Chapter 12: Alluring Night Wind

Two quarters past midnight, the dew was heavy and the wind was cold.

Ding Suian had just returned to the Prince Lanyangs Estate’s West Courtyard when he heard that the Princess Consort had summoned him.

Thinking something had gone wrong during his brief absence, he rushed to Chengxi Hall.

But upon arriving, he saw Chest Hair and the others outside the hall were as usual.

Inside the hall, Lin Hansu sat quietly on a prayer mat, burning paper money.

Everything was calm.

“What is it? Is there something urgent?” Ding Suian entered the hall.

Lin Hansu, whose mind had been wandering, looked up at the sound and instinctively wanted to smile at Ding Suian. Then, realizing Wansu and Granny Xu were beside her, the faint smile on her lips vanished instantly. “Granny Xu, you and Wansu should go back to the rear chamber to rest.”

Granny Xu hesitated to speak but ultimately took Wansu and returned to the rear chamber.

“Where did you go?”

With no one else in the mourning hall, Lin Hansu’s question naturally sounded like she was asking a close family member who had returned home.

Ding Suian sat down on a nearby prayer mat, pounded his aching legs from running around all day, and said frankly, “I saw that the Princess Consort has been preoccupied and distressed lately, so I took advantage of the free time just now to go to Shouzheng Temple and request a soothing sachet for the Princess Consort. It was blessed by an old Daoist priest; it can calm the mind and ensure peace. I waited in line for a full hour just to get it.”

“Oh?” Lin Hansu pursed her cherry lips, seemingly trying to suppress the upward curve of her mouth, but her raised eyebrows clearly indicated her current mood. “Hand it over~”

Lin Hansu lightly raised her fair wrist, extending her jade-white palm directly toward Ding Suian.

Ding Suian fumbled around in his embrace and handed one over.

The sachet’s fabric was ordinary, and the craftsmanship wasn’t particularly good. Even the embroidery on the outside, ‘Health, Peace, Joy, and Long Life,’ was a common, run-of-the-mill blessing.

Lin Hansu took it, her fingertips rubbing over the sachet’s crude stitching. She pouted, “This was worth waiting an hour for? You must have been duped by that old Daoist at Shouzheng Temple.”

Though she said that, she carefully put the sachet away immediately.

“So what if I was duped? It’s for peace of mind.” Ding Suian suddenly recalled the scene outside the estate gate an hour ago and asked strangely, “Princess Consort, what kind of grudge do you have with your father?”

Mentioning Lin Dafu, the smile Lin Hansu held instantly vanished.

After a moment, she slowly opened her mouth, “In his eyes, we are nothing but tools for climbing the social ladder.”

“You all?”

“Yes, there are three sisters in my family. My eldest sister was given to Prince Yinyang to be housed in the concubine’s quarters. It’s been over ten years, and though she has borne Prince Yinyang a son and a daughter, she still doesn’t have a proper title. Yet, he used Prince Yinyang, his cheap son-in-law, to buy the position of Qiaodao Local Army Commander.”

‘He’ refers to Lin Dafu.

“My second sister was luckier. Her husband was poor in his early years, but he bet on him, marrying my second sister to him early on. Afterwards, he funded his imperial examinations. Now, he is the Director of the Bureau of Equipment and Management under the Ministry of Works.”

After talking about her eldest and second sisters, Lin Hansu fell silent again for a long time. Just as Ding Suian thought she didn’t want to talk about herself, he heard her say, “Don’t you want to know how I married into Prince Lanyangs Estate?”

“I am a bit curious. But if you don’t want to talk about unhappy things, then don’t.”

“Hehe~” Lin Hansu raised her eyes and looked toward the dense night outside the mourning hall, speaking softly, “Before I married into the Estate, Du Jue was already notorious and paralyzed in bed. If not for that, how could the Du Family, a founding aristocratic family, choose the daughter of a merchant to be the Princess Consort?”

Du Jue’s reputation was poor, not only because he started acting recklessly in his teens, but also because he preferred men.

Everyone in Lanyang Prefecture knew this; it was said he was a cunning ‘bottom’.

“That year, I had just turned eighteen, and all I thought about were stories of talented scholars and beautiful ladies. Suddenly learning I was betrothed to a paralytic, I was terrified and hateful. I went to Lin Dafu and threw a fit. But no matter how much I cried or went on a hunger strike, I couldn’t change his mind.”

