“Me?”
Young Master Gao stared wide-eyed in surprise.
“Your Highness, what are you talking about?” he said. “I’d never set my sights on that wretched girl.”
But once those words were spoken aloud, Prince Ping only found the idea more and more appealing.
“I’ve seen that wretched girl. She’s actually quite good-looking,” he said.
“Your Highness, this has nothing to do with what she looks like,” Young Master Gao shook his head. “It’s impossible.”
Prince Ping let out a derisive snort.
“How is it impossible?” he said. “Look at her family background, and look at yours. There are plenty of people fighting for the chance to marry into your family and failing.”
“Your Highness, she and I are enemies right now,” Young Master Gao said.
“Precisely because she’s your enemy, that’s why you should marry her,” Prince Ping said, his expression faintly tinged with excitement. “Once you marry her, she becomes yours. A wife must obey her husband. If she doesn’t listen, you can discipline her.”
At the word “discipline,” the hand Prince Ping had resting on his knee unconsciously clenched into a fist.
“Who says you can only marry someone you’re fond of? It’s your enemy you should marry most. Bring her home, and you can take revenge however you like – whip her, stab her with needles, starve her, humiliate her…”
As he spoke, Prince Ping’s face grew gradually flushed, his breathing turning rapid.
The eunuch standing by quickly stepped in.
“Your Highness, marriage is no trifling matter. It would be best to let Young Master Gao decide for himself,” he said.
“How can I not be the one to decide?!”
Interrupted mid-thought, Prince Ping glared in sudden fury.
“The whole realm is My subjects. Do you mean to say I cannot make decisions?!”
Young Master Gao hurriedly responded in agreement, and the eunuch, seeing Prince Ping calm down, finally let out a breath of relief and withdrew.
“Your Highness is right,” Young Master Gao said. “It’s just that Lady Cheng is no ordinary woman – trying to propose a match to her might not be easy.”
Prince Ping gave a dismissive laugh.
“People always said you were proud and fierce, but seeing you now, you’re nothing of the sort. You’re not even as bold and unruly as that Lady Cheng,” he said.
Young Master Gao gave a shy smile, looking for all the world like a meek little cat.
“Your Highness jests. That’s all just outsiders jealous of my father’s power, deliberately slandering me. You know perfectly well what I’m like at home. Father is very strict with us brothers,” he said with a wry smile. “Otherwise, how would I have ended up so embarrassingly defeated when I clashed with that Cheng Si-lang at Desheng Pavilion this time? I only held back for fear Father would find out and punish me.”
Prince Ping laughed.
“Embarrassing indeed. You should’ve given them a proper beating on the spot. Now you’ve suffered a loss for nothing and earned yourself a joke in the bargain,” he said.
“You’re making fun of me, Your Highness. Please, say no more – if you keep talking, I truly won’t have the face to show myself outside,” Young Master Gao said, waving his hand in embarrassed protest.
“If you don’t deal with that Lady Cheng, you won’t have the face to show anyone for the rest of your life,” Prince Ping said. “Marriage is decided by the parents and arranged by matchmakers – how could Lady Cheng herself have any say in it?”
Young Master Gao chuckled.
“Your Highness is still young – are you planning to become a matchmaker now?” he said.
That smile made Prince Ping feel insulted.
“If I cannot act as matchmaker, can the Empress Dowager not?” he said, brows rising.
“The Empress Dowager?” Young Master Gao was startled, both surprised and alarmed. He hurriedly waved his hands. “How could we trouble the Empress Dowager with such a matter? Wouldn’t that turn it into an imperial-bestowed marriage!”
An imperial-bestowed marriage!
Prince Ping’s eyes lit up, and he straightened his posture.
“Wouldn’t that be even better?” he said, with a trace of pride. “With the Empress Dowager’s decree, I don’t believe the Cheng family could refuse.”
Young Master Gao started to say something, but Prince Ping, impatient and leaving no room for argument, waved his hand.
“That’s settled, then. I’ll speak with the Empress Dowager. You needn’t concern yourself further,” he said. “You taking that Lady Cheng as your wife – even if you feel wronged – will count as doing Me a favor. I truly can’t stand her, and I especially don’t want her entangling herself with Duke Jin’an again.”
Young Master Gao quickly rose from his seat and bowed.
“I do not dare call it being wronged,” he said. “I must trouble Your Highness for your efforts.”
