Chapter 3: A Lifeline at the Treasure Gathering

The treasure appraisal gathering was held at the Lin family villa. Early in the morning, Chunyu came to dress up Lin Yaoyao.

“Young Master Bai prefers plain and elegant clothes. Miss, if you wear this white tasseled dress today, you’ll look like a fairy from the ninth heaven. I’m sure he’ll be impressed.”

‘Plain and elegant, huh? Too bad I’m not going to let him have what he wants.’

Change! Bright red, bright green, bright purple. Heavy makeup, loud and garish.

She still hadn’t figured out how to break off the engagement with Bai Jingming, so the only plan was to make him loathe her and refuse to marry her.

When Lin Yaoyao appeared at the gathering with two peonies pinned in her hair, a thick layer of powder on her face, and a red top over a green skirt, everyone turned to stare. Quite a few young ladies from noble families covered their mouths and snickered.

Her third brother, Lin Feiyuan, hid his face behind his hand and pretended not to see her. He usually bragged to his friends about how stunning his sister was. Right now, he didn’t want to admit that this tacky woman was his sister.

Chunyu followed behind Lin Yaoyao without daring to breathe.

Lin Yaoyao lifted her chin, delighted with herself. This was exactly what she wanted. Bai Jingming cared about face more than anything. Marrying someone this tacky would make him the joke of the town.

But someone did praise her sincerely: her second brother, Lin Changzhou.

“Yaoyao, you look so pretty!”

Lin Changzhou had fallen ill at the age of seven and become simple-minded, with a mind like a child of seven or eight. Of course he liked bright, colorful clothes.

“Second Brother, why are you at the villa?”

Today was the treasure appraisal gathering, with a lot of guests. Father Lin Xuanzhong was busy hosting and already had his hands full. Why would he let the simple-minded Second Brother come here?

“I came with Iron Face to play cuju!”

Lin Changzhou pointed at a man standing not far away. Looking from behind, Lin Yaoyao saw a tall, straight figure with an air of grace. He should be handsome. And if he was playing with Second Brother, he was probably not very sharp either.

She had been looking for a way to get out of the marriage, and now a perfect opportunity had walked right in front of her.

If he was willing to play with a fool, then giving him some money to put on a little act shouldn’t be a problem.

“Young Master!”

The man turned around. Lin Yaoyao instinctively stepped back two steps.

Half of his face was covered by a mask. The other half was wrinkled and ravaged, covered in deep creases. At a glance, it didn’t look human at all.

Such a terrifying face. This was a classic case of a ‘killer from behind.’ What a waste of a good figure.

If she told Father Lin Xuanzhong that she had “fallen for” a man like this, it wouldn’t be convincing.

“Sorry, wrong person.”

Lin Yaoyao waved awkwardly and turned away quickly. She didn’t notice the cold glint in the man’s eyes.

Since the gathering hadn’t started, Lin Yaoyao wandered around, hoping to find some man to help her stall the marriage talk.

A few decent-looking young masters from noble families showed up. Lin Yaoyao went over to greet them, but before she could say two words, they all found excuses to leave.

Everyone avoided her like the plague.

“Lin Yaoyao, have you set your eyes on some young master? Tell me, I’ll drag him over for you.”

Her close friend Lu Yan’er was teasing her from the side. They had played together since childhood. Relying on their family backgrounds, they were both arrogant, spoiled, and learned nothing. They were the most famous pair of good-for-nothings at the Tiandu Academy.

“Anyone is fine, as long as he’s male and alive!” Lin Yaoyao said irritably.

Before she transmigrated, she had told her heartbroken friend that a three-legged toad was hard to find, but two-legged men were a dime a dozen.

Now she realized that a normal man was harder to find than a three-legged toad.

“I heard from my dad that your Lin family is about to form an alliance with the Bai family. Relax, Yaoyao. Bai Jingming will be yours sooner or later.”

Lu Yan’er winked at her. Lin Yaoyao rolled her eyes.

Just thinking about marrying Bai Jingming made her head swell three sizes. She was afraid that before Bai Jingming became hers, she would become his blood bag first.

“Hmph. Even if I have to marry a dog, I won’t marry Bai Jingming.”

Lin Yaoyao pointed at Iron Face, who was still playing cuju with Lin Changzhou.

Iron Face and Lin Changzhou cooperated well, kicking the ball back and forth, and had attracted quite a crowd.

Second Brother was simple-minded, but he was born with incredible strength. One kick from him was easily deflected by the other, which meant Iron Face was far from ordinary.

“Are you crazy? That’s Murong Tian!”

Lu Yan’er told her that Iron Face was Murong Tian, the young master of the Murong family, the imperial clan of Tiandu. It was said that the ancestor of the Murong family had betrayed his word and abandoned his lover, so a curse had been placed on the family. Every generation had only a single heir, and that heir did not live long.

The Murong family was so rich it could rival a nation, and its power stretched across the Western Seas and the Eight Desolates, far above the great families of the West. Murong Tian was ugly, violent, and ruthless, and he was known as the “Ghost-faced King of Hell.”

Powerful, influential, wealthy, and short-lived. What a perfect marriage prospect. Lin Yaoyao got excited just thinking about it.

“Is he married?”

Lu Yan’er was dumbfounded. Who would rush to their death and marry the King of Hell? None of the young ladies of noble families dared to marry him.

Lin Yaoyao was secretly pleased. Heaven never sealed off all roads.

“No one dares to marry him? Then I will.”

“What?!”

Lu Yan’er shouted. Was Lin Yaoyao insane?

In the past, Lin Yaoyao had only gone after handsome men. When had she changed her taste? And this was a pretty extreme change.

Lin Yaoyao finished speaking and made a beeline for Murong Tian. The life-saving straw was right in front of her. All she had to do was grab it.

Lu Yan’er followed behind her, desperately trying to pull her back.

“Little ancestor, that’s Murong Tian! All the great families of the West combined can’t afford to offend him. Provoke him and you’re dead!”

A man willing to play with a simpleton couldn’t be that bad.

Lin Yaoyao was convinced Murong Tian was not a wicked person.

A man with a disfigured face who chose not to hide it, who ignored the strange looks of the world, must have an open and resolute nature.

Compared with a hypocrite like Bai Jingming, who was all looks and no substance, Lin Yaoyao would rather deal with this “Ghost-faced King of Hell.”

“Young Master Murong, could I have a word with you in private?”

Murong Tian remained indifferent and didn’t bother to respond.

Lin Yaoyao signaled Lu Yan’er to take Lin Changzhou away. Lu Yan’er had enough sense for that; she had helped Lin Yaoyao do plenty of things like this.

“Little Zhouzhou, come on. Sister will take you to have some sweet osmanthus cake.”

After they left, Murong Tian ignored Lin Yaoyao and stood up to leave.

‘How rude. There’s a living person right in front of him. Can’t he see me at all?’

‘Is Murong Tian deaf, blind, and mute?’

Lin Yaoyao waved her hand in front of his eyes, then tried to communicate with sign language.

She caught a flash of disgust in Murong Tian’s eyes. It seemed he just didn’t want to deal with her.

‘Sigh. This “life-saving straw” might turn into a “sharp blade” and stab me at any moment.’

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