ATLAS TRANSLATES

On a hot summer day in the reed marshes, a lady was still crying softly. Her sobs made his heart feel lost and confused, yet her tears wouldn’t stop.

Luo Lingyu covered her mouth with a handkerchief, tears falling like pearls, her sobs uncontrollable. Once her feelings of grievance surfaced, they only grew stronger: “Everyone else has a young lord, why don’t I have one? If my parents were still alive, if I were still in Ruyang, how could I suffer such humiliation… Lingxi, I miss my father and mother, oh… if they could see me now… if they were here with me today…”

Lingxi listened with darkening eyes, a redness gradually appearing.

She had actually been picked up by Luo Lingyu on the way to Nanyang, and after being trained by Lady Luo of Nanyang, was sent to serve the two young ladies.

Back then, Lingxi had heard about the history of the Luo family of Ruyang. During the military uprising in Ruyang, the entire city was massacred. The loyal Luo family was completely wiped out, with only a few survivors.

The young lady was only ten years old at the time — a small girl who had to flee with her even younger sister who cried for their parents, accompanied by a timid and frail wet nurse. How difficult was it then?

Lu Ying, the lady of the Lu family, and her son Luo Yan also survived that chaos.

Yet their fates were completely different. Luo Yan didn’t have to go to the declining Nanyang to face the judgment of the Luo clan relatives — he went directly back to his mother’s family with her. He never missed out on his studies and cultivation of skills. His mother was open-minded and let him travel to Jianye to study around the world at a young age, and he hasn’t returned since.

However, Luo Lingyu… had to please the Nanyang Luo family, surviving under the watchful eyes of many cousins, even having to rack her brains just to study and learn skills. When people like Young Lord Fan saw her, the Nanyang Luo family wanted to give her away to the Fan family as a gift, like a hot potato, to show goodwill between the two families.

Luo Lingyu’s life was too exhausting.

Luo Lingyu twisted her handkerchief: “Oh…”

In the reed marsh thickets, where lotus leaves stretched as far as the eye could see and flower fragrance filled the air, Lu Yun, who had been sleeping on the wooden boat, was now sitting up. The reed thickets were too tall, and his boat was stopped where lotus leaves and reeds intertwined. The crying mistress and servant on the other side hadn’t noticed the young lord’s figure sitting on the boat.

Lu Yun’s expression was calm, his lips pressing together slightly. The lady’s endless crying and complaints weighed heavily on the young lord’s heart. In his daze, Lu Yun empathized, thinking of his own deceased parents. Similar to the Luo family’s demise in war, his father was a Northern General who died on the battlefield. However, unlike Luo Lingyu’s mother who had no choice but to perish with the city, Lu Yun’s mother had a choice.

Yet his mother’s final choice was to follow her husband in death, abandoning her young children.

Everyone praised his father’s righteousness and his parents’ deep love and honor… but for Lu Yun, he would only pull at the corner of his mouth, unwilling to say more.

Lu Yun had always despised having women near him. People thought it was because his looks were too outstanding, attracting too much romantic attention that annoyed him. Actually, Lu Yun had another deeper reason — he despised his mother.

Although he was the Lu family’s third son, Lu Yun had always lived alone in the “Clear Courtyard.” The elders’ love was always limited, and every time when night fell and all was quiet, the third young lord’s hatred for his mother would deepen. Because of his mother, he despised weak-willed women who only knew how to cry when facing problems; but he also despised strong-willed women who only thought of dying for love and honor when facing major issues, not considering what would happen afterward.

As such, Lu Yun had practically excluded all the ladies in the world. How could he possibly like anyone?

Lu Yun’s attraction to Luo Lingyu wasn’t without reason, yet while he sought to understand, tried to figure out why she made his heart flutter, he never realized that what attracted him might have been the persistence, determination, and vibrant spirit behind all her flaws. Now, hearing the lady’s crying beside his ear, Lu Yun only thought about not wanting to go out, not wanting to disturb her.

