Chapter 1
It was April, and while the flowers in the city had faded, the peach blossoms in Qingyuan Village were just beginning to bloom.
Luo Yan went out to enjoy the scenery with her cloak in her arms, and halfway there she saw four village children playing in the mud by the edge of a field.
After glancing at them a few more times without realizing it, the village children immediately stopped laughing. Finally, someone shouted "Run!" and the group scattered with a shriek.
She was indignant, thinking that her phone was much more fun than theirs, and then habitually reached into her pocket—
I reached for nothing, and then I remembered that there were no cell phones in ancient times.
*
Luo Yan transmigrated here two months ago.
She was wheeled into the pediatric operating room and then pulled out of a water tank.
Inside the carriage, a woman with graying temples helped her change into dry clothes, then spoke out with a heavy nasal voice, "In the capital... His Highness Prince Sun..."
Through the gap in the carriage curtain, four or five masked men could be seen, some with swords at their waists and others with long whips in their hands, all dressed and styled like those in period dramas.
One of the masked men clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Madam Ye has been kind to us."
Upon hearing this, Luo Yan realized that she had transmigrated into a book.
She's still wearing the guise of a pure love story, but in reality, she's running a huge harem and is constantly being chased and scolded by five different accounts in this power-up novel called "The Legend of Wu Yang".
There is a beloved character in the book named Luo Yan, whose name differs from hers by only one character.
According to the usual pattern, the white moonlight either dies young or dies violently, or dies violently very early, and Luo Yan is the latter.
When she was twelve, her entire family was massacred, and she went to the capital to seek refuge with her cousin Cui Wuyang, who was the crown prince. The two young women, who had suffered together for so long, developed feelings for each other. Just as Cui Wuyang was about to confess his feelings, Luo Yan took a sword for him and died.
In short, she lived to bring warmth to the male protagonist, and died to unleash his potential.
What a perfect tool.
But Luo Yan is not Luo Yan; she can't just rush to follow the plot.
After the masked man left, she persuaded the woman to turn around, and the two of them disguised themselves as grandmother and grandson and hid in the woman's home deep in the mountains.
During the two months in Qingyuan Village,
She had no worries about food or clothing and didn't need to go to school; she lived a very comfortable life. There was only one problem: the children in the village would avoid her as if she were a plague.
"Who cares?"
Luo Yan tiptoed to pick a few peach blossoms, dusted them off, and walked towards her own courtyard.
The maid, Jia Yufang, was Luo Yan's nominal grandmother. She was fanning the stove when she saw the little girl return looking listless. She asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Luo Yan shook her head, silently returned to her room, and opened the black lacquered and gold-painted official leather trunk in the cabinet.
The box was originally in the room, and even Jia Yufang didn't know its origin. Inside were exquisitely fragrant bottles and jars, weapons inlaid with jewels, and several yellowed comic books about fighting.
When she had nothing to do, she would rummage through the box, trying to figure out who the owner was, just like playing a single-player murder mystery game.
Jia Yufang brought in the prepared medicinal soup, and seeing that she was holding a dagger that had been unsheathed, she cried out in fright, "Watch your hand!"
Luo Yan always respected the elderly and cared for the young, so she obediently put it back.
“I’ve heard news about Cangxi.” Jia Yufang turned away to wipe her tears and continued, “The government only said it was bandits causing trouble and hastily closed the case. Fortunately, His Highness sent people to handle the aftermath, and is now recruiting many craftsmen to repair Luofu.”
"You're too kind, cousin," she said politely.
Seeing that the young lady showed no sorrow on her face, Jia Yufang interpreted it as the scholar's saying, "The greatest sorrow is silence," and felt even more distressed. She took the young lady's hand and asked, "Why don't we send a message?"
Luo Yan knew exactly what Jia Yufang was thinking—
Although the Cangxi Luo family no longer exists, her cousin is of noble status. If she goes to live with him, she won't have to worry about her future marriage. Of course, if the brother and sister could become even closer through marriage, it would be an even more beautiful story.
But who told Luo Yan to know the plot?
This time, she couldn't rely on feigning illness to make excuses. She tried hard to recall the male protagonist's background and suddenly had an inspiration: "Grandmother, you don't know, but my cousin is not in a good situation... The trouble my family suffered was caused by him."
