ATLAS TRANSLATES

Making it seem like he had peculiar preferences.

Prince Chen felt embarrassed and awkward.

When Prince Chen explained that the young lord was male, not only was Lu Xian shocked and stunned, but even Liu Mu, the Prince of Hengyang who originally didn’t care about this “Flower God Selection,” curiously looked toward the young man surnamed Zhou. When both men’s probing gazes fell upon him at once, the possibility of the truth being discovered multiplied… Zhou Yangling stepped back, lowered his head, and let Prince Chen block the views of the Prince of Hengyang and Lu Xian.

By now, Zhou Yangling had actually guessed their identities. When she came to the “Flower God Selection” with Luo Lingyu, she knew this place was full of noble families and royal courtiers. The chance of running into young masters on the road was… indeed very high. However, Zhou Yangling frowned. Being new here, she couldn’t fully grasp Building City’s situation, so she didn’t want to return to her female identity yet.

The slender Zhou Young Master retreated behind Prince Chen Liu Shu. Prince Chen was startled, subtly sensing this was the young lord’s plea for help and trust in him. Liu Shu pondered for a moment before saying: “Young Zhou, although… shares the same surname as Miss Zhou, but he is male. You two are being rash.”

Liu Shu was… straightforward.

He completely failed to notice Zhou Young Master’s feminine beauty. Because he himself had red lips, white teeth, and thick eyelashes, with somewhat delicate features, he was often teased for looking “like a girl” when he was younger.

Seeing the Prince of Hengyang raise his eyebrows and completely ignore his words, Liu Shu added another point: “He was… brought here by Miss Luo.”

Brought by Cousin Luo?

The Prince of Hengyang Liu Mu immediately shifted his gaze away. He was somewhat afraid of Luo Lingyu’s relatives, like Lu Xian. He wanted to stay far away from anything related to Luo Lingyu.

Lu Xian’s expression kept changing: This was different from his dream again? That dream of his… how did some parts match reality, but when reflected in reality, became so strange?

Why did his Cousin Luo not only have little connection with the Prince of Hengyang, but also had beautiful men coming and going around her? This… this… Lu Xian felt he needed the “Flower God Selection” to prove his dream was completely wrong. For now, Lu Xian also fell silent, and the atmosphere became awkward among them. Just then, an eager voice joined in: “Lu Xian, you’re here.”

Lu Xian turned around and saw Qi An walking quickly towards them. The young lord wore a jade crown and silk sash, dressed in fine silk robes, walking briskly with delight on his face. Lu Xian was stunned for a while. Since he used to spend his days reading books and painting, he wasn’t very familiar with Qi An. That dream of his made him change himself, trying hard to participate in worldly affairs, but he was certain he still wasn’t close to Qi An. So why was Qi An approaching him with such enthusiasm?

Qi An came over and eagerly looked around: “Lu Xian, isn’t Miss Luo here? She has her competition today, aren’t you going to see where she is?”

Lu Xian: “…”

The Prince of Hengyang let out a snort of laughter from the side and was about to leave: “Lu Xian, you see, there are many who like your cousin, I just…”

“Young Master!” His sleeve was grabbed by Lu Xian.

Lu Xian earnestly said: “What did you promise me? You promised you would definitely come watch my cousin compete!”

Qi An couldn’t make sense of what they were talking about. The Prince of Hengyang was made thoroughly uncomfortable by Lu Xian, giving him a fierce glare and grudgingly saying “I know” through gritted teeth. Prince Chen calmly made way, seeing Young Zhou’s amused expression.

For some reason, he felt this scene was rather embarrassing. The Prince of Hengyang and Lu Xian were arguing, and Qi An came just for Luo Lingyu… Prince Chen pressed his lips into a line and said softly: “Let’s go.”

Zhou Yangling gave him a deep look before cupping her hands: “Young Master, farewell. Until we meet again.”

She turned and left quickly, but watching her back, there was an elegant and lively air about her movements. This young lord was the one who truly swept his sleeves and left, without being stopped by anyone.

Prince Chen Liu Shu still had a strange feeling he couldn’t shake. He stared at Zhou Yangling’s retreating figure, feeling he had overlooked something. This young lord also didn’t explain or argue…

Qi An: “What are you looking at, Young Master?”

Liu Shu came back to his senses: “Nothing. Just feel like… we’ll meet again.”

