Now that the matter was out in the open, the Emperor no longer pushed for the Crown Prince to take Zhenzhen. This was a tacit approval of the future marriage between Lin Hong and Zhenzhen. The Empress even thoughtfully arranged an opportunity for Zhenzhen to meet with Lin Hong.
The Gathering Scenery Garden was projected to be completed in the fifth or sixth month. The Emperor had originally planned to hold a grand celebration in the garden to welcome the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager said there was no need for such a fuss. A simple Informal Banquet would suffice, with no need to invite too many people—just close family and relatives to enjoy a few seasonal dishes.
The Empress thus summoned Zhenzhen and told her, “From what I gather of the Empress Dowager’s meaning, she does not want the usual delicacies of mountain and sea served at past banquets. The dishes must be seasonal, but you absolutely must not interpret this as ordinary vegetarian fare. They must be creative to please Her Majesty. I imagine the Expositive Officer could devise a solution. Since you are both skilled in culinary arts and can speak with him, why don’t you go and discuss with him how this Informal Banquet should be arranged.”
Zhenzhen naturally accepted the order at once. For the past few days, the Emperor had often had Lin Hong bring freshly bloomed branches from the Gathering Scenery Garden to Jiaming Hall in the afternoon to arrange a vase of flowers for him. The Empress then informed the Emperor about the Informal Banquet and asked for his permission to let Zhenzhen consult with Lin Hong in Jiaming Hall. The Emperor was well aware of her intentions, but he couldn't be bothered to argue about it now and readily agreed.
On this day, Lin Hong arrived at Jiaming Hall with some newly opened, crimson-red flowering quince. The Emperor was not in the hall. Shi Huai'en explained that Consort Liu’s health had been poor since her recent pregnancy, so The Emperor often accompanied her for lunch. Today was no different. He had left word beforehand for Lin Hong to make himself at home and to tell Shi Huai'en if he needed anything.
Lin Hong sat down and began arranging the flowers. A short while later, Zhenzhen entered with tea and told him about the Informal Banquet. Lin Hong said, “This matter is not difficult, but I will think about the specifics before discussing them with you. Fortunately, there is still some time before the garden’s completion, so there is no rush.”
Zhenzhen then sat down behind him and quietly watched him arrange the flowers. When he had finished one vase, she saw that there were still five branches left unused. She asked Shi Huai'en, who was also watching, “May I ask the Expositive Officer to teach me how to arrange flowering quince?”
Shi Huai'en agreed wholeheartedly and immediately fetched another square bronze zun vessel for her to use as a vase.
Lin Hong told her the approximate length to which she should trim the branches and the method for bending them. He then stood up, yielding the desk to her, and invited her to arrange the flowers herself.
The floral style Lin Hong taught her required at least five branches, and there were only five branches of material left, leaving no room for selection. Among these five, some were half-withered with almost no flowers, some had only buds, and only one had a single, lonely flower blooming near its tip.
Zhenzhen focused her attention on that single blossom, thinking she must be careful and handle it gently, not letting it fall off. The entire arrangement depended on it for its presentation. Thus, the process of trimming and bending was done with extra caution, trying her best not to touch that one flower.
With this concern, she felt the flower arranging become even more difficult. The mouth of the bronze zun was wide, requiring a forked piece of wood to be trimmed and wedged into the opening. The trimmed branches were then inserted one by one into the forks. Finally, a quince branch was cut and placed horizontally behind the flower stems and above the forked wood, its ends fitting snugly against the inner walls of the zun to secure the arrangement. Zhenzhen expended a great deal of effort to fix the branches in the zun without touching the blossom.
After finishing the arrangement, Zhenzhen raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead and let out a quiet sigh of relief. She examined the flowering quince herself. In the distance were withered branches stretching diagonally backward, and in the foreground were buds reaching forward. In the very center, the branch she had so carefully protected held its blooming flower. Branches and leaves of varying heights served as accompaniment in front and behind. The curve of the branches’ waists was exceptionally graceful, similar to Lin Hong’s work. A sense of pride welled up in her heart. She stood up, stepped aside, and invited Lin Hong to comment, secretly anticipating his praise.
Lin Hong slowly walked over and sat down. He looked at the flower blooming in full glory on the branch, smiled faintly, then picked up the floral shears on the desk and reached toward the branch. With a clean, decisive snip, the flowering quince blossom that Zhenzhen had so carefully protected throughout the entire process fell with a soft sound.
