As the prefect, Ling Tuisi was assassinated in broad daylight, so naturally his superiors would send someone to investigate the case.

On that day, “Ding Dian” was masked when he assassinated someone; only Nie Yun and Ling Shuanghua had seen his “true face.”

However, Ling Shuanghua did not mention this matter to the authorities, and she also concealed the detail that Ling Tuisi was holding a sachet.

At the time, Ling Shuanghua was worried that Nie Yun would expose her lies, but when she looked at Nie Yun, she saw him smile gently at her, nod slightly, and then give the same statement as her to the investigators.

Although she didn’t know why Nie Yun was helping her, his kindness and understanding still made Ling Shuanghua feel very good about him.

As the days passed, with everyone’s comfort, Ling Shuanghua, who had lost her father, gradually regained her composure.

She could never forget the face that was both incredibly familiar and incredibly strange to her when it was masked that day, nor could she forget the heartless act of Ding Dian, who had once sworn eternal love to her, stabbing her with a sharp sword, nor could she forget the sachet that her father held tightly in his hand, now soaked in blood.

That was a sachet for protection that she had personally prayed for at Jingyun Nunnery for Ding Dian, and she had also personally hung it around his neck. But now, it seemed so ridiculous that her wish for protection was so absurd.

Ling Shuanghua couldn’t understand why Ding Dian would be so cruel, not only killing her father but also trying to kill her.

Although his father had imprisoned him, he hadn’t killed him. He himself had even been scolded by his father and placed under house arrest because of him. Could such a short time in prison really breed such deep hatred?

Tormented by the conflict between family and love, the young girl is both in pain and confused. She is tormented by Ding Dian’s ruthless cruelty and retribution, and confused by the fleeting nature of love and the fickleness of human hearts.

That night, as usual, Nie Yun patrolled the mansion. When he reached the garden, he saw Ling Shuanghua standing alone beside the flower bushes, staring blankly at the flowerpots, seemingly lost in thought.

She was dressed in a green dress today, standing gracefully against the night breeze, her clothes fluttering gently, as elegant as a fairy.

Nie Yun’s mind raced, and he made a gesture as if to turn and leave, but deliberately made his steps much heavier.

As expected, Ling Shuanghua looked over upon hearing the sound and saw Nie Yun’s back as he turned around. She was slightly taken aback and quickly said, “Young Master Nie, please wait.”

Nie Yun stopped, but did not turn around. He simply said gently, “It’s late and the wind is cold. Miss Ling, you should go back and rest early to avoid catching a cold.”

For some reason, Ling Shuanghua suddenly felt a strong urge to confide in Nie Yun about her feelings.

Perhaps it was because the two shared a secret, or perhaps it was because of Nie Yun’s previous cooperation that she unconsciously developed trust in him.

She said softly, “Young Master Nie, could you… could you talk to me for a while?” After saying this, she seemed to realize that her words were somewhat ambiguous, and quickly added, “It’s about my father’s assassination attempt.”

Nie Yun still didn’t turn around. He said, “It’s getting late today, which is inconvenient. Why don’t we invite Zhang Ma and Uncle Liu to meet together tomorrow?”

Looking at the gentlemanly Nie Yun, Ling Shuanghua secretly admired him, but then suddenly remembered that for the past six months, Ding Dian had come to her building every night to pick her up for outings.

The two traveled all over the desolate mountains and wilderness of Jiangling. Although they never did anything improper, they had already opened their hearts to each other and made a vow to grow old together.

Looking back now, although such a thing was romantic and sweet, if it had been discovered, wouldn’t my reputation and my father’s reputation have been completely ruined!

Did Ding Dian really consider his own interests when he did such a thing?

Many things are not that we are afraid of not being able to figure them out, but that we are afraid of having comparisons.

Nie Yun’s adherence to etiquette and gentlemanly behavior may seem rigid and boring, but it is entirely out of concern for Ling Shuanghua, and he does not want her to be affected in the slightest.

In contrast, Ding Dian was like a lecherous scoundrel, selfish, bold, and reckless, disregarding the serious consequences in order to enjoy a moment of pleasure.

Ling Shuanghua tried hard not to think too badly of Ding Dian, but in her heart, she felt that he was less important to her than before.

She said softly, “Young Master Nie, I really can’t say these things to anyone else, I can only tell you.” After saying that, she felt that her words were even more ambiguous than before, and she couldn’t help but blush.

