ATLAS TRANSLATES

In the first month of the fifteenth year of Yuanshuo, the war between the North and South countries ended.

The South emerged victorious, though narrowly.

Afterwards came peace talks and negotiations.

After the New Year, the Southern capital of Jianye showed signs of spring, while the northern Nanyang counties still experienced several snowfalls. During the thaw, water dripped continuously day and night, forming small streams in the corners under the eaves.

For a month, Lu Yun lay recuperating on his sickbed, hearing these water sounds intermittently day and night.

The sounds of people walking and talking also came and went.

Lu Yun had been ill for over half a month. Luo Lingyu wept constantly, originally wanting to take Lu Yun back to the Luo family home to recover. However, because Lu Yun held many official positions – being both a provincial governor and military advisor – many people came daily to consult him on political and military matters. It would have been too inconvenient for Lu Yun to stay at the Luo family home. Luo Lingyu had no choice but to painfully part with her savings to purchase a residence in Nanyang city for Lu Yun. She comforted herself that after marrying Lu Yun, she would earn back all the money she had spent. Thus each day, the young lady would leave at dawn to visit and care for her betrothed, then return to the Luo family home in the evening to rest.

Sometimes she wouldn’t return home at all.

The Luo family of Nanyang pretended not to notice — Luo Lingyu had saved Lu Yun’s life, and now she was not only Lu family’s future daughter-in-law but also Lu Yun’s lifesaver. This would greatly elevate Luo Lingyu’s status after marriage, which greatly pleased the Nanyang Luo family. After all, they would share in both glory and hardship. They hoped Lu Yun would favor Luo Lingyu.

While ill, Lu Yun still had to handle official duties, causing his condition to fluctuate with persistent low fevers. Luo Lingyu argued with him several times, eventually forcing Lu Yun to petition the court, hoping they would send capable people to take over Lu Yun’s daily duties. While the Jianye court had previously ignored Lu Yun’s petition to recruit soldiers, they now responded actively to these matters.

Within ten days, the court sent an official to serve as the new governor of the province. Lu Yun was promoted – after handling the final peace talks between North and South and handing over Nanyang affairs to his successor, upon returning to Jianye, Lu Yun would become Director of the Imperial Secretariat. The Imperial Secretariat shared power with the Department of State Affairs, handling confidential central government matters. Due to their close proximity to the emperor, the Imperial Secretariat’s location was historically known as the “Phoenix Pool.”

Entering the central government and handling confidential matters was a necessary path to becoming an Imperial Advisor. And Imperial Advisor was an added official position – equivalent to Prime Minister.

The Lu family had paved a bright path for Lu Yun – it only remained to be seen if he could live up to it.

Lu Yun was responsible for the peace talks between North and South, with other officials assisting. From the Northern side, they sent officials who first ransomed back the Luoyang Governor who had nearly died in the avalanche, before proceeding with peace talks. The Luoyang Governor’s face was ashen – the North’s quick defeat this time was not unrelated to his being led astray by desire and losing the Fire Medicine Master. This Luoyang Governor would likely be demoted upon returning North.

Both sides fought for every inch of territory as the peace talks progressed slowly and difficultly.

Surprisingly, while sending officials to assist Lu Yun, the court also sent him an unexpected gift — his second brother, Lu Xian, had also come along with the officials to participate in the peace talks.

Lu Yun thought about it and believed his second brother’s participation in the talks was just a pretense – he had really come to visit him. Indeed, Lu Xian had only managed to convince their parents to reluctantly let him leave after repeatedly explaining that Nanyang was now safe. Lu Xian perfunctorily met with the Northern peace talk officials once, then drove to stay at his third brother’s residence the next day to visit him.

Lu Xian rushed anxiously to see his brother’s sickbed. While relieved upon seeing him, he also felt distressed. The young noble appeared thinner, reclining against pillows wearing loose white casual clothes that were as pure as frost and snow. With his hair half-tied and clear dark eyes, though his face was pale and spirits low, this kind of frail beauty when ill had a different kind of allure from his usual appearance.

Enough to drive all the young ladies in the world mad.

Lu Xian sighed about how his third brother’s good looks remained, still maintaining his noble and elegant appearance despite six months of wind and sun exposure. However, regardless of how chaotic his dreams had been, Lu Yun had ultimately survived that deadly crisis. Sitting by his third brother’s bedside, Lu Xian spoke rapidly: “This is wonderful… seeing you well puts my mind at ease. Father wouldn’t let me come to Nanyang, not knowing how worried I was about something happening to you…”

Lu Xian frowned, seeming to recall his fear.

