ATLAS TRANSLATES

Lu Yun of Jianye Danyang was born with extraordinary grace and exceptional appearance.

Knowing Lu Yun was male, when people saw him in women’s clothing, it didn’t look awkward. Instead, it enhanced his charm. When the Southern Vanguard soldiers changed back into their regular uniforms, they all wore indescribable expressions. With such a tall, slender figure and cold temperament, if they didn’t know it was Lu Yun in disguise, they would have been captivated.

But knowing it was Lu Yun…everyone shuddered as they guessed his intention: “You’re not planning to personally seduce the governor, are you? Your looks are fine, and your height might be passable…but what about your voice?”

Lu Yun dismissed their concerns and sat down, adjusting his robes. Though he didn’t have any feminine air about him, his refined features and cold temperament made him appear more like an otherworldly immortal: “I’ll practice for a few days. I’ll just need to speak less.”

When Lu Yun asked for opinions about his female disguise, everyone shuddered as they circled around him, unable to offer much criticism. Beautiful women came in different styles — some were charming and alluring like Lu Yun’s fiancée Miss Luo, while others were cold and elegant like the persona Lu Yun had created.

In fact, to some degree, the more aloof one appeared, the more gentlemen would pursue — like an untouchable celestial beauty, hard to obtain. Self-proclaimed noble aristocrats loved such challenging pursuits.

Everyone wondered hazily: Did Lu Yun enjoy dressing as this type of woman, or did he simply think such women attracted men’s pursuit and was using it to his advantage?

Lu Yun’s behavior was beyond what ordinary men could comprehend.

As they continued offering suggestions, several people gradually accepted Lu Yun’s purpose. Some even occasionally glanced at him, secretly lamenting that such beauty was wasted on a man rather than a woman.

After exhausting their opinions, someone thought to ask: “What identity will you create for yourself? What surname and given name will you use, where will you be from, and what will be your purpose?”

Lu Yun replied: “Surname Chen, given name Xue.”

Everyone: …Chen Xue?! It was definitely a feminine name, though something felt odd about it…

Lu Yun rolled up his sleeves, and everyone’s gaze fell on his beautifully prominent wrist bones. His hands were long and elegant, with well-proportioned joints and jade-like skin — truly beautiful hands. But…would a woman have such clearly defined finger bones? Everyone was stunned as they watched Lu Yun notice this and quickly roll his sleeves back down.

Lu Yun said: “Ah, I’m still not used to being in a woman’s role, I forgot.” He remembered to cover his throat but forgot his hands could give him away.

Lu Yun spoke softly: “As for my background… it’s simple. Let me create a template for you all to remember.”

Lu Yun stood up, found a desk in the room, and picked up brush and paper with flourish. After writing several characters in flying cursive script, he realized he should change his handwriting style. With a turn of his brush tip, the characters instantly transformed into gentle, fresh regular script. As Lu Yun grew more practiced, his writing became increasingly delicate and elegant… making everyone’s temples throb.

Not daring to disturb Lu Yun’s artistic mood, everyone closed the door and went outside, leaning against the doorway, looking at each other.

Lu Yun… was truly extraordinary.

After a while, someone thought: “Chen Xue… isn’t that just the master’s style name ‘Xuechen’ reversed? Isn’t that too lazy? What if someone with keen eyes notices?”

The others chorused: “How could anyone notice!”

“Who would ever notice!”

“Only a madman would notice such a thing!”

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, who would believe Lu Yun could dress as a woman so beautifully and naturally? Even compared to Miss Luo… except for being a bit too tall, Lu Yun wasn’t inferior to her at all.

Thus, as Lu Yun’s identity disappeared, a woman called Chen Xue quietly appeared in an ordinary song house in Luoyang. Her background was personally crafted by Lu Yun — an incredibly twisted tale with ups and downs that moved people to tears. In Lu Yun’s story, Chen Xue was of mixed Han and Tatar blood, growing up in the northern borderlands, treated as a slave and enduring endless abuse. But Chen Xue didn’t submit to fate. She was resilient, rebelling against her master, traveling thousands of miles to find her mother, being kidnapped along the way, sold to a song house to learn performing arts, escaping only to be separated from her companions, falling in love with a noble youth but being forcibly separated, attempting suicide by drowning but being saved, encountering assassins while repaying her savior… Finally, after countless twists and turns, Chen Xue was sold to this song house by one of his soldiers disguised as a merchant.

This story not only left the song house owner dumbfounded, but even when the soldiers first heard it, they were amazed by its dramatic turns, secretly swallowing their saliva—

“Young master, why make your background so tragic? Is it to gain the governor’s sympathy? We haven’t heard that the governor is one to pity beauties.”

