Chapter 23: Seeing a Ghost

  Lin Zhaoyan was shocked and hastily lowered his head.

  What was that look he just gave her? It was a mix of pain and guilt, and even a hint of deep affection...

  That way, where does it look like a spoiled child of heaven, but rather like an old man who has experienced hardships and tribulations.

  "Siya, what are you daydreaming about?" Someone beside her nudged her, and she hastily snapped back to reality. She saw Lin Ruoyan staring at her with a look of discontent, while the one who spoke was Old Lady Lin.

  Lin Jinming saw it and laughed: "Perhaps it's because the eldest brother of the words is too good-looking, and for a moment he was stunned!"

  A low, gentle laughter echoed around.

  Lin Zhaoyan secretly blamed herself for her wild thoughts, hastily curtsied and bowed, and said with a furrowed brow: "Fourth sister has seen Lu Shixiong."

  Then a clear and refreshing male voice rang out, "Never mind, Fourth Sister, please get up!"

  This sound is warm and pleasant to hear, like a spring flowing over warm stones and beautiful jade, and also like a clear breeze blowing through the trees and flowers.

  Lin Zhaoyan let out a sigh of relief. Just now, she must have been seeing things, as she had only met Lu Yan a few times and hadn't exchanged more than a few words with him, not even enough to be considered familiar, so how could he look at her with that kind of gaze?

  "Ah, so this is the Fourth Miss!" An elegant woman standing beside Old Lady Lin, wearing a silk dress with silver trim and a crimson skirt, instructed her maid to present a gift to her, then gazed at her thoughtfully, smiling ambiguously: "She seems different from how I remembered her. Indeed, three years have passed, and the young ladies in your household are becoming more and more distinguished. Have you considered any potential matches for her?"

  She was Lu Yan's birth mother Qin Shi, the wife of the Crown Prince of Chengguo Gongfu, from the Zhen Nan Bo Fu family, with a temperament that had always been arrogant and domineering.

  Lin Zhaoyan found her words quite awkward. What's with "that fourth young lady", is she very famous or something?

  Mrs. Lin looked at Lin Zhao Yan's outfit today and frowned with dissatisfaction.

  Today's protagonist is obviously Jin Jie and Ruo Jie, she also informed yesterday that no one would be so ignorant of the current situation to steal the spotlight.

  But unexpectedly, others didn't, and this usually cautious and low-key Fourth Young Miss actually became abnormal!

  It can't be helped, you've also taken a liking to Yan Ge, have you?

  "We haven't met yet, but we should start preparing anyway." Old Lady Lin said calmly, collecting her thoughts.

  Lin Zhaoyan was shocked and frightened by what she heard. Lin Lao Tai Tai helped her take a look? That's not something good.

  She couldn't help but secretly pray that Liu Wenyuan would be more persuasive and soon convince Lu's family to propose to her.

  "Siya is becoming more and more notable, previously dressed in simple clothes it wasn't noticeable, but today she deliberately put on makeup and it turns out she's also a big girl." Madame Hou Lu Shi responded lightly, seemingly praising her, but actually belittling her.

  She who has always loved simplicity and cleanliness suddenly dressed up unusually today, what's the reason? It must be that she knew Lu Yan was coming, so she deliberately made herself up to attract his attention.

  In this way, she fell into a deep and shameful crime, so naturally Lin Ruoyan, as the legitimate sister, would not be much better off either. How could Lu Yanzi possibly look up to her?

  "Great Aunt has overpraised me." Lin Zhao Yan lowered her eyes and smiled, her expression neither servile nor arrogant, saying lightly: "It's just that I caught a chill yesterday, so my complexion isn't good. I was afraid of being slow in receiving the noble guest, so I applied some light makeup to show respect, but it wasn't intentional."

  This sentence instantly exposed Lu's careful consideration, and yet she said it so calmly that no one could refute her.

  Lu's mouth twitched slightly, and his face turned gloomy.

