Chapter 17 - 14: Third Princess
「North Gate of the Imperial City, Upper Jade Capital.」
Countless soldiers stood with solemn expressions. The palace gates were now under strict lockdown, and they would not allow anyone suspicious to enter the Imperial Palace.
One sharp-eyed guard spotted a figure slowly approaching in the distance.
It was a flash of white, so subtle it was almost imperceptible. Even if she stood right before you, you would not be able to glimpse her immortal face unless she wished it.
The young woman had enviable, silvery-white hair like moonlight, which shimmered under the sun, making her seem like a pure, true lotus between heaven and earth.
The guard stared blankly at her as the chimes of a Buddhist Temple boomed in his ears. It was as if a Female Bodhisattva from the nine heavens had descended to the Mortal World, bringing with her waves of Sanskrit hymns. Yet the feeling was contradictory, for upon closer inspection, the young woman wore a Lotus Crown and the pale-green robes of the Dao.
Buddhist? Daoist? Both were merely means for the Compassionate Palace to save the world.
But the most striking thing about her was the plain white cloth that covered her eyes, set against a face so beautiful it made heaven and earth lose their color.
Was she blind?
No one knew.
The young woman, carrying a black-cloth-covered cage, walked step-by-step to the palace gate. Her voice was ethereal. "Go and announce me. I wish to see my father, the Emperor."
The Third Princess of the Glazed Dynasty, Su Youwan, first disciple of the Compassionate Palace, had successfully completed her cultivation and returned home today.
The Glazed Dynasty had five imperial children in this generation—four princes and one princess. The most beloved and most special among them was this Third Princess.
When she was born, the bells of every Buddhist Temple in the city chimed with Sanskrit hymns, and a brilliant golden radiance suddenly streaked across the horizon in the endless night.
The very next day, countless Buddhist cultivation sects rushed to the palace, all wanting to take her as a disciple. Among them were even Elders from the Ten Thousand Buddha Palace.
At that time, the strongest person in the entire Dynasty was the National Preceptor, who had barely reached the Fifth Realm. If they could find a powerful Buddhist Temple to act as a backer, the Glazed Dynasty would naturally rise with the tide. Therefore, the Ten Thousand Buddha Palace was the optimal choice.
But the Emperor couldn’t bear to part with his young daughter. Using the excuse that she was still too young, he made the monks wait seven years until Su Youwan was old enough to understand, allowing her to choose which Buddhist Temple she would join.
In truth, everyone knew that once she turned seven, the Third Princess would most likely enter the Ten Thousand Buddha Palace and become a Buddhist Nun, revered by all.
Because of this, the Third Princess’s status in the Dynasty was exceptionally high. Even the Eldest Prince, the Crown Prince himself, found it harder than ascending to the heavens just to meet his third sister.
But this is where things took a curious turn.
The year she turned seven, when the Third Princess was to choose where she would pursue Buddhist cultivation, the little girl furrowed her brow and said softly, "Youwan doesn’t want to shave her head. Youwan thinks having no hair is ugly."
These "three thousand threads of worldly affliction" had become the greatest obstacle on her path to the Dao.
The Ten Thousand Buddha Palace was in a difficult position. However, they quickly came to an agreement: cultivating with a full head of hair wasn’t entirely out of the question.
It was just making an exception, and it wasn’t as if they hadn’t made one before.
Just as the matter was about to be settled, someone arrived. It was a True Master from the Compassionate Palace, and she said only a single sentence.
She said.
"The one in the palace wishes to take a disciple."
The Elder from the Ten Thousand Buddha Palace replied with a single question: "Is it Master Compassionate?"
The True Master shook her head. "It is *that* one."
At that, the people from the Ten Thousand Buddha Palace recited a Buddhist mantra and turned to leave for their mountain gate.
No one knew who "that one" the True Master spoke of was. They only knew that the Ten Thousand Buddha Palace had been prepared to challenge Master Compassionate, but upon hearing the title of "that one," they no longer dared to vie for Su Youwan.
Seven-year-old Su Youwan asked, "If I cultivate under ’that one,’ will I need to shave my head?"
"There is no need to shave your head, and you may marry when you come of age."
