Chapter Eighty Sisterly Love

  Three more, making up for yesterday's ~

  The moonlight is bright and clear, with layer upon layer of tree shadows on the ground.

  A gentle breeze blows, and the light and shadow under the flying eaves flicker.

  The boisterous manor finally quieted down, and even the most serious and heavy matters were buried by the endless night.

  Lin Zhao made Lin Chen leave and stayed overnight at Miao Yu Tang.

  Liu said she would arrange a side room for her, but Lin Zhaoyan shook his head and said she could live with Lin Ruoyan together.

  Liu thought that the two sisters had something to discuss in private and didn't have an opinion.

  Lin Zhao Yan had something important to discuss with Lin Ruo Yan.

  Lin Ruoyan had planned to discuss the matter with her after she returned to the manor, but who would have thought that an accident occurred midway, and presumably no one in the manor was able to attend to it either.

  The night was dark and deep, Lin Zhao Yan stepped into Qing Xiang Ge under the moonlight.

  Lin Ruoyan was sitting in front of a dressing table made of Huang Huali wood, lost in thought, her eyes deep and unfathomable.

  She saw Lin Zhaoyan's figure through the mirror, her face cold, and said in a bad tone: "What are you doing here?" Her voice still had a hint of crying.

  Lin Zhaoyan found it amusing, "It's not a big deal, why are you crying like that?" If she knew that she was actually suffering on her behalf, who knows how she would react!

  Lin Ruoyan glared at her, "You're almost dying and you still say it's no big deal?"

  Lin Zhaoyan smiled slightly and said, "No."

  She was afraid of falling alone, but with Xiao Xi by her side, even though he didn't have good intentions, she felt much more at ease for some reason.

  Lin Zhaoyan walked up slowly, picked up the ivory comb on the dresser and gently combed Lin Ruoyan's hair. "As you said, I still have my father, mother and you to take care of, so even if I'm in danger, I'll try my best to survive. I won't give up."

  Nothing is more important than being alive, she has personally experienced the fear of being on the verge of death and will not let herself have a second time.

  Lin Ruoyan was stunned.

  Lin Zhaoyan's fingers were warm and soft, brushing through her hair with an indescribable warmth.

  Her nose tip started to sour, half ringing, and finally stopped sulking, hanging her head and muttering: "When Father went to find you, I almost followed him too. But I was afraid that I would be impulsive and bring more trouble to you. I even thought of going to the Chengguo Gongfu to ask for help from my cousin, he is always more sociable than me..."

  Lin Zhaoyan's hand paused as he combed her hair, a chill rising from his back, "Fortunately you didn't go."

  What's the point of just talking about it? If she and he make a big deal out of their affair, things will be ruined.

  Lin Ruoyan sighed, "I just thought about it, I'm afraid even if I go find him, he won't pay attention to me? He's actually very cold-blooded." Her expression was somewhat melancholy.

  Lin Zhaoyan didn't respond.

  She didn't know what to say. She felt a twinge of guilt in her heart.

  She thought of Xiao Qi again, who used such methods to "get" Lin Ruoyan without hesitation. Although this time was ruined by her, it's not guaranteed that there won't be a next time, and she can't always stay by Lin Ruoyan's side.

  Lin Zhaoyan hesitated about whether to tell Lin Ruoyan, but thinking of Xiao Qi's cold warning in her ear, she felt uneasy for some reason and had a premonition that she should not betray the promise, otherwise they would both die miserably.

  As for Lin Ruoyan, she would keep a close eye on her at all times and not let her leave the house alone.

  "Alright, let's not mention him again." Lin Ruoyan cheered up, turned around and pulled her hand, smiling.

  Lin Zhaoyan didn't think about it anymore, she put the comb on the dresser and turned to the main topic. "I asked you to come back and think carefully about what you've eaten and used, have you figured it out?"

  Lin Ruoyan was taken aback, then shook her head. "I haven't eaten anything unusual, except for the meals delivered on time by the large kitchen, and occasionally I'll have Zi Juan make some snacks in the small kitchen."

  Lin Zhaoyan hesitated for a moment before asking: "Besides her, has anyone else handled the food that Zi Juan made?"

  Lin Ruoyan thought for a moment and shook her head, "No, she made them on the spot and gave them to me."

  Lin Zhaoyan intuitively felt that Zi Juan wouldn't harm her, so she asked: "What about those meals? Who goes to the large kitchen to fetch them every day?"

  "It's a pomegranate." Lin Ruoyan replied.

  Pomegranate?

  Lin Zhaoyan's eyebrows furrowed slightly, it seemed she was indeed the most suspicious one.

  "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the pomelo?" Lin Ruoyan asked hastily when she saw that Lin Zhaoyan's expression was not right.

  Lin Zhao didn't know how to tell Lin Ruo.

  She didn't know what method pomegranate used to make Lin Ruoyan trust her so much, probably because she couldn't produce any substantial evidence, Lin Ruoyan wouldn't believe her speculations at all.

  She thought for a moment, and still decided to say: "Hmm, she's very suspicious. After all, she's just entered the mansion, we don't know anything about her background, only listening to what she says is what it is, but don't you think it's strange that a little servant girl who has been drifting around since childhood knows so much about the palace news?"

  "She said she had an aunt who used to be a maid in the palace..."

  "You're also saying what she said, what if she's lying to you?" Lin Zhaoyan interjected calmly, "If words are spoken, although it's not good to be suspicious of everything, we can't easily believe others either. This pomegranate doesn't seem simple to me, she must have wanted to use you to enter the palace, so she was extremely flattering towards you before, but once she found out that you wouldn't be able to enter the palace, she shifted her target and helped someone else deal with you instead."

  Lin Ruoyan's eyes widened, "Yes! I told her I didn't want to enter the palace!"

  Lin Zhaoyan said with a "I told you so" expression, "So, she's very suspicious."

  "But, but I don't think she's that kind of person." Lin Ruoyan was still a bit hesitant, she didn't want to believe that Pomegranate would harm her, but she also fully trusted Lin Zhaoyan, and for a moment, she was quite torn.

  "You can know a person's face but not their heart." Lin Zhao said expressionlessly, "Just like you didn't know before that your second aunt would scheme against you."

  Mentioning this matter, Lin Ruoyan's face changed in an instant. After a while, she bit her lip and said: "Then... how are we going to expose her? We don't have any evidence at all."

  This is what Lin Zhao meant.

  Lin Zhaoyan let out a sigh of relief. What she was most worried about was that Lin Ruoyan herself would protect Shi Liu, and no matter what she did, it would be useless.

  "We don't need to expose her at all, because when the time is ripe, she will naturally reveal herself."

  "What does it mean?" Lin Ruoyan was puzzled.

  "Isn't she trying to enter the palace? How can you enter the palace if you don't leave her?" Lin Ruoyan had left a bad impression on the empress dowager twice when entering the palace, and it was likely that there was no chance for her. Therefore, only those who entered the palace together with her, Lin Xingyan and Lin Jinming, had an opportunity.

  But in the eyes of the people in the Hou Mansion, it was definitely impossible for her.

  Lin Jinming and Lu Shi also obviously did not want to enter the palace.

  Pomegranate wants to find someone to cooperate with, and will definitely choose Lin Xiangyan.

  She guessed that Pomegranate and Lin Xiangyan must have made an agreement, if Pomegranate succeeded in harming Lin Ruoyan, then Lin Xiangyan would also promise to take her into the palace.

  As for how to bring it up, it depends on Lin Xiang's own skills.