“Your Majesty is an illustrious monarch whose name will reverberate throughout the ages, but you are destined for a lonely life. Cultivation is inherently against the natural order mandated by heaven, so this humble self just wants to make some good karma to assist one’s cultivation.”
“What do you want?”
“May Your Majesty allow this humble self to calculate your noble destiny?”
“What kind of?”
“Marriage.”
Li Chengjing’s expression changed in an instant. The guards were about to draw their swords in response, but Li Chengjing raised his hand again and stopped them.
“Speak.”
“Heaven is fair. No matter how harsh a destiny it imposes on men, it always gives us a way out. Your Majesty is not completely destined to be lonely forever. You have one, and only one, line of kinship. Yet mistakes happened, and you missed it.”
Li Chengjing stared silently. Gradually, the Taoist priest felt more and more pressured by the look in his eyes and finally succumbed down, “Your Majesty’s destined empress has actually been dead. Please stay calm and listen to one’s explanation to the end. As the saying goes, heaven never puts a man to a total dead end. Just like how Yin and Yang coexist, every poison also has its own antidote. Even though Your Majesty’s destined marriage seemed to be cut off, in fact, there secretly was a turning point.”
“Take him away and put him in the dungeon for interrogation.”
“No, no. Please don’t. I really don’t know anything. I just guessed things from your physiognomy. Your Majesty, please spare my life…”
Later, the Taoist priest underwent an intense interrogation by Li Chengjing’s subordinate, but he insisted on claiming innocence and spoke no more. He extremely regretted approaching Li Chengjing. When Li Chengjing saw that no useful information could be dug from the priest, he ordered the man to be locked in a heavy-security prison.
Then one day, the secret guard suddenly came reporting that the Taoist priest had gone missing. Li Chengjing immediately dispatched people to retrieve him, but later in the day, he took a nap in the imperial study and woke up to find his location and the season had changed.
The servant next to him got off of the horse and asked, “Ninth Master, we have arrived at Yichun Marquis Manor. Shall we go in?”
Li Chengjing was visibly shaken, “Yichun Marquis Manor?”
“Yes. Old Master Cheng is seriously ill and wishes to see you one last time. A few days ago, you decided to return to the capital to visit the old man in order to put a closure on this relationship.”
“Yichun Marquis Manor, Old Master Cheng, seriously ill…” Li Chengjing muttered under his breath. His fingers subconsciously clenched as he recalled what year it was. In the 22nd year of Jianwu, the Old Master Cheng was still the Marquis Yichun, but he was seriously ill, and he was not far away from his last breath.
This year, he was nineteen. And Cheng Yujin was only fourteen.
Li Chengjing immediately dismounted and walked quickly into the manor’s gate, walking so fast that his attendants could not catch up to him.
As he passed through a winding corridor, he suddenly paused. Liu Yi finally caught up with his master. As he caught up his breath, he was puzzled upon seeing His Highness seemed to be in a stupor, “Ninth Master, what’s the matter?”
At this moment, a gust of wind blew upon the falling snow, covering one’s vision with white.
The corridor opposite was empty; there was not a single soul there.
Li Chengjing murmured in a low voice, “There should be people here.”
Liu Yi didn’t catch it and asked again, “Ninth Master, what is it?”
Instead of answering, Li Chengjing asked back, “Isn’t there a family visiting to break off an engagement today?”
“Breaking off the engagement?” Liu Yi was baffled, “It’s better to demolish ten pagodas than to destroy a marriage. With no major reason, why should anyone wants to break off their engagement?”
Li Chengjing stopped speaking. Liu Yi suddenly realized that in such a short moment, the young Crown Prince he served suddenly became unfathomable, more like a seasoned emperor with years of experience. Of course, he didn’t dare to voice his thought aloud, so he cleared his throat and reminded, “Ninth Master, the Old Master is still waiting for you.”
Hearing this, the usually calm and expressionless Crown Prince suddenly smiled. He strode forward and passed through the dim corridor with brisk steps, “Yes. She is still waiting.”
She? Liu Yi was puzzled. Wasn’t His Highness talking about the Old Master Cheng?
…
A few days later, in the Jinning Courtyard, a few servant girls cautiously stood around the eldest miss and spoke in a low voice, “Miss, the Jingyong Marquis Manor actually comes to break off the engagement. How can they?”
“Why not?” Fourteen-year-old Cheng Yujin was sitting in front of the dressing table. She was clearly still a young girl, but her calmness and rationality belied her tender age, “He actually has a thought for second sister… It’s good to break off sooner than later. If I ended up marrying him, wouldn’t it be too disgusting?”
Lian Qiao and Du Ruo didn’t dare to say more and quickly picked up nice words to comfort their young miss. In fact, Cheng Yujin didn’t need any consolation. She really hadn’t expected that Huo Changyuan’s proposal for marriage turned out to have mistaken her for Cheng Yumo.
Fortunately, it was discovered early, before any steps of the marriage rituals were done. In the worst-case scenario, she would have married Huo Changyuan without knowing anything, completely destroying her lifelong effort and plan.
When Cheng Yujin was still basked in happiness, a servant girl came in and reported respectfully, “Eldest Miss, the Old Master is calling you.”
“Grandfather is?” Cheng Yujin frowned. Old Master Cheng rarely cared about the younger generation and basically only saw them several times a year. Why did he suddenly call her now?
Being cautious, Cheng Yujin asked back, “Why?”
“Old Master said that Ninth Master is back and wanted you to get acquainted with your Ninth Uncle.”
This time, Cheng Yujin was completely confused. What? Getting acquainted with her uncle?
Li Chengjing was sitting in Old Master Cheng’s residence when he heard footsteps approaching.
In this life, she was indeed much younger than him, so the title Ninth Uncle was well deserved.
Li Chengjing felt a little bit of self-disgust in his heart, but his eyes were full of smiles.
Long time no see, Cheng Yujin.
Li Chengjing felt guilty for causing her to bear the infamy of failed engagement once again, but he had no regret. As for why he elected to have Huo Changyuan break off the engagement… Cheng Yujin was petty-minded and held grudges well. Once Huo Changyuan broke off the engagement, she would instantly put him on her personal blacklist, crossing off any possibility between them.
Years of being the emperor had caused Li Chengjing to be more and more black-bellied. Something like a rival in love… of course he must crush any smallest potential in the cradle, no?
The first encounter they missed, the long day and night they missed, he would make them up for Cheng Yujin, one by one.
Regardless of past and present, she was his one and only wife.