NOVEL NEXT Ch. 14
Chapter 14: The Third Princess
At the North Palace Gate of the Imperial City of Jade Capital.
Countless soldiers stood with solemn expressions.
The palace gates were now under strict lockdown, and they would not allow any suspicious person to enter.
A sharp-eyed guard spotted a figure slowly approaching from a distance.
It was a presence draped in white that was difficult to perceive.
Even if she stood right before you, unless she willed it, it would be almost impossible to glimpse her immortal beauty.
The young girl had long silver hair like moonlight, dazzling beneath the sun, as if she were a pure and flawless lotus blooming between heaven and earth.
The guard stared blankly at her, and in his ears rang the resonant toll of temple bells, as if a celestial bodhisattva had descended to the mortal realm, accompanied by sacred chants.
Yet the sensation was contradictory—for upon closer inspection, the girl wore a lotus crown upon her head, and her body was clad in a Daoist robe of blue-white trimmed with gold.
Buddhism? Daoism? Both were merely methods of universal salvation.
But what drew the most attention was not her attire, but the strip of plain white cloth that veiled her eyes upon that breathtaking face, capable of stealing the colors of heaven and earth.
Was she blind?
No one knew.
The girl carried a black cloth cage in hand and step by step approached the palace gates.
From her sleeve, she produced a carved white jade token, engraved with a large character: “Wan.”
The guard hurriedly received it with reverence, then exclaimed in disbelief: “Wan... Princess Wan has returned!?”
The girl’s voice was ethereal: “Go and report. I wish to see Father.”
The Third Princess of the Glazed Dynasty, Su Yuwan, first disciple of Cihang Palace, having attained great progress in cultivation, returned home today.
This generation of the Glazed Dynasty had five dragon heirs—four sons and one daughter.
Among them, the most beloved and the most exceptional was this Third Princess.
When she was born, all the temple bells in the city rang with Brahma sounds, and in the night sky of Weiyang, a streak of radiant golden glow cut across the heavens.
The very next day, countless Buddhist sects flocked to the palace, each vying to take her as a disciple, even elders of the Myriad Buddhas Palace among them.
At that time, the strongest of the dynasty was merely the State Preceptor at the Fifth Realm.
If they could secure the backing of a powerful Buddhist sect, the Glazed Dynasty would naturally rise like a soaring wind.
The most optimal choice was, of course, the Myriad Buddhas Palace.
But the emperor could not bear to part with his youngest daughter.
Using the excuse that she was too young, he asked the monks to wait seven years—until Su Yuwan was old enough to understand, then let her choose for herself which temple she would enter.
Everyone knew, however, that by seven years of age, the Third Princess would surely enter the Myriad Buddhas Palace and become the revered Buddha Maiden above all.
It was for this reason that her status within the dynasty was supreme.
Even the Crown Prince, the eldest son, found it harder than reaching the heavens just to meet this younger sister once.
Yet fate worked in strange ways.
When the Third Princess turned seven and was to decide which temple to enter, the little girl furrowed her brows and softly said: “Yuwan does not want to shave her head. Yuwan thinks without hair, she won’t look pretty.”
These mortal “three thousand strands of worldly troubles” became the greatest obstacle in her path of cultivation.
The Myriad Buddhas Palace was troubled, but quickly deliberated.
Cultivating without shaving one’s head was not impossible.
It was merely a precedent—and not one that had never been broken before.
Just as the decision was about to be settled, a figure arrived—a True Person of Cihang Palace.
She spoke only one sentence.
She said:
“The one within the palace wishes to take a disciple.”
The elder of Myriad Buddhas Palace only replied with a single question: “Is it the Palace Mistress of Cihang?”
The True Person shook her head.
“It is that one.”
At that, the elder of Myriad Buddhas Palace uttered a Buddha’s name and turned back to his sect without another word.
No one knew who exactly “that one” the True Person spoke of was.
They only knew this: even the Myriad Buddhas Palace, intending originally to contend with the Palace Mistress of Cihang, dared not fight for Su Yuwan upon hearing that name.
The seven-year-old Su Yuwan asked: “To cultivate under that one—must I shave my head?”
“No need to shave your head. When you come of age, you may also marry.”
