Prince Chen rarely spoke up, so Chen Xiu didn’t expect him to intervene. The Prince of Hengyang didn’t understand the power dynamics in Jianye, so his silence was expected. But Lu Yun – Chen Xiu thought they had years of friendship. Why did he immediately take Luo Lingyu’s side without even questioning?
Everyone gathered around to criticize her.
Chen Xiu’s head was spinning. She’d never faced a situation like this before. She watched as the young lords and ladies eagerly defended Luo Lingyu, who stood delicately among them looking weak and wronged. When Chen Xiu tried to speak, Luo Lingyu seemed too upset to form complete sentences. The beauty’s eyes welled up with tears like ripples on a clear lake.
Lu Xian rushed over to join the crowd: “What happened? What’s going on?”
The Prince of Hengyang stared at Luo Lingyu with bright, amused eyes: “Impressive technique – saying nothing while appearing tearful. Very clever.”
Lu Xian observed the prince’s expression. Not knowing the truth, he became more convinced the prince had feelings for his cousin Luo. While others focused on the dispute between Luo Lingyu and Chen Xiu, Lu Xian felt both joy and sorrow: if the prince truly liked his cousin, his dream was real. But if his dream was real, wouldn’t that mean his third brother Lu Yun would…
Lu Xian gazed sadly at Lu Yun.
He worried endlessly about his third brother.
But his brother didn’t appreciate it and found his concerned looks annoying. Standing in the crowd, Lu Yun shifted to the side, using others to block Lu Xian’s gaze.
Lu Xian: “…”
In the crowd, Chen Xiu faced harsh criticism. She grabbed Luo Lingyu’s wrist and said sharply: “I didn’t touch a single hair on your head, tell them yourself! You can’t judge me guilty based on rumors… Miss Luo, have you lost your ability to speak?”
Luo Lingyu looked very wronged and said slowly: “Fine, Sister Chen didn’t touch a hair on my head…”
Her resentful, self-pitying tone made things worse than if she hadn’t spoken at all. It seemed like Chen Xiu had forced her to say it. Chen Xiu was furious. The Han lady who Chen Xiu had just offended wasn’t about to let Luo Lingyu admit Chen Xiu’s innocence. As soon as Luo Lingyu started speaking hesitantly, the Han lady jumped in eagerly: “How could one hand be covered in ink and the other in water if she didn’t touch Sister Luo? Her sleeves are dirty too! We aren’t blind – apologize quickly! How could you treat a guest from afar like this instead of welcoming them? No proper lady from Jianye would act this way…”
The Han lady was very eager to argue with Chen Xiu.
As the Han lady confronted her and others nodded in agreement, Luo Lingyu kept her head down in the back, trying to hide her sly, satisfied smile. Usually she was the one playing mind games with other ladies, always successfully. Just then, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist that hung at her side.
She was startled but excited: was one of the young lords secretly trying to hold her hand in the crowd?
She paused, then looked up coyly — only to see it was Lu Yun, who had somehow moved from her left side to her right. While everyone was busy questioning Chen Xiu, Lu Yun had reached out to grip her wrist.
Luo Lingyu’s flirtatious glance met Lu Yun’s mocking smile, and she froze: her coy look was wasted on the wrong person…
She really didn’t want to face Lu Yun now. She couldn’t stand the shame and awkwardness she felt around him. Even though he seemed to help her earlier, she didn’t want to say anything. But Lu Yun gripped her wrist tightly and gave her a warning look: Cousin Luo, take it easy, you’ve played enough.
Chen Xiu faced criticism from all sides. From the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu standing close together, heads bent in intimate conversation. Her mind exploded. Lu Yun actually… Chen Xiu was filled with resentment. Her chest heaved as she watched Lu Yun openly protect another woman in front of her. The usually dignified Miss Chen suddenly shouted: “I did nothing wrong! I won’t apologize!”