Both having lost their parents, Lu Yun understood her weakness that she didn’t want others to know about. Although he often caught her in awkward moments, this time he didn’t want to make her feel embarrassed anymore.

Lu Yun sat quietly, listening to her cry and complain to Lingxi. When her crying annoyed him, he also found it amusing. He thought about how she wouldn’t even cry quietly, always having to complain to her maid, letting people know how wronged she felt.

Lu Yun then realized that today was Luo Lingyu’s fifteenth coming-of-age ceremony.

She had grown up, but unfortunately, the Lu family was busy looking for his second brother and no one cared about her. She had always been petty, so seeing others having grander birthday celebrations naturally made her feel terrible.

This was still because Luo Lingyu thought Zhou Yangling was male.

If his dear little sister Yu’er knew Zhou Yangling was female… Lu Yun shuddered, imagining the lady’s breakdown and the enormity of her grievance then.

She would probably cry endlessly again…

Well, when he went out, he would think of a way to make up for her coming-of-age ceremony. She should stop crying.

Lu Yun patiently waited for Luo Lingyu to finish crying so he could go out. But this time, Luo Lingyu was feeling particularly wronged and cried for a very long time, complaining endlessly with no sign of stopping. She seemed determined to cry all afternoon, but Lu Yun didn’t want to be trapped in the lotus thicket unable to leave. While Lu Yun was thinking of a solution, he heard hurried footsteps on the stone path by the shore.

Luo Lingyu was too absorbed in crying to hear the footsteps. However, Lingxi turned her head and saw a maid running anxiously through the corridor above.

Lingxi recognized this maid as being from their “Snow Tracing Courtyard” and quickly called out, asking: “…Sister, where are you going?”

The maid leaned over the double-sided corridor railing and finally saw the young lady and Lingxi below. Luo Lingyu quickly turned away and lowered her head, not wanting the maid to see her crying face.

The maid had already run down from the corridor and recognized the lady’s back: “Miss, why have you returned? Sister Lingyu was still asking us to go to the banquet to look for you. Why did today’s banquet end so quickly?”

Luo Lingyu naturally wouldn’t let others see her embarrassment, she vaguely mumbled a few sounds, her voice hoarse: “What’s making you run so urgently?”

The maid then anxiously said: “Not long after you left, that Young Lord Fan came to sit in our courtyard,” Luo Lingyu’s heart tightened as she listened to the maid continue, “That Young Lord Fan knew you weren’t there but wouldn’t leave, just sat there watching the little miss play and talking to her. We watched for a long time, saw he was just waiting for you with no other intentions, so we relaxed. Sister Lingyu sprained her foot, and we few went to help her change the medicine. Who knew when we came back out, the little miss was gone, taken away by that Young Lord Fan.”

The maid’s face turned pale: “That Young Lord Fan left a note saying he took the little miss to play, telling you to find him when you return, and if you still won’t marry him, don’t blame him for using methods you won’t like. But our little miss is so well-behaved, knowing you don’t like your fiancé, how could she possibly go with that person willingly? Sister Lingyu saw half-spilled water on the stone table in the courtyard, with some white powder scattered out. Sister Lingyu said that person must have drugged the little miss.”

“We were so worried, Sister Lingyu had us go look for you.”

The “Snow Tracing Courtyard” was in chaos, not knowing that the Luo Lingyu they were looking for had already returned. Luo Lingyu listened in shock, suddenly turning around, her voice changed: “Huan’er was taken away by him?!”

The maid suddenly saw the lady’s swollen red eyes and tear stains on her cheeks. She quickly lowered her eyes, not daring to look more, also feeling very scared, only able to respond meekly.

Luo Lingyu’s face turned pale, stumbling slightly, supported by Lingxi. Her mind was in chaos: Huan’er was like her life… Fan Qingchen knew this very well. That was her sister, yet he just took her away…

Luo Lingyu’s mind suddenly flashed back to when she had seen him kill her maid.

