Lu Xiu drew closer, his pupils contracting slightly.
To others, they didn't seem particularly close. In reality, only Liang Wan could see the cold blade in his eyes, the irritation simmering beneath their clear black and white.
Liang Wan gritted her teeth and nodded. "Yes, I'm willing to do anything!"
Her red, tear-filled eyes were clearly full of fear and panic, yet they also held a firm, unyielding resolve.
Lu Xiu let go of the slender wrist in his hand and leaned back, his eyes curving with a suggestive glint as he looked at her. "And what if I'm not willing?"
A HISS of sharp inhales immediately filled the hall.
Liang Wan looked at his smile, knowing full well that Lu Xiu was deliberately trying to humiliate her. It was obvious he was very angry. After all, she had spoken so presumptuously without his consent.
'How can I get him to agree?'
'He once said he only does things he finds interesting. So what would he find interesting?'
'This humiliation?'
Liang Wan straightened her back and met his gaze. "Then what does My Lord desire?"
The once-chaotic Waterside Pavilion had fallen silent. Everyone sat frozen, their gazes fixed on the scene before them.
Lu Xiu's fox-like eyes narrowed. He picked up the slightly cooled sobering tea and drained it in one gulp, then tilted his head and swirled the empty cup in his hand. "Next time, I'll tell you."
"Alright."
Liang Wan stood up and nodded deferentially. 'At least he didn't refuse. There's still hope.'
The drama had sobered up most of the previously drunk guests.
Liang Wan returned to her seat, the eyes of everyone in the room fixed on her. If looks could kill, she would have already suffered death by a thousand cuts.
'It doesn't matter. Everyone else is insignificant in my eyes. I don't have to care!'
Perhaps sensing the increasingly strange atmosphere, Princess Lanling and Princess Yuzhang suggested everyone break off into their own activities: some could go out for a nature walk, others could go to the Shao Guang Pavilion to paint, or they could go boating on the Ruishui River.
After the orchid-scented baths, there would be the game of floating wine cups on a winding stream. These were the usual arrangements every year, so Liang Wan was already familiar with the schedule.
Soon, people began to leave in pairs and groups. Feng Qingyue couldn't hold back any longer. Disregarding all etiquette, she grabbed Liang Wan and dragged her out of the Waterside Pavilion.
By the shore, under the green willows and pink peach blossoms, Feng Qingyue shoved her so hard that Liang Wan stumbled and nearly fell.
"Are you crazy?" Liang Wan asked, rubbing her abused wrist.
Feng Qingyue let out a bitter laugh. "Am I the one who's crazy, or are you?"
Liang Wan glanced around. No one seemed to be paying them any attention. Besides, she was in no mood to argue. "Didn't you say you were taking me to see Cui Hao? Are we still going?"
Feng Qingyue stared at her strangely, unable to understand how she could be so brazen. "You're asking me about that *now*? Do you even have the nerve to see him?"
She had known Feng Qingyue for so long, but this was the first time she had ever seen her so furious and flustered. Although she was a princess's daughter, she lacked the noble air of the Imperial Family, carrying instead the refined and gentle nature of someone from a scholarly family.
Liang Wan blinked, and a slow smile spread across her face. "Are you really this angry with me over a man who has nothing to do with you?"
Feng Qingyue was at a loss for words, her delicate little face twisted in an unnatural expression.
"Qing Yue, why didn't you tell me sooner that you like him?"
Panic was clearly visible on Feng Qingyue's face. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Liang Wan watched her with a smile. "If you like him, you could have told me. He's just a man, after all!"
"You're spouting nonsense!" Feng Qingyue's face flushed beet red. She pointed an angry finger at her. "You're the shameless, fickle one, and now you're trying to slander me!"
Liang Wan looked down, dusted off her sleeve, then raised her eyes to give her a cold glance. "Slander? Don't you know the truth in your own heart?"
"You—"
Stung into silence, Feng Qingyue flung her long sleeve, turned, and stormed away.
'Can't keep up the act anymore, can she?'
A faint smile touched Liang Wan's lips, a cold light glinting in her dark eyes.
