Translator – Xiao He Lian
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Chapter 38
The white moonlight dragged the man’s silhouette long.
Although the candles in the inner room of Chunxi Hall were dimmed, the lights on the corridor were still on. He slowly walked in and there was silence inside. The silver hook on the bedside fell down and the curtains were hanging to the floor. Her breathing was steady, obviously she was asleep.
Lu Yan measured Shen Zhen’s back with his eyes, and couldn’t help but ask himself: For such a grown up as himself, is it worth for him to dedicate his entire previous lifetime for a sixteen-year-old girl?
Thinking of this, the root of his teeth felt irritated and he couldn’t even drink two glasses of cold water to suppress the fire in his heart.
After calming down, he recalled his recent actions one by one. Whether he was testing her with Fuman’s incense on his body or testing her with words today, in fact, it was not like something he would do.
Nor something he should have done.
The man’s brows furrowed, and his face looked much heavier than the night outside.
Speaking of Lu Yan’s temper, it was actually not entirely his fault. He has been pampered since he was a child and his life of wanting the moon in the sky, where no one dares to pick stars for him1(pamper him). If he hadn’t suffered some hardships by taking the imperial examination and becoming an official, no one would know what kind of temperament he would have had.
Speaking of which, the third young lady of the Shen family was probably the first one he couldn’t resist.
Not to mention being unable to resist, Lu Yan even felt that he couldn’t afford to offend her.
In fact, what could he not understand about a little girl? The extremely vicious people in Jingzhao Prefecture Prison didn’t dare to have any evil thoughts when they saw him. If he really wanted to deal with Shen Zhen, there was no way he couldn’t do it.
He is capable of coercing and tempting and as long as he is ruthless, he can also make Shen Zhen behave like a caged bird.
But he couldn’t do it.
Besides, if he really made her cry, he would be the one who suffered in the end. What about her? After wiping her tears, she is still the one who goes to bed early and gets up early and is in good health.
In vain, he had always thought that he had the ability to strategize and his special treatment of Shen Zhen was just because of his heart disease. But what were the results? He didn’t have this disease in his previous life, but his outcome wasn’t much better…
He died at the age of twenty-seven and she married someone else, which was truly wonderful.
Lu Yan walked to the bedside, untied his girdle, took off his clothes, stood up slightly and lay beside her and deliberately flipped twice.
Since Shen Zhen became his mistress, she has developed the ability to sense elegance through listening to the strings2(“Knowing elegance after listening to string music ” means that the person is very smart and can understand other people’s hidden meanings.). When he frowned, she knew that this person’s weird temper was coming up again.
Her heart moved, she turned around, hurriedly covered him with the quilt and said softly: “My Lord, it’s cold at night.”
Don’t know what kind of magic power these five words have but when Lu Yan heard it, it was like a warm current from the immortal spring, pouring directly into his heart and nourishing his heart and lungs.
His expression didn’t change and he gave a low “hmm”.
Perhaps because of the wind, Lu Yan’s throat became slightly itchy and he coughed twice involuntarily.
Shen Zhen stood up after hearing the sound, put on her shoes and quickly brought him a glass of water, “My Lord, are you tired?”
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
In Shen Zhen’s eyes, although Lu Yan’s temper was unbearable, she still recognized his “business ability”. When he was busy, he often didn’t have time to sleep or eat. She once thought that his body might be made of iron.
Lu Yan sat up, took two sips and said in a deep voice, “Look like I woke you up.”
Listening to this solemn tone, who would have thought that there is still some awkwardness in it?
Shen Zhen really didn’t hear it either. She really didn’t care about sleeping. After all, she spends most of her time in Chunxi Hall without going out. She has nothing to do and can catch up on her sleep in the afternoon.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhen couldn’t help but say sincerely: “I don’t mind, your body is more important.”
Lu Yan lowered his head to look at her eyes, which were sparkling, as if there were stars reflected on the lake. However, the clearer it is, the more it feels like he is performing a one-man show as if joy and anger were his alone.
He gently pinched her face and sighed, “Go to sleep.”
The two lay down together and fell asleep, he placed his hands on her waist out of habit.
——
Time flies by like a flash and soon it’s the Lantern Festival.
Although Yangzhou’s Lantern Festival celebrations are not as grand as those in Chang’an, at least one can still see the grand scene of thousands of lights. Starting from the south gate to the Wansui Bridge, thousands of lanterns will be hanged to pray for blessings.
