That day, while riding and hunting in the outskirts of the capital, he forgot to bring water. On his way back to the city, he passed by Madam Wei’s Hundred Fruits Banquet and stopped by to ask for a drink of water.
Unexpectedly, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a young lady at the banquet and invited her for tea, but she pretended to be aloof and turned away to leave.
At the time, he was somewhat annoyed, but soon after, he put the young lady out of his mind.
He was busy with many matters, and a mere beauty wasn’t worth his attention.
If he wanted a beauty, countless stunning young ladies would throw themselves at him.
Chen San never actively pursued young ladies—this was well-known throughout Shangjing City.
The carriage stopped in front of Su Wan. Through the lifted curtain, Su Wan could clearly see the face of the young master inside.
His facial contours were very similar to Chen Qiansheng’s, but his features were sharper, with a hint of sharpness hidden between his brows, and his eyes were cold and profound.
A faint trace of impatience was evident on his face.
“Don’t you like drinking tea?”
Huh? The abrupt question caught Su Wan off guard, but she quickly realized that Chen San was displeased with her rejection that day.
But how was Su Wan supposed to answer? If she acknowledged what happened that day, wouldn’t it prove that she was fishing for attention, playing hard to get?
She could only play dumb: “Young master, do you know me?”
Inside the carriage, Chen Luosheng’s gaze was sharp as he scrutinized the young lady for a long time before letting out a cold sneer: “You’d better truly not know me, and you’d better truly not like drinking tea.”
The carriage curtain was abruptly released from his hand, snapping shut quickly.
The carriage sped away from the Chen residence.
Only Su Wan remained standing there in a daze, so angry she nearly cried!
How infuriating.
She had actually been ignored—or looked down upon—by this guy!
Lu Jiayu poked her head out and asked, “Was someone just talking to you? Who was it?”
Su Wan forced a smile: “I don’t know them. Probably someone from the Lu Mansion.”
She entered the carriage with a pale face.
Even after arriving at Xiling River, her mood hadn’t recovered.
Why did Chen San treat her like that? Was she not beautiful enough?
No.
The fact that Chen San had actively lifted the curtain to speak to her just now was enough proof that her beauty had left a deep impression on him. He remembered her beauty and was still captivated by it, which was why a young master like him was willing to stop for her.
But she had overestimated her own beauty.
She had forgotten the most important point.
She was no longer a celebrity, without the aura of stardom. Now, she was just an unknown and lowly concubine-born daughter, yet she was still putting on the airs of a former superstar to play the game of attracting men. Of course, it backfired.
For young masters like Chen San, who stood high above others, their time was precious. They had seen too many beauties and obtained things too easily.
They mingled among powdered faces and various court factions—what kind of schemes and intrigues hadn’t they encountered?
That day’s stunning glance at Madam Wei’s banquet was likely seen by him as deliberate, and today, her sudden appearance in front of the Chen residence was also taken as a calculated approach.
Although it was indeed her long-planned move, she didn’t want Chen San to label her as scheming, power-hungry, or a gold-digging young lady.
What had the entertainment industry taught her was most important?
Innocence? No.
It was persona.
Persona was everything.I remember the first rule of debuting in the entertainment industry is to establish your own persona and then market it.
All successful personas are one part truth, seven parts fabrication, and the remaining two parts a mix of both.
Su Wan gradually calmed down and began analyzing the persona she should currently cultivate.
She came from a humble background—the illegitimate daughter of a minor fifth-rank local official. Her perspective and knowledge were certainly inferior to those of other noble ladies. Therefore, in front of someone like Chen San, she needed to appropriately display her timidity and unease.
Why did she come to Upper Capital?
It was to bear a child for her sister, forced by her family to climb into her brother-in-law’s bed.
Such a tragic background and helpless life were sure to evoke sympathy from men, but she couldn’t directly tell a man about it. She needed to hint at it subtly, letting clever men uncover it themselves.
Given her circumstances, the persona she needed to create was nothing more than that of a delicate, pitiable little white flower. This persona suited her best and was also the safest.
