The sky was clear and bright, with flowers blooming abundantly over the walls of the Lu residence in eastern Danyang, causing all passersby to stop and gaze.
In the early morning, the Lu family’s cousin Miss Jiang Wanyi personally prepared snow vegetable and bird’s nest porridge, rushing to deliver it to Third Young Master Lu before the young lords returned from court. Meanwhile, another cousin, Miss Luo Lingyu, who had already paid her morning respects to Old Madam Lu, heard from other cousins about Miss Jiang’s plan to deliver porridge to Lu Yun. Miss Luo smiled slightly—was Jiang Wanyi still not giving up?
No matter, she would provoke her once more.
When Jiang Wanyi and her maids carrying the food box arrived outside Third Young Master Lu’s courtyard, they were stopped by Lu Yun’s maid Jinyue. Jinyue bowed politely and apologetically to the young lady: “Our young lord enjoys quiet and doesn’t want anyone entering his courtyard when he’s away. Please understand, young lady.”
Jiang Wanyi said softly: “It’s just a bowl of porridge. I won’t wander around, I’m willing to wait for Third Cousin to return.”
Jinyue replied: “Our young lord’s return is uncertain, even I don’t know if he’ll come back today. I’m afraid this porridge will get cold, young lady should return. How about when Third Young Master returns, I’ll have someone inform you?”
Jiang Wanyi said a few more words, and her maids added some pleading words too. But while Jinyue maintained her usual smiling face, she was impenetrable, simply not letting them enter. Standing blocked outside the young lord’s courtyard was extremely awkward.
Jiang Wanyi’s expression soured, and she laughed uncomfortably. Jinyue wouldn’t even accept the porridge—because Third Young Master Lu was indeed quite annoyed by the constant coming and going of the family’s young ladies, and he truly didn’t accept things they sent.
With the Third Young Master’s maid being so difficult and showing no face, despite being a noble lady and having a gentle temperament, Jiang Wanyi couldn’t maintain face anymore. Her face slightly reddened, and she exchanged a glance with her maid before turning to leave first. Her maid lingered behind, secretly pulling Jinyue aside and using her sleeve to pass over a jade bracelet, trying to curry favor: “When will Third Young Master return today? Sister Jinyue, we’ve known each other for so many years, why are you still so distrustful of our lady? Our lady just sees Third Young Master working too hard…”
Jiang Wanyi caught a glimpse of her maid chatting happily with the Third Young Master’s maid. She waited behind a nearby rockery, her heart clenched, pounding up and down, unable to find peace. She still couldn’t accept losing like this to the Luo girl. The Luo girl’s family background would only bring trouble to the Third Young Master. Even among the gentry in this era, there were differences between noble families. When a great family like the Lu family had previously allied through marriage with the Ruyang Luo family, it had been mutually beneficial. But now that the Ruyang Luo family was gone, for the Lu family to marry into the Nanyang Luo family would be self-degradation. Among noble circles, it would be cause for ridicule.
How could Third Young Master Lu, so pure and noble, become someone to be mocked? The Luo girl would be marrying up, while Third Young Master Lu would be marrying down. Just thinking about Lu Yun marrying Luo Lingyu, being ostracized and mocked, perhaps even losing his reputation… Jiang Wanyi felt heartbroken for him.
Marriage should be between equals; Third Young Master Lu should marry into the Jiang family. Even if he didn’t marry her, marrying another noble family’s daughter would be better than his public declaration of wanting to marry Luo Lingyu, wouldn’t it?
Jiang Wanyi twisted her handkerchief, thinking that it wasn’t that she had to marry Third Young Master Lu, but rather that she wanted to tell her cousin these things. She wanted him to think clearly, not to force himself into being ostracized by the noble families.
As Jiang Wanyi was lost in thought, a lady walked gracefully past the rockery. That lady had a slender waist and full figure, her form elegant and graceful. Just as she stepped over fallen pine cones on the ground, she stopped and smiled brightly: “Sister Jiang is here?”
