Ch. 296..300: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 296-300

Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Implementing Another Plan(6)_1

The remaining two black-robed men allowed her to vent her anger, remaining silent all along.

"What if this gets out and is traced back to me?" After venting her spleen, Li Yanran sat on the stool, muttering to herself like a listless rag doll.

"Miss, rest assured, no one has ever known our identities. I can stake my life on it, they will leave absolutely no trace." One of the black-robed men tried to soothe her, bowing his head.

Yes, they were ready to die for the cause. Li Yanran finally regained a bit of her spirit. "Hide yourselves well; until I summon you, you are not to appear in the Li Residence."

"Yes." The two black-robed men vanished into the room.

Li Yanran lay alone in bed, tossing and turning, feeling somewhat uneasy. Sitting quietly on her own, she decided to be patient, keep an eye on the situation, and wait it out.

The next day, Lady You saw that Yanran had not left her quarters, and sent a maid to investigate.

"Miss said she was feeling unwell due to the cold wind, so she is resting in her room. Madame had some medicine soup sent over to her." The elder maid informed cheerfully after investigating, "However, I heard Miss Yanran was in a bad mood and poured out all the soup."

"Are you sure she poured it out?" Lady You took a sip of ginseng tea, looking satisfied.

"I’m sure," the elder maid answered with a smile, "Xique, a bird in the courtyard, told me."

It seemed that the people Li Yanran had sent out had failed. Yet at this moment, Lady You had not connected the two corpses on the execution stakes to Li Yanran.

"Let’s go see the Miss." Lady You had someone fetch some ginseng from her small storeroom, then put on a cloak and left the house with it held in a maid’s hands.

When the mistress and her maids arrived at Li Yanran’s courtyard, everything was indeed quiet.

The maid with Lady You lifted the curtain and went in to announce their arrival.

The one who came out to greet them was Sihuan, who was always by her side.

Dressed in a thick cotton robe, Sihuan gave a respectful bow to Lady You, "It’s the young Mistress who has come. This servant pays my respects to the young Mistress."

"How is the Miss doing?" Lady You asked with concern.

"The Miss is sleeping soundly. It suddenly became cold and she caught a slight chill. She doesn’t like to take medicine, so she is feeling a bit groggy. Fortunately, she does not have a fever." Sihuan responded respectfully.

"Since she is asleep, I will not disturb her. We should not wake her up. You all must take good care of her. If she develops a fever, report it to the Madame immediately." Lady You tapped the maid for emphasis.

Sihuan adopted an even more respectful demeanor.

"Keep the ginseng. In the future, use it to nurse the Miss back to health." As Lady You finished speaking, a person beside her immediately handed over the box containing the ginseng.

"When the Miss wakes up, this servant will be sure to inform her that the young Mistress came to visit." Sihuan was quite steady in handling things.

Lady You nodded, "You may all go back to take good care of her."

Having said that, she led her entourage back.

Watching their retreating figures, Sihuan heaved a deep sigh, picked up the box, and went into the house.

Lin Ziyin left home with mixed emotions. When he came back, his mood had improved slightly. However, Chu Suifeng was now in a bad mood. At this moment, Si Jinhan and Situ Gong were nowhere to be found.

"You dare return?" In the study room where only both of them were left, Chu Suifeng’s impatience erupted. "Did you dare to deceive me?"

"What do you mean by that, my Prince?" Lin Ziyin replied, his mood souring at the sight of him.

"Have I been too indulgent with you?" Chu Suifeng’s face was as black as ink.

Chapter 297: Chapter 297: Implementing Another Plan(7)_1

"Where did this idea come from; when did the Prince ever indulge common women?" Lin Ziyin questioned back, baffled. What the hell was going on? It sounded like nonsense.

"How should I punish you? Spank you?" Chu Suifeng reached out his hand, his face darkened with displeasure.

