Official Sun promptly handled all matters regarding Zhenzhen's transfer to the residence of the Prince of Yanping as instructed by Cheng Yuan, arranging for her to depart the following day.
Seeing the arrangements made so swiftly, Zhenzhen was somewhat surprised. Official Sun, assuming she was disheartened by being sent away from the palace, comforted her specifically: "Although the Prince of Yanping's residence belongs to a minister's household, it is naturally different from others. The honor and prestige enjoyed by the Prince of Yanping are unparalleled among the imperial relatives. From the Crown Prince down, all the princes must perform family rites when they see him. The atmosphere of his residence is no less than that of any imperial clan. Even compared to this Northern Inner Palace... well, no need to say more. You will understand once you enter."
Zhenzhen had heard of these matters since entering the palace. Yin Ning, the Prince of Yanping, was nearly ten years younger than the Empress Dowager. From a young age, he was beautiful and adorable, and as he grew up, he became as gentle and refined as jade, earning the special affection of the Empress Dowager and the late Emperor. The late Emperor also arranged for him to marry the eldest granddaughter of Qi Xun, the once-powerful Chancellor and Grand Preceptor, who held the title Lady of Chen.
Lady of Chen also enjoyed a fortunate life. Qi Xun's wife, Lady Wang, was fierce and jealous. She herself bore no children and forbade Qi Xun from taking concubines or having sons. In the end, they adopted the illegitimate son of her brother-in-law and his mistress, renaming him Qi Xi and treating him as Qi Xun's legitimate heir. Qi Xi's eldest daughter was Lady of Chen. As the legitimate eldest granddaughter of Grand Preceptor Qi, she frequently entered and left the palace from a young age. The late Emperor, finding her charming, clever, and speaking with an innocent, guileless nature, also took a liking to her. When she was six or seven years old, he enfeoffed her as a Lady of the State, which is why people in the capital often called her "Lady Tong."
Regarding this Lady Tong, an anecdote about her circulated in Lin'an: When Lady Tong was young, she once kept a lion cat. One day, while the caretaker was dozing off, the cat slipped out of the residence and disappeared. Upon learning this, Lady Tong cried bitterly and insisted on finding the cat. Grand Preceptor Qi then ordered the Lin'an Prefecture to send people to search for it, arresting over a hundred individuals suspected of capturing or hiding lion cats. After a city-wide search, more than a hundred cats were captured and brought back. Lady Tong inspected each one but found none to be her lost cat, leading to another bout of crying and fussing. Grand Preceptor Qi then ordered painters to create hundreds of portraits of the lion cat based on descriptions, posting them in teahouses and taverns throughout the city, offering a hefty reward for its recovery. However, the lion cat remained missing. Nevertheless, Lady Tong's ability to "stir the entire Lin'an Prefecture with a single tear" became widely known in the capital from then on.
Qi Xun held the position of Chancellor for many years, colluding with factions to wield immense power at court, which even the late Emperor found intimidating. Later, Qi Xun fell seriously ill. On his deathbed, he still sought to install his son Qi Xi as his successor as Chancellor. However, the then Crown Prince, now The Emperor Zhao Wei, promptly detected the Qi family's schemes and informed the late Emperor. The late Emperor then, under the pretext of a visit, personally led a contingent of imperial guards to the Qi residence to monitor the father and son, while ordering ministers to draft retirement edicts for them. Upon Qi Xun's death, it was announced that both father and son were to retire simultaneously, stripping Qi Xi of all substantive power and granting him only the empty title of "Junior Preceptor," leaving him as a wealthy idler.
Within a few years, Qi Xi also died of depression, and the Qi faction scattered like birds and beasts. The late Emperor also reclaimed Qi Xun's extremely luxurious mansion in the capital, renovating and expanding it into the palace he resided in during his later years, which is now Cifu Palace.After Qi Xi's death, the Qi family gradually declined, but this hardly affected Lady Tong, who had married the Prince of Yanping. The late Emperor favored her, likely due to her seemingly guileless and innocent demeanor, which was entirely different from her grandfather and father. Having grown up frequenting the palace, she was well-acquainted with the current Emperor, who regarded her as a younger sister and treated her with great kindness. Both emperors even felt a sense of compensation toward her, bestowing upon her many of the honors originally intended for the Qi family.
