ATLAS TRANSLATES

The mountains stood like painted eyebrows against the sky, the scenery fresh and beautiful.

Clouds wrapped around the man and woman shooting arrows on the hilltop like clothing, while warm sunlight shone down on all sides.

Below, people squinted up at them against the bright light. They saw the young lady turn back excitedly, and the young lord lowered his head.

From below, it looked as if the two were kissing…

Everyone’s mood suddenly became complex.

Lu Xian, the second young master, stared blankly with a lost soul. The young ladies turned red with jealousy. Even Prince Hengyang was stunned for a moment. Something indescribable and very brief happened – his heart seemed to pause, as if something was slowly flowing away from inside him. The only one who was surprised but without negative emotions was Princess Pingning, Liu Tang.

In this era, social customs were quite open – not just between men and women, but also regarding intimacy.

So when everyone thought they saw that scene, their hearts were just shocked. Right after, Lu Xian and the young ladies denied their bold guesses: they were probably just turning back to talk. They were standing so far away, their shadows overlapped, and the light was in the way. They hadn’t really seen anything… don’t overthink it!

The poor wild geese that had been shot down wailed as they fell through the dense forest. Their wings rustled against branches on the way down, but none of the noble men and women playing in the mountains paid attention to the impressive archery skills.

On the mountaintop, Luo Lingyu was just as shocked as everyone else. She turned back blankly, and when she realized what she had touched, she stumbled backward reflexively, stumbling out of the young lord’s embrace. After backing up three to five steps, she finally saw clearly Lu Yun’s jade crown and moth-wing-like long eyelashes, under which his eyes were deep as the ocean.

Luo Lingyu stared blankly, her cheeks slowly turning red: “…”

The third young master Lu looked at her deeply for a moment and said: “You hit my chin.”

Luo Lingyu was stunned, then relieved. She wasn’t sure if she felt disappointed or happy: “…Oh.”

Such a clumsy misunderstanding in her close contact with the Seeking Plum Recluse left her feeling lost. That it was just a misunderstanding with the man she had once heartlessly forced to jump ship should have been reassuring.

Luo Lingyu turned to the side and saw the crowd below staring up at them in a daze. As she hesitated, the gentle Princess Pingning smiled first and waved to her from afar: “Sister Luo, we’re over here—”

Luo Lingyu nervously gripped her bow and headed down the mountain path to join them. From the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Yun’s robes flutter as he followed behind her. Looking down at Prince Hengyang’s dark, unclear gaze, Luo Lingyu wondered silently if he had believed their act.

She turned away as they hurried to rejoin the group, one in front of the other. Luo Lingyu walked ahead, her skirts swaying like a fish tail, subtly revealing her inner panic. Lu Yun followed unhurriedly behind her. Where she couldn’t see, and when the sunlight blocked others’ view, he raised his hand and gently wiped his lips with his fingertips.

Soft and cool.

Still carrying the lady’s sweet fragrance.

The sensation lingered, spreading from his lips throughout his body. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst… Lu Yun glanced at Luo Lingyu several times, his expression slightly distant.

This distraction only faded when he met Prince Hengyang’s gaze. As the group gathered, Luo Lingyu rejoined them under the burning stares of the other women. Lu Yun stood with the other young men and nodded slightly to Prince Hengyang: “It’s been a while since I’ve practiced archery. My skills have gotten rusty.”

Liu Mu raised his eyes, mockery in his gaze: “Third Young Master Lu shouldn’t be so modest. Among the young lords of Jianye, few have your skill in horsemanship and archery.”

After all, the nobles of Jianye were too busy comparing wealth and showing off to practice difficult skills like archery.

Prince Hengyang had complex feelings about Lu Yun. When he was around ten years old, Lu Yun’s fame had already spread through Jianye. But by the time the prince was a few years older, he noticed Lu Yun had slowly withdrawn from noble circles and stopped participating in their activities.

Liu Mu had always been wary of Lu Yun. Even now that Lu Yun had proven he could draw a bow, the prince’s gaze lingered on the young lord’s arm. Still suspicious and frustrated at being unable to catch the assassin, he was about to speak again when thundering hoofbeats echoed through the mountain forest: “My Lord, My Lord—”

Everyone followed Prince Hengyang’s gaze back down the mountain path they had climbed. Through the lush green forest came several mounted guards. They rode up close, leaped from their horses, and reported urgently to the prince before catching their breath: “My Lord, the Taichu Palace summons you for an audience!”