Her voice was so harsh that everyone was stunned into momentary silence.
Chen Xiu grabbed an inkstone and threw it at Lu Yun. With people packed closely together, Lu Yun had nowhere to dodge. If he moved away from the incoming inkstone, Luo Lingyu behind him would be hit. Lu Yun’s expression remained unchanged as he faced the flying inkstone. As Chen Xiu’s anguished voice cried “Lu Yun, I hate you!”, the inkstone and black ink flew at him like a black dragon.
The crowd gasped, especially the ladies who cried out in distress: “Lord Lu!”
They watched helplessly as the inkstone grazed Lu Yun’s chin. He caught it with his free hand. A cut on his chin started bleeding, while ink dripped down his neck and jaw. In moments, everyone stared in shock as Lu Yun’s chin was both bloody and covered in black ink.
After throwing the inkstone, he touched his chin and felt blood mixed with ink. Lu Yun’s face turned dark with anger.
Behind him, Luo Lingyu pretended to care, but only with words: “Third Cousin, are you alr- ah!”
She stopped mid-sentence when Lu Yun gave her an icy glare filled with cold fire, warning her: Don’t push me too far.
Realizing she’d gone too far with her act, Luo Lingyu shut up and focused on playing the sad, pitiful victim.
Chen Xiu glared at them once more, then pushed through the crowd and left. After hesitating, two ladies who often played with her followed. Chen Xiu walked quickly, holding back tears. What hurt most wasn’t Luo Lingyu’s schemes, but seeing Lu Yun firmly take Luo Lingyu’s side after glancing at her. Though Chen Xiu was a woman facing public criticism, she had always been proud and didn’t get along well with most lords and ladies. But for the man she loved to not only reject her but show such obvious favoritism…
What had she been holding onto all these years? Would Lu Yun’s stone heart never warm to her?
Chen Xiu walked away crying, unable to hold back her tears. All these years… all these years…
Lu Yun now stood with ink on his neck and a cut on his chin from the inkstone – looking worse than Luo Lingyu’s ink-stained hands and sleeves. The young lord looked quite disheveled. Seeing Lu Yun’s dark expression, no one knew what to say. But then they saw Lu Yun, still gripping Luo Lingyu’s wrist, grab another inkstone from the table and stride after Chen Xiu.
Lu Yun coldly said: “Stop.”
Luo Lingyu: “Hey!”
Why are you still holding onto me if you’re going after her?
But then Luo Lingyu watched in shock. Being a man, Lu Yun walked quickly, forcing Luo Lingyu to jog along as he dragged her by the wrist. He soon caught up to Chen Xiu. Letting go of Luo Lingyu, he grabbed Chen Xiu’s sleeve and turned her around. Chen Xiu’s eyes were red but proud as she stared at him: “If you’re trying to make amends, it’s too late…”
Lu Yun said coldly: “I’m not trying to make amends. I’ve shown many times – I won’t bother you if you don’t bother me. What grievance do you have to throw an inkstone at me? Should I just accept that?”
Chen Xiu’s eyelids trembled, her eyes growing rigid.
The next moment, Lu Yun raised his hand. He took the inkstone he was holding and splashed the ink directly onto Chen Xiu’s neck and collar. Chen Xiu froze as she felt the cool liquid on her neck, her face turning pale. In front of everyone, Lu Yun had deliberately splashed her with ink.
Chen Xiu: “Ah!”
Lu Yun looked down at her: “I won’t indulge any of your bad habits. Don’t try to throw tantrums at me. I have no responsibility to you.”
Tears welled in Chen Xiu’s eyes but didn’t fall. She was too strong-willed to cry in front of the young lord despite such treatment. She quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, but the sleeve was stained with ink, leaving black marks at the corners of her eyes.
Lu Yun remained coldly indifferent.
Luo Lingyu hesitated: “Sister Chen, your eyes…”
Chen Xiu’s voice shook as she snapped at Luo Lingyu: “I don’t need your pity!”
