Though the sun wasn’t fierce, sweat had seeped onto Luo Lingyu’s forehead. Her mind remained blank for a long while, ears buzzing incessantly until Zhou Yangling’s cold hand gripped her wrist and tugged slightly. Only then did Luo Lingyu hazily regain her senses, turning her head to give Zhou Yangling a dazed look.
Zhou Yangling was especially worried about her: “What’s wrong? Is there some problem with your… betrothed? Shall the Prince and I accompany you to see him?”
Zhou Yangling’s eyes held an indescribable expression, for she had personally witnessed the strange atmosphere between Luo Lingyu and Lu Sanglang. If someone said there was nothing ambiguous between those two, Zhou Yangling wouldn’t believe it. Yet if Luo Lingyu and Lu Sanglang were mutually attracted, who was this suddenly appearing betrothed of Luo Lingyu’s? And why did Luo Lingyu appear so alarmed?
Luo Lingyu instinctively refused: “No need, Zhou Lang. It’s probably just some misunderstanding… I’ll go by myself.”
Her face alternated between pale and flushed, unable to accept having her private affairs cause such a commotion under Zhou Yangling’s gentle gaze. Moreover, today not only were Zhou Lang and Prince Chen present, but all those noble lords and ladies playing instruments and reading books in the Zhou residence courtyard were there too. She couldn’t let herself become the laughingstock of Jianye—she knew Fan Qingchen absolutely wouldn’t care about making their matter public.
He never respected her.
Though he constantly proclaimed his love for her, all he brought her was fear.
Luo Lingyu lowered her eyes, hiding her hands in her sleeves, wiping the damp sweat on them. She collected herself, bid farewell to the solemn-faced, hesitant Prince Chen and Zhou Yangling, then turned around to walk toward the oil-lamp carriage waiting outside the alley, followed by her maid. Though afraid and nervous inside, her face remained beautiful and clear, her walking posture and silhouette graceful and alluring, causing Qi Sanglang, who had stepped out from the Zhou residence courtyard, to lose himself in watching her.
At the entrance of the alley, sure enough, besides the Lu family’s ox cart, another carriage had stopped there. As she stared at this additional carriage, the deep laughing voice of the man inside already reached her ears: “Where is sister going?”
That nightmarish voice… Luo Lingyu’s expression remained unchanged as she replied softly: “Naturally, back to the Lu residence.”
The young lord in the carriage continued laughing in a way that made her skin crawl, drawing out an “Oh” slowly and lazily: “Then I’ll go to the Lu residence with you. Sister is unfamiliar with Jianye, so staying with relatives is fine. But now that I’ve come, as your betrothed, I can’t bear to see Sister Luo being wronged. I’ve had people purchase a residence, let’s go to the Lu residence now to pack your belongings, and tonight Sister Luo can come with me.”
Luo Lingyu’s pearl-like teeth bit into the flesh of her mouth, the pain helping her suppress her emotions. She reminded herself not to discuss the matter of “betrothed” with him in public—even if she was destined to lose face, she should do so at the Lu residence. Moreover, Lu Yun was at the Lu residence; in her helplessness, she wanted to think of ways to delay the journey to the Lu residence—she would rather die at the Lu residence than go with this person.
Luo Lingyu didn’t object, and the young lord in the carriage seemed to understand her extremely well. He laughed again, saying: “Then sister, please get in the carriage, I’ll ride with you to the Lu residence.”
Luo Lingyu refused: “No need, my lord, I have a carriage…”
Fan Qingchen’s voice turned cold: “Are you forcing me to get out and compel you?”
Luo Lingyu clenched her teeth, swallowing her anger. To the astonishment of her maid Lingyu, who watched with wide eyes, Luo Lingyu’s face flushed red as she lifted her skirts and got into the carriage. Her thoughts turned a hundred ways—she could deal perfunctorily with normal people, but communicating with a madman… let the madman have his way. After all, she cared about face.
Lingyu found their conversation very strange. When the carriage door opened, she held her breath to look inside, worried the person might threaten her lady. Looking in, she saw the young lord sitting in the dark corner of the carriage, tall in stature, with clear features, a handsome face that would make one blush just by looking at it twice. He was an extremely good-looking young lord. If he truly was the young miss’s betrothed, his appearance would indeed match the young miss’s.
