Chapter 241: A Shattered Mirror Cannot Be Repaired
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“Madam, your medicine is ready.”
The young apprentice handed the medicine packet to Jiang Yun Jin.
He hesitated for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
“What is it?” Jiang Yun Jin’s face remained cold. If not for Madam Pei forcing her to return, she would never have stepped foot into the Lu family again.
The apprentice mumbled under his breath, “Do you… want to take some—”
“Take what? Are you some kind of woman, speaking so hesitantly?” Jiang Yun Jin’s gaze locked onto Zhou Shu Yao. Seeing Lu Yan Shu walking away, she intended to approach.
The apprentice, now annoyed, fired back, “Last time, your husband took some virility tonics. Do you need any this time?”
The entire hall turned to look at Jiang Yun Jin.
Her face flushed with shame and anger. “Nonsense! Who would need such a thing?! Get lost!” The weight of their gazes made her wish she could dig a hole and hide inside.
Frustrated, Jiang Yun Jin shoved the medicine packet to her maid and strode toward Zhou Shu Yao, a mocking smile tugging at her lips. “Zhou Shu Yao, I once thought you were righteous, but it turns out you were scheming all along!”
Her eyes gleamed with venom. “Have you been seducing Lu Yan Shu?”
“You really think Lu Yan Shu would look at you? What a joke! Don’t humiliate yourself!” Her grip on her silk handkerchief tightened, her knuckles turning white.
Zhou Shu Yao cast her a sidelong glance. “Are you ill?”
“Just standing together means seduction now? Not everyone is as shameless as you!”
“Besides, what does Lu Yan Shu’s affairs have to do with you? Who do you think you are, meddling in his life? Just because you once broke off an engagement with him?”
Zhou Shu Yao’s smile turned mocking. “You left him behind, worked tirelessly to marry Lu Jing Huai—surely your days are as you wished?”
“A devoted and righteous scholar cast aside for… tsk, tsk… a man who enjoys both men and women.”
Jiang Yun Jin’s face drained of all color as she glared at her.
“Shameless wench! Don’t think you can laugh at me!”
“A spinster like you dares to mock me?! Even if I broke off my engagement with Yan Shu, it has nothing to do with you!” Jiang Yun Jin’s heart twisted painfully. If she had never abandoned Lu Yan Shu, would she now be the admired Lady Lu?
Back then, Lu Yan Shu’s gaze had always been bright when he looked at her, always the refined gentleman, treasuring her above all else.
Yet she had thrown him away.
Of course, she regretted it.
Zhou Shu Fang sneered softly. “Still better than marrying Lu Jing Huai! Better than having to share a husband with men!”
“Shut up!”
“Enough! Stop talking!!” Jiang Yun Jin shrieked, her body trembling with fury and humiliation.
She had once held the moon in her hands—how could she bear such a fall from grace?
Her expression darkened as she looked at Zhou Shu Yao, then turned toward the direction Lu Yan Shu had gone, gritting her teeth before storming after him.
Inside the carriage, Jiang Yun Jin still could not calm her heart.
She could not bear the mocking gazes, nor could she endure Lu Jing Huai any longer.
Silent tears streaked down her face, filled with remorse.
The moment the carriage stopped—before it had even steadied—she jumped out, rushing forward in desperation.
“Yan Shu… Brother Yan Shu…” Her eyes were red as she called out to the man ahead.
Lu Yan Shu was just about to carry Lu Chao Chao inside.
[Brother Yan Shu? Brother Yan Shu? Does she have no shame?] Lu Chao Chao scowled inwardly.
Jiang Yun Jin reached out, trying to grasp his sleeve as she had done when they were children.
Lu Yan Shu, however, took a step back, distancing himself from her.
“Madam, please conduct yourself with propriety.”
That one phrase, spoken without warmth, stabbed into Jiang Yun Jin’s heart.
Her voice trembled, her eyes welling with tears. “Brother Yan Shu, are you truly ignoring me?” Her tears fell at just the right moment, making her look fragile and pitiful.
“Jin’er was foolish… Jin’er knows she was wrong.” She sniffled softly.
“Lu Jing Huai is a liar. He stole your writings, deceived me… He mingles with men, he—”
“I was blinded by his honeyed words. I was wrong. I should never have left you.”
“You were the only one in this world who treated me sincerely. I was blind, mistaking a pearl for a worthless stone…”
“I regret it… I truly regret it…” Her voice wavered, carrying a shattered beauty.
“Brother Yan Shu, take me away, please?”
She looked at him expectantly, desperate and longing.
She had witnessed his youthful shyness, his reserved nature.
But this was the first time she had seen him so radiant, standing tall like a star among men.
“Brother Yan Shu, let us go back to the past… We can return to how things were, can’t we?” She anxiously retrieved a broken jade pendant from her sleeve.
The jade was crystalline, the very token of their engagement from years ago.
Lu Yan Shu’s expression remained indifferent, his gaze devoid of emotion.
“When I broke off our engagement, I foolishly shattered this jade. But I have pieced it back together… Brother Yan Shu, you will never abandon me, will you? You will always be there for me, won’t you?” She wept as she spoke.
“No matter how I angered you before, you always forgave me…” He had once cherished her above all else.
But she had ground his heart beneath her heel.
And now, she regretted it.
Lu Yan Shu looked at her impassively. “A shattered mirror will always bear its cracks. A broken jade will never be flawless again. Why do this to yourself?”
“Old dreams cannot be revisited. A broken mirror need not be repaired.”
“Madam, please conduct yourself with dignity.”
“Since you chose Lu Jing Huai, you should live your days with him. You are too greedy to want everything.”
“Besides, no one waits forever.”
“You are not worth it.”
He did not spare her another glance.
From a young age, he had known he had a fiancée. He had been cautious, always treating her with the utmost respect.
He had studied her interests, tried to find common ground.
Even in the face of death, he had never hesitated.
And all he had received in return was betrayal.
Jiang Yun Jin’s lips quivered, her face as pale as death. She trembled, whispering, “Do you regret saving me?”
Lu Yan Shu turned, carrying Lu Chao Chao inside.
After a long pause, his cold voice drifted back.
“Never.”
[Big Brother is a true gentleman.]
[He has honor, but also his limits…]
[Jiang Yun Jin, you have lost everything…]
Lu Chao Chao, nestled on her brother’s shoulder, shot a look at Yu Shu.
Yu Shu slowed her pace, slipping toward a side door.
She beckoned to a small beggar. “Brother Bun has orders for you.”
The beggar ran up eagerly. “What do you need, Lady Yu Shu?”
She whispered something into his ear.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure this reaches Lu Jing Huai’s ears.”
That night, news of Jiang Yun Jin chasing Lu Yan Shu’s carriage spread like wildfire.
By the time she returned home, the lights were blazing.
Lu Jing Huai sat in the main hall, his face grim and silent.