Pu Zhu had only just stepped into the carriage and let down the curtain when Li Hui’er leaned over and whispered in her ear: “Elder Sister, aren’t you about to be betrothed? When we get to Guo’an Temple, you should go pray to the Peony Goddess. I’ve heard she’s very efficacious — she’ll surely bless you to marry a fine and worthy husband!”

Pu Zhu reached out and gave Li Hui’er’s cheek a gentle pinch. Li Hui’er pulled a face at her and giggled softly.

Pu Zhu’s heart was sweet as honey.

Though she knew the person outside the carriage better than anyone, just moments ago, when she had followed her mother out from inside and come to stand before him — when she had seen him turn his gaze toward her — her heart had still leapt beyond her control, just as though she were meeting him for the very first time.

In his presence, no matter when or where, she always felt as though she were experiencing love for the first time. That feeling of young springtime longing and first love made her ears flush warm and her heart race — it was so very beautiful.

Li Xuandu rode on horseback ahead of the carriage, leading the way as their escort. He could not clearly hear what Li Hui’er and she were saying inside, but into his ears drifted the soft murmuring and laughter of two young girls. That was enough. His mood lightened too, becoming easy and glad. He thought again of how this morning she had come out with her mother, standing obediently by her mother’s side, her delicate neck bowed, not daring to look at him — how adorable she was. The more he thought of it, the more he liked her.

And so he escorted them through the eastern gate, traveling along the road outside the city for some ten li, until they came to the foot of the hills, and Guo’an Temple came into view.

The moment the carriage stopped, Li Xuandu swiftly dismounted and came personally to the carriage door to receive them.

The door opened, and out came Li Hui’er first. He extended his hand quite naturally, steadying Li Hui’er as she stepped down onto the small stool placed beneath the carriage and descended.

After Li Hui’er had come down, another young girl appeared at the door of the carriage.

When Li Xuandu saw that water-green figure draped in a little shawl appear at the carriage door, his heart gave a small jolt and his mind went blank for a moment. He saw her bow forward to come out, stopping at the doorway.

By rights, it was not his place to extend a hand to help her down. After all, she was different from Li Hui’er. Moreover, her maidservants had already alighted from the rear carriage and now stood just behind him, waiting for him to step aside so they could assist her.

Yet, as if moved by some inexplicable impulse, after only the briefest hesitation, Li Xuandu could not stop himself from extending his hand toward her as well. She stood there, her lovely eyes looking back at him, and unlike Li Hui’er’s immediate response, she did not react right away. He grew nervous, and then a little regretful, wondering at his own rashness. His heart stirred with a faint unease, and he hesitated, just about to withdraw his hand and step aside — when suddenly, from beneath her sleeve, that hand of hers came forward and settled with a touch of restraint into his palm.

Li Xuandu let out a breath he had not known he was holding. Barely daring to apply any pressure, he closed his fingers gently around that soft, boneless hand, and said in a low voice: “Mind your step.”

She made no reply. She only lowered her head slightly, and with her other hand gently lifted the hem of her skirt. With the support of his offered hand, her little feet in their pink embroidered shoes stepped down onto the stool, and she descended from the carriage with ease.

Immediately afterward, the small hand resting in his palm slipped free and left him.

The whole exchange had lasted only a breath’s span of time. But the sensation that lingered in his palm was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Li Xuandu felt as though he had held a soft bundle of silk floss — yet her hand was even smoother than silk floss. He also felt as though he had touched the finest jade — but even the most beautiful jade lacked the soft warmth of her hand.

He could not help but close his fingers once more against his palm, and only slowly did the lingering sensation fade.

The two girls had already joined hands and walked off ahead. Li Xuandu swept aside the wayward thoughts that had no business being there and quickened his steps to follow.

They had arrived early, and the temple was not yet crowded. When the abbot learned that Prince Qin — who had only recently returned to the capital — had come today in plain clothes with two female companions to enjoy the flowers, he hurried out with the temple monks to meet them at the mountain gate. He also asked whether they wished to have the morning’s early visitors cleared away and the gate closed, so that their party might view the flowers in peace without disturbance.

Guo’an Temple was an imperially ordained Buddhist temple, and since members of the imperial family had arrived today, such arrangements were entirely natural.

Li Xuandu glanced over at her — if she wished to view the flowers in peace, he would close the mountain gate. He saw her lean over to ask Li Hui’er’s opinion in a low voice.

