The sudden question caught Lu Hong completely off guard — his face flushed red in an instant.

Knowing full well that Ling Xiao could not see him, Lu Hong still guiltily averted his eyes and gave a rather unnatural cough. “Xiao, my cousin — why do you suddenly bring this up?”

Ling Xiao’s hearing was sharp. He turned his face toward Lu Hong, following the sound of his voice. “I ask because I have my reasons. Cousin Hong, you need only answer me. Do you like A’Shu?”

Like her!

Of course he liked her!

He had fallen for her at first sight. She had bewitched him utterly, leaving him tossing and turning without rest. Every day he racked his brain for ways to catch even one more glimpse of her. On the rare occasions they exchanged a word or two, his heart would bloom with joy, and his mood would stay bright for the entire day.

Ling Xiao waited with considerable patience. After a long moment, Lu Hong finally summoned his courage and gave a nod. Then, remembering that Ling Xiao could not see it, he added a soft sound of assent.

Ling Xiao was not surprised in the least.

His eyes could not see, but he still had keen hearing. Every time A’Shu’s name came up, Lu Hong’s voice would carry an excitement that he could not quite conceal. Even when A’Shu remained cold and indifferent during their encounters, Lu Hong would still be quietly elated.

If that was not liking someone, what was?

“Today is Grandmother’s birthday celebration, and the residence is full of guests. A’Shu must attend to them, so if you go to the garden now, even if you see her, there will be no chance for a proper conversation.” Ling Xiao lowered his voice with a smile. “Wait until after the midday banquet, when the opera troupe begins to perform. I will quietly call A’Shu to the Qiushui Pavilion. You come alone too, without alerting anyone else. Whatever you have to say — say it to A’Shu then!”

Lu Hong was both astonished and delighted. “Is that true? Cousin Xiao — you are not tricking me, are you?!” He had long been searching for an opportunity to speak with her privately, but had never found one. He had not expected Ling Xiao to bring this up of his own accord today.

This was nothing short of a gift dropped from the heavens.

Ling Xiao smiled and nodded.

Lu Hong seized Ling Xiao’s hand, so overcome with excitement that his words came out in a rush. “Cousin Xiao, thank you. You really are too good to me.”

Ling Xiao grinned openly, yet inwardly he thought to himself: what I’m doing isn’t entirely for your sake.

A’Shu had been carrying a heavy burden on her mind lately, and he did not know whether it was because of Lu Hong or not. Rather than letting this vague and unresolved tension drag on, it was better to let the two of them face each other and have things out clearly. If A’Shu also harbored feelings for Lu Hong, that would be cause for everyone to rejoice.

And if the flower longed to bloom but the stream flowed on regardless… it would at least let Lu Hong give up sooner.

A tall opera stage had been erected in the Ling residence, and the most renowned opera troupe in Dingzhou had been specially invited to perform.

Many tables and chairs were arranged alongside the stage. The male guests and the female relatives sat on separate sides, watching the performance while chatting softly among themselves — it was a lively and cheerful scene.

Ling Jingshu and Ling Jingyan sat together, and the two whispered something to each other before exchanging a smile.

“Cousin Jingshu is really something,” Ling Jingxian said, the sourness in her voice impossible to conceal. “In just a few short days, she has become this close with Cousin Jingyan. Anyone who didn’t know better might think the two of them were blood sisters!”

She and Ling Jingyan had gotten off to an awkward start, and even though she had since wished to grow closer, she could not yet bring herself to take that step. Watching Ling Jingshu and Ling Jingyan grow so warmly familiar with each other, she felt a vague and inexplicable sense of resentment stirring inside her.

Ling Jingwan gave a small smile. “Cousin Jingyan rarely comes back to Dingzhou to stay, and she will likely return to the capital very soon. No matter how close Cousin Jingshu is with her, it’s not as though she can follow her to the capital. What is there for you to be bothered about?”

That was a fair point.

Ling Jingxian’s irritation settled considerably. She picked up a pastry and put it in her mouth, then turned her attention to the performance.

Spending every day confined to the inner quarters of the household, with almost no opportunities to go out and make social calls, and seeing the same few faces day in and day out — the only activities being reading, embroidery, playing the zither, or painting. Today, with an opera troupe performing, everyone was watching with rapt enthusiasm.

On the stage at that moment, a fair-featured and handsome martial arts player stood tall with his head held high, long blade in hand, every inch of him radiating an imposing aura. Alongside him, another player in the role of a comical fool ran about and turned somersaults, drawing wave after wave of cheers and cries of admiration.

Ling Jingshu was by nature fond of quiet and had little interest in watching opera. She chatted idly with Ling Jingyan, contributing to the conversation only half-heartedly.

The maid Jingyu quietly came over and spoke in a low voice. “Ninth Young Miss, the young master finds the opera too loud and noisy and does not wish to stay here. He is asking you to accompany him back to Qiushui Pavilion.”

Ling Jingshu had no reason to doubt this and immediately agreed with a smile.

Ling Jingshu stepped cheerfully into Qiushui Pavilion and called out: “A’Xiao.”

But Ling Xiao was nowhere to be seen. Instead, an unexpectedly handsome face came into view — brows and eyes carrying a gentle smile, warm as the spring breeze. “Cousin Jingshu.”

It was Lu Hong!

The warmth in Ling Jingshu’s expression vanished in an instant, and her voice turned cold. “Why are you here? Where is A’Xiao?” Had he perhaps followed Ling Xiao here?

Lu Hong hesitated briefly, then told the truth. “It was Cousin Xiao who specifically asked me to wait for you here.”

Ling Jingshu: “…”

What exactly was Ling Xiao trying to do?!

Ling Jingshu furrowed her brow. A not particularly pleasant suspicion swept through her mind. “Why did A’Xiao ask you to come and see me?”

