“Slap—!”

A surge of anger, grievance, shame, and various other emotions instantly flooded her heart. These uncontrollable feelings made Luo Lingyu raise her hand and strike Lu Yun’s face. Her eyes blazed with fury: what did he take her for? “Using beauty to serve others”?! Was she so worthless? Had she misunderstood when he sent her scholars’ paintings and cast flirtatious glances at her? Was he some paragon of male virtue?!

Five slender but distinct fingerprints appeared on his cheek as Lu Yun slowly turned his face back, his eyes filled with malice. He still had Luo Lingyu pinned against the tree, his heavy gaze pressing down on her. When not smiling, his cold, sharp, contemptuous look was particularly terrifying.

Under his stare, Luo Lingyu’s back instantly broke out in cold sweat: “…”

Had she gone mad? She was just a dependent female cousin, yet she dared to strike Third Young Master Lu. With just one word from Lu Yun, she and her sister could be thrown out. And she had nowhere else to go…

“Cou-cou-cousin,” as wind swept through the flower grove and moonlight filled the sky, the young lady’s eyelashes trembled lightly, her eyes instantly brimming with glistening tears. With tears streaming down, biting her lower lip, she looked up at him timidly and anxiously. Luo Lingyu shakily reached out to touch the half of Lu Yun’s face she had struck, “I-I-I didn’t mean to…”

Lu Yun: “…”

His eyes were shadowed by his lashes, a dark blue-black, his expression concealed. He stared at the panicked young lady for a long while before languidly reaching out to precisely grab Luo Lingyu’s wrist. Lu Yun acted like one in authority, watching without any mercy as the little person performed her act under his gaze. Lu Yun: “Save your tears, that trick won’t work on me.”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

How could tears possibly not work?

For an instant, Lu Yun caught a glimpse of cold calculation in Luo Lingyu’s upturned eyes. Lu Yun’s eye twitched, but that subtle emotion had already vanished. The tear-filled cousin maintained her pose, and after a slight delay, the intermittent tearfulness in her eyes receded. Though crystal teardrops still hung from her lashes, Luo Lingyu’s lips curved upward in a self-pitying smile. Her voice remained soft and weak: “Why does Cousin use such harsh words about me? What do you mean by ‘using beauty to serve others’? Are you saying the young masters of the household have been bewitched by me? If you put it that way, aren’t you, Third Cousin, also ‘using beauty to serve others’?”

Lu Yun’s expression grew darker, though his lips held a smile: “So cousin admits her motives are impure?”

Luo Lingyu: “No. Is beauty a crime? Have I forced anyone to look at me? I’m new here – is it wrong to want everyone to like me? Is it unforgivable that I don’t cover my face and sit moldering in my room wearing gray? What do you mean by ‘seducing men’? Though my family has fallen on hard times, I’m still from a scholarly background! You said I ‘don’t move at all’, Third Cousin, so how am I any different from you? All the female cousins in the household like you – have you stopped going out and talking to people to avoid their attention? For the same actions, you’re pure and noble, while I’m seducing men everywhere?”

Luo Lingyu had done more than just talk to people. Lu Yun sneered: “Clever words and a pretty face. In front of my second brother…”

He meant to criticize further, but Luo Lingyu suddenly thrust her body forward. The young lady’s bosom was full, and to avoid actual physical contact with this young woman, Lu Yun had no choice but to step back. A flash passed through Luo Lingyu’s eyes as she advanced toward him, forcing him back step by step. Luo Lingyu’s skirts fluttered, her hair brushing past her cheeks and lips as they parted and closed, contrasting with her snow-white face and tear-sparkled eyes. How magnificent and brilliant.

Luo Lingyu spoke with both grievance and anger: “What about Second Cousin? I only sent Third Cousin perfumed letters and scented water. Does Third Cousin think I treat everyone the same? When I poured out my heart of admiration, Third Cousin ignored it. I was too ashamed and could only pretend not to know. Who would have thought Cousin would slander me like this, even misunderstanding about me and Second Cousin… If Third Cousin dislikes me, just say so directly. This is too petty!”

Lu Yun had been forced back against a tree. Initially somewhat surprised, he soon became composed: “So you’re saying I misunderstood you, and it’s my fault?”

Lu Yun leaned down, his fingers brushing the loose strands by her ear, catching sight of her reddened earlobe: “Then you’d better be careful. What I can see, others can see too. Do you think your scheming goes unnoticed by the Lu family? Cousin Luo, one wrong move, and the Lu family can throw you out.”

Luo Lingyu’s heart filled with panic.

But her face didn’t show it. Her eyes reddened with tears as she angrily shoved Lu Yun hard, crying out: “Whatever you say!”

“Third Cousin, I’m done with you!”

With those words, Luo Lingyu ceased arguing with Lu Yun. Her emotions had surged dramatically, her chest heaving as she spoke excitedly, and then she turned away, tears forming a winding silver-white line down her jade cheek. Her fair face was wet with tears, and Luo Lingyu’s profile was sorrowfully beautiful in the moonlight’s clear glow.

Lu Yun’s eyes darkened as his mouth twitched: she wouldn’t pay attention to… she was done with him?!

He watched as Luo Lingyu turned her back on him, lifting her skirts to run out of the flower grove. Behind her, clusters of pink and red apricot blossoms scattered through the air. As she ran, her skirts stirred up fallen flowers, and the whole grove seemed to chase after her. She appeared like an otherworldly being who had strayed into the mortal realm, her retreating figure wrapped in ethereal light, presenting a hazy beauty…

Lu Yun stood dazed for a moment. Only after the beauty had vanished did he rub the fingers that had touched her face. With the delicate fragrance still lingering on his fingertips, Third Young Master Lu coughed once to cover his unusual emotions: truly a cousin who never forgot to display her beauty.

