BANG—
Lu Chang slammed the door shut heavily, giving the Lu family servants no chance to speak further. The servants outside nearly got their noses hit by the door and had to leave dejectedly.
Ming Shu called out “Mother” while walking into the hall. Mother Zeng was standing beside Lu Chang, about to advise him not to get angry, when hearing Ming Shu’s voice she turned and said: “Why did you come down? It’s drafty down here, and you haven’t fully recovered.”
“It’s fine.” Ming Shu’s throat was hoarse, her voice raspy unlike its usual crisp tone. “What happened?”
“It’s just the Lu family coming to our door again. They’ve come several times these past days, I just didn’t tell you both.” Mother Zeng sat down in the hall and sighed, “Lu Wenhan has repeatedly sent people to deliver things. Besides gifts, there’s also gold and silver, and today they even brought property and house deeds, saying they want us to move.”
Lu Chang poured two cups of warm tea for Mother Zeng and Ming Shu, the frost on his face slightly thawing as he said coldly: “Next time they come, just drive them away.”
“That’s not necessary. After all, he is your birth father, and I have no intention of preventing you from acknowledging each other. If his gifts are for you both, accept them if you wish. But I cannot accept the gold, silver, and property deeds.” Mother Zeng took a few sips of tea and continued deliberately, “I got angry today because his servants insisted on leaving the deeds here and kept hinting that we should move to the large mansion he’s giving us. That’s what provoked me. Back then, I insisted on divorcing him because I didn’t want to be treated as a concubine. If I were to accept these things now and move into his mansion, what would that make me?”
If she truly accepted the money and property and moved into his mansion, wouldn’t her twenty years of persistence become a joke?
Even if it was meant as compensation, she refused to accept it.
“Mother, we understand you.” Ming Shu didn’t try to persuade her further. Though Mother Zeng appeared delicate, she was an extremely principled woman, yet also open-minded. She wouldn’t stop Lu Wenhan from making amends with his children, nor prevent them from accepting his gifts because these twenty years were indeed what Lu Wenhan owed his children. However, if they accepted the gold, silver, and mansion, Mother Zeng would not move with them to enjoy such luxury—that was Mother Zeng’s admirable innate integrity.
Mother Zeng’s lips curved into a gentle smile: “I know you understand me.” As she spoke, she patted Ming Shu’s hand and continued, “I’m just worried about your brother. When you have the chance, please advise him not to feel indignant on my behalf, and not to harbor resentment towards that side. After all, it was my stubborn decision that caused father and son to be separated for twenty years. There were difficulties and mistakes on all sides, not just Lu Wenhan’s fault. In the end, Lu Wenhan and I have gone our separate ways, our grievances settled, but you both are different. Don’t worry about me, I can handle it.”
Though these words were ostensibly directed at Ming Shu, Lu Chang stood nearby and heard every word.
“Mother, Brother has been holding in his anger for twenty years too. How can he be content without letting it out? But don’t worry, Brother knows his limits and what to do. Whether or not he acknowledges this father doesn’t matter—what matters is that we’ll always be with you, Mother.” Ming Shu smiled, then glanced at Lu Chang, “Isn’t that right, Brother?”
Lu Chang only said: “You’ve said everything already, you fence-sitter trying to please both sides.”
“I only have you and Mother as my family. If I don’t try to please you both, who else should I please?” Ming Shu lifted her chin proudly, looking pleased with herself.
Seeing that though she had been quite ill, and while her face was still pale, her expression had regained its usual spirit and she could joke again, Lu Chang felt somewhat relieved and put the Lu family matter out of his mind.
Just as Ming Shu said, he only had his mother and Ming Shu. Besides them, everyone else in this world was like floating clouds, not worthy of controlling his emotions.
—
That day, Lu Chang still let Ming Shu sleep in his room while he made do with a simple bed downstairs. Looking at Lu Chang curled up on the small rattan couch, Ming Shu thought that they indeed needed to change houses.
The next day was the Palace Announcement Ceremony.
Though Ming Shu’s illness came on suddenly, it also departed quickly. After two days of medicine, she recovered significantly, with just a lingering cough. She woke especially early.
“Brother, wash up well! Get clean!”
Early in the morning, Lu Chang was pulled up by Ming Shu and pushed into the washroom. Inside, fragrant bath water was prepared with flower petals floating on top, osmanthus-scented soap placed beside it, and even women’s hair oil and face cream. Lu Chang smiled helplessly, removed his clothes to bathe, cleaned his face, and shaved. When he came out dressed, Ming Shu was already sitting in the hall waiting for him.
