The next day.
Master Pingyi was seated on a meditation cushion. When he saw Chu Heng enter, he rose and pressed his palms together. “Your Highness.”
“Master.” Chu Heng gave a slight nod. Seeing that the room contained nothing but a meditation cushion, he remarked critically, “This way of receiving guests is rather lacking.”
Pingyi smiled. “The monastery is simple. I can only ask Your Highness to make do as the guest follows the host.”
“Other than commissioning golden statues for your temple, did His Majesty and the Empress Dowager not bestow any additional rewards?” Chu Heng glanced at the sparse furnishings. “They shouldn’t be such stingy people.”
“His Majesty and the Empress Dowager serve the Buddha with sincere devotion. However, the Buddha teaches compassion, and a golden body is but illusion. This humble monk asked His Majesty and the Empress Dowager to distribute the rewards among the poor. Thus the Buddha would be even more pleased,” Pingyi replied.
Chu Heng paused. When he looked at Pingyi again, his gaze had grown much more serious. “Master… delivering all beings—was that the purpose behind deceiving His Majesty and the Empress Dowager?”
Pingyi shook his head. “This humble monk did not deceive His Majesty or the Empress Dowager.”
“…Very well.” Chu Heng smiled. “Since the Master relieves suffering and saves lives, I cannot very well behave like a heartless villain.”
“Still, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager are not people of gentle temper,” Chu Heng said slowly. “Master… once you’ve begun, there’s no turning back.”
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager had already become convinced that Master Pingyi possessed divine powers. If in the future they made requests and Master Pingyi could not grant them—
Had there not been the case of Emperor Wu of Han executing Luan Da?
Pingyi smiled. “Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness.”
Chu Heng nodded. Feeling he had obtained his answer, he performed a proper salute and was about to leave when Pingyi suddenly spoke again. “Your Highness may not believe it, but this matter is indeed true.”
Chu Heng was puzzled. “What matter?”
Pingyi said solemnly, “Your Highness’s eight characters are in harmony with Miss Lin’s. If you are joined as husband and wife, both of you will be free of illness and enjoy long life and lasting fortune.”
Chu Heng: “……”
Chu Heng wiped his face and turned back, speaking earnestly. “To be honest, Master, I have indeed been feeling almost excessively well lately. Do you perhaps have some excellent medicine… one that can cure my chronic condition at its root?”
Pingyi shook his head. “It is not a chronic condition. Rather, Your Highness was poisoned in childhood, which damaged your constitution and caused years of illness. Now that you are gradually recovering, it is natural that you feel much improved.”
Chu Heng’s expression turned cold at once. “How do you know this?”
“I once took Your Highness’s pulse, though I never prescribed any medicine,” Pingyi said calmly. “The Empress Dowager can attest to this.”
Chu Heng rubbed his fingers together. Indeed, if Pingyi dared to speak of Chu Heng having once been poisoned, the Empress Dowager would not be valuing him as she did today—she would have silenced him forever.
“For so many years, the imperial physicians were at their wits’ end. And yet… merely granting a marriage can restore me?” Chu Heng’s emotions were complicated. “Master, you cannot persuade me.”
Pingyi replied, “Miss Lin has also always been in poor health, yet she too has improved of late. Your Highness may ask her, and you will know whether what this humble monk says is true.”
Daiyu had mentioned that her father once admonished her to cherish her blessings and care for her health…
Chu Heng stood stunned for a moment, then smiled meaningfully. “Could there truly be gods and Buddhas in this world?”
“The gods and Buddhas dwell within the heart,” Master Pingyi said with a gentle smile.
…
Daiyu set down her brush, pressed it with a paperweight, and waited for the ink to dry. When she raised her eyes, she saw Chu Heng staring into space across from her. She pondered slightly.
Prince Duan seemed quite distracted.
Prince Duan was someone who often drifted into reverie. In the few days since Daiyu had known him, she had witnessed it more than once.
Yet during these five days at Longhua Temple, every afternoon when they put on a show for the Empress Dowager, Daiyu would read, write, admire the scenery, or take a walk—always finding something to pass the time. Chu Heng, aside from occasionally speaking with Daiyu, spent the rest of the time entirely lost in thought.
This was different from his earlier, unconscious drifting. At times he would frown, as if troubled by some unresolved question.
Daiyu could not help but feel curious, though it was difficult to ask outright.
“Miss Lin…” Daiyu was brought back to herself by the call. She saw Prince Duan looking at her, a strange expression on his face. “Is there something on my face?”
Daiyu asked in confusion, “What?”
Seeing her bewildered look, Chu Heng could not help but smile. “You were staring at me absentmindedly.”
Having been caught while pondering him, Daiyu blushed slightly, then quickly recovered and smiled. “I see that Your Highness is often lost in thought. After watching for so long, I seem to have picked up the habit myself.”
“Oh.” Chu Heng shook his head. “That’s not a good habit. Miss Lin mustn’t learn it from me.”
Daiyu then said, “If I may ask, how did Your Highness come by this habit?”
Chu Heng propped his chin and thought for a while. “Before… when I was young, still living in the palace, there was nothing to do. Gradually, it just became so.”
Daiyu followed up with curiosity. “When you were young, did you not attend lessons?”
“I went occasionally.” Chu Heng smiled, with a hint of self-mockery. “I slacked off too much, so now I’m accomplished in neither letters nor martial skills.”
Though he spoke only briefly, Daiyu could infer the full picture. Because of frequent illness, Prince Duan could not attend lessons daily. The Empress Dowager—who at that time was not yet the Empress Dowager—must have indulged him. Over time, the child naturally preferred idleness to diligent study.
