Ling Jingshu looked at Ling Wuye with a filial and sincere gaze. “Father keeps many social engagements and has many expenses. Most of the household funds and private savings in our Fifth Branch are with Mother. Father doesn’t keep much silver on hand. So there is no need for Father to go out of his way to raise money for A’Xiao’s treatment.”

Ling Wuye: “…”

Even with his thick skin, Ling Wuye felt heat creeping up behind his ears.

As a father, he could not — under any circumstances — admit at a moment like this that he had never raised any money for the treatment at all. And with his daughter looking at him with such respectful, trusting eyes, he could hardly just nod along either.

Ling Wuye cleared his throat and said, “A’Xiao has been blind for many years. If he can truly be cured and restored to full sight, no expense would be too great. Keep the silver notes your grandmother gave you safe. I have some banknotes here as well — not a large sum, but it is a father’s token of care. Take them with you for safekeeping on the road.”

As he spoke, he reached up to the bookshelf and took down an extraordinarily thick volume. He opened the book, and inside lay a neat stack of banknotes — identical to the ones the old matriarch had given, all from Longsheng Bank, five hundred taels per note.

It was obvious these had all been privately given to Ling Wuye by the old matriarch.

The old matriarch had three children of her own: Ling Daye had lived in the capital for years, and the Ling daughter had married far away and was not close by. Only her youngest son, Ling Wuye, remained at her side. It was only natural that the old matriarch doted on him a little more. Over the years, she had privately subsidized him with untold amounts of personal savings, giving Ling Wuye ample confidence to wine and dine his friends and live a carefree and dissolute life.

As for these funds — even Li Shi could only watch with longing and dared not ask how much there was, let alone reach out for any of it as household money.

Ling Wuye took out two banknotes and, in a magnanimous tone, said, “These are five-hundred-tael notes — two of them make a thousand taels. They are Longsheng Bank notes, exchangeable at any bank branch throughout the country. You can exchange them freely when you reach Luoyang. Put them away quickly.”

What an expression — like a man having flesh cut from his body!

Ling Jingshu sneered inwardly, but accepted the banknotes with a face full of moved and grateful emotion. “Father is so generous toward A’Xiao. I thank Father on A’Xiao’s behalf.”

She deliberately gave just a little extra weight to the word “generous,” then glanced meaningfully at the remaining stack of banknotes.

Ling Wuye hesitated a moment, then painfully withdrew two more. “You and your brother don’t know how long you’ll be staying in the capital. It’s better to carry more silver for the road.”

Ling Jingshu accepted the notes at once but did not put them away. Instead, she looked at Ling Wuye with an expression of tender concern. “Father is giving us most of your private savings. Will you have enough for your own expenses going forward?”

The four thin banknotes in Ling Jingshu’s hand formed a sharp contrast with the still-considerable stack remaining in Ling Wuye’s. To claim that represented “most of his private savings” was utterly against her conscience.

The heat rose in Ling Wuye’s face once more. He gritted his teeth, swiftly pulled out four more banknotes, and stuffed them into Ling Jingshu’s hand. Then he snapped the book shut. “I have little need for expenses at home. You two are traveling far from home and will need money at every turn. Take all of these with you.”

Four thousand taels in banknotes in total — this time, every last drop of Ling Wuye’s “fatherly love” had truly been wrung out.

Ling Jingshu was mildly satisfied at last. She tucked all the banknotes away, thanked him, and then took her leave.

Ling Wuye sat alone in his chair, still aching over the inexplicable loss of four thousand taels, nursing his heartache for a long while after.

Before long, having heard the news, Li Shi came hurrying over and knocked briskly at the study door. She pushed it open and asked without preamble, “My lord, the eldest sister-in-law and her household are setting off for the capital tomorrow. I just came from the eldest sister-in-law’s quarters and heard her mention that Shu Jie’er and A’Xiao are to go to the capital with them tomorrow as well — something about seeking a renowned physician to treat A’Xiao’s eyes. What exactly is going on? How is it that I had not heard a single whisper of this before?”