Seeing Luo Lingyu, Jiang Wanyi’s face suddenly reddened, her eyelashes trembling severely.
Just as she had been thinking ill of Luo Lingyu in her heart, she ran into her.
Jiang Wanyi asked: “Where is sister going?”
Luo Lingyu’s phoenix eyes lifted slightly as if touched by the wind, and she said playfully: “My stomach is full and uncomfortable, so I’m just walking around. Would sister like to join?”
Jiang Wanyi hurriedly: “No, no, no…”
She was still waiting for her maid, and just as she was wracking her brains for an excuse, Luo Lingyu very understandingly covered her cheek, smiled at her, and didn’t force her. Jiang Wanyi remained by the rockery, watching Luo Lingyu and her maids walk away. Their swaying figures, chased by sunlight and fresh wind, the lady’s long dress and silk sash, the raised hem beneath her skirt, the ornament on her forehead. In the turning of her eyes and brows, what elegant charm. Beautiful ladies always compare themselves, and while Jiang Wanyi herself was a beauty, among beauties there were even more beautiful ones—
How many of the Lu family’s young ladies didn’t envy someone as radiantly beautiful as Luo Lingyu, with her flower-like countenance?
Jiang Wanyi hadn’t waited long by the rockery before her maid returned. The maid shook her head at her lady, indicating she hadn’t gotten any information from Jinyue. The maid gritted her teeth: “That little hussy is completely unreasonable! She smiles at you on the surface, but as soon as you ask anything specific, she just shakes her head claiming ignorance. That hussy usually loves receiving gifts, but even after I gave her a high-quality bracelet, she still said she didn’t know when Third Young Master would return.”
“Hmph! How could she, as his maid, not know where her young lord went? She just refused to say.”
Jiang Wanyi’s eyes dimmed slightly, and she shook her head, instead comforting her maid: “This is normal. If Jinyue were so easily persuaded, Third Cousin wouldn’t have put her in charge.”
Master and servant looked at each other wordlessly, having no choice but to leave the rockery with the now-cold porridge, and head back. As the maid chatted with her lady, she mentioned something casually: “Did my lady see Miss Luo just now? I met her outside Third Young Master’s courtyard. When Jinyue wouldn’t let me in, Miss Luo stopped and even spoke a few words on my behalf. Miss Luo is truly kind-hearted.”
Jiang Wanyi: “…”
Her eyelid twitched slightly, and she slowly stopped walking, not being completely foolish, immediately realizing certain subtle points.
Without saying more to her maid, Jiang Wanyi turned back toward Third Young Master Lu’s courtyard. The maids were confused, hurriedly running after their lady who was walking extremely fast with lifted skirts. Jiang Wanyi ran until she was out of breath, quickly returning to outside Third Young Master Lu’s courtyard. She hid behind the flowering trees at the wall, and immediately saw Luo Lingyu’s graceful, alluring figure.
Jinyue was still at the courtyard gate!
Jinyue was chatting happily with Luo Lingyu, and whatever Luo Lingyu said made Jinyue cover her mouth with the back of her hand as she laughed. Jinyue, who had refused everything earlier, now affectionately linked arms with Luo Lingyu, inviting her into the courtyard. Luo Lingyu’s maids followed with calm expressions, clearly showing this scene was ordinary and unsurprising to them.
…Following a capable lady, the maids had surely witnessed many techniques for winning people’s favor.
Jiang Wanyi’s face turned white, her fingernails digging into her palms.
Her maid immediately became indignant, raising her voice: “How could Jinyue do this?! Why won’t she let us in but let Miss Luo in? Didn’t she keep saying that when the Third Young Master isn’t here, she won’t let anyone into the courtyard? How could she… No, I must go speak with her…”
“Enough!” Jiang Wanyi rarely raised her voice, and the sudden elevation frightened her maid. Jiang Wanyi turned around, her eyes full of tears, her voice breaking: “Stop talking… are you trying to make me lose even more face?!”
