Chapter 101
Chapter 101: Here to Stay
Xia Meng Yan walked on, deep in thought. Duan Yi Chen took the cushion from Chun Yue’s hands, helped Xia Meng Yan sit down slowly, and the soft seat erased the awareness of anyone else nearby.
The Huo Family had rescued Lin Ye Lan and even took his family; this showed they wanted to use him again. But Lin Ye Lan’s name was already mud; what about him was worth the Huo Family’s effort?
Her palm slid over her rounded belly. All at once she looked down at it. The child.
Yes, the child in her belly.
“Jerk,” Xia Meng Yan blurted as she swore. Last time Lin Hong kidnapped her, she had publicly cut ties on behalf of the child. She had not expected people would still covet him.
Worried, Duan Yi Chen took her hand to check if she was hurt: “What did you think of? Does your hand hurt?”
“I suspect the Huo Family saved Lin Ye Lan because of the child in my belly,” said Xia Meng Yan.
“I do not care whether that is true,” Duan Yi Chen replied, his eyes falling to her hand. “So long as Lin Ye Lan shows up, the Huo Family is deceiving the emperor.”
Hearing this, Xia Meng Yan found the point reasonable. Even if the Huo Family wanted to use Lin Ye Lan, they would not dare do it out in the open. Worrying now was useless; she still had to handle the matters in front of her.
“When do you plan to leave?” she asked. Her fingers brushed the edge of the cushion and she realized they were in a pavilion.
Catching her glance, Chun Yue gave Duan Yi Chen a quick look to signal that the cushion had been placed by him.
Without noticing, Xia Meng Yan’s hand clenched. She had no idea how to respond to this feeling, so she pretended not to see.
Duan Yi Chen lay back on the bench with his hands behind his head: “I am not going back. If I go back, they will lock me up again.”
“Has the Eldest Princess set her eyes on some miss?” Xia Meng Yan pushed a fallen leaf across the table, already clear in her heart. Her status and his were worlds apart. Rather than drag this on, it was better to offer a clean blessing.
Not hearing the sourness in her words, Duan Yi Chen swung his legs and dodged the topic: “I do not care who she likes. If I do not show up, the match will not happen.”
Without a bridegroom, he did not believe his mother could carry someone into the manor.
He glanced at Xia Meng Yan from the corner of his eye. The Capital was so far from Man Lin City; they probably would not hear about this.
Xia Meng Yan lowered her head and did not speak. The business of Marquis Xuan Ping Manor had nothing to do with her; it would be overstepping to say more.
She asked instead: “Where are you staying? It is getting late. You should go back.”
“All right,” said Duan Yi Chen. He stood up at once and gave her a meaningful little wave: “I will come again tomorrow.”
Xia Meng Yan was puzzled. Come again tomorrow, and climb over the wall again?
Only when she saw him vault twice and vanish did she turn to Song Mo and ask: “Where is Heir Apparent Duan staying?”
“Next door?”
“Where?” Xia Meng Yan doubted her ears.
Song Mo was shocked too. The house next to the Lin Family was not something money could simply buy, and the owner might not sell even if they could. Who knew what method Heir Apparent Duan had used: “Big miss did not mishear. Heir Apparent Duan is living right next door.”
Xia Meng Yan looked at the wall of the neighboring residence, then at her own yard. Only one wall separated them; it was no different from living together. She ordered curtly: “Go find out who used to live next door.”
When Duan Yi Chen left the Lin Family, hidden guards in the dark turned and slipped into the front court.
“Master, after Heir Apparent Duan saw Cousin Miss, he returned to the house next door,” reported a Shadow Guard.
Old Master Lin set down the account book in his hands, a shrewd gaze softening: “Does Yan’er know Heir Apparent Duan is living next door?”
“Before I left,” said the Shadow Guard, “Cousin Miss sent someone to check who owned the house next door. She should soon learn it is a Lin Family property.”
Old Master Lin stood and moved closer to the guard: “Keep people protecting Yan’er. Do not let any harm come to her.”
The Shadow Guard took the order and melted into the night.
Unable to sleep, Old Master Lin walked out of his study toward his own courtyard. A few days ago, Duan Yi Chen had written to ask him to find a house, with only one resident, as close to Xia Meng Yan as possible. Though Old Master Lin lived in Man Lin City, he had heard of Duan Yi Chen and his outer granddaughter. The two were childhood friends. If Lin Ye Lan had not appeared, they might already have been married.
