After the woodcutter left, Zhenzhen said to the Crown Prince, “Initially, Cheng Yuan swore on his life that this grave contained my birth mother. But since this grave has existed for many years, it couldn’t possibly be my mother’s.”

The Crown Prince replied, “If we follow Meng Yunxiu’s speculation that Liu Sishan is your birth mother, then Cheng Yuan wasn’t exactly lying. Having existed for eighteen or nineteen years, this grave very likely belongs to Liu Sishan.”

Zhenzhen knew his words made sense, but accepting this conclusion would mean acknowledging that Wu Qiuniang wasn’t her birth mother, which was absolutely unacceptable. So she remained silent.

“However, if this is the case, there’s one good thing,” the Crown Prince said with a comforting smile to Zhenzhen. “It means your mother might still be alive. If she truly died over two years ago, Cheng Yuan could have simply taken you to her real grave after burying her. Why go through all the trouble of re-erecting a tombstone and renovating this old grave, disguising it as your mother’s?”

Just moments ago, her heart had been heavy with doubt, leaving her breathless. But these words were like sunlight breaking through dark clouds, suddenly showing Zhenzhen hope. She immediately smiled with surprise and joy: “Yes, yes, it seems my mother is most likely still alive!” Then she immediately asked the Crown Prince, “Can Your Highness inquire about my mother’s whereabouts from Cheng Yuan?”

The Crown Prince shook his head: “Cheng Yuan is extremely cunning and has gone to great lengths to conceal this matter. He definitely won’t tell the truth just because I ask him. If I question him directly, he’ll surely respond with lies, and it will alert him, causing him to hide your mother even deeper. But don’t worry, I’ll find a way to investigate. From now on, whatever you can’t do, I’ll do for you.”

This last sentence warmed Zhenzhen’s heart, and she looked at the man before her with deep emotion, not knowing what to say for a moment. The Crown Prince smiled warmly at her, naturally took her hand, and led her to the cliff edge, pointing to the valley below: “There’s a lotus pond down there with beautiful scenery. Let’s sit there for a while before returning.”

In the lotus pond, the lotuses reflected the sun, red and white intermixed, graceful and elegant in their full bloom. The Crown Prince and Zhenzhen sat side by side by the water. Zhenzhen’s brow still carried traces of worry as she gazed at the sunlight dancing on the rippling water, remaining silent. The Crown Prince glanced at her, then reached for a nearby lotus leaf, picked a stem, curved it into an elephant trunk shape, tied it in a loose knot, and held it before Zhenzhen’s eyes.

“Ah, a jade tube cup!” Zhenzhen’s eyes lit up as she took it and examined it. She immediately remembered the celebration banquet two years ago, when she had used a lotus leaf to make a jade tube cup to replace the stolen Crown Prince’s wine vessel. In the great hall, she had tried to explain the origin of the jade tube cup but couldn’t recite it, and it was the Crown Prince who had helped her finish the recitation.

“Sigh, that allusion about the Wei person Zheng Que was too convoluted. I had only read it two or three times and really couldn’t recite it. I was so embarrassed I nearly fainted in the hall. Fortunately, Your Highness remembered it and helped me out of the predicament. I immediately felt relieved and thought, ‘Amitabha, the Bodhisattva has shown her divine power!'” Zhenzhen smiled at the Crown Prince.

“One look and it’s clear you haven’t read enough books,” the Crown Prince smiled, then asked, “I helped you out of trouble, but you only thanked the Bodhisattva. Didn’t you have even a little bit of maiden’s romantic thoughts about me?”

Zhenzhen stared in amazement: “At that time, I felt you were high above like a deity. How could I have romantic thoughts? Who would have romantic thoughts about a statue in a temple?”

Suddenly making a connection, Zhenzhen thought the Crown Prince was rather suspicious: “Could it be that Your Highness already had improper thoughts about me then?”

“Not quite yet,” the Crown Prince’s smile deepened. “I just felt that your pitiful and somewhat adorable appearance as you stammered and couldn’t recite the text in front of everyone was touching, so I casually helped you.”

Zhenzhen immediately asked, “Then why does Your Highness now treat me differently?”

“What do you think?” the Crown Prince asked in return.

Zhenzhen thought, how would I know what you’re thinking? Feeling mischievous, she deliberately said, “Because you discovered I have natural beauty?”

“Oh?” he asked calmly, “Am I more beautiful than you?”

Zhenzhen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She instinctively wanted to undermine His Highness’s confidence, but upon reflection, she realized that in terms of beauty, his ranking among men seemed indeed higher than her ranking among women. Feeling deflated, she could only ask sullenly, “Then what do you like about me?”

The Crown Prince said, “You detected the problem with Consort Li’s green salt and played a major role in clarifying the incident about the consort’s child. Those related past events had troubled me for years and had become a mental burden. After the truth came to light, I naturally paid attention to you, finding you clever and with your own opinions. Later, when I went to Jiaming Hall to accompany His Majesty during meals, I often observed you. Did you sense it?”

Zhenzhen was very surprised: “Not at all. I always felt that Your Highness conducted yourself with elegant manners and never looked aside when dining before His Majesty. I never noticed that Your Highness paid special attention to me.”

“That’s because your eyes only held the imperial cuisine and His Majesty who was dining,” the Crown Prince said. “When others eat, they’re just eating, but when you eat, you’re working. In Jiaming Hall, your eyes closely watched every dish, first looking carefully, then concentrating on distinguishing flavors. After presenting it to His Majesty, you deliberately observed his every subtle expression, wanting to know his feelings about the food. At such times, you wouldn’t notice other people and things around you.”

