Among the cousin-sisters staying at the Lu family, Luo Lingyu, though of the poorest background, was still a lady from a fallen scholarly family. The other cousin-sisters’ families were all influential scholarly clans.

There was a natural barrier between scholarly and common families, and relationships between scholarly families required constant maintenance. The most common way to maintain these relationships was through status-matched marriages. Scholars neither betrothed to nor married commoners. Now that the Lu family’s young masters had reached marriageable age, inviting the cousin-sisters to stay had marriage considerations in mind… However, Madam Lu, accustomed to her pride, had unintentionally offended many while trying to put Luo Lingyu in her place.

Madam Lu deeply regretted her actions.

At this point, she could only try her best to make amends. Old Madam Lu sighed: “It’s all because our family has only sons and no daughters…”

Madam Lu’s verbal slip wasn’t serious enough to warrant special gifts or personal apologies, but neither was it trivial enough to be ignored. In such situations, having daughters go out to socialize more would help. During sisterly gatherings, they could casually clear up the misunderstanding. But the Lu family was overwhelmed with male offspring… They couldn’t possibly send the young masters to crowds of girls to specifically explain such a minor matter?

Madam Lu spoke wistfully: “If only my daughter Qingyi were still unmarried.”

Lu Qingyi, the Lu family’s eldest daughter, had long been married off to Hanzhong, too far away to help with immediate concerns.

Old Madam Lu’s expression darkened at the thought of her granddaughter whom she hadn’t seen for years. Because she was questioning the First Madam Lu privately, the other sisters-in-law of the same generation weren’t present. In the same chamber, besides Old Madam Lu and the First Madam Lu, there was only Lu Ying, Old Madam Lu’s most beloved daughter who had returned home with her child after her husband’s death.

Seeing the two of them sighing, Lu Ying couldn’t help but cough once: “Isn’t Lingyu still here?”

Old Madam Lu’s aged, clouded eyes brightened as she smiled: “Right, I almost forgot about Miss Luo.”

Luo Lingyu paid her respects morning and evening and was remembered as a beautiful young lady. Only after that night did she use illness as an excuse to stop going out. Perhaps her heart was also hurt by Madam Lu… Thinking of this, Old Madam Lu glared again at her incompetent daughter-in-law.

Madam Lu Zhang Minglan’s face flushed, annoyed at Lu Ying’s meddling and deliberately making fun of her. Even if Lu Ying hadn’t mentioned it, would she have forgotten about Luo Lingyu? Madam Lu glanced at Lu Ying, her tone gentle but with subtle disdain: “Since Miss Luo came to our home, I’ve never seen you, her aunt, show any care for her.”

“You go out daily for leisure, why don’t you remember to take your niece out to meet people?”

“Most likely, your niece will be staying with us long-term. The social circle is only so big, how can she not know anyone in Jianye?”

Lu Ying: “…”

Being mocked again by Madam Lu for her inadequacy, her face reddened with embarrassment. But she immediately defended herself: “How can I, at my age, socialize with young ladies like Lingyu? The people I usually meet, wouldn’t be appropriate for her to see. She should be playing with girls her age… But where are the girls her age in our family? All those flower-like beauties were driven away by you, and you’re not happy with the young masters…”

The conversation circled back to the beginning, and Madam Lu’s face turned ashen.

Old Madam Lu’s head ached watching the two of them bicker endlessly, going around in circles. She struck her cane three times – bang, bang, bang – silencing them both, and angrily said: “Stop arguing! Can’t you come up with a solution? What should we do? You two discuss it.”

After a long while, Lu Ying casually said: “What’s the big deal? I have a polo game arranged in a couple of days. Didn’t I promise to take Lingyu before? I’ll just brazenly take her along, have my friends bring their young ladies out, and let Lingyu get acquainted with them. With Lingyu’s talents, she at least won’t anger everyone like certain people.”

Madam Lu’s already solemn expression became even more rigid as she was once again mocked implicitly.

Having found a solution, Lu Ying immediately took on the role of a caring aunt. After leaving Old Madam Lu’s courtyard, she went to the “Snow Tracing Courtyard” to visit the recuperating Luo Lingyu. When her aunt arrived, Luo Lingyu was extremely nervous, hurriedly clearing space to welcome her. Lu Ying’s sudden warmth both surprised and didn’t surprise Luo Lingyu – surprising because her aunt had never cared about her before, unsurprising because she was now the only cousin-sister left in the house, and the Lu family had no choice but to care about their sole remaining guest.

However, when she heard Lu Ying enthusiastically invite her to play polo, Luo Lingyu’s proper smile froze: polo? She… she… she couldn’t do that! Not just polo, Luo Lingyu couldn’t handle any social activities that required physical exertion.

But when an elder speaks, how could a junior refuse?

Lu Ying directly decided: “I’ll have someone prepare a riding robe for you. Rest for two days, then go out with me the day after. You’ve been in Jianye for half a month now, it’s time to go out and socialize with the young ladies from other families.”

Still the same aunt.

The same tone.

For a moment, Luo Lingyu felt almost dazed… Years ago, when her parents were alive and her uncle was still living, when their Luo family’s main line still lived in Ruyang, her aunt had this same personality – caring only for her comfort, disregarding others. Years passed, and her aunt still didn’t remember that she couldn’t handle physical activities.

Lu Ying finished speaking and looked at her niece, seeing Luo Lingyu’s lips curved in a slight smile. Thinking her niece was happy, she said cheerfully: “Then it’s settled.”

Luo Lingyu was startled: “…uh.”

