ATLAS TRANSLATES

After the Dragon Boat Festival, remnants of the holiday joy still lingered. The streets were filled with shops selling peach and willow branches, with young men and women wearing colorful silk threads around their wrists. The scholarly class continued to use the festival as an excuse for banquets and celebrations.

Though prepared, when Luo Lingyu got out of the carriage at the Zhou residence and heard music from deep within the alley, she was surprised. At the same time, she felt happy for Zhou Young Master — had he finally been accepted by the upper-class families despite his humble background?

After all, who wouldn’t like a talented and refined scholar?

Before entering, Luo Lingyu adjusted her appearance, as she always made sure to look her best before meeting anyone. As her multicolored dress swayed like smoke, she had barely taken a step forward when a male voice coughed from slightly behind her left. Turning around, she saw Prince Chen Liu Chu who had just stepped down from his carriage.

Luo Lingyu’s eyes flickered with confusion. The probability of seeing Prince Chen at Zhou Young Master’s place seemed higher than seeing him at Lu Yun’s place—

But didn’t everyone in Jianye say that her cousin Lu Yun was Prince Chen’s best friend?

That was in the past.

Clearly, after Zhou Yangling arrived in Jianye, Prince Chen had shifted his affections and abandoned his old friend. While Lu Yun was at home recovering from his eye injury, Liu Chu only visited once. When Zhou Yangling was well, the Prince frequented this alley as if it were his own backyard.

Luo Lingyu lowered her eyes and greeted this young noble in a friendly manner.

Prince Chen Liu Chu wore a gold-threaded robe with a nine-ringed gold belt, exuding nobility. Upon seeing Luo Lingyu, he frowned, feeling that the frequency of seeing Lu Yun’s cousin at Zhou Zibo’s place was too high. Disliking how often she sought out Zhou Zibo, his tone turned cold: “You… why are you here?”

Luo Lingyu smiled sweetly and handed an invitation card to Prince Chen: “There’s no special occasion in June, it’s just an invitation for everyone to gather at the Lu residence, to drink and appreciate flowers together. I wrote invitation cards for everyone, and came to deliver Zhou Young Master’s first.”

Prince Chen lowered his head to look at the invitation card Luo Lingyu handed him. She always made her invitation cards very exquisite, with beautiful handwriting that was elegant and refined, something to be proud of. Seeing this cultured side of the young lady through the invitation card, Prince Chen suspected that Zhou Young Master must be fond of such a clever lady, making him even more uncomfortable. After examining the card for a long while, Liu Chu pondered: “…June 19th?”

Luo Lingyu: “Yes.”

Choosing June 19th actually held a small private joy for her. However, Luo Lingyu had no intention of sharing this little happiness with others.

Unexpectedly, Prince Chen immediately rejected her chosen date: “That day won’t work.”

Luo Lingyu: “…?”

Liu Chu returned the card to her, saying coldly: “That day, he has an appointment with me. I invited him. You and Xue Chen can come too. This day won’t work… choose another day.”

Luo Lingyu’s heart trembled, and her hand holding the invitation card grew cold. Being put in such an awkward position by Liu Chu, she naturally was unwilling. If Prince Chen was hosting a banquet, how could she compete for the same day?

Luo Lingyu bit her lip, letting out a soft huff in her heart, but smiled silently as she took back the invitation card. Luo Lingyu was very accommodating: “…Alright then, please give me your invitation card so I can take it back for Third Cousin to see. I’ll change the date for the Lu family’s banquet.”

Her beautiful eyes sparkled with a hint of cunning, thinking to herself: Fortunately, I now have Lu Xue Chen as my “servant under my skirt.” When I go back to beg Lu Yun, at most he’ll mock me for being capricious and scold me for being vain, but others won’t know how I lose face in front of him. I must have him convince you to change the date. June 19th, I must have it.

Prince Chen Liu Chu didn’t understand Luo Lingyu. Although he vaguely knew she had some small schemes, seeing her so agreeable, he didn’t take it seriously. The man and woman were extremely polite to each other, and Luo Lingyu received several invitation cards from Prince Chen’s servant. After checking the time, she followed Liu Chu’s footsteps into the Zhou residence.

