The Crown Prince followed closely behind, his steps light as a feather, as if afraid of disturbing the serene peace of this Buddhist sanctuary.
Shi Huai pushed open the door of the quiet chamber, stepping aside to let the Crown Prince enter first before slipping in after him and drawing the door shut.
The sandalwood scent in the room had faded considerably. The incense stick before the Buddha statue had burned down completely, leaving only a wisp of trailing smoke slowly dispersing through the air.
The Crown Prince settled into the only chair in the room, glanced around, and furrowed his brow.
"There is only this one chair? Where do you sit?"
Shi Huai walked over to the wooden daybed and took a seat, pulling a wall-leaning futon over to prop behind his back, looking perfectly at ease.
"Your Highness has the chair, and I have the daybed. It works out perfectly."
The Crown Prince looked at his unflappable, contented demeanor, opened his mouth to say something, but then swallowed the words back.
His gaze fell on the several books on the table, and he picked up the top one casually to flip through.
"Did you write all this?"
The Crown Prince's voice rose half an octave, his eyes fixed on the dense annotations scrawled across the pages, every line marked with red ink circles and revisions.
Shi Huai nodded. "These are notes I put together before the Metropolitan Examination. After sitting the exam, I took them out to look over again, and realized some parts were not well written enough. I will improve on them next time."
The Crown Prince set the book back on the table, his fingers pausing for a split second on the cover.
"You still think there will be a next time?"
"I have to pass this round. If I do, I will earn the title of Gongshi, and qualify to attend the Emperor's Palace Examination. Not a single step can go wrong."
Shi Huai leaned against the wall, looking at the Crown Prince's earnest, unwavering face. "Your Highness is even more anxious about this than I am."
The Crown Prince was momentarily stung speechless by that remark, so he simply stopped talking and leaned back in his chair.
"You are planning to stay here for a whole month. What do you intend to eat? Temple vegetarian meals?"
The question came out of nowhere, laced with undisguised distaste.
Shi Huai could not help but let out a soft laugh.
"What is wrong with vegetarian meals? They are light, pure, and nourishing. I have eaten them for two days now, and I find they suit my taste better than the food served back at the manor."
The Crown Prince's brows knitted even tighter.
"You are at an age where you are still growing. How can you survive on such plain, watery food? I will have people send meals over from the palace for you every day."
Shi Huai shook his head, his tone calm but unyielding.
"Your Highness, the very reason I came to the Great Awakening Temple is to avoid all those banquets and feasts. If you have food delivered from the palace, and word gets out, what difference is there between this and me staying at the Marquess's manor?"
The Crown Prince was blocked so thoroughly he could not find a retort, and finally caved in.
"Fine, I will do as you say. But you have to promise me this: you can have two vegetarian meals a day, but the third meal must have meat. I will have people bring that meat to you, and you are not allowed to refuse."
Shi Huai looked at the Crown Prince's expression, which clearly read "I have already made concessions, you are not allowed to push your luck any further", and nodded.
"Very well. I will take care of that third meal myself, you do not need to worry about it."
The Crown Prince eyed him suspiciously. "How are you going to manage that? There is not even a proper restaurant anywhere in the mountains."
Shi Huai pointed toward the door. "An elderly lay Buddhist lives in the neighboring room. He cooks his own meals every day. I can just share meals with him, there is no need to trouble Your Highness."
Before the Crown Prince could say anything else, footsteps sounded from outside the door, followed by the voice of the temple guest monk.
"Benefactor, His Highness the Third Prince has arrived. He is at the mountain gate, and says he has urgent business to see you about."
The Crown Prince's face instantly darkened. He stood up, walked to the door, pulled it open, and looked at the guest monk standing in the corridor, who wore a deeply troubled look on his face.
"He is at the mountain gate? Did he come alone?"
The guest monk pressed his palms together in a Buddhist salute and bowed his head. "Your Highness, His Highness the Third Prince came alone on horseback, with no attendants. He says he has important matters to discuss with Patron Shi."
The Crown Prince turned his head to glance at Shi Huai, a hint of wariness glinting in his eyes.
