92. A Rather Eventful Night 1

                                    

                                          
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Meanwhile, earlier on in the day, another pair of eyes had watched Zhao LanFeng and Lu FengHo, leave Shuǐ ChénLín in the city.
Lin Lingshan had secretly followed Shuǐ ChénLín from the Lin household, so she had witnessed the entire exchange.
'Chén gē ge, will you really abandon me like this?!' her worst nightmare had been realized that morning, when Shuǐ ChénLín had arrived bearing gifts...
At first, she had been happy, but once he fell to his knees in the courtyard, she had suspected that something was wrong.
Straightforward person that he was, Shuǐ ChénLín had formally bowed to her, though she was three years his junior!
"A-Ling." He had began. "I have to ask your forgiveness... I won't be able move forward with our marriage."
Lin Lingshan had nearly collapsed, but her maid caught her upper arm, holding her upright.
"Chén gē ge... Wha- ... What did I do?" She managed to squeeze out, after some time, but he just bowed his head lower.
"The blame lies entirely with me. I'm sorry."
After that, he had turned to her father, who had been standing there ashen-faced, and he kowtowed to him.
"Lord Lin, this dishonourable person, is asking for forgiveness. We are willing to come to an agreement, and pay the price for breaking the arrangemen-."
"Young Master Shuǐ, please get up." Surprisingly, Lord Lin had rushed over to him to personally help him up. "With everything that happened with Liangfang, I'm not really surprised."
'What happened with Elder brother?!' Lin Lingshan wondered a bit weakly, but the two continued to converse.
"Lord Lin, it's not because of Brother Lin that this is happening! Brother Lin was-."
But Lord Lin raised a hand. "You are too kind. No matter what happened, Liang endangered all your lives, after Clan Leader Shuǐ raised him like his own child...
"And yet, Clan Leader Shuǐ let him die in honour, and let the Lin family remain unscathed. So whatever your reason might be, my face isn't even thick enough to accept you as a son-in-law."
"Father!" Lin Lingshan began in protest. "How can you just-?!"
"Silence!" Lord Lin nodded toward his daughters maids, and Lin Lingshan was dragged away.
'It shouldn't be possible!' Lin Lingshan mentally complained, as her maids pulled her away. 'That person promised! Shuǐ ChénLín shouldn't be able to leave me, as long as I have that!'
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At present, Lin Lingshan ignored the fact that it was getting dark, and even the fact that she was outside without her maid.
She sat at a somewhat crowded tavern, the lower half of her face, covered by a sheer veil.
What made her day even more annoying, was the fact that the whole city assumed that Shuǐ ChénLín had visited with wedding gifts, but now she had been cast aside by him, and the gossip would certainly sprout wings and fly even faster!
She downed the small cup of wine and felt it burn down her throat, and she reminded herself that she wasn't used to such strong wine.
She had spent a lot of her life being a perfect lady, all so she could eventually become the Shuǐ Matron...
In the first place, she had given up more than that! All just to hold Shuǐ ChénLín's attention.
Lin Lingshan brought out the strange white talisman, which she had kept for years and years.