However, when they were led to the courtyard by an old servant, both Liu Chu and Luo Lingyu were stunned. They saw that the small courtyard of the Zhou residence was filled with quite a few people.

Most were noble men and women, but Liu Chu had recently been associating with humble scholars introduced by the famous scholar Zhou Tan, and he recognized several of them in the crowd.

They saw Zhou Yangling had brought out her chime bells for these people to study. The music they had heard outside the courtyard was the sound of these men and women playing instruments.

Some played flutes, some played pipes…

Zhou Yangling was surrounded by people, softly discussing with them as they browsed through ancient texts, researching palace music from previous dynasties. It turned out that Zhou Yangling had a whole room full of books here — in ancient times, there was a saying about “golden book chambers,” and any famous scholar who could become renowned had collected countless books. The fact that Zhou Yangling could casually produce such a room full of books was truly remarkable.

Her hidden talents emerged one after another. In the short few months since arriving in Jianye, riding on Prince Chen’s influence, she was quickly conquering these noble men and women of Jianye.

At this moment, a young lady in the courtyard sat down to strike the chime bells. Surrounded by onlookers, she turned back coquettishly asking for help: “Zhou Young Master, why doesn’t this note sound right when I strike it?”

Zhou Yangling sat down and patiently helped her tune it. She listened carefully, using the small hammer in her hand to strike the bronze bells. The young men nearby nodded, while the ladies watched her with bright eyes, secretly considering the possibility of having Zhou Young Master become a son-in-law who would marry into their family. After all, noble ladies didn’t necessarily have to marry down.

Standing at the courtyard entrance, seeing everyone gathered around Zhou Yangling, Luo Lingyu’s heart felt slightly uncomfortable, a bit unhappy.

Prince Chen Liu Chu’s heart was also uncomfortable; he was unhappy too.

Luo Lingyu pressed her lips together: “How can Zhou Young Master be like this, agreeing to everyone who seeks him…” She wasn’t special at all.

Liu Chu rarely agreed with Lu Yun’s cousin, but his tone was harsh: “…Right!”

As the two complained at the entrance, Luo Lingyu’s desire to seek out Zhou Yangling had greatly diminished. Zhou Yangling happened to look up from among the crowd and saw the two at the door. After giving some instructions, letting the men and women play on their own, she came over to find them. Zhou Yangling smiled: “How did Miss Luo end up coming with the Prince?”

Luo Lingyu, in low spirits, handed the invitation cards Prince Chen had just given her to Zhou Yangling: “The Prince wants to host a banquet and invite you. We met on the way, so I came to deliver your invitation card.”

Zhou Yangling nodded: “Thank you.”

Luo Lingyu glanced at her, saying gloomily: “Now that the invitation is delivered, I’ll take my leave.”

Zhou Yangling: “…”

Her eyelids quickly flickered upward, and though still looking down at the invitation, she immediately noticed Luo Lingyu’s low spirits. Not only was Luo Lingyu unhappy, but Prince Chen beside her also seemed dispirited. This slightly puzzled Zhou Yangling. Luo Lingyu had barely stepped into the courtyard before turning to leave. Zhou Yangling hurried after her, lifting her robe to bow.

Luo Lingyu dodged: “What are you doing!”

Zhou Yangling, in her elegant young gentleman’s appearance, had eyes clear and pure like jade stones immersed in water when focusing on someone. Coupled with her gentle voice, few could resist listening: “I wonder how I’ve offended Miss Luo to make you unhappy?”

Luo Lingyu’s cheeks flushed red: “I’m not unhappy!”

Zhou Yangling: “You want to leave before even entering the courtyard, surely I must have done something wrong. Please tell me, don’t let me die wrongfully.”