Despite being the Crown Prince, Cui Wuyang was not seated on the dragon throne by his grandfather, but by his uncle.
Would an uncle really be willing to pass on his position to his nephew?
Would concubines with children stand idly by?
Sure enough, the hairs on the back of Jia Yufang's hands stood on end.
Luo Yan seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire: "Grandmother, you've been in the Luo family for decades, haven't you noticed that since the current emperor ascended the throne, the Luo family has had very little contact with the capital?"
The struggle for imperial power is far removed from ordinary people, but given the level of detail discussed, how could Jia Yufang not understand?
"No, no, let's stay here in the village. As long as I'm alive, I will never let you suffer."
Luo Yan breathed a long sigh of relief and said sincerely, "I really like Qingyuan Village. The scenery is beautiful and the air is fresh. I haven't been coughing much lately."
Unfortunately, she had no electronic devices. She was so bored that she searched through chicken coops and dog kennels, and even knew exactly how many stones were at the entrance of the village.
Maybe I should get a cat or dog to keep me company.
As she was thinking, Jia Yufang excitedly clasped her hands together: "After we sell this batch of embroidery, we'll buy a maid for Miss."
"ah?"
"Next year, we'll put in more effort to hire a female gentleman."
"No, Grandmother..."
However, Jia Yufang was in a very good mood after finishing her calculations. She picked up the bowls and plates and left to embroider in the courtyard.
*
A wind picked up at night, and the thin window paper couldn't block out the noise. Luo Yan couldn't sleep, so she put on her outer robe and went to the window for some fresh air.
"Bang—"
A loud crash came from the east kitchen, followed by Jia Yufang's hurried footsteps. It must have been the wooden rack for drying vegetables that had collapsed.
Luo Yan wanted to go and help, so she leaned over to close the window, but out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a long, thin black shadow standing outside the low gate of the courtyard.
A stone? A person? Or a broken branch?
She wondered and reached out to touch the oil lamp.
Just then, a large bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the entire village and the eerie black-clad boy standing in front of the door.
He had a handsome face with childlike features, and his figure was not as tall as that of an adult man, but his eyes were sharp and cold, revealing a ferocity beyond his years.
Luo Yan was so frightened she wanted to scream, but before she could even finish the word "ah," the boy fell straight down.
"grandmother--"
Jia Yufang arrived quickly, deftly closed the window, and reassured her with a smile: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, the Thunder God and Lightning Goddess are good deities."
She paused for a moment before explaining, "No, Grandma, there's someone outside our house."
Lightning was followed by thunder, and then a downpour began.
"Stay inside," Jia Yufang instructed, then put on her straw raincoat and rushed out, where she indeed found a boy of about half a year old in front of the door.
Unexpectedly, Luo Yan followed, holding an umbrella in one hand and raising an oil lamp high in the other, her voice excited: "Grandmother, let me help you!"
After a flurry of activity, the two finally managed to carry the boy into the hall. Luo Yan also dragged over a long sword without a sheath.
Jia Yufang was terrified. She wrapped the dishcloth in several layers and placed it behind the door, urging her to go back to her room to change her clothes. She then went to the kitchen to boil water.
In just a short while, a large pool of blood appeared all over the boy's body.
Fortunately, Jia Yufang was used to killing chickens and sheep and was not afraid.
He first reached out and touched the boy's outer clothes, finding only minor damage, and deduced that it wasn't a serious injury. Then he wrung out a warm, damp cloth and wiped the boy's face.
His eyes were closed, and his demeanor suddenly became approachable. As the stains faded, his superior nose and facial features were revealed, with a small beauty mark on his left cheek.
Jia Yufang exclaimed, "Hey! She's pretty, just like our Yan'er."
Luo Yan also thought the boy was handsome, and mustered up her courage to poke his neck, asking curiously, "Grandmother, you're still warm."
“A living person is naturally warm.” Jia Yufang said, both amused and exasperated. “I think this young master looks alright, but we can’t just leave him here like this. Otherwise, he might develop an illness even if he wasn’t sick before.”
