Chapter 98: A Harmonious Home
Chapter 98: Chapter 98: A Harmonious Home
His voice was faint with genuine exhaustion.
’The past truly doesn’t matter,’ she thought. ’The one he’s engaged to now is Cao Luyun.’
’Besides, this is Lu Xiu we’re talking about...’
After that day, he began spending every night there. At first, Liang Wan was a nervous wreck each evening, but thankfully, he never made any further advances.
Gradually, she found she could fall asleep even before he did.
Lu Xiu no longer forbade her from leaving the mansion, which meant she could go out to purchase the materials she needed.
The Master’s Mansion had no mistress, so its domestic affairs were delegated to various stewards who reported to a head steward. Everything ran in perfect order, with no one to stir up trouble.
More importantly, aside from Lu Xiu, no one in the entire Master’s Mansion placed any restrictions on her. As a result, she had far more freedom here than she ever did at the Liang Mansion.
At first, whenever Lu Xu and Lu Ying returned, they remained wary of her. But after observing her a few times, and noticing that even Master Lu didn’t bother to exclude her from their conversations, they stopped greeting her with such forced, skin-deep smiles.
The friendliest person to her in the mansion was probably Lu Huai, the General of Cavalry. Perhaps it was because she had made the exorbitant demand of a bushel of pearls from the Lu Family as payment during their first meeting, leaving him with the impression that she was greedy. Every time he visited, he would bring her jewelry as a gift.
Liang Wan, believing she hadn’t earned such gifts, refused several times. In response, he would just offer some vague, roundabout excuses. It was only later that she understood the meaning behind his words. Lu Huai had long worried that Lu Xiu was homosexual, and now that he seemed to have finally taken an interest in women, he naturally gave her all the credit.
And that was when Liang Wan finally understood the origin of all those rumors...
Liang Wan, of course, didn’t dare to keep the gifts for herself and tried to give them to Lu Xiu. After hearing her explanation, his expression darkened. But to her utter astonishment, he then took her with him to demand something from Lu Huai—a stalk of Blood Bull Red Coral from the East Sea, half a man’s height, that Lu Huai had recently acquired.
Lu Huai frowned upon hearing the request, but in the end, he actually had it sent over to her.
Her room was now filled to the brim with all sorts of treasures. It became so crowded that she had no space left to prepare her poisons. So, Lu Xiu had a small bamboo pavilion built by the lotus pond, just for her to store her various bottles and jars.
And her life with Lu Xiu was remarkably peaceful.
Even Qiuxi, who had been constantly frowning when they first arrived, was now all smiles.
At some point, an inconspicuous silver peony began to appear as a motif on her clothes and accessories.
As night fell, she would often lean against the railing, staring blankly at the lanterns in the corridor. She wondered if the moth fluttering there tonight was the same one from the night before.
It wasn’t that this life was bad. In her past life, she would have enjoyed these days, carefree and content. But now, it all felt as fleeting as an unrealistic dream. She didn’t know when this peace and stability would shatter, and she would be forced to wake up.
The evening breeze, gentle and caressing, drifted over the railing. In recent days, the Master’s Mansion had finally grown busy.
Maids bustled in and out of a corridor not far away, preparing the newlywed chambers for the Grand Commandant and the young Lady of the Cao Family.
The wedding was set for the Double Ninth Festival. The ninth day of the ninth month was chosen for its auspicious meaning, symbolizing an everlasting union.
Tonight, no moth came to the corridor. After sitting for a while, Liang Wan rose and went to her small bamboo pavilion.
The bamboo pavilion housed a variety of flowers and plants: Yumei Ren, five-color plum, Lycoris flower, Jiazhutao, one-grade red...
Because they were all poisonous, Liang Wan forbade anyone from approaching them. Inevitably, this led to the rumor that she cherished flowers more than her own life.
She suddenly recalled the gossip Qiuxi had picked up outside and repeated to her: that the beautiful consort given to the Grand Commandant by his master was cold, rarely smiled, and was both greedy and obsessed with flowers.