The little girl nodded. "I am a girl, after all. I’ll have to get married someday."
From then on, the Glazed Dynasty lost a Third Princess but gained a Little Ancestor of the Compassionate Palace.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Have you ever been to a lantern festival?"
Xia Lianxue shook her head.
She was an abandoned orphan. When the Han Shui Master descended the mountain back then, she discovered her, still in swaddling clothes, in some unknown place. From then on, she brought her up the mountain to cultivate. The mountain was cold and desolate, so naturally, Xia Lianxue had never been to a lantern festival.
Lu Changyuan asked again, "Are you interested?"
Xia Lianxue shook her head again. "Sir, even if I were interested, now is not the time for a lantern festival."
Ever since the two of them arrived at the lakeside, countless gazes had been fixed upon them.
Most were curious about Lu Changyuan’s identity. Xia Lianxue was a True Inheritor of the Miao Yu Palace, so why would she be standing behind a man for no reason? This man must have something unusual about him.
Lu Changyuan then said, "Well, do you want some candied hawthorns? I see they’re selling them over there."
The Fairy bit her lip lightly and fidgeted with the hem of her clothes. "Sir!"
In the past, when those gazes fell on her, she would just smile without a word. But now that she had lost all her cultivation, it was as unbearable as an ant on a hot pan.
She wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
"You two, are you looking for a boat to take out on the lake?" A young gentleman fanning himself, dressed in pale-green and white silk, walked up to them. "The lantern festival is about to begin, and the courtesan will be performing a dance on a painted barge in the center of the lake. If you haven’t found a boat yet, why not join me?"
"Alright," Lu Changyuan said with a smile. "There are so many kind people in this Royal City."
The young gentleman also smiled. "That’s how it is in the Royal City. There are plenty of warm-hearted folks."
Soon, a painted barge arrived at the shore. The young gentleman closed his fan. "After you."
Inside the barge, a spread of food and wine had already been laid out. Lu Changyuan didn’t stand on ceremony; taking advantage of Xia Lianxue’s distraction, he pulled the Fairy onto the barge with him.
Before long, the barge slowly made its way toward the center of the lake. In the distance, an even larger painted barge was already anchored there. It seemed that was the courtesan’s boat.
Lu Changyuan leaned back lazily. "I haven’t had the pleasure of asking your name, sir?"
"I am the fourth in my family. Su Luoqiu."
Xia Lianxue froze. The surname Su was the imperial family name. The man before them said he was the fourth, which meant...
"So you’re the Fourth Prince."
Su Luoqiu shook his head. "A Prince of the Mortal World is nothing special. Mr. Lu does me a great honor by agreeing to share a boat with me."
Lu Changyuan said, "You know who I am?"
"My ancestor didn’t say. She only told me that if I want to live, I must cling tightly to your thigh."
Xia Lianxue blinked, completely lost in the fog of their conversation.
She remembered Lu Changyuan had told her before that if she didn’t know something, she should just ask, and he would answer if he could. So, she parted her lips and asked, "Who is this ’ancestor’?"
Su Luoqiu gave a bitter smile. "She’s that old woman who sells noodles. Though, Her Ladyship usually doesn’t acknowledge us unworthy descendants."
Xia Lianxue’s pretty eyes went wide. She turned to look at Lu Changyuan. "You know that old woman."
Lu Changyuan smiled and nodded. "Yes. Didn’t I tell you?"
"You did not."
"I might have forgotten."
"Didn’t you say it was your first time eating noodles there?"
"It was indeed my first time eating noodles there."
Xia Lianxue took a deep breath, puffing her cheeks out in a pout. She had even taken out her private savings! "Then why did you make a show of ordering plain noodles?"
Lu Changyuan fell silent for a moment before saying, "I was never that close with her to begin with. In fact, not counting this time, I’d only met her once... or twice. If she had really served us plain noodles, it would have meant that whatever little connection we had was truly gone."
He ordered plain noodles.
He was testing if she still remembered him, Lu Changyuan.
The ways of the world are fickle, human kindness is cruel.
Rain at dusk, flowers fall with ease.
The bonds of this world were never reliable to begin with.