Wiping the tears from her face, Jiang Wanyi walked away with a lowered head—Lu Yun! Lu Yun!
How could he humiliate people like this?
Jinyue was just a maid, didn’t everything Jinyue said and did follow his wishes? She had always known he disliked women’s chatter, so Jiang Wanyi rarely went to bother him, yet he… he… looked down on people so much!
Jiang Wanyi walked quickly, crying so hard she could barely breathe, wishing she could go home immediately and not stay at the Lu residence to be humiliated anymore. She walked urgently and ran into someone else who was also hurrying around the corner. Jiang Wanyi hurriedly wiped her tears, not wanting anyone to see her in such a state.
This young lord recognized her and asked: “Cousin Jiang, have you seen Cousin Luo? Do you know where she is?”
Looking up through tear-filled eyes, Jiang Wanyi saw it was Second Young Master Lu. Seeing her crying like this, Lu Xian also paused for a moment, slightly regretful. Just as Lu Xian was about to carefully ask why she was crying, he was fixed by Jiang Wanyi’s sorrowful eyes. Jiang Wanyi mumbled softly: “Again, it’s Cousin Luo… why do all you men like to look for her? Is she really that beautiful in your eyes?”
Lu Xian: “Cousin Luo is beautiful, that’s true, but…”
Jiang Wanyi didn’t listen further, her eyes filling with more tears: “Yes. You men don’t care about anything else, as long as a lady is beautiful, mountains of gold and silver mean nothing, family background and status hold no fear, you’re willing to walk through mountains of blades and seas of fire for her. As long as she’s beautiful to that degree, no matter what, she’ll never live poorly…”
Jiang Wanyi walked away like a lost soul, stumbling.
Left behind and utterly confused, Lu Xian was extremely helpless: “…Ah!”
What had Cousin Luo done to Cousin Jiang now?
Indeed, by this point, even Second Young Master Lu Lu Xian couldn’t convince himself that Cousin Luo was an innocent white lotus that everyone wronged.
A pure white lotus couldn’t possibly marry Prince Hengyang, captivate Third Young Master Lu, and still have the elders like Old Madam Lu not like her but not be angry with her, still willing to take her in.
…
Noble ladies cared about face. Luo Lingyu cared about face herself, and she knew other ladies cared even more. This small display to put Jiang Wanyi in her place would hopefully make her retreat in the face of difficulty. This was fair competition—if Jiang Wanyi’s skills weren’t as good as hers, she should withdraw.
Being personally welcomed into the courtyard by Jinyue was a treatment that none of the Lu family’s young ladies who admired Lu Yun had ever received, and Luo Lingyu felt somewhat elated. She tried to calm herself down, not to be too pleased.
Lu Yun truly wasn’t at home, and Jinyue didn’t know when the young lord would return. Jinyue worried: “Perhaps because we came to Danyang to escape the heat, and home is too far, the young lord returns later and later, often not returning at all, sleeping directly at Prince Chen’s residence instead. I hear there’s fighting in the North, and our young lord is quite busy with deploying people and such. But I don’t understand these things and can’t help ease the young lord’s burdens. I only know that even when the young lord returns, he reads by lamplight. He brings back many documents each time, and the young lord has grown much thinner recently…”
Jinyue looked hopefully at Luo Lingyu: “Young lady, please advise Third Young Master. We are just servants and can’t say much before the young lord. Perhaps he’ll listen to your advice?”
Luo Lingyu pouted, thinking if my words carried weight, I’d be your Third Madam by now.
But her heart stirred slightly, and she asked Jinyue: “What is he busy with? May I look in his study?”
Luo Lingyu sighed gently and weakly: “He has indeed grown much thinner, I’m very worried about him too.”
