Les Belles Episode 14 Recap
> Les Belles Recap
Zhou Yangling saw that Luo Lingyu was in good health and invited her for a small gathering. During their conversation, Luo Lingyu mentioned how she had been feeling lighter and freer ever since her engagement was called off. She even felt like the air around her was easier to breathe. Zhou Yangling couldn’t help but bring up her own marriage situation.
It was then that Luo Lingyu realized her best friend was planning to break off a marriage that had been personally arranged by the emperor, and that the fiancé was none other than the current Prince Changyi. Luo Lingyu widened her eyes in disbelief. Since ancient times, imperial decrees were not to be defied, and Zhou Yangling was going against the emperor’s order.
Ever since the girls in Yuezhou had heard that the Lu family had a learned master, they had flocked to see him. Sure enough, his demeanor was impressive, and he was elegant and polite. Zhou Yangling’s refined temperament also attracted a large group of admirers. A group of young women gathered together, chatting excitedly about the upcoming Flower Goddess competition in Yuezhou. Any girl with excellent singing, dancing, or other skills, and from a suitable family background, could enter.
Unintentionally, someone mentioned the competition, and Luo Lingyu, who had been looking for ways to acquire the Luo family’s wealth, heard that the winner of the Flower Goddess contest would receive an imperial reward. She immediately became eager to participate. Although, because of her family’s status, she wasn’t eligible to enter just yet, she was determined to find a way to get in. Liu Tang admired Luo Lingyu’s boldness.
Seeing her always so unconcerned with others, Luo Lingyu encouraged Liu Tang not to envy others so much. She, too, was a free person and could definitely sign up for the competition if she wished. Luo Lingyu quickly sought help from Ying Shun, hoping to gain eligibility for the Lu family’s support in entering the competition. Ying Shun admitted that the Lu family’s women weren’t all under her control, but Luo Lingyu managed to persuade her with her silver tongue.
Ying Shun took Luo Lingyu to meet the matriarch of the Lu family. At that moment, Lu Yun was also with the matriarch, and together with Ying Shun, they helped Luo Lingyu make her case. In the end, the matriarch agreed. The list of participants for the Yuezhou Flower Goddess competition was submitted to the emperor. When the emperor saw that a member of the Lu family was participating, he was intrigued upon learning it was a new contestant.
At the time, Prince Hengyang was also present and couldn’t help but mention that Luo Lingyu was his favored person. The emperor had not yet seen her, but he decided then and there that the winner of the competition would be awarded to Prince Hengyang as his future princess.
Prince Hengyang feared that Luo Lingyu might not win and thus lose the opportunity to marry her, but the emperor believed that only someone with real ability could marry into the royal family. Since Luo Lingyu’s engagement had been called off, she and Lu Yun had had little contact, but Lu Yun could no longer sit idle.
Jin Chuan suggested they could use the method Luo Lingyu had previously employed, and Lu Yun began frequently visiting the neighbors’ homes to borrow various things—pens, ink, paper, inkstones, and scrolls—hoping to win Luo Lingyu’s favor. Lingxi, tired of this, simply shut the door on them. Lu Yun then had Jin Chuan visit shops in the street, hoping to gather information about Luo Lingyu’s preparation for the Flower Goddess competition, and offering some help since she didn’t have much money.
To assist Luo Lingyu, Prince Hengyang personally selected several exquisite pieces of jewelry and sent them to the Lu family. He asked Luo Lingyu if she was facing any difficulties, and if she needed a teacher to guide her, he could arrange for the palace’s dancing girls to help. Luo Lingyu declined his offer, insisting that she wanted to prepare for the competition herself. As for finding a teacher, she already had someone in mind.
Seeing how eager she was to participate, and knowing how hard-working Luo Lingyu usually was, Prince Hengyang encouraged her to prepare well. Luo Lingyu went to find Qiniang from the music hall to become her teacher. At first, Qiniang was dismissive of Luo Lingyu’s small fee, but Luo Lingyu cleverly played on Qiniang’s desire to promote her work and promised that she could help Qiniang become famous overnight. With shared ambitions, Qiniang agreed without hesitation.
After Fan Qingchen was ordered by Prince Hengyang to break off the engagement, Lu Yun saw an opportunity and suggested to Prince Yi that they search Fan’s residence. They might discover something new. Sure enough, when they searched the Fan residence, they found a large stash of unshipped nitrate. Fan Qingchen’s father, fearing that his secret would be exposed, committed suicide.
Lu Yun and Prince Changyi suspected that the Fan family must have close ties to high-ranking members of the Northern Army. In order to find evidence quickly, they ordered their subordinates to locate Fan Qingchen. Fan Qingchen rushed back to the Fan residence, unaware of what had happened at home. Suddenly, a masked figure in black arrived, killing his subordinates and leaving Fan Qingchen lying in a pool of blood.
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