In the pouring rain, the young Prince Liu Mu of Xiangyang advanced with his sword, lightning flashing across the sky, illuminating his pale yet handsome face with its determined expression.
There was some reluctance.
He didn’t want to cause bloodshed. Lu Xian was a simple scholarly fellow. Though he kept trying to promote his cousin, he hadn’t done anything particularly offensive. At most, he was just annoying. But being annoying wasn’t a crime.
When he learned his brother wanted to harm him, when the whole world seemed against him, the servant waiting at the alley corner left by Lu Xian had comforted Liu Mu’s heart.
The lantern in the servant’s hands had calmed Liu Mu’s violent nature, allowing him to return home properly. Return home to nurse his wounds alone, before deciding how to deal with the royal brother who wanted him dead.
In a way, Liu Mu was even grateful to Lu Xian. However… however… The hut was surrounded by Liu Mu’s forces. Breaking down the door, Liu Mu’s sword pointed straight ahead as Lu Xian backed away, face pale. Lu Xian anxiously explained: “You misunderstand! I just wanted to know what happened in between, why you became like that later… but I don’t actually care about what you plan to do!”
He just wanted to know what happened between Liu Mu and Miss Luo. Only by knowing could he try to save things. In his dream, Miss Luo was pitiful, but Liu Mu wasn’t happy either. No one got the best outcome. That dream was from his perspective, but dreams are dreams, hazy and unclear. Many parts were blurry. He had to investigate in reality before he could…
But his words sounded like excuses to Liu Mu’s ears. The youth curved his lips mockingly: “Even at this point, you still dare not speak the truth? My intention to kill the emperor must seem treasonous to Lu Second Young Master, right?”
Lu Xian: “I know there must be some misunderstanding, some reason. You’re not that kind of person…”
If the Prince of Xiangyang was truly ruthless, with how many times Lu Xian had offended him, Liu Mu wouldn’t have just found him annoying. If the Prince of Xiangyang was truly ruthless, when he thought Prince Chen tried to assassinate him, his reaction wouldn’t have just been political opposition…
The only royal brother he trusted, the brother who had always cared for and looked after him, the source of all his power, was different from other royal family members competing for the throne.
Liu Mu felt deep sorrow – if his only brother in this world wanted to kill him, and his mother was an accomplice, who could he trust?
Staring at Lu Xian’s sincere eyes, watching him explain eagerly, young Liu Mu spoke again casually: “I won’t believe anything you say. I don’t trust anyone anymore… You really meddle too much. That day when you came to my residence and saw those Taoist priests, though you had doubts, you shouldn’t have interfered. You’re the second son of the Lu family – I would have let it go, pretending you knew nothing. What could I have done to you? But you insisted on finding out the truth. Even though you’re from the Lu family, I have no choice but to deal with you now, even if it means making enemies of the Lu family…”
Lu Xian’s eyes suddenly contracted – enemies with the Lu family!
He instantly thought of his dream after his third brother’s death, of the Lu family’s fury. At that time, the Lu family believed the emperor was behind Lu Yun’s incident. The Lu family turned against the emperor. The noble families of Jianye united to oppose the new emperor. Neither side had reached their peak power, neither willing to let go of their authority. It was precisely this internal strife that delayed national affairs, allowing the northern armies to surround the southern country…
Could it be that Lu Yun’s incident in the dream had changed to his incident in reality because of his few small changes?
Was Liu Mu destined to break with the noble families?!
Lu Xian’s heart sank as Liu Mu’s sword pressed against his chest, ice-cold and piercing. He wasn’t completely worried about his own safety as he continued trying to persuade: “You can’t kill me! I’m a direct descendant of the Lu family. The consequences of my death would be different from killing an ordinary Lu family member. No matter how well you hide it, there are no walls in the world that don’t leak wind – the Lu family will definitely find out. You’ll be condemned by thousands, seen as an enemy by the noble families. Your future will be ruined…”
Liu Mu’s eyes narrowed, hearing him speak of “noble families” made him more certain this person couldn’t be allowed to live.
Liu Mu: “I’m sorry, but someone who knows such a big secret about me either has to stay by my side forever to ease my mind, or I have to send them to their death… I can’t trust a young master of the Lu family by my side, and I can’t possibly align myself with your noble families’ interests. Lu Xian, you’re a good person, but I still have to kill you.”
He hardened his heart, lowering his eyes to avoid seeing Lu Xian’s pleading gaze or hearing his explanations. He treated Lu Xian as an enemy – despite the slight reluctance in his heart, his grip on the sword remained extremely steady. As soon as he finished speaking, with a “swoosh”, the sword’s edge cut through the young master’s clothes, piercing inward as fresh blood spurted out—
“Clang!”
