Chapter 207 The Emotional Master, the Gold and Silver Swindler
In the courtyard, Li Jin and Su Wanying faced each other.
The steam rising from the cup of hot tea gradually dissipated, turning into cool tea in Li Jin's silence.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at Su Wanying's face: "Miss Su, what would you like me to do?"
She nodded and smiled lightly: "Your Highness always has his own rules and plans for doing things, how dare I overstep them?"
Despite saying that, she still continued without hesitation, "This is a matter of life and death. I'm afraid to have such a non-human creature living in my Su family's courtyard."
When Su Wanying was in front of Li Jin, she always maintained a pure and innocent demeanor.
She leaned against the stone table, not looking at Li Jin, and poured herself a cup of tea.
After a long pause, Li Jin sneered, said nothing, and got up to walk out of the courtyard.
He turned his head to look at Jin Shu and Yun Fei, who were eavesdropping at the door, his expression solemn, and left only one word: "Go."
Then he strode forward, pulling Jin Shu along as they headed straight for the Grand Tutor's residence.
He originally intended to delay the case until after the Mid-Autumn Festival, giving the Grand Tutor time to consider it.
However, Su Wanying was really an eyesore. Li Jin didn't want to have anything to do with her whatsoever, let alone see her.
"Is Your Highness just going to leave your favorite thing like this?" Jin Shu raised an eyebrow, deliberately glancing at Li Jin's dark face, and grinned. "How about I go buy some more pastries and send them over later? To comfort him?"
Seeing her gloating expression, Li Jin pursed her lips and took a deep breath: "Sir, you're getting bolder and bolder, daring to pat a tiger on the back."
"Tch." Jin Shu sneered. "Just a couple of days ago, the tiger was teasing the rabbit with his 'favorite'! This is an eye for an eye!"
Li Jin stared wide-eyed at the carriage, her mouth opening and closing.
He tapped Jin Shu with his fan from a distance, again and again, until finally, he angrily climbed into the carriage.
The Grand Tutor's residence has been walking on thin ice these past few days.
The Su family was caught in the middle, with the Crown Prince keeping a close eye on them and Prince Jing constantly interfering in their investigations. They were caught in the middle and couldn't do either thing.
The Crown Prince's ship was unsafe, and Li Jin's ship hadn't been boarded. As a result, now, with another monstrous wave about to rise, they were in a precarious situation, barely able to protect themselves.
Su Hang's expression was very complicated. He frowned and gave an awkward smile as he led Li Jin towards the young lady's courtyard.
Halfway there, Li Jin stopped and turned to the side, saying, "Lord Su's sister is still at the Six Doors."
Su Hang paused for a moment, then instantly understood the meaning behind Li Jin's words.
He nodded and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "This humble official understands."
It wasn't Li Jin who forced the Grand Tutor; it was someone else who forced Li Jin.
The group had just passed through the moon gate when they saw Tan Qin's maidservant scream "Ah!" and rush out from inside.
Her face was deathly pale. Looking at the crowd approaching, she pointed to the house behind her, barely able to speak: "Miss, Miss hanged herself!"
"What?" Su Hang was startled and rushed inside.
Inside the room, under the beam, Tan Qin struggled and hung there, yelling, "Don't come any closer! Let me die! Only death can end it all!"
Seeing this scene, Li Jin frowned, his eyes darkening. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Jin Shu behind him say, "Miss Tan can't die like this. It won't be good to sue that Young Master Lin in the underworld."
This abrupt remark startled Tan Qin, who was hanging there.
“Many people who hang themselves have their tongues sticking out because their necks are compressed, and some even have broken hyoid bones,” Jin Shu said as she quickly pushed a small table over to cushion her feet. “Because blood flow is obstructed, most of them have bluish-purple faces, are covered in blood spots, and are incontinent.”
"Even worse, the eyeballs may detach due to the pressure, and there may be drooling and bleeding from the mouth and nose."
She looked up at Tan Qin's shocked expression and said with great heartache, "How can you possibly defend yourself in the King of Hell looking like this?"
Everyone was stunned.
Li Jin raised her eyebrows, looking at Jin Shu's serious expression with gentle eyes.
As expected of her, even her methods of persuading people are quite unique.
Carved roof beams, three feet of white silk.
Standing on the antique mahogany round table, Tan Qin stood there, under the gaze of everyone, her courage to end her life had vanished.
She glanced at the crowd before her, then at Jin Shu beneath her, and the bitterness welling up in her heart instantly turned into tears.
Trembling and choking back sobs, she put down the white silk ribbon in her hand, slowly squatted down in front of everyone, buried her head in her arms, and burst into tears.
Li Jin waited for her for half an hour.
I sat at the table, holding a cup of warm tea, waiting for her to calm down and for her tightly pursed lips to slowly open.
Tan Qin sat there in a daze, staring blankly at the handkerchief in her hand, motionless.
After a long pause, she raised her head: "How much does Your Highness know?" Her voice was hoarse, completely devoid of the spirit she had shown on the day they first met.
Li Jin nodded and said calmly, "I know."
Everyone knows that these words were like a drop of water falling on Tan Qin's heart.
She chuckled softly, a laugh tinged with pain, regret, helplessness, and deep self-loathing and self-mockery.
"The prince must think I'm very foolish," she said, choking back tears.
Li Jin remained silent, her expression unchanged, her face serene.
The sunlight was fragmented into pieces by the carved window, just like Tan Qin's mood at that moment.
Her heart was broken; she couldn't piece it back together, couldn't recreate the original outline.
After a moment, she chuckled self-deprecatingly, took a deep breath, and finally recounted what had happened that day.
“That day, after leaving the Yuntian Academy of Painting and Calligraphy, I bought a painting. He said that since he had some free time, he would treat me to a cup of tea.” As she spoke, she turned over the celadon gilded teacup on the table. The maid, who had been crying silently to the side, quickly handed her hot water and made her a cup of warm water.
She cleared her throat: "I gladly agreed, and we sat together on the second floor of the teahouse."
The two, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, chatted about everything from the beautiful autumn scenery to the delicacies of the capital, from the popular plays in the East Market to the mandarin ducks landing in the Dragon Head Canal.
When we talked about meeting, our feelings deepened, and we regretted not meeting sooner. We talked about wishing that I were a star and you were the moon, shining brightly together every night.
One was dashing and debonair, the other blushed.
“I’ve known him for a year, and I’ve always been very caring and attentive to him. He never asks for anything in return.” She smiled and her cheeks brightened slightly as she spoke of those warm memories. “I know that I am just average in terms of talent and appearance, and my family background is far inferior to that of the young ladies from wealthy families in the capital.”
"So initially, I was very wary."
“I know that nothing comes for free. I think that as long as he doesn’t get any response from me, he will naturally give up.”
At this point, Tan Qin pursed her lips, glanced at the warm water in her cup, and after a long while, let out a soft laugh.
Her silence subtly conveyed what happened next to everyone's hearts.
Since ancient times, love has never feared the scorching sun or the raging waves.
What I fear is perseverance, and what I fear is the gentle, silent nourishment of a light drizzle.
A young lady, sheltered from the world and raised in seclusion, even if she has sharpened her eyes and believes herself to be discerning, cannot resist the tenderness of a person, nor can she resist the words of comfort that are spoken most when she needs them most.
Lin Qin is such a thoughtful and warm-hearted person who understands the feelings of young girls.
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