Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Avoiding him
It was a cold winter day, and Lin Yu wore a square-collared, long-sleeved coat and a horse-faced skirt. Her shoulders were thin, so she didn’t like thick clothes; her bones ached after wearing heavy clothes.
Currently, she was standing in Li Heming’s yard, which was filled with cold wind. She couldn’t help but feel cold. She had only stood and talked with him for a while, and she felt cold until she tucked her hands into the fox fur coat sleeves.
Li Heming was not afraid of the cold. He was still wearing the flying fish suit he often wore; the waist was tight as if he wore a thin, close-fitting lining. He lowered his eyes, glanced at Lin Yu’s exposed fingertips, and suddenly asked, “Cold?”
“Huh?” Lin Yu was thinking about how to ask him about the relationship between Wang Changzhong’s case and the Lin Mansion. She was stunned when she suddenly heard him ask this question with concern.
She squeezed her sleeves: “No.”
She looked up at Li Heming and saw him staring at her sleeves. She subconsciously glanced at his left hand on the hilt. He was tall and had long hands. The veins on the back of his hands were prominent, and his five fingers were slender, looking extremely powerful.
Lin Yu had heard that his hands had broken the heads of criminals in the imperial prison. No one discussed whether this was true, but since there was such a rumor, it meant that the punishment in the imperial prison was not something ordinary people could bear.
Lin Yu whispered, “Lord Li said before that Wang Changzhong mentioned my father and brother’s names in his confession. My father is loyal to the Emperor and loves the people. He has always been honest. Will he be imprisoned?”
Li Heming did not rush to answer but asked, “Aren’t you worried about your brother?”
“Ah?” Lin Yu didn’t understand why he asked this. He had messed up her organized thoughts. She said hesitantly, “Brother… he is still young. If he is accidentally imprisoned, he should be able to bear it.”
Lin Jing, who was far away in the Ministry of Revenue to manage this year’s tax revenue, probably didn’t know that his sister was teasing him like this outside. He sneezed, rubbed his nose, and thought: It’s strange. The fire in the room is intense; why do I feel a chill on my back?
Li Heming stared at Lin Yu for a while. Being stared at by him, Lin Yu did not understand that her words were tantamount to exposing her weakness in front of him.
Li Heming said, “Old Lord Lin has been an official for decades, and he is ashamed to associate with corrupt officials. He is untainted, but does Miss Lin dare to conclude that your father is innocent? The parties’ struggles in the court are fierce. Some people try to dig out something from the past to protect themselves. Even if nothing is found, others will seize this opportunity to create a dirty stain on your father.”
His words sounded like a threat but more like a reminder. Apparently, the Northern Office had found something dirty, so he said that.
If Lin Yu had asked about Lin Jing, Li Heming might have mentioned Lin Jing’s future. He was used to interrogating prisoners, and he subconsciously stabbed at the other party’s soft spot when he opened his mouth. Although it was an unintentional move, he unexpectedly stabbed her hard. Lin Yu was so worried that tears appeared in her eyes. She frowned and asked him, “What about you? Are you always clean?”
Li Heming never thought that his words would make her cry. His eyes swept across the thin tears in her eyes. He frowned, gripped the hilt tightly, and looked away: “All officials do not tolerate the Imperial Guards. The Northern Office listens to the Emperor’s orders, so how can there be clean or dirty?”
He suddenly became distant, making Lin Yu think she had annoyed him with her rude words. She held back her tears and scolded him in her heart, and when she spoke again, it seemed like a plea: “Can Lord Li clean up my father’s stain?”
Li Heming was silent for a moment. Seeing him like this, Lin Yu took a step towards him anxiously. The embroidered shoes seemed to step silently on the ground, and the skirt’s hem swayed slightly, seemingly sweeping across his black boots. She looked up at him with clear eyes, her voice trembling: “Lord Li…”
He lowered his head to meet her gaze and said only four words in a deep voice: “All depends on you.”
As the voice fell, a gust of cold wind blew. The plum blossoms as red as rouge fell from the top of Lin Yu’s head. Her breathing stagnated, and she suddenly remembered what he had said in this courtyard that day.
He stared at her like this, but not at such a close distance. At this moment, Lin Yu could smell the bloody scent on his clothes in the fragrance courtyard.
Li Heming seemed to be unaware of how much he frightened Lin Yu. Otherwise, he would not come to see her with blood on his body.
The charcoal fire exploded in the stove with a light sound, and Li Heming lowered his eyes to stare at her moist red lips. Then, he suddenly moved.
Lin Yu’s breathing trembled, but he did not notice that she was uncomfortable. He lowered his head and got closer. There was no expression on his face, and it didn’t look like he would kiss her, but the hot, hard-to-ignore breath wrapped around her tightly like airtight silk. His lips almost touched hers, but Lin Yu suddenly turned her head away embarrassedly.
Li Heming suddenly stopped, turning his dark pupils slightly. Emotionless, he glanced at her reddened earlobe and slowly stood up.