The early summer’s bright sunlight gilded the bamboo curtain at the entrance with a thin layer of gold. From the courtyard came the faint chirping of one or two cicadas. The servants, fearing the insects would disturb their masters, stood in twos and threes beneath the trees, wielding long sticky poles from a distance.
Chu Mingyu, perhaps understanding that mother and elder sister had things to talk about, had been gone for quite a while just to fetch tea leaves. This younger sister had grown up so silently.
Chu Mingxi slightly curved her lips. Qi Xiaolong saw this and smiled as well, then considered her words before speaking. “So it was in the Empress Dowager’s palace. I hadn’t known you and their family shared this connection.”
“Mother,” Chu Mingxi gathered her thoughts and said plainly, “If it’s the Second Young Master, then all the more reason I cannot marry.”
“Why is that again?”
“He’s only fifteen years old!!”
“The Grand Princess said they could settle the engagement first. It won’t be too late to marry in a couple of years.”
“Mother!!!” Chu Mingxi was so angry she nearly stamped her foot.
“Oh.” Qi Xiaolong nodded, thinking she understood. “For that child, waiting a couple of years is no problem. For you…” She looked at her daughter’s limpid, bright eyes and sighed hesitantly.
The Eastern Radiance Kingdom was a land of etiquette. A man came of age at twenty and a woman at fifteen with the hairpin ceremony. A girl past eighteen still waiting at home to be married was exceedingly rare—let alone one who had broken off an engagement.
Chu Mingxi’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. She knew her mother’s worries but did not argue. Instead, she bluntly pointed out the crux of the matter. “Mother, what kind of person is the Little Heir of the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion?”
“He’s… the Grand Princess’s child?”
“Yes. He is the Grand Princess’s own child, and also the Empress Dowager’s own maternal grandson. An imperial noble. What, exactly, is the status of our family?”
Qi Xiaolong was taken aback, and the anxious urgency over her daughter’s marriage cooled a little.
“Some things are not for a daughter like me to say. Yet I think the saying that doors should match has some truth to it.” Chu Mingxi poured a fresh cup of tea and placed it in her mother’s hands. “Besides, once you enter a noble house, it’s deep as the sea. Your daughter truly… does not want to be swallowed by that deep sea…”
“Even though a noble house is deep as the sea, I don’t think the Grand Princess looks like the kind to bully others with her power.” The warm teacup soothed her palm, but her daughter’s words did not ease Qi Xiaolong’s mind. “I understand all your concerns. Let me think over this matter more.”
“Mother…”
“Elder Sister, I found the tea leaves. See if this is the right one.” Chu Mingyu ran back as if on cue. Noticing the grave expressions on her mother and sister’s faces, she hurried forward and shook her mother’s arm. “Mother, look if I found the right one.”
“Yes. You’re the cleverest.” Qi Xiaolong took the tea leaves and affectionately stroked her younger daughter’s hand.
The ornate saddle carriage rumbled along the road into the city. Mu Yunxian sat composed within, thinking of the verdict Master Fashan had delivered yesterday at Spirit Platform Temple.
Chen’er’s and that Chu family girl’s eight characters turned out to be unexpectedly compatible. Could this actually be heaven’s will?
The carriage stopped outside the horse gate. Aunt Qi descended from the smaller carriage behind and came around to the grand carriage. A young maid had already set the stepping stool in place. The Grand Princess extended her hand and alighted by resting it on Aunt Qi’s arm.
Now in the fifth month, the capital was growing hotter by the day. Even with a canopy like an umbrella, one couldn’t help but break into a thin sweat. Everything in the main courtyard had long been prepared, and the maids attended their mistress as she changed.
The Grand Princess raised her arms and asked, “Where is the Heir?”
Her attendants stripped away her formal attire and replied, “The Marquis has returned. Someone came to relay word. By now, the Heir is likely still in the Training Hall. The other two young masters were also summoned over.”