“Ah…” Zhenzhen let out a stifled cry, her eyes wide as she watched the falling flower. She then looked at Lin Hong, utterly astonished.
“Why?” she asked, bewildered. “That was my only blooming flower. Now that you’ve cut it, only withered branches and buds are left.”
“You cared too much for it,” Lin Hong said gently, his gaze fixed on Zhenzhen. “Withered branches are a past from which we can learn, and buds are a future we can anticipate. Both are worthy of our cherish. But a fully bloomed flower is the splendor of the present. It may wither tomorrow, so there is no need to be too attached.”
Zhenzhen was once again won over by Teacher Lin’s Zen wisdom. Yet, looking at the clipped flower, a vague sense of foreboding washed over her. These past days had gone too smoothly; everything seemed to have reached the best possible outcome. Was this the “splendor of the present”?
Seeing that they had finished arranging the flowers, Shi Huai'en called over two Junior Eunuchs serving in the hall to fetch water and clean up. He then said to Zhenzhen, “Leave the hall to us. Director Wu and the Expositive Officer should go back and rest early.”
Zhenzhen said, “I still have some questions about flower arranging to ask the Expositive Officer.”
Shi Huai'en smiled and nodded repeatedly. “I understand, I understand. Please, feel free.” As he spoke, he backed out of the room.
Having accompanied Zhenzhen to Suzhou, he had long since seen the affection between the two. He understood Zhenzhen’s little intentions and was willing to help them come to fruition, so he was happy to give them some space alone.
After Shi Huai'en left, Lin Hong didn’t ask Zhenzhen what she wanted to inquire about. With a faint, almost imperceptible smile, he turned and silently began to clear away the leftover branches she had left on the desk.
Back at the Woodcutter Inquiry Post, whether in the kitchen or the study, he would never help Zhenzhen clean up the aftermath of her cooking or flower arranging. If she forgot to clean up, he would wear a cold expression until she realized her mistake and took action herself. But now, he was actually taking the initiative to help her clean up, a clear sign that he treated her differently than before.
At this thought, Zhenzhen’s heart felt as if it had been struck by something, rippling with a thousand threads of tenderness. She couldn’t help but draw near to Lin Hong, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and resting her right cheek against his back.
His movements paused. Then, he said calmly, “Let go… someone will come.”
She only hugged him tighter. “I don’t care. You have to answer a question for me first.”
“What is it?” he asked.
She buried her head low, hiding the smile that was about to escape. “When will you be improper with me again?”
He shuddered, and the leftover branches in his hand scattered across the desk. But that no longer mattered. With a sweep of his arm, he brushed all the branches and leaves from the table onto the floor. Then he turned, and with the speed of lightning, he lifted her in a spin and set her down on the desk.
He slightly curled the index and middle fingers of both hands, rapping his knuckles on the surface of the desk on either side of her slender waist. Though he maintained a slight distance, he had her half-imprisoned, leaving her no room to escape.
His dark, luminous eyes held a shadowy smile as he gradually leaned in closer to her.
She felt as if she were being spun into the depths of his gaze, a sensation of drowning that left her breathless. Now facing outward, the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of the wide-open main doors. A sudden panic seized her, and she couldn’t help but regret her provocative words. She kicked his knee lightly with the tip of her foot and said, “Hey, hey, someone will come!”
He did not stop his approach.
Growing more nervous, she pressed her hands against his shoulders to resist. “The palace rules are strict, you shouldn’t knowingly…”
The word “violate” never left her lips, because just as he was about to touch her face, he closed his eyes and brushed his eyelashes against her left cheek. She instantly felt a string connecting her head to her toes pull taut, sending a shiver through her entire body.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the heart-pounding sensation to fade. When she opened them again to look at him, she saw he was still composed, gazing at her with a smile. A mix of shame and annoyance washed over her. Throwing caution to the wind, she reached her hands from his shoulders to wrap around his neck, forcing him to lower his head as she recklessly pressed her lips against his.
He was not one to be outdone. Just as her lips were about to pull away, he decisively kissed her back.
She was the spring wind blowing into his parched heart; she was the floral scent come to break his quiet Zen meditation. As he rose and fell in the waves of his own making, he thought dimly that he was savoring this unplanned, knowing transgression.
