In the evening, after returning from school, Lu Chang, the eight-year-old fourth son of the Lu family, hurried into his room and quickly began writing the homework assigned by his teacher.
Lu Chang was a delicate and adorable child with clear features, but his face was smeared with dirt here and there, like a little kitten, from playing mischievously.
As he wrote his homework, Lu Chang kept glancing anxiously at the sky outside the window.
Because he kept looking at the sky, his brushstrokes were uneven, and the characters on the paper were crooked.
But no matter how crooked, after struggling for a quarter of an hour, the little boy finally finished his homework.
With a cheer, Lu Chang threw down his brush, jumped off the couch, and rushed out, lifting the curtain.
However, as he dashed out like a little firecracker, he collided with someone coming in from outside.
The person stumbled back two steps, fortunately caught by the nanny and maids behind them.
When Lu Chang saw who it was, he trembled in fear and stammered, “Mother!”
The person who had entered was none other than Madam Zhang Minglan, the wife of the Lu family’s eldest son.
Although Madam Zhang was not Lu Chang’s birth mother, he still had to address her as “mother.”
Moreover, Lu Chang was currently being raised by Madam Zhang.
When Madam Zhang arrived, Lu Chang nervously lowered his little head, catching a glimpse of her rubbing her waist where he had bumped into her.
After the nanny and maids fussed over her, Madam Zhang finally entered the room and sat on the couch.
The little boy stood obediently on the ground, waiting to be scolded.
Madam Zhang, with her impeccable makeup and stern expression, asked, “What are you making such a fuss about? You just got back from school and are already running out. Have you finished your homework?”
A maid nearby picked up the thin sheet of paper on the small table and handed it to Madam Zhang, explaining that it was the little boy’s homework.
Lu Chang’s heart sank. Before he could think of an excuse, Madam Zhang was already examining his work.
Her expression immediately became even more dramatic than when she had been bumped into.
“What is this mess? Is this how you do your homework?”
Lu Chang shivered and mumbled, “I… I was wrong…”
Madam Zhang slammed the paper onto the table and scolded, “Your teacher told me that you haven’t been paying attention to your studies lately. I came specifically to check on you, and it turns out the teacher was right. Instead of studying properly, what are you in such a hurry to run out for? What could be more important than your studies?”
Lu Chang stammered.
Madam Zhang slammed the table and shouted, “Speak!”
Lu Chang continued to stammer, unable to get a word out.
Madam Zhang gave up on him and called in the little servant who accompanied Lu Chang to school.
The servant was initially reluctant to speak, but under Madam Zhang’s icy gaze, he burst into tears.
“The young master… he wanted to go to ‘Snow Trace Courtyard’ to attend a small banquet tonight.”
Snow Trace Courtyard?
Madam Zhang frowned.
The nanny explained, “Snow Trace Courtyard is now where Miss Luo resides.”
Madam Zhang was surprised, her lips pressing into a cold smile.
The nanny questioned the servant about the “small banquet,” and Madam Zhang asked, “How can a child like Fourth Son attend a banquet? Did Miss Luo only invite Fourth Son?”
The servant, still wiping his tears, replied, “Everyone was invited. Our Fourth Son also received an invitation. The invitation was leaf-shaped and beautifully cut, with a floral scent. Our Fourth Son had never received such a beautiful invitation before and said that Sister Luo is really nice… He heard that everyone was going, and Sister Luo’s younger sister would also be there, so he wanted to go and play…”
Sister Luo is really nice?
Immediately, the nanny had the servant lead the way to retrieve the invitation and brought it to Madam Zhang.
The invitation was indeed exquisitely made, using paper that commoners couldn’t afford.
In this era, paper was still a precious commodity, and for a child like Lu Chang to receive such a beautifully crafted invitation naturally made him feel unprecedentedly respected, so of course, he wanted to attend and support Sister Luo…
Madam Zhang’s cold smile couldn’t be suppressed: Luo Lingwei really knew how to win people over.
Madam Zhang came from the prestigious Zhang family of Hanzhong, and her father was a great Confucian scholar.
Having been taught by example, Madam Zhang despised frivolous behavior in women.
The newly arrived Miss Luo, with her strikingly beautiful and almost bewitching appearance, had already displeased Madam Zhang.
Moreover, the young lady’s demeanor was overly charming and talented.
Such a flirtatious noblewoman was something Madam Zhang had always detested.
Madam Zhang asked Lu Chang, “Does your Sister Luo often host such small banquets?”
Lu Chang, frightened, replied with tears in his eyes, “Yes, yes.”
Madam Zhang pondered, “No wonder when I called the schoolteacher today to ask about the young masters’ studies, they all hemmed and hawed, saying that the young masters’ homework hasn’t been good lately. Even Second Son, who is usually so self-disciplined, has recently dropped to a B.”
Madam Zhang’s probing gaze turned to the nanny, who immediately went out to summon the servants and maids who attended to the young masters, questioning them about their recent academic performance.
Among all the young masters, Madam Zhang deliberately skipped over Lu Yun, the third son.
Lu Yun, that unruly one… had always been impossible to manage, and no matter how much or how little he was disciplined, someone would be unhappy, so Madam Zhang simply left him to his own devices.
By the time the banquet hour arrived, not only was Lu Chang unable to leave, but he was also punished by Madam Zhang to stand in the corridor.
He lowered his head, rubbing his sore eyes, feeling both dejected and anxious.