“The Marquis came back today?” The Grand Princess washed briefly and changed into casual, comfortable house clothes.
“Yes. The Marquis also sent someone to ask after you, but was told Her Highness the Princess had gone to Spirit Platform Temple to worship Buddha.”
Even after so many years in the residence, the maids in the main rooms still joined Aunt Qi in addressing the Grand Princess as “Your Highness.”
When the Marquis returned, custom dictated that the whole household should dine together that evening. At lamp-lighting time, Mu Yunxian went to the South Courtyard to share the evening meal with the Old Titled Lady, attended by the two Secondary Wives. Yet after waiting and waiting, neither the father nor his three sons showed up! The Old Titled Lady was so angry she thumped her walking stick.
It was nearly the first quarter of the hour of the dog by the time Wei Qingchen returned from the Training Hall, with two fine scratches on the back of her hand. Aunt Qi, seeing them, immediately called for medicine, but Wei Qingchen withdrew her hand and said it was nothing. Later, upon learning that the Heir still hadn’t eaten, Aunt Qi’s expression soured, but she didn’t dare say anything. She hurriedly dispatched someone to the small kitchen.
Mu Yunxian naturally felt heartache too, though she showed little outwardly. Wei Qingchen herself monkeyed over, grinning and crying “Mother dear.”
“Mother dear, you’ve worked hard all day. How come I heard tonight is still vegetarian?”
“I’ve only just returned from before the Buddha hall. These few days will all be plain food.”
This was routine. Wei Qingchen had only brought it up to lead into her next question. “Mm… so… Mother, what did the master say?”
Mu Yunxian watched her somewhat hopeful yet nervous expression, her flickering eyes like a little dog’s, and couldn’t help wanting to tease her.
“The master—the master said that vegetarian food is quite good.”
“Ah?” Wei Qingchen was dumbfounded for a moment. Only when she saw her mother’s mischievous look did she understand. Her face filled with both anger and embarrassment. “Mother!!!”
Mu Yunxian let out a soft laugh and pinched her cheek.
“Mother… tell me, what did the master say? Our eight characters are very compatible, right?”
“Who asks like that? Have you no shame?” Mu Yunxian shot her a sideways glance, then slowly put away her teasing demeanor. Looking at her daughter, she said, “Regardless of what the master said, have you yourself thought this through?”
“You’ve had your own opinions since you were little, but the Chu family’s daughter… Chu Mingxi. She’s already eighteen, three years older than you. And she’s had one broken engagement.”
“Mother…”
“Mother just wants to tell you: Chu Mingxi can’t afford to waste time, and with your status… whichever identity you use, this cannot be a frivolous game. Have you truly thought this through?”
Wei Qingchen lowered her head and thought for a moment, then slowly blinked. When she raised her head, she gazed into her mother’s eyes. “Mother, I had already thought it through more than half a month ago, when I came to ask you to take charge for me. The world does not understand her. If I can be her companion, I will cherish her for my whole life.”
Mu Yunxian saw the sincerity in her eyes. Although she didn’t fully understand whether this earnestness stemmed from repaying a life-saving favor or something else, since her daughter had made her decision, she would lend a hand.
“Master Fashan said that the eight characters and divinations for these two are a result sought across several lifetimes. All that has passed before—both entanglement and destiny. The meeting in this lifetime began with heaven’s will. Its end will rest with human hearts.”
Wei Qingchen, still young, was bewildered by the Buddhist allegory and pestered the Grand Princess to explain for a long time. The Grand Princess merely said their eight characters were acceptable, and at once, her daughter’s eyes glittered again.
Aunt Qi arrived with young maids to set the meal. Since the dining hour had passed, she didn’t dare fill the bowl too much. Wei Qingchen had spent most of the day in the Training Hall and was famished. She ate a bowl of rice quickly and efficiently. After a brief rest, her mother sent her back to her own courtyard.
Not long after the Heir returned to her room, a maid came to report that the Marquis had arrived.
