With her head lowered, Jia Yuanchun naturally could not see the trace of mockery hidden deep within Prince Jing’s eyes. Hearing the Prince’s question, she hastily replied, “Replying to Your Highness, the person whose horoscope matches the little prince’s is Concubine Zhou, a concubine of my father’s. Ever since my younger brother was sent away to cultivate before the Buddha, Concubine Zhou has devoted herself entirely to chanting scriptures and praying to the Buddha, a practice she has maintained for more than ten years. Surely, she will be able to pray effectively for the little prince.”
Prince Jing remained silent and contemplative. Waiting anxiously for a long while without receiving a response, Jia Yuanchun’s initial confidence began to waver, and her composed expression slowly turned pale. Kneeling upon the floor with her slender back bowed, she dared not make the slightest movement. Just as she felt she could no longer sustain the posture, she finally heard Prince Jing’s voice: “Since she is your father’s concubine, this Prince finds it somewhat difficult to force matters. After all, if she is to go, she must journey to pray before the Buddha with a completely unburdened mind. How could this Prince cause your father to lose a concubine merely for my own selfish reasons?”
Sensing the underlying implication in Prince Jing’s words, Jia Yuanchun hurriedly spoke up, “Replying to Your Highness, to share the Prince’s worries, how could there be any reason to refuse? To speak with undue presumption, ever since my younger brother was sent away, my father has also missed him dearly, and knowing the little prince is in poor health, he feels deep sympathy in his heart. Furthermore, Concubine Zhou is a kind-hearted soul; if she learns that this journey is undertaken to pray for the little prince’s recovery, she will undoubtedly consent with gladness.”
Prince Jing did not reply immediately. Instead, he feigned deep deliberation for a good long while before letting out a sigh and saying, “Rise.”
Jia Yuanchun breathed a sigh of relief and stood up from the floor. “Many thanks, Your Highness.”
“Come to think of it, we have searched for several days, yet only you were able to find someone. It seems this must be heaven’s will,” Prince Jing sighed. “Where is it so easy to find someone whose horoscope matches? Very well. Since matters have reached this point, this Prince has no choice but to play the villain. Yuanchun, you have rendered this Prince such a massive favor; this Prince must thank you properly.”
“Sharing Your Highness’s worries is this humble maid’s duty, I dare not claim credit,” Jia Yuanchun replied, her lips curving upward into a deeply respectful expression.
Prince Jing gave a slight nod, dismissing her from his presence. Afterward, he turned to Gu Zhaoyan and said, “By tomorrow, this matter should be settled. However, it will wrong your mother to spend a couple of days staying at the temple first; we can bring her back once ten days or half a month have passed. Has the new residence been prepared?”
Gu Zhaoyan replied, “It is already prepared. Once we move in, I shall invite you over for a hotpot meal.”
It was merely a casual, polite remark, yet to his surprise, Prince Jing accepted on the spot. “Very well! On that day, I shall bring Jin’er along to taste your hotpot.”
After exchanging a few more words, Gu Zhaoyan returned to his own courtyard.
Upon receiving Jia Yuanchun’s news, Jia Zheng paid a visit to Concubine Zhou’s quarters. Looking at the slave contract in his hand, a complex mixture of emotions welled up in her heart. Truth be told, the moment she was purchased into the Rongguo Estate and made Jia Zheng’s concubine, though Lady Wang loved enforcing strict household rules, every concubine in aristocratic households lived similarly, and she had never thought much of it.
While her status lacked prestige, she was at least the concubine of the Second Master of the Rongguo Estate, sparing her from wandering the streets or falling into those unspeakable, filthy places. Yet ever since Jia Zheng sent her son away, her heart had been frozen by ice. She could have resigned herself to living out the rest of her days in such a manner, but now her son had returned, hale and hearty, and had even promised to take her away to reunite as mother and son, her heart instantly came back to life. Therefore, though her heart was surging with turbulent excitement, she showed no outward sign of it, merely offering Jia Zheng a respectful curtsy. “For all these years, this concubine is deeply grateful for the master’s care and provision. Now that this concubine is departing, I can only wish the master smooth sailing in all things.”