The little girl nodded.
“I am a girl. In the end, I am meant to marry.”
From that day forth, the Glazed Dynasty lost a Third Princess, and the Cihang Palace gained a Little Ancestor Master.
“Have you ever been to a lantern festival?”
Xia Lianxue shook her head.
She had been an abandoned orphan.
Many years ago, True Person Hanshui found her swaddled in some unknown place while descending the mountain.
Since then, she had taken her up the mountain to cultivate.
Life there was cold and quiet, and naturally, Xia Lianxue had never once been to a lantern festival.
Lu Changyuan asked again: “Would you like to?”
Xia Lianxue shook her head once more.
“Young Master, even if I did, now is not the time for lantern festivals.”
From the moment the two had arrived at the lakeside, countless gazes had already fallen upon them.
Most were curious about Lu Changyuan’s identity.
For Xia Lianxue, a True Disciple of Jade Palace, to stand quietly behind a man was far from ordinary.
This man must indeed be someone exceptional.
Lu Changyuan said again: “Then, do you eat candied hawthorn skewers? I see they are selling sugar-coated hawthorns over there.”
The Immortal Fairy bit her silver teeth lightly and fidgeted with the hem of her robe.
“Young Master!”
In the past, when such gazes fell upon her, she would only smile without speaking.
But now, with her cultivation entirely lost, it was unbearable—like fire upon an ant.
She wished she could burrow into a hole in the ground.
“Are the two of you looking for a boat to tour the lake?” A young nobleman, fanning himself and dressed in pale blue silk, approached them.
“The lantern festival is about to begin. The Courtesan Queen will perform her dance upon a barge at the center of the lake. If the two of you have yet to find a boat, why not join me?”
“Why not.” Lu Changyuan smiled.
“This royal city is indeed full of kind-hearted folk.”
The young man smiled as well.
“Yes, the royal city is like this. Its people are warm and hospitable.”
Soon, a barge docked at the shore.
The young man folded his fan.
“Please, both of you.”
Inside, food and wine were already prepared.
Lu Changyuan did not stand on ceremony—while Xia Lianxue was distracted, he pulled the Immortal Fairy into the barge with him.
Before long, the barge drifted toward the lake’s center.
From afar, a larger vessel already floated upon the water.
That must be the Courtesan Queen’s boat.
Lu Changyuan reclined lazily.
“I have yet to ask your esteemed name, Young Master?”
“My family ranks me fourth. Su Luoqiu.”
Xia Lianxue froze.
The surname Su—that was the royal surname.
And if he was fourth, then that meant...
“So, the Fourth Prince.”
Su Luoqiu shook his head.
“A mortal prince is hardly worthy of true recognition. That Mister Lu grants me the honor of sharing a boat is already a great favor.”
Lu Changyuan asked: “You know who I am?”
“The Ancestor did not say. Only that if I wished to survive, I must cling tightly to your thigh.”
Xia Lianxue blinked, utterly confused.
She recalled what Lu Changyuan had once told her—if she did not know, she should ask, and if he could answer, he would.
So she asked: “Who is this Ancestor?”
Su Luoqiu smiled bitterly.
“It is that old lady selling noodles. Though, she rarely acknowledges us unfilial descendants.”
Xia Lianxue’s beautiful eyes widened.
She turned to Lu Changyuan.
“You know that old lady?”
Lu Changyuan chuckled and nodded.
“Of course. Didn’t I tell you?”
“You didn’t.”
“Then perhaps I forgot.”
“Didn’t you say it was your first time eating noodles there?”
“It was indeed my first time knowing she had opened a noodle shop at the city corner.”
Xia Lianxue drew a deep breath, cheeks puffing slightly in indignation.
She had even taken out her private savings.
“And yet you pretended to order plain noodles.”
Lu Changyuan was silent for a moment before saying: “I was not very close with her. Truthfully, apart from this time, I had only seen her once... twice at most. If she truly had served us plain noodles, that would mean whatever friendship remained was truly gone.”
Ordering plain noodles.
What he sought to test was whether the other still remembered Lu Changyuan.
The world’s affections were thin, and human bonds cruel.
Rain sends flowers falling at dusk.
Feelings in this world were never steadfast to begin with.