“This…” Nie Yun hesitated slightly, then nodded and said, “In that case, let’s go to the pavilion to talk. It’s more spacious there, and you can see everything at a glance.”

Ling Shuanghua nodded and followed Nie Yun toward the pavilion.

Arriving at the pavilion, Nie Yun went inside, brushed the stone benches with her sleeve, and then gestured, “Please sit, Miss.” She then walked out from the other side and stood outside the pavilion.

Ling Shuanghua entered the pavilion and asked in surprise, “Young Master Nie, what’s going on here…?”

Nie Yun smiled and said, “That way, if someone comes, I can leave instantly and there won’t be any gossip.”

Seeing Nie Yun’s reserved demeanor, Ling Shuanghua felt a pang of displeasure while admiring him: Could it be that he doesn’t care about my appearance at all, since he avoids me like this?

Women’s minds are complicated. Men who are beasts are unacceptable, and those who are worse than beasts are even more unacceptable. The more beautiful a woman is, the more she cares about others’ opinions of her appearance, even someone as gentle and refined as Ling Shuanghua is no exception.

She shook her head, suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, and asked Nie Yun, “Young Master Nie, you saw the sachet in my father’s hand that day, why… why didn’t you mention it?”

Nie Yun’s eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, “They’re here!”

He deliberately sighed and said, “Miss Ling, why ask a question you already know the answer to?”

One sentence made Ling Shuanghua’s expression change, and she said in a hoarse voice, “Young Master Nie, you…”

Looking at the night sky, Nie Yun said slowly, “When Miss Ling saw the murderer’s face that day, she cried out his name. That person must be someone you know. And the sachet in Lord Ling’s hand must also be that person’s possession. Miss fainted after seeing the sachet. I guess it’s because that person has a close relationship with you or Lord Ling, so she couldn’t accept it after confirming his identity, which is why she was so shocked.”

He turned to look at Ling Shuanghua, who was already sobbing uncontrollably, reached into his pocket, took out a silk handkerchief, and then threw it with all his might.

Through her teary eyes, Ling Shuanghua felt something flying towards her, and instinctively reached out to grab it, only to find it was a silk handkerchief.

Nie Yun turned his back to Ling Shuanghua and said, “Miss, please wipe away your tears first.”

Ling Shuanghua had never handled a man’s personal items before; even the things Ding Dian had given her were bought from outside. Now, holding the silk handkerchief, she felt her palms burning, unsure whether to throw it away or use it.

Nie Yun seemed to sense her shyness and said softly, “Miss, there’s no need to worry. I’ve never used that handkerchief before, and it doesn’t have any markings. You can just throw it away after you’ve used it.”

Since Nie Yun had already said so much, Ling Shuanghua naturally couldn’t refuse, so she gently wiped away her tears with it.

She composed herself and said to Nie Yun, “I lost my composure for a moment, please forgive me, young master.”

Nie Yun turned around and looked at her fair and elegant face and her bright, watery eyes. He smelled the faint fragrance emanating from the girl and felt that all his efforts had been worthwhile.

He smiled and said, “It’s a genuine expression of emotion, how can it be considered a loss of composure! As human beings, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are our nature. If we were to live like wooden dolls all day long, afraid to cry when we want to cry and afraid to laugh when we want to laugh, then life would be too boring!”

Ling Shuanghua was stunned again. Ling Tuisi always praised her for being filial and quiet, and Ding Dian often admired her gentleness and elegance, but they had never said anything that made her cry or laugh from the bottom of her heart.

Hearing Nie Yun’s words today gave her an indescribable feeling, like being moved and also like being relieved.

She gave a bitter smile and said, “Young Master Nie is right, the murderer did indeed know me, and was even…”

Ling Shuanghua blushed slightly, but continued, “It’s still the person I made a promise to grow old with.”

After she finished speaking, she looked at Nie Yun with some nervousness.

Nie Yun did not show any contempt or surprise on his face; his expression remained a faint smile.

Bathed in moonlight, his handsome face appeared even more radiant and refined, exuding an extraordinary elegance.

Ling Shuanghua was slightly lost in thought. She remembered how her maid would blush whenever she saw Nie Yun, and she never expected that she would experience that feeling herself now.

Her face flushed, and she quickly turned away, unable to look any longer.

