Mid-Autumn Festival.
The sun had not yet set, but the commoners living outside the city were already packing up their stalls, driving their carts and donkeys, and heading out of town to celebrate the holiday.
Meanwhile, every household within the city had hung up lanterns and steamed mooncakes, preparing for the evening’s family reunion feast.
Compared to the lively atmosphere in the other manors of Changren Ward, the grandest of them all— Jing Prince’s Manor— remained cold and quiet, as silent as ever.
In front of the ancient cypress-shaded study, the eunuch Chang Chun bent at the waist, cautiously speaking into the room, “Your Highness, the palace carriage has been waiting at the gate for half an hour now…”
There was a long silence inside the room before a slightly impatient, chilly male voice sounded, “I already said I have a headache. I’m not going.”
“But… but Your Highness, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival…”
“So what if it’s Mid-Autumn?”
“Mid-Autumn, Mid-Autumn is a day for family reunions. The Empress Dowager and His Majesty are both waiting for you in the Palace.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint, mocking laugh came from the study.
That laugh made Chang Chun’s back crawl with goosebumps. He was just about to try persuading again when a cold, harsh “Get out” came from behind the half-closed wooden door.
Chang Chun: “…”
Ever since he was assigned to serve the Wangye six years ago, he’d never quite figured out His Highness’s temperament.
But there was one thing he did know: if the Wangye said “get out” and he didn’t, he’d really be asking for death.
He hastily replied, “This servant will get out at once,” sighed, and turned to leave the study.
The sunset was being slowly devoured by the encroaching night, but the moon had already appeared in the deep blue sky, shining bright and round.
Inside the dimly lit study, a young man stood by the window with his hands behind his back, gazing at the moon rising in the distance.
Mid-Autumn Festival.
A time for family reunion…
A hint of cold ridicule flashed through his pitch-black eyes. He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and closed the window, blocking out the glaringly bright moon.
“Mother, look! The moon is especially bright tonight!”
As the carriage stopped for inspection at Suzaku Gate, Yun Ran lifted a corner of the curtain, curiously gazing at the bright moon reflected on the palace walls ahead.
Zheng Shi didn’t stop her daughter’s improper gesture— after all, it was the girl’s first time entering the Palace, and it was natural to be curious.
Better to let her see her fill this time; she wouldn’t find it so novel on future visits.
“It is. I think the moon is especially beautiful this year too.”
Zheng Shi leaned close to her daughter’s shoulder to look up at the sky. This Mid-Autumn Festival was truly the happiest she’d had in the past twelve years.
“Hey, Mother, look— isn’t that someone from the Cui Family… what’s his name again? Oh right, Cui Boxu! Is that Cui Family’s Brother?”
Amid the procession of fine carriages entering the Palace, Yun Ran caught sight of a familiar figure.
Following her gaze toward the Cui Family’s carriage, Zheng Shi saw that Cui Boxu, riding on horseback, had also spotted the Marquis of Changxin Manor’s carriage— and naturally, the bright little face half-hidden behind the curtain.
Before he could react, the curtain was lifted a bit more, and that little face was fully revealed.
“Hey, Cui Family’s Brother!”
In the half-lit night, with lanterns swaying, the young maiden in a begonia-red brocade dress, her cheeks rosy as a lotus, eyes bright and teeth white, smiled at him. “What a coincidence, meeting again.”
For a moment, Cui Boxu’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
When he came back to his senses, he tightened his grip on the reins and rode over.
“Uncle Yun.”
Cui Boxu greeted the Marquis of Changxin, who was also on horseback, then, keeping a respectful distance, greeted the mother and daughter in the carriage. “Aunt Zheng, Fifth Miss Yun.”
When Yun Ran called out to him earlier, Zheng Shi hadn’t had time to stop her.
Now, seeing Cui Boxu come over to greet them, she could only put on a polite face and nod with a smile.
“Third Son, you’re entering the Palace for the banquet this year as well?”
Cui Boxu now served at the Hanlin Academy, but by rank, he wasn’t among the officials formally invited.
Hearing Zheng Shi’s question, he lowered his eyes and replied, “It’s a favor granted to the Cui Family by the Empress Dowager.”
At these words, Zheng Shi understood at once—it was nothing but compensation for the Cui Family’s early-deceased legitimate daughter.
Yun Ran, though not fully aware, could sense the mood suddenly grow heavy.
She looked at Cui Boxu, riding a white horse in a green robe, and saw the gloom clouding his refined features.
She guessed that perhaps, on this day of family reunion, he was thinking of his poor sister who passed away so young.
Having just returned home herself, she had felt the love of her brothers and understood even more the preciousness of sibling bonds.
“Cui Family’s Brother, don’t be sad.”
Yun Ran leaned on the window, tilting her face up, and softly said to the young man before her, “I recited sutras for your sister earlier. She will find peace in the Pure Land. And she’s watching over you from heaven— she surely wouldn’t want to see you grieve for her.”
Cui Boxu was taken aback.
When he met the brilliant, starry eyes of this Yun Family girl, it felt as though a spring breeze swept through his heart, easing the sorrow from his brow. “Fifth Miss Yun, thank you for your kindness.”
