In the early evening, as sunset spread across the waterside pavilions, in the Second Branch courtyard of the Lu family, servants and maids were lounging about, sitting or standing, chatting under the corridor. Suddenly, they saw the young lord enter through the moon gate, completely soaked. Withered lotus leaves floated on the courtyard pond, reflecting yellow-green like jade—everyone exclaimed: “Third Young Master!”

“Third Young Master has returned!”

Though Third Young Master Lu wore coarse clothing and looked disheveled, in everyone’s eyes, this young lord was refined and clear as mountain snow jade. He supported himself against the wall’s vines, colorful brocade flowers casting their light upon him, dappling his face with shifting spots of light and shadow. The faces of the courtyard maids almost simultaneously flushed red.

The maids hurried to serve him, bringing tea and water. Coming and going, they scattered fragrant powders, brought out fresh clothes and medicine, and prepared a bath. The long Second Branch courtyard bustled with activity again, sounds of boiling water and cooking spreading out; gradually, the entire Lu household learned that the Third Young Master had returned. Suddenly, the whole Lu mansion seemed much livelier, with people coming to visit.

Half an hour later, wearing a jade crown, flowing long sleeves, and grey trousers, Lu Yun had finally recovered his spirits. Returning to his chambers, passing through the large screen dividing the inner and outer rooms, and sitting on a couch covered with autumn-fragrant foreign wool, Third Young Master Lu sipped the hot tea brought by maid Jinyue and let out a long sigh. Rubbing his brow, he asked: “Did anything important happen in Jianye while I was gone?”

Third Young Master Lu had been gone for two or three months. During those months, which family’s wives and concubines weren’t getting along, which family’s daughter spent thousands seeking romance, which families fought over wealth until coming to blows… many things had happened. Jinyue thought for a moment: “Nothing too important, nothing concerning our family… oh right, the cousin ladies are coming today, I suppose that counts as news?”

Lu Yun closed his eyes: “A day without cousin ladies coming to the Lu mansion would be news.”

Cousin ladies… the Lu household truly had many cousin ladies. The cousin ladies visited the Lu mansion daily, playing music and singing, keeping the women company. Third Young Master was probably tired of hearing about them. Jinyue suddenly smiled lightly, examining Lu Yun’s handsome cold face for a while before covering her mouth: “This cousin lady is different. She’s a relative from your aunt’s husband’s side, coming from Nanyang, having lost her parents, to stay with us long-term. And I hear the cousin lady has the beauty of flowers and moon, a true beauty!”

Pure beauty couldn’t move him. Resting against the small table on the couch with closed eyes, Third Young Master Lu’s brow bone twitched slightly, the candlelight dancing across his brow casting an enchantingly beautiful shadow. After grasping the key point, his tone was scattered, his words harsh: “Now even poor relatives from a thousand li away are coming to stay at the Lu mansion? These women are getting more and more improper.”

Though she might agree with the young lord’s thoughts about gossiping about the Lu family ladies, maid Jinyue wouldn’t show it on her face, only smiling without speaking. Master and servant stopped discussing the so-called poor relative cousin coming to seek shelter, and Jinyue began telling Lu Yun about interesting events in Jianye. As Jinyue spoke softly and slowly, she saw a shadow flash past the window. Zhiyue bowed outside the screen, saying sweetly: “Third Young Master, hearing you’d returned and were slightly injured, Old Madam sent ginseng soup. Old Madam asks how serious your injuries are and wants to see you.”

Jinyue covered her mouth and smiled again, looking at her young lord—Old Madam wanted Third Young Master to come to meet the newly arrived cousin lady.

…

Jinyue’s information wasn’t entirely correct.

