“The decree states: The daughter of the late Grand Master of the Lantai Temple and Salt Patrol Censor, Lin Ruhai—being newly come of age, pure and refined in nature, and born under auspicious stars—is hereby appointed to be Princess Consort to Prince Duan. By imperial command.”
Three days earlier, attendants from the palace arrived to ask whether the Jia family had any young ladies who had just reached their coming-of-age ceremony, and they also demanded their birth characters. Only afterward, when Grandmother Jia sent people to inquire, did they learn the truth: the Emperor’s younger brother, Prince Duan, had fallen gravely ill. Despite the efforts of the imperial physicians and famed healers among the common folk, no remedy worked. The Empress Dowager therefore invited the monks of Longhua Temple to chant prayers and seek blessings for him.
Master Pingyi of Longhua Temple was a man of great ability. He calculated that there was, at this very moment in the capital, a girl who had just come of age whose birth characters matched those of Prince Duan. As long as the two were joined in marriage, not only could the prince recover, but his life thereafter would be long and prosperous.
Prince Duan was the Empress Dowager’s youngest son. He had been frail since birth and plagued by illness, and thus had always received the tender affection of his mother and elder brother. Upon hearing the master’s words, the Emperor immediately ordered his people to search throughout the capital for every fifteen-year-old girl and deliver their birth characters to Master Pingyi for divination.
The imperial command could not be disobeyed. The Jia family had no choice but to submit the birth characters of their Third Miss as well as those of their foster niece living under their roof.
Grandmother Jia would never allow such matters to reach the girls’ ears, but the servants of the Jia household were fond of gossip. Before long, Daiyu heard the news from the elderly maid at Xiaoxiang Pavilion.
Thus, when she was specially summoned today to receive the decree, Daiyu had already guessed what awaited her.
“Your subject thanks His Majesty for his gracious favor,” Daiyu said, bowing low.
Now that her guess had become reality, Daiyu could not say what she truly felt. Yet whether it was thunderbolt or blessing, all was imperial grace. Other than giving thanks, she had no choice.
As for the execution blade now hanging invisible above her neck—Daiyu had no power to change that.
The eunuch announcing the decree ordered the accompanying court lady to help Daiyu to her feet. Behind her, Jia Zheng and Jia She supported Grandmother Jia as she rose. All three wore expressions of shock.
Grandmother Jia’s eyes brimmed with tears as she forced a smile. “His Majesty’s great kindness… Lin girl, you are blessed.”
These past years, the Jia family had fallen out of imperial favor. Grandmother Jia believed none of their girls would again marry into the imperial clan—yet unexpectedly…
Though Daiyu bore the surname Lin, her parents were both gone, and she had lived in the Jia household since childhood. In every sense, she was one of them. Choosing her meant that Prince Duan’s condition must truly be critical; neither the Emperor nor the Empress Dowager could afford to care about anything else.
Given Master Pingyi’s pronouncement, if Prince Duan recovered, all would be well. But if he did not, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor would not only blame the old monk—Daiyu herself would also suffer.
Jia She sighed, but it was not the time to speak. He simply ordered Jia Lian to invite the eunuch who had proclaimed the edict to take tea, but the eunuch politely refused and departed from Rongguo Mansion with his attendants.
An imperial decree bestowing marriage, and to the rank of princess consort—by rights, this should have been a moment of immense joy. Yet with Prince Duan’s life hanging by a thread, congratulations stuck in everyone’s throats.
Daiyu said, “Grandmother, the imperial edict cannot simply be left lying here.”
She lowered her eyes to the blinding imperial yellow, her tone calm.
Grandmother Jia dabbed at the corners of her eyes and waved her hand. “Have Feng-girl fetch a box—use nanmu wood.”
Seeing his mother thus, Jia Zheng sighed softly and advised, “Mother, it is His Majesty’s golden command. Now that things have come to this, we can only leave it to fate.”
It was not that Jia Zheng was heartless. Even if this decree had fallen upon his own daughter Tanchun, he would still have nothing to say but to accept fate.
