The midsummer cicadas shrieked from the pagoda trees at the Jingyuan General’s Mansion. Lu Jingyuan clutched a sheaf of poems in his hand, his knuckles white from the pressure. The calligraphy on the paper, reading, "May I find a heart that stays true, that we may grow old together, never to be parted," stung his eyes. This was the "Jiang Wan Love Poem" that had been circulating wildly among the noblewomen of the capital since last night, and in the bottom right corner, it was brazenly stamped with the private seal of the Prince Zhenbei’s Estate.
"Bang—" He kicked open the door to Liu Shiyao’s boudoir, startling the young woman, who was applying floral makeup in the mirror, into a sudden turn. Her rouge brush left a jagged red streak across her cheek.
"Cousin, your temper is quite fierce today." Liu Shiyao pressed a hand to her racing heart, her fingers gripping the forged letters hidden in her sleeve. "Is this all because of those poems?"
Chapter 94