Jiang Chuting's heart leaped into his throat. There was nothing between him and Ling Guang that could be hidden, but the problem was that Lin Zhi was being unreasonable and wouldn't listen to him. If Ling Guang were really caught by him, things would only get more and more chaotic.
Just as Jiang Chuting took a step in that direction, she saw Lin Zhi staring at the tray in their hands and asking, "What are these?"
Ling Guang remained relatively calm and answered politely, "These are some things that Young Master Yun used to wear. I was ordered by Madam to clean them and then preserve them."
“…My father’s?” Lin Zhi almost immediately raised his eyes to look at Jiang Chuting, who was standing on the other side.
Jiang Chuting kept his eyes down, his expression completely calm.
Lin Zhi gave a silent snort, his fingers lingering on the old clothes for a moment without touching them. He glanced at Ling Guang, then put his hands behind his back and said, "You guys go."
His father's things were always personally looked after and organized by his mother, and she rarely let the servants do them, for fear that they would be damaged or dirty. However, it's likely that she hasn't been feeling well lately, which is why they've been handled by someone else.
The group turned to leave.
Jiang Chuting deliberately avoided looking at those things, keeping her eyes lowered.
Just as he brushed past Ling Guang, Jiang Chuting suddenly felt a strange surge around him, and a sharp buzzing sound rang in his head, as if hundreds of words were intertwined and overlapping at the same time, sad, sighing, angry... making him dizzy and unsteady. Fortunately, someone caught him in time.
Jiang Chuting composed herself, straightened up, and said, "Thank you."
Ling Guang, who had been supporting him, quickly released his hand, nodded slightly, and left without saying a word.
Lin Zhi had already walked ahead and didn't see this scene. When he turned around, he saw Jiang Chuting standing silently in place.
His appearance annoyed Lin Zhi, who was about to pick a fight with him, but Jiang Chuting didn't pay any attention to him and turned to walk towards his residence.
Lin Zhi was stunned for a moment before she reacted, and anger flashed in her eyes.
Zhao Chengyang suddenly appeared from somewhere, stood behind Lin Zhi, glanced at Jiang Chuting's departing figure, then looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "Why do you have that expression?"
Lin Zhi's face turned ugly as he asked, "What expression am I making?"
Zhao Chengyang truthfully said, "Although I have never been to the palace, the abandoned concubines in the cold palace are probably just like you, full of resentment."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Zhi's fist came flying down. Luckily, Zhao Chengyang was experienced and quickly darted behind a pillar to hide, escaping this ordeal.
"Did I say something wrong?" Zhao Chengyang poked his head out and asked him, "Hey, I think your mother's meaning is quite clear now. Why are you still getting so close to that Miss Li? You don't really want to marry her, do you?"
Lin Zhi remained silent for a moment before saying, "It's not impossible."
Zhao Chengyang had only asked a question, but his answer made his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets in disbelief: "Don't tell me you're serious?"
Lin Zhi nodded, not at all like he was joking: "Of course I'm serious."
"You..." Zhao Chengyang stammered, not knowing what to say, and muttered, "Lin Zhi, you're just asking for trouble."
Lin Zhi ignored him and walked away. Zhao Chengyang called out to his retreating figure, "Where are you going?"
Lin Zhi replied without turning his head, "Find Ruoshuang."
Zhao Chengyang stood there for a long time, then suddenly raised his hand and slapped his face. Was Lin Zhi driven mad by excessive jealousy? Otherwise, why would he say such things?
The first thing Jiang Chuting did after returning to her room was to take out the small cloth bag from her arms, inside which were the two broken hairpins.
Jiang Chuting carried it with him at all times, hoping to find another clue.
Just now, as Ling Guang passed by him with Zi Que's belongings, the things in his arms suddenly felt hot, and his mind was filled with the chaotic sound of Zi Que's voice. After the confusion, a sentence suddenly came out, intermittently, seemingly mixed with a plea and urgency, guiding him in the dark—Qilan Pavilion, go to Qilan Pavilion.
Jiang Chuting recalled that she seemed to have seen this place before when she was wandering around the Lin residence.
Why was he told to go to Qilan Pavilion? Could it be related to Zique's death? Could the evidence he found back then be hidden there?