His father Lu Mao wouldn’t let him take the risk, so he could only write letters to his third brother. But letters took time to deliver, and he always feared he would be too late and miss helping his third brother. He worried day and night, and now finally said “Amitabha, I knew Buddha would protect you, third brother.”

Lu Yun was speechless: …Was his survival really due to Buddha’s protection rather than his own efforts and the help of Luo Lingyu, Lu Xian, Prince Chen, and Zhou Yangling?

Lu Yun calmly steered the topic away from spiritual matters: “I should thank second brother most, for worrying about me so much.”

The handsome Lu Xian shook his head casually, indicating he hadn’t done much. Seeing his bedridden third brother’s flickering gaze appearing contemplative, he proactively brought up what they were both thinking about: “…Thanks to my prophetic dream.”

Lu Yun paused.

His mind became chaotic, instantly recalling those stories that hadn’t actually happened which he’d dreamed of while near death. The torment in the dream felt so real that even after waking he still felt disturbed. It seemed as if it had really happened. Indeed, if not for Lu Xian’s interference, things might have really turned out that way… but now Lu Yun’s heart was half freed from its shackles, having escaped his deadly fate.

Lu Yun thanked him again.

He remained distracted, seeming to think deeply about Lu Xian’s dream but ultimately didn’t ask about it. However, Lu Xian was dejected: “…According to the pattern of the previous two times, when something happens in reality that acts as a catalyst, I would start dreaming. But it’s been a month since your deadly crisis passed, even the new year has passed, yet I still haven’t had the next dream. I’m really uneasy.”

Lu Yun: “…Second brother, your dreams are just prophecies. When many things’ trajectories can be seen, why wait for your prophecies? The core of your dreams was me, and since I’ve survived, perhaps you won’t dream anymore in the future. You should feel relieved to be free of it.”

Lu Xian: “…”

Though he maintained a calm exterior, his heart was quite confused, not understanding what his third brother meant. What did he mean by “many things’ trajectories can be seen”? Where were these trajectories seen? He hadn’t seen anything. Wasn’t he the one having the dreams? Why did his third brother’s tone suggest he knew even more than him? The difference between people… was too great, wasn’t it?

Lu Xian struggled internally: “I don’t wish to take shortcuts. Rather, I’m thinking about what my dreams mean. Contemplating my dreams, I’ve realized that in both the first and second dreams, the trajectories of major events intersected to varying degrees. For example, Nanyang would be caught in war, and third brother would nearly die. The reason I’m so worried is because according to both the first and second dreams, Jianye would be caught in war, with scholars fleeing south.”

Lu Yun’s heart paused again, looking at his second brother with surprise: “Perhaps your guess isn’t wrong.”

Encouraged by his third brother, Lu Xian’s heart lifted, mistakenly believing his understanding of major events had improved enough to discuss these matters with his third brother. He continued with his conjectures: “Then, it’s not just your deadly fate, but the same applies to Miss Luo. In my first dream, Miss Luo died in the end.”

Lu Yun’s face darkened.

He thought of how things developed with Luo Lingyu marrying the Prince of Hengyang. Although in reality Luo Lingyu and the Prince of Hengyang weren’t very familiar, this thorn stuck in Lu Yun’s heart made him uncomfortable whenever he thought about it, filled with jealousy.

He just kept it to himself.

Lu Xian didn’t notice his third brother’s half-darkened face and continued talking enthusiastically: “And in the second dream, Miss Luo eventually left Jianye, her whereabouts unknown. I don’t know where she went with Huan’er… but there’s a possibility that the reason her ‘whereabouts were unknown’ was because she was no longer in this world.”

Lu Yun’s eye twitched: “…”

He looked at his second brother in amazement.

Lu Xian was deeply pained, saying sadly: “Next might be Miss Luo’s deadly fate.”

Lu Yun: “You’re overthinking it.”

Lu Xian: “But that’s what the dream showed!”

Lu Yun calmly: “You’ve misinterpreted your dream.”

Lu Xian: “…”

Lu Yun: “Lingyu won’t come to any harm. Her death in your first dream was only due to being caught up in the country’s destruction. At that time, anyone could have died. That was the result, the inevitable outcome of how things developed, not a random accident. In your second dream she left Jianye, which simply meant leaving Jianye. She’s not the type to commit suicide, she was just too heartbroken and didn’t want to see familiar faces daily. How could she die?”

Lu Yun paused: “And now, that cause has been cut off. That outcome won’t exist. So second brother is overthinking.”

Lu Xian: “…If only you were the one having these dreams instead. I can’t understand anything.”

