Luo Lingyu thought that while Second Cousin appeared proper and upright, he was quite foolish.

Besides, now that she was married, she could occasionally reveal her true nature to her husband’s family. After all… they couldn’t persuade Lu Yun to divorce her.

So she went out at night to threaten Second Young Master Lu Xian, forcing him to tell her what he had discussed with Third Young Master Lu— “It was right after you left that Brother Xuecen’s mood turned sour. You must have said something to make him unhappy.”

The beautiful young lady entered gracefully, looking at Second Young Master Lu’s stiff expression. After sitting down, she said seriously in a soft voice: “Whatever is making my husband unhappy, I won’t allow it to happen.”

Lu Xian trembled slightly, looking at his cousin-sister’s incomparably beautiful face in the lamplight.

After a long while, slowly, Lu Xian sighed, thinking since cousin-sister already knew about his dreams, what harm was there in telling her? Although Third Brother had told him not to tell others, how could cousin-sister be considered an outsider? So Lu Xian slowly told her about his dream.

Luo Lingyu listened quietly as if through Lu Xian’s telling, she was truly there on that night. She had saved Lu Yun’s family, but the price was struggling so much she miscarried…

Not giving Second Young Master Lu too much trouble, after hearing the story, Luo Lingyu rose to bid farewell. Lu Xian escorted her to the courtyard gate, looking at his cousin-sister’s calm expression, wanting to say more, wanting to comfort her. Wanting to say that with Third Brother there, cousin-sister surely wouldn’t end up like in the dream.

But Luo Lingyu was distracted, not paying much attention to Second Cousin’s expression, listlessly getting into the carriage to return.

The entire outing took barely an hour. Returning to her chambers, the room’s warm incense hadn’t yet burned out. The air was filled with traces of Agarwood agarwood fragrance mixed with the intimate aftermath of a man and woman’s congress. Luo Lingyu sat down in a daze. Among the top three grades of incense – Agarwood, aloeswood, and sandalwood – Agarwood was the most precious. Luo Lingyu, a fallen noble family’s daughter, even when her family hadn’t declined, the Luo family of Ruyang couldn’t necessarily afford to use Agarwood incense daily; only after marrying Lu Yun did she learn that the incense he used was always top-grade Agarwood.

What ordinary families couldn’t afford, Third Young Master Lu used daily, so casually, completely taking it for granted.

Things he didn’t care about made her eyes red with envy. Marrying him, she finally achieved the life she had always dreamed of. She had barely begun to enjoy it when Second Young Master Lu told her she might miscarry… In Luo Lingyu’s eyes, it wasn’t just about the miscarriage. A miscarriage could be avoided, but other things were harder to prevent. Like Lu Yun, the young lady glimpsed from this miscarriage that Jianye would soon be unsafe.

For a young lady who sought advantage and avoided harm, such an ominous prediction was terrible.

She could share in Lu Yun’s sweetness, but did she have the courage to share in his hardships?

The fire still burned in the incense burner, and Luo Lingyu added more fragrance to the coals. She sat dazed in the room for a while, waiting until her body warmed up before removing her cloak and outer clothes, taking off her hairpins and ornaments, and entering the inner chamber. Lifting the bed curtain to sit on the couch, she smelled the increasingly strong scent of their lovemaking mixed with alcohol. Just sitting there made Luo Lingyu’s face flush slightly.

By the dim candlelight outside the curtain, she looked down at the sleeping young man. The brocade covers only reached his chest, exposing his shoulders and neck. Peerlessly elegant when dressed, proportionate in build when undressed, with broad shoulders, slim waist, and long legs. Heaven truly favored him – even in sleep, with his long hair scattered on the pillow, several strands clinging to his cheeks, his face flushed from drinking. In the hazy light, perhaps uncomfortable from the alcohol, his brows were furrowed in sleep, his eyebrows slightly knitted, his eyelashes long and black, his lips sharp yet red and moist.