The Lu family hadn’t received one cousin lady, but a pair of sisters. However, the younger sister was only eight or nine years old, and perhaps uncomfortable from the boat journey, had been drowsily clinging to her sister since reaching land. After entering the Lu mansion in the afternoon, Luo Yunhua was led by her sister to kowtow to Old Madam, then maid Lingxi sympathetically took the little miss away to rest. Only the Luo family’s eldest miss, Luo Lingyu, remained by Old Madam’s side.

Luo Lingyu’s beauty could sink fish and drop wild geese made people completely overlook the little miss, thinking only one cousin lady had arrived. After all, such a cousin lady had stolen all the glamour from the other ladies—

In the afternoon, Luo Lingyu sat with Old Madam Lu and other elders in the room, like a beautiful vase for people to admire; carefully answering the elders’ questions. The room was cold and quiet, after all, they weren’t familiar with each other, struggling to find conversation topics, the elders’ smiles becoming somewhat stiff. Yet looking at Luo Lingyu, this lady still smiled elegantly, her jade-like fingers resting on her knees. For two hours, she knelt sitting perfectly straight, not a wrinkle disturbing her skirt hem or the ornaments in her hair. The Lu family women exchanged glances, silently agreeing: though the Luo lady’s family had fallen and her looks weren’t quite proper, her upbringing was quite good.

In the evening when the various ladies returned, Luo Lingyu quickly stood up, met by a woman in flowing cloud-patterned wide sleeves from outside. This woman was spirited and generous in bearing, above average in looks, but her makeup was of the highest quality. Wearing the most fashionable flower decorations in Jianye, as she entered the inner room, she immediately grasped Luo Lingyu’s hands. After looking Luo Lingyu up and down, her eyes sparkled with tears: “Lingyu, poor Lingyu, did you live well in Nanyang? Did the Luo family mistreat you?”

The niece had been out playing until lantern-lighting time, what was there to cry about now? Sitting below Old Madam Lu, the First Branch’s Mistress Zhang Minglan pursed her lips, also standing up. Before she could exchange pleasantries, she saw that Luo lady was extremely tactful. As soon as Lu Ying began crying, Luo Lingyu’s eyes reddened, tears glistening, as she threw herself into Lu Ying’s embrace: “First Aunt, I missed you so much, I dreamed of you and First Uncle every night…”

The woman Third Young Master Lu called Aunt was Luo Lingyu’s only legitimate relative in the Lu family—Luo Lingyu’s first aunt, Lu Ying. After the Luo family’s downfall, Lu Ying returned to her maiden home with her son, about four years ago; this was Luo Lingyu’s first reunion with her first aunt since their separation.

Lu Ying’s greetings to Luo Lingyu were originally three parts true and seven parts false. Luo Lingyu’s choked mention of “First Uncle” made Lu Ying’s expression freeze, her eyes narrowing slightly, memories seeming to return to Ruyang years ago. Though noisy and sometimes discordant, people were alive then… time flew like a shuttle, and Lu Ying was lost in thought. This time, Lu Ying gripped this nominal niece’s hand a bit tighter, the tears in her eyes changing from three parts true seven parts false to five parts true five parts false.

The other Lu family women exchanged another glance: this Luo lady was quite calculating.

After the first aunt and niece cried for a while, when Lu family’s main wife Zhang Minglan came to console them, and Old Madam Lu spoke up, Lu Ying finally wiped her slightly reddened eyes and stopped crying with Luo Lingyu. At this point, Lu Ying turned around to introduce the group of young ladies curiously observing them behind her: “Lingyu, come, these are all your elder and younger cousin sisters.”

Luo Lingyu, who had just sat down, anxiously stood again, exchanging sister greetings, warmly holding each other’s hands: “I heard First Aunt mention my cousin sisters, I made some sachets and purses, they’re not worth much, just a small token for my cousin sisters.”

Lu Ying turned back to her mother, Old Madam Lu, proudly saying: “My niece Lingyu is most virtuous and proper. Though she didn’t know which sisters were in the family, she still prepared so many gifts.”

