The spring rain washed over Jianye city. A drizzle fell on the main roads and imperial gardens, with occasional thunder rumbling in the distance. People on the streets hurried to find shelter under eaves, shielding their eyes as they peered into the misty rain.
In the Taichu Palace, music and dance performances continued while the emperor, wearing his ceremonial robes and holding a whisk, listened drowsily to Taoist priests giving sermons.
Meanwhile, the Prince of Hengyang gathered with his subordinates in the study, discussing the assassin who had been killed by Prince Chen…
“Everyone thinks I killed him,” Prince Chen Liu Shu wrote on the table with water since speaking was difficult. “It’s better if Prince Hengyang blames me than if he discovers it was Father Emperor.”
So the emperor wanted his own son to take the blame.
There was no true familial love in the imperial family. Father-son relationships were barely manageable, but between brothers… especially when the eldest was emperor while the youngest had been given high expectations by the late emperor.
The current emperor indulged in entertainment and luxury, showing little interest in state affairs. All of Jianye was caught up in extravagant pleasures.
Yet even so, the emperor couldn’t tolerate having a brother who’d received secret orders from their late father.
After learning the truth, Lu Yun’s expression grew calmer. His dark pupils narrowed slightly. After hesitating, he quietly asked Prince Chen across from him: “So does that rumored secret edict really exist?”
He meant the late emperor’s secret edict hoping the current emperor would pass the throne to the Prince of Hengyang.
Liu Shu frowned and shook his head, indicating he wasn’t sure either.
Lu Yun stared at him for a while before saying mockingly: “Well, now Prince Hengyang will target you in court. You better be prepared. Let’s hope His Majesty gives you some compensation…”
Liu Shu quietly interrupted: “There is compensation.”
Lu Yun asked casually: “Oh?”
Liu Shu: “I asked Father Emperor for an official position for you.”
The title was too complicated to say, so Liu Shu had to write again: “Deputy Imperial Censor, and Guest of my household.”
Deputy Imperial Censors supervised officials, received imperial edicts, investigated government offices, and handled miscellaneous affairs.
The position involved lots of work, but most importantly, it made Lu Yun an official guest of Prince Chen.
Everyone in Jianye knew Lu Yun was Prince Chen’s man, but the prince had never officially acknowledged it before.
Liu Shu was just a stuttering, mostly silent prince who hardly stood out among the other princes. In fact, besides Lu Yun and a few others… even the emperor didn’t know Liu Shu stuttered!
As soon as Liu Shu finally got the emperor’s attention, his first request was an imperial edict appointing Lu Yun.
Lu Yun’s thick eyelashes trembled as he stared silently at Liu Shu.
Liu Shu urged him: “I know you’re proud, but to get things done, you need official authority. Having a position is better than just being ‘Lu Yun.’”
Liu Shu: “I know you don’t want to rely on your uncle’s connections, and you don’t want an idle position just to pass time. Lu Yun is proud – if you take an official role, you want to accomplish things, not sit around doing nothing. Right now my power is limited, so this is all I can offer you. But don’t worry – we’re brothers, and what’s mine is yours. This is just a start as Imperial Censor. In the future… I won’t let you down.”
He held Lu Yun’s hand, looking at him with slight guilt.
He and Lu Yun had met when they were both nobodies. At that time, Lu Yun had just lost his father, and his mother had followed in death. The young Lu Yun had just arrived in Jianye, encountering for the first time such a grand and illustrious noble family. The shock of losing his parents was still fresh, and before he could process it, this strange new world of luxury opened up before him. For a child born at the border who had never known noble families, the Lu family didn’t make him feel honored – only afraid. It was then that Lu Yun met Liu Shu…
Lu Yun lowered his eyes and withdrew his hand: “Don’t say that. Your stutter was caused by a fever you got while saving mischievous young me. I’m the one who owes you.”
Lu Yun said quietly: “My life belongs to you – take it whenever you want. Whatever position you give me, I’ll accept.”
He had already decided that whatever path Liu Shu took, he would follow.
Liu Shu gazed at him softly and nodded: “I won’t betray your trust.”
The rain pattered on, and Lu Yun suddenly remembered something: “Let Prince Hengyang be angry, let the princes fight among themselves. Let’s focus on something else… Zhou Tang’s daughter Zhou Yangling should be arriving in Jianye soon, right?”
At the mention of this, Prince Chen Liu Shu’s face lit up with joy and anticipation: “Yes.”
Although Zhou Tang was a famous scholar, he came from a humble background and represented commoner interests. The noble families were too deeply entrenched, affecting the normal operation of government.
