The next day, Lu Yan woke up early to pay the Old Madam his respects in her own Jia’an Hall. However, all the children and grandchildren of the Grand Duchy of Zhen’s three branches had gathered together to enjoy a morning in each other’s company. Central to the group was Old Madam Lu, making her great-grandson jump on her knee, ignoring Lu Yan majestically. It was a known fact the Old Madam was not willing to forgive Lu Yan’s tardiness in returning home. And his charming cousin Lu Heng was more than willing to add fuel to the fire.
“A day of separation is as long as three autumns, so goes the saying. Indeed, it does feel like we have not seen Third Brother for ages!”
Lu Yan’s lips twitched in an attempt to contain a smile. It seemed indeed he had been away for too long. Lu Heng had forgotten that provoking Lu Yan was like pulling at a tiger’s whiskers. She must have forgotten it was equivalent to having a death wish. His lips pursed, he shot daggers at her. It was a promise of retaliation.
Just you wait, Lu Heng. Just you wait.
Lu Heng felt as if she had been stabbed right through the heart. Hurriedly, she moved her eyes, taking a particular interest to the cup in her hand, observing it with care before taking a quick sip of the tea within. After a long while, during a particularly joyful moment, Yang Zong walked in, two boxes in his arms. They contained the gifts Lu Yan had brought back from Yangzhou and that he distributed to each branch generously. For his Elder Brother Lu Ye and Second Brother Lu Ting, he had prepared paintings by Master Chu Xun. To Lu Yu, who was shyly trying to conceal her excitement behind the well-bred smile of a girl of quality, he gave a magnificent guqin. When it was Lu Heng’s turn, Lu Yan simply passed by, going straight to the Old Madam.
“This unfilial grandson has brought this forehead band for Grandmother with her likings in mind.”
He bowed like the most loving grandson, making an offering of his gift.
“Third Brother! Where is my gift?!”, Lu Heng interrupted this lovely reunion in an aggrieved voice.
Lu Yan curled his lips in a triumphant smile. Straightening his back, he shot his silly little cousin a mildly surprised glance.
“Since your perception of time is different from that of others, you might prefer to wait for another three autumns for your gift.”
Lu Yu on the side could not suppress her smile any further. Their Third Brother was such a strange mixture of sarcastic repartees, despotism, brotherly affection, filial piety and playfulness. Lu Heng did not have the leisure to appreciate Lu Yan’s wit. She was the one who was being refused her gift, not Lu Yu! Disliking her cousin’s pettiness, she threw herself on the Old Madam, grabbing onto her arm.
“Oh, Grandmother, won’t you help me?! I can’t even speak to Third Brother without him taking an affront to his head anymore, right, grandmother?!”
In the end, Lu Heng’s small-mindedness made the Old Madam burst into laughter. Pushing at Lu Yan a bit, she defended this childish granddaughter of hers.
“You know how she is! Don’t bully her, now.”
Lu Yan was more than willing to humour Lu Heng, whom he had, in the end, used to lighten the atmosphere. Therefore, he simply produced another beautiful guqin for her, placating her and making himself seem as a diligent elder brother in front of his grandmother.
Lu Yan stayed at the Estate for a few days, spied on by his mother’s diligent servants at every turn. Although he has been liberated from the obligation of going to that wretched polo game, his mother had transformed into a social butterfly, receiving all of Chang’an’s marriageable womenfolk, or so it seemed. All girls of sixteen or so years, tittering artificially and throwing their uninviting lures at the Young Master of the Grand Duchy of Zhen.
On that evening, Lu Yan had dinner with his royal mother. They had had a few sunny days which had attracted all those insipid misses out the door. But as previously concluded, rare were they during the month of March. The Gods must have felt pity for Lu Yan’s supreme suffering at being followed and badgered everywhere he went and had therefore sent ominous looking clouds. Finally, he had a day of peace. A sort of haze was rising from the ground, announcing the downpour that was sure to follow. After a while, the winds rose violently, crashing against the window panes and opening them in a shattering sound. The rustling of the grass in the yard assailed his ears as a smell of rain pervaded the air. At once, before they had the time to prepare, a violent sound of collision tore through the air. The movements of Lu Yan’s chopsticks picking food halted.