Li Hui’er smiled. “I’ll go along with whatever Elder Sister decides.”

He saw the girl turn toward him and say: “Your Highness, there is no need to close the mountain gate. This is a naturally occurring scene, and the flowers are at their peak. Those who wish to see them should be allowed to come. It would not be right to turn away people who have made the journey, not knowing what they would have missed.”

Li Xuandu immediately instructed the abbot to follow her wishes. The abbot acknowledged the order and led the party into the temple.

She and Li Hui’er first withdrew to the guest meditation chambers in the rear to refresh themselves, then came out to admire the flowers.

The thousand-year-old peonies were grand and magnificent in their bloom, yet the entire splendid scene of blossoming flowers, as it fell upon Li Xuandu’s eyes, could not compare to even a glimpse of that girl’s silhouette.

He followed at a discreet distance behind, watching them admire the flowers and then go to pay their respects at the Flower Goddess shrine.

As midday approached, more and more visitors arrived to burn incense and view the flowers.

Li Xuandu had something weighing on his mind all along. He had finally managed to bring her out today, and had only wanted to find a moment alone with her to say a few words — to ask what he had been wanting to ask. But his niece Li Hui’er had been glued to her side the entire time, following her like a little tail and not straying even a step.

He waited and waited, but an opportunity for her to be alone never came. At last he could endure it no longer, and summoned Luo Bao, giving him a low-voiced instruction.

Luo Bao was astonished to hear the Prince Qin ordering him to find a way to get rid of the Commandery Princess. He turned to look ahead at the princess sitting in the pavilion chatting and laughing with the young Pu girl, admiring the flowers — and then a sudden understanding crossed his face. “This servant will see to it at once, Your Highness — just watch!”

He was quick-witted and soon hit upon an idea. Going into the pavilion, he told Li Hui’er that someone had just come from Penglai Palace looking for her — he did not know the reason, but the person was waiting outside the mountain gate at this very moment.

Li Hui’er believed him without question. She said hurriedly to Pu Zhu: “Elder Sister, I’m going to see what this is about. I’ll come and find you again in a little while!” And with that, accompanied by Luo Bao and a few palace attendants, she went hurrying off toward the mountain gate.

Pu Zhu knew full well that it was Li Xuandu who had told Luo Bao to send Li Hui’er away.

He had been dragging his feet all morning — they had been out for half the day already, and he had been following at a distance without once coming to speak with her. She had been nearly frantic with impatience inside; if it had not been necessary to maintain a certain reserve, she would have gone to seek him out herself. Now, seeing him finally take action at last, she quietly let out a breath of relief.

Once Li Hui’er had gone, Pu Zhu pretended not to know, hoping to encourage him. She left the pavilion, and with her two maidservants, was just setting off toward the more secluded rear meditation courtyard — when she heard from behind her a voice strike up a conversation: “Young Sister, what a coincidence — I never expected to run into you here today!”

Pu Zhu turned and recognized him as Young Master He of the Grand Physician’s residence, a charming and talented young man of the capital who had at one point proposed marriage to her. Seeing him approach with a smile, surrounded by several family servants, she felt a surge of irritation. She stopped at once, and quickly stole a glance at Li Xuandu not far off.

“Young Sister, there are so many people here — you might get jostled. Where are you going? Let me escort you…”

It was the annual Guo’an Temple peony-viewing gathering, and all the fine young men and women of the capital had been flocking in. A carefree young gallant such as Young Master He would naturally not miss such an event. The weather had been fair today, and he had ventured out to enjoy the flowers. By chance he had caught sight of the Pu family’s young miss, whom he had been pining for, and wanted to go speak to her — but he had seen her together with Commandery Princess Ningfu, surrounded by attendants, and had not dared approach rashly. He could only gaze at her from a distance. Then, just now, he had noticed the princess being called away for some reason by a round-faced attendant — he did not recognize Luo Bao — and with only the Pu family’s young miss in his sights, he saw his opportunity and seized it, going up to flatter and fawn upon her —

But before he had even finished fawning, without any warning, a person came charging straight at him and without a word of preamble threw a punch squarely at his head. He was knocked to the ground in an instant, seeing stars, his nose bleeding. Looking up to clear his vision, he saw that the one who had rushed forward and struck him was his arch-rival, Han Chijiao of the Princess’s residence.

