Sword pointing to the heavens
Lu Yunchu remained calm, but his mother and brother were indignant. They dared not say anything in front of their father, and vented their anger by cursing Lu Yuezhao in private.
"It's all your fault!"
The mother's hand was about to slap Lu Yunchu across the face, but her brother stopped her in the end. The mother said it was all her fault for taking her younger sister to visit their aunt that day. Taking advantage of that opportunity, her younger sister took the initiative to go to the Crown Prince, and the two even developed an affair.
"Lu Yue Zhao looks so delicate, but who knew she was such a troublemaker, even carrying an illegitimate child... She's truly disgraced the family..."
When her brother brought up the matter, even his usually gentle voice became distorted. Although Lu Yunchu was surprised, he could only sneer. However, he had to admit that his sister was quite remarkable, having such courage.
She smiled, genuinely admiring him: "This is the kind of person who can do great things. With such courage, you're sure you won't be bullied in the Crown Prince's residence in the future."
Her mother and brother both scolded her for being incredibly foolish, but she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With her cunning, how could she possibly survive under such a formidable group of people? It was just a pity, though. There must be many girls in the Crown Prince's residence. Perhaps she could meet someone as ambitious as Chu Qin or Chu Ling, and maybe then she could take the opportunity to realize her past wishes.
The eldest prince is currently fighting on the frontier and will not be back for several months. Although preparations for the wedding are in full swing, there is no rush. On the contrary, his younger sister is in a more urgent situation.
The whole family was on tenterhooks, extremely anxious, but they heard that the younger sister hadn't made any progress and was still as unhurried as usual.
Although her sister's actions were indeed unexpected, Lu Yunchu felt no dissatisfaction whatsoever. Instead, she was worried and wanted to visit her, but she could never find her.
Until one day, she finally saw her younger sister talking to a servant in the backyard. Her sister only said a few words, but she made the men laugh so hard they were shaking.
My sister looked different than usual; her eyes seemed to have hooks in them, but all I felt was sadness.
After dismissing everyone, the light in her younger sister's eyes vanished, replaced by utter exhaustion. She sighed softly and, as usual, took her hand: "Seeing you like this breaks my heart..."
The younger sister suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with irony and sorrow. She stared intently at Lu Yunchu for a long while, then turned and left, her barely audible voice carried on the wind: "Stop pretending. You must hate me deep down. But sister, we're all the same, both daughters of the Lu family. You have everything without doing anything, while I've gone to so much trouble, and all I'm seen as is a lowly monster in everyone's eyes..."
Her words were laced with bitterness, a far cry from the quiet yet frank girl she used to be. Lu Yun Chu felt no anger, only guilt. She knew what her sister had suffered over the years, and she knew that many things in the past were her fault.
She loved wearing flowers in her hair and always took her younger sister with her. Everyone said she looked pretty, but said her sister was being naughty at such a young age. Her sister didn't want to wear them, but she forced her to for fun. She was happy, but her sister was locked in the room for half a month.
There were so many such incidents. Back then, I was too young to understand and just thought the adults were joking, but I never imagined how much harm this would do to a child.
I only hope that my sister can get what she wants and be protected from harm by the Crown Prince...
She glanced at her sister's receding figure in the wind, then turned and left. She remembered what her sister had said that day, how she said she would definitely leave this place, but in the end, she was the one who went to that grave first.
Well, everyone has their own ambitions.
She gathered flower petals and began making peach blossom cakes. Her maid told her not to be too sad and not to think about the Crown Prince anymore, but she didn't know what to say. She had learned to make cakes so she could use them after entering the Crown Prince's residence, but perhaps more than anything, it was out of nostalgia for those bygone years…
Back then, my younger sister was a very lively child, just like most kids—she loved to laugh and play, and she also loved eating pastries. She would always fight with Xiao Wu over them, and the two of them would end up crying. But the chubby little prince had already taken his pastries from the beginning and was lying on a tree branch sunbathing.
"How stupid..."
He looked down at the two crying children and then looked up at the sky.
"The sky is so high, it seems so close, and the sun is so hot, it's like you're being baked dry. So if you reach out and touch the sky, will you be able to grasp it in your palm, or will you lose your life?"
He would often ponder such questions, a wistful sadness beyond his years in his eyes. Lu Yunchu didn't understand then, but now, thinking back, that chubby boy probably foresaw his future fate. Even with all his weariness, he could at least control his own destiny, while the two playful children under the tree seemed more like moths drawn to a flame.
This time, her mother asked her to bring two maids, Jiang Liu and Zai Yu, with her when she got married. She was a little hesitant, wondering if the two girls wanted to leave, but the two girls said they didn't want to go.
Most people who come here have to change their names, but Jiang Liu doesn't. She'd rather be beaten than change hers. She looks gentle and kind, but she actually has her own ideas.