Luo Lingyu hesitated. She never spoke unnecessarily in front of others. Even her coquettish behavior was only used when it served a purpose. Until now, only Lu Yun could make her suddenly angry and suddenly sad. She absolutely would not reveal herself again in front of anyone but Lu Yun, letting others know her true nature. But Zhou Yangling’s gentle eyes stared at her, making her heart waver, feeling that this wasn’t such a big deal.

Zhou Yangling urged again softly, and remarked: “You were the first lady I met after arriving in Jianye, and we even opened a shop together. The cosmetics shop is running well, why have you become distant with me?”

Luo Lingyu paused, then couldn’t help saying: “Although I was the first lady you met, you don’t really care about me in your heart.”

Zhou Yangling was stunned: “…What makes you say that?”

Luo Lingyu’s lips pursed to the side, gesturing for Zhou Young Master to look at the courtyard full of gentlemen and ladies. She showed a slight look of displeasure. Zhou Yangling understood the implied meaning and immediately apologized, reassuring Luo Lingyu that she cherished her the most. But Luo Lingyu didn’t believe it, saying he didn’t have her in his heart. The two ladies went back and forth, while Prince Chen listened anxiously from the side.

Liu Chu wanted to say something to assert his presence. But while Luo Lingyu looked delicate, her small mouth kept chattering non-stop without a moment’s pause. Zhou Yangling was extremely anxious, spending the whole time placating Luo Lingyu, making the young lady’s lips curl up in happiness again.

Liu Chu was very anxious and couldn’t hold back anymore, blurting out: “You- you- you- your first acquaintance was- was- was me!”

Luo Lingyu, who was being coquettish with Zhou Yangling: “…”

Zhou Yangling, who was trying hard to comfort Luo Lingyu: “…”

Both women turned to look at him in surprise, and Liu Chu’s face instantly turned red.

Zhou Yangling couldn’t help but smile: “Why is Your Highness stuttering again?”

Liu Chu’s face grew even redder. He already had delicate features, and now he looked just like a shy young lady: “…”

Luo Lingyu suppressed her confusion about Liu Chu; she had already been mostly comforted by Zhou Yangling. When she turned back to face Zhou Yangling, her lips were smiling again. She was very playful, half-serious and half-joking: “Then am I your most beloved lady?”

Zhou Yangling smiled and said: “Yes, it’s you, of course it’s you.”

The Prince once again couldn’t help but compete: “Then- then- then am I your most be- be- beloved gentleman?”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

Why does this Prince Chen always compete with her for Zhou Young Master? And why does he keep stuttering?

Seeing the Prince’s face turn red from holding back, Zhou Yangling looked at him with great surprise, then very awkwardly: “…No.” How could she, being a woman, say she loved a gentleman the most in public?

Liu Chu instantly lost his spirit, his face turning pale, suddenly drained of blood.

Prince Chen’s emotions changed so quickly that Zhou Yangling was startled. Just as she was hesitating whether to comfort the Prince, a panting maid came running to the courtyard entrance where they stood. This maid was Lingyu, who had accompanied Luo Lingyu to the Zhou residence.

Lingyu anxiously asked Luo Lingyu: “Miss, as you instructed, I was guarding the carriage outside the alley. Suddenly, another carriage arrived with a richly dressed gentleman inside. After asking me a few questions, he claimed to be your betrothed. Miss, where did this betrothed come from? That supposed betrothed wants you to go out and meet him, saying if you don’t obey, don’t blame him for doing something you can’t accept.”

“Miss, who is this person? Could he be mad?”

Following the pale-faced Prince Chen, Luo Lingyu’s face also turned white. She stood rigid in the bright sunlight, covered in cold sweat, completely unable to hear Zhou Yangling’s worried words of comfort. Her mind was filled with thoughts of “he’s here” “this madman actually came to find me”… Why didn’t he stay in Nanyang?

And he claimed to be her “betrothed”!

Luo Lingyu swayed, almost falling, but was supported by Lingyu. The young lady covered her face with her sleeve, her shoulders trembling in fear. In her helplessness, the first person she thought of who might save her was: Brother Xue Chen… the madman is here, where are you? Save me!