Chapter 150
Chapter 150: Did You Do It?
Lin Qing Wan snapped back to herself and met her mother’s questioning eyes as she heard her ask: “Wan’er, have you eaten dinner?”
She had left Xia Meng Yan’s courtyard and, without noticing, wandered into her mother’s courtyard. Seeing her mother now, a line of Xia Meng Yan’s words flashed through her mind: [What if he uses the child to soften her heart?]
Madam Jia saw her daughter looking lost and thought she might be ill, so she hurried to her side and asked with worry: “Where do you feel unwell?”
Lin Qing Wan dodged her hand, hesitated, then said with a stubborn tilt of her chin: “Nothing, I walked to the wrong place,” and she turned to leave.
When Madam Jia called her, Lin Qing Wan only ran faster. Madam Jia frowned and muttered: “What is wrong with Wan’er today, acting so strange?”
Nanny Sun smiled and supported Madam Jia into the room, saying in a lowered voice: “Miss is growing up. There are many things she is shy to tell you.”
Madam Jia paused, then understood what Nanny Sun meant and said with a soft sigh: “Her coming-of-age hairpin ceremony is near. We should consider her marriage. I just don’t know what kind of man Wan’er likes.”
Nanny Sun, kneading Madam Jia’s shoulders once they were inside, said warmly: “Any match you choose for her will be good. With the Lin Family’s status, plenty of families are lining up to marry Miss.”
Thinking of Zhao Tong Bin from earlier that day, Madam Jia sighed: “She must like him too, or they will only become a resentful couple.”
Nanny Sun’s hands paused as she remembered the past: “If not for Second Miss back then, you and…”
“Nanny,” Madam Jia cut her off at once, her voice steady, “so many years have passed. Let’s not bring it up.”
“It was this old servant’s loose tongue,” Nanny Sun said quickly. “In three days, do you want to avoid suspicion?”
Madam Jia thought a moment, then lifted her hand so Nanny Sun would stop kneading: “Let it happen naturally. But the child is innocent. Tomorrow send some silver and food.”
“All right, I will find a reliable person to deliver it.”
Three days passed quickly. The Lin Family stayed quiet, as if peace had returned.
At dawn on the third day, Madam Jia ordered people to load the offerings onto the cart. She took Nanny Sun and went straight to the nearby Cloud Mountain Temple.
Cloud Mountain Temple did not draw many worshippers, but the grounds were calm and clean. After arriving, Madam Jia first burned incense in the main hall, then handed the offerings to the monks so they would recite for the deceased for three days.
As she stepped out of the main hall, she saw Zhao Tong Bin standing with his daughter, Ling Hua, beneath a parasol tree.
He strode to her with a bright look and said with open delight: “You came. I didn’t expect you to arrive before me.”
Madam Jia gripped her kerchief, her face controlled: “Go inside and light a stick of incense for your sister. I will take Ling Hua for a walk.”
“Good,” Zhao Tong Bin said, handing Ling Hua to her before entering the hall.
Ling Hua had never known her mother, so she was timid. After her father left, she stayed frozen where she stood. Feeling sorry for the child, Madam Jia touched her head and said gently: “Ling Hua, I am your aunt.”
Ling Hua blinked, her clear eyes doubtful as she murmured: “Aunt? My mother has family?”
Madam Jia was caught off guard and did not know how to answer. Back then, her concubine-born younger sister had secretly had relations without a go-between, became pregnant before marriage, and the Jia Family, thinking it shameful, expelled her from the household. Later the younger sister died in childbirth, and for a concubine-born daughter, the Jia Family would not risk the family’s name. Only Ling Hua was pitiful. She could have lived with no worries, but now she could only follow Zhao Tong Bin and suffer hardship.
“Of course she has,” Madam Jia said, leading the girl to a pavilion. She took out a small box and held it out: “This is your mother’s favorite, plum blossom cake. Try one.”
Ling Hua’s eyes went wide. She poked the soft cake with a finger, then looked up at Madam Jia in surprise and asked: “Aunt, did Mother like soft foods?”
Other than Father, this was the first person to mention Mother’s likes.
“What else did Mother like?” she asked in a small, eager voice.
Seeing the timid little girl light up at the word “Mother,” Madam Jia smiled and said: “Your mother liked peach blossoms.”
“Then did she like to eat peaches?”
