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By the time they dealt with Lin Dashuan, it was already evening.

Xia Zheng drove the carriage and delivered Lin Yuan back to the Lin family’s hollow when it had already turned completely dark; however, the household was brightly lit with laughter echoing from inside as soon as they reached the front gate.

Contagiously affected by the laughter, Lin Yuan couldn’t wait for the carriage to come to a full stop and hurriedly jumped down, prompting Xia Zheng to quickly reach out to catch her and chide, "It’s dark. Aren’t you afraid of twisting your ankle?"

Feeling Xia Zheng’s concern, Lin Yuan’s cheeks warmed, and she quickly pushed away his arm, running towards the house. After taking just a couple of steps, she felt it would be improper not to say something, so she turned back and softly said, "Thank you for today."

Xia Zheng was startled, almost dropping the horsewhip. By the time he reacted, the person in front of him had already run through the door and out of sight. With an unconscious smile curving his lips, Xia Zheng quickly parked the carriage and hurried inside.

Inside the house, Lady Liu and Lady Fan were showing everyone the new clothes they had made that day. It turned out that they had misunderstood the design Lin Yuan provided, and the finished garments looked more like shorts men would wear for physical labor, provoking laughter from everyone.

Seeing the smiling faces of her parents and sisters, Lin Yuan couldn’t help but join in the laughter. It seemed that Xiao Linshuang’s kidnapping had been kept a secret from her mother and grandmother; otherwise, they likely would be holding Xiao Linshuang now, crying until they were out of breath.

Xiao Linshuang was quite cunning herself. On the way home, she had received a warning from her aunt, and upon arriving, she didn’t make a fuss in front of Lady Liu. Instead, she lied quite sensibly, claiming she had played too late and that’s why she returned at such a late hour.

Lady Liu, who had always known her youngest daughter’s temperament, didn’t suspect a thing and simply scolded her briefly, not bringing the matter up again.

With that, the incident seemed to have passed without much consequence.

If Lady Liu and Lady Fan had been informed—one pregnant and the other old—they might not have been able to handle such a blow.

Dinner was ready, prepared by the aunt and Lan Hua together. Although it was just a simple meal of rice porridge and steamed buns, for a family that had just gone through a life-or-death ordeal, it tasted unusually sweet. Even the customarily fussy Lao Fan had two bowls of rice porridge.

In the deep silence of the night, worn out after a day of turmoil, Xiao Linshuang went to sleep early.

Liu Limin, sharing the room with Lady Fan and not wanting to raise any suspicions, chose not to bring up Xiao Linshuang’s abduction.

However, she was very curious about how Xia Zheng and Lin Yuan managed to involve the Master Magistrate’s men.

Lin Yuan knew her question and casually lied, saying that Li Changxi delighted in the dishes from Fuman Building, which is how he came to know Young Master Xia Zheng well. To ask such a favor to find someone was naturally something he was willing to help with.

Although she said that, Lin Yuan, lying on the kang, just couldn’t fall asleep.

Earlier that day, whilst intruding on Li Mansion, Li Chang had intended to take someone captive, but Xia Zheng simply threw out a token, and that alone terrified Li Chang into kneeling and begging for mercy.

Lin Yuan hadn’t seen the token clearly, catching only a glimpse of it shining gold briefly.

And considering the stammered "second" uttered by Li Chang, Lin Yuan’s initial hunch was that Xia Zheng was a Prince, and the second in line.

Prince, prince, prince.

Lin Yuan was disturbed and agitated as she pulled the blanket over her head.

If Xia Zheng was a prince, then could there be a future for the two of them?

She had never eaten pork but had seen pigs run; historically, didn’t every prince have a host of concubines and favored concubines?

Even Li Chang, a mere County Magistrate, had numerous little concubines.

Wouldn’t that mean Xia Zheng would have hundreds?

No, no! How could he be a prince? Lin Yuan shook her head vigorously, her own guess seeming less and less reliable.

Which prince in the world needs to earn silver by running his own tavern?

And Xia Zheng, such a penny-pincher, was a far cry from the image of a prince she held in her heart, by a full hundred thousand miles.

Right, right, he must not be a prince, what kind of unreliable prince would that be? Comforting herself this way, Lin Yuan finally smoothed her brows and peacefully fell asleep.

But tonight, Lin Yuan wasn’t the only one curious about Xia Zheng’s identity.