Chapter 5: Is This Really the Miss?

The legitimate daughter of the Lin family crawling through a dog hole?

No one would believe it!

But for Lin Zhiyi now, not only crawling through a dog hole, but climbing walls and trees was something she did often. She was no longer the delicate Lin family young lady.

The only problem was that this body was a bit weak, but with more exercise in the future, it would be fine.

Lin Zhiyi knew that Chai Ya didn’t believe her. She directly knelt down in front of the dog hole and crawled out first, signaling for Chai Ya to follow.

Chai Ya’s eyes widened in surprise as she watched Lin Zhiyi’s figure in the moonlight.

How could the miss crawl through the dog hole so much faster than her?

Is this really their miss?

It wasn’t until she heard Lin Zhiyi’s voice that Chai Ya stopped being surprised and crawled out herself.

The two of them successfully climbed out of the wall, tidied up their clothes, and after Lin Zhiyi took care of their wounds, they found a nearby inn.

They first had a simple meal and then rented a moderately priced guest room, where Lin Zhiyi and Chai Ya settled in.

Although the original character’s dowry was large enough to last Lin Zhiyi for a lifetime, she had always been frugal. Since she would have to support the entire Lin family in Fangzhou, where money would be needed everywhere, she thought it best not to be too extravagant.

After a while, Chai Ya went out and returned with a bowl of chicken soup for Lin Zhiyi to drink.

Lin Zhiyi glanced at her. “Did you buy this with your own monthly allowance again?”

Chai Ya nodded. “Miss, you’ve just had a miscarriage. This is what I asked the kitchen to prepare as soon as we entered the inn. It’s been simmering for over an hour. Please drink it.”

Lin Zhiyi disliked oily foods like this. If she wanted soup, she would’ve ordered it herself when they had eaten.

But since it was Chai Ya’s thoughtful gesture, she couldn’t let it go unappreciated.

Pinching her nose, Lin Zhiyi forced herself to drink the greasy chicken soup.

She thought to herself that the food in this large guesthouse wasn’t all that great—it wasn’t as good as the meals she made herself.

After finishing the soup, Lin Zhiyi put the bowl down and then took out a small purse, tossing it to Chai Ya. “This is for you.”

Inside, there were over thirty taels of silver, with both silver ingots and silver coins. Chai Ya even saw a fifty-tael silver note tucked inside.

“Miss, you don’t need to give me so much.”

“There’s still a lot to buy later. I can’t keep using your monthly allowance. Take it. Do you think your miss lacks money?”

Chai Ya paused for a moment. Indeed, how could the miss lack money? Realizing this, she accepted the silver.

For some reason, she felt that the miss’s marriage might actually be a good thing. If she hadn’t married, she feared she might already be in prison by now.

The next day.

Chai Ya woke up early and called out to Lin Zhiyi, asking if she was going back to the Qin family. She said if Lin Zhiyi wasn’t at the Qin family, they might find a way to take advantage of the situation and dismiss her as his wife.

Lin Zhiyi waved her hand, signaling that she wasn’t ready to get up. “Chai Ya, go back to the kitchen and get some food. That way, they won’t be suspicious.”

She remembered that six days from now would be the day the Lin family was exiled, as well as the day Qin Lang would marry He Jiaojiao.

In the next few days, the Qin family would be busy preparing for the wedding, and they wouldn’t pay attention to her as the discarded wife.

Chai Ya’s eyes lit up. Yes, the miss was clever.

If she went to get food, the Qin family would think that the madam was still in the small courtyard, and they wouldn’t suspect anything.

Chai Ya quickly ran off, and Lin Zhiyi found that she had lost her desire to sleep.

She instructed the kitchen to prepare a variety of dishes—braised pork knuckle, roast goose, roast duck, roasted fish, and the restaurant’s specialty dishes. Once ready, they were to be placed in food boxes and brought to her room.

She could pay for the dishes and the food boxes.

Since she wasn’t sure if her space could preserve food, she wanted to start with a few dishes. If it worked, she could stock up more later.

Taking advantage of Chai Ya’s absence, Lin Zhiyi thought she should also go buy some rice, flour, oil, herbs, and other supplies. These items could be stored for a long time and wouldn’t spoil easily, so it wouldn’t matter if her space couldn’t preserve them.