Lin Hansu paused, sighing, “It’s been six years. This Estate is bottomless in its depth. I’ve been careful everywhere, never having a single night of peaceful sleep. Lin Dafu originally wanted to use his connection to the Prince of Lanyang to advance his career, but Madam Wu is so shrewd. He ultimately failed to get what he wanted, and I was nearly forced to be buried alive with the dead. He personally pushed me into this fiery pit.”

No wonder there was such a huge rift between father and daughter. Forcing his daughter to be a wife in a homosexual marriage, and to a paralytic at that—this father was truly ruthless.

In the silence, a chill night wind blew into the mourning hall.

A few strands of black hair fluttered against her fair cheek in the wind.

Clad in white mourning clothes with silk flowers pinned in her hair, Lin Hansu slowly raised her hand, lightly gathered the restless strands with her fingertips, and elegantly tucked them behind her ear.

This seemingly ordinary movement was interpreted by her as delicate and charming, giving her the full flavor of an alluring, mature married woman.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore.” Lin Hansu stopped herself, not pouring out her grievances endlessly like Xianglin’s Wife. Instead, she brought up another matter: “I’ve been thinking these last two days. You are young, and suddenly receiving a large sum of money is not necessarily a good thing.”

“What does the Princess Consort mean?”

Is she going to cross the river and demolish the bridge? Is she reneging on the deal?

“After the funeral rites are completed, please invite your mother here. I will entrust the money to her to manage for you. You are young and sincere, unaware of the wickedness of people’s hearts. Suddenly gaining wealth, who knows how many demons and monsters it might attract to coax, deceive, and tempt you, leading you to pick up bad habits.”

Having long been in a superior position, Lin Hansu’s tone when saying this was undeniably forceful. Finally, she found a somewhat forced excuse for why she cared so much about Ding Suian: “A few days ago, you called me elder sister, so I treat you like a younger brother. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t bother.”

“I can’t give it to my mother, unless I burn it for her.”

“Burn it?”

“Yes, my mother passed away before I was even a month old.”

“…”

Lin Hansu had anticipated that Ding Suian might disagree, but she never expected this reason.

Her beautiful eyes involuntarily fixed on Ding Suian’s handsome profile, but he appeared perfectly calm and unperturbed.

Other people losing their parents had nothing to do with Lin Hansu, but the way Ding Suian looked now struck her as a young man pretending to be strong, causing an inexplicable pang in her heart.

Quite a lot of internal drama.

“Then you must have had a difficult time these past years, haven’t you?”

Her already gentle tone grew even softer.

That seductive older-sister voice, coupled with such a gentle tone, made the listener’s ears tingle.

“Ah, yes.” Ding Suian looked dejected and spoke with a mournful tone, “I was born when I was very young. As soon as I was born, I was someone’s son, and I didn’t have a single piece of clothing. Before I was one year old, I couldn’t even walk; I crawled everywhere I went. Even so, I never complained once…”

At first, seeing Ding Suian’s expression, Lin Hansu inexplicably began to sympathize with a difficult childhood, but the more she listened, the more something felt off.

“Pfft~ Hahaha~” The face that had been sharing Ding Suian’s sadness a moment ago burst into laughter the next. “Why are you so ridiculous, haha! Who can walk before they’re one year old, hahaha!”

“Princess Consort!”

This laughter startled Granny Xu and the others in the rear chamber. Two older women poked their heads out from behind, signaling Lin Hansu to quickly quiet down, while nervously glancing around, afraid that Madam Wu’s people would see this inappropriate scene.

What kind of woman laughs so wantonly in front of her husband’s coffin!

“Mmm! Hehe~”

Lin Hansu struggled to hold it in, forcing herself to think of unhappy things before finally suppressing the laughter. She then waved her hand at Granny Xu and the others, sending them back to the rear chamber.

“What about your father? He treated you well, didn’t he?”

“Yes! I’ve known my father for eighteen years, ten months, and nine days! When I was in Central Heaven, I spent all my salary, but he still subsidized me monthly and provided me with good food and drink when I went home. My father is a person worth befriending!”

“Pfft~ Can you speak properly! My stomach hurts from laughing.”

Thanks to the’Shangshan Dashu’ big shot for the ten thousand coin reward! Kiss.

Tomorrow is Tuesday, the day when recommendation slots are decided based on readership data. Everyone, please help read through tomorrow.