Lin Chaowen watched as Qinghe placed dish after dish onto the table without saying a word. He forced a strained smile toward the handsome man across from him.
“Yizhi… our home food is simple. Just eat whatever you like.”
“In that case, I shall respectfully accept your hospitality,” Helian Ling said with a smile, rising to sit at the table. He watched as Qinghe respectfully finished setting the dishes and withdrew, leaving only him and Lin Chaowen in the room.
Lin Chaowen also sat down. “Yizhi, please.”
Helian Ling smiled faintly. “I am merely your subordinate, and we are in your residence. As guests follow the host, there is no need for such courtesy. Please, My Lord.”
“Alright, alright—let’s eat together.” Lin Chaowen smiled on the surface, while internally he was thinking a string of curses.
This Prince Yi was becoming more and more improper. What kind of prince would insist on following someone home just to eat a meal?
Today, Lin Youyou’s dishes were simple: thin-skinned, generously filled chive boxes, crispy outside and fragrant inside. One bite, piping hot and satisfying. Alongside them was a plate of sweet, salty, and spicy pickled cucumbers—crisp and refreshing. A bowl of thick, fragrant rice porridge with white sugar completed the meal.
Just two words: satisfying. From mouth to stomach, warm and deeply satisfying.
There were also a few braised chicken feet, a small plate of “drunk peanuts,” and a cup of refined liquor.
Yes—this was life.
While eating, Helian Ling smiled and said, “My Lord’s life is truly pleasant. Every meal is different, and the wine is plentiful. How leisurely.”
“Heh heh…” Lin Chaowen only smiled. “Just luck. Pure luck.”
He had no idea what Helian Ling was implying, so of course he wouldn’t mention that the food came from his daughter.
But even if he didn’t want to say it, Helian Ling still smiled and said, “Miss Lin’s cooking is also something I’ve rarely seen. Truly remarkable.”
Lin Chaowen’s hand paused mid-drink. After finishing his cup of wine and setting it down, he asked calmly, “Your Highness, how do you know this food was made by my daughter?”
“I once had the fortune of tasting Miss Lin’s milk tea and roasted meat on the road to the capital,” Helian Ling replied with a smile. “The flavor was even better than the imperial chefs in the palace. Once tasted, it is unforgettable.”
Lin Chaowen narrowed his eyes. “The Third Master who saved my wife and daughter on the road to the capital… was Your Highness?”
“Yes.” Helian Ling nodded. “To be precise, it was your wife and daughter who unintentionally saved my daughter.”
“…I see.” Lin Chaowen fell silent. His eyes flickered with pain and regret, though only for a moment. “It is our honor to have saved the princess. But… were there further assassination attempts after that?”
“There were,” Helian Ling said without hiding anything. “Three times in total. Each time more dangerous than the last. The final attempt was even on par with my personal guards. Their targets were clear—your wife and daughter. All at night. I dealt with them silently, so they never noticed.”
“…I understand.” Lin Chaowen fell silent again.
If it were only Madam Zhang acting alone, she could not have mobilized so many assassins, each stronger than the last. That could only mean…
He gathered his thoughts, then stood and bowed respectfully.
“Thank you, Your Highness, for saving them. I will remember this kindness.”
Helian Ling waved his hand after drinking. “I did not tell you this to receive your gratitude. I only wish to remind you, Lord Lin—some matters, if they can be resolved early, should not be delayed. Otherwise, the ones who suffer will be those you care about most.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
After learning that Helian Ling had saved his wife and daughter, Lin Chaowen could no longer object to his shameless habit of “dropping by for meals.” He dared not complain at all.
Some matters indeed needed to be dealt with.
After the meal, they discussed official affairs for a while before Helian Ling took his leave.
Inner Courtyard:
When Lin Chaowen returned, Madam Xu told him everything that had happened that day, including what their daughter had said.
His expression turned cold. After a brief thought, he said, “I will handle matters outside. You just focus on reclaiming your dowry. Everything has me. If you cannot resolve something, tell me—I will take care of it.”
“Mm.” Madam Xu nodded, then worriedly asked, “What about our daughter’s engagement?”
“I will find a way to resolve it,” Lin Chaowen said. “Anyone who is entangled with his fiancée’s concubine-born cousin cannot be a good husband.”
“We do not need to use her marriage for profit. As long as she likes him and he treats her well, that is enough. Since she dislikes this engagement, as her father, I will make sure she is freed from it.”
Madam Xu still felt dissatisfied. “It’s fine to break it off, but I just don’t want that girl from the second branch to get away so easily.”
Lin Chaowen chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?” she asked, lightly hitting him.
“As an ambitious prince aiming for the throne, do you think the Second Prince would allow a concubine-born daughter from a minor official’s family to become his princess consort? She may not even qualify as a side consort.”
“If she insists on competing with Youyou, then let her. Let her enter the Second Prince’s harem if she can. Wherever she ends up depends on her ability.”
“With no powerful family backing and no wealth, those women in the inner court will swallow her whole.”
His eyes turned cold. “Ambition beyond one’s station leads to a thin life. If she wants to steal what belongs to Youyou, she must first have the life to keep it.”
Madam Xu’s mood eased, and she smiled again. “Maybe she even wants Youyou to be the princess consort, while she becomes a side consort instead?”
“Ha.” Lin Chaowen laughed. “Dreams are nice. But does everything go as she wishes? Her ambition is truly large.”
They speculated that Madam Zhang and the second branch likely already knew.
“And Mother… do you think she knows?” Madam Xu asked.
“Even if she didn’t at first, she likely knows now. What could truly be hidden from her?” Lin Chaowen’s eyes turned cold and disgusted.
“She really thinks she is the matriarch of the Lin household?”
Madam Xu sneered. “She really treats herself like the old ancestor of the family.”
Lin Chaowen did not respond.
To him, she was only a concubine—the second branch’s stepmother at best. Respect her, and she is the old madam. Disrespect her, and she is nothing.
The couple continued talking quietly until their eyes grew heavy… and they fell asleep.