Truly a jade-like young lord.

Whether awake or asleep.

Just looking at him from beside him made Luo Lingyu feel intoxicated. She understood now how the ladies of Jianye felt going crazy over the jade lord. Her lips curved in a smile as she reached out to brush his brow and eyes, her fingernails playfully teasing him twice. As a beauty herself, she loved beauty more. Ordinary men’s looks were unremarkable to her; only someone like Lu Yun could intoxicate her heart and soul…

Luo Lingyu bent down, pressing against his lips to kiss him once.

Extinguishing the candle, and lowering the curtains, she nestled in his embrace. Listening to Third Young Master Lu’s steady, firm heartbeat, Luo Lingyu held him tight, slowly dispelling the unease in her heart. She grew drowsy and closed her eyes… troublesome worries could wait until tomorrow.

…

With her heart in turmoil and her mind not yet made up, Luo Lingyu didn’t know whether to tell Lu Yun or not. Without having made up her mind, if she told him, she could easily be led by him. This was something she didn’t want. Moreover, Lu Yun wanted her to go to Yicheng – according to Luo Lingyu’s true feelings, she should have been willing… but now she was just full of melancholy.

Three days after talking with Second Young Master Lu, Luo Lingyu had nothing to do but sit at home packing for Yicheng as Lu Yun had instructed. She didn’t know if she would ultimately decide to go to Yicheng. To avoid making Lu Yun suspicious, she’d better follow his words for now.

In the afternoon, Lu Yun returned from outside and changed into loose casual robes. Luo Lingyu was surprised: “You don’t need to go out again?”

Lu Yun said lazily: “Why should I do everything personally? What does the court keep so many idle people for?”

A gleam flashed in Luo Lingyu’s beautiful eyes as she went to the inner chamber to gather his changed clothes, instructing the maid to wash them. She returned to the room, sitting on the small couch piled with clothes, continuing to pack for the journey south. Lu Yun paused for a while, writing several letters at his desk, then went out to have them sent. When he returned, he paced a couple of times before finally taking a book and lounging on the couch where Luo Lingyu sat.

Luo Lingyu rolled her eyes slightly: This man really… the room was so big, yet he had to squeeze into this small space with her.

Lu Yun pretended not to see her prettily rolled eyes, lounging on the couch with his book, but he couldn’t concentrate. After turning a few pages, he couldn’t help glancing up at her back several times. As she methodically packed those clothes, Lu Yun reached out to gently massage her waist.

Luo Lingyu stiffened suddenly, letting out a startled cry. Her spine didn’t know whether to tense or relax as her waist was embraced by the young lord behind her, accompanied by someone’s light laughter. Lu Yun laughed: “We haven’t seen each other for over a day, how can sister only know to pack clothes and not pay attention to brother?”

Luo Lingyu was caught around the waist from behind, his arm holding her waist hard and hot. Unable to break free, she used her jade bracelet to hit him once, complaining: “Isn’t it because you told me to pack! Now you’re blaming me for being too diligent? Brother Xuecen, why are you so hard to please?”

Lu Yun’s breath hovered at her nape, hot and teasing: “Brother told you to pack your things when no one was around, when a brother is here, shouldn’t you accompany brother?”

Luo Lingyu’s ears itched, tilting her head to avoid his teasing. Originally she had been wearing a tense expression with heavy thoughts, not in the mood to play with Lu Yun. But with Lu Yun holding her from behind, subtly teasing and provoking her, she couldn’t hide the happiness stirred in her heart, her peach-like cheeks dyed like flower juice, revealing a fresh and beautiful smile. She turned her face to lightly brush his lips, seeing his black eyes, she playfully asked: “What should I accompany Brother Xuecen in doing? Composing poetry and painting? Or playing chess and brewing tea?”

Lu Yun smiled lazily – he had been busy all day, how could he have an interest in those things? He just saw her idle and wanted to draw her over. So Lu Yun smiled and said: “Nothing in particular, just lounge with brother for a while.”