Jia Zheng reached out to support her arm, raising her to her feet. Gazing at Concubine Zhou’s lowered, gentle expression, a sudden memory flashed of when she had first entered the estate, back when the two of them had shared genuine moments of deep affection. “I have failed you. In the days to come…”
Concubine Zhou paid no heed to Jia Zheng’s hesitant, unfinished words, speaking instead, “Since this concubine is about to leave this place, I hope the master will give me a straight answer: where on earth is An’er right now?”
Jia Zheng let out a sigh. “Back then, I had someone send him to a temple to serve the Buddha. Right now, he is studying under the Abbot Master at Tai’an Temple. I sent people to check on him; he is doing very well.”
Tai’an Temple? Concubine Zhou had never heard of this temple and had no idea where it was located. Hearing Jia Zheng’s words only left her heart feeling cold; even at this late stage, he was still unwilling to tell her the true situation regarding An’er.
Without sparing Jia Zheng another single word, she departed through the back door with Luoyue, boarding a carriage that had long been waiting outside and riding slowly away.
The carriage carrying Concubine Zhou did not linger in the city, heading straight toward the imperial temple instead. Prince Jing had long since made arrangements with the Abbot, allowing Concubine Zhou to enter the temple guest quarters without a hitch.
“An’er!” The moment she pushed open the door and saw Gu Zhaoyan, Concubine Zhou’s face lit up with a brilliant smile. “Why are you here?”
Gu Zhaoyan smiled. “I came to see if Mother is settling in comfortably, and incidentally to chat about the Dharma with the Abbot Master.”
Luoyue placed their bundle of belongings onto the bed and began unpacking. Gu Zhaoyan expressed his gratitude: “We must still rely on Aunt Yue; with Aunt Yue here, I can rest much easier. But Aunt Yue must not overwork herself; I will come tidy things up in a moment.”
With Luoyue having had her slave status erased, she was no longer Concubine Zhou’s maidservant. After some thought, Zhou Wanying had decided for the two of them to become sworn sisters, which led Gu Zhaoyan to address Luoyue respectfully as “Aunt Yue.”
Hearing Gu Zhaoyan speak thus, Luoyue shook her head. “Though these are just family garments, you are grown now, so it is inconvenient for you to handle them. Pay no mind to this, just go talk with your mother and leave these chores to me.”
“Then many thanks, Aunt Yue. Once we move into our new home, I will buy a few good maidservants to wait upon you,” Gu Zhaoyan said, his face beaming with a wide smile.
“Very well, then I shall hold you to that,” Luoyue replied with a laugh.
Before long, Gu Zhaoyan was summoned away by a young novice monk. Once she finished tidying up, Luoyue said to Zhou Wanying, “This truly is a place of Buddhist purity; even my restless, fluttering heart has settled down completely.”
Handing her a cup of tea, Zhou Wanying smiled. “Perhaps it is simply because we have changed to a completely new environment that you feel this way.”
Luoyue nodded without dwelling on it further, quickly casting the thought aside.
Gu Zhaoyan had originally intended to stay at the temple until Zhou Wanying’s departure; after all, as a silver-haired Buddhist lay disciple with a deeply sanctified image, staying at a temple wasn’t abrupt in the slightest. Furthermore, he was accompanied by a silvery-white wolf, and in Buddhist circles, white symbolized purity and flawlessness. Thus, upon learning that Bailang possessed great spiritual intelligence and served as his guardian spirit beast, the monks within the temple welcomed them even more warmly. However, this plan was abruptly shattered by the sound of hurried footsteps.
On this particular day, while Gu Zhaoyan was engaging in scriptural debate with Abbot Huifa, a young novice dashed over in a breathless panic: “Abbot! Abbot! People from the imperial palace have arrived!”
The moment the words left his novice’s mouth, a series of rapid, urgent footsteps approached swiftly from the distance. Looking up, they saw a squad of Imperial Guards clad in armor and girded with long sabers marching rapidly toward them.