Lin Mingyan woke up and was startled by Su He’s report that he was going out of the mansion.
“This… can we just go out casually?” Her eyes widened in surprise.
It was as if she had been sentenced to life imprisonment, only to be suddenly told that she could actually go shopping outside during her sentence.
This… was a bit too much of a pleasant surprise!
Su He’s youthful face beamed with a smile: “We can’t just go out casually, but each of us has one or two days off every month to go home and visit family.”
These two were newly assigned, so Lin Mingyan turned to Du Juan for confirmation: “Is that true?”
Du Juan nodded: “Yes, but I have no family, so I’ve never gone out.”
Going out would definitely cost money. She used to work in the main kitchen, and she never received any rewards throughout the year, so she had no money to go out.
Lin Mingyan, having received a definite answer, immediately became happy: “Good, good, good. Then go register and see if you can go back tomorrow?”
“Perfect, help me go home too and deliver some things.”
After all, Mother and her two younger brothers were living under someone else’s roof. Only by sending them some rewards would their lives improve.
Moreover, she needed to inform them of her current situation, otherwise Xilinjuoluo Shi might cry her eyes out.
Then, after thinking about what she currently lacked, she made a list and asked Su He to bring the items in for her.
Before Su He could go to the gatehouse to register, news came from the Front Courtyard that Fourth Master would come to Linfeng Residence that evening.
Now, as he walked to the gatehouse, he held his head high and chest out.
When Lin Mingyan heard this news, she had Du Juan, as usual, give Zhao Lesheng, who had come to deliver the message, the largest pouch.
Zhao Lesheng felt the pouch and smiled broadly: “Master has a lot of matters to attend to today and will come during dinner time.”
Lin Mingyan wasn’t surprised by the news. After all, he was an Imperial Prince Aga who handled countless affairs daily—how could he spend every afternoon idling in the rear courtyard?
Even if he dared to idle, she wouldn’t dare to serve him—did she still want to live?
After seeing Zhao Lesheng off, Lin Mingyan turned and asked Du Juan: “How did master visit the various courtyards before?”
If she wanted a good life, she needed to be favored, but if she stood out too much, she felt a bit apprehensive.
Du Juan had already inquired clearly and recounted in detail:
“On the first and fifteenth days of the month, he stays at Princess Consort’s courtyard. Concubine Song is now pregnant, so master doesn’t stay overnight, but he visits her three or four days a month.”
“The rest of the time is with Concubine Li, about ten days a month.”
Of course, Du Juan didn’t explain so clearly—Fourth Master surely also had times when he was tired and stayed alone.
Thankfully, with Concubine Li being such a prominent figure, she wouldn’t stand out too much no matter what.
However, when Fourth Master arrived during dinner time, Lin Mingyan only showed her face briefly, served him a cup of tea, and then retreated to the side.
Because although he had come, he was still holding a book, clearly engrossed in serious study.
Lin Mingyan’s behavior yesterday had already been quite bold, and today she didn’t dare to urge Fourth Master to do anything new again.
Moreover, she understood clearly that people, especially men, shouldn’t be allowed to fully understand you all at once.
Otherwise, they would quickly lose interest.
In modern times, losing interest would at most mean breaking up—she could just find another person to date.
But in the rear courtyard of an Imperial Prince, her fate would be miserable.
So, this time, when Su Peisheng saw Lin Mingyan quietly hiding to the side, eating a piece of fruit for a long time by herself, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Just yesterday, they were saying this Lin Gege was quite capable, and today she’s already pretending to be a quail?
Pah!
And she even managed to fool them!
Lin Mingyan didn’t know that today, when Fourth Master returned, he went to Fourth Primary Consort’s place again.
But Fourth Primary Consort still claimed to be ill and refused to speak with him, even pushing him toward Lady Zhang.
As a result, Fourth Master, being rather petty, stewed in anger once more.
When Fourth Master gets angry, it’s different from others. The angrier he is, the less he speaks, and no one can tell.
If anyone steps on his landmine during this time, they’re in for a world of trouble!
Su Peisheng couldn’t tell either, but he could make some educated guesses, so he was quite worried.
At times like this, what he hoped for most was for someone to quickly step on that landmine and let Fourth Master vent his anger.
He had thought that coming to Lin Shi’s place today might do the trick.
Unexpectedly, she didn’t make a move at all!
Ah, all he could do was order the junior eunuchs under him to stay alert and avoid causing trouble!
Lin Mingyan didn’t know that Su Peisheng saw her as a mine-sweeper. She was absorbed in fiddling with her hairpins.
In modern times, she had a side gig; otherwise, with student loans and other debts to repay, her salary alone couldn’t sustain her life in the big city.
Now that she was in ancient times, she only had the one box of jewelry given by Fourth Master, which was a bit shabby.
With free time now, she decided to modify some plain, unadorned hairpins.
After all, it was her hobby, and it was a good way to pass the time.
Otherwise, with Fourth Master seriously reading over there, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to just sit here daydreaming.
When Fourth Master finished digesting the chapter in his hand, he suddenly realized it had grown dark outside and had Su Peisheng put the book away.
Turning his head, he saw Lin Mingyan several meters away, busy at the small table by the Guifei couch.
The lamps had already been lit, and her silhouette under the light looked like a painting of a noble lady.
Fourth Master stood up and walked over.
The little figure in Su Peisheng’s heart danced, treating Lin Mingyan as his savior.
But then, Fourth Master casually sat down beside Lin Mingyan: “What are you doing here?”
“Fourth Master, I’m just tidying up my hairpins and jewelry,” Lin Mingyan replied without fear, smiling brightly and not stopping her hands.
There weren’t as many modern tools available now, but when Lin Mingyan first started making hairpins, she couldn’t afford to buy tools either and mostly worked by hand.
So, modifying a few hairpins was still something she could handle with ease.
Fourth Master didn’t pay much attention to women’s jewelry, but the uniquely styled willow branch hairpin in Lin Mingyan’s hand made him realize she wasn’t just tidying up.
He took the newly modified hairpin from Lin Mingyan’s hand and showed his first smile of the day: “It does have a bit of rustic charm.”
Then he looked at the pitifully small amount of jewelry in Lin Mingyan’s little box and the few agates she had taken apart.
Pointing at the pink one, he asked, “What’s this for? What did you take apart?”
“These two hairpins were dropped, so I took them apart to see if I could turn them into peach blossom hairpins,” Lin Mingyan lied without batting an eye.
These hairpins were the greeting gift Madam Li gave her this morning, and Lin Mingyan had no intention of wearing them again.
But it would be a waste to just leave them as they were, so she decided to take them apart and turn them into peach blossom hairpins for reuse.
Fourth Master then asked how she planned to modify them and what style she had in mind, discussing it as if he were genuinely interested.
Lin Mingyan treated it like a live Q&A session and explained her ideas.
In the end, Fourth Master called Su Peisheng over again: “Did you hear everything your Lin Mistress said?”
“Prepare all those gold threads, silver threads, and the like for her. Have them delivered tonight… no, tomorrow.”