After the Dragon Boat Festival, Lu Mu decided to accompany He Shi on a trip back to her hometown.
He Shi had married into the Duke of Yingguo's Manor over thirty years ago and had never returned since. Now that her husband was by her side and they were not yet too old, she wanted to revisit her hometown. For these thirty-odd years, she had scarcely stepped beyond the Duke's Manor, like a bird trapped in a cage.
But who truly enjoys such loneliness?
He Shi could endure it, but that didn't mean she liked it.
She wanted to feel young again, to see the world outside with her husband.
Lu Mu was naturally willing to accompany his wife.
He had been away from home for more than twenty years. During that time, his parents had others to care for them, and his son had grown up training at the border and later married a lovely wife. All things considered, it was his wife who had endured the most solitude and hardship. Lu Mu felt he owed her the most—he had let her bear endless loneliness and isolation during what should have been her blooming years as a woman. Now that he was back, he was happy to accompany her in whatever she wished to do.
For this journey, He Shi could bear to part with her son, but not with her little granddaughter.
A Bao also wanted to go with her grandparents. The grandmother and granddaughter had discussed it and came to Wei Rao and Lu Zhuo to seek their approval.
Wei Rao was reluctant to let her daughter go. Moreover, since her father-in-law and mother-in-law rarely traveled, she worried that their daughter might interfere with the couple's time together.
Wei Rao explained to her daughter the various hardships of a long journey—just riding in a carriage would be exhausting, and the food outside wouldn't be as refined as that in the Duke's Manor.
A Bao understood all this, but she still wanted to go.
Wei Rao had no choice and shot Lu Zhuo a meaningful glance.
Lu Zhuo, however, felt that if their daughter wanted to go and if his parents were willing to take A Bao along, then they should all go together.
"It's so far, and they might not return until late autumn. You're really willing to let her go," Wei Rao pinched Lu Zhuo that night.
Lu Zhuo laughed. "Our A Bao takes after you. Since her mother loves traveling and sightseeing, why shouldn't A Bao go?"
Wei Rao was momentarily left speechless.
Lu Zhuo leaned in, kissing her earlobe as he whispered, "With A Bao away, I can focus on taking you out to explore."
Wei Rao snorted. "Who wants you to accompany me?"
She might not care for it, but Lu Zhuo did.
On the first day off after A Bao left with her grandparents, Lu Zhuo took Wei Rao to Cloud Mist Mountain.
They rode horses in the morning, and as the sun rose higher, they ventured into the woods.
In the mountains lay a summer retreat—a secluded valley where Wei had once played in the stream with her cousins. It was also where they had encountered assassins. Lu Zhuo had followed the assassins there, intending to use the incident to teach Wei Rao a lesson. Unexpectedly, Wei Rao had handled the assassins herself. Lu Zhuo's attempt to leverage his "favor" backfired, and he ended up being scolded by Wei Rao instead.
As soon as Wei Rao brought Lu Zhuo to this spot, he recalled the past.
"You did this on purpose," Lu Zhuo remarked, glancing at the place where the assassins had once appeared, his tone faintly accusing.
Wei Rao smiled. "Who told Young Master Lu to look down on everyone back then?"
The memories were too embarrassing to dwell on, so Lu Zhuo began to admire the scenery. The valley was surrounded by steep terrain, accessible only to those familiar with Cloud Mist Mountain and possessing some skill—ordinary folks would never find it. No wonder Wei Rao had dared to take off her shoes and socks and walk barefoot here back then.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Lu Zhuo caught sight of Wei Rao sitting on a large rock ahead, removing her boots and socks. As she did so, she lifted her gaze to meet his, her defiant eyes filled with challenge.
Ten years had passed, yet nothing about her had changed.What had changed was Lu Zhuo. Once he had disapproved of her bold and improper behavior, but now he was happy to indulge in impropriety alongside her.
"The fish in this pond have tender flesh. Shall we grill them here later?" Wei Rao suggested, her eyes already scanning for suitable branches to make fishing spears.