Grandmother Jia understood this truth well. She shook her head in sorrow, took Daiyu’s hand, and said, “Go back, child.”
Daiyu inclined her head slightly. She still held the decree that had just sealed her fate. Her fingertips had turned white.
Facing death, she was far from calm.
“Miss Lin is going to be a princess consort!”
Such words spread through the Jia household in no time, and naturally, Jia Baoyu also heard them.
Daiyu had already moved into a side room within Grandmother Jia’s courtyard. She could not stop Baoyu from entering his grandmother’s quarters, but she ordered her maids to shut her door tightly. No matter how loudly Baoyu knocked and called, she gave no response.
Between life and death, what was the point of one last meeting?
Soon, Baoyu was dragged away by Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, and the room fell quiet again.
Knowing Baoyu’s temperament, Zijuan whispered, “I fear he won’t give up so easily.”
Daiyu sat on the luohan couch, her gaze fixed on the nanmu box holding the imperial decree. At those words, she said softly, “Perhaps… there aren’t many days left.”
If Prince Duan showed no improvement, once the Emperor and the Empress Dowager dealt with the monk, it would be Daiyu’s turn.
She had heard of prophetic omens before, and knew well they were often nothing more than contrived nonsense to serve someone’s purpose.
In this case, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were simply grasping at straws. Daiyu suspected that Prince Duan was truly beyond saving, and thus they clung desperately to the monk’s claim, as if holding onto the last hope of salvation.
When Prince Duan passed, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager would awaken to the deception. Their wrath would descend like thunder, and anyone involved in this prophetic nonsense would meet a terrible end.
Zijuan could not hold back her tears. Daiyu murmured, “Before, I always thought death was the same no matter early or late. But now that mine is truly near… I find myself reluctant.”
She thought of the books she had not finished, of the qin scores she had yet to master, of the poems she still needed to polish.
She thought of the bird’s nest soup her grandmother sent every day, of the chess game with her Second Sister just a few days ago, of the tea Sister Feng had gifted her last month.
Only now did she realize—she still had many attachments in this world.
Zijuan cried, “Miss, don’t say such unlucky things. Perhaps that monk—no, that master truly has real ability. Maybe his words will come true, and His Highness will be well tomorrow…”
Daiyu shook her head. “Since there’s nothing else to do, I might as well tidy up my books. Zijuan, help me find where I put all my old poems.”
With Daiyu acting as though she were arranging her own belongings for death, not only Zijuan but all the maids and matrons in the room silently wiped their tears.
Daiyu sighed inwardly. My fate is already sealed. I only hope—for Consort Jia’s sake—that His Majesty and the Empress Dowager will not implicate the Jia family.
But… it is truly such a pity, she thought. There are still so many people and so many things I cannot bear to part with.
Two days later, the Empress Dowager issued a decree bestowing upon Miss Lin jewels, jade ornaments, silks, brocades, and other treasures. Soon afterward, the Emperor’s own gifts arrived at Rongguo Mansion as well—rare items never seen outside the palace.
This was a sign—an auspicious sign.
Grandmother Jia grasped Daiyu’s hands, crying with joy. “Good… good! Yu’er, my dear Min-girl is watching over her daughter from the heavens!”
Hearing her grandmother mention her mother, and having just passed the shadow of death, Daiyu could no longer hold back her tears. “Grandmother…”
The women of the household hurried to comfort the pair. Lady Wang, finding no chance to speak, inwardly curled her lip.
With the decree in hand, the old lady’s dream of pairing her two “Yu’s” was now impossible—a result that pleased Lady Wang.
Once Baoyu recovered from his illness, she planned to find him a noble, virtuous bride. In time, he would surely forget Daiyu.
Yet in Lady Wang’s eyes, the ill-fated Lin girl entering the imperial clan and becoming her daughter’s sister-in-law was an eyesore. Thinking of her own daughter being a Noble Consort, and Daiyu merely a princess consort far below her rank, Lady Wang felt satisfied again.
Princess consort or not, she would still have to bow before the Noble Consort!
After much effort, Grandmother Jia and Daiyu finally calmed. Lady Xing said with a smile, “Now that His Highness is recovering, I’m afraid the palace will soon come to perform the six wedding rites. Old Madam, we must prepare early!”