Jinyue hesitated for a moment, thinking this might be the future Third Madam, and she should try to curry favor. Jinyue immediately agreed to take the young lady to Third Young Master Lu’s study, letting the literate young lady see for herself. Upon first entering Lu Yun’s study, Luo Lingyu’s heart surged with emotion, feeling somewhat timid. She had come to his study… a young lord’s study best revealed his inner secrets, his true self.
What kinds of books he loved, what books he was currently reading. What he played with, what he studied.
Third Young Master Lu’s hidden thoughts would all be exposed in his study.
Luo Lingyu sat down solemnly in the study, sitting behind stacks of documents half as tall as a person, and picked up an unfinished book from the desk, turning the pages one by one. They were all war reports from recent years… Luo Lingyu glanced at them, realized she shouldn’t look too much, and quickly closed it.
She opened another book, which she could read this time. This book was a geographical atlas, depicting the territories of the Northern country, its customs and culture, plants and land…
Luo Lingyu furrowed her brows.
Without a word, she opened another book. This time, it was about the languages and customs of several northern regions…
Luo Lingyu silently turned the pages while Jinyue anxiously waited for her answer, but saw the young lady reading one book after another, her expression growing darker with each book, her lips pressed together in silence. Jinyue grew worried, repeatedly asking what Third Young Master was reading. Luo Lingyu’s heart felt heavy as if pressed by a great stone.
She thought so that’s it.
Lu Yun had never given up.
His second brother had scolded him, forbidding him to go to the borders; but these books in Lu Yun’s study told Luo Lingyu that Lu Yun wanted to go. He had never given up, always accumulating strength, preparing to go to the borders. And with so many books on his desk, it was clear this wasn’t a recent plan. Luo Lingyu even suspected that Lu Yun was close to realizing his ambitions.
Jinyue urged: “Young lady, what is it? What is our young lord thinking?”
Luo Lingyu remained silent in her daze, lowering her head to touch the book titles. Her feelings were complex, at times thinking it would be good for him to go to the borders—though she was selfish and self-interested, she could see Lu Yun was different from other noble young lords who lived in luxury and idleness; he had ambitions. Moreover, Luo Lingyu had always harbored resentment about the massacre of the Ruyang family, so she felt very grateful toward young lords willing to go to the borders.
But on the other hand, she thought if he left, he wouldn’t return for a long time. Then who would she marry?
And with swords and blades being merciless, if he couldn’t return… what would she do?
“Cousin, you’re here!” Lost in thought, she heard Second Young Master Lu’s relieved voice.
Luo Lingyu turned her head to see Lu Xian being led to the study door by a maid. Waving for Jinyue and the other maids to leave, Lu Xian strode over to Luo Lingyu’s side. The seated Luo Lingyu looked up at him in surprise, seeing this second cousin suddenly crouch down and grasp her slender wrist.
Luo Lingyu was bewildered.
Seeing Second Young Master Lu staring at her intently: “Cousin, how are things between you and my third brother?”
Luo Lingyu: “…”
Being asked such a direct question by the young lord, Luo Lingyu turned her face away, slightly shy. Being cautious, she suspected Lu Xian was testing her, wanting to obstruct her marriage. So the young lady deflected: “What do you mean, how are things? I don’t quite understand. We’re just ordinary siblings, what feelings could there be? Second Cousin, don’t think too much.”
Lu Xian: “…”
…
Second Young Master Lu wondered if he looked like a fool. What did she mean by thinking too much?
His third brother evaded him, never directly answering about Luo Lingyu.
Cousin Luo also dealt with him perfunctorily, never admitting anything to Third Young Master Lu.
They didn’t admit it before, and they still wouldn’t admit it now. They were willing to love quietly, nestling together. Though they both knew in their hearts, seeing it clearly, Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu just wouldn’t say it.
—Why wouldn’t these two admit it? You’re already discussing marriage at Grandmother’s, when Grandmother says your children are being foolish, do you take yourselves for foolish children?
Are you planning to keep hiding it until the wedding day, only then announcing your deep feelings for each other?!