She was delicate and beautiful, and even at a young age, she stood out among the noble ladies of Nanyang. As she grew older and blossomed, her beauty became increasingly impossible to hide.

Fan Qingchen had his eyes on her from the beginning, patiently waiting for her.

She was half-willing, until she saw him kill that maid simply because the maid had advised her not to spend too much time with him. He had chosen a time when he thought she wasn’t around, but Luo Lingyu had witnessed everything.

First the maid, now her sister… that person was truly mad! To force her to marry him, to force her to see him, what wouldn’t he do?

Luo Lingyu collapsed to the ground, a tear hanging from her eyelashes fell, sticking to her cold cheek. Her heart was panicked and confused as she tried to calm herself down. She couldn’t possibly submit to Young Lord Fan’s threats — she knew that once she left the Lu family and went before him, she would never be able to leave. Fan Qingchen kept saying he loved her, but he was too frightening, she couldn’t bear his affection. Even with her clever mind, thinking about marrying Young Lord Fan made her feel she couldn’t handle it…

She could only seek help!

But from whom?!

Luo Lingyu bit her lip, thinking of all the people she could ask for help at this moment. Her eyes were filled with tears, sweat beaded on her forehead, and the handkerchief in her hands was twisted into a rope. She needed to find a noble young lord who could stand against Young Lord Fan. Her first thought was of Lu Yun, but Lu Yun hadn’t returned for two days while searching for his second brother…

Then, what about Qi Third Young Lord?

Luo Lingyu’s lips were painfully bitten, her face alternating between pale and flushed. If she went to find Qi Third Young Lord, then another person would know about her entanglement with Fan Qingchen. Currently, outside only rumors circulated about her having a fiancé, but nothing was confirmed. If she went to Qi Third Young Lord…

Luo Lingyu murmured to herself: “Do I really have to find Qi Third Young Lord?”

Unlike in Lu Xian’s dream, she wasn’t as close to the Prince of Xiangyang in reality. The help she could think of now was actually Qi Third Young Lord Qi An.

While Luo Lingyu was thinking darkly, she heard a sound from deep in the reed thicket. She paused, her face turning ugly, thinking someone had been secretly watching her. She had been crying here for so long, this person must have heard a lot. Her image, her dark side that no one knew about… Luo Lingyu saw a slender hand parting the reed thicket, and her heart sank.

That hand… those distinct finger bones, those long and powerful finger joints, that elegant posture parting the reeds, carrying a lazy casualness, how familiar… Luo Lingyu opened her tear-filled eyes wide to see a graceful and tall young lord with his eyes covered in gauze after the reeds were parted. He stood on the boat, his clothes floating in the wind, noble as a crane, dazzling.

The maid blurted out: “Third Young Lord!” Then embarrassedly blushed, “You… you’re here too…”

Lu Yun ignored the maid, only “staring” at Luo Lingyu, speaking softly: “What do you want to find Qi Third Young Lord for? Are you very familiar with him?”

Seeing it was Lu Yun, Luo Lingyu felt relieved. She had lost face in front of Lu Yun many times already, and her unfavorable side had been exposed so much that in front of Lu Yun, she had somewhat of a ‘dead pig not afraid of boiling water’ attitude. As long as her beautiful image didn’t break in front of other young lords, it was fine.

Luo Lingyu guessed that he had heard all her crying, listening for so long without making a sound, his mischievous interest as usual. Yet when she murmured “Qi Third Young Lord,” this person stood out… Luo Lingyu gritted her teeth, snorted once, not wanting to speak.

Lu Yun’s lips carried a smile: “What are you snorting for? Like a little pig?”

Luo Lingyu with red eyes: “…I’m feeling sad, and you’re still teasing me. What’s so funny?”

Lu Yun’s mouth curved up: “Lingyu, come here.”

Luo Lingyu didn’t move.