Lu Yun glanced at them: “A tumultuous experience explains a mysterious personality. With such a complicated story, it becomes more troublesome for anyone to trace my background. With poor communication, the governor won’t be able to verify my identity’s authenticity quickly. Before he finds out, we’ll be long gone.”

Everyone nodded, accepting the lesson.

From Lu Yun’s first day at the song house, he didn’t hide his talents. Playing the ancient zither, his skilled technique and transcendent noble air spread his fame throughout Luoyang.

In this era, how pursued were beautiful people!

Luo Lingyu had such difficulties because she wanted to marry into a noble family, but Chen Xue, played by Lu Yun, didn’t want to marry into nobility — she only needed to catch the Luoyang governor’s eye and enter his mansion.

As Chen Xue’s reputation grew in the song houses, beautiful women continued to be sent into the governor’s mansion, only to be carried out lifeless. The governor was privately known for his violent nature, making the women of Luoyang anxious, fearing being chosen. At this time, Chen Xue, who always seemed carefree and detached from others, caught the attention of the governor’s subordinates who selected beauties for him.

“This woman is very beautiful, though she seems a bit cold and too tall…”

“But in all of Luoyang, I can’t find anyone more beautiful.”

“Recently with the war between North and South, there are soldiers inside and outside Luoyang city. The governor is anxious and irritable, his temper likely worse. We shouldn’t provoke him, just select good beauties to send to him to please him.”

…

Lu Yun moved through Luoyang like a fish in water, seizing every opportunity to enter the governor’s mansion. Meanwhile in Nanyang, with General Wei’s main battlefield situation relatively stable, Luo Lingyu found time to care for the soldiers sent by the King of Hengyang to assist them.

Luo Lingyu’s way of helping was to use her clever tongue to obtain grain from noble families to distribute to the soldiers.

The King of Hengyang was surprised and somewhat moved: “Thank you for your trouble, Miss.”

Luo Lingyu smiled bitterly, thinking that if the war didn’t end soon, Nanyang’s noble families would collapse first. There were barriers between the noble families and common people, with mutual distrust. Under these circumstances, mediating between both sides was exhausting.

But Miss Luo remained full of energy. Even when tired, she never showed any complaint. While soldiers distributed grain, she personally cooked for generals like Liu Mu of Hengyang. When she served the fresh fish to Liu Mu’s table, he was slightly shocked. The lady smiled gently: “This fish is called ‘Longevity Fish,’ a famous dish from our Nanyang.”

Luo Lingyu’s voice was like an oriole’s as she explained that this was Yellow River carp, known for its delicious meat. She cooked it with wolfberries and her own special seasonings, making the fish bright red and fragrant. The fish was succulent and absolutely delicious.

Liu Mu sat at the table while she eagerly brought him chopsticks, introducing the fish’s origin and preparation method, telling stories to please him.

Liu Mu’s expression flickered slightly. Seeing Luo Lingyu bustling about, he had a strange thought — she was so clever and lively, skilled in so many things. From what he had seen, she could write poetry, paint, compose music, dance, play instruments, and even cook. A lady so accomplished in life’s pleasures… whoever married her would have a rich, flavorful life every day, never dull.

And who would be so lucky to marry her!

Luo Lingyu’s voice brought Liu Mu back to reality. She frowned worriedly: “Why aren’t you eating? Did I prepare something wrong?”

Liu Mu shook his head.

He took a bite; the fish meat melted in his mouth, truly delicious. Liu Mu’s eyes brightened, and he saw Luo Lingyu’s eyes filled with smile. After watching for a while, she finally asked: “Has he sent any letters recently?”

Liu Mu paused before realizing who “he” referred to. Suddenly losing his appetite and interest, he understood her eager attention was for this purpose. Luo Lingyu’s intention was clear, and Liu Mu could feel it. Though uncomfortable, under the lady’s beautiful gaze, Liu Mu still replied briefly: “No. Entering Luoyang is dangerous territory, he can’t risk exposing his location. He absolutely cannot send letters out.”

Luo Lingyu nodded disappointedly: “I just worry about him.”

Liu Mu sneered: “What’s there to worry about!”

Hearing his contemptuous tone, suggesting deep grievances against Lu Yun, she paused before curiously asking Liu Mu: “I heard that in his youth, Third Cousin studied together with Your Highness?”

Liu Mu’s interest declined further: “…Mm.”

