Chapter 61: Stay a Little Further Away from Third Elder Brother

That night, after Tuan Tuan fell asleep, Cheng Ru'an gazed at her daughter's sleeping face, lost in thought.

Xiao Yuanhang asked, "An'er, do you have something on your mind?"

Cheng Ru'an said, "That day I took Tuan Tuan to Xuanqiong Temple to pray for Yuan'er's recovery, hoping he would wake soon and his hand ailment would heal."

"Now both wishes have been fulfilled, so tomorrow I want to take Tuan Tuan to fulfill the vow, donate more incense money, and ask the immortals to protect her—what do you think?"

Xiao Yuanhang said, "Quite right; tomorrow I'll go with you."

Cheng Ru'an nodded: "Very good."

The next morning, as dawn just broke, Tuan Tuan's hair was fluffy and soft from sleep, her eyes not fully open, when Xiao Yuanhang walked in: "Little sleepyhead, hurry up—Mom and Dad are taking you to Xuanqiong Temple!"

"Are we going to see Grandpa Taoist Priest?" Upon hearing they'd go out, Tuan Tuan sprang up, grabbed the small outer garment beside her, and pulled it on.

"Grandpa Taoist Priest? Actually, Tuan Tuan likes Master Xuanqing, yes! Let's go see him, then properly thank the Three Pure Ones for blessing our family!"

"Great! Let's go out and play with Mom and Dad!" Tuan Tuan jumped up, standing on the bed.

Xiao Yuanhang scooped up his daughter in one motion and hoisted her onto his shoulder: "Come on! Let's go have breakfast, then we'll set out!"

Two hours later, the three entered Xuanqiong Temple.

After paying respects to the Three Pure Ones, Cheng Ru'an made a generous donation of two thousand taels of silver. Xuanqing Taoist Priest said, "Boundless Immortal Venerable! Thank you, Princess Consort." Having said that, his gaze fell on Tuan Tuan.

The Taoist Priest said, "I've heard that the Princess Consort had another remarkable encounter yesterday, rescuing Xie Yunshu, the manager of Qiaosu Pavilion."

Cheng Ru'an startled: "You know about it? Manager Xie?"

Xuanqing Taoist Priest looked at Tuan Tuan, sitting in Xiao Yuanhang's arms and playing with his hair: "I've heard a bit; Xie Yunshu is the descendant of a wealthy Jiangnan merchant, now the manager of the Yunque Merchant Association—Qiaosu Pavilion is merely one of her small storefronts."

Cheng Ru'an was somewhat surprised: "So that's how it is; for a woman to achieve such stature is truly not easy."

Xuanqing Taoist Priest looked at her: "The Princess Consort won the ginseng bet from Lord Lu's household, exposed the golden hairpin, and rescued Manager Xie—there's no hiding it; it's spread all over the streets, and likely everyone in the capital knows."

Cheng Ru'an's brows furrowed slightly: "What do you mean, Taoist Priest?"

Xuanqing Taoist Priest said, "Last time I advised the Princess Consort not to meddle in others' karmic affairs; now I see she is innocent and warm-hearted, which makes it extremely hard to follow."

He took off the string of prayer beads from his chest and held it out to Tuan Tuan: "Little Princess, Grandpa Taoist Priest gives this to you—all right?"

Each bead of the rosary was round and smooth, faintly glowing; at a glance it was clearly extraordinary.

The surroundings fell silent in an instant, everyone's eyes drawn to that string of beads.

Several young Daoists stared agape: "Those are the Master Ancestor's ever-present Star Constellation Flow Pearls!"

Other worshippers also sucked in a breath of cold air: "Xuanqing Taoist Priest's beads—how many people beg for them and never get them!"

"Just... just give it to a little child?"

"Too unbelievable!"

Tuan Tuan, not understanding, reached out and took it: "Wow, such pretty beads! Grandpa Taoist Priest is so kind! Thank you, Grandpa Taoist Priest."

"Boundless Heavenly Venerable!" Xuanqing Taoist Priest said, "These beads number twenty-eight, corresponding to the twenty-eight constellations of the heavens; they have accompanied me in chanting and cultivation for years, giving me modest spiritual attainment. Today I bestow them upon the Princess Consort, hoping they will keep you safe."

Xiao Yuanhang and Cheng Ru'an exchanged a glance, both delighted: "Thank you, Taoist Priest!"

