While letters were constantly being exchanged, and as the northern war was spreading between cities with Ruyang nearly falling, the court in Jianye issued a strongly worded decree — all commanderies must cease fighting to prepare for peace talks.
The Northern envoys were stirring up trouble in Jianye, swaying the old emperor who was infatuated with beauty. They also lobbied among the great noble families who were already reluctant to spend money. The noble families had their own conflicts.
For example, just days ago, there was an incident where Miss Luo, who was staying at the Lu family residence, was blocked on the road by refugees who were being sheltered by Lady Chen Xiu. This caused some friction between the Chen and Lu families. Though the impact wasn’t major and was resolved after apologies and gifts were exchanged, no one knew what they truly thought of each other.
These minor conflicts between noble families gave the Northern envoys an opportunity to attack Lu Yun.
Getting the South to stop fighting while waiting for peace talks was already the best result the Northern envoys could achieve with all their efforts.
When this decree reached the North, all commanderies were furious — how could they stop fighting when enemy forces were at their gates? If they stopped now, wouldn’t they lose everything?
It was at this moment that Lu Yun’s letters arrived at various commanderies: Continue fighting. He would take care of the supplies and troops himself.
Lu Yun had long known the Jianye court wouldn’t make any bold moves. For the nobility who loved luxury and pleasure, they had no desire to fight when the North was willing to offer benefits. But even without Lu Xian’s dream, being in the North and caught in this situation, Lu Yun could see that if the North retreated now and the Northern army turned south, the entire Southern nation would be lost.
Lu Yun kept writing letters, requesting grain from Prince Chen, convincing various commanderies not to retreat, and explaining the situation in detail to several highly respected scholars in the North.
The North claimed the South started the war first and broke the agreement, leading to failed peace talks. Lu Yun’s explanation to the scholars focused on how the Northern envoys had already entered Jianye while Northern troops were attacking Ruyang – the North had broken faith first. As for General Wei’s first strike in Nanyang, since it happened outside the city and was an ambush, there was no need to say more.
Many matters required attention.
After the snow stopped, at dawn in the relay station, Lu Yun sat at his desk by the snowy window writing letters. Attendants came and went constantly, delivering and sending out letters.
While writing to several scholars, Lu Yun suddenly paused: If he wasn’t accompanying Luo Lingyu right now, he would be visiting the scholars in person rather than writing to them.
He wondered what he was doing at this moment in Lu Xian’s dream.
As Lu Yun was lost in thought, he suddenly heard rustling sounds from behind the screen – someone seemed to have woken up.
“My lord…” The attendant was about to continue reporting various situations but was cut off by Lu Yun raising his hand.
Lu Yun instructed to discuss official matters later and asked the clerk to bring breakfast when the attendant bowed and left. The attendant found it strange, and after leaving the room and standing in the courtyard looking at the vast snow, he realized: Wait, isn’t it already afternoon? Why is the lord just now asking for breakfast? Could it be because of that lady…
The attendant’s heart jumped and he quickly collected himself, not daring to think further.
In the room, Lu Yun put away the pile of letters on his desk before getting up. He wore a casual old robe with loose collar, his long hair only half-tied. The lord leisurely walked around the screen into the inner chamber, his relaxed and comfortable demeanor exceptionally cold yet refined.
Lu Yun saw the bed curtains held up by ivory hooks, and the lady on the bed struggling to lie prone, her long hair cascading like a waterfall onto her blue and purple arms. She had just managed to pick up the bronze mirror that had fallen to the ground, and while holding the blanket, she kept checking her face in the mirror.
The lady sat on the bed wrapped in blankets, still struggling to draw the slanted red makeup at the corners of her eyes.
When Lu Yun entered, he saw her eye corners like attached peach blossoms, the makeup like wounds, the color transitioning from light to bright red… Lu Yun couldn’t help but smile: “Sister Yuer is in such a good mood, just waking up and caring only about her face before anything else. Sister is so thoughtful, specially putting on makeup for brother to see.”
Luo Lingyu: … Grooming her appearance had always been what she cared about most, what did it have to do with him?!
He seemed to be making fun of her again.
Luo Lingyu kept a cold face without making a sound, her heart full of resentment towards Lu Yun. Last night she had begged him like that, yet he still wouldn’t hold back. Today after waking up, her body was covered in marks… making her secretly annoyed, not wanting to see Lu Yun. Yet when this person first saw her today, instead of showing sympathy, he mocked her for being vain.
Luo Lingyu couldn’t help but retort: “…Is this perhaps the Zhuge Cottage in Nanyang? Master Zhuge is truly busy with thousands of matters.”