Luo Lingyu frowned: “In broad daylight…”

Lu Yun sighed.

Seeing the darkness under his eyes and his dejected expression, Luo Lingyu’s heart immediately softened. In this era, shoes were left outside the chamber, and people walked inside wearing only silk socks. When Lu Yun invited Luo Lingyu to lounge, she only had to move the clothes piled on the couch to the small table below, then she got on the couch and was pulled into Lu Yun’s embrace to lie down together.

On one small couch, the young man and woman lay face to face, their breaths brushing each other’s faces.

Sunlight filtered through the window like a sieve, shining on the space behind them, spots of light gently moving, dust floating in the air. The rare tranquility in the chamber created a peaceful atmosphere. Lying in Lu Yun’s embrace, Luo Lingyu felt the beauty of time standing still, just wanting to lie with him like this, not speaking, not doing anything.

At such a moment, there were some words Luo Lingyu felt compelled to speak.

She asked Lu Yun softly: “Brother Xuecen, if I were to become pregnant, would you prefer a boy or a girl?”

How sensitive Lu Yun was – his gaze dropped as his voice tensed: “…Are you pregnant?”

He immediately thought of Second Young Master Lu’s dream prediction. Noticing his body suddenly tense and his voice unreadable between good and bad, Luo Lingyu quickly reassured him: “No, no, my monthly cycle came just over ten days ago, don’t you remember?” Seeing Lu Yun’s eyes flash and his attitude relax, she continued probing: “I just want to discuss it with you. Do you prefer boys or girls?”

Lu Yun’s lips curved as he asked in return: “What do you think?”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

Lu Yun: “Having seen too much of the ordinary, one always wants the extraordinary. Even if I tell you now that I like both boys and girls equally, you and I both know that I must have a preference in my heart. When you bear a child that matches my preference, my boundless joy will be much more sincere than telling you now that ‘I love both equally’, won’t it?”

He went round and round, refusing to say directly. The clever Luo Lingyu immediately said: “…A girl? You prefer girls?”

Lu Yun smiled: “I haven’t said anything, don’t blame me later.”

Luo Lingyu laughed in annoyance, pinching his waist once, thinking this man had so many tricks. But she wasn’t angry, she didn’t need to deliberately oppose Lu Yun to irritate him. Anyway, she wasn’t pregnant, so she was just curious about pregnancy: “Why do you like girls?”

She blushed, wondering if perhaps he loved her so much that he wanted a daughter just like her.

Lu Yun was concise: “Our family rarely has girls. Seeing them rarely naturally makes one prefer them.”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

She widened her eyes: “That’s it?! What’s your reason? Because your Lu family has few girls, do you like them? Just because you rarely see them?”

Lu Yun flicked her forehead: “Why are you so excited? Isn’t this reason enough? Let me tell you if you can give birth to a girl in one pregnancy, your position in the Lu family… you won’t even need to think of ways to please grandmother and the others, rather they will come to cherish you. Our family rarely has girls, whenever there is one, everyone spoils her to their heart’s content.”

Luo Lingyu: “It can’t be that extreme?”

Lu Yun said flatly: “Our family originally lived in Danyang city. My grandfather said Danyang City was a bit far from the Taichu Palace in Jianye, making it inconvenient for the family’s sons to attend court, so we moved to Wuyi Lane. But the real reason was that my grandfather had someone do fortune-telling for our family, asking if our family’s scarcity of girls was due to bad feng shui. Our family moved to Wuyi Lane because my grandfather thought Danyang’s feng shui was bad, affecting the Lu family’s ability to have daughters.”

Luo Lingyu listened in a daze.

Seeing Lu Yun curl his lips and mock: “But after moving to Wuyi Lane, we still didn’t have any girls. My grandfather was probably deceived, haha.”

Luo Lingyu: “…You are wicked, you even mock your grandfather!”

