She slept poorly that night, startling awake at the slightest sound. As dawn’s first light crept in, she heard a rustling sound. The lady in the bed curtains turned over, and when the outside light hit her eyes, she drowsily opened them – only to be startled by the silhouette of a gentleman bending down through the bed curtains. She gasped sharply, the fright jolting her awake. The sound of her gasp made the bending man pause. Through the hazy green curtains, she saw him lift his face and gaze intently at the lady lying on her side inside.
His face was white – not like jade, but like a ghost.
Luo Lingyu: “…”
She saw that Lu Yun had already put on the blood-stained gray robe from the night before, and was holding a silver ingot that he intended to place on the wooden table outside her bed curtains. Her sudden awakening had startled not only Luo Lingyu, who was frightened by the man suddenly standing at her bedside but also Lu Yun, who was startled by her sharp gasp. After a moment’s pause, he set down the silver ingot.
Luo Lingyu glimpsed the silver, and anger welled up inside her. Her fingers clutched the brocade quilt as her beautiful face tensed, struggling to keep her voice low: “…You try to buy me off with one silver ingot? Am I worth so little in your eyes?!”
Lu Yun: “…”
He smiled with curved eyes, also keeping his voice low: “Sister Luo is worth a thousand gold. I simply don’t carry silver when I go out. After searching my entire person, this is all I have… Surely sister doesn’t expect me to leave you my jade pendant?”
Luo Lingyu thought: …Pah, who’s your “sister”?!
That jade pendant of Third Young Master Lu’s couldn’t be sold on the open market anyway – the items carried by young masters of noble houses were all accounted for, and the jade pendant was a treasure. Even if one wanted to sell it, no one would dare buy it. If the jade pendant couldn’t be sold, it would only serve as a token of love… Lu Third Young Master and Luo Lingyu pledging their love?
Luo Lingyu’s face turned cold, her mouth twitching unwillingly a couple of times. Her heart was very conflicted, her gaze almost unable to leave the silver. How she wished Lu Yun would try to buy her off with more money. Noble ladies weren’t supposed to love gold and silver, but Luo Lingyu was simply too poor. Lately, she worried the silver wouldn’t last even half a year… So that day when Lu Yun encountered her praying at the temple, he saw that she had no money.
For this reason, the feelings of shame, discomfort, embarrassment, and resentment that Luo Lingyu felt toward Lu Yun eased slightly.
As he said, Lu Yun truly wasn’t very lecherous. Though his face had a frivolous look, his gaze remained lowered, never once trying to peek further into the bed curtains. The young master’s manner was proper and noble, giving no cause for misunderstanding. After placing down the silver ingot, Third Young Master Lu straightened up and was about to truly turn and leave. By now Luo Lingyu inside the curtains had sat up. She stared at the young master outside the curtains for a long while. As he stood straight, the dim light once again inadvertently fell across his face, illuminating his pale and haggard features…
Whether for the sake of the poison or for the silver ingot he left – Luo Lingyu hesitated for a moment, then reached out her hand: “Wait.”
A lady’s delicate jade hand extended from within the curtains, catching and tugging at his sleeve from behind. Third Young Master Lu lowered his eyes to glance back. He heard Luo Lingyu inside the curtains say concisely: “Your complexion looks so weary today, it will arouse suspicion. Wait for me a moment, I’ll help you apply some powder to conceal it.”
Lu Yun stiffened, his expression showing some discomfort. He said softly: “Then many thanks to Sister Luo.”
Shortly after, Lu Yun had barely sat down on the couch where he’d spent the night when the lamp behind the screen was lit. Luo Lingyu hurriedly threw on an outer robe, tightened the ties of her undergarments, casually pinned up her long hair with a jade hairpin, and came carrying a cosmetics case. Sitting on the couch, she placed a small table on it and opened the makeup box. Rouge, powder, kohl, lip stain, nail polish, and other feminine cosmetics were stored in small round boxes of various colors, which Luo Lingyu laid out.
She dipped the tip of her little finger in some face powder and reached toward Lu Yun’s face.
Lu Yun leaned back somewhat resistantly.
Luo Lingyu looked up: “Don’t move.”
She said: “This is pearl powder…”
Lu Yun was surprised, asking softly: “Made from ground pearls? Luo Lingyu… are you rich or poor?”