As Nie Yun gazed at her graceful back, a flicker of desire flashed in his eyes.

Ling Shuanghua recounted her relationship with Ding Dian from their first meeting to their growing friendship and then their falling in love. However, for some reason, she did not mention that Ding Dian had come to pick her up at night, only saying that the two of them met and chatted in the garden.

Anyway, every time Ding Dian came, he would press the maid’s sleeping acupoints to avoid disturbing her, so even Juyou and Lanrui didn’t know that their young lady actually went out to enjoy the scenery every night.

Nie Yun, naturally, wouldn’t be so tactless as to expose this matter. He nodded and said, “So, the murderer that day was Ding Dian?”

Ling Shuanghua nodded with a pained expression, saying, “I saw it clearly. I gave him that sachet specifically, so there’s absolutely no mistake.”

At this point, she couldn’t help but shed tears again, and asked Nie Yun, “Young Master Nie, even though my father didn’t agree to us being together and even threw him into prison, he ultimately didn’t harm him. Why was he so cruel, so vicious, even… even targeting me? Could it be that less than a month in prison has left such a deep hatred in his heart?”

Having read the original novel, Nie Yun clearly understood her feelings at this moment. He knew that the love that had been meant to be a life-or-death commitment had now been completely changed by him.

In this world, Ding Dian had been captured for less than a month before escaping from prison, so Ling Shuanghua was unaware of the torture he had suffered in prison, had not completely fallen out with Ling Tuisi, and was even more unaware of Ling Tuisi’s reasons for doing so.

In her mind, her father captured Ding Dian simply because their statuses were mismatched; the simple-minded girl did not connect it to Emperor Liang Yuan’s treasure.

In the original novel, Ling Shuanghua only gradually realized Ling Tuisi’s viciousness under increasingly fierce threats and coercion, thus becoming completely disappointed in her father and transferring all her hopes for life and her devout faith in love to Ding Dian.

In this world, apart from being placed under house arrest, Ling Shuanghua did not suffer much, and Ling Tuisi did not have time to reveal his true colors. Therefore, in his daughter’s heart, he was still a loving and kind father, only a bit old-fashioned and concerned with family background.

Before Ding Dian was captured by Ling Tuisi, the two had only been in a sweet relationship for half a year, and all they did was go out to enjoy the scenery at night. To put it bluntly, their relationship was at the level of a middle school student in modern society, and they even spent less time together than middle school students.

Their love was sweet, the process was smooth, and their relationship was without any setbacks, but this was not necessarily a good thing.

Having endured countless tribulations, one is no longer bound by thoughts of life or death; only after weathering frost can one’s proud and resilient heart be revealed. If not for the bitter cold that cuts to the bone, how could the plum blossom emit its fragrant scent?

At this time, Ling Shuanghua was not forced by Ling Tuisi to swear never to see Ding Dian again in the name of her deceased mother, as in the original story. She did not disfigure herself because her father forced her into marriage, and her caring maid was not killed by her father for helping her deliver a message.

Ling Shuanghua, who did not sacrifice too much for Ding Dian, had sincere feelings for him, but her persistence was not as firm as in the original work, let alone a vow of life and death.

From an economic perspective, she had not paid too much sunk cost for this relationship at this point, so she wouldn’t have any strong attachment to it.

Because there was no test, her trust in Ding Dian was also diminished.

Without external pressure, Ling Shuanghua’s strong inner character was not discovered; she remained a gentle, quiet, and refined young lady from a prominent family.

Nie Yun pondered for a moment, then said, “There are all kinds of people in this world, and not everyone is as kind and forgiving as Miss Ling. Ding Dian may be a devoted lover, but he might not be able to easily forgive the evil deeds of others. Or perhaps…”

Nie Yun paused deliberately, and Ling Shuanghua quickly asked, “Young Master Nie, please speak freely.”

Nie Yun continued, “Perhaps he has some secret or leverage that you or Lord Ling have, and if this secret is exposed, it will make him restless and unable to eat or sleep, so he wants to kill him to silence him.”

Upon hearing this, a thought flashed through Ling Shuanghua’s mind. She remembered that Ding Dian had told her about the three people from Wan Zhenshan who murdered their master and stole the manual, as well as the Divine Illumination Scripture, the Liancheng Technique, and so on.

