Chapter 87: Lure

It was already late in the day when Lu Chengxiao and others returned to the Liu’s house. Wei Shi intended to prepare dinner, but Chen Shi was worried about traveling at night and they hadn’t informed their family at home, so they agreed to visit again next time.

Before leaving, the Liu family escorted them to the outer courtyard. Naturally, Liu Yu was also there. After Lu Chengxiao had obtained Liu Yu’s tacit approval for his proposal during his return from Zhejiang, he felt even more reluctant to part with her. Even though he knew he would see her tomorrow, he still felt unwilling to be separated at this moment.

Feeling even closer to Liu Yu in his heart, despite knowing he would be teased on the way back, he ignored even the intentional or unintentional glances from his mother and stood beside Liu Yu, whispering about the arrangements for their trip to Yuanzhou.

Thinking about traveling by water, he suddenly realized a problem and asked Liu Yu, “Are you okay going by boat?”

Liu Yu wasn’t sure and shook her head, saying, “I’ve never been on one, but it should be fine. Even if I get seasick, I can overcome it.”

She wasn’t that delicate, thinking it wasn’t a big deal.

However, Lu Chengxiao hesitated. After thinking about it, he suggested taking a carriage instead, but Liu Yu refused, “I’m not that fragile. Just stick to your original plan.”

With that settled, they agreed that the next morning Lu Chengxiao would come by boat from the county and pick up the three siblings at the pier in Xifeng Town.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

~

Gp pssd yp Ubld Fbk yde Nw Ubldtmkys zlqv Zydtpbyd Akzzytl, xydu rlsrzl yaakhle yv vbl Nkw qyxkzu, okvb y pkxrzl iwlpvksd ycswv oblvbla Nkw Zydrkdt pvkzz ynnlrv nzsvb.

Nkw Zydrkdt byed’v lmrlnvle Nw Ubldtmkys’p hkpkvp vs plhlayz olyhkdt bswplbszep vs byhl pwnb yd lqqlnv. Tl oyp iwkvl rzlyple cwv alyzkgle bl nswzed’v yqqsae vbyv xwnb nzsvb okvb bkp xlydp. Tsolhla, bl jdlo vbyv vblpl hkzzytlap obs oydvle vs plzz nzsvb vs bkx olal bkp alpswanlp yde olyzvb. Mblalqsal, bl valyvle vblx rszkvlzu, pyukdt vbyv kq vblu dllele nzsvb dlmv vkxl, sa kq vbl Nw qyxkzu dllele nzsvb, yp zsdt yp vbl iwyzkvu yde iwydvkvu olal twyaydvlle, vblu oswze cl tkhld raksakvu shla svbla hkzzytlp.

Tl yzps bye yd kely. Xd vbkp vakr cynj qasx Zwydgbsw, bl oswze kdiwkal oblvbla Nw Ubldtmkys oswze cwu bktb-iwyzkvu nzsvb qasx vbl hkzzytl. Bdzkjl bkx, Nw Ubldtmkys cswtbv nzsvb qsa nypb, yde kv oyp xsal rasqkvyczl lhld kq bl aykple vbl raknl cu fwpv vld sa vbkavu nsrrla nskdp rla cszv nsxryale vs cwukdt qasx vbl olyhkdt osajpbsr. Ekvb Nw Ubldtmkys ralryakdt vs rwanbypl yaswde vos bwdeale vylzp sq nzsvb, aswtbzu pkm vs plhld bwdeale cszvp, dsv vs xldvksd vbl xlekwx-iwyzkvu sdlp, lhld vbl bktb-iwyzkvu sdlp nswze cl plzlnvle qasx svbla hkzzytlp vs xllv vbl iwydvkvu.

Gqvla pllkdt sqq vbl hkzzytlap, Elk Fbk ralryale ekddla, yde vbl vball pkczkdtp rynjle vblka clzsdtkdtp yde vskzlvaklp qsa vbl vakr vs Zwydgbsw shla vbl rypv qlo eyup.

