The joyous atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze. Jiang Zhiyi’s hand, gripping the chest latch, remained motionless as she stood in a daze, unable to react for a long while. She numbly repeated Baojia’s words: “Xi Luo has sent a letter to Da Ye requesting a marriage alliance. The person they want to marry—is me?”
The Yong’en Marquis stepped over the threshold, originally coming to see his niece’s wedding dress, but upon hearing this thunderbolt from a clear sky, he grabbed the doorframe for support: “What?!”
Jiang Zhiyi’s ears buzzed as she stared blankly at her uncle.
After a long moment, the Yong’en Marquis murmured: “…How is this possible? Could they have the wrong person?”
Baojia looked at Jiang Zhiyi, then turned back to the Yong’en Marquis: “The message came from the Fourth Prince. There can’t be a mistake.”
The Yong’en Marquis pressed his chest and took a steadying breath, raising a trembling finger: “Our Zhiyi is already engaged. Is this a proposal or an abduction?! Hasn’t Xi Luo been harassing the Hexi border recently? How can they be so brazen, looting our people on one hand and trying to take our daughter on the other?”
Indeed, as far as Jiang Zhiyi knew, during Da Ye’s recent internal strife, Xi Luo had taken advantage of the situation to cause trouble at the border. Mu Xinhong had sent word about this to Yuance, which was why Yuance needed to lead his troops back to Hexi quickly after suppressing the rebellion.
The Yong’en Marquis continued: “Could it be that they’re furious about being defeated by my nephew-in-law’s troops, so they’re coveting my niece as revenge?”
“Marquis, please don’t get excited. Sit down and let’s discuss this calmly.” Baojia gave Jiang Zhiyi a look, signaling her to dismiss the servants.
Jiang Zhiyi cleared the room, invited her uncle and Princess Baojia to sit, and had Jing Zhe bring tea. Trying to remain calm, she asked: “Did the Fourth Prince have anything else to say?”
Baojia nodded: “According to the Fourth Prince, this is certainly not as simple as revenge. The elderly king of Xi Luo has gradually been dividing state affairs between his two sons. The Crown Prince favors China and wishes to maintain good relations with Da Ye, while the Second Prince is pro-war. Ever since the Xi Luo Queen’s death, he has been urging the old king to wage war against Da Ye.”
“During our recent internal turmoil, the Second Prince seized the opportunity and ordered his men to harass the Hexi border. After several probing attempts, they discovered that with the Xuance Army stationed there, they couldn’t make any headway. Additionally, the elderly king has little appetite for war, and with the Crown Prince advocating peace, the Second Prince found it difficult to act unilaterally.”
“So the Second Prince devised a plan. Pretending to support peace, he suggested to the old king to form a marriage alliance with Da Ye, specifically naming Zhiyi. The Xi Luo people don’t have the tradition of Three Letters and Six Etiquette or engagement before marriage; they aren’t bound by our ethical norms. The old king may have agreed to send the proposal after hearing about Zhiyi’s beauty… But while the old king might be clouded by lust, the Second Prince is clear-headed. The reason he named Zhiyi specifically is because she is Shen Yuance’s fiancée, using this to…”
Jiang Zhiyi’s heart sank completely: “To drive a wedge between Hexi and the court…”
Or more precisely, to create discord between Yuance and the Emperor.
So there was no coincidence. Xi Luo’s choice for the peace bride could only have been her.
Baojia frowned and nodded: “The Fourth Prince believes that the Second Prince doesn’t care whether the marriage alliance succeeds. What’s crucial is the political maneuvering within Da Ye after they request Zhiyi. If my father, the Emperor, agrees to the marriage alliance, how will Shen Yuance view my father? But if Shen Yuance refuses to give up the engagement, how will my father view Shen Yuance? Either way, this thorn will pierce the hearts of both my father and Shen Yuance. Even if their attempt to divide them fails, and my father and Shen Yuance unite to declare war on Xi Luo, that would play right into the Second Prince’s hands. No matter the outcome, for the Second Prince who proposed the marriage alliance, he wins in every scenario!”