This episode with a young lord didn’t leave much impression on this group. They made plans to find Luo Lingyu and show their support. When they arrived, they learned Luo Lingyu had pushed her performance to the evening. When they tried to ask Luo Lingyu about it, the Luo lady was busy and had no time for visitors.

Everyone could only give up dejectedly and attend to their own matters.

During this time the Prince of Hengyang tried to leave again, but was held back by Lu Xian’s persistence.

Throughout the day, Luo Lingyu was adjusting her mindset. If the dancer still couldn’t get up by evening, she had to prepare herself to perform. Since her own dance skills weren’t refined, she would need help from other things. In the afternoon, Zhou Yangling brought servants to move in the bell chimes. When Luo Lingyu went to look, she was quite delighted. There were several sets of bell chimes, with each set having different sizes and tones. When Zhou Yangling struck them with a small wooden mallet, the sound was rich and majestic.

Luo Lingyu murmured: “Historically, bell chimes were used for palace music, never seen in common households. Since our dynasty began, palace music has declined. Now whether in palace or among commoners, popular music dominates. Bell chimes are probably rarely used even in the palace… Young Zhou, you were actually able to recreate ancient bell chimes, and help me with them?”

Zhou Yangling smiled modestly: “I didn’t recreate them. My father is a current famous scholar who loves researching these old things, wanting to recreate them.”

Luo Lingyu blinked at her: Young Zhou’s father having the leisure to recreate ancient bell chimes must truly be from a great family…

Zhou Yangling sat behind the bells, holding the wooden mallet, and said: “There are only a few hours until evening. I need to familiarize myself with the bell chimes to help you. Miss Luo, please have your musicians come in so I can coordinate with them.”

Today’s popular music and bell chime music were solemn and dignified. Young Zhou wanted to combine the two… Luo Lingyu’s beautiful eyes sparkled brilliantly, already imagining how they would amaze everyone tonight if they succeeded.

Luo Lingyu pulled the door closed and quietly withdrew, patting her chest: “Thankfully Zhou young master is male and won’t compete with me for the ‘Flower Goddess’ position. Otherwise, I might really lose to Zhou young master…” It would be terrifying – with such a grand sound from the bell chimes, no matter what she competed in, she would be overshadowed. Fortunately, the Zhou young master was helping her.

He was so talented.

She wanted to marry him even more…

Luo Lingyu patted her face, patting away her heart full of admiration, and sat in the corridor outside. Zhou Yangling had given her reassurance, allowing her to truly calm down and think carefully about how to handle the evening’s dance.

As the sun set in the west, golden rays trailing long tails dropped below the horizon. The sky gradually darkened, and red lanterns were lit throughout Hualin Garden, their lights like snakes and dragons, illuminating the garden as bright as day. By this time, rather than seeing fewer people, there were even more young lords and ladies strolling in the garden. The crowd was bustling, with sounds of flutes and drums creating a festive atmosphere, as if it were a grand evening banquet.

Maids went back and forth through the garden, serving wine, tea, cakes, and pastries to the young lords and ladies. Seats were arranged below each competition venue, with dozens of small tables. The young lords and ladies could sit and enjoy their evening meal while watching the competitions. Although today’s competition was for singing and dancing, noble ladies had never performed music themselves before. The noble ladies had their own trained performers compete, while they sat below, observing everyone’s reactions.

The scene was elegant and refined, showing the demeanor of noble families. Everyone discussed in whispers—

“Whose performance is next?”

“It’s Miss Luo’s. She seems to have invited someone from Chengyu House to dance. I’ve been to Chengyu House but never heard of any outstanding dancer.”

“Let’s see how Miss Luo handles this… Oh, has anyone seen Miss Luo? She seems to have been absent all day.”

Chen Xiu, who had seen Luo Lingyu flirting with a young man earlier that morning, sat properly and elegantly at her table, gracefully sipping tea while listening to the young lords discuss “Miss Luo” this and that. Chen Xiu snorted in her heart.

Suddenly hearing quiet commotion around her, she looked up to see Lu Yun walking leisurely among several elderly men, as refined as the bright moon.

Though Lu Yun kept his head down and didn’t do anything special, the ladies’ gazes were drawn to him and couldn’t look away. Only when they heard the clear music start did everyone come back to their senses and look toward the tall screen.

The screen was made of white silk, pure and clean without any paintings or drawings, completely different from the popular colored screens of the time.

Maids came and went, crouching beneath the screen to light candles one by one. The candlelight flickered, brushing past the hem of the maids’ skirts as they walked.