Hearing Lu Yunchu's plan to find her a good place, she immediately refused: "There's nothing good about going out. A woman can't be independent; she's just going to marry someone, and who knows what kind of people she'll meet. Even biological parents can sell their children, let alone a husband. If I follow you, I can at least get some food. Miss, Jiang Liu will follow you wherever you go!"
Zai Yu chimed in, explaining that she was mainly reluctant to part with the books; if she left these wealthy and powerful families, where would she find so many scriptures?
When she first came to the Lu family, everyone called her Pink Butterfly, a name given to her by her mother, because a pink butterfly had fallen into her hair when she first arrived. She hated the name. Later, when her master taught Lu Yunchu to read, Lu Yunchu didn't recognize many characters, but she secretly memorized them. Not only that, she often sneaked into the master's courtyard to steal books to read.
She could recite the Four Books and Five Classics fluently, but unfortunately, she rarely had the chance to steal books, so she couldn't read many of the classics. Her favorite was the Analects, the ancestor of classical studies, but she found it boring after reading it many times. She didn't like Confucius, thinking he was just an uninteresting old man, but she liked Zai Yu instead, especially his habit of staying up late and arguing with the old man, which she found quite interesting.
She admired Zaiyu's rebellious nature, so she changed her name. However, her name was never fixed; if she liked another character, she would change it again.
Seeing their determination, Lu Yunchu agreed and even asked Zaiyu to bring more books. Zaiyu had always wanted to read Xunzi and Han Yu, but in the eyes of scholars, this was considered unorthodox and unskilled, something even theft was impossible. Lu Yunchu knew she liked this and had been trying to find it, but ultimately hadn't succeeded.
She dared not ask her father; women had never even had the chance to read the Four Books and Five Classics, let alone more profound texts. Zai Yu sighed after hearing this, saying that this was their tactic: without education, one has no brains, naturally understands nothing, and can only be slaughtered at will.
Jiang Liu nodded in agreement, telling Lu Yun Chu to remember the real estate included in the dowry and to have some people prepare it in advance, so that if they were ever forced to return, they would still have a means to survive. She could then practice martial arts and disguise herself as a man, ensuring they wouldn't be homeless.
Of course, the mother was unaware of their schemes. She still held onto the idea of "marrying a dog and following its dog," and advised Lu Yunchu to treat the eldest prince well so that her position would be secure if she had a child in the future.
But her mother never considered that her status in the household never depended on her children serving others or on her so-called sincerity. She only gave birth to one daughter, Lu Yunchu, and her brother was raised by the deceased Concubine Qin. Her current position was due to her family background and her own scheming.
However, her mother prepared a generous dowry for her and held her hand, worrying that she would be bullied. Her mother, who was always serious and harsh, now seemed more loving.
The day of her wedding arrived, and she got up early to dress up. Most mothers would bid her farewell with tears in their eyes, but her mother, who loved her dearly, only cried out twice before leaning close to her and leaving her with a sentence: "Remember, no matter what happens, don't forget your mother. Tell Jiang Liu and the others to tell your mother that the door to the house is always open, and there will always be a chance to come back."
After saying this, the mother blinked; her eyes, though red and swollen, were surprisingly bright. Startled, she wanted to ask a few more questions, but the bridal sedan chair had already entered the gate.
Through the red veil, she could vaguely see her brother's figure. Three years ago, her brother got engaged, but the girl suddenly passed away the day before the wedding. Later, the family urged him to remarry, but her brother refused, even claiming he vowed never to marry again, no matter how much their father scolded him. He was the only male in his generation, and when their father pressed him too hard, her brother threatened suicide. She always felt that something was strange about this matter, but she couldn't figure it out.
So, what Mother harbored was the ambition to take over the family business? In that case, my sister's marriage to the Crown Prince might not have been a coincidence… But how could that be? Mother was clearly the one who always revolved around her husband, never having any of her own ideas…
She felt a chill, but even more so, an indescribable warmth. She had always thought that once a daughter is married, she is like water spilled from a cup, and that the door here would never open for her again. But now it seemed that perhaps one day she really would return.
She didn't shed a single tear on the bridal sedan chair. She wasn't afraid of the future. She wasn't cowering under someone else's roof. Looking back, there was still a possible path, though difficult, it wasn't a dead end.
She glanced around, secretly lifting a corner of the curtain to find the tallest tower in the city, the Wentian Tower of the Imperial Observatory, which had a luminous pearl on its roof that most people couldn't reach.
I probably won't see her again...
Her head was a little sore from looking up for so long, but just as she lowered her head, her eyes caught a glimpse of the high walls of the imperial city and a figure in red on a beacon tower.
She turned her head, but couldn't see the face clearly. However, she was certain that it was her!
The woman in red on the beacon tower raised her long sword, pointing it towards the heavens. Her fiery red clothes blended seamlessly with the beacon fire, as if she were about to set the entire sky ablaze.
She looked at her, remembering their promise and the phoenix pattern on the sword sheath, then lowered her head and gazed at her own fiery red wedding dress.
Red clothing is not only a wedding dress, but also armor worn after the flames of war have burned out.
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