“She did. Do you like peaches, Ling Hua?”
Ling Hua nodded hard: “So I like peaches because Mother liked them.”
Madam Jia’s smile softened. Nanny Sun’s eyes grew damp. [If Second Miss hadn’t done something foolish back then, how could she have died in childbirth.]
Zhao Tong Bin returned and said with a smile: “Have you thanked Aunt?”
The light in Ling Hua’s eyes dimmed at once. She stood properly and bowed to Madam Jia, saying with careful manners: “Ling Hua thanks Aunt.”
Zhao Tong Bin stroked her head, his eyes full of guilt: “It is my fault, making you suffer with me.”
Madam Jia drew a quiet breath and said: “It is not your fault. My father was furious back then and blocked you in every way. That is how you lost your chance to sit the Imperial Examinations.”
Hearing this, Zhao Tong Bin’s gaze darkened: “I fell into someone else’s trap and made a terrible mistake. Yun Xiang, do you still blame me?”
At the name, Madam Jia’s face changed. She glanced around at once. Nanny Sun stepped between them and said sharply: “Young Master Zhao, my madam is already married. You should not call her Yun Xiang.”
“Yun Xiang, no, First Madam,” Zhao Tong Bin said in a rush, flustered, “I did not mean it that way. I only want your forgiveness.”
Seeing his panic, Madam Jia felt a sour ache in her chest. [If not for my half-sister, I might have married him.]
They had known each other since childhood. Zhao Tong Bin’s father worked as a shopkeeper in the Jia Family’s shop. Zhao Tong Bin was a good student and handsome, often appearing with her elder brother. Over time they grew to like each other, lacking only the last word.
At one banquet, her half-sister took sedative powder and ended up in bed with Zhao Tong Bin, who had been drinking. When the truth came out, she learned her half-sister had liked him for a long time and was willing to throw away the family for him. After that, everything spun out of control. While she nursed her broken heart, her half-sister became pregnant, and the Jia Family expelled her.
“So much time has passed,” Madam Jia said evenly, “what is the point of bringing it up?”
Zhao Tong Bin nodded: “All right, I won’t mention her. Could I speak with you alone for a moment?”
“No,” Nanny Sun refused at once.
Madam Jia patted Nanny Sun’s arm to calm her and said, still composed: “Take Ling Hua to play.” She was no longer a love-struck girl and had nothing to fear.
Nanny Sun could only lead Ling Hua away from the pavilion.
In a side room not far away, Lin Qing Wan stamped her foot and whispered, watching Nanny Sun go: “Why did Nanny Sun leave? What is Zhao Tong Bin trying to do?”
After Madam Jia left Lin Manor, Lin Qing Wan and Xia Meng Yan had slipped out the back gate and arrived at Cloud Mountain Temple ahead of them. Lin Qing Wan pointed at Zhao Tong Bin and said through clenched teeth: “If he dares lay a hand on Mother, I will kill him.”
Xia Meng Yan had told her about Madam Jia and Zhao Tong Bin so she could serve as a witness. She thought Lin Qing Wan would lose her cool. She did not expect her to hold it in until now.
“Watch first to see what Zhao Tong Bin wants,” Xia Meng Yan said calmly. “Two people meeting in a pavilion and chatting a bit can be explained. It does not count as rekindling old love.”
“If he dares to rekindle old love, I will have Elder Brother kill him,” Lin Qing Wan snarled, perched on the edge of fury. She wanted to trust her mother, but a thin crack had opened in her heart.
“Cousin, why aren’t you worried? If someone with bad intentions sees this, the result will be awful.”
Xia Meng Yan gave a small smile and asked in return: “They both know what you know. Do you think they would be careless?”
Lin Qing Wan choked on her reply.
Seeing her cousin’s pale face, Xia Meng Yan stopped teasing. She drew her to the window and said in a low voice: “Maternal Aunt dared to meet Zhao Tong Bin in broad daylight, which means she has no bad intentions. But Zhao Tong Bin is different. He brought Ling Hua to see her.”
Lin Qing Wan did not understand. What was wrong with bringing Ling Hua?
Xia Meng Yan spoke plainly: “Women are soft-hearted, and after becoming mothers, their kindness doubles. Zhao Tong Bin brought Ling Hua to break through your aunt’s heart and make her agree to his request out of pity for the child.”