The corner of Liang Wan’s mouth twitched. ’They should add one more thing to that list,’ she thought. ’Expert poison-maker!’
She tended to these plants every day, and Qiuxi and the other maids assumed she was worried about Master Lu’s health and researching folk remedies for longevity and vitality. Only Lu Xiu knew that she wasn’t making medicine to save lives, but rather insidious poisons designed to kill without a trace.
She had concocted a good number of them recently. A single drop was lethal. But precisely because they were so potent, they were also easily detected. Using one would be a desperate gamble.
"Still at it this late?"
The heat of the day still lingered. The air by the lotus pond was thick and humid, filled with the mingled fragrances of flowers and plants, as cloying as the sweet nothings whispered between lovers.
Liang Wan turned her head to see Lu Xiu approaching. His long, ink-black hair flowed behind him. With his fair complexion and crimson lips, dressed only in a thin, light-colored robe, he exuded an air of casual, cool-to-the-touch laziness.
In her past life, Lu Xiu’s grim, cold-blooded arrogance had often made people forget that he was, in fact, a man of breathtaking beauty.
A corner of his mouth lifted, and he raised an eyebrow. "I asked you a question. What’s with that look?"
’The Lu Xiu of today is so good to me,’ she thought. ’So good, it feels fake.’
’When did this change even start?’
Liang Wan had thought back on it carefully. ’It must have been the morning after our first night together. Things just kept getting better after that.’
She found it strange. ’Could it be that if two people share a bed long enough, even without doing anything, a unique tenderness begins to grow between them?’
’It seemed so.’
In the past, she could never have slept so peacefully with another person. Yet now, she could even wake up naturally in Lu Xiu’s arms.
Liang Wan smiled, locking the finished concoctions in a small drawer. "I’ve been making good progress lately, so I made some extra."
’With such a perfect opportunity and ideal conditions, I should naturally make as much as I can. Who knows when I’ll have to leave, or where I’ll end up.’
Lu Xiu’s gaze swept over her small drawer. ’That’s not enough for just one person,’ he thought. ’There’s enough in there to kill an entire battalion.’
Lu Xiu didn’t comment on it, changing the subject instead. "The Dragon Boat Festival banquet is in a few days. Do you want to go?"
’If he’s asking me so directly, Gao Qian must not be attending.’
Perhaps sensing her lack of interest, he added, "Aside from the Empress, quite a few other members of the Imperial Family will be there."
A knowing smile played on his lips.
Liang Wan’s eyes lit with understanding. ’Members of the Imperial Family...’
The Dragon Boat Festival was only two or three days away. Liang Wan nodded. "If my lord is willing to take me, then of course I would be delighted to go."
「On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival」
Princess Yuzhang was hosting a banquet. The crimson gates of the Princess Mansion were thrown open at dawn to welcome the esteemed guests.
This was the first time Liang Wan had attended such a grand occasion since Lou Xu Ru’s funeral, so she had taken great care in dressing up.
She wore her hair in a Chaoyun Jinxiang bun and had applied plum blossom makeup, which accentuated her rosy lips and skin as white as snow. Her waist was slender enough to be encircled by a single hand, and her sashes fluttered with her every graceful movement.
Before leaving, she checked her reflection again and again, quite pleased with the result.
She had never put so much thought into her appearance since coming to the Master’s Mansion; in fact, she had often dressed simply on purpose.
When Lu Xiu first saw her, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but it vanished in an instant. His expression remained impassive, and he offered not a single word of comment.
It made her wonder if, during her days of being cooped up in the mansion, she had fallen out of touch with the latest fashions.
They arrived a little late. A number of carriages were already parked by the entrance.
The moment Liang Wan steadied herself, she began scanning the crowd. She saw many familiar faces, but not the one she was looking for. ’Could he have decided not to come?’
A warmth spread across her hand as Lu Xiu leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Try not to jump into the water this time. Otherwise, I’ll have to ask them to prepare a bath for you again..."