…
His mind was in turmoil, quite understanding Prince Hengyang’s sense of collapse when facing him daily. But Lu Xian couldn’t collapse; his dreams were too chaotic, he couldn’t see which future path was the right one, and he could only judge the differences between the two dreams to guide the future toward a better outcome.
And the best future outcome was—”Cousin Luo, get married!”
Luo Lingyu’s eyes widened in shock: “Second Cousin, you…”
He held her hand tightly as she heard the young lord say very sincerely: “Marry!”
“Marry! You can’t delay anymore!”
He encouraged Luo Lingyu, his thoughts confused as the dream scenes kept floating in his mind. Lu Xian seemed to have many things to say, but of all his thousands of words, only the word “marry” remained when it reached his lips. Thinking she should marry his third brother, perhaps that tragic dream wouldn’t happen. The two dreams were completely different, yet both were hazy, suggesting fate had once again reached a crucial point where different choices would lead to opposite futures.
Lu Xian grasped his seated cousin’s thin shoulders: “Marry, marry, marry!”
Outside the bamboo curtain, Lu Yun had just returned, and after being told by Jinyue who was inside, he came to his study. Standing outside the study curtain, seeing Second Young Master Lu continuously begging Luo Lingyu to marry, Lu Yun’s gaze darkened, his heart heavy: Could it be that Second Brother truly liked Luo Lingyu? Liked her this much?!
Lu Yun’s expression turned ugly.
He had always suspected his second brother liked Luo Lingyu… Luo Lingyu was so beautiful, and when Second Brother first saw her, he scolded him for her sake. Every time after that, Second Brother would blush because of Luo Lingyu, constantly saying how bad he was because of her.
Indeed, many young lords liked a charming lady like her. Only her standards were high, proud of her beauty, and refused to marry anyone but into a powerful family.
If Second Brother liked her at the same time as him… The second Brother’s birth and status were far better than his. If Second Brother were to compete with him for Luo Lingyu… Lu Yun’s face turned black as ink, and without letting Jinyue say more, he turned and left.
…
Lu Yun went directly to his grandmother, and after making her laugh, he casually stated his purpose: “I might want to marry Cousin Luo.”
Old Madam Lu: “…”
Old Madam Lu had a headache: “Why are you bringing this up again? Marriage isn’t that simple.”
Lu Yun sighed: “I fear the longer we wait, the more complications will arise. How can someone be so appealing? Though full of flaws… how has everyone gone blind, unable to see them?”
Old Madam Lu looked at him: “Who are you talking about? Are you the one who’s blind?”
She had wanted to ask her grandson this for a long time.
Lu Yun: “I’m afraid I can’t compete with others.”
Old Madam Lu glanced at him: “Who could compete with you?”
Lu Yun paused, then lowered his head, smiling slightly, his features flowing with grace. Old Madam Lu found his smile strange and asked: “…Do you like her that much, must you marry her?”
Lu Yun was silent for a long time.
He spoke slowly, telling the truth: “Actually, I don’t want to marry. No matter who it is, I don’t want to. If the marriage ends like my parents did, how could I bear it? How can I say now that I would do better than them? If I’m not certain if I don’t believe—neither believing in love between people nor the promises of marriage. I can’t trace back to the source, I don’t know where love begins, how it can flow endlessly without stopping… why should I waste someone else’s time?”
Old Madam Lu was stunned as she looked at her grandson. Having lived so many years, young children might not understand Lu Yun’s words, but Old Madam Lu immediately heard Lu Yun’s inner knot. Her aged face faced her handsome grandson, and she knew Lu Yun was extremely proud, but she hadn’t known he had always thought this way.
—What kind of insecurity must it be, to be so pessimistic about love and marriage?
With so many young ladies in the world liking Third Young Master Lu, he still couldn’t feel secure, instead constantly doubting himself. Had he always been lacking so much love?
