Under the scorching sun, the middle-aged man continued grumbling as he watched the ox carts and fine horses pass by their hiding place in the bushes. His crude words and tone revealed both his longing for the upper-class nobility and his lowly origins – he clearly couldn’t be some forgotten noble. After the Lu family’s convoy passed, the middle-aged man and young man returned to the road, continuing to pose as refugees, begging everywhere. The middle-aged man felt indignant, coveting every smile and gesture of the beautiful Luo Lingyu while envying the elegant demeanor of the gentleman who had spoken with her – a bearing completely different from people like themselves…

Elegant, ah. How many gentlemen in this world could truly be called “elegant”?

The middle-aged man: “Pah! I’ll sleep with that beauty sooner or later.”

The young man beside him seemed to finally tire of his endless discussion about that noble lady and said: “Remember our mission in Jianye. The master didn’t send you to look at beauties.”

The middle-aged man flew into a rage, slapping the young man’s face beside him. The youth looked only fourteen or fifteen, though his gloomy features made him appear slightly more mature. But when the middle-aged man’s palm struck, it immediately knocked him to the ground. The youth’s forehead hit a stone on the ground, instantly causing blood to flow. When he got up without making a sound, the middle-aged man kicked him again.

The middle-aged man continued muttering: “Heh, what would an unweaned brat like you know! When Jianye falls, beauties like that will be everywhere. Then I’ll imitate those nobles, embracing women left and right, taking three wives and four concubines…”

He giggled at his thoughts, his eyes narrowing, his expression becoming lewd, drool nearly dripping to the ground. The young man beside him fell silent again, making the middle-aged man suddenly feel bored, so he could only stretch lazily, hastily ending the topic – “What’s the point of talking to a little broken kid like you? After we finish this job and I make it big, I’ll first hide in the mountains for a few years, not caring what war the Southern and Northern States want to fight.”

“They… they brought this all on themselves!”

For Luo Lingyu, the chance encounter with the middle-aged man and young man on the road was merely an insignificant interlude. Now sitting in the swaying ox cart, she was looking Lu Yun up and down instead. She hadn’t seen Lu Yun for about ten days, and he had suddenly come to find her, covered in dust from travel…

“Where is Sister Lingyu going?”

“To Danyang. Are you coming along?”

“Mm,” Lu Yun sat casually, curling his lip at the beauty in the carriage, as if suddenly remembering something, “Your betrothed left Jianye today, did you know?”

Fan Qingchen?

Luo Lingyu was suddenly delighted: “Really? He’s finally gone? That’s wonderful!”

Although she still hadn’t managed to cancel the marriage, that could be worked on gradually. As long as Fan Qingchen wasn’t watching her every day, making her constantly fear he might suddenly have an episode, that would be good. Now it seemed Fan Lang still had his rationality intact – while in Jianye, he hadn’t caused any major disturbances. Now he had even left without warning, making Luo Lingyu want to set off firecrackers…

Lu Yun spoke indifferently: “You’re that happy? The reason he had to leave without even having time to see you once is because war has broken out in Nanyang. Your Luo family’s main branch is still in Nanyang, don’t you care?”

Luo Lingyu: “Whether I care or not, what difference would it make? Would it change the current situation? Brother Xuchen, you don’t expect me to be like a Second Cousin, praying day and night to the gods for blessings, do you? Do you believe in gods and Buddha? I don’t. I spend my days helping disaster victims and refugees – regardless of what I think inside, at least I’m doing good deeds, right? Why do you care whether I’m truly kind-hearted or just seeking fame?”

Speaking of Lu Erlang Lu Xian, it was truly strange.

Lu Erlang used to be reserved and steady, spending his days immersed in books and traveling mountains and waters – how normal a noble gentleman he had been. But since Lu Erlang disappeared and returned last month, he had become rather peculiar. Lu Erlang filled his courtyard with altars to gods and Buddha, worshipping all three schools – Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism – praying to every deity, his thoughts unknown.

It worried Lady Lu so much she thought her son was gravely ill, causing her daily anxiety.

Not mentioning his second brother, Lu Yun gave a light laugh, speaking languorously: “Then I was narrow-minded, I apologize to Sister Lingyu. But I hear that while also helping refugees, Lady Chen provides them daily with qingtuan, glutinous rice balls, and zongzi, feeding people well, making the refugees plump and healthy – they call her the ‘Female Bodhisattva.’ Other ladies also show their various abilities. How is it that with you, it’s just steamed buns or plain porridge, never seeing any more refined foods?”