Watching Young Master Gao walk out the main gates of the prince’s residence, the steward standing on the steps to see him off frowned slightly.
“My lord, are we really just going to let that brat trick His Highness Prince Ping like that?” a eunuch whispered.
The steward gave a small smile.
“That depends on the outcome of the trick,” he said. “If it’s a scheme against that Lady Cheng, then it’s not really a problem.”
“So we’re really going to let His Highness ask the Empress Dowager for an imperial marriage decree?” the young eunuch asked.
“Of course. His Highness’s idea is actually quite good.” The steward nodded with a smile. “You must remember – Lady Cheng is strange in all kinds of ways, and she’s close with Duke Jin’an. That’s never been a good sign. If she marries into the Gao family and they keep an eye on her, that would be ideal.”
The eunuch let out an “oh,” nodded, and his expression finally relaxed.
Meanwhile, inside the carriage, Young Master Gao was laughing loudly.
“I didn’t expect His Highness to be so clever. After only a few of my words, he managed to come up with this plan,” he said.
His attendant laughed along beside him.
“And what does Master Gao think of this plan?” he asked.
Young Master Gao stroked his short, plump chin and narrowed his eyes, recalling the moment that young lady stepped into Desheng Pavilion from outside.
“That little wench really is quite good-looking,” he said with a faint smile.
The banquet at Desheng Pavilion had dispersed. The drunken officials laughed and took their leave – though not before stopping Cheng Si-lang, who was also about to rise.
“You two lovers can have some private time,” a few colleagues teased, and without giving him a choice, they shut the door behind them.
The room quieted. The ever-smiling Cheng Si-lang let the smile fade, exhaling with a hint of weariness.
Lady Zhu rose and went to the window, pushing it open. The spring breeze slowly swept away the heavy smell of wine lingering in the room.
“Young Master Cheng,” she said softly, pouring a cup of hot tea and handing it to him, “you must be tired?”
Cheng Si-lang sat up properly and accepted it.
“Thank you,” he said formally. After a brief hesitation, he added, “You must be tired too.”
Both of them had been putting on an act – performing for the people outside.
Lady Zhu shook her head and gave a faint smile.
“I do not get tired. This is simply what someone like me is meant to do,” she said.
Cheng Si-lang let out a quiet sigh.
“No one is born destined to be like this,” he said.
So, this was fate.
“Young Master, please don’t say things that make me sad,” Lady Zhu said with a smile, reaching out to take Cheng Si-lang’s arm. “I think it’s better to live in the moment.”
The gentle beauty leaning closer made Cheng Si-lang panic a little; he hurriedly shifted aside to avoid her.
Lady Zhu grasped at empty air, paused in surprise, then covered her mouth and giggled.
“Young Master, what are you avoiding?” she said.
Cheng Si-lang gave an awkward smile.
“Lady Zhu, you don’t need to act like this,” he said.
Lady Zhu smiled, puzzled.
“Then how should I be?” she asked.
“Just… the way you were before is fine,” Cheng Si-lang said, his gaze drifting away from her.
Lady Zhu looked at him for a moment, then stepped back a little, straightened her posture, and offered a formal bow.
“Please accept my apologies,” she said softly.
“No, no,” Cheng Si-lang said quickly. “It’s not because of that. That matter has nothing to do with you – it was something I chose to do.”
“Young Master, do you resent me?” Lady Zhu asked softly, her head lowered.
“No, no, I don’t resent you,” Cheng Si-lang said, shaking his head. “If there’s anyone to blame, it’s only myself. After all, you never intended to use me back then – in fact, you kept trying to explain things on my behalf and urged me to leave. It was my own doing.”
Lady Zhu lifted her head and gave him a faint smile.
“Is that so?” she said. “I also… also resents only myself.”
With that, she picked up her tea bowl.
“I drink to you, Young Master.”
Cheng Si-lang hurriedly picked up his own tea bowl. The two exchanged a glance, then lifted their cups together and each drank.
“Fourth Young Master.”
Seeing Cheng Si-lang about to leave, Lady Zhu called out to him once more.
Cheng Si-lang turned back, somewhat puzzled.
“Do you regret it?” Lady Zhu asked.
Cheng Si-lang smiled faintly.
“My sister once said that there are no ‘what-ifs’ in this world. What’s done is done – we must look forward,” he replied. After saying this, he bowed and walked away.
The door closed, and the room fell silent again. Lady Zhu sat on the floor, unmoving for a long time.