Prince Hengyang Liu Mu’s brow twitched: “What does His Majesty want with me?”

The messenger replied: “It’s said Prince Chen has captured the assassin who tried to kill you and reported directly to His Majesty. His Majesty wants to question you.”

Liu Mu: “…”

A thousand curses flashed through his mind as he stared darkly at Lu Yun. Didn’t he know perfectly well who had sent assassins from Hengyang to Jianye? The other assassins were dead, but he had caught one alive, just waiting to find out who was behind it! If not for last night’s assassin, how could he have lost the one he caught? How could it be said Prince Chen had captured him?

Previously just suspicious of Lu Yun, Prince Hengyang now felt certain last night’s assassin was connected to him. Everyone in Jianye knew Lu Yun and Prince Chen were inseparable friends. Today they said Prince Chen caught the assassin – combining that with Master Kong’s analysis of that person’s identity… who else could it be but Lu Yun?

Prince Hengyang gave a cold laugh.

Liu Mu’s expression darkened as he glared at the elegant Lu Yun, speaking each word clearly: “Very good! Third Young Master Lu is both bold and clever. I admit defeat in this move. We’ll meet again!”

With that, he whirled around and mounted a horse, the riders following behind. As they watched Prince Hengyang leave to return to Jianye and meet with the emperor, one of the attendants in the crowd, still bitter about being forced into the archery contest earlier, called out: “Since you’re leaving, my lord, who won the archery contest?”

The young prince paused on his horse and turned back with a mocking smile: “Naturally Third Young Master Lu. One arrow, two geese – none of us can match him.”

Before leaving, the young Prince Hengyang not only stared at Lu Yun for a long while, but also let his gaze linger on the beautiful Miss Luo. The lady was as still and beautiful as a painting, dazzling to behold. The prince concealed his complex emotions and spoke quietly to his attendant: “Who is she? Why is she with Third Young Master Lu? Find out for me… Hyah—”

In a cloud of dust, more than ten riders departed swiftly. Prince Hengyang’s figure disappeared around a bend, and the attendants who had come with him to capture someone earlier hurried after him. The young ladies were left looking at each other in bewilderment, stealing glances at Lu Yun. Second Young Master Lu stood frozen: “…”

Prince Chen?

What did Prince Hengyang mean by those parting words?

Lu Xian turned back with a fierce look, warning Lu Yun in a low voice: “How many times have I told you to stop associating with Prince Chen!”

The future was already uncertain, and now Lu Xian had shifted his support to Prince Hengyang. He wanted to think more about that dream he’d had, and after finding some clues, speak with their father, the Left Minister Lu Mao. With Lu Yun still friendly with Prince Chen at this time, no wonder Lu Xian had a headache.

Lu Yun lowered his eyes and smiled: “I’ve also said before, my friendship with Prince Chen will never end.”

He raised an eyebrow teasingly: “Unless Second Brother kills me?”

“You—” Lu Xian sighed in frustration, unable to reason with this third brother.

As the two young lords argued behind the ladies’ backs, the more politically astute young ladies seemed lost in thought, sensing that Prince Hengyang’s arrival had brought something new to Jianye. The less politically sensitive ladies surrounded Luo Lingyu, asking what else she and Lu Yun had done on the mountain besides archery, their voices tinged with jealousy—

“Did Third Cousin really teach you archery? If I’d known, I would have said my skills were poor too.”

“So knowing nothing is the way to get Third Young Master Lu’s attention? How nice.”

Luo Lingyu mentally rolled her eyes at their naivety: Knowing nothing definitely wouldn’t get Lu Yun’s attention. To get his attention, you had to be two-faced, let him catch you at your worst, and be threatened with poison… Could they do that?!

Prince Hengyang’s brief interruption didn’t much affect these noble ladies out for a mountain excursion. After he left, they enthusiastically stayed on Mount Zhong for two more days. On the final day, the ladies dragged the two Lu brothers to pray at several mountain temples. Moving between the mountain temples, Luo Lingyu held the silver ingot Lu Yun had given her, but beyond burning incense, she couldn’t even afford to make proper donations. Coming out of one Buddha hall, she ran into Miss Han outside discussing commissioning a gold Buddha statue with the abbot.

Luo Lingyu admiringly tried to hide her stomach-churning envy: “How much would that cost…”

Miss Han didn’t seem very confident either: “It’s vulgar to talk about money… I’m mainly worried about what my parents will say.”

