Peonies bloom in spring, just in time.
The fortune slip is quite simple. Among the many profound and mysterious Buddhist verses, this one is remarkably straightforward. Even without a monk's expert interpretation, the person who receives the slip can understand its meaning.
Wei Yue held the bamboo slip, unsure of what to say.
Perhaps due to the somewhat silent and awkward atmosphere, Wei Yue inexplicably handed the two lots she had drawn to Jia Zi from her bosom. As soon as her hand reached out, she regretted it, but she couldn't back down. For a moment, she was at a loss for what to do.
Yoshiko, being understanding, reached out and took the two bamboo slips, also reading them softly—
"White birds skim the clouds, the clouds and feathers are the same color. My heart is filled with thoughts of a woman, and fireflies on the marsh are like my soul." This was the first passage. After reading it, Jiazi looked up and glanced at Weiyue.
"Born to be a spider, one must weave a web." This is the second saying.
“What a coincidence,” Jiazi said with a smile. “Perhaps it is a preordained marriage by Buddha. The cause of the past life has yielded the result of this life. It is destined that Yuan-kun and I are passengers on the same boat.”
"Is Your Highness willing to gamble with me on this?" Wei Yue asked.
“Since we know this is gambling, there will always be winners and losers.” Jiazi looked into Weiyue’s eyes. “But I think the odds are better, and I’m willing to gamble with Yuan-kun.”
"Your Highness, do you know that the stakes in this game are very high? We're not betting gold or silver, we're betting our entire lives," Wei Yue said softly. "Life is long, and happiness, harmony, fortune, and destiny, and perhaps even the social standing of our two families, are all chips in this gamble. Winning is naturally good, but if you lose—even if Your Highness is a prince—you will have nothing."
"How could that be?" Yoshiko smiled beautifully. "Even if I lose, I still have Gen-kun."
"Your Highness... I dare not accept such kindness. If Your Highness will not refuse, let's place our bets in this round."
The girl has already disregarded her reserve and self-respect, making her feelings so clear, willing to entrust the rest of her life to him. Wei Yue, a dignified man, naturally wouldn't hesitate too much.
Wei Yue was certain he would win this round!
After that long talk at Senso-ji Temple, Wei Yue felt much of the burden in his heart had been lifted, and he had gained a preliminary understanding of his future wife. Wei Yue had originally run away from the marriage because he worried that the royal family and his clan would entrust him with a dull and uninteresting "moralist" wife, making life seem meaningless and worse than death.
That's why he did something as childish yet extreme as running away from his wedding.
However, judging from the current situation, Wei Yue felt that his worries were basically unnecessary. His original concern was that the princess came from the royal family and was educated from a young age by the "ghosts" of the Imperial Household Agency with standard, so-called "royal norms." He was afraid that such a dehumanizing educational environment would produce a dull and lifeless princess who had to be expected to behave in accordance with standard "royal manners" in every action.
This originally had nothing to do with him. What did the quality of royal education have to do with him? But if this princess wanted him to "take over," then it would concern him. After learning of the arranged marriage, he thought about the royal princesses who were already married, and then about the Crown Princess's current depressed life, and felt a chill run down his spine. For someone as flamboyant as him to marry a "stone and wood" was worse than death.
Of course, the young and promising Lord Weiyue was reluctant to die, so he ran away.
However, when he returned, he found that things were quite different from what he had imagined; Princess Kako wasn't what he had feared. Despite the harsh education system of the Imperial Household Agency, Kako still retained the nature of an ordinary girl, and was even somewhat "fashionable," which made him feel... relieved?
Moreover, according to Yoshiko, she seemed to have admired him since childhood, ever since she saw him playing the flute under the cherry blossom tree, and she had never forgotten him in the years that followed, even appearing in his dreams. Although Wei Yue wouldn't have any idol drama plots, for a young boy, having such an experience would still be a very happy thing.
It's certainly wonderful to be loved and admired. Especially when that person is a beautiful and witty princess.
...
...
"So, Gen-kun is willing to be my knight?" Yoshiko smiled. Then, across the tea table, she extended her right hand.
Wei Yue rose and half-knelt, one hand behind her back and the other grasping the soft hand. "Yes, Your Highness." Then she gently kissed it.
The ancient Middle Ages are gone, and the knightly class as a noble nobility has long since disappeared. Today, knighthood is more like a persona, a noble persona. A naive boy won't become a knight spontaneously; a boy usually becomes a knight after meeting the girl he loves. The process of falling in love is, in fact, the process of a boy being knighted. During this time, the boy is willing to give everything to protect the girl behind him.
Perhaps the boy will ride a white horse and take the girl to see the outside world.
This is the personality of a knight.
“Hello, my knight,” Yoshiko said softly.
While Yuuki and Yoshiko were meeting in the tea room of a side hall, Yuuki's father, Minamoto no Yoshimune, and officials from the Imperial Household Agency were also in another side hall of Senso-ji Temple. Minamoto no Yoshimune was actually very reluctant to have contact with people from the Imperial Household Agency. Every time he met with them, he would carefully stay in a room that had been scented with incense for half a day, believing that this would remove bad luck.
But this time there was no other way. For the sake of his son's marriage and the future of the family, he had to be present as the groom's parent, while the bride's "parent" was naturally the Imperial Household Agency official, Takeda Nagataka. Kako's parents were the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, of noble status, and naturally wouldn't appear on such occasions; they had to send a retainer in their place.
"Mr. Yoshimune, what do you think of your son's feelings for Princess Kako?" Takeda Nagataka asked the head of the Minamoto clan while sipping his tea. "I've heard that Prince Minamoto doesn't have a very good impression of the princess."
Minamoto no Yoshimune remained unfazed. "Who is spreading rumors? How insolent!"
“Mr. Yoshimune, please don’t dodge the question.” Takeda Nagataka was a shrewd and experienced man. How could he not notice that Minamoto Yoshimune had changed the focus so abruptly? “I just want to know what Young Master Minamoto thinks of His Highness the Prince? I’m sure it’s not just me who wants to know. His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Crown Princess must also be very curious.”
Using someone else's name to intimidate others, waving a big flag...
"Princess Yoshiko is naturally virtuous and quiet, how could my son not like her?" Although Minamoto no Yoshimune had never been to Wudang Mountain, his Tai Chi skills were quite good. "It will be a joyous occasion for the whole family for Her Highness to marry into the Minamoto family in the future, so Lord Takeda need not worry."
Old fox...
Takeda Nagataka was about to say something when a subordinate hurriedly walked in and placed a brocade handkerchief embroidered with mandarin ducks on the tea table, the fabric of which was remarkably lifelike.
Minamoto no Yoshimune immediately breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Takeda Nagataka, saying, "Things are done!" (To be continued...)
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