A few days ago, on a rainy day, he had found Shen Zhen huddled up in a corner of the bed, her hands over her ears, her eyes scrunched closed. He had assumed her to be afraid of thunder and had not cared much about it. At her age, she had to learn to face such ridiculous fears by herself. Consoling her like some silly child would only reinforce her behavior. What he had not known and that he had found out in the middle of the night as she had cried out for her mother not to leave her was that the Marquise Yunyang had died on just such a night, rainy and thunderous.
For her, thunderstorms in March and snowstorms in October could only revive painful memories.
Lu Yan let the chopsticks fall from his hand, pensively staring out the window. Princess Royal Jing’an sneered at her son’s thoughtful expression. Here she had been naively believing he had seen the light and would reform.
“What is it? Planning to go out?”
Lu Yan’s face did not change in expression.
“Before dinner, a servant has brought news from the Supreme Court.”
What a ridiculous excuse. The Princess Royal snorted in contempt.
“Really? And here I was thinking you were not on duty today. Why send you information about official business, hm?”
Lu Yan sighed in helplessly.
“Actually, this unfililal son was wondering himself whether he should take care of the case today or leave it for tomorrow. A tragedy occurred in Anshan Lane, in the South of the city. A family of six was killed, all were beheaded, including the elderly and the children. I was asked for an autopsy. I am not sure it can be delayed until tomorrow.”
Yang Zong, serving on the side, froze in astonishment. Who had ever said the officials of the Supreme Court were as truthful as they were incorruptible?! Look here, this was the mouth of a fourth-ranking official of the Supreme Court! That case was already a few days old. The corpses had already been thoroughly examined. The Young Master was only lying about the timeline, expertly hiding his true motives beneath the story’s realism.
The Princess Royal frowned in horror.
“Who would be so vicious as not even to spare the children and the elderly?!”
“That is yet to be determined”, her son calmly responded.
The more nonchalant he was, the more anxious the Jing’an.
“Do not delay any longer. If it is such an important task, do it immediately. We cannot have such a criminal, lost to all reason and morals, running about the city. Have him caught as soon as possible!”
Lu Yan coughed into his fist lightly.
“It may be a busy night. This unfilial son is unsure he can make it back before the curfew.”
When she heard that he might be staying away from home, the Princess Royal was indeed more reluctant to let him go. On the other hand, if criminals were let to run rampant, his reputation would be besmirched beyond repair. She had no right to interfere with official duties.
“You are injured, do not forgot. Pay attention.”
Lu Yan solemnly retorted, acknowledging her worries.
“Mother need not worry. This unfilial son will be staying in one of our private houses tonight.”
“Which one?”
The Princess Royal was determined to have an eye on her son’s affairs at all times, but fortified by the thought he was not yet lost to all of man’s failings. Slowly turning the ring on his finger, he replied without batting an eyelash:
“Chengyuan.”
Princess Royal Jing’an nodded in relief, not seeing Yang Zong who had frozen, as if thunderstruck. The workings of the Young Master’s mind were more difficult to pierce than the solution to a Huarong Trail.
(Translator’s Note: Huarong Trail, named after the Huarong Trail in “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” through which the warlord Cao Cao had retreated, is a sliding-block puzzle game invented during the 20th Century and amusingly, therefore, being out of place in this ancient story.)
Therefore, Lu Yan left the Estate openly, without a need to hide, as soon as dinner was over, knowing full well he had convinced his mother and she would never go as far as to spy on him outside the walls of their residence. When he walked into Chengyuan, Shen Zhen had just finished washing. Her skin, as pale as the best jadeite, was made all the more beautiful by the slight redness that had settled over her nose.
“Why has His Lordship come?!”, she asked in surprise and squeamishness.
Seated at the edge of the bed, Lu Yan patted the place beside him and stretched out a hand.
“Come here.”
Shen Zhen obeyed, not knowing what else to do. Without a word, slightly turned to the side, she just bowed her head and continued wiping her hair. Lu Yan reached for her jaw, dissatisfied by the obvious lack of enthusiasm in his lover. Her hair was still wet, dripping onto her cheeks, sliding down her throat, droplets of water losing themselves in her alluring cleavage. Grabbing onto her waist, Lu Yan pulled her forward, taking a hold of her towel and twisting her hair mercilessly, though he thought himself supremely helpful.
Had Lu Heng seen him serving a woman, she would have pulled her eyeballs off, wiped them clean and pressed them back into their orbits!