Lu Yun: “Come here and I’ll help you bring Huan’er back.”

Lingxi and the other maid both lowered their heads, stepping back again and again, pretending they hadn’t heard or seen anything. When the Third Young Lord was with Lady Luo, the atmosphere between them always unconsciously turned strange. Yet in their hearts, they felt relieved, believing that with the Third Young Lord present, the young lady’s crisis would be resolved.

Luo Lingyu was annoyed at his pretense — listening to her cry for so long without showing himself, but when he mentioned “Huan’er,” she had no choice but to step forward, saying unhappily: “Why do you want me to go over? What do you want?”

When she got close, Lu Yun reached out and held her hand, he knelt down, pulling her down with him. Lowering his head, his hand touched her pouting mouth. Luo Lingyu paused, blushing as she dodged his hand, but Lu Yun already knew she was still angry.

Lu Yun spoke softly: “What’s there to be angry about? Come, help me remove the gauze.”

When Lu Yun was serious, he was like a snow-capped mountain, not to be trifled with.

Quite intimidating.

Luo Lingyu glanced at him, unable to resist her curiosity, reached out to help him, very carefully: “You can remove the gauze now? Is there no problem? Can I do it, or should we call a doctor?”

Lu Yun: “It was almost healed anyway, just leaving a slight mark.”

Moving around with covered eyes unchanged, he wanted to see Fan Qingchen, naturally unwilling to fall behind others. His concerns were immediately understood by Luo Lingyu, her fingers pausing at the corner of the young lord’s eyes, her heart softening slightly. Thinking of how he did this for her, surely he must like her?

Luo Lingyu was clever and dexterous, and had been taking care of Lu Yun when his eyes were inconvenienced. Although she had never personally removed his gauze before, she had watched many times. Now doing it herself, she showed no signs of confusion. The white gauze grew longer in her hands, the part covering the young lord’s eyes grew thinner. Indeed, there were very few marks left, and this time, the gauze had no medicine stains, snow-white and clean. As the gauze was removed layer by layer, the young lord’s eyes beneath became increasingly clear…

Luo Lingyu’s heart unconsciously began to beat faster.

Her hands tremblingly removed the last layer of gauze sticking to his eyes, the young lord kept his eyes closed, his handsome face completely revealed before her. The reeds swayed in the wind, his face was white as jade, and because of his excellent complexion and daily gauze changes, after removing the gauze, the skin around his eyes showed no difference in color from the rest of his face. There was only a small scar at the corner of his eye… it didn’t diminish his handsome appearance, and after he opened his eyes, that drop of a scar at the corner of his eye actually added a sense of bewitching beauty.

Luo Lingyu met his black, warm peach blossom eyes.

Those eyes, lifting long lashes and eyelids, contained a faint smile tilting upward. When they opened, their soul-stirring beauty appeared again on his face, flowing with radiance and splendor. Black as obsidian, yet fluid like water with rippling light. His eyes reflected a tiny image of her, and that affectionate gaze made Luo Lingyu’s hands tremble, causing the gauze in her hands to fly out.

The two gazed at each other, as if they hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

Luo Lingyu couldn’t bear the burning temperature in his eyes, lowering her head to avoid them, stammering to change the topic: “Can you see with your eyes?”

Lu Yun: “I can see. Little sister Yu’er crying with snot and tears all over her face, it’s disgusting.”

Luo Lingyu: “…?!”

Panicking, she covered her face, turning away to avoid letting him see, about to ask the maid to help her freshen up. However, Lu Yun, kneeling on the boat, reached across the wooden planks and caught her waist.

The lady cried out as she was pulled into his embrace, her waist lightly brushed by his hand, causing a heat to climb up her tailbone that instantly made her legs weak.

Luo Lingyu was shocked, angry, and embarrassed, hearing him tease by her ear: “Just joking. Little sister Yu’er is as beautiful as flowers and the moon, even more beautiful when crying.”

