Luoshen had a feeling that the atmosphere in her household these past few days was very unusual.

Whether it was her parents or A’Ju and the others, they all seemed to be deliberately hiding something from her.

Especially these past few days, this feeling had grown increasingly strong.

But every time she inquired, whether asking her mother, father, A’Ju, or Qiongshu and the others, they would either act as if nothing was amiss or speak evasively, claiming to know nothing when questioned.

This gradually filled Luoshen’s heart with doubt and even some unease.

This year’s Double Ninth Festival was approaching again.

In previous years, her good friend Lu Xiu Rong from the Lu family would usually invite her early, calling together several other close female friends to either climb heights for autumn outings or appreciate chrysanthemums and compose poetry, celebrating the season and enjoying themselves as young ladies should.

But this year, for some reason, even Lu Xiu Rong seemed to have forgotten about this matter.

Unable to bear it any longer, Luoshen had someone send a letter to Lu Xiu Rong yesterday asking about Double Ninth Festival plans. Lu Xiu Rong replied the same day, saying her family coincidentally had matters to attend to these days, and she likely couldn’t go out on Double Ninth Day. She said once things were settled, she would come find her to play.

Luoshen had no choice but to let the matter drop.

Today, early in the morning, both mother and father had left home without telling her where they were going. A’Ju remained at home to keep her company.

One night of autumn wind had coaxed open the chrysanthemums in the chrysanthemum garden behind the house.

Luoshen sat on the swing, wearing a cloud-colored jacket above and a plain skirt below, her slender waist accentuated by wide sleeves, the hem of her skirt fluttering. She held the ropes on both sides of the swing with her hands, letting the swing sway gently in the wind as she gradually became lost in thought.

Occasionally, the voices of Yingtao and the young maids drifted to her ears.

“This one bloomed beautifully—cut it down and arrange it in a vase together, use that celadon vase…”

Luoshen called Yingtao over.

Yingtao, holding freshly cut flowers in her arms, walked over quickly with a beaming smile.

“Miss, look, I cut several stems of Ten-Zhang Hanging Curtain and Green Dress Red Skirt chrysanthemums. Do you like them? Let me gather some dogwood branches to arrange together. Kept in a vase, they’ll be both beautiful and seasonally appropriate!”

The snow-white Ten-Zhang Hanging Curtain and Green Dress Red Skirt chrysanthemums arranged together were indeed beautiful.

Luoshen nodded, then asked with apparent casualness: “Sixth Young Master was also nowhere to be seen early this morning—where did he go?”

“Young Master? He also went to Fuzhou Mountain with Eldest Princess and the others…”

Yingtao was younger with a lively personality and spoke rather quickly.

Halfway through her words, she suddenly seemed to remember something and immediately stopped, shaking her head: “I’m not really sure either, I was just guessing randomly…”

“Yingtao, is there something that A’Ju told you all not to tell me?”

Yingtao’s face showed panic as she kept shaking her head.

The smile disappeared from Luoshen’s face as she stared at her without saying a word.

Yingtao gradually lowered her head, showing signs of unease.

Luoshen left her behind, got down from the swing, and went straight back to her room.

A’Ju was instructing the servants to make chrysanthemum cakes. Seeing Luoshen come in, she turned to greet her with a smile: “Why aren’t you admiring flowers in the garden anymore?”

She touched Luoshen’s hands and felt they were somewhat cold, frowning as she called to Qiongshu: “Miss’s hands are cold as ice, and you don’t even know to add a layer of clothing for her!”

Qiongshu hurried to fetch clothes, but Luoshen shook her head.

“A’Niang, I’m not cold. Let me ask you—what exactly are A’Ye and A’Niang hiding from me?”

A’Ju shook her head: “What could there be to hide from you? A’Mi, don’t overthink things. If you’re not admiring chrysanthemums anymore, A’Niang will accompany you back to your room to add some clothing…”

Luoshen broke free from A’Ju’s hand that was trying to take her arm and stepped toward the door: “Qiongshu, bring me my hat! I’m going to Fuzhou Mountain to see what great excitement is there that the whole family went, leaving only me behind!”

