Chapter Twelve

After Mingtan left, the main hall returned to silence. In the quiet room the scent of tea drifted faintly, but the game could hardly continue.

Master Huiyuan still wore a slight smile on his face and said gently, “If it’s difficult to calm the mind, Your Grace need not force it.”

Jiang Xu ignored him and raised his hand to place a piece, but the piece hung suspended. The girl from the Ming family’s elaborate and unusually convoluted marriage requirements—so rare in the world—ringed in his ears, and the board before him seemed to fall into a tangle, without any pattern or progress.

He no longer insisted, returned the black stone to the go bowl, stood up with his hands behind his back, and said lightly, “I’ll seek the master’s guidance another day.”

Master Huiyuan watched his brisk departure, twirled his white beard, but only smiled without speaking-

After leaving the main hall where he had offered his prayers, Ming Tan wandered recklessly for a while before finally finding his way back to a familiar spot.

Suxin and Lǜ’e had been searching for her for some time; when they suddenly caught sight of her, they hurried forward to meet her.

“Miss, where did you go? You scared us to death!” Lü E exclaimed.

Suxin also said anxiously, “We just asked the little monk in the vegetarian hall. He said you had leftover food and went to the small Buddha hall to self-reflect, but Lü E and I went to the small Buddha hall and couldn’t find you there either.”

“Nothing—just got lost,” Mingtan said lightly and calmly. “I went to look for the treasure hall instead. In any case, for self-reflection it matters not where you are; if your heart is sincere, the spirit will respond.”

She was so sincere; surely the Buddha would not blame her. Perhaps he would even bless her with the perfect husband she hoped to find.

Mm, that’s exactly it.

Mingtan: “By the way, you sought me out—did you eat on your own?”

“No matter, your handmaid is not hungry.”

“It was no use, your handmaid is hungry.”

Suxin and Lǜè both replied at the same time.

“…”

The two of them had been opposites since childhood; over all these years they hadn’t learned a thing from one another.

“The hour hasn’t passed yet, go on and use it. I’ll stay nearby and enjoy the flowers.”

To prevent Suxin from moving out the sort of rule that “how could a master be kept waiting for a servant,” Mingtan added, “I want to be quiet for a while, don’t bother me.”

Suxin no longer dared to refuse.

Seeing Lve’e take Suxin into the meditation hall, Mingtan breathed out. With nothing else to do, she strolled leisurely to the freeing pool, hands folded behind her back, and leaned forward to peer down.

The early spring wind of February was gentle and warm, rippling across the pool and stirring faint waves; the reflected beauty on the water wavered softly with them.

Ming Tan looked left and right, truly feeling a bit sorry for Liang Zixuan. A face so delicate and moving even without powder or hairpins—Liang Zixuan had plainly missed it.

And it wasn’t just a face he missed; what he let slip was a peerless wife he could have been proud to raise a toast with over the decades with his colleagues!

That said, who’d amassed eight lifetimes of good fortune to finally marry such a fine woman? Ah, if only she could be shared. If she were a man, he would overcome every obstacle, don brilliant red robes for ten miles and woo her himself.

While Ming Tan stood by the pond lamenting her reflection, she didn’t notice two dark figures moving through the plum grove opposite the fish-release pond.

“Your Highness, General Shen Xiaojun only arrived at the city gate late at night. He will come to the prince’s residence tomorrow to report on the handover between Dongzhou and the Suibei route.” The secret guard followed Jiang Xu and low-voiced the latest news he’d received.

Jiang Xu did not stop walking; his tone was very flat. “Didn’t he already reach Hezhou yesterday? Why did he only enter the city tonight?”

Hezhou borders the capital; the official road is convenient. This time Shen Yu rode back alone; under normal circumstances he should have arrived by noon at the latest.

“I don’t know, sir.”

The dark guard felt ashamed. By the journey’s standards, entering the city tonight was indeed a bit slow, but the information he had received was exactly like that.

