Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Insincerity

The steward and the maid were still cleaning up the debris.

A few low RUMBLES of thunder echoed, followed by terrifying flashes of lightning. A cool wind, carrying the damp, earthy smell of rain, rushed in. Fat raindrops began to PATTER down, and in an instant, dark clouds blotted out the sky, plunging the world into a boundless curtain of rain.

The damp, cool wind chilled her to the bone.

"Liang Ji, it’s raining."

The steward gave the dazed woman standing by the window a strange look before hurrying to close it.

Only then did Liang Wan snap out of her stupor.

The manuscript pages she hadn’t had time to put away were blown everywhere. A few sheets were even spattered by the rain that had swept in.

After clearing away the porcelain shards, the maid helped the steward gather the scattered pages.

Liang Wan stared at the calligraphy sample in her hand. It was the first time she had seen Lu Xiu’s writing, and she felt that in some ways, his style was identical to Awen’s. But if she were to speak of true resemblance, it was more like—

"Liang Ji?"

The steward stood before her, a look of confusion on his face.

Liang Wan looked up. The floor had been cleaned, and the manuscript was once again stacked on the low table.

She clutched the calligraphy sample and nodded woodenly. "You may go about your business."

The steward led the young maid away, looking puzzled.

With the doors and windows shut tight, the room grew stuffy. Aside from the thunderstorm raging outside, it was unnervingly quiet within.

Perhaps because of the stifling heat, a thin sheen of sweat formed on her palms.

"The servants told me you were here."

Liang Wan started. The Grandmaster had entered at some point, bringing with him a faint hint of dampness from outside.

She quickly lowered her head in greeting and replied, "A maid accidentally broke some porcelain, so I came to take a look. Just now, the wind and rain were so fierce that they scattered the calligraphy pages, so I tidied them up."

The Grandmaster approached, glanced at the stack of paper, and nodded. "Whenever he has something on his mind, he practices his calligraphy."

The Grandmaster was dressed in casual attire.

Liang Wan asked, "Grandfather, you didn’t attend the morning court session?"

The Grandmaster sat down, gesturing for Liang Wan to take the seat opposite him.

Liang Wan called for a maid to serve tea before sitting down herself.

"This is a world for the young now. We old men should be lazy when we can and make way when we should."

He scanned the room and sighed. "It’s been a while since I last came here. It’s still the same as before."

The maid prepared the tea and retreated to one side.

The Grandmaster picked up his teacup, took a sip, and chuckled. "My palate has been spoiled."

Hearing this, Liang Wan ordered the maid to fetch the tea-brewing utensils, but the Grandmaster waved his hand to stop her. "All of you, leave us."

The air in the room was close. Liang Wan rose and opened the window a crack, letting in a gust of damp, cool wind that was quite refreshing.

Liang Wan walked back and knelt properly in her seat again.

The Grandmaster set down his cup and studied her carefully. "You’re such a thoughtful and considerate child. It’s no wonder he’s so taken with you."

’In two lifetimes, this is the first time anyone has ever called me considerate.’

’Usually, praise like this is followed by a catch.’

Liang Wan lowered her gaze and smiled. "You flatter me, Grandfather."

The Grandmaster said, "I stopped by the new residence on my way here. Have you seen it?"

Liang Wan was speechless. ’Why would I go look at the marital home of Lu Xiu and Cao Luyun?’

’Is he warning me on behalf of Cao Luyun?’

Liang Wan answered honestly, "I have not. But with an official of his stature overseeing it, I imagine it must be wonderful."

The Grandmaster sighed, his voice tinged with emotion. "Years ago, the matter of your marriage to him was settled by me and your Awen."

Liang Wan froze. She knew he had something more to say, but she had assumed it would be the usual sort of warning. She never expected him to bring up an engagement she knew nothing about.

The Grandmaster continued, "I never told him explicitly, for fear he would resist."

He shook his head and chuckled, then sighed again. "Later, when your mother came to our door to break off the engagement, I had no choice but to let it go. Who would have thought he knew about it all along, and even—

Now that you two have ended up in the same place, it must be fate."