Her revulsion and cold indifference fell upon Lu Hong like a pail of icy water, extinguishing most of his elation and excitement. The smile on his face stiffened slightly. “Cousin Xiao meant well — he wanted the two of us to have a moment alone together, to have a proper conversation…”

“There is no need for that!”

Ling Jingshu said coldly. “Men and women must observe proper boundaries, and one must always be mindful of appearances. Besides, the two of us are barely acquainted — I don’t feel there is anything we need to say to each other. Please leave.”

Lu Hong could no longer manage a smile. Words that had been buried deep in his heart burst out of him: “Cousin Jingshu, what have I done wrong? Why do you dislike me so much? Why have you never once given me so much as a kind look?”

Why?

Ling Jingshu pulled the corners of her mouth into a thin line, not a trace of warmth in her eyes. Without looking back, she gave an instruction. “Bai Yu, go stand guard at the gate. Do not allow anyone to enter.”

Today the residence had an opera troupe performing, and all the maids and older female servants had gone to watch the excitement. At this moment, Qiushui Pavilion was entirely empty of people. Bai Yu carefully shut the door and took up her post outside the courtyard gate.

Lu Hong stood beneath the covered walkway. Ling Jingshu stood in the courtyard. The two of them faced each other from a distance of roughly three meters.

The private moment he had longed for had suddenly become reality. Yet Lu Hong felt his heart sway and sink.

Ling Jingshu, who had never once spared him a direct glance, today finally lifted her beautiful, bright, clear eyes and fixed them squarely on him. “Lu Hong, you just asked me a question. I will give you my answer now.”

Lu Hong wanted to say something, but he forced himself to hold back.

“You have done nothing wrong.” Because you haven’t had the chance to yet.

“As for your feelings toward me — I have already guessed something of them. But I hold not even a shred of romantic feeling for you. So I am unwilling to let you harbor even the slightest misunderstanding.”

In this lifetime, I will never make the same mistake again. I will never again be moved by your tenderness and deep affection.

Ling Jingshu’s tone was entirely calm. The gaze she directed at him had shed the usual revulsion — it was as if she were looking at a complete stranger who had nothing to do with her at all.

That kind of calm cut even deeper than her earlier cold disdain.

A slight pallor crept across Lu Hong’s handsome face. He forced himself to stay composed. “Cousin Jingshu, the two of us have spent little time together, and you are not yet familiar with my character and temperament. That you should be guarded and wary of me is perfectly understandable.”

“Like you and your brother, I lost my mother when I was young. I know what it feels like to grow up without a mother’s love. From a young age I studied diligently and worked hard, hoping to pass the imperial examinations, honor my family, and make something of myself. Before I met you, I had never paid attention to any girl my own age, and the matter of marriage had never crossed my mind. But on that day I encountered you in the garden, I was captivated by you at first sight. These past days, all the effort I have made to draw close to Cousin Xiao has been only a means of finding more chances to see you. Cousin Xiao saw through my intentions and deliberately created this opportunity for us to be alone, so that I could declare my feelings.”

“I have already made up my mind. After today is over, I will raise the matter of our marriage with my father and mother. If Heaven takes pity on me and I am fortunate enough to take you as my wife, I swear I will give you my whole heart for all my life.”

“If you do not believe me, I will make an oath to the heavens here and now. With Heaven above as my witness — I, Lu Hong, am devoted to Ling Jingshu. This feeling will not waver for as long as I live. If I break this oath, may I be struck down by thunder and lightning, and meet a wretched end.”

A young man of striking beauty, pouring out his heart with deep and earnest feeling.

This scene would surely be enough to capture the heart of any girl raised in the inner chambers!

In her previous life, she had been intoxicated by precisely this kind of tender devotion, and had surrendered her heart with ease. She had trusted and relied on him wholeheartedly, and had married into the Lu family carrying a chest full of hopes and dreams for the future… Yet who could have imagined that in just a few short years, his heart had strayed! He had abandoned his wife and remained in the capital, never once returning to Dingzhou.

The wretched, desolate state she had fallen into — it was all because of him!

Immense hatred and fierce, searing pain surged and churned within her without cease. Ling Jingshu’s voice grew sharp and agitated. “What you choose to think is your own affair — it has nothing to do with me. I have not the slightest regard for you, and the thought of marrying you has never once entered my mind. Now that you have said your piece, please go!”

Every expression on Lu Hong’s face froze.

A sincere and heartfelt confession, met with an unmoved and flat rejection. Anyone, in his place, would struggle to face that with composure. And beneath Lu Hong’s cultured and courteous exterior, there had never been any lack of the pride that comes with being born into a distinguished family, nor the self-assurance of a young man who had achieved early success…

Lu Hong pressed his lips tightly together, then suddenly strode forward in several large steps, stopping only when he was barely two paces from Ling Jingshu. “What exactly is wrong with me? Why do you dislike me this much — why won’t you give me even the slightest chance?”

He had a good birth and a capable father. He was the legitimate eldest son of the main branch of the Lu family, and would one day become its head.

He had been sharp-witted from childhood, gifted with a memory that retained everything at a glance, naturally talented in his studies, and had already attained the rank of Licentiate at an early age. His prospects were boundless.

He had been born with fine looks, excellent bearing and manner — a handsome young man praised by all.

With all this to his name — how could Ling Jingshu not like him even a little?

Lu Hong could no longer contain the torrent of emotion surging inside him. He suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed hers. The moment his fingers made contact with hers, before he could even close her slender, soft hand fully within his palm —

Ling Jingshu’s face went suddenly, starkly white. Her entire body gave a convulsion as though seized by a spasm. A powerful wave of nausea and revulsion surged up from her chest. She staggered back a step — and then retched violently.