Daiyu paused, then said honestly, “Given Your Highness’s status, being neither accomplished in letters nor arms is not necessarily a bad thing.”
Chu Heng was taken aback, then smiled. “I came to understand that later.”
This time, his smile carried a bit more ease.
“And you?” Chu Heng asked next. “Miss Lin, you studied at home as a child. What about after you came to the capital?”
“At my maternal grandparents’ home, I had several female cousins, and we hired a female tutor. We studied together for several years.” Daiyu recalled her childhood. Her days had been much easier then, when her father was still alive. “After Her Majesty returned from her provincial visit, she ordered us to move into the Grand View Garden. Several of us cousins formed a poetry society—just a pastime, nothing serious.”
As she finished, a trace of sorrow settled between her brows, as though she had recalled something too painful to revisit.
So his guess had been right…
Chu Heng said softly, “Miss Lin, your days in the Jia household were not very comfortable…”
Daiyu frowned slightly and looked at him.
“Living under another’s roof—I know the feeling,” Chu Heng gazed into the distance. “In the past few years in the palace, that’s how I felt.”
Daiyu’s fingers moved slightly. Should she continue asking…
“Your ink is dry.” Chu Heng pointed, making the decision for her.
Prince Duan would not answer. If Daiyu pressed further, she would only break the amicable calm they now shared.
Daiyu lowered her eyes to the newly written poem on the paper and smoothly changed the subject. “Your Highness, sitting idly is dull. Do you not find something to pass the time?”
“I have nothing to do.” Chu Heng raised his hand to pour a cup of water and asked casually, “The other day I heard you say your late father taught you to cherish your blessings and care for your health. Miss Lin, were you also not very healthy as a child?”
Daiyu took it as an offhand question—such casual inquiries had often arisen between them these past few days.
“I’ve had illness since childhood. From the time I could eat, I was taking medicine. These years, it’s been medicine that has raised me,” Daiyu replied casually.
Feeling that one word in the poem she had just written was unsatisfactory, she crossed it out and frowned, then added, “Since coming up the mountain, I actually feel much better. I never thought a temple could be so restorative.”
Chu Heng paused. Were such spiritual matters truly real?
As he thought this, he popped a piece of candy into his mouth and suddenly smiled. In that case, the Buddha truly was magnanimous.
He recited sutras and paid homage daily with nothing but perfunctory intent, and yet still received the Buddha’s protection?
Daiyu found a word she was satisfied with and added it, rereading the poem twice before nodding.
Seeing this, Chu Heng could not help but ask curiously, “Miss Lin, what have you written? Might I take a look?”
“I merely scribbled a small poem. I dare not sully Your Highness’s eyes,” Daiyu said with a light smile.
Chu Heng laughed. “Miss Lin is too modest. With my level of learning, I’m more afraid of sullying your poem.”
Daiyu chuckled softly. “Your Highness jests… Please.” She turned the paper on the table toward Chu Heng.
Chu Heng reached out and took it, reading slowly. After a long moment, he smiled sheepishly. “Miss Lin’s poetry is indeed excellent, with the bearing of a master. I am too shallow in learning to find better words—only ‘exquisite’ comes to mind.”
Daiyu’s eyes curved with a smile. “Your Highness praises me to my face. I accept it with embarrassment.”
Chu Heng looked at her. The bright smile in her eyes made her whole person seem radiant. She knew her own talent better than anyone.
In looks, talent, and bearing, Miss Lin was truly one in ten thousand.
Chu Heng had merely made her acquaintance; his understanding of her was still far from sufficient.
“It is you who are too modest,” Chu Heng said, gesturing to her. “May I copy it?”
Daiyu hesitated slightly and asked, “A young lady’s writings should not be spread lightly. Your Highness wishes to copy it—what use would you make of it?”
Chu Heng smiled. “To have it ready for need. If one day the Empress Dowager asks, I’ll have something to say.”
Daiyu was startled, then smiled. “That is true.”
Since they were together every day, presenting an intimate front, they had to be thoroughly prepared, or else all their previous efforts would be wasted.
Chu Heng took up his brush and dipped it in ink. Daiyu handed him a clean sheet of paper. Though their positions were reversed, the moment she saw his handwriting, Daiyu began to doubt his earlier claim of being accomplished in neither letters nor arms.
This handwriting was truly superb.
Prince Duan’s fondness for Master Gu’s calligraphy must not have been feigned. Daiyu recalled their first meeting at Renshou Palace.
…
After the Empress Dowager had rested at midday, she summoned guards to inquire about affairs in the palace and at court. Then she called in a young palace maid and asked, “What have the prince and the princess been doing, and what about Lin girl?”
The maid answered respectfully, “The princess is in her own courtyard playing with the palace maids. The prince and Miss Lin are talking in the woods to the west.”
The Empress Dowager nodded with satisfaction and smiled. “No wonder the Master said they were a match made in heaven. Even if they were unwilling at first, after meeting only a few days they’ve grown close.”
Shuangyun flattered her. “The Master’s divine powers go without saying, and it is also thanks to Your Majesty’s painstaking care. If not for your bringing Prince Duan and Miss Lin here, there would be no such state today. Truly, this is the perfect union of timing, place, and people.”
The Empress Dowager rose with Shuangyun’s support and laughed happily. “That’s good, then. When Heng’er marries next April, I will have settled one great concern.”
“You need only wait to hold a grandchild, Your Majesty,” Shuangyun said with a smile. “Once the prince’s matter is settled, and then the princess’s, everything will be complete.”
“Yongkang…” the Empress Dowager pondered. “I must give it some careful thought.”