Watching the lights burn brightly, the servants, attendants, and maids of his brothers were all called by Madam Zhang to be questioned about their studies.
Madam Zhang was extremely strict, and the slightest dissatisfaction would be magnified tenfold.
Behind a bamboo curtain, Lu Chang could already hear Madam Zhang’s fury inside—
“That Luo girl is ruining the young masters of the Lu family! She deserves to die.”
Lu Chang’s face fell, wondering what to do…
…
The commotion caused by Lu Chang wasn’t small, and the servants of the young masters were all called in for questioning.
The second branch’s “Clear Courtyard” stood out, as no one came to question them, making it seem particularly unique.
Earlier in the afternoon, “Clear Courtyard” had received an invitation from “Snow Trace Courtyard.”
Luo Lingwei knew how to handle people; despite her recent unpleasantness with Lu Yun, she hadn’t forgotten him when helping Madam Wang organize the family’s small banquet.
Moreover, fearing that Lu Yun might misunderstand, when Luo Lingwei and Miss Wang were writing the invitations in the afternoon, Luo Lingwei deliberately had Miss Wang write the one sent to Lu Yun.
Miss Wang, delighted to have the chance to write to her admired cousin, didn’t notice Luo Lingwei’s evasive attitude.
Unfortunately, such a beautifully crafted invitation, when delivered to “Clear Courtyard,” was glanced at by Lu Yun and then tossed aside—
Lu Yun indeed rarely attended such small family banquets.
Compared to Luo Lingwei’s approach, Madam Zhang’s omission of Lu Yun during her evening questioning seemed rather unpleasant.
In the evening, Lu Yun lounged on the couch reading, the lamplight illuminating his bright features.
The curtain stirred, the flame flickered, and his eyes narrowed as he saw his personal maid, Jinyue, enter the room in a huff.
Jinyue’s face was full of displeasure, and she made a loud noise with the curtain, disturbing Lu Yun’s reading.
Jinyue complained to Lu Yun, “Madam Zhang looks down on us! This evening, she called the servants and maids of the young masters to ask about their studies, but she didn’t ask about you. What, don’t you bear the Lu family name? Is only her Second Son precious in this household?”
Lu Yun turned a page of his book and said indifferently, “Madam Zhang is straightforward, always has been. No one’s managing me, how delightful.”
Jinyue didn’t find it delightful at all.
She stood under the curtain for a while, then couldn’t help but gossip to Lu Yun, “I heard it started because of Miss Luo…”
Lu Yun still kept his head down, seemingly engrossed in his book.
But Jinyue, who knew him well, noticed that he hadn’t turned a page in a while and realized he was listening.
Jinyue stared at the faint handprint still visible on Lu Yun’s face, thinking that Miss Luo was indeed special to him.
She immediately shared all the gossip she had heard with Lu Yun, then fell silent for a moment before sympathetically adding, “Living under someone else’s roof and offending Madam Zhang. Miss Luo’s days are probably going to be tough.”
“Madam Zhang, who can’t tolerate the slightest flaw, will likely go to ‘Snow Trace Courtyard’ herself to scold Miss Luo.”
Lu Yun said nonchalantly, “Serves her right.”
He paused, “I warned her earlier, but she didn’t listen.”
Jinyue, however, disagreed. She had a good impression of Luo Lingwei because, well, Luo Lingwei often sent gifts to their courtyard.
While Lu Yun’s attitude towards these gifts was ambiguous, Jinyue appreciated Luo Lingwei’s thoughtfulness.
She defended Luo Lingwei, “You can’t say that. Miss Luo is still young and unfamiliar with Madam Zhang. It’s natural for her to make some mistakes when she’s new here. Didn’t we also suffer when we first returned to Jianye?”
“Both of you are without parental protection… Don’t you feel any sympathy for Miss Luo? She’s even worse off than you were back then… At least you’re of legitimate Lu blood, while Miss Luo has nothing in our family.”
“Young Master, Young Master…”
Lu Yun, “Are you calling a spirit?”
Jinyue’s face flushed red. She blinked, looking at the young master with hope.
After a long while, Lu Yun’s lips twitched, “Go find out what’s going on with her little banquet.”
With Lu Yun’s backing, Jinyue immediately brightened and went out to have someone investigate the situation at “Snow Trace Courtyard.”
When she returned, Jinyue stood on tiptoe by the window in the corridor, glancing at Lu Yun, who was still calmly reading inside.
She thought that the young master was always like this, but as long as she prepared his clothes for him, he would surely go out later.
Thanks to Luo Lingwei’s usual “scheming,” which had won Jinyue’s favor.
As Jinyue turned to go to the side room to prepare Lu Yun’s robes, she suddenly took a deep breath and saw a young man in a cloak standing in the courtyard.
Jinyue stammered, “Yo-Young Master! Why are you here?! Why didn’t you announce yourself?”
The young man, with delicate features, stood in the courtyard, while the servants trembled, not daring to look up.
He had been standing there for who knows how long.
The young man saw Jinyue and softly said a few words, “Third Young Master, sick, I came, to see.”
He spoke slowly and with few words.
Jinyue led him inside to meet Lu Yun—
This was the fifth son under the current Southern Emperor, Prince Chen Liu Chu.
He was also the young master that Lu Xian, the second son of the Lu family, disliked Lu Yun for associating with.
Liu Chu spoke so little not for any other reason but because he had a stutter.
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