Arriving at the pavilion door, Cheng Yuan straightened his attire, glanced left and right to ensure every detail was immaculate, then gently knocked.
Silence lingered within the pavilion for a moment. Standing outside, Cheng Yuan bowed slightly toward the interior and spoke unhurriedly, "It has been many days. I trust you are well, Madam?"
A response finally came from inside: "Enter."
A faint smile touched Cheng Yuan's lips as he retrieved a key from the silk pouch he carried, unlocking the padlock hanging on the door.
A graceful woman sat alone by the window in silence, gazing at the pale crescent moon in the sky. Only as he approached did she turn her head slightly toward him. Her flawless radiance, pure as moonlight, made the worldly dust he had carried through the day instantly fade away, leaving his mind clear and serene. A thread of tenderness unconsciously spread into his eyes.
He greeted her once more, addressing her courteously as "Madam Ju." She turned her face away indifferently, looking into the distance as she said, "I am Wu Qiuniang."
Cheng Yuan smiled but did not dwell on the matter. Glancing at the vessels on the table still filled with food, he asked Qiu Niang, "Does this fare still fail to please you, Madam?"
Qiu Niang did not answer. Cheng Yuan spoke again gently, "The cook in this garden is exceptionally skilled. Whatever you wish to eat, simply have someone inform her, and she will prepare it promptly."
Qiu Niang could not help but sneer. "Whom could I tell? The servants in this garden are either deaf or mute, and illiterate besides. Even when I need something out of the ordinary, I must gesture for half the day. Asking them to convey my wishes is harder than climbing to the heavens." She turned to meet Cheng Yuan's gaze, her cool smile tinged with mockery. "Master Cheng, however, may rest assured."
Cheng Yuan's smile remained gentle and refined, his deferential posture beyond reproach. "If you need anything, you may tell me now—it is just the same."
"Then," Qiu Niang made a request, "do not lock the pavilion door. Allow me to walk in the garden daily, and let me prepare my own three meals."
Cheng Yuan replied softly, "If I am not here, and you descend to stroll in the garden, the coarse slaves may serve inadequately, which could easily lead to trouble. It would be better to wait for a mild and pleasant day when I can personally escort you downstairs to admire the flowers. Moreover, as a person of noble stature, you deserve to reside in jade towers and jeweled halls. That you now dwell in this small garden is already a grievance—how could I dare trouble you with kitchen matters, allowing these jade fingers meant for tuning strings and playing the sheng to be stained by the waters of spring?"
When Cheng Yuan asked again about her dietary needs, Qiu Niang remained silent. He walked to the window, surveyed the garden scenery, then bowed slightly and asked Qiu Niang, "You have always loved rare and exquisite flowers. Among those now in the garden, are there one or two that have caught your eye?"
Qiu Niang still did not respond, simply closing her eyes.
"I have recently acquired a renowned flower—the qiong blossom you once mentioned to the late emperor many years ago." He paused briefly, observing that Qiu Niang showed no intention of opening her eyes, then continued, "The qiong blossom rarely survives outside Yangzhou. Fortunately, over the years I have devoted time to studying horticulture and achieved some success. I believe I can cultivate this qiong blossom well this time." He pointed to a spot by the pond in the garden, inviting Qiu Niang to look. "I have already prepared the flowerbed, right there."
Qiu Niang did not open her eyes as he wished; only the faint, cold curve at the corner of her lips revealed her disdain.
Cheng Yuan sighed helplessly, as if mocking himself, and murmured, "If you despise me, it matters not. But will you not even deign to behold the blossoms before your door?"This light and delicate sentence caused Qiu Niang's eyelashes to tremble slightly. She opened her eyes, her gaze towards Cheng Yuan filled with bewilderment and an indescribable pain. After a moment, she lifted her eyes to look at the pond outside the pavilion, allowing the rippling autumn water stirred by the evening breeze to sweep her into an old dream.
She did not know who her parents were. Since she could remember, she had lived in the Immortal Music Academy, adopted by several musicians and dancers. Because she was born in autumn when chrysanthemums bloomed everywhere, someone gave her the nickname "Ju An." Her foster mothers changed too frequently; she did not know which surname to take and refused to adopt any of theirs. Thus, everyone only called her by her name without a surname.
She encountered few kind foster mothers. Most treated her like a servant, scolding and beating her at the slightest disagreement. Occasionally, they taught her singing, dancing, and music, gradually discovering her astonishing talent in these arts.
Realizing her own strengths, she became even more diligent in practicing singing and dancing. While dodging the rods of her foster mothers, she secretly observed the dance moves of the most beautiful dancer in the Immortal Music Academy. Often, after her foster mother fell asleep, she would slip out of her room and dance alone repeatedly under the silent moonlight.