Luo Lingyu’s face instantly reddened.

She was so poor! Working with Zhou Lang to build a good reputation was enough – did Lu Yun expect her to truly become a female Bodhisattva like Chen Xiu? Why did he have such deep prejudices against her?

Lu Yun’s consistently high expectations of her made her feel resentful, yet also annoyed at herself for always being looked down upon by him. Luo Lingyu spoke with slight anger: “What do you think is the reason?”

Lu Yun: “I think it’s because Sister Lingyu has experienced hardship before, knowing that what refugees need most is not refined food, but simply enough to fill their stomachs. At the same time, they shouldn’t be pampered long-term – Sister Lingyu understands the principle that excessive nurturing breeds trouble.”

Luo Lingyu paused for a moment.

Meeting the black eyes under Lu Yun’s slightly raised lashes – this time, he truly wasn’t criticizing her for not being kind enough.

He was subtly warning her to be careful. Refugees were pitiful, and helping them was right, but too much wasn’t necessary – moderate help was sufficient. Who knew what kind of people they were helping? Lu Yun himself, as a scholar-official, was now busy with the Prince of Chen handling war, relief efforts, and reserve forces – his position was obvious. While everyone on the surface praised the noble ladies’ charitable acts, grateful they had solved a problem for everyone, Lu Yun’s attitude was…

Completely different from the magnanimity and tolerance the court needed to show.

Mischief rose in Luo Lingyu’s eyes as she tilted her head, smiling and biting her lip: “Brother Xuchen, you’re truly not a good person.”

Yet he matched her views perfectly.

In that instant, as their eyes met, they felt the rare delight of finding kindred spirits. They were both somewhat selfish at their core, thinking first of protecting themselves even while doing great good. It was just that Lu Yun usually disguised it more successfully, while Luo Lingyu’s skills at pretense fell somewhat short of his.

Luo Lingyu’s heart stirred again.

Lu Yun used to constantly criticize her for not being kind enough, but now he worried she was too kind… This person – either he had suddenly changed his views, or he had started treating her as one of his own to look after?

The lady’s bright eyes rippled with emotion, full of tender feelings. Lu Yun couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Her flirtatious, suggestive gazes that seemed to hold back words always pleased him. As long as she didn’t look at other gentlemen this way… but he was usually too busy to know whether Luo Lingyu had flirted with other men. Lu Yun casually changed the topic: “Did sister meet any interesting people while at the mountain temples?”

Luo Lingyu didn’t know what he meant, naturally shaking her head.

Lu Yun: “Then you must have at least burned incense and prayed to Buddha and the Bodhisattvas?”

Luo Lingyu pouted: “How could one enter a Buddhist hall without praying? Of course, I prayed.”

Lu Yun’s eyes watched her, seemingly intrigued: “Then what did you pray for?”

Luo Lingyu replied with complete composure: “Naturally for peace and prosperity in the nation, and for the northern war to end quickly, things like that.”

Lu Yun’s smile deepened at the corners of his lips, his eyebrows lifting slightly. His raised eyebrows were particularly alluring, often making Luo Lingyu stare at his brow bone, wanting to transform into something that could cover it. Lu Yun said nothing, but the pressure of his gaze remained. Under his fixed stare, Luo Lingyu held out for a while before finally stammering out the truth: “…And also praying to marry a good husband, that sort of thing. Nothing else!”

Lu Yun: “…You’re still praying to gods and Buddha for a good husband? Didn’t I tell you, if you want to marry well, you’d be better off praying to me than to Buddha?” After a pause, he said, “Why are you in such a hurry to marry?”

Luo Lingyu thought to herself, what use is praying to you! You won’t propose to marry me yourself, yet you won’t let others marry me. Luo Lingyu asked in return: “What’s wrong with wanting to marry? I’ve reached the age of marriage, and with no elders to make decisions for me, can’t I decide for myself? If one person doesn’t want to marry me, surely there are plenty of others who do.”

Lu Yun frowned slightly.

The past of losing his parents early, even though long ago, had still left some traces in his heart, making Lu Yun skeptical of matters of love and marriage, feeling they held little meaning. If love was so deep it made one lose sight of one’s responsibilities, what was the point? If there was no love, only responsibility, what was the point of marriage?

Years of psychological shadow made Lu Yun dislike discussing marriage so early. He seemed to need to prove something, though perhaps even he couldn’t clearly say what he wanted to prove. Moreover, he felt Luo Lingyu’s feelings for him weren’t deep enough, making marriage seem rash. But Luo Lingyu was always hinting at and urging him in her words… Lu Yun: “Marriage without love will only end in separation, so why bother?”