When he held her, in a place the maids couldn’t see, he kissed her temple, murmuring: “Makes one want to bully you… make you cry forever…”

His tone was extremely strange, seeming to lean towards a degree she couldn’t imagine. Luo Lingyu’s ears tingled, knowing he was again speaking against her ear, she quickly reached up to cover her ears. Luo Lingyu was annoyed that her skill wasn’t as high as someone’s, and just glared at him.

Yet she saw his eyes darken slightly, dark light surging in their depths, looking at her with unfathomable depth. Luo Lingyu felt his stare was wrong, making her uneasy, but when she looked again, Lu Yun blinked, already having withdrawn his previous expression.

Lu Yun laughed once, pulling her to stand up, walking from the floating boat onto land.

With their sleeves overlapping, Lu Yun tilted his head down, speaking to the two maids: “Call a few more servants, get Xiulin from my courtyard. Come with me to see Young Lord Fan. Little sister Yu’er knows where Young Lord Fan lives, right?”

Luo Lingyu nodded, being led by him as they walked.

At the mansion gate, Lu Yun’s frequently used servant Xiulin came running, out of breath. Luo Lingyu had already stepped onto the carriage, but from the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Yun’s gaze drift over. She paused, and when she looked, Lu Yun and his servant had walked to one side to talk. Since he didn’t want her to hear, she wouldn’t listen; right now, she only wanted to bring her sister back.

While Luo Lingyu sat in the carriage taking out a small mirror to fix her appearance, she didn’t know that below the carriage Lu Yun was instructing Xiulin: “…Today is the young lady’s coming-of-age ceremony. The elder madam and others are too worried about second brother to have time to hold a banquet, so we can only celebrate privately behind closed courtyard doors. Have Jinyue make arrangements… at the same time, take my letter to find Zhou, Zhou Zibo. When I return with the young lady, I want to see the banquet ready, with all the young ladies and lords who usually play with her present, coming to celebrate her coming-of-age ceremony.”

Xiulin: “My lord, rest assured, your servant will handle this matter well.”

Lu Yun added one more thing: “News about my second brother will be sent to me by Prince Chen, remember to use pigeons to send me timely updates.”

After giving all the detailed instructions, Lu Yun finally lifted his robes to board the carriage. The lady in the carriage had impatiently waited for him for a long time, yet when he got in, she changed her impatient expression and gave him a smile. Lu Yun saw through her pretense, sneered once, and looked away.

…

The oft-mentioned Lu Xian was in a daze, sitting in an ox cart returning to the city. In the same cart were the worried Princess Ning Ping Liu Tang who was wiping his sweat, and the doctor treating his wounds and applying medicine. Lu Xian’s head leaned against the cart wall, and as they traveled, the faster the cart went, the more his head “thump thump thump” hit against the wall.

Liu Tang watched with great alarm, seeing Lu Xian with closed eyes, sweating profusely, seemingly unaware. After hesitating, she still reached out with her handkerchief to cushion between his head and the cart wall where they were colliding. Princess Ning Ping blushed, pulling this young lord into her embrace, letting him lean on her shoulder rather than continue hitting the wall. The doctor in the same cart merely lifted his eyelids to look once, saying nothing.

Liu Tang worried: “Second Young Lord Lu fell asleep as soon as he got in the cart…”

The doctor snorted: “He was already physically weak, he shouldn’t have traveled.”

Liu Tang sighed, again wiping the sweat from Lu Xian’s forehead. Seeing this young lord frowning, his expression seeming pained, she watched with considerable alarm. While Princess Ning Ping repeatedly wiped this young lord’s sweat, she didn’t know that Lu Xian was deep in his own dreams, hazily dreaming of some fragments again.

Perhaps because June 19th was the turning point of all stories, Lu Xian previously only dreamed of some general circumstances, unable to see many specifics. However, in the recent several nightmares, as June 19th drew closer, the fragments he dreamed became more specific. It was as if he personally stood outside cousin Luo’s door, seeing what cousin Luo was doing.