Luo Lingyu’s eyes brightened, she leaned forward, her guard against Liu Mu not as strong as before: “What kind of person was Third Cousin when studying? The same as now? Second Cousin said Third Cousin was romantic in his youth, saying he’s much more steady now. I see Third Cousin doesn’t like attending banquets now, was he like this when studying?”

Liu Mu felt a surge of anger, extremely impatient, finally understanding that Luo Lingyu wanted to chat about Lu Yun’s youth — what was there to chat about! Some people are annoying from childhood to adulthood.

Liu Mu glanced at Luo Lingyu: “He wasn’t a good person before. Are you sure you want to hear?”

Luo Lingyu nodded.

Liu Mu put down his chopsticks, sneering: “Lu Yun now pretends to be aloof, but he wasn’t like this in his youth. He was flamboyant then, looking down on everyone, writing poetry and prose that spread across the land. He relied on his good looks to attract women’s pursuit. But he wasn’t a good person. Several Jianye noble families were connected by marriage to the Lu family, and family marriages were hard to refuse, so Lu Yun deliberately mixed up several ladies’ letters. Only then did the ladies realize how many people were pursuing him simultaneously, causing an uproar. That year, several families became enemies, all because of Lu Yun’s mischief.”

Luo Lingyu: “…This shows Third Cousin never cared for women’s attention.”

Liu Mu: “He looked down on our teaching master, so he united with other students to petition, forcing the master to debate with students. At worst, he drove away three masters in one month. For half a year afterward, no one dared to come teach us.”

Luo Lingyu: “…Third Cousin’s scholarship must have been excellent.”

Liu Mu: “For a whole year we played around following him, barely studying, but at year-end examinations, he got the best results. We all played together, but he studied secretly behind our backs. How can someone be so cunning? Isn’t it infuriating?”

Luo Lingyu: “…Perhaps he simply had higher natural talent.”

Liu Mu: “…”

For each criticism he made, Luo Lingyu gave praise. Liu Mu gradually couldn’t continue, staring at Luo Lingyu, his heart darkening. In Miss Luo’s heart, Lu Yun was naturally different, naturally perfect in everything. Perhaps from beginning to end, she had always loved Lu Yun. Others in her eyes would never compare to Lu Yun. In Jianye she still concealed it, but now she could freely…

With a slight heaviness in his heart, Liu Mu no longer wished to speak of the past, responding perfunctorily: “So you can see, your Third Cousin has always been like this. He won’t suffer in Luoyang.”

Liu Mu stood up, no longer eating the fish, and turned to walk outside the tent.

Luo Lingyu was enjoying the stories when she saw his face suddenly turn cold, feeling surprised. She stood up and followed him: “Your Highness…”

Liu Mu harshly interrupted: “Stop following me!”

Luo Lingyu jumped in fright.

Liu Mu’s back was stiff and straight: “Don’t worry, since I made an agreement with him, I will naturally assist him and won’t deliberately let him die. You don’t need to please me like this, speaking for him. Though we don’t get along, I won’t cause trouble at this time.”

Luo Lingyu looked at his back for a long while before bowing slightly and saying softly: “Then thank you, Your Highness.”

…

Setting aside Luo Lingyu’s attempts at friendship, in Luoyang, someone finally introduced Chen Xue to play zither for the governor. Upon hearing this news, the soldiers who had followed Lu Yun to Luoyang and were now hidden throughout the city gathered, excitedly amazed: Lu Yun really could enchant men!

They split into small groups with different targets, climbing onto opposite walls to watch Chen Xue enter the mansion.

They saw a long carriage stop before the governor’s mansion, and a tall figure with snow-white clothes and jet-black hair, carrying an ancient zither, step out. The lady wore traditional deep clothes, with distant features and cold eyes. She raised her head to look at the mansion’s plaque, her black eyes seeming misty, showing remote detachment and melancholy emotion.

Just one casual glance was enough to be startled by her fleeting beauty.

The crowd on the wall: “…”

As Chen Xue carried her zither to enter, she was stopped by the unfriendly guards at the gate. Ignoring her beauty, they said without courtesy: “Miss, please stop. Anyone entering the governor’s mansion must be searched. Please put down your zither and step forward.”

Chen Xue’s gaze was melancholic and resentful as she glanced over. She sighed softly, her breath like orchids. The lady’s eyes flowed with charm, her radiance rippling, that unintentional grace making the speaking guard suddenly stunned, his neck reddening. This guard stammered: “M-m-miss, please don’t make things difficult for me…”

The crowd observing Lu Yun from the wall immediately tensed: This was bad, they would search her body. How could Lu Yun let anyone touch him? Not to mention how fake his chest was, the extra thing down below would frighten people to death!