Chapter 267 - Chapter 267: 267. Must repay kindness

Chapter 267: 267. Must repay kindness

Translator: 549690339

The break of dawn was nearing, and Su Liang got up.

A large suitcase was placed on the first floor of the Yuanming Pavilion, filled with clothes, shoes, socks, and cloaks for Gu Ling, all provided by Yang Yu with a friendly sentiment.

By the time Su Liang had prepared pumpkin pancakes and packed them in a box, Ren Dong had already placed the suitcase on the carriage.

Committed to playing her role fully, Su Liang quickly applied a light layer of makeup, donned a new skirt, got into the carriage, and left the mansion.

The news that Marquis Chang Xin was ordered to travel to Liang Country had already spread the previous day. Accompanying him would be the youthful Lin Boyan who had already risen to the position of Minister of Rites, and also the military commander Lin Bojun.

Many common people had gathered near the city gate to watch the excitement, discussing whether Su Liang would come to say goodbye, even some thought Su Liang might follow Gu Ling to Liang Country.

Therefore, when Su Liang’s carriage appeared, it immediately stirred up a commotion-

“Master, Marquis Chang Xin hasn’t come yet.” Ren Dong said.

Su Liang responded with a nod, indicating for the carriage to pull over and wait.

Suddenly, they heard people shouting, “They are coming! Marquis Chang Xin is coming! ”

Su Liang lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw an entourage approaching led by an armored Lin Bojun. Lin Boyan and Gu Ling were both seated in a carriage.

The crowd made way for them. As the entourage drew near, Lin Bojun, seeing Su Liang waving at him, instructed them to stop.

“Second Brother Lin, I have come to see you off.” Su Liang smiled.

Lin Bojun glanced behind him, then loudly announced, “Marquis Chang Xin, my little sister is looking for you!”

Gu Ling did not reveal himself but simply answered coolly, “Many thanks to Doctor Su for seeing me off.”

Lin Bojun released a sigh, “Little Liang, forget it. Whatever good things you have, just give them to me. Marquis Chang Xin does not want them!”

Su Liang shook her head, “That won’t do. I’ve prepared winter clothes for

Marquis Chang Xin. Second Brother, I ask for your help in bringing them along. Please take care of him on the road and don’t let him catch a cold.”

Hearing this, Lin Bojun smiled and ordered people to take down the suitcase from Su Liang’s carriage, placing it on their luggage carriage.

Then, under the gazes of everyone, Su Liang carried a food box and walked over to Gu Ling’s carriage, lifted the curtain. Everyone only caught a fleeting glance of Gu Ling’s profile before Su Liang actually went inside!

Gasp and exclamations reverberated, leaving Lin Bojun torn between laughter and tears.

However, ever since Su Liang began pursuing Gu Ling, Lin Bojun, who originally harbored suspicions about Ning Jing’s death, started to wonder more about whether Gu Ling had any connection with the deceased.

Although Lin Bojun knew it was not impossible that Su Liang fell in love with Gu Ling at first sight, he happened to see Gu Ling’s back a few days ago, and it looked so much like Ning Jing’s. Additionally, his frail and scholarly disciple disappeared for over a year and suddenly returned as a master, with a character quite different from before, which was abnormal in itself.

However, Lin Bojun has kept quiet about this matter, not revealing his suspicions to anyone, including Lin Shuzhi and Lin Boyan. He initially wanted to ask Su Liang about it, but after much hesitation, he decided not to. He trusted Su Liang implicitly, probing too much into her secrets might not be a good thing.

“These are pumpkin pancakes. They’re still warm.” Su Liang put down the food box, then leaned over to hug Gu Ling, who was sitting in the carriage, and gently patted his back, “Please take care of the two brothers of the Lin family, and take care of yourself too. Please come back soon.”

Then, Su Liang, in a premeditated manner, staggered and jumped out of the carriage.

To the watching crowd, it naturally seemed as if Gu Ling had pushed Su Liang out, and they sighed at Gu Ling’s lack of romantic sentiment.

