Beijing was dotted with temples and monasteries, many of which cultivated famous flowers to attract visitors. Over time, this became a tradition. For instance, the Xuandu Temple was known for its peach blossoms, the Tangchang Temple for its jade bud flowers, the Dongling Temple for its holly, the Jinxian Temple for its bamboo, and the Great Ci’en Temple for its peonies. All were renowned. Since it was a peony flower show to be enjoyed by the public, the Great Ci’en Temple naturally became the best venue for the competition.
On this day, Mudan, accompanied by Madam Cen, Madam Xue, and Erlang, arrived early at Jinchang Ward with four carefully selected peonies for the competition. As soon as they entered the ward, the streets were bustling with people, carriages, and horses. Near the Great Ci’en Temple, countless people crowded the entrance, making it impassable. Upon seeing someone bringing peonies, people swarmed forward, all wanting to be first. There were also ill-intentioned ruffians hiding in the crowd who had been paid off, taking the opportunity to damage others’ flower branches, causing great distress to the flower owners and leading to numerous disputes.
In such circumstances, safely transporting the few peonies covered with colorful silk into the temple was a formidable task. Mudan had the carriage stop in a corner of the street, not daring to unload the flowers. She instructed Guizi, “Go find Young Master Lü. Tell him about the situation out here and ask if he has any way to maintain order. Otherwise, this flower show can’t proceed.”
Guizi was about to leave when they saw Jiang Changyang, Madam Wang, and a middle-aged man with a square face, beautiful beard, bright eyes, and scholarly demeanor, wearing a pine-flower colored round-collared narrow-sleeved robe, riding tall horses approaching. As Madam Wang dismounted, she smiled and said, “Danniang, why are you hiding here? Fortunately, Dalang has good eyesight. Otherwise, we would have rushed into the temple to look for you in vain.”
Mudan hurried to support her, complaining, “I don’t dare go in. I was about to send someone to find a solution. I don’t know what’s wrong with this flower show. There’s no one maintaining order outside, and those ruffians are causing trouble as they please. In the blink of an eye, I’ve already seen two peonies broken and three pots shattered.”
The middle-aged man frowned and said, “This is ridiculous.” He then turned to someone dressed as an attendant and said, “Go in and ask who’s in charge of security here.” The attendant bowed and hurried inside.
Judging by his behavior, Mudan guessed he must be the legendary Anxi Military Governor, Fang Bohui. Although he looked more like a scholar, his demeanor just now was quite authoritative. Oddly, Madam Wang didn’t introduce him and pretended not to know him, only chatting with Madam Cen. Mudan glanced at Jiang Changyang, who nodded to confirm her guess and then smiled, saying, “This is my adoptive father.”
Madam Cen’s eyes flashed as she quickly assessed Fang Bohui before stepping forward to greet him again. Fang Bohui smiled and returned the greeting. Without Jiang Changyang’s introduction, he surprisingly pointed out and named each member of the He family. Guessing Madam Cen, Madam Xue, Erlang, and Mudan wasn’t surprising, but amazingly, he could even identify Feng Danian, Yuhe, and Master Li the florist, even using hand gestures to communicate with Master Li. With his elder’s demeanor, friendly attitude, and witty humor, he quickly won over the He family’s hearts.
Seeing Fang Bohui welcomed by the He family, Madam Wang was delighted, smiling at him when not speaking. However, when Fang Bohui turned to smile at her, she put on a very haughty expression. Fang Bohui looked at her as if she were a child, giving only an indulgent smile before personally handing a gold-embossed invitation to Madam Cen, inviting her to bring the He family to attend their wedding banquet.
Madam Wang seemed a bit shy, turning her face away to pretend to watch the commotion: “Finally, someone’s come to manage things. Oh, look at that big peony tree!”
Mudan turned to look and saw a group of armed soldiers emerge from the Great Ci’en Temple, quickly dispersing the crowd at the entrance and catching several troublemakers who tried to escape. The chaotic scene quickly became orderly. Almost simultaneously, six strong men carefully carried over a peony tree about ten feet tall with a diameter of over five feet. The tree was in full bloom, its branches densely covered with pink and white flowers. Mudan estimated there were at least one or two hundred blossoms.
As soon as this flower appeared, it attracted everyone’s attention, with people excitedly shouting “Flower King.” However, in Mudan’s view, it was merely a Danfeng white rootstock with Zhao pink and Bai Jade varieties extensively grafted onto it. In other words, it was similar to a multi-grafted tree, but with too few varieties grafted. If not for its large size and numerous flowers, it wouldn’t be anything special.
Guizi reminded Mudan, “It must be either from the Lü family of Luoyang or from Cao Wanrong.”
Sure enough, Cao Wanrong, Lü Chun, and their entourage arrived, carrying seven pots of peonies covered with colorful silk, looking proud and energetic. According to the flower show rules, each household could select four peonies to participate in the competition. It seemed these remaining seven pots were the other entries from Cao Wanrong and others. Those kept for last and not easily shown were often the trump cards, the lifesavers. Compared to the “Flower King” that people had just crowded around, Mudan was more interested in these seven flowers hidden under colorful silk. She exchanged a glance with Master Li, both seeing excitement in each other’s eyes.
