There is a slight quirk upward on one side of his lips at the rebuttal. He doesn't want to approve of the man in front of him, but he respects him marginally more when he doesn't crumble like he used to so publicly. He isn't sure exactly what that means, though.

As Huaisang continues though, Jin Ling's eyebrows rise in surprise. He hadn't expected that level of honesty. "If you know that then why do you act like such a weakly all the time? And how do I know you aren't taking advantage of my uncle after his wedding fell apart?"

~~~

Lan Zhan finally tsks at them and orders Jingyi to go fetch some broth for Yuan while also telling his husband to 'behave'.

"We'll let you rest a while longer here before taking you back to the Jinshi. If you want, I can play for you till Jingyi gets back."