Butterflied Lover – Lu Xiaoyu, Zhao Yiqin

Ling Mansion. Tang Qianyue just got up while Ling Changfeng had already finished polishing his sword and put it back into its sheath. She walked barefoot towards Ling Changfeng, who noticed and couldn't help but scold her for forgetting to wear shoes. He then took a brush and started drawing eyebrows for Tang Qianyue, intending to finish it and then go to the court. Today is New Year's Eve, and Ning Chengsi is busier than usual. As the head of the court, Ling Changfeng naturally sets a good example. Tang Qianyue took the initiative to suggest closing the shop early and going to see the lanterns with Ling Changfeng. Before leaving, Ling Changfeng reminded Tang Qianyue to remember to have breakfast and dress warmly. He instructed his subordinates to change into casual clothes later, and their attentive appearance earned him praise for being a worthy husband. Ling Changfeng noticed that his sword was adorned with a tassel of bells and couldn't help but wonder when it was hung there.

Seeing that it would snow soon, Tang Qianyue didn't have time to dress warmly and held an umbrella while waiting for Ling Changfeng. His subordinates advised Ling Changfeng to leave early, but he insisted on waiting until it was time to leave the yamen. He put a thick coat on Tang Qianyue and the two of them went shopping together. Someone on the street shouted that their own lipstick was better-looking than Fengyue Pavilion's. Tang Qianyue decided to try it, but Ling Changfeng immediately asserted that it wasn't as good as Fengyue Pavilion's. They went to a jewelry stall together, and Tang Qianyue immediately spotted a silver hairpin. Ling Changfeng put it on her and directly paid for it.

Suddenly, snow started falling from the sky, accompanied by the sound of jingling bells. The smell of blood filled the air. Ling Changfeng immediately ordered his guards to protect Tang Qianyue and asked her to leave first. He drew his sword and confronted the group of soul-transformed people. Ling Changfeng swiftly and decisively knocked down several of them, but the remaining ones jumped away and escaped. Ling Changfeng pondered for a moment and his expression changed. He hurriedly went to find Tang Qianyue, but by the time he arrived, she had already collapsed in a pool of blood. Ling Changfeng held Tang Qianyue in his arms, overwhelmed with grief. Suddenly, Tang Qianyue opened her eyes, emitting a red light, and bit Ling Changfeng's neck.

Tang Qianyue woke up from the nightmare, frightened by the previous scene. She saw Ling Changfeng actually polishing his sword and couldn't help but panic, desperately seeking confirmation if she had really bitten him. Just like in the dream, Ling Changfeng was drawing eyebrows for Tang Qianyue. Even his instructions before leaving were exactly the same. This made Tang Qianyue even more uneasy. She was absent-minded today, not only giving the wrong change but also paying Xiaodie her wages early so she could go home. Old Lady Yuan arrived as scheduled to give Tang Qianyue her final acupuncture treatment. As soon as the incense stick burned out, Tang Qianyue would become an ordinary person. Tang Qianyue suddenly realized that everything happening now was the same as in her dream, causing her to panic. She hid inside the shop while Lu Siwei stood guard at the door. Soon, Tang Qianyue saw Lu Siwei lying in a pool of blood through the crack in the door, and she looked at the almost burnt-out incense stick, silently praying in her heart.

When Ling Changfeng rushed back, Tang Qianyue was already lying in a pool of blood. This time, she didn't undergo a soul transformation but was bleeding profusely and in imminent danger. Ling Changfeng quickly carried Tang Qianyue and went to seek treatment from Xun Yuyi, the imperial physician. Xun Yuyi determined that only Qilin blood could save Tang Qianyue at this moment, and it needed to be introduced into her body within half an hour to be effective. Upon hearing this, Ling Changfeng ordered someone to watch over Tang Qianyue and hurriedly left. At this time, someone reported to the Grand Marshal about the strange occurrences in Hualing City tonight. It was said that the group of assailants had blood-red eyes and peculiar floral patterns on their faces. They attacked with incredible speed and strength, more like beasts than ordinary people. The Grand Marshal suspected that these strange individuals were associated with the Yilan Butterfly Gang and immediately ordered coordination with Ning Chengsi to thoroughly search every nook and corner of the city.