To balance this relationship, Prince Chen wanted to bring in commoners, gradually changing the nobles’ control over the court.
Zhou Yangling’s arrival in Jianye represented her father and countless other commoner scholars behind him… everyone would be watching her.
Liu Shu murmured: “The best and simplest way to balance nobles and commoners is through marriage.”
Lu Yun raised an eyebrow.
Liu Shu looked at his handsome, refined face and his eyes flickered with an idea: “Didn’t you meet her in Yicheng? Didn’t you say she was a rare beauty? How about taking such a beauty as your wife?”
Lu Yun had expected him to say this.
Lu Yun replied politely: “Your Highness, I’m proud and selfish. I absolutely won’t sacrifice my marriage for politics.”
Liu Shu: “But she’s a beauty…”
Lu Yun suddenly remembered a graceful figure glaring at him in his mind… Lu Yun smiled: “A beauty? Aren’t they all…”
Lu Yun suggested: “I won’t sacrifice my marriage for the greater good, but you’re different! Your mind is full of grand affairs… Since that’s the case, why don’t you marry her? Oh right, given the class difference, she can’t become Princess Chen, but as a consort, with Zhou Yangling’s abilities, that would work.”
Liu Shu nodded indifferently. Indeed, unlike Lu Yun who was extremely proud, he was practical – as long as something brought great benefits, Liu Shu could accept it.
The two gentlemen chatted idly in the study, deciding a lady’s future in just a few words, without ever asking if she would agree. But how could she not agree? For commoners wanting to rise in status, this was already a great honor – Zhou Yangling wouldn’t refuse, she would only be grateful. Lu Yun even thought that if his cousin Luo Lingyu were here, she would have cried with joy…
Thinking of someone’s love for power and wealth, Lu Yun snorted coldly and touched his lips.
Liu Shu stared at the gentleman’s lips across from him: “What’s wrong?” Why does he keep touching them? What happened to his lips?
Liu Shu worried: “Are you getting a fever? Are you worried about me?”
Lu Yun: “…”
Surprised: “…Really not.”
Lu Yun stood up and opened the door to see the rain curtain outside, with a cool breeze blowing. The cool air triggered pain in his wounds, making Lu Yun frown slightly. Supporting his arm, Lu Yun said lazily: “It’s nothing. I just remembered that if I hadn’t been injured again this time, I would have left Jianye by now.”
“The distinguished guest from Yicheng, Zhou Tang’s daughter Zhou Yangling, is worth us going out of the city to welcome. This way, we can also show Zhou Tang our sincerity.”
Liu Shu: “But you’re injured, traveling far is too dangerous. I won’t let you leave the city at this time.”
Lu Yun: “Yes, what a pity.”
…
“In my dream, at this time, Third Brother wasn’t in Jianye. After recovering from his injuries, he left Jianye again, going to Yicheng to welcome Lady Zhou on Prince Chen’s behalf,” Lu Xian leaned over his desk writing, pondering hard to remember the events from his dream, hurriedly recording any tiny detail he could recall to prevent forgetting later, “Lady Zhou… had the bearing of an immortal.”
In the dream, Lu Xian had glimpsed that lady from afar a few times. That lady had the beauty of Xi Shi, was delicate and frail, with extraordinary grace.
In the dream, Lu Xian was absorbed in calligraphy and painting, and didn’t really understand politics or what was happening around him. But no matter how unclear, he was still a noble gentleman, and when he went out socializing, he had heard people mention the “Two Beauties of Jianye.” One beauty was the scholar Zhou Tang’s daughter Zhou Yangling, and the other beauty was… was his cousin Luo Lingyu.
After copying down “Luo Lingyu’s” name, the thick black ink gathered at the brush tip. Lu Xian propped his head with his hand, staring at this name in a daze.
He had witnessed Luo Lingyu’s talent and beauty, but in the dream, she didn’t spend much time in Jianye. Her fame spread only after she was chosen as Prince Hengyang’s princess. In the dream, what was Luo Lingyu doing at this time?
Lu Xian threw down his brush and paced around the room.
The dream and reality had diverged when he first fell unconscious — because of the different timing of his unconsciousness, in the dream Luo Lingyu had left the Lu family; in reality, he had kept her there. This made reality different from the dream.
Because of this absurd dream, Lu Xian wandered among the temples on Mount Zhong, reluctant to leave, seeking someone to interpret his dream. But since the dream involved great matters of state – who would become emperor, which family would fall – Lu Xian didn’t dare speak freely. He gave vague hints, but the masters couldn’t interpret his dream. Though the dream remained uninterpreted, a master suggested to him: Since the gentleman feels this dream may foretell the future, why not record it and compare with future events one by one?
