She truly had no idea how to comfort her.
For the past few days, she had been staying at this villa to "recuperate," and Fan Xian had climbed over the wall every night to see her.
They sat together beneath the veranda, talking about life, their dreams, the past, and the future. They seemed to have endless things to say, their conversations roaming far and wide until the moon sank and the stars faded.
Besides his talent for poetry, Fan Xian was also skilled in medicine. Even the imperial physicians had been helpless against her tuberculosis for years, yet Fan Xian could treat it. Every day, he prepared medicine to clear her lungs and ease her cough. Though she had only taken it for a few days, the heaviness in her chest had already eased considerably.
Lin Wan'er instinctively touched the sachet at her waist.
It contained over eighty kinds of medicinal flowers and leaves that Fan Xian had personally blended, which could relieve her bouts of coughing and breathlessness. It worked extremely well, though its smell was rather peculiar, a little like five-spice duck.
Had anyone else given it to her, she certainly could not have endured being steeped in that smell all day long.
But because it came from Fan Xian, she actually found even that duck-like scent sweet and adorable.
"No!"
Ye Linger abruptly pulled out of her embrace, as though she had finally made up her mind.
She stood and paced back and forth twice.
"I can't just blunder into this marriage!" She stopped abruptly, turned, and seized Lin Wan'er's hand. "Wan'er, you have to help me!"
Her grip hurt Lin Wan'er a little, but Lin Wan'er gave no sign of it and merely asked gently:
"You want to meet Third Brother in private?"
"Yes!" Ye Linger nodded emphatically, her ponytail swaying. "I should at least know what kind of man I'm marrying, shouldn't I? If he really is some rotten wastrel, I'll-I'll..."
She struggled with "I'll" for quite some time without arriving at anything.
Lin Wan'er looked at her and sighed softly.
"All right. I'll have someone deliver an invitation and ask Third Brother to come out." She paused. "There happens to be someone working for him at Fan Xian's side, so passing along the message will be easy."
Ye Linger blinked. "Why would the Third Prince have someone at Fan Xian's side?"
Lin Wan'er lowered her eyes, a note of helplessness entering her voice:
"Third Brother had Teng Zijing's wife and child brought to Prince Cheng's Residence... Teng Zijing had no choice but to stay at Fan Xian's side and work for him, while also... reporting his movements."
She did not say "spying," but the meaning was clear.
After hearing this, Ye Linger sat stunned for a couple of seconds.
Then her pretty face flushed visibly-not with embarrassment, but with anger.
"That's-that's no mere wastrel!" She was so furious she could barely get her words out. "He's utterly shameless! A scheming scoundrel! I learned martial arts to uphold justice, to beat up exactly this sort of scum!"
She took a deep breath and clenched her fists:
"I've decided. When we meet, I'm going to teach him a lesson!"
"All right, all right." Seeing her brimming with righteous indignation, Lin Wan'er simply kept nodding in agreement.
She knew Ye Linger was not the sort of girl to lose all reason in a fit of impulse. She was not worried, so she naturally saw no need to call her bluff.
The study at Prince Cheng's Residence.
"Ye Linger wants to see me?"
Zhou Cheng put down the Detailed Guide to Western Continent Magic and looked up at Teng Zijing, who stood below him with his head bowed.
Expressionless, Teng Zijing answered, "Yes."
Zhou Cheng leaned back in his chair and tapped the armrest twice with his fingertips.
He was somewhat surprised, though not terribly so.
In the original storyline, Ye Linger had run around trying to help Lin Wan'er break off her engagement. She had even been drawn into the assassination plot on Ox Pen Street because of it and nearly lost her life.
Now that an imperial marriage decree had landed on her own head, with her temperament, there was no way she would meekly wait to be married.
"All right." He nodded. "Go back and tell Lin Wan'er I'll be there on time tomorrow."
Teng Zijing acknowledged him and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Zhou Cheng suddenly remembered the secret letter Li Yunrui had sent through her personal lady-in-waiting the previous night.
Its contents were simple: she wanted him to help get rid of Fan Xian.
But he had refused.
Soon afterward, he had received negative emotions from Li Yunrui. Then, early that morning, Chen Bao had reported that all the intelligence personnel borrowed from the Eldest Princess's residence had been withdrawn overnight.
"What does Fan Xian have planned for tomorrow?" he asked.
