Zhenzhen, Wei Qingxun, Yang Zicheng, Grandmother Song, Han Suwen, and several attendants set out for Lin’an the next day. Zhenzhen and Grandmother Song sat inside the carriage, wearing veiled hats throughout the day, making it difficult for outsiders to glimpse their faces. When occasional inspectors questioned them, Wei Qingxun stepped forward to explain she was the County Lady of Xin’an, and they were quickly allowed to pass without further entanglement.

They traveled through wind and rain. When still twenty to thirty li from Lin’an city, they suddenly heard the clamor of carriages and horses behind them, with heralds loudly calling for travelers to make way, announcing the arrival of the Crown Princess. Hearing this, Zhenzhen was startled, then realized this “Crown Princess” must refer to Fengxian.

With her marriage to Zhao Hao settled, Fengxian had been taken back to live at her natal home until, as the wedding approached, she departed from the outer prefecture to return to Lin’an for the ceremony. At that time, Fengxian rode in a palace carriage tall as a house, drawn by four magnificent horses, with hundreds of attendants before and behind – some leading the way ahead, some bearing weapons for protection, some playing ceremonial music, some carrying numerous dowry chests – proceeding toward Lin’an in an endless, magnificent procession.

Wei Qingxun rode her horse back to look, then signaled for Zhenzhen’s carriage driver to stop and move aside to the roadside, while she, Yang Zicheng, Han Suwen and the others dismounted and also withdrew to the roadside.

All travelers on the road lined up on both sides, bowing toward the Crown Princess’s palace carriage. Zhenzhen, fearing that showing her face would cause complications, didn’t leave the carriage but remained sitting inside with doors and windows tightly closed. The herald, seeing that Zhenzhen’s carriage was slightly larger than ordinary women’s vehicles and more ornately decorated, guessed its occupant held some status. Wanting to curry favor with Fengxian and make her feel the noble sensation of looking down on all beings, he deliberately shouted toward Zhenzhen’s carriage: “Who dares show such disrespect, not alighting to pay respects upon seeing the Crown Princess’s phoenix carriage!”

Wei Qingxun explained from the side: “This is a family member of Prince Wei, the County Lady of Xin’an. Due to the long journey and travel fatigue, she’s very dizzy today and just fell asleep in the carriage, failing to alight and pay respects. We hope the Crown Princess will forgive this.”

She thought that mentioning Prince Wei’s family would make the visitors stop their harassment as previous inspectors had, but unexpectedly, after hearing this, Fengxian spoke from within her carriage: “Since she’s Prince Wei’s family, we could say we’re family too. Why doesn’t sister alight so we can chat?”

Having said this, she opened her carriage window and stared fixedly at Zhenzhen’s carriage, then examined Wei Qingxun and the others. Yang Zicheng wore the clothing of Wei Qingxun’s household servant and deliberately prostrated himself respectfully on the ground. Fengxian couldn’t see his face and paid him little attention, her gaze roaming until it lingered for a moment on a rectangular redwood chest being transported by Wei Qingxun’s servants.

Hearing her speak thus, Zhenzhen knew she couldn’t hide and had to alight, still wearing her veiled hat, bowing low to Fengxian: “Your servant, County Lady of Xin’an, Lady Song, pays respects to the Crown Princess. May the Crown Princess have ten thousand blessings.”

To prevent Fengxian from recognizing her voice, she deliberately spoke in the Ningguo Prefecture dialect, keeping her head lowered and concealed behind the gauze veil so Fengxian couldn’t see her features.

Fengxian stared at her, looking her up and down, and said coolly: “This is our first meeting as sisters. Why doesn’t the County Lady remove her veiled hat so I may have the fortune to see your beautiful face? When we meet again in the palace later, we’ll be able to recognize each other.”

Zhenzhen lowered her head: “Your servant has been exposed to sun and rain on this journey, and suffered mosquito bites, leaving my face swollen and unsightly, so I cover it with this hat. To avoid my ugly appearance frightening the Crown Princess, I hope the Crown Princess will forgive my discourtesy and permit me to continue wearing the hat. When we meet in the palace another day, I will personally thank the Crown Princess for her gracious forgiveness.”

Fengxian continued looking down at her from her elevated position, silent for a moment before speaking again: “Very well, keep wearing it then. Since we have this fortunate encounter, I’ll present the County Lady with a small gift to express my sincere feelings. I hope you’ll accept it with a smile.”

Fengxian then called over an attendant and whispered a few instructions. The attendant received her orders, went to retrieve a brocade box from a rear carriage, opened it, and presented it to Zhenzhen with both hands.

Zhenzhen looked up and saw it contained a set of white flower ornaments. She was immediately startled, but looking more carefully, she discerned these ornaments were made of mother-of-pearl and mica inlay, exquisitely crafted, shimmering with rainbow colors in the sunlight.