At these words, Wang Xifeng’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly glanced at Grandmother Jia and saw her face darken. Looking again at Lin girl, she saw Daiyu’s expression sink as well.
Before Lady Xing’s remark, Daiyu had never truly considered the possibility that the decree would come to pass. She had never imagined she would truly marry Prince Duan.
So this was the price of survival?
…
Prince Duan’s Residence
This was the third day since Chu Heng had awakened, and the first day he was fully lucid. Although he had opened his eyes in the previous two days, his mind had remained hazy.
After moistening his throat with two sips of water, Chu Heng weakly asked, “What day of the month is it?”
Chief attendant eunuch Zhao Qing carefully helped him lie back down and replied with a voice tinged with tears, “Your Highness, it is already the sixth.”
Zhao Qing had served Chu Heng since he was a child. Their long years together had fostered deep loyalty. Seeing his master finally out of danger, he could not help but cry with relief.
Chu Heng leaned weakly into the soft pillow and calculated silently. He had fallen ill in mid-fifth month. The last time he had a clear sense of the dates was near the end of the month. In his delirium, he had believed his life had reached its end—that he was about to step onto the Yellow Springs Road—yet unexpectedly, he had survived.
His body frail, his words slow, he murmured, “I am not having a final burst of clarity before death. Gonggong, stop crying.”
Zhao Qing hurriedly said, “Your Highness has recovered; please don’t speak such ominous words!”
Since childhood, Chu Heng’s life had been filled with illness. He had passed the gates of death more times than one could count and had long ceased to care about taboos.
After only these two sentences, he was already exhausted, so he closed his eyes halfway and said no more.
Zhao Qing patted his chest in relief. “The Empress Dowager was heartbroken, and His Majesty deeply concerned. Fortunately, they sought out Master Pingyi, and only then could Your Highness overcome disaster and regain life.”
Just as Chu Heng was about to close his eyes and sleep again, the words startled him awake. “Master Pingyi? Master Pingyi of Longhua Temple?”
“Yes, exactly. These days, neither imperial physicians nor famed healers were of any use. The Empress Dowager invited Master Pingyi to calculate Your Highness’s birth characters. He said that as long as a girl with matching birth characters was taken as your wife, Your Highness would recover…”
“Wait.” Without hearing the rest, Chu Heng already knew what must have happened. Knowing the Emperor and Empress Dowager well, he could easily guess. Head aching, he asked, “The Emperor issued a marriage decree?”
Hearing this, Zhao Qing knew his master’s meaning and tried to laugh it off. “The imperial decree had only just been proclaimed when Your Highness awakened. Today is the third day, and Your Highness can already sit up and speak. Clearly the master’s powers are—”
Under Chu Heng’s cold, expressionless stare, Zhao Qing shut his mouth.
Prince Duan had already reached the age of twenty. At the same age, the current Emperor had already fathered four children. Yet Chu Heng was still unmarried. The Empress Dowager had spent years fretting over his marriage, intending to find him a fine wife.
The Emperor, deeply attached to his younger brother, had also instructed the Empress to scout among the great families for suitable young ladies.
But Chu Heng had never shown interest in matters between men and women. Coupled with his chronic illness, his mother and elder brother had always indulged him and never forced the issue. And so, the matter had dragged on until now.
Chu Heng rubbed his forehead. With the decree already issued, there was no room for retreat. Thinking of a stranger he would soon have to accept into his life, his headache worsened.
It would almost have been better to die.
He closed his eyes again, hoping for at least one day of peace.
Zhao Qing watched as His Highness fell asleep just like that. Though long familiar with his master’s cold and distant temperament, he couldn’t help clicking his tongue. His Highness did not even care to ask which family the girl came from. When the princess consort entered this household, her days would likely not be easy.
True, Prince Duan was neither cruel nor immoral. He had no vices of arrogance or indulgence. But he had been raised in privilege, pampered by parents and siblings alike. He had never learned to accommodate others. His temperament was certainly not an easy one.