Luo Lingyu fell silent, secretly glancing at Lu Yun with new eyes. She was somewhat frightened by his ruthlessness – he’d known Chen Xiu for years but showed no courtesy. Noble ladies could be fierce, and Lu Yun had seen all sorts of schemes from those pursuing him. He was tired of women’s schemes and lacked a gentleman’s grace…
Luo Lingyu recalled her own actions when she first met Lu Yun. She quietly stepped away from him. If he treated Chen Xiu this way, what about a poor cousin with no power like her…
As they stood there entangled in drama, the crowd hesitated to approach since this seemed to be about feelings between Lu Yun and Chen Xiu. Only the Prince of Hengyang looked back and forth, amazed at the romantic intrigues among Jianye’s noble families. Chen Xiu was quite boring, but Miss Luo, the Lu family’s poor cousin from the south, had impressed him… As he pondered this, a servant approached leading a horse to ask the lords and ladies something. The horse was being led quietly, but when it passed some small tables with no one around, it stretched out its neck and licked some strong wine.
The servant panicked: “Hey! You beast, how dare you drink the master’s wine!”
The servant desperately pulled the reins to lead the horse away, but it wouldn’t move, stubbornly keeping its head in the wine jar, licking continuously. As the servant sweated anxiously, the horse suddenly raised its head with a long neigh. After smacking its lips a few times, the horse stumbled then galloped forward wildly, yanking the reins from the servant’s hands. With glazed eyes, the horse charged straight toward Luo Lingyu, Lu Yun, and Chen Xiu.
From a distance, all the lords and ladies gasped.
Lu Xian rushed to save them, crying out in anguish: “Third Brother—!” Was his poor brother, who hadn’t died in battle, now going to be trampled by a horse?!
Then Princess Ping’an Liu Tang called out anxiously: “Sister Luo, be careful!”
The horse was closest to Luo Lingyu, who had been watching Lu Yun and Chen Xiu’s confrontation from the side. Feeling the wind behind her and hearing Liu Tang and Lu Xian’s cries, Luo Lingyu turned to see the huge horse charging at her. She screamed in terror and, without thinking, grabbed the icy Lu Yun beside her. Though she usually acted weak and delicate, in this crucial moment she showed surprising strength, actually managing to move Lu Yun.
Luo Lingyu pushed Lu Yun forward to block the horse’s hooves, then jumped back behind him, leaning against his back and clearly planning to use him as the first victim.
Lu Yun: “…”
His face turned darker than the ink on his neck. But with the horse right there and Luo Lingyu’s hands firmly pushing his back, he had no choice but to face it.
The crowd behind them: “…”
They were shocked by Luo Lingyu’s actions!
Then everyone tried to make excuses for her. Qi An Qi An hesitantly said: “Little Sister Luo must have been too scared… that’s why she hid behind Lord Lu.”
Everyone quickly agreed: “Yes, yes, that must be it.”
After all, it was natural for a delicate lady to hide behind her only familiar cousin when frightened. Why else wouldn’t she grab Chen Xiu?
Luo Lingyu didn’t grab Chen Xiu because Chen Xiu was too far – she just grabbed the person next to her and pushed Lu Yun out first. After the immediate danger passed and her survival instincts faded, Luo Lingyu remembered she couldn’t appear selfish and self-serving.
Lu Yun leaped forward, vaulting up with his decorative sword drawn. He swung it at the charging horse with overwhelming force!
Luo Lingyu came to her senses and shouted at Chen Xiu and the other stunned women: “Run quickly!”
The tall horse was pulled up by Lu Yun’s reins as he jumped – they could almost feel its hot breath on their faces. The ladies were so scared their legs went weak. Though Chen Xiu and her two companions wanted to flee, their feet felt rooted to the ground.
“Thud!” One lady collapsed in fear.
Pulling Chen Xiu down with her.
