After Third Aunt went out, Xie Daoyun sat alone at the writing desk, her heart uneasy and her thoughts in turmoil. She felt she had already wronged Lu Weiwei, and had certainly put Chen Caozhi in a difficult position. How could marrying daughters of two great gentry clans at once be so easy! Ah, however intricate and profound the principles of Xuanxue might be, she could swiftly untangle their threads, grasp their essentials, and hit the mark with a single remark. Yet the single word "love" remained beyond her comprehension. The Changes had one name but three meanings; love was one word with ten thousand meanings, each different, each harboring something of its own. Even those of exceptional intellect could scarcely avoid becoming deeply ensnared in it-
Chen Caozhi came in and went straight to the writing desk to sit opposite Xie Daoyun. Her eyelashes flickered as she glanced at him. Neither joy nor worry showed on his face. She heard him say softly, "Daoyun, Lord Anshi did not force me. This is what I want too. Mm, it suits my heart's desire exactly."
"'Suits my heart's desire exactly'-what a choice of words-" Xie Daoyun lowered her head, looking only at a small jade pendant on her sash. Her abundant, flower-adorned bun was presented squarely before Chen Caozhi; of her face, only her pure, noble forehead, the tip of her nose, and her fluttering eyelashes remained visible. Even the pale nape of her neck seemed to have reddened. She very much wanted to ask what Third Uncle had said to Chen Caozhi in private just now, and what good plan Third Uncle had. But how could she bring herself to ask about such a thing!
Chen Caozhi continued, "I'll go see Wei Rui shortly. Though it's rather hard to broach,