As for Gu Ling, he indeed reached out, intending to hold Su Liang, but she moved too quickly. With a flutter of the curtain, she was already out…

Gu Ling sighed softly, their departure from the capital left an emptiness in his heart. He opened his lunch box, picked up a piece of pumpkin pancake and tasted it. It no longer seemed as sweet as it once was.

Su Liang stood firm, speaking to the carriage, “Gu Ling, while you’re in Liang Country, avoid falling for anyone else. If you decide to become a monk, I won’t stop you. But if you ever choose to marry, please consider me first!”

The onlookers stared in amazement.

Lin Boyan, inside the carriage, couldn’t stand listening to this. He opened the curtain and, with furrowed brows, looked at Su Liang. “Xiao Liang, go back quickly, it’s time for us to leave the city.”

Su Liang smiled, waving his hand, “Take care, eldest brother Lin. Come back early! ”

“Hmm,” Lin Boyan glanced at Gu Ling’s carriage and then calmly let the curtain fall back. He had always been careful and thoughtful, and he knew the real Ning Jing since childhood, as did his brothers. If Lin Bojun could notice something unusual, he could feel it, too. In fact, in his mind, he had already guessed the truth after Gu Ling appeared, but he didn’t bother to ask Su Liang about it. He just played along.

Therefore, in Lin Boyan’s eyes, Su Liang pursuing Gu Ling was mostly an act, probably to facilitate their travels and solve potential arranged marriage issues.

Given this, Gu Ling was on their side and they could trust him completely. This was Lin Boyan’s current thinking. As for the past, the people, and the incidents, they were all in the past.

Su Liang watched the departure from the city until they were out of sight, and then he rode the carriage back home.

With Gu Ling gone, Su Liang suddenly had a lot more free time and seemingly nothing he wanted to do. So, he went to visit Madam Xing at Marquis Zhong

Xin’s mansion, and then Old Duke Qin at the Duke Mansion.

At sunset, Su Liang rode to Lin Mansion.

Since both brothers had left on a journey, Lin Xueqing decided to return to her maiden home to look after her sisters -in-law. Naturally, Xing Yusheng followed her.

Su Liang took the pulses of both sisters-in-law and assured them they were in good health and that he would visit every other day.

Qin Yujin was fine as she had married a military commander, and was prepared mentally for Lin Bojun’s eventual deployment. Madame Min, Lin Boyan’s wife, was unable to lift her spirits as she had not expected her husband would leave on a long journey at this time. She asked Su Liang if Lin Boyan’s journey would be dangerous.

In a serious tone, Su Liang reassured her, “Rest assured big sister-in-law. Big

Brother is trusted by the emperor and is accompanying Marquis Chang Xin to Liang Country. The current relations with Qian Liang are quite good. The emperor of Liang Country is the uncle of Marquis Chang Xin and King Yue is his grandfather. There will definitely not be any problems.”

Petting her swollen belly, Madame Min sighed softly, ‘Will my husband return before the baby is born?”

Su Liang nodded, “He’s expected to return before the new year.”

Madame Min finally showed a small smile, “That’s good.”

After they had dinner, Lin Shuzhi said he had something to ask Su Liang, and they went to the study.

Su Liang sat down and laughed lightly, “Master, you look good.”

Lin Shuzhi shook his head, “If Boyan and Bojun hadn’t gone to Liang Country, I would be feeling even better.”

“Master, don’t worry too much. Both brothers will be fine on this trip,” Su Liang said seriously.

Lin Shuzhi’s gaze deepened suddenly, “Every time you call me ‘master’, I think of Jingjing.”

Su Liang fell silent and stopped speaking. At this point, she wasn’t surprised that some in Lin’s family would be suspicious of the relationship between “Ning Jing” and Gu Ling.

Keeping it from them initially was not a lack of trust, but rather a move to protect them, because Gu Ling’s identity was dangerous before being pardoned. Knowing too much might not be a good thing.

The development of things to this point was not entirely as planned by Su Liang and Gu Ling, many times they had improvised.

