Even after many, many years had passed, when Madam Mao recalled this chance encounter, her face still flushed and her heart still raced.

She remembered it extremely clearly.

He and she stood facing each other, surrounded by lanterns, streams of light overflowing with color.

Yet those narrow eyes seemed even brighter than the lanterns, making her unable to resist wanting to draw closer to see if those bright eyes concealed anything else.

“My lord came to Luoyang City following his father. That New Year’s Eve, his father observed celestial phenomena at night and discovered something strange about the northwestern sky. After reporting to His Majesty, he was ordered to come investigate.”

“Heavenly anomalies descended?”

Yan Sanhe pondered. “Did anything happen in the northwest that year?”

Madam Mao recalled: “That summer, the Tartars invaded. Our Great Hua fought a battle with them and won.”

Yan Sanhe: “Why did he bring specifically the concubine-born son?”

“Five sons—Old Master never showed favoritism. Each time he went out, he brought one.”

Madam Mao: “That year my lord was fifteen. He already understood the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams very well, with high natural talent. It happened to be his turn.”

Yan Sanhe couldn’t help sighing. “That truly was fate.”

One phrase about fate stirred infinite emotion in Madam Mao. “So you see, marriages in this world are all matched by the matchmaker god. Only with fate can people meet across a thousand li.”

“Because it was official business, the father and son stayed at the prefectural magistrate’s office. My father naturally hosted the high official from the capital with great hospitality.”

When Mother learned a master from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had arrived, she pressured Father to invite them to visit our home.

She was eighteen. Though Mother wanted her to stay home a few more years, her heart was anxious.

The old saying goes well—when a daughter grows up, she cannot stay. If she stays, resentment will grow.

Mother wanted to ask the master to divine where her destined match was and when he would come.

That evening, learning he would visit the residence, she inexplicably suffered insomnia, tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep, as if roasting on a griddle.

That face, those eyes kept bursting forth from her mind.

How could this be?

In all her years, she’d never had such intense feelings toward a man. It was as if, as if…

“As if I’d lived eighteen years just to meet such a person.”

Madam Mao sighed unhurriedly.

“Miss Yan, I don’t know if you have someone in your heart. If you do, you’ll definitely understand this feeling. That night, my mind held nothing but him.”

Someone in her heart?

She had one!

Her mind full of him?

She did not.

Yan Sanhe’s gaze lifted toward Li Buyan: What about you?

Li Buyan shook her head.

Mind full of one man?

Was she crazy?

Mother said a woman’s mind must first contain herself!

Yan Sanhe withdrew her gaze. “That day when the father and son came to the Mao family, what else happened?”

Madam Mao’s face flushed slightly. She picked up her tea cup and gulped down several mouthfuls, then wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, yet still didn’t speak.

Yan Sanhe looked at her and asked, “Is there something difficult to say?”

“It’s not really difficult to say, just don’t laugh at me after hearing it, Miss.”

“Why would I laugh? Who doesn’t do foolish things when young?”

Madam Mao was somewhat surprised. This wasn’t reasoning someone Yan Sanhe’s age should be able to articulate, yet she had.

“I truly did something foolish that day.”

The banquet that day was set in the warm pavilion.

By rights, an unmarried woman had no qualification to sit at table with outside men, but Mother brought her along so Old Master Zhu could look her over.

Upon entering, she saw Zhu Xuanjiu sitting properly drinking tea, beside him a refined-looking middle-aged man.

This person was precisely her future father-in-law, Zhu Liuyao.

Zhu Liuyao looked up at her, his eyes revealing a hint of brightness.

After exchanging greetings, Father invited them to sit. She sat beside Mother, with Zhu Xuanjiu right next to her.

Zhu Xuanjiu held his fists on his knees, gaze half-lowered, only looking at the tea cup before him, his expression even more bashful than a young maiden’s.

Being close, she saw the skin behind his ears had turned red.

How could it flush like that when she hadn’t even bullied him?

After a few words of pleasantries, the banquet began.

Father was a man of officialdom, naturally smooth in all directions. Before long, he and Zhu Liuyao were calling each other brothers.

Seeing the time was right, Mother quickly pointed at her and asked, “Lord Zhu, this child just turned eighteen. Please take a look for her.”

What to examine in an eighteen-year-old maiden? Zhu Liuyao didn’t need to ask and spoke directly: “Report the eight birth characters.”

Mother quickly reported the year, month, and day.

Zhu Liuyao glanced at his son, apparently intending to test him. “You help divine it!”

Madam Mao’s face flushed instantly.

Not only did her face redden, but her heart pounded wildly, as if she’d done something shameful. She quickly used her peripheral vision to sweep over the person beside her.

That person had become calm instead. He first stared at her face for a while, then dipped his finger in tea water and began calculations right there on the table.

This person’s fingers were extremely long with distinct knuckles.

Mother had said a person’s finger length reflected their intelligence. Madam Mao looked at Father’s hands, then at his, and her face reddened several more shades.

This person was actually even cleverer than Father!

“The eldest miss was born in the Year of the Rat, on the first day of the first month, at the hour of noon. Her eight characters are excellent, her fate excellent—she won’t worry about food or clothing her entire life, and the older she gets, the better her fortune becomes.”

He looked up at her once more and added, “The eldest miss’s physiognomy is even better. Her forehead is full, her eyes clear, her earlobes plump—she has an excellent fate for bringing prosperity to her husband.”

She was so embarrassed her head lowered more and more, nearly dropping to her chest.

“The eldest miss’s destined match is not in this place, but northeast of Luoyang City. The most suitable zodiac match is a rabbit. Miss, your marriage star has stirred—joyful events are likely just ahead.”

As if possessed by something, she raised her head and asked as if by divine intervention, “May I ask what zodiac Young Master Zhu belongs to?”

He was startled, then his entire face turned red enough to drip blood, his voice like a mosquito’s.

“I’m a rabbit.”

A rabbit—three years younger than her. The saying goes, when a woman is three years older, she holds gold bricks.

His family was in the capital—precisely northeast of Luoyang City.

The Zhu family controlled the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, the most capable people in this world. Only others sought them—they never sought others.

If her daughter married in, naturally she wouldn’t worry about food or clothing for life.

Mother’s eyes immediately burned with intensity. Could the joyful event be the person right before her?

“Father, did I divine correctly?”

Zhu Liuyao hummed in acknowledgment and instructed Mother, “Madam, you must pay close attention recently to see if there’s anyone…”

“Lord Zhu.”

Mother interrupted quite rudely, boldly extending her hand to point first at her, then at the person beside her.

“Making a marriage match between these two—what do you think?”

Zhu Liuyao was clearly shocked, as if he’d never dreamed this Madam Zhu would dare say such words.

“I… just secretly divined it.”

That person’s face still flushed, his voice very soft, yet everyone could hear clearly.

“It’s a heaven-made match—prosperity for the husband, prosperity for the wife, prosperity for the household.”