Luo Lingyu raised her bright eyes, teasing: “It seems Third Cousin truly knows nothing of women’s matters. Pearl powder isn’t made from ground pearls, but from steaming the crushed kernels of purple four o’clock – the result is called pearl powder.”
Unusually, Third Young Master Lu’s thick lashes trembled. Luo Lingyu saw his face stiffen slightly with more embarrassment.
The lady blended several different colored powders, her cool fingers gently spreading them on his face, helping change his complexion. Observing her actions, Lu Yun relaxed a bit. Luo Lingyu couldn’t be mocking him – her technique was skilled, she must do this often. Lu Yun stared at her bare face without makeup, while his injuries still intermittently caused him pain. Yet his mind wandered chaotically: Perhaps all beauties were skilled at makeup?
Luo Lingyu was especially masterful among them.
After the lady’s hands touched the cosmetics they became ice-cold, moving freely across the young master’s face. In the dim early morning light, to see they had to lean very close, their breaths mingling in the small space between them. Deliberately, casually, their gazes crossed, their wide sleeves touched, their fingers brushed near and far, their scents drifting faintly to each other.
Lu Yun lowered his gaze to see her thin spring robe ties, her clothes in varying shades of green, the white jade belt hanging from her chest, clinging to her full bosom, trailing past her waist to rest on her skirt… Her eyes suddenly lifted to meet Third Young Master Lu’s deep ocean-like eyes.
The fingers on his face froze instantly, forgetting their task.
Lu Yun’s gaze grew dark as he stared at her quietly.
The atmosphere grew subtle, with the maidservants’ rustling movements barely audible outside, the birds and insects chirping faintly through the window, while inside the room, man and woman sat still, their breaths close… Luo Lingyu suddenly jumped back, nearly knocking over the incense boxes on the table. She turned away hastily: “That should be good enough, you can go now!”
After a long while with no sound behind her, she felt a cool breeze brush her face and clothes from behind. Slowly turning around, she saw the window lattice by the couch had been pushed open. Outside, peach blossoms were falling in fluttering waves, a few pink petals scattered through the window into the jade case holding the powder boxes on the table. It was hard to tell if it was peach blossom pink or rouge red.
And the young master who had been sitting on the couch was gone.
Luo Lingyu lowered her eyes, stood still for a moment, and then tidied up the area before returning behind the screen to continue sleeping. When she next arose, it was because the maidservant Lingyu and others called to wake her. Lingyu attended the lady as she rose to wash up, directing the other maids to change the incense in the room. Before opening the windows, Lingyu took a breath and said delightedly: “Miss, the air here is truly wonderful. Even without opening the windows all night, it doesn’t feel stuffy, there’s still a hint of freshness.”
That was because someone had already opened the window earlier.
Thinking of sharing a room with Lu Third Young Master, breathing the same air all night… After a moment’s silence, Luo Lingyu deliberately changed the subject casually: “Is everyone else awake? What are the young ladies doing?”
Lingyu answered truthfully: “The Prince of Hengyang came and said he wanted to do archery. The ladies all supported it. Miss Han thought it looked interesting and suggested the ladies should also try archery today…”
Luo Lingyu first wondered: The Prince of Hengyang? Could Lu Third Young Master’s injury from last night be related to this person? Otherwise, she couldn’t imagine why Lu Third Young Master would need to hide in her room.
Then she was shocked: What? Archery? I can’t do that!
She hurriedly asked: “All the ladies agreed?”
Lingyu made a sound of assent, not noticing Luo Lingyu’s stiff expression. She remembered something else: “Oh right, haven’t we seen Third Young Master Lu for two days now? Just earlier when delivering breakfast to the lords and ladies, I heard some maids say they had seen Third Young Master Lu.”
Lingyu sighed curiously: “Third Young Master Lu truly appears and disappears like a ghost.”
Luo Lingyu’s fingers picked at the table as she fell into thought, saying nothing.
After all the ladies were properly dressed, since they wanted to watch the young masters practice archery and try it themselves, it wasn’t convenient to stay in the Peach Blossom Villa any longer. Luo Lingyu dawdled along with the group of ladies, hearing them suggest going to the wooded hillside for archery. From what they were saying, if they could hunt some rabbits or wild boars that would be best.
