“No matter how domineering King Yan is, he cannot forcefully marry the daughter of the Ling family.”

Master Ling stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming, “The Empress has been busy selecting a concubine for King Yan recently. Given the family background of our Ling family, the Empress will never consider letting Ah Shu be the principal wife. At least she will have to wait until King Yan gets married before she will agree to let King Yan take Ah Shu into the palace.”

“With this calculation, we still have enough time to plan and deal with this matter!”

As Master Ling spoke, he stood up and paced: “First, we need to send another letter to Dingzhou as soon as possible. Mother is too old to travel, so let Fifth Brother come to the capital. With Fifth Brother here, we can arrange a marriage for Ah Shu in a legitimate way.”

“Then, secretly go and ask for an audience with His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson. Tell him that His Royal Highness King Yan is interested in Ah Shu. As long as His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson is interested in Ah Shu, he will definitely not sit idly by and watch. As long as you get ahead of others and arrange a marriage with His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson, even if King Yan is arrogant, he will be helpless.”

By the end, Uncle Ling was already full of pride and confidence.

Sun Shi’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and she smiled and praised, “Master, you are wise! After I learned about this, I was panic-stricken for a long time. After hearing what you said, I suddenly felt more confident.”

Uncle Ling smiled complacently: “You are a woman in the inner house, so you are bound to be flustered when encountering things. Okay, let’s talk about it later. I will go to the study now and write a letter to my fifth brother.”

Although he said it with ease, Uncle Ling was actually very anxious.

Sun Shi immediately said, “I will grind ink for you, Master.”

……

Master and Madam Ling stayed awake all night discussing countermeasures.

Ling Jingshu, who always remained calm in front of others, actually had a lot on her mind.

After dinner, she fed Ah Xiao some medicine and reapplied ointment on his eyes. After finishing all this, Ling Jingshu urged Ling Xiao to rest early.

“Ah Shu, what should I do if King Yan keeps pestering you?”

Ling Xiao was thinking about what happened during the day and said with a worried look on his face: “This King Yan may seem easygoing and amiable, but he is actually very overbearing. This can be seen from the fact of how he invited us to his mansion today. If he hadn’t been drunk by Doctor Wei, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have been able to get away easily today.”

Ah Xiao had really grown up!

He was not fooled by King Yan’s appearance and was also keenly aware of King Yan’s shrewdness and strength.

Ling Jingshu didn’t want Ling Xiao to worry about her, so she deliberately said lightly: “Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

Ling Xiao frowned: “Ah Shu, this is not a trivial matter. It concerns your reputation and your life. If King Yan uses his power to force you to marry him, he only needs an imperial decree from the Empress to grant the marriage. You will not be able to escape at that time…”

Yes!

In her previous life, Empress Xu had ordered her death with a secret decree. Given Empress Xu’s love for King Yan, if King Yan insisted on marrying her, it would not be difficult for him to ask for a decree.

The Imperial Grandson was proud by nature and disdained to force others to do things against their will. But King Yan was different…

“Ah Xiao, I have thought of all that you said.” Ling Jingshu whispered, “Today I asked my tangsao to tell my bómǔ about King Yan, and I am waiting for my dabó and bómǔ to come up with a solution for me.”

Master Ling was devoted to the Eastern Palace and would never want the Ling family to have anything to do with King Yan. He would definitely try his best to resolve this matter.

Ling Xiao thought about it and finally felt relieved: “I hope my dabó can come up with a good solution.”

After a pause, he sighed again: “In the final analysis, it is all because of me that you have been implicated. If you had not accompanied me to the capital, you would not have encountered so many troubles.”

Ling Jingshu pulled the corner of her lips and said suggestively: “Perhaps if I stay in Dingzhou, I will have more trouble.”

Ling Xiao was stunned. Before he could ponder the meaning of this sentence, Ling Jingshu stood up and said, “You have been busy all day. You should go to bed early. I am also sleepy and tired. I have to go back to my room to rest.”

There was a strong sense of weariness in her voice.

Ling Xiao felt distressed and said hurriedly, “Go back and rest quickly. We can talk tomorrow if we have anything to say.”

The weather was hot and dry, and after taking a shower, she finally felt a little cooler.

Ling Jingshu was usually used to going to bed early and getting up early, but today she lay in bed without feeling sleepy.

Everything that happened during the day flashed through her mind. The Imperial Grandson’s implicit confession, her tactful refusal, and her subsequent surrender, but she didn’t know whether the Imperial Grandson would accept it… The sudden appearance of King Yan, his strong invitation, and his intentions were obvious. She had to come up with a plan as soon as possible…

There was also Doctor Wei.

The subtlety between the four eyes, the seemingly invisible protection…

She was overthinking it all! Doctor Wei was not interested in women, she was suffering from a strange disease, and she had no plans to get married in this life. The two of them should not have any more interactions except treating Xiao’s illness.

Ling Jingshu stared at the ceiling of the tent silently, her heart beating fast and hard, unable to calm down for a long time.

She turned over, cleared her mind of all the chaotic thoughts, and forced herself to fall asleep.

She didn’t know how much time passed before she felt sleepy.

……

The next day, just after daybreak, a servant of the Ling Mansion hurried out of the side door.

The servant was ordered by Master Ling to deliver the family letter to Dingzhou as soon as possible. Master Ling also specifically instructed that the family letter must be delivered to Old Lady Ling in person and that the answer to the letter must be brought back to the capital.

Sun Shi kept the fact that she had sent the letter back to Dingzhou a secret for the time being and did not tell Ling Jingshu and her brother.

Just two days after the servant who delivered the letter left, Sun Shi received a letter from Dingzhou.

Sun Shi was startled at first but soon realized that the latest letter from home would take at least ten days to reach Dingzhou, and this should be the reply to the previous letter.

Sun Shi couldn’t contain her anxiety, so she opened the letter and started reading it without waiting for Mr. Ling to return home.

After a quick look, Sun Shi’s face darkened.

Old Lady Ling didn’t say much in the letter, only hinting that Ling Jingshu was suffering from a strange disease and couldn’t get close to any man. Before the disease was cured, the marriage was put on hold…

Old Lady Ling’s reaction was within Sun Shi’s expectations.

But now things had changed, with King Yan. This trouble must be solved as soon as possible. She just hoped that after receiving the latest letter from home, Old Lady Ling could figure this out and let Fifth Master Ling come to the capital as soon as possible…

“Madam, Miss Nine and Master Xiao are here to pay their respects.”

The maid’s report interrupted Sun Shi’s thoughts.

Sun Shi hurriedly folded the letter and stuffed it into an envelope. In a hurry, she couldn’t think of where to hide it, so she simply stood up, put the envelope on the chair, and sat on it.

As soon as she sat down, Ling Jingshu and her brother came.

The brother and sister paid their respects to Sun Shi as usual.

Sun Shi sat in the chair without moving, but her smile was particularly friendly: “Why don’t you two sleep a little longer? You are here so early.”

(End of this chapter)