In the house, while the adults talked, Luo Yunxuan had grown more mature since the previous incident. Seeing her sister busy, she took the initiative to lead Lu Fourth Young Master (Lu Chang) to play in the courtyard.
Luo Lingyu had many things she wanted to tell Yunxuan, but with two paintings before her eyes, her thoughts became muddled and she lost interest.
In the courtyard, pink apricot and peach blossoms fluttered toward the window among the lush trees. Inside, Luo Lingyu and Lu Xian sat facing each other.
Of the two paintings, one was a gift from the maid Jinyue, painted by the Plum-Seeking Recluse. It showed a moonlit night in Jiangnan, with a boat drifting quietly and a beauty standing at its bow.
The other painting was brought by Second Young Master Lu Xian. It was signed “Xue Chen” and depicted misty mountains with pine trees like rolling waves. Though it was a landscape, it had a grand, sweeping feel.
The brushwork in the two paintings was subtly different. The Plum-Seeking Recluse’s was more delicate, while Xue Chen’s was bolder and more casual.
Lu Xian studied the paintings with Luo Lingyu, who wore a strange expression. Pointing to the second painting by Xuechen, he sighed: “My third brother painted this when he was fourteen or fifteen. His brushwork was less mature than now, but already remarkable. He hadn’t taken the name ‘Plum-Seeking Recluse’ yet, and signed his paintings as ‘Xue Chen’.”
“Third brother was brilliant from childhood — none of us could match him in poetry. In his youth he was proud of his talents. He knew how good he was and painted many works to give away. He insisted on giving me this one.”
Luo Lingyu still couldn’t believe it: “But in recent years, the Plum-Seeking Recluse’s paintings are so rare they cost a fortune.”
Lu Xian replied: “Because he barely paints anymore. Perhaps he grew tired of the fame from his youth. These past few years, I rarely see third brother paint. He not only paints less, but rarely appears at banquets or social gatherings.”
At this, Second Young Master Lu’s face darkened slightly. He thought it was because of that Prince Chen, always having third brother help with this and that. He’d rather see his brother writing poetry and painting as a scholar like before — what was wrong with that?
Luo Lingyu’s fingers trembled as she gently touched the painting. She murmured: “The Plum-Seeking Recluse is a famous scholar from the South, known for his noble character and mastery of poetry and painting. In Nanyang, everyone fought over his works. There are many fakes in the market…”
“I’ve sought his paintings for years, hoping to meet him. Who would have thought that the scholar I wanted to meet was right beside me — Third Cousin!”
Her emotions were hard to describe, she was utterly shocked.
She had admired the Plum-Seeking Recluse’s paintings for years. Judging by his art, she imagined him as someone detached from worldly affairs, pure as a lotus, beyond ordinary people’s reach. She thought this scholar must be unburdened by power and wealth, free-spirited, completely different from mundane people like herself.
In her difficult times, she would look at his paintings to find strength. Because she believed the Plum-Seeking Recluse was different from her, uniquely refined, she had silently admired him for years… who would have thought this scholar was Lu Yun?!
Unburdened by power and wealth… that part somewhat fit.
But the rest… well, at least Third Cousin looked better than the old man she had imagined, when he wasn’t showing his true face.
Luo Lingyu’s feelings were very complicated.
Lu Xian observed his cousin for a while but couldn’t tell if she was happy or not. Cousin Luo frowned delicately, her eyes shimmering like water, looking quite vulnerable.
Lu Xian’s heart skipped only briefly before he thought optimistically: actually, it wouldn’t be bad if cousin and third brother got along well. If his dream was true and cousin became empress someday, perhaps benefiting from her influence, that scene of third brother’s death in his dream wouldn’t happen…
Luo Lingyu looked up, her beautiful eyes like rippling water, her cheeks flushed: “Second Cousin, could you give me Third Cousin’s old painting too?”
Lu Xian: “Ah… sure.”
Since many people in Jianye knew the Plum-Seeking Recluse was his own brother, Lu Xian didn’t feel strongly about keeping or giving away the painting.
Seeing Luo Lingyu quickly roll up the painting and adjust her expression, she smiled brightly and asked: “By the way, I still don’t know why Second Cousin came to see me? I’m terrible, I’ve only been talking about myself.”
Her tone was light and playful. When she said “I’m terrible,” her voice lifted charmingly. The beauty looked at the young man across from her with clear eyes.
Lu Xian’s heart beat a bit faster despite himself. He coughed once, reminding himself to stay composed.
Lu Xian asked casually: “I actually don’t have anything important… I just have some concerns… Why did you turn your room upside down? What were you looking for?”
It was poverty.
She wasn’t really looking for anything.
The impoverished Luo Lingyu had finally broken down and wanted to sell her collections to save face.
But she definitely wouldn’t tell Lu Xian the truth. She sighed softly and said wistfully: “It’s nothing important. The young ladies invited me to go out, and since I’ve never been around Jianye and this is my first outing, I wanted to make a good impression on the sisters. I remember I used to have some paintings of Jianye scenes, so I wanted to find them for reference.”
Those “Jianye scene paintings” were completely made up by Luo Lingyu — they couldn’t possibly exist.
But Lu Xian believed her and truly thought his cousin was in a difficult position. His heart stirred, thinking about how hard it must be for her living under others’ roof.