If it truly came true, it would prove the dream was real, and what changes the gentleman wanted to make would be clear;
If nothing came true, it would prove the dream was false, and the gentleman could throw it aside without worrying.
Like enlightenment pouring down!
After bidding farewell to his cousins and bringing his cousin back to the Lu family, he shut himself in his study for two days. As heavy and light rain alternated, Lu Xian pulled at his hair again and again, struggling to recall the details of his dream — “Right, at this time, Cousin Luo said she had left Jianye to return to Nanyang, but due to continuous rain, she was delayed on the way, and halfway there, she must have met Prince Hengyang.”
Lu Xian’s eyes brightened, and he returned to his desk, quickly writing down this deduced detail in three strokes.
He was very excited and about to throw down his brush when he suddenly thought: “Then Third Brother… could he also be trapped by the rain and meet Cousin Luo and Prince Hengyang outside Jianye?”
All not in the capital. The same water route, the same distance from Jianye, and finally all trapped by the rain…
In a daze, the brush fell from Lu Xian’s hand with a “pa.” He thought of how he had seen Third Brother embracing Cousin Luo on Mount Zhong that day, the two of them a perfect match of talent and beauty, with feelings flickering between their glances… Uneasy in his heart, Lu Xian put away the paper he had written.
Patting his heart, he reassured himself: “I must be overthinking. It’s already coincidental enough that cousin met Prince Hengyang, it couldn’t be so coincidental that she would meet Third Brother too.”
“Even if they met, my Third Brother avoids women like the plague, and with Prince Hengyang there… he definitely wouldn’t approach.”
But was there truly no interaction at all?
Did cousin simply dislike the Lu family and hit it off with Prince Hengyang?
His Third Brother’s death in battle at the border in the dream… was it just an accident?
In his confusion, cold sweat broke out on Lu Xian’s back. Though naturally pure and kind, having grown up in the centuries-old Lu family, even if he hadn’t seen it firsthand, he had heard enough tales of various conspiracies to fill storybooks. If a dream was full of conspiracies, then around him, when he wasn’t aware, how many things had happened?
In his dream, had he just lived his whole life in confusion? Never understanding anything?
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Lu Xian muttered to himself: “First let’s see if the dream is real…”
“Can try to let Cousin Luo and Prince Hengyang interact more. If events start matching the dream, then I should do something…”
Must not let anything happen to Third Brother!
…
“Pluck the strings to play clear notes, a short song quietly hummed cannot be long. The bright moon shines clearly on my bed, the Milky Way flows west as night lingers!”
“The bright moon shines clearly on my bed…”
The doors opened in Snow Trace Court, under a long corridor, young Miss Luo of the Luo family, Luo Yunsha, took off her embroidered shoes and held a book, reciting in a clear voice. While her mouth recited the verses from the book, her black pearl-like eyes glanced lightly at her sister sitting with her under the eaves.
Before the rain, Luo Lingyu had bid farewell to her cousins and returned from Mount Zhong. She brought small gifts from the mountain for her sister and sent the Buddhist verses she had obtained to various branches of the Lu family.
Luo Yunhuan watched eagerly as her sister, just returned, was busy again trying to curry favor with people. Finally when it rained and her sister couldn’t go out, she sat under the eaves with paper and brush, her silk socks like feathers treading on the clean wooden floor. Bang bang bang, after Luo Lingyu wrote a few characters, she stood up again to pace.
The beauty leaned against a corridor pillar, gazing melancholically into the rain curtain, at least her serving maids and her sister Luo Yunhuan had been secretly watching her for a long time.
Luo Lingyu pondered: The “Flower Goddess” competition must make people’s eyes and ears shine. For eyes and ears to shine, ears can focus on music, eyes can focus on appearance… thinking it through, if she composed music and choreographed dance, wouldn’t that be more brilliant than writing poetry or painting?
Poetry was elegant, but superior poetry wasn’t something she could think up immediately with hard contemplation. Poetry that amazed people often had nothing to do with how hard one tried. As for painting… after seeing the paintings by the Plum-Seeking Recluse hanging in her room, she didn’t want to paint anymore.
That left only music and dance to compete for “Flower Goddess.”
She could compose music herself – for a noble lady raised in her environment, composing music wasn’t difficult given the education received since childhood. But dance… Luo Lingyu couldn’t dance herself. First, her movements weren’t good enough, and second, it wasn’t proper for a noble lady to actively dance for others to watch and judge.