Lying in the young lord’s embrace, she truly loved Lu Yun telling her these private matters. It made her feel that they were truly husband and wife, that he no longer treated her as an outsider. Especially since Third Young Master Lu rarely gossiped about others, the gossip he shared was particularly interesting. The young lady’s eyes sparkled as she urged Lu Yun to say more: “Really? Your family likes girls that much?”

Lu Yun: “Of course it’s true. My elder sister is called Lu Qingyi, she’s married and living in Hanzhong now, you haven’t met her. She’s the only girl of our generation, whether direct line or branch families. If you had come a few years earlier, if you had seen my elder sister, you would have known how much our family spoiled her. From childhood to adulthood, if my elder sister sighed, our family would worry for a day, fearing she wasn’t happy. When my elder sister scolded people, it was called ‘showing her true nature,’ when my elder sister disliked studying, it was called ‘having a noble spirit,’ when my elder sister couldn’t master martial arts, well, that was fine because noble families don’t need to learn such things.”

“When we were young, whenever my elder sister gave us the cold shoulder, my second brother and I would be questioned about whether we had upset her. My aunt, Second Brother’s mother… well, you know her, she fears gossip about mistreating the second branch, since I came to Jianye, she barely manages second branch affairs. Only when it came to my elder sister would she anxiously question what I had or hadn’t done? You see how aunt dotes on my second brother now, how good she is to him… but in truth, the treatment my second brother receives now doesn’t even amount to one-tenth of what my elder sister received back then.”

Lu Yun reached out to caress his dumbfounded cousin-wife’s small face.

His eyes full of tenderness, he sighed softly: “Do you know how lucky you are? Two years ago when my elder sister was still unmarried, who would have allowed cousin-sisters like you to stay regularly at the Lu family? My elder sister delayed until she was twenty, our family really couldn’t delay any longer, only then did they reluctantly send her off to marry. Our family even thought about having the groom marry into our family, or having the elder sister marry just anyone in Jianye… but unfortunately, my elder sister insisted on marrying Hanzhong. In the year or two after she married, you don’t know how depressed the atmosphere was in our home. No one dared cough loudly all day, afraid it would trigger memories of my elder sister.”

Luo Lingyu was shocked: “That’s… that’s too extreme…”

Lu Yun sighed: “Not extreme at all. The Lu family just loves girls that much.”

He embraced his wife: “When the elder sister was at home before, I was bullied so terribly… thankfully she got married. At the time I wanted to set off firecrackers to celebrate. Does Sister Lingyu understand how lucky she is now? You were able to win against the other cousin-sisters only because everyone treated the cousin-sisters equally. If you had met my elder sister, my family’s heart would have been completely biased toward the sky…”

Luo Lingyu trembled: “Your elder sister won’t return to Jianye, right? She’s married and has children, she should stay in Hanzhong and not come back, right?”

Lu Yun pinched her nose and wiggled it, narrowing his eyes with a half-smile: “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you… so you ungrateful girl, do you know how much brother cherishes you?”

Luo Lingyu buried her head in his embrace, nuzzling him. Talking about these casual matters with him, smelling his clean fragrance, she was even more reluctant to leave him. She loved Lu Yun so much that when he lounged on the couch holding her while they chatted, she became more certain she couldn’t leave him… Luo Lingyu bit her teeth, thinking it was just sharing hardships. What of it – what in the world could tear her heart apart more than leaving Lu Yun?

Luo Lingyu nuzzled against him in his embrace, using subtle movements to express her joy in being with him. Lu Yun’s arm around her waist stiffened, and the young lady, face buried in her husband’s embrace, pressed against his chest, heard his heartbeat suddenly quicken. At the same time, her lower abdomen was pressed by something that rapidly arose…

Luo Lingyu raised her head in alarm, meeting Lu Yun’s deep black eyes, dark and bottomless.

She looked pitiful and delicate: “Brother Xuecen…”

Lu Yun laughed huskily: “I only wanted to lounge for a while. You’re the one who provoked me.” His hand pressed on her chest, fingers curling, pressing down heavily.

