Evening oars rushed with the current, spring clothes light in the breeze.

The wooden oar rested on the boat’s edge, the small skiff flowing with the water, creating rippling circles around the oar floating on the surface. Such a small rowing boat, used for leisure boating, could seat only two people in total. Lu Yun sat at the end near the shoreline pines and cypresses. In the pitch-black night, he suddenly turned back, and by the dim moonlight, saw the wine cup fallen on the boat floor, while the wine jar, already half-emptied earlier by him and Liu Shu, rolled empty on the boat. The teary-eyed young lady opposite him no longer maintained a noble lady’s proper kneeling posture. When she lifted her face, her cheeks were blood-red, her eyes slightly dazed.

Lu Yun raised one eyebrow: “You drank all the remaining wine? In just this short while?”

Luo Ling Yu ignored him, only knowing to shed tears: “My fate is so bitter…”

Lu Yun smiled ambiguously.

Understanding now… she was truly drunk.

Teardrops like rain pearls hung on her cheeks, intermittently connecting into lines. That jar of wine had been sealed by Third Young Master Lu for many years, mellow and fragrant, with a strong aftereffect. Luo Ling Yu’s mind was burned like a paste, seeming to have some consciousness, yet not quite clear. She sat there without speaking, just continuously shedding tears. The wine had magnified the grievances in her heart—

Her early-deceased parents.

The hardships endured in Nanyang.

The difficulties of bringing her sister to seek refuge with the Lu family from thousands of miles away.

And… Madam Lu’s scolding tonight.

If her parents were still alive, she and her sister should be in Ruyang now, enjoying their parents’ care. Even if they came to the Lu family in Jianye, how could Madam Lu humiliate her like this?

Even when crying, a beauty remains beautiful. The Luo lady turned her face sideways, upturned eyelashes, moonlight, and lake water floating wave after wave on her face, clear and white against the wet hair on her cheeks. The Luo lady with black eyes and red lips, crying pearl-like tears while choking with sobs, appeared delicate and pitiable.

Third Young Master Lu, sitting at the other end of the boat, stared at her for a while, watching her cry in a way that seemed trained to present beauty. His heart was slightly stunned, and feeling mockery rise, Lu Yun abruptly turned away.

Her tears made him irritated, unwilling to look more, he directly turned his back, grabbing the wooden oar thrown on the boat’s edge. He moved the oar, trying to row the small boat drifting toward the lake’s center back to shore. As long as he didn’t look at Luo Ling Yu, Third Young Master Lu was still that cold, unsympathetic young master. He curled his lips, carelessly mocking the crying young lady behind him: “Weren’t you very proud when arguing with Aunt? Once Aunt’s back was turned, when alone, you start crying?”

“Luo Ling Yu, this is the extent of your courage.”

Luo Ling Yu: “What do you know! You’re not like me, dependent on others’ charity, you…”

Just when he thought she might say something meaningful. Lu Yun said flatly: “Who hasn’t lost parents before?”

The boat rocked, making Luo Ling Yu’s head dizzy. Through blurry tears, she saw the young master’s elegant back as he rowed, his bearing graceful. As she stared dazedly, her paste-like brain barely turning, she vaguely recalled that Third Young Master Lu had also lost his parents early. To this day in the Second House’s “Clear Court,” there was only Lu Yun as the master.

Lu Yun’s voice floated over the water: “Aunt isn’t a bad person, she won’t deliberately make things difficult for you. Why must you be so eager for quick success? Why must you wear your scheming on your face?”

“Who would like a deeply scheming woman who’s eager for quick success?”

Luo Ling Yu thought: You know nothing! At least you have the Lu family’s direct bloodline, while my familial connection is twisted eight hundred miles away.

Luo Ling Yu: “I, I…”

Her belly is full of rebuttals, all daring to be exposed due to drunkenness. She held the boat’s edge and stood up stumblingly, Third Young Master Lu’s rowing wasn’t very good, making the standing Luo Ling Yu sway left and right with the boat. But Luo Ling Yu was completely unafraid, she stumbled over, bending down to argue with Third Young Master Lu.

Lu Yun lowered his head, having finally gotten the boat rowing properly, and hadn’t heard the chattering young woman behind him make a sound for a while. Lu Yun looked back, then suddenly froze, his whole body’s hackles rising! Because Luo Ling Yu had somehow stumbled before him on the rocking boat, the person suddenly appearing behind him startled Lu Yun.

But more seriously—the moment Lu Yun turned his head, Luo Ling Yu bent down to reach for his shoulder to speak with him. Because the young master suddenly moved, she missed his shoulder, but Luo Ling Yu’s bent chest barely brushed past Lu Yun’s face.

Early spring night was cool, clothes were thin, and jade-like skin was fragrant with concentrated perfume.

Luo Ling Yu trembled.

Lu Yun’s body suddenly leaned back, while his elbow raised and pushed forward. His reaction was much more violent than the drunk Luo lady’s, before she could realize what had happened, she was forcefully pushed by Lu Yun. Lu Yun shouted: “What are you doing?!”

He pushed the dazed Luo Ling Yu off the boat with one shove.

Luo Ling Yu: “…”

Suddenly pushed off the boat, she caught sight of Lu Yun’s violent rejection in her peripheral vision. Falling into the water in shock, a thought suddenly popped into Luo Ling Yu’s muddled mind: she had misunderstood. Third Young Master Lu, who could so heartlessly push her into the water, definitely couldn’t admire her.