She couldn’t be made to see reason… his disgust for her grew even stronger.

…

Returning to “Snow Tracing Courtyard,” Luo Lingyu clutched her wildly beating heart as she collapsed distractedly onto the bed. Tension and fear had left her forehead and nose covered in sweat, her back also damp. Her cheeks burned fiercely as she rested her hand on the armrest. After a while, her maid Lingyu brought her a cup of tea: “Is the young lady well?”

Luo Lingyu felt dejected: not well.

She had actually… been so audacious. Not only had she slapped Third Young Master Lu, but she had also lectured him. Third Young Master Lu must hate her to death by now, right?

Her marriage prospects… Luo Lingyu bit her lip, secretly frustrated: she wondered if her righteous speech in front of Third Young Master Lu and those few fallen tears would have any effect.

She truly didn’t know what to do going forward, whether she should shift her target.

However, the biggest trouble now wasn’t Third Young Master Lu. Rather, it was that Third Young Master Lu suspected her true nature. That cousin didn’t seem like a good person – would he reveal her true nature to the Lu family elders? If the Lu family elders came to detest her, dislike her, and wanted to drive her from the Lu family… what should she do? Without the family’s protection, she would have nowhere to turn.

Luo Lingyu sat quietly, frightened by her imagination until she was drenched in cold sweat, her hands ice-cold.

She felt so panicked that she wanted to run back to the flower grove and kneel before Lu Yun, begging him not to expose her… but Luo Lingyu was also born of noble blood, she had her pride. In this era, except for worship, even audiences with the emperor rarely required kneeling. Should she kneel to Third Young Master Lu just to stay in the Lu family?

Lingyu anxiously nudged Luo Lingyu: “What’s wrong with the young lady?”

Luo Lingyu’s blank stare and lost expression had frightened the maid. Lingyu grabbed Luo Lingyu’s ice-cold hands and whispered in her ear: “Did Third Young Master bully you? Don’t be afraid, young lady. Tomorrow we’ll complain to the Old Madam and let her uphold justice for us!”

Luo Lingyu trembled.

Her nails dug into her palms: dependent on others’ charity…

“No need. I can’t cause trouble for everyone. Third Cousin treats me…” the young lady wept like rain as she choked out a smile, “very well.”

Luo Lingyu only cried without saying anything when “Third Young Master Lu” was mentioned, which made Lingyu even more certain that Third Young Master Lu must have bullied the young lady. When Lingyu wanted to tell the Old Madam, Luo Lingyu held her back and wouldn’t allow it, hesitating and stammering until Lingyu could only sigh and nod. She thought the young lady was truly pitiful, yet also truly kind-hearted.

After Lingyu had helped Luo Lingyu to bed and went out to meet with other servants of the household, a piece of gossip about Third Young Master Lu began to spread—that Third Young Master Lu was a beast in human clothing who had made the newly arrived female cousin cry.

This rumor only circulated for two days. Just as it was about to escalate, the servants began whispering about new gossip—that Third Young Master Lu’s face had been struck by a young lady.

Third Young Master Lu had been slapped.

After Lingyu returned and informed Luo Lingyu of this news, she worriedly watched the young lady’s expression shift between light and dark. Luo Lingyu felt suffocated: Third Cousin… was truly Third Cousin indeed.

Such a large handprint, yet he neither concealed it nor stayed hidden for a few days, but went out and about.

Whatever she might spread now would only confirm that she was the one who had delivered that slap, wouldn’t it? Who knew how it would be portrayed before the Lu family elders? She… she admitted defeat.

…

Because of the private meeting with Third Young Master Lu, Luo Lingyu stayed listlessly confined to her courtyard for several days, not going out. She waited anxiously for several days, but neither her aunt Lu Ying nor the Lu family’s Old Madam called for her to talk. It seemed Lu Yun hadn’t gone to the Old Madam to report her misconduct.

What exactly did he mean? It made one’s heart creep.

In the early morning, young lady Luo Yunzha sat in the courtyard reciting her lessons loudly, while Lingyu stood beneath the curtain helping to dress the young lady’s hair. Luo Lingyu sat by the window, perfectly positioned to monitor whether her sister was slacking off. Looking at the cloud-like coiffure and flowery face in the mirror, Lingyu inserted a dangling ornament into the young lady’s hair and asked: “The young lady hasn’t gone out for two days – will today’s arranged small banquet also be canceled?”

Previously, to curry favor with the young masters and ladies, Luo Lingyu had spent her own money sending countless gifts and hosting many banquets. With money running short, her heart ached.

Tonight’s small gathering was also originally meant to be hosted by Luo Lingyu.

Luo Lingyu suddenly remembered Third Young Master Lu’s warning words—”Then you’d better be careful. What I can see, others can see too. Do you think your scheming goes unnoticed by the Lu family? Cousin Luo, one wrong move, and the Lu family can throw you out.”

Luo Lingyu frowned, about to refuse, when Lingyu smiled and added: “If you don’t wish to host, Lady Wang wants to be the host. Miss Han is returning home, and Lady Wang wants to hold a farewell banquet, but she lacks your skill and ingenuity, young lady. Lady Wang hopes to borrow your venue.”

A flash passed through Luo Lingyu’s eyes as she accepted this favor: “Very well, I do love to give favors. Let Sister Wang come over.”