On both sides of the screen, more lights were positioned at just the right angles to shine upon it.

Thus all around was dark, with only a brilliant white screen before them.

After taking his seat, Lu Yun adjusted his robes and looked at the screen, appearing uninterested: “Whose work is this? It’s quite interesting.”

Prince Chen Liu Shu said: “Cousin Luo’s.”

Lu Yun looked at him.

Seeing Liu Shu’s questioning look, Lu Yun lowered his eyelashes, resting his chin on his hand, and said quietly: “My cousin.”

Liu Shu: “…”

He didn’t understand why the other was arguing over this.

Liu Shu had come to accompany Lu Yun, as Lu Yun had been here for three days and was already quite exhausted. Liu Shu himself didn’t care about Luo Lingyu’s participation in the “Flower Goddess” selection.

But when the maids and servants brought out the bronze bell chimes, Liu Shu’s gaze fixed on them in surprise: “Luo… your cousin, she… even has such methods?”

Bell chimes were rare even in the palace these days. Lu Yun stared at the bell chimes, his eyes flickering slightly, but said nothing.

At the same time, Qi An and his friends, Prince of Hengyang Liu Mu and Lu Xian… were all paying attention to the screen and the bell chimes.

The lanterns were lit, but the dancer’s illness still hadn’t improved. Luo Lingyu gave up hope, feeling upset and disappointed as she hid in her room, personally doing her makeup to dress as a dancer.

In the meantime, Princess Ping Liu Tang and Lady Han’s personal maids came by, asking why Miss Luo wasn’t going to watch the competition with them.

Luo Lingyu made the excuse of needing to take care of the dancer, though in reality she couldn’t care less about the dancer now, who was being cared for by her younger sister.

Luo Yunhuan seriously tended to the dancer on the sickbed, making her feel deeply touched. Who would have thought that while the Luo family’s elder daughter was like that, the younger daughter would be so kind-hearted. She worried endlessly: “Young Miss, why don’t you tell Miss Luo to let me go? I can…”

Luo Yunhuan placed her small hand on her forehead, her little face full of concentration: “You can’t. Don’t worry, my sister is very good at fooling people…”

“Xia’er, are you gossiping about me behind my back again?”

Luo Yunhuan ducked her head, playfully sticking out her tongue before turning around. She originally wanted to smile sweetly and act coy with her sister, but after one look at her sister’s current appearance, Luo Yunhuan couldn’t help but exclaim: “Wow—” She saw that Luo Lingyu’s clothes compared to usual… were even more ethereal and graceful.

The lady wore her hair in a flying immortal style, with a long trailing dress. As her sleeves moved, the pearl armlets on her arms occasionally showed. This rain-silk gown and emerald gauze skirt had countless rippling layers like wind-wrinkled water. The waist sash that reached the ground outlined the lady’s slender waist and shapely jade-like chest… Such form-fitting dance attire accentuated Luo Lingyu’s graceful and alluring figure.

Perhaps because her features were bright and beautiful, she was particularly suited to this style of dress.

The women in the room were stunned.

Luo Lingyu glared at them, feeling extremely embarrassed. She grabbed the large cloak hanging on her arm to wrap around her figure, urging them: “Help her up and dress her the same way as me, then follow me to the back. We still need to put on an act… I can’t let people know the performer is me.”

As a noble lady, she didn’t want to be judged by others and shame her parents.

The women naturally agreed without much discussion.

The young lords and ladies, each with their own motives, were all waiting for the performance of this dancer invited by Luo Lingyu. Ladies like Lady Han who were close to Luo Lingyu tried to find her but couldn’t locate her anywhere. When the gentle music began to overpower the voices, they also gave up and turned their attention to the stage.

They saw the wide, long screen, bright as flowers. The gentle sound of strings and woodwinds began to play. The music was elegant, captivating everyone. Accompanying the light music, it seemed they could see spring’s glory, flowers falling in profusion… Suddenly there was a stir in the crowd as everyone stared at the screen, seeing the shadows of flower petals falling from branches projected onto it.

They fell scattered and profuse, like rain and pearls.

All cast upon the pure white screen.

“Using the screen to showcase dance skills? Miss Luo is quite interesting.”

Below, some people understood and became more intrigued, unconsciously leaning forward. Over where Lu Xian was, Lu Xian closely watched the Prince of Hengyang’s expression. Seeing the Prince initially uninterested, but when flowers floated on the screen, Liu Mu raised his eyebrows in surprise and fixed his gaze on the screen.

