Yun Che’s heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, I got so carried away telling the story and building the atmosphere that I forgot to consider the audience’s tolerance!
The Match Made in Heaven actually has two endings.
One is the classic Huangmei opera version of The Match Made in Heaven, which is a tragedy: at the end, the Seven Fairies are captured by heavenly soldiers and taken back to Heavenly Court, where they leave behind a blood-written letter promising to send a child the following year. Dong Yong raises the child alone, looks up at the sky in longing every year, and immortals and mortals are forever separated.
There is also an adapted reunion version: the Seven Fairies have their immortal bones stripped away by Queen Mother and are turned into mortals, reunited with Dong Yong in the mortal world, and even resign from office and return to farming, living happy lives.
This little princess in the deep palace had a simple and sensitive heart, and she could not bear such a tragic ending where immortals and mortals are forever separated.
Yun Che decided to use the adapted version. He could not bear to see pretty girls cry…
If he left and ended up making the little princess cry, that would be far too ungentlemanly.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I haven’t finished yet!” he hurriedly soothed her, and his tone also became lighter. “The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother… well, they were parents after all. Seeing their youngest daughter in so much pain, and Dong Yong truly being such an utterly sincere, supremely filial, and deeply devoted young man, after a long time, their hearts finally softened.”
“They softened?” Tantai Mingyue’s attention was immediately drawn in, and her sadness eased a little. “They agreed to let the 7th Princess and Dong Yong be together?”
“Agreeing… the rules of Heavenly Court were there, so direct agreement was impossible.” Yun Che began improvising. “But in the end, Queen Mother still pitied her daughter and gave the 7th Princess a choice.”
“What choice?”
“She could stay in Heavenly Court and continue being her immortal maiden, but from then on she would have nothing more to do with Dong Yong or the human realm, and she would completely forget the past.” Yun Che paused and emphasized his point.
“Or she could choose to give up her identity as an immortal maiden, have her immortal bones stripped away, cleanse away her immortal essence, and from then on become a true mortal, subject to birth, aging, illness, and death, with no divine power left.
Although she would fall from divinity into mortality, that way she could return to the mortal world and be with Dong Yong.
“Strip away her immortal bones? Turn into a mortal?” Tantai Mingyue exclaimed. “That… that would hurt a lot, wouldn’t it? And she’d never be able to fly again or live forever!”
“Yes, it was very painful, and it meant giving up eternal life and boundless magical power.” Yun Che’s voice softened, carrying respect. “But the 7th Princess chose the latter almost without hesitation.
She said to Queen Mother: ‘Mother, Heavenly Court may be good, but without Dong Yong, even 10,000 years there would be nothing but cold torment.
The mortal world may be bitter, but with him by my side, even a few dozen years are a warm eternity.’”
Tantai Mingyue held her breath, as if stunned by this resolute and deeply affectionate choice.
Queen Mother looked at her daughter’s steadfast eyes and knew she could no longer change her mind, so she could only agree through tears.
Before all the immortals as witnesses, the 7th Princess endured the torture of having her immortal bones stripped away and her immortal essence cleansed; the pain was enough to break any immortal, but she gritted her teeth and held on, because there was only one belief in her heart: return to his side.
“And then? Did she succeed?” Tantai Mingyue asked eagerly.
“She did.” Yun Che’s voice carried relief and warmth. “When she returned to that little village again in her mortal body, dragging her weakened frame, Dong Yong was staring blankly at the sky, still holding the celestial silk ribbon that the 7th Princess had left behind years ago.
When he saw that familiar yet somewhat haggard figure stumbling toward him, he could hardly believe his own eyes.”
Yun Che embellished it a little and described that touching reunion: “The 7th Princess threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face, and said, ‘I will never leave again. From now on I will only be an ordinary mortal woman. I will grow old, I will fall ill, and I will die. Do you still want me?’
Dong Yong held her tightly and choked out, ‘I do! No matter what you become, fairy or mortal, you are my wife.
This life, the next life, I want you!’”