Liang Wan looked at the Grandmaster. After saying this, his expression seemed to grow even more melancholic.

Outside, the storm raged, but Liang Wan felt nothing stir in her heart.

’So, Lu Xiu hates me because our engagement was broken?’

She suddenly remembered that night in the cave, when he had asked if she was planning to elope with someone...

The Grandmaster swallowed his tea and said, "He has already petitioned His Majesty to let you remain in the Master’s Mansion."

The words jolted Liang Wan.

"And His Majesty has approved."

Liang Wan’s face paled, and her heart sank completely.

As she sat there, stunned, someone pushed the door open and entered.

"I went back and didn’t see you. What are you doing here?"

Liang Wan looked up. Lu Xiu, dressed in the stately yellow and purple robes of his office, entered with an air of nobility, carrying the dampness of the storm with him.

"The porcelain vase was broken, so I came to see." Liang Wan stood to greet him, helping him remove his official cap as she spoke.

Lu Xiu glanced at the empty shelf, his thin lips parting slightly. "It was nothing important."

Liang Wan hummed in agreement, handing the ceremonial cap to a nearby maid.

The Grandmaster said to Lu Xiu, "I’ll be heading back. Come see me later."

Liang Wan walked him to the door. The wind and rain still filled the sky outside.

Lu Xiu turned around. "What did my Father say to you?"

Liang Wan’s gaze fell squarely on his face. "About our marriage engagement."

Lu Xiu chuckled. "So you also found out about your mother coming to break it off?"

"Yes. So is that why you hate me?"

Lu Xiu didn’t answer directly. "When your mother came, she only said she had inadvertently learned that the late Imperial Tutor had arranged this match. But she insisted on breaking it off, saying the disparity in our families’ status was too great and the Liang Mansion was no longer what it once was. Thinking back on it now, it must have been because of our birth characters."

Liang Wan nodded. She had thought of that as well.

Lu Xiu took her hand. "Let’s go back too."

Liang Wan didn’t move, merely gazing at him. "That letter from Yuan Shaoyu... do you still have it, Master?"

"Have you remembered something?"

Liang Wan shook her head. "It’s precisely because I haven’t remembered anything that I want to see it. Weren’t you going to that place with the willow trees, Master? Perhaps we’ll discover something there."

A faint smile touched Lu Xiu’s lips. He lifted her up and set her down on the low table, then reached out, pulled open a small drawer, and took out a letter, which he pressed into her hand.

Liang Wan was surprised. ’He just keeps something from a traitor to the state lying around so casually? Isn’t he afraid someone will see it?’

Meeting her eyes, Lu Xiu smiled. "No one else will come in here. Go on, read it."

Liang Wan lowered her eyes, a strange panic beginning to flutter in her chest. ’Once I open this letter, I’m bound to discover something.’

Seeing her hesitate, Lu Xiu simply opened it for her.

The calligraphy on the aged paper was clear. Liang Wan stared, stunned.

If Lu Xiu’s writing style was similar to Awen’s, then the details of his finishing strokes were practically identical to Yuan Shaoyu’s...

Lu Xiu’s dark eyes watched her. "See anything?"

Liang Wan snapped back to her senses and quickly shook her head. "No."

Lu Xiu sighed. He grabbed one of the calligraphy samples and pressed it into her hand, wrapping his arm around her waist and resting his chin in the crook of her neck. "You guessed right. I didn’t just know him. He’s the one who taught me calligraphy."

Lu Xiu pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. "Don’t say one thing and mean another with me again."

Liang Wan’s mind went blank. ’Just what kind of complicated relationship was this?’

Lu Xiu’s teacher was Yuan Shaoyu. Yuan Shaoyu’s teacher was Awen. And it was Awen who had exposed Yuan Shaoyu as a spy for the Zhou people, which led to him being killed by the Lu Family.

She felt as if she were surrounded by a frozen sea of icebergs, chilled to the point of numbness.

Lu Xiu took the letter and the calligraphy sample from her hands and tossed them onto the table. "Can we go back now?"

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