After a cry, the young lady’s face reddened to her ears as she stammered and tried to escape. But how could she escape? She was immediately pressed beneath him, her long hair and the white jade hairpin in it tangling in his arms as she struggled. The young lady’s face was red: “It’s still bright outside…”

Lu Yun’s eyes were dark as midnight as he lazily curved his hand, his hand pressing and sliding inch by inch along her peaks, lingering. After a few caresses, with a light touch, he undid the ties at her chest. The young lord’s eyes instantly grew darker: “This has its unique flavor.”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

She reddened her eyes, grabbing his hand to stop him. Lu Yun raised an eyebrow to look at her, and Luo Lingyu made a crying face, pressing her face against his arm coquettishly. The young lady’s eyes were like clear lakes, light rippling through them as she blinked touchingly: “Husband, I don’t want to. I’m still swollen there, uncomfortable, wait two days…”

Lu Yun lowered his eyes, gesturing for her to look at the changes in his body. He smiled rakishly, drawling: “Sister, some things can’t wait…”

Luo Lingyu gritted her teeth: “I really can’t… shall I help you relieve it another way?”

Lu Yun’s hand on her chest paused, his gaze flickering as he stared at her, suddenly smiling. The smile was cool and strange, making Luo Lingyu immediately somewhat regretful. But Lu Yun grabbed her arm, pressing against her ear to whisper two or three words.

Luo Lingyu’s face turned completely red as she hit him: “You lewd man! Who would do that for you!”

Lu Yun was very magnanimous: “Choose one of two, I’ll listen to you.”

Luo Lingyu glared at him angrily, but he just waited patiently. She pleaded a couple more times, but Lu Yun just looked at her with a silent smile. Finally, Luo Lingyu had no choice but to nod reluctantly. She closed her eyes, humiliated: “Take off your clothes then!”

Lu Yun bent down to kiss her face lightly, teasing: “Why so unhappy? Next time brother will help you too…”

Luo Lingyu: “Shut up! Don’t say anymore!”

Her face wasn’t thick enough to reach Lu Yun’s level yet.

…

After becoming husband and wife, certain bottom lines kept getting lower.

But it was also joyful.

After spitting out what was in her mouth, being lovingly fed water by her husband, and being asked if it was difficult, Luo Lingyu’s cheeks were flushed red, her eyelashes wet with water, looking like peach blossoms dampened by dew, tender and moving. Looking up at Lu Yun’s handsome face, she somewhat dully rubbed her cheeks, shaking her head: “…Just my jaw is a bit sore.”

Third Young Master Lu pressed his lips to hers in a deep kiss of comfort.

Her hand rested on the back of his neck, and as he laid her on the couch, she let out a soft breath – she had made up her mind, she really couldn’t leave Lu Yun.

She loved being with Lu Yun, no matter what they did, even when he bullied her. She could be careful, protect herself, avoid being startled, avoid miscarriage, and avoid being worn down by external things. She just didn’t want to leave his side to go to Yicheng. Who knew how long the chaos in Jianye would last – newlyweds that they were, she couldn’t bear long-term separation from her husband.

She stroked her still-flat belly, the firm resolve in her heart to face the coming trials was unstoppable.

…

Having made up her mind, she still feared Lu Yun wouldn’t agree. The north-south peace talks had reached their final crucial period, and Luo Lingyu didn’t want to argue with him now, draining his energy. Luo Lingyu thought it better to act first and report later. While Lu Yun arranged for her to go to Yicheng with Zhou Yanglin, Luo Lingyu outwardly agreed obediently while inwardly pondering how to lower his alertness so he wouldn’t discover her schemes.

The most effective method was to use her charms to seduce him.

Poor Third Young Master Lu was delighted these days, thinking Luo Lingyu had become so agreeable after marriage, doing whatever he asked. He felt somewhat proud, not realizing Luo Lingyu was merely confusing and numbing him, making him feel at ease about her.