Perhaps because she was too shocked and furious, Li Shi — usually soft-spoken and accommodating — came in with the air of someone demanding answers.

Ling Wuye was already nursing the sting of losing such a large sum from his private savings, and hearing Li Shi’s interrogating tone on top of it put him in an even worse temper. His expression darkened abruptly. “What of it? A’Xiao is going to the capital to seek medical treatment for his eyes. Are you, as his mother, displeased about that?”

The words Ling Jingshu had spoken earlier suddenly rose in his mind. Could it be that Li Shi was, just as Ling Jingshu had said, genuinely unwilling to see A’Xiao’s eyes cured?

Once the seed of suspicion had fallen, it took root and sprouted quickly.

The look Ling Wuye now gave Li Shi carried a thread of doubt and coldness.

Li Shi’s expression stiffened. She reflexively forced a smile and softened her voice. “My lord has misunderstood. If A’Xiao’s eyes can be cured, that would be the most wonderful news imaginable. I could not be happier — why would I be unwilling? It is only that this came so suddenly, I was entirely unprepared, and the shock momentarily got the better of me. My tone became a little too urgent.”

Ling Wuye raised an eyebrow and gave a flat “Oh.”

The rising intonation made it plain he did not believe a word of it.

Li Shi seethed inwardly with silent vexation.

When she had first heard the news just now, she had been far too shocked and caught off guard to think of anything else, and she had come straight to confront Ling Wuye. The true face she had been carefully concealing all this time had very nearly been exposed before him…

But it was not entirely her fault.

She could never have imagined that Ling Jingshu intended to take Ling Xiao to the capital for eye treatment.

If his sight was truly restored, Ling Xiao would be able to return to his studies and sit the imperial examinations. Given his natural gifts, he might well earn a place in the ranks within a few years. His standing in the household would grow ever higher, and with the old matriarch backing him — wouldn’t that leave Ling Fou, still so young, perpetually overshadowed?

What was infuriating was that she had only learned of this today. Tomorrow, Ling Xiao and his sister were already set to depart Dingzhou with the First Branch — even if she wanted to do something to interfere, it was too late now.

All of this must have been that wretched girl Ling Jingshu stirring things up behind the scenes! Somehow she had persuaded Ling Wuye and kept her completely in the dark…

Thinking this, Li Shi’s teeth itched with hatred. But not a flicker of it dared show on her face.

Li Shi put on an aggrieved air and said, “My lord, ever since I married into the Ling Family, I have devoted myself wholeheartedly. I have treated A’Xiao and Shu Jie’er as if they were my own flesh and blood. And yet I — their mother — knew nothing about their trip to the capital. I only found out when the eldest sister-in-law mentioned it today. I wanted to sink through the floor from embarrassment, and my heart was filled with grief and hurt. In my agitation, I rushed straight here… I never expected my lord to misunderstand me because of it. I truly feel wretched about this…”

As she spoke, she began to weep softly, hiccupping with sobs.

Li Shi was not exceptionally beautiful, but she had a certain mature woman’s allure. Her quiet, sorrowful weeping was enough to draw out a man’s sympathy.

And Ling Wuye had always had a soft spot for fragile, pitiable women. Seeing Li Shi crying with such heartfelt distress, he finally relented, and his tone softened along with it. “Enough. I only spoke off the cuff — I didn’t truly suspect you of anything. Stop crying now.”

He paused and added, “The matter of A’Shu bringing A’Xiao to the capital for treatment — only my mother and I knew about it. Everyone in the household was kept in the dark, not just you. There is no need to take it to heart.”

As if this weren’t aimed at her specifically!

Li Shi ground her teeth behind closed lips, quickly stopped crying, dabbed her eyes with her sleeve, and forced a smile. “I can only hope that the divine physician Wei truly can restore A’Xiao’s eyesight, so that Shu Jie’er’s devotion will not be in vain — traveling all that long way to accompany A’Xiao to the capital.”

But in her heart, she harbored a vicious thought: that blind boy could never be cured for the rest of his life. It would be best if they met with an accident on the road, and both siblings never came back again.