Inside the carriage, Gu Yanqing tapped his fingers unconsciously against his knee.
The carriage wheels rolled through puddles on the bluestone pavers, splashing fine sprays of water.
Lifting the curtain, he glanced outside. The dilapidated scenery of the western district had gradually given way to the relatively neat blue-brick alleys near the Lin residence.
Lowering the curtain, he looked once more at the slightly crumpled letter in his hand.
The letter had been delivered to the Gu manor yesterday evening.
The sender was Madam Zhou, Lin Zhixue’s stepmother.
The wording in the letter was polite enough, filled with a litany of compliments—calling Young Master Gu a prodigy of his generation, a dragon among men—beating around the bush at length before finally reaching the point.
She invited him to visit the Lin family whenever he had free time, adding that Zhixue longed to see him as well.
When he had read the words “Zhixue longed to see him as well,” the first thought that sprang to his mind was: She actually wants to see me of her own accord?
He couldn’t afford to be careless.
Everything he had done recently was intended to slowly improve his image in Lin Zhixue’s eyes.
He took every step with utmost caution, fearing that doing even a fraction too much would seem disingenuous, while doing a fraction too little wouldn’t be enough.
No matter the reason, he had to go.
If he snubbed her, all his prior efforts would go to waste.
So he came.
The carriage came to a halt in front of the Lin residence.
Madam Zhou was already waiting at the gate, dressed in a respectable silk blouse, smiling so widely that the crow’s-feet at the corners of her eyes layered three folds deep.
The moment she saw him step down from the carriage, she hurried forward, babbling endlessly, “Forgive me for failing to welcome you properly upon your gracious arrival, Young Master Gu,” and ushered him inside.
Along the way, she showered him with praises for being young and promising, while continuously mentioning how her Zhixue had been talking about him nonstop over the past few days.
Her words were seamlessly polished, her attentiveness calibrated just right.
Gu Yanqing listened without chiming in much.
He wasn’t used to dealing with people like this, but it wouldn’t do to show open displeasure either.
After all, she was Lin Zhixue’s elder; even if only a stepmother, she was still considered an elder in name.
Crossing the courtyard, Madam Zhou stopped before a carved wooden door, pushed it open for him, and beamed. “Zhixue is inside. Please, go right in, Young Master.”
Gu Yanqing stepped over the threshold.
And then, he saw Lin Zhixue.
She sat on an embroidered stool by the window, wearing a light pink silk dress. Her hair was coiled into an elaborate bun fastened with two silver hairpins.
Her face was dusted with powder and her lips dabbed with rouge, meticulously dressed up from head to toe like a porcelain vase displayed in a shop window.
Yet that was not her.
Gu Yanqing had seen her drenched in muddy water in a rainy alley.
He had seen her crouching by the medicinal herb fields, pulling weeds with dirt smudged across her face.
In those moments, her face had been bare and her hair tied up casually.
In those amber eyes was something found only in her gaze.
Stubbornness, vigilance, and an unyielding refusal to admit defeat.
Yet right now, in the eyes of this woman lavishly dressed up before the mirror, there was only one emotion he had never before seen on Lin Zhixue’s face.
Dread.
Her hands, clasped over her knees, trembled faintly.
In a flash of realization, Gu Yanqing understood everything.
Madam Zhou’s letter. This outfit.
The two of them left alone in this room filled with furnishings carrying ambiguous romantic undertones.
This was a setup.
Because he had summoned her to the manor for work and given her a generous amount of spirit stones, he had drawn Madam Zhou’s attention.
Madam Zhou assumed he was interested in Lin Zhixue, so she seized the opportunity to stage this play today.
Locking the two of them in a room, believing that once the deed was done, the Lin family could latch onto the towering tree that was the Gu clan.
The plot had changed.
There had been no such scene in the original book.
In the original novel, Gu Yanqing and Lin Zhixue had been strictly bully and victim; Madam Zhou would never have entertained such thoughts.
It was because of him.
His actions to “grind favorability” had inadvertently driven the changes in the plot.
Standing by the door, his mind raced through several scenarios as he tried to find a suitable opening line.
Say that he had wanted to visit?
That wouldn’t work.
As the eldest young master, running off to the Lin family on his own initiative without rhyme or reason made no sense.
What had he come for? To visit someone he ordered around to do odd jobs? That didn’t fit the persona he had previously established.
Say he had come because he received a letter from her stepmother?
That wouldn’t work either.
Since when was he the type to obediently show up at someone’s doorstep just because of a letter?
The original host was an arrogant, domineering playboy, not an obedient little darling at everyone’s beck and call.
He certainly couldn’t tell the truth.
I thought you wanted to see me, and I was afraid of upsetting you and having you slice me down with a sword later on.
Standing in the doorway, for the first time, he felt that speaking was harder than practicing swordplay.
Lin Zhixue sat on the embroidered stool, still keeping her head lowered.
Her heart had begun racing the moment she saw Gu Yanqing push open the door and enter; by now, it beat so fast that it was slightly hard to breathe.
He had really come.
Yesterday, sitting before the mirror, she had still wondered whether he would come.
Deep down, she had harbored a sliver of hope.
Perhaps he wouldn’t come.