As for Han Chijiao — ever since the previous year, when he had by chance encountered the Pu family’s young miss at Penglai Palace and been struck by her as though by a bolt of lightning, he had returned home unable to stop thinking of her, with all his heart set on taking her as his wife. His mother, Li Lihua, upon learning of her son’s wish, had two reasons for wanting to help bring about the match: first, she valued the Pu family’s status; and second, she knew that the Empress Dowager Jiang was also very fond of this girl, and that if her son could marry her, it would bring great benefits in the future. And so she had wholeheartedly sought to arrange the marriage. But just the previous day, word had come from the matchmaker that the Pu family had once again declined the proposal. She was quite displeased, yet since even the Empress Dowager was not in support, there was nothing she could do. She had told her son to put the idea out of his mind, and said she would find him another good match instead.

Han Chijiao, feeling miserable and sullen, had today brought along several of his usual companions to this place for some distraction. By a stroke of luck, he too had spotted the young beauty — his eyes had lit up and he had been racking his brains to figure out how to approach her, when suddenly he saw Young Master He appear out of nowhere, one step ahead of him, going to fawn over her first.

Han Chijiao had already had a conflict with that fellow over amusements in the past, and now knowing the He family had also made a marriage proposal, old grudges combined with fresh anger — his head went hot, and he leapt forward with a punch that sent the man crashing to the ground.

Young Master He was a person of standing and reputation in the capital, and having been knocked down in front of so many people — especially in front of the young miss of the Pu family — he was not about to simply accept defeat. He scrambled up from the ground and immediately called on his people to hit back.

The scene erupted. Both sides’ men surged forward, brawling with each other. Even the nearby peonies suffered — petals fell and branches snapped. Bystanders, seeing the spectacle, crowded around to watch, pointing and exclaiming. The scene descended into total chaos.

It all happened so fast that it caught everyone completely off guard. Pu Zhu stared, dumbfounded, her heart suddenly anxious. She was just turning to look for Li Xuandu when a figure swept past in front of her. She looked up and saw that he had already arrived, planting himself before her, and shouted in the direction of Han Chijiao and Young Master He, who were still tangled in their brawl: “Stop!”

Several plainclothes guards came dashing out from the shadows and in a matter of moments pulled the fighting men apart. Only then did Han Chijiao and Young Master He notice Li Xuandu.

Both men naturally recognized him. Seeing him shielding the young beauty behind him, they stared at each other, frowning, struck dumb.

“Uncle, you’re here too? How wonderful — Uncle, you must take my side quickly! He hit me! It hurts terribly!”

Han Chijiao, who had taken a blow to the face in the confusion and only now realized it, clutched his cheek and rushed to lodge his complaint, glaring furiously at Young Master He.

“Get out.”

Li Xuandu glanced at the nearby cluster of peonies that had been trampled into disarray, and gave the order with a frown.

When the Emperor’s fourth son was galloping down the main avenue of the capital in his youth as the young Prince Qin, people like Young Master He were still children of about ten years old. Faced now with Li Xuandu’s sudden appearance and his commanding order, none of them dared to defy him. Covering his still-bleeding nose, Young Master He hurriedly bowed, gathered his people, and made a hasty retreat out of Guo’an Temple.

Han Chijiao, for his part, was now quite pleased with himself.

“Uncle, let him get lost! I still have something to do — I want to say a few words to her…”

He had paid no attention at all to his young uncle’s expression, his eyes glued to the young beauty who had retreated behind Li Xuandu.

“You too — go home immediately and reflect on your behavior!”

He had not expected his uncle to be so implacable, even driving him away along with the others.

Han Chijiao was stunned, rooted to the spot.

“Still not leaving?” Li Xuandu frowned, his expression clearly displeased.

The arm cannot overpower the leg. Han Chijiao, however unwilling, had no choice. With a longing look back at the young beauty still standing behind Li Xuandu, he had to lead his own people away, departing in low spirits.

Once everyone had been driven off, Li Xuandu turned to face her and said softly: “Were you frightened? Let me take you somewhere to rest.”

Pu Zhu lowered her eyes and followed him toward a resting area in the rear, passing through a side path beside the main hall and arriving at the back of the temple.