"Did you invite him?"
Shi Huai stood up and straightened his collar.
"Your Highness, this student has not invited anyone. The gates of Dajue Temple are open, and no one can be turned away if they wish to come. If Your Highness does not wish to see His Highness the Third Prince, this student can have someone send him away."
The Crown Prince fell silent for a moment, then waved his hand.
"Let him come in. He has already traveled all this way, how could we chase him off?"
Shi Huai glanced at the guest monk and nodded.
The guest monk acknowledged the order, turned around and hurried toward the mountain gate, his figure gradually fading away along the stone path.
When the Third Prince stepped into the backyard, his fox fur robe was dusted with a good deal of snow, and the lower half of his boots were soaked through.
He stopped at the entrance of the quiet chamber, glancing first at the Crown Prince seated in the chair, then at Shi Huai standing by the side of the daybed, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
"Brother Emperor is here too. It seems I have arrived at an inopportune time."
The Third Prince's voice was calm and flat.
It sounded as if he held no particular emotion, but in reality his gaze was fixed on Shi Huai's face and would not shift away.
The Crown Prince asked him, "What are you doing here? Weren't you being confined by Consort Rong lately, to the point where you barely had time to leave the palace?"
The Third Prince's expression soured.
Consort Rong had confined him precisely to get him to spend time with her niece from her natal clan.
He was of age now, the right time to take a wife, and Consort Rong was eager to cement a closer bond between their families through a marriage.
The Crown Prince knew full well about this matter, and he brought it up now deliberately to taunt him.
The Third Prince seethed with resentment inside, but he chose not to engage with the Crown Prince.
He scuffed the mud off his boot soles against the threshold, stepped into the quiet chamber, and came to a stop in the only empty spot left.
He brushed the snow off his shoulders, then pulled a letter out from his sleeve and held it out to Shi Huai.
"Someone asked me to deliver this letter to you, insisting that it be placed in your own hands. I could not refuse, so I had to make the trip here."
Shi Huai took the letter, glancing down at the handwriting on the envelope.
The characters were delicate and elegant.
It was clearly written by a woman.
There was no signature on the envelope, only the four words "For Shi Huai's eyes only", and the ink had long since dried.
He did not open the letter, but set it down on the table, then looked up at the Third Prince.
"Your Highness, who asked you to bring this? Surely you would not forget the person who entrusted you with it?"
The Third Prince's expression froze for a split second, before he quickly regained his usual composed demeanor.
"A friend. You would not know them even if I told you their name. You will understand everything once you read the letter."
The Crown Prince sat in his chair, his eyes flicking back and forth between his younger brother and Shi Huai, his lips pressing together tightly.
"What kind of letter is so mysterious that even the sender cannot be named?"
The Third Prince glanced at the Crown Prince.
"If Brother Emperor is curious, you can ask Shi Huai about it after he reads it. I am merely the messenger, and I do not pry into matters that are not my place."
The Third Prince's retort left the Crown Prince so angry that his face turned blue.
He was just about to speak when Shi Huai picked up the letter, flipped it over in his hand, and set it back down again.
"Your Highness, please convey my thanks to that friend of yours. I have received the letter, but I will not read it now. I will wait until I am calm and settled before I look through it."
The Third Prince's face changed slightly. "You are not even going to check who wrote it? What if it is something urgent?"
Shi Huai sat down by the side of the daybed, rearranged the floor cushion to prop himself up against the wall, his posture far more relaxed than before.
"If it were urgent, they would not have sent a letter. They would have come to my door in person. If the person who wrote the letter is in no hurry, why should I be?"
The Third Prince was left speechless by his words.
The Crown Prince watched his younger brother's defeated, flustered look, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile before he quickly suppressed it.
He cleared his throat. "Third Prince, the letter has been delivered. You should head back now, shouldn't you?"
The Third Prince took a deep breath. "If Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince could come here, why can't your younger brother stay a little longer?"
The Crown Prince's expression darkened. "You requested leave from your duties just to deliver a letter for someone? Just think about what will happen if Consort Rong finds out about this."