…Such skillful tactics, such cunning strategy.
Jiang Zhiyi’s tightly clenched hands began to tremble slightly.
“They scheme and maneuver, but aren’t they just roasting our Zhiyi over a fire? What has our Zhiyi ever done to deserve this?!” The Yong’en Marquis slammed the table, his face flushing red. After catching his breath for a moment, he turned to ask, “Princess, do you know what’s being said in the palace now? Since the Fourth Prince has already seen through Xi Luo’s trick, surely he will advise His Majesty not to fall for it?”
“I heard the news just arrived yesterday. Today, my father has summoned his ministers to discuss it. The Fourth Prince, upon learning this, first asked me to inform Zhiyi. In the next day or two, my father may summon Zhiyi to the palace at any time.”
After delivering the news to Jiang Zhiyi, Baojia told her not to assume the worst and said she would try to gather more information from the palace. She then hurriedly left the Marquis’s estate.
In the room, Jiang Zhiyi and the Yong’en Marquis sat opposite each other in silence for a long time.
When uncle and niece finally met each other’s gaze, they both saw the same message in each other’s eyes—
The Yong’en Marquis: “So Taoist Master Zhang spoke the truth…”
Jiang Zhiyi: “Uncle, at that time, Master Zhang…”
“What exactly did Master Zhang say about my fate to become a peace bride?” Jiang Zhiyi asked.
“He said something about—” The Yong’en Marquis furrowed his brow, rubbing his temple as he recalled, “something about past lives and karma, cause and effect. He said you had some opportunity in this life, and if you seized it, you wouldn’t have to become a peace bride…”
“Past lives? This life?” Jiang Zhiyi hesitantly murmured these mystical words. “Opportunity, opportunity…”
Could this opportunity refer to the storybook, to her head injury? But if she had seized the opportunity, why hadn’t her fate changed?
Since Master Zhang’s prediction about her becoming a peace bride wasn’t fabricated, did he perhaps have a solution to break this fate?
Whether there was news about the peace marriage or not, she intended to visit the Taiqing Temple today to clarify the matter of the storybook.
Jiang Zhiyi nodded to Jing Zhe, indicating for her to retrieve the storybook from the book chest, then stood up: “Uncle, I’m going to the Taiqing Temple.”
At dusk, Jiang Zhiyi once again entered the Taoist temple.
Jing Zhe asked the temple disciple for an audience with Master Zhang. The disciple quickly led the way, bringing them to a quiet chamber.
In the chamber, a Taoist master of about thirty years sat behind a table, wearing a wide-sleeved Taoist robe. His back was straight, his feet in lotus position, his eyes closed. On the long table before him rested a flat, square box.
“Please, benefactor,” Master Zhang said, opening his eyes slightly upon hearing their footsteps and gesturing forward.
Jiang Zhiyi approached and knelt on the prayer mat, taking her seat opposite him, her gaze sweeping around the room.
“There is only this poor Taoist in the chamber. The benefactor may speak freely.”
Jiang Zhiyi took the “Tale of Yiyi” from Jing Zhe behind her, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it toward him: “I have sought Master Zhang for months. Today I’ll be direct. Please enlighten me—did you write this storybook? What was your purpose? And how did you foresee that this storybook would rewrite my fate?”
Master Zhang looked down at it and shook his head: “This storybook was not written by this poor Taoist, nor do I have the ability to foresee fate.”
Jiang Zhiyi frowned.
“The one who can foresee fate is my revered teacher, the Divine Master of Subtle Perception. This storybook was written by him.”
Jiang Zhiyi’s eyelashes trembled.
This Divine Master of Subtle Perception had once prophesied that twins would bring calamity to the nation, harming Yuance all his life. Why was he now meddling again…
“So… the person disguised as a traveling Taoist who reminded me to come fulfill my vow was the Divine Master of Subtle Perception?”