Luo Lingyu: “Run!”
All three ladies sat trembling, unable to move. Luo Lingyu kicked out directly, hitting Chen Xiu first. Chen Xiu was deathly pale and past caring – Luo Lingyu’s kick pushed her out from under the rearing horse’s shadow. Then Luo Lingyu pushed and kicked the other two ladies away as well, their dignity forgotten as they escaped the horse’s threat.
Luo Lingyu didn’t run herself, instead staying to worry anxiously. Her clothes rustled in the wind as she looked up with tears in her eyes: “Third Cousin!”
The young lord stood tall, moving like lightning, his figure in mid-air majestic and dazzling. Faced with Luo Lingyu’s concern, Lu Yun’s lips twisted in disdain, not wanting to say anything — as if she really cared about him?
His hands struck forcefully, the long sword blazing a bright white arc through the air. The horse let out a sharp scream of agony. Lu Yun landed back on the ground, grabbed Luo Lingyu’s wrist, and pulled her into his arms as he leaped away. Being pulled into a young lord’s embrace amid the chaos, smelling his clean scent wasn’t new to her. As her nose bumped his chest, Luo Lingyu felt dizzy, sensing heat flowing down from the top of her head.
A huge crash sounded beside them as Lu Yun held Luo Lingyu and rolled twice on the ground, avoiding the falling horse. The horse had been cut in two – the lord and lady fell together, with the lady protected in the lord’s arms. They didn’t get up for a while.
After the danger passed, everyone rushed over: “Lord Lu, Miss Luo!”
Prince Chen Liu Shu’s expression changed as he called out anxiously: “Third Lang!”
Luo Lingyu was pulled up in a daze by many helping hands. Her cheek was slightly stained with ink from Lu Yun’s collar, but no one cared about that now. Lu Xian was busiest of all, looking worriedly at Lu Yun and saying sadly: “Thank goodness you’re alright.” Then looking at his dazed cousin, he added painfully: “Cousin, you’ve suffered.”
Luo Lingyu’s head still hurt and her whole body trembled. From the corner of her eye she saw the fallen horse, then the crying, terrified Chen Xiu and other ladies in the crowd. Still kneeling beside Lu Yun who sat holding his head, Luo Lingyu was still shaken but eagerly showed her concern: “Sister Chen, are you alright? Earlier I had no choice but to…”
Chen Xiu’s bottom still hurt from being kicked.
She stared at Luo Lingyu in horror.
Seeing everyone’s reactions, they praised Luo Lingyu: “Miss Luo, you’ve been through so much.”
“Miss Luo is truly kind-hearted, thinking of saving others even at such a time.”
Chen Xiu: “…”
She stared at Luo Lingyu, unable to hide her horror, thinking: I give up, I give up.
She couldn’t match Lu Yun’s poor cousin from the countryside.
The Luo lady’s schemes were too powerful – everyone took her side. Such hypocrisy! After today’s shock, Chen Xiu wouldn’t dare cross paths with Luo Lingyu for a while…
Chen Xiu quietly told her crying maid: “Let’s go!”
She cast one last terrified glance at Luo Lingyu, still surrounded by admirers, and Lu Yun who had just splashed her with ink and was now rubbing his temples: I can’t handle either of you, I can’t handle you.
I can’t match either of you – surely I can at least avoid you?
The matter ended there, with Chen Xiu fleeing in utter humiliation. Everyone was confused – why did Miss Chen run? Miss Luo was such a good person, why couldn’t Miss Chen appreciate Miss Luo’s kindness? They didn’t realize Chen Xiu thought they were all blind, but she was too scared of Luo Lingyu to say anything. She’d only spoken up a bit at first to act proud, but ended up nearly being trampled by a horse and getting a bad reputation… if she kept tangling with Luo Lingyu, would she even survive?
