In mid-May, the halls and pavilions of Jujing Garden were completed. The Emperor and Empress invited the Empress Dowager to tour the garden and held a banquet there in the style of Kaifeng’s flower-viewing and fishing banquets, inviting imperial relatives to join.

The Empress Dowager alighted from her carriage at Huifang Hall, while the Emperor and Empress had already arrived at Cuihua Hall. They then invited the Empress Dowager to rest briefly at Yaojin Pavilion before taking sedan chairs to tour the garden and view flowers. During this time, imperial relatives paid their respects throughout the garden, then scattered in groups of two or three to admire flowers, fish, compose poetry, and practice archery in harmonious enjoyment. After the Empress Dowager finished viewing flowers, they proceeded to Yaojin West Pavilion, where hosts and guests took their seats and began the banquet.

A simple banquet, also called a small banquet, differed from grand banquets with nine rounds of wine – it served only five rounds and had a much more relaxed atmosphere. Grand banquets were solemn and serious, where guests couldn’t make noise or get drunk improperly, or they would face impeachment. Simple banquets weren’t restricted by cumbersome etiquette; hosts and guests could drink and converse more freely, with toasting back and forth and loud laughter being perfectly acceptable, facilitating better communication. For this banquet, Lin Hong and Zhenzhen had specially prepared a creative menu for the Empress Dowager, but also suggested that if imperial relatives had prepared fine dishes, they could present them during the banquet for the Empress Dowager to taste.

The dishes presented by imperial relatives were mostly delicacies from land and sea. Since the Empress Dowager preferred vegetarian food, Lin Hong’s menu for her was primarily vegetarian, incorporating seasonal flowers and fruits. For example, tender rose hip leaves were blanched and dressed with oil and salt, or Cherokee rose petals were blanched in licorice water, added to rice porridge, and served with tender white lotus seeds cooked and finely mashed, mixed with rice flour and sugar to steam into lotus cakes. After tasting, the Empress Dowager seemed quite satisfied, telling the Emperor and Empress: “People all think deer antler and stalactite are most nourishing and can extend life, but I feel such wild mountain ingredients are truly beneficial – they neither harm living beings nor cost much, perfectly matching His Majesty’s advocacy of frugal simplicity.”

Although the Emperor found these dishes elegant, he worried they appeared too simple for the Empress Dowager. Hearing her say this, he wondered repeatedly whether she was being subtly sarcastic, feeling somewhat anxious.

During the third round of wine, Zhenzhen presented the Empress Dowager with a dish made from lotus flowers: red lotus petals with centers and stems removed, blanched in hot water then cooked with tofu, seasoned with salt and a little pepper and ginger after removing from heat.

This dish was strikingly beautiful with its red and white colors. The Empress Dowager praised its appearance at first sight and asked its name. Zhenzhen replied: “It’s called ‘Snow and Sunset Clouds Soup.'”

The Empress Dowager nodded: “The petals reflected on the tofu indeed resemble clouds after snow has cleared – a fitting name.”

Just as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, Feng Xian gracefully approached, bowed, and said: “Second Prince heard that imperial relatives could present fine dishes to the Empress Dowager at this banquet to show filial piety. He was very pleased and began searching for ingredients months ago, carefully selecting them. Only recently did he find something somewhat satisfactory. He ordered this slave to prepare it with care and present it today, hoping the Empress Dowager will accept it.”

The Empress Dowager smiled at Zhao Ai, then ordered Feng Xian to present the dishes.

Feng Xian signaled two young eunuchs behind her to present two dishes to the Empress Dowager’s table. One was a cold dish of five-colored flower petals mixed with lettuce, the other was two blooming flowers, one yellow and one purple, coated in thin flour and fried crisp, sprinkled with fine salt, garnished with green leaves, arranged on a crystal plate with large white crystal salt crystals, still arranged to look like they were dancing in the spring breeze.

The Empress Dowager looked carefully and asked in surprise: “These are peonies?”

Feng Xian confirmed: “The ones mixed with lettuce are Qianxi Crimson, Jade Plate White, Palace Illuminating Red, Fawn Embryo Flower, and Inverted Halo Sandalwood Heart. The fried crispy ones are Yao Yellow and Wei Purple.”

