Chapter 24: Handsome Men, Root of All Trouble

Seeing someone, “Gentleman Lin……” Yuan Qiao Qiao and Zhou Ying Shuang were both startled and happy, and those two words unconsciously blurted out from their mouths. Yuan Qiao Qiao pulled back her temper and instantly turned into a gentle lady.

“Three misses, greetings.” Sun Yi Lin performed a bow.

Jing Wan curtsied and returned the courtesy, “Greetings, gentleman.” The two love-struck fools next to her finally came to their senses and greeted him. However, you couldn’t completely blame them either. There was nothing more normal than for young ladies to be smitten with this type of jade-like gentleman

“This one is also a lover of flowers. Passing by just now I heard miss’s remarks, and in a moment of happiness, did something rude, I ask for the three of you to please forgive me. Just hoping that I didn’t disturb your peace.” Sun Yi Lin really did feel apologetic. Just who it was towards, was actually quite obvious. It’s just the two shaking their heads didn’t seem to notice.

“Not a bother, gentleman doesn’t need to mind.” Towards these two’s reaction, Jing Wan was quite helpless.

“Then that’s good.” Sun Yi Lin still wanted to something more, but the servant boy behind him whispered something to him. Sun Yi Lin turned his head and glanced to the distant, “Originally still wanted to consult with miss, but afraid will have to wait till next time. Actually hoping that miss will be generous in imparting your knowledge.”

“Gentleman is too polite.”

“This one will leave first.” Sun Yi Lin bowed again, before finally turning to leave.

“Alright, the person has already gone far, you should come back now.” Jing Wan reached her hand out and waved it in front of the two of them.

Seeing her carrying a teasing smile as she looked to them, ‘anger’ rushed forth from their hearts. They gave each other a glance and reached out to tickle her.

Jing Wan dodged while she begged for mercy. The three of them messed around into a lump.

“That slut, not knowing shame, doing something like this. In a public place, openly seducing big brother Lin.” A extremely haughty voice came through.

The three instantly stopped and looked over towards the voice. A girl dressed in red, seemingly with fire all over, furiously charged over towards the three of them. Although there was still a few steps left, the whip in hand already lashed out. The top part of the whip clearly even carried thorns. If it were to land on the body, the skin will definitely split open, and if it landed on the face…….

Jing Wan and the others were pulled from behind by someone, thus narrowly avoiding the danger. Turns out it was the servant girls and mamas that were following behind not far away. Seeing the situation, they’d hurriedly rushed forward and promptly pulled the three away.

But this first lash didn’t hit, so the second lash landed again.

A servant girl charged out from behind Jing Wan and directly caught the whip, firmly grasping it. She wrapped it a few times around her arm and held it, “Miss, how can you be so rude and unreasonable?” This person wasn’t anyone else, but was precisely Jing Wan’s servant girl Qing Ju. This girl was a bit rude and impetuous, but was also genuinely loyal in protecting her master. Not just Zhou Ying Shuang and Yuan Qiao Qiao were surprised, even that rude girl showed an inconceivable expression too.

“Let go.” The girl pulled back, but the whip didn’t budge.

“Not letting go.” Qing Ju didn’t care about the fresh blood running down her hands, and didn’t care who this girl before them was. She just knew, if she let go, then it might just injure her family’s young miss, so she was determined to not let go.

“How daring. Still not dragging this lowly slave away for me! Beat her to death, nothing to discuss.”

The group of servant girls behind the girl went forward, waving their hands and going straight for Qing Ju’s skull.

Jing Wan was really angered. She already knew who this girl was, just it really was ‘knowing someone by their reputation can’t compare to meeting them in person’. This was still her first time meeting such a completely unreasonable person. She wanted to go up and help, but was pulled by Gong mama. “Miss get back some, let this servant go.” Then seeing Jing Wan’s somewhat skeptical look, “Miss don’t worry, this servant has practiced some martial arts before.”

As expected, Gong mama went up with a sweep of her arm and blocked back that group of servant girls. Just when she was planning to remove that girl’s whip…….

“Ru Yu, what are you doing, quickly stop.” A girl, whose voice sounded like her age, somewhat flusteredly spoke.

It was Sun Yi Jia. Behind her followed a large crowd of people. The usually calm and aloof girl had light anger contained in her eyes, and her walking pace was a bit quicker than usual. By the time Sun Yi Jia walked over, Qing Ju, under Gong mama’s instruction, had already released the whip.

When Sun Yi Jia saw the fresh blood on that whip, her anger directly shot up to her head. Enduring the pain from the headache, she swept a glance in all directions. After seeing that only a servant girl’s hand was injured, she sighed in relief, “How can you hit someone again?”

Facing Sun Yi Jia, that girl didn’t continue waving the whip, just that temper didn’t get curbed though. “Why aren’t you asking what these sluts did? All just some lowly whores, secretly racking their brains trying to seduce big brother Lin. Don’t they deserve to get beat?”

No matter how good of a temper someone had, hearing these words, they would still get really angry. Jing Wan steadied her face, “Miss, keep your mouth clean.”

“Then that slut is you?” The girl used the whip to point at Jing Wan, “Not even looking at yourself to see what you are, even daring to try climbing up on big brother Lin. Big brother Lin likes flowers, so you show off a few words, thinking you can fly up a high branch and become a phoenix?”