As the people around them gradually thinned, they came to a halt before a quiet shrine hall. Pu Zhu saw his footsteps slow, then stop at the bottom of the steps. He told her two maidservants to remain there, then said to her: “Come with me for a moment. There is something I need to say.” He then continued walking.

Pu Zhu, pretending ignorance, instructed her maidservants to wait in place as he had directed, and followed him onward. They passed through the quiet hall and at last stopped at the base of an ancient scholar tree standing beside the stone path behind the shrine.

The ancient scholar tree was several hundred years old. Its trunk was so thick it would have taken several people linking arms to encircle it, and its canopy was even more lush and magnificent — its dense shade spreading out to cover nearly half the meditation courtyard. Deep within that shade, birds were hidden, and from time to time their calls rang out, making the surroundings feel all the more tranquil and secluded.

Standing face-to-face with him, separated by a few paces, she kept her head lowered, though she knew full well that he was watching her.

Pu Zhu felt a little nervous, and a little anticipatory. She held her breath, counting silently the calls of birds coming from somewhere within the dense shade above.

After she had counted to the seventh call, she finally heard him speak: “How have you been getting on at home this past year and more?”

He paused for a moment, then explained himself: “I used to receive your letters regularly — but this past year and more, no letters have come, and I have been a little worried.”

So he too had noticed that she had not written to him for over a year!

Pu Zhu quietly let out a breath. The small flicker of nervousness in her heart vanished all at once.

She stole a glance up at him, saw him watching her with unblinking eyes, and said: “I was angry at you! I didn’t want to write anymore!”

Over the past year and more, in his idle moments, Li Xuandu had thought about the reasons why she might have stopped writing.

Perhaps, for instance, Jin-Eye Slave had lost his way and her letters had never reached him.

Perhaps she had grown up, come to understand the ways of the world, and now observed the proper boundaries between men and women.

Or perhaps — as he had finally settled upon — she had simply forgotten about him.

Never in any of his guesses had he arrived at the answer she now gave him.

When she spoke those words, her tone was full of complaint — yet carried a faint note of coquetry.

Li Xuandu felt his heart stir with her words.

He steadied himself. “Why were you angry at me?”

Pu Zhu, now completely at ease with him, absently plucked a blade of grass from beside the tree and wound it around her slender white fingers, turning it over and playing with it.

“Ask yourself!”

She sniffed the clean fragrance of the grass blade and said.

She spoke, then saw that he was silent, his expression looking a little bewildered. She could not help giving him a hint: “In the last letter I wrote to you, what did I say?”

Every letter she had ever sent him, Li Xuandu had read more than once.

He recalled it quickly.

In her final letter to him, she had told him that she was nearly thirteen years old, and that a few days earlier, someone had come to her family’s home to propose marriage.

He hesitated briefly, then recited the contents of the letter.

Pu Zhu said: “Your memory is quite good. Then let me ask you — how did you reply to me at the time?”

Li Xuandu remembered that he had replied saying he was very glad for her, and hoped she would marry a fine and worthy husband. On the day of her wedding, he would certainly send a congratulatory gift.

He fell silent.

“Prince Qin, dear brother — you haven’t forgotten, have you?”

She began to mimic his manner of speaking, reciting the letter he had written to her back to him, word for word.

“You said you were glad for me, didn’t you? Well, you may have been glad — but I certainly was not!”

Her lovely eyes looked at him, full of grievance: “You don’t care about me at all — so why should I keep writing to you? I told you when I was small: when I grew up, I was going to marry you. You’ve forgotten all of that, haven’t you?”

How could Li Xuandu have forgotten?

He had simply always believed that it was only the thoughtless, innocent words of a young child.

He had never imagined she would mean them seriously.

Hearing her question him like this now, Li Xuandu felt his whole body burning with heat.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice: “Zhuzhu… do you still… truly mean it the same way now?”

Pu Zhu gave a little huff: “I used to think so all along — but you made me angry! So now I’m not so sure!” With that, she tossed the blade of grass she had been winding around her fingers in his direction, turned away, and without another word to him, started to leave.

The blade of grass fell true, landing squarely on his face. Li Xuandu caught a trace of its clean, grassy fragrance.

His heart suddenly stirred and shook. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, he saw her turn to walk away. Unable to endure it any longer, without thinking, he instinctively stepped forward in pursuit, and was just about to reach out to stop her — when from the other end of the quiet hall, voices arose.

