Chapter 37 Haste Makes You a Fool "The day after tomorrow, get yourself ready, your aunt will take you..."
The little girl covered her face completely, but her voice was so powerful and clear that it drew the attention of everyone around her.
The two guards exchanged a flustered glance, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes: This was actually Shaoqing's romantic entanglement?
The two huddled together and quickly discussed their plan. One of them scrambled inside to report, while the other, somewhat guiltily, shooed away the onlookers: "Go away! There's nothing to see! Let's go!"
Lin Zhi stopped making a sound when Xie Zheng appeared, and quickly got up from the ground: "Young Master Xie, I have offended you, but Lin Zhi really has no other choice."
Xie Zheng, who had initially looked displeased upon hearing the news, softened upon seeing the little girl who had lifted her veil and looked at him with bright, pitiful eyes as if she had suffered a great injustice.
She coughed lightly, a little awkwardly, and put her fist to her lips: "I understand, I didn't mean to blame you."
"Come in with me first, don't attract attention here."
"Tell me what's wrong."
As soon as she removed her veil, Lin Zhi's knees buckled, and she seemed about to kneel before Xie Zheng. A look of shock flashed across Xie Zheng's calm eyes, and he quickly reached out to support her, saying, "Miss Lin, what are you doing! Let's talk this out!"
Lin Zhi shook her head with tears in her eyes: "My cousin is in critical condition now. If Xie Shaoqing doesn't agree to help me, I won't get up."
Xie Zheng was a man who usually interrogated prisoners at the Dali Temple. If he wanted, he could easily help Lin Zhi up and push her out. But he held her soft arm tightly, afraid to use too much force for fear of hurting her. The two remained in an awkward, tense position.
"Miss Lin, please get up, sit down and let's talk this out. You need to explain yourself clearly before I know how to help you!"
Lin Zhi was forcibly led to a table and sat down. A cup of hot tea was placed in front of her, and Xie Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief: "You came for Pei Lang?"
Lin Zhi felt a chill run through her body, her fingertips turning white. Holding the teacup, she frowned slightly: "Yes, I don't believe my cousin would offend the Emperor and the Crown Prince! He must have been framed!"
“But now the Pei family is also struggling to survive. Xie Shaoqing and my cousin are close friends and have been together for many years. I don’t know who else to turn to but you.”
Seeing her long eyelashes glistening with tears, Xie Zheng avoided her pleading and vulnerable gaze. "Miss Lin, you only know one side of the story. If Pei Lang is sent to the Dali Temple today, considering our years of friendship, even if I don't want this official uniform, I will definitely speak up for him."
“But now Pei Lang is not only not in the Dali Temple, but is even being held in the Imperial Prison! What kind of place is that? No one who goes in ever comes out.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhi's tears welled up in her eyes and splashed onto the table, leaving wet patches.
Little did people know that the way she gritted her teeth and refused to cry out only made her more pitiful.
Xie Zheng hesitated for a moment before handing over the handkerchief, his face filled with reluctance and mixed emotions: "Miss Lin, the palace has now sealed off all information, and even I cannot find out anything."
"I have something else to say, but I don't know if I should. Pei Lang is so intelligent that he's almost demonic. To put it bluntly, he's a menace who will live a thousand years. Plus, with all the connections and methods he's built over the years, he will never die so easily."
"However, the Pei family's current situation is probably beyond saving, so you should make more plans for yourself."
Lin Zhi was still somewhat dazed when she was sent out of Dali Temple, standing frozen in the wind, clutching Xie Zheng's letter of promise.
If you need money for favors, don't hesitate to come to me; at least I can help with that.
In recent days, she visited the homes of noble ladies she used to be on good terms with, only to be either turned away or humiliated and kicked out. But Lin Zhi did not shed a single tear.
No one but Pei Lang would cherish her tears; instead, they would only become a burden to her weakness and vulnerability.
When she couldn't get an answer from the last door, Lin Zhi was exhausted and returned to the Pei residence. Most of the servants in the residence had been dismissed, except for some household servants who had signed life contracts.
In this climate of widespread fear, even bowing to Lin Zhi has become a perfunctory gesture.
Lin Zhi didn't care about these trivial details. She wiped away the tears on her face and went to see her aunt with a smile. Her uncle's illness had improved a lot these days, and he could at least sit up and eat by himself.
Fearing that he would be upset if he heard about Pei Lang, everyone in the household kept it from him.
When Lin Shaowan saw her coming, she pulled her to the door and said, "I asked Chun Tao to call you over today. Where did you go if you weren't here?"
Lin Zhi lowered her eyes and stared at the hem of her skirt, not daring to tell the truth: "I was thinking about what my aunt said about getting married, but the embroidery is not yet finished, so I went to buy silk thread."
While there was some truth to what she said, Lin Shaowan stared at her sharply: "Is that really true?"
"Even so, you must not leave the manor alone. Everyone's eyes are on the Pei family now, so you must be very careful."
"Also, make sure you're all dressed up the day after tomorrow, and your aunt will take you to meet Madam Su so we can finalize the marriage as soon as possible."
These days, Lin Shaowan has suffered the loss of her son and the upheaval that has turned her once gentle and composed eyes sharp. Now that the Pei family needs her to support them, she cannot afford to fall.
Seeing Lin Zhi's gloomy expression, Lin Shaowan took her hand and patted it gently, saying, "Although the young master of the Su family is only a sixth-rank official, he has achieved success at a young age. Even if his career doesn't rise smoothly, he will be able to live a stable life."