In the night someone fell into the water, and the splash rose high with a “poof,” several drops striking the young master’s desolate face.

Lu Yun stiffly looked down at his hand that had pushed someone: “…”

At the same time, serving girls’ cries came from the shore: “Young Lady, Young Lady! Where are you… ah!” The sound of falling water rose, waves splashed on the lake, a confused young master standing on the small boat. The scene of the young lady falling into the water was seen by the serving girls on shore.

Ling Yu and the others were breathless: “…”

After guiding Prince Liu Shu and sending that young master out of the Lu family compound, Ling Yu and the other serving girls hurried back. Although Luo Ling Yu was with Third Young Master Lu and should be fine, as personal serving girls, they felt uneasy not constantly following their young lady.

However, when they hurriedly returned and stood on the shore looking for people, they witnessed Lu Yun pushing Luo Ling Yu into the water.

The serving girls met the gaze of the young master standing not far away on the boat, fear and hesitation rising in their hearts, for a moment not knowing whether they should continue calling out. They had witnessed Lu Yun’s violence with their own eyes, but Lu Yun was the Lu family’s Third Young Master, while the one who fell in was just a cousin. The cousin’s family had no power, even if something happened, no one could stand up for her. But if they offended the Third Young Master…

The serving girls’ faces were deathly pale, suffering the conscience’s torture of their souls.

Then they saw Third Young Master Lu at the boat’s bow give them a cool glance, take a deep breath, and with one powerful movement dive into the water to rescue the person.

The serving girls were stunned and then relieved: it seemed it was just a misunderstanding, the Third Young Master wasn’t trying to harm the young lady.

The women quickly rallied, standing anxiously waiting at the shore. Soon after, they saw the soaking wet Lu Yun swimming up carrying a woman in his arms, his face grim. The serving girls came forward to look, helping Third Young Master Lu together to place the young lady on the ground. Ling Yu reached out to check the young lady’s breathing, while the women anxiously called: “Young Lady, Young Lady, are you alright?”

Luo Ling Yu trembled slightly, under their calls, her eyelashes quivered and her eyes opened a crack. She hadn’t realized she was being held by Lu Yun, nor did she see Lu Yun’s pale, ugly expression. With the serving girls’ calls in her ears, Luo Ling Yu’s wine-soaked mind seemed to clear somewhat. She coughed up several mouthfuls of water: “I-I-I’m fine…”

Ling Yu wept with joy: “Young Lady don’t move, Young Lady don’t worry, this servant will go fetch a physician to examine you right away.”

Luo Ling Yu grabbed her hand, not letting her go. With a deathly pale face, her slightly clearer thoughts made her hold onto Ling Yu without letting go. While her body shook with cold, she said: “No-no physician. Don’t call for one! Just need to sleep it off for a night.”

The serving girls: “Young Lady, what are you saying! Someone, someone…”

Luo Ling Yu trembled: “Don’t find anyone to come! I’ve already upset Madam Lu tonight, if I fell in the water and called a physician, she’ll… think I’m affected, making a fuss… don’t call anyone… I can handle it myself…”

Even in this state, despite the serving girls’ bitter persuasion, Luo Ling Yu firmly refused to let them call anyone. Vaguely, Luo Ling Yu seemed to see Lu Yun’s dark, gloomy face, but Lu Yun didn’t speak, and her impression wasn’t clear. The women ultimately couldn’t overcome the young lady’s stubbornness, and Ling Yu and the others could only nod with dejected faces.

This commotion lasted until midnight, and by the time they returned to “Snow Tracing Court,” Young Lady Luo Yun Wan, who had waited for her sister all evening, was already asleep. The serving girls lit fires, going in and out, some finding people to brew hot soup, others seeking clean clothes. Ling Xi didn’t have the heart to wake Luo Yun Wan, only joining the serving girls in caring for the drenched Luo Ling Yu. When Ling Yu and the others thought of it, they discovered Lu Yun had already left at some unknown time.

Lu Yun returned to “Clear Court” soaking wet.

At the courtyard gate, Jin Yue, who had been anxiously monitoring news from “Snow Tracing Court” all evening, was startled by him. She saw the young master completely wet, blood staining his clothes at his waist and abdomen. Seeing her, Lu Yun collapsed with a “thud.” Jin Yue and the others immediately came to support him, exclaiming in shock: “The wound had been healing for several days, how did it tear open again… Young Master, weren’t you just going to watch?”

Jin Yue was heartbroken: “How did you end up in the water?”

Before losing consciousness, Lu Yun grabbed Jin Yue, gritting his teeth to leave one sentence: “Have the physician… first visit ‘Snow Tracing Court.'”

Jin Yue: “Why… Young Master!”

Third Young Master Lu, having reached his courtyard, a safe place, after giving his instructions, passed out in relief. “Clear Court” was in chaos all night, just like “Snow Tracing Court” staying awake all night. Jin Yue hadn’t closed her eyes all night, and when she finally dozed off at daybreak, she heard chaotic sounds from outside.

The serving girl Zhi Yue ran in to call her: “Sister Jin Yue, quick come look! Miss Luo’s sister came running over early in the morning, shouting about settling accounts with our Third Young Master! That young lady, we’ve never seen her before.”

Jin Yue: “…”

The Luo ladies, were they their Third Young Master’s nemesis?