“But I regret it,” she murmured.
When night fell, Zhou Liu-lang stepped into Cheng Jiao-niang’s courtyard and spotted the young lady reclining by the corridor. Bathed in the glow of lanterns on both sides, she carried a charm unlike her daytime demeanor.
In her hand, she held a pendant, examining it slowly.
“What is that?” Zhou Liu-lang asked.
“A grasshopper,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
A grasshopper? It was woven from thin bamboo strips, vivid and lifelike.
“Where did it come from?” Zhou Liu-lang inquired.
“Someone gave it to me,” Cheng Jiao-niang answered.
It must have been given by Qin Shi’san, Zhou Liu-lang thought with a slight curl of his lip.
He wanted to say something but didn’t know what. This girl never spoke voluntarily. Even when questioned, she would only answer directly – no pleasantries, no small talk.
Who knew what went on in her mind beneath all that silence?
After sitting in stifling quiet for a while, Zhou Liu-lang simply stood up and walked away. A few steps later, he glanced back and saw her still slightly tilting her head, as if looking at the pendant – or perhaps not really looking at it at all.
“What are you doing?” Zhou Liu-lang couldn’t help asking.
“Looking at the stars,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, her gaze never wavering.
Looking at the stars?
Zhou Liu-lang lifted his head. The night had deepened, and the starlight was growing brighter and more brilliant.
It was quite a sight, sure – but what was the point?
He curled his lip again and walked off.
“Miss,” Ban Qin approached and draped a cloak over her shoulders, following her gaze upward. “Will you be stargazing late again tonight?”
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded, then pointed toward the night sky.
“Look, that star is growing brighter,” she said, “but it’s still not enough.”
That one? Which one?
Ban Qin looked up. To her eyes, the countless stars were all the same – indistinguishable in their shimmer. But if her mistress said one was growing brighter, then brighter it must be. She nodded earnestly.
“What would be enough, then?” Ban Qin asked.
“The right timing, the right terrain, and the right people,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied. “The timing and terrain are already in place. What remains… depends on the people.”
…
“Oh heavens, my child, since when have you taken up matchmaking?”
In the palace, the Empress Dowager let out an exclamation of surprise. She looked at Prince Ping kneeling before her, not knowing whether to laugh or sigh.
“Your Majesty, this is not mere matchmaking. This is a serious matter,” Prince Ping said with a stern expression.
The Empress Dowager smiled and glanced at the Imperial Consort.
“Look at him, just look. Shouldn’t we be arranging a serious matter for our Prince Ping first?” she remarked.
The Imperial Consort was half-amused, half-disapproving, shaking her head.
“Si Ge’er, you mustn’t jest about such things. This is no matter for a youngster like you to discuss,” she said. “Besides, proposing Lady Cheng for Young Master Gao – wouldn’t that be a laughingstock?”
“That is no laughingstock. It would turn ridicule into a celebrated tale,” Prince Ping replied solemnly.
Turn ridicule into a celebrated tale?
The Imperial Consort and the Empress Dowager were taken aback for a moment.
“Right now, the Gao family has become a laughingstock because of the dispute over Cheng Jiao-niang at Desheng Pavilion. If we don’t find a way to resolve this, the Gao family will remain a joke in the eyes of the world for generations to come. But if this conflict turns into a marriage alliance – if adversaries become acquainted, and a clash of pride turns into mutual admiration – wouldn’t that transform it into a celebrated tale?” Prince Ping explained. “Would Your Majesty truly wish to see the Gao family become a permanent joke? As long as Lady Cheng exists, the Gao family will always be mocked.”
The Empress Dowager and the Imperial Consort exchanged glances.
Of course, they did not want the Gao family to become a laughingstock – that would bring them no benefit.
“If you put it that way,” the Imperial Consort spoke first, her eyes gleaming, “this marriage proposal might truly be an excellent idea.”
The Gao family would no longer be a joke, and the troublesome, disliked Cheng Jiao-niang would become a member of the Gao family. Once she belonged to the Gao family, she would naturally be under their control – and the Gao family was the one they trusted most. This would indeed kill two birds with one stone.
The Empress Dowager clearly had the same thought and nodded slowly.
“Indeed, this absurd situation must be brought to a close,” she said, lifting her gaze toward the door. “Someone! Summon Madam Cheng. I shall act as the matchmaker.”
