Chapter 3 The Shadow of the Second-Generation Official
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The teacher, helped out of the school by his page, immediately frowned as he approached Lin Xihe.
"Teacher, I'm so sorry!" Lin Xihe apologized hastily, then took two quick steps and called out to the little kid dressed as a page, "Little brother, do you have a smartwatch? Can I borrow it to make a call?"
The pageboy remained expressionless; no one paid any attention to the madwoman.
Lin Xihe scratched her head and had no choice but to lower her tone: "Could I...please lend me a call for help?"
The pageboy dismissed it as rambling nonsense.
Lin Xihe watched helplessly as the two ancient-style NPCs disappeared at the end of the corridor.
This place is strange in every way! She suppressed her restlessness and turned around to see Wen Qi and Wen Ba carrying out a heavy-looking boy.
Lin Xihe was slightly taken aback, and her gaze met another unreadable gaze—it was Baozi, the great guy!
A surge of warmth welled up in her heart as she met an old friend in a foreign land.
The gazes of these "acquaintances" were devoid of warmth, filled only with blunt scrutiny, as if they were appraising an outsider.
Lin Xihe exclaimed in alarm, "He fainted? I didn't scare him!"
“Him?” Wen Zhixu lowered his eyelids, no longer avoiding the question, and looked the girl in front of him up and down.
"Huh?" Lin Xihe looked back defiantly. "Are you the child's parent? Doesn't seem like it!"
"Little kid? What is that?" Wen Zhixu's eyes held a hint of inquiry.
Lin Pinyan said she was the eldest daughter of the Lin family.
Rumors circulated that she was mentally challenged, but the "young lady" before him was clearly a completely different person from the rumors. Although she and Lin Pinyan were half-siblings, they were both of the Lin family bloodline. Even if the siblings were not on good terms, they would not react like this.
Wen Qi led the Lin family servants forward quickly: "Second Young Master, the carriage is ready."
"Let's escort Young Master Lin back to his residence." Wen Zhixu walked out, the little white tail following him closely.
"You have a car?" Lin Xihe pleaded urgently, "My benefactor Baozi, do you have a car? Could you give me a ride?" Take her away from this awful place!
The servant of the Lin family looked over in the direction of the sound and saw the already deceased eldest young lady behind the second young master of the Wen family!
The servant's hair stood on end, he closed his eyes and plunged his head into a nearby stone pillar.
Lin Xihe opened her mouth, but remained silent: I'm not a ghost.
One or two people said she was a ghost, but she ignored them. When everyone said she was a ghost… she panicked.
"Hey." She subconsciously tugged at the sleeve of the only familiar person in the room—the one who had given her the steamed bun.
Wen Zhixu was extremely tall, and his brows suddenly furrowed as his gaze fell on the abruptly placed hand.
The slender, slender fingers were dazzlingly white in the sunlight. The owner of the hand didn't loosen his grip; instead, he tugged at the cuff of the hand.
Their shadows intertwined on the ground for a moment.
Lin Xihe said softly, "Look, I have a shadow."
Wen Zhixu remained silent.
He still retained some impressions of Lin Xihe as a child: a chubby little girl, like a festive yet silent New Year's picture doll. Mrs. Lin once said that this child was quiet.
After the two families officially became related by marriage, Wen Zhixu never saw Lin Xihe again. The crabapple blossoms in the Lin family mansion bloomed several times, and the rumors about her being a mentally challenged child grew louder and louder. She was kept hidden away in her boudoir and never saw outsiders.
At that time, Wen Zhixu, who was still young, did not care at all. Marriage was just something his family would arrange.
After both mothers left the mansion, the grandfather became increasingly dissatisfied with the marriage and secretly planned to break it off.
Wen Zhixu is filial, and since his grandfather disapproves, he should comply. As for the Lin family's foolish daughter, it's better not to marry her.
Looking at the woman before him, his speech was incoherent and his actions were completely haphazard.
It turned out that Lin Xihe was not foolish at all; Wen Zhixu suddenly realized—
She's a complete madwoman.
"Young Miss!" Qingwu staggered past the unconscious servant and rushed to Lin Xihe's side. Disregarding etiquette, she placed her hands on Lin Xihe's shoulders and anxiously scanned her mistress's face.
