Chapter 138: Not Understanding the Darkness of Night During the Day

The next day, Wang Liuzhi led the team on another journey, but Lin Dong did not join them; instead, he stayed in his room to practice. In the evening, the main group returned to the inn filled with joy. After asking a few questions and learning that everything had gone smoothly as before, Lin Dong took a gift box and set off.

If everything went well, there would be no need to worry about customers on the opening day. As for guests, all the nearby inns had already been purchased at high prices, and arrangements had been made with their owners to bring guests to Lin Ji Inn on the 29th—so that should not be a problem either. With the troupe and extensive promotional efforts, there was no need to worry about foot traffic on opening day. It would definitely be bustling, and with the inn’s cooking skills and the turtle stew made with maple leaves, achieving instant popularity wouldn’t be difficult.

However, after becoming popular, Lin Ji Inn would surely attract the attention of large restaurants. If they encountered jealous and malicious people, who knows what trouble they might cause. Disputes and provocations were manageable, but if something as ruthless as poisoning occurred, even if Lin Ji Inn could clear itself of blame, it would still suffer reputational damage.

Lin Dong went out in the evening precisely to prevent such problems.

Mounting his horse, holding the gift box in one hand and the reins tightly in the other, Lin Dong spurred the horse forward with a light neigh, racing toward the city.

In the Great Han Kingdom, government offices were located in the city centers of each town, and families, officials, and wealthy merchants also preferred to build their mansions there. Being in the city meant status and prestige—this was true even in Qiufeng City. Nearly 40% of the wealthy families in Qiufeng Mansion lived in the city, over half of the seven major families did as well, and more than 90% of the officials resided there for convenience in handling official duties.

The further toward the center, the larger and more magnificent the mansions became. On Liudong Street, less than a kilometer from the government office, Lin Dong stopped his horse in front of a large mansion.

On the door’s plaque, blue background with golden letters shone brightly even in the dim night—Cheng Mansion!

Ascending the stone steps, Lin Dong picked up the doorbell and rang it a few times. With a creak, a servant opened the door and peeked out.

“Who are you…?”

Lin Dong politely said, “I’m Lin Dong, the owner of Lin Ji Inn. I’m here to visit Master Cheng and his wife.”

“The owner of Lin Ji Inn?” The servant widened his eyes and sized Lin Dong up curiously. Lin Ji Inn had been the hottest topic in Qiufeng City these past few days, and the maids and servants in the mansion had also discussed and speculated about it. Who would have thought they would actually get to see the owner in person? Moreover, although this Lin Ji Inn owner carried himself with dignity, he was much younger than expected.

Lin Dong nodded with a smile.

The servant glanced at the gift box in Lin Dong’s hands and felt annoyed. Since he was here to deliver a gift, how could he not even understand the rules? The servant curled his lips, thought for a moment, and decided not to make things difficult. These past few days had been filled with news about Lin’s Inn, and given the grand effort put into it, the gift must be quite valuable. It was better not to get himself into trouble. After thinking this through, he didn’t dare to be difficult and immediately called out, “Zhang Hua, go check if the master has gone to bed. If not, tell him that the owner of Lin’s Inn has come to visit.”

“The owner of Lin’s Inn?” came a surprised voice from inside.

“Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up!” The servant seemed to hold some status in the Chen family, so he shouted again.

“Okay, I’m going right now.”

Seeing that the servant didn’t intend to open the door, Lin Dong understood why. Not only had he been in this world for some time now, but even in his original world, he knew that giving a little silver would be the best way to get the servant to be more friendly. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to spend that money—it was simply that he didn’t want to.

To avoid official troubles for Lin’s Inn, despite his reluctance, he had no choice but to ask Ma Chun to handle things. However, every penny given away was recorded carefully. Lin Dong never had the habit of bribing corrupt officials. Whether legitimate or not, if he couldn’t find another way, he could always use force to get his money back.

Standing outside in the cold wind wasn’t something that would trouble him much.

Seeing that Lin Dong remained indifferent, the servant muttered under his breath. Glancing again at the gift box, he didn’t dare to actually close the door and leave him outside, so he had no choice but to wait inside for news.