At the end of the third month, Princess Yijia, born to Consort Liu, celebrated her first birthday. The Emperor had wanted to hold a banquet in the palace and invite many guests to celebrate, but Liu Luowei dissuaded him. “She is just a girl, and only turning one,” Liu Luowei said. “There’s no need to spend so much money and celebrate with such fanfare. I fear it might diminish her blessings and shorten her life. Why not just have a small banquet in Furong Pavilion? Our own family can sit together and say a few auspicious words for her, and that will be enough.”
The Emperor thought it made sense and agreed. Liu Luowei immediately made another request, “May we invite the Expositive Officer that day? The princess’s pet name was chosen by him. We haven’t seen each other since we last parted at Furong Pavilion, and I’ve never had the chance to thank him.”
The princess’s beautiful formal name, “Yijia,” was chosen by the Emperor, but her pet name, “Ruying,” was chosen by Lin Hong. At the time, the Emperor had been struggling to find a satisfactory name for the princess. It so happened that Lin Hong came to report on a matter, so the Emperor asked him to think of one. After a moment’s thought, Lin Hong said, “How about the characters ‘Ruying’? The Laozi says: ‘In concentrating your breath to achieve softness, can you be like an infant?’ An infant is pure and innocent, its vital energy abundant. It is said that poisonous insects, fierce beasts, and vicious birds will not harm a newborn baby. I hope the little princess can always maintain the pure heart of an infant, her spirit calm and her breath tranquil, unharmed by external things and undisturbed by the mortal world, and live a life of peace and good fortune.”
The Emperor repeatedly praised it as wonderful and adopted it as the princess’s pet name. Now, hearing Liu Luowei mention Lin Hong’s contribution again, the Emperor gladly agreed to invite him to the family banquet.
Liu Luowei added, “It’s just a family banquet at Furong Pavilion. If Your Majesty trusts me, then please don’t bring the Director of Palace Catering. In any case, I am the one who decides on the menu. Is Your Majesty afraid I will put something in the food and must bring someone to taste it first?”
The Emperor laughed. “Having someone taste the imperial meals first is a rule set by our ancestors. But since you dislike it, I won’t bring the Director of Palace Catering to your pavilion. Besides, you’ve tasted everything I eat and drink here. What is there for me not to trust?”
Liu Luowei pouted. “You bring that up again! I used to accompany Your Majesty every day, and I was the one who tasted the imperial meals in Jiaming Hall first. As soon as Wu Zhenzhen arrived, you no longer wanted me to be involved.”
The Emperor pulled her into an embrace and soothed her in a soft voice, “Wasn’t I just worried that raising a child is hard work for you, and you wouldn’t be able to manage matters of food and drink as well? Your own diet requires extra caution and someone to taste it first, so how could I trouble you to taste mine first?”
Liu Luowei said irritably, “You’re just trying to placate me. You only keep Wu Zhenzhen by your side at all times because you’ve taken a fancy to her!”
The Emperor laughed heartily. “In my eyes, she’s just a little girl of my son’s generation. Besides, she’s about to be married.”
Liu Luowei was taken aback. “Married? Who is she marrying?”
The Emperor’s smile deepened. “Let the Expositive Officer tell you.”
On the day of Princess Yijia’s birthday, Lin Hong came to the luncheon at Furong Pavilion as invited. During the banquet, the people in the pavilion frequently toasted the princess, and the Emperor drank on her behalf. After the feast, the Emperor was thoroughly drunk. Liu Luowei had him helped to the bedchamber to sleep, then ordered her maids to set up a tea table in the garden and invited Lin Hong for tea.
With the matter of Wu Zhenzhen on her mind, Liu Luowei made small talk with Lin Hong for a moment before saying to him, “Recently, I’ve heard some rumors, saying that you and Director Wu…”
“I was just about to speak with Your Ladyship about this,” Lin Hong said, pausing slightly to look at the maidservant preparing tea beside them. Liu Luowei understood and immediately ordered the maids to withdraw to a distance, leaving only Granny Yu, who was always by her side, behind her.
Lin Hong took out a small black lacquer box and presented it to Liu Luowei. She opened it to see a shimmering jadeite bracelet nestled in the brocade lining. It was a translucent, vibrant green all over, with an excellent watery luster.