"Are you injured?" Qingwu was frantic.
Lin Xihe is going crazy too.
Isn't that the sister who hanged herself? She fell pretty hard just now, and now she's come looking for me again. What's going on? Do these NPCs have a script?
“I’m hurt,” Lin Xihe could only continue, following Qingwu’s words, “If you shake me again, I’ll get a concussion.”
"Miss!" Qingwu stopped what she was doing.
"..." Lin Xihe glanced at the ancient costumes of the group, remained silent for a long while, and then asked, "Are you filming a reality show? Give me a day, and you'll give me a thousand years?"
A burning gaze was imprinted on Lin Xihe's face. Her eyes swept over and met Shang Wenzhi's eyes directly.
A thunderclap boomed in the sky, and two gazes clashed silently as they cut through the white light.
"What are you looking at?" Lin Xihe said unhappily. This was a strange place, full of weirdos in ancient costumes. It wasn't illegal for her to vent her emotions, was it? "If you look again, I'll gouge your eyes out."
"You." Wen Zhixu was speechless. The Lin family had some tricks up their sleeves! Not only did they give birth to a mentally challenged child, but they also raised him to become a madwoman. Mental ineptitude might be forgivable, but this kind of madness, this pretentious and deranged behavior, is truly despicable!
"A disease in the head is deep and difficult to cure!" Wen Zhixu said, turning away in a huff.
Classical Chinese was Lin Xihe's weakness. She paused for a second before realizing what she had said, then lifted her skirt and chased after him to the school gate: "You insulted me?! You...you—" you bastard.
Thump!
The long hem of her skirt tripped her, causing her to stumble. Ugh, what bad luck! She'd never worn such a cumbersome skirt in her past life!
Wen Zhixu turned around upon hearing the sound, only to see a white figure flash by and then collapse to the ground in a prostrate position. The figure was so perfectly round that even the pancake vendors of the West Market would be astonished.
"Miss!" Qingwu rushed to protect her mistress, and Wen Zhixu gave her an approving look. The young lady was stunned, but the maid was quick-witted; the two complemented each other perfectly.
Lin Xihe grimaced as she stood up. Wen Zhixu, seeing her rubbing her knees, sneered, "My surname is Wang?! Ha, truly foolish and stupid."
Wen Qi and Wen Ba exchanged a quick glance: Miss Lin is calling Young Master Wang Ba... right?
Lin Xihe almost died—from being pinned down by Qingwu. She managed to utter two "sisters" sounds, her vision blurred, and before she could even gasp, she was already lying on Qingwu's strong back.
While reviewing the script for the hanging scene, Lin Xihe noticed Qingwu's voluptuous figure, resembling a Tang Dynasty beauty. She then pinched Qingwu's shoulder and exclaimed, "Sister, which gym do you work out at? Your back muscles are amazing!"
Qingwu choked out, "Miss, please don't talk nonsense! You must have fallen. I'll go get a doctor right away!"
"..." Lin Xihe remained silent.
Something's not right about this place!
Qingwu moved swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, she had overtaken Wen Zhixu by one line.
The sudden rain stopped, and the setting sun tore through the thick clouds, painting the sky with orange hues. Shopkeepers set up their stalls again, and the sounds of hawking, calling out, and haggling filled the long street with the vibrant energy of everyday life.
Wen Qi was quite disappointed after failing to find Cuihuang: "Second Young Master, shall I go to the mountain to look for her tomorrow?"
Wen Zhixu remained silent, still staring ahead.
Lin Xihe, who was clinging to the maid, suddenly turned her head. Half of her fair face was bruised and swollen from the fall. Her eyes, however, were fixed and bright like a wildfire, showing no trace of the demeanor of a young lady from a noble family.
This person is difficult to describe and impossible to fathom.
Wen Qi muttered to himself: The Second Young Master is staring straight at Miss Lin without any attempt to hide his gaze. Is this... eye contact?
The newly arrived Wen Ba was eager to impress his master, so he darted to Wen Zhixu and squatted down in front of him: "Second Young Master, shall I carry you too?"
Wen Zhixu almost couldn't catch his breath.
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"Is this the infirmary?" Lin Xihe stared at the sandalwood plaque of Tinghe Pavilion, and that feeling of bewilderment swept over her again.
