After leaving the Su residence, Su Nanqiao quickly followed behind Lin Ce.
“Miss Su, why did you come out?” Lin Ce was a little puzzled. Noble ladies in Bianjing rarely went out freely. In this feudal era, women had to adhere to many rules. Although they were engaged, they were not yet married, and meeting privately like this was generally unacceptable.
“I came to see you off. I heard you’re staying at the Duke of the Empire’s residence? I’ll walk you back.”
Su Nanqiao’s heart was pounding. The young man before her was gentle like jade. Though he looked slightly frail, in the future, he would stir the entire Great Zhou Empire with his own strength. Having returned with her memories from a past life, Su Nanqiao already had him in her heart. She just couldn’t show it yet. And even if she wanted to say it, who would believe something so unbelievable?
Lin Ce also suppressed the excitement in his heart. After being reborn, the first thing he wanted to do was solidify the engagement. Even his plans for revenge came after this. However, he too couldn’t reveal that he was a reborn soul. Karma and the Heavenly Dao were ruthless. Who knew what butterfly effect might occur if such a thing were exposed?
The two walked side by side, a perfect match. Xu Rong, watching from the side, was slightly entranced.
“Young Master Lin, Miss Su, have you two met before? You seem oddly familiar, like… like old friends who haven’t seen each other in years.” Xu Rong chuckled as he stepped up.
That remark startled both Lin Ce and Su Nanqiao. Had their rebirths been seen through?
“No! I saw Miss Su (Young Master Lin) in a dream, so she felt familiar,” the two replied in unison.
After that, even the air around them seemed to freeze.
The street was bustling like a tide, yet their eyes met, and so much passed between them without a word.
Xu Rong glanced left and right. The more he looked, the stranger it felt. These two definitely had something going on.
“What a coincidence. We must be fated like this,” Lin Ce broke the silence, scratching his head awkwardly. Su Nanqiao laughed boldly, but her toes curled as if she wanted to crawl into a hole. Too embarrassing.
Just then, a vendor selling sugar-coated hawthorns shouted nearby. Lin Ce walked over to ask about the price.
“Young master, these are red fruits from Nanli Village, juicy and perfectly sweet and sour. My craft was also learned from there. If it doesn’t taste good, you don’t have to pay,” the vendor said with a grin, then handed him a skewer.
Lin Ce glanced at the vendor and sneered inwardly. He was from the Lin family and had only just arrived in Bianjing. Yet someone was already watching him?
That vendor’s hands were full of calluses—clearly from gripping long weapons over many years. Only the Border Army soldiers stationed in the northern regions trained like that. Read the latest chapters at g.com.
“Marquis of the North!” Three words flashed through Lin Ce’s mind. His expression turned darker.
What he didn’t notice was that Su Nanqiao’s face also turned cold.
“Lin Ce has Frost Marrow Tribulation in his body, formed from three poisons—one of which is the Northern Ice Spider’s venom!” Su Nanqiao recalled.
Back then, the Marquis of the North, Lu Qingcang, disguised the venom as imperial pregnancy medicine and gave it to Lin Ce’s mother, which resulted in Lin Ce’s current weak condition. It was also because Lin Ce fell out with the Marquis that he was framed and hunted down by assassins.
This blood feud had never been forgotten by either Lin Ce or Su Nanqiao.
“Good thing I personally escorted Lin Ce. Otherwise, the Marquis’s people might have struck in the shadows,” Su Nanqiao exhaled in relief. With her present, those people wouldn’t dare make a move in public.
The two showed no sign of emotion. The vendor thought he had hidden himself well.
“Do you want one?” Lin Ce asked with a smile. Su Nanqiao was about to refuse but then suddenly became curious.
“I’ll have one.”
“Alright, let’s get two.” Lin Ce reached around but realized he hadn’t brought any coins. Normally, Li’er carried the money—he only took care of eating and drinking. This time, not bringing her had become embarrassing.
Su Nanqiao noticed his awkwardness and cheerfully pulled out ten copper coins. After getting the skewers, she took the first bite—sweet and sour, quite tasty. But she wasn’t just enjoying the treat—she was testing for poison. All these little precautions were to guard against someone harming Lin Ce.
Since they had two skewers, she tried the second one as well.
“What are you doing?” Lin Ce looked at her with suspicion. Was her appetite this big? Why didn’t he notice this in the last life?
Su Nanqiao’s face flushed red. She stiffened and said, “I… I didn’t mean to. Here, for you. You’re not disgusted by me, right?”
“Of course not.” Lin Ce laughed helplessly. He hadn’t even planned to eat the skewer—he’d just bought something to break the awkwardness earlier.
Xu Rong silently took several steps back. The air between these two was so sweet it was suffocating.
“Hmph, take it. I’ll walk you back.” Su Nanqiao huffed softly, her steps light and cheerful.
Before long, the two arrived at the Duke of the Empire’s residence.
“Eh? It’s Brother Lin Ce! Who’s this pretty sister?” Qin Jue looked at Su Nanqiao with wide-eyed curiosity and was instantly stunned. How could such a beautiful girl exist? Even prettier than her own mother. Not a single noblewoman in the capital could compare.
“And this is?” Su Nanqiao, having joined the Myriad Sword Sect, didn’t know much about current events in Bianjing. Besides, Duke Qin Shizhong was very strict with Qin Jue and rarely let her leave home, so Su Nanqiao had never met her.
“The Duke of the Empire’s youngest daughter—Qin Jue,” Lin Ce explained, then handed her the other skewer of candied hawthorn.
Qin Jue’s eyes sparkled. Her father never let her buy snacks outside, and she had been craving this for a long time.
“Brother Lin Ce, you’re the best! Mmm, this is delicious… huh? Why does it smell so good? Wait, one’s missing! Did you sneak a bite?” Qin Jue’s cheeks puffed out as she spoke, adorably full of energy.
Only now did Su Nanqiao realize her misunderstanding. So Lin Ce had bought two skewers to bribe Qin Jue!
Suddenly, the skewer in her hand didn’t taste so sweet anymore.
“Since you’re home, I’ll be leaving now.” Su Nanqiao turned cold, returning to the aloof image of a true disciple of the Myriad Sword Sect, like an ice goddess.
Lin Ce scratched his head. What’s going on? Wasn’t she just fine a moment ago?
Qin Jue blinked her big eyes, tugged on Lin Ce’s sleeve, and whispered, “Brother Lin Ce, are you dumb? That’s sister-in-law, right? How could you buy me the same snack you bought her?”
“You can solve the Star River Dream, but you mess up on something this simple?”
“I’ll go tell my brother to teach you a lesson later.”
Qin Jue licked her candied fruit, looking every bit like a clever little imp.
Xu Rong let out a sigh from the side. Lin Ce was great in every way—except maybe in emotional intelligence. Even Qin Jue could tell why Su Nanqiao was upset.
As Su Nanqiao walked farther away, Lin Ce took a deep breath and said, “Nanqiao, wait until I earn my name. Then I’ll come marry you.”