The other ladies nodded, sharing their own concerns: “Yes, it’s all about worship. Isn’t commissioning a gold Buddha statue more devout? But my father won’t let me act rashly either.”

“My brother hosted some poor scholar for over a month for no reason – that was much more wasteful than this!”

“Hosting scholars is fine… My sister was worse, she went to learn wall painting from some nun in the mountains, only to find out she’d been tricked. She was so angry she wouldn’t leave her room for a month…”

“I heard about that, hehe. Is your sister doing better now?”

Luo Lingyu maintained her perfect smile as she listened to them gossip about noble family affairs, occasionally joining in with interesting stories about the gentry she’d seen in Ruyang and Nanyang. The young ladies were surprised and very interested in the nobles outside Jianye, asking Luo Lingyu if there were big differences between the customs of the northern countries and Jianye in the south.

While talking with them about their curiosity about the outside world, Luo Lingyu was actually incredibly jealous. The bold adventures they casually mentioned were backed by the confidence of having great families behind them. While she… Great noble houses with deep foundations were so enviable. Getting just a glimpse inside their world, Luo Lingyu couldn’t pull herself away.

As the ladies walked and chatted on their way out of the temple, Luo Lingyu noticed from the corner of her eye that the two Lu brothers following not far behind were almost out of sight. Second Young Master Lu had met some master and, after some hesitation, followed the monk inside to have his dream interpreted. Luo Lingyu knew Lu Xian seemed to have had some dream, but since he wouldn’t tell anyone about it, she didn’t know what kind of dream could make him so concerned.

After Lu Xian left, Lu Yun was alone. Without his brother’s supervision, Lu Yun’s interest in sightseeing completely relaxed. He walked slower and slower until finally even his shadow couldn’t be seen. Luo Lingyu was also tired from walking, amazed at how much energy these ladies had. She made an excuse and turned back to find Lu Yun—

The antidote! The antidote!

She had helped him fool Prince Hengyang Liu Mu, but how could Lu Yun have so little self-awareness? Two days had passed and he still hadn’t taken the initiative to give her the antidote?

Though suspicious, Luo Lingyu decided to find Lu Yun herself to confirm her guess.

Lu Yun was in front of a bamboo grove behind the temple, admiring the Buddha paintings on the wall. Worshippers knelt devoutly on prayer mats as wisps of smoke rose from the murals, making it seem as if mortals had ascended to meet the Buddhas face to face. Lu Yun stood with his hands behind his back, his expression cold and distant. Anyone seeing him would think this person was noble and unapproachable. Lu Yun suddenly turned his head to look right. A lady was walking down the small path through the grove.

Her beauty and figure were first-rate, but her walk wasn’t graceful at all – she was limping…

Lu Yun thought to himself: Hadn’t she been walking normally when I watched her from behind earlier? That slim waist, those beautiful skirts… How did she change so suddenly? Perhaps she felt she’d already shown her true nature to him, and since he despised her utterly, she couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore?

Lu Yun’s lips twitched as he asked lazily: “Are you lame?”

Luo Lingyu: “…You’re the one who’s lame!”

These ladies just had too much energy, making someone like her who didn’t like moving follow them around Mount Zhong for three or four days – it was truly torturous. She did feel certain that after this matter was over, it would be best not to have any more dealings with Lu Yun, and felt vaguely relieved. Walking up close and seeing his sleeve move slightly, she didn’t think he was going to help support her. Luo Lingyu leaned against a bamboo stalk, raised her chin at him, and got straight to the point: “Where’s the antidote?”

Lu Yun’s pupils contracted slightly.

After a moment, the coldness left his expression, replaced by a casual, languid charm. The bamboo grove was quiet, the greenery cool and refreshing, with occasional sounds of springs bubbling and distant laughter. Nearby, the young lord looked down at the lady, his raised lips seeming touched with mockery: “The antidote… Has Miss Luo felt unwell these past two days?”

Luo Lingyu thought back: “No discomfort.”

Lu Yun sighed, his eyelashes trembling.

Luo Lingyu immediately tensed: “Is there a problem?”