This string of beads of Xuanqing Taoist Priest is known to all; it is one of his inseparable dharma implements—even if the Emperor himself came, he might not be able to obtain it, yet he gave it to his own daughter, showing his deep protective heart.

Xuanqing Taoist Priest stroked his beard and chuckled lightly: "A child's heart is the rarest thing. For the Prince and Princess Consort to have such a daughter is truly a blessing."

Cheng Ru'an personally fastened the beads around her daughter's chest.

"Butterfly! What a beautiful butterfly!" A huge, iridescent butterfly fluttered past Tuan Tuan's eyes; she struggled to slip from her father's arms, set her short legs moving, and giggled as she chased after it: "Don't run away, little butterfly!"

Seeing this, Granny Liu hurried after her.

Tuan Tuan chased the butterfly, running as fast as she could.

As they neared the rear courtyard, they saw a young Daoist holding a bucket of water by the corridor pillar, stooping, straining to free the corner of his robe snagged on a wooden splinter of the pillar, but the snag was deep and he couldn't pull it free.

Tuan Tuan stopped.

A youth in a moon-white cloud-patterned silk robe stepped out from behind him, lifted his leg with ease, drew a dagger from his boot, and sliced the Daoist's robe corner: "Watch your step from now on."

The young Daoist hurriedly thanked him.

Tuan Tuan blurted out, "Third Brother!"

The youth looked at her: "Little girl, who are you calling?"

Tuan Tuan looked up and saw it wasn't Third Brother—he was taller and sturdier than Third Brother—and said, "You look like my Third Brother! He also likes to hang around here with a little knife!" She pointed at the youth's boot.

The youth sheathed his dagger, intrigued, and said: "I see. Where are your elders? How do they let a little child run around here unsupervised, not afraid of losing you?"

"I won't get lost!" Tuan Tuan lifted her chin: "You're not Third Brother; you're one loop bigger than him!" She traced a large circle with her small hand: "I'm chasing a butterfly! Hey, where's my butterfly?"

She realized it, looked around, and pointed: "Over there!"

The youth followed her finger and saw the butterfly perched on the long stalk of a nearby flower.

He crept over, slowly reached out, pinched its wings, and walked back to hand it to her.

Tuan Tuan happily took the butterfly, mimicking his manner: "Little butterfly, why are you running? I just wanted to look at you—you're so pretty!"

She lifted her head, looking at the smiling youth: "Third Elder Brother! Thank you for catching it for me."

"Third Elder Brother?" The youth chuckled: "You really can imagine that!"

"You're one loop bigger than Third Brother, so aren't you Third Elder Brother? Isn't that right?"

"That's right, makes sense. I'm Xiao Ze; what's your name?"

"I'm Tuan Tuan!" Xiao Ze blinked: "Tuan Tuan? What kind of name is that?"

Just as he was about to ask further, Granny Liu came running, drenched in sweat: "Miss! How did you get all the way here?!"

Tuan Tuan held up the butterfly: "Granny! Third Elder Brother helped me catch it!"

She raised both small hands, revealing the beads on her chest; Xiao Ze gasped: "Those beads—are they the string from Xuanqing Taoist Priest?"

Tuan Tuan nodded: "Yeah! Grandpa Taoist Priest gave them to me!"

She lowered her gaze to the butterfly, loosened her grip, and it fluttered away: "Fly! Fly!" After a moment, she added anxiously, "Remember to stay away from Third Elder Brother from now on!"

Xiao Ze rubbed his forehead, exasperated: "It wasn't you who asked—I helped you catch it! What do you mean by staying away from me from now on!"

Liu Mama bowed to the youth: "Young sir, thank you." She took Tuan Tuan's little hand and turned to leave: "The Prince and Princess Consort are waiting for you; we're heading back to the manor."

Tuan Tuan walked and looked back, calling: "Third Elder Brother! I'll come find you to play again another day!"

Prince? Princess Consort? Xiao Ze watched them leave, lost in thought.

On the way back to the manor, Tuan Tuan told her parents: "Third Elder Brother is also quite handsome! Of course, he's still a bit lacking compared to Third Brother."

Cheng Ru'an asked: "Tuan Tuan keeps calling him Third Elder Brother; do you know his name?"

"He said his name is…… right, Xiao Ze!"

Cheng Ru'an and Xiao Yuanhang heard that name, exchanged a glance: "So it turns out the Seventh Prince also came to Xuanqiong Temple today."