She turned and saw a peach blossom tree by the path, blooming beautifully. Most unmarried young women dreamed of being a bride, and she was no different. Whenever she read "Taoyao," her imagination would run wild.
Liang Wan took a few steps forward and plucked a branch. "*The peach tree is young and elegant; brilliant are its flowers. This young lady is going to her future home, and will order well her chamber and house. The peach tree is young and elegant; abundant will be its fruit. This young lady is going to her future home, and will order well her house and chamber...*"
Memories of the past resurfaced like plants in spring.
After the Liang Mansion learned that Cui Hao had taken her in, they showed no mercy, setting a fire one night that burned the Cui Family's home to the ground.
Left with nowhere to go, they wandered the streets. Wracked with guilt, she borrowed money from Qing Yue. But fearing that the Liang Mansion and Sikong Mansion would find them and retaliate again, she only dared to buy a small thatched hut in a remote area.
She and Cui Hao had no betrothal gifts, no dowry. Their wedding was pathetic; she didn't even have a proper wedding dress.
She made her own wedding gown from a piece of white cloth.
Their wedding night was spent under a thatched roof between mud walls, on an old wooden bed. They made do.
Lady Jun was in poor health, and they had no money for a doctor or medicine. So Liang Wan would carry a basket up the mountain and use what medical knowledge she had to gather, prepare, and brew herbs...
Gradually, she became as capable as a real doctor.
Cui Hao was determined to become an official. He finally got a chance for a recommendation, but it almost fell through because they had no money for bribes.
Worried sick, Lady Jun couldn't sleep at night. She took out a piece of silk embroidered with a Buddha and told Liang Wan to pawn it for money.
But how could one piece possibly be enough?
From then on, she did needlework day and night. Buddhist figures, birds and beasts, flowers and plants, constellations and celestial phenomena... she took on any commission, embroidering anything and everything.
That was how she honed her exquisite skills.
'But what did it all matter in her short yet long life?'
It felt as though a steel knife was slicing into Liang Wan's heart, piece by piece, drawing blood.
'Hate... I truly hate them!'
SNAP! Liang Wan viciously broke the branch and threw it to the ground. Tears streamed down her cheeks and fell to the earth, but she bit her lip, refusing to make a sound.
In the distance, people sang and played by the water, but here, she was accompanied only by the chirping of birds and the drone of insects.
As she reached for her handkerchief, her hand accidentally brushed against the Pouch.
She took out the Pouch and stared at it, dazed. It was filled with dried potpourri. Her gaze fell to the broken peach branch on the ground, and she went back to the tree to pick a few more blossoms, tucking them inside.
Just as she stepped out of the peach grove, someone suddenly leaped out from the side of the path. A hand swung towards her, and a sharp pain shot through Liang Wan's shoulder as she was knocked to the ground.
"Liang Zhang!"
Liang Wan cried out in pain, glaring up at her attacker.
But Liang Zhang stood there without a hint of remorse. "You shameless hussy! You've completely disgraced the Liang Mansion!"
Wincing in pain, Liang Wan looked up and sneered. "That's a laugh, Brother. Does the Liang Family have any face to lose? Do *you*? You made the mistake, yet you're using me to curry favor. You've got so much face, you could stack it all together and make a thousand-layer shoe sole!"
"You bitch!"
His sore spot having been poked, Liang Zhang was livid. He moved to kick her.
Liang Zhang was tall and imposing. That earlier slap had left her chest aching; if this kick landed, she'd be bedridden for at least half a month.
There was no time to dodge. Liang Wan turned her head away, gritting her teeth to endure it.
But instead of the expected pain, she heard a pained cry.
"Wang Tingyue! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
Liang Wan whipped her head around to see Liang Zhang clutching his chest. He leaped to his feet and started yelling, pointing a finger at the newcomer's nose.
"Didn't you see that hussy fawning all over Lu Xiu at the banquet? Half the city knows she's promised to your Father! Isn't the Sikong Mansion ashamed?"
Wang Tingyue sneered. "Ashamed? That's a matter for your Liang Mansion!"