In a room, the maid Lingyu returned after trimming the candle wick. She found her lady still sitting melancholy, holding a note and examining it over and over.
Lingyu tried to console her: “My lady, please don’t overthink it. Although ladies must wear veils when traveling, perhaps some gentleman caught a glimpse of your appearance. You’re so beautiful, and with the army being mostly men, it’s natural to receive such ardent admiration.” Fearing Luo Lingyu would become paranoid, she added, “Don’t worry, this servant won’t tell Lu Yun about this.”
“No,” Luo Lingyu shook her head with furrowed brows, her expression hesitant. “Lingyu, come look – doesn’t this handwriting seem familiar?”
As a maid, Lingyu could recognize some characters but wasn’t illiterate. However, she couldn’t read or write poetry. So when she leaned in to study the handwriting with Luo Lingyu, she could only shake her head in confusion, indicating she didn’t recognize it.
The handwriting on the note was graceful and elegant, with a neat and precise structure that carried an classical style.
But Lingyu was certain she hadn’t seen it before. Observing Luo Lingyu’s hesitant expression, she suddenly realized something: “My lady, you don’t suspect this note was written by Lu Yun, do you? His handwriting isn’t like this at all.”
Luo Lingyu paused, making some perfunctory remarks to the maid. She tucked away the note, determined to test Lu Xian tomorrow. While the maid blew out the candles and went to sleep without worry, her lady lay awake thinking about that handwriting—
The writing on the note was so refined that ordinary people would rarely have the cultivation to write such beautiful characters. Someone who could write like this must have studied poetry and practiced calligraphy since childhood – only nobles would have such foundation. But among their traveling party, most were military men of humble origins. The few from noble families were mostly old enough to be her grandfather. How could they have the thick skin to flirt with someone they thought was a maid?
Perhaps she was overthinking it, but whenever she saw this handwriting, she couldn’t help but think of her husband Lu Yun.
Lu Yun was a scholar, the Plum Blossom Hermit, a renowned calligrapher throughout the land. He usually wrote in wild cursive script, but he knew other styles too. Luo Lingyu had seen at least two different styles of his writing… She felt a flicker of anger: Could this note really have been written by her husband? Was he flirting with strange young women while she was away?
She had to trick Lu Xian into revealing the truth.
…
Lu Xian was very easy to trick.
When Luo Lingyu put on her veil and snuck into Lu Xian’s quarters again, he felt utterly helpless. Luo Lingyu took out the note and asked her second brother to look at it. She observed his expression and saw him pause briefly before showing slight embarrassment.
Luo Lingyu immediately grew angry: “I knew I wasn’t wrong – Lu Yun wrote this! That bastard!”
Lu Xian’s expression was subtle.
But he felt somewhat relieved.
In his view, his third brother knew the other person was cousin Luo, and now cousin Luo also knew the other person was his third brother. Through this misunderstanding, the two had sort of reconnected – they should end this strange relationship and hurry to meet and recognize each other.
Just as Lu Xian was about to open his mouth to advise them, he saw Luo Lingyu’s face full of suppressed anger, her chest heaving with fury. He hastily averted his eyes, not daring to look more. Luo Lingyu paced back and forth in the room, grinding her teeth: “He must have seen I wasn’t around and found some cute little maid to flirt with. I knew someone like him with such fickle feelings couldn’t be trusted. But he’s too indiscriminate! He hasn’t even seen the maid’s face and he’s already sending her things…”
It must be because she had played the role of a gentle and virtuous maid that she had caught Lu Yun’s heart. Luo Lingyu’s eyes reddened: “I’ll never forgive him!”
Lu Xian: “I think we should let it go. Why don’t I arrange to meet with third brother…”
Luo Lingyu: “No! If he wants to play games, I’ll play along… If he really, really… I’ll divorce him!”
Lu Xian: “Uh… cousin…”
He couldn’t stop her. He watched as Luo Lingyu stormed in like the wind and floated out just as quickly – he couldn’t even grab her sleeve. Lu Second Brother immediately felt incredulous, not knowing how things had developed this way. He felt a deep headache over this young couple, and his mood instantly became heavier.
…
After returning, Luo Lingyu forcefully suppressed the indignation in her heart and put on an act of a maiden in love, delicately picking up her brush to write: “This humble one is overjoyed.”
— If he wanted to have an affair, then bring it on.