Gu Ling’s impersonation of “Ning Jing” in Pingbei City last year was accidental.

Prior to meeting Lin Shuzhi and Lin Xueqing at Qianshan Academy, Gu Ling

had no idea that Ning Jing knew them and was close to them.

“Master, I’m sorry.” Su Liang sighed.

Lin Shuzhi rested his arm on the table, lowering his voice, “No matter what you are hiding, I believe you must have your reasons. I won’t blame you. But now you must tell me the truth. What exactly happened to Jingjing?”

Su Liang took a deep breath and unraveled the entire story to Lin Shuzhi.

Learning that the real Zhen Ningjing had killed himself after being driven out of his house, Lin Shuzhi’s face turned grim, his eyes reddened.

After listening to Su Liang’s explanation, Lin Shuzhi remained silent for a while, then sighed deeply, “I see. No wonder when I saw Jingjing last year, I felt like he had changed a lot. At first, I didn’t dare to believe it… Turns out he was already gone by then…”

“Master, may you mourn in peace. I didn’t really know Ning Jing, but I’ve met some people from the Ning Family and have learned about his past. The pain of living might have been too much, leaving this world could be a kind of release.” Su Liang stated.

Lin Shuzhi gave a bitter smile, “The poor kid lived a hard life surrounded by a pack of wolves and tigers. He was thoughtful from a young age. When I lost contact with him, I had a lingering fear that we might never meet again.”

“Please forgive Gu Ling and I for deceiving you for so long.” Su Liang apologized.

Lin Shuzhi shook his head, “How can we blame you two? As Jingjing’s benefactor, Gu Ling had once saved him, and I knew about it. Jingjing mentioned it once when he was alive. I’m sure he’d be glad to know now that the gift he sent was well used. While I don’t know Gu Ling that much, their life experiences seem to be somewhat similar. It’s just that Gu Ling is much more resilient than Jingjing.”

While speaking, Lin Shuzhi sighed repeatedly, “I should actually thank you. Since meeting you last year until now, you two have helped the Lin Family navigate through difficult times several times over. If not for you, we wouldn’t enjoy today’s peaceful days. Perhaps it’s destiny. You and Gu Ling are like the big gift Jingjing left for our family, our saviors.”

“It’s too polite of you to say that, master.” Su Liang smiled.

Lin Shuzhi sighed again, “You were right to hide the truth from me at first, given Gu Ling hadn’t been pardoned yet. If you had actually confessed, I would be living in fear every day. But now it doesn’t matter anymore. Gu Ling’s identity has been restored. You’ve arranged everything well. Even if outsiders suspect something, they can’t find any evidence.”

Su Liang nodded, ‘Yes, thank you for your understanding, master.”

“However,” Lin Shuzhi suddenly frowned, looking at Su Liang, and asked, “Be honest with me, what is truly the nature of your relationship with Gu Ling? Is your pursuit of him merely a performance, or is it real?”

Playing innocent, Su Liang asked back, “What does master think?”

Lin Shuzhi huffed softly, “Don’t tell me that you two are brothers. Jingjing…Gu Ling has already said that to me before.”>

Su Liang nodded, “That’s precisely it.”

Lin Shuzhi held his forehead, “You two…each one weirder than the other! Alright then, keep playing. Nothing wrong with the way things are now. And at least if the emperor arranges any marriages, you two will have an excuse to refuse.”

“Exactly.” Su Liang laughed lightly.

“Since Gu Ling is one of ours and he’s highly skilled, he can look after Bo Yan and Bo Jun on their journey. With him there, I won’t have any worries.” Lin Shuzhi said.

Su Liang hesitated and then asked, “Would my eldest and second elder brother have guessed already?”

Lin Shuzhi nodded, “Only Qingqing is clueless, and she didn’t suspect a thing. Yu Sheng didn’t know Jingjing, so your brothers probably guessed some of it but they never mentioned it. During this trip, the three of them being together, maybe they’ll talk about it.”