“Yes, he once said that because he possessed the Divine Illumination Scripture and the Liancheng Technique, he had been constantly hunted down. Now that he has escaped from prison, he is afraid that I will reveal it, and he is even more afraid that his father will find out about it, so he wants to kill someone to cover it up and keep the secret…” Under Nie Yun’s deliberate guidance, the girl began to fill in the blanks in her mind, “He doesn’t trust me at all, and thinks that I would tell others what he told me casually.”

The confusion and doubt in her heart were answered, but the result caused her unbearable pain.

Ling Shuanghua became increasingly heartbroken, especially when she realized that she had taken the initiative to accept Ding Dian and fall in love with him. She felt even more remorseful.

“It’s me…it’s me who hurt Father, it’s me…” Ling Shuanghua said painfully, tears streaming down her face like a river bursting its banks.

She was already a stunning beauty, but now, with tears streaming down her face, she possessed an even more captivating charm, evoking feelings of tenderness and a desire to hold her close and cherish her.

Nie Yun thought this way, but he didn’t rush forward. Instead, he continued, “Miss Ling, please accept my condolences. As the saying goes, it’s easy to draw the skin of a tiger but hard to draw its bones, and it’s easy to know a person’s face but hard to know their heart. Who would have thought that Ding Dian, who seemed so devoted on the surface, would be so vicious? He had known you for half a year and still managed to do such a cruel thing.”

“Yes, half a year… such a long time. I, Ling Shuanghua, was blind to have actually regarded such a vicious person as a confidante, and even mentioned to my father that I wanted to marry her… Ling Shuanghua, Ling Shuanghua, you are well-read and consider yourself intelligent, but I never expected you to be such a person who cannot distinguish between good and evil and let a wolf into the house!”

The girl’s emotions did not calm down with Nie Yun’s persuasion; instead, she became more and more agitated and filled with regret.

Nie Yun’s eyes flashed, and he continued in that devilish voice, “Fortunately, the guards were dutiful that day. Although they couldn’t protect you, they still managed to delay you for a moment. Otherwise, by the time I arrived at the Ling residence, Miss would probably have already been killed by her. It’s also fortunate that Juyou was loyal to her mistress and took that fatal sword for you. Although her arm was severely injured and she was left disabled, you are safe and sound, Miss. That’s a stroke of luck amidst misfortune!”

The girl’s tears flowed more and more; the kind-hearted girl was overwhelmed by the heavy guilt in her heart.

“My father’s guards died because of me, and Kikuyu became like that because he was protecting me.”

Ling Shuanghua was now completely consumed by Nie Yun’s endless regret. “It’s all my fault. If Young Master Nie hadn’t arrived in time, I’m afraid dozens of lives in the entire Ling family would have been lost at Ding Dian’s hands… no, at my hands. It’s me, I’m sorry to Juyou, I’m sorry to everyone.”

Seeing Ling Shuanghua on the verge of collapse, Nie Yun felt a pang of pity, but continued, “Miss, don’t be sad. Although Lord Ling has tragically passed away, Heaven has protected you and you are safe and sound. Moreover, the Ling family’s property has not suffered any loss, so you will be set for life from now on. However, Ding Dian is still at large and may still try to harm you. You and everyone in the Ling family must be extra careful from now on!”

“Yes, Ding Dian is not dead yet!”

Ling Shuanghua was startled when she realized that this matter was not over yet. “He will definitely keep looking for opportunities to come and kill me. As long as I am alive, I will implicate others. At that time, I am afraid that Juyou, Lanrui, Zhang Ma, Uncle Liu… and many others will die because of me.”

Thinking of this, the kind-hearted Ling Shuanghua couldn’t help but think: “If I die, Ding Dian probably won’t come back!”

Seeing the girl’s eyes harden, Nie Yun quickly stepped forward and stared intently at her.

Ling Shuanghua murmured, “As long as I die, I can save everyone.” With that, she rammed her head against a pillar.

Nie Yun had been waiting for this moment, and when he saw Ling Shuanghua move, he quickly jumped over to block her.

The girl couldn’t stop herself and her soft body buried itself in Nie Yun’s arms.

Nie Yun reached out and put his arm around Ling Shuanghua, his hands quickly tapping her slender and graceful body a few times before he took out a small bottle from his body.

He pried open the bottle with his thumb, sprinkled the contents into the air, and a very thin layer of white powder floated down.

These movements were so fast that Ling Shuanghua, still dizzy, didn’t notice at all.