The Prince of Hengyang laughed heartily – they had spoken right to his heart.
Prince Liu Mu of Hengyang’s eyes swept over Second Young Master Lu, Third Young Master Lu, and the servants behind them. There weren’t many men on this trip to Mount Zhong – even counting the cart drivers, there were only twenty-some people total. To find last night’s assassin among these twenty-some people… Liu Mu stroked his chin, his sinister eyes narrowing. Either it would be extremely easy to find them, or his subordinates had analyzed them wrong.
But if the analysis was wrong, it meant the assassin’s background was even more significant… Liu Mu’s expression grew even more unsightly.
Seeing his brother again after two days, Second Young Master Lu found it hard to speak. Lu Yun had changed out of the blood-stained robe and into a white garment. Seeing Lu Yun’s fair complexion looking even more beautiful than usual, Lu Xian couldn’t help but look a few extra times. Lu Yun was like a fresh breeze and bright moon, his face without a trace of a smile, appearing quite aloof. Even Second Young Master Lu couldn’t help but look at him twice – naturally, the ladies’ gazes hardly left him at all.
The Prince of Hengyang still wanted to do archery.
Lu Yun’s lashes trembled lightly: Since the ladies’ gazes were constantly on him, this archery might truly be impossible to fake… But with his arm severely injured, if he went to shoot arrows, any slight problem with his archery technique would reveal his injury to the Prince of Hengyang’s skilled subordinates. To test him, they would likely…
Lu Yun worried inwardly: Who knows if the emergency help from Prince Chen would arrive in time…
He walked up the mountain lost in thought. While he was absorbed in contemplation, Second Young Master Lu glanced at Luo Lingyu, then at the Prince of Hengyang. After some internal struggle, Lu Xian made up his mind and walked toward Luo Lingyu. Third Young Master Lu casually followed his second brother as they approached the ladies, going directly to Luo Lingyu’s side. Luo Lingyu was distractedly holding a small bow, examining it from all angles. Lu Xian bore the pressure of all the ladies’ stares and smiled at the preoccupied Luo Lingyu: “Cousin, do you remember the Prince of Hengyang?”
Luo Lingyu looked at him questioningly. Lu Xian smiled and turned to wave the Prince of Hengyang over, but saw the prince staring intensely at his third brother Lu Yun without looking away.
Lu Xian: “…”
As Second Young Master Lu stumbled over this, Luo Lingyu saw Third Young Master Lu who had followed behind Second Young Master Lu.
Her expression became strange: Third Young Master Lu’s face… it seemed she had applied too much powder – his features looked even more handsome than usual.
Luo Lingyu felt guilty for a moment, and as she was about to turn her face away, she heard Lu Yun’s voice: “Cousin, how is your archery?”
Luo Lingyu: “…”
Her heart stirred.
With the Prince of Hengyang behind them and the archery threat looming, Lu Yun had deliberately started a conversation with her… Luo Lingyu stared steadily, ignoring Lu Xian’s voice introducing who the Prince of Hengyang was, and met Lu Yun’s slightly lowered eyes. He mouthed the word “poison,” looking at her with a smile. In silent understanding, an agreement was reached in their exchanged glances. The Luo lady took a deep breath and said softly: “Archery? I don’t understand it, can’t do it, don’t know anything about it.”
Someone among the ladies sneered: “You don’t know how?!”
How could a noble lady not know this?
Lu Yun’s peach blossom eyes narrowed affectionately as he said: “Then I’ll teach cousin how to shoot.”
Luo Lingyu readily agreed: “Alright, thank you for the trouble, Third Cousin.”
Lu Yun: “It’s no trouble.”
The two immediately walked off together, separating from the group of ladies. Lu Yun raised his sleeve to point in a direction, Luo Lingyu nodded, smiled up at him, and went with him. Behind them, the Prince of Hengyang immediately sent someone to ask where Third Young Master Lu had gone. Upon learning he was just playing with Luo Lingyu and hadn’t left the mountain, Liu Mu stopped caring. Liu Mu sneered: They might escape the monk but not the temple – in today’s martial arts competition, every man would have to participate.
Lu Xian: “…”
He stared in shock, having spent so much effort explaining about the Prince of Hengyang, only for Luo Lingyu to completely filter it out. His third brother had said just one thing and led Luo Lingyu away. The two walked off together, their silhouettes like immortal lovers from behind. Even though he had never dreamed of his third brother having any connection with Luo Lingyu, Lu Xian couldn’t help but doubt himself now:
Had he dreamed wrong?