Chu Suifeng resorted to action as soon as he spoke, irritating Lin Ziyin immensely. It felt as though Chu Suifeng had gone mad. It seemed like they were barely acquainted. This morning, she had been pleading with him for help, only to be met with scorn and sarcasm. Now he was playing the victim. To whom was he trying to prove himself? And even more so, he was being unreasonable. Lin Ziyin wasn’t his offender, let alone his subordinate. She couldn’t possibly report to him every time she went to the market, could she?

Angry and defiant, Lin Ziyin evaded Chu Suifeng’s attack with a swift movement.

You resist? Chu Suifeng fumed. Lin Ziyin would not apologize for her actions and even dared to dodge him. He quickened his attack, his expression turning serious.

Lin Ziyin didn’t know why Chu Suifeng was acting like a madman, she didn’t dare fight back too fiercely, fearing to worry her family.

Despite Lin Ziyin’s ability to spar with Chu Suifeng and hold her ground for a while, their fight was more playful than serious. She was more used to his style and techniques; but Chu Suifeng had been in a foul mood recently and had no patience for sparring. He now dealt out lethal moves, utilizing the knowledge of her close combat techniques.

Her attempts at evasion were futile.

"Ouch." Caught off-guard, Lin Ziyin stumbled over a stool, her body promptly falling backward.

Damn it, this is going to hurt.

Lin Ziyin thought of rolling on the spot, hoping it could lessen the impact.

Yet, the expected pain didn’t come. Instead, she found herself landing in a warm embrace.

Looking up, she saw Chu Suifeng’s handsome, worried face. Realizing how closely her face was to his, Lin Ziyin felt somewhat shy. The tension between them was replaced with ambiguity.

"Lady, what happened?" Qiaoqiao, who was outside, couldn’t resist asking when she heard the commotion.

"It’s nothing... just tripped over a chair." Worried that Qiaoqiao might come in and see her and Chu Suifeng’s current state, Lin Ziyin quickly answered aloud.

Upon hearing this, Qiaoqiao decided not to come in.

"Let me go." Lin Ziyin said, blushing.

Chu Suifeng helped her to stand upright by lifting her gently by the waist.

"Prince, do you still want to listen to the lesson?" Lin Ziyin wanted to slap herself. Why did she blush over such a trivial incident? Considering Chu Suifeng was the cause of this accident, she glared at him discreetly. To her surprise, she found Chu Suifeng sitting in the chair, gazing back at her.

Lin Ziyin jumped, quickly lowered her head, and began her lecture, coughing to cover her embarrassment.

"From now on, you’re not allowed to deceive me without reason." Chu Suifeng commanded coldly.

Lin Ziyin found him bothersome. Was she expected to never venture out without his permission? Ridiculous!

However, as she fell silent, Chu Suifeng took it as an agreement and finally eased up on her.

There had been unrest in Feng City in recent days, as the citizens finally discovered the identities of the bodies displayed on the execution ground. Rumor had it that they were assassins who planned to kill the Prince.

Upon learning that the Prince, protector of the Northern Land, was the target of the assassination, the citizens vented their anger by pelting the corpses with stones.

Li Yanran feigned illness within her residence, feeling unsettled. She sent her maid out to gather information, her interest in the bodies piqued. The maid couldn’t understand why Li Yanran was interested in the bodies, but the love of gossip is universally human. Thus, the maid dutifully brought back daily news.

With each piece of news Li Yanran heard, her fear heightened. Gradually, she fell genuinely ill. After punishing the servants in her courtyard, the Lady Dowager showed her sympathy towards her ill daughter.

After five days, the maid brought back an update, "It seems that the mastermind behind the assassins has been found. The Wang Residence hasn’t revealed who it is yet. But I heard that it’s likely to be a spy from the Tatars."

"Really?" Li Yanran sat up abruptly from her bed.

"Of course, that’s what everyone outside is saying." The maid replied earnestly.

Li Yanran’s sickness seemed to have vanished overnight. When Lady You received the news the following day, she decided to visit casually.