The Lin Familv father and sons were special, beinz amonz the few in the world

who truly knew the real Zhen Ningjing. And they had been closely involved with Gu Ling, who had been pretending to be “Ning Jing”. Some servants of Ning Family in Xunyang City knew Ning Jing, but they had very brief contact with Gu Ling who was pretending to be “Ning Jing”.

Lin Xueqing didn’t think much about all this. The truth is, she trusted Su Liang wholeheartedly.

After revealing the truth to Lin Shuzhi, Su Liang felt much lighter.

Back at home, she was aware of someone in her room as soon as she entered.

Her eyes filled with caution, Su Liang held the short knife in her sleeve. Then, a familiar voice called, “Little sister Liang.”

Upon opening the door, Yan Shiba was sprawled on Su Liang’s bed in a dramatic pose, winking at her, “Little Liang, your sister missed you so much!” Su Liang was unimpressed, “You seem fine.”

At her words, Yan Shiba jolted upright, angrily pointing at Su Liang, “You sly girl! After all these years of wandering, I can’t believe I fell into your trap! I kindly searched for your lover, only to find out that you’ve been fooling me all along! I can’t stand being deceived! Tonight, it’s either your life or mine!”

Su Liang was calm, drew her sword, and pointed it at Yan Shiba, “Alright. Come on then.”

After zooming around in frenzy for a moment, Yan Shiba collapsed back on the bed, “You rotten girl! Wicked girl! I can’t believe you wished me dead! And you didn’t even bother to rescue me when I was in trouble?”

Su Liang sheathed her sword, walked over and sat at the table, “Do you think you would be here if I hadn’t intervened?”

Yan Shiba narrowed her eyes, “What are you implying?

“I set a trap for Yan Shiqi, nearly killed him with the emperor’s help. If not for this, wouldn’t your chance for freedom be non-existent?” Su Liang said neutrally.

Upon hearing this, Yan Shiba laughed, “No wonder! No wonder that scum came to harm! I thought he died!”

The only reason Yan Shiba could return to the capital to find Su Liang was because she rebelled against the people Yan Shiqi arranged to guard her. Their successful escape was due to the fact that Yan Shiqi had disappeared, and all of Yanyun Building’s assassins in the capital were gone.

“What brings you here?” Su Liang asked.

Yan Shiba gave an ambiguous smile to Su Liang, “To fulfill a promise! Little Su, you saved my life multiple times, so I’ve come to repay you!”

Su Liang was speechless, “No need.”

“Tell me the truth, have you and the handsome Gu become husband and wife yet? I know you two are stubborn! Is handsome Gu leaving the capital today for Liang Country? I can kidnap him back to sleep with you, how about that?” Yan Shiba said as if joking.

“Not at all.” Su Liang shook her head, “Stop your nonsense, let the matter rest.”

“Really don’t need it?” Yan Shiba looked disappointed.

“Do whatever you need to.” Su Liang stood up to dismiss her.

Yan Shiba nodded, “I need to go visit my younger brother, then I will come to find you.”

“No need to come, thank you.” Su Liang refused.

Just as Yan Shiba was about to leap out of the window, she suddenly turned around, “Little Liang, technically I should bring Gu Ling to you, and add in some stimulating drugs to spice things up for you guys to have a good pleasure. That’s what our deal is right?”

Su Liang was exasperated, “How dare you?!”

“Anyway, I must find an opportunity to repay you. Just you wait! Haha!” With that, Yan Shiba leapt out of the window and disappeared into the night.

Ren Dong, from below, asked, “Master, are you okay?” Su Liang answered, “I’m fine, you can go to sleep now.”

Su Liang sat by the window, staring at the tranquil lake, she became worried about how Yan Shiba, a crazy woman, might drug her and Gu Ling with aphrodisiacs…

After a while, Su Liang shook her head, “What nonsense! I’m a doctor, how can I be at her mercy!”

Before bed, Su Liang thought about studying all the aphrodisiacs and love potions of this world the next day to avoid being affected, and also to inform Gu Ling as soon as possible.. Now that a poison master was interested in him, it would be disastrous if he accidentally consumed something…