The next day, Tang Zhuyun and Linlin put on an act, just as planned, and fooled the father and son.
Once the two had left, Tang Zhuyun took Linlin out as well.
"Where are we going? And why do we have to bring the cold dishes you made?" Linlin asked.
"Don't you think my cold dishes taste good?" Tang Zhuyun said. "We're going to try our luck and see if we can sell a recipe for some silver to buy you new clothes."
Tang Zhuyun didn't dare dream of making a fortune, but she was rubbing her hands, eager to do something to improve the family's life.
She had thought of several ways and intended to try them one by one. She wasn't afraid of hardship or setbacks; as long as she could get some silver, she could keep trying.
She had brought Linlin along in the hope that he would see her efforts and believe she had truly repented. Then he might stop glaring coldly at her, and they could slowly mend their relationship.
Selling a recipe, however, wasn't as easy as she had imagined. At several restaurants she considered suitable, she was chased away before she could even get through the door.
By the end, even Linlin couldn't bear to watch. "Forget it. It's already really, really good that you make it for us to eat."
His face seemed to say, "I'm seriously trying to comfort you." Tang Zhuyun laughed and pinched his cheek. "I was just trying my luck. If it doesn't work out, never mind. Come on, let's go to the medicine shop. I'll buy some medicine."
It didn't matter that selling a recipe hadn't gone smoothly for now. She also knew how to prepare medicines.
After buying some medicinal ingredients and vegetables, as well as a wooden toy of a chick pecking at grain for Linlin, Tang Zhuyun took his hand and headed home.
"Out of the way! Everyone, out of the way!" A carriage came hurtling toward them as swiftly as the wind and lightning. The driver shouted as he lashed the horses like a madman.
The crowd scattered to either side, but the stallholders in the middle of the road only had time to run; they couldn't move their wares out of the way.
In an instant, the carriage left a trail of wreckage in its wake.
"Go to the Prince of Jin's Residence for your silver!" a guard riding close behind the carriage shouted.
The carriage bore the emblem of the Prince of Jin's Residence.
Tang Zhuyun pulled Linlin aside and couldn't help cursing at the sight. "Are they in such a hurry to be reincarnated? This Prince of Jin is far too overbearing, charging through a busy street like that. What if they actually hit someone?"
And here she'd thought him good-looking. He looked like a decent man but behaved like a beast. What a waste of that face.
Linlin, however, said, "That's the way to the palace. I just saw a woman holding a child behind the curtain. I think the Prince of Jin's daughter is having an attack."
"What?" Tang Zhuyun didn't understand.
"The Prince of Jin's daughter has a heart condition and epilepsy. She has attacks often, and I heard that every time, she barely escapes death."
Linlin attended the classes at the prince's residence, and his classmates all came from powerful and wealthy families, so he had heard a little about such things.
"How pitiful," Tang Zhuyun said. "She has such an irresponsible father, and she's ill herself."
Though she sympathized, she didn't think she could afford to meddle in the affairs of the Prince of Jin's Residence.
"Come on, let's go home."
When Tang Zhuyun finished speaking, she realized Linlin hadn't moved. He was staring blankly at the billowing dust and the horses' hindquarters.
Linlin was thinking about the Prince of Jin's horses. They were all sleek and strong, and at a glance he could tell they were fine steeds that even a thousand pieces of gold would struggle to buy.
He had heard that the Prince of Jin had brought a batch of fine horses from the North of the Desert. He wondered if these were the ones.
If only he could have one... Then he would never have to fear being laughed at again. He believed he could be the best at riding too.
"Linlin?"
"It's nothing. Let's go," Linlin said, lowering his head.
Back home, Old Madam He had taken Xiu'er out to sell embroidered pouches-she couldn't keep accounts, so she always had to bring her daughter along on such occasions. Only Tang Zhuyun and Linlin remained at home.
"Linlin, would you like to learn some martial arts?" Tang Zhuyun asked after giving him something to eat and drink.
Linlin lowered his head and said nothing.
How could he not want to learn? But the family simply had no money left to hire him a martial arts teacher.
They didn't teach such things at the prince's residence. Where could he go to learn?
One look at him, and Tang Zhuyun knew the answer.
She said, "I learned a little in the countryside when I was young. If you don't mind, would you like to learn from me?"
Linlin looked up at her in surprise, but his gaze soon dimmed. His expression made it clear that he did mind.
Tang Zhuyun remained unhurried. "Just watch first."
She changed into lighter clothes, went out into the courtyard, and performed a set of punches.
At first, Linlin's face wore a "Have you lost your mind?" expression, but as he watched, his eyes went wide.
When he saw Tang Zhuyun leap up and kick a wrist-thick tree branch in the courtyard clean off, his mouth fell slightly open in shock, and he couldn't speak for a long while.
Tang Zhuyun shook her head, quite dissatisfied with her performance. "No, no, I don't have much strength. I'm far worse than I used to be."
This body was clearly not in good shape. She would have to exercise more from now on too.
"How do you know that?" Linlin asked, his eyes already full of admiration.
Secretly pleased with herself, Tang Zhuyun lied, "I just figured it out and practiced on my own in the village. Back in the countryside, hardly anyone paid me any attention, so I played by myself. Besides that, I know medicine too. I saved a homeless old wanderer and often brought him food and talked to him. He taught me medicine for several years."
"You know so much. Why did you still go and do that kind of thing?" Linlin asked, his eyes filled with confusion and, even more, pain.
Tang Zhuyun felt scorched by that look.
Linlin knew. Linlin knew about his origins!
He was asking why Tang Zhuyun had gone to a pleasure boat for silver and borne him with a man whose identity she hadn't even known afterward.
Not only did Linlin know, but he also felt deeply inferior and miserable because of it.
He was a child whose father was unknown. He had been born bearing original sin!
"I'm sorry, Linlin," Tang Zhuyun said with difficulty. Before those sorrowful eyes, every explanation felt so pale and powerless. "I... I know a lot, but I didn't know what I should and shouldn't do. What's wrong is wrong. It's all my fault that your birth has caused you pain."
Tears clung to her long lashes, not because she was repenting for something she hadn't done, but because of the suffering the child before her had endured. He had borne far too much pain for someone his age.
Linlin suddenly asked, "If that man comes looking for us someday, what will you do?"
His fists were clenched at his sides, and he was very nervous.
So that was what he was worried about...
"I don't know him. I won't hand you over to a man who visits pleasure boats."
"Then will you forgive him and marry him?"
"Forgive him?" Tang Zhuyun gave a bitter smile. "He hasn't done anything he needs me to forgive. You're the one whose forgiveness he needs. He and I were both wrong to bring you into the world to suffer. I won't marry anyone. Your grandfather is getting old and needs someone to look after him. Your father has already been burdened by me too much, and when he marries, I won't be at ease leaving you with someone else. So when the time comes, the two of us can live together, all right?"
Linlin said nothing. After a long while, he said, "I don't need a biological father. If you ever foist me off on someone else again, I'll never forgive you. Never, ever!"
He was a clever child who lacked a sense of security. Tang Zhuyun, you have to do your best!