Just as Daisy finished her account, Su Guang called out to Pan Chi, who understood immediately. He organized his thoughts and recounted what he had just heard.
The story goes back seventeen years, when Daisy was still the holy maiden of the Wusun country, enjoying supreme glory and shouldering the mission of passing on the sacred fire of the fire-worshipping religion.
That year, Wusun and Great Zhou were engaging in cultural and economic exchange. After Wusun sent envoys to pay homage to Great Zhou, Great Zhou also sent a princess with envoys for a political marriage to Wusun as a return gesture.
Daisy was parading on the main street, spreading the teachings of the fire-worshipping religion when she saw a man wearing Great Zhou’s flying fish robe in the crowd. They gazed at each other from afar, and Daisy fell in love at first sight.
He was handsome, with clear eyes and refined features, gentle in nature, completely different from the men of Wusun. He had a mole under his eye like a teardrop, as if he had stepped out of a painting.
Shen Du’s mouth twitched imperceptibly. Zhu Yan looked at him, and Shen Du said with contempt, “This description matches Lai Luozhi’s youthful portrait exactly.”
“And that was the year Lai Luozhi was sent as an envoy to Wusun.”
Zhu Yan had found this description familiar earlier, and now her suspicions were confirmed.
To think that Lai Luozhi had gone to Wusun at that time to seduce their holy maiden with his looks? It was simply making a mockery of national prestige.
Initially, it was just a chance encounter, and Daisy didn’t pay much attention to it, quickly forgetting about him after returning home.
She was the holy maiden, destined to serve the fire-worshipping religion for life, unable to marry, devoid of emotions and love.
However, they soon met again, this time at a court banquet in Wusun.
She was wearing the ceremonial dress of the holy maiden when she saw several men in Great Zhou official robes riding horses from afar. The one at the front wore a different robe from those around him – a vermilion robe embroidered with golden coiled dragons and flying fish, with an extraordinary ornament at his waist. He sat tall and straight, exuding an air of dignity and vigor.
He was nothing like the men of Wusun with their rough movements and coarse features.
How coincidental, Daisy thought, her heart racing, her face flushed beneath her veil, her eyes fixed on that man, unwilling to look away.
It wasn’t until someone next to her nudged her that she came back to her senses, composing herself and resuming her usual demeanor.
This time, the envoys had come to deliver the Great Zhou princess for the political marriage, to strengthen the alliance between the two countries.
After the welcoming feast, they would wait for the wedding ceremony to be held, and then the envoys would return with the good news.
The holy maiden, having little contact with men outside her duties, was pure in mind, and educated in righteousness. But once her heart was stirred, she was like a wild horse without reins, unable to hide her thoughts.
During the days the envoys stayed, Daisy used her position as the holy maiden to interact more with the Great Zhou envoys, all for the sake of getting closer to that man.
Unexpectedly, that man took the initiative to propose learning the Wusun language from the holy maiden, saying it would facilitate future diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Wusun king had no objections to this.
Thus, Daisy had a legitimate reason to spend time alone with this man.
The man had an extraordinary talent for languages, mastering most of the Wusun language in just seven or eight days.
The holy maiden was intelligent herself, and in those few days, she also learned quite a bit of the Great Zhou language.
One day, after practicing Wusun characters, the man offered to teach the holy maiden Great Zhou characters, starting by teaching her to write his name.
It was on that day that the holy maiden learned the man’s name, but she had now forgotten it. Those three characters should have left a deep impression in her memory, but now, no matter how hard she tried to recall, it was all a blur.
Zhu Yan smirked, stealing a glance at Shen Du, thinking to herself that in this aspect, Shen Du couldn’t compare to Lai Luozhi, who was so skilled at captivating a girl’s heart.
Shen Du didn’t look at her, only gently stroking the top of her head, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Zhu Yan blushed at the sight, quickly averting her gaze.
Never mind, it was better that Shen Du didn’t flirt; the scene of him doing so was simply unimaginable.
Pan Chi glanced at them, bit his lip, and continued with the story.
The relationship between the two developed rapidly. Within a few days, they were deeply in love, though the holy maiden restrained herself in public due to her responsibilities. But in her heart and eyes, there was only this man, and all her thoughts were of their future together.
All sense of duty and patriotism was thrown to the winds.
The turning point came on the night before the wedding ceremony. The two met secretly in a courtyard, where the moon’s reflection shimmered in a pond.
Moonlight poured down, the trees cast shifting shadows, and only the vague outlines of each other could be seen, but this couldn’t obstruct the love between the two young people.
After sitting quietly for a while, the man raised his hand to gently stroke Daisy’s slender back and asked an earth-shattering question: “Would you like to return to Great Zhou with me?”
This invitation came too suddenly, jolting Daisy from her romantic dream.
She was the holy maiden, the fire-worshipping religion was supreme, and she was the chosen one.
She couldn’t leave; it was against the religious rules and her mission.
The man knew his request was abrupt and didn’t press further. He simply held Daisy quietly, enjoying the present moment of bliss with her.
They sat together until dawn. Seeing that Daisy still couldn’t make up her mind, the man was very understanding:
“I know your position is special. To have known you have used up all the luck in my life; how could I ask for more?”
“No,” Daisy looked up with tearful eyes, finally making her decision, “I’m willing, of course I’m willing.”
The man excitedly grasped her hands. Their eyes met, and in the fading moonlight, Daisy revealed a sweet smile.
The next day, after presiding over the wedding ceremony, the holy maiden couldn’t be found anywhere.
But everyone’s attention was on the newly married couple, and no one thought anything was amiss.
By this time, the holy maiden had changed into the dress of a Great Zhou woman and was riding towards Great Zhou with that envoy.
Back in Great Zhou, the two lived in love for a long time, but they never married.
Whenever Daisy brought up the subject, the man would always use her former status as a holy maiden as an excuse, citing various inconveniences, and finally reassuring her that when enough time had passed and everyone had forgotten about the former holy maiden of the Wusun fire-worshipping religion, he would give her a grand wedding.
Daisy felt this was improper, but over time, she tried her best to understand the man she loved deeply, not wanting to cause him trouble.
Later, one night, she woke up from a nightmare, wanting to hold the person beside her, but found the bed empty.
The fear from the dream suddenly dissipated, and her nerves became alert.
She got up to light a candle and found she was alone in the room. Not knowing what to do, she could only sit at the table, waiting, wrapped in her clothes.
It was about the hour of the Tiger (3-5 am) when the door was pushed open from outside. The man entered and saw her sitting at the table, looking displeased.
Before Daisy could ask where he had been, he scolded her for sitting up so late, asking if she wasn’t afraid of catching a cold. The initial doubt was washed away by this show of concern.
For a moment, Daisy felt she had overthought things.
The man was skilled at sweet talk, and after a few words, Daisy completely let down her guard, tumbling into bed with him.
She thought that night was just an isolated incident, but she found him going out late at night and returning in the early hours many times after that, never knowing what he was doing.
But since he didn’t mention it, she didn’t ask.
Then one night, she again woke from a dream, and unusually, he hadn’t gone out.
Daisy, somewhat frightened, hugged the person beside her. The man was awakened by her and gently embraced her, asking, “What’s wrong?”
“I dreamed I was in another world,” her voice was small, “I had another identity, and I was doing strange things.”
The man’s chin rested on top of Daisy’s head as he pondered thoughtfully.