Chapter 4

I pulled myself out of my memories and spoke softly. “Saving Master Lu was a simple act of kindness. I didn’t know who he was then. I thought only that I was doing a good deed. He needn’t dwell on it.”

Mother, who stood beside us, visibly relaxed. She had feared a man might drive a wedge between her daughters. Pressing a hand to her chest, she said,

“Our Ah Yu has always had a kind heart. When she was little, if the rain flooded an ants’ nest, she’d crouch beneath the eaves and clear away the fallen leaves for them. Master Lu, let us put this behind us. There’s no need to mention it again.”

Lu Jin kept his eyes lowered for a long time before finally looking up.

“I dare not forget a debt of life. I have nothing adequate to offer, only a thousand taels of gold as a token of my gratitude. I hope Second Miss Xie won’t consider it too little.”

I smiled. “Of course not. Thank you, Master Lu. In fact, I’ve made quite a profit. The physician and the medicine didn’t cost very much.”

A faint blush colored my sister’s cheeks. She stole a glance at Lu Jin, then quickly lowered her head.

Mother noticed and smilingly urged them to visit the temple fair.

They had only gone a few steps when I called out, “Wait, Master Lu.”

He turned, his gaze settling on my face. “What is it, Second Miss?”

My sister paused. She looked at me, then at Lu Jin, hesitating.

“Ah Yu, do you want to come too? But…”

She trailed off, as though waiting for him to answer.

I shook my head, my smile fading a little. “I’m not going. There’s just one thing… That pendant at your waist—I gave it to you to pay for medicine. You never pawned it, and you’re still wearing it.”

“Now that you’ve asked to marry my sister, it isn’t quite appropriate for you to keep wearing it. Please return it to me.”

My sister’s expression brightened. She smiled and urged him,

“Give it back to Ah Yu, Master Lu. She treasures that pendant. Jiang Xiuyuan gave it to her, and for a while she waved it in front of me every day to show it off.”

Lu Jin pressed his thumb against the jade, his fingers tightening slightly. For some reason, his voice briefly turned hoarse.

“Jiang Xiuyuan… Who is he?”

I met his gaze openly and answered calmly.

“My fiancé.”

Mother and my sister both froze and turned to stare at me.

Lu Jin’s grip on the pendant tightened sharply. A moment later, he slowly unfastened it and held it out.

Our fingertips touched. His were cold to the bone, like the first thin frost of winter.

“Since it belongs to you, naturally it should be returned.”

I took the pendant, slipped it into my sleeve, and gave a slight nod.

“Thank you, Master Lu.”

He gave me a long, unreadable look, then turned and walked away beside my sister.