Ling Changfeng forcefully broke into the Grand Marshal's residence. The guards naturally wouldn't let him through, but they didn't dare to harm him either, so they could only chase after him into the room where the Grand Marshal was. Ling Changfeng, consumed by worry for Tang Qianyue's injury, urgently requested Qilin blood from the Grand Marshal. The Grand Marshal didn't appreciate Ling Changfeng's attitude and felt that he was giving orders. Knowing that Tang Qianyue couldn't wait much longer, Ling Changfeng immediately knelt down and begged for the Qilin blood. The Grand Marshal wanted to know why Ling Changfeng needed the Qilin blood so urgently, and in his anxiety, Ling Changfeng decided to retrieve it himself. The Grand Marshal thought about getting angry but then realized that the Qilin blood rightfully belonged to Ling Changfeng, so he stopped the guards from chasing after him and reminded them to fetch the white bottle.

Tang Qianyue had already awakened after consuming the Qilin blood, but she was still extremely weak, and even Xun, the imperial physician, couldn't help her at this point. Now, they could only rely on her destiny. Tang Qianyue thought about how close the incense stick was to burning out and felt a deep sense of unwillingness. She fell short by a few moments and couldn't become Ling Changfeng's complete wife. Eventually, Tang Qianyue silently passed away in Ling Changfeng's embrace. Ling Changfeng, devastated and in tears, remembered that the Qilin blood could save Qianyue and hurried to administer it. However, when he turned around, Qianyue had disappeared from the bed.

Tang Qianyue hovered in the air with her eyes glowing red. She suddenly attacked Ling Changfeng with sharp claws and swift movements, displaying the peculiar floral patterns on her face. It was evident that Qianyue had become a member of the Yilan Butterfly Gang. Ling Changfeng managed to resist her and continued trying to awaken her. At that moment, a ray of red light emanated from the flower that had fallen to the ground. Qianyue remembered how Ling Changfeng had saved her amidst a sea of corpses and her eyes regained clarity. She directly fainted in Ling Changfeng's arms, and all the eerie features on her disappeared. The next day, Tang Qianyue woke up from her fright. She wanted to put a cloak on Ling Changfeng, but he instinctively drew his sword and expressed that he wanted to wear it himself. However, Tang Qianyue seemed oblivious and insisted on draping it over Ling Changfeng. At that moment, chaotic images flashed through Tang Qianyue's mind, but she didn't have the courage to ask about the events of the previous night. Ling Changfeng had to go to the court, and today he didn't notice that Tang Qianyue was barefoot, which puzzled her.

Ling Changfeng noticed a butterfly mark on a woman's body, which reminded him of the same butterfly mark that appeared on Tang Qianyue's neck when she fell ill. He immediately ordered someone to retrieve the file from five years ago regarding the extermination of bandits in Dongxian Village. Dongxian Village was located near the border with Yilan, and five years ago, it was attacked by bandits, resulting in the death of all the villagers. After cross-checking the numbers, it was discovered that over forty villagers were missing. Ling Changfeng, based on the characteristics of the deceased, concluded that the villagers were killed by Yilan Butterfly Gang members. Yilan was skilled in the use of cups, with the butterfly cup being the most dangerous. Once infected, a person would become fierce like a wild beast. Ling Changfeng's older sister had fallen victim to it, which made a servant curious and asked Ling Changfeng if he had encountered Yilan Butterfly Gang members before, and if they were as brutal and cruel. Ling Changfeng looked at the talisman on his sword, recalling Tang Qianyue's appearance, and began to suspect that she had been a butterfly gang member all along, but a gentle one.

Tang Qianyue saw her butterfly mark reappear in the mirror. She remembered that Madame Yuan had said everything was determined by destiny and felt that she had fallen short in terms of luck. She was just a little bit away from being free from the butterfly curse but had ultimately failed. Tang Qianyue picked up a blade and was about to cut off the butterfly mark when someone came to report that Princess Bao Zhu had arrived. Tang Qianyue stopped her action, quickly composed herself, and went out to greet Bao Zhu. Due to rumors circulating in the palace that Tang Qianyue was covered in blood but had been saved by Ling Changfeng, Bao Zhu, upon seeing Tang Qianyue, expressed her concern and inquired about the New Year's Eve unrest. Aunt Hong wanted to stop her but couldn't explicitly explain, so she could only watch as Bao Zhu and Tang Qianyue entered the room together.

