Volume 1 Chapter 1 Lu Xuan

  The spring meaning gradually turned deep, and the green between heaven and earth had already changed from light to dark.

  Lu Yu kicked the wooden clog, using this action to shake off the mud on her way. Looking at a peach blossom not far away on her left side, she quickened her pace a bit more.

  Fifteen-year-old Lu Yue's figure had already shown the elegance of a young girl, although her long-term malnutrition made her face pale, but she had clear and beautiful features, with a faintly cold expression, even in coarse clothes and grass shoes, giving people an unusual village girl feeling.

  Before long, a Taoist temple with three large characters "Xuanyuan Temple" appeared in front of me.

  She squinted at the sun and thought to herself: Just made it on time! She let out a sigh of relief and quickened her pace.

  As Lu Xue walked towards the Taoist temple, she didn't notice that on the stone steps to the left of the temple, about 200 paces away from her, a pair of young men and women stopped talking and turned their heads in her direction under a cluster of pear blossoms.

  She gazed at him for a moment, the girl in her embroidered dress, beautifully made up with a hint of rouge on her cheeks, smiled and said to the man: "Zeng Lang, your Ah Yuan has arrived."

  The girl spoke a little slowly, with a crisp tone, in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, where Confucianism was most prosperous and the customs were the most beautiful, giving people a particularly elegant feeling.

  Although elegant in tone, the girl's words carried a hint of jealousy.

  When the young girl said this, Zeng Lang turned his head around. He looked at her seriously and said in a low, gentle voice: "A, why must you say such things? You should know that now I only like you." He turned his head to look at Lu Yue who was lifting her head to search for someone, and inexplicably, a surge of annoyance and guilt rose up in his heart.

  He and Lu Xuan were childhood friends. Lu Xuan's father was rumored to be a member of the powerful Gu family, but that was just hearsay. To their neighbors, Lu Xuan's father was just an ordinary, somewhat awkward scholar who had always been in poor health. Lu Xuan passed away at the age of seven. After giving birth to her younger brother, Lu Xuan's mother also fell ill and never recovered.

  Zeng Lang and Lu Yuan's family were neighbors. Lu Yuan had been a beautiful girl since childhood, clever and sensible, and was very much liked by Zeng Lang's parents. Therefore, when the two were five years old, they were betrothed under the proposal of both sets of parents.

  It never occurred to her that when Lu Xuan was ten years old, his mother had also passed away, and now the two siblings were living with their maternal grandfather. Zeng Lang's father, on the other hand, had made a name for himself in battle and became a captain, and although they weren't wealthy or noble, their life was much better than Lu Xuan and his sister who were living off others' charity. Especially recently, his father said he had gained recognition from a noble and might be promoted again.

  As the days went by, Zeng Lang's mother became increasingly dissatisfied with Lu Yue, who had been betrothed to him since childhood. As for Zeng Lang himself, as the wedding day approached, he began to feel anxious. Especially after getting to know Lu Yue's close friend and cousin.

  Looking at her beautifully made-up face, her exquisite clothes, and the rich dowry prepared by her wealthy parents for her, and such a rich girl still has feelings for him. In contrast, Lu Yue, who had nothing and was a burden, only felt uncomfortable in his heart...

  Thinking of this, Zeng Lang turned his head to look at the young girl A Yin again, and thought: A Yin's family is rich and beautiful, only she can match me. As for A Yue, if I find an opportunity to get her body, she will be desperate and will let me arrange everything. At that time, I'll prepare some betrothal gifts and welcome her in a grand manner, even as a concubine, it won't humiliate her.

  At this moment, Lu Xuan finally saw the two of them. She smiled slightly, and a warm ripple appeared in her calm eyes. Hurriedly lifting up her skirt, Lu Xuan jogged over. Before she even got close, she was already calling out to the girl with delight: "Wu Jiejie."

  At this time, she had already walked close, turned her head, Lu Xuan's small face was red, and she looked at Zeng Lang with a gentle and joyful expression. She curtsied slightly and called out softly: "Zeng Lang..."

  When Ain saw Luyin lower her head, she quickly stepped forward and held Luyin's hands, chuckling and saying: "Luyin Luyin, as soon as I saw Zeng Lang, I knew you'd come here. Hehe, this time you've been caught by me!" Her tone was full of teasing, making Luyin's face flush with embarrassment.

  Under the spring sunshine, two girls held hands, one tender and one rough. Zeng Lang glanced at them and slowly shifted his gaze away.

  Lu Xuan looked uncomfortable, and Ah Yin chuckled and said with enthusiasm: "Just now, your husband Zeng Lang was talking about you all the time. He said you are beautiful, kind-hearted, and very capable." As she teased, Lu Xuan's head lowered more and more. She didn't notice that at this moment, her most trusted cousin, Wu, raised her head and glared fiercely at Zeng Lang, who had been looking at Lu Xuan with tenderness. And with this movement, Zeng Lang immediately retracted the tenderness that had inadvertently revealed itself, as if to prove his innocence, turned his head and looked away expressionlessly.