Summer rains come and go in an instant.
Jia Yufang put her straw raincoat back on and planned to go to the next village to fetch a doctor she knew. Worried about Luo Yan, she cautioned, "You're weak; don't get too close, or you'll catch the illness."
She nodded obediently.
In reality, after her grandmother left, Luo Yan checked the boy's breathing and eyelids every now and then. She even took the boy's hand to feel his pulse, and, imitating the scene in the TV series, first stroked his non-existent beard, then cupped her hands to the air and said, "Congratulations, congratulations, it's a happy pulse."
Having had her fill of being a doctor, she yawned and leaned against the table to doze off.
As I drifted off to sleep, I heard a noise outside the courtyard. A middle-aged man asked, "Is this the place?"
"That's right, that's right."
Luo Yan instantly snapped out of her daze and jogged forward to remove the door latch.
The doctor, around forty years old, carried a large medicine chest and walked with brisk steps. Upon seeing Luo Yan, he was first taken aback, then bowed deeply, and looked at the patient on the ground with tears in his eyes.
First, you need to wipe the boy's body.
To avoid suspicion, Jia Yufang led Luo Yan to a side room, preparing tea and introducing her as she did so: "Doctor Liu originally ran a medicinal herb business. Once, he was extorted by someone and learned from Changqing's father that I worked for the Luo family. He then traveled a long way to beg to come here."
Although Cangxi County and Linchuan County are separated by distance, the late emperor was on the throne at that time, and the brother-in-law of the matriarch of the Luo family was the crown prince, so she had a lot of influence.
Luo Yan understood, thinking to herself that this was another good deed done by the original owner's parents, no wonder the doctor was so emotional.
After drinking half a cup of tea, the doctor finished his treatment outside and wrapped the boy in a thin blanket before carrying him to an empty bed.
"The young master's pulse is erratic and he is unconscious; it is highly likely that he has been poisoned."
Liu Langzhong came from the countryside and was quite skilled at treating common illnesses, but he was helpless against poisons.
To be on the safe side, he instructed the patient not to be moved for two or three days, and that he should go back to his study and consult with his colleagues.
As for two or three days later...
"This is the method of those in the martial arts world." Doctor Liu picked out a few doses of medicine to dispel the cold, bowed to Luo Yan, and said, "Miss, you have barely escaped death. You must not take any more risks. Once the mountain road is dry, I will come up and carry you away."
The words were so harsh that Jia Yufang was too frightened to even leave the house. Luo Yan, however, was unaffected and insisted on wiping the boy's face and braiding his hair.
But the more she enjoyed herself, the more Jia Yufang felt sorry for her.
Back in the old manor, the young lady was pampered and spoiled, with at least ten maids to keep her company and amuse her. It's nothing like now...
Jia Yufang thought to herself that she should save up money as soon as possible and buy a clever little maid.
*
Zhu Yun slept for two whole days.
He was awakened by a slight pain in his scalp, but his eyelids felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton, and his consciousness was not clear.
In the darkness, he heard a childish voice whispering in his ear, "Do you like three-strand braids? Let's try three-strand braids today."
"?"
Zhu Yun spent some time recalling and finally remembered that he had arrived at Qingyuan Village in Linchuan County and had seen a little girl before he lost consciousness.
Was she the one pulling my hair?
Is she the owner of the house?
Zhu Yun had occupied this house two years ago, and after some time he hadn't visited, he had someone move in. But even if he didn't live in the house he had his eye on, he would never give it up to anyone else, not even the owner.
Once I regain my strength, I will kill this woman.
When a warm palm cupped Zhu Yun's left cheek, his thoughts immediately split, replaced by overwhelming resentment.
You've got some nerve, daring to touch him!
However, Luo Yan was so busy that she didn't notice the boy's eyelashes trembling violently. She lifted Zhu Yun's chin, dipped her little finger in lip rouge, and applied it evenly to his lips.
"It looks beautiful." She was very satisfied with her masterpiece, then picked up the stone ink and said to herself, "Now let's draw the eyebrows."
Unable to bear it any longer, Zhu Yun used his inner strength to suppress the poison, and suddenly opened his eyes, meeting the girl's bright eyes.
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