Lu Yun took out a small bottle from his robe, removed the wooden stopper, and poured out a brown pill. Luo Lingyu studied the pill held elegantly between his jade-like fingers, vaguely feeling it looked exactly like the poison Lu Yun had fed her that day… Her thoughts turned several times as she watched Lu Yun offer her the pill and say languidly: “This poison, you see, is cured by fighting poison with poison. Take another pill and you’ll be cured.”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

She felt he was just being lazy, not even bothering to find a different pill to serve as an antidote.

Her suspicions slowly took shape – she felt Lu Yun was truly deceiving her! There was no poison at all, no antidote… He just saw she might let someone die without helping, and tricked her into helping him, tricked her into helping him fool Prince Hengyang… Hateful Lu Yun!

Yet though she suspected she had been deceived, she didn’t dare be completely certain. What if there really was poison, and this really was the antidote, fighting poison with poison? She stared at Lu Yun’s hand extended before her eyes, then looked up to meet his mocking gaze. Luo Lingyu made up her mind and solemnly accepted the pill. As she was about to swallow it in one gulp, Lu Yun grabbed her wrist.

Luo Lingyu looked at him warily as he said: “Wait a moment, cousin. This fighting poison with poison, you see, might be quite unpleasant. You’ll feel cold all over, at best feeling like hundreds of ants are gnawing at your bones, at worst convulsing and dying from the shock. It won’t feel good at all, you must be careful… don’t rush to take it.”

Luo Lingyu went pale: What? Hundreds of ants gnawing? Convulsions? Possible death?

She met Lu Yun’s serious expression but couldn’t be sure if the poison was real. She held the pill for a long time, her expression changing constantly. Up close, Lu Yun watched the emotions in her eyes waver between hesitation, fear, confusion, determination, and resignation to death. His lips curled up.

The Third Young Master wanted to enjoy her fascinating changes of expression a while longer, but saw Luo Lingyu suddenly grit her teeth and, without asking his advice or crying and begging him, directly opened her mouth and swallowed the brown pill.

Lu Yun froze: “…”

His enjoyment of watching the beauty interrupted, he asked disinterestedly: “How do you feel, cousin?”

Luo Lingyu closed her eyes to savor the sensation.

Sunlight floated on her face, the light rippling like water. The lady leaned against the bamboo, so close to him. As Lu Yun stared at her, somewhat entranced, he saw her face slowly turn white and her expression suddenly freeze. The Third Young Master was extremely perceptive: “What’s wrong…”

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Luo Lingyu clutch her stomach and bend over with a cry of agony: “Cousin…”

Lu Yun immediately wrapped his arms around her shoulders, supporting her as they both sank to the ground.

He saw her face was pale, her forehead sweating, her breathing gradually becoming rapid. Lu Yun grabbed her wrist to check her pulse, but whether from panic or some other reason, he could only tell that her pulse was racing.

As he tried to examine her more carefully, Luo Lingyu’s sweaty hand gripped his in return as she trembled: “Third Cousin, I- I’m in so much pain…”

Lu Yun held her close, watching the beauty in his arms grow faint, tears gathering in her eyes as she curled up weakly against him.

She bit her lip hard, her eyes shimmering with tears as she clutched her stomach and gazed up at him pitifully…

Lu Yun said gravely: “Don’t be afraid… It’ll be alright!”

He held her anxiously: “There was no poison at all, why are you like this… That pill- that pill… was just sugar. Could it be- could it be…”

Could someone have switched his personal belongings, replacing what he carried?

Lu Yun’s heart grew cold. Someone who could so easily swap his personal items must be one of his personal maids or servants. But his personal clothing was always handled by Jin Yue herself, ordinary servants couldn’t touch it… Had Jin Yue betrayed him? After more than ten years of friendship with Jin Yue, how could she…

The beauty in his arms sobbed and moaned, calling “Cousin” repeatedly, seeming about to faint from pain, as if truly experiencing the effects of his fabricated “antidote”. Lu Yun stopped his wild thoughts and wiped the cold sweat from the lady’s face.

Luo Lingyu trembled fearfully in his arms: “Cousin, am I going to die…”

Lu Yun forced his voice to remain steady as he gripped her wrist to comfort her: “Don’t be afraid, Lingyu. I won’t let you die…”

Perhaps because he was so shaken, he truly couldn’t detect what was wrong.

Lu Yun simply slipped his arm under her knees, about to lift her up to find a doctor.

But just as he bent down to carry her, her bent leg suddenly kicked out to the side, striking his knee as it rested on the damp moss.