  Lin Ruoyan lowered her head and smiled softly.

  Mrs. Lin intervened, making a round of the scene: "Alright, alright, it's good that the children are dressing up, can't they just be sloppy and dirty all day? It's been years since Brother Yan and Sister Mei have returned, you sisters take them out for a stroll, I'll chat with your aunt and mother about family matters, just remember not to go too far."

  Everyone knew that the protagonists this time were only Lu Yan Zhi, Lin Jin Ming and Lin Ruo Yan. They were just accompaniments to prevent outsiders from gossiping. So they all kept a distance from Lu Yan Zhi, no matter how good-looking he was, he was like the bright moon hanging high in the sky, untouchable to them.

  Walking in the courtyard of plum blossoms in the snow, the air is filled with the faint scent of cold plum fragrance. Lin Zhaoyan tightened his cloak and gazed at the three or four figures walking ahead, the men were elegant and refined, the women slender and poised, set against the gleaming white snow, like a painting in ink and color on silk.

  She was thinking of a hundred ways to find an opportunity to take her leave first, otherwise if she were to be implicated in the crime of "landlord Lu's words", Lu might dislike her even more.

  She pushed Lin Cengzhi, who was standing next to her, and whispered: "I'll leave first later when I have something to do, can you cover for me?"

  Lin Cen stopped suddenly and blinked her big eyes curiously: "Fourth sister, what's going on?"

  Her voice was not loud, but just enough for a few people walking ahead to hear.

  Lin Zhaoyan was speechless, wanting to explain when Lu Yan had already turned back, his eyes with a hint of anger, yet smiling warmly on his face: "Fourth sister is blaming us for neglecting you, so you want to leave first?"

  Lin Zhaoyan's voice trembled slightly as he lowered his eyes and said, "It's just that I've caught a chill and can't catch another cold."

  "I think you don't look like you're suffering from a cold, but rather like you've been frightened." Lu Yanzhi continued calmly, catching Lin Zhaoyan's surprised expression, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his lips, as if he was in a very good mood.

  He turned his head and ordered the little servant beside him, "You go get a sable cloak for Miss Lin Si. Also, have Ping Zhong go to the pharmacy to fetch five qian of bamboo leaves, two qian of pepper stem, three qian of wheat sprouts, and half a qian of solitary golden thread. Have the servants at the Lin residence make it into a medicinal soup after dinner and deliver it to Miss Lin Si."

  After finishing speaking, he also ignored the slightly surprised expressions of the crowd and said to Lin Zhao: "When I was in Lin'an, I learned some medical skills. The prescription just now is just a simple calming tea, even if you are physically healthy, taking it will not harm you. In any case, you are still the young lady of the Lin family, leaving like this is unreasonable, so let's make do with it!"

  Lin Zhaoyan's expression was slightly stunned, and he couldn't believe it in his heart.

  Is it that Lu Yan himself has such a familiar temperament, or did she actually know him well before?

  It's not right either, she was only five years old when she came, and later on, she wasn't unfamiliar with Lu Yan Zhi, who at that time had the appearance of a proud and arrogant young master, ignoring her!

  How did he go to Jiangnan for a few years and put on an air as if they were old acquaintances?

  Lin Jinming and Lin Ruoyan were also stunned on the spot.

  Perhaps others didn't know, but the two of them were very clear about this cousin's temperament. On the surface, he looked gentle and polite, but in reality, he was extremely cold and unfeeling. Usually, he would only nod and smile at the two of them, being courteous yet distant. When had he ever taken the time to consider someone else?

  And it's Lin Zhaoyan, I'm really seeing a ghost!

  Thank you sunflower889, qí liàn and tiān kōng yǐ wēi lán for the blessing of peace!

  Thanks for PK votes from 绮缳 (60), sunflower889 (10), 熱戀^^ (5) and 天空已微蓝 (5)!

  Thank you for the five perfect votes from Tiankongyimiao!