The Astrologer’s Patience

The news spread across the capital before sunset.

Lady Lin had fallen from a wall.

And Zhang Wei had caught her.

Servants whispered about it in palace kitchens. Noblewomen discussed it behind silk fans during tea gatherings. Even the guards at the city gates seemed entertained.

“The astrologer touched a woman?”

“I heard he carried her.”

“No, no, I heard she almost landed on top of him intentionally!”

Inside Minister Lin’s residence, however, the atmosphere was far less amusing.

“Sit properly.”

“I am sitting properly.”

“You are upside down on the chair.”

Lin Meiyue sighed dramatically before dropping her legs back to the floor.

Her mother pressed her fingers against her temple in exhaustion.

“How can you behave this way when your wedding date may be announced any day now?”

Meiyue lazily bit into a sweet pastry.

“Maybe he’ll cancel the marriage himself after meeting me.”

A maid standing nearby hesitated before speaking softly.

“But Master Zhang did not seem displeased yesterday.”

Meiyue paused slightly.

That was true.

Most men became nervous around her within moments. Either they feared offending her noble status or became completely flustered by her unpredictable behavior.

But Zhang Wei…

He remained calm no matter what she said.

That strangely irritated her.

And intrigued her even more.

Meanwhile, inside the Celestial Observatory, Zhang Wei quietly read through celestial records while sunlight streamed across the floor.

His assistant Shen Yu stood nearby organizing scrolls.

After several minutes of silence, Shen Yu finally spoke carefully.

“Master… may I ask something?”

“You already intend to.”

Shen Yu awkwardly coughed.

“Yesterday when Lady Lin fell… you moved very quickly.”

Zhang Wei continued reading.

“A person was falling.”

“Yes, but normally you dislike physical contact.”

Silence.

Shen Yu slowly grinned.

“Oh?”

Zhang Wei calmly closed the scroll.

“Shen Yu.”

“Yes?”

“You speak too much.”

The assistant immediately lowered his head while secretly trying not to laugh.

For years Zhang Wei had lived untouched by emotion, completely devoted to astronomy, fate calculations, and royal duties. Women admired him endlessly, yet none had ever succeeded in disrupting his composure.

Until Lin Meiyue appeared like a walking storm.

At that exact moment, a palace servant entered hurriedly.

“Master Zhang, Her Majesty the Queen requests your presence at the palace gardens.”

Zhang Wei stood gracefully.

The Queen rarely summoned him personally.

Which meant trouble.

And he was correct.

The moment he arrived at the royal garden, he heard laughter echoing through the air.

Loud laughter.

Familiar laughter.

Zhang Wei stopped walking.

Beside the lotus pond stood Lin Meiyue.

She was currently balancing herself along the edge of the pond while several horrified palace maids begged her to come down safely.

The Queen sat nearby watching with amused eyes.

The instant Meiyue noticed Zhang Wei, her face brightened mischievously.

“Master Astrologer!”

The maids nearly cried.

Why did she sound excited to see him?

Zhang Wei approached calmly and bowed respectfully toward the Queen.

“Your Majesty.”

The Queen smiled knowingly.

“Perfect timing. Your future wife refuses to behave.”

Meiyue crossed her arms proudly.

“I behave perfectly fine.”

At that exact second, her foot slipped slightly on the stone edge.

Again.

The maids gasped loudly.

But this time Zhang Wei simply looked at her calmly.

“Lady Lin,” he said evenly, “if you fall twice within two days, the stars may begin mocking you.”

For a moment, silence filled the garden.

Then the Queen burst into laughter.

Even the servants struggled not to smile.

Meiyue stared at Zhang Wei in disbelief.

Did he just joke?

The great emotionless astrologer actually made a joke.

Her eyes sparkled instantly.

“You can tease people?” she asked excitedly.

Zhang Wei looked completely unbothered.

“Only when necessary.”

Meiyue jumped down from the pond edge and walked directly toward him.

Very close.

Close enough for the palace maids to panic internally.

She tilted her head upward with a playful grin.

“You’re more interesting than I thought.”

“And you are more troublesome than expected.”

“That sounds like praise.”

“It was not.”

The Queen watched them quietly, hiding her smile behind her tea cup.

The Emperor’s decision had seemed ridiculous at first.

A calm astrologer.

A chaotic noblewoman.

Moon and wildfire.

Yet somehow, standing together beneath falling lotus petals, they looked strangely balanced.

As though fate itself had carefully placed them side by side.

Meiyue suddenly leaned closer to Zhang Wei and whispered mischievously,

“Tell me honestly… did the stars truly choose me?”

Zhang Wei lowered his eyes toward her.

For a brief moment, the wind softened around them.

“Yes,” he answered quietly.

And for reasons she could not explain, Lin Meiyue’s heartbeat skipped once.

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