No matter how Chen San investigated, he would find no flaws because everything he could uncover was real.
In addition, she needed a bit of fame. With an aura of prestige, she wouldn’t be easily looked down upon.
In this era, the quickest and safest way to gain fame was to follow the path of a talented woman.
The place she lived in had taken a different path since the Song Dynasty. After the fall of the Song, the rising power was Daliang.
Thus, she could plagiarize famous lines from literati and poets after the Song Dynasty to pave her way to fame.
Su Wan gazed at the kite soaring in the sky, riding the wind and waves, gliding freely.
She, too, wanted to borrow an east wind to lift herself up.
The only person she could rely on now, the east wind that could help her publish a poetry collection, was Lu Guizhou.
The weather was clear and pleasant. Lu Jiayu had already gone wild at the Xiling River, chasing the kite everywhere.
Meanwhile, Su Wan, holding the kite string, subtly made her way to Lu Guizhou’s side without drawing attention.
“Brother-in-law.”
Su Wan handed the kite string to him. “The string is cutting into my hand. Could you help me fly it for a while?”
Lu Guizhou noticed her reddened palm and felt a pang of sympathy. “You’re too delicate. The slightest touch leaves a mark on you.”
“Does brother-in-law dislike me for it?”
Su Wan’s eyes reddened.
“No, I’m just worried about you.” Lu Guizhou couldn’t bear to see her cry and told her to go sit and rest on the lawn.
Su Wan deliberately sighed and complained loudly enough for him to hear.
“My hand will surely swell tonight. If only I had some Safflower Oil to massage it with.”
Lu Guizhou heard this and took it to heart.
After flying the kite and returning to Lu Mansion, he retrieved Safflower Oil from the storeroom. After dinner, he personally delivered it to Xiangfei Courtyard.
All the courtyards were lit, but the light was somewhat dim.
Lu Guizhou entered Xiangfei Courtyard, and for a moment, no one noticed him, which left him quite displeased.
How could there not even be a maid guarding the gate in his sister-in-law’s courtyard? This was far too unsafe.
Ultimately, it was because Lin Niang didn’t care enough about her sister-in-law.
He decided that after delivering the Safflower Oil, he would go to his mother and ask her to specially assign two obedient maids to serve in Xiangfei Courtyard.
Just then, a startled cry came from inside the room.
Lu Guizhou recognized it as the voice of the maid Jin Tao.
Jin Tao’s reaction was somewhat exaggerated: “Wow, Miss, you’re inspired to write poetry again! Although I can’t read, I can tell just by looking that this must be an absolutely marvelous poem.”Su Wan leaned over the desk, brush in hand, composing poetry.
She glanced back at Jin Tao with a glare, then subtly signaled Can Yan with her eyes.
Can Yan immediately understood her meaning and declared loudly, “Our young lady was raised in Old Madam’s quarters since childhood and was educated according to the standards of a legitimate daughter. She excels in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and has been writing poetry since the age of nine. However, every time she wrote a poem, she was mocked by the Eldest Young Lady, so she could only write in secret. Over the years, the poems she has written have accumulated into a whole volume.”
“I, as a servant, only recently arrived in the Upper Capital. I heard the Lu Family’s Third Young Lady mention someone like the Talented Lady Han, so I deliberately bought her poetry collection. I found that her poems are nowhere near as good as yours, young lady.”
Seizing the perfect moment, Su Wan finally spoke up, “Don’t talk nonsense. I am merely the daughter of a minor fifth-rank local official, how could I compare myself to Miss Han? My elder sister is right—I have lofty ambitions but a fate as thin as paper. The best path for me in this lifetime is to marry some impoverished scholar. What does being a talented lady have to do with me?”
As she spoke, she began to cry.
Jin Tao finally seized the opportunity to shine and immediately exclaimed, “Young lady, please don’t cry. I’ll go fetch a basin of water for you to wash your face.”
The door was pulled open by Jin Tao, and as expected, Lu Guizhou’s face appeared in the sight of the three of them.