Old Madam Lu’s eyes trembled as she mumbled: “…Back then, I should have raised you by my side, shouldn’t have let you live alone in the second branch…” At that time, Lu Yun was steady, such a composed child, and feared the main branch would bully the second branch’s only son, fearing people would say the main branch was greedy for the second branch’s property, fearing Lu Yun would grow distant… so the initial decision was to let Lu Yun live alone in the “Clear Courtyard.”
Yet she hadn’t thought, hadn’t thought… that it would leave Third Young Master Lu insecure until now.
Old Madam Lu’s tears fell: “Did I wrong you…”
Lu Yun was startled, his eyes moving slightly as he guessed what Old Madam Lu was thinking. He smiled inwardly—the emotion was genuine, and he would take his grandmother’s guilt too. Lu Yun lowered his head, appearing lost and dejected as he sighed:
“I don’t want to marry and have children. But if I must marry and have children in the future… the only one I can imagine is Cousin Luo.”
“Grandmother, please help me fulfill this for me.”
…
Poor Second Young Master Lu had no idea how calculating his third brother was, using an old person’s guilt. Although Lu Xian also hoped Third Young Master Lu and Cousin Luo would end up together, things kept taking strange turns.
Especially these past few days when seeing Third Young Master Lu, every time Lu Xian wanted to discuss marriage with his brother, Lu Yun would change the subject.
Not only that, but Lu Yun was especially… nice to him.
Obedient and compliant, whatever Second Brother said was right, and he would actively ask if Second Brother needed help.
This kind of obedient pleasing carried a hint of… guilt, compensation?
Lu Xian was deeply confused.
Especially on the evening of the Qixi Festival.
After Lu Xian had pondered his dreams for a long time, since Third Young Master Lu wouldn’t listen to him discuss marriage, Lu Xian had to find another way. On Qixi night, Third Young Master Lu was on duty and not at home; the family’s young ladies were making wishes for skill in love under the grape trellis. They set up a feast to pray for good marriages.
Luo Lingyu wished in her heart: First, to marry into power; second, if fate was kind to her, to marry a powerful man she loved.
On the summer night with flowers blooming, as the young ladies made wishes under the grape trellis, Third Young Master Lu took leave from his government office and returned home early. He climbed over the wall, stepping on the wall’s flower branches and leaves. The handsome young lord crouched on the wall, listening to Luo Lingyu’s wishes. He raised an eyebrow, thinking he truly heard her eager wish to marry into a powerful family again and again.
Lu Yun’s eyes contained laughter as he looked down at the most unique among the young ladies. Flower fragrance wafted in waves, night mist spread, and from his high perch where she couldn’t see him, he watched her attentively and quietly, waiting for her.
Meanwhile, Lu Xian found his way to the women’s area, specifically asking Old Madam Lu and his mother, Madam Lu, to stay and hear his request.
Lu Xian said solemnly: “What I ask of you both is about a marriage.”
Madam Lu immediately felt joy: What? Had her son finally understood and wanted to propose to Princess Ningping?
Lu Xian’s second sentence: “It’s… it’s… about Cousin Luo’s marriage.”
Madam Lu’s face changed, turning deathly pale: What? Had that little enchantress Luo Lingyu… truly stolen her son’s soul?
Old Madam Lu’s face also went white: …Second Young Master and Third Young Master competing for the same woman? And one who was already betrothed, where breaking the engagement wouldn’t be convenient?
Old Madam Lu was deeply puzzled: Did Miss Luo have some wonderful quality that she hadn’t discovered, but all the family’s young lords had?
Lu Xian knew that Cousin Luo’s marriage wouldn’t be easy to arrange. He raised his head, wanting to look seriously into the two elders’ eyes to state his persuasion. But seeing his grandmother and mother’s strange expressions, Lu Xian also became confused—What did I say? Why do they look like they’ve swallowed flies?
Lu Xian’s third sentence carried uncertainty: “…It’s about Cousin Luo and Third Brother’s marriage…”
Old Madam Lu: “…”
Madam Lu: “…”
Don’t give people such a fright when speaking!