A’Ju exclaimed and hurried after her: “A’Mi, there’s really nothing…”

“If there’s nothing, then good. I’m just bored at home and want to go out for some fresh air. Surely A’Niang wouldn’t forbid me from even leaving the house?”

Luoshen smiled sweetly, but her words carried the tone of someone who wouldn’t give up until achieving her goal.

A’Ju looked at her for a moment, showing a helpless expression, and took hold of Luoshen’s hand.

“Fine, A’Niang will tell you then.”

A’Ju led Luoshen into the room and sighed: “A’Mi, do you still remember that person surnamed Li who saved Young Master before?”

Luoshen nodded.

She naturally wouldn’t forget that person called Li Mu who had saved her younger brother.

“This matter is related to that man…”

A’Ju sighed again, as if what came next was extremely difficult for her to speak of.

A’Ju’s sudden mention of that person, coupled with this expression, made Luoshen even more confused.

If her parents were hiding something from her and didn’t want her to know, it must be something bad related to her.

Recently, her biggest concern was the marriage arrangement with the Lu family. Combined with Lu Xiu Rong’s unusual behavior this year, Luoshen had a feeling that this bad news might be related to her marriage.

Now when A’Ju spoke, she actually mentioned that person who had nothing to do with her.

This truly surprised her.

What relationship could that person possibly have with her?

“What happened to him? How could it be related to me?”

Luoshen pressed for an answer.

A’Ju sighed for the third time: “That Li Mu actually used his favor to speak to the Minister, requesting to marry you!”

What?!

Luoshen’s eyes suddenly widened like rounds, her lips parted slightly, and she froze, unable to react for a moment.

“A’Mi, you must not get angry!”

A’Ju was startled and quickly supported her, leading her to sit on the edge of the bed.

“The Minister did indeed publicly promise to grant any request he made, but who could have imagined he would presume to desire you! The Minister and Eldest Princess were afraid you’d worry if you knew, which is why they had me keep it from you. But you can rest assured!”

A’Ju sneered: “Who is the Minister! What kind of demons and monsters has he not encountered? How could he be constrained by this one presumptuous military man?”

Luoshen finally confirmed she hadn’t misheard.

That man named Li Mu, a low-ranking military officer who had been complete strangers with her—she hadn’t even heard his name before. Using the favor from saving her brother, he was now asking her father for her hand in marriage?

This…

This was simply too…

Too absurd!

Her first reaction was to laugh, but she couldn’t manage it. Instead, her heart felt like it held a little rabbit jumping around wildly. She slowly looked at A’Ju: “So today, when A’Ye and A’Niang all went to Fuzhou Mountain, what were they doing?”

“This matter reached His Majesty’s attention. The Minister had no choice but to arrange an examination, hoping to make that Li Mu retreat in the face of difficulty. But after Young Master Lu learned of this, presumably not wanting to make things too difficult for the Minister and wanting that Li Mu to be thoroughly convinced, he volunteered to take the examination together with him. So the Minister set up today’s public examination at Fuzhou Mountain to test Young Master Lu and that Li Mu.”

A’Ju’s face showed a relieved smile: “A’Mi, you can rest easy. With Young Master Lu’s literary talent and martial skills, how could Li Mu be his match? The Minister probably saw that Li Mu had evil intentions and didn’t know his place, so he’s using this to teach him a lesson, and that will be the end of it. After today, it will all be settled. Your marriage with Young Master Lu will proceed as planned.”

Luoshen finally understood completely.

Why her parents had been so abnormal these past days, why Lu Xiu Rong had made excuses not to celebrate Double Ninth Festival.

It turned out everything was caused by that person named Li Mu.

Gao Huan had mentioned that Li Mu several times in front of her, his tone full of admiration. Although Luoshen had never met the man, her impression of him had originally been quite good.