Could Cousin Luo truly not hear or see the Prince of Hengyang? A young nobleman in fine clothes on horseback – her future husband – was walking slowly right behind her. And the Prince of Hengyang… why hadn’t he fallen in love at first sight with Cousin Luo? Among the ladies, Cousin Luo’s beauty was outstanding, so why had the prince spent the whole time staring only at his third brother?
…And why was he half-believing and half-doubting an intangible dream?
The group of ladies were equally dumbfounded: “…”
What? Just because Luo Lingyu said she didn’t know archery, Third Young Master Lu kindly offered to teach her. Why her? Was Third Young Master Lu so kind-hearted that he would teach any lady who didn’t know archery? Heavens, what had they missed? If they had known, they would have said they didn’t know either… All the noble ladies suddenly questioned their learning, asking themselves: If I knew nothing, would I be the one Third Young Master Lu called away today?
So why did they have to know everything?
Could this be why, even after living at the Lu residence for several years, none of them could marry Third Young Master Lu?!
For a while, Second Young Master Lu and the young ladies were all somewhat dejected. Princess Ningping Liu Tang carefully observed their expressions, and after some consideration, still went to the Prince of Hengyang’s side. Only when Liu Tang quietly came over did Liu Mu notice her, somewhat surprised. This niece had such little presence…
Liu Tang called out with a blush: “Uncle.” This uncle was only a few years older than her…
Liu Mu: “Hmm, what are you doing here? Did you notice anything unusual last night?”
Liu Tang spoke softly: “I came here to play, brother told me to go out more. I didn’t notice anything unusual.”
Liu Mu made a sound of acknowledgment. As he walked a bit further, he found Liu Tang still following him. Liu Mu raised an eyebrow, looking at this niece who wasn’t much younger than him. After some internal struggle, Liu Tang’s voice remained soft: “Sister Luo asked if I wanted to participate in this year’s Flower Goddess selection, I want to participate…”
Liu Mu, completely uninterested in Jianye’s Flower Goddess matter, casually encouraged her: “Oh, that’s good. Work hard!”
Liu Tang: “Then will you give me your vote when the time comes?”
Liu Mu remained very casual: “Sure.”
Liu Tang immediately became happy, not expecting the votes to be so easy to get, and she had so many brothers, uncles, great-uncles… there were quite a lot of imperial family members. It’s just that compared to the noble families… she hoped her brothers would help her compete.
They left Peach Blossom Villa and entered the forest. After walking a short while, everyone stopped to prepare the venue, moving targets and supports, ready to begin the archery competition. The Prince of Hengyang had lazily followed these nobles out sightseeing, just waiting for this moment. Finally persevering until archery could begin, Liu Mu, who had been slouching with drooping eyelids nearly falling asleep, came back to life, full of energy, rolling up his sleeves and pushing away Princess Ningping: “I’ll go first! Warm things up for everyone!”
The ladies enthusiastically welcomed him: A handsome young nobleman was very popular!
Flowers and fruits were thrown to show affection!
“The Prince of Hengyang is truly handsome. A young hero!”
“Young Master Liu is so handsome… Ah, marrying to Hengyang wouldn’t be bad.”
Teased boldly by the ladies, Liu Mu’s face darkened: …Jianye’s noble ladies were frightening.
Because there were few young men, one round of archery competition didn’t take much time. Liu Mu watched keenly with his attendants, constantly observing the sightseeing nobles, but truly couldn’t find anyone seriously injured. They did find a cart driver with a sprained ankle, but he was completely different from last night’s assassin!
Finally, even the scholar Lu Xian, Second Young Master Lu, drew a bow, and though Liu Mu’s eyes were twitching from staring so hard, he still couldn’t find that person. Liu Mu’s eyes swept through the crowd: “Where’s Third Young Master Lu? Still hasn’t returned?”
A servant ran over to Second Young Master Lu and said a few words. Lu Xian’s expression showed slight surprise, and after pondering, he turned to relay the message to the Prince of Hengyang. With many people passing on the message, the ladies also heard: “Third Young Master Lu is teaching Miss Luo to draw a bow at a peak not far from here.”
