YBTS - 15

It was not surprising that Han Linfeng was suspicious. Although he was a wastrel, his handsome appearance had attracted countless beauties in the capital. “Coincidences” like picking up a handkerchief in a garden or bumping into someone at a mountain temple were too numerous to count.

However, what worried Han Linfeng the most was not the romantic affairs of young men and women.

After all, since he came to the capital, he had been subjected to countless probing attempts with ulterior motives. And his first encounter with Su Luoyun was so complex and unspeakable.

This matter could have been handled by his servants. But Han Linfeng thought about it and personally got out of the carriage and walked towards the Su family’s carriage.

The young man was crying so miserably that Han Linfeng, not bothering to avoid any taboos, went up and lifted the carriage curtain. He saw a young man with a face full of tears holding a frail woman with her eyes tightly shut.

Perhaps because of the bump just now, the girl’s dark hair was loose. Under the scattered hair was a beautiful but pale face. She was so frail, like a flower spirit with broken wings, as if she would be carried away by the wind at any moment...

The girl, who had been so calm and composed when a knife was held to her neck, was now so listless and weak. Her pale cheeks and lips made people feel a strange sense of pity.

At that moment, Han Linfeng’s suspicion somehow disappeared.

In an emergency, he didn’t want to waste any time. He frowned, picked up the unconscious woman, and said to the young man with tears all over his face, “My residence is closer, and there’s a doctor on standby. It’s the best for emergencies!”

With that, before the alley was bustling with people and before the residents’ doors were open, the tall man walked with big strides, carrying the unconscious woman to his residence.

Only Guiyan and Xiangcao were left, staring at each other in shock.

Guiyan instinctively felt that his sister had been abducted by a wastrel. He used his hands and feet to climb out of the carriage and chased after the man walking as fast as the wind...

When Su Luoyun slowly woke up, her eyes were still shrouded in darkness, but the strange feeling on her body immediately put her on alert.

When she reached out to feel the bedding, all she felt was a soft and smooth, unfamiliar texture.

She knew that the bed she was on was not her own!

Where... was she?

Through the bed curtains, an old voice was speaking. “Young master, this young lady had an old injury to her head. Her meridians are blocked. This old man just examined her pupils, and they showed no reaction. It’s not something that can be fixed with medicine. I can use acupuncture on her, but it can only relieve her old headache. There’s no cure for her eye disease for now!”

Han Linfeng was listening to the doctor’s diagnosis when he heard a voice from inside the bed curtains that was trying its best to be calm but with a hint of panic. “Yan’er, Xiangcao! Where are you?”

Guiyan quickly walked over, lifted the bed curtains, and held his sister’s hand. “Sister, I’m here. Don’t panic.”

He gently comforted his sister and then told her that Young Master Han of the Prince of the North’s residence had collided with their carriage. When he saw that his sister was unconscious, he had them brought to his residence for treatment.

But Guiyan didn’t mention that the young master had carried her in. He couldn’t bring up something that concerned his sister’s reputation. However, this young master was surprisingly not the wastrel he had expected. He was truly helping his sister.

Luoyun understood what had happened and thought, “How ridiculous!” Even if she needed a doctor, she could have gone back to her own residence. What kind of situation was this, being carried into the young master’s residence?

But Han Linfeng walked over and said, “It was my coachman’s carelessness. He knew the alley was narrow but didn’t slow down, and he collided with you. I apologize to you.”

When he said this, his phoenix-like eyes were slightly raised, and his gaze was sincere. He cupped his fists, and there was an indescribable elegance about him. If it were any other girl, she would probably be blushing and her heart racing.

Unfortunately, such a beautiful man had no advantage in front of a blind woman.

Su Luoyun just respectfully thanked the young master and was in a hurry to leave the residence.

Han Linfeng, however, said, “I just heard Young Master Su mention that you were going to the bookstore to buy books. Since we have caused you trouble, how can I let you two go back empty-handed? While the doctor is writing the prescription, why don’t I invite Young Master Su to my study to pick out some books? I’ll consider it my apology gift.”

Su Luoyun knew that many of the books of these noble young masters were exclusive internal editions. They were not only expensive, but ordinary people probably couldn’t buy them even if they had the money.

But she didn’t want to get involved with this kind of wastrel. If Guiyan left, wouldn’t she be alone with the wastrel young master?

Just as she was about to refuse, she heard Han Linfeng say, “I have other things to attend to, so I won’t entertain you two any further. After you get the books from the steward, he will send you back to your residence.”

With that, she felt a gust of wind. The young master probably swung his long sleeves and left elegantly.

The steward smiled at Su Luoyun and said, “Miss Su, you can rest. I’ll have your maid and the servants of the residence take care of you. I’ll take Young Master Su to get the books and be back soon.”

Su Luoyun realized that these noble people just spoke for themselves and wouldn’t accept any refusal. Thinking that she should just get this over with quickly, she stopped arguing and just told her brother to go and come back quickly.

Before long, Su Guiyan, with the help of the steward, had packed a box of books. Su Luoyun also had Xiangcao accept the prescription from the doctor of the residence and had her hair redone with the help of the maids.

She declined the sedan chair arranged by the young master’s residence and quietly returned to Sweetwater Alley with her brother through the back door of the Prince’s residence.

Although Su Luoyun had no intention of getting married, she also cherished her reputation. If she were to return in the young master’s sedan chair, the entire street would be gossiping about her.

Guiyan saw that his sister was fine and gradually felt relieved. Although the coachman of the young master’s residence had caused a lot of trouble, the young master himself was not arrogant like a wastrel. He was very kind and very generous!