Less than twenty minutes later, several figures appeared in the main hall. The servant’s heart tightened as he watched closely. The first one was Li Yunfeng!

Although the servants and maids in the Cheng family had been there for less than half a year, they had often seen Li Yunfeng’s authority. So when she appeared suddenly, the servant was shocked. He straightened his clothes and hurried forward to greet her.

“Madam, the master…”

Li Yunfeng glanced toward the main door and asked in confusion, “Ma Teng, wasn’t it said that the owner of Lin’s Inn would come to visit? Where is he?”

Ma Teng shuddered. Madam and the master—were they here to welcome the owner of Lin’s Inn?

“He’s… waiting outside…”

“Waiting outside?” Li Yunfeng was astonished.

“Did he not give you a bribe?” Li Yunfeng’s personal maid sneered. “This afternoon, the madam asked you to arrange a carriage to visit Lin’s Inn early tomorrow morning. And now that the owner of Lin’s Inn has come in person, you actually keep him outside.”

Ma Teng was terrified, his legs turning weak as he nearly collapsed from the shock. While filled with fear, he also felt utterly wronged. It was true that a carriage had been arranged and would be needed early the next morning, but no one had mentioned going to Lin’s Inn! If he had known that Manager Lin was an old acquaintance of his wife and master, even if Ma Teng didn’t understand the rules, he would have treated them according to guest-hosting customs—at the very least, he would have taken them to the gatehouse to wait for news.

Li Yunfeng glared at Ma Teng sharply with eyes like knives, then strode quickly toward the gate, with Cheng Wencai closely following behind. The young maid grumbled a few times, intending to scold Ma Teng further and take the opportunity to strengthen her own position in the Cheng household. But after thinking of Liu Xiu from Lin’s Inn, she hurriedly followed as well.

Outside, Lin Dong had much better eyesight than ordinary people. After spotting Li Yunfeng first, he didn’t bother with any formalities and stepped through the gate right away.

“Manager Lin, it really is you,” Li Yunfeng said with delight, quickening her pace even more.

“It’s been a few months, but all the staff at Lin’s Inn still miss our esteemed customer, Madam!” Lin Dong said with a smile.

“You’re really good at speaking,” Li Yunfeng said, glancing at the gift box in Lin Dong’s hands and pretending to be dissatisfied. “This is too much of a gesture from you.”

“When someone comes asking for a favor, how can I not bring something? Please don’t reject these humble gifts, Madam.” Lin Dong shook his head smilingly, without the slightest hint of rudeness. The gift box was worth a thousand taels, and although it would eventually end up in Cheng Wencai’s pocket, he had no intention of taking it back.

Lin Dong despised Cheng Wencai deeply. But Cheng Wencai was Cheng Wencai, and Li Yunfeng was Li Yunfeng—he didn’t feel any ill will toward her; in fact, he even had a fair amount of goodwill for her. After all, if anyone else were in Li Yunfeng’s position, it was likely that over 90% of them would try to use their power to force Lin’s Inn to hand over the tables with enhanced comfort features.

Glancing at Cheng Wencai, who stood there with a cold expression, Lin Dong bowed slightly and casually said, “Congratulations on your promotion, Lord Cheng.”

“Oh, no, no…” Cheng Wencai didn’t show any particular reaction. Back in Xilan City, he had hated Lin Dong for his lack of sense and disregard for rules, wishing he could personally destroy Lin’s Inn into ruins. But to be honest, he had actually started to miss Lin’s Inn lately. Especially this morning, when he accidentally overheard the maids talking about Lin’s Inn, he couldn’t help but feel overjoyed.

Although his expression seemed aloof when he saw Lin Dong today, Cheng Wencai was actually trying to appear reserved. He really wanted to build a good relationship with Lin Dong but didn’t dare let Li Yunfeng notice too much.

It happened this way because during this period, Li Yunfeng’s temper grew increasingly worse. Cheng Wencai appeared glorious during the day, but no one knew about his suffering at night—his body covered in countless marks of strangulation, kicking, and biting… enough to write a tear-jerking history of blood and tears.