Chapter 3

Although Lu Hengzhi was nominally registered as the legitimate son of the main household, he usually lived in a small courtyard on Bajiao Alley—close to the court and quiet. He only returned to the Lu residence for a few days around the monthly rest period. Because he was especially strict, every time he came back, the servants treated it like facing a formidable enemy. Compared to that, Su Qingluo’s status in the household was truly negligible.

Su Qingluo had someone bring hot water so she could wash her face, then changed into clean clothes. Though the oil-paper umbrella was plain white and not eye-catching, she didn’t dare leave it out in the open. Instead, she had Zi Yuan hang it to dry inside the room. She also carefully put away the cloak herself, planning to wash and dry it discreetly on a fine day before returning it along with the umbrella. Though her conscience was clear, she still didn’t dare let others see these items—lest someone with ill intent stir up trouble.

After all that fuss, she hadn’t had lunch. Exhausted and hungry, Su Qingluo didn’t even have the energy to feel sad about Lu Yan. But since the mealtime had already passed, she didn’t want to trouble the servants again and settled for a few pastries. The pastries were overly sweet; she couldn’t finish more than one.

She had no mind to continue embroidering her wedding dress, so she decided to stitch a sachet to pass the time. Not long after, she heard an unfamiliar young servant outside calling, “Sister Zi Yuan.”

Zi Yuan went out and quickly returned, placing a food box on the table. “It was personally delivered by Song Wen, who serves Third Master Heng.”

Su Qingluo was startled. “Third Master Heng? Why would he send me something?”

“Song Wen said Third Master Heng specifically instructed it. Since the young lady got caught in the rain, a bowl of ginger soup, a plate of chicken soup, and buns would be the perfect remedy.”

“Chicken soup and buns?” Su Qingluo hurriedly opened the box. The top layer held a steaming bowl of chicken soup, and beneath it was indeed a plate of buns—the familiar aroma wafted up instantly.

This was a specialty from Jinling, her absolute favorite. But since arriving in the capital, she hadn’t had it once. She never expected Lu Hengzhi to send her this. How did he know she hadn’t eaten lunch?

And there was ginger soup…

Su Qingluo was famished. Faced with her favorite chicken broth buns—something she hadn’t tasted in ages—she assumed Lu Hengzhi had simply happened to see her caught in the rain and sent them out of kindness. She didn’t overthink it and shared the buns with Zi Yuan, both of them quickly filling their stomachs.

Once she’d eaten, her strength returned, and she resolved to visit her aunt, Madam Liu, to break off the engagement. She felt that this afternoon was the perfect moment. Lu Hengzhi had just returned, and everyone’s attention was on him. Bringing up the engagement now would avoid drawing too much notice.

The rain hadn’t stopped, and the sky outside was still gloomy.

Su Qingluo carried an umbrella, and Zi Yuan held a glass lantern as they made their way to Madam Liu’s quarters.

Madam Liu was busy settling accounts with her head maid, Ying Yue. When she saw Su Qingluo enter, she waved her over enthusiastically. “Qingluo, come here! Just in time for your aunt to teach you how to manage a household. Once you marry in, I’ll be handing off all these chores to you.”

Madam Liu was a smiling tiger—always full of pleasant words for show. She loved power and money, and there was no way she’d relinquish control so easily.

Su Qingluo smiled and nodded, standing patiently to the side until Madam Liu finished checking the accounts. Then she quietly said, “Aunt, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Madam Liu glanced at her with a smile. “What’s so serious?” Still, she dismissed the others from the room.

Su Qingluo spoke directly: “Aunt, I want to break off my engagement with Lu Yan.”

Madam Liu paused, her smile unchanged, and took Su Qingluo’s hand. “Why would you suddenly want to do that? Did Lu Yan upset you? Don’t worry, I’ll discipline him for you.”

Madam Liu always spoke as if she were on Su Qingluo’s side, but her heart was with her own son.

Besides, Liu Yanran was her niece, living just a street away from the Lu residence. Without Madam Liu’s tacit approval, how could Liu Yanran have gotten entangled with Lu Yan?

Su Qingluo shook her head. “Aunt, I went to Jinji today to look at jewelry, and at the teahouse, I happened to see Lu Yan with Liu Yanran. They were very close—clearly they’ve been seeing each other for some time. Since Lu Yan likes Miss Liu, I’m willing to step aside for them.”