Lu Yun smiled faintly, carelessly: “Second brother is actually wisely foolish, a lucky person. Haven’t you noticed that in all your dreams, you’re always the one who survives? No, not just survives, but never encounters any accidents or great misfortunes. People around you either die or leave, while you remain an observer.”

Lu Xian was startled, suddenly stiffening – he had never thought about it from this angle.

Seeing his third brother give him a slight smile full of deep meaning: “Second brother, you’re actually heaven’s favored one. Such luck, others wouldn’t have in a lifetime.”

Convinced by his third brother, Lu Xian left in a daze, considering whether it was because he had always remained safe that he was able to save his third brother. At the same time, Lu Xian was dejected that his carefully interpreted dream developments were directly denied by his third brother. He reluctantly asked his third brother to guess, but his third brother said he wanted to do an experiment to see if it matched his dream.

Lu Xian left with a wooden expression, as he ultimately hadn’t understood what Lu Yun was being so mysterious about. Lu Xian took a deep breath, deciding to keep things simple and go comfort the border troops instead. Those troublesome matters, better let third brother worry about them.

…

When Lu Xian came to visit Lu Yun, Luo Lingyu was actually also in this residence.

However, since the brothers were talking, she hoped Lu Yun would hint to Lu Xian about marrying her, so she pretended to be shy and left, hoping Lu Yun would understand her thoughts. Luo Lingyu was blindly optimistic, desperately longing for marriage, not knowing that Lu Yun never had the habit of discussing such matters with others. She had her maid secretly listen to their conversation, but Lingyu returned saying she hadn’t heard the third young master mention marrying Miss Luo, leaving Luo Lingyu very disappointed in Lu Yun.

Just then, as they were clearing out the old to welcome the new, the maid brought up matters of cutting and preparing clothes. Lingyu tried to please Miss Luo by specifically bringing Lu Yun’s daily clothing combinations for Miss Luo’s review. Lingyu smiled brightly: “These are the clothes Third Young Master has worn from arriving in Nanyang until now. The steward brought them to ask Miss Luo which should be discarded, and whether to cut some new ones. Or should we wait until we return to Jianye?”

“Third Young Master never manages these things. Daily attire used to all be managed by Sister Jinyue. Unfortunately Sister Jinyue is in Jianye, and the steward here in Nanyang doesn’t dare ask Third Young Master, so they can only seek Miss Luo’s help.”

Luo Lingyu became angry just seeing Lu Yun’s clothes. She casually rummaged through his old clothes with disgust, wanting to say burn them all. But as her hand carelessly moved through them, disturbing the clothes, a pink handkerchief floated lightly out from among the pile of clothes. Luo Lingyu’s beautiful eyes widened as she watched this handkerchief float down to land gently on her knee.

…A young lady’s handkerchief!

With two mandarin ducks embroidered on it!

Luo Lingyu’s mind went blank, her whole body going numb as if struck by heavenly thunder. She couldn’t believe it, but tremblingly reached out to grab the handkerchief. The maid Lingyu also guessed something, immediately turning pale. Seeing Miss Luo spread out the handkerchief to examine it closely, it had a pair of mandarin ducks playing in water embroidered on it, full of intimate affection, though the embroidery work was very ordinary with nothing praiseworthy about it.

In the bottom right corner of the handkerchief were embroidered two small characters — “Chen Xue”.

Clearly a young lady’s name.

Luo Lingyu: “…”

Her face turned deathly pale, then she began trembling with rage — she had always been with Lu Yun, never seeing him associate with any women. He even pretended to keep his distance from women in front of her. The only times she wasn’t by his side were when she hadn’t yet come to Nanyang and when he went to Luoyang.

Given Lu Yun’s arrogance, how could he possibly accept a lady’s handkerchief unless he particularly cared about that lady? When Luo Lingyu first tried to attract Lu Yun, he wouldn’t even accept the flower essence she prepared.

Yet he accepted someone else’s handkerchief!

Sitting dazed on the couch, the maid watched anxiously as Miss Luo’s eyes filled with frost, her hands nearly tearing the handkerchief as she twisted it. The young lady repeatedly looked at the handkerchief in her hands, imagining her beloved young master with that handsome face, flirting in bed with another woman. Smiling, red curtains flying, Luo Lingyu felt like her heart would break—

Who exactly was Chen Xue?!

Had he been intimate with that woman called “Chen Xue”? Is that why he took her handkerchief?

Men are all bastards! He had just taken her virginity, just said he cared for her, and now he was eating wild grass outside… She had thought Lu Yun was different, but… She would kill that pair of adulterers, wuu wuu wuu!