He also had his own private hopes. The Lin Family had come to a point of no easy retreat; if they could not find a way out, even without the Huo Family they would be swallowed by other nobles. Duan Yi Chen was the Eldest Princess’s only son and the emperor’s nephew. As long as the Lin Family had no treasonous intent, Duan Yi Chen could protect them.
Old Master Lin looked up at the pitch-black sky and sighed. He had thought that standing high would let him shield the Lin Family; he had not expected it would put the Lin Family in danger instead.
In the days that followed, Xia Meng Yan stayed in her own courtyard to rest and nourish the baby. Meanwhile, the manor buzzed over the matter of appointing second shopkeepers; everyone was rolling up their sleeves to compete.
Worried that sitting at home would make Xia Meng Yan think too much and hurt her mood, Matriarch Lin told Lin Qing Wan to take her out for a stroll.
“Grandmother gave me so much silver,” Lin Qing Wan said, flicking a thick stack of banknotes in front of Xia Meng Yan. Excitement filled her eyes. “Cousin, as long as you look at something today, we will buy it all.”
Xia Meng Yan laughed at her little expression, tapped her forehead, and exposed her tiny scheme: “Buy it all? Over half the shops in Man Lin City belong to the Lin Family. We do not need you to pay. Grandmother just wanted to give you pocket money with an excuse.”
Lin Qing Wan giggled, hugged Xia Meng Yan’s arm, and pleaded: “Good cousin, do not tell Mother, or she will scold me for wasting money.”
Though she was the Lin Family’s legitimate-born miss, the house rules were strict. Each person’s monthly allowance was fixed; anything extra had to be covered by oneself. Lin Qing Wan received twenty taels each month. To outsiders that was plenty, but in the Lin Family, twenty taels was not enough to buy one nice piece of jewelry.
Xia Meng Yan tucked the banknotes into Lin Qing Wan’s sleeve: “Do not worry. Today I am treating you.”
“Cousin, I knew you were the best,” Lin Qing Wan sang, happy enough to fly.
They first browsed the family’s own shops. Chun Yue remembered that the master’s Snow Swallow Resin was running low and planned to slip over to the Lin Family’s store to buy some while the two misses sat down for tea.
A light, frivolous voice called out: “Oh my, isn’t this Sister Qing Wan?”
Xia Meng Yan and Lin Qing Wan turned to see a man dressed more brightly than a peacock striding over with a grin. He drawled: “Did anything catch your eye? Elder brother will buy it for you.”
Lin Qing Wan, disgusted, stepped away and guided Xia Meng Yan to leave: “Cousin, let us go to another shop. There is a fly here, very annoying.”
Xia Meng Yan nodded, but the man blocked their path. He had not noticed the woman beside Lin Qing Wan at first; now, seeing her beauty, his eyes lit. He asked with forced warmth: “Sister Qing Wan, and this lady is?”
Lin Qing Wan moved to shield Xia Meng Yan from his gaze and said coldly: “Meng Huai Ren, put away your thoughts. This is my cousin.”
His eyes dropped and saw the swell of Xia Meng Yan’s belly. Regret flashed across his face. He smiled anyway: “So it is Cousin. What a lucky meeting. Let me treat Cousin to a cup of tea.”
Xia Meng Yan avoided his reaching hand. She knew Lin Qing Wan well. For someone she had held back from striking, his identity could not be simple. She said evenly: “Young Master Meng, the two of us are not short of money.”
Supporting Xia Meng Yan, Lin Qing Wan hurried away with her. After they had gone a long way, Xia Meng Yan asked: “Who is Meng Huai Ren?”
“The Meng Family rose later than the Lin Family,” Lin Qing Wan said with a frown. “A daughter of a Meng branch became a concubine in a big household in the Capital, and people say that house has status. Father warned us that if we meet members of the Meng Family, we should avoid conflict as much as possible.” Thinking of Meng Huai Ren’s years of pestering, she wished he would disappear on the spot.
Capital big households? Xia Meng Yan thought over the great noble houses. She had never heard of a concubine with the surname Meng there.
A plainly dressed woman rushed up, panting, and stood before Xia Meng Yan: “Are you Miss Xia?”
“I am,” said Xia Meng Yan. “And you are?”
“Your maid has been held by the shopkeeper at the shop up ahead; please go save her.”