Luo Lingyu turned her head and asked her serving maid Lingyu (T/N: romanised the same but the characters and tone is different) who was doing needlework under the corridor: “I want to choreograph a dance to compete in the ‘Flower Goddess Banquet.’ Do you know any dancing girls in Jianye? I could invite her to help express my dance.”
Lingyu thought: “This servant does have an old friend who now dances at Chengyu House, called Lian Qiniang. Would Miss like to invite her? I can help make the connection.”
Luo Lingyu thought, dancing girls with high skill in Jianye would command extremely high prices. First she couldn’t afford it, and second, with such high skill, wouldn’t they overshadow the main focus? Would they be highlighting her, Luo Lingyu, or that dancing girl?
Luo Lingyu said diplomatically: “Not someone too skilled at dance, I need someone I can direct. Those too skilled have their own style, making it hard for me to work with them.”
Once she said this, her long-serving maid Lingxi and sister Luo Yunhuan immediately knew what she was thinking — poverty.
Fortunately Lingyu hadn’t served Luo Lingyu long and didn’t understand the lady’s financial constraints, so she quickly said: “Lian Qiniang is my friend, and only average among dancing girls… I think she would be suitable for Miss’s direction.”
Lingyu’s heart pounded: Could Miss mean to compose music and choreograph dance herself? A noble lady’s competition of skills, falling to a mere dancing girl. The judges would be noble men and women, how delicate the noble ladies, how handsome the gentlemen… perhaps her friend’s opportunity lay in Luo Lingyu’s kindness?
Why else would Luo Lingyu not dance her own dance, but let someone else dance it?
Thinking of this, Lingyu hurriedly stood up and prepared to brave the rain with an umbrella: “Miss, with such heavy rain today, the dance house probably has few customers, why don’t I go invite Lian Qiniang now? Miss can see if she’s suitable?”
Luo Lingyu: “Uh…”
Actually anyone who could dance would do…
But faced with Lingyu’s bright, shining eyes, Luo Lingyu’s heart paused, and she smiled and nodded: “Good, go invite her then.”
The maid Lingyu put on her shoes and left with an umbrella, while Luo Lingyu sat on the railing under the eaves, watching the maid disappear into the misty rain, lost in thought. The distinction between nobles and commoners, and the further distinction between commoners and lowborn… she desperately wanted to marry into a noble family, but it seemed maids like Lingyu also yearned for improved status just like her.
Luo Lingyu murmured to herself: “Ah, so busy… must sell something to raise money!”
“Must get married soon!”
“Must ask Lingyu about the names and preferences of all the young gentlemen in Jianye… I’ll work through them one by one!”
Such grand aspirations were breathtaking, yet she actually had that capability. With Lingyu gone, the remaining two women had come with her from Nanyang. Hearing the lady’s mutterings, the maid Lingxi and young Miss Luo Yunhuan: “…”
Not afraid to speak truthfully in front of Lingxi, young Miss Luo Yunhuan put down her book and hesitated before walking to Luo Lingyu’s side: “Sister, I’ll be very good from now on, and won’t cause you any trouble.”
Luo Lingyu looked down and teased her: “Do your best.”
Luo Yunhuan kicked her feet and grumbled: “But you work so hard, it pains me… why must you please those people and marry into a noble family? Putting on airs is exhausting, I really don’t mind simple food. Two-penny buns can fill the stomach just the same. Books say one should be content…”
Luo Lingyu said coolly: “You may not mind simple food, but I can’t stomach it.”
“I refuse to be content.”
Luo Yunhuan stared at her in a daze.
Her sister’s face was beautifully bewitching, with determination in her features. Rain slanted in from outside, making the lady as striking as a fierce rose. Seeing the lady stretch out her hand to place it on her shoulder.
Luo Lingyu pressed her sister’s shoulder, wiping the water splashed on her face: “I am worldly, ruthless, and selfish. I want to live life at the top… if you don’t want that life, when you’re able to support yourself, go live the simple life you want. I won’t stop you then.”
“But while you’re under my roof, while I have to support you for one more day, you must listen to me.”
“Huan’er, one must be consistent. You can’t rely on your sister while disliking her methods, can you?”
The rain pattered drop by drop, quickly forming a small pool in the corner under the eaves, splashing noisily. Luo Yunhuan opened her eyes wide, looking at her sister.
Though their personalities were completely different, she didn’t know how to argue, and even vaguely felt her sister made sense…
She threw herself into her sister’s arms and said in a muffled voice: “Anyway, I’ll be obedient.”
