Smiling More Beautifully Than Blossoms
“Lu Lingshuang, you have quite the nerve.”
Lingshuang had clearly not expected Lu Ronghuai to appear so suddenly. She froze, stammering, “I… Third Imperial Sister-in-law simply lost his footing and slipped… I was kindly trying to help him.”
“Is that so?”
Lu Ronghuai pulled Chu Yuan onto the bank. He glanced at the sharp stone pillar ahead and gave a cold laugh. “Why don’t you fall once as well? this Prince will kindly help you.”
Lu Lingshuang’s face flushed red with anger. “If you won’t accept my goodwill, fine! And you even accuse me? Truly, good intentions treated like donkey’s liver and lungs!”
The chill in Lu Ronghuai’s eyes deepened. He instructed Xian Feng, “Fetch a stone the size of a fist.”
At those words, Lingshuang’s complexion instantly changed.
Before Xian Feng returned, she hurriedly said, “Since Third Brother is here, let him teach Third Sister-in-law himself. I will take my leave.”
“Did this Prince permit you to leave?”
Lu Ronghuai narrowed his eyes, a smile that was not quite a smile touching his lips.
“You—!” Ling Shuang choked in anger.
Xian Feng soon returned and handed the stone over.
Lu Ronghuai lifted his chin slightly. “Take two steps forward.”
Ling Shuang’s face turned pale in an instant. She stood upon the ice, twisting her sleeves, unwilling to move even half a step.
“This Prince’s temper is poor and do not like to repeat myself,” Lu Ronghuai said lightly, weighing the stone in his hand. The curve of his lips was faint, yet frost seemed to descend within his gaze.
Lu Lingshuang shuddered.
She looked desperately toward the palace maids and eunuchs by the shore, but none dared to move.
Closing her eyes in despair, she edged forward, step by slow step.
Lu Ronghuai gave a light laugh. He raised the stone and let it fall with a light motion.
With a dull thud, it struck the ice.
The next moment, the surface cracked open. Lu Lingshuang plunged straight into the freezing water.
“Help! Save me!” she screamed, arms flailing wildly.
The servants along the bank made to rush forward, but one sweep of Lu Ronghuai’s gaze froze them in place.
Lu Ronghuai stood watching the spectacle for quite a while. When Lingshuang’s struggling weakened and she began to sink, he stepped back two paces and said mildly with a beaming smile, “Fish her out. The Princess must have drunk her fill.”
A trace of amusement flickered through Chu Yuan’s eyes.
In the instant Lu Ronghuai lowered his head, he did not miss the fleeting smile at the corner of those lips.
Tsk.
A grown man, smiling more beautifully than blossoms.
Seeing Lu Ronghuai looking at him, Chu Yuan pressed his lips together and said softly, “Many thanks, Your… Your Highness.”
He knew that had Lu Ronghuai not seized him, even if he had managed to protect his face, he would still have fallen into the icy water.
When he heard Lu Ronghuai request a stone earlier, suspicion had already formed in his heart.
He had quietly observed the ice and, as expected, noticed marks where it had been deliberately weakened in advance.
Lu Ling Shuang was hauled from the water.
She trembled violently, hair in disarray, and her eyes are unfocused.
Lu Ronghuai walked toward her.
Ling Shuang shrank back in fear, hiding behind a palace maid.
“Being foolish is not fatal. The danger lies in being both foolish and malicious. Ling Shuang, would you not agree?”
She bit her lip and turned her face away, refusing to look at him.
Lu Ronghuai had not expected her to understand. He took out a clean handkerchief and methodically wiped his fingers, not missing a single corner.
“Let’s go.”
He departed with his retinue.
Only after he had gone did Ling Shuang collapse into tears.
“Lu Ronghuai, you bastard! I will kill you!”
Because of this farce, Lu Ronghuai did not return to Fengqi Palace at all. Without so much as offering greetings, he left the palace and returned directly to the residence.
The efficiency of the Prince’s estate was swift. Once the imperial decree conferring his title arrived, the plaque above the Third Prince’s Residence was immediately replaced with the characters “Prince Li Residence.”
Seeing the carriage arrive, Mao Shu limped forward. After offering congratulations, he said, “Your Highness, Young Lord Ning arrived half a shichen ago and is waiting in the side hall.”
“Understood.”
Lu Ronghuai leapt down from the carriage and instructed Xian Feng, “Escort the Consort back to Baochun Courtyard.”
After taking two steps, he paused and looked back at Chu Yuan. “On second thought, come with this Prince.”
Chu Yuan blinked. “?”
Mao Shu hesitated. “Your Highness, this…”
“Come.”
Lu Ronghuai led Chu Yuan toward the side hall.
Within, Ning Yuqiang sat upon a cushioned couch, patiently brewing tea. His movements were practiced and elegant. Soon, refined fragrance filled the room.
Footsteps sounded outside, steady and unhurried.