The box of books contained many rare editions that couldn’t be bought outside! However, most of the books looked very new, without even a folded page. It seemed that the young master himself was also a collector of books but not a reader! Although he had acquired many books to show off, he was not a lover of books.

It started to rain outside. The light rain turned heavy, covering the courtyard in a hazy smoke, making people drowsy.

Although Guiyan was older, he still had some habits of a child. It was cold and damp inside, and he didn’t like to be alone. So, he picked up a book and snuggled up with his sister on the soft couch, reading with relish. His sister couldn’t see, so he would be her eyes and read to her.

Luoyun leaned on the soft cushion, letting her brother rest his head on her lap. Accompanied by the sound of the rain, she listened to the young man read. As he read, a faint fragrance, as if from nowhere, diffused into her nose as the pages turned.

Luoyun couldn’t help but carefully savor the scent. She felt that this fragrance was unique and yet somewhat familiar, as if she had smelled it somewhere before...

When she couldn’t help but sniff a few times, she reached out for the book and moved it to her nose.

Yes, this unique scent was coming from the pages of the book.

Guiyan knew that his sister had been studying fragrances for the past two years. Seeing that she was interested in the scent of the book, he couldn’t help but smile. “Sister, you won’t even let go of the scent of books. You’re truly obsessed with fragrances. But this scent is really nice. I like it too. So when I took the books, I asked the steward where this fragrance came from. The steward said that this fragrance was brought back from Liangzhou. It has the root of the local camphor tree added to it, which smells good and also prevents pests. It’s specially placed in the study to prevent the books from getting damp and having pests...”

Guiyan was just making idle chitchat. He didn’t expect that after his sister heard his words, her expression would gradually become serious. It seemed that she was recalling something but couldn’t quite remember it at the moment.

Guiyan looked up at his sister, whose brow was furrowed, and couldn’t help but ask her what she was thinking about.

Luoyun came back to her senses and just smiled faintly, saying that she felt a little tired and wanted to take a nap. She told Guiyan to go back to his study and review his lessons.

After Guiyan left, the unique faint fragrance still lingered in the air.

Luoyun frowned, smelling it, but she couldn’t remember where she had smelled it before. So, accompanied by the sound of the rain, she finally fell into a light sleep.

In a state of chaos, she felt as if she were on a boat. Suddenly, a strong arm was wrapped tightly around her, and a scent enveloped her mouth and nose...

Luoyun woke up with a start, only to find that the scent was still lingering around her. She slowly bit her lip and finally remembered—on the boat that day, the scent from the fingertips of the attacker who covered her mouth was this exact fragrance!

For a moment, she couldn’t figure out the connection.

Did Han Linfeng know the attacker and lend him a book to read, which was why the scent was on his fingertips? Or did the attacker happen to buy the camphor tree root fragrance, a specialty of Liangzhou?

Thinking that the escaped attacker seemed to be connected to the rebel Cao Sheng, Luoyun instinctively felt that the latter possibility was more likely. It was just a coincidence.

That Young Master Han seemed to be unlearned and unmotivated, only caring about pleasure. If he could know such a desperate attacker and plot a crime like kidnapping a rebel, it seemed more difficult than getting a useless person to become successful.

After a careful analysis, Su Luoyun gradually calmed down. Maybe... it was really a coincidence that the thief also had this fragrance...

Luoyun hadn’t thought about the danger on the boat for a long time. She hadn’t expected that today, because of a coincidental scent, she would be reminded of that unpleasant memory.

Su Luoyun secretly prayed that she would never see that attacker again. As a blind person, she only wanted to peacefully raise her brother into an adult. She couldn’t afford to be caught up in such a huge whirlpool!

She fanned away the lingering scent in the air and called out, “Xiangcao, get some ‘Faint Pear Fragrance’ to fumigate the room!”

Meanwhile, Han Linfeng had not left his residence. When the steward told him that Miss Su had secretly left through the back door of his residence, he couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.

He hadn’t thought it through. A decent girl probably wouldn’t want to be associated with a wastrel like him...

Han Linfeng was not angry. He just gave a self-deprecating smile. He then walked past the new books with un-turned pages, pushed a corner of the bookshelf, revealing a secret compartment inside, and took out a book he often read, “The Three Strategies.”

As he opened the book, a faint fragrance came out, soaking into his fingertips. The pages were filled with the reader’s dense notes and annotations, and the small characters showed a powerful and vigorous handwriting.

But as his eyes were on the pages, Han Linfeng couldn’t help but lose focus. He was thinking of the image of Miss Su with her loose black hair, her pale face, and her eyes closed as she lay on the bed.

When her eyes were closed, she didn’t seem so bold. She was just frail and pitiful...

Outside the window, the rain and mist were like smoke, scattering his thoughts like rain, carried far away by the gentle breeze...

Because of the car crash and hitting her head, Su Luoyun didn’t go to the shop and stayed at home to rest for two days. But the “Faint Pear Fragrance” balm at Shouweizhai was not selling enough, and the shop kept sending people to urge the young lady to come.

Xiangcao told them that the young lady was sick, but the shopkeeper who came to urge her personally gave a bitter smile. “If it were a normal time, I would naturally feel bad for the young lady. But ever since the young lady went to the Prince Consort’s residence, there have been many more people ordering fragrances. It’s either the wife of a duke’s residence or the daughter-in-law of a marquis’s residence, and they all want them urgently... This... I can’t afford to offend any of them!”