“Mother, since cousin is already here, let him stay,” Li Jiayin spoke before Fu’er could shut the door. A strange look flashed through her eyes as she pushed open the gate and allowed Lin Ce to enter.
“Do you have a lot of luggage? You’ll have to carry it yourselves. We don’t have any servants here,” she said, her eyes avoiding Lin Ce’s gaze.
“Isn’t he a servant?” Xu Rong couldn’t hold back anymore. What kind of place was the Li residence? Even toward their own nephew, they were this heartless. Compared to this, Lin Ce would be better off staying at the Duke of the Empire’s residence, where Qin Shizhong truly cared for him like family.
“Uncle Fu’er is not a servant,” Li Jiayin replied and turned away, walking back inside.
Lin Ce smiled faintly. He had already figured out the dynamics of the Li household before stepping in. Although he’d visited in his previous life, he had been mistreated at the Su residence and never ended up staying here—instead, he’d returned to Yuzhou. This time, he could tell right away that the household was largely managed by Li Jiayin, who was clearly the apple of both Li Jingchun and Jia Xifeng’s eyes.
“Tch…” Jia Xifeng didn’t bother hiding her disdain. Since her daughter had spoken, she had no choice but to let Lin Ce stay. “Fu’er, clean up the side courtyard. We don’t have any spare rooms. Just let them stay there for now.”
Fu’er accepted the order and ignored Lin Ce and the others entirely.
“This massive Li residence doesn’t even use servants? What a joke,” Xu Rong grumbled while helping carry Lin Ce’s luggage. Fortunately, Lin Ce and Li’er didn’t bring much—he could manage it all himself.
But after entering, Xu Rong realized Li Jiayin hadn’t exaggerated. The residence was a gift from the Emperor and the only thing Li Jingchun had ever accepted. But aside from the building, there wasn’t a single servant inside. Everything was handled personally by Fu’er.
The estate was large, far too much for just Li Jingchun’s family. When Fu’er went to clean the side courtyard, he stirred up a thick layer of dust.
Li’er couldn’t stand to watch anymore and immediately joined in to help. While working, she asked, “Steward Xu, what day is it today?”
“The thirteenth of April. Why do you ask?”
Xu Rong answered casually, “Do you need to buy anything? I doubt the people here will provide you with supplies. They might even try to charge you rent for the room!” Thinking about Jia Xifeng’s behavior earlier, he grew more annoyed. “She really reeks of a merchant’s stench.”
Li’er wholeheartedly agreed, but her brows were furrowed with concern.
“Steward Xu, I’d like your help buying some braziers—big and small, as many as possible—and lots of charcoal!” She touched her chin, her eyes lifted upward, carefully calculating. “If you can find a large wooden tub for bathing, that would be great too.”
Xu Rong had thought she was just being picky. But when she listed only warming supplies, he was confused. It was already April, winter had passed, snow had melted, spring had come, and Bianjing was warm and sunny every day. Was she preparing for next winter?
“These might be hard to find. Miss Li’er, are you planning to hibernate?” Xu Rong joked.
But to his surprise, Li’er’s expression dimmed. She whispered, “Young Master has lived on thin ice since the day he was born. For him, every moment feels like winter…”
Her words were full of sadness.
Xu Rong felt a knot in his heart. He had heard some rumors about Lin Ce—how the young heir of the Lin family had been sickly from childhood, and how the cost of his medicine each year was astronomical.
What a tragedy. He looked like a bright and handsome young man, yet fate had been so cruel to him.
“Don’t worry, everything you asked for is available at the Duke’s residence. I’ll have it delivered later today,” Xu Rong said, patting his chest. He genuinely liked Lin Ce.
“By the way, where is your young master?” he asked.
Li’er pointed toward the main hall of the residence and said, “Young Master went there with something just now. Maybe you were right—he might actually be paying rent.”
Inside the main hall of the Li residence…
Jia Xifeng, as the lady of the house, sat upright in a grand armchair. Across from her sat her nephew, Lin Ce. Li Jiayin stood beside her mother, holding a scroll of scriptures.
The atmosphere was a little tense. Li Jiayin, with her usual icy demeanor, didn’t matter much. What mattered was that Jia Xifeng’s disdain for Lin Ce was no longer concealed.
“Lin Ce, what brings you to Bianjing?” she asked coldly. “Prime Minister Lin has already returned to Yuzhou. There’s no place for the Lin family in Bianjing.”
“I once went to the Lin family to ask for help for Jingchun. Not only did you refuse, but you even made things worse for him. That was your failure to value family. Don’t blame me now for being heartless.”
Li Jiayin furrowed her brows slightly but didn’t say anything. The animosity today stemmed from a past incident. Jia Xifeng had once pleaded with the Lin family for help, only to be humiliated. Not only were they refused, but the Lin family had even turned on her. How could she not be bitter?
Now that the Lin family had fallen, they expected her to suddenly care about family ties?
Lin Ce smiled and opened a wooden box, placing it before Jia Xifeng.
“Aunt, this is a pair of gold hairpins I had custom-made from a goldsmith in Yuzhou. One large and one small—double phoenix design, inlaid with Hetian jade from the northwest. It may not be extravagant, but it’s of considerable value. A gift for you and Jiayin.”
“Of course, the craftsmanship of gold jewelry in the northwest can’t compare to that of Jiangnan. I hope you won’t find it lacking.”
Lin Ce had come fully prepared. He knew Jia Xifeng was a merchant’s daughter, fond of small favors. That’s why he brought the hairpins. But they weren’t as modest as he claimed. The gold alone was worth a fortune. The thumb-sized piece of Hetian jade was rare and precious. On top of that, the hairpins were handcrafted by a master gold artisan—something usually only found in the palace.
When Jia Xifeng saw the hairpins, she instantly beamed.
Her head was covered in outdated accessories, and now, receiving a beautiful new hairpin made her overjoyed. Still, she glanced carefully at Li Jiayin.
“My daughter, if your mother accepts a gift from her nephew, that’s not considered corruption, right?”
“It’s not,” Li Jiayin sighed helplessly. She looked at Lin Ce with a hint of apology, and even her icy face softened slightly with embarrassment.
This was their family’s routine. Whenever they received anything, they had to ask whether it would count as corruption and hurt Li Jingchun’s reputation at court. They followed this rule to the extreme.
That’s also why Li Jingchun had offended countless people in court, but no one could ever catch him in a scandal. This was his philosophy in politics.
At that moment, a middle-aged man walked in from the rear courtyard.
“What’s all this noise? After debating policy yesterday, I was hoping to rest today—and yet I can’t even get peace in my own home!”