ATLAS TRANSLATES

In the seventh month of the fourteenth year of Yuanshuo, war broke out between the Southern and Northern borders.

Nanyang was caught in the conflict.

Lu Xian used his ability to foresee events through dreams to strengthen border defenses and reinforce troops, making the war less severe than what he had foreseen.

However, some things were unavoidable — just as in his dream, despite the court’s mediation attempts, Nanyang was still drawn into the flames of war.

Because of this, Fan Qingchen, the fourth son of the Fan family from Nanyang who had been staying in Jianye competing with Lu Yun for Lady Luo’s hand, chose to leave Jianye and return to Nanyang after receiving news from home.

Fan Qingchen had never managed to influence Lady Luo Lingyu’s marriage prospects, and Lu Xian had never worried about this matter.

In his dream, Nanyang’s situation had been exactly the same.

Currently, Lu Xian’s busiest task was staying at the government office with other officials, spending all day in court discussing how to stop the war. He worked until exhaustion, barely returning home. Due to the northern war’s outbreak, many refugees had flooded into the southern capital of Jianye over the past half month.

Although the noble families controlled state affairs and had money, the court itself was poor. After days of arguing, the court still hadn’t decided how to settle these refugees. Some noble ladies in the city had already begun distributing rice and grain, serving porridge and medicine, which eased the pressure on the court and became the talk of the town.

The most prominent among them was the beauty who had become famous in Jianye over the past half year — the Danyang Lu family’s cousin, the notable scholar Xun Mei Jushi’s cousin, Lady Luo Lingyu.

Initially, when too many refugees flooded into Jianye, the noble lady Chen Xiu happened to witness it and felt compassion. Since the Chen family head had left and she was alone, with many empty courtyards and rooms in the Chen family estate, Chen Xiu simply borrowed resources to help settle these refugees.

Unexpectedly, after the scholars spread word of her actions, Chen Xiu accidentally gained a good reputation.

Surprised by this, she became even more dedicated to disaster relief efforts.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yangling’s poor district also received many people, and she was researching ways to help the poor.

Luo Lingyu, while trying to avoid Fan Qingchen who daily besieged her at the Lu residence, was also jealous of Chen Xiu’s good reputation.

After discussing with Zhou Young Master, who admired her capability, Luo Lingyu simply took her sister and began competing with Chen Xiu.

She worked with Zhou Yangling and several large temples in the outskirts to provide assistance to these refugees.

Seeing their actions, other ladies in Jianye followed suit, each showing great generosity, which brought unexpected joy to the court facing refugee pressures.

As a result, Luo Lingyu’s reputation spread not only among the upper-class nobles but also began gaining prominence among common people and lesser families.

In early July, Luo Lingyu had been staying at temples in the outskirts with Zhou Yangling for about ten days until the Lu family sent her a letter. Madam Lu had brought the cousin ladies back to stay at home, and due to the summer heat, the Lu family had moved to Danyang county to escape the heat. They planned to spend the Qixi Festival there this year with all family members and cousin ladies. They sent the letter to Luo Lingyu fearing she might return to Wuyi Lane in Jianye after coming down from the mountain, only to find an empty courtyard.

Qixi Festival… thinking of this, Luo Lingyu told Zhou Yangling she planned to go down the mountain to spend the festival in Danyang.

Unlike Zhou Yangling who was almost saintly, she couldn’t bear to stay alone in the mountains building a good reputation during the festival, missing all the festive atmosphere.

Zhou Yangling, who was strict with herself but lenient with others, naturally agreed without comment.

Several maids followed the young lady into the carriage down the mountain. Once seated, they all rubbed their waists and sighed deeply. After all, this kind of labor and running around all day was much more tiring than taking care of a delicate young lady.

As the cart bumped along the rough road, swaying back and forth, the maids either lay prone or sat, their eyelids drooping, gradually becoming drowsy.

Suddenly, the ox cart came to a stop.

From the front carriage, Luo Lingyu lifted the curtain to look outside. Her beautiful autumn-water eyes turned slightly, and under the blazing sun, she saw two men crawling up on the road in front of the cart.

One was a middle-aged man with a sallow face and cracked lips; he was leading a youth who was starved thin, looking as weak as a scrawny chick. The two men sat on the road in front of the cart, begging pitifully for help. With the road blocked, the driver had no choice but to come ask the young lady what to do.

The young man’s hair was like dry grass, messy and unkempt, and he kept his head down without speaking.

The middle-aged man repeatedly tried to crawl to Luo Lingyu’s carriage but was blocked by the guards and driver. The middle-aged man persisted: “Please save our lives, young lady. We fled from the north, and haven’t had a proper meal in many days.”

The driver glanced back at the two men, his tone full of disgust as he tried to please the beautiful and refined young lady who had lifted the curtain: “…There’s relief being distributed at several large temples on the mountain where Lord Zhou is helping, but they won’t walk those few extra steps and instead come to block the lady’s carriage. They’re clearly not good people! We shouldn’t help such people, young lady. Just let someone drive them away.”

The guards, with precious swords at their waists, glared vigilantly at the middle-aged man blocking the cart and the silent youth.

However, Luo Lingyu looked over and sighed, speaking softly and weakly, her tone full of compassion: “They are all pitiful people. Meeting on the road is fate, why be so harsh? Uncle Wang, give them some steamed buns and water, then move them aside so they don’t block our cart. That’s all we need to do.”