Suddenly, a guard crashed into Liu Mu’s thrusting sword from the side. This guard was one of Lu Xian’s men. After the Prince of Xiangyang arrived, his men had captured all the guards who followed Lu Xian out. But how could the guards accept their young master’s death? No matter what happened today, these guards couldn’t escape their fate. If Lu Xian lived, he would comfort their families – given Lu Xian’s character, their families would certainly be provided for life. If Lu Xian was gone, they had no hope to look forward to!
This guard crashed into Liu Mu’s sword, forcefully pushing away the slender Lu Xian. Liu Mu froze, looking up to see a black shadow lunging at him. He frowned, turning his sword and instinctively sinking his wrist to strike – this guard who suddenly attacked died by his hand. With his dying breath, the guard shouted: “Protect the young master!”
The other captured guards in the room shared the same mindset. Seeing one had died, they all broke free from the Prince of Xiangyang’s men’s restraints, fighting back and rushing together toward Lu Xian, whose chest was bleeding.
Several guards lifted Lu Xian, coordinating perfectly – one broke through the window to escape while the others covered their retreat, engaging in fierce combat with the prince’s pursuing men.
In the moment Liu Mu was stunned, several guards had already helped their young master jump out the window. Liu Mu chased out of the house to see several dark figures carrying Lu Xian fleeing deep into the forest through the lightning and rain.
Liu Mu: “After them!”
“At this point, we can’t let any of them escape!”
Lu Xian had been careless – the noble family young master’s attitude of disregarding royal power shifts had made him act without caution, and now his people were caught up in it too. Now that he knew Liu Mu wanted to kill him, he had no choice but to flee for his life. In the forest were only him and a few guards, constantly hiding and running, while dozens or hundreds of pursuers were behind them. Liu Mu couldn’t possibly let him leave and expose tonight’s events.
As Lu Xian fled, he pressed his hand against the wound on his chest. Blood gushed out as his mind grew foggy. While trying to think of ways to escape, he unconsciously thought of his dream—
If he was in such a state, what about Miss Luo?
Liu Mu couldn’t possibly let his secret of planning regicide be known to the world. In the dream, when Miss Luo went to visit the sick Liu Mu, had she really become suspicious and encountered those Taoist priests? Perhaps Miss Luo’s situation was even worse than his – she might have directly overheard Liu Mu’s conversation with those priests…
Heavy rain fell as the forest grew pitch black. Running through mud and water, the guards died one by one until finally, Lu Xian had no guards left by his side. Only he remained, running through the endless forest, trying to escape but unable to even tell directions anymore.
While Liu Mu’s footsteps followed behind, slowly, like toying with prey, catching up to him.
“Ah—”
Lu Xian cried out in pain as vines tangled his feet while running, causing him to fall hard. He rolled in the mud, crashed into a tree, and continued rolling down a slope. Liu Mu’s eyes narrowed as he leaped forward, only to see the young master rolling down along the rugged, densely forested mountainside. In the pouring rain, Lu Xian’s figure disappeared.
After a moment’s pause, Liu Mu asked: “What’s down there?”
A subordinate answered: “Lake Xuanwu… Your Highness, should we continue pursuing?”
Liu Mu’s sword-holding hand trembled: Lake Xuanwu. With Lu Xian’s frail constitution, rolling and falling from the mountain, he was unlikely to survive. And Lake Xuanwu was so vast – how could finding a dead man be easy?
Liu Mu sheathed his sword: “Stop pursuing. Clean up any traces and make it look like Lu Xian was sightseeing on the mountain and unfortunately fell to his death. Don’t let anyone see signs of fighting or anything from our Xiangyang Prince’s residence.”
The subordinate acknowledged and flew through the forest like a hawk to clean up the battlefield. Liu Mu stared at the dark slope for a long while, scanning inch by inch, making sure he couldn’t see Lu Xian before slowly turning to leave. His heart felt somewhat numb as he thought of how Lu Xian had constantly pestered him—
Fawning: “Your Highness, what do you think of my cousin?”
Vigilant: “Your Highness, don’t have designs on my cousin.”
Over and over, circling around Luo Lingyu, Lu Xian had caused such chaos that people wanted to strangle him.
But Liu Mu hadn’t strangled him – instead, he had killed him.
Liu Mu closed his eyes for a moment.