Zhenzhen slowly accepted it and again thanked Fengxian. Fengxian smiled and said there was no need for ceremony, then had the attendant close the carriage window and resumed their journey.

Returning to her own carriage, Zhenzhen picked up one flower ornament and turned it over to examine the breathing glue on the back. The glue was translucent and appeared normal, and when Zhenzhen smelled it, she detected no fragrance.

She closed the brocade box and tried to calm her uneasy heart, closing her eyes and thinking that perhaps Fengxian was simply giving her a meeting gift, and she was overreacting – she truly had become like a bird startled by the twang of a bow.

Zhenzhen’s party reached the outskirts of Lin’an city but didn’t immediately enter. Instead, they first went to Dashifo Temple on Baoshi Mountain northwest of the imperial city.

This temple was built halfway up the mountain and contained a half-body statue of Maitreya Buddha carved from a giant stone, which legend claimed was originally a stone used by the First Emperor of Qin to moor ships. During the Xiande years of the Later Zhou, the King of Wuyue built a monastery here, and the Maitreya Buddha statue was carved during the Xuanhe years of the present dynasty, so the monastery was named “Dashifo Temple.”

Wei Qingxun escorted Zhenzhen, Grandmother Song, and Yang Zicheng into the temple, then went into the city with Han Suwen to find Zhao Ai. Zhenzhen requested an audience with the temple’s abbot, asking to temporarily store the redwood chest they’d brought in the rear courtyard. The abbot agreed and invited Zhenzhen’s party to rest and drink tea in the temple.

Zhenzhen personally directed the attendants in placing the chest in the courtyard. The attendants then left to drink tea, but Zhenzhen remained standing in place, her gaze fixed on the chest, unmoving for a long time.

In front of the great stone Buddha stood a ginkgo tree over ten zhang tall with luxuriant branches and leaves. With autumn’s depth, fallen leaves drifted down constantly. Ginkgo leaves brushed against Zhenzhen’s entire body, but she remained completely unaware, standing quietly until she heard a crane’s cry and looked up in confusion toward where the crane danced.

The great stone Buddha was carved against the mountain, with the mountainside behind the Buddha’s crown. There was an observation platform where a white crane circled and danced above Zhenzhen for a moment before flying toward the platform and landing beside a man standing against the wind.

Zhenzhen looked up, squinting in the backlighting before recognizing that the man in light robes and flowing sash, wearing a great cloak, was Lin Hong, whom she hadn’t seen for three years.

From the peak of Baoshi Mountain’s massive stone formation, one could view the entire Broken Bridge. That day Lin Hong had brought A’Che to the mountaintop to play the qin facing West Lake. As they were about to return home, passing the midway platform, he saw ginkgo leaves falling like gold and wandered over to look down at the scenery below.

The ginkgo’s crown was broad, its fan-shaped leaves like golden foil dancing to autumn wind’s rhythm – sometimes fluttering like butterflies, sometimes tumbling down to accumulate on the ground, dyeing most of the courtyard golden. A redwood chest sat in the courtyard, also covered with a thick layer of yellow leaves, while a young lady in white dress stood at the center of this golden world. Her form was delicate, her bearing melancholy, her black hair lifted by wind and flowing behind her like a ghostly shadow. When she looked up, the sun’s golden radiance shone on her clear face as she opened bewildered eyes with an expression pure as an infant’s.

Lin Hong gazed at her silently in the falling leaves and wind. After quite a while, remembering what day it was, he descended along the mountain stone steps, circled to Dashifo Temple’s main gate, entered directly into the rear courtyard, and strode to Zhenzhen’s side.

His eyes held light as he called “Zhenzhen,” but then Yang Zicheng suddenly emerged from a nearby meditation room, bowed to him, and introduced: “Proclamation Officer, this is the County Lady of Xin’an.”

Lin Hong immediately fell silent. After a moment, he quietly bowed deeply to Zhenzhen.

Yang Zicheng led him and Zhenzhen into the meditation room, where a young monk was arranging flowers in a vase. Seeing them enter with grave expressions, he guessed they had important matters to discuss, so he rose to take his leave, leaving behind the unfinished flower branches to go to the main hall.

The three sat down. A’Che, who had followed Lin Hong, set down the qin and went to the outer room to fetch water for brewing tea. Yang Zicheng first broke the silence, asking Lin Hong why he’d come here. Lin Hong replied: “I bought a small garden on nearby Gushan Island and now live there, growing flowers and raising cranes. In my leisure time I walk on surrounding mountains. Today I came to Baoshi Mountain to play the qin and was fortunate to encounter old friends.”