Lu Xian was very pleased: Cousin, keep going!

There was quiet discussion all around. Five famous scholars sat in the best viewing positions, with several elderly men also showing admiration on their faces as they discussed Luo Lingyu’s creative ideas. They had seen many ordinary dance performances; something novel like this could refresh their tired spirits. Among everyone, only Lu Yun remained expressionless.

Lu Yun took a sip of wine, absentmindedly drew a “bing” character on paper with his brush, then put it down. If it was just winning through novelty, it still couldn’t move this strict person. Lu Yun watched calmly, his eyes deep and distant, when suddenly his gaze focused as he saw a lady’s shadow cast on the screen, dancing gracefully.

The lady twirled in from the left side of the screen as the music instantly became faster. She danced alone under the falling spring flowers, her dance dress clinging to her body. The lady raised her arms, her fingertips truly like flowers, lightly tapping twice on the white screen. Her slender waist, delicate jade-like bosom, flying sleeves, and increasingly rapid drum beats…

Then they saw fewer and fewer flower petals, a moon-like shape appearing at the top of the screen. The lady’s rapid dance gradually slowed, changing to a gentle breeze…

Wisps of smoke rose, born together with water. The music turned sorrowful as waves and pavilions appeared beneath the lady’s feet on the screen. Everyone saw this lady wandering and dancing on the rooftops, silent and cold, all alone. She stepped and flew beneath the moon, her waist ornaments flying up, her sleeves rising and falling, her soft waist supporting her slender form as she flew toward that round moon.

At this time, the bell chimes softly joined in. At first extremely light and slow, people barely noticed the addition of another musical element. When the lady on the screen danced toward the moon, the bell chimes became rich and magnificent, their grand sound overpowering all other music. Yet the other music didn’t stop, still supporting those bell chimes. The various sounds chased each other like mist and smoke cradling Chang’e flying to the moon on the screen, pushing the momentum wave after wave to its climax…

Below, everyone was already stunned.

Qi An’s breathing quickened, his eyes burning bright;

Next to Lu Xian, the Prince of Hengyang’s gaze sparkled as he suddenly asked him: “Where is your cousin now?” Lu Xian was gratified, though he also couldn’t find where his cousin was…

Prince Chen sat beside Lu Yun, listening to the bell chimes with amazement filling his heart. Lu Yun’s cousin had truly played the bell chimes, she had truly recreated the palace music of the previous dynasty, combining the solemnity of bell chimes with the lightness of popular music… Luo Lingyu! Prince Chen suddenly looked at Lu Yun, his voice urgent: “Xue Chen, you you you…”

Your cousin is no ordinary person!

In his emotional state, Prince Chen’s stutter reached its peak. He usually forcefully concealed his impediment, not letting others know of his flaw. Now in his shock and excitement he stuttered involuntarily, but everyone was immersed in the dance and music, no one noticing his unusual speech. However, when Prince Chen looked at Lu Yun, he found Lu Yun’s expression changing between dark and light.

Liu Shu: “What’s wrong?”

Lu Yun’s emotions surged like wild waves, his gaze ice-cold as he stared at the lady dancing gracefully on the screen. A waist no wider than one’s grasp, so graceful; each step matching the music, her dance both matching the current ethereal beauty while retaining some ancient style; and her chest… that chest, that chest…

Luo Lingyu!

He stood up abruptly, his face full of shock: Luo Lingyu… the dancer was her! It must be her! She, a noble lady, actually went to dance for people to watch, where was her dancer, she…

Lu Yun suddenly standing up startled everyone, and all looked over: “What’s wrong with Lu Yun?”

“Is there something improper about this dance?”

“Lu Yun?”

Everyone looked, seeing Lu Yun quite flustered. Under everyone’s questioning, Lu Yun slowly sat back down, calming himself, and said quietly: “Nothing.” He stared at the dance on stage, focusing on the dancer’s waist and chest. While others discussed who this dancer was, only Lu Yun showed a half-smiling expression.

Lu Yun’s exhausted interest recovered at this moment: his little Luo sister was truly playful… giving him quite a few surprises. At the same time, he again saw her flirting with men, though this time it might have been unintentional…

Lu Yun’s face turned black as ink.

The other scholars commented: “This dance is quite innovative, what does Lu Yun think?”

Lu Yun tilted his chin, saying coldly: “Average.”

Others: … To give such an evaluation of his cousin’s work, Lu Yun’s standards were truly strict.