“That’s correct.” Master Zhang nodded. “This poor Taoist doesn’t know why my teacher wrote the storybook, nor do I know its details. I was only entrusted by my teacher to do three things.”
“What things?”
“First, if the benefactor came asking how to break a yin spell, I was to answer with a yang-countering object. Second, if someone from the benefactor’s family came to calculate the benefactor’s marriage fate, I was to tell them about the peace bride destiny. Third, if one day the benefactor came inquiring about the origin of the storybook, I was to give this box to the benefactor.” Master Zhang pushed forward the box in front of him.
Jiang Zhiyi lowered her eyes to look at the unremarkable wooden box: “So Master Zhang’s previous departure to wander was because you predicted my peace bride fate and feared investigation. And now you’ve returned because of my visit a few days ago, guessing that I wasn’t truly confessing to the Pure Ones but came to inquire about the storybook?”
“That’s right. The benefactor has been searching for the second volume of the storybook. The conclusion may be in this box. This poor Taoist has followed my teacher’s instructions and hasn’t opened it. Please, benefactor, read it carefully in private.” With these words, Master Zhang stood, bowed, and left the quiet chamber.
Jiang Zhiyi stared at the wooden box before her, not moving for quite some time.
Before hitting her head, she had searched for the second volume of this storybook in bookshops but to no avail. Later, after regaining her memory, Yuance sent confidants to search everywhere, still finding nothing.
Now the answer was right before her eyes. The Taoist had said this was her and Yuance’s conclusion, yet she suddenly felt afraid to look.
It turned out that knowing one’s fate in advance was such a terrifying thing, making one shrink back in fear.
The Divine Master of Subtle Perception had predicted their every step. What kind of ending did he want to tell her?
After a silent moment, Jiang Zhiyi slowly reached out her hand, closed her eyes briefly, and opened the lid.
An envelope without any address appeared before her eyes. Jiang Zhiyi slowly broke the wax seal, took out the letter, and unfolded it after taking a deep breath. The handwriting matched that of the storybook perfectly.
As soon as the first line entered her sight, Jiang Zhiyi’s hands holding the letter began to tremble uncontrollably—
“In the thirteenth year of Emperor Xingwu’s reign, the Emperor summoned the Shen family of Hexi to the capital on charges of defiance. Shen Yuance raised an army in rebellion, led his troops eastward, causing countless deaths and rivers of blood to flow across the land, with his military might aimed directly at Chang’an.
With the army at the city gates, the Emperor took Princess Yongying to the city tower, forcing the rebel army to surrender. Shen Yuance, at the foot of the tower, relinquished his weapons and dismounted, suffering a heart pierced by thousands of arrows.
The Emperor accepted the surrender and, according to the negotiated terms, spared the Xuance Army from execution. Princess Yongying was also spared death but was temporarily confined in the deep palace.
Just as the rebellion was suppressed, Xi Luo seized the opportunity. That same year, the entire Hexi region fell, and Da Ye teetered on the brink of collapse, nearly facing destruction. Fortunately, the Fourth Prince turned the tide, saving the nation from peril.
Later, when the Fourth Prince ascended to the throne as Emperor and established the Yongning era, he released Princess Yongying from the palace, restoring her freedom.
After leaving the palace, Princess Yongying, accompanied by a single maid, secluded herself in the Taiqing Temple outside Chang’an, never returning to society.
From then on, the past between the Princess and the former young war god remained only in popular rumors.
It is said that in the thirteenth year of Emperor Xingwu’s reign, when the Emperor ordered the search of the Shen residence, someone found a jade pendant with the character ‘Yi’ in the east wing study. Thus, people speculated that the Princess and Shen Yuance had fallen in love in their youth and had secretly pledged to marry. Their apparent discord in public during their younger years was merely to deceive others.
The rumors grew increasingly wild, and romantic storybooks spread throughout the streets and alleys.
When I returned to the temple from my wanderings, these storybooks were popular everywhere. I witnessed someone visiting the temple to ask the Princess about the truth of these rumors. The Princess shook her head with a smile and replied: ‘It’s just people’s imagination.’