The Lu family women nodded and smiled: “How thoughtful, how thoughtful.”

Luo Lingyu immediately had someone bring in a small square box, distributing gifts one by one. Though smiling on the surface, her heart was bitter, thinking that unreliable First Aunt had trapped her: Lu Ying hadn’t written her anything, and she had heard the Lu family was all young lords. But looking now, how were there so many cousins and sisters? Who were they all?

She didn’t recognize a single one.

Only then did everyone introduce themselves one by one:

“These two are your First Uncle’s wife’s two nieces from her maiden family, surnamed Wang…”

“This is Old Madam’s niece from her maiden family…”

“This is the daughter of my sworn sister’s uncle…”

Luo Lingyu was dazed, twisting her handkerchief, suddenly realizing that among all the cousin sisters, her and her sister’s arrival didn’t seem so abrupt. When considered, her relationship with the Lu family seemed even closer than these distantly related ladies—at least she directly called the Lu family’s second lady of the previous generation “First Aunt.”

When she couldn’t stay in Nanyang and wrote to First Aunt for help, she had been somewhat anxious, but now looking—the Lu family loved taking in various beautiful cousin ladies, not particularly favoring her.

Luo Lingyu was relieved, then after a while, when the Lu family’s young lords arrived, Luo Lingyu stood again—

“This is your Second Cousin Brother, Lu Xian.”

“This is your Fourth Cousin Brother, Lu Chang.”

“This is your Second Grandfather’s side’s Eldest Cousin Brother, Third Cousin Brother…”

The Lu family’s generation was all male, without a trace of feminine charm. Among this generation, Lu Xian was the Lu family’s second young master, most dignified and steady, leading his brothers to greet the new cousin’s sister. After exchanging brother and sister greetings, one family, Luo Lingyu was surrounded in the middle, with gazes both male and female upon her.

The Lu family’s young lords whispered among themselves, staring entranced at their overly beautiful cousin sister; the various cousin sisters looked at Luo Lingyu’s good looks and figure, their expressions changing several times.

Luo Lingyu distributed gifts, speaking softly and gently. Meeting each person, she focused her gaze on them for a moment; encountering women, her back straightened even more. Observing the surrounding orioles and swallows, though the Lu family’s cousin ladies were numerous, among the flowers and brocade, the most brilliant was her, Luo Lingyu. A crowd of ordinary ladies highlighted her excellence. Luo Lingyu’s smile became even more warm and sincere when facing the various cousin sisters: thank you for the contrast… I am the most eye-catching among the cousin sisters.

The cousin ladies gathered to whisper: the newly arrived sister (elder sister) is too beautiful, too fake, don’t like her.

While distributing gifts, a maid announced another person from outside. A young lord wearing silver-grey casual trousers slowly entered the room. From the moment he crossed the threshold, everyone’s gaze shifted from Luo Lingyu to this young lord.

Snow on vast mountains, bright moon among clouds.

Wrapped in a layer of soft radiance, he was naturally jade-like, all the Lu family’s spirit concentrated in this one person. Though Lu Xian and the others were outstanding before, after this lord’s arrival, they were steadily overshadowed. The young lord walked into the room, lowering his eyes to cast his gaze upon the lively crowd.

This person had long eyebrows and a handsome face, his bearing lofty and otherworldly, yet when those peach blossom eyes looked down, they held an indescribable misty cold river, an inexplicable shallow-hearted, unrestrained romantic air—

As their eyes met, an instant felt like ten thousand years, all consciousness lost, only able to stare blankly. After a very long time, as others looked on suspiciously, Luo Lingyu’s face suddenly flushed hot, and she stepped forward to bow slightly: “May I ask which cousin brother this esteemed brother is?”

Third Young Master Lu lifted his robe as he entered, staring at his nominal cousin sister’s crown for a long while, his gaze deep, two words emerging from between his icy lips: “You guess.”

Luo Lingyu was dazed: “…”