She left the note in the maid’s room. Under the maid Lingyu’s meaningful gaze, she calmly went to bed, waiting for someone to come take it while she wasn’t around. And Lu Yun never disappointed Luo Lingyu – she wrote the note before going to bed the previous night, and by the next morning, Lu Yun had received it.
In the early morning, by the window where flowers were arranged, after a night of the maid’s preparations, sweet dreams lasted until dawn. Lu Yun’s good mood ended when he saw the note. His face instantly stiffened and fell. The veiled maid Luo Lingyu, who had been lingering in the room wanting to see his reaction, suddenly felt a cold glare from behind. She sensitively turned around and through the gauze curtain saw Lu Yun push open the door and leave abruptly.
From start to finish, he didn’t look at her, the little maid, once.
Meanwhile, Lu Xian was just elegantly having his breakfast when his brother Lu Yun burst in.
Lu Yun was furious. He dragged his only confidant, his second brother, to show him how his wife was having an affair: “What does she mean by this? Does she think that just because I’m not around, she’ll nod her head at any gentleman who slightly entices her? She even says she’s ‘overjoyed’ – what is there to be happy about? What’s so good about it!”
Lu Xian: “…”
He said in confusion: “If I remember correctly, weren’t you the one who wrote notes first to seduce cousin?”
Lu Yun froze, then his eyes flashed proudly as he said coldly: “I was merely testing to see if she was faithful, if she could stay loyal to me. Now, she has truly disappointed me.”
Lu Xian: “I think we should just let this go…”
“No,” his handsome brother’s eyes glittered dangerously, looking bewitching when trying to seduce others, “I want to test her further, to see how little she regards me as her husband.”
Lu Second Brother: “…”
His heart was so tired.
His brother and sister-in-law were both too affected and too exhausting. When two dramatic people became husband and wife, it ended up exhausting him, the bystander, instead.
Seeing that he couldn’t shake Third Brother’s determination, Lu Xian could only say: “Do as you wish. I just have one request – could you not always let me know about your messy affairs?”
Lu Yun let out a derisive laugh, and the answer was naturally “no”. With Second Brother being the only one in the know, able to curse Luo Lingyu together with him, how could Lu Yun possibly give that up?
…
The same conversation happened between Lu Xian and Luo Lingyu.
Luo Lingyu’s answer was identical to Lu Yun’s, truly worthy of being husband and wife: “How can I not let Second Brother know? The one bullying me is your brother!”
Lu Xian: “…”
He fell silent, deciding to let things be. He couldn’t handle either of them, so he could only silently watch how these two would torture each other.
…
Both Luo Lingyu and Lu Yun knew who the other was, yet both thought the other didn’t know their identity.
Over the next few days, they passed notes back and forth, completely acting like a pair of adulterers cheating on their spouses—
“Where does brother work? How come I’ve never seen you?”
“Under a general. Because my face is ugly, I dare not meet sister. Sister is just a maid, how can you only serve Colonel Lu? Is Colonel Lu good to you?”
“Brother, that Colonel Lu is all facade and no substance, just an empty shell. Let’s not speak of him. Sister prefers someone brave and generous like you, not those scheming scholars like Colonel Lu… But I heard Colonel Lu has a wife who is peerlessly beautiful. Have you seen her? Did you find yourself attracted to that lady?”
“Sister worries too much. That Lady Luo is just a wooden beauty, nothing special.”
As they tested each other like this, Luo Lingyu stared at Lu Yun’s evaluation of her as “nothing special,” her expression almost twisted. If Lu Yun were in front of her, she would want to scratch him to death — What did he mean by “nothing special”? How was she nothing special? Had he seen anyone more beautiful than her? And he called her a “wooden beauty.” Too much!
At the same time, Lu Yun was also deeply hurt by his wife’s evaluation of him as an “empty shell” — How was he an empty shell? How was he all facade and no substance? Had he ever failed to satisfy her? That certain someone who cried out “no more” at night, did she have no self-awareness at all?
They were both so angry they could spit blood.
Yet these two could both endure it, continuing to hold their noses and suppress their anger while flirting with each other. When they finally couldn’t take it anymore, both sides eagerly—
“Brother (Sister), I don’t look down on you, I enjoy talking with you, why don’t we set a time to meet?”
…
The two immediately agreed, setting a time and date to meet, and both coincidentally went to Second Brother Lu Xian’s place.
They both held evidence of the other’s “affair” in their hands, both with iron-grey faces, yet also feeling triumphant: “Just watch, Second Brother, at midnight tonight, I want to see how he (she) tries to explain this. Having an affair behind my back, I won’t forgive him (her) easily.”
“Huh, I can’t wait to see his (her) expression when they discover it’s me. They’ll surely regret it and be confused, begging for my forgiveness, wanting to make amends? But how could I be so easily appeased?”
Lu Xian Lu Xian: “…”
Silently watching them.
To be honest, Lu Xian was also looking forward to the scene when his brother and sister-in-law met — it would surely be spectacular.
…
The moon rose above the willow tips, people met after dusk.
After another day of travel, they stopped at a new post station to rest. At night, Luo Lingyu in the maid’s quarters and Lu Yun in the officer’s residence both quietly avoided others’ attention, moving through the shadows. They had arranged to meet at the stables to see their lovers.
Night brought fog, empty and quiet.
Luo Lingyu arrived at the stables first, waiting for Lu Yun with a heart full of resentment and anticipation. Her feelings were somewhat contradictory – on one hand she was angry at Lu Yun for having an affair behind her back, on the other hand she was secretly pleased that she was the one who attracted him, wondering if she could attract him no matter what form she took? After all, among so many maids, Lu Yun only wrote notes to her. So she was both angry and self-satisfied.
Lady Luo had specially bathed and groomed herself before coming, and now stretched her neck waiting for her lover. As time slowly passed, her heart beat faster and faster, her eyes filling with anticipation: Although she wore a veil every day while tidying Lu Yun’s quarters and occasionally ran into him, she wore a veil and her husband never looked at her directly, so even though they saw each other daily, she felt like she hadn’t truly seen him in ages.
Her husband, so leisurely elegant, noble and proud. Clear eyes, straight nose, crimson lips…
In the thin fog, a male figure slowly approached the stables. From afar the details weren’t clear, only that the approaching person had flowing robes and a tall slender figure, with the bearing of jade and orchids. Who else could it be walking with such a leisurely manner but Lu Yun?
Luo Lingyu’s heart beat even harder.
The person entered and they faced each other. Luo Lingyu glanced at him briefly, seeing his face still as graceful and gentle as landscapes, but she suppressed the love in her heart. Being too nervous, she didn’t notice Lu Yun raise an eyebrow, his expression extremely cold.
Luo Lingyu and Lu Yun spoke almost simultaneously: “Looking for pleasure behind my back, you didn’t expect it to be me, did you?”
The cold male voice and delicate female voice mixed together, intertwining. Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu both froze, not expecting the other to say the same thing: “…”
Following that, their second sentences arrived together again: “…You were testing me?”
Luo Lingyu: “…”
Lu Yun: “…”
The two spoke for a third time simultaneously: “…You don’t trust me?!”
Both again: “…”
Luo Lingyu finally had thinner skin, her face flushing red as she stomped her foot in anger: “Stop copying what I say, you bad man!”
Lu Yun’s eyebrows lifted slightly as he lowered his gaze.
His phoenix eyes were usually deeply affectionate, but now, matching the lady opposite him, his expression was somewhat embarrassed.
…
What could be more embarrassing than deliberately testing the other person, only to find out they were doing the same thing?
What could make one’s feelings more complicated than discovering the other person was just as suspicious as oneself?
…
The two stood like wooden posts, after a long while, Lu Yun was the one with thicker skin.
He laughed softly: “…Sister Yu’er, you’re really something. You knew it was me all along and deliberately provoked me?”
Luo Lingyu pouted: “Weren’t you the same!”
Her mood was so awkward—
Originally she had traveled thousands of miles, leaving Zhou Lang behind to find Lu Yun. To tell Lu Yun of her love for him, her care for him, to say she would rather risk her life to share his hardships.
It should have been like that. Only then would Lu Yun be moved and love her more.
Who knew… who knew… now it was so awkward, who could still be romantic?
The two looked at each other, secretly glancing at the other, then stiffly moving their gazes away, each remaining silent.
Luo Lingyu said dejectedly: “Brother Xuecheng, I do love you. It’s just that we just got married, and you’re so outstanding, I couldn’t help but… want to test you.”
Lu Yun replied politely: “Me too.”
Lu Yun paused; “Sister, come give me a hug… shall we pretend these recent events never happened?”
Luo Lingyu sighed in relief: “Of course, of course.”
The two politely embraced, acting out the joy of reunion. But their indescribable mood was difficult to express.
…
The next day when dawn first broke, Lu Xian Lu Xian was curious whether his brother and sister-in-law had reached any conclusions last night. He also felt emotional, thinking that absence makes the heart grow fonder – after clearing things up last night, his brother and sister-in-law hadn’t seen each other for so long, they must have been passionate and reluctant to part? The considerate Lu Second Brother decided to give his third brother and cousin more time.
Lu Second Brother finished his breakfast before leisurely going to knock on his third brother’s door. When the door opened, he indeed saw cousin Luo at his third brother’s place.
These two had actually gotten up early and were having breakfast, even greeting him especially politely and courteously.
Lu Second Brother was very surprised as he looked around the room. He found it seemingly very neat and clean? He was astonished that his third brother hadn’t shown his wild nature. Looking over, he saw Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu sitting together stiffly and distantly having breakfast. One “brother” here, one “sister” there, they pretended to be calm while trying hard to repair the awkward atmosphere.
Lu Xian: “…”
He smiled slightly, understanding in his heart. It seems last night’s story was quite spectacular.
The awkwardness between the Lu Yun couple lasted for three days before completely dissipating. By then, no longer dwelling on how they had deceived each other and played tricks on each other, Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu finally made passionate love several times. Late at night, in their bed curtains filled with romantic atmosphere, Luo Lingyu lay panting in her satisfied husband’s arms, finally having the mood to talk about leaving Zhou Lang and returning to Jianye with Lu Yun.
She said anxiously: “I’m not disobeying you, I just felt I could help you… I won’t lose your child.”
She looked apprehensive, fearing Lu Yun would bring up both old and new grievances and get angry with her. But after several days of mental preparation, Lu Yun’s initial unhappiness had passed. On the bed, the husband held his wife’s small waist. Her skin was smooth and warm to the touch, like snow and frost in his hands, making him unable to let go.
In his good mood, he was particularly unbothered: “It’s fine. Since you’ve come back, you’ve come back. Yu’er sister is capable and can help brother quite a bit. Brother will also try his best to protect sister, nothing bad will happen.”
Though Lu Yun didn’t blame her for acting on her own, Luo Lingyu became insecure again: “If- if I really miscarry… how can that be okay? I’m not afraid of anything else, just this accident.”
Lu Yun exhaled, saying lightly: “Second brother once suggested I shouldn’t touch you, that would be a good way to prevent pregnancy. We’re young, there’s no rush to have children. After matters in Jianye are settled, we can talk about trying for a child – that’s better than an accidental rush.”
Luo Lingyu: “…”
She suddenly sat up from Lu Yun’s embrace, her black hair scattered on the bed, making her small oval face look exquisite and beautiful. But her expression was shocked: “What? You won’t touch me anymore in the future?”
Lu Yun raised an eyebrow, his eyes filling with teasing as he looked at her.
His long eyebrows relaxed, the interest in his gaze quite provocative. She blushed at his look. Luo Lingyu could tell what his gaze meant and her face flushed scarlet. But Lu Yun had already reached out to pull her back into his embrace. He lightly kissed her cheek with a half-smile: “I thought sister didn’t like these affairs. It seems sister has developed a taste for it… But let me ask sister, did brother make you feel good?”
Luo Lingyu blushed and complained coquettishly: “Not at all! My waist hurts so much, how could it feel good?”
Lu Yun laughed, his upturned eyes bright with deep emotion as he teased her slightly. His eyes were slanted upward, filled with an intoxicating tenderness like being drunk on wine. She avoided his gaze shyly, but he brushed aside the hair by her cheek and kissed behind her ear. His breath was intimate, making her ear redden and her body tremble in his arms. Whether the woman spoke truth or lies, he could tell clearly.
“Silly sister,” Lu Yun murmured against her ear, caressing, “There are many ways to prevent pregnancy, isn’t contraceptive medicine one of them… Sister is so sweet, how could brother bear not to touch you?”
“Sister’s chest…”
Luo Lingyu quickly covered his mouth with her hand, annoyed: “Don’t say it! Don’t say it! Why are you always so talkative at times like this?”
…
After traveling like this, sometimes playing around and sometimes moving forward, the group finally reached Jianye at the end of April. In Jianye city, Prince Chen Liu Shu had long been waiting respectfully.
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