Upon Wu'an Marquis's return, he immediately went to the palace to meet the Emperor. The Empress Dowager was frightened and held the five-year-old Emperor in her arms. She signaled someone to send a message to Ling Changfeng, asking him to come to the palace and rescue the Emperor. Wu'an Marquis ascended the high platform and stood beside the throne, gripping the young Emperor's hand and forcing him to write a decree. Ling Changfeng arrived at the palace and reminded Wu'an Marquis to uphold his duties as a courtier. The Grand Marshal ordered for Ling Changjin and Ling Changfeng to be summoned and scolded them. Then, he held Ling Changfeng responsible for the events of New Year's Eve, relieving him of his position as the head of Ning Chengsi, so that the entire court wouldn't suffer punishment on his behalf. Ling Changjin had always wanted to investigate the matter regarding the Yilan Butterfly Gang, and the Grand Marshal granted his request.

Bao Zhu had initially wanted to leave the palace on New Year's Eve and spend the night with Ling Changfeng and Tang Qianyue, but upon hearing about the disturbances on the streets, she didn't dare to come. Now that she saw Tang Qianyue, she had endless things to say. Bao Zhu, due to recently consuming many tonics, suddenly had a nosebleed. Tang Qianyue smelled the blood and the butterfly mark on her body appeared. Her eyes turned crimson. She quickly urged Bao Zhu to return to the palace, but Bao Zhu, unaware of the danger, refused to leave. When Ling Changfeng returned home and learned that Bao Zhu had been inside with Tang Qianyue for a while, he couldn't help but worry. He rushed into the inner chamber and discovered that Tang Qianyue had already transformed into a butterfly. With a heavy heart, he drew his sword and prepared to strike Tang Qianyue.

Tang Qianyue woke up from her bed, and instinctively wanted to stop Changfeng from drawing his sword and stabbing her. When she saw the bloodstain on her chest, she realized that it was all true—Changfeng had already learned her identity. Tang Qianyue learned that Bao Zhu was safe and expressed her guilt, saying that she had no choice but to push Bao Zhu away at that moment. However, Bao Zhu approached her instead of leaving, so Tang Qianyue had no choice but to drug Bao Zhu and forcibly control herself from harming her.

Tang Qianyue saw that everything had come to this point and decided not to hide anything from Ling Changfeng, answering all his questions. It turned out that Tang Qianyue had no memory of her previous identity; her memories started with Ling Changfeng. Five years ago, when Ling Changfeng went to Dongxian Village to eliminate bandits, Tang Qianyue killed the bandits, but not the villagers. Ling Changfeng's appearance extinguished the red light in Tang Qianyue's eyes. When Ling Changfeng tended to her wounds, he learned that Tang Qianyue had no family left. He left water and food for her, intending to leave, but he remembered that she was barefoot. He gave her a stack of silver notes, intending for her to buy shoes once she went out. However, Tang Qianyue seemed to have no understanding of it.

That day, it was snowing heavily. Ling Changfeng was roasting a chicken in a cave when suddenly a fish was thrown in from outside. Ling Changfeng saw Tang Qianyue hiding and invited her to come inside and take shelter from the snow. Tang Qianyue picked up the fish from the ground and handed it to Ling Changfeng, but he didn't like eating fish. So Tang Qianyue held the raw fish and tried to put it in her mouth, but Ling Changfeng quickly stopped her and gave her the roasted chicken instead. Tang Qianyue ate it greedily. When she saw Ling Changfeng throwing firewood into the fire, she took out the silver notes from her clothes and threw them into the fire. Ling Changfeng found this behavior strange and handed her his own silver notes. However, Tang Qianyue seemed to be unaware of the purpose of the silver notes and burned them all in the fire. Tang Qianyue always followed Ling Changfeng, and since she didn't have shoes, she used strips of cloth to wrap her feet. On that snowy day, her cloth strips came loose, so she had to sit down and re-wrap them. Seeing the snowfall getting heavier, Ling Changfeng opened an umbrella and asked Tang Qianyue to hold it while he carried her and continued forward. This made Tang Qianyue feel very happy, and a warm smile appeared on her lips.