The young lord in the carriage turned his pitch-black eyes toward her, and Lingyu’s heart was startled by his gaze. Before she could think more, Luo Lingyu’s slender form swayed, blocking the view of the person in the carriage. After the carriage door closed, Lingyu still clutched her chest, suspecting that if the young miss hadn’t blocked that look, that person’s gaze seemed as if it would have killed her…
After getting into the carriage, Luo Lingyu sat at the farthest spot diagonally opposite the young lord. As the carriage began moving with creaking sounds, Luo Lingyu pressed her back against the carriage wall, watching him vigilantly: “Lingyu is a maid given to me by the Lu family. If you harm her, the Lu family won’t be as easy to deal with as I am.”
Fan Qingchen paused for a moment, his eyes growing darker: “After half a year apart, the first thing you say upon seeing me is about a maid’s life or death. Didn’t I tell you that the previous matter was an accident? Why hasn’t Sister Luo understood yet?”
Luo Lingyu smiled slightly: “No, I just mentioned it casually. Lord Fan can do as he pleases.”
If she were truly a naive young lady, she would have been deceived by him. An accident? The people around her, one by one, became his people, one by one were monitored by him, one by one followed his words, then were killed by him… This was called an accident?
Fan Qingchen stared at her for a long while: “Sister Luo is still so insincere… Heh, so you left Nanyang and ran to Jianye, truly to avoid me? You convinced the Luo family to give you a chance, then ran to Jianye? If the Lu family hadn’t sent people to Nanyang to inquire about you, I really wouldn’t have known where you went.”
His tone was strange, his low voice carrying a few frightening tremors, yet his eyes were extremely bright: “It’s been half a year, Sister Luo, I’ve almost gone mad… Yet you seem completely unaffected… Which of the Lu family’s young lords do you fancy?”
Luo Lingyu immediately denied it: “What? None!”
Fan Qingchen’s flickering gaze moved over, his smile very light yet very subtle, taking two moments before saying: “…Whether or not you fancy anyone, let’s go to the Lu residence and see.”
He leaned slightly forward, and Luo Lingyu immediately straightened her back and moved backward. Fan Qingchen paused, his eyes turning cold as he noticed her evasive attitude toward him. Even though she appeared to sit properly, her gaze was shifty and evasive, never meeting his eyes, and whenever he moved, she would move back… Fan Qingchen suppressed the shock and hatred in his chest, closing his eyes.
He thought he should stay calm, he couldn’t harm her. She was already afraid of him… Fan Qingchen thought to himself, he treated her so well, why was she so afraid of him?
The Lu family was a great clan of Danyang, foremost among Jianye’s noble families, they couldn’t be offended… No matter, if he had the marriage contract in hand, how could the Lu family possibly stop him for the sake of a mere cousin?
Go to the Lu residence and let Luo Lingyu know who truly cared for her, and who was not to be relied upon.
…
Lu Yun sat in his study writing.
With gauze covering his eyes, he had been dictating even official business, not having written for a long time. But after Luo Lingyu anxiously whispered “Nanyang Fan family” in his ear for several days, after getting annoyed several times, Lu Yun still decided to write this letter for her. The Nanyang Fan family was naturally a great clan, and the Fan young lord even had a marriage contract with her, but the Jianye Lu family’s influence was greater. Lu Yun would first send a letter asking them to cancel the engagement, offering them some benefits to do so. Oh, if their attitude was uncertain, he could send some mediators to Nanyang…
It was just a matter of a beautiful young lady, the Fan family wouldn’t antagonize the Lu family over a mere girl.
As Lu Yun wrote the letter, a servant boy stood beside him grinding ink, and because Third Young Master Lu couldn’t see, the servant boy had to remind him if the characters were crooked or wrong. After half an hour, Lu Sanglang finally finished writing this letter. Just as he was about to seal the letter after blowing on the ink to dry it, the bamboo curtain outside the room was struck with a pattering sound.
He didn’t allow others to enter his study while working, so the maid Jinyue anxiously paced outside, calling: “Young Lord, Young Lord!”
Lu Yun’s voice carried an elegant yet lazy tone as he hummed: “Hmm?”
Jinyue: “Third Young Master, it seems something has happened. Young Miss Huan’er came running over, saying her sister had encountered trouble and requested Third Young Master’s help.”
Lu Yun frowned slightly, his tone neither cold nor warm, showing slight annoyance: “How does she keep running into trouble every day? How can she be so prone to causing problems?”