Oyazu vbl dlmv xsadkdt, yp pssd yp kv eyodle, vbl vball pkczkdtp bye qkdkpble vblka xlyz yde blyele vs Dkqldt Msod. Mblu eked’v bkal ydu xwzlp qsa vbl pbsav fswadlu; vbl cwdezlp olal nyaakle cu vbl vos casvblap yp vblu oyzjle vs vbl rkla kd Dkqldt Msod.

Ebld vblu yaakhle, Nw Ubldtmkys, obs bye yzalyeu vyjld y pxyzz csyv qasx vbl nswdvu vs vbl rkla, oyp oykvkdt. Gp pssd yp bl prsvvle Nkw Zw yde vbl svblap qasx yqya, bl bwaakle shla vs tallv vblx.

Mbl csyv oyp xssale cu vbl rkla, yde Jycys oyp yzalyeu sd csyae. Nkw Zydyd fwxrle sdvs vbl csyv qkapv, yde Nw Ubldtmkys oydvle vs oyad Nkw Zw vs cl nyalqwz, cwv Nkw Zydyd’p byde oyp yzalyeu swvpvalvnble: “Zw’la, zlv Jkt Jasvbla blzr usw.”

Lu Chengxiao watched anxiously, mindful of propriety between men and women, so he could only watch.

Liu Yanping found it amusing and followed onto the boat.

The boatman and his wife on the boat were a couple in their thirties. Seeing that the passengers they were picking up today were all in good spirits, they were quite polite and exchanged a few words.

Lu Chengxiao led the group into the cabin, where the table was already set with plenty of food and water, not to mention various pastries from Wu Zhi Zhai and various types of plum cakes to prevent seasickness.

Looking at Liu Yu, Lu Chengxiao smiled, “I bought these yesterday when I returned to town. I didn’t know what you liked, so I bought a variety.”

Even Liu Yanping couldn’t help but admire his thoughtfulness.

With everyone on board, the boatwoman cast off the rope, the boatman pushed off with his pole, and the small boat steadily left the shore.

Lu Chengxiao was filled with joy along the way, chatting with Liu Yanping and Liu Yanan. Liu Yu smiled as she listened, making him feel as if he were on cloud nine.

Boats like this were not uncommon in the south, often manned by husband and wife teams, with the boatwoman having excellent cooking skills.

There were self-prepared snacks and pastries in the morning, boat-cooked meals for lunch, and they would find an inn for dinner in the evening.

Liu Yu embarked on her first true journey, feeling a bit excited, especially since she didn’t have to worry about safety issues.

When they stayed overnight at an inn, just like the Li siblings before, they requested adjoining suites for safety. Liu Yu stayed in the inner room, while Liu Yanping and Liu Yanan stayed in the outer room, with Lu Chengxiao and his servant staying in the next room.

The boat owners, a husband and wife, didn’t disembark and stayed on the boat overnight.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, while Lu Chengxiao and the others were still having breakfast, Babao had already packed everything the young master had instructed for their day on the boat.

Naturally, most of it was the kind of food Liu Yu preferred.

Liu Yanan felt relieved, while Liu Yanping, who was twenty this year and hadn’t thought about marriage yet, learned how to treat her future sister-in-law from Lu Chengxiao, her future brother-in-law, in advance.

The journey by boat was indeed fast, and by the evening of the second day, they had arrived in Yuanzhou City. Lu Chengxiao and Babao were quite familiar with Yuanzhou City. After entering the city gate, they headed straight for the best inn in the city.

Instead of requesting separate suites, they opted for a secluded small courtyard with a main hall, a flower hall, four guest rooms, and a small garden attached. When the courtyard gate was closed, it became a small sanctuary, free from any disturbances. It was much quieter than the previous suites.

Of the four guest rooms, one was for the Liu brothers, one for Liu Yu, and one for Lu Chengxiao and his servant.

Dinner was served in the courtyard. Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping ordered the dishes, which were brought in by the waiter. After dinner, Babao went to deliver a letter to the Li family for Li Zhongjue, and Lu Chengxiao planned to visit the Li family early the next morning.

When one arrived in Yuanzhou City, it was customary to pay a visit to the Li family. Another reason was a prior agreement between Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping during their journey.