The Grand Princess rose from the daybed and personally went to greet him. The couple, having been apart for half a month, held hands and spoke some affectionate words. When bedtime approached, the Grand Princess raised the matter of Wei Qingchen’s marriage.
“The Chu family? Which Chu family?” The servants were all outside. Wei Huaishu undressed himself.
The Grand Princess stepped forward to help and said, “The Chu family of the Imperial Medicine Hall.”
“The palace’s…”
“They only supply Imperial Medicine.”
Wei Huaishu sat down on the edge of the bed and pondered for a moment. “Chen’er just turned fifteen. Still young. Better to wait a couple of years before looking for matches?”
“Didn’t you say last time we should find him a match to settle things down?”
“I… well, the one above did drop a hint.”
Yes, Wei Qingchen’s marriage was a matter of concern not only to her father. In the palace, the Empress Dowager and even His Majesty the Emperor paid it great attention. After all, the Grand Princess had only this one child—His Majesty’s own maternal nephew.
“Since His Majesty brought it up, he probably has someone in mind.” The Grand Princess sat beside him and said steadily, “It would be best to settle this matter early.”
“You mean…”
The Grand Princess shook her head, cutting him off. “I have only this one flesh and blood. His Majesty will not make things difficult for me. But I don’t want Chen’er’s marriage to be tainted by any court intrigue. For now, we can still protect him. Since he chose this match himself, we should happily support it.”
“He chose it himself?” Wei Huaishu looked at his wife, finding it somewhat amusing. Wasn’t such a matter supposed to be decided by the parents’ command?
The Grand Princess also smiled. “It’s said she saved his life once in the Northern Region. That child Chen’er—he’s the type who, given a drop of water, yearns to repay with a gushing spring. How much more this life-saving favor.”
Watching her gentle, moving smile, Wei Huaishu suddenly recalled how it had been when she had first married into the general’s mansion. Back then, he hadn’t even been granted a marquisate.
“If you think it’s suitable, that’s good enough.” As he spoke, he pulled his wife into his arms.
A few days later, the Grand General personally spoke to the Old Titled Lady about this matter. The Old Titled Lady voiced no objection. Thus, the Grand Princess had someone select an auspicious day. All the betrothal gifts had to be prepared in advance—neither too extravagant nor, certainly, too plain.
The entire household learned that the Heir’s marriage proposal was imminent. Joy filled the air before and behind. Whether it was this happiness that proclaimed itself to the world, or Lady Xihua had leaked word, by high summer, nearly all the capital had heard: the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion was going to seek a marriage for their Heir. The bride being sought was none other than the Chu family’s First Young Miss, whose engagement had been broken off by the Li family at the end of spring.
The story spread wider and wider, getting livelier by the day, until it became impossible for Madam Li not to know. Every day, people would insinuatingly ask why she had broken off the engagement with such a fine girl. Madam Li was so furious she lost her appetite. In the end, she skipped every flower-appreciation event and tea gathering, shutting her doors and claiming illness.
Once she claimed illness, the gossip outside only grew livelier. Some even egged her on to visit the Chu family Imperial Medicine Hall to seek a few prescriptions—who knows, it might cure her.
Just when all of the capital was craning its neck, hoping that the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion would quickly make its proposal and slap the Li family’s face with a resounding smack, the matter took an unexpected turn.
At summer’s end, as autumn began, the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion prepared fine betrothal gifts and all proper rituals, chose an auspicious day, and the Grand General personally brought the Little Heir to the Chu residence to propose marriage.
And the Chu family—yes, the Imperial Medicine Hall’s Chu family—while all were waiting with bated breath, the Chu family… rejected the marriage proposal!!
The slap intended for the Li family hung in midair. Outsiders murmured: even the Marquis Mansion was refused by the Chu family’s First Young Miss—did they think she could ever have fancied the Li family?
When Madam Li heard this, she fainted from sheer rage on the spot.
I saw that coming lol