As autumn deepened, even the wind in Chang’an City carried a gentle chill, rustling the reed catkins along the banks of Qujiang Pool.
Those snow-white catkins blanketed the shore, as if someone had scattered soft cotton, and when the wind blew, the white fluff danced across the sky like heavenly maidens scattering flowers, lightly landing on the water and sending ripples spreading in rings as they drifted lazily into the distance.
Autumn in Chang’an City always held a poetic tenderness within its crisp solemnity, but today, because of a single plain and elegant letter, that tenderness carried an extra thrill of anticipation that made one’s heart tremble.
The palace attendant sent by Princess Changle held a letter box wrapped in plain silk cloth.
Du Heng opened it and found only a thin note inside, with no gold dust decoration and no incense, just 8 neatly written small regular-script characters: “Autumn waters share one color with the boundless sky; I await you as promised.”
With his fingertips rubbing the handwriting on the note, Du Heng knew perfectly well that this was no ordinary invitation.
From the last time the Son of Heaven visited Dujiawa, to tasting chili sauce together and him showing off his gewu skills, he and Princess Changle already shared plenty of unspoken understanding.
This meeting at Qujiang today probably meant laying out the words hidden in their hearts and speaking them plainly.
He rummaged through his trunks and found the only coarse linen shirt (coarse linen shirt) he owned with no patches, which he deliberately washed clean the night before and even pressed smooth, and it made him look quite spirited once he put it on.
He then tied his hair carefully with a cloth towel and carried a light bamboo basket on his back, with 3 treasures inside: a jar of freshly made rose dew, which he extracted from rose petals using distillation and which was as clear as morning dew with a faint scent; a bag of glass floral sugar (glass sugar), crystallized by repeatedly boiling and refining coarse sugar until each piece looked as translucent as a pearl and melted in the mouth, sweet but not cloying; and a densely drawn volume Xiaoyao Tower construction blueprints, the Xiaoyao Tower construction blueprints, with ventilation, drainage, stove placement, the gewu corner, and the suggestion log rack all marked clearly, and even space reserved for future steam piping, showing his care in every detail.
When he reached Qujiang Pool, a delicate painted pleasure boat (painted pleasure boat) was moored by the shore.
The hull was lacquered ink-black and gleamed with a warm sheen under the autumn sun, and at the bow hung a plain gauze lantern with no patterns or words, yet it perfectly reflected the wavering moon-shadow in the water, beautiful like an ink-wash painting.
Princess Changle stood at the bow looking into the distance, wearing a lotus-root pink ruqun dress (ruqun dress) with a moon-white pibo shawl (pibo shawl) draped over her, and when the wind blew, the shawl floated lightly as if she might ride the wind away.
Her hair was styled simply and elegantly, pinned only with a white magnolia hairpin (white magnolia hairpin), so fresh and graceful that she did not seem like a pampered princess, but rather like the refined companion of a hermit scholar, carrying an otherworldly aura untouched by mundane life.
“You came.”
Hearing footsteps, Princess Changle turned around, and a gentle smile spread across her face as the usual princessly authority in her eyes disappeared, leaving only a young girl’s shyness and a trace of unhidden nervousness, like a little girl afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Du Heng hurried forward and cupped his hands in salute.
“This commoner, Du Heng, pays respects to Your Highness.”
“There’s no need for such etiquette here.”
Princess Changle lightly waved her hand and led him into the cabin, her voice as soft as an autumn leaf touching the ground.
“Here, there is no ruler and subject, only you and me.”
Inside the cabin sat a low table with a celadon tea set on it, and the brewing tea sent up wisps of steam as a faint, serene fragrance filled the small space and calmed the heart.
Princess Changle personally lifted the teapot with graceful, gentle movements, and the tea flowed slowly into the cup as the murmuring pour blended with the sound of Qujiang’s water outside the window, unusually pleasing to the ear.
“Father Emperor has already agreed to place Xiaoyao Tower on South Street of the West Market, and the Ministry of Works craftsmen will begin construction in 3 days.”
As she handed over the teacup, her gaze fell casually on the bamboo basket on Du Heng’s back.
“From now on, for everything about Xiaoyao Tower, are you willing to serve as the overall chief and take full responsibility?”
Du Heng accepted the teacup, his fingertips touching the slightly cool cup wall, and he paused as determination flashed in his eyes.
“This commoner is willing to serve the princess with all his strength, but I have one request… Xiaoyao Tower must set up a ‘gewu corner’ to display pulleys, levers, and tension benches (tension benches), so that people who come to eat not only taste delicious food but also understand the principles behind these things.”
“I want everyone to eat well while also becoming interested in the art of gewu, because that is what Xiaoyao Tower should be like in my heart.”
Approval flashed in Princess Changle’s eyes, and she nodded lightly.
“You really have not forgotten your original intention.”
“Father Emperor even told me earlier: ‘If Du Heng only thinks about making money, he is not worth entrusting with great matters, but if he is wholeheartedly devoted to gewu and to the common people, then there will be many things we can do together with him in the future.’”
After they finished most of the tea, the cabin fell quiet for a while.