Lu Zhuo replied, "Alright."
They found two branches and sat on adjacent rocks, working on their spears. Water cascaded from the waterfall, spraying a damp coolness into the air. Lu Zhuo finished his spear first and looked up at Wei Rao. Her head was slightly bowed, her fair hands skillfully whittling the wood with a dagger, wood shavings scattering onto the stone. Her skirt was tucked at her waist, revealing jade-like calves beneath her green gauze trousers that ended at her knees.
Lu Zhuo was momentarily captivated.
When Wei Rao finished her spear, she noticed his gaze.
A flicker of suspicion crossed her mind. "Back when my sisters and I used to play in the water here, did you really not peek?"
Lu Zhuo straightened his expression. "No. I adhere to propriety and know better than to look where I shouldn't. I have that much self-control."
Wei Rao thought back to his attitude at the time and believed him.
The couple waded into the water, each taking a side to see who would spear a fish first. Lu Zhuo had experience surviving in the wild. Not to mention distant times, after faking his death by North Lake, he had often speared fish there, so he was far more skilled than Wei Rao. Soon after entering the water, he caught one.
Wei Rao heard the commotion from his side and turned to see a plump fish wriggling and splashing on Lu Zhuo's spear.
She snorted, thrust her own spear downward, and pulled up a fish as well.
Lu Zhuo cleaned the fish while Wei Rao gathered some wild fruits from the mountains.
"If A Bao were here, could we enjoy such leisure and freedom?" Lu Zhuo increasingly felt that sending their daughter to visit her grandparents was a brilliant idea.
Wei Rao teased, "So all your usual doting on A Bao was fake? You've been wishing she'd leave all along. Just wait—I'll tell her when she returns."
Lu Zhuo insisted he meant no such thing. He simply thought it was nice to have some time alone with Wei Rao.
The grilled fish was delicious, and the wild fruits were sweet and tangy. After eating their fill, Wei Rao found a shady, flat spot to take a nap.
Lu Zhuo strolled along the sandy shore for a while before suddenly approaching and scooping her up.
Wei Rao looked at him, puzzled.
"Sleeping here is too exposed. There's a more secluded spot over there," Lu Zhuo said in a low voice, his gaze fixed ahead.
Wei Rao thought to herself that with her shoes and socks properly on, even if someone passed by, there would be nothing to see. It was just a nap—why did it need to be so hidden?
Soon, she saw the secluded spot Lu Zhuo had chosen. Surrounded by trees and waist-high wild grass, a patch in the center had been flattened by Lu Zhuo in advance, resembling a mat of green.
Lu Zhuo knelt, set her down, and under her suspicious gaze, smiled and began to undress her.
Wei Rao pressed her hand over his, teasing mockingly, "In broad daylight, deep in the wild mountains—aren't you afraid someone might see you, my lord?"
Once, she had merely changed her clothes outdoors, and Lu Zhuo had scolded her like a stern scholar.
"I am afraid, which is why I chose this spot," Lu Zhuo replied, leaning down to tie her sash over her eyes.
Such behavior indeed unsettled him, conflicting with the propriety he upheld.
But at this moment, Lu Zhuo desired it deeply.Therefore, he didn't want to give Wei Rao another chance to tease him—he wanted her to join him in defying conventions.
In early August, A Bao returned with her grandparents. The little girl had tanned considerably from playing too wildly outdoors.
"Mother, I missed you so much," A Bao hugged her mother first, then remembered something and added to her father beside them: "And I missed Father too."
Lu Zhuo smiled.
Wei Rao stroked her daughter's head and lightly snorted, "No need to miss your father. He'd be delighted if you played outside every day."
A Bao didn't quite understand her mother's meaning, nor did she particularly care, skipping off to find her brothers and cousins.
Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lu Zhuo's fifth brother Lu Che married Lady Chen.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Duke's Manor hired an opera troupe and set up a stage in the garden, where the whole family went to enjoy the performance.