Cousin Luo rarely opened up to people, so telling him this now… she must consider him one of her own.
Lu Xian thought carefully for a while, then tentatively said: “Actually, I was planning to go to Kaishang Temple on Mount Zhong. Cousin knows I was unconscious for a day after falling in the water. I had some nightmares that day that have been bothering me for days. Third brother suggested I seek guidance from a master… I plan to ask the temple’s head monk about my dreams. If cousin doesn’t mind, why not set your meeting with the young ladies at Mount Zhong?”
Luo Lingyu paused, lowering her eyes to think carefully.
If she went out alone, she would need to report to the Lu family elders and cover all expenses herself. But going with Second Young Master Lu meant using the Lu family’s resources.
She had already given silver when she came to the Lu family, so going out now would save her a lot of money. Money might be trivial to young masters of great families, but for her, Luo Lingyu, it could be a matter of life and death.
Luo Lingyu smiled gently: “That sounds lovely. Early spring is perfect for an outing. The sisters will surely want to visit Mount Zhong.”
Lu Xian smiled, feeling his cousin was truly understanding.
They chatted about various things for a while, leaving Luo Lingyu confused. Her beautiful eyes flickered — besides the incident with the water, she had rarely interacted with Second Cousin.
He clearly didn’t know what to say either. Yet he sat there for ages, making small talk. With Lu Xian gazing at her so intently, Luo Lingyu almost thought he had fallen for her…
After finally seeing Lu Xian off, besides arranging the Mount Zhong trip and getting Third Young Master Lu’s old painting, Luo Lingyu still hadn’t figured out Lu Xian’s purpose.
After the second young master left, Luo Lingyu stood at the door and told her maid Lingyu to check if the third young master was home.
After Lingyu left, Luo Lingyu stayed inside looking at the two paintings. She studied them from every angle with a troubled expression.
The jade hairpin she had originally placed on the small table for comparison was completely forgotten. She stood up and carefully rolled up the paintings, making up her mind —
No selling!
Absolutely not selling!
“Sister?” Luo Yunxuan’s little head poked out from behind the door, calling Luo Lingyu softly and questioningly.
Luo Lingyu raised her eyebrows.
Since the incident with Second Young Master Lu’s fall in the water ended, she had taken Luo Yunxuan to apologize to Second Young Master Lu privately, and Lu Xian had brought Lu Fourth Young Master (Lu Chang) to apologize to her as well.
With Lu Xian and Luo Lingyu’s tacit agreement, the matter was considered settled. But since then, Luo Yunxuan had become much more timid, always staying quietly in her room.
Seeing her sister like this, Luo Lingyu had been looking for a chance to comfort her… but hadn’t found the right moment yet.
Luo Lingyu: “What is it, Xuan’er?”
Luo Yunxuan fidgeted at the door: “Sister, are you looking at Third Cousin’s things?”
“Yes… you know I’ve admired the Plum-Seeking Recluse for years,” Luo Lingyu blinked, “What’s wrong?”
Luo Yunxuan kept her head down, scuffing her toes on the ground. She had overheard some of sister’s conversation with Second Cousin, and she was actually keeping a secret about Third Cousin.
After the incident with Second Cousin falling in the water, she had become quite scared. She felt she shouldn’t hide things from her sister, but she had promised Third Cousin not to tell…
Luo Yunxuan asked softly: “Sister, have you never felt that Third Cousin… looks familiar?”
Luo Lingyu: “…!”
She quickly looked down at her sister: “Familiar how?”
But Luo Yunxuan just lowered her head again and hemmed and hawed, refusing to say more.
Well, if she wouldn’t say, Luo Lingyu would think about it herself. They had lived in Ruyang and Nanyang before — they definitely couldn’t have met Lu Yun there.
If they had met him before, with Lu Yun’s looks, how could she have no memory of him at all? She didn’t feel she had met Lu Yun before, but Lu Yun had asked her several times “Don’t you remember me?”, and now her sister was asking if he looked familiar…
Lost in thought, Luo Lingyu immediately tried to search for his features in her mind.
Third Young Master Lu’s appearance…
“Miss!” Lingyu called from outside, interrupting Luo Lingyu’s thoughts, “Third Young Master wasn’t home originally, but when I was coming back, I saw him at West Bridge! He’s returned from outside!”
Luo Lingyu: “Really?!”
She immediately forgot about her sister trying to tell her about Third Young Master Lu looking familiar. She rolled up the paintings carefully and put them in the cabinet, lifted her skirts, and hurried out of Snow-Tracing Court toward Clear Court.
Whether Third Young Master Lu looked familiar was secondary — what she knew now was that Lu Yun was the Plum-Seeking Recluse she had sought for years—
Lu Yun was walking leisurely through the Lu family compound toward Clear Court. He kept his head down, still thinking about what Liu Chu had told him and Prince Hengyang’s plans.
Suddenly, a woman’s breathless voice came from behind: “Cousin—!”
Lu Yun stopped walking and turned around. Before he could look properly, a young woman crashed into him from behind.
He staggered back several steps and ended up leaning against a tree, his face immediately darkening—
Here he was, walking peacefully in his own home, and he still got crashed into by a young lady!
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