The sky had just brightened, and Ming Shu still had a candle lit beside her. Hearing movement, she turned and stood up, waving to him: “Brother, come quickly.”
Lu Chang took a few steps forward, saw her fiddling with various bottles and jars, and frowned: “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to apply powder and flowers for you!” Ming Shu shook the bottle in her hand.
Applying powder and wearing flowers was a tradition passed down through dynasties, particularly prevalent in the Da’an Dynasty. It wasn’t restricted by gender—many handsome men in the Da’an Dynasty also liked to apply powder and rouge, perfume their clothes, and shave their faces, making themselves clean and beautiful. Especially since after the Palace Announcement Ceremony, there was the custom of the top three scholars riding horses through the streets. Lu Chang would be subject to evaluation by everyone in Kaifeng, from officials and nobles to common people—shouldn’t he make himself presentable?
Ming Shu couldn’t let her brother fall behind others. She couldn’t help him with his studies, but this powder and flower business—she was good at that.
“These are all women’s things, I don’t—” Before Lu Chang could finish, Ming Shu had already pulled him to sit in the chair, and he watched as she took a large dollop of fragrant cream, rubbed it between her palms, and moved to apply it to his face.
“Don’t struggle! Relax, it’s just moisturizing cream!” Ming Shu used her elbow to hold down Lu Chang’s hands while quickly applying it to his face.
Though Lu Chang resisted, he couldn’t truly use force against Ming Shu, so he had to let her apply it to his face. The cream was smooth, and Ming Shu quickly spread it evenly. A faint magnolia fragrance spread out, identical to Ming Shu’s scent, now clinging to him as well.
“Done.” After moisturizing his face, Ming Shu switched to an egg-shaped flat porcelain box.
When opened, it was full of white powder.
Lu Chang couldn’t take it anymore and turned his face away: “Don’t use that on me!” He couldn’t bear to have his face painted snow white.
Seeing his genuine resistance, Ming Shu studied him for a while and said: “Well, my brother is already handsome, his face smoother and more delicate than a young lady’s, so it doesn’t matter whether he uses powder or not.”
Lu Chang’s temple throbbed violently—what kind of outrageous words were these?!
“Alright, no powder then, but let me apply some lip rouge. Don’t move.” Ming Shu didn’t insist and switched to a small round porcelain bottle. Opening it revealed vermillion lip rouge. She dabbed some with her fingertip and rubbed it, first closing her eyes to smell it, “Smells so nice…”
“…” Lu Chang stared at her hand, his throat bobbing, somewhat wanting to curse, but seeing Ming Shu more excited and thrilled than himself, as if she were the one parading through the streets, he swallowed his words.
“Brother, don’t move anymore. If the rouge smears, your face will be ruined!” Ming Shu opened her eyes, her rouge-covered fingertip decisively touching Lu Chang’s lips.
The movement was quick, precise, and forceful!
Even with Lu Chang’s martial skills, he couldn’t dodge in time.
The moment her warm, soft fingertip touched his lips, Lu Chang froze as if struck by lightning, turning to stone, unable to move, helplessly letting Ming Shu apply the rouge. Her movements were very light and slow, first dabbing then spreading, like feathers brushing across his lips. She half-crouched, leaning towards him, her fragrance sweet and pleasant, seeming to materialize into tender threads around her fingers, spreading into an all-encompassing web.
Lu Chang felt his mouth go dry, his lips itching. He wanted to lick his lips, but Ming Shu’s fingertip was right there, so he had to endure.
For him, this was torture.
After applying his lip rouge, Ming Shu admired his face like a treasure, finally cupping his face in both hands.
The rouge she applied wasn’t as thick as women’s, just a light layer covering his lips that complemented his skin tone perfectly, creating the image of a handsome young man with red lips, white teeth, and a spirited demeanor.
Lu Chang was awakened by her pat.
“I think if we shape your eyebrows and apply some eyebrow powder, it would be perfect…”
As Ming Shu was still contemplating decorating Lu Chang further, he stood up from the chair as if frightened, his voice somewhat hoarse: “Enough, this is fine! Let’s leave it at this.”
Seeing Lu Chang’s complete rejection, Ming Shu didn’t insist, only saying: “Then at least let me do your hair?”