Jiang Chuting held the broken hairpin in her hand and pondered for a long time, but did not receive any new clues.
Regardless, this hairpin does have its peculiarities; it certainly didn't point to this place for no reason. Now that he knows about it, he'll definitely go and investigate.
As dusk fell, Jiang Chuting stood in the courtyard, tilting her head slightly upwards, gazing at the dark blue night sky.
Having been away for so long, I should write a letter to my senior brothers so they won't worry. And judging by the time, Xiao Jiu should be here soon too…
Just then, the person delivering hot water arrived. Jiang Chuting hadn't paid any attention at first, but after the person carrying the water passed by, he suddenly realized something, turned around to check, and looked slightly surprised.
Ling Guang?
This kid is incredibly brave; he actually came running here at this crucial moment.
Jiang Chuting stood still for a moment, then turned and went back into the house, sitting down at the table. Behind the screen, the others poured hot water into the bathtub and then exited one by one.
After they left, Jiang Chuting got up and went behind the screen. She found a crumpled piece of paper on the ground. Without a doubt, it must have been left by Ling Guang. She picked it up and opened it.
The note reads: "I've already been checked, don't worry, I'm fine. I'll be working in the East Courtyard garden for the next two weeks, so please remember to come find me if you need anything."
He returned to the table, brought the crumpled paper close to the candle and burned it. The flames flickered twice, and it quickly turned to ashes.
It was good that he was alright; Jiang Chuting didn't plan to look for him again. Lin Xi hadn't shown her face once during her stay at the Lin residence, nor had she made any moves, but given her temperament, she was probably about to lose her temper. Ling Guang was, after all, a member of the Lin family, and Jiang Chuting didn't want to involve him further, lest it bring him any future trouble.
What he needs to do now is to go to Qilan Pavilion as soon as possible to find out what's going on before Lin Xi has acted out and while he can still stay in the Lin residence.
After meditating for half an hour, Jiang Chuting slowly opened his eyes, a faint ripple in them. Like sand in an hourglass, his internal energy had now dwindled to less than 20%.
If Lin Xi sends people to attack him again now, he probably won't be as lucky as last time.
But he couldn't leave; if he did, his relationship with Lin Zhi would be over.
Unable to restrain himself, Jiang Chuting went to Lin Zhi's residence again under the cover of night, hoping to have a proper talk with him, but he happened to see Lin Zhi seeing Li Ruoshuang off.
Jiang Chuting dodged to the corner of the wall and vaguely heard Lin Zhi's voice: "Be careful on the road. Think it over carefully when you get back. We can discuss the rest in detail tomorrow."
Li Ruoshuang responded softly.
Lin Zhi then said, "Never mind, since I've kept you up so late, I'll take you home myself."
As the group's footsteps faded into the distance, Jiang Chuting didn't linger any longer and turned to leave.
The next day, he went out to confirm the exact location of Qilan Pavilion. Since he knew the general direction, it didn't take him much time. He didn't stop and just passed by as if nothing had happened.
This is a three-story pavilion located on the south side, in a rather remote location. There was no sound of people inside, nor any guards, and it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.
On the way back, we passed a pavilion draped in light gauze curtains, where a young man and woman were enjoying tea and chatting happily, a beautiful and harmonious scene.
Jiang Chuting paused only slightly before coldly withdrawing his gaze, ignoring the incident, and continued walking.
They had already walked about a hundred steps when someone started chasing after them.
"Young master, please wait a moment." A soft, panting female voice sounded from behind.
It's Li Ruoshuang.
Jiang Chuting turned back. Li Ruoshuang, her face flushed from running, looked at him, twisting her handkerchief in her hand, and whispered, "Young master, since you are Lin Zhi's friend, why don't you go and have a cup of tea with me?"
Jiang Chuting glanced past her at Lin Zhi, who was sitting in the pavilion, idly swirling his teacup and admiring the scenery, and then asked Li Ruoshuang, "Did Lin Zhi tell you that he and I are friends?"
For some reason, Li Ruoshuang's eyes flickered with panic before she said, "Yes, you're friends. Aren't you?"