Luo Lingyu retorted: “Love without marriage, where’s the security?”

Both their faces turned ashen, and they stopped speaking.

The ox cart swayed gently, and though they weren’t sitting far apart when the carriage jolted slightly, Luo Lingyu’s body swayed and nearly fell. Lu Yun, sitting diagonally opposite, reached out to grasp her hand, steadying her back into her seat. Luo Lingyu tried to pull her hand away but found she couldn’t.

After a pause, Lu Yun across from her smiled helplessly: “Alright, I spoke wrongly, don’t be angry anymore.”

Luo Lingyu snorted once, turning her head away without responding, but suddenly felt her fingertips going numb where he held them. She looked over to see Lu Yun holding her hand, his eyelids lowered. He glanced at her, slowly lowering his head, his lips gently touching her fingertips, kissing them once.

Like a feather.

The gentleman’s eyes lifted, sparks dancing, light lingering. His lips curved in a smile as he sucked gently on her fingertip again: “Don’t be angry anymore, mm?”

Starting from her finger bones, Luo Lingyu felt her entire arm going numb – she felt embarrassed in her heart, secretly hating that her skill level wasn’t as high as Lu Yun’s. He hadn’t even moved to sit beside her, just grabbed her hand and kissed it, but when he raised his eyes to look at her, she already felt her soul turning upside down, intoxicated by the expression on his features.

Her bones had all turned soft.

Luo Lingyu’s breathing became slightly irregular as she turned her head away with a red face, again trying hard to pull her hand free. He held it steadily, and she truly couldn’t pull away. Luo Lingyu secretly thought that she must practice her skills another day, she couldn’t let Lu Yun keep overwhelming her like this… As the two were engaged in this tug-of-war, Lu Yun sighed softly, pulling her entire person over to sit in his embrace.

The gentleman’s breath intermingled with hers as his voice turned hoarse and entranced: “Lingyu…”

His lips pressed against her face, creating a tingling sensation that felt both near and far. Luo Lingyu’s spine stiffened as she secretly gritted her teeth, thinking of resistance, but his embrace held her without restraint, neither confining her nor letting her leave. The perfect distance, with undeniable intimacy… his face pressed right against hers.

Desire clouds wisdom.

Even beauties can be moved by beauty.

Moreover, because they are beautiful, beauties usually have higher standards for “beauty” than ordinary people. When superior beauty pressed and rubbed against her, calling “Lingyu” tenderly and repeatedly, she could only see his thick dark lashes covering his eyes from the corner of her vision, and she couldn’t help but become entranced, her heart wavering.

Lu Yun’s eyes held mischief.

When he kissed her, she unconsciously opened her mouth, letting his tongue gently stir within.

…They had differences in their views on marriage. But when it came to kissing and embracing, they seemed to not disagree at all.

She had always quite enjoyed Lu Yun’s kisses.

Lu Yun tilted his head to peck her lips, and seeing her token resistance, deepened the kiss.

That kind of kiss – holding her chin, forcing her to look up, then delivering a gentle, soft, passionate kiss to her lips… Perhaps sometimes he wasn’t truly moved, but when he kissed someone, it felt so passionate, their lips and teeth entangling as if they would follow each other through life and death for all eternity. Luo Lingyu’s heart yearned for such intense feelings; her hands, which at first just rested on his sleeves, had wrapped around his neck like vines by the time he was holding her waist tightly.

Their breathing became irregular.

The narrow carriage grew sultry.

Summer indeed made people sweat profusely.

Lu Yun’s knee pressed forward, sliding between her legs. He looked down once, suddenly pushing the lady down, his kisses no longer lingering just on her lips but wandering below her ear and neck. The skin of her neck was like porcelain jade, fragrant to the touch. He brushed it lightly, watching her become bewildered and enchanted, her chest rising and falling, clearly not having processed what was happening. Lu Yun’s hand moved to her chest, experimentally kneading once…

Luo Lingyu’s body tensed, a sound escaping her mouth: “Mm…”

The sound like a cat’s mew was swallowed by the gentleman.

His gaze changed slightly, his movements suddenly becoming fierce.

