The Buddha hall had only two incense candles on the shrine, filled with smoke and dim light. In the hazy atmosphere, Third Young Master Lu suddenly appeared before her. Luo Lingyu supported her paste-like head, looking at him in complete bewilderment. She hadn’t even registered her cheek being touched, only staring straight at him. Lu Yun’s lips curved as he scooped her into his arms, preparing to carry her outside.

Luo Lingyu was finally startled: “No! I won’t leave!”

She needed to pray and make offerings for Second Cousin, she needed to let everyone in the Lu family see her sincerity… If she suddenly left now, wouldn’t all her previous efforts be wasted?

Lu Yun pulled at the corner of his mouth, too lazy to waste words. As he lifted her to leave, Luo Lingyu struggled confusedly but couldn’t break free. Desperate, she turned her head and saw his slender fingers gripping her shoulder. Without hesitation, Luo Lingyu lowered her head and bit his wrist.

“Hiss—!” Lu Yun winced in pain.

His hand instinctively recoiled, and since he wasn’t paying much attention, this interruption caused his grip to loosen, making Luo Lingyu fall directly from his arms to the ground. Luo Lingyu crawled on her knees, covered in cold sweat, her long hair falling into her mouth as she coughed incessantly. Lu Yun crouched down, gripping her crimson face that was still coughing. He gripped so hard that half her face went numb, as he stared at her like a fierce ghost, smirking: “You dare bite me?”

Luo Lingyu was frightened by his expression, raising her hand to push away his grip on her face, but couldn’t move it. She wanted to cry but had no tears: This demon! Who asked him to rescue her?

Luo Lingyu trembled: “You wouldn’t listen to me unless I bit you…”

Lu Yun smiled: “Try biting again?”

Considering Lu Yun’s background, good temperament, and appearance, he was probably also highly learned and talented. Although Luo Lingyu hadn’t yet witnessed his scholarly abilities, the young ladies of the manor flocked to him, and the people of Jianye called him “Jade Young Master” – they couldn’t all be blind. Someone like Third Young Master Lu, whom all the young ladies of Jianye adored… probably had never been bitten before.

Luo Lingyu swallowed her anger: “I wouldn’t dare.”

She struggled greatly to operate her brain, raising her head pitifully with eyes like water looking at him. Lu Yun raised an eyebrow, inwardly sneering, then saw his cousin’s face like the moon, eyes like stars, lips stained red. Her long hair was disheveled, spring clothes wrinkled, as she raised her face to look at him, her appearance both immortal and bewitching, her gaze brimming with spring water. Though her face was red from fever, this state didn’t make her look worse but rather gave her a kind of disheveled beauty that invited ravishment…

Lu Yun’s face was expressionless: Was she trying to use her “beauty strategy” on him again?

Lu Yun said coldly: “Cousin, I truly am not lustful.”

Luo Lingyu was embarrassed: “…”

“Third Cousin, I know you care about me,” taking a deep breath, tears welling in her lashes, seeing Lu Yun’s contemptuous gaze but continuing as if she hadn’t noticed, “but I really cannot leave. Perhaps my sister begged you to come help me, but my sister is young and doesn’t understand. Right now I can only pray here for Er Lang, only when Second Cousin wakes up will I have a glimmer of hope. If Second Cousin doesn’t wake up, even death would be a fitting punishment for me. I’ve already knelt for a day and night, I cannot give up at the end. If Old Madam and Madam Lu see me like this day and night, perhaps their resentment towards me will lessen. Third Cousin, I…”

Lu Yun reached out.

Pulling her back into his arms, she once again crashed into his chest, her already muddled mind becoming even more confused from the impact. Lu Yun lifted her into his arms again and stood up, while Luo Lingyu was extremely anxious: What kind of person was he? Had all her heartfelt words been for nothing? Luo Lingyu said hoarsely: “Third Cousin, Third Cousin, please listen to me…”

Lu Yun started walking.

Poor Luo Lingyu was afraid the servants outside the Buddha hall would hear and didn’t dare shout too loudly, while Lu Yun simply did as he pleased without listening to her. Luo Lingyu was furious inside. She’d never met someone so annoying! She simply stopped calling him the polite “Cousin” and called out his name directly: “Lu Yun! Lu Yun, Lu Yun…”

Third Young Master Lu curved his lips, half-smiling: “Calling spirits?”

Lu Yun: “When you like someone you call them ‘Third Cousin,’ when you don’t like them it’s ‘Lu Yun.’ Little Sister Luo is truly a vulgar person.”

Luo Lingyu’s face reddened in his arms: firstly, she’d never been carried by a man like this before and couldn’t break free; secondly, Lu Yun called her “Little Sister Luo” – wasn’t Yunhua his “Little Sister Luo”?; thirdly, she felt like she’d been teased by Third Young Master Lu again…

Seeing Lu Yun step out of the Buddha hall, his tone changed as he said coldly: “Stop wailing. I’m just taking you down to rest for a while, someone will pretend to be your shadow to keep up appearances, and I’ll send you back at dawn. You can kneel until the end of time for all I care.”

Hearing this, Luo Lingyu froze, secretly turning her head to see that as soon as Lu Yun carried her out, a maid with a lowered head entered the Buddha hall. This maid was similar in build to her, with the same clothes and hairstyle – looking at her back, she did indeed bear some resemblance. Moonlight shone down, and crickets chirped in the courtyard, as Luo Lingyu’s fingers curled around the patterns on Third Young Master Lu’s clothes, cold sweat breaking out again.

Third Young Master… was simply too bold!