The driver immediately sighed: “Young lady, you are truly too kind!”

Luo Lingyu smiled slightly.

In the carriage, her sister was covered with a blanket, sleeping in the corner unaware of the current situation.

Amidst the continuous cicada sounds, Luo Lingyu held up the curtain watching her people attend to the two refugees they met on the road.

The youth was fine, eating the steamed buns once given; the dirty-faced middle-aged man knelt on the road, looking up to see the lady sitting quietly behind the carriage curtain, and trembled slightly.

Like the rising sun and moon, like falling clouds and mist.

Behind the brocade carriage curtain, that lady wore a crimson silk dress that trailed to the ground, her face classical, how incredibly beautiful.

The middle-aged man’s eyes revealed greed as he knelt forward another step, shouting loudly: “Thank you for saving our lives, young lady! We two are willing to serve as oxen and horses to repay your kindness, please take us in…”

All the guards and the driver looked worriedly at Luo Lingyu, fearing this kind young lady might really agree to take in these two refugees and let them follow along.

However, Luo Lingyu wasn’t convinced.

She glanced at the two kneeling on the road, observing carefully.

The youth kept his head down so his face couldn’t be seen, but the middle-aged man’s upturned face looked completely ordinary from any angle, clearly not someone of distinguished birth who had fallen on hard times.

Luo Lingyu would help people, firstly for reputation, and secondly because she had learned from the trouble she once caused by not helping Lu Yun — when faced with people begging her for help, even if she didn’t want to help, she had to put on a show, displaying a merciful Buddha-like face, not leaving anyone room to find fault.

What if she encountered a second Lu Yun?

The people on the road kept begging incessantly, becoming annoying.

After careful observation, these two people clearly couldn’t be a second Lu Yun, so Luo Lingyu lowered the curtain and said softly: “I cannot make such a decision. You two are young and strong, you can find other paths. Remember my kindness and come to repay it another day. Don’t turn a grain of rice’s kindness into a bushel of enmity by threatening and forcing me to save you two here.”

The middle-aged man who had been shouting loudly was stunned, his face reddening: …He never expected such a delicate-looking, seemingly kind young lady would think of this aspect and say such words.

He lowered his head, his eyes turning fierce.

Just as he was about to raise his head and beg more earnestly, suddenly there came the sound of horse hooves.

Everyone looked over to see a galloping horse, the young lord riding the lead horse had a jade crown and beautiful face, approaching like a cloud-riding crane.

The middle-aged man kneeling on the ground shut his mouth, lowering his head anxiously, pretending to be dull-witted as he gnawed on the steamed bun in his hand.

He felt the horse hooves pass by his ears with a slight breeze, and the young lord on horseback glanced over. He tried his best to suppress his presence, feeling the lord’s gaze linger on him for a moment before moving away.

The guards protecting the carriage convoy called out: “Third Young Lord!”

Lu Yun stopped his horse beside the carriage and looked down toward the lady deep within the carriage curtains, asking with interest yet an odd tone: “…Little sister Yuer is being kind again, giving food and drink to random people met on the road?”

Inside the carriage, Luo Lingyu blushed: Lu Yun’s tone clearly mocked her “false kindness.”

Yet the people outside thought Lu Yun was praising her.

Luo Lingyu coughed once, embarrassedly playing her role fully in front of everyone: “…Yes. Seeing them pitiful on the road, I really couldn’t bear it, so I had to offer help. Cousin doesn’t blame me, right?”

The young lord outside laughed lightly.

It seemed to brush against her ear, teasing her. Even through the curtain, she could imagine his smirking expression, making her face burn hot.

At the same time, she felt somewhat uneasy: since she went up the mountain, she hadn’t seen Lu Yun for many days.

In her heart… she rather missed him.

Once Lu Yun arrived, the two refugees blocking the road seemed to lose their courage and no longer dared shout about wanting to serve as oxen and horses to repay the lady.

When the guards drove those two away again, the middle-aged man pulled the youth and quickly ran off.

After running far away, they hid in some bushes, carefully looking toward the distant carriage convoy. The middle-aged man and youth saw the carriage stopped by the roadside open its door, and the lady who had amazed them poked her head out to speak with the bending young lord. After those two spoke a few sentences, the extraordinarily handsome young lord dismounted, handed the reins to his servant, and then got into the carriage to sit with the lady.

The middle-aged man immediately spat in disappointment: “…Pah. These nobles are just this loose, men and women sharing carriages, who knows what they’re doing in there.”

The boldness of upper-class nobles had always been an alien world to commoners.

The youth kept his eyes down without speaking. He silently wiped the dirt from his face, revealing a somewhat handsome face. He remained quiet, never raising his head to look, yet heard the middle-aged man beside him say regretfully: “Such a beautiful lady… Ah, aren’t all noble ladies extremely kind? How come when we stopped their carriage to ask for help, that woman only gave us food and didn’t invite us to sit in the carriage for a while?”

He spat: “I heard that Lady Chen from the great scholar Chen’s family gives houses to refugees!”

“Damn it… no, this lady must be kind-hearted, she was just held back by that man. Next time we meet her, we’ll just ask for help again.”

“Nobles… heh, if we can get close to her, we might enjoy some good fortune… When Jianye city falls, considering how this beauty took care of us, we’ll take her along, heh!”

The youth remained silent throughout.