"Sister, you look much better, your complexion has improved." Lady You said tenderly, taking Li Yanran’s hand in hers.

"Thank you, sister-in-law, for your concern." Li Yanran quite liked Lady You who was generous and intelligent in addition to being particularly kind to her.

"There has been an incessant string of frustrating events of late." Lady You said with a sigh.

"How so?" Li Yanran was puzzled, having been too preoccupied worrying about the Prince catching her to pay attention to household matters.

"It’s all because of that shop in the southern city."

Hearing Lady You mention the shop in the southern city, Li Yanran’s resentment flared once more. On account of Lin Ziyin’s misconduct, the household was troubled and even her own illness had been due to Lin Ziyin.

"Sigh... Why bring up these upsetting matters with you? Anyway, I believe the Lin Family’s business isn’t going to last long. Although our Northern Land produces plenty of soybeans, people depend on them for survival and the military requires them for horse feed. If anyone else begins to take over the soybean market, the Lin Family’s business will not just collapse, but the Prince might even have to step in."

Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Seeking Help (1)_1

"Cousin’s cavalry needs a big supply of beans, and the Lin family has bought a lot of them. Won’t this affect cousin’s affairs?" Li Yanran couldn’t help but ask.

You Shi saw that she still harbored sweet dreams about Chu Suifeng, and she sneered secretly in her heart. What a brainless fool. If Chu Suifeng had feelings for her, he would have taken her to the inner yard long ago. The inner yard of the Ling Wang Residence was not a place a concubine could control.

"Oh my, these are men’s affairs, why should we worry? As you’re recovering, we should go for a walk in the streets one day, buy some winter clothes as winter is here." You Shi dodged the topic with a laugh, as if her earlier words were just a spur of the moment thing.

Li Yanran was not interested in shopping. Her mind was filled with You Shi’s words. Beans, as long as she cut off the Lin family’s beans, she wanted to see how that cheap woman Lin Ziyin could do business. The price of the beans was not high, so she could use her own silver to buy them and give them to the prince to feed his horses.

Would the prince see her as resourceful and decide to marry her quickly?

You Shi was good at reading faces. Upon seeing Li Yanran’s absent-minded appearance, she guessed what was going on in her heart.

Fool, she once again mocked Li Yanran in her heart.

"Young Mistress, the nanny Lan has fallen ill, and her maid came to find you." A servant came to report quietly.

Lan again! You Shi felt annoyed in her heart. Her husband was unreliable, and there were more women in the backyard than she could count on both hands. Relying on Li Jiesong’s favor, some of these women were never content. They always found some excuses to make trouble for her.

"Alright, I’ll go check up on her right now." You Shi stood up unhappily.

Once the servants had escorted You Shi out, Li Yanran had already made a big decision in her heart. "Go, tell my son Li Er to come to the residence."

The servant, upon hearing that she wanted to see her son, was overjoyed. If her son could increase his standing in front of the young mistress, their future would be boundless. "Yes, I’ll go right away."

With an air of glee, the plump old woman hurriedly left the yard.

When Si Jinhan and Situ Gong returned to the Lin Family study, they found the interaction between Chu Suifeng and Lin Ziyin to be quite odd given their recent absence.

"Handkerchief." After training and returning to the Lin residence for a meal, cleaning her hands was naturally necessary. After Lin Ziyin washed her hands, as usual, she asked Qiaoqiao to get the handkerchief she often used.

Since their living conditions improved, everyone in the Lin Family had their own handkerchief.

"Miss." Qiaoqiao stood still, her voice carrying a hint of grievance, and her eyes sneaking peeks at Chu Suifeng.

"What’s the matter?" Lin Ziyin looked at Qiaoqiao, puzzled.

"The prince, he...?" Qiaoqiao hesitated to speak.

"The handkerchief this prince just used was yours?" Chu Suifeng looked at Lin Ziyin with a stern face. His tone was questioning, his eyes provocative.

