Longing for Love (Twice Reborn) - Chapter 8
As the New Year’s Eve approached, the snow cleared and the skies brightened.
Jifang Academy was already on holiday, yet Juchen still woke up punctually at the hour of morning court. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to sleep until the sun was high in the sky, but the habits ingrained in her from her past life were too deeply rooted.
But with no court to attend, she could only wander aimlessly around the courtyard.
Facing Mingluan’s ghostly look of shock, Juchen calmly explained, “What kind of proper young lady sleeps until the sun is scorching her backside?”
Mingluan made a sound of disbelief, “Are you really a proper lady and not some wandering spirit?”
Juchen: “…”
On this day, Juchen rose early once again. She spent a full two hours meticulously grooming herself before heading to the examination hall to check the results.
Mingluan was sweeping snow in the courtyard when the door creaked open. She looked up to see Juchen impeccably dressed and coiffed both dazzled and puzzled. “Why the elaborate attire just to check the results?”
Juchen couldn’t voice her troubles.
When one is unknown, even running naked through the streets would only draw fleeting amusement before being forgotten.
But once elevated, even appearing disheveled at the examination hall to check the imperial rankings could prompt the censorate to submit a memorial accusing one of slovenliness and disrespect toward the sovereign.
Naturally, she had to treat this matter with more gravity than her own wedding.
As Juchen turned the corner toward the main gate, she passed by the side courtyard and heard the sound of shattering porcelain and incessant wailing.
Xiao’er was sobbing in Madam Wu’s arms, though the reason for his distress was unclear.
Juchen knew they would assume she was there to mock them, so she did not bother asking.
Mingluan, unwilling to miss the spectacle, lingered to gather details before catching up to Juchen with a gleeful grin. “The rejection letter from the heir has arrived.”
At the recent palace banquet, Song Yun had not taken a liking to any of the young ladies presented.
Not only that, he had thrown a tantrum in the prince’s residence, declaring he had no desire to marry or inherit the title, insisting instead on retreating to the mountains to live as a carefree poet.
The old princess was furious and confined him to three months of house arrest.
Aside from “The Heir’s Troubles Are Beyond Our Understanding” becoming the latest hot topic in the capital, another name dominating conversations in teahouses and alleys was that of Pengshan Prince, Song Mi.
At the examination hall’s entrance, a group of young girls stood beneath the posted list of selected palace officials, their laughter and chatter never straying far from this rising star.
The massive corruption case in Taiyuan had been resolved by Song Mi in just half a year.
Over the past few years, Song Mi had gradually involved himself in court affairs, accumulating an impressive record of achievements this latest being another significant accomplishment.
The political landscape seemed poised for upheaval.
Some marveled at how, at just twenty-two, he was already so accomplished.
Others speculated he was consolidating power for the Song imperial family, as most of those he had dealt with were allies of Empress Dowager Cao’s faction.
There was also talk of how, at the recent palace banquet, he had publicly rejected the daughter of the prime minister a young lady renowned throughout the capital right in front of the empress dowager.
“If even the prime minister’s daughter isn’t good enough, what kind of woman could possibly catch his eye?”
“They say when he declined the empress dowager’s proposal, he uttered just one phrase: ‘Among thousands, only one.’ The moment those words left his lips, the prime minister’s daughter’s eyes welled up with tears.”
“Does she fancy him too?”
“What kind of question is that? With his striking looks, noble status, and formidable abilities, who in the capital wouldn’t want to marry him?”
“Unfortunately, his tactful refusal made it clear that marrying her would be settling, and he was unwilling to settle.”
“What a declaration of ‘drinking only one scoop from three thousand rivers’!”
To the woman who had been set up with him, these words cut deeper than any blade to the heart.
Yet to the young ladies outside, they blushed furiously, hearts pounding, their eyes inadvertently revealing longing.
His words implied that in this lifetime, he would marry only one woman.
They could understand his prudence, but it instantly stirred even more hearts aflutter.
Amid the girls’ excited chatter, Xue Wan and Juchen walked together to view the rankings. Unable to suppress a smile, Xue Wan whispered to Juchen, “If Prince Pengshan is that exceptional, only a celestial maiden would be worthy of him, don’t you think?”
Juchen suddenly turned, fixing her gaze intently as she pointed at herself.
“Do I look like a celestial maiden to you?”
Xue Wan was taken aback. “Do you… fancy him too?”
Juchen merely curved her eyes in silent laughter.