“Your Lordship, no need … I’ll do it myself …”
Snatching the towel back, Shen Zhen frowned in pain. He was hurting her to death, tearing every hair out of its root. But she didn’t dare to tell him as much … Suddenly, a muffled thunderclap made her throw herself into Lu Yan’s arms, frightened to the utmost. Taking advantage of a beauty so willingly throwing herself into his arms, he indulged himself, caressing her waist, her back, the side of her chest slowly, a cat-like smile on the corner of his lips. Her embrace would bring him nothing but damnation and he wanted it no other way.
He could try to endure his desire as much as he wished, yet he would always be defeated.
After a split of an instant, his head lowered itself upon her shoulder, his teeth biting the soft, tender flesh of her neck while his breath spread all over her. Lu Yan’s hand slid from the side of her chest to the front, taking a hold of a breast, caressing it carefully, his slender fingers gliding across her covered flesh, only wanting to bear it to his eyes. Shen Zhen’s heart missed a beat and she did her best to control her breathing that threatened to become erratic. The man’s lips found their way to her ear.
“That was intentional, was it not?”, he whispered playfully.
He always loved attacking her most sensitive points the most! Her neck, her earlobe, nothing could escape him. Seeing as she refused to respond him, he savagely sucked at her neck, leaving a red imprint with evil satisfaction behind.
“I definitely did not mean anything!”
Shen Zhen’s eyes looked so innocent and wronged. But Lu Yan was not of a sympathetic nature. And the girl in his arms was not at all unresponsive. Her body was far more honest than her eyes. Every time she begged for mercy, there was a hint of pleasure in her voice. She would never have admitted it, but he could hear it clearly.
He turned them over, both of them landing on the bed. Propping himself up on his arms, he looked down at her. Their eyes stared into each other’s. Shen Zhen could not explain how such a pair of cold, arrogant eyes could, when dyed with desire, change completely. A bit more ferocious they were, filled with forbearance and an unexpected tenderness.
The thunder growled on the outside while heavy rain tried drowning the world.
The next morning, the two of them almost opened their eyes at the same moment. Shen Zhen’s nose itched, making her sneeze once. After a pause, she sneezed once more. At once, Lu Yan grabbed onto her naked arm, realizing how cold she was.
“You are chilled.”
At once, the quilt was pulled over her naked shoulders and his forehead was pressed to hers.
“I’ll have Tangyue cook you a bowl of ginger soul. It has become cold again recently, don’t remove the charcoal basins from the rooms you use.”
“Your Lordship …”, Shen Zhen pitifully cried to him.
“Hm?”
One of her fingers appeared from below the quilt and came to rest against her right eyelid.
“Your Lordship, my right eyelid is jumping so.”
An eyebrow raised, Lu Yan was not sure to understand what she meant. Soon, a hand of his was taken between hers and placed over her heart, tempting him this early in the morning.
“My heart is also beating frantically fast.”
Finally it dawned on him that she was having a superstitious fit early in the morning, Lu Yan resisted the urge to burst out laughing.
“Well, it seems someone is going to be unlucky today”, he teased her softly.
At once, two tender palms covered his mouth.
“Don’t speak nonsense!”
The man’s eyes were filled with smiles and leniency. As he was about to take her little hands and kiss them thoroughly, a rapid knock was heard at the door. The two lovers looked at each other in surprise, frowning simultaneously. Tangyue and Moyue were high-sticklers were rules were concerned. If something were to happen, they would not just rush at their door like this.
“What?!”, Lu Yan barked in dissatisfaction.
“Young Master, someone is trying to break into Chengyuan!”
Tangyue’s voice was full of anxiety.
“Who dares?!”
Lu Yan sat up at once. Remember who was lying behind him, he turned around and grabbed onto Shen Zhen’s cold hand, comforting her soothingly.
“Do not worry. Everything will be alright.”
This house was under the name of the Grand Duchy of Zhen. Whoever tried to break into it would find nothing but death on the other side of the threshold. Lord Lu, the official of the Supreme Court who carried out autopsies on the beheaded corpses of children, was not one who could be induced to panic so easily.
Tangyue quickly replied.
“S-She said she was the wife of the Deputy Minister of Industry, Li Di … Miss Shen’s eldest sister …”
At once, a voice was heard. A voice that sent a chill full of horror down Shen Zhen’s spine.