…
After the sky cleared, Luo Lingyu again thought about trying to please her aunt-in-law Lu Ying. After breaking her word last time, she now felt renewed urgency to socialize. But before she could finish pleasing Lu Ying this time, she first received an invitation. The Prince of Hengyang had come to Jianye, and the young lords and ladies of Jianye used this as an excuse to hold a tea party. Originally Luo Lingyu wasn’t invited, but when the invitation reached Lu Xian and he saw the Prince of Hengyang would be there but his cousin Luo Lingyu wasn’t invited, he immediately got her an invitation.
Receiving the invitation, Luo Lingyu turned the floral paper over and over: “…”
She did want to go to this tea party where supposedly all the noble young lords and even princes might attend, because at this tea party, they would reportedly discuss details of the “Flower Goddess Banquet.” But before she could say anything, Lu Xian had eagerly gotten her an invitation…
Her second cousin’s kindness made her somewhat uneasy.
Though startled by Lu Xian’s enthusiasm, Luo Lingyu still accepted his invitation.
Having him in the household was good… at least better than her third cousin who never had any social activities. She really didn’t understand how, as noble young lords, second cousin could receive so many invitations every day while third cousin had none… Just as she was internally criticizing Lu Yun, Luo Lingyu made herself stop: Stop! Don’t think about that horrible person!
At the venue, Lu Xian led Luo Lingyu to greet various lords and ladies. The focus was the Prince of Hengyang… but scanning around, Lu Xian didn’t see him. Lu Xian turned back about to instruct Luo Lingyu, only to find his cousin already surrounded by curious young lords—
“Are you the Lu family’s new cousin, Miss Luo? We’ve heard so much about you.”
“A beauty like jade, the ancients didn’t deceive me.”
“Lady, since this is your first time here, may I introduce you around?”
Luo Lingyu smiled charmingly, her beautiful eyes blinking enchantingly. In the time Lu Xian took to speak with someone, Luo Lingyu was already nearly surrounded by the crowd.
Lu Xian: “…”
He had underestimated his cousin’s beauty.
Perhaps he was immune from seeing her so often, unlike others who had only heard about an extremely beautiful lady arriving at the Lu family but never seen her.
Lu Xian felt exhausted as he continued searching for the Prince of Hengyang in the crowd, struggling hard to try to connect his cousin with the prince.
There were many lords and ladies – he could see many people gathered around the ladies in the distance, while his side was also packed.
Luo Lingyu felt very thirsty and found a seat to sit down, not realizing there was a shy young lord with a red face next to her. Young lords kept coming to find the lady next to her, and this young lord gathered his courage: “Sister Luo, we’ve met before…”
Luo Lingyu turned to look at him in surprise, only then noticing someone sitting beside her.
The young lord said: “At the dock the day you came to Jianye, I was riding horses with Prince Chen and others through the street, everyone saw you…”
That fleeting beauty was unforgettable.
Luo Lingyu narrowed her eyes: Really? She didn’t remember this person anymore…
But the lady smiled: “I remember you. What should I call you, young lord?”
The young lord tried to hide his excitement: “Call me Qi Third Master…”
Luo Lingyu smiled: “How about Brother Qi San?” (T/N: ‘San’ is three in mandarin.)
The young lord was struck by her smile, his face getting redder: “That’s, that’s, that’s fine!” After a pause, struggling to find a topic, “Sister Luo, let me tell you…”
“Lu Yun, Lu Yun… listen to me…” Lu Yun walked in front with several old men chasing behind him, “The Flower Goddess Banquet is an important annual event in Jianye… since you’re in Jianye, you can’t pretend it doesn’t exist. We’re just asking for your help, not asking the ladies to chase after you, why are you avoiding it…”
Lu Yun suddenly stopped, causing the old men behind him to bump into his back.
The gentleman in front narrowed his eyes, looking towards the lady surrounded by young lords. Luo Lingyu seemed distracted, giving a faint smile, and the young lord beside her excitedly talked non-stop.
Lu Yun’s face darkened: “…”
Why is it her again? Everywhere he goes he runs into her flirting with men?
Meanwhile on Luo Lingyu’s side, she also heard excited gasps from the ladies behind her: “Lu Yun, Lu Yun… why is he here?!”
Luo Lingyu looked carefully and across the crowd, her gaze met Lu Yun’s, while her ears caught the ladies’ excited discussion, feeling their eagerly stirring hearts.
Luo Lingyu: “…”
Why is it him again? Everywhere she goes she runs into women going crazy for him?
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