“Yes,” Zhenzhen smiled, “paying attention to His Majesty’s reaction to the food is my duty, and Pei Shangshi required me to try to recreate the dish by identifying its color, aroma, and flavor, so I had to be completely focused to do it well.”

The Crown Prince’s gaze was gentle: “I like girls who work earnestly. The expression you have when you’re concentrating on what you’re good at is simply indescribably beautiful.”

But Zhenzhen keenly caught one word from his statement: “This ‘you’ includes Feng Jing, doesn’t it?”

The Crown Prince laughed unexpectedly: “How did this fragrant lotus air turn sour?”

Zhenzhen was momentarily speechless and could only glare at him.

“Zhenzhen, what are your feelings toward me now?” he asked, laughing happily. “A gentleman is open and honest – don’t hide it.”

Zhenzhen steeled herself: “Very well, Your Highness, I seem to like you a little bit.”

“Mm,” the Crown Prince seemed thoughtful, “it seems it’s time to arrange another barbecue…”

“Ah, no!” Zhenzhen laughed and jumped up, backing away several steps.

The Crown Prince also stood up to face her, saying with a smile, “I’m told you once said that matters between us would be decided by me, so I think now is a good time.”

Zhenzhen thought for a moment and said, “Your Highness, please give me a little more time.”

“To learn how to untie a belt?” he immediately asked, reacting extremely quickly. And when he said such things, his expression was always very calm, as if stating a fact – if you thought it was teasing, then you were the one thinking improperly.

Seeing Zhenzhen’s face burn red with embarrassment, he only then turned his face away and smiled at the breeze, letting her off the hook, then responded to her request: “I don’t agree.”

“No,” Zhenzhen declared, “you’ve already agreed.”

The Crown Prince smiled: “How can you tell?”

Zhenzhen said, “I’m just counting on the fact that you won’t take advantage of someone in distress.”

“You won’t be in ‘distress’ anymore. From now on, all crises will be resolved by me before they reach you,” he said gently. “However, if you haven’t thought it through yet, I can wait for you.”

Zhenzhen gazed at him as he spoke so gently and warmly, and that feeling of having had three or five cups of light wine, drowsy and intoxicated, came over her again. She unconsciously covered her heart, wanting to slow that sudden stirring.

He extended his hand toward her: “Come, Zhenzhen, the scenery here is picturesque. Let’s stay a little longer.”

She walked back to him as if under a spell, placing her hand in his palm.

He led her to sit by the lotus pond again. Both watched the thousand-petaled lotus flowers swaying in the wind in silence, both speechless for a moment, but their hearts were filled with tranquility. Shortly after, he pointed ahead and said, “There’s a white egret over there.”

“Where?” Zhenzhen became excited, craning her neck to look.

He picked up a small flat stone beside him, adjusted the angle, then exerted force, spinning the stone as he threw it. The stone bounced several times across the water surface before gently landing on a white egret hidden under the lotus leaves. The startled egret spread its wings and flew toward where the clouds and water met.

“This is interesting!” Seeing this, Zhenzhen also learned to pick up small stones to skip across the water in search of egrets hidden under the flowers and leaves, but her technique wasn’t as good as the Crown Prince’s, and she failed to hit near any egrets after several attempts. The Crown Prince observed her posture, occasionally helping her adjust, and they played with laughter for a while. Later, when the Crown Prince discovered a pair of mandarin ducks in the water not far away, he picked up a small stone and prepared to throw it, but Zhenzhen grabbed his arms with both hands and said, “They’re having a tryst – don’t disturb them.”

The Crown Prince looked up and saw the pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water with their necks intertwined, looking very romantic. He turned back to look at Zhenzhen and saw her hands gripping his left arm, her cheeks slightly flushed from their recent games, her eyes bright and clear as she looked up at him. His heart stirred involuntarily. He dropped the stone and suddenly embraced her shoulders, tilting her to the right, letting her lie across his knees.

The stone fell into the water, startling two nearby gulls and egrets, which flew in a crisscross pattern over the water surface where flower shadows intertwined. Zhenzhen cried out in surprise, her left hand supporting his right shoulder, her right hand reaching up, trying to struggle to sit up, but her wrist was grasped by the Crown Prince and slowly pressed down.

He kissed her trembling lips.

All the kisses Zhenzhen had experienced before were light and shallow, mostly initiated by herself, touching briefly before separating. She had never imagined it could be like this – his dominant kiss swept over her like waves, easily invading between her lips and tongue. She felt momentarily dizzy but also carried a trace of curiosity, seeming not to resist his touch. He was skilled at guiding, kissing with an irresistible yet gentle manner, like tides that gently caressed then retreated. After several such cycles, just when she thought she could catch her breath, a new wave would unexpectedly surge forth, startling her into alert readiness. Her hand unconsciously climbed to his neck, wanting to recover from her continuously sinking state, but this seemed to further inspire his fighting spirit, and he joyfully launched a new round of offensive.

At that time, the sky was gradually darkening, and a layer of rosy clouds passed over the water and clouds, with the setting sun still glowing golden behind the clouds, casting the pool of azure water behind them in golden-red hues. Occasionally gulls and egrets flew by, their shadows falling on their clothes with the breeze, but they paid no attention, lost in this flowery islet, momentarily unaware of what evening it was.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally released her, gazing into her shy eyes that opened accordingly, and said seriously, “One month, no more than that.”

She was momentarily stunned, not knowing what he was referring to.

He smiled: “The time I’m giving you.”