Outside the window, the reeds hissed in the wind, and the boat swayed gently with the ripples, and everything held a peaceful goodness.
Suddenly, Princess Changle lifted her head and looked straight at Du Heng as she asked softly.
“Du Heng, if I do not care whether you have rank, title, or official merit, would you… be willing to marry me?”
Those words were like a feather, lightly landing on Du Heng’s heart.
He stood up, walked to the cabin window, and pushed it open as Qujiang’s autumn waters shimmered in the sunlight, distant green hills lay under a wash of pale ink, and a flock of wild geese flew south in formation, their wings cutting through the blue sky and leaving faint traces behind.
Taking a deep breath filled with the freshness of reed catkins and autumn water, he turned back to look at Princess Changle, his tone playfully earnest.
“Princess, don’t be so quick to make up your mind, because you are still young, and marriage is not something to treat as a joke, so how can you be so driven by feelings?”
“Besides, life with me is not as good as you imagine: there will be no fine clothes and rich food, no wealth and glory, and you might even have to follow me in figuring out gewu and staying busy with Xiaoyao Tower, and hardship and exhaustion will be common, so have you really thought it through?”
Princess Changle froze for a moment at his questions, then she could not help laughing, her eyes slightly reddened yet full of joy.
“Of course I have thought it through!”
“I am not acting on a moment of impulse, and I know following you might mean suffering, but I just want to be with you.”
“All the court ministers… none of them dares to talk to me the way you do, and I like this honesty of yours.”
She leaned forward a little, her voice softening and brimming with longing.
“Actually, ever since you showed your gewu skills last time, I have kept thinking about you.”
“I think about those novel principles you talked about, the chili sauce you made, and how you look when you seriously study your drawings…”
“I know marriage is a major matter, but I just want to be with you and walk forward slowly together.”
Du Heng looked at her sincere eyes, and his heart felt as if it had been soaked in warm water, soft all through.
He took out the rose dew and the glass sugar from his bamboo basket and offered them to her.
“I also often think about you, about how surprised you looked when you tasted chili sauce, and how focused you were when you listened to gewu knowledge.”
“This rose dew is something I specially made for you, and it smells wonderful, so try it, and this glass sugar is sweet but not cloying, just like what it feels like to be with you.”
“As for marriage, we can think about it slowly and there’s no need to rush, but I promise you that even if I stay a commoner for my whole life, I will never let you down.”
“I will use the art of gewu to let the common people live well, and I will protect you properly, not because I want to become an imperial son-in-law, but simply because I want to be with you and live life well together.”
Princess Changle accepted the rose dew and the glass sugar, opened the lid, and took a sniff as a sweet fragrance rushed to her nose.
She smiled and said, “Alright, then we will think about it slowly, but for Xiaoyao Tower, we must push it forward quickly, because I am still waiting to see you make the gewu corner lively and bustling.”
On the return trip, the sun was close to setting, dyeing Qujiang a warm orange-red, and the water surface and the sky looked joined together, so dazzling that it was hard to look away.
Princess Changle suddenly pointed at a small peach tree by the bank and smiled as she said, “Look, I planted that when I was 7.”
“Mother Empress said back then that peach wood can ward off evil and also symbolizes a good marriage.”
Du Heng followed the direction of her finger and looked, and the little peach tree was not tall, yet its trunk and branches stood straight, and tender green new buds were even sprouting at the tips, as if gathering strength to bloom next spring.
“When next spring comes and the peach blossoms bloom like clouds, shall we come here again for a boat ride?”
Princess Changle spoke softly, her eyes full of longing for the future, like a little girl looking forward to a spring outing.
“Sure.”
Du Heng smiled and nodded.
“By then I’ll make you new little gewu gadgets, so you can see my new results.”
When the painted pleasure boat docked, the palace attendants hurried forward to welcome them.
Before Princess Changle boarded her carriage, she turned back and smiled at Du Heng, her voice drifting over on the autumn wind.
“We will see each other again soon over at Xiaoyao Tower.”
Du Heng stood by the riverbank, watching the carriage’s retreating silhouette, as reed catkins brushed lightly across his cheeks and his heart felt like it held Qujiang’s waters, full of excitement and anticipation.
He lowered his head to look at the bamboo basket, and the rose dew’s clean fragrance still lingered, the glass sugar glinted, and the corners of the Xiaoyao Tower construction blueprints, from being flipped through again and again, had already worn pale.
He knew this Qujiang appointment was a confession of longing between him and Princess Changle, and it was a promise for the future.
In the days to come, he would run Xiaoyao Tower well, practice gewu well, and together with her, slowly shape their days into the life they wanted.
Night gradually fell, and one lamp after another lit up along Qujiang Pool, reflecting in the water like stars scattered all over the ground.
Du Heng turned around and walked toward Dujiawa with firm yet light steps.
The stove fire at home probably had not gone out yet, and the craftsmen’s “ding-ding-dang-dang” clanging as they forged tools might still be ringing, and the drawing on the desk filled with gewu devices was still waiting for him to keep refining it.
The stars in the sky shone brightly, as if blessing their future and bearing witness to a commoner youth and a princess, carrying longing and hope, determined to make life together warm and bustling.