He very much wanted to ask about Zhenzhen’s experiences during her years away, but since Zhenzhen didn’t volunteer to discuss them, he couldn’t bring himself to ask. The room fell into another awkward silence. Just as he decided to leave and rose to bid farewell, Zhenzhen called out to him: “Teacher Lin, when I studied with you before, I often heard you tell historical anecdotes. Today, I also have a story I’d like to tell you. Would you be willing to listen?”

Lin Hong nodded and sat back down.

Zhenzhen looked at him and began: “In a certain dynasty, treacherous ministers held power, deceiving the emperor and misleading the court. The country faced internal and external troubles while people suffered. A crown prince dedicated to good governance decided to eliminate the corrupt officials and revive the empire, but was retaliated against by the chief villain, who killed his wife. The prince had two close friends – one a remonstrating official, one an imperial physician. The remonstrating official’s father was also persecuted to death by the treacherous minister. National and family hatred made the three decide to join forces to punish evil and eliminate corruption, devising a plan similar to Jing Ke’s assassination attempt on the King of Qin…”

“Assassinate Qin?” Lin Hong repeated thoughtfully, his gaze somewhat vacant.

“Yes,” Zhenzhen continued. “The prince was Crown Prince Dan of Yan, the imperial physician was Jing Ke, and the remonstrating official was Fan Yuqi… The remonstrating official took the initiative, impeaching the chief villain, who came to hate him intensely. At this point the imperial physician expressed willingness to serve the villain. Knowing they were friends, the chief villain didn’t believe the physician’s sincerity and demanded he betray the remonstrating official by providing evidence of his crimes so he could frame him. This was what the prince and his friends had anticipated. The physician and remonstrating official had discussed it beforehand – the official was willing to sacrifice his life to let the physician gain the chief villain’s trust… You should know what happened next, shouldn’t you, Teacher?”

Lin Hong didn’t answer, only stared intently at Zhenzhen and asked: “Who told you this?”

Zhenzhen smiled sadly: “Prince Zhuangwen… in a special way.”

At this point Yang Zicheng sighed deeply: “This is true. Before being sent by His Majesty to serve as supervisor in the Eastern Palace, I was His Majesty’s close attendant, serving him since his youth. He trusted me greatly. When he discussed this matter with Imperial Physician Zhang and your father, he often had me secretly coordinate, so I know the inside story… Though this plan succeeded, your father paid with his life, while Imperial Physician Zhang was disgraced, becoming known to court officials as a treacherous, faithless person who betrayed friends for advancement. Later no one knew what became of him. The inside story couldn’t be revealed, so presumably Proclamation Officer and your mother were kept in the dark, never knowing the truth.”

Lin Hong’s gaze moved between Yang Zicheng and Zhenzhen, clearly weighing the credibility of their words. Zhenzhen said: “Supervisor Yang is loyal and reliable, never speaking falsely, which is why His Majesty sent him to the Eastern Palace after Wang Muze’s incident to guide Prince Zhuangwen. As for me, facing you, Teacher, I always say what’s in my heart – it was so before, and will be so now and in the future. Besides, having experienced these matters of life and death, do you think I’d need to fabricate lies to deceive you?”

Lin Hong remained silent. Zhenzhen continued: “This story isn’t finished… After the chief villain died, his family was scattered, but he had a granddaughter who was led by her mother to Lingnan…”

Lin Hong felt a chill in his heart, but his expression didn’t change greatly. He only stared at Zhenzhen, slightly frowning, holding his breath to listen to her account.

Zhenzhen told as a story how Lady Yu used Liu Jieyu to impersonate Lin Hong’s cousin, entering the palace as a consort, continuing until the prince witnessed Liu Jieyu’s moon worship to her father, after which the prince mysteriously died.

Yang Zicheng also testified, telling Lin Hong about meeting the Liu family’s tutor in Lingnan, proving to him that Liu Jieyu was not his cousin.

After hearing them both speak, Lin Hong remained silent for a long time. Zhenzhen knew this revelation was earth-shattering for him, but he was naturally reserved, keeping all emotions deeply buried. Though his heart bled like a river, his face remained calm. At this moment, except for Zhenzhen glimpsing him secretly clenching his fists with nails digging into his palms, he appeared completely normal.

“Why do you deliberately bring up these matters?” he finally asked despondently.

Zhenzhen said: “I want to know if, in your interactions with Liu Jieyu and Lady Yu, you noticed anything suspicious regarding their identities or Prince Zhuangwen… To clarify the truth about Prince Zhuangwen’s matter, to wash away the shame that rumors imposed on him and the false accusations I’ve suffered, to block the treacherous from reaching for power over the realm, I need more evidence.”

Lin Hong fell silent again, saying nothing.

Zhenzhen understood that his years of affection for Liu Jieyu couldn’t be severed by her few words, even knowing she had no blood relation to him and might even be an enemy’s daughter.

She temporarily stopped trying to persuade Lin Hong, turning to look at the flower branches the monk had left behind, then rising to go to the flower arrangement seat and select branches to insert in the vase.

