Chapter Two: A Life Reborn

The air was thick with the lingering scent of sandalwood, heavy with the murmurs of Buddhist chants. As Jiang Zhuo opened her eyes, she found herself in a meditation chamber within a temple.

Strange. Where was she?

Could it be that she had committed too many sins in her previous life as a ghost, and now she was being sent to be exorcised?

Dazed, Jiang Zhuo sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her head. Her hands felt as though they were clutching something. Curious, she opened her palms and realized they were no longer scarred with the chilblains and calluses that had come from years of menial labor; instead, there lay a crumpled bamboo fortune slip.

As if struck by a sudden realization, she tremblingly touched her cheeks. The coarse, terrifying scar that had haunted her was gone. She was momentarily struck speechless by the shock.

"Miss! You’re finally awake!"

Her young maid, hair styled in twin buns, heard the rustle of the curtains and rushed over, embracing Jiang Zhuo with tear-filled eyes. "If anything had happened to you, how would I ever answer to the Master?"

The long-forgotten form of address and the familiar face stirred Jiang Zhuo’s memories. She recalled that on the eve of the Qionghua Banquet, she and her personal maid, Tonghua, had traveled to White Horse Temple to seek a fortune. They had left their carriage behind to walk up the mountain, only to receive a cryptic, nonsensical slip, for which they had pleaded with a young novice monk to interpret.

The novice had merely smiled and said, "If the donor does not understand the meaning of this slip, then the time is simply not yet ripe."

The trip had been fruitless, and the hot-tempered Jiang Zhuo, suffering from heatstroke, had rested for a moment in the temple’s meditation room.

*Peach blossoms bloom in vibrant hues,*
*The willow’s grace, the eastern wind’s decree.*
*Meeting once more, unaware of the two-life bond,*
*Past tears transform into the emerald lotus.*

Jiang Zhuo murmured the words of the fortune. Unlike the confusion she had felt in her past life, she now sensed that this was a verdict on her destiny.

"If he didn't know, he should have just said so! Why beat around the bush like that?" Tonghua grumbled, looking at the vague slip of paper. "Miss, this temple is bizarre, and this fortune is unreliable. Let’s go to another one next time!"

Hearing Tonghua’s complaints, the novice monk entered from outside, his hands pressed together, and explained with a smile, "The Buddha is merciful and treats all living beings with equality. Until the cause and effect are understood, it makes no difference which temple you visit, donor."

"You little monk! How dare you eavesdrop on people talking!" The indignant Tonghua demanded, hands on her hips, though she looked a bit guilty.

Tonghua had grown up by Jiang Zhuo’s side. Although temperamental, she was fiercely loyal. Even on the night the Jiang family was sent into exile, it was Tonghua who had held off the pursuers to save her. Reunited, Jiang Zhuo smiled, shielding the maid behind her, and teased the novice.

"If all beings are equal, little monk, then tell me: why are some people clever and others dull, some beautiful and others plain, some successful and others destitute?"

"My master says that some of us are living our first life as humans, which is why we are particularly clumsy, while others have lived many lives, making them sophisticated and shrewd," the novice paused, a serious expression on his young face that seemed beyond his years. "The appearances of all living beings are like dreams, bubbles, and shadows—like dew, like lightning. Since these are merely the manifestations of the mortal world, what difference does it make whether one realizes it sooner or later?"

The novice’s words pierced through Jiang Zhuo’s thoughts. She was taken aback.

The earnest little monk was quickly snapped out of his solemnity when Tonghua flicked his forehead. "Oh! Trying to act like a grown-up, are we?" she teased. "If we weren't human in our past lives, what else could we have been?"

Jiang Zhuo laughed. "I don't know about the rest, but as for you, Tonghua, you must have been a little wild cat in your past life, and it was only by chance that you cleared someone's home of a rat infestation that you earned the chance to become human."

"Now that you've recovered your energy, you're helping an outsider tease me!" Tonghua pouted, grabbing the bag on the table and making a face at Jiang Zhuo. "Your temper is ten thousand times worse than mine! If I was a wild cat, then you, Miss, must have been a mountain tiger that happened to eat a village bully, and that's how you became a person."

Amused, Jiang Zhuo chased after her, only to collide with a solid chest. She looked up in a daze, only to lock eyes with a familiar face.

The fear from her previous life instantly consumed her. Driven by pure instinct in her panic, she bent her knees and performed a bow.

"…?"

Xie Guanlan reached out to steady her. He said nothing, but his expression revealed his confusion.

"Does the young lady know my master?" asked the servant beside him.

Jiang Zhuo finally regained her senses. She was now the legitimate daughter of a high-ranking official, not a concubine, and the Xie Guanlan before her held no official title. There was no reason for her to bow to him.

"…It was I who bumped into you, young master. Please forgive my rudeness." She had to find a flimsy excuse for her breach of etiquette.

"It is nothing."

Xie Guanlan spoke, a rare occurrence. Just as Jiang Zhuo prepared to leave this place of trouble, Tonghua, who had seen the interaction from a distance, rushed over.

"Who are you? How dare you let my mistress bow to you?" The furious maid, who never allowed her mistress to suffer the slightest grievance, immediately went on the offensive.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you saying? Your mistress apologized of her own accord! How can a little maid have even less manners than her mistress?"

"If you two hadn't used your numbers to intimidate her, why would my mistress ever bow to you? Do you even know who she is?"

"I don't care who your mistress is! Either way, your mistress bumped into my master!"

...

Jiang Zhuo remembered. In her previous life, she had seen Xie Guanlan at White Horse Temple once, and because he had bumped into her, she had forced him to apologize. This time, however, it was his servant and her maid who were arguing. She found it strangely amusing.

"Xie Guanlan of the Chen County Xie clan."

Lost in thought, Jiang Zhuo was startled to realize that Xie Guanlan was speaking to her directly.

"I am Jiang Zhuo. It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Master Xie," she replied, bracing herself.

"The daughter of Vice Minister Jiang?"

Now it was Xie Guanlan’s turn to ask. It was good to be young, she supposed; he was taciturn, but at least he could string a few sentences together. She wondered what the later Xie Guanlan had endured to turn into that silent, ruthless god of war.

Still, it was understandable. Even when noble ladies went out, they usually wore veils and did not reveal their faces to men. A girl like her, who had bumped into him and performed a concubine’s bow, certainly did not act like a lady of high standing.

"Yes," Jiang Zhuo admitted, forcing herself to maintain composure. "My father has long admired the noble reputation of the Chen County Xie clan. If you are in need of anything while you are new to the capital, you are welcome to visit the Jiang estate."

Before the imperial examinations, many candidates liked to circulate among the homes of officials, submitting their essays in hopes of gaining an advantage. Unfortunately, Xie Guanlan was a candidate for the military examinations, and he was not the type to play politics. If he had been more flexible in his official career, he might not have been exiled to Bashu.

Jiang Zhuo was merely offering polite pleasantries; after all, in this life, she did not want to be entangled with him again.

"I am grateful for your kindness, Miss Jiang."

Fortunately, Xie Guanlan was not the type to dwell on things.