“Such families need a lady from a wealthy family to help them navigate the complexities. Ah Zhi, you were personally trained by your aunt; even those noble ladies in the capital cannot compare to you.”
"As long as you are obedient and give birth to a son or daughter for the Su family, you will be able to secure your position. You are outstanding and beautiful, so you don't need to worry about not having a good life in the future."
Listening to her aunt's endless instructions, Lin Zhi felt only sorrow in her heart.
A sixth-rank official, in the past, such a person could never enter the Pei family or even see Pei Lang, no matter how hard he tried. But now, he has to be humble, obedient, and ingratiating in order to earn a living.
Lin Zhi felt a lump in her throat, unable to breathe, which made her feel suffocated and incredibly humiliated.
"aunt......"
But when he saw the scar on Lin Shaowan's forehead, the words that were about to come out of his mouth became impossible to say. After a long silence, he could only utter a soft "okay".
When Lin Zhi was packing up her valuables to pawn, she found many precious treasures that Pei Lang had given her under various pretexts. Each one was worth a fortune, but she couldn't bear to give any of them away.
Lin Zhi carefully wiped the items with a soft cloth, tears falling one by one onto the back of her hand. But now, after crying, she could no longer think of him, and even if she kept these things, they would probably never see the light of day again.
"Miss!"
When Chun Tao burst in, she happened to see Lin Zhi turning her head towards her, her expression calm and composed.
"Miss, this is a note from the General's Mansion! Miss Huang has received favors from you before, could she be here to help you?"
Huang Yan is indeed a straightforward girl. However, when she went to visit the General's Mansion a few days ago, she was only told by the steward that she had gone to her maternal grandparents' house and had not yet returned.
Lin Zhi quickly unfolded the note, her eyes gradually welling up with tears, and she couldn't help but murmur, "That's great...that's great!"
"Huang Yan said she has a way to get me to meet my cousin!"
"I can rest assured once I see him and know that he is doing well!"
Seeing that her young mistress was so eager to get up and go to the appointment, Chun Tao was a little worried: "Miss, this is a very important matter. Should we inform Madam?"
Lin Zhi, who was about to change her clothes, suddenly turned around upon hearing this. She stared at Chun Tao as she slowly approached, took her hand, and said softly, "Good Chun Tao, since I have already agreed to meet with my aunt and the Su family, I am willing to marry."
"Visiting my cousin is merely to fulfill our sibling bond. If there's truly no hope of him being released, then I'll go to see him off on his final journey."
"Then you should send this note to Xie Shaoqing at the Xie residence. If anything really happens to me, you can rest assured with him here, right?"
Chun Tao's face was full of struggle, but in the end she couldn't resist Lin Zhi's sad eyes and personally escorted her out of the mansion through the side gate.
"Please be careful, Miss, and don't put yourself in danger!"
Both of the young masters in the manor have perished, and the young lady's current actions are even more risky.
Lin Zhi turned her head and gave her a deep look, then nodded and left without looking back.
"Ah Zhi, come up quickly, it's going to rain."
Huang Yan lifted the carriage curtain and reached out her hand from inside, dispelling all of Lin Zhi's doubts. She then took Lin Zhi's hand and helped her up.
The rumbling of the wheels was drowned out by the increasingly loud thunder and rain, and even the wheel tracks on the ground were erased.
“Azhi, it’s all my fault. I was delayed at my maternal grandparents’ house for so many days, and when I came back, I heard that the Pei family had suffered such a thing.”
"You even helped me at a poetry gathering, I really..."
Lin Zhi grasped Huang Yan's hand in return and said softly, "How could I blame you? In the current situation, everyone is avoiding the Pei family like the plague. I am grateful that you are willing to help me."
"I've heard that the palace is currently under lockdown, which suggests something serious might be happening. Do you have any ideas?"
Huang Yan blinked her large, watery eyes and lowered her head to avoid her question: "I begged my father for help... but it's not enough to let you meet. It's just that you can write a letter and give it to Master Pei."
A hint of disappointment flashed across Lin Zhi's eyes, but she was already prepared. In any case, it was good to know that Pei Lang was doing well.
The carriage stopped in front of an elegant mansion. The two of them went inside under umbrellas. If Lin Zhi hadn't been so flustered today, she would have really been able to appreciate the place properly.
"Ah Zhi, I've prepared paper and pen for you. You can write first. I'll stay at the door to keep watch since I'm worried about you."
"Okay, thank you, Ayan."
Just as Lin Zhi was about to close the door, Huang Yan still hadn't let go. Lin Zhi paused and looked at her, noticing a hint of reluctance in her eyes.
"Ayan? Is there anything else?"
Huang Yan seemed to snap out of her daze, slowly letting go and lowering her eyes: "A-Zhi, I'm sorry..."
Lin Zhi thought she was apologizing for being late, so she quickly comforted her for a few moments before she left.
But after closing the door, Lin Zhi felt more and more uneasy as she wrote. She didn't know what kind of incense was being used in the room, but the smell was so strong that it was almost suffocating.
The fragrance in the room was so sweet it was almost cloying. Lin Zhi wanted to open the window to let the scent out, but she couldn't open it no matter how hard she tried. She endured her dizziness and went to open the door.
Before his hand could even touch the door, it was suddenly pulled open from the outside, and Lu Jue smiled as he stared at Lin Zhi.
"Miss Lin, I've been waiting for you for quite some time."
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