Feng Jin watched his earnest expression, and the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably. She was waiting, wondering how she should respond.
After a pause, Feng Jin cleared her throat slightly and said with a hint of tact, "I feel like your temperament isn't quite suitable. Personally, I suggest you don't try."
Aren't those who grow beards all adult men in their thirties with rich life experiences? Ling Mohan completely didn't fit the description.
"Is that so?" Ling Mohan's tone rose slightly, and his mood immediately fell. He looked at himself in the mirror, examining himself from side to side. He thought he looked quite good. How could it be described as unsuitable by Feng Jin?
"Don't think about it anymore. It really doesn't suit you. Perhaps in a few more years, it will be about right."
Feng Jin couldn't bear to see Ling Mohan go astray and kindly reminded him.
"I think it's quite suitable," Ling Mohan continued to insist on his own opinion.
Feng Jin glanced at him. This was a case of not hitting the south wall and refusing to turn back. Since that was the case, she would let him have his way.
"If you think it's suitable, you can try."
"Didn't you just say it wasn't suitable? Why have you changed your mind now?" Ling Mohan turned to ask Feng Jin.
Feng Jin rolled her eyes helplessly and said impatiently, "Even if I say it's not suitable, you won't listen to me. I can only let you have your way."
Since no one listened when she spoke, she was too lazy to waste her breath and just waited to see Ling Mohan regret it.
"Since you say it's good, then I'll try."
Ling Mohan said eagerly, his gaze fixed on himself in the mirror. Indeed, the more he looked, the better he felt.
"Sigh..." Feng Jin sighed helplessly. Why had this person become so narcissistic?
...
"Lord Ling, we've agreed. You can only go in for half an hour. Don't make it difficult for me."
"Naturally. Thank you, little brother."
Ling Erye took out a gold ingot from his embrace and stuffed it into the jailer's hand.
The jailer, having received a generous reward, smiled and pocketed the gold ingot before leading the way.
The prison was dark and damp all day, with an oppressive atmosphere mixed with the smell of mold and the wails of countless prisoners. Ling Muzhu, who had never been to such a place, couldn't help but shiver.
"Lord Ling, this is it. Time is short, so keep it brief." After the jailer unlocked the cell door, he left immediately.
Ling Yan, curled up in the corner, recognized the person who had arrived through the dim light. She quickly staggered to her feet and ran over.
"Father, Father..." Ling Yan cried and knelt before Ling Erye, hugging his legs and wailing, "Father, save me. Save me and get me out of here. This place is too terrifying. There are rats and cockroaches running all over me. I truly know I was wrong. Save me, Father..."
Ling Erye looked at his disappointing daughter, sighed helplessly, and reached out to help her up.
"It was only after I begged Ling Mohan with all my might that you were allowed to serve your sentence in the capital. You should stay here with peace of mind. Later, I will find a way to help you get out early."
Ling Yan's offense this time was too serious. He had pleaded with the elder Master Ling for a long time with no success. It was only after seeking out Ling Mohan that he agreed to let Ling Yan remain in the capital.
"What..." Ling Yan slumped to the ground, dazed, unable to believe what she had heard.
Her mother and maternal grandmother had told her that she was a daughter of the Ling family, and no matter what she did, her grandfather and father would protect her. But... but things were not as she had imagined.
"Child, since things have come to this, your father is powerless. Stay here with peace of mind. Your father will make arrangements for you to live more comfortably."
At this point, all he could do was this.
"No... no..." Ling Yan shook her head frantically, "Father, save me, save me. I am your daughter... Father, save me."
Ling Erye sighed, his face full of helplessness, "Yan'er, your father has failed you..."
Hatred instantly filled Ling Yan's eyes. She violently pushed away Ling Erye's supporting hand, took a step back, and glared at him resentfully, "It's clearly because you are useless! When grandfather told you to divorce my mother, you didn't even dare to utter a sound. You were afraid of grandfather, afraid of Ling Mohan, and couldn't even save your own daughter. You are truly useless!"
"You... you..." Ling Erye was so angered that a surge of blood rushed to his temples, and he instantly felt dizzy. If Ling Muzhu hadn't quickly supported him, he would have collapsed on the ground by now. kuAiδugg
"Ling Yan, are you crazy? Your father went to great lengths for you, and begged your elder brother for a long time to keep you in the capital. How could you say such heartless words!"
Ling Muzhu angrily accused Ling Yan. How had she become like this now?
"You shut up. Ling Muzhu, what are you, anyway? I am your elder sister, and you have no right to speak to me like this. Which of my words is wrong? Isn't he just useless? He's achieved nothing in his official career, and he even lost control of the household. If he had any backbone, my mother wouldn't have been divorced, and I wouldn't be locked up here. All of this is because of his uselessness!"
"My mother marrying him is the biggest mistake of her life. Having a father like him is the greatest misfortune of my life!"
She hadn't believed her maternal grandmother before, but now that she saw it with her own eyes, she knew her grandmother's words were true. Her father was precisely such a useless person.
And having such a father in this life was the source of her lifelong misfortune.
"I raised you for more than ten years and do not expect you to repay my nurturing grace, only to find you view me this way!"
Ling Erye never expected that in Ling Yan's eyes, he was such a useless person.
"That's right, in my heart, you are exactly this useless person. I am ashamed to have a father like you!"
Ling Yan's words stabbed him like knives, and in an instant, Ling Erye seemed to age several years, his back even slightly bent.
"Ling Yan, you shut up. If you dare to say another word..."
"What, do you want to kill me!" Ling Yan snorted contemptuously at Ling Muzhu, "Being locked up in this jail, I'm already living a fate worse than death. Ling Muzhu, if you have the ability, kill me. Kill me! But don't forget, I am your own sister. If you kill me, you will surely be condemned by everyone. Your imperial examination path, your political career, the hope of the entire second branch will be destroyed!"
Ling Yan laughed wildly as if she were possessed, "Ling Muzhu, you are truly useless! Just like your father, you are both useless. With you, it's impossible to even attempt the imperial examinations or to be appointed to an office outside the capital!"
"You shut up! Shut up!"