Jiang Xu didn’t ask any more.

But before they had left the plum grove, a familiar male voice came from across the fish-release pond: “Cousin Tan!”

Jiang Xu halted and turned to look.

The hidden guard also instinctively glanced across.

Hidden guard: “……”

He now understood why General Shen could only enter the city late at night and why he would only be able to see the prince tomorrow.

“Cousin… what are you doing here?” Ming Tan turned back and, upon seeing Shen Yu, was genuinely surprised.

Shen Yu hadn’t taken off his armor yet; at a glance he looked travel-worn, his fair, handsome face slightly reddened by the sun, a thin film of sweat still on his brow.

“I was returning to the capital today and stopped at a teahouse to rest. Someone mentioned that my cousin you had broken off your engagement with the heir of the Lingguo Duke, and when I returned to the residence I heard Ah Hua say you had come to Lingmiao Temple to lie low, so I hurried over.”

…?

Lie low.

No need to put it so bluntly.

Shen Yu realized he had misspoken and hastily added, “This isn’t my cousin’s fault; you don’t need to be so distraught.”

Ming Tan avoided the question and, keeping her distance yet remaining polite, retorted, “Cousin, did you come here on some urgent matter?”

Uh… no.

Shen Yu had admired Ming Tan for a long time. When he once sent Shen Hua to live temporarily at the Marquis’s residence, he fell in love with Ming Tan at first sight; fate, however, had already promised her to another, and he never had the chance to reveal his feelings.

This time, before he even entered the city, he heard people at a teahouse outside speaking of the broken engagement between the Ming and Liang families, and the calmness in his heart suddenly leapt with excitement.

Eager to see Ming Tan as soon as possible, he sent a letter to the Wang residence’s secret guards, saying he would not return to the capital until late at night and would report to the prince the next day about affairs in the eastern prefecture.

When he hurried back to the Marquis of Jing’an’s residence, he learned that Ming Tan had gone to Lingmiao Temple early that morning to pray and keep out of the public eye. He could not restrain himself; without even notifying Shen Hua, he rushed there as well.

Shen Yu had come in a hurry and hadn’t really thought of a proper reason. But unlike Shen Hua, he was young, a soldier used to the bluntness of the battlefield, and didn’t care for etiquette or tact.

Since he couldn’t find an excuse, he simply said straight out: “I came to tell my cousin that I have admired you for a long time. It’s just that you were previously promised to the Marquis of Lingguo’s household, and our statuses differ… Now that you’ve been released from that betrothal and it’s difficult to arrange an engagement immediately, why not marry me? After this great victory in the Eastern Province, the prince will surely report to His Majesty to have me promoted. Though I’m still worlds away from the noble status of the daughter of a marquis, I will win more military honors and, in the future, petition for titles and rank for you!”

Shen Yu finished in one breath, his eyes shining, and he immediately took the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Ming Tan.

Ming Tan was startled at first, then the gesture of him offering the pendant frightened her into taking a half step back.

“Be careful!” Shen Yu feared she would fall into the water.

Ming Tan held onto the stone table by the pool and hurriedly called out, “Don’t move!”

Only after she had kept a distance of about ten feet from Shen Yu did she compose herself and ask, “Cousin, do you know what you’re saying and doing?”

Seeing that Ming Tan showed neither delight nor embarrassment, Shen Yu felt a bit at a loss. “I… I’m not proposing to my cousin?”

“Dear cousin, you’re not proposing to me—you’re plunging me into an abyss of no return,” Mingtan said steadily. “Proposals require the consent of parents and matchmakers. Such a simple rule—surely you know it. What you say and what you offer: if I accept it, the kind way to put it is that it’s a mutual affection and a private betrothal; the harsh way to say it is that it’s a secretive exchange that shows no propriety.”

Shen Yu was stunned.

Mingtan continued, “Since you know I came to the temple to pray to lay low, you should also understand that every word and action of mine now is like walking on thin ice. If you had even a shred of respect for me, you wouldn’t have rashly come here to pour out your feelings like this.”