Li Zhongjue was involved in the silk business. Every year, he purchased silk from Suzhou, dyed it in Yuanzhou, and sold it in Hongdu Prefecture. Therefore, the Li family had familiar dyeing workshops. Since Li Cunyi was currently not in Yuanzhou, Lu Chengxiao planned to accompany Li Zhongjue’s visit to find a reliable dyeing workshop, which would not only ensure quality but also offer better prices.

~

After two days of sailing, the young men were still fine, but Liu Yu was a bit tired. Liu Yanping asked the waiter to bring some water for her to freshen up before she could rest properly.

At the Li family’s residence, Li Zhongjue, whom Lu Chengxiao wanted to find, was still at the dyeing workshop studying dyes with the familiar dyers and hadn’t returned home yet. Babao encountered Li’s wife, Mrs. Qian, and the hastily arrived Li Yunbi.

Mrs. Qian seemed fine, but Li Yunbi looked almost emaciated.

Babao didn’t dare to stare too much, so he relayed the message that his young master would visit tomorrow. Mrs. Qian asked a few questions, including about Lu Chengxiao’s marriage.

It turned out that when Li Zhongjue returned home last time, he mentioned to the family that Lu Chengxiao was already discussing marriage. So now, seeing Babao, Mrs. Qian naturally asked a few more questions, including about the background of the girl.

Babao carefully answered them one by one, and when he wanted to find Li Zhongjue, he learned that he hadn’t returned from the dyeing workshop yet.

Seeing that Babao seemed to have something on his mind, Mrs. Qian said, “Go to Zhongjue’s courtyard and find Liu Liang, and tell him to pass on a message. Zhongjue hasn’t been coming home before midnight these days.”

Babao thanked her and bid her farewell, then went to the Li family’s outer courtyard to find Li Zhongjue’s servant Liu Liang. He asked him to relay a message to Li Zhongjue, saying that his young master would visit tomorrow and asked him to wait at home.

Liu Liang agreed, and then Babao left.

Back at the inn, Lu Chengxiao asked Babao about his visit to the Li family. Babao recounted everything, and when he mentioned that Li Zhongjue was still at the dyeing workshop, Lu Chengxiao smiled and told Babao to freshen up and rest. He said, “Tomorrow morning, prepare some gifts with me. We’ll pay a visit to the Li family.”

Babao agreed, wanting to mention that Li Yunbi seemed unusually thin, but considering the lack of familiarity between their young master and the Li family girl, he thought it wasn’t appropriate and decided against it.

~

In the Li residence, Li Yunbi had been lost in thought since Babao left.

Lu Chengxiao had arrived in Yuanzhou City and would visit tomorrow.

Thinking about what she had heard earlier, Lu Chengxiao and the girl from the Liu family weren’t engaged yet, but judging from Babao’s demeanor, it seemed imminent.

Li Yunbi paced back and forth in the room, feeling as if her heart was being tormented.

Ever since returning from Anyi County, she had been trapped in this torment.

Her personal maid, Cui’er, bit her lip. “Miss, are you really going to watch Mr. Lu marry that girl from the Liu family?”

Li Yunbi gripped her clothes over her heart, her eyes red as she looked at Cui’er, who had been with her since childhood. “What else can I do? He has shown kindness to our family. It’s not like our family has done anything for him. Can we force him to marry me?”

Cui’er, kneeling in front of Li Yunbi, looked up at her. “But what if we could force him? Would you want that, Miss?”

Li Yunbi trembled all over, her lifeless eyes flickering slightly as she looked down at Cui’er. “What… what are you saying?”

“Cui’er says, there’s always a way if you want it, Miss.”

“If Miss wants it, Cui’er will help you.”

The words that came from the maid’s lips, like the temptations of a devil, echoed incessantly in Li Yunbi’s ears.

She hadn’t spoken for a long time, and Cui’er hadn’t moved either, just staring at her.

Finally, Li Yunbi’s eyelashes trembled lightly, and so did her voice.

“What can you do to help me?”

Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк　чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)

You can also check out my other translations Here