Liu Mu: “They’ve been at it for an hour, haven’t they? Still not done?”
He narrowed his eyes, mind full of suspicious thoughts, his probing gaze glancing toward Second Young Master Lu, wanting him to give a suitable explanation. After being silent for a long while, Lu Xian forced out: “Perhaps Cousin Luo is a bit slow to learn?”
Liu Mu: “…”
Among the ladies, Miss Han was eagerly waiting for Third Young Master Lu, but he still hadn’t appeared even now, making her heart extremely frustrated. Now impatient, Miss Han simply suggested: “Let’s go see how Third Cousin teaches Sister Luo to shoot.”
Liu Mu thought for a moment and nodded.
The large group noisily followed the servant’s lead up the mountain. Halfway up, as the sun climbed higher, sweat gradually appeared on their foreheads. As people were growing tired, someone exclaimed and pointed: “Look over there!”
The Prince of Hengyang, Second Young Master Lu, and others all looked up in the indicated direction. The mountain path went up, winding through layer upon layer of indistinct green. A hill jutted out diagonally from the lush mountain path, with misty clouds wrapping around it and floating in the sky. They saw the young handsome nobleman standing behind them, completely enveloping the beautiful lady in his embrace. Standing on the mountaintop, longbow in hand, the lady’s archery posture was being corrected into the most proper form by the nobleman supporting her hands and shoulders from behind.
Lu Yun appeared to be embracing Luo Lingyu from behind.
Long robes flew like clouds, surrounded by green trees and misty clouds, the two standing high up practicing archery looked like immortals.
Everyone below was stunned by the sight.
On the mountaintop, after resting for more than an hour, when the crowd came to watch, Lu Yun finally rose to help correct Luo Lingyu’s archery posture. He loosely embraced her from behind, their breathing synchronized, the two appearing to be intimately close. Luo Lingyu’s hand rested on the bow while Lu Yun also held her hand. The bow was gradually drawn to full, forming an arc pointing high toward the blue sky.
Luo Lingyu lowered her eyes, a smile on her lips, and said softly to Lu Yun: “Is this alright now? The Prince of Hengyang won’t suspect you anymore?”
Lu Yun, while seriously teaching her archery on the surface, laughed quietly: “He’ll still be suspicious… but he won’t be able to tell if I’m injured or not. I must thank Cousin Luo for helping share the force, otherwise if I drew the bow alone, my wound would have torn open again.”
Luo Lingyu sneered: “It’s fine. Just remember to give me the antidote afterward.”
A flash of amusement crossed Lu Yun’s eyes as he tightened his grip on her hand. He corrected her into the standard posture, drawing the bow together with her. The bowstring was drawn to its tightest, eyes fixed on the direction of the sun, Luo Lingyu’s hair damp, sweat seeping from her forehead. The nobleman behind her still held her hand without letting go. After waiting who knows how long, until Luo Lingyu was nearly distracted, Lu Yun suddenly shouted: “Release!”
Startled by his sudden voice, Luo Lingyu’s hand trembled, but as the arrow was about to loose, Lu Yun steadily pushed the bow upward. With a twang, the black arrow flew from their fingertips toward the sky.
The crowd below raised their heads, watching as the two figures on the cloudy peak finally released their arrow. The long arrow was sharp and fierce in its flight. Two wild geese flew up from the forest below, beating their wings and crying out as they circled in the air. As their wings beat lightly, the black arrow arrived, piercing straight through.
On the mountaintop, the nobleman and lady’s clothes flew in the wind, a dazzling sight. The sunlight burst forth brilliantly, shining on the two of them, making them appear otherworldly. Surrounded by clouds and trees, the talented youth and beautiful maiden drawing bow and arrow… the crowd below watched without blinking. The two wild geese fell, letting out shrill cries!
Standing on the mountaintop, Luo Lingyu was overjoyed: “I hit it – I hit it!”
She had a day when she hit something with an arrow!
Lu Yun bent down, seeing the lady’s bright eyes, his heart skipped a beat. Luo Lingyu was so shocked and elated that she forgot the much-disliked Third Young Master Lu was behind her. She happily turned her head, and her red lips brushed against something soft and cool behind her.
Luo Lingyu’s body stiffened: “…”
What had her lips touched?!