She first arranged several branches of maple leaves in colors gradually changing from green to red, then cut some white small chrysanthemums to scatter among them, then selected a red chrysanthemum to place near the vase opening, with two buds of the same color standing at different heights behind that flower, adjusting slightly so the three flowers faced different directions.

Lin Hong watched silently without comment. When Zhenzhen cut a branch of red hibiscus and tried inserting it beside the chrysanthemum, asking if it was suitable, he stopped her.

“This hibiscus is the same color as the chrysanthemum and about the same size – they can’t be used together,” he told Zhenzhen.

“Why not?” Zhenzhen asked. “Both flowers are blooming beautifully. I want to use them as the most important flower materials together.”

“A flower arrangement can only have one most important type of flower material. Using two similar flowers together means neither is the ‘most’ important,” Lin Hong patiently instructed as always. “You must learn to choose.”

“Yes, one must learn to choose,” Zhenzhen put down the flower branch and looked directly at Lin Hong, saying solemnly: “When great righteousness and life cannot both be preserved, your father chose righteousness; when great righteousness and reputation cannot both be kept, Imperial Physician Zhang chose righteousness; now, when great righteousness and personal feelings cannot coexist, what will you choose, Teacher?”

Lin Hong gazed at her for a long time, his heart presumably struggling painfully. Finally lowering his eyes slightly to stare at the scattered flower branches, he spoke: “Before Prince Zhuangwen was poisoned by drinking mushroom water, Lady Yu came to find me, saying Liu Jieyu wanted to imitate the Eastern Palace’s water system by channeling mountain spring water into her quarters, asking for the Eastern Palace’s spring water pipeline map for reference. I didn’t suspect anything then and lent it to her… When the Prince fell ill and you came asking about water quality, I later remembered this incident and vaguely felt it was suspicious. Feeling deeply guilty toward Prince Zhuangwen, I specially went to the Eastern Palace to confess.”

“Yes, the mountain pipelines are covered with shields and soil. Without a map, ordinary people couldn’t so easily find and dig open the pipes,” Zhenzhen laughed coldly in shock. “Why didn’t you say this then?”

Lin Hong said: “Speaking of this would implicate many people. Besides, I only suspected – I had no solid evidence.”

Zhenzhen could understand his feelings of wanting to protect Liu Jieyu at that time, and also understood why he insisted on confessing after the Prince recovered. With mixed emotions and not knowing what to say, she finally said stiffly: “Thank you for telling me this.”

“There’s one more thing,” Lin Hong continued. “Later, Liu Jieyu had me renovate the Furong Pavilion gardens. One day, Lady Yu asked me to send a craftsman to repair her leaking roof. When the craftsman returned, he told me that actually there was a small secret room under the floorboards beneath Lady Yu’s bed that had water seepage, so she had him repair it… The next day, this craftsman suddenly left a letter saying his parents were ill and he had to return home, then disappeared. I don’t know if he really went home.”

Having said this, he looked up at Zhenzhen: “If you need to search Furong Pavilion in the future, you might look for this secret room. Lady Yu may have hidden important items there.”

Before Zhenzhen could respond, Yang Zicheng rose and bowed deeply to Lin Hong: “Proclamation Officer, when Prince Zhuangwen and Food Manager Wu’s grievances are cleared someday, I will certainly inform His Majesty and not forget your truthful words today.”

Lin Hong forced a smile, stood to return the courtesy, but whether from suddenly rising after sitting long or being too emotionally drained, he inexplicably felt dizzy and swayed. Zhenzhen saw this from the side and instinctively reached out to support him. Lin Hong’s right hand dropped down, exactly grasping Zhenzhen’s hand reaching toward him.

His hand was exceptionally cold.

Zhenzhen looked down and felt that hand was like ice and jade – clean and pale, now holding her hand with slightly curved knuckles in a long, beautiful shape.

In this lightning moment, Zhenzhen’s thoughts suddenly flew to that night when Jujing Garden’s small island was flooded, when her rescuer had held her hand in just this way, and she had groggily grasped back, dimly feeling his long knuckles.

She jerked her hand back as if burned, steadied herself, then looked up at Lin Hong and asked: “Teacher Lin, can you swim?”

Lin Hong was briefly silent, then gentle eyes showed a faint smile as he slightly spread his sleeves toward her: “Look at me – do I seem like someone who can swim?”

Zhenzhen examined him again and felt he was exactly as in her memory – scholarly and refined, nothing like a swimmer. Moreover, he was obsessively clean. Having him leap into muddy lake water to save someone was indeed unlikely.

“I’m sorry for the unnecessary question – it was discourteous of me,” Zhenzhen apologized with lowered brows.

“No matter,” he replied, his lingering smile flawless, then politely bowed to her again: “I should take my leave.”