Finally, one day, when her foster mother raised a rod to strike her again, she lifted her hand to block it and said with a stern expression, "I heard that the head of the Yin troupe is ill and cannot perform the Liangzhou Dance before The Emperor tomorrow. The director of the Immortal Music Academy is anxious. Now, besides the head of the Yin troupe, I am the only one in the entire Immortal Music Academy who can perform the Liangzhou Dance. If you injure me, I fear it will be difficult to explain to the director and The Emperor."
Her foster mother was stunned, and the hand holding the rod immediately went limp.
The next day, as a replacement for the head of the Yin troupe, she was sent into the imperial palace by the director of the Immortal Music Academy in a desperate gamble. She danced under the intense gaze of the assembled guests, surrounded by celestial music, with flying petals filling her sleeves. At the peak of her dance, she felt her sleeves fluttering and her body light, as if she were about to transform into a goddess from a mural and vanish with the wind.
"Come, come, hold her back," she heard The Emperor on the throne chuckle softly.
A male dancer stepped forward to catch her swirling silk scarf, and she gradually stopped dancing.
The Emperor kindly asked her name. She said her name was "Ju An." "What is your surname?" he asked again.
She quietly lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. "No surname, just Ju An."
He paused for a moment, then regained his faint smile and ordered his attendants, "Bestow upon Ju Ji a golden-threaded robe, a peck of eastern pearls, and six pieces of spiral-shell ink."
That year, she was only fifteen.
After becoming famous for that dance, The Emperor often summoned her to perform before him, reciting poetry and admiring the moon. He also frequently asked her to accompany him. When she expressed a desire to study and learn to write, he even personally instructed her. To outsiders, the favor she received was no less than that of The Emperor's most beloved imperial consort. However, The Emperor never summoned her for intimacy or visited her. Year after year, she remained pure and innocent, accompanying him, dancing, until she rose to become the head of the Immortal Music Academy, the famous Ju troupe leader. She was respectfully called "Madam Ju," yet she was still not included among his imperial consorts.
Even so, she could not help but feel hostility from the Empress. Her actions were restricted in various ways; without a summons, she was not allowed to approach the Hall of Blessing and Tranquility or request an audience with The Emperor.
If she couldn't go, then she wouldn't. After all, he would come to find her. Ju An lifted her face to the warm spring sunlight, lazily lowering her eyelashes, which were gilded with a soft golden glow.Perhaps out of consideration for the Empress’s dignity, the Emperor had not summoned her for a long time. She waited and waited, gradually growing resentful. When the Emperor finally sent Cheng Yuan to summon her, she claimed she was weary and unwell, her appearance lacking, unfit to serve before His Majesty, and refused to comply.
After several such refusals, Ju An still would not answer the Emperor’s summons. Cheng Yuan grew deeply worried that she might provoke the Emperor’s anger, racking his brains to find tactful excuses on her behalf. Yet the Emperor seemed unperturbed. He said to Cheng Yuan, “Lady Ju is unlike others. Even with a cold face turned to the sky, she stirs pity. Why must she force a cheerful expression like the rest day after day?”
With that, he lifted his gaze beyond the curtain. The courtyard bloomed like brocade, a scene of radiant beauty. He smiled, then ordered Cheng Yuan to fetch brush and ink. On a sheet of azure-cloud spring-tree stationery, he wrote a few brief lines, folded it carefully, attached a sprig of cherry blossom, and commanded Cheng Yuan to deliver it to Lady Ju.
Ju An unfolded the floral note and silently read the words in her heart: “Even if you despise me, will you not come to see the orange blossoms before my house?”
Her eyes lingered over the note, tracing the characters tenderly, until her thoughts grew hazy, her heart warmed, and her resistance melted away. When Cheng Yuan again invited her to the Hall of Blessing and Tranquility, she no longer refused.
In the Hall of Blessing and Tranquility, the Emperor smiled and beckoned her closer. Dismissing the attendants, he sat alone with her beneath the eaves to admire the flowers. He told her the story behind the note: “Recently, I received an envoy from Japan. Discussing poetry between our nations, he presented several volumes of verse, said to be classics of his land. Upon reading them, I found one line particularly elegant and delightful. Today, it suited the mood and scene perfectly, so I wrote it on the floral note to share with you.” At this, he rose and added, “Those volumes are still in my chamber. I shall fetch them for you to see.”
As soon as he turned, Ju An stood and embraced him from behind, resting her cheek against his back. Her faint voice was nearly a sob: “Keep me by your side.”
She felt his body stiffen momentarily, but he quickly composed himself. Gently loosening her hands from his waist, he took her right hand instead and said softly, “How is your practice of the Slender Gold calligraphy? Come, show me.”
He led her to the writing desk, using brushes, ink, and copybooks to dissolve the earlier romance of blossoms and moonlight.
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Note: The line “Even if you despise me” is from the Man’yōshū.
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