Jinyue said worriedly: “This time… her betrothed has personally come to our mansion, wanting to take the young miss away. The young miss didn’t even have time to speak, only hurriedly had Huan’er come to relay the message. I fear the young miss must be quite panicked.”
Jinyue tried hard to peer through the bamboo curtain to observe the young lord inside. She was extremely puzzled and surprised. Hadn’t the young miss been constantly flirting with their young lord, things getting quite heated between them? She had thought their young lord’s stone heart had finally been softened by the lady, moved a bit, yet now where did this “betrothed” come from?
“Bang!”
A series of loud crashes came from inside, accompanied by the sound of porcelain hitting the floor, seemingly like books and the tea saucers and cups had all been smashed to the ground together. Jinyue fearfully hunched her shoulders, keeping her head down. Even when she saw the young lord’s sleeve appear in her view, she didn’t dare look up at Lu Yun’s expression—
After being toyed with by a lady like this, it must be extremely unsightly, right?
…
The Lu family’s Old Madam was sitting with Madam Lu and several other women of the same generation in a pavilion at the center of the household lake, listening to young musicians from the entertainment quarter playing and singing. The Old Madam swept her gaze over the circle of women, all were household ladies, but there wasn’t a single beautiful unmarried young girl. While other families’ beautiful young ladies went out socializing and playing, the Lu family’s Old Madam worried daily, urging the Lu family’s young lords to quickly have daughters, or invite young miss cousins to visit.
Facing a group of married women day after day got tiresome, how dull.
As the Old Madam’s interest waned, Madam Lu reported while coughing: “…In any case, Miss Luo has already planned to hold a banquet at home, and then there will be ladies coming. Taking this opportunity, I’ve decided to invite the young Miss Cousins to stay over again. Having more girls in the household will make the atmosphere more lively.”
Hearing it was “Luo Lingyu” holding the banquet, the Old Madam’s feelings were complicated. She wanted to refuse to let Luo Lingyu participate in their family affairs. But without Luo Lingyu, when the elders held banquets, they couldn’t invite young lords and ladies… It was truly worrying. The Old Madam tapped her walking stick, asking about Luo Lingyu: “She went out to play instead of taking care of Third Young Master?”
Madam Lu: “Hmm… Mother, do you find it inappropriate?”
The Old Madam was speechless. She wanted to say a few words about Luo Lingyu, about how she didn’t care about her grandson; but if Luo Lingyu spent all day running to the “Pure Courtyard” to find the Third Young Master, the Old Madam wouldn’t be happy either. Caught in this dilemma, the Old Madam didn’t know how to speak about Luo Lingyu, and could only sigh. If it weren’t for Third Young Master’s attitude… she quite liked this lively young lady, at least compared to her lifeless daughter-in-law, Madam Lu, she was much better.
If Luo Lingyu’s family background could be better, she wouldn’t dislike her so much.
Just as they were discussing Luo Lingyu, across the lake, Luo Lingyu and her betrothed came to pay respects to the Old Madam. The Old Madam heard the maid’s announcement and was surprised to see a young couple enter the pavilion. Miss Luo always carried herself with graceful charm, and this unfamiliar young lord who walked in also had good looks and bearing.
Under Luo Lingyu’s somewhat unwilling introduction, Fan Qingchen greeted the Old Madam and other ladies, introducing himself. When the ladies learned that Fan Qingchen was Luo Lingyu’s “betrothed” and that he wanted to take her away from the Lu family, the Old Madam was directly shocked: “What? Miss Luo’s heart belongs to another?”
So she wasn’t in love with her grandson?!
Luo Lingyu: “…”
Luo Lingyu was at a loss for words, as Fan Qingchen smilingly claimed to be her betrothed, and this person even had a marriage contract as proof. She had thought the whole way but couldn’t figure out how to refute it. Before the Old Madam, Luo Lingyu could only say weakly: “Actually, I’d like to stay at the Lu residence for a few more days…”
Fan Qingchen looked at her with loving, doting eyes: “How can Sister Luo be so inconsiderate? Alright, I know you respect your elders, but occasional visits are enough, don’t trouble the elders too much.”
His hand rested on Luo Lingyu’s shoulder, seemingly casual but gripping her tightly, forcing her to follow his intentions. Luo Lingyu’s forehead broke out in sweat, pressed down so she couldn’t speak. She bit her lip, her eyes fixed, wanting to cry… Fan Qingchen put on an appearance of “having no choice with her,” saying softly: “I know sister is extremely happy to see me, yet also extremely reluctant to leave the Old Madam. How about this – I’ll accompany you back tomorrow, what does the Old Madam think?”