This was Second Young Master Lu’s courtyard – he was taking advantage of the late hour when the elders had left and the servants were gathered in Er Lang’s chambers. After making some casual arrangements to clear people away, he dared to come take her away. Luo Lingyu’s hair stood on end, being carried in the young master’s arms. At this point she could no longer resist, so she could only keep burying her head in his chest, praying that no one would see her face.

Luo Lingyu’s entire body trembled as she pressed into his embrace, her slender waist, full chest, and graceful neck seemingly trying to embed themselves into his body. Lu Yun paused, a tingling sensation spreading from his chest throughout his body, making his head slightly dizzy. Rarely being this close to women, he unconsciously stopped, pondering for a moment.

Luo Lingyu was nearly driven mad by his casual attitude while essentially kidnapping someone, and stammered: “Third Cousin… why have you stopped walking? If you’re not going to continue, please send me back?”

Lu Yun came back to his senses and resumed walking.

Luo Lingyu was running a fever and still had to worry about Lu Yun; by the time they reached the “Clear Courtyard,” she was completely exhausted. However, whether due to Lu Yun’s thorough arrangements or their good luck, they truly hadn’t encountered anyone along the way. After entering the room in the “Clear Courtyard,” Lu Yun carried her to the couch to sit. When Luo Lingyu got down, her limbs were weak and she was drenched in cold sweat.

Lu Yun raised an eyebrow: The one being carried was sweating more than the one doing the carrying.

The maids in the room had been waiting for some time. As soon as the young lady arrived, Jingyue came forward, first covering Luo Lingyu with a thin cape: “Young Lady, please don’t worry. First, freshen up, our Young Master will take your pulse and give you medicine. You’ve been through much hardship, Young Lady.”

Luo Lingyu was surprised: “Your Young Master… takes pulses?”

She looked up, meeting Lu Yun’s downward gaze. Lu Yun: “Or would you rather have a physician come? In your situation, the fewer people who know, the better.”

Luo Lingyu pulled the cape tighter around her shoulders, trying to curry favor with Lu Yun: “I was just surprised that Third Cousin knows medicine, Third Cousin is truly talented… I read medical books too, so Third Cousin and I share this interest.”

Lu Yun became interested: “What kind of medical books do you read?”

Luo Lingyu stammered. She silently cursed herself for speaking nonsense while confused with fever. After she couldn’t answer for a long time, Lu Yun’s eyes showed contempt again, seemingly convinced she was lying again… Provoked by his gaze, Luo Lingyu became extremely annoyed. Her true nature had been seen by Lu Yun, but she still wanted to prove something to him, so she blurted out: “I read medical books about beauty and skincare. I read them every day and even brought many beauty-related medical books when I came to the Lu family. If Cousin doesn’t believe me, you can go see for yourself, I’m not lying to you.”

Lu Yun: “…”

His gaze shifted from contempt in another direction: Beauty? Skincare? With Luo Lingyu’s looks, did she need that…

Luo Lingyu was truly an extremely vulgar person.

At this point, Luo Lingyu was led away by Jingyue to freshen up, while Lu Yun also returned to his room to change clothes. When he came back, Lu Yun prescribed medicine for Luo Lingyu and had it brewed for her to drink. Luo Lingyu didn’t ask about Luo Yunhua, she lay on the couch with her eyes closed, obediently accepting the Third Young Master’s care without causing any more trouble. Having received care, Luo Lingyu finally had time to think:

How should I resolve this crisis?

Indeed, from beginning to end, she had never thought of seeking Lu Yun’s help. Luo Lingyu was selfish, believing all people were the same. Though Third Young Master Lu was willing to help her, influenced by her beauty, she still firmly believed she could only trust herself.

Repeatedly wiping the young lady’s sweat with a wet cloth, seeing the young lady determinedly staying awake despite her high fever, Jingyue’s gaze toward her became increasingly curious.

Perhaps Luo Lingyu herself didn’t know that this was the first time Lu Yun had brought a woman to his couch.

Jingyue thought: It seems my good impression of Miss Luo wasn’t misplaced; this young lady’s prospects are limitless.

…

Meanwhile, trapped in a nightmare, Second Young Master Lu Xian wasn’t as fortunate as his third brother.

Just from falling into the water, he was drifting in nightmares, unable to wake up. In his dreams, he watched in horror as the timeline of dreams and reality connected. He saw that after recovering from this illness, the family elders were furious and, ignoring cousin Luo Lingyu’s tearful pleas, forcefully put her on a boat to send her back to Nanyang.

With the main line of the Ruyang Luo family extinct, and the remaining Nanyang Luo family in decline, who would willingly stay with relatives unless necessary?

The dream time moved forward hazily… Lu Xian felt guilty toward his cousin but couldn’t stop his family. He continued his idle court position, spending his days reading and writing. His expectations for life were to have a few close friends, and a gentle companion, and to travel freely like the famous scholars of the south.

Then suddenly the dream timeline accelerated, and in the warm waters of Jianye, Luo Lingyu returned to the capital!

She had become the Empress!

In the dream, the Lu family was shocked, not knowing how to interact with their cousin who had become Empress. There was a rift between the young lady and the Lu family, and the Lu family’s position began to waver… Then the scene suddenly changed to the frontier.

A dreamer knows not he dreams, and Lu Xian watched helplessly as countless arrows flew. Under the heavy grey sky, his third brother Lu Yun’s white robes flew like a crane as he stood on the battlements, covered in blood and sweat, his chest pierced by countless arrows…

Lu Xian screamed and lunged forward: “Third Brother, Third Brother…!”