Ning Yuqiang lowered his head to rinse the teacups, a faint smile touching his lips.
Lu Ronghuai entered.
“I have just finished brewing tea and Cousin has returned. Cousin’s nose is truly—”
He lifted his gaze mid-sentence, only to stop short when he saw Chu Yuan.
“This is your cousin-in-law,” Lu Ronghuai said. He then turned to Chu Yuan. “He is Ning Yuqiang, heir of the Xuan Ning Marquisate. From now on, he is also your younger cousin.”
After a brief moment of distraction, Ning Yuqiang rose and resumed his smile. “Yuqiang greets Sister-in-law. Yuqiang was unable to attend your wedding. Seeing you today, Sister-in-law’s bearing is unmatched.”
Dressed in the refinement of a noble household, he carried himself with cultivated grace.
Chu Yuan inclined his head. “Younger cousin is too kind.”
“What tea have you brewed?” Lu Ronghuai asked.
“Banshan Red,” Ning Yuqiang replied gently. “Your favorite.”
Ning Yuqiang walked over, his wide sleeves flowing lightly. He poured the tea with fluid elegance and set the cup before Lu Ronghuai. “Brewed with fresh snow water. Cousin, taste and see how it is.”
He pushed the teacup in front of Lu Ronghuai, his eyes bright and hopeful.
Lu Ronghuai instead looked toward Chu Yuan.
“Come taste it.”
He moved the cup aside and indicated the seat beside him.
A fleeting shadow crossed Ning Yuqiang’s eyes.
He turned with a warm smile. “Yuqiang’s skills are modest. Cousin-in-law must not mind.”
Chu Yuan stepped forward and tasted the tea carefully. “Mellow with a faint bitterness upon entry, a lingering sweetness thereafter. It leaves the lips and teeth fragrant. Cousin’s brewing is excellent.”
His voice was soft yet clear, courteous without excess.
Ning Yuqiang appeared somewhat bashful from the praise.
Lu Ronghuai listened. The sound of that voice was like snowmelt, cool yet not severe, refreshing in measured degree.
He poured himself a cup, blew upon it briefly, and drank half in one swallow.
“Still acceptable,” he said.
He weighed the comparison in silence.
The voice was more pleasing than the tea.
Chu Yuan glanced at him inwardly with a faint shake of the head.
Ning Yuqiang had clearly brewed the tea for him, yet Lu Ronghuai offered not a single word of praise. Ning Yuqiang could barely maintain the smile on his face.
“Did Cousin see Aunt in the palace today?” Ning Yuqiang asked gently.
Ning Yuqiang sat down in a chair below, his eyes looking at Lu Ronghuai with concern.
Lu Ronghuai’s brows furrowed slightly, then quickly relaxed, his entire manner casual. “No. I forgot.”
Ning Yuqiang looked at him reproachfully, but his words are spoken with familiar intimacy. “She is your mother, after all. On such an occasion as your marriage, she would surely be glad.”
Lu Ronghuai tapped two fingers against the table and changed the subject without hesitation. “What brought you to see this Prince today?”
“Have you forgotten?” Ning Yuqiang sighed softly. “Today is your birthday.”
“This Prince do not celebrate birthdays. If that is the reason, you may leave.”
There was no room for negotiation in his tone.
Chu Yuan sat to the side quietly listening. His long lashes half-lowered and his expression serene. He appeared to be listening to their conversation, but his thoughts had actually long since drifted.
Still clad in formal robes heavy at the waist, he had maintained upright posture for most of the day. His back ached faintly.
Suddenly, the surroundings became unusually quiet.
He looked up to find both men watching him.
For some reason, Ning Yuqiang’s complexion looked rather poor. Ning Yuqiang forced a smile. “Then it is settled. Cousin-in-law, three days hence is my capping ceremony. Please remember to come.”
He rose and bowed. “Yuqiang takes his leave.”
Capping ceremony?
Chu Yuan was startled. Was he permitted to attend?
He turned instinctively toward Lu Ronghuai.
Lu Ronghuai’s gaze rested upon him, dark eyes deep and mysterious as the night, carrying an inscrutable air. When he quietly observed you, it seemed as if he wanted to see into your heart.
“How old is the Prince Consort now?”
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Chu Yuan: You tell me first your age first.
Lu Ronghuai: Very big.
Chu Yuan: ?
IsitRo:
Very Big Explanation
This exchange plays on a deliberate ambiguity in Chinese.
楚沅：你先说你多大。
陆容淮：很大。
“多大” (duō dà) is commonly used to ask someone’s age but literally means “how big.”
“很大” (hěn dà) means “very big.”
Lu Ronghuai deliberately responds to the age question with “很大,” which can be interpreted in two ways. It can mean “very old,” answering the question properly, or “very big,” creating a suggestive double meaning. The humor lies in this intentional ambiguity, which explains Chu Yuan’s confused or scandalized reaction.
Běn wáng usage (This Prince):
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