When the dance ended, applause erupted from below. Luo Lingyu retreated from behind the screen, her body hot with sweat, her forehead also covered in perspiration. After leaving the screen, away from the light, she was immediately covered with a cloak by maids to hide her dance attire. Qiniang, pale-faced and trembling, was supported by maids when Luo Lingyu rushed over to grab her hand: “Quick quick quick, switch!”

Just as they started talking, ladies came to the back: “Miss Luo…”

Luo Lingyu tightly held Qiniang’s hand, her face full of joy and satisfaction, saying softly: “Seven Lady, you danced so wonderfully! Thank you for your hard work! No matter the result, you’re the best dancer in my heart.”

Qiniang: “…”

The maids: “…”

Luo Yunhuan often witnessed her sister’s acting, her little face now full of calmness. Seven Lady looked at her, asking with her eyes “Is your sister always like this?” Luo Yunhuan covered her face and nodded painfully: Her sister’s acting skills were, as usual, performing normally…

A young lord’s snicker rang out.

Luo Lingyu’s back stiffened for a moment. She turned around to see Lu Yun’s figure flash past, leaving with several elderly men for the next competition. His gaze crossed with the screen as he cast a playful look at her.

Luo Lingyu ignored him, seeing him touch his own forehead, wiping it lightly. Luo Lingyu froze, quickly touching her forehead to find her own sweat.

Luo Lingyu: “…”

Lu Yun’s figure swayed once before leaving, but Luo Lingyu’s heart sank. He had seen the sweat on her forehead, he knew she was the dancer… She had embarrassed herself in front of him again. This person was as hateful as ever!

She could only comfort herself that Lu Yun had nothing to do with her competition, and even if she was pretending, it didn’t matter if he knew. Until now, she had been so absorbed in her dance that she hadn’t known one of the five scholars was Lu Yun.

Because of this incident, Luo Lingyu brushed off the ladies’ praise with just a few words. To prevent anyone else being as sharp-eyed as Lu Yun and spotting the issue, Luo Lingyu excused herself claiming she felt unwell and hurried off to change clothes in her quarters. Only after taking off this dance attire would she feel at ease.

Quietly and stealthily, she snuck into her room and closed the door. The room was unlit, with only moonlight weakly shining in from outside.

Just as Luo Lingyu entered, her wrist was grabbed. Her scream was muffled by a hand, and she was pushed backward against the wall. In her shock, she heard Lu Yun’s clear voice next to her ear: “Don’t scream, it’s me.”

Luo Lingyu’s eyes widened. In the moonlight, she indeed saw clearly that the man pressing against her was who she thought.

Lu Yun looked down at Luo Lingyu. In the dim light, he could see her cheeks were red as clouds, her lips alluringly bright. While Luo Lingyu wondered what he was doing here and if he was going to mock her again, the young lord’s eyes darkened slightly. Lu Yun offered an evaluation: “Cousin must be tired from dancing…”

After hesitating for a long while, Luo Lingyu tremblingly replied: “Not tired…”

Lu Yun watched her for a moment, watching until Luo Lingyu grew nervous. Then he reached up and pinched her cheek. His fingertips felt her smooth skin, stirring something in his heart. Just as Luo Lingyu’s whole body tensed up about to explode, she heard him laugh softly by her ear: “Little sister Yu’er… still as thick-skinned as ever.”

Luo Lingyu: “…?!”

What? What did he say? Who was “sister Yu’er”?

No, no… what right did he have to pinch her face…

Actually, from the moment Lu Yun appeared, Luo Lingyu wasn’t scared. She hated Lu Yun, but she wasn’t afraid of him. Without thinking it through, Luo Lingyu was flustered by Lu Yun’s teasing. She covered her ears with her hands, dodging his whispers by her ear. She shifted to the side, also avoiding his fingers pinching her face. Luo Lingyu glared at him fiercely, extremely defiant toward Lu Yun.

Luo Lingyu felt this was a good opportunity. She declared righteously: “Cousin, don’t get physical with me. Between us siblings…”

Lu Yun lazily interrupted: “Who’s siblings with you? Enough, there’s no one else here, stop acting in front of me.”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

With the moonlight blocked by the young lord, and her pressed against the wall with nowhere to escape, the lady lowered her voice angrily to ask: “Then how did you recognize me?”

Lu Yun lowered his head to look at her chest, smiling: “You’re… so plump, how could I not recognize you?”