Hearing this, Zhao Ai looked at Feng Xian with wide eyes, frowning slightly.

The Empress Dowager asked: “Lin’an’s peonies finished blooming by late March. Where did these famous varieties come from?”

Feng Xian smiled: “Second Prince knew the Empress Dowager loved peonies, so he arranged early to have people go north to buy them. He hired the most skilled peony gardeners and carefully protected them with ice throughout the journey to prevent early blooming, finally managing to transport them intact to Lin’an.”

The Empress Dowager sighed: “They’re beautiful, but such transportation is too troublesome.”

Feng Xian said: “Second Prince said that as long as it pleases the Empress Dowager, no amount of trouble is too much.”

The Empress Dowager turned to look at Zhao Ai and smiled: “I thought Second Brother was still a thoughtless child, but I didn’t expect him to be so dedicated in preparing these two dishes.”

Zhao Ai forced a smile and bowed: “As long as Your Majesty is pleased.”

The Empress Dowager praised the peony dishes endlessly, but Zhao Ai seemed somewhat absent-minded. After the third round of wine, there was a longer period for guests to change clothes and adorn themselves with flowers. Zhao Ai took the opportunity to have Feng Xian follow him to the more distant Qiongfang Pavilion, where he directly asked: “Why did you take it upon yourself to say I bought peonies from the north to make dishes for the Empress Dowager?”

Feng Xian bowed deeply to him: “Please forgive this slave, Your Highness. You indeed only gave this slave money to carefully select ingredients for the Empress Dowager’s dishes. Buying peonies was this slave’s own idea. But I thought, although the ingredients weren’t chosen by Your Highness, the sentiment comes from you. When the Empress Dowager asked, this slave naturally dared not take credit and say they were ingredients I selected.”

Zhao Ai asked: “Where did you buy the peonies?”

Feng Xian answered: “Luoyang.”

Zhao Ai said coldly: “Luoyang is far from here with many checkpoints. Who did you find to buy them? How much were those peonies worth? The money I gave you was far from enough, wasn’t it?”

Feng Xian said: “Three months ago, this slave’s father came to the capital to report on duties and met with me. I asked him to find a way to buy peonies from Luoyang. Those peonies were acceptable – except for the Yao Yellow costing five thousand coins per bloom and Wei Purple one thousand coins per bloom, the rest weren’t too expensive. The extra money I had father add wasn’t much…”

“You’re incredibly bold!” Zhao Ai interrupted her angrily. “How is this different from forcing me to accept bribes? Don’t you know imperial relatives can’t privately associate with ministers? Especially military officers! Moreover, His Majesty and the Empress personally advocate frugality, yet you publicly said I spared no expense in transporting these flowers from the north to Lin’an. What will His Majesty think?”

“Your Highness, please don’t worry. Neither the Empress Dowager nor His Majesty will blame you for this,” Feng Xian explained calmly without fear. “His Majesty isn’t the Empress Dowager’s biological son, and I’ve heard that originally the Empress Dowager wanted to support a different prince, which is why now the two palaces… Whatever the Empress Dowager thinks, she won’t speak frankly to His Majesty, so her words can’t be taken at face value but must be carefully considered. This time she suggested using a simple banquet instead of a grand one, using only seasonal vegetables and fruits, seemingly understanding His Majesty’s advocacy of frugality. But if truly ordinary vegetables and fruits were used for the banquet, she wouldn’t be satisfied. Though she wouldn’t say so, she would surely resent His Majesty’s neglect. Lin Hong’s menu, though seemingly meeting the Empress Dowager’s requirements, would inevitably make His Majesty worry it was too plain. So at this moment, Your Highness presenting two dishes that appear simple but required great trouble to obtain would surely please the Empress Dowager, and His Majesty would feel he had made up for the deficiency of plainness, absolutely not blaming Your Highness.”

“Is it proper for a Royal Kitchen servant like you to speculate about palace affairs and guess at the Empress Dowager’s and His Majