ATLAS TRANSLATES

In the night, the Prince of Hengyang escaped, while Prince Zhao and Prince Chen collided in the city. A fire broke out at Jianchu Temple… all these coincidences were orchestrated by human hands.

After the Jianchu Temple incident, leaving his followers to help the Metropolitan Governor’s men with the aftermath, Lu Yun felt tonight’s matters were concluded and invited his wife to leave with him. Since their followers went to assist the Metropolitan Governor’s officials in recording the temple fire incident, when it came time to leave this famous temple, Lu Yun and his young wife had to walk back alone.

Walking along the Qinhuai River, Lu Yun slowly explained the reasons behind his actions tonight to Luo Lingyu.

Under the bright moonlight with June flowers flying about, the elegant young lord walked on the side closer to the Qinhuai River, with Luo Lingyu beside him. She listened as he first explained about Yue Zihan’s matter, then about the Prince of Hengyang. Luo Lingyu was first shocked that Lu Yun knew about things Luo Yunhuan hadn’t told her, then admired Lu Yun’s strategic abilities. With her husband in control, after some slight discontent, Luo Lingyu could only hit him a few times to vent her frustration. But when Lu Yun mentioned the Prince of Hengyang, his tone was somewhat strange. The young lady turned her head to observe his expression, and under her graceful, beautiful eyes rippling with thoughts, she seemed lost in contemplation.

Luo Lingyu: “It seems both you and Brother Xian act strangely whenever the Prince of Hengyang is mentioned.”

Lu Yun’s eyes froze for an instant, but he pretended nothing was wrong: “How so?”

Seeing his casual demeanor, Luo Lingyu became even more certain. This man was proud and arrogant – if nothing was truly wrong, Lu Yun would have smiled dismissively or mocked her for overthinking. His saying “How so?” clearly meant there was something. Luo Lingyu found it extremely puzzling: “I just remembered, before I married you, whenever I talked with the Prince of Hengyang, Brother Xian would come interrupt. Once when the prince was injured because of me, I wanted to visit him, but Second Cousin insisted on going in my place. Back then I just thought he was deliberately matchmaking between us, but thinking about it now, it was indeed strange.”

Luo Lingyu glanced sideways at Lu Yun and complained: “And you’re even more obvious! Every time I mention the Prince of Hengyang, you get unhappy and silently hold it against me. In fact, I haven’t said or done anything special – I’ve had many admirers, but you don’t react this strongly to others. Why do you have such a big reaction only to the Prince of Hengyang? Tonight you clearly saved him, but besides explaining the reasons to me, you don’t mention anything else. And before that, when the Prince of Hengyang was imprisoned, you didn’t even go see him once. You didn’t ask about what happened, only relying on bits and pieces told by others to guess. Being this one-sided, how does that look like someone who wants to save another person?”

Lu Yun glanced at her, his voice slightly cool: “What are you trying to say?”

Luo Lingyu smiled slightly.

She remained silent at first, walking a few quick steps forward. Across the shore were layers of lights, boats and painted barges stopped on the Qinhuai River, with melodious singing and music drifting over. The firelight merged with the water’s reflection, washing over the young lady’s beautiful face in layers. Her wide sleeves floated like clouds, brushing past Lu Yun’s arm behind her, her fragrance enticing. She suddenly turned back, strands of hair by her cheeks grazing her lips, her eyes bright and mischievous.

Luo Lingyu smiled brightly: “I guess, perhaps in Second Cousin’s dream, I married the Prince of Hengyang instead of you. Is that why you and Second Cousin are so guarded against His Highness, unwilling to let me even speak an extra word with him?”

Lu Yun sneered.

Luo Lingyu snorted at him: “Don’t give me that attitude. Your reaction clearly admits it. Brother Xuechen, you’re even jealous of things that never happened?”

Lu Yun felt annoyed inside, thinking how could it be called “never happened”? If not for Second Brother favoring him, that Prince of Hengyang might have snatched away Luo Lingyu. Luo Lingyu was beautiful, seemed to love money and fame, quite vulgar, but to support this vulgarity, she had learned so many refined interests. What an interesting beauty… Lu Yun didn’t mind that admirers always surrounded her, but thinking that she might have married the Prince of Hengyang, his jealousy and hatred were indescribable.

Luo Lingyu walked to his side, observing the cold expression under his cool exterior. She reached out to hold his hand, but he dodged by pulling back his sleeve. Knowing he couldn’t let go of his pride, Luo Lingyu wasn’t angry, but reached out tentatively to touch his hand again. Luo Lingyu said playfully: “Brother Xuechen, why won’t you pay attention to me?”

After several attempts, she finally succeeded, with Lu Yun holding her hand.

Laughing so hard inside that she wanted to roll around holding her stomach, the young lady outwardly tried to please Lu Yun: “Brother Xuechen, what are you thinking about? I love you the most in my heart. Even if I had married someone else, I would still love you the most.” She paused, seeming to think of something, and slowly said, “I can’t imagine days without being married to you. Without you accompanying me to pick lotuses in summer and cook maple leaves in autumn, without the hermit I admire painting, without you getting angry and arguing with me… those days would surely be bitter. I really can’t imagine what it would be like if I had married the Prince of Hengyang.”

Luo Lingyu: “Who could be as compatible with me as Brother Xuechen? Everything I think about, he knows; whatever my husband likes or thinks about, I happen to like the same things. Besides Brother Xuechen, could I like anyone else? I can’t imagine it!”

Lu Yun’s heart skipped a beat.

But he hardened his heart and said coolly: “What’s so hard to imagine? With a clever and virtuous lady like you, if you had married the Prince of Hengyang, he would surely love you deeply. How could someone as calculating as you fail to capture your husband’s heart? Even without me, your marriage would be happy and blessed.”

Luo Lingyu said: “How could that be? Is surface happiness real happiness? How do you know when I’m married to someone else, I wouldn’t be thinking of you in my heart, hating you? My heart is very small, Lu Yun. You’ve provoked me – I’ll remember you for a lifetime.”

Lu Yun’s grip on her hand suddenly tightened.

His pupils contracted slightly as he vaguely recalled a dream he had after that day on the snowy mountain. He seemed to have had a very long dream where he had died, and Luo Lingyu wasn’t happy. She was melancholic, forcing smiles, so quiet and without her former vitality. Until her death, she never truly smiled again.

And he had her in his heart too. Losing her, he was like a walking corpse, wishing for death in his pain. He still wouldn’t admit it.

With her clearly in his heart, why couldn’t they be together in that dream that Lu Xian had never interfered with?

Lu Yun said softly: “Who you end up with and what kind of ending you have, while love is certainly a factor, timing and fate also play their parts. Without some coincidences in love, it’s too hard to persist, to believe it’s destined.”

Luo Lingyu was stunned, feeling he spoke from experience. He spoke with such loneliness and sadness, as if she had really married the Prince of Hengyang.

They both became emotional and melancholic together. Just then, the lights on the Qinhuai River swayed on the water, and the laughter of young ladies and their admirers from the painted barges drifted over from far away. In the distance, they could hear their songs. Under the clear moonlight, the girls’ songs were filled with loss, while the Prince of Hengyang that Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu were both thinking about had already fled far away.

Feeling dejected, Luo Lingyu unconsciously recited: “The beauty has departed and news of them is scarce, separated by a thousand miles we share the same bright moon. Sighing in the wind, where shall this end? The river road is long and cannot be crossed.”

How blurred are the lines between reality and dreams – is it the unknown future, or a known past life? A thousand miles apart under the same moon, who knows of this yearning? And fate wandering in between, what kind of powerful and mysterious passerby is it?

As the lady beside him sang softly, Lu Yun listened intently, his mood growing heavier. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Luo Lingyu, looking across the water at the boats drifting on the Qinhuai River, listening to the women’s songs from the boats. A cool breeze blew past, and Lu Yun’s head cleared. Coming to his senses, he couldn’t help but laugh, thinking how foolish he and sister Lingyu were being – why were they grieving over things that never happened?

In her melancholy, Luo Lingyu suddenly heard the young lord beside her recite: “The moon has set and the dew is about to dry, the year grows late with no one to return with. The appointed time can still come again, as light frost touches one’s clothes.”

—The moon has set, and the morning dew will bring a new day. What does it matter if years have passed, when frost touches one’s clothes, the beloved will surely return.

Listening, Luo Lingyu smiled: “Beautiful poem.”

She paused, then said: “Did Brother Xuechen also dream Second Cousin’s dream? Am I the only one who hasn’t? I want to dream too…”

Lu Yun smiled: “Better not. After nightmares, you cry so hard, don’t you still need brother to comfort you? Brother doesn’t want to make trouble for himself.”

Luo Lingyu burst out laughing, her beautiful eyes teasing him as she hit his arm: “You’re so mean!”

As they joked, their mood improved again. Lu Yun’s thoughts drifted as he listened again to what the girls on the painted barges were singing. His mind was heavy, thinking about that dream one moment and worrying about future matters the next. Lost in deep thought, his demeanor was cold, keeping others at a distance. Luo Lingyu also listened with him for a while to the melodious tunes that carried a foreign flavor, apparently northern music from the barbarian lands. She hummed along with the rhythm for a few lines, then suddenly asked: “Brother Xuechen, do you know how to dance the Huxuan dance?”

Lu Yun came back to his senses: “Hmm?”

Luo Lingyu looked up: “I guess no lady could ever invite Brother Xuechen to dance?”

Lu Yun’s features were delicate and beautiful. His expression remained unchanged, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upward. How well she understood his meaning – with just that comment from Luo Lingyu, Lu Yun extended his hand, long and strong, lifting it slightly upward. His peach blossom eyes, full of tender feelings, raised slightly, gesturing to the lady opposite him. Luo Lingyu stepped forward with dignity and grace, her delicate hand resting on his.

Hand in hand, they circled each other, the lady’s waist swaying gracefully like a flower blooming, the young lord tall and elegant with sleeves flying like the moisture of mountains and waters. One charming and alluring, one poised and handsome.

Luo Lingyu hummed that little tune, smiling as she danced the Huxuan dance with Lu Yun under the moon by the Qinhuai River. Frost flew under the moon, flower petals floated on the water, and as the wind swayed, clusters of heavy flowers fell from the tree branches, showering down on the two of them. Under the moon, flower petals flew toward the two, the man handsome and the woman beautiful, with flowing light lingering around their winding, slow steps.

Her hand was gently held by the young lord as he supported her waist in dance. The singing was melodious, the water flowing – what an incomparably elegant night.

Suddenly they heard someone clap and laugh: “How wonderful, Third Young Master Lu and Third Young Mistress are so talented and romantic, making us all envious.” Startled by the sudden voice, Luo Lingyu grabbed Lu Yun’s sleeve and hid behind him for a moment before looking forward with blushing cheeks. It turned out that under the stone bridge over the water, a two-story pavilion boat was slowly approaching. Under the intermingling lamplight and water reflections at the bow stood several men and women. Their clothes floated gracefully, faces touched by water vapor – they were all young nobles from Jianye society whom the couple knew. Among the ladies was Chen Xiu, who stared at Lu Yun with loss, while among the men was Qi An, Third Young Master Qi who was one of Luo Lingyu’s admirers. Self-proclaimed love, others’ loss. Yet they forced themselves to be cheerful and invited the two: “Since marrying Third Young Master Lu, Young Lady Luo hasn’t gone out to play. Third Young Master Lu, why are you treating your wife so harshly? We are having a night tour of Jianye tonight – would you two newlyweds honor us with your company?”

Lu Yun’s eyebrows raised slightly.

In the same night that saw Prince Zhao’s desperate struggle and the Prince of Hengyang’s prison break and escape, there were also these refined young men and women of Jianye having their elegant night tour. Such are the hundred faces of life in Jianye.

Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu exchanged a glance – the lady’s eyes were bright with obvious interest in joining the fun. Lu Yun hadn’t mixed with these young lords and ladies for a long time, but tonight he was in a good mood and had Luo Lingyu for company, so he smiled and agreed: “I dare not decline what I truly wish for.”

Everyone laughed: “Excellent.”

So the boat stopped by the shore, the waves rippling, and Third Young Master Lu and his wife were invited aboard. As they sailed through the night, the men and women on the boat played zithers, composed poems, painted, and sang – various activities one after another.

As these young men and women enjoyed themselves so elegantly, when the noise gradually died down and Lu Yun was surrounded by others discussing something, Luo Lingyu, feeling a bit dizzy from drinking, smiled and admired her husband’s grace for a while before going out for some fresh air. Standing at the bow holding the railing, looking at the sparkling waves below, with the evening breeze blowing and the moonlight like water, Luo Lingyu squinted her eyes.

“Sister Luo.” A woman’s voice called her from behind.

Luo Lingyu turned around. The lamps flickered twice, the boat swayed slightly, and she recognized the lady walking out from the brightly lit cabin as Miss Chen, Chen Xiu. Luo Lingyu was surprised for a moment – usually when Chen Xiu addressed her, she would either arrogantly call her just “sister” with disdain, or politely but distantly call her “Lady Luo.” When had she started calling her “Sister Luo” like everyone else?

Chen Xiu walked to Luo Lingyu’s side, joining her in facing the wind and watching the water. After a long while, Chen Xiu said: “My father wrote urging me to return – I have no more attachments in Jianye, and I’ve already explained everything about the refugees to the court. Tonight’s boat tour is actually a farewell party for me… Sister Luo, I’m leaving Jianye tomorrow. My father and brothers seem to have fallen in love with Suzhou and want to move our family there. Perhaps I’ll never return to Jianye.”

Luo Lingyu was stunned for a moment and said: “Ah, no one mentioned this… I didn’t know, I forgot to bring gifts for sister’s farewell.”

Chen Xiu: “…”

She was stunned: “…Is that all you want to say? Aren’t you happy that I’ll finally stop… stop… coveting your husband?”

Luo Lingyu smiled while pressing her lips together: “About coveting my husband, I’ve never been unhappy about that. There are so many ladies who like Brother Xuechen… doesn’t this prove I have good taste and great charm? Why should I be unhappy?”

Chen Xiu: “…”

She dejectedly mocked herself: “You’re really confident. But you’re so beautiful… I saw you dancing the Huxuan dance with him – you two really are a perfect match. I often wondered what kind of lady someone like Third Young Master Lu would marry… I have to admit, none of my guesses matched how pleasing to the eye you two are together. I’ve never seen him look at anyone else the way he looks at you, never seen him smile so tenderly at any other lady. When he looks at you, it’s as if he’s trying to seduce you… but with me, he just shows strong dislike, unwilling to give even a hint of affection.”

Luo Lingyu thought for a moment, and still chose to comfort her failed rival: “Maybe it’s because I’m too beautiful, and he’s just shallow. He’s a fake gentleman – Sister Chen, you thought too highly of him.”

Chen Xiu managed a weak smile and said no more.

In the darkness, Luo Lingyu suddenly heard sobbing from the woman beside her. From the corner of her eye, she saw tears falling like pearls, but Luo Lingyu maintained her expression and didn’t even turn her head, pretending not to see or hear. Chen Xiu silently cried in the darkness for a while, finally saying: “I’ve loved him for almost ten years, and now I’m finally letting go. I still love him very much, but I know… I’m leaving tomorrow, and won’t disturb you two anymore. I wish you a hundred years of happiness together and early births of noble sons.”

Luo Lingyu softly thanked her and said: “I wish Sister Chen finds a good husband in Suzhou.”

Chen Xiu smiled wistfully.

Suddenly they heard Lu Yun’s voice approaching from afar: “Lingyu, Lingyu…”

Standing at the bow beside Chen Xiu, Luo Lingyu immediately raised her voice to respond. She and Chen Xiu turned to see the elegant young lord stepping out from the cabin. As the boat swayed, his body swayed with it. Leaning against the cabin, Lu Yun held his head with his hand, his voice muffled: “Lingyu, my head hurts…”

Chen Xiu heard Luo Lingyu beside her snort and scold: “What headache? You must have secretly drunk too much again. You clearly can’t handle alcohol but still try to show off.”

Though Luo Lingyu said this, she was obviously worried about Lu Yun. Especially since they were on a boat, she feared he would get sick and vomit. She immediately forgot about chatting with Chen Xiu and hurriedly said goodbye, rushing toward the lamplight to support the young lord who was leaning against the cabin door with closed eyes. From Chen Xiu’s perspective, as soon as the slender-waisted lady reached the young lord’s side, Lu Yun reached out with closed eyes and pulled her into his embrace.

Lu Yun buried his head in the crook of the lady’s neck, speaking in a muffled, extremely low voice that Chen Xiu could no longer hear clearly.

Then she saw Lu Yun, as if lost in passion, go to kiss Luo Lingyu’s lips, but was stopped by her hand as soon as their lips touched. Luo Lingyu complained: “You’re being reckless again… don’t… if you keep this up, I won’t take care of you anymore…”

Stumbling, with the help of maids, Luo Lingyu supported Third Young Master Lu away to find a cabin to rest. Throughout it all, Lu Yun showed extraordinary trust and reliance on Luo Lingyu. He let Luo Lingyu lead him, let her scold him, without any resistance or showing attitude, presumably having been scolded many times before…

At this point, Chen Xiu finally understood clearly – it wasn’t just that Luo Lingyu couldn’t leave Lu Yun, Third Young Master Lu equally couldn’t leave Luo Lingyu.

Chen Xiu let out a soft sigh, whispering: “Let it be then… goodbye, Third Young Master.”

Youthful love ending without illness – it’s just a common occurrence in life, nothing special.

…

That night, the young men and women of Jianye toured the night, engaged in grand discussions, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The next day at court presented a different scene. Prince Zhao Liu Huai was brought before the throne. The old emperor sat high on his throne, shocked to watch another of his sons, Prince Chen Liu Shu, accuse Prince Zhao of sneaking into the Grand Marshal’s Temple at night to rescue the Prince of Hengyang Liu Mu. Liu Mu’s current disappearance was Prince Zhao’s fault.

Liu Huai shouted harshly: “Nonsense! Why would I rescue the Prince of Hengyang? Father Emperor, this is a trap, Liu Shu is framing me! He has wild ambitions, he’s no longer the Liu Shu of before! Father Emperor, brothers, ministers, don’t be fooled by him!”