“Where is Elder Sister? Is she here?”

It was Li Hui’er, coming to look for her! She was asking the two maidservants, and seemed to have received a positive answer, because the sound of footsteps followed.

“Elder Sister! Elder Sister!”

Pu Zhu was startled. She stopped at once, turned, and quickly pushed him — shoving him behind the old scholar tree. She herself was about to step out and go to meet Li Hui’er, when the uneven old roots on the ground caught her foot. She stumbled in her haste, her body tilting sideways, and she fell against him.

Li Hui’er had already passed through the quiet hall and stepped over the threshold.

“Elder Sister! Fourth Imperial Uncle! Where are you?”

“Commandery Princess, they are not here —”

Luo Bao came rushing after her, trying to coax her away.

“What did my fourth imperial uncle want to say to Elder Sister? Where has everyone gone?”

“It must be something important —”

“It’s all your fault! You were the one who said just now that someone from Penglai Palace had come looking for me! I went out, and there was no one there at all! And now I can’t find Elder Sister either!”

“Oh, my Commandery Princess, this servant truly did hear that someone was looking for you. Perhaps they couldn’t wait and left? Please don’t worry — this servant will accompany you to look again, and we will certainly find the young Pu miss…”

Luo Bao coaxed Li Hui’er along, and the whole group swept past the old scholar tree, continuing to search toward the rear of the meditation courtyard. Their figures passed through the shrine hall ahead, their footsteps fading gradually until they disappeared from hearing.

It seemed to take a very long time, yet also seemed to pass very quickly.

Li Hui’er’s party made their way through the hall ahead, and the sound of their footsteps gradually faded into silence.

The stillness returned all around. A few small birds called softly nearby.

Pu Zhu finally let out a slow breath, and only then realized that her back was pressed against the tree trunk, while half her body had fallen sideways into the crook of his arm.

He stood perfectly still, unmoving, supporting her with his body.

She was pressed so close to him — nearly half her chest was against one side of his arm.

Her face grew a little warm. Seeing that his arm was still lightly supporting her at the waist, she gave a small wriggle, signaling him to let her go.

“They’ve gone now —”

She said softly, and reached out with her own hand to brace herself against the tree trunk, wanting to stand upright and step out, so as to avoid the awkwardness if Li Hui’er and the others happened to turn back.

Her hand had not yet touched the tree trunk when a warmth enveloped it. He extended his hand and took hold of hers, stopping her from leaving.

He refused to let her go.

“Zhuzhu, I was wrong. What would it take for you not to be angry at me anymore?”

Her ear felt suddenly warm.

He had lowered his head and brought his lips close to her ear, asking her in a soft voice.

His warm breath, carried along with the words of his question, drifted gently onto her ear and against the smooth skin along the side of her neck. It made the entire side of her body go soft at once — she could barely keep her footing.

She steadied herself, slowly raised her face, and met his eyes as he gazed down at her. She was about to speak, when from the other end of the side hall, she heard footsteps approaching from far away.

Sure enough, it was Li Hui’er who had not found her on the other side and was coming back.

She blinked. He had not yet reacted. She suddenly rose onto her tiptoes, and the soft, tender lips of the young girl pressed swiftly against his chin — then she shoved him back, pushing him into the deeper corner behind the tree, and stepped out from behind it herself, going to meet Li Hui’er who had turned back.

“Elder Sister!”

Li Hui’er saw her and was overjoyed. She hurried over and took her hand.

“Where did you go just now? I passed through here and couldn’t find you. They said my fourth imperial uncle wanted to speak with you about something — where is he? What did he want to speak about?”

Pu Zhu smiled. “He asked me where I’d take you to play next time. Once he’d asked, he went off on his own. I don’t know where he went. Let’s go.”

Li Xuandu had been pushed squarely in the chest by those small hands, and found himself as though drained of all his strength, helplessly retreating several paces before he stopped. He listened to her and Li Hui’er murmuring and laughing, the sound of their voices growing farther away.

Silence settled around him once more.

He stood in that corner behind the trunk of the old scholar tree, lost in a daze for a long while. Slowly, he raised his hand and touched his chin — the very spot those two tender lips had just kissed — and felt the blood throughout his body gradually growing warm.

He knew now what he needed to do.

Had not his imperial grandmother and Lady Chen said he ought to be thinking about marriage?

Indeed.

He could hardly wait.