Jing Wan could still restrain herself, but Yuan Qiao Qiao was about to explode from anger, wishing that she could charge up and tear apart that girl in the red dress. Jing Wan grabbed her to stop her. This disaster can be considered to be caused by her. The other party’s identity was noble. Once they become enemies, in the future, afraid they’ll constantly be bothered by trouble. She didn’t want Yuan Qiao Qiao to also get involved in this. However, all say that ‘beauty brings calamity’, but in actuality, how is ‘handsome men’ also not the root of all troubles[1]!?

“At 3 years old, I started learning about flowers. At 5, started growing them, I can be said to have been accompanied by flowers daily. I’ve only just entered the capital a few days ago, and in the entire capital, I only recognize a few people, who am I showing off to? And which family’s high branch have I climbed on? Rather, miss, you, looks to be someone with a noble status, yet vulgar and unreasonable, not having the least bit of propriety and self-cultivation a well-bred young lady should have. If I was the big brother Lin you speak of, encountering someone like you, I’d certainly hide as far away as possible, so to avoid getting infected by you, and cause myself to also become vulgar.”

The girl in red was so angered that she was trembling all over, “You really sure have guts, to dare talk to this junzhu[2] like that—-”

Quite a few people all coldly sweated for Jing Wan. What kind of personality this one has, they all knew very clearly. She was already unruly and stubborn on ordinary days, and when Sun Yi Lin was involved, she becomes even more crazy like a mad dog. Naturally, there was also people like Luo Jing Ying, who were extremely happy inside, eager for Jing Wan to thoroughly enrage the girl in red and have that face of hers ruined in a single whip.

“Junzhu?” Just when the others thought that Jing Wan was going to soften, Jing Wan instead sneered, “As a woman of the imperial family, you should furthermore be an example for the women in the world. But with you like this, aside from tainting the imperial family’s name, what else can you do?”

“You—” Unable to restrain her anger, the whip once again was about to fly out of her hand.

“Li Ru Yu, you dare try making a move again?” Sun Yi Lin, with a gentle voice turned somewhat dark, returned.

Li Ru Yi’s hand shook and immediately hid the whip behind her back. When she looked towards Sun Yi Lin, she was already letting out a lovable smile, “Big brother Lin, how come you came back? Don’t you also have guests today?”

A person who was gentle like jade on ordinary days currently had a heavy expression instead, “As expected, you really are vulgar, unreasonable, and unruly, not only tainting the imperial family, but also embarrassing our Sun family. The things you do on normal days, I’m too lazy to bother with, yet you become even more out of control. Right now, I will clearly tell you that I, Sun Yi Lin, in this lifetime, even if I have to become a monk, absolutely won’t take you, Li Ru Yu, as a wife.”

Li Ru Yu liking Sun Yi Lin was known by everyone. But because the two were both born with noble statuses, some things were tacitly understood. Clearly knowing that if Li Ru Yu really did marry Sun Yi Lin, and even if that was just ruining a good man, no one would dare make a sound. And the two families didn’t express a clear opinion either, staying vague and unclear. But today’s banquet, seemed to be announcing a certain decision to everyone.

They originally thought that after today, perhaps Sun Yi Lin’s marriage matters will be made clear. Yet, unexpectedly, before the banquet even ended, Sun Yi Lin suddenly made this kind of decision, directly tearing Li Ru Yu’s face off, throwing it to the ground, and ruthlessly stomped on it. With this many people present, sealing the mouths was impossible. After today, Li Ru Yu will inevitably become the entire capital’s laughing stock.

Li Ru Yu felt like she was struck by lightening, “Big brother Lin, you, you……I did all of this, completely because of you. Why are you being this heartless and cold?”

“Don’t say it’s for me, I can’t shoulder this kind of reputation. That bit of sibling-like feelings between you and I have already been grinded to nothing by you. As for being heartless? Can I beat you? Randomly just wanting to have someone’s blood, take someone’s life? I will personally go tell paternal aunt and have her find for you some etiquette mamas. If you can’t learn some manners, then it’s best if you never appear in front of me ever again, so as to avoid making me disgusted.” When someone, who was usually modest and well-mannered, began cursing, it was even more piercing.

“Big brother Lin, it’s not like that, it’s not. In the past, you clearly were very good to me.” Li Ru Yu’s tears fell like a shattered pearl necklace. “Mother said you liked me and will marry me, how can you just change like that?”

[1] My first time hearing this idiom actually, but it’s the sister idiom to the ‘beauty brings calamity’. The original literally translates to ‘red face, source of calamity’ with ‘red face’ meaning beautiful women. While this sister idiom literally translates as ‘blue face, root of all trouble’ with ‘blue face’ inferring to handsome men. I’m surprised this idiom isn’t used more often in other Cnovels where 99% of the problem are caused by too handsome ML…

[2] Junzhu – Daughter of a qinwang; can be the Emperor’s niece, granddaughter, or cousin.

T/N: I kinda enjoy the fact that not all conflicts are always single-handedly settled by MC in this novel. Like a lot of novels whenever they throw some conflict at the MC, it always turns into an one-man show where no one helps MC, as they show off how smart they are. Like even MC’s friend characters would always just kinda stand there and pretend to not exist because author doesn’t give them lines. Lol you can tell what CNovel troupes I’m super salty towards. TBH it’s really just bad writing sometimes, rather than a bad troupe.

Li Ru Yu is probably the closest to a typical cannon fodder character, though her scenes are always short, and she’s hilarious just based on her pure stupidity every single time.