Chapter 135: Chaos

Spring had arrived, and all things were reviving. Amidst the green mountains and flowing waters, people's spring outings began with the lighting of the Lantern Festival lamps and continued until the end of the third lunar month. The most enthusiastic participants in these outings were the young men and women, especially the young ladies from wealthy families; with both money and leisure, staying cooped up at home would be far too dull.

Lin Chan had not originally intended to go, but Lady Lin persuaded her: "Chan'er, you are merely betrothed, not in prison. Why stay cooped up at home every day? The weather is fine now; go out and get some fresh air with your sister and the others."

The Old Madam also added, "Your mother is right. Do not stay indoors all the time. Once you marry out, you will have to manage an entire household; you won't be as free as you are now."

Hearing both her grandmother and mother say this, Lin Chan nodded.

Lin Hao had not gone out to play with Lin Chan for a long time and was quite excited, specifically changing into the new spring garments that Lady Lin had specially tailored for them.

The two wore identical styles of spring clothing—both goose-yellow floral gauze tops paired with pleated skirts—only the colors of the skirts differed: one in moon-white, the other in willow-green.

"Grandmother, Mother, we're leaving!" Lin Chan pulled Lin Hao along, bidding farewell to the Old Madam and Lady Lin with a smile.

Lady Lin did not say something like "take good care of your sister." In her view, both daughters were sensible and wouldn't cause any trouble. She urged them with a smile, "Go on then, don't keep the Little Princess waiting."

Once the sisters had left, Lady Lin sighed, "I truly cannot imagine the days when I won't see Chan'er every day after she marries out."

The Old Madam remained calm. "You'll get used to it. Ah Hao will be marrying out in the future as well."

Lady Lin fell silent for a moment, sounding somewhat skeptical. "Mother, you aren't just saying that to comfort me, are you?"

It didn't sound like it.

The Old Madam smiled. "Children grow up; that day will eventually come."

Lady Lin's eyes lit up. "Mother, why don't we just take in a son-in-law for Ah Hao? That way, Ah Hao won't have to marry out."

The Old Madam froze for a moment, inevitably feeling a flicker of temptation.

If they took in a son-in-law, Ah Hao would be the one in charge of the household. With them watching over her, they wouldn't have to worry about encountering an ungrateful ingrate like Wen Rugui. However, men willing to be matrilocal sons-in-law were often quite mediocre.

There were gains and losses; most things were roughly like this.

The Old Madam had experienced many storms in her life and was quite open-minded about many things. "We'll ask for Ah Hao's opinion later. The child's happiness is most important; everything else is superficial."

"Mother is right. It is most important that the two of them live well."

When Lin Hao and her sister left, the Little Princess's carriage was already waiting.

"Eh? Sister Chan, Ah Hao, you're wearing matching outfits today!" Qi Qiong could not hide her envy.

She also wanted a sister to go shopping with, to wear beautiful clothes with, and to share secrets with. Unfortunately, her Imperial Consort had only given her two brothers—one who wouldn't play with her, and one who fought her for things every day.

Lin Chan was amused by Qi Qiong's envious tone. "We had them tailored together, so the styles are mostly the same. Princess, do you remember the year you first arrived in the capital? You mistook me for Ah Hao."

Qi Qiong recalled the memory and laughed. "I remember. I was actually a bit angry at the time because I thought you were ignoring me. It wasn't until later that I realized it was Ah Hao."

Back then, Ah Hao couldn't even speak yet.

The three of them entered their respective carriages. Qi Qiong's carriage was in front, and the sisters' carriage was behind, heading toward the outskirts of the city. Along the way, they successively met up with Chen Yi, Zhu Jiayu, and Tao Qing, with whom they had long since made appointments.

In the outskirts, the green mountains rolled on and the waters flowed gently. Everywhere one looked, men and women dressed in light spring garments were walking or reclining, picking orchids and playing with grass, feasting and enjoying themselves. Some had even tied swings between two large trees to play to their heart's content.

The six of them stopped their carriages by the roadside, choosing an open space to fly kites.

Zhu Jiayu was flying a dragonfly kite, while Qi Qiong was flying an eagle kite. The two of them jogged to help their kites take flight, competing to see whose would fly higher and steadier.

"Qing'er, you take over for me." Tired from running, Zhu Jiayu handed the reel to Tao Qing and ran over to Lin Chan and the others. "Sister Chan, what are you looking for?"

Lin Chan smiled and held up the orchids in her hand. "We plan to pick some orchids to take back and grow."

Orchids were elegant; though they weren't particularly rare varieties, they possessed the freshness of the wild mountains.

Zhu Jiayu became interested. "Then I'll pick some too."

She caught sight of the orchids held in Lin Hao's hands and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Ah Hao, I've only been flying my kite for a little while, and you've already picked so many!"

Lin Hao smiled. "My eldest sister likes orchids."

Zhu Jiayu: "..." This was truly an undisguised display of sisterly affection.

"Don't go any further in; be careful of wild beasts," Lin Chan said, straightening her back to remind them.

The valley was where the orchids grew most densely. From where they stood, they could see groups of young girls picking flowers in the valley. Lin Chan was naturally steady and cautious, especially since she had brought her sister along, so she couldn't help but consider more possibilities.

As luck would have it, just as she finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the valley.

Looking over, they saw several small deer running out.

The appearance of the small deer immediately attracted many of the orchid-picking girls, and even Qi Qiong and Tao Qing, who were flying kites, reeled in their lines and walked over.

The small deer were not afraid of people. After their initial panic, they began to wander aimlessly on the grass. When someone tentatively offered them grass leaves, they actually ate them obediently.

Zhu Jiayu watched with longing. "Let's go over and play too. If there were wild beasts in the valley, they would have been disturbed long ago. It seems there are at most just some deer and rabbits."

Seeing that everyone was interested, Lin Chan did not stop them again.

Just as Miss Zhu said, it seemed there were no fierce beasts roaming the valley, so she wouldn't spoil the fun.

The group walked over in high spirits.

Deep within the thick grass, two masked men lying there lifted their heads.

"Which one is the eldest Miss Lin? The one in the moon-white skirt or the green one?"

"It should be the one in the moon-white skirt; she looks a bit older."

"Older? They look about the same height and appearance to me."

"Let's just kidnap both to be safe."

"Better not to cause unnecessary trouble; we were specifically instructed to only target the eldest Miss Lin."

"Then it's the one in the moon-white skirt. No mistake."

Once decided, one of them placed a finger to his lips and blew a sharp whistle.

There was a grove in the valley. As the wind blew, the rustling suddenly grew loud.

A young girl playing with the deer on the grass outside the grove caught a glimpse of it by accident and her eyes widened. "Wh-what is that?"

A stout wild boar came charging out.

Almost all the girls present were from wealthy families; none had ever seen a wild boar running madly in person, and most were stunned.

"Run! It's a wild boar!" Lin Hao was the first to react. She grabbed Lin Chan with one hand and grabbed the nearest friend with the other, running toward the exit of the valley.

A wild boar in a frenzy is no less dangerous than a tiger or a leopard; if one were cornered and trampled in the valley, the consequences would be unthinkable.

The girls regained their senses and bolted outward, while the maids, old women, and guards waiting outside rushed toward them from all directions.

The scene became momentarily chaotic.

"Second sister, go toward the carriages!" Lin Chan did not forget to remind her while running.

Lin Hao had just responded when a sudden, powerful force caused Lin Chan's wrist to break free from her grasp.