Luo Lingyu’s voice trembled: “Brother… Xuchen… no, no, we can’t…”

Lu Yun grabbed her hand – the lady’s hand bones were delicate – and he lowered his head to kiss her wrist. Pushing up her sleeve, he kissed the silver bracelet on her arm. It was the one he had given her; amusement rose in his eyes as his kisses grew increasingly tender. The space was cramped, but private desires expanded. Sweat beaded on Lu Yun’s forehead; when his mouth grew dry, he felt she was like a bowl of clear water within his reach. Lu Sanlang’s mind filled with improper thoughts, gradually becoming murky, and just as he was kissing her with a particular passion… a sleepy yawn came from beside them: “Sister, Third Cousin, what are you doing…”

Luo Lingyu and Lu Yun: “…!”

Lu Yun’s face instantly froze. He turned his head to see the young lady crawling out from under the blanket thrown on the floor in the corner of the carriage – Luo Yunwan. Luo Yunwan’s fine hair was messy, some of it sticking to her face with sweat. Her small face was pink from sleep, her eyes drowsy. As the carriage swayed heavily, she crawled up from the floor to sit, rubbing her eyes in confusion as she looked at the gentleman pressing her sister against the carriage wall.

The two adults were so close they seemed about to meld into each other’s bones… Luo Yunwan’s interest was piqued: “Third Cousin, when did you arrive? What are you playing with my sister?”

Lu Yun’s face turned icy.

He gritted his teeth at the lady beneath him: “Why didn’t you tell me Wan’er was here?”

Luo Lingyu had forgotten about her sister herself, being so dazed by his kisses, but she wouldn’t admit it: “…Such a big person sleeping under the blanket, you didn’t see her yourself, yet you blame me for not reminding you.”

Lu Yun’s face turned black as ink.

When he first got in the carriage, he had only seen Luo Lingyu. She was so strikingly beautiful that she was the only person he saw in the entire carriage, shining like a bright pearl before his eyes. Yet she blamed him for not looking around? But Lu Yun also didn’t want to admit he had only seen her from start to finish… lest this young woman become smug.

The lady and gentleman separated, each sitting on opposite sides. Luo Lingyu awkwardly tried to comfort her newly awakened sister, while Luo Yunwan still looked up with a wronged expression asking: “What were you and Third Cousin playing? Why didn’t you tell me? Can’t I play with Third Cousin too?”

Luo Lingyu shifted responsibility: “If you want to find him, go ahead…”

Lu Yun shot her a cold glance from the side, forcing her to change her words: “Be quiet, Wan’er! Go back to sleep!”

Luo Yunwan: “…”

Having just woken up only to have a blanket thrown over her face by her sister and being forced to continue sleeping, she truly found it extremely strange. She couldn’t sleep, so she poked her little head out from under the blanket to see her sister and Third Cousin sitting so far apart… especially Third Cousin, who was sitting with his back to her and her sister.

Luo Yunwan’s heart was full of questions, but seeing how embarrassed the two adults seemed, she could only suppress her questions, deciding to investigate on her own.

This awkwardness continued until they reached Danyang Prefecture City, where Lu Yun hurriedly got off the carriage before the two sisters, leaving without looking back.

That day, Luo Lingyu exchanged greetings with the other young ladies visiting the Lu family in Danyang Prefecture city and played together with them in the evening. Lu Erlang came by for a round in the evening, and while the young ladies of the family waited eagerly, they never saw Third Cousin appear. The young ladies said dejectedly that Third Cousin was even worse than before – at least he used to show his face at the beginning, but now he didn’t show his face at all… Luo Lingyu guiltily drank her tea, guessing that Lu Yun was neglecting the family’s young ladies because he didn’t want to see her.

But of course, she wouldn’t say that.

Sitting among the Lu family’s young ladies, Princess Liu Tang of Ningping stood out as rather different. Who knew how Liu Tang had also ended up with the Lu family… As soon as Luo Lingyu looked over, the little princess nervously knocked over her teacup, frantically cleaning up with a red face.

She had no idea what the little princess was being shy about.

Liu Tang had been invited by Lady Lu. After learning that her son had been with Princess Ningping during those days he was missing, Lady Lu invited Liu Tang over as soon as the family’s young ladies came to visit. Liu Tang felt very uncomfortable, not knowing what she was supposed to do sitting among all the young ladies, or why Lady Lu smiled at her so strangely.

By early the next morning, Liu Tang was surprisingly called up early by Luo Lingyu. Luo Lingyu explained helplessly: “…Aunt asked me to show you Second Cousin’s courtyard here.”

Liu Tang was confused: “Why?”