Always the most self-aware, Xue Wan assumed her smile was mere jest and turned back to the rankings. “Whether he marries or not has nothing to do with us anyway.”
By the end of the fifteenth year of Jiahe, heavy snow blanketed the land in silver.
That year, Song Mi cracked the major Taiyuan case, leaped two ranks, donned imperial purple, and became the youngest prince with real power in the court’s inner circle.
That same year, Juchen passed the female official examinations, arriving at the Empress Dowager’s side as the top candidate.
——
Year 27, the last court day before New Year recess.
Having concluded morning affairs, the Empress Dowager wished to meet the female officials she had personally selected before their spring appointments, offering them New Year’s blessings.
That afternoon, the nine palace gates swung wide.
The female candidates entered in orderly procession.
Juchen gazed at the towering gates, ascending the jade steps before turning back. The past surfaced vividly before her eyes, as clear as yesterday’s dream.
Since the founding of the Great Liang dynasty a century prior, its prosperity had flourished until the Xining era birthed an extraordinary woman the current Empress Dowager, Cao Shu.
During Tianxi’s reign, Cao Shu entered the imperial harem, repeatedly offering wise counsel and selecting talent to assist the late emperor in governance. Beloved by the people, she eventually shared sovereignty equally with him, hailed as the Two Sages.
Thus, through her presence, women’s status in Great Liang reached unprecedented heights.
Born into obscurity in such times, Li Juchen fortuitously gained entry to the palace as one of the first female officials cultivated by the Empress Dowager.
Now newly arrived, she was but an eighth rank minor official.
Yet five years later, the Empress Dowager would depose her son and ascend as empress, changing the era name to Zhiyuan.
As her most capable aide, Juchen’s influence would grow until she entered the ministerial ranks, becoming Great Liang’s foremost female official.
Those years marked the most dazzling era in the dynasty’s history for women’s political ascendancy.
Alas, it proved fleeting as morning dew.
Within Shoukang Palace:
Warming braziers rendered the halls balmy as early spring, suffused with the vibrant fragrance of fresh flowers.
Behind beaded curtains, the Empress Dowager inquired gently about Juchen’s name.
Juchen kowtowed in reply. Rising, her gaze fleetingly sought the silhouette of this woman who had journeyed from disgraced consort to empress dowager and would become emperor.
What a legendary figure she was.
Yet Juchen never fully deciphered her mind her tenderness and compassion, her ruthlessness and cold bloodedness, forever inscrutable.
At their first meeting, the Empress Dowager showed no airs nor gave any instructions. Gentle as a long unseen elder, she simply served tea and fruits, inviting each of them to sit before her and recite poetry.
Juchen lifted the beaded curtain lightly, and their eyes met. The Empress Dowager, upon seeing her face, let out a soft sigh with a smile, as if marveling at her beauty, finding it a delight to behold.
Juchen obediently took her seat and glanced at Her Majesty again, recalling how in her past life, during her first visit to the palace, she had talked back to the elder.
Though this “talking back” was merely a small remark when the Empress Dowager disapproved of some audacious ideas in the poem she recited, Juchen had simply said, “But I like it.”
The Empress Dowager had indeed paused briefly at the time, but far from taking offense, she instead laughed heartily several times.
Yet when others learned of this, they deemed her behavior presumptuous and disrespectful, regarding her with wary eyes and avoiding her company, afraid they might one day be implicated by her unruliness.
This time, Juchen dutifully recited a poem favored by the Empress Dowager.
The girl’s voice was clear and captivating. The Empress Dowager watched her intently, listening with a smile until she finished, then asked why she had chosen that particular poem.
Juchen replied gently, “This poem is exquisite.”
“Only because the poem is good?”
The Empress Dowager cut straight to the point, asking if she had inquired about her preferences beforehand.
Before a woman as astute as her, excessive pretense would hardly win favor.
Juchen admitted honestly that she had.
Many had prepared thoroughly before entering the palace, researching the Empress Dowager’s tastes, and Her Majesty was well aware of this.
The Empress Dowager asked, “Then, do you like this poem?”
Juchen answered, “I do.”
“Which line do you find most striking?”
Juchen quoted the most renowned verse, aptly sharing some of her own reflections.
At the end, she cautiously ventured, “And what does Your Majesty like about it?”
She had never understood why the Empress Dowager favored this poem.
In her past life, it was always the Empress Dowager who saw through her thoughts. Juchen had merely obeyed, admired, and supported her.
This lifetime, she suddenly wanted to understand her.