In early April, after constant tug-of-war negotiations, the border peace talks between the northern and southern kingdoms finally concluded. The northern kingdom’s envoys left Nanyang satisfied, taking with them the Luoyang governor who looked back three times with complex emotions. The Luoyang governor was still thinking of Chen Xue, but Chen Xue hadn’t appeared for a long time.

In early April, Lu Yun first sent Luo Lingyu and Zhou Yanglin on their way. After the two young ladies left, Nanyang’s official duties were handed over to new court officials, and Lu Yun was also to leave Nanyang.

The night before leaving Nanyang, after Second Young Master Lu Xian finished discussing some matters with his brother and walked out of the residence, he heard someone playing the ocarina. The ocarina’s sound floated through heaven and earth, cold and lonely, desolate. Lu Xian’s heart was always soft, and his artistic cultivation had never been lacking. He heard the desolate loneliness in the ocarina’s sound, and feeling distressed, unconsciously followed the music.

Where the ocarina’s sound stopped, Lu Xian found Prince Liu Mu of Hengyang on a small hill outside Nanyang City.

The young prince sat playing the ocarina under the moon, his expression cold. After finishing a piece, he put away the ocarina and stood up. When the youth turned around, he saw someone had appeared behind him – Lu Xian looking at him with complex eyes brimming with hot tears.

Liu Mu: “…”

Lu Xian: “…Are you sad because we’re all leaving?”

Liu Mu’s face stiffened as ferocity rose in his eyes. His violent temper flared up, but looking at this refined, delicate scholar-like Second Young Master Lu, Liu Mu considered that he couldn’t even take one of his punches. So the young prince just sneered and turned to leave with his hands behind his back.

But Lu Xian stopped him.

Second Young Master Lu said softly: “I’m sorry, I forgot about you… Everyone else is leaving, but you still have to return to Yingchuan to continue guarding the border. His Majesty shows no intention of letting you return… You must miss Jianye, right? Your brother, your mother…”

Liu Mu’s face instantly twisted as he reached out to grip Lu Xian’s throat – with just a bit of force, he could strangle this young man: “Shut up! Don’t mention them!”

Liu Mu’s nature was violent, and now he gnashed his teeth without hiding it: “…I don’t know what you’re imagining! But stop looking at me with those eyes that see a ‘pitiful creature’! Look at me like that again, and I’ll gouge out your eyes!”

But though Lu Xian was struggling to breathe, he suddenly gripped Liu Mu’s hand in return. That warmth made Liu Mu’s pupils contract. He heard Lu Xian gasping: “Don’t… don’t worry… When I return to Jianye, I’ll find a way to let you visit Jianye. Oh… right, I have a marriage… I should be able to invite you back to Jianye as my good friend to attend the ceremony, right?”

Liu Mu raged: “I’m not! I don’t!”

Lu Xian: “Are you still heartbroken over my cousin-sister? Young lord, there are beautiful women everywhere under heaven, why must you be like this?”

Liu Mu: “…”

The hand gripping the young lord’s neck loosened.

Liu Mu’s gaze became complex: “You…” Could he be an idiot?

But finally lowering his eyes, what he said was: “…Yes, Lady Luo is married… I miss my mother.”

The Empress Dowager, his mother. According to his brother’s words, she was gradually becoming distant from him. The young prince smiled self-mockingly – that day when he went to Yingchuan, wasn’t it partly out of stubborn pride? But after half a year, even Third Young Master Lu was leaving, yet he… no one had summoned him back to Jianye.

Still full of unwillingness, Liu Mu still held a thread of illusion about his family – You fear I’ll seize the throne, so I’ll try to seize it to show you; if I can’t seize it, you’re wary of me, so I’ll go far away; is this enough? Is this still not enough?

What do you want from me after all?

Mother, brother… will you only feel at ease when I’m dead?