Chapter 104: The Matter of Honor (Please Support with Votes)

Hearing those words, Lu Ying, who had been tense moments before, unexpectedly calmed down. She thought coldly to herself: Now that I am a man, Lu Wen, what honor do I have left to defend?

But she dared not say this aloud. The nobleman before her was powerful beyond measure, accustomed to getting his way. If she openly provoked him like this, a single word from him could easily undo her.

Lu Ying pondered silently, feeling the nobleman’s breath close to her ear, forcing her to exert great effort just to maintain a blank expression.

At that moment, a hesitant voice came from behind the two of them. “Excuse me, please make way.”

Lu Ying turned her head.

A pale-faced, somewhat timid-looking scholar in his twenties had appeared behind them. Clearly, he wished to cross the river from this direction but found his path blocked by the two.

This scholar’s eyes swept over the closely entwined Lu Ying and the nobleman with a flicker of disdain.

—Such unnatural inclinations are truly unacceptable.

The two stepped aside. As the scholar passed by, Lu Ying heard the nobleman’s low, undeniable murmur: “A Ying, you haven’t answered me… now that your honor is lost, what will you do?”

He seemed determined not to relent without a response.

Sensing the tension between the two, the scholar quickened his pace.

Just as he was about to withdraw, a hand suddenly grasped his arm. Then, the scholar heard a voice as clear and cold as a spring, exquisitely alluring: “Sir, what do you think of a husband who has lost his honor? What should be done?”

The scholar turned back foolishly.

Facing the two—one tall, one short, both wearing gauze hats yet commanding presence—he moved his lips but, ultimately, prudence won over mockery. After a pause, he said quietly, “Where would a husband even have such a concept of honor?”

Lu Ying had been waiting for precisely those words.

Releasing her grip on the scholar’s arm, she lowered her head, deliberately pulling away the nobleman’s iron arm, and said coldly, “Has the lord heard? Lu Wen, a proper husband, where would he have a woman’s honor… Such decisiveness, such mockery, such elegance!”

Suddenly, the nobleman chuckled softly, unable to suppress his amusement. His hand lingered affectionately on Lu Ying’s waist.

His palm was strong and warm beyond measure. The slow caress gave Lu Ying the illusion that he truly cherished her.

For a sheltered girl like Lu Ying, whose limited experience before her injury amounted to holding hands two or three times with Zeng Changzhi, suddenly clinging to such a powerful and handsome man, enduring his wandering hand on her waist, no maiden in the world could possibly keep her heart steady.

Lu Ying could not control herself either. She stiffened, the tips of her ears flushing uncontrollably. Feeling the burning gaze from behind, she lowered her eyes and suddenly spoke softly, “Sir?”

“Mm… that sounds lovely. Say it again,” came his deep, smiling voice, sending a tremor from his chest through to her spine.

Lu Ying remained expressionless and quietly said, “Sir… there is a saying: Heaven is unkind, treating all things as straw dogs. The sage is unkind, treating the people as straw dogs. Sir, you care too much for this little straw dog.”

At these words, she turned her head slowly, removing the gauze hat from her head. Smiling faintly at him, she whispered, “Be careful, sir, for it is said that the first to fall in love is the first to lose.”

The nobleman’s hand around her waist faltered.

Beneath the moonlight, the “beautiful youth” bore an expression of cold splendor that was both breathtaking and chilling. Those eyes, sharply defined in black and white, like autumn waves and endless skies, held a smile tinged with coldness as they gazed at her—a look both warning and cautionary.

The nobleman lowered his head. So close, their breaths mingled, bodies leaning into one another, warmth blending. Beneath his heavy veil, his eyes gradually darkened.

After a long while, he gave a low chuckle and released his hold on Lu Ying’s waist.

He had finally let go.

She was free.

Lu Ying exhaled deeply just as the nobleman’s deep, gentle voice asked, “A Ying, when dressed as a boy, if your honor is lost, it’s lost. But only when you return to being a maiden do you care?”

“Of course.” She answered frankly, “Honor is meant for others to see. As a maiden, I guard against gossip, so I care. Now that I am a boy, I need not concern myself with such things.”

Her words were daring to the extreme, truly unorthodox and rebellious.

The nobleman finally understood what drew him to Lu Ying. She was unlike any maiden in the world—poor or rich, from the heart of power or otherwise—none would be like her.

So indifferent, so arrogantly indifferent.

This Lu Ying was like him.

Smiling, as Lu Ying calmly withdrew her hand from his palm, he reached out with his right hand and grasped hers again.