She was mocking Lu Yun’s behavior of staying indoors writing endless letters, imitating the former era’s famous scholar, Master Zhuge Ziming of Nanyang. But how could he compare to that great scholar?
Lu Yun wasn’t angry though. After hearing her words, he smiled subtly: “Voice hoarse from crying all night?”
Luo Lingyu: “…!”
Lu Yun glanced at her again, his keen observation making his smile deepen: “No wonder you wanted to put on makeup right after waking up – not only is your voice hoarse, but your eyes are swollen too.”
Luo Lingyu was so angry she could no longer hold back, throwing the mirror in her hand at him — whose fault was this! Lecher, still making snide remarks afterwards!
Lu Yun caught the mirror with ease, looked at her, still with that half-smile: “It doesn’t matter if you’re hoarse and blind, brother had medicine porridge made for you, you’ll be fine after drinking it for a couple days.”
Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock at the door – it was the clerk following Lu Yun’s attendant’s instructions to deliver the meal. Under Luo Lingyu’s stunned gaze, Lu Yun casually put down the mirror and didn’t let the clerk enter, instead going to get the food box himself. After two trips back and forth, closing the door, returning to the bedside table, Lu Yun began arranging the meal.
Luo Lingyu sat on the bed, still with a stern face, but her gaze couldn’t help but follow his figure. Seeing his loose clothing, her face couldn’t help but turn red. Because she remembered what Lu Yun looked like without clothes during last night’s fooling around. Different from his usual elegant laziness, without the constraints of loose robes, his waist and hips were narrow and strong, not like a warrior but also unlike a scholar’s frailty. His usual loose clothing only made people feel his clear brightness, unable to see his good figure. He should wear warrior’s robes that show off his figure sometimes to not waste such a good body… Heaven truly favored this beauty, giving Lu Yun all the best.
While Luo Lingyu was lost in her thoughts, Lu Yun suddenly looked over sensitively.
Luo Lingyu kept a straight face: “…Hmph!”
Absolutely refusing to admit she was thinking about him.
Lu Yun looked at her flushed face and wet eyes, clearly moved with emotion, but he didn’t point it out. A delicate young lady like his sister Luo needed some face. If he didn’t give her any at all, she would be angry to death. The self-proclaimed considerate Lu Yun changed the topic: “Is Yingying hungry? Get up to wash and eat.”
Luo Lingyu didn’t reply.
He didn’t mind and continued: “Life here is always a bit more austere compared to Jianye. But you can rest assured, in the future, when I have time, I will take care of you. When brother is busy with official matters, sister can be like now – applying rouge and drawing eyebrows in front of the mirror, casually painting and writing and chasing butterflies. I’ve already reported to the family, once the war ends, we will marry. From then on, sister, your ‘dodder flower’ dream can come true.”
Luo Lingyu’s eyes suddenly lit up!
Her uneasy heart was put back in her belly — so after being intimate with him, he really would marry her.
And after marrying him, she could really get so many benefits.
She would no longer need to rack her brains using what little money she had to maintain the appearance of a noble lady, no longer need to desperately follow and learn every new trend to make herself first in everything. No need to run east and west just to build relationships with ladies from various families. She could finally live the beautiful life she had dreamed of countless times. No need to go out, no need to socialize, no need to please people, no need to be thick-skinned and pretend not to understand when being mocked, no need to assess every gentleman she meets to see if they’re suitable for marriage, no need to instinctively compare herself to every lady she sees.
She could stay at home chasing butterflies and embroidering flowers, enjoying her future life of being kept by a man like a dodder flower…
Luo Lingyu could no longer keep a straight face. She couldn’t hold back her excitement anymore. When Lu Yun was describing her beautiful future, Luo Lingyu laughed out loud with joy. Such a genuinely happy smile, bright eyes, peach cheeks blushing, how charming and lovely. So charming and lovely that Lu Yun couldn’t ignore it, directly putting down the food box in his hand and leaning over.
He reached out to pinch her face: “How are you still like this? Can’t change anymore, right?”
Luo Lingyu was overjoyed, as if she could already see the shadow of her imagined luxurious life. How wonderful to be rich and powerful like Lu Yun, to be talented like Lu Yun yet never need to use those talents — a great scholar once told her Lu Yun was skilled at brewing tea and even sent a wooden barrel of dried qin fish for Lu Yun to make “qin fish tea” for her to drink. Luo Lingyu had never seen his tea anyway.
Because Lu Yun didn’t need to please people with his own hands.
