and wondered if she had seen wrong. "That handkerchief... was it blood from coughing up?"

Lin Zhi's movements were somewhat hurried, and even though she was gripping the handkerchief tightly in her hand, a small spot of bright red blood was still visible.

Could it be tuberculosis...?

The moment the thought crossed Aunt Zhao's mind, she shuddered. If that were true, it would explain why Miss Lin was in such a hurry.

But she was also afraid that she had misjudged the situation and let that pile of silver go.

"Aunt Zhao, have you two finished your discussion?"

Seeing that she seemed a little absent-minded, Feng Yujiao waved her hand in front of her eyes: "Since we've reached an agreement, I'll see you out."

"Yu Jiao, has Miss Lin always been so frail? Is she ill?"

"No, no? Of course not! Oh, you should go now!"

If they had only some doubts before, now that they saw Feng Yujiao's expression, they believed it even more!

Looking at the door that had been hastily closed, leaving only a small crack, Aunt Zhao's heart pounded like a drum. Thinking that she had drunk a bowl of tea when Aunt Zhao coughed, she felt her throat was also a little itchy.

Feeling uneasy, he quickly and cautiously pushed open the door and crouched by the window to eavesdrop.

The coughing sounds inside continued.

“Sister Yujiao, please stay away from me. I don’t want you to get this disease too.”

"Feiyi, how can you still think about getting married when you're in this state?"

"Cough cough cough! In my current state, I can barely afford medicine, so naturally I need to find a husband to pay for it for me, cough cough cough!"

"I've thought it through. I'll go with that blacksmith Wang. He asked Aunt Zhao to marry me early on, which means he's sincere about wanting to marry me. I won't be picky anymore. As long as he has money to treat my illness, that's fine!"

But the more Aunt Zhao listened, the paler her face became: It's over, this woman is a sickly woman who spends money like water!