Their fingers entwined. His voice was low and tender. “A Ying, do you think I care deeply?”

Lu Ying knew what he meant and nodded lightly. “Yes. Sir seems unconcerned with everything, but in truth, he’s used to controlling every detail… A Ying is too unruly; it’s natural for you to have reservations.” She was essentially saying that she was born restless, not easily controlled. People like her were both a curse and a trouble to someone like him. And someone of his stature disliked having such trouble near.

The nobleman smiled softly and sighed, “Actually, I’ve found the world rather dull lately.”

His words hung in the air as he slowly turned to look at her, his hand reaching for her tied hair and gently tugging.

With her ebony hair cascading down, the nobleman removed his own veil. His eyes, half-smiling, were clearly visible in the firelight and beneath the moon.

Lu Ying suddenly shivered—a true shiver. Her palms instantly grew cold.

In truth, Lu Ying had always known that for this nobleman, if he truly wanted her, all her defenses and attacks were futile.

The chasm between their ranks and identities rendered her resistance insignificant.

At that moment, fear gripped her. She wondered if his remark about finding the world dull meant he intended to make his move on her.

He was just toying, acting on whim, and could easily decide her fate.

No—that must never happen! Lu Ying could not allow herself to be at the mercy of others' whims!

With this thought, she lifted her head.

Under the moonlight, she smiled at him brightly. Then, taking the veil from his hand, she stood on tiptoe and put it back on her head. Lu Ying said coldly, “Sir, let’s make a bet.”

After adjusting the veil, she calmly began to tidy her hair, speaking with a clear chill: “We’ll set two years. In those two years, you grant me freedom, and make no sign to the world that I belong to you, letting me live as freely as now. Then, you let me willingly care for you, until I am like any other maiden by your side—willingly regarding you as heaven, never abandoning you in life or death, never regretting.”

By now, her gauze veil was back in place. Beneath it, her indistinct features held a coldness and a pride the nobleman had never seen before.

She turned to face him, extending a pale, slender finger to gently stroke his Adam’s apple, then the golden sheen of his garment. Her movements were intimate, yet her words carried cold confidence.

“If so, then I lose. But if in two years, without using your power and status, you cannot win over this little woman, then you lose. I will have lost, and with me, my entire life. If you lose, then give my brother Yun a future.”

She curled her lips, her eyes beneath the veil sultry, her clear voice lowered and slightly hoarse, teasing: “Sir, what do you think of this wager?”

The nobleman looked down at her with keen interest.

From the moment Lu Ying placed the veil on her head, he had been delightfully observing every move she made.

This little maiden’s seductive gestures were raw yet worldly, clearly learned from the flower streets of Hanyang, and this was her first time using them.

Though the seduction was simple and shallow, the nobleman found it utterly fascinating. Such worldly allure displayed on this cold, serious, ascetic “beautiful youth” was irresistibly enchanting. At least, it made him joyful and excited.

Lowering his head, staring at the girl close enough to touch, who now met his gaze with calm instead of stiffness, he could not help but laugh: “No good! If you lose the bet, you and your brother gain status and power through me. If you win, you still gain status and power through me. This wager is quite dull.”

He lowered his head further, pressing his forehead to hers, murmuring softly: “If you say I am such, and you still do not lose your honor… then how about tonight, we sit together by the flowing lake and talk?”

He clearly still cared about this matter of honor.

As his breath brushed her face, and their foreheads touched—

At last, the nobleman saw Lu Ying’s expression flicker, her body trembling slightly against his chest!

It had been no easy feat.

He had never met a maiden so thick-skinned, so skilled at masking her emotions and controlling herself.

As Lu Ying trembled, the nobleman chuckled deeply.

Suppressing her vexation and shame, Lu Ying’s calm voice came: “What exactly do you want, sir?”

Suddenly, clarity came to her. The initiative between them had never been hers. The key was what he wanted to do with her.

Would he take her to his chamber then and there? Or continue this cat-and-mouse game?

Growing impatient, the nobleman lowered his head and brushed his lips lightly, almost imperceptibly, against her left cheek.

At that soft touch, Lu Ying’s knees weakened, and she slid to the ground, unable to hold herself up.

The nobleman stretched out his hands and gently lifted her.

He smiled softly and said, “I don’t want anything… Tonight, by this flowing lake, the floating wine cups are merely a pretext to invite you to enjoy the evening with me.”

With that, he gently smoothed her clothes, released her hand, and then took her hand in his as they walked toward the opposite shore.