Jiang Chuting's dark eyes were clear as she calmly replied, "That's not true."
Li Ruoshuang pursed her lips and suddenly fell silent, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Jiang Chuting cupped his hands in a salute and said, "I would be honored to go with you."
They arrived at the pavilion one after the other. Li Ruoshuang sat to Lin Zhi's right, while Jiang Chuting calmly lifted her hem and sat to Lin Zhi's left.
They weren't sitting very close together, but the moment he sat down, it was as if a strange wind had blown up, and Lin Zhi felt a bone-chilling tingling itch spreading across the left side of his body.
Lin Zhi tried hard to avoid looking at him, only glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and said stiffly, "What are you doing here?"
A maid poured tea for Jiang Chuting, the aroma filling the air. Jiang Chuting glanced at him sideways and said calmly, "As a friend, I've come to have a cup of tea with you. I won't stay long, I'll just sit for a bit and then leave."
Lin Zhi felt a lump in her throat and glared at him, saying, "Who's your friend? I don't have a friend like you."
Jiang Chuting said, "Oh? If that's the case, then let me pretend to be this young lady's friend, and I'll just say a few words to her."
Jiang Chuting had a gentle demeanor and a warm tone, but for some reason, Li Ruoshuang felt extremely tense in his presence. She blinked twice and asked, "What...what do you want to say to me?"
Jiang Chuting asked, "If I may ask, how long have you known Lin Zhi?"
Li Ruoshuang glanced at Lin Zhi, whose face was cold and stern, and replied, "I've known him since I was a child, and I often come to stay at the Lin residence."
"Childhood sweethearts," Jiang Chuting nodded. Lin Zhi said coldly, "Why are you asking these questions?"
Jiang Chuting seemed not to hear and continued, "So you've known each other since childhood. This friendship is rare. Although I haven't known Lin Zhi for long, I've known him for a long time and have some understanding of him. He's a bright and lovely child, and he's really likable. However... he's still young and his temperament is unstable. Once he gets impulsive and impatient, he doesn't care about anything."
Lin Zhi's face grew darker as he listened, while Li Ruoshuang's gaze darted between the two of them, and she simply continued to listen silently.
"He's probably still angry, and it seems he didn't listen to my advice before." Jiang Chuting smiled gently, like a spring breeze, and said slowly, "Then I can only remind you here, if Lin Zhi says anything nonsensical or acts strangely in front of you in the next few days, please don't blame him or believe him. Those are not his intentions."
After Jiang Chuting finished speaking, he picked up his teacup, took a small sip, stood up, and said, "I've had my tea, farewell."
Jiang Chuting stepped out of the pavilion, and soon footsteps followed closely behind. This time it wasn't Li Ruoshuang, but Lin Zhi.
Jiang Chuting walked very fast, and Lin Zhi chased after him, questioning, "What do you mean? Are you saying I'm talking nonsense and behaving abnormally? Are you doing this on purpose? You're allowed to have feelings for other people, but I'm not allowed to have contact with other girls?"
Jiang Chuting said, "I'm not saying you're forbidden from contacting her, I'm just telling you not to contact her with ulterior motives. How innocent she is!"
Lin Zhi scoffed, "I said you have someone else on your mind, but you only care about the later issues and don't even deny it. You really are deeply in love."
Jiang Chuting had nothing to say.
Lin said, "Besides, what makes you think I approached her with ulterior motives? She's beautiful and gentle. Is it wrong for me to like her? Or is it a case of 'the magistrate is allowed to set fires while the common people are forbidden even to light lamps'?"
Jiang Chuting suddenly stopped, glanced at the arrogant young man beside her, paused, and said, "That's just sophistry."
Jiang Chuting walked faster and faster. Lin Zhi was very unhappy. She grabbed his sleeve to stop him from leaving and said angrily, "I'm being unreasonable? Yes, I can't argue with you as much. You despicable liar, yet you turn around and lecture me and scold me. How righteous and stern you are. It's truly admirable. Anyone who doesn't know better would think that I have done something heinous to you."
"Lin Zhi, seventeen years have passed since what happened between me and your father. The person I love now is you. Why are you so fixated on my past?"
"Seventeen years? In the past? Have you gone through it all?"