The decoration of the Twenty-Four Bridge is even more gorgeous. The bridges were connected with thick hemp ropes, and flags and ribbons of various colors were hung on them, including rouge, purple, dark blue and emerald green. Next to each ribbon, there will be a lantern of the same color.
When they were lit up together, it was extremely shocking, as if they had really arrived in the ninth heaven.
Today, Zhao Chong held a banquet at home and specially invited Lu Yan and Fuman to go.
They got into two carriages. Liu momo looked around and asked Fuman in a low voice: “Madam, why don’t we see Steward Yang today?” Steward Yang was referring to Yang Zong.
Fuman curled her lips and said, “Don’t you know what type of person our Lord is yet? He must be worried about Concubine Qin.”
Seeing this, Liu momo smiled and comforted Fuman: “Madam, don’t be angry, I see that the master has you in his heart now, otherwise he wouldn’t have rewarded you with so many things on New Year’s Eve.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Fuman’s eyes turned red, “Momo please don’t mention New Year’s Eve. When you mention New Year’s Eve, it made me think about Master secretly going out with Concubine Qin.”
Liu momo said “Oh” twice in a row and said hurriedly: “New Year’s Eve is with that person. Isn’t the Master here to accompany you at the Lantern Festival? I have something today, but I don’t know whether to say it or not.”
Fuman wiped the corner of her eyes and said, “Momo is the person I am closest to, feel free to say it.”
Liu momo quickly said: “Men have always liked women with a sense of propriety. It’s just a matter of jealousy and interest. If the lady goes against that person from Chunxi Hall every day, she might get annoyed one day. Men like Young Master Wei, who are picky and generous, are destined to have more and more people in their backyard. Even if you get angry today, is it possible for you to keep getting angry everyday?”
Fuman nodded and after a while he said, “Thank you, momo, for your advice.” There was indescribable bitterness in her tone.
Even Liu momo shook her head after hearing this.
It has to be said that Fuman’s acting skills have recently reached the pinnacle of perfection. For example, she went to Chunxi Hall and she cried to Lu Yan in front of Liu momo and she snatched the power of the steward. It seemed that she had done everything that could make the house turn into chaos.
So in Liu momo’s mind, the young lady is quite motivated. Otherwise she wouldn’t have said those words so sincerely.
The carriage stopped in front of the governor’s mansion, and Lu Yan took Fuman into the governor’s residence.
——
Chunxi Hall.
Yang Zong said to Shen Zhen: “Master asked me to take Miss Shen to leave immediately without waiting for him. We will meet together at Decheng.”
Shen Zhen was a little nervous.
It’s okay if he was sending her away because he was afraid that she would hold him back but he was actually sending her away because he was just afraid that she will be in danger, so he was letting her leave first.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhen asked: “What will happen today, will it be dangerous?”
To say there is no danger would be a lie. Zhao Chong is a suspicious person. Ever since Nie Yuan and Pang Shu entered the capital, he has been particularly sensitive to everything around him. Even the number of soldiers in the government has doubled.
The relationships around him haven’t changed but don’t know who these soldiers were guarding against.
At present, imperial power is at its peak. Although the Emperor does not allow the governor to recruit too many troops, Zhao Chong’s soldiers stationed in Yangzhou cannot be underestimated. What’s more, according to what they know, Zhao Chong still has many private soldiers and excellent weapons.
So it is not possible to fight head on.
“The reinforcements from the Emperor are outside the city now. We will be safe once we pass the city.” Yang Zong was able to avoid the important details and explain it clearly to Shen Zhen.
Decheng is still far away from Yangzhou. Do they have to climb over mountains and ridges to get there?
Shen Zhen knew that she would be better off if she didn’t hold him back, so she quickly took Tangyue and left Heron Garden with Yang Zong.
Yang Zong led Shen Zhen all the way to the west. The road they were walking on was not the way they came.
As soon as she left Yangzhou City, Shen Zhen saw a large number of refugees, including refugees with their families. Most of them were women and children, skinny as a stick, as if they would faint if they took one more step.
Seeing this scene, Shen Zhen realized why the imperial court wanted to deal with these corrupt officials and advocate corruption. Labor and taxes were a burden on the people. If it was too heavy, the people would either never be able to straighten their backs again or all that is left for them is to rebel.
After running for a day and a night, they finally reached the end of Wangshan Mountain. Shen Zhen stood on the top of the mountain and looked in the direction of Yangzhou City, ” Yang Zong, did Master take the waterway or the official road?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly heard a few “boom boom” sounds, and on the Yangzhou Canal not far away, two ships were lit up with large fires…