This time, he even dreamed of what happened on June 19th.

…

Just like in reality, in the dream, the Lu family also didn’t pay attention to the young lady’s birthday. Luo Lingyu, under pressure from both the Prince of Xiangyang and Fan Qingchen, mentally exhausted, went to attend the grand banquet that Prince Chen Liu Chu held for young lady Zhou Yangling on her birthday. The grand celebration of young lady Zhou’s birthday stimulated cousin Luo. Cousin Luo returned soul-lost to her residence, sat in the courtyard and began crying.

The crying made Lu Xian, watching, feel distressed, wondering why no one cared about cousin.

If only he had known then…

In the dream, however, while Luo Lingyu was crying, Lu Xian, observing in spirit form, saw Lu Yun standing by the vine wall at the courtyard gate. Lu Yun had come here at some point, just standing at the gate watching cousin Luo cry. Third Young Lord Lu’s eyes were clear black, with traces of red blood vessels from days of working. He stared blankly at cousin Luo, lost in thought.

Lu Xian suddenly paused: …This was in a dream, he rarely saw his third brother and cousin Luo together clearly like this.

In the dream at this time, war had broken out in the north, and Lu Yun had already stayed up for two consecutive nights. Rushing back without rest, he went out to find Luo Lingyu. When he arrived there, he saw Luo Lingyu crying alone, with maid Lingxi comforting her. Luo Lingyu had her back to Lu Yun, not seeing the third young lord at the courtyard gate. However, Lingxi looked up and saw the handsome young lord.

Lingxi was just surprised when Lu Yun gave her a look.

After hesitating, Lingxi left the lady and walked towards Third Young Lord Lu. Luo Lingyu was probably too upset, not knowing her maid had already walked away.

And after leaving the garden, Lu Yun asked Lingxi: “What is she crying about?”

Lingxi: “…Today is our lady’s fifteenth birthday…”

Lingxi rubbed her eyes: “Young Lord Fan also took away the little miss…”

Lu Yun: “Oh.”

…

In the dream, Lu Xian saw Lu Yun carelessly walk out of the courtyard.

The crying mistress and servant in the courtyard didn’t know that Lu Yun, who hadn’t slept for two nights, empathized deeply. His heart was in complete disarray, unwilling to step forward while Luo Lingyu was missing her parents. He left Luo Lingyu’s residence and did two things—

First, he had the Lu family prepare a banquet to celebrate the young lady’s birthday;

Second, he personally went to see Fan Qingchen and brought little cousin Luo Yunhuan back.

However, when Luo Lingyu appeared at the Lu family’s grand banquet that evening, she came with the Prince of Xiangyang.

That night, lanterns were dim, fireworks filled the sky, lights were red and wine was green. Lu Yun stood in a corner, quiet and still, saying nothing.

…

Then dreaming of after Jianye city fell, when the Lu family fled south, Lu Xian led the crying Luo Yunhuan sitting in the same cart. He comforted this little girl who held her sister’s calligraphy and paintings in her arms, pursing her lips as tears kept falling.

Lu Xian probed the little cousin: “Those words and paintings… could it be that cousin Luo secretly loved third brother? She secretly loved my third brother but never let him know?”

Luo Yunhuan immediately retorted: “Third cousin also loved my sister!”

Second Young Lord: “Impossible. Your sister is already married. My third brother is not that kind of person.”

Luo Yunhuan: “What do you know? Back then when third cousin saved me, he personally told brother Fan he wanted to marry my sister. It’s just that my sister didn’t know…”

The little girl became teary-eyed again: “My sister never knew, oh…” When she wanted to tell her sister, it was already too late.

Lu Xian lost himself in thought.

…

In reality, Liu Tang called out: “Young lord, it’s time to wake up, we’ve arrived at the Prince of Xiangyang’s mansion.”