Madam Wang casually said, “Danniang, what did you bring for the show? Let me see.”
Mudan quickly led Madam Wang to the carriage to look. Besides the two early-blooming multi-grafted varieties, she had also selected forced-blooming Yao Yellow and Bean Green peonies. On such an occasion, it would have been better if she could present unique peonies she had cultivated herself, but breeding unique peonies was a long-term project. She hadn’t been here long enough to cultivate them within a year, so she had to take a clever and safe approach.
Not to mention the two multi-grafted peonies, just the precious Yao Yellow and Bean Green varieties were impressive. Yao Yellow was a flower king but a mid-season variety, while Bean Green was rare but a late-blooming variety. It wasn’t yet their blooming season, and even the early bloomers only had a few sparse flowers. Only her two plants, after careful cultivation and forced blooming treatment, were now in full bloom, each bearing twenty-seven flowers. The blossoms were as large as bowls, full and brilliant. Compared to other Yao Yellow and Bean Green varieties, these truly deserved the title of flower king.
Twenty-seven flowers, thrice nine to perfection, what a clever thought. Madam Wang only looked once before chuckling, “Well, if you don’t win first place today, I’ll write my surname ‘Wang’ upside down.”
Fang Bohui humbly asked Jiang Changyang, “What character does ‘Wang’ become when written upside down?”
Doesn’t ‘Wang’ written upside down still read ‘Wang’? Everyone smiled knowingly. Madam Wang, somewhat embarrassed and angry, said, “Then I’ll write ‘Wang’ horizontally.”
She didn’t realize she was already walking horizontally. Fang Bohui smiled and said no more. Madam Wang saw his expression and knew what he was thinking. When others weren’t paying attention, she glared at him fiercely, but then found it amusing herself and laughed, “My ‘Wang’ surname is most advantageous when making vows. Unlike the ‘Fang’ surname, which ends up with two feet in the air when turned upside down.”
Fang Bohui didn’t argue with her. He smiled and ordered his subordinates to help the He family’s servants carefully unload the peonies from the carriage. He and Jiang Changyang, one on each side, personally escorted the four pots of flowers safely into the Great Ci’en Temple. Mudan wasn’t as famous as Lü Chun and Cao Wanrong, so no one was curious about her. However, those who recognized Fang Bohui and Jiang Changyang were very curious, whispering among themselves.
Upon entering the Great Ci’en Temple, someone came forward to ask for the flower owner’s name, then wrote name tags, giving half to Mudan to keep and inserting the other half into the flower pots. They were instructed to carry the flowers to the open space in front of the main hall for evaluation.
Seeing the thousands of peonies covered with colorful silk, Jiang Changyang worriedly asked Mudan, “Are you confident?”
There are always greater mountains beyond mountains and better people beyond people. Mudan was a bit nervous too. She took a light breath and said softly, “It should be fine.”
Jiang Changyang said, “If something happens, don’t take it too hard. We’re not after that empty fame. We’ll still grow our peonies, and Fang Garden won’t have fewer visitors. We’re not short of money either.”
Mudan puffed her cheeks and looked at him, saying seriously, “I won’t take it hard, but I am after that fame.”
Since she liked it so much, he’d let her have her way. Jiang Changyang said no more, using his sleeve as cover to quietly squeeze her hand in support.
More and more people arrived, not just flower owners participating in the show, but also many nobles and officials coming to watch. Soon, the entire Great Ci’en Temple was as noisy as a market. Mudan casually looked around and saw many familiar faces. There was Madam Qi and Princess Qinghua, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time, as well as Madam Dou, Xueniang, and her mother, and Pan Rong and Madam Bai. Indeed, everyone who could get in had come.
Before long, people began to take their seats in the front row reserved for judges. Lü Fang was undoubtedly one, but surprisingly, Liu Chang was also among them. There were also two monks and two men dressed as scholars whom Mudan didn’t recognize.
Yuhe whispered to Mudan, “Liu Chang can even judge peonies? Is it because he used to host flower-viewing banquets and was famous for his extravagance, so people think he’s an expert? He’s just riding on your reputation.”
Mudan smiled and asked curiously, “They say the Emperor personally ordered this event, so why don’t we see anyone presiding over it?”
“Isn’t that him?” Jiang Changyang pointed to the distance. They saw a middle-aged man of average build, about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, wearing a crimson robe with small floral patterns, a jade crown holding his hair, with a fair face and a slight beard. He walked unhurriedly to the central seat, greeting Lü Fang and others one by one, laughing and chatting, appearing extremely friendly.
Jiang Changyang said in a low voice, “That’s Prince Jing.” Prince Jing loved appreciating and growing flowers and employed many skilled florists like Master Li. Among all the royal family members and nobles in the court, no one was more suitable to host such a flower show than him.
Mudan quickly focused her attention. So this was Prince Jing, the one who remained unnoticed and silent, yet was omnipresent – the leisurely, wealthy Prince Jing.