She wanted to be like him too! And by marrying him, she could achieve that…
Being so happy, even when Lu Yun pinched her face until it hurt, she didn’t mind. And when the lady’s eyes were like clear water, looking at Lu Yun, she didn’t mind his wildness from last night at all, but rather found him extremely handsome no matter how she looked at him. What virtue and ability did she have, that she could actually achieve this — not only marrying into a wealthy family, but marrying someone so elegant and handsome…
“Brother Xuechen,” Luo Lingyu threw her arms around his neck coquettishly, nuzzling closer with a sweet and beautiful smile, “Brother Xuechen…”
She was too excited and momentarily forgot that she had just gotten up and was only sitting wrapped in blankets because she was so angry earlier. When she threw her arms around him like this, the blanket slipped from her body, and her snow-white skin now dotted with red marks was all seen by the young lord’s downward glance. The daylight was bright, everything unclear at night could now be seen clearly. Luo Lingyu was startled, crying out and letting go to hug her body and try to retreat.
She hugged her chest and retreated towards the inner side of the bed, Lu Yun’s eyes darkened, and he actually followed her, pressing her down onto the bed. His eyes stared at the snowy mountains, where red cherries bloomed amidst the lush growth. His hands were full of smooth radiance. That kind of whiteness, glowing slightly like porcelain, was not monotonous.
Making him unable to let go, unable to look away.
Lu Yun chuckled softly: “Like ‘frost flowing in jade.’ Sister was born so beautifully.”
He naturally wasn’t referring to her face anymore.
Luo Lingyu covered her eyes with the back of her hand coquettishly: “Brother Xuechen, you’re becoming more and more vulgar.”
Lu Yun laughed lightly, a flash of fire jumping in his eyes before he suppressed it himself: “Sister thinks too much. This is nothing yet.”
Luo Lingyu: “…”
Lu Yun: “I’m still holding back the fire now… after all, war comes first, it’s not good to indulge in women and delay military matters. It would be even worse if sister became pregnant, I must exercise some self-restraint.”
Luo Lingyu was embarrassed and annoyed, raising her hand to punch his chest — this person could say anything without blushing… she used to think he was an elegant scholar, how foolish she was.
So someone had already exercised self-restraint. How difficult it must have been for her Brother Xuechen, being so frivolous by nature, how did he manage to pretend to be noble for so many years?
Lu Yun leaned down to suck and kiss. He praised endlessly: “…How were you raised…”
A flash of light passed through Luo Lingyu’s eyes, wanting to cooperate with him to make him happier. Harmless things, if he was happy, wouldn’t she get more benefits? Between men and women, it’s just that kind of thing. She hugged his neck, cunning like a little fox: “All thanks to brother’s nurturing.”
Lu Yun’s eyes indeed lit up, looking at her with a smile. He held her face and came to kiss her red lips. Their faces touched, long hair brushing the pillow. In an instant, the two were rolling together, the young lord holding her, speaking ambiguously and intimately with double meaning: “Sister’s little mouth is truly sweet.”
But Luo Lingyu suddenly stiffened, her inner thigh hurting — his hand!
She trembled: “No no no no, I still hurt…”
Lu Yun said softly: “Mm, won’t touch you. Yingying don’t shout, let me have some sweetness.”
His sweetness would take half her life… how could that work? Luo Lingyu lay stiffly, seeing his eyes dark and deep, she was scared to death. Who knew what he was thinking with such outward calmness? While the lady was being tormented this way and that on the bed, racking her brains thinking how to stop Lu Yun, there was a knock at the door.
Luo Lingyu immediately reacted extremely quickly and pushed Lu Yun, kicking him with great force: “Someone’s here!”
Lu Yun: “…You seem very eager?”
Luo Lingyu quickly hid the joy in her eyes, though she couldn’t fool Lu Yun. Lu Yun sighed, pinched the lady’s face again before retreating. When Lu Yun’s figure was far from the screen, Luo Lingyu feared he would come back to see her, and thinking of that thing again, she dressed at the fastest speed of her life, enduring the feeling of her body being crushed… Lu Yun came back with a letter, his expression calm, scanning the letter several times.
Luo Lingyu observed his expression: “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Lu Yun sat down, pondering: “Half and half… In the battle at Nanyang, that Northern army unit was their strongest in terms of forces. Cavalry, infantry, archers, all well-equipped. To take Nanyang, the infantry seized an opportunity. With tens of thousands of arrows flying, General Wei almost died in there. Fortunately our army was prepared in advance, so we retreated with only one or two casualties in the arrow formation.”
