Before the young man had even finished speaking, the mother and son kneeling on the ground exchanged a quick glance and a secret signal.

Then, the two of them suddenly leapt to their feet and bolted, running with extraordinary speed. In the blink of an eye, they had already dashed seven or eight meters away.

Hearing the strange commotion, the young man immediately turned around. Upon seeing the mother and son fleeing wildly, he gave chase in a fury. “You scoundrels, stealing my purse and thinking you can escape? Not so easy!”

Stolen… a purse?

Ling Jingyan watched, dumbstruck, as the young man chased after them, her heart filled with regret beyond words.

Had she, in doing this, caused trouble?

The answer was obvious.

Before even the time it takes to finish a cup of tea had passed, the young man came back with a dark expression. Seeing the meddlesome girl still standing there, he couldn’t help giving a heavy snort.

Somewhat sheepishly, Ling Jingyan coughed and asked carefully, “Young master, did you catch up with the mother and son?”

The young man shot her an irritated look. “They ran so fast, how could I possibly catch them?”

The mother and son were nimble and quick on their feet, and clearly familiar with the surrounding area. Once they slipped into the alleys, they vanished almost instantly — it would have been strange if he’d actually caught them.

The more the young man thought about it, the angrier he got. “I came to Huichun Hall today specifically to get a number tag for a family member’s medical treatment. As soon as I arrived, I came across this mother and son begging. Feeling sorry for them, I gave them some loose silver. I never expected to be targeted like that. One of them clung to me, thanking me over and over, while the other secretly stole my purse. Fortunately I noticed early, and caught them red-handed before they could slip away.”

“If you hadn’t come barging in to question me without knowing the facts, I would have already gotten my purse back.”

Ling Jingyan’s pretty face flushed red, mortified and embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood you. I should have asked about the full story before speaking up.”

“Now that the thieves have run off, what good does an apology do.” The young man’s tongue was quite sharp.

Ling Jingyan gritted her teeth. “Fine! However much silver was in your purse, I’ll just compensate you for it.”

The young man glanced at her sideways, smiling without warmth. “Oh? Then much obliged. My purse held twenty taels of silver in cash, plus a banknote worth three hundred taels. And a fine jade pendant on top of that.”

Ling Jingyan: “…”

He really wasn’t being modest at all!

That much silver wasn’t an enormous sum, but it certainly wasn’t small either.

Ling Jingyan’s monthly allowance was usually only fifty taels. Doing the math, wouldn’t more than half a year’s allowance suddenly sprout legs and fly away?

Feeling the pinch, Ling Jingyan couldn’t help muttering, “Whatever was inside is whatever you say it was — who knows if it’s true or not.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she feared the young man might turn hostile, and hastily added, “I’m just saying it casually, don’t take it to heart. Anyway, I’ll compensate you regardless.”

Watching her wince at the thought of the cost, the anger in the young man’s heart suddenly faded by more than half. He suddenly found this young girl, who had appeared out of nowhere, straightforwardly foolish yet endearing.

This matter had nothing to do with her at all. What he’d said earlier was simply out of irritation, deliberately giving her a hard time. He truly hadn’t expected her to take it seriously…

With his anger gone, he looked the girl over more carefully — fresh-faced and charming. Especially those almond eyes — large and lively, utterly adorable.

The young man’s heart skipped a beat, and he asked deliberately, “Do you have any cash on you?”

Ling Jingyan shook her head honestly. “No. I only have a bit of loose silver on me. But my Fifth Uncle is right inside — I’ll go ask him now whether he has any. If he does, I’ll give it to you. If not, please leave your name and address, young master, and I’ll have someone deliver it to your door another day.”

“My surname is Zhang, given name Jian, written with a single character. My father is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, his given name containing the character ‘Nian.'” The young man gazed deeply at Ling Jingyan. “May I ask the young lady’s name?”

How could a girl casually reveal her given name to someone else?

Ling Jingyan answered casually, “My surname is Ling. My father is a Director in the Ministry of Works.” With that, she turned and went into Huichun Hall.

Zhang Jian thought it over for a moment, then followed after her.

···

“Fifth Uncle,” Ling Jingyan walked up to Fifth Master Ling with a face full of shame and asked quietly, “do you have any silver with you? Could you lend me some?”

Fifth Master Ling was startled, somewhat surprised. “I do have some. Why do you ask? Do you want to go buy some rouge and powder? Once A’Shu finishes her consultation, the two of you can go together!”

The shame on Ling Jingyan’s face deepened. “No, I’m not buying rouge and powder. It’s for something else. Fifth Uncle, could you lend me three hundred and twenty taels first?”

Three hundred and twenty taels?

Fifth Master Ling’s brow furrowed. Why would Ling Jingyan suddenly need so much silver?

Even Ling Xiao sensed something was off and couldn’t help moving closer to ask, “Cousin Jingyan, did something happen? Why would you suddenly need money out of nowhere?”

Ling Jingyan’s pretty face flushed bright red, and haltingly, in a low voice, she recounted what had just happened.

Fifth Master Ling and Ling Xiao: “…”

What kind of nonsense was this?

Fifth Master Ling was at a loss for words. If the timing and place weren’t so inappropriate, he truly would have liked to put on a stern face and give Ling Jingyan a proper scolding!

Ling Xiao asked curiously, “Cousin Jingyan, where’s this Zhang Jian person? Where is he?”

Ling Jingyan jutted her chin toward someone not far away. “That tall one in the blue scholar’s robe with the unlucky look on his face, that’s him.” If he didn’t have such bad luck written on his face, how else could his purse have been stolen? And now she was being dragged into losing money over it too!

Ling Xiao grinned from ear to ear listening to this.

Zhang Jian, who had originally been standing five or six meters away, now suddenly walked forward and cupped his hands in greeting toward Fifth Master Ling first. “This must be Fifth Master Ling! This humble junior is Zhang Jian.”

He certainly seemed to understand proper manners.

Fifth Master Ling suppressed his curiosity and smiled at Zhang Jian. “So you’re Young Master Zhang. I heard about what happened from A’Yan. This whole matter is A’Yan’s fault for being so reckless and impulsive. Young Master Zhang, please rest assured, we will cover the silver — we won’t let you suffer the loss for nothing.”

A’Yan!

What a lovely name.

Zhang Jian repeated the name silently to himself a few times, his face showing a polite, proper smile. “Fifth Master Ling has misunderstood. What I said earlier was just a joke with Miss Ling. In truth, the purse only had a few taels of loose silver in it, nothing worth mentioning.”

Ling Jingyan: “…”

Ling Jingyan whipped her head around, her almond eyes seeming to spark with fire. “Zhang Jian, you actually played a trick on me!”

A flicker of amusement flashed quickly through Zhang Jian’s eyes, though his expression remained the picture of innocence. “How was I to know you’d actually believe it?”

Ling Jingyan’s pretty face turned red with anger, and she silently ground her teeth.

What a piece of work this Zhang Jian was — she would remember this!