Translated by: Jellylynn

If you enjoy my translations, please support me by , recommending this novel to friends, and/or leaving a comment! Thank you.

Edited by: Lynn

This novel is to be only hosted on Foxaholic; copies found elsewhere are stolen or worse, plagiarised. 

Names mentioned in this chapter (which can also be found in the glossary):

-虞襄(yú xiāng)- Yu Xiang, the female lead

-莲子糕(liánzǐ gāo)- Lotus seed cake, nickname given by Ninth Princess to Yu Xiang

-虞品言(yú pǐn yán)- Yu Pin Yan, the male lead

-方志晨(fāng zhì chén)- Fang Zhi Chen, Pei Shi’s son

-范娇娇(Fàn jiāo jiāo)- Fan Jiao Jiao, Ninth Princess’s study companion and daughter of General Who Guards the State.

-沈元奇(Shěn yuán qí)- Shen Yuan Qi, Yu Xiang’s biological elder brother. 

-沈妙琪(Shěn miào qí)- Shen Miao Qi, Yu Pin Yan’s biological younger sister.

After chatting for a while, the tea room suddenly stirred up and a girl screamed, “Ah, the top scholar is here!” 

The crowd looked towards the direction her fingers were pointing. In the pavilion that was about three or four metres away, several young scholars were sitting around drinking and chatting. Coincidentally, they started to sing loudly as they picked up their chopsticks and knocked on the edge of the bowl. 

The dark green willow branches were hanging down in all directions as they rose and fell under the breeze. It was as if they were dancing in harmony with the song, which was quite charming. 

However, the top scholar’s handsome and unique features  were more elegant and charming.  Whether he chuckled, frowned or indifferent, they were all captivating.

The Ninth Princess forgot to swallow the pastry that was in her mouth. She mumbled, “So charming, he is as charming as Lotus cake.” As she spoke she stood up and kept leaning out to see. 

With her as the lead, the rest of the girls forgot to be reserved. They all crowded around the window to look at them, and from time to time there was an exclamation of admiration. 

Yu Xiang averted her eyes and was slightly surprised. The legendary most talented top scholar in the nation was actually the despondent young man who tried to crash into the carriage and seek death. It was only two months, but he truly achieved meteoric success in his career.  

After eyeing him for a few times, her attention was drawn to the tall figure with his back to the teahouse. If one were to compare the scholars to bamboos, this figure was like a pine tree.  Moreover still, this person was at the apex of Linyusong’s cliff. He had a perseverance and heroic aura. He didn’t need to show his face. He was the most special being in Yu Xiang’s eyes. 

The laughter of the girls attracted the young people by the lake to look up one after another. Although it was not obvious on the surface, they were a little proud and the voice reciting the poetry unconsciously increased a lot. Only the man turned a deaf ear and turned a blind eye to it. He placed his hand on the knife handle at his waist. His back was upright and the muscular figure hidden under the official robe was faintly visible. 

Yu Xiang stared at him intently for a while. Seeing that he didn’t notice her, her eyes turned and took out a few red beans from her purse and threw it at him. Then, she immediately bent down to hide under the window sill. 

There was the sound of something piercing through the air reaching his ears. Yu Pin Yan dodged quickly.  He saw a few red beans when he looked down. He turned to the teahouse and found that the Ninth Princess was holding half a piece of pastry in her mouth, foolishly staring at Shen Yuan Qi. Fan Jia Jiao waved her hand to him and was trying to signal to him something. 

Yu Pin Yan raised his eyebrows and pretended not to care. He continued to stare at the Crown Prince in disguise in the pavilion. 

Yu Xiang covered her mouth and snickered. Then, she took out some red beans and threw it towards him again. She found that her elder brother turned around quickly, glanced at her with a smile, and mouthed his word as he scolded, “Being naughty again!” 

Yu Xiang leaned on the windowsill and shot a slightly smug expression towards him. She looked like a picture with the glorious spring rays shining on her head. The small cinnabar glistened in the middle of her eyebrows. She was so charming that everyone by the lake looked up at her, and their eyes were full of fascination. In particular, Shen Yuanqi and Fang Zhi Chen, who weren’t able to avert their eyes. 

Yu Pin Yan’s happy expression immediately faded. He picked up a red bean on the ground and hit on the window. The bamboo pole supporting the window lattice was broken and the window fell heavily. 

Fortunately, Yu Xiang was very aware of her elder brother’s temperament. When she bent down to pick up the red beans, she ran away and pulled the Ninth Princess away from the window. Otherwise, their noses would be crooked. 

“Your elder brother is angry again. Every time I see him he is always angry.” The Ninth Princess shook her head and said. 

“Lord Yu is so powerful! My father said that he is the number one expert in the Han Dynasty. This is true! Expert always has a little temper.” Fan Jiao Jiao started bootlicking again. 

Yu Xiang didn’t care about them and immediately went to lift the window only to find that no one could be seen by the lake and only a team of Dragon Scale guards with swords and halberds hurried past. 

　　——————————————————————

Shen Yuan Qi bid farewell to the Crown Prince and went to Yu Pin Yan. He cupped his hand and said, “Lowly officer greets Marquis. The young lady just now is the Marquis’ di younger sister?” 

Fang Zhi Chen initially planned to leave. After hearing this, he couldn’t help looking at them. In his mind, he kept recalling the girl’s bright and beautiful face, which was even brighter than the spring rays. For a moment, he became a little fascinated. He never thought that the crippled di Young Miss would be such a stunning woman. Her face alone was enough to make up for all the imperfections in her body. 

“Lord Shen, you have overstepped your boundaries.” Yu Pin Yan’s tone was gloomy. He put his right hand on the Xiu Chun sword on his waist and gently rubbed the knife handle. 

Shen Yuan Qi realised that he was impulsive and promptly bowed down to admit his mistake. 

Yu Pin Yan nodded his head expressionlessly and then walked away. 

Shen Yuan Qi touched his slightly cold neck, feeling both relief and loss. His only relative was in close proximity but he could not acknowledge her. She was now the di daughter of the Marquis manor. She was deeply loved by her elder brother and grandmother. She enjoyed endless splendor and wealth. If he rushed the door to acknowledge her, he did not know whether it would lead to her resentment. 

Forget it, he would just wait and observe. Shen Miao Qi had recently entered the capital. It was estimated that he would soon look for the Marquis Yongle manor. It was very difficult for the Marquis manor to find a merchant family surnamed Shen, but it was very easy for the Shen family to find the Marquis manor. There were only a few marquises in the capital. In addition, the inkling that Marquis was in great trouble ten years ago could be discovered with a little inquiry. 

With Shen Miao Qi’s nature, she would take back everything that belonged to her. He would wait for her to take action first before making arrangements. 

Previous | TOC | Next