Though she answered thus, the Princess was curious about how people wrote about them. Unfortunately, having been confined in the dark palace chambers, her eyes could no longer see, so she had her maid find the storybooks and read them to her.
With nothing else to do while living in seclusion at the Taiqing Temple, the Princess found joy in listening to these storybooks, having her maid read them day after day, over and over. Over time, the temple disciples could recite these stories by heart, and the Princess herself seemed to believe in the fiction, always smiling whenever she heard them.
However, while the Princess was kind and friendly to all temple disciples, she deeply detested me alone, never speaking a single word to me. I didn’t know the reason and remained puzzled for many years.
Until the deep winter of the seventh year of the Yongning era, when I sensed my end approaching, as my life ebbed away, the Princess finally came to my bedside, willing to resolve my years of confusion.
As the Princess recounted it, I finally understood. It turned out that the Shen family matriarch had given birth to twins. Because of my prophecy that twins would bring calamity to the nation, the Shen family’s firstborn remained in the capital, while the second child was secretly sent to Hexi. In the summer of the eleventh year of Emperor Xingwu’s reign, the Shen family’s firstborn died on the battlefield. By winter of the same year, the one who returned triumphantly from Hexi was his twin brother.
Sadly, the Princess only learned the truth after Shen’s second son surrendered, was defeated, and died. By then, it was too late.
No wonder the Princess held such deep hatred for me.
In my youthful arrogance, I thought I had penetrated the secrets of heaven and could control a nation’s fate, sharing the Emperor’s burdens and resolving difficulties for the world. Little did I know that I, too, was a subject of fate. It was precisely because of my prophecy that the Shen family harbored rebellious intentions, severing the bond between ruler and subject, leading to the shattering of mountains and rivers, and causing untold suffering to the people.
So-called prophecies are utter folly.
On my deathbed, I deeply regretted my past actions. Even in death, I could not rest in peace. Perhaps due to my deep attachment, heaven took pity on me. In my final moments, fleeting images flashed through my mind, seemingly glimpsing a turning point in fate.
When I opened my eyes again, I was shockingly reborn, returning to the winter of the eleventh year of Emperor Xingwu’s reign, the month before the Shen family’s second son returned triumphantly.
I, who should have been dead, have now been given this chance at life. Like a moth to a flame, I wish to defy heaven and rewrite my prophecy of old, to redeem my deep sins.
Recalling what I foresaw in my dying moment, I recreated the storybook I had heard about, including within it clues to the Shen family’s second son’s true identity. I secretly sent it to the Yong’en Marquis’s estate, hoping to become the one who turns the wheel of fate, allowing Princess Yongying to discover early in this life the opportunity to know and love the Shen family’s second son, changing both their fates and fortunes.
I hope that in the thirteenth year of Emperor Xingwu’s reign, there will be no war caused by me, no shattering of mountains and rivers, no suffering of the people.
Humbly inscribed by Jianwei.”
Jiang Zhiyi trembled with shock, her palms cold as she tightly gripped the letter, her fingertips nearly spasming from the pressure.
Her gaze slowly moved from the last line back up to the first, fixating on the sentence: “With the army at the city gates, the Emperor took Princess Yongying to the city tower, forcing the rebel army to surrender. Shen Yuance, at the foot of the tower, relinquished his weapons and dismounted, suffering a heart pierced by thousands of arrows.”
In a daze, she suddenly recalled Yuance’s comforting words when she had awakened from a nightmare in April: “With a horse beneath me and weapons in my hands, how could arrows coming at me cause harm? Unless I surrender my weapons and stand still, I couldn’t possibly suffer the thousand arrows piercing your dream, you understand?”
Indeed, in her nightmare that night, he had a horse beneath him and weapons in his hands. How could he not dodge the arrows coming straight at him?
It was merely a nightmare born from her anxieties, nothing more.
But in that real ending, he had no weapons in his hands.
He had… no weapons in his hands.