"You completely believe others, but you won't believe a single word I say. Is my feeling for you really so ephemeral?"
"Your feelings for me are just this: you still keep that broken hairpin he gave you and refuse to throw it away! Am I fucking stupid enough to believe you?!"
As the two were arguing and pulling at each other, they had unknowingly passed through several corridors and walked a long way. Seeing that they had returned to the topic of the hairpin misunderstanding, Jiang Chuting stopped and stopped there. He pulled out his sleeve, and there was a faint look of weariness in his eyes. "Since you brought Miss Li out, don't leave her alone like this. Find someone to send her back."
Lin Zhi looked at him with interest: "As soon as you mentioned hairpins, you started talking to me about Miss Li? Didn't you just scold me and tell me not to have any contact with her? Now you're feeling guilty and don't know how to argue, so you're telling me to go and deliver it to her?"
Jiang Chuting swallowed hard and asked, "Lin Zhi, are you planning to spend the rest of your life wasting your time on this issue?"
It's the calm before the storm. Lin Xi doesn't know what trick she'll pull in the end. Jiang Chuting has a feeling that if things continue like this, his days with Lin Zhi are numbered.
Lin Zhi stared intently at his face and blurted out, "It's because you insisted on wasting my time! If it were Chu Ran, he definitely wouldn't have done this to me!"
Upon hearing this, both of them fell silent.
After a long pause, Jiang Chuting turned slightly to look at the lotus pond in the distance and said, "No matter what you think, Chu Ran is me, and I am Chu Ran. Stop deceiving yourself on this issue."
Lin Zhi's chest heaved, and she didn't refute him with the same intense emotions as before. Instead, she stared at his pale profile, and the burning flames in her heart suddenly subsided a little.
She reached out and turned Jiang Chuting's face to face her, making him look at her.
Lin Zhi stared intently into his eyes, as if trying to probe his true thoughts.
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about that now. Now, I want to ask you a question." Lin Zhi's eyes were slightly red as she stared intently at his reaction, her voice strained as she said, "If I gave you a chance to go back to the past, and my father wouldn't have died, would you choose my father, or would you choose to wait for me to grow up?"
“I…” Jiang Chuting’s eyes widened slightly, and she was speechless for a moment.
In Jiang Chuting's heart, Zi Que is his past, and Lin Zhi is his present; both are undeniably important figures.
He had never considered such a choice between two options. Caught off guard, he was forced to make this assumption. Even though he knew he should choose Lin Zhi in this situation, the words stuck in his throat.
In that brief moment of hesitation, Lin Zhi had already released him, tilting her head slightly to look at him, her eyes clouded with gloom.
Jiang Chuting felt a void in her heart. She took a step forward, about to call his name, but he took three steps back and raised his hand, indicating that there was no need to say anything more.
Lin Zhi smiled wryly, "Fine, very well. You lie to me when you shouldn't, but when you should, you can't help but lie to me against your conscience." Then she said nothing more, stopped looking at him, and turned to walk away.
"Lin Zhi!" Jiang Chuting tried to grab him, but missed. A sharp pain shot through his abdomen, and he lost his strength. He leaned against the railing of the corridor and watched helplessly as Lin Zhi walked away.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he turned his gaze away.
Over at the lotus pond, Lin Xi, dressed in a gorgeous dress, passed by surrounded by servants, but her eyes were fixed on him.
Their gazes met from afar, seemingly intertwined with icy blades that could kill without drawing blood.
Jiang Chuting straightened up, her face expressionless.
Before long, Lin Xi's figure disappeared from sight.
Jiang Chuting didn't know how she finally got back to her room. She was listless and spent the rest of the night meditating.
After taking a bath, changing the dressing on her wound, and getting dressed, Jiang Chuting waited in the dark room until late at night. Then, she stood up, opened the window, and silently leaped out, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Avoiding the patrolling servants and guards, Jiang Chuting quickly arrived at Qilan Pavilion. She climbed over the wall, ascended the steps, and under the moonlight, gently pushed the door open. With a creak, the door opened.
The hairpin in her bosom emitted another burst of heat. Jiang Chuting paused, then firmly pushed open the door and stepped inside.
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