Luo Lingyu guessed a bit in her heart. Probably Lady Lu had set her sights on the princess as a daughter-in-law for her son but feared that Luo Lingyu, as a cousin, might cause her son’s heart to stray. So Lady Lu simply used Liu Tang to warn Luo Lingyu – hinting that Luo Lingyu should know her place and curry favor with Lu Erlang’s future wife, rather than trying to attract Lu Erlang.

Lady Lu was still so wary of Luo Lingyu.

Luo Lingyu didn’t know whether to feel proud of her beauty or disappointed that Lady Lu still didn’t trust her character.

Danyang City was some distance from the Taichu Palace in Jianye. When the Lu family came to Danyang City to escape the heat, the Lu family gentlemen had to leave early in the morning for court. Luo Lingyu calculated the time, thinking Lu Erlang should have left, before taking Liu Tang to visit Lu Erlang’s courtyard. Unexpectedly, Lu Erlang had the day off and didn’t need to go to court.

Luo Lingyu and Liu Tang were bewildered to witness Lu Erlang’s feat of burning incense and worshipping Buddha early in the morning.

Seeing the two of them, Lu Erlang even invited them to burn incense in the Buddhist hall. Liu Tang enthusiastically followed along, while Luo Lingyu stood outside the door curtain, looking at Lu Erlang with a strange expression: “Didn’t Confucius say not to speak of strange powers and supernatural things? I remember Aunt’s maiden family traditionally followed Confucian studies. Would Aunt allow you, Second Cousin, to burn incense and worship Buddha every day, filling the room with smoke?”

“Shh!” Lu Xian coughed, “This mustn’t be known to my mother.”

Lu Erlang mysteriously pulled the graceful young lady aside to whisper in her ear, sighing: “Cousin, you don’t know how many things in this world deserve reverence. I didn’t believe it before either, but after experiencing certain things, I now believe it all. If it weren’t for me, how could you and Third Brother have such a good outcome?”

Luo Lingyu: …Did she and Lu Sanlang have any good outcome? She still couldn’t achieve her dream of marriage!

Luo Lingyu’s interest waned as she perfunctorily responded to Lu Erlang.

Lu Xian naturally had countless words on the tip of his tongue, but they weren’t suitable to speak, leaving him full of worried thoughts. How could he tell his cousin that he had once had prophetic dreams? It was through that dream that he could bring his cousin and third brother together. Since June 19th, Lu Xian had not dreamed again. He vaguely felt that that day was truly a turning point, that he had changed the story from his dream.

Because the line of fate had changed, the events from his dream would no longer happen, so he didn’t need to dream anymore.

His heart was full of accomplishment, but with no one to boast to, Lu Erlang also felt extremely bitter.

Now everything was developing in a good direction – originally there had been continuous disasters in the north, but now the losses were halved. Originally the old emperor would have been poisoned by this time, but now after he had caught the Prince of Hengyang, probably fearing he might let something slip, the prince no longer had such intentions. Even in July, when in the original dream Lu Sanlang had been heartbroken and wanted to flee to the border to avoid Luo Lingyu’s impending engagement to the Prince of Hengyang, this hadn’t happened…

Lu Erlang looked at Luo Lingyu with a gentle smile.

Luo Lingyu: …Aunt’s worries were right. She also felt that Second Cousin seemed to truly like her…

Lu Sanlang Lu Yun stood at the courtyard gate, his expression changing slightly as he saw how Lu Erlang looked at Luo Lingyu, so… tenderly?

Lu Yun coughed once. Lu Xian turned around and finally saw him. Luo Lingyu was still accompanying the princess in worshipping Buddha, so Lu Xian naturally came to welcome his third brother. As the two gentlemen discussed court matters, while Lu Erlang was still feeling satisfied with the fate he had changed, he heard Lu Sanlang ponder for a moment before saying: “With the northern war in chaos, I’m thinking of going to the border…”

Lu Erlang suddenly: “…?!”

He immediately shouted sternly: “I forbid it!”

Lu Yun was startled by his second brother’s suddenly raised voice.

Under the willow’s clear breeze, Luo Lingyu and Liu Tang, who had just come down the steps, were also frightened by Lu Erlang’s shout and looked over.

Lu Yun’s shoulders were shaken by his emotionally agitated second brother: “Third Brother, you stay obediently in Jianye, you’re not allowed to go anywhere! If you want to go to the border, you’ll have to step over my dead body first!”

Lu Yun was stunned: “…If I’m not going then I’m not going, why such extremes?”

Had his second brother gone mad?