Pei Jingyi leisurely brushed the dust off his robes, walked to the front of the carriage, and stepped up to the driver’s bench.
With the sharp crack of a whip, the carriage slowly lurched into motion. The wheels bit into the bluestone road as they rolled forward. The body of the carriage remained perfectly steady, as smooth as a boat gliding on water.
Gu Huaiyu had been holding onto the window frame, wary that Pei Jingyi might play some trick. Yet, the carriage didn’t suffer a single jolt. It crossed the stone bridge at the street corner so steadily that not a drop of tea spilled from the cup on the small table.
It saved him the trouble of wasting more time disciplining this mad dog.
West Mountain was over thirty miles from the capital. The group reached the foot of the mountain by noon. Gu Huaiyu switched to a mountain sedan chair and finally reached Chongfu Temple at dusk.
A young monk waiting at the gate with a lantern smiled brightly upon seeing him. “The Chancellor has finally arrived! Auntie Chen has been waiting for you all day!”
Gu Huaiyu raised a hand to adjust the fur collar of his cloak. “Waiting for me all day? Has she eaten yet?”
The monk thought for a moment before answering, “Auntie Chen only had a bowl of porridge today. She hasn’t had much of an appetite since she fell ill. She can’t keep anything down.”
Pei Jingyi looked on with interest, scanning the temple gates. A man like Gu Huaiyu, who had committed every sin imaginable, didn’t seem like the type to be a pious believer seeking the gods.
His gaze swept over the little monk and then to the swaying lantern. A wild thought suddenly popped into his head: This ‘Auntie Chen’… could she be some old flame hidden away in the mountains?
A hidden mistress, a golden cage…
Gu Huaiyu frowned slightly and glanced at Liu Erlang, who was following them.
Liu Erlang understood immediately. He pulled an exquisite nanmu food box from the carriage. “The Imperial Kitchens made these honey crisps.”
Gu Huaiyu glanced at the Iron Eagle Guard. He didn’t want so many people disturbing the peace of the temple. “Wait at the gate.”
His gaze then landed on Pei Jingyi, and he tilted his chin. “You, come inside with me.”
Pei Jingyi was genuinely curious to see who was inside Chongfu Temple. Ignoring Liu Erlang’s worried gaze, he reached out to take the food box and followed Gu Huaiyu into the temple.
The little monk led them through three temple halls until they reached the Hall of Guanyin, where the red-lacquered doors stood wide open.
Inside, the flickering eternal lamps cast a solemn glow over the golden statue of the Bodhisattva. In her left hand, she held the pure vase, but in her right sat an exquisite jade box—the jade was translucent and the carvings intricate, looking entirely out of place in the simple purity of a Buddhist temple.
Hearing footsteps, an elderly woman kneeling on a prayer mat turned around. Her face was fair and plump, retaining the traces of a fading beauty.
The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened with a smile. “My little Snowball is here?”
Hearing that name, Gu Huaiyu couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. He stepped forward and took her arm to help her up. “Auntie, please stop calling me that. I am a member of the Grand Secretariat and a Chancellor now.”
Auntie Chen rose with his help, but her gaze bypassed him to study Pei Jingyi. Seeing a strange man, she didn’t seem at all restrained. “What? So just because you’re the Chancellor, I can’t call you that anymore?”
“Auntie.” Gu Huaiyu cut her off, gesturing for Pei Jingyi to hand over the food box. “Call me whatever you like. ‘Snowball,’ ‘Riceball,’ it’s all up to you.”
Auntie Chen hid a laugh behind her sleeve. As she did, a string of sandalwood prayer beads slipped from her wrist. They were of exceptional quality, clearly not something found among commoners.
Pei Jingyi, whose eyes were trained from years of archery, was a master at catching subtle details. As the beads swayed, he caught sight of the words “Imperial Commission” engraved in small seal script on the sandalwood.
Gu Huaiyu needed to discuss private matters with Auntie Chen and glanced back at Pei Jingyi.
Pei Jingyi’s expression remained unreadable. Knowing when to take a hint, he took several steps back. “This official will wait for the Chancellor outside the hall.”
Auntie Chen watched him leave. Once he was out of earshot, she turned back with a beaming smile. “Is that the Pei family boy?”
“You recognize him?” Gu Huaiyu asked, surprised.
Auntie Chen sat in a nearby chair and shook her head with a chuckle. “I knew his father. The boy looks quite a bit like him, though he’s much more handsome than that old man Pei.”
Gu Huaiyu wasn’t surprised. He placed the food box on the table and tucked the hem of his robes as he sat beside her. “Auntie, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? I brought honey crisps.”
Auntie Chen opened the box to find the crisps neatly stacked, golden and shimmering. She took a silk handkerchief and picked up a piece, asking curiously, “How did you end up mixed up with the Pei boy?”
Gu Huaiyu thought for a moment before saying simply, “He needs something from me, so he is serving under my command.”
