Chapter 69: Chapter 69: The Familiar Scent of Ambergris

Yang Pozi gave a dry laugh. She’d never been called "Madam" in her life, and hearing it now made her rather uncomfortable.

"If you need anything, Miss, just say the word." Yang Pozi knew how to read a situation.

"A few years ago, a woman moved in next door—a mistress. I heard she later became pregnant. Do you know anything about that?" Ming Lingyi asked.

"I know, I know." Yang Pozi had seen Old Hu, the most notorious tough guy in Xinghua Alley, kneeling limply on the ground. She certainly didn’t fancy herself tougher than him. "The woman’s surname was Bai. We privately called her Lady Bai. After she got pregnant, her man—tsk, tsk—even came to my courtyard to spend a few nights! His name was Liu, and he was quite generous. I even considered sending one of my daughters to be with that Mr. Liu."

Yang Pozi sounded quite regretful as she spoke, because she had ultimately failed to send that daughter of hers to him.

"That Lady Bai was just lucky." Yang Pozi figured Lady Bai had probably been in the flesh trade herself. Otherwise, if Mr. Liu had truly been fond of her, why not bring her into his own household? It was obvious her background wasn’t respectable enough, hence why he kept her outside.

"Do you know the midwife who attended her birth?" Ming Lingyi asked.

Yang Pozi replied, "You mean Cheng Erpo, right? Of course, I know her. We’re quite familiar."

A glimmer of delight appeared in Ming Lingyi’s eyes.

Yang Pozi promised to take Ming Lingyi to find the person, so Shi Mingyue took out ten taels of silver from her purse. This was to be the reward for the information Yang Pozi and Old Hu had provided that day.

There would be no more than that.

’Her lady’s silver didn’t grow on trees. In fact, her heart ached terribly at having to part with even these ten taels of silver!’

When Old Hu saw the silver, his eyes lit up.

But before his hand could even touch the silver, he felt an ice-cold gaze land on him.

Old Hu looked up and met Li Yun’s eyes—so deep, they seemed almost bottomless.

A shiver ran down his spine, and he instantly snatched his hand back.

The next moment, he flashed a fawning smile at the maid beside Ming Lingyi. "To be able to help the Young Miss is a blessing I’ve earned over eight lifetimes! How could I dare accept her silver? Please, Miss, don’t humiliate me..."

Ming Lingyi was speechless.

Upon hearing this, Shi Mingyue decided the man kneeling on the ground was finally looking a bit more pleasant. Without a moment’s hesitation, she tucked the still-warm ten taels of silver back into her purse.

Ming Lingyi, who witnessed this, was once again speechless.

She resisted the urge to press a hand to her forehead.

’This makes me look like some kind of tyrant.’

’But at the same time, she had to admit... saving ten taels of silver actually felt... pretty good?’

After they left Xinghua Alley, Li Yun still hadn’t departed.

Ming Lingyi glanced at the man beside her as they walked along a small path next to Vermilion Bird Street. "Why are you still here?" Now that they were out of the alley, there was no longer any danger. The implication was clear: she was done using him and was ready to cast him aside.

Li Yun replied, "I’m seeing you home."

Ming Lingyi chuckled. "Is every corner of Shangjing City this dangerous? Surely nothing can happen to me here, can it?"

The words had barely left her lips when a group of rowdy children suddenly burst out of a side lane, running wildly in her direction.

Suddenly, Ming Lingyi felt an arm tighten around her waist. In the next instant, her senses were filled with the scent of ambergris clinging to the man before her. Li Yun had swept her up with one arm, pulling her into his embrace.

"Don’t run! Wait for me!"

"Hahaha, can’t catch me, can’t catch me! Na-na na-na boo-boo!"

Like a gust of wind, the children WHOOSHED past the spot where Ming Lingyi had just been standing.

The moment he lifted her, Ming Lingyi had instinctively grabbed onto the front of his robes.

When her feet touched the ground again, she snapped back to her senses, hastily letting go and giving him a shove for good measure.

Li Yun: "..." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

’Used and tossed aside, then shoved away in disgust. His feelings were truly complicated.’

’He should have been angry, yet after that rare moment of closeness, he found it difficult to summon any real fury.’

’All that remained was the unforgettable warmth and softness that lingered on his fingertips.’

"See? Dangerous," Li Yun said calmly, pretending he hadn’t felt her rejection.

Ming Lingyi had no response.

Shi Mingyue saw the man who’d been following them embrace her lady. ’Her Ladyship didn’t call for help, so it must be fine, right?’

’After a moment’s thought, Shi Mingyue decided it was best to pretend she hadn’t seen a thing.’

’After all, she was just a guard. It was her job to see little, ask little, and say little.’

Shi Mingyue deliberately dropped back a few paces, trailing her lady and the unnamed gentleman from a distance.

Li Yun began, "In the future, if you want something done, you don’t have to handle it personally. In situations like today’s..."

Ming Lingyi cut him off before he could finish.

"Li Yun," she said. Even without letting him finish, Ming Lingyi knew what he wanted to say. That if she so wished, countless people would be falling over themselves to do her bidding.

’But that wasn’t what she wanted.’

"Even if a situation like today’s happens again, I will handle it myself," Ming Lingyi stated.

Li Yun’s brow furrowed.

"I know what you’re getting at, but those people aren’t mine. They’re yours."

After learning what had happened to Wu Niang, she had, of course, thought of Li Yun.

Ming Lingyi knew perfectly well that if she had given this trivial matter to Li Yun, she would likely have the answers she sought in less than half a day.

But the thought had only been a fleeting one, a habit born from years past. She quickly extinguished it. Having decided to leave Li Yun, she refused to fall back into her old habit of relying on him for everything.

’She could do it herself.’

"What’s mine is yours," Li Yun said.

Ming Lingyi laughed.

"What’s yours might be for Ming Lingyi, but it’s not for Ming Yao."

Li Yun was so incensed he was speechless. Yet he found he couldn’t truly get angry with her, which only made his expression darken further.

He was left to sulk by himself.

In the past, Ming Lingyi would have already been comforting him by now. But at this moment, Li Yun could only watch as she strode forward resolutely, not giving him so much as a backward glance, let alone any words of comfort.

’The fact that she wasn’t actively chasing him away was probably the best he could hope for.’

In the end, Li Yun wasn’t completely idle. After seeing Ming Lingyi to the entrance of Ming’s Restaurant, he gave a few instructions to his Hidden Guard before finally departing.

It was a while before Ming Lingyi noticed Li Yun was gone; she had been busy with many things upon her return.

That evening, after Ming’s Restaurant closed for the night, she went to the infirmary to cover for Xiao Chun.