  She withdrew her gaze, and with a giggle, she twisted her waist and walked to Luoyue's right side. "What are you still lowering your head for? Hmph, hurry up and go to your lover's place!" As she spoke, she heavily pushed Luoyue towards Zenglang. This push was too forceful, and Luoyue, unprepared, was pushed to the left, slipping on a patch of moss that had grown on the stone steps due to the recent spring rain. With a loud thud, he fell backwards onto the ground.

  The stone steps were steep and slippery, and Lu Xing's fall was terrible. A loud cry of pain echoed through the air as she tumbled down six or seven steps like a ball. With a loud "crash", Lu Xing's head hit the edge of the mountain rock with great force, and then her body flipped over and lay motionless. At the same time, a stream of bright red blood quickly stained the rocks red and dripped onto the steps...

  This change was extremely sudden, Zeng Lang heard Lu Yue's cry and hastily turned his head, at which point his face turned pale, stumbling and staggering towards Lu Yue. He stretched out his hand to hug her, but half of her blue shirt was stained with fresh blood...

  Just as Zeng Lang was so frightened that he couldn't stand up, Ah Yin let out a sharp cry and rushed over in a hurry, asking anxiously with a sobbing voice: "What's wrong? Is Ah Yue okay?"

  After shouting a few times, Ah Yin saw that Zeng Lang was frightened and quickly stretched out her hand to push him, "Hurry up and go find the doctor."

  While speaking, Ah Yin stared at Lu Yue's face and secretly hated: Why didn't she hit her face?

  Reminded by Ain, Zeng Lang came to his senses and hastily said: "Yes, yes, find a doctor, quickly find a doctor." As he spoke, he hurriedly carried Lu Yue down the mountain.

  ……

  When Lu Xuan woke up again, it was already evening. In her small wooden house, a faint scent of medicine wafted through the air.

  Lu Xuan looked up at the top of her head, blinked twice, and then blinked again.

  The back of her head was still throbbing with pain, but strangely, she felt that the air in front of her was filled with a clear and refreshing transparency, as if something had awakened, and it seemed that the world between heaven and earth had been washed clean, even a single grain of dust or a speck of light had become crystal clear.

  Slowly turning her head, Lu Xuan looked around to the side, and after staring for a while, she struggled to sit up with difficulty, pulling open the hemp quilt that was covering her body. Lu Xuan reached out to touch the back of her head.

  The back of her head was bandaged by the doctor after applying medicine, and it was swollen. With a slight touch, she felt a sharp pain. "Hiss..." She took a deep breath and suddenly remembered what had happened in the morning, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

  Perhaps hearing the movement in the room, a series of footsteps came, and before long, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy appeared in front of Lu Yue. The boy had a five-part resemblance to Lu Yue's face, with bright and handsome eyebrows and eyes, but was thin and had only a few ounces of flesh on his bones. He held a medicine bowl in his hand, and when he saw Lu Yue sit up, he raised his head and frowned, saying: "Awake?" His tone was slightly impatient.

  After saying these two words, the boy saw that Lu Yue was still staring at him, and his eyebrows furrowed even deeper. He growled in a slightly embarrassed tone: "What are you staring at me for?"

  Lü Yún, however, was still staring at him until the boy let out a heavy hum, handed her the medicine bowl and turned to leave. Only then did she say in a low voice: "A Yun, your eyes have a hint of redness, it's not from smoke, but from tears you shed not long ago. You were worried about me, weren't you? When you first saw me wake up, the corners of your mouth curled up, so you're that happy to see me awake."

  After a slight pause, Lu Xuan said: "Right, didn't Zeng Lang give you some money, but you refused? Your hand was just rubbing the pocket of your sleeve. Don't worry, I'm completely fine now, no need to take medicine."

  This speech, Lu Xuan said slowly, was not her deliberate pose, but because she was thinking about how to use words and express her feelings. It can be said that as soon as she saw A Yun, the changes in his thoughts were clear to her mind, they were so clear, so let her have no doubt, it was like seeing it before.

  Lu Yun slowly turned his head, and he stared at his own sister in astonishment. This sister of his, he knew that after their parents had passed away, she had taken on the heavy burden of supporting him and his brother. The hardships of life, the bullying from some people in her maternal grandparents' household, made her worry every day about how to change the situation for her brother and herself. She never had the leisure or energy to pay attention to what others were thinking, let alone exhibit this kind of sensitivity now.

  After a while, Lu Yun furrowed his brow and asked: "Sister, what's wrong with you?"

  "I'm fine." Lu Xuan smiled slightly, she lifted up the quilt and put on her wooden shoes, and said again: "I'm really fine."

  Yes, she is really good, this feeling that everything in the world becomes clear and everything is understood at heart is so beautiful.

  Standing alone in a daze, he was worriedly watching his younger brother smile and nod, when Lu Yue pushed open the broken door and walked into the courtyard.

  Outside, it's the perfect time when peach blossoms are in full bloom and butterflies are flying around. Those pink and white petals have painted the entire sky with such vibrancy, brightness, and transparency! This feeling of no longer being muddled and confused, where everything is clear-cut and black-and-white, feels really great, really great!