“That’s wonderful!” Tantai Mingyue cheered in the sea of consciousness, and her previous sadness vanished in an instant, replaced by overflowing joy. “They can finally be together! They’ll never be separated again!”
“Yes.” Yun Che smiled. “Later, Dong Yong was recommended by local officials because of his virtue and scholarship, and he became a minor official.
But he and the 7th Princess… who should now be called Madam Dong… both disliked the bustle of officialdom, so before long they resigned from office and returned to the village where they had first met.
Although the 7th Princess had lost her magical power, she was deft and clever, and she was skilled at weaving and embroidery.
Dong Yong was diligent and capable, and he was also good at farming and cultivating the land. They built several thatched cottages, opened up a few acres of modest farmland, and even had a lovely pair of children.
Although life was poor, the family lived in harmony and happiness, full of laughter and joy.
Every night, they sat under the old pagoda tree, looked at the stars, and told the children stories from the heavens, recounting the thrilling love story between immortals and mortals that they had once experienced.”
A warm and complete ending was narrated by Yun Che in a gentle, flowing voice.
“And that is the ending,” Yun Che summed up, sending warmth through his thoughts. “The Seven Fairies and Dong Yong went through unimaginable hardships and trials, and even once faced eternal separation.
But their true feelings ultimately moved the heavens, and with their courage and persistence, they broke through the seemingly insurmountable barrier of the heavenly laws.
In the end, true lovers were finally united, and in the mortal world they lived an ordinary yet happy and fulfilling life.”
“True lovers end up together…” Tantai Mingyue repeated those seven words softly, full of longing.
This reunion ending from the adapted version that Yun Che told clearly soothed her soft, easily moved heart.
She seemed completely immersed in that happy scene of “thatched cottages, cooking smoke rising, and children around the knees.”
“Yun Che,” she suddenly said very seriously, “I like this ending.
Although the hardships at the beginning were sad, the reunion at the end makes one feel… that all the waiting and pain were worth it. True feelings really can overcome everything, right?”
Her tone carried the most beautiful longing and conviction a young girl could have toward love.
“Mm, true feelings have the strength to change fate.” Yun Che affirmed, while also sensing that the binding time limit was about to arrive. “So, Little Mingyue, no matter what you encounter in the future, remember this story, and remember to keep hoping for what is good and to stay brave.”
It was the first time he had used a more intimate form of address.
Tantai Mingyue’s thoughts paused slightly, then came a shy and delighted reply: “Mm! I will remember it!
Yun Che, thank you for telling me such an amazing story!”
Just as Yun Che and Tantai Mingyue were immersed in that beautiful atmosphere, an ill-timed quarrel sounded from outside the hall.
A voice from outside the hall, unable to hide its anxiety, called out: “4th Imperial Princess, please wait!
The 9th Imperial Princess gave orders today that she is unwell and needs rest. She is not seeing outside guests…”
A sharp, somewhat rough female voice rudely cut off Qingyi’s words, full of impatience and a thick, vicious edge: “Dog servant! Get out!
I can see whoever I want. Who are you, a lowly maid, to stop me?
A mere maid by Little Ninth’s side. Move aside!”
“Bang!”
The hall door was suddenly shoved open with considerable force, hitting the wall with a dull thud.
Yun Che looked toward the sound.
He saw an unusually fat woman, nearly bursting her clothes at the seams, storming in with a menacing aura.
She looked about sixteen or seventeen, and her face was caked with thick makeup, yet it still could not fully hide the eyes that looked somewhat narrow because the flesh around them had been squeezed together.
Her appearance was indeed far from beautiful, and her arrogant air made her look even gloomier and more terrifying.
This was the 4th Imperial Princess. Behind her followed two old matrons with equally fleshy faces and unfriendly eyes, and they easily blocked Qingyi, Tantai Mingyue’s maid who had tried to stop them, out at the door.
As soon as Tantai Jianjia entered, those tiny eyes, like searchlights, locked precisely and with undisguised malice onto Tantai Mingyue sitting on the soft carpet.