After the late Emperor passed away and the current Emperor ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager's clan was honored and favored. Yin Ning continued to receive promotions and titles, though they were all honorary positions without real power. Nevertheless, the salaries and rewards she received were exceptionally generous, unmatched by any other members of the imperial consort families.
Zhenzhen had only heard of the opulence of the Prince of Yanping's residence before, but upon stepping inside herself, she realized that all the rumors were mere understatements, and no amount of imagination could compare to the vivid reality.
The residence was large, though not so vast as to rival Cifu Palace or the Forbidden City. While it boasted towering pavilions with soaring eaves, as well as terraces and waterside pavilions, its splendor still paled in comparison to the imperial gardens. However, the garden was lush with flowers and trees, and the intertwining vines and interplay of blossoms and bamboo bore a striking resemblance to Lin Hong's garden. Water features and rockeries were also arranged as scenery, using stones of exquisite beauty and varied shapes. By the pond, they were stacked into a hillock taller than the pavilions, with grottoes faintly visible within. A clear spring cascaded from the hilltop into the pond, its sound like the gentle clinking of jade, while mist rose from the water, bringing a refreshing coolness to passersby.
Seeing how clear and pure the water was, with not a single fish visible in the transparent pond, Zhenzhen couldn't help but exclaim, "This water is so clear."
The maid guiding her inside replied, "Of course. This water is mountain spring water drawn from Phoenix Mountain—clear and sweet. It's often used for cooking in the residence."
"Phoenix Mountain?" Zhenzhen asked in surprise. "Although Phoenix Mountain isn't far from here, bringing water here must be quite difficult. Did they have to dig many channels?"
The maid shook her head. "Not channels. I heard they used large bamboo pipes... I'm not sure exactly how it was done."
At that moment, the gentle sound of a zither drifted over, interrupting Zhenzhen's thoughts. She recognized the piece as "Flowing Water," which she had heard Lin Hong discuss. Looking around, she saw no sign of the musician and couldn't tell where the music was coming from.
Noticing the maid observing her reaction to the music, Zhenzhen smiled and said, "How coincidental to hear 'Flowing Water' by the water—it fits the scene perfectly."
"It's no coincidence," the maid explained calmly. "The Prince's residence employs many musicians. Following Lady of Chen's instructions, they are usually scattered throughout the garden, hidden behind flowers, trees, or rocks. When they see visitors, they play music that matches the surroundings to entertain them."
Zhenzhen then paid closer attention and found that, just as the maid had said, as she moved from one area to another, the music changed accordingly, each piece harmonizing with the scenery. The instruments included not only the zither but also the xiao, flute, sheng, zheng, ruan, and pipa, yet the musicians remained completely hidden, leaving no trace of their presence.
What most astonished Zhenzhen, however, was the arrangement of her duties in the Prince's residence.The kitchen of the Prince of Yanping's residence occupied several courtyards, covering a vast area. Based on the maid's continuous explanations as they passed through the buildings, Zhenzhen roughly understood that this large kitchen was divided into smaller kitchens, each responsible for wine, meat, vegetables, fruits, pickles, and so on. The layout seemed similar to that of the Bureau of Palace Provisions, yet not entirely.
Zhenzhen finally arrived in the main hall and met Yan Shiniang, the head cook in charge of the large kitchen. According to Cheng Yuan's earlier remarks, Zhenzhen had assumed she would be assigned to make pastries, as the pastry cooks in the Prince of Yanping's residence seemed somewhat incompetent. However, she gradually realized this was not the case.
When Yan Shiniang saw Zhenzhen, she showed no sign of pleasure, instead appearing as if she had encountered a heavy burden. After flipping through a thick, ledger-like register for a long time, she finally frowned and said, "All the kitchens are basically full. Only the bun kitchen has an opening. You can go there."
Zhenzhen agreed and tentatively asked, "So, I'll mainly be responsible for making buns from now on?"
"Making buns won't be your job for now," Yan Shiniang sneered. "First, go carve scallion threads."
Based on Yan Shiniang's attitude, Zhenzhen deduced that Cifu Palace had given no special instructions regarding her transfer to the Prince of Yanping's residence. Thus, Yan Shiniang regarded her as a demoted maid who had made a mistake and treated her accordingly. However, Zhenzhen adapted to her circumstances and did not consider being undervalued in the kitchen as particularly unacceptable. Instead, she quite enjoyed the leisure that came with the position of carving scallion threads.