Shen Yu: “I acted rashly in coming alone without notifying you first, but cousin, I…”

He hurried to explain, but Ming Tan cut him off straightaway: “Since you admit to being rash, cousin, please leave this place at once. I will act as if I have never seen you today, nor heard any talk of marriage. Besides, I have no intention toward you, and it is absolutely impossible that I would marry you. Please, cousin, do not ever mention this again.”

“……”

No intention, absolutely impossible, do not mention it again.

The covert guard trailing Jiang Xu couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat for General Shen.

This Miss Ming really knows how to kill with words.

Sure enough, the moment Shen Yu heard the second half, her expression instantly clouded, the light in her eyes dimming; the words of explanation lodged in her throat and would not come out.

Just then Suxin and Lve’e, having finished the fasting rites, came to look for Ming Tan. Seeing Shen Yu, they were a little surprised and were about to bow, when Ming Tan stepped past Shen Yu and directly ordered, “Let’s go, back to our rooms to copy scriptures.”

Suxin and Lve’e both responded in unison.

Following Mingtan out a short distance, Lü’e couldn’t help but look back, curious.

Shen Yu still stood there, distracted and forlorn, not moving for a long while.

Lü’e: “Miss, why is Young Master Biao here?”

Mingtan was so angry she couldn’t speak; she gave no answer.

After they returned to the room, Lǜ’è lowered her voice again: “I reckon the young master of the maternal cousin seems to have feelings for Miss. In the past the young master—”

Mingtan shot her a sharp glare that cut through the air.

Lǜ’è seemed to have a knife at her throat; she wisely shut her mouth and didn’t dare say another word.

Around the same time the three of them returned to the side chamber, Shen Yu, who had been standing by the release pond, shifted his steps and, a little stiffly, began walking back toward the temple gate.

The little maid who had been hiding behind the tree and watching the whole time slipped away quietly down another path.

Such a stir could not escape the dark guard’s notice; he gave a warning, but Jiang Xu ignored it and instead suddenly ordered, “Go check on Fourth Miss Ming. Look into whether she visited Hanyan Temple during the Outing Festival two years ago.”

Having run into this Fourth Miss Ming several times before, he had either only heard her voice or only caught a glimpse of her shadow and had never properly seen what she looked like.

Now that he saw her clearly, though he did not understand why she wasn’t wearing the five-carriage attire, her bright eyes and pearly teeth, her exquisite features and delicate complexion marked her as a rare beauty. Judging by her appearance, his earlier wishes no longer seemed so excessive. But none of that mattered; what was important was that he felt this woman’s face was somewhat familiar—

In the side chamber, the benefactor Ming felt increasingly angry as Jiang Xu’s face seemed somewhat familiar; although Shen Hua wasn’t particularly likable, she was a clever, sharp person—how could she have such a brainless brother! This wasn’t courtship out of admiration, it was plainly intent on taking her life!

And yet she knew that Shen Yu was simply frank and blunt, without ill intent. It was precisely that that made him maddening—she couldn’t scold him or reprimand him, and could only stew in silent frustration!

No, the husband she chose could not be like Shen Yu: rash in action, acting on whims, speaking without filter—how could such a husband possibly protect her in the future?

With that thought, she hurriedly rose, straightened her appearance before the bronze mirror, and, still wearing her plain heart, retraced her steps back to the hall where she’d made her earlier prayer.

She knelt properly on the meditation cushion and bowed three times, hands clasped together as she murmured, “Buddha above, before me, the believer Atan, failed to consider everything thoroughly; there are still some aspects that must be added regarding the selection of a suitable husband…”

The young novice sweeping the quiet hall froze for a moment, his scalp tingling. Of all the bridesmaids’ demands for a son-in-law he had ever seen, only His Highness the Duke of the North had barely met such standards.

…There actually was more?