The Empress Dowager seemed taken aback by the question. After a brief silence, she chuckled. “I don’t know either.”
It was no perfunctory reply but an honest admission.
Juchen nodded in understanding, then after a moment, said ruefully, “It was a foolish question. Liking something is inherently simple it truly doesn’t require so many reasons.”
Her words struck a chord with the Empress Dowager, who remained smiling, though inwardly, she felt a peculiar sense of familiarity, as if this young girl, despite her age, carried the warmth of a long known companion.
The Empress Dowager handed her a piece of pastry, which Juchen accepted respectfully, savoring it slowly.
Before long, a new presence stirred at the entrance.
A figure approached gracefully, his steps neither hurried nor slow.
Juchen lifted her beautiful eyes and glimpsed him from afar as he parted the beaded curtain. The floral fragrance lingering in the air transported her back to her youth in the princess’s estate, playing hide and seek, when she had once stumbled upon him by chance.
That day, crabapple petals had drifted across the garden.
He had been perched on a tree branch extending over the waterside pavilion, fishing, when the rustle of her hiding and then tumbling into the flower bushes drew his attention. Suddenly, he pushed aside the lush foliage obscuring his view and looked straight at her.
At that moment, the setting sun was already descending beyond the eaves, its lingering glow spilling over his figure and illuminating his billowing sleeves, making him appear like a radiant silhouette against the light.
Juchen was no stranger to handsome men.
Back in the princess’s residence, Lin Zongbai and Yuan Zheng known as the twin jewels of civil and martial arts in the private academy would draw waves of excited shrieks from women whenever they stepped outside.
But it was from Song Mi that she first understood the dazzling, unattainable beauty a man could possess.
Song Mi bowed to the Empress Dowager and took a seat opposite Juchen.
The Empress Dowager glanced at the sky outside and asked, “Have you finished your official duties?”
Song Mi nodded.
She observed the area beneath his eyes these past few days seemed less shadowed than during the investigation period, likely due to better rest.
With concern, she added, “I heard from Chief Pei that you were busy until the afternoon without eating. Have you had your meal?”
“Just now,” Song Mi replied briefly, glancing at Juchen before turning back to the Empress Dowager to inquire about their conversation.
When the Empress Dowager mentioned poetry, the discussion gradually included both of them.
Juchen casually asked, “What poem does Your Highness favor?”
Song Mi seemed to ponder for a moment before reciting casually, “Awaken the bright moon to fill the sky, illuminate my heart of ice and snow, vast as a hundred rivers flowing.”
Juchen froze, realizing it was the very poem she had loved in her past life.
A secret delight stirred within her so they did share common interests after all. She had always assumed they were natural adversaries.
The Empress Dowager asked gently, “Why this one?”
Song Mi smiled faintly. “No particular reason. I simply like it.”
Her gaze shifted to Juchen as she remarked with a chuckle, “Those were her exact words earlier. You young people seem to share thoughts effortlessly.”
Song Mi’s eyes flickered over Juchen. A brief silence followed it was indeed a phrase he had heard her say in his recent dreams.
The Empress Dowager raised a brow and continued, “Any plans for the New Year’s break? Will you be traveling far again this year?”
“Still undecided,” Song Mi replied.
She then turned the question to Juchen.
“Probably reading at home,” Juchen answered.
Song Mi looked puzzled. “Didn’t your family mention going to Mount Li?”
Juchen was taken aback.
The Empress Dowager asked, “How did you know?”
Song Mi replied calmly, “I heard it from Lu Yun last time.”
He had always been on good terms with the Lu family, so running into Lu Yun wasn’t unusual. Besides, Lu Yun attended Jifang Academy with Juchen.
The Empress Dowager smiled. “Perfect I’ve been meaning to go myself. Do young ladies these days enjoy hot springs?”
“Many girls at Jifang Academy do,” Juchen answered truthfully.
The Empress Dowager laughed. “It’s been too long since I’ve chatted with young women.”
Hearing this, Song Mi suggested, “Then why not grant them the favor? Have the newly appointed female officials bring their families to Mount Li after the New Year to accompany you.”
Her eyes brightened at the excellent idea, and she immediately approved.
While Juchen was still processing this, Song Mi glanced at her. “Why not rise and give thanks?”
Juchen quickly knelt and kowtowed in gratitude.
The Empress Dowager smiled at her before turning expectantly to Song Mi. “Why not stay this year and join me at Mount Li?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Song Mi’s gaze drifted imperceptibly toward Juchen. “Very well.”