Returning to the Xiangyang Prince’s residence before dawn, he changed clothes and bathed to rid himself of the filth and bloody smell he couldn’t stand. In the study, he met his worried advisor, Master Kong, who had waited for him. Despite his advanced age, Master Kong had stayed up all night, only because he was concerned about this youth. Waiting in the study, seeing Liu Mu’s expressionless, pale face, he immediately understood things had developed in that unfortunate direction.
Master Kong’s chest tightened.
Liu Mu looked at him, seeming to study whether he was trustworthy. After studying for a while, Liu Mu said softly to Master Kong: “Kill all the guards who went out with me tonight. Do it quietly, don’t let people notice the Xiangyang Prince’s residence has changed its defense.”
Master Kong’s eyes widened in shock: “…My lord!”
Those people had followed Liu Mu for so many years!
But the young man had already closed the door, his back rigid, unwilling to hear Master Kong’s nagging.
…
Lu Xian wasn’t dead.
Yet he didn’t know what state he was in. His whole body was in extreme pain, his consciousness clear yet unable to wake up. In this confused yet clear state, his consciousness sharpened as he heard a young lady’s soft crying.
Hearing the lady’s cries, he stumbled along following the sound. Before losing consciousness he had been pursued by the Prince of Xiangyang, but after falling unconscious he found himself in an unfamiliar residence. Rain still drizzled steadily. After walking through the courtyard’s pavilions for a while, Lu Xian finally realized this was the courtyard where Miss Luo had lived in his dream.
In the dream, after Miss Luo returned to Jianye with the Prince of Xiangyang, she hadn’t lived in the Lu family residence but had rented a courtyard outside. Lu Xian had actually found this courtyard in reality and bought it specifically to prevent Miss Luo from moving in again. Now he stepped through the muddy ground and arrived here…
This must be another dream.
Lu Xian stood beneath the window as rain poured down. Looking up, he saw dim lamplight through the window and heard the lady still crying inside. Through the window he saw the lady’s silhouette and tremblingly asked: “…Is that Cousin Luo?”
The dream people naturally wouldn’t answer him.
Luo Lingyu lay sobbing on the table as Luo Yunhuan’s clear but sad voice said: “Sister, have you really decided to marry the Prince of Xiangyang? Is there really no other way? If you marry him, what about Third Cousin?”
Outside the window, Lu Xian was stunned: …This was the first time he clearly heard in his dream Luo Lingyu admitting to something.
Lu Xian’s heart pounded heavily.
Luo Lingyu’s mournful voice had already begun: “Fan Young Master is forcing me to comply with the marriage certificate, and I stumbled upon the Prince of Xiangyang’s secret. Besides marrying the Prince of Xiangyang and guaranteeing I’ll never betray him, what other choice do I have? I shouldn’t have gone to visit him when he was sick just to maintain a good reputation… Who cares if he lives or dies?”
Fan Qingchen was forcing marriage – only by requesting help from another powerful noble could this marriage be stopped and make the Fan family withdraw.
The Prince of Xiangyang wanted to kill her – only by becoming his person could she avoid death.
“But, but…” Luo Yunhuan said, “Maybe if we ask Third Cousin, there might be a way…”
Hearing this, Luo Lingyu covered her face and cried again, annoyed: “He’s angry with me and won’t pay attention to me. If I go find him, he’ll just give me attitude again and scold me. He’s already unhappy about me offending one Fan Young Master, add the Prince of Xiangyang… Even though he’s the Lu family’s third son, he can’t withstand pressure from both sides.”
Lu Xian thought, that’s right – in the dream without his interference, Lu Yun was still arguing and reconciling with Miss Luo, sometimes getting along, sometimes fighting again. But at this time Lu Yun hadn’t injured his eyes. Lu Xian felt guilty – because in reality he had tried to help his third brother by pushing away the Prince of Xiangyang from Miss Luo’s side. He had pushed him away, but disasters came one after another, causing his third brother’s eyes to be scalded.
In the dream, Lu Yun only had an arm injury at this time, his eyes unharmed, so he should still be busy working at the government office daily.
While Miss Luo was isolated and helpless, on one side was the Prince of Xiangyang Liu Mu whose secret she knew, on the other was Fan Young Master of Nanyang holding the marriage certificate.
Luo Lingyu raised her face, turning to look out the window, speaking softly: “I have no choice. The Prince of Xiangyang won’t let me go, won’t let me have a chance to seek help from Lu Yun. When I see him again, it may be to bid farewell.”
Luo Yunhuan choked back sobs: “Really won’t try one more time? You’ll regret it…”
Luo Lingyu lowered her eyes, slowly stopped crying, and calmed down: “I won’t. I’ll live very well. Although the Prince of Xiangyang is forcing me, as long as he doesn’t kill me, it means he still has fantasies about me. From now on I should please him, adore him, let him know my heart, let him marry me… let him feel that my love for him means I will definitely not betray him and reveal his secret.”
