YBTS - 13

Hearing the young master’s ridicule, Luoyun pretended not to hear and lowered her head even more.

Although she wasn’t sure about Han Linfeng’s character, there were very few good people among those he associated with. As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together.” Being considered vulgar was better than being pestered by a lecher.

She hoped that the young master would continue to be so high-profile and elegant, and would not lower himself to being with someone common.

After saying that, the young master seemed to lose interest and didn’t want to talk more with the boring merchant’s daughter. He gracefully walked past Su Luoyun and left.

After Xiangcao helped her up, Luoyun finally let out a sigh of relief. That Young Master Han probably just chatted with her out of boredom and didn’t know the origin of the anonymous letter.

Based on Xiangcao’s description, he was a nobleman raised in a pile of makeup. But when she was talking to him just now, even though his tone was gentle, she always felt an invisible pressure that made it hard to breathe...

In any case, it was best to stay as far away from such a dissolute wastrel as possible!

When Su Luoyun returned, her father was still there, and he couldn’t wait to ask her about her visit to the residence.

After hearing the whole story, Su Hongmeng was still not satisfied. “That’s it? Nothing more?”

Su Luoyun slowly took off her hairpin. “The princess just wanted to ask about the remedy for the ambergris. When she was done, there was nothing more to talk about. I can’t just linger at the princess’s residence and wait for a meal... By the way, the public funds for this month have not been given to me. The rice and grain in my house are running low, and Tian Mama doesn’t cook extra food. If Father wants to eat here, you’ll probably have to send a servant boy to a restaurant to get another food box.”

Su Hongmeng was annoyed and flicked his sleeve. “Alright, looking at you, you’re so dull, how could you even have an appetite! Your sister is getting married, and the family’s expenses are high. If you have nothing to do, try to spend less!”

After that, he instructed Xiangcao to pack the new headwear he had bought for Su Luoyun into a box. Since it was paid for with public funds, he wanted to take it back and put it in the storeroom. If Luoyun needed to use it again, she could go to the storeroom to get it.

After the money-eating father left with the jewelry box, Miss Lingxiu from the Lu family came to visit and check on her friend’s visit to the Prince Consort’s Residence.

Su Luoyun first expressed her gratitude to Lu Lingxiu for helping her with the connection. After all, without Miss Lu, she would not have been able to get this house from her father.

She had Tian Mama bring out two pieces of jewelry and some spices she had prepared earlier and gave them to Lu Lingxiu.

Lu Lingxiu, however, was not happy. “How can you be so formal with me now? It was just a coincidence. Why do you need to spend so much... Are you still bothered by my brother and want to draw a clear line between us?”

Su Luoyun smiled faintly. “It’s just some pretty headwear with some exquisite inlays. Now that I’m blind, I can’t appreciate pretty things on myself. I might as well give them to someone who can. Are you saying you dislike them because they are not precious enough to accept?”

Hearing her say that, Lu Lingxiu gave a wry smile. “How can I dislike you? Among us friends, you were always the best at dressing up... If you really want to thank me, you don’t need these gifts. You just need to agree to one thing—my brother... wants to see you...”

Before Su Luoyun could refuse, Lu Lingxiu said anxiously, “I know you don’t want to have anything to do with my brother. So, it won’t be just the two of you alone. I will be there as well. We can just have tea at a teahouse. If anyone sees us, we can just say we ran into each other by chance... What happened back then was sudden, and my brother’s pain was no less than yours. But you were so resolute and refused to see him. In the past two years, I’ve watched my brother go from a laughing gentleman to a depressed one. Please, have some pity on him. Just treat it as a consultation for a person who is sick to his core. At the very least, you should give him some closure in person.”

By all accounts, Su Luoyun did not want to see Lu Shi again. But she had always disliked owing favors, and she owed Lu Lingxiu. After thinking about it, she finally agreed.

The meeting place was an elegant teahouse in the west of the capital.

As she had said, Lu Lingxiu also came that day. With her was a handsome and refined young man, none other than Lu Shi, the young master of the Lu family.

Although the Lu family had started out as a silk embroidery workshop, they had gradually shifted their focus to officialdom in the past two generations.

Lu Shi, in particular, was intelligent from a young age. He had come in first in the preliminary examinations, and his essays were frequently praised by the masters of several major academies, who all said that this young man had a bright future.

If the Su and Lu families hadn’t already been engaged, a talented young man like him would have been snapped up long ago. But even without the engagement, Lu Shi had fallen in love with Su Luoyun at first sight.

In his own words, there were countless graceful women, but only Miss Su had the same sense of prudence and resolve as a man.

But Lu Shi never expected that the decisive character he had so admired would be just as decisive when she cut ties with him... Thinking that he would finally be able to see Luoyun today, Lu Shi couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. He secretly vowed that he would persuade Luoyun to change her mind.

At that point, he would not hesitate to break off his engagement with Su Caijian!

The Lu siblings arrived very early, but they didn’t expect Su Luoyun to be even earlier. They didn’t know how long she had been waiting in the tearoom.

Lu Lingxiu knew that her brother had a lot to say to Miss Su, so she just sat quietly on the side. Lu Shi hadn’t seen Luoyun in two years. When he saw her again, he felt that besides being even more elegant than he remembered, her whole demeanor seemed to have matured a lot.

Just as he was about to speak, she spoke first. “Lingxiu is treating us today, saying that the pastries here are very elegant. I couldn’t enjoy them alone, so I had Xiangcao invite my younger siblings. They will be here soon. If Lingxiu thinks it’s too much trouble for so many people, then this meal is on me.”

