"General Wu, please wait a moment."
"Thank you, Eunuch."
The young eunuch turned and hurried inside with quick, small steps. Though he returned shortly, Wu Jiang felt as if he had waited for hours, his clenched palms cold and damp with sweat.
"General Wu," the young eunuch emerged with a pale face wreathed in smiles, "my apologies for the delay."
Wu Jiang nodded stiffly. "Eunuch Qi... may I have an audience with His Majesty?"
The eunuch pressed his lips together in a meaningful smile as he returned the memorial to Wu Jiang. "General Wu, His Majesty has carefully reviewed Prince An's memorial... The Emperor says everything shall be handled according to Prince An's wishes."
Wu Jiang had no idea what Xiao Jin Yu had written in that memorial. As usual, when Xiao Jin Yu instructed him to deliver it to the palace, he simply obeyed without asking unnecessary questions.
So Wu Jiang took back the memorial and responded steadily, "Understood."
The eunuch's eyes curved into crescents. "Then I won't delay you further, General."
Wu Jiang froze. "His Majesty... won't see me?"
The eunuch smiled and pointed at the memorial in Wu Jiang's hand. "His Majesty said there's no need. Everything shall proceed according to Prince An's wishes."
Wu Jiang blankly unfolded the memorial. After just a quick glance, his handsome face flushed crimson.
"General Wu, His Majesty has already summoned Princess Changning to Wanqing Pavilion..."
Before the eunuch finished speaking, Wu Jiang had already vanished from sight.
Wanqing Pavilion stood along the essential path connecting the front halls to the rear palace. Built upon a high platform, the small tower offered expansive views and was the best spot in the entire palace for watching sunsets.
The western sky had already begun to blush with a charming yet unpretentious red, but Wu Jiang had no mind to appreciate such scenery.
On New Year's Day, when the Emperor traditionally feasted with his officials, Wu Jiang had attended in Xiao Jin Yu's absence since the Prince wasn't at the Royal Mansion. Amid the night's toasts and drinking, slightly intoxicated, he spotted a delicate figure standing beside the Empress, smiling softly at him. In his dazed state, he was pulled away to drink again, and when he looked for her later, she had disappeared.
Though there was barely any moonlight on New Year's Eve, when Wu Jiang sobered up the next day, he kept recalling having seen a gentle, radiant moonlight the previous night. He couldn't remember where he'd seen it or what surrounded that moonlight, only that he had bathed in its pleasant glow, his entire body feeling weightless.
It wasn't until the Lantern Festival, when he was again summoned to the palace banquet, that everything became clear. The Emperor proposed a martial arts competition among military officers under forty for entertainment, with the prize being a sachet embroidered by His Majesty's younger sister, Princess Changning Xiao Xiang.
Having long been influenced by Xiao Jin Yu, Wu Jiang never showed off on such occasions. While contemplating how to compete without disgracing Prince An Manor while avoiding standing out, he suddenly saw Princess Changning presenting the sachet to the crowd. Instantly, he remembered where the moonlight that had haunted his dreams since New Year's Day came from.
After that competition, no civil or military officials ever again questioned why a Royal Mansion guard captain held a third-rank general's title. Wu Jiang also achieved his wish, receiving the sachet from the moonlight he had longed for days and wearing it at his waist.Just like that night, Xiao Xiang only gave him a soft, gentle smile before turning and disappearing from everyone's sight. To Wu Jiang, it was as if dark clouds had suddenly obscured the moon, leaving the entire night dim and gloomy—even though the full moon of the fifteenth hung high in the sky, bright as a mirror.
Wu Jiang couldn't recall how he returned to the Royal Mansion that night, only that for the first time in twenty-five years, he felt this restless, clawing sensation in his heart.
He knew very clearly that he wanted to marry her—desperately so.
But he couldn't.
It was true that he was a third-rank general, but half the reason he had climbed to this position at such a young age with mediocre military achievements was due to his father, who had sacrificed his life for the country years ago.
His mother had also passed away from illness when he was sixteen. As the only child in the family, his only property was an old residence left by his parents in Suzhou, and his sole reliance was the Prince An Manor, which had always steered clear of power and fame.
What right did he have to tell the Emperor that he had fallen for a legitimate princess seven years his junior...
Besides, why would someone so perfect ever look twice at him...
Yet he couldn't bring himself to remove that sachet.
Little did he expect that Wang Ye would notice and, without him realizing, arrange for him to submit that memorial to the Emperor... Not only were his innermost thoughts laid bare before the Emperor by Wang Ye, but the Emperor had also agreed to Wang Ye's proposal, telling him to ask Xiao Xiang himself!
If Xiao Xiang nodded, the Emperor would immediately draft an edict for their marriage.
But what if...
Even if she refused, he still had to complete Xiao Jin Yu's task and invite her to the Prince An Manor...
Wu Jiang didn't know how much the Emperor had revealed when summoning her. Without a second thought, he rushed up the small building in one breath, not daring to lift his head, and bowed deeply to the figure in pale yellow.
"Your humble servant Wu Jiang pays respects to Your Highness!"
After listening to the chaotic thumping of his own heart for what felt like an eternity, he finally heard a voice—soft yet firm, sweet but not cloying. "General Wu, there's no need for such formality."
Wu Jiang scrambled up from the ground, keeping his head lowered and staring at his toes.
"Your humble servant, your humble servant..."
A bellyful of words he wanted to say piled up in his throat, yet not a single one could escape, flushing his handsome face crimson with frustration.
"General Wu..." Her voice, noticeably softer, carried a faint tremble. "If you don't like the sachet, you may discard it... There's no need to return it to me..."
Wu Jiang froze, suddenly looking up. The person he had longed for day and night was gazing at the spot on his belt where the sachet should have been. Her eyes, bright as morning stars, were now filled with dim despair, and her cherry-blossom-like lips were pressed together, faintly pale. The sight made his strong heart ache abruptly.
"No, that's not it..." Wu Jiang hurriedly pulled the carefully preserved sachet from his chest. "Your humble servant merely didn't... didn't hang it at my waist..."
A pair of delicate willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly, but her eyes softened with a gentle smile. "General Wu, why did you keep the sachet in your chest?"
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