Even among those of humble origins, there were heroic figures. That Li Mu was probably one such upstanding hero.

But at this moment, hearing such words from A’Ju’s mouth, all the good feelings Luoshen had developed for that person because of her brother instantly vanished without a trace.

She couldn’t imagine that during all these days, without her knowledge, she had been the object of such presumptuous marital desires from a man she’d never met.

She wasn’t cold, and she was sitting inside the room, but it felt as if a chilly wind had risen from somewhere in the shadows, making her feel icy.

Accompanied by a feeling of revulsion, her arms under her sleeves slowly broke out in tiny goosebumps.

She couldn’t help but shiver.

Fortunately, A’Ju was right—with A’Ye’s experience, how could he possibly be constrained by that Li Mu?

Just a lowly provincial military officer!

Since A’Ye could arrange a public examination, he must already be confident about the outcome.

Moreover, she had complete faith in Lu Jianzhi’s abilities.

No matter how formidable that Li Mu might be, as long as Elder Brother Lu was there, that man couldn’t possibly win against him.

As long as A’Ye and Elder Brother Lu were there, she had nothing to worry about.

Luoshen finally calmed down, and her heart, which had been beating wildly, slowly settled.

A’Ju glanced at the height of the sun outside the window and consoled her: “Things over there should be finishing up soon. Just lie down in your room for a while and don’t overthink. A’Niang will go check on the pastries. When Eldest Princess returns, I’ll call you.”

A’Ju lovingly patted her hand, called Qiongshu to come keep her company, and was just about to leave when she heard a maid outside say: “Eldest Princess has returned!”

Luoshen’s heart jumped again.

But A’Ju’s face showed joy as she immediately stood up: “Back so soon! It must have gone very smoothly.”

For some reason, despite her complete trust in A’Ye and Lu Jianzhi, hearing the news that mother had actually returned, her emotions that had just relaxed suddenly became tense again.

She slowly stood up, forcing herself to stay calm, and followed A’Ju outside.

Just reaching the back hall, she saw mother striding in quickly, stepping over the threshold in one stride, causing the hairpin ornament at her temple to tremble violently.

Luoshen immediately saw the angry expression on her mother’s face.

Her heart lurched, and her feet immediately couldn’t move forward, stopping there.

“Pack things up and take A’Mi back to Bailu Zhou—”

Xiao Yongjia shouted once, then suddenly saw Luoshen opposite her, immediately closed her mouth, and looked at A’Ju.

A’Ju had also seen that Xiao Yongjia’s emotions were wrong. The smile that had been on her face disappeared. She looked back at Luoshen standing there, then quickly stepped forward to ask in a low voice: “Eldest Princess, how did the competition go?”

Xiao Yongjia’s face was grim, and she didn’t say a word.

A’Ju knew something was wrong—things must have changed. She immediately turned back to call Qiongshu: “Take Miss back to her room first!”

Qiongshu hurried forward: “Miss—”

Luoshen brushed away the maid’s hand, walked toward Xiao Yongjia, and finally stopped in front of her.

“A’Niang, what was the result?”

She gazed at Xiao Yongjia and asked slowly.

Xiao Yongjia didn’t answer her.

Luoshen’s heart kept sinking.

“Elder Brother Lu… did he lose?”

Luoshen’s voice trembled slightly, beyond her own control.

Actually, the moment she saw mother stride angrily through the doorway, she had already guessed the result.

It was just that her heart was ultimately unwilling, and she couldn’t believe this result, which was why she had to hear the answer with her own ears.

“A’Mi, be good, go back to your room, let your A’Niang rest first…”

A’Ju hurried to persuade her.

“A’Mi need not fear! With A’Niang here, I will never let you marry a humble military man!”

Xiao Yongjia stepped forward and forcefully grasped her daughter’s ice-cold little hands, gritting her teeth as she spoke these words one by one.

Luoshen’s soft hands were painfully pressed by the hard rings on her mother’s fingers.