Luo Lingyu was stunned, her eyes suddenly changing. She was a clever lady, and with Lu Yun’s strange tone, she instantly thought: “…Second cousin once told me he had a dream where you died from ten thousand arrows piercing your heart! He said it casually, not taking it seriously, I thought this incident was different from later ones, so I let it pass… so it was here!”
She suddenly grabbed Lu Yun’s hand, her gaze anxious. Even knowing he was fine, she still felt afraid afterward. She hugged him trembling, no longer having any thoughts of the previous flirting and seducing Lu Yun: “…You’re alright! You’re fine!”
If Lu Yun had been in Nanyang at that time, that arrow formation might have been aimed at him. General Wei was divinely skilled and could escape from it. Lu Yun’s martial arts were definitely not as good as General Wei’s, if he had been there… dying from ten thousand arrows piercing his heart, wouldn’t that have been Lu Yun’s end?
…To have brushed so close to death.
Lu Yun was lost in thought, suddenly saying: “If I weren’t here now, I would be visiting various scholars. I also wouldn’t be in Nanyang.”
Luo Lingyu: “…What do you mean?”
Lu Yun smiled, looking down at her tenderly, kissing her cheek: “It means you changed my fate. You saved me.”
If she had married Prince Hengyang, he would have been heartbroken and distracted, dying in this war;
If she had stayed properly in Jianye waiting for him, with her in his heart keeping his mind at peace, he would have left Nanyang to General Wei and gone to visit nearby scholars, using public opinion to pressure the North;
If she came looking for him, he would come looking for her, similarly avoiding that crisis.
Thus the thing that caused his tragic death in Lu Xian’s first dream, no matter what, did not happen in the second dream. Waiting for him was another… bit by bit, initially showing no trace, when all the bits gathered in one place, they would produce extremely large changes. How could Lu Xian have imagined that just by agreeing to let Miss Luo go to Nanyang early, so many changes would occur?
Lu Xian still felt nothing had changed now.
Lu Yun smiled: “Interesting.”
Luo Lingyu: “What’s interesting? I’m so worried about you! His dreams seem to be real… what should we do? He dreamed you would die…”
Lu Yun said: “It’s fine, I have it under control, it’s a good opportunity to experiment and see exactly how Second Brother’s dreams predict the future, and how accurate they are. Um, I’m afraid I’ll need sister’s help…”
His plan wasn’t mature, thinking while speaking. Before he finished speaking, Luo Lingyu eagerly stood up to respond: “Then quickly! What do you need me to do, how should I cooperate with you?
Are we going back to Nanyang… ah that mountain! We should find that mountain first…”
Lu Yun looked at her for a while. Luo Lingyu blinked back uncomprehendingly. Lu Yun: “What about your ‘dodder flower’ dream, don’t want it anymore? What happened to staying at home chasing butterflies and embroidering?”
Luo Lingyu chided: “…That can wait until later. In matters of life and death, who has the mood to embroider and chase butterflies?”
Lu Yun stroked her hair, smiling without speaking — it wasn’t about having the mood or not, but having the ability. Most women in the world only had the ability to chase butterflies and embroider when facing crisis. Luo Lingyu was different – she had a proactive attitude and was brave to advance. If he really let her stay quiet, she would surely go crazy.
He had a premonition that her “dodder flower” dream would probably remain just talk.
Luo Lingyu pushed him: “Laughing again! You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”
Lu Yun put away his smile: “Don’t fuss, rest for a day, we’ll return to Nanyang tomorrow.”
…
Lu Xian had no idea his third brother was trying to decode his dreams, seeking life’s opportunities within them, and even experimenting.
Lu Xian was worried all day, feeling the court situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable to them. The more pessimistic the court situation became, the more he went to see Prince Chen. Recently, scholars across the land suddenly wrote texts angrily denouncing the North’s treachery, using the fall of Ruyang city to attack the North’s betrayal of trust — openly talking peace with the South while secretly sending troops to attack cities.
The scholars’ influence was the same in both North and South. Once this text came out, other scholars followed. The scholars’ writings sparked heated discussion among literati across the land.
In Jianye, the Northern envoys’ situation suddenly became extremely awkward and dangerous. The entire court looked at them strangely, even the old emperor was full of doubts. The envoys panicked, directly criticizing the scholars and literati for talking nonsense. It was said the Northern princess fainted while kneeling outside the Southern emperor’s bedchamber, and the emperor didn’t even acknowledge her. The next day, the Northern envoys spent a large sum to donate a pearl curtain to Jianye’s Kaishan Temple as a gesture of goodwill. At the same time, the Northern envoys went to visit Prince Zhao Liu Huai, giving him a box of luminous pearls.