Madam Liu’s expression shifted. “Don’t worry, I’ll stand up for you. Breaking off an engagement isn’t a trivial matter. Let me look into it and give you an answer tomorrow.”

Su Qingluo nodded. She hadn’t expected to settle the matter today anyway, so she took her leave. As she exited, she heard Madam Liu angrily instruct a maid: “No matter what the young master is doing, get him here immediately!”

It felt like a performance staged just for her.

After returning to her room, Su Qingluo suddenly realized her scented sachet had gone missing. She retraced her steps but found no trace of it—could it have fallen in Madam Liu’s quarters?

Outside Madam Liu’s courtyard, two gatekeeping women were drinking and gambling. When they saw her approach, one immediately stood to report her arrival.

Su Qingluo had always been careful not to trouble even the Lu family’s servants. She quickly said in a soft voice, “Please, don’t mind me. I just lost a sachet and came to look for it myself.”

She was a frequent visitor to Madam Liu’s courtyard and engaged to Lu Yan, so the women assumed it was harmless. One nodded and said, “Thank you, miss,” then sat back down.

Inside, she didn’t disturb Madam Liu, but quietly asked the head maid Ying Yue if the sachet had been left behind and requested her help in searching.

Ying Yue looked around but didn’t find it. Thinking Su Qingluo was the future young mistress and worth currying favor with, she brought two junior maids to help search.

Su Qingluo then recalled, “Maybe I dropped it in Old Madam’s courtyard. I’ll go check.”

So they split up to search.

Nothing turned up in Old Madam’s quarters, so Su Qingluo returned to Madam Liu’s courtyard. Ying Yue and the two maids hadn’t come back yet. Just as she was about to go look for them, she heard sharp voices from inside Madam Liu’s room.

“How could you be so careless? Didn’t I say you could do whatever you wanted after Su Qingluo married in? Now you’ve stirred up trouble!”

“Tomorrow you’ll go apologize to Qingluo. Even if you have to kneel, you must earn her forgiveness!”

Su Qingluo was startled. She hadn’t expected Madam Liu to value her so highly. But then came the next line: “Do you know her dowry includes three hundred thousand taels of silver, not to mention land and shops? Marrying her would feed our entire Yongshun Marquis household for a lifetime.”

“Whatever it takes, you must win her over.”

“You’ve said that eight hundred times already,” Lu Yan replied, his tone dismissive. “Don’t worry. Su Qingluo is soft-hearted and naïve. I’ll coax her tomorrow.”

Su Qingluo felt a chill run through her. She turned and fled the courtyard, stumbling as she walked.

So that was it. That was the real reason Lu Yan had treated her well all these years. More than disgust, what she felt was sorrow. She had thought Lu Yan had simply fallen for another girl. She had never imagined that his kindness had been calculated from the start.

Back then, when she first came to the Lu household, her grandmother had personally cared for her for two years. Later, as her grandmother aged and grew frail, she entrusted Madam Liu from the second branch to look after her—perhaps even hoping to match her with Lu Yan.

Over the years, though Madam Liu had always kept her at arm’s length, Su Qingluo had truly treated them as family, giving her whole heart.

When Madam Liu fell ill, she stayed up night after night to care for her. Lu Yan’s clothes and sachets were all sewn by her own hand, never passed to a maid. Any fine goods delivered to the shops were always given to them first. She had wanted to become family, because she had no other family left in the world.

But all her devotion had been for nothing. To others, she was just a fattened lamb waiting to be slaughtered—skin flayed, tendons pulled, devoured down to the last bone shard. Was it her fault? Was she unworthy?

Su Qingluo was so heartbroken she couldn’t eat dinner.

Later that night, the rain outside gradually stopped.

Feeling miserable, she threw on a cloak and walked into the back garden. No one was around. The garden was damp and chilly after the rain.

Unable to hold back any longer, Su Qingluo crouched by the flowerbed and sobbed quietly. She missed her parents so much. If they were still alive, she wouldn’t be suffering like this.

The night was deep, the dew heavy.

Suddenly, a cold voice came from above: “Crying again?”

Su Qingluo looked up in shock.

In the pavilion, Lu Hengzhi sat leaning against the railing, looking down at her from above. In the dim light, she couldn’t see his expression clearly, but his tone was cold—perhaps even tinged with anger.