Zhenzhen first encountered the term "carving scallion threads" in Official Liu's Jade Food Commentary. Later, she emulated it, instructing Fengxian and others to create an extravagant broken-engagement banquet that astonished Pujiang. She later learned that the Director of Palace Catering originally oversaw the meals of the imperial family and nobility, which explained why the dishes involved were so lavish. However, after entering the palace, she discovered that although imperial cuisine was exquisite, based on what she had seen so far, it did not seem as extravagant as the dishes listed by Official Liu. The Bureau of Palace Provisions also did not have a dedicated person for carving scallion threads. Unexpectedly, she now encountered it in the Prince's residence.
The head of the bun kitchen, Sister Yu, was a woman in her forties, amiable and quite friendly toward Zhenzhen. She personally taught Zhenzhen how to separate scallions into threads as fine as hair, as well as how to carve patterns such as auspicious cloud motifs, swastika patterns, auspicious grass designs, lotus flower patterns, and intertwining vine motifs. Zhenzhen couldn't help but ask, "These scallion thread patterns don't affect the taste of the buns. Does anyone actually look at them?"
"Yes, indeed. Back when Grand Tutor Qi hosted grand banquets, he would order us to carve scallion threads. During the banquet, no one would point it out to the guests, but when they discovered it themselves, they would naturally marvel at the opulence of the Grand Tutor's residence," Sister Yu explained. "Nowadays, the Prince of Yanping doesn't value such things, but the Lady of the house still insists on having a dedicated person carve scallion threads. Although they are no longer used for entertaining guests, the Lady occasionally has them made just to look at."
Grateful for Sister Yu's care, Zhenzhen voluntarily helped her with tasks. Noticing that Sister Yu had a habit of eating midnight snacks, Zhenzhen often asked her what she wanted to eat and would prepare it in the kitchen in the evening to deliver to her.One night, Second Sister Yu said she wanted to eat crisp seal pastries, so Zhenzhen went alone to the small kitchen to fry them. The warm, rich aroma of the pastry oil filled the air, tempting Zhenzhen to try two pieces herself. The taste was as sweet and fragrant as she had imagined, but shortly after, she thought eating such rich food at night might leave one parched. So she rolled out some thin dough wrappers, used the leftover fresh meat from the day’s steamed buns to wrap a few wontons, and dropped them into a broth with dried shrimp and seaweed, sprinkling some shredded scallions on top. She then went to find a food container to pack everything for Second Sister Yu when she suddenly heard a faint sound not far behind her. Turning around, she saw a refined-looking man standing by the door. Zhenzhen looked closely and recognized him as Yin Qi, whom she had met once before in the palace.
Yin Qi wore loose robes, untied and without a belt, and he wasn’t wearing a headscarf. His hair was disheveled, as if he had just woken from a dream. His gaze was unsteady and somewhat dazed, and he was breathing lightly, as if he had hurried over at a jog.
Yin Qi stared at the full plate of crisp seal pastries on the table for a long while before turning his attention to Zhenzhen. When he saw her clearly, his eyes lit up as if recognizing an old friend. Zhenzhen thought to herself that this young master had sharp eyes, recognizing her after only one meeting. She offered him a gentle smile and was about to bow and address him as “Eldest Young Master” when Yin Qi strode swiftly toward her. With slightly trembling hands, he grabbed one of Zhenzhen’s sleeves, brought it to his face, and buried his head in it, inhaling deeply the scent from her sleeve.
Startled, Zhenzhen quickly pulled her sleeve from his grasp and took a step back.
Yin Qi’s gaze, gentle as moonlight, swept over her. A moment later, a bright, pure smile, like that of a child, appeared on his face. “Aunt,” he called her softly.
Zhenzhen was stunned—no one had ever addressed her with such a respectful title—and then awkwardly replied, “Eldest Young Master, there’s no need to be so formal. Everyone in the household calls me by my name…”
“Aunt,” Yin Qi ignored her words and called her again. Then he stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Zhenzhen’s shoulders, and whispered in her ear, “You’ve finally returned.”
With that, as if relieved of a great burden, he rested his head gently on her shoulder, closed his eyes, and wore a serene smile.
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