Yun Ran smiled at him, her eyes curved. “It’s fate that we meet. No need to be so formal.”
Cui Boxu’s heart gave another unexpected thump.
Before he could dwell on what was happening to his heart today, the Marquis of Changxin’s loud voice rang out from ahead, “Hey, Cui Family boy, your carriage has already passed the inspection— hurry up and catch up, don’t fall behind.”
Cui Boxu looked over and saw his family’s carriage had indeed moved on ahead, with the window curtain slightly lifted, as if his mother was watching him.
“All right, I’ll go on ahead.”
He raised his sleeve and saluted the Marquis’s family of three, then rode away.
As the hoofbeats faded, the Marquis’s voice could be heard in a lowered tone behind him. “Ranran, don’t smile at boys like that when you’re outside…”
The young girl seemed puzzled. “Why not?”
“…Just listen to your father. I’d never harm you.”
“Oh.”
“…”
Cui Boxu pressed his lips together, unconsciously straightening his back.
When he reached his own carriage, his mother’s puzzled face appeared behind the curtain. “Why did you go over there? Was that little girl leaning out the Yun Family’s newly found daughter?”
Cui Boxu gave a short “Mm.” “Just went over to say hello.”
Madam Cui glanced at her son’s unchanged expression, then at the carriage now trailing behind. She frowned.
The night was deep, and there was some distance between them; she hadn’t gotten a clear look at the Marquis’s daughter’s face.
Still, leaning out the window in public like that was hardly proper for a young lady.
Raised in a countryside Daoist temple or not, now that she was found, what difference did it make? Still the same rustic, unmannered ways.
“That girl seems to have come of age already. Mind yourself—don’t get entangled with her.”
Without waiting for Cui Boxu’s reply, Madam Cui let the curtain fall and sat up straight.
Having already lost one disappointing daughter, she couldn’t allow her only son to make a single misstep.
**
Night deepened, and a bright moon shone over the grand and splendid Chanyuan Hall.
Inside the hall, hundreds of palace lanterns lined up in succession, their warm golden glow filtering through gauzy silk, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.
Many guests had already arrived, their elegant robes and fragrant hairpins filling the air with laughter and conversation.
But when the Marquis of Changxin Manor’s family entered, the lively chatter fell instantly silent.
Yun Ran felt countless eyes land on her at once.
Every unfamiliar face observed her with a different expression— curiosity, amazement, admiration, as well as ridicule, disdain, or cold amusement.
Being stared at like this made her very uncomfortable.
“Ranran, don’t be afraid.”
A gentle squeeze on her fingers. Yun Ran turned and saw her mother, Zheng Shi, smiling warmly at her. “Mother’s here.”
It was like swallowing a calming pill— Yun Ran’s tense shoulders relaxed. “Mm, I’m not afraid.”
It’s just a Palace Banquet.
She was a disciple of the Three Pure Ones, protected by the Ancestor Master above.
Thinking this, she touched the Thunderstruck Wood beads on her wrist and silently recited the Calming Mantra twice, then obediently followed Zheng Shi to their seats.
“Is that the Marquis of Changxin’s daughter? She looks so well-behaved— not at all like someone raised in the countryside.”
“Yes, I thought after all those years away, growing up among all sorts of people, she’d never fit in here. But she’s so calm and graceful.”
“She’s pretty, too. Look at those features— delicate and fresh, like a flower bud.”
“I heard she’s already come of age? Tsk, I wonder what kind of husband the Marquis and his wife will find for her.”
At these words, the noble ladies exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of subtle avoidance in the others’ eyes—
This little lady might be beautiful, but after missing more than ten years of proper upbringing, and even having been a Daoist nun…
Ahem, there were plenty of noble daughters in Chang’an. As for this “rare flower” with her unique history, none of their families were eager to take her in.
The Marquis’s family’s seats were not secluded, so Yun Ran naturally caught a few of these whispered comments.
Marriage, husband’s family…
These words were unfamiliar to her. She’d been young before, and as a Daoist nun, had severed worldly ties— marriage had never crossed her mind.
Hearing these things now, she felt as if she’d stepped into a fairy tale.
She… was to marry?
“Don’t listen to their nonsense.”
Zheng Shi, alert and attentive, heard even more of the gossip than Yun Ran.
Hearing the veiled contempt in those noblewomen’s words, Zheng Shi fumed inwardly, cursing these fat-brained, blind fools—her Ranran wouldn’t even look at their useless, good-for-nothing sons.
She squeezed her daughter’s hand and leaned in to whisper, “Your father and I have already discussed it. You just stay at home and be our precious girl. In a few years, we’ll find you a gentle, handsome husband with simple family ties— he’ll rely on you for the rest of his life, dote on you, and never let you suffer the slightest grievance.”
Yun Ran’s eyes widened in surprise— so her father and mother were thinking so far ahead?
She was just about to say she’d never planned to marry at all, when a sharp voice rang out from outside the hall—
“His Majesty arrives! The Empress Dowager, the Empress arrive!”