Lin Hong began to explain the story behind it. “When you left home for the capital all those years ago, Sister, I chased you down to the riverbank at the foot of the mountain. I went to grab your wrist, but you struggled, and your hand slipped out of the jadeite bracelet I was holding. In my haste, I threw the bracelet aside to grab you again, but you had already told the boatman to push off… That bracelet fell to the ground and shattered. Later, after a long and careful search, I finally found a piece of jadeite of a quality close to your bracelet. I spent a long time carving and polishing it myself, and this year, I finally finished it.”
Liu Luowei smiled. “A bracelet is no great matter. It’s rare that you’ve kept it in mind all this time and spent so much effort carving another one.”
With that, she took out the jade bracelet and admired it, turning it over in her hands.
“I have always carried this bracelet with me. Now, the time has come to return it to you, Sister,” Lin Hong paused, then added, “I am getting married. She is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. The past is past, and I do not wish for her to have any misunderstandings because of this object.”
Liu Luowei’s smile froze. She placed the bracelet back in the box, looked at Lin Hong again, and asked, “Who are you marrying?”
“Wu Zhenzhen.”
“Heh.” Hearing him personally speak the answer she had expected, Liu Luowei still couldn’t help but feel a wave of shock, which was immediately followed by a cold laugh.
The two faced each other in silence for a moment. Liu Luowei then asked Lin Hong, “Do you like her very much?”
Lin Hong raised his eyes and said firmly, “It’s love.”
Liu Luowei took a deep breath and turned her head to gaze at the distant, drifting clouds. After a moment, she turned back, a smile on her face once more, and asked in a soft, gentle voice, “Hong Ning, that silver needle, do you still carry it with you?”
Lin Hong was startled, his brow furrowed as he stared at her.
“Before our aunt passed away, she gave you the silver needle and told you not to forget what happened to our uncle. For many years since, you have carefully followed your mother’s last wish, carrying it with you wherever you go.” Liu Luowei continued to smile faintly, leading him to recall that cruel old memory. “But you won’t need to carry it with you anymore. As for what happened to our uncle, you’ll be able to remember just by looking at the person by your pillow.”
Confused and uneasy, Lin Hong pressed in a low voice, “What are you trying to say?”
Liu Luowei met his gaze, her eyes fixed on his, and said, word by word, “Wu Zhenzhen is Zhang Yunqiao’s daughter.”
Lin Hong was instantly speechless, but he stared at her with a tightly knitted brow, his searching gaze seeming to want to pierce into the depths of her eyes.
“You don’t believe me?” Liu Luowei sneered, then lowered her eyes, her expression sorrowful. “When have I ever lied to you, Sister? I’m only saying this now because I can’t bear to see the wife you face day and night become a needle that pierces your heart even more.”
Liu Luowei began to recount the entanglements between Zhang Yunqiao, Official Liu, and Wu Qiuniang, as well as the truth of Wu Zhenzhen’s parentage. Granny Yu had been watching silently from behind Liu Luowei. Seeing Lin Hong listening in a daze, she stopped Liu Luowei from continuing, summoned two palace attendants, and had them escort Lin Hong back.
After Lin Hong had left, Granny Yu gracefully stepped forward, took Liu Luowei’s hand, and gently advised, “The wind is picking up. Your Ladyship should go inside. Be careful not to catch a chill.”
She led Liu Luowei into her own room, closed the door, and then her expression changed abruptly. She swung her hand and slapped Liu Luowei across the face.
“What were you doing, telling Lin Hong all that?” she said angrily. “Wu Zhenzhen is so capable of stirring up trouble. If she stays in the palace, she’ll ruin our grand plan sooner or later. Given Lin Hong’s temperament, he won’t stay in the capital for long. What’s so bad about letting Wu Zhenzhen go back with him to Mount Wuyi and be a country couple?”
“She can marry anyone, but not Hong Ning!” Liu Luowei cried sorrowfully, clutching her struck cheek. “Hong Ning is the only person in this world who truly loves me!”
Granny Yu froze. Looking at Liu Luowei sobbing uncontrollably before her, her anger gradually faded. After a moment, she said coldly, “You’ve ruined their good fortune, so just you wait and see. In the future, Wu Zhenzhen will either be taken by The Emperor or be bestowed by him upon the Crown Prince. When she becomes a consort or an empress, she’ll have you begging at her feet.”
“That won’t happen.” Liu Luowei wiped the tears from her face and lifted her head defiantly. “I won’t let that happen.”
OpenNovel