Upon hearing him, Lin Ziyin knew that he was still upset about what she had said a few days ago. So petty, such a man with no magnanimity.

"Bring me the young mistress’s handkerchief." Lin Ziyin instructed Qiaoqiao.

"Yes, Miss." Qiaoqiao replied happily.

Lin Ziyin, ignoring Chu Suifeng’s displeased expression, began to clean her hands and face.

When her face was full of water droplets, a handkerchief was handed to her from the side.

Lin Ziyin didn’t think too much about it, reached out to take the handkerchief, and began wiping her face.

"Miss." Qiaoqiao walked in holding a handkerchief, and was stunned upon seeing that she already had one. If she had enough courage, she really wanted to glare at Chu Suifeng.

The sight of Lin Ziyin using the handkerchief he had passed to her brought a slight, proud smile to Chu Suifeng’s face.

 

Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Seeking Help (2)_1

Si Jinhan and Situ Gong were left speechless, not knowing what to say. Could they say that Prince Chu was acting like a thug, utterly shameless?

Upon hearing Qiaoqiao’s voice, Lin Ziyin looked back to see Qiaoqiao holding a handkerchief in her hand, and then looked at the one she had just used. She then realized that the handkerchief in her hand was indeed the one she commonly used.

"Chu Suifeng!" In her excitement, she began to call Prince Chu by his real name.

"Daring to address me directly by name, what a nerve," Chu Suifeng sternly scolded her, "is your skin itching for a beating again?"

The members of the Lin family trickled in, preparing to eat, but seeing his angry expression, they were all so frightened that they didn’t know what to do.

"Prince, the item is mine. Although the prince’s status is high, you should respect the household you are visiting," said Lin Ziyin boldly, seemingly ignore his fury. She walked straight to the dinner table and started giving orders to her kin, "Sister, you can’t manage all this alone, let sister-in-law, and White sister-in-law help you out. Dim Sum Store can take a few days off."

Zige, seeing her not caring, looked at Chu Suifeng’s black face; she noticed that despite his anger, he had not really punished Lin Ziyin. Thus, she mustered up the courage to respond, "No need, I can handle the amount of dim sum needed on a daily basis."

"You’re getting married next month, you can’t finish everything alone by pulling all-nighters," said Lin Ziyin with serious tone, "it’s settled then, we can’t earn all our silver in one or two days."

"The wage remains the same with White sister-in-law and others helping," Lin Ziyin declared resolutely.

"You can’t handle it alone. With several of us helping, we’ll finish it in a few days. Moreover, White sister-in-law and the younger sisters’ embroidery skills are top-notch, so the items they create can definitely be presented with pride," Guo Huiniang totally agreed with Lin Ziyin’s decision.

"Brother, Brother Dayou, we need to speed up on the furniture too," Lin Ziyin urged again.

"I’ll also go and help," the old master interjected from the side, "I’ve been idling at home anyway, I can make some furniture."

There was actually a good number of furniture in Datou Courtyard. When the house was first built, Lin Ziyin helped to bring in a batch of furniture. Zige initially insisted that it wasn’t necessary since the furniture was all new.

However, Lin Ziyin believed that a woman’s marriage was a lifetime affair; besides, the existing furniture wasn’t practical enough, and the wood had been bought. Thus, in the end Zige agreed to make new furniture.

However, when they saw the design drawings that Ziyin had brought out, both Lin Ziyin and Wu Dayou fell in love with this new furniture style.

"It would have been great if uncle was here, he is really skilled in making furniture," Lin Changshu murmured.

Chu Suifeng’s face was as black as a pot bottom. It should have been Lin Ziyin who should be angry, but this girl really had a way with words, artfully deflecting the conversation away from her fault.

"Prince, Mr. Situ, Third Young Master, please take a seat," Lin Ziyin deliberately downplayed the situation with a casual greeting, turned around and continued discussing family matters: "When my sister gets married, we definitely have to invite uncle’s family. As for cheap step-grandmother and the others, forget it."

