The man hidden on the rooftop, Shi Zhao, froze for a moment.
He thought to himself that he had concealed himself perfectly, yet he had still been discovered. This woman truly was unusual. No wonder the prince had issued such orders.
“Big brother up there?” Lin Yanxi called lazily. “Isn’t admiring the moon alone a little lonely? I’ve got some excellent huadiao wine here. Want to come down and have a taste?”
Lin Yanxi narrowed her eyes slightly, concealing all the sharpness hidden within them.
The moment Shi Zhao arrived, she had already noticed him. Since he hadn’t made any move, she wanted to test what exactly he was doing here.
“If you won’t come down, then I’ll come up and find you.”
Pretending to rise from her chair, Lin Yanxi made a move.
On the rooftop, Shi Zhao tightened his grip on the sword in his hand. He had already decided that if Lin Yanxi made any suspicious move, he would carry out the prince’s order and kill her immediately.
“Xi’er! Where are you going?”
A hearty voice suddenly interrupted both of them.
The moment Lin Yanxi saw her father, Lin Hongyuan, hurrying over excitedly, the dimples on her cheeks immediately appeared.
Her gaze casually swept toward the spot where Shi Zhao was hiding before she smiled and asked,
“Father, what brings you here?”
Lin Hongyuan deliberately waved the things in his hand in front of her.
“These are Guangtao pastries and snowflake crisps from Yulan Studio that I specially brought for you. Want to try some?”
Lin Yanxi’s almond-shaped eyes instantly sparkled.
“Did you only bring them for me, or does everyone get some?”
Lin Hongyuan smiled dotingly.
“I brought them especially for you. Who told my precious daughter to be such a little glutton?”
Lin Yanxi raised a delicate brow and happily opened the box. The neatly arranged, exquisite pastries instantly captured her heart, and she eagerly began tasting them.
However, Lin Hongyuan noticed the wine sitting on the nearby table, and his expression immediately darkened.
“You’re still a young girl—how can you drink so much wine?”
After saying that, he called for Cuizhi.
“Take this wine away. A young lady drinking this much late at night isn’t good for her health.”
Lin Yanxi blinked in surprise.
“I didn’t know Father cared so much about health preservation.”
Lin Hongyuan pretended to be angry.
“What nonsense about health preservation.”
Suddenly, the look in Lin Yanxi’s eyes changed slightly.
Lin Hongyuan became uneasy and subconsciously touched his face.
“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”
This precious daughter of his usually looked somewhat absent-minded, but sometimes her gaze made people inexplicably nervous.
After a long pause, Lin Yanxi set down the pastry in her hand and asked seriously,
“Father, how have things been going lately with handling the family affairs?”
“Why do you ask?” Lin Hongyuan nodded awkwardly. “Everything’s fine. Everything’s been going smoothly.”
“You’re going out again tomorrow too?” Lin Yanxi asked with knitted brows.
“Of course. In another two days, I’ll finally finish all the matters at hand and spend some proper time with my precious daughter.”
Lin Hongyuan assumed she was asking because he hadn’t spent enough time with her lately. Feeling guilty toward his daughter already, his heart naturally softened.
Lin Yanxi stared intensely at him.
“Father, can you not leave the residence tomorrow?”
Although the night was dark, she could still see the ominous black cloud lingering over his forehead. If he went out tomorrow, he would definitely encounter a life-threatening disaster. Staying home would be safest.
Or perhaps…
“If Father truly must go out, how about I accompany you tomorrow?”
Lin Hongyuan immediately rejected the idea.
“There’s no need for you to come. It’s nothing important tomorrow. I’m only going to discuss some business matters with Boss He in the western part of the city. It won’t take long.”
To reassure her, he added,
“How about this? I’ll finish early tomorrow and come back to have lunch with you.”
Yet the concern on Lin Yanxi’s face still didn’t ease.
“Alright then, it’s settled. I’ll return at noon to eat with you. In the afternoon, I’ll take you boating, okay?”
Lin Hongyuan smiled warmly.
“I recently bought a boat and already had people decorate it in the style you like. It’s my gift to you. In the future, whenever you’re bored, you can go drifting on the lake. Isn’t that nice?”
“Father’s only going to discuss business tomorrow?”
“Your Uncle He and I have been friends for many years. We’re very close.”
“Father, wait for me a moment!”
After speaking, Lin Yanxi lifted her skirts and hurried into the room.
About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, she returned holding a small embroidered pouch. She personally handed it to Lin Hongyuan.
“Father, keep this with you. No matter what happens, you must not let this pouch leave your body, understand?”
Seeing how serious she looked, and since this was the first gift his precious daughter had ever given him, Lin Hongyuan didn’t ask any questions. Instead, he happily tucked the pouch into his robes.
“Alright. Since it’s a gift from my precious daughter, Father will treasure it properly and absolutely never let it leave my side.”
Only after hearing his promise did Lin Yanxi finally relax.
Inside the pouch was a talisman she had drawn. If danger truly came tomorrow, it would at least be able to shield him for a moment. She didn’t expect it to completely avert disaster, but it should preserve his life.
“Well then, Father still has some matters to attend to, so I’ll head back first.”
Lin Hongyuan pressed a hand against his chest where the pouch rested, cherishing it dearly.
“Okay,” Lin Yanxi replied, but still couldn’t help reminding him again, “The pouch absolutely must not leave your body.”
Lin Hongyuan patted his chest reassuringly.
“Don’t worry. Father will keep it safe.”
After Lin Hongyuan left, a wave of exhaustion suddenly overtook Lin Yanxi. Her entire body collapsed beside the table as she completely lost consciousness.
Fortunately, one of the maids inside the room saw her and hurriedly carried her back to bed.
The next day, when the sun was already high in the sky—
Lin Yanxi slowly woke up. Looking at the glaring sunlight, her blank mind gradually recalled what had happened.
It was because drawing that talisman last night had exhausted all her energy and caused her to faint.
In her previous life, even though her body had been weak and her fate flawed, drawing talismans and setting formations had never posed any difficulty for her.
She hadn’t expected this current body to be unable to endure it.
It seemed some things truly couldn’t be neglected.
She would have to use the cultivation methods she learned in the past to refine and strengthen this body again.
In the past, she had no particular attachments. As long as she could live freely and do as she pleased, that was enough.
But ever since Lin Hongyuan returned, Lin Yanxi—who had never experienced familial affection before—had, for the first time, felt a father’s care and concern.
Naturally, many emotions had begun growing in her heart.
So for Lin Hongyuan’s sake, she needed to cultivate again.
“Miss, you’re awake?”
Cuizhi entered carrying washing supplies. After wetting a clean cloth, she handed it to Lin Yanxi.
“Madam sent someone earlier to ask you to go to the front courtyard.”
“What for?”
“Early this morning, someone from the Grand Tutor’s residence delivered a calling card. They said the Second Madam of the household is personally coming to visit, and Madam wants you there.”
Lin Yanxi thought for a moment about this “Second Madam” before muttering quietly to herself:
“So… the child has been found?”