After Miss Chen left, the banquet continued, though everyone’s spirits were dampened. Luo Lingyu and Lu Yun each left to change clothes and fix their appearance. Before leaving, Lu Yun gave Luo Lingyu a dark look that clearly said “just you wait”, making Luo Lingyu quickly turn away and hurry off with her maid.
She wouldn’t have much contact with him in the future anyway, so what did it matter if she provoked him a bit more! After they left, the lords and ladies eagerly discussed their admirers:
“Third Lang is truly gallant and skilled. His martial arts are outstanding – much better than those useless men who only look good!”
“Miss Luo reacted so quickly and even saved Miss Chen… how many Jianye ladies could do that? It was so dangerous – she didn’t know Lord Lu would kill the horse. True character shows in dangerous moments!”
Princess Ping’an Liu Tang’s eyes sparkled with admiration for Luo Lingyu as she joined the crowd. Unlike other ladies discussing Lu Yun or men discussing the Luo lady, Liu Tang joined the men to hear them praise how wonderful the Luo lady was.
Prince Chen Liu Shu saw his sister’s behavior and shook his head. His beautiful, gentle face’s eyelashes trembled slightly as he noticed Prince Hengyang Liu Mu leaving with Lu Xian following.
Prince Hengyang Liu Mu had watched all the excitement and left alone. He took a jar of wine, wandered around, then jumped onto a wall. The youth vaulted from the wall to the roof tiles. Sitting cross-legged, Liu Mu took a drink then cheerfully smashed the wine jar on the tiles. Liu Mu looked down at Lu Xian struggling to follow and mocked: “Second Lord Lu, why do you keep following me today?”
Lu Xian hesitated.
After a long while he forced out: “What does Your Highness think of my cousin Luo?”
Luo Lingyu?
Liu Mu’s lips curved into a smile. When the young lord smiled he looked handsome and bright, both shocked and impressed by the lady’s schemes. Then he wondered about Lu Xian’s intent. Liu Mu laughed heartily: “Miss Luo is certainly impressive – bold yet subtle, and quite skilled. In my view, she’s the most vibrant beauty among Jianye’s ladies.”
Lu Xian showed a slight smile.
Then Liu Mu added: “But she’s too ruthless, not a good person.”
Lu Xian stiffened: “Your Highness must misunderstand…”
Liu Mu stroked his chin: “But for a beauty, having some spirit is normal.”
Lu Xian relaxed: “Yes, yes, yes!”
But then Liu Mu continued: “But who dares associate with a poisonous beauty?”
Lu Xian: “My cousin definitely isn’t…”
Liu Mu: “Actually I’m not afraid of her. If Lu Yun isn’t afraid, how could I be worse than Lu Yun?”
Lu Xian: “…”
Something felt off.
“Too bad,” Liu Mu took another drink. After joking around, he looked fiercely at Lu Xian standing below and casually said: “I won’t be marrying into your Lu family.”
Lu Xian: “…”
He looked up at the Prince of Hengyang in confusion and bewilderment. Lu Xian’s lips trembled, then he shook his head and swept away his sleeves, walking off like a lost soul, muttering things like “Was I wrong again” “Does he like cousin Luo or not” “Why will they marry”… Prince Hengyang Liu Mu thought: I just said that casually, but Second Lord Lu thought so much about it… Has someone in the Lu family finally gone mad?
How wonderful!
…
After settling the details of the Flower Goddess Festival at this banquet, Luo Lingyu could go back and focus on preparing her dance and music. She didn’t know that after changing clothes and returning to the banquet, her Third Cousin actively sought out the elderly gentlemen who had asked him earlier. Lord Lu’s lips and teeth were red and white as he said meaningfully:
“I’ve thought about it again. I should contribute to the Flower Goddess Festival. About the position as one of the five judges for selecting the ‘Flower Goddess’ that you gentlemen asked me about earlier – I’m willing to accept.”
Lord Lu was full of anger, thinking: He would make sure to give his dear cousin a hard time!
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