Why would a young master of the Gu clan care about a collateral branch disciple of a small family living in a broken-down alley in the western district?
Yet he had come.
Aside from him taking an interest in her, she couldn’t think of any other reason.
Now there were only the two of them in the room.
Madam Zhou had shut the door from the outside. Although the window was open, there was only the courtyard wall beyond it; even if she screamed her lungs out, no one would come.
Her stepmother had arranged everything down to the finest detail—dressed her up, invited the man over, and locked the door.
As for what was supposed to happen next, Madam Zhou probably knew far better than she did.
She couldn’t beat him.
Mid Foundation Establishment versus the fourth layer of Qi Refining; he could subdue her with a mere flick of his finger.
Even if she had the courage to resist, the outcome wouldn’t be any different.
Could today really be the day she...
She didn’t dare think any further.
Thus, the room fell into an exceedingly bizarre silence.
Separated by a table, neither of them spoke.
Gu Yanqing stood by the door without moving, and Lin Zhixue sat by the window without moving either.
A fine wisp of gray-blue smoke rose from the censer on the table, the tea in the pot had already grown cold, and the room was so quiet that they could hear each other’s breathing.
They were each waiting for the other to speak first, yet neither could fathom what the other was thinking.
Gu Yanqing spoke first.
He saw that she was trembling.
Though she tried her best to control it, the fingers clasped over her knees gave away her terror.
He softened his tone, trying as best as he could to make his voice sound less like someone looking for trouble.
“What’s the matter with you?”
Lin Zhixue didn’t answer.
She looked up at him for a brief moment, then quickly averted her eyes, letting her gaze rest on the door panels behind his shoulder.
After a few breaths of silence, she countered, “Did you come today... for something in particular?”
Her tone sounded probing.
A wave of bitterness washed over Gu Yanqing’s heart.
Right now, he wished he could travel back a few days and grab the collar of the self who had decided to summon Lin Zhixue to the manor for work, shaking him vigorously.
What were you thinking? Huh? Couldn’t you keep a lower profile? Did you really have to let the entire city know you were interacting with her?
Great, just great. The plot changed. Madam Zhou set up a trap.
Lin Zhixue was dressed up like this sitting across from him, trembling all over, and even asking why he had come.
It was virtually an impossible situation.
Whatever he said would be wrong.
He shifted his gaze and began taking in the room, pretending not to notice her tension.
Then he noticed two sets of teaware set on the table, placed directly facing each other.
A plate of pastries had been laid out before his arrival.
On the windowsill rested a vase containing twin lotuses on a single stalk.
Twin lotuses were not something arranged casually; there was no way the Lin family didn’t know their symbolic meaning.
All of this was more than enough to reveal their intentions.
He withdrew his gaze and asked casually,
“Was this your idea?”
Lin Zhixue was startled for a moment, then shook her head with absolute resolve.
“No.”
Gu Yanqing nodded.
“Then don’t let Madam Zhou write any more letters in the future.”
Once those words were spoken, Lin Zhixue’s expression changed visibly.
Her eyes widened slightly.
She understood.
He hadn’t come of his own accord. Madam Zhou had written a letter.
He had only come because he received the letter. She didn’t know what was written in it, but it certainly wasn’t something that would normally warrant a special trip from him.
As for why he had actually come, a faint guess surfaced in her heart, but it was so absurd that she dared not dwell on it.
Gu Yanqing offered no further explanation.
Walking over to the table, he sat down, picked up the teapot, and poured himself a cup of tea.
The tea was cold; taking a single sip, he set the cup down.
After sitting for a moment longer, he finished a second cup of cold tea, stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out.
Madam Zhou was waiting right outside the door. Seeing him emerge, her face instantly broke into a fawning smile.
“Young Master Gu, how was it? Are you satisfied?”
Gu Yanqing’s footsteps halted.
Satisfied with what?
If he answered that he was satisfied, it was tantamount to admitting he fancied Lin Zhixue and had come today to inspect the goods.
If he answered that he was unsatisfied, Madam Zhou would turn around and blame Lin Zhixue, assuming she had failed to serve him properly.
Both answers were traps.
Turning his head, he looked at Madam Zhou.
“Satisfied with what?”
Madam Zhou’s smile stiffened for an instant before returning to normal, her voice dropping even lower.
“Why, with that girl Zhixue, of course. If Young Master finds her pleasing to the eye...”
“I never said I came to propose marriage.”
He was silent for a moment, then added,
“Don’t act clever in the future.”
The smile on Madam Zhou’s face finally crumbled, a fine sheen of sweat beading across her brow.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something to salvage the situation, but didn’t know what to say.
Paying her no further mind, Gu Yanqing walked straight toward the front gates.
After taking a few steps, as if suddenly remembering some minor detail, he spoke:
“She is working for me now.”
With that, he stepped out through the main gates of the Lin residence, stepped onto the carriage’s footstool, lifted the curtain, and climbed inside.
The curtain fell, and the carriage slowly rolled forward.
Standing in the courtyard, Madam Zhou watched the carriage turn out of the alley entrance, her face alternating between pale and flushed.
Working for him.
No matter how muddleheaded she might be, she understood the meaning behind those words.
It wasn’t that sort of relationship, but she was his person. She wasn’t to be touched from now on.
Rate on N.U.