A Bao played with her brothers, younger cousins, and Sixth and Seventh Uncles, supervised by nursemaids, so Wei Rao and Lu Zhuo had no worries.
However, Wei Rao had little interest in opera, and Lu Zhuo knew she didn't enjoy it. After just one act, Lu Zhuo patted Wei Rao's shoulder, and the couple left their seats early.
The moonlight was beautiful—returning to their room too early would waste such fine scenery. Hand in hand, the couple deliberately chose secluded, unlit paths to admire the most hidden moonlight.
As they walked, a woman's startled cry suddenly came from ahead.
Lu Zhuo immediately halted.
Wei Rao found the voice somewhat familiar but hadn't yet identified it when hurried footsteps approached.
Lu Zhuo promptly pulled Wei Rao behind a cluster of emerald bamboo.
The footsteps stopped near them, and the previously startled woman complained with shy annoyance, "We're outside—how could you do that?"
Now Wei Rao was sure: this was her newly wedded sister-in-law, Lady Chen.
Sure enough, Lu Che's voice followed: "There's no one around. We're husband and wife—what's wrong with being affectionate?"
Wei Rao bit her lip, suppressing laughter. Who would have thought? Lu Che usually appeared aloof and reserved, yet in private he could be like this.
She glanced at Lu Zhuo, who looked stern with a furrowed brow, seemingly quite displeased with his cousin's behavior.
"No! If someone sees us, how could I face anyone?"
"Alright, alright, let's go back to our room."
The newlyweds lingered for a moment before quickly departing.
Once they were far enough away, Wei Rao stood on her toes and whispered in Lu Zhuo's ear, "So it turns out you brothers are all cut from the same cloth—when the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will slant..."
Before she could finish, Lu Zhuo pressed her against the wall behind them.
Wei Rao panicked, hitting him with her hands and kicking him. The garden was full of people coming and going—if Lady Chen feared being seen, so did Wei Rao!
"How dare you!" With her hands pinned, Wei Rao fumed.
Lu Zhuo truly dared, but since his cousin had done it first, repeating the act would make the Lu brothers seem entirely improper.
Lu Zhuo released Wei Rao, charging this debt to his newlywed cousin.
A few days later, while Lu Zhuo was in his study, Lu Che came to borrow books.
A Gui invited him in.
In front of his elder brother, Lu Che seemed less aloof and more respectful.
Lu Zhuo sat in his chair, scrutinizing him up and down several times.
Lu Che felt puzzled: "Elder Brother, have I done something wrong?"
Lu Zhuo snorted coldly and said in a low voice, "On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, while I was strolling in the garden near the Emerald Bamboo Pavilion, I heard your wife arguing with you."
Lu Che's handsome face flushed instantly.Since his marriage, he had only been frivolous once on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which earned him Chen-shi's reproach. He never expected his elder brother to have overheard it.
Lu Che's face turned crimson with shame, unsure of what to say.
Lu Zhuo did not elaborate further, only instructing him, "If you wish to act recklessly in the future, do it outside. Do not tarnish the reputation of our Lu Family."
Lu Che nodded repeatedly, too embarrassed to borrow any books, and left in shame.
Wei Rao happened to arrive just then and noticed Lu Che's flushed face. He dared not even look at her properly, hastily bowed in greeting, and fled as if escaping. Wei Rao was extremely curious.
Entering the study, she directly asked Lu Zhuo what had happened.
Lu Zhuo did not wish to speak of it.
Wei Rao's thoughts shifted, and she said in disbelief, "Did you scold Fifth Brother over that matter?"
Lu Zhuo replied sternly, "He was at fault first. As his elder brother, it is only natural that I discipline him."
Wei Rao scoffed at him, "It seems to me you're just like the magistrate who allows himself to set fires but forbids the common people to light lamps!"
Lu Zhuo's gaze shifted abruptly, and he suddenly grabbed Wei Rao's hand, pulling her into his embrace.
Wei Rao whimpered and struggled, but how could she possibly escape the clutches of this improper Young Lord?
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