How did it get settled?!

But Lu Ying had already completely ignored her, waving for the maid Lingyu to come in from outside, telling her to have someone take measurements and make robes. Lu Ying had already started arranging the so-called polo game, and before her domineering aunt, Luo Lingyu felt melancholy, trying several times but never finding an opportunity to refuse.

The polo matter was thus abruptly settled.

As soon as Lu Ying left, Luo Lingyu began to panic. She had been resting in bed since falling into the water, and now she completely lost her peace of mind, pacing back and forth by the window. Luo Lingyu turned her head and saw her sister Luo Yunzhi crouching by the flower bed in the courtyard outside, her hands opening and closing, making flowers appear and disappear.

Luo Lingyu leaned her upper body on the window and knocked on the wooden railing: “What are you playing with again? It’s time for your qin lesson!”

Luo Yunzhi had barely managed to steal some time to play while her sister was occupied, only to be discovered by her sister. Her shoulders trembled, and she stood up with a fallen face. But then Luo Lingyu looked at her hands curiously: “Are you doing magic tricks? How do you do it?”

The little miss didn’t care for the four arts of qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, only loving to play. When her sister asked, seeing an opportunity to avoid immediately going to learn qin, the little miss immediately jumped up, her eyes sparkling as she ran over: “It’s Thi… it’s a new trick I learned, I’ll teach you how to play!”

…

The next day, while Luo Lingyu was still worrying about how to find an excuse to refuse Lu Ying’s polo invitation, the maid Lingyu came in to announce: “Young Lady, Second Young Master and Third Young Master heard you were ill and have come together to see you.”

Lingyu was very surprised: “Why did Second and Third Young Masters come together?”

Luo Lingyu was equally surprised. Second Young Master Lu probably came both as a representative of the other young masters to inquire about her health and on behalf of his mother, Madam Lu; Third Young Master’s coming was much simpler… he had pushed her into the water. He hadn’t come to visit until now, and Luo Lingyu had prepared herself for his coldness. That Third Young Master Lu had come… this cousin was truly unpredictable in his moods.

Indeed, after the two young masters removed their shoes outside, they entered gracefully and sat on the couch. Luo Lingyu sat in the host’s position to receive them, her gaze subtly floating over Lu Xian’s face to glance at the noble and unapproachable Lu Yun behind him, who was like snow on a mountain peak.

Lu Yun raised an eyebrow, and when Second Young Master wasn’t looking, briefly met Luo Lingyu’s gaze. With coldness in his eyes, his robes floating like clouds, he said: “Little Sister Luo…”

Luo Lingyu’s face suddenly reddened: how annoying… what was he calling her?!

Lu Yun: “Is she not here?”

Luo Lingyu: “Ah?”

After staring at Third Young Master Lu for a while, Luo Lingyu’s face flushed red as she realized Lu Yun probably wasn’t referring to her but to her little sister Luo Yunzhi. She wondered in her heart how her little sister had become so close with Third Cousin, even being called “little sister” by him. She and he had known each other for half a month through their conflict, yet he still formally called her “cousin-sister,” no different from how he addressed other cousin-sisters… Luo Lingyu concealed the touch of envy in her heart and made an excuse: “Yunzhi is practicing calligraphy.”

Lu Yun said slowly: “My calligraphy isn’t bad, I can teach her. Where is she?”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

She was already very jealous in her heart.

She pretended not to care as she pointed out the direction, watching Lu Yun get up and leave. She snorted internally, turned her head, and focused her attention on Lu Xian, who had been watching the two of them while holding his teacup. Second Young Master Lu, like a gentle breeze and bright moon, said: “Third Brother seems to have quite a good relationship with cousin-sister.”

Luo Lingyu asked with difficulty: “…Where does Second Cousin see that Third Cousin and I have a good relationship? Third Cousin dislikes me.”

Lu Xian was extremely surprised: “Dislike? He likes you, doesn’t he?”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

Was the Second Cousin blind?

Lu Xian said gently: “Third Brother usually isn’t familiar with our cousin-sisters, the fact that he can say a few more words to you already surprises me.” His eyes flickered, “Earlier when I saw Third Brother like that… I thought he was teasing you, but thinking about it now, his different attitude probably says a lot.”

Luo Lingyu leaned forward, wanting to hear Lu Xian say more, but Lu Xian became momentarily lost in thought and stopped speaking. Lu Xian lowered his eyes, catching a glimpse of his cousin-sister’s flower-like beauty in his peripheral vision, his heart dimming. Such a beautiful cousin-sister probably, like other young ladies, had her heart set on Third Brother. Why else would she lean forward?

Luo Lingyu’s sharp eyes caught his fleeting expression. After a moment’s surprise, she asked: “Why does Cousin keep mentioning Third Cousin? Why not speak of yourself? After that small banquet that day, Aunt hasn’t let you go out… You must have been scolded too. I’ve wronged you, Cousin.”

Lu Xian hurriedly said: “How could that be…”

Luo Lingyu raised her hand, smiling: “Let me show you a magic trick.”

Her eyes, clear as rippling lake water, focused intently on the young master before her as her hand emerged from her sleeve, quickly folding and turning…

When Lu Yun opened the door to enter, he happened to see a magnolia suddenly appear in Luo Lingyu’s hand as she smiled sincerely and showed off to Lu Xian: “Cousin, are you feeling better now?”

Third Young Master Lu Yun at the door felt suffocated: “…”

Wasn’t that his magic trick?! Using his magic trick to make Lu Xian smile?!