However, the elderly maid behind her spoke up: “Miss, we are two vulnerable women alone in Lin’an, which is quite unsafe. Just the other day, some hooligans were lurking around our doorway. If Young Master Song were alone, I wouldn’t suggest this, but since he’s with his mother, there’s no impropriety. Why don’t we let them stay in our home? With Young Master Song here, those idle ruffians wouldn’t dare set their sights on you.”

At this point, she smiled at Song Yifeng and continued: “Young Master Song, please forgive me for being presumptuous. If it’s inconvenient for you, pretend I never spoke. But if you have nowhere else to go at the moment, you could stay for a few days until you find a suitable residence.”

Song Yifeng glanced at Zi Jin and, seeing her head lowered in silence, understood that she was willing but too reserved as a young lady to extend the invitation herself.

He felt deeply moved.

Influenced by societal norms, he genuinely looked down on merchants. Having to accept the Ye family’s financial assistance felt humiliating to him. Additionally, the original girl wasn’t his type, which made him resistant toward her. He found her irritating at first sight, and she frequently visited his home and sought his company, further increasing his aversion toward her.

Zi Jin’s delicate beauty perfectly matched his aesthetic preferences. Combined with her scholarly background, talent, and charming demeanor, these qualities caused the passionate, young Song Yifeng to fall helplessly into the whirlpool of love.

Now, Zi Jin’s implied invitation filled his heart with sweetness.

He asked, “Won’t this cause trouble for you? When neighbors learn that a man is staying in your home, they’ll certainly gossip.”

Zi Jin kept her head lowered, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, her eyelashes fluttering slightly as if hesitating.

“Miss, this residence is only rented by us anyway. Why don’t we move out and rent a larger house instead? This place is too close to Young Master Song’s previous residence. It’s not only bad for your reputation but also uncomfortable for Young Master Song,” the elderly maid suggested.

Zi Jin raised her head to look at Song Yifeng once, then lowered it again, nodding gently.

Her crimson lips parted slightly, her voice soft and melodious: “When the time comes, you can tell others that I am your sister.”

Song Yifeng felt relieved. His brows, which had been furrowed for days, relaxed, and his face broke into a joyful smile. “Wonderful, thank you, Miss Zi Jin.”

In his heart, he understood that no matter how much he liked Zi Jin, he would never marry her as his wife. After all, she was the daughter of a convicted official, which would be detrimental to his career. He should marry a daughter from an official family.

He had always been clear about this. After the incident with the Ye family and Wang Wenzhi forcing him to sell his land at a low price before abandoning him like an old shoe, he became even more certain of this fact.

Since he wouldn’t marry her, his continued association with Zi Jin was partly because he couldn’t help being deeply attracted to her, and partly because Zi Jin had no support or connections—she was someone he could pursue without consequences.

Once he passed the imperial examination and married, if circumstances allowed, he would take Zi Jin as a concubine. If his in-laws were too powerful to offend, his wife disagreed, or if Zi Jin refused to become a concubine in the Song family, then he would keep her as a mistress outside his household.

The worst outcome would be that they each marry someone else.

If the wealthy and somewhat influential Ye family couldn’t do anything to him, what could a lone woman do?

And now, Zi Jin was willing to live under the same roof with him, posing as his sister. This arrangement couldn’t be better for him—he could enjoy the company of a beautiful woman without bearing any responsibility, getting the best of both worlds.

“Then I’ll go look for a residence now,” he said happily as he stood up.

The elderly maid smiled, “Young Master needs to attend school during the day and isn’t familiar with such matters. Why don’t you tell me what kind of residence you want, and I’ll inquire and visit some places tomorrow? I’m sure to find a house that satisfies both you and the young miss.”

Zi Jin raised her head and smiled sweetly, looking somewhat proud like a child: “Mama Cui is very capable.”

Song Yifeng became even more delighted.

To change his circumstances, despite being intelligent, he had been studying extremely hard. Apart from eating, sleeping, and necessary social interactions with teachers and classmates at the prefectural school, he devoted almost all his time to studying. He truly wasn’t familiar with household affairs.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to trouble Mama Cui, but my mother has caught a cold these past few days and cannot handle such matters. So, I must trouble you with this task.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Mama Cui replied.

Song Yifeng hesitated again: “About the cost of renting…”

He had lost almost all his assets compensating the Ye family, but Madam Yu had set aside a hundred taels of silver for household expenses beforehand. They could afford to rent a residence, but that was all the money they had left, and every coin spent meant one less in their possession.

As soon as he mentioned this, Mama Cui quickly waved her hands: “Please don’t stand on ceremony with us, Young Master. My mistress and I are asking you and your mother to live with us because we feel unsafe being alone here. Let us cover the cost of renting the house. To be honest with you, although my young miss has lost her family, she still has…”

“Mama!” Zi Jin tugged at her sleeve, interrupting Mama Cui’s words.

Mama Cui seemed to realize she had misspoken and quickly gave Zi Jin an ingratiating smile before sheepishly falling silent.

“It’s getting dark, and your mother must be anxiously waiting at home. You should go back now. If you’re busy tomorrow, send Gui’zi over. Once we have news about a house, I’ll have Gui’zi bring you the message,” Zi Jin said to Song Yifeng.

Despite his reluctance to leave, Song Yifeng knew his mother was ill at home and probably anxious about their situation. Bringing her this news sooner would ease her mind.

Besides, he still needed to explain his relationship with Zi Jin to his mother.

So he agreed, cast one lingering glance at Zi Jin, and left with Gui’zi.

After escorting the master and servant out and watching them disappear into the distance, Mama Cui turned back and closed the courtyard gate.

Once inside the house, she said to Zi Jin, “Rong’er, I can see that this Young Master Song has genuine feelings for you, and he’s not yet married. Perhaps you should consider… if you could marry him, it would be quite good.”

Zi Jin gave a bitter smile: “Aunt, what are you thinking? Can my identity be kept secret forever? He aims to pass the imperial examination and become a high official. Someone like me isn’t just unsuitable as a wife; even as a concubine, I would be considered tainted, as people would fear having their reputation ruined.”

Back when she married Scholar Li as a concubine, she had also hoped to live a peaceful life without complications if possible. After all, having fallen into prostitution, the mark on her household registry could never be erased. At that time, Scholar Li had genuinely liked her.

However, once you’ve fallen into a cesspit, even if you manage to climb out and clean yourself, the stench remains.

Although Scholar Li had no elders above him to prevent her from becoming his concubine, his principal wife was not easy to get along with. She used Zi Jin’s background as a brothel woman to humiliate her throughout the household and incited male servants to falsely accuse her of seducing them, causing Scholar Li’s suspicion and coldness toward her.