"I don’t want them to come either," Zige said.

"I’m afraid it will weigh on uncle’s heart," said Lin Changshu, "Although that woman is his wife by remarriage, but the grandfather is a blood relation."

"What’s the point of him being a blood relation," Lin Zige scoffed, "Did he ever protect us when mother was alive? Since he sold mother out, what ties does he have with our Lin family?"

"I don’t like him," Changting frowned and said, "only invite uncle and auntie.

Chapter 300: Chapter 300 Ask for help(3)_1

Yanzhi didn’t know who they were talking about, but those who are disliked by his uncle and aunt surely wouldn’t be good people. He immediately chimed in, "They shouldn’t come."

Ziyin was the head of the household, and when Lin Changshu saw that his siblings all opposed the arrival of his maternal grandfather, and even his own grandfather didn’t object, he instantly let go of his cares. Well, he didn’t care much for his so-called maternal grandfather anyway.

"What’s the filling in the tofu rolls?" Si Jinhan asked, eating.

"Spring onions," Lin Ziyin replied. Tofu rolls were her favourite breakfast item. She ate two in a row, and just as she was reaching for another with her chopsticks, the trouble started again. Chu Suifeng began competing with her for the rolls.

And each time, she was the one who was late.

"Hey, there are so many, why compete with me?" Lin Ziyin flared up.

"Like a pig," Chu Suifeng answered coldly.

"Prince, we’re sitting at the same table," Lin Ziyin retorted, glaring at him.

Impressive! Si Jinhan looked at her with gleaming eyes. But then he realized he was also sitting at the table, and his face fell.

Having said what she had, Lin Ziyin didn’t bother to look at Chu Suifeng’s unhappy face. She gulped down the rice porridge in her bowl in a few bites, then stood up and said goodbye to everyone, "Grandfather, Prince, take your time, I’ve finished."

"Go and tend to your own business," the old man said, glancing at her. But he sighed inwardly. Both good and bad things had come out of having the Prince in the house. Looking at her, she probably hadn’t had enough to eat.

Chu Suifeng was even more upset. He didn’t want to deprive Lin Ziyin of her meal, but when he thought about what she had said that other day, he felt a simmering anger inside him. Unless he let it out, he would feel uneasy.

Damn girl, she has a cleanliness habit, doesn’t he?

But he really didn’t want to explain this in front of Lin Ziyin because he felt it was a quite humiliating.

In short, Chu Suifeng was feeling quite confused and irritated at the moment. He didn’t understand why he cared so much about what Lin Ziyin said.

After finishing her meal, Lin Ziyin went to a new workshop.

The workshop was exceptionally clean but also rather desolate because there were no workers around.

"Ha." Without workers, the workshop was naturally not heated. Lin Ziyin warmed her hands with her breath, then had Jue Ming open a bag for her to check.

The bag was filled with beans, very plump beans. In the vat on the left were soaked beans. Lin Ziyin picked up a few to test. Satisfied that the beans were fully soaked and the skins had long been separated, she approved.

Today, she wanted to attempt to make soy milk powder, but she was unsure. The production process of soy milk powder was simple, and the machine she had designed was also straightforward. The only problem was a lack of a sufficient power source.

There wasn’t electricity in the old days, and solar power was wishful thinking. She couldn’t find many of the materials she could have gotten in modern times. If she had had enough materials, it would have been no problem for her to build an airplane. The only power source she could think of that didn’t require manual labor was steam.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have coal. Would firewood provide enough power?

With these uncertainties, everyone in the workshop put on their work clothes and hats and started moving according to her instructions.

Grinding the beans into a paste, this was easy to accomplish.

To deactivate the enzymes, all that was needed was to maintain the temperature for over fifteen minutes. This was also not problematic.

However, when they reached the third step, the problem finally arose.

"What’s the matter?" Jue Ming asked Lin Ziyin, looking at the stationary machine.