Qingwu assumed that the young lady had come back from the dead and was still not fully conscious, so she gently comforted her, "The doctor will be here soon."
Before long, a doctor dressed in a cross-collar robe came with a medicine box and deftly took out a small pulse pillow.
"Please allow me to take Miss Lin's pulse."
The doctor arrived, not wearing a white coat, not carrying a stethoscope, but using the most traditional methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation. There was no equipment to be found around, no hidden cameras; these people were definitely not extras.
Lin Xihe was startled!
She traveled through time.
I've transmigrated...
Following the doctor's prescription, Qingwu carefully mashed the medicinal herbs and gently applied them to the young lady's wound.
"Ning Chao?!" Lin Xihe suddenly stood up, forgetting that she was sitting in a rocking chair. Her body swayed, and everything went black before her eyes—Qingwu's hand trembled, and the medicinal mud in her hand went straight into Lin Xihe's eyes.
The maid was completely flustered, and Lin Xihe wiped her face a few times carelessly.
She knew nothing about history. Before she time-traveled, she did a variety of jobs, one of which was event planning. She had just finished curating the "Ning Dynasty is Not Serious" event!
This damned fate is really torturing her.
The Ning Dynasty was ruled by wise and virtuous ministers, and the court and the people were honest and upright. The people lived in peace and prosperity, and the world was rich and prosperous.
"Who do you think my father is?"
"The master is the current Imperial Censor."
Lin Xihe covered her mouth and chuckled, "My dad is so awesome!"
"..."
Before she transmigrated, she was surrounded by three gaping maws: her gambling-addicted father, her remarried mother, and her debt-collecting younger brother.
One day, he transmigrated, and his identity was completely overturned!
Lin Xihe, the daughter of an official, had her eyes light up; her life had been elevated at that moment!
Qingwu answered while wiping away tears. The young lady, once silent and withdrawn, was now so vibrant and radiant, despite her changed words and actions. How wonderful!
The door opened without warning.
Granny Wang helped Madam Min into the room, and their eyes fell on the rocking chair.
Qingwu silently blocked the rocking chair, adopting a completely protective stance.
Min was unconscious for more than an hour. Now, after drinking some calming medicine, she heard that her precious Lin Pinyan had been frightened unconscious by Lin Xihe.
She absolutely had to settle the score with Lin Xihe!
"You brat—"
The rocking chair suddenly stopped.
Behind Qingwu, a dark, ghostly face peeked out, calmly meeting Min's terrified gaze.
She grinned, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth: "...Mom?"
In the spirit of not wasting anything, Lin Xihe used the herbal ointment prescribed by the doctor to make a full-face mask.
With a black face and fangs, he looked just like the Black Impermanence, the messenger from the underworld who would claim lives.
"Ah...!" Madam Min was so frightened that her soul almost left her body. In an instant, the world spun around her, and her legs went weak.
Qingwu, fearing that the young lady might say something wrong, quickly said, "Miss, this is the second madam."
Seeing Min's aggressive demeanor, Lin Xihe retorted irritably, "Tch, stepmother, huh?"
Mrs. Min left in anger.
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The master and servant had so much to talk about.
Qingwu's talkative nature, which she had suppressed for more than ten years, was completely unleashed in front of Lin Xihe.
With over a hundred people in the Lin family mansion, Lin Xihe wished she could create a relationship diagram using PowerPoint.
Lin Xihe: "Oh, where's my mom?"
Qingwu babbling.
"Huh? My mom?!" Lin Xihe, who had lost her mother's love, jumped up in agitation, her half-eaten plum ball rolling to the ground. "How could this be!"
Qingwu quickly poured a glass of pear juice for the young lady: "Miss, please moisten your throat."
Qingwu continued, "Aba aba aba."
"Pfft—" The sauce she had just taken a sip of sprayed all over the small table, making Lin Xihe lose her appetite. "Wait? I'm betrothed to someone I've had since childhood?!"
A note from the author:
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①: Borrowing the promotional slogan of Hangzhou Songcheng Scenic Area.
The food and cold drinks mentioned in this chapter are referenced from: *Daily Life of Citizens in the Song Dynasty* by Yi Yongwen.
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