Teng Zijing paused, seemingly unsure how much he should reveal. After a moment, he answered honestly:
"The Second Prince invited Fan Xian to the Drunken Immortal Residence tomorrow. He said... since their original misunderstanding began there, they ought to resolve it there as well."
"The Drunken Immortal Residence..."
Zhou Cheng raised an eyebrow, the hint of an ambiguous smile curving his lips.
Interesting.
He had not interfered much lately, and the plot seemed to be drifting back toward its original course.
He gathered his thoughts, his gaze sweeping over Teng Zijing's perpetually tense face, and said mildly:
"Fan Xian still dares to visit the Drunken Immortal Residence. It seems life has been rather comfortable for him lately." He paused, his voice cooling. "I haven't settled the score with him for poisoning me at the Capital Prefecture last time. Tell him to watch himself."
Teng Zijing kept his eyes lowered, his tone cold and stiff. "Yes."
He turned and left the study, but before he could close the door, Zhou Cheng spoke again:
"Pass word to Wan'er. Tell Ye Linger we're changing the meeting place to Ox Pen Street."
Ox Pen Street was not a particularly bustling thoroughfare, but anyone traveling from the inner city to the Glazed Crystal River had to pass through it.
Teng Zijing paused without answering, then merely closed the door.
The following day.
The sky was a clear, washed blue, and the sun was mild.
The carriage from Prince Cheng's Residence rolled leisurely through the neighborhoods, along broad streets and beneath willow shade, before finally stopping outside a three-story restaurant.
It was the grandest restaurant on the entire street, with three tiers of upturned eaves, carved beams, and painted pillars. Both the second and third floors had open terraces with railings.
The moment Zhou Cheng stepped out of the carriage, he spotted that fiery-red figure.
Neither spoke when they met. They went straight up to a private room on the top floor.
Zhou Cheng sat by the window, where the view was excellent. He could take in most of the carriages and pedestrians on Ox Pen Street below. Farther away, the Glazed Crystal River stretched like an unfurled ribbon of blue silk, dotted with pleasure boats, with faint music drifting across the water.
Ye Linger sat opposite him. The two began staring at each other.
After studying her carefully, Zhou Cheng had to admit it.
In terms of delicate features alone, Ye Linger might not compare with Sang Wen's gentle grace or Si Lili's radiant beauty, but her bold, spirited air, so unlike that of an ordinary young lady, had a charm all its own.
His scrutiny made Ye Linger uncomfortable all over. At last, she could not stand it any longer and turned back to him, demanding stiffly:
"What are you looking at?"
Zhou Cheng withdrew his gaze, lifted his teacup, and took a sip.
"You."
Ye Linger choked on her reply.
She took a deep breath and decided not to quibble with him over such nonsense.
She stared into Zhou Cheng's eyes and went straight to the point:
"Do you like me?"
Zhou Cheng set down his teacup.
"More or less."
"What does 'more or less' mean?" Ye Linger's brows knotted.
Zhou Cheng thought for a moment, then stated in an exceedingly objective tone:
"You're a woman, you're fairly good-looking, and I don't find you unpleasant."
Ye Linger's eyes widened.
"Just 'don't find me unpleasant'? Don't you feel even a little of that love-at-first-sight impulse?"
Zhou Cheng simply rolled his eyes at her.
"Do you think everyone's like Lin Wan'er and Fan Xian?" His tone was flat. "Did you fall in love with me at first sight?"
Ye Linger opened her mouth.
"...No."
"There you go, then."
His matter-of-fact attitude left Ye Linger feeling stifled.
She clenched her fists and said, stressing every word:
"If it isn't love at first sight, I don't want it."
Zhou Cheng did not even lift his eyelids. "Then why did you ask me here?"
Ye Linger drew a deep breath and poured out the words she had held in the whole way:
"I want to ask Your Highness-to have the engagement broken off."
Once again, Zhou Cheng looked at her as though she were an idiot.
"Is there something wrong with your head?" Genuine bewilderment colored his voice. "Why should I be the one to do it? If you don't want this marriage, can't you go yourself?"
"You're the man! If you don't like me, you should have the courage to break off the engagement!" Ye Linger spoke with complete conviction. "Once you've ended it, you can wait for a girl you'll fall in love with at first sight. Wouldn't that be better?"
Zhou Cheng fell silent for a couple of seconds.
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