[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou":3,"chapter-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-261":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ink Saint of Great Zhou",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2292224,4481,"Chapter 261: Bai Yu","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-261",261,"\u003Cp>“Hmph, you still won’t agree?” The maid stormed to her feet. “That was just a test—you’re dreaming if you think my lady would have eyes for you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yunzhan let out a huge sigh of relief, blurting out without thinking: “That’s good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid, who had just turned to leave, glared back at Lu Yunzhan with a dark face, stomped her foot, and walked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong with me?” Lu Yunzhan was utterly confused—he didn’t understand his own state. On one hand, he was curious about the breathtakingly beautiful Bai family lady; on the other, he wanted to stay far away from such a situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t truly think that way, yet the moment the words reached his lips, they came out exactly like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like the huge sigh of relief just now—he’d blurted out “That’s good” almost unconsciously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t be afraid!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just a test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come to think of it, Lu Yunzhan believed he had nothing about him that could attract the Bai family lady. As for looks, he couldn’t compare to others; as for family background, he was an orphan with no parents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That doesn’t make sense!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yunzhan didn’t want to think too hard, but his mind was a peculiar thing—once he focused slightly, the entire exchange with the maid replayed in his head, slowed down like a film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid’s speech and mannerisms seemed deliberately coarse, and even with her veil on, it did nothing to dull her beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could she not be a maid?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did the maid just say that their entire conversation was a test?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was a lie too!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the maid had originally said that when they sat before the arena, the Bai family lady could observe them, claiming she’d just happened to see him giving up, and thus found him unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that conversation had truly been a test, she wouldn’t have said that before—because he was the only one who gave up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone bold enough to interfere so brazenly in the Bai family lady’s marriage selection must have a very obvious identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bai family lady, Bai Yu—or her personal senior maid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yunzhan leaned toward the first possibility: if it were the personal maid, she wouldn’t say “my lady” and then jokingly claim the embroidered ball would be thrown to him—even as a joke, the world’s strict hierarchy forbade it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank goodness, thank goodness!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After sorting out the situation, Lu Yunzhan actually sighed in relief—if his guess was right, the Bai family lady would definitely eliminate him in the second round.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet it felt so regrettable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This breathtakingly beautiful Bai family lady seemed to have some interest in him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then why did he feel this was better?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tangled emotions left him utterly baffled—why did he, deep down, reject any close contact with the opposite sex?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yunzhan, of course, didn’t know that when Lu Fang used the Infinite Secret to alter his memories, he had specifically implanted a mental “warning”: that until memories were fully restored, becoming too intimate with the opposite sex was forbidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like a subconscious trigger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Lu Yunzhan’s inner turmoil was intense—and he himself couldn’t understand why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, this way, please.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A maid stepped forward to greet Lu Yunzhan as he left the room, guiding him toward the next corridor with a smile: “Congratulations, Young Master—you’ve passed the second screening.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? I really passed the second screening?” Lu Yunzhan asked, surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid led the way, not turning back: “No mistake. My lady specifically instructed me to let you pass the second screening, and told me to deliver one message: ‘There’s a surprise ahead.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it really be that she’s choosing me?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yunzhan’s eyelids twitched violently. No matter how he analyzed it, the possibility seemed very high. He ventured:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was I personally tested by the Bai family lady just now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid nodded with a smile: “Normally, the lady wouldn’t appear for personal assessments—but you’re clearly an exception. When she came out just now, she even said, ‘How interesting.’ What did you say to make her so amused?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was truly amused?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yunzhan scratched his head, silent for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What am I thinking?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So many outstanding men, and the Bai family lady’s conditions are so excellent—how could she possibly choose me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably I offended her earlier, and she’s just playing a prank to get back at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What “surprise”?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Lu Yunzhan stepped out of the corridor, dozens of people were already there—all of them having passed the second screening, though separated by ropes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the guiding maid and Lu Yunzhan walked along the long red carpet; the dozens of others stood outside like spectators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every one of them looked at Lu Yunzhan with envy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why is he in there? How come we can’t go in too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, I asked the guards—anyone outside the ropes failed the second screening.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So only he passed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s so ugly and he passed? I’m handsome and charming, yet I failed? What’s wrong with the Bai family lady?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Murmurs of discontent and confusion rose from the dozens of young lords who had failed the second screening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These voices reached Lu Yunzhan’s ears, making each step feel like walking on thin ice—he feared the next moment he might plunge into icy water and drown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t panic!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The calmer you are in moments like this, the better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s only just begun—there’s no way only I passed the second screening. Others must come later…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom! A gong sounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strong woman appeared on the arena, holding a yellow silk ribbon and reciting: “A thousand li of fate bound by a single thread; after countless selections, we have chosen…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yunzhan couldn’t hear the rest—he saw the Bai family lady, Bai Yu, escorted onto the stage by a crowd of maids and matrons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Bai Yu had removed her veil. Her rosy cheeks, delicate features, and tall figure combined into a uniquely icy aura—as if a natural wall of ice surrounded her, keeping all others at bay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This aloof, distant elegance only added to her allure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder Ceng Wanxiong had praised her endlessly, calling her face “breathtakingly beautiful.” Now, Lu Yunzhan finally understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone who had seen Bai Yu would surely agree: she was a beauty—a beauty with an icy charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such women often possessed a peculiar magnetism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A magnetism that stirred an irresistible urge to conquer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yunzhan met Bai Yu’s gaze—he smiled bitterly. Though he’d already confirmed her identity with the guiding maid, seeing her eyes and realizing she was the very maid who had tested him made his heart leap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Yu, meanwhile, remained expressionless throughout, like a frozen mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>",1128,"2026-06-20T03:56:22.339Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e5a579c89c8a9acf2f645117613305b32a8ce81e0343f89c9dda23fe399f7f1d","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-262","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-260",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]