In fact, Su Luoyun hadn’t come alone. She had also brought her younger brother, Guiyan. But it seemed she was still not avoiding him enough, as she had also sent someone to invite Caijian and the two Jin brothers.

However, Luoyun and Guiyan had come from Sweetwater Alley, so they arrived a little earlier than their siblings.

Lu Shi’s expression dimmed. He knew he wouldn’t be able to talk to her much and asked in a low voice, “Luoyun, how did I offend you that you avoid me like the plague?”

Luoyun wanted to speak, but she also felt her tongue was tied.

How could Lu Shi, a gentleman who never argued with anyone, have offended her? When she had unexpectedly lost her sight, besides feeling a sense of shame and not wanting to burden Lu Shi, the main reason was Lu Shi’s mother.

Ding Shi was very good at making connections and had deliberately ingratiated herself with Madam Lu, so the two were close friends. In the past, Ding Shi had often subtly spoken ill of her in front of Madam Lu, so Madam Lu didn’t like Luoyun very much.

Madam Lu felt that Luoyun looked too clever, while Caijian was guileless and easy to get along with. A mother-in-law never really likes a daughter-in-law who has a stronger presence than she does.

If not for her son’s persistence, Madam Lu would have probably chosen Caijian a long time ago.

So Luoyun was clear: as a blind person, if she were to really compete with Caijian and marry into the Lu family, how could Ding Shi let it go? There would surely be a lot of instigation.

Lu Shi was a filial son and wouldn’t defy his mother. And she was a person who wouldn’t yield. How could the Lu family’s residence be peaceful in the future?

Lu Shi, just like her brother Guiyan, was a scholar, and his energy shouldn’t be wasted on the inner residence. Instead of that, it was better to save him the trouble from the beginning.

Luoyun had thought about it for a long time. Once she understood these things, no matter how reluctant she was, she decided to cut off their relationship.

Now, hearing Lu Shi insist on an answer, she thought for a moment and said softly, “Fates can be deep or shallow. Maybe our fate wasn’t to be a couple. I don’t want to get married now. Why do you have to be so fixated on this? You should just live a good life with Caijian in the future.”

Lu Shi couldn’t believe that Su Luoyun was so heartless. He said in a low, choked voice, “My mother was always unwilling to let you marry into the family, and I always argued with her. It wasn’t until she finally agreed to let both you and Caijian marry in that I agreed to the marriage! If I had known you would be so upset, I would have died before agreeing. But why are you so angry? Are you resentful that I was weak and agreed to marry your sister? Or are you resentful that my mother disliked you? If that’s the case, why don’t you believe that I would protect you?”

Su Luoyun was silent for a moment and then suddenly said, “Do you want to play a game?”

With that, she pointed to a corridor on the other side of the teahouse, where a spare outdoor ladder was being repaired. The ladder only had the treads and no railings. It creaked when you walked on it.

“I just took that way up for convenience. I’ve memorized the route. Do you dare to blindfold yourself and walk down this ladder according to my instructions?”

Lu Shi didn’t know why Luoyun brought this up, but since she insisted, he would do it.

When he left the tearoom and walked to the outdoor ladder, he was stunned. The ladder was steep and had no railings on either side. If he were to miss a step, he would probably break every bone in his body!

Before he could think any more, Guiyan came over and blindfolded him with a handkerchief, then led him in a few circles.

Just then, Luoyun’s clear voice came. “Young Master, turn to the left and take four steps forward.”

Lu Shi had no choice but to follow Luoyun’s words and cautiously take four steps forward. But on his fourth step, he realized that half of his foot was suspended in the air. He seemed to have reached the edge of the ladder.

He immediately pulled his foot back and stopped.

Luoyun then said, “Alright, you’re at the edge of the stairs now. Please be careful, Young Master Lu, and slowly go down.”

Lu Shi slowly tried to move forward again, but he hesitated to take the step. With his eyes completely dark, he didn’t feel safe even on flat ground, let alone having to be guided by a blind woman to walk down a wobbly, un-railed dangerous ladder?

He hesitated for a long time. His mind was filled with the image of the steep and broken ladder from before, and he just couldn’t bring himself to take a step down.

Just then, Luoyun said, “Guiyan, untie Young Master Lu.”

When the silk scarf was removed, Lu Shi was stunned. He wasn’t at the stairs at all! He was just standing on a small platform in the corridor! There was only one step in front of him, and he wouldn’t have fallen even if he had stepped down with his eyes closed.

He felt as though he had been tricked, and even his gentle nature was getting anxious. “Luoyun, why did you play a trick on me like this?”

Su Luoyun gave a faint, bitter smile. “Even though you feel you can take care of me, how can you understand the mindset of a blind person? With my eyes completely dark, I am like a person standing alone next to a dangerous ladder. I don’t know which step I take will be wrong, or if I will be shattered into a thousand pieces in the next moment. So even with a good person guiding me, I don’t want to rely completely on others. Young Master Lu... the situation between us today has nothing to do with anyone else. I just refuse to take that step. Why do you have to be so persistent?”

Lu Shi stood there in a daze. He suddenly understood the deeper meaning behind Su Luoyun’s words.

The Lu family was a warm place where he had grown up. But for the blind and helpless Luoyun, it was a dangerous building with an unknown future. Although he had repeatedly promised to take care of her, she refused to entrust her fate to such a dangerous place.