Outside Chang'an City, a carriage slowly approached. The driver was in no hurry, and neither was its passenger, who leafed through a book, reading silently.
Then several dozen riders rushed out of the city and headed straight for the carriage. They wore fine armor and were clearly the Han emperor's Imperial Guards. Upon reaching the carriage, they dismounted, and their leader declared, "Young Master, this humble servant has come on the empress dowager's orders to escort you into the palace."
The passenger was, naturally, Luo Xin. He lifted the carriage curtain slightly and gazed at Chang'an City before him, saying with some feeling, "Chang'an, Chang'an. It's been a long time."
Weiyang Palace.
Lü Zhi looked at Luo Xin before her. He still looked as he had in years past, his eyes bright, his bearing spirited. His years of traveling the world had lent him an air of ethereal remoteness as well.
A man like jade upon the country road, a young master without equal in the world. The words suited Young Master Shi perfectly.
"Young Master, it's been a long time."
Lü Zhi watched Luo Xin rather nervously, just as she had when she was a girl. She could not help touching the corners of her eyes, wondering whether those one or two wrinkles were concealed. "You are as distinguished as ever. Time seems to have left no trace upon you, while I have already grown old."
This was truly a case of seeing Xishi through a lover's eyes. Luo Xin was not someone with the supernatural ageless beauty of Xishi or Ji Lingjun. How could he possibly have remained completely unchanged?
Although his charisma had not diminished and had instead grown even greater, the changes were still obvious.
Besides, Lü Zhi was not old. She had married Liu Bang