“This servant had absolutely no intention of stirring up trouble — this servant simply spoke too hastily and could not hold her tongue. Please have mercy, Female Official Ling, and pardon this servant just this once! This servant will never dare do so again.”
Hong Mei kowtowed repeatedly in apology, her face streaked with tears, a picture of pitiful distress.
Ling Jingshu was unmoved. She regarded her with a cold gaze for a long while before slowly parting her lips. “Since this is your first offense, it shall be overlooked. But if you ever harbor ill intent and deliberately stir up trouble again, I will personally report the matter to Her Majesty the Empress and see that you are dealt with severely.”
Hong Mei expressed her thanks, wiped her tears away with her sleeve, and then shrank back to her feet, not daring to raise her head again.
The other maids had watched Hong Mei’s attempt at currying favor end in reprimand instead, and each of them felt a private jolt of caution. Without any prior arrangement, they all quietly put aside whatever contempt they had been harboring.
This newly arrived Female Official Ling — young as she was — was no easy mark.
Ling Jingshu let her gaze sweep deliberately across each face in turn, her voice measured and unhurried. “I have been shown trust and favor by Her Majesty the Empress in being summoned here. Now that I have taken on these duties, I will serve with wholehearted dedication and will not betray the generosity Her Majesty has shown me.”
“For those of you who have come to serve under me — let us consider it a bond of fate. I hope we can all work together in harmony and tend to the plants and flowers properly.”
“I will also speak plainly from the start. If anyone harbors any improper thoughts and schemes in the shadows, and I come to discover it — I will show no leniency whatsoever.”
No one dared be remiss. They assented together.
Having delivered that sharp warning, Ling Jingshu quickly smoothed out her brow and smiled warmly once more. “Very well, there is no need for everyone to be tense. Let each person now speak in order about the tasks they handle day to day. Hong Mei, you go first.”
After this combination of firm warning and gentle invitation, Hong Mei was considerably more docile, and obediently described her duties. The other maids followed in turn, answering one by one.
Ling Jingshu listened carefully, committing everything to memory.
……
It was much as she had anticipated beforehand.
The great expanses of plants and trees were situated within the Imperial Garden. What was kept within Jiaofang Palace consisted mostly of potted specimens. Some needed to be carried into sunlight each day; others were to be kept in shaded spots. Some required watering; others required pruning. There was also regular pest removal, and so on.
For such routine tasks, six people were more than sufficient.
The real difficulty lay in the yearly cultivation of new peony varieties to be presented to Empress Xu.
Each year during the fourth month, when the peonies bloomed, Empress Xu would hold a flower-appreciation banquet. At that time, if no novel and beautiful new varieties of peony were on display, Empress Xu would most certainly mete out punishment.
Among the three maids Luo Yan had quietly retained, two of them were skilled at cultivating peonies. Within the peony house of Jiaofang Palace, twenty pots of new-variety peonies had already been cultivated — all carefully tended by those two maids.
It was now the first month of the year. Those new-variety peonies had only just begun to sprout. If no one tended to them with care and attention, who could say how many would still manage to bloom come the fourth month?
That Luo Yan — she had indeed harbored ill intentions from the start, and had deliberately set this obstacle in her path.
If she had truly done as Hong Mei suggested and gone to ask Luo Yan for the maids back — either she would have to humble herself and beg Luo Yan, or she would have to make a scene and report the matter to Empress Xu. The former meant swallowing her pride and placing herself beneath Luo Yan; the latter would make her look like an aggressive, hot-headed newcomer with no sense of proportion. Even if it were brought before Empress Xu, Luo Yan could produce a string of excuses to deflect the blame.
And in the end, the one who would be humiliated was herself!
At this thought, a sardonic smile tugged at the corner of Ling Jingshu’s lips.
What a clever Luo Yan! What a fine show of force!
She had no choice but to bide her time and endure Empress Xu’s shows of force for now — and yet even a mere Luo Yan thought she could strut and swagger before her. That was a gross miscalculation.
Ling Jingshu swiftly made up her mind and gave the maids their instructions. “Each of you carry on with your usual tasks for today. Hong Mei, lead me on a circuit of Jiaofang Palace first so I can familiarize myself with the surroundings, and then we will go to the peony house.”
Hong Mei answered respectfully.
……
Exquisite potted plants were to be found at every turn within Jiaofang Palace. With the weather still cold, most had not yet put out new shoots or leaves. Some potted trees and shrubs were evergreen through all four seasons, adding a trace of greenery to the palace grounds.
“All of these plants and trees are very well cared for.” Gazing at the lushly vibrant potted specimens, a calm and pleasant feeling settled over Ling Jingshu, and she smiled in appreciation. “You have all clearly given considerable attention to your work on ordinary days.”
Hong Mei was considerably more guarded in what she said now. “To be assigned to duty within Jiaofang Palace is an honor for us — how could we possibly slack off?”
Ling Jingshu glanced at Hong Mei but said nothing.
Jiaofang Palace was a place of constant comings and goings; one had to take special care with every word, lest it be overheard by the wrong ears.
After spending the better part of an hour making a full round of Jiaofang Palace, Ling Jingshu instructed Hong Mei to lead her to the peony house.
The peony house stood at the northwest corner of Jiaofang Palace. It had been constructed from fine bamboo and was designed to shelter the plants from wind and rain while allowing in sunlight. Seen from a distance, it looked quite refined and elegant. The faint fragrance characteristic of bamboo drifted gently over.
Aside from the maids who came specifically to tend to the peonies, few people came to this secluded corner, making it a very quiet place.
Stepping inside the peony house, she saw that bamboo frames of varying heights had been constructed within as well, with flower pots of all shapes and sizes arranged atop them — every single one planted with peonies.
At a rough count, there were at least a hundred pots.
Ling Jingshu fell in love with the place almost the instant she laid eyes on it, and began making her way through the peony house with keen interest, stopping now and then to bend close for a careful look.
Hong Mei followed behind Ling Jingshu, and seeing her so absorbed and enthralled, could not help but ask, “Does Female Official Ling also know how to grow peonies?”
Ling Jingshu gave a casual hum.
She had loved peonies since childhood, spending the greater part of her leisure hours in the garden. Since her rebirth, her mind had been occupied with only two things: curing Ling Xiao’s eye ailment, and taking revenge for the wrongs she had suffered. A sense of ease and calm like the one she felt at this moment was something she had not known since the days of her previous life spent within the inner chambers of her home.
Ling Jingshu examined each pot carefully one by one, and by the time she finished, it was nearly noon.
Hong Mei then ventured cautiously to ask, “Female Official Ling — what is to become of this peony house? Who will be taking care of it?”
The two maids who had originally been responsible for the peony house had both been taken away by Luo Yan. If Luo Yan refused to release them, who would tend to the peony house?
Ling Jingshu smiled serenely. “Rest assured — I will personally tend to the peony house from here on.”
What?
Hong Mei was startled, and blurted out without thinking, “How could Female Official Ling do such rough work herself!”
Setting aside the matter of doing rough work — what mattered more was that many of the peonies here were new varieties cultivated just the year before, and it was uncertain whether they would even survive to bloom this year. For Ling Jingshu to take this on so rashly — what if things went wrong?
Hong Mei’s doubt and worry were written plainly across her face.
Ling Jingshu read her thoughts completely, but offered not a single word of explanation. She only said, “That is how it will be for now. Starting tomorrow, you will come to the peony house with me to work.”