The waiter moved quickly, bringing everything up with practiced efficiency. “Please enjoy, you two.”
Xiao Qianyin tossed him a silver ingot and said, “Keep the rest.”
“Ah, many thanks, miss, many thanks!” The waiter was so delighted he could hardly tell north from south. Pocketing the silver ingot, he scurried back down in one swift motion.
“Hey, are you blind? You actually dare bump into this young master?” An imperious male voice sounded above his head. The waiter immediately trembled. Why had this lord come?
“Please forgive me, Young Master Lin. This lowly one did not know it was Young Master Lin. I truly deserve death!”
The Young Master Lin he spoke of gave a cold snort, his gaze sweeping around the elegant seats on the second floor. Very quickly, his eyes landed on Xiao Qianyin by the window.
He had always relied on his father’s status as Grand Commandant, and in the imperial capital he was a well-known wastrel, tyrannical and overbearing. His talent in swordsmanship was only so-so, but because he was the Lin family’s sole male heir, he was deeply spoiled. In that sense, he and the former Xiao Qianyin were of the same sort.
“This young lady, might I have the honor of inviting you to drink tea with me?” He liked harassing women from respectable families; as long as they were beautiful, he would never let them off.
When Xiao Qianyin heard this, she nearly sprayed out a mouthful of tea. Damn, so this was the legendary act of being flirted with?
She lifted her eyelids and raised her gaze to look at the man before her. He was still fairly good-looking, somewhat handsome, not the crooked-melon, cracked-date type—only he had the air of a dissolute young master.
She still possessed a portion of the original owner’s memories. This person was none other than Lin Yan, the only son of Grand Commandant Lin Qing. Relying on his father’s power, he ran rampant through the imperial capital. It was said that his level was on par with the original owner’s, and the two were jointly known as the Two Calamities of the Imperial Capital.
Just thinking about it made her stomach hurt. Every time that title was mentioned, she could not help associating it with a certain legendary creature with two feelers on its head, scurrying everywhere, impossible to kill no matter what—Xiaoqiang the cockroach!
“Lin Yan, you’re here harming innocent women again! Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because of your father’s authority!”
A righteous voice came from the other side. A man in blue-green robes, his brows and eyes stern and his face full of uprightness, strode over and stood in front of Xiao Qianyin and her companion.
She could not help but hold her forehead. How was it that the moment she stepped out, she ran into everything? First came the harassment scene, and next was the melodramatic hero-saving-the-beauty routine!
“Miss, don’t worry. I won’t let him harm you in the slightest!”
Too much sense of justice! That was her only impression.
“Lian Jun, don’t go too far. What this young master does is this young master’s freedom! Mind your own business!”
Lian Jun? So he was Lian Jun, one of those praised as young prodigies, who had become the commander of the emperor’s guards at such a young age—the eldest son of Lian Yin, the Commandant of Justice.
Lian? Lin? It made her think of two famous figures from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Could they be descendants of those two?
“Is Young Master Lin a descendant of Lin Xiangru, the High Minister of Zhao during the Warring States period?” She took a light sip of tea and asked idly.
Lin Yan had not expected her to ask this. Rarely, he was stunned for a moment before replying, “That’s right. Miss, you know of him?”