Having left Luoyan speechless, Ling Jingshu felt the stifled frustration she had been holding back for so long vanish at once. She smiled and said, “I still need to get to the Peony House, so I won’t keep talking with you, Sister.”
Luoyan watched helplessly as Ling Jingshu’s slender figure walked away, her heart filled with an indescribable mix of resentment and frustration.
Hadn’t she just lifted a stone only to drop it on her own foot?
“Luoyan, what are you standing here daydreaming about all by yourself?” Qiu Shuang’s familiar voice sounded beside her. “Oh, your face doesn’t look too good either. Who’s bold enough to dare give you trouble?”
Her face was full of concern, yet her eyes gleamed with the kind of relish that only grows with more drama.
Luoyan, too, had a proud and competitive temperament, and naturally was unwilling to explain in detail. She answered evasively, “No one’s giving me any trouble — I just had nothing to do, so I’m standing here for a bit.”
Before Qiu Shuang could press further, she added, “I still have some things to take care of, so I won’t stay and chat. I’ll go on ahead.” With that, she hurried away.
Qiu Shuang let out a scoffing laugh.
Her words contradicted themselves — anyone could tell at a glance that she didn’t mean them.
It wasn’t hard to guess what was troubling Luoyan.
The flower-viewing banquet was drawing near. If Ling Jingshu presented a new peony variety that outshone all the rest, she would gain great glory and recognition — but that had nothing to do with Luoyan.
On the other hand, if the new peony variety wasn’t cultivated well and caused Empress Xu to lose face at the banquet, then given Empress Xu’s temperament, she would surely fly into a rage. At that point, Luoyan — who had secretly held back the maids — would not escape unscathed either.
Luoyan had set out wanting to give Ling Jingshu a hard lesson at the start, never expecting that she herself would end up the one riding the tiger, unable to get off.
What a fool she had been!
She might as well just sit back and watch the show unfold.
As she approached the Peony House, pot after pot of peonies hung with buds of every kind came into view.
A light breeze blew, carrying waves of fragrance into her nose. Her tangled, complicated emotions soon settled.
Bai Yu was bent over inspecting the buds. Hearing footsteps, she quickly straightened up and came forward to greet her. “Miss, why did your visit to Lingbo Hall take so long?”
Ling Jingshu answered casually, “On my way back just now, I ran into Luoyan and exchanged a few words with her.”
At the mention of Luoyan, Bai Yu couldn’t help pursing her lips. “Lately, people have often been wandering over to the Peony House. It must be Luoyan sending someone to spy on us. She probably wanted to laugh at our expense, but now that she knows the new peonies are growing so well, she’s likely panicking inside.”
“She wouldn’t be trying to push those two maids back on us, would she! Miss, you absolutely mustn’t go soft and pay her any mind. Once the flower-viewing banquet is over, we’ll see if she can still hold her head up in Jiaofang Hall.”
Bai Yu was usually generous and gentle by nature, so it was rare for her to speak so sharply. She must have truly been angered by Luoyan’s earlier provocations.
Ling Jingshu couldn’t help a small laugh. “Your guess is right, she did mean exactly that. But I’ve already turned her down.”
Bai Yu’s irritation eased at once, and she let go of the topic of Luoyan. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Miss, that matter at Lingbo Hall — was it something Consort Wei arranged on purpose?”
A complicated, subtle look flickered through Ling Jingshu’s eyes as she nodded slightly.
Bai Yu grew excited at once. “Consort Wei is truly so good to you, Miss! To think she’d sacrifice her own reputation just to let you escape unscathed. Such a debt of kindness is truly moving.”
She had not, however, connected any of it to Wei Yan.
Ling Jingshu lowered her eyes, hiding the emotion within them. “Yes, Consort Wei has indeed treated me very well. Just keep this in your own heart — don’t tell Qiao Yun.”
Bai Yu hesitated slightly before asking quietly, “Since that incident at Lingbo Hall happened so suddenly, I’m afraid Qiao Yun might grow suspicious too. What if she figures out the truth of the matter and reports it to His Highness the Crown Grandson?”
A flicker passed through Ling Jingshu’s eyes, and her voice turned unusually cold. “What if he does find out? It was his own recklessness and impulsiveness that left me with no face to show in the palace. Is no one even allowed to help me out of it?”
There seemed to be some other meaning behind these words.
Bai Yu’s heart stirred, and she wanted to ask further.
But Ling Jingshu had no wish to say more, and bent down to examine the peonies instead.
Time slipped by, and half a month passed in a hurry.
The weather grew warmer by the day, the sun mild and the breeze gentle. Most of the more than one hundred pots of peonies in the Peony House had burst into bloom — pink-white, goose-yellow, pale red, ink-green, deep purple — a riot of color, unrestrained in displaying the splendor unique to peonies.
Waves of rich fragrance drifted out on the clear breeze.
It wasn’t only Jiaofang Hall — most places throughout the palace were the same. The Imperial Garden in particular, planted thick with flowers and grasses, was filled with fragrance once the blooming season arrived, intoxicating to the senses.
More and more of the maids and eunuch attendants of Jiaofang Hall, with nothing else to do, came to the Peony House to admire the flowers. Especially crowded were the visitors drawn to those few pots of new peony varieties that bloomed with exceptional brilliance and charm.
“Come quick and look, this pot of Xiangyu is blooming so beautifully, the fragrance is intoxicating.”
“This two-colored peony here is the prettiest. Other peonies are already impressive if they bloom to the size of a bowl’s rim, but these two flowers are far bigger than that.”
“Yes, exactly! I’ve been in the palace for years now, and I’ve never seen peonies bloom this beautifully.”
Several maids gathered before the new peony varieties, full of praise, their eyes mostly drawn to the pot of Luoyang Brocade.
Its emerald branches and leaves split curiously into two from the middle, each side flourishing in its own distinct way. Six buds grew on different branches, each differing in color and shape. Two of them had already bloomed, the flowers far larger than the rim of a bowl.
Leaning in close, the fragrance struck the senses at once.
This scent was especially alluring, far surpassing that of the other peonies.
The maids could not help drawing in even closer.
Bai Yu and Qiao Yun, having been in the palace only a short while, were too shy to say anything, but Hongmei had no such reservations. She glared at the maids and snapped, “The flower-viewing banquet is just three days away. Official Ling is presenting these new peonies to Her Majesty the Empress tomorrow. With you lot standing so close, if even the slightest mishap happens, can you bear the responsibility?”
Throwing her weight around just because of who she serves!
The maids grumbled endlessly in their hearts, but dared not talk back aloud, and soon left.
Only then did Bai Yu breathe a sigh of relief. She smiled at Hongmei. “We really owe you one today.”
A flicker of self-satisfaction crossed Hongmei’s eyes, though she said, “It’s nothing much. With girls like that, you have to put on a stern face. Otherwise, they’ll only grow more brazen.”
Bai Yu deliberately offered a few flattering words, coaxing Hongmei into beaming with delight.
Ling Jingshu soon came out from the Peony House. Hearing of this little episode, she too curved her lips and offered Hongmei a few words of praise.
Hongmei felt thoroughly pleased hearing this, and asked eagerly with a smile, “Official Ling, there are over twenty pots of new peony varieties here in total. Which ones are we preparing to present tomorrow?”
Ling Jingshu swept her gaze briefly over them and answered with a gentle smile, “I’ve already chosen them. Tomorrow, call the others over too, and come with me to present the flowers to Her Majesty the Empress.”
Hongmei perked up at once and quickly agreed with a smile.