Ling Changfeng brought Tang Qianyue all the way until they reached a town where it wasn't convenient to bring her any further. He entrusted her to an aunt who had a stall and gave Tang Qianyue some silver notes, hoping she could settle down. Tang Qianyue waited for Ling Changfeng at the stall, but he never showed up. Instead, someone stole her clothes and the silver notes in her hands. Seeing Tang Qianyue shivering from the cold, the aunt gave her own clothes to Tang Qianyue to wear. From then on, Tang Qianyue settled down there, and no one could drive her away. However, the aunt no longer had a stall, and Tang Qianyue had no one to take care of her. She often went hungry. On this day, she had just taken a skewer of candied hawthorn to eat but didn't know she had to pay. As a result, the vendor grabbed her and insisted on payment. Just then, Ling Changfeng appeared nearby, handling official business. Tang Qianyue broke free and rushed over, hugging Ling Changfeng tightly.

Tang Qianyue waited for Ling Changfeng at the stall for three days and nights before he finally arrived. Despite being famished, she didn't dare take her eyes off Ling Changfeng, fearing he would disappear again. Ling Changfeng wanted to pour some water for Tang Qianyue, but the teapot was already empty. Since he couldn't find anyone to help, he decided to do it himself. Tang Qianyue quickly stopped what she was doing and held onto Ling Changfeng's arm. Helpless, Ling Changfeng had no choice but to take Tang Qianyue with him to fetch water.

With nowhere to go in the city, Ling Changfeng took Tang Qianyue back to his residence. Seeing Tang Qianyue's disheveled appearance, he reminded her that she should take a bath. Tang Qianyue sniffed herself and said she smelled bad. It was then that Ling Changfeng realized that Tang Qianyue, whom he thought couldn't speak, could actually talk. Tang Qianyue didn't know how to bathe, so Ling Changfeng specifically called back Aunt Hong, who had retired from the rivers and lakes, just to give Tang Qianyue a bath. Aunt Hong felt it was a waste of her skills, but as Ling Changfeng was the young master, she reluctantly agreed to help.

Tang Qianyue had never taken a bath before and didn't know that bath beans were used for bathing. She took a bite and Red Aunt hurriedly told her to spit it out. Aunt Hong bathed Tang Qianyue until she was clean and presentable, and when Ling Changfeng saw her, he was momentarily stunned. It wasn't until Tang Qianyue smiled at him as usual that he snapped back to his senses. Aunt Hong looked at Tang Qianyue's long hair and asked if she should tie it up. Ling Changfeng decided to think about it tomorrow.

On a rainy day, Tang Qianyue collected all the containers in the residence and placed them outside to collect rainwater, even taking the opportunity to gather the water droplets on the umbrella. Ling Changfeng learned that Tang Qianyue did this because Red Aunt told her that water was needed for cooking, laundry, and bathing, so she immediately started collecting rainwater when it rained. Ling Changfeng found it amusing and patiently took Tang Qianyue to the well to show her that she could draw water from there. Tang Qianyue noticed that the water in the well seemed endless, but she worried it might overflow and flood the residence. As a result, she frantically pumped water to wash clothes, washing all the clothes in the residence, even including the clothes Ling Changfeng had just taken off after bathing. Ling Changfeng realized his clothes were missing and had to wrap himself in a tablecloth. He said that men and women should keep their distance, so Tang Qianyue couldn't enter the bathroom while he bathed. However, Tang Qianyue didn't understand and asked why. Ling Changfeng had to give up explaining.

Tang Qianyue always waited in the corridor for Ling Changfeng to return. When Ling Changfeng noticed this, he bought a copper bell. He would ring the bell when he came back, so Tang Qianyue wouldn't have to listen for footsteps all the time. Ling Changfeng only knew how to make noodles, so the meals he cooked were all noodle dishes. Tang Qianyue didn't particularly like them, so Ling Changfeng decided to bring back Liu, the head chef from the Drunken Immortal Tower.