Chapter 2
The Empress offered me a seat and asked gently.
“Miss Shen, your father once served as the Crown Prince’s tutor. Are you and the Crown Prince well acquainted?”
Nervous, I answered with care.
“Your Majesty, I met His Highness several times when I was a child.”
As a boy, Pei Xuan had been exquisitely handsome, with red lips, white teeth, and the bearing of a fine jade tree.
Yet an innate reserve made him seem distant and unattainable.
I had never dared approach him and played only with Pei Qing.
Once grown, Pei Xuan appeared in public even less often, save when duty demanded it.
I had only glimpsed him from afar a few times. Today was the first time I had seen his adult face clearly.
Smiling, the Empress spoke earnestly.
“A daughter raised by the Imperial Tutor must know propriety and understand what is right.”
“Miss Shen, your kite fell upon the Crown Prince today. Would you follow Heaven’s will and accept this destined match?”
Disapproval colored Pei Xuan’s voice.
“Mother, I have already said—”
“Xuan’er, do not interrupt Miss Shen.”
The Empress cut him off. He lowered his eyes helplessly.
My palms were slick with sweat, and I had crushed my handkerchief into wrinkles.
Nanny Su’s words from moments earlier flashed through my mind.
“His Highness is exceptionally gifted and benevolent. One day, he is sure to become a wise ruler.”
“What a pity that he is bent on becoming a monk. If someone could persuade him to stay, it would be an immeasurable blessing to the realm and its people.”
I also remembered what Father so often told me.
“A subject must be loyal to his sovereign and his country, ease his ruler’s burdens, and keep the people in his heart.”
Last came Pei Qing’s laughing taunt.
“Shen Youning, are you so desperate to marry that no one but me will do?”
My heart pounded, and a sudden fearlessness rose within me.
I glanced at Pei Xuan, summoned my courage, and declared loudly.
“I am willing! I wish to marry His Highness and remain by his side for the rest of our lives!”
The air went abruptly still.
The Empress could not help laughing.
“What a forthright young woman you are, Miss Shen. I am very pleased by your resolve.”
She turned to Pei Xuan again.
“Xuan’er, after Miss Shen has spoken so boldly, are you not moved in the least?”
Pei Xuan covered the tea he had spilled with his sleeve, his expression unchanged.
“Very well. I will not force you. There are still six months. Why not honor Heaven’s will and spend some time with Miss Shen?”
“If you still refuse, should I take it to mean you are afraid—afraid your resolve will waver and Miss Shen will change your heart?”
Pei Xuan was silent for a long while. He rolled his prayer beads several times before answering with resignation.
“There is no need to provoke me, Mother. I agree.”
“I only hope that if my original resolve remains unchanged in six months, you will no longer stand in my way.”
…
Watching Pei Xuan depart, Nanny Su asked uneasily.
“Your Majesty, can Miss Shen truly change His Highness’s mind?”
The Empress was quite optimistic.
“Xuan’er has always kept his distance from women, yet he recognized Miss Shen at once today. How could he possibly remember her from only a few childhood meetings?”
“Shen Youning is innocent, candid, and sincere—the very sort of person Xuan’er will find hardest to resist.”
Nanny Su hesitated.
“But Miss Shen and the Third Prince are very close. She may not have His Highness in her heart. What if His Highness is hurt and becomes even more determined to enter the monastery?”
The Empress brushed the concern aside.
“The woman in Pei Qing’s heart may not be Shen Youning. Affection can grow with time. I will have people create more opportunities for the two of them to be together.”
“If it still comes to nothing in the end, then we will accept fate.”