While Liu Huai was still hesitating as he played with the luminous pearls, a pearl curtain slightly smaller than the temple’s was also delivered to his mansion.
In this era, pearl curtains were woven with Indian glass beads and precious stones. Due to the rarity of glass beads, such curtains were praised by all notable figures. This priceless treasure – even the Taichu Palace only had a few. The Northern envoys’ grand gesture made Prince Zhao beam with joy — after all, Prince Chen was a political enemy, and so was the Lu family.
Prince Zhao helped speak for the Northern envoys in court, showing much disdain for the scholars.
Others also gradually stood up to help.
Prince Chen Liu Chu had not participated in this war. When Lu Xian visited his mansion again worriedly, he once again used the excuse of marriage proposals. This time, the advisors participated in discussing political matters and no longer avoided Lu Xian. Lu Xian belatedly realized that Prince Chen had long been dealing with this matter. Previously they probably felt he wasn’t reliable, so didn’t reveal any information to him.
When Lu Xian took his seat, his feelings were extremely complicated. Liu Chu finally told the truth: “…No troops were sent because everyone was watching. Privately prepared supplies weren’t enough, but it’s no longer appropriate to make any big moves.”
Lu Xian said painfully: “The court wants the North to stop fighting, so they cut off troops and supplies.”
Liu Chu: “…First find a way to send supplies, must be done behind the court’s back, need… trustworthy people.”
Lu Xian decided immediately: “I’ll go!”
Liu Chu glanced at him, his gaze passing over him as he continued discussing with his advisors: “Who do you all think would be suitable to send?”
Lu Xian: “…”
He was directly ignored? In Prince Chen’s eyes, he couldn’t even handle delivering supplies? It must be because Third Brother used to often speak ill of him to Prince Chen, making Prince Chen distrust him so.
The advisors looked at Lu Xian sympathetically without saying much, each making suggestions and recommending people who could deliver supplies. Prince Chen neither agreed nor disagreed. Lu Xian promoted himself again, actively lobbying Prince Chen. Prince Chen’s gaze fixed on Lu Xian for a moment before moving away again.
Clearly, Prince Chen still didn’t believe Lu Xian had the ability to handle unexpected situations.
Lu Xian was full of unspeakable grief and indignation, listening angrily to discussions of who Prince Chen could send, when a gentle, slightly low voice came from behind them: “I’ll go.”
Visibly, Liu Chu’s previously cold expression suddenly changed, and he whirled around.
Lu Xian stood up with him, everyone else following suit. They saw Zhou Lang Zhou Zibo standing under the garden’s yellow-green foliage outside the pavilion, led by servants, having listened to their discussion for who knows how long. Zhou Lang smiled slightly, and everyone saw Prince Chen’s ears redden slightly: Prince Chen’s mansion was freely accessible to Zhou Lang, even Prince Chen himself didn’t know when Zhou Lang had arrived, showing how Prince Chen usually instructed his servants.
The main gate of Prince Chen’s mansion was always open to Zhou Lang.
Lu Xian’s mind went blank, because this wasn’t how it was in his dream. Zhou Zibo wasn’t in the dream, nor was there anything about Zhou Zibo going North to deliver supplies to Lu Yun. In the dream there was only Prince Chen rushing about, only Prince Chen being overwhelmed…
This time, Prince Chen’s gaze flickered, but he still didn’t agree.
Zhou Yangling had much more confidence than Lu Xian though, smiling brightly: “Not only can I help Your Highness deliver supplies, I can also gather supplies among the common families. The grain sent from Jiangnan has arrived, only with me coming forward will they trust and hand over the grain.”
Prince Chen’s eyes narrowed, saying softly: “…Have never asked Zhou Lang, nor privately investigated your background. Want to ask Zhou Lang, what identity do you have, that makes the common families trust you so?”
Under everyone’s gaze, Zhou Lang maintained her grace. She bowed with clasped hands, her long robes flying like clouds, her upturned face as clear and gentle as ever, yet with something more: “…The leader of the common families Zhou Tan is my…”
Liu Chu’s eyes stared at her intently, light flickering in their depths, catching something, his heart beating rapidly, waiting for her words!
Zhou Yangling: “…is my master, I also call him ‘adopted father’.”
Prince Chen was stunned, that heart that had almost jumped out fell back in disappointment… however, he began to wonder who she really was.
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