Lu Chang looked at her twice, and only after confirming she wouldn’t try anything else with his face did he sit down again. Ming Shu stood behind him, undoing his loosely tied hair, taking a wooden comb, applying a tiny bit of hair oil, and gently combing his hair.
A man’s long hair was also soft and smooth, feeling like flowing water in her hands.
Ming Shu combed very carefully, strand by strand, neatly gathering it at the crown of his head, tying it into a topknot, smoothing the temples, and finally taking the golden-flowered black official hat to put on him.
On the black hat was pinned a cluster of fresh flowers—peonies as the main flower with roses as accompaniment, fresh and delicate.
Lu Chang couldn’t see his appearance. He only saw Ming Shu circle to his front, asking him to lower his head so she could adjust his hat, then asking him to stand so she could arrange his clothes…
Gentle and meticulous, perfect in every way.
Like… husband and wife.
—
After seeing Lu Chang off, Ming Shu didn’t idle around. After taking her medicine, she also hurriedly went out.
She had arranged to meet Yin Shujun and Wen An at the Guanyuan Tower on East Yong Street, which connected to the imperial city gate. After the Palace Announcement, the horse parade would pass along this street. Guanyuan Tower was a three-story restaurant located in the center of East Yong Street. As its name suggests (“Guan Yuan” meaning “watching the First Scholar”), it was the best location on the entire street for watching the First Scholar’s parade.
On this day, eight or nine out of ten ladies in all of Kaifeng would probably squeeze in here to watch the parade. Guanyuan Tower had been fully booked early, but fortunately, Wen An had reserved excellent spots early on. Thanks to her, Ming Shu could also watch her brother’s most glorious moment in life from Guanyuan Tower.
Before the Palace Announcement Ceremony even began, the entire street was packed with people. The taverns and teahouses on both sides of the street were also full, and seats in Guanyuan Tower were impossible to get even for a thousand gold pieces, already filled with the wives and daughters of Kaifeng’s officials and nobles. Throughout the building, noble ladies and young misses were drinking tea, chatting, and waiting to watch the parade.
Ming Shu shared a table with Wen An and Yin Shujun, while the Princess Consort had also come to join the excitement, sitting at another table chatting happily with familiar noble ladies. After two rounds of tea, Ming Shu barely exchanged a few casual words with Wen An and Yin Shujun when someone approached their table.
“Might you be Lady Lu?” It was a young lady about their age, elaborately dressed and quite beautiful.
Ming Shu quickly stood up: “I am Lu Ming Shu, you are…”
Yin Shujun smiled: “This is the third daughter of the Minister of Works, Third Lady Lu.”
Ming Shu bowed to her, and she quickly returned the gesture, then warmly chatted with Ming Shu for a while before having her maid present a handkerchief as a gift to Ming Shu.
“Meeting Lady Lu today is fate. We seem to get along well, and if Lady Lu doesn’t mind, we should often visit each other and spend time together in the future. This silk handkerchief is just a small token of my appreciation for our first meeting today, please accept it.” Third Lady Lu gently urged her to accept the gift.
A handkerchief wasn’t anything precious, so after expressing her thanks, Ming Shu graciously accepted it and agreed to spend time together in the future. Third Lady Lu then left happily.
Seeing her leave, Wen An gave a cold laugh: “The ulterior motive is obvious.” She moved closer to Ming Shu and said, “Dear sister of the new First Scholar, let me tell you, Yin and I are your true confidantes. If you get confused by these birds and butterflies with impure motives and neglect us, I will be angry.”
Yin Shujun also nodded: “That’s right, we won’t forgive you.”
The small circle rejected those trying to join with impure motives.
“You’re exaggerating!” Ming Shu took a sip of tea and said.
Wen An laughed coldly again: “Just wait and see, you’re in for it today.”
Before Ming Shu could understand, another voice came from nearby: “Is the Lu family’s young lady here?”
“…” Ming Shu fell silent.
Visitors began arriving endlessly at their table.
Before the horse parade even began, before the new First Scholar had shown his face, his sister had already received a table full of gifts.
Looking at the table piled with handkerchiefs, bead strings, sachets, and other gifts from young ladies, Ming Shu had already realized the power of her brother’s ability to attract bees and butterflies.
So many young ladies in Kaifeng, all taking this roundabout approach, trying to get close to her, hoping to become her sister-in-law?
The joke she had made to Lu Chang when they entered the capital had suddenly become reality.
After all, getting close to the little sister was the way to get close to the brother, wasn’t it?