She hadn’t entered her space since the last time, but when she did, she was surprised to find that everything she had stored there was still in place. However, there was now an additional spring in the courtyard.

Lin Zhiyi took a bowl, scooped some water, and took a sip. To her astonishment, the water tasted slightly sweet.

She was surprised. Could this be a spiritual spring?

She was overjoyed. This was truly a big win.

Her mother had died of illness when she was young, and her father remarried, having a son. Since then, her position in the Lin family had become somewhat awkward.

Not only did her stepmother dislike her, but eventually, even her father stopped favoring her.

She was sent to live with her grandmother in the countryside.

But her grandmother was old, and from a young age, she had been forced to become independent, handling everything on her own.

Later, when her grandmother passed away, she moved into a school dormitory.

The Lin family didn’t even want to pay her school fees, so from high school onwards, she worked part-time to support herself. After graduating from college, she worked hard to save money.

With the money she saved from part-time jobs during high school and college, she had accumulated enough over the years to finally buy a house in the suburbs of the capital.

This courtyard was her favorite because it had a large yard where she could plant the plants she liked.

She had even feared that the Lin family might take away this one asset of hers.

Now, everything she owned was here, and she had no more attachments.

Without realizing it, after drinking a bowl of the water, Lin Zhiyi felt a little more strength in her body.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination.

But now, she was even more certain—it really was a spiritual spring.

On the road to exile, she wouldn’t have to worry about not having water to drink anymore.

Lin Zhiyi looked around the courtyard. Aside from the spiritual spring, there was nothing else—just a barren space.

She remembered that she had bought some seeds before, intending to plant them in the yard, but hadn’t had the chance yet.

When she returned to the house, she found that the seeds were still there.

But at this moment, she remembered the purpose of entering her space: she wanted to freshen up before going out to buy supplies.

She returned to her bedroom, sat in front of the mirror, and gazed at her reflection. She was stunned.

She hadn’t expected that the original character’s appearance would be so striking.

Her skin was smooth and fair, flawless like jade, with a small, high nose and lips like a touch of rouge. Most striking were her almond-shaped eyes, with the outer corners gently lifted, giving her an unintentional allure.

Lin Zhiyi clicked her tongue. What a shame. The original character had such a beautiful appearance, but no intelligence to match.

Indeed, fate was fair.

But then again, how could someone with such a face be despised by a scumbag husband?

Men were indeed unreliable.

Thinking about it, Qin Lang was nothing more than a poor scholar, only interested in climbing the social ladder. What was a beautiful woman to him?

What he was after was nothing more than the power and influence behind them.

Moreover, Qin Lang was handsome and talented, so it was no surprise that women were drawn to him, throwing themselves at him.

Lin Zhiyi didn’t dwell on it any longer. She quickly washed her face, sat in front of the mirror, and fiddled with her appearance. After a while, her face seemed subtly different from the original.

She first went out to a embroidery shop and bought a face veil to cover her face, then headed straight to the grain and oil shop.

A thought suddenly struck her.

When she reached the entrance of the grain and oil shop, she stopped in her tracks.

What was the point of stockpiling grain? In a few days, the Qin family would be hosting a grand wedding feast. From her understanding of the Qin family, they would certainly go all out.

She only needed to wait until the night before and then collect all the food and dishes prepared in the Qin family’s kitchen. That would be enough for her.

Additionally, according to the original character’s memory, there was a rule in the Great Qian Dynasty: the bride’s family would send the dowry around the city two days before the wedding to avoid delaying the auspicious time for the wedding ceremony.

Lin Zhiyi curved her lips into a smile. When the time came, she wouldn’t be merciful.

With that thought, she only went to the pharmacy, buying many of the medicinal herbs needed for the journey of exile, and then returned to the inn.

She asked the shopkeeper if their meals were ready, but the shopkeeper didn’t recognize her at first.

When Lin Zhiyi mentioned her room number, the shopkeeper quickly responded, “Yes, it’s ready. I’ll bring it to your room now.”

“Thank you, little brother.”

The shopkeeper nodded in acknowledgment.

When Lin Zhiyi returned to her room, the shopkeeper soon delivered the meal to her guest room and even closed the door behind him.

“Knock, knock, knock~”

Just as Lin Zhiyi put the meal away in her space, she heard a low knock at the door.