The Old Madam and others only felt something strange, but couldn’t quite identify what, and could only smile and nod.
Immediately, Fan Qingchen gave Luo Lingyu no chance to speak, forcefully maintaining a smile while constantly talking with Madam Lu and others, concernedly asking about Luo Lingyu’s daily life and habits. He showed such care for the young lady that Madam Lu and others reduced their doubts and discomfort. Madam Lu glanced at Luo Lingyu, regretful that she wasn’t destined for their Third Young Master, and smiled: “…Lord Fan treats Miss Luo very well indeed. You two are truly a match made in heaven, have you thought about when to marry?”
Fan Qingchen’s eyes curved upward, most pleased with this kind of topic, naturally discussing it with even more enthusiasm.
Luo Lingyu, pressed down by his hand on her shoulder, tried hard to break free but didn’t want to lose face, her complexion snow-white, her lips bitten blood-red by herself. She felt humiliated inside, unwilling, and desperate. Luo Lingyu continued struggling: “Madam, hasn’t my aunt returned?”
Madam Lu: “Your aunt went to visit a master at a temple outside the city, I’m afraid she won’t return today…”
Fan Qingchen quickly said: “We can pay respects to your aunt another day, Sister Luo.”
He absolutely wouldn’t let Luo Lingyu stay here one more day.
Madam Lu furrowed her brows, looking at the two, feeling their attitudes were somewhat strange. Fan Qingchen gradually grew impatient, knowing Luo Lingyu was just trying to drag out the time, letting people notice something was wrong. He didn’t want to stay long at the Lu residence. As long as Luo Lingyu left the Lu residence, relying on herself alone, she couldn’t escape his grasp… Just as they were in this tug-of-war, they heard the voices of maids and servants from the water behind them: “Old Madam, Ladies, Young Miss, your servants pay their respects!”
Fan Qingchen turned his head, joining others in looking outside the lakeside pavilion—a gentle breeze stirred, lotus leaves swaying. Among the emerald lake waters, a small pleasure boat slowly approached. The boatman rowed the oars, and a beautiful maid and a young servant boy stood on the boat, both bowing from the bow, their clear voices greeting the masters in the lake pavilion. But everyone’s gaze passed over the maid and servant, falling on the young lord standing before them.
His light robe and loose sash moved as if blown by the wind. The young lord stood at the bow, jade crown and fair face, tall as a pine. His eyes were covered with light gauze, and several strands of black hair were blown across his face by the wind.
Gliding across the water, as if walking on clear lotus leaves.
His bearing was lofty and otherworldly, like smoke rising under the moon, as ethereal as an immortal.
With such grace, though the ladies in the pavilion had seen him many times, they still couldn’t help but sigh: Third Young Master was still so handsome.
Madam Lu felt uncomfortable inside: fortunately, her son wasn’t here, otherwise he would again be overshadowed by the Third Young Master.
Just one look at this young lord, and Fan Qingchen’s heart skipped a beat, with an instinctive feeling: this must be the Lu family’s Third Young Master, Lu Yun.
As the people in the pavilion waited for the boat to dock, Third Young Master Lu on the boat turned his face toward Luo Lingyu’s direction. Though they knew his eyes were covered with gauze and he couldn’t see anything, the young lady under Fan Qingchen’s pressing hand trembled. While Fan Qingchen was stunned, Luo Lingyu found courage from somewhere and suddenly broke free from his betrothed, quickly stepping forward, happily calling out: “Third Cousin, why have you come?”
Fan Qingchen pressed against her back, laughing in surprise, lowering his voice, bending down as if whispering in her ear: “Sister Luo, I’ve misjudged you… your taste is so low, you fancy this blind man?”
Luo Lingyu: “…”
Lu Yun’s arrival had given her courage. Earlier she had feared Fan Qingchen, not daring to say anything. But now that Lu Yun had “looked over,” Luo Lingyu felt someone giving her courage, deliberately speaking with genuine feeling: “Even with blind eyes, Third Cousin is still the most handsome and dashing young lord. I just love blind men.”
Fan Qingchen was choked by her words: “…”
And she had already stepped forward to welcome that “blind man.”