Chapter 6: 005 The Beginning of Fate

Tangxin Pavilion, second-floor private seating area.

Behind a folding screen, one could vaguely see a young man in white drinking tea, while a tall, handsome man in black stood guard outside the screen. There was no shortage of gossip in the second-floor seating area, all of it concerning the recent major events in Fengcheng.

The love triangle involving Yun Buhui, Lou Yanran, and Cheng Youtian had been spun into something incredibly mysterious by the public.

Yun Buhui, who had originally been painted in a scandalous light, had suddenly transformed into a victim. The common folk sympathized with her plight, while Lou Yanran, long known as the most talented woman in Fengcheng, found her reputation tarnished and was mired in infamy because of this affair.

Fengcheng was the second-largest city in the Southern Kingdom. The Jingliu Canal ran through the northeast of the Jiangnan region, bringing economic prosperity and a dense population, second only to the capital. Fengcheng was a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, home to the most romantic scandals, providing storytellers with an endless supply of anecdotes. The Cheng and Lou families—the former being the most powerful royal clan in Fengcheng, and the latter the wealthiest merchants—were under constant scrutiny. Naturally, people took great delight in discussing such a massive scandal involving these two families.

"Master, did you hear what they were saying?" the man in black asked, his voice tinged with a hint of amusement.

A gentle, warm voice drifted from behind the screen, like a hot spring or a willow leaf brushing across the surface of a lake in March, soft and clear. "I heard."

The man in black laughed and said, "These people are truly amusing. Just a while ago, they were cursing the Lou family’s cousin to high heaven, and in just a few days, they’ve turned their horses around. It’s quite interesting. If you were to sit in this teahouse for a day, you’d hear even more amusing tales."

Teahouses were the easiest places for rumors to spread.

The gentle voice replied faintly, "Yun Buhui, she is truly interesting."

"Master, do you mean to say that the subsequent news was spread by Yun Buhui herself?" the man in black asked in surprise, unable to believe it. "She is a sheltered young lady; what ability could she possibly have to make the whole city know of it?"

The man in white smiled slightly, his voice as clean as the blue sky and white clouds. "That is why I say, she is very interesting."

Yun Buhui lived a secluded life, occasionally painting or admiring the plum blossoms, living her days in great leisure.

The people of the Lou family did not treat her well. Before her father died in battle, the Yun family had also been a prominent household, and she had played closely with her cousins from the Lou family. After her parents passed away one after another, she was taken into the Lou household by Lou Zhentian, living under someone else's roof ever since.

The First Madam and Second Madam did not like her, fearing she would bring misfortune to the Lou family. Originally, her relationship with her cousins had been quite good, but under the instigation of the two aunts, several of her cousins had gradually distanced themselves from her, with the exception of the Third Madam and her fourth cousin, Lou Yaoguang.