Luo Yunhuan lowered her head as tears dripped onto the ground. She reached up to rub her eyes. Sister was going to switch to liking another young master again… Sister often saw one young master wasn’t good and immediately switched to another target. Sister had never hesitated back and forth over any young master.
Except for Third Cousin.
She was still young and didn’t understand love. But from her sister, she had already seen that love was going back and forth, constantly repeating, was disliking someone yet approaching them again and again. Was losing face yet still stubbornly waiting for him. Was demanding a lot from him, unable to accept him looking down on her, unable to accept him seeing her as a plaything, and also unable to… implicate him.
Luo Yunhuan murmured: “What’s wrong with implicating him? How do you know what Third Cousin would think? Sister, you should still try…”
Young Miss Luo Yunhuan kept trying to persuade Luo Lingyu. She had been taught to be kind and pure by her sister, but she had one thing in common with her sister – that was stubbornness, determination.
She kept persuading until eventually, Luo Lingyu also wavered slightly, convinced by her sister, feeling – maybe asking him for help wouldn’t matter? Maybe she shouldn’t fear implicating him?
Perhaps he would really be willing to oppose the Prince of Xiangyang and the Fan family of Nanyang for her sake.
If he wasn’t willing – at least she would have tried.
Luo Lingyu bent over the desk, spreading out the paper. Luo Yunhuan ground ink beside her sister, staring at her sister’s beautiful profile. Lu Xian, who had been listening to their conversation outside the window, walked over and floated into the room in his soul form. He stood beside the desk and watched as Luo Lingyu pondered before writing down a few characters—
A thousand autumns ask my lord one word, may love be as unmoved as mountains.
Lu Xian’s spirit was greatly shaken as he looked at Luo Lingyu: so in the dream, this poem was written at this time.
Luo Lingyu handed the paper to Luo Yunhuan, instructing softly: “You’re small, adults won’t notice you. Tomorrow sister will pretend to be sick, you and Lingxi stay in the room pretending to be sister. Don’t let the Prince of Xiangyang come in… You’re my own sister, it should be easy to impersonate me. I’ll take this writing to find Lu Yun.”
Night deepened as Luo Lingyu gazed worriedly out the window, murmuring: “He’ll understand my heart, right?”
“He will… love me?”
Noises from outside the dream arose and the dream broke off here, the world turning pitch black. The last thing seen in the dream was Luo Lingyu sitting by the window in lamplight, a beauty shedding tears, quietly gazing out into the night like a black beast. Cloud-like hair and flowery countenance, flower-like face and moon-like beauty. She sat by the window, listening to the rain, lost in thought. She held a heart full of hope, waiting for someone who might not come.
…
Lu Xian wondered, then what?
That piece of writing wasn’t delivered, right? Was there something that delayed it?
Otherwise why did Lu Yun write a letter saying “paper short, feelings long” but not send it? And why did that piece of writing still appear in Miss Luo’s palace chambers in the end?
Lu Xian urgently wanted to know what happened in the dream, feeling unprecedented anxiety, wanting to know where the misunderstanding lay.
But the noisy sounds in his ears persisted as ladies’ voices from reality called him back from the dream—
“Princess, look! There’s someone here, how did they get injured like this?”
That princess exclaimed in surprise and gentle voice: “Pull him up… What happened here?”
…
Right! In reality there was still the Prince of Xiangyang!
He needed to wake up quickly to stop the Prince of Xiangyang from making irreversible mistakes! The Lu family wouldn’t let the Prince of Xiangyang go. Watching this young lord step by step fall into the dark abyss, he needed to pull him out. None of them were evil people, none of them should walk to such a tragic ending…
June 19th! June 19th was the day Miss Luo surrendered herself to the Prince of Xiangyang. He must wake up before that day.
…
The rain drizzled for a day and night, and after another day, the sky finally cleared.
It was now June 17th.
Early morning, just as Lu Yun finished washing up, the physician helped remove his bandages and reapplied medicine to the scar near his eye. While wrapping fresh bandages around the young master, the physician was very satisfied: “Good, only a small scar remains around the eye, vision should recover soon. In two more days, once the scar has completely faded, young master can remove the bandages.”
The physician felt greatly relieved, secretly proud of his medical skills for not leaving a scar on Lu Yun’s face. If Lu Yun’s face was ruined, the spit of all Jianye’s ladies could drown him.
Lu Yun nodded: “Thank you for your hard work, doctor.”