Third Young Master Lu instinctively hunched to protect his knee. With a grunt of pain, he was suddenly shoved backward with great force.

Falling back into a sitting position, Lu Yun rubbed his knee. The lady who had been dying in his arms just moments ago sprang up nimbly, no trace remaining of her cold sweats and fearful tears.

Luo Lingyu stood over him, looking down at the young lord kneeling at her feet rubbing his knee, and gave a cold snort: “Third Young Master Lu, how does it feel to be tricked?”

Lu Yun looked up, light flashing in his eyes: “…You deceived me?”

Luo Lingyu touched her own pulse, thinking to herself that holding her breath had truly fooled Lu Yun. How could she let him get away with teasing her so many times?

Luo Lingyu gave a pretty smile, noticing he seemed to have been kicked quite hard as he kept his hand on his knee, unable to stand for quite a while.

The feeling of having this jade-faced young lord kneeling at her feet was quite satisfying… Luo Lingyu smiled sweetly: “Well, this will be the last time anyway.”

She raised her long sleeve and made a proper curtsey to bid him farewell: “Lu Xuechen, the matter with Prince Hengyang is over, so let’s part ways here. You’ve seen my true nature and know I’m not a good person. Similarly, I know you’re not as pure and noble as you appear on the surface… We’re both tired of each other. I hope we won’t have to deal with each other again in the future.”

“This young lady will take her leave first.”

Seeing Lu Yun grab a bamboo stalk about to stand up, Luo Lingyu felt somewhat panicked. His cool eyes glanced her way, and before he could get up, Luo Lingyu turned and hurried off to catch up with the young ladies who had walked far ahead. The same Luo Lingyu who had been limping earlier now walked gracefully and elegantly, each step like a lotus blooming, as she rushed to rejoin the young ladies.

Ignoring the pain in her feet, Luo Lingyu finally caught up with the young ladies waiting for her under a pavilion outside the temple. She exchanged a few laughing words with the impatient ladies, and as they walked together, she looked back.

She saw Third Young Master Lu’s figure emerge from behind the bamboo grove, as refined as jade.

Luo Lingyu urged the young ladies: “Quick, let’s go!”

But from the temple not far away, Lu Yun coolly watched in Luo Lingyu’s direction for a long while, then unhurriedly called out in a mocking tone: “Dear cousins, wait for me—”

Third Young Master Lu!

When the young ladies heard Lu Yun’s voice, they all turned their heads at once. No matter how much Luo Lingyu urged them, they wouldn’t leave. Luo Lingyu met Lu Yun’s maliciously smiling eyes: “…”

This demon.

Just as Luo Lingyu was wracking her brains trying to figure out how to stop Lu Yun from coming to cause trouble, she suddenly heard the sound of hoofbeats.

The ladies turned back in surprise to see two riders approaching on horseback, riding past them straight toward Lu Yun, who seemed to be walking with difficulty.

When they reached Lu Yun, the two riders dismounted and anxiously told him something.

From far away, Luo Lingyu saw Lu Yun’s expression change.

In the end, he had no time to come settle accounts with her. Instead, he mounted a horse and left with the riders, not even informing Lu Xian who was still in the temple. They rode down Mount Zhong into Jianye, galloping all the way to Prince Chen’s mansion. When dismounting, he stumbled because of his knee pain, but Lu Yun paid it no mind, tossing aside the reins and striding quickly into the mansion.

He pushed open the study door to find Prince Chen Liu Shu bent over writing a memorial. The prince looked up and met Lu Yun’s troubled expression.

Lu Yun spoke tensely: “I gave you the assassin because I trusted you could uncover the truth about who wanted to assassinate Prince Hengyang. Liu Shu, how could you simply kill him?”

Liu Shu spoke very slowly: “No, I, wanted to, kill, him. I, had no, choice.”

Lu Yun: “Tell me why!”

Liu Shu’s quiet eyes calmly met his old friend’s gaze. His hand resting on the desk twitched slightly as he spoke even more slowly: “Be-because. The one who, wanted to kill, him, was, was my father.”

The one who wanted to kill Prince Hengyang was the current emperor – Prince Chen Liu Shu’s father and Prince Hengyang Liu Mu’s brother. To prevent the truth from being exposed, just as they were approaching it, Liu Shu received orders from the emperor to kill the assassin immediately.

In the study, the two young lords stared at each other.

Suddenly a clap of thunder rolled across the sky, and torrential rain began to fall.