Lu Yun still lazily leaned against his pillow, one leg bent and one straight. He felt somewhat irritated, having rested at home for half a month due to his eye injury, with nothing to do making him anxious. At the same time, the matter of Luo Lingyu’s fiancé needed to be resolved. That Fan Qingchen came to the Lu residence daily without fail to visit the “sick” Luo Lingyu. Because she had to pretend to be ill, and Lu Yun’s movement was restricted, the two hadn’t seen each other for a long time.
Lu Yun tapped his knee, making a decision: “Jingyue, pack up. I haven’t been to the government office for several days, I must go today to see if there are any important matters at court.”
Jingyue advised from behind a screen: “Your eye isn’t healed yet, shouldn’t you avoid running around?”
Lu Yun said coolly: “A mere maid, trying to manage my affairs?”
Jingyue pouted, about to argue back when she saw the curtain outside rustle slightly. She looked over in surprise to see Miss Luo tiptoeing in. Luo Lingyu waved at her, gesturing her not to speak. Luo Lingyu smiled brightly, wanting to see how Lu Yun spoke to people when she wasn’t around.
Jingyue secretly smiled, nodding while beckoning the busy maids in the room to all leave. With the sound of many footsteps, the third young master couldn’t possibly tell who had come in and who had left.
Jingyue raised her voice: “Alright, I’ll pack things for young master. But young master, you only remember to go to the office, have you forgotten about our Miss Luo’s matter? That Young Master Fan, you really won’t see him?”
Lu Yun coughed once, saying coolly: “Schedule a meeting with that Fan fellow, I’ll see him today while I’m out.”
Jingyue feigned surprise: “Why meet him?”
Lu Yun: “You know very well why!”
Jingyue then giggled and went about her work, saying no more. As she glanced at Luo Lingyu, Luo Lingyu’s eyelashes trembled slightly, joy threading through her expression.
Embarrassed by Jingyue’s look, Luo Lingyu stood outside the curtain, covering her flushed cheeks as she smiled proudly, then patted her burning face. Actually, she came to find Lu Yun because she was anxious, shamelessly hoping Lu Yun would help her resolve Fan Qingchen’s forced marriage. She had thought it through – at this point, reconciliation was impossible. The only way to make Fan Qingchen back down was for Lu Yun to join in, show his love for her, propose marriage to the Luo family…
Ahem.
Luo Lingyu felt Lu Yun wouldn’t agree.
He would also mock her for being “arrogant.”
But she still came, taking a deep breath – no matter how he scolded her, she wouldn’t get angry. Even if it was fake, she had to make Young Master Fan admit defeat! She had to force Lu Yun to agree to help her! They had already kissed and embraced, what was wrong with him helping her fend off suitors? It was just using his power to pressure someone. With her beauty and talents, he wasn’t losing out either.
Lu Yun turned his head, hearing sounds outside the curtain: “Who’s outside?”
Luo Lingyu: “…!”
Jingyue quickly covered: “Young master, it’s me, I’ve brought your clothes.”
Jingyue hurried over, handing the neatly folded clothes to Luo Lingyu. The clothes were infused with warm fragrance – holding these clothes was like smelling Lu Yun’s scent. Luo Lingyu’s face flushed red.
Under Jingyue’s urging gaze, she steeled herself and carried the young master’s clothes inside. As soon as she entered, she saw Lu Yun in loose inner robes slightly open, hand resting on his knee, long hair loose, bandages over his eyes.
Just sitting there casually like that.
Of course a personal maid would help the young master change clothes.
Luo Lingyu naturally thought this way. Her face was extremely thick-skinned – after a slight pause, she unfolded the robe and bent down, draping it over the young master who sat quietly thinking on the couch.
Lu Yun: “…?!”
Where did this ignorant maid come from? How had Jingyue trained the new person?
He hated being touched by women the most in his life. The moment this maid draped the clothes, Lu Yun grabbed her slender wrist, about to throw her out. His force was extremely strong and heavy. As he gripped her wrist, the lady let out a cry of surprise. When she cried out, Lu Yun immediately froze.
He pulled back the force that would have thrown her, but couldn’t control it properly, taking the backlash of his own internal force to keep from throwing her, and instead pulled her close.
Holding her tightly, he suddenly pressed her down onto the couch beneath him.
Lu Yun lowered his face, hand reaching to touch her face, surprised: “Lingyu?”
Unexpectedly, as he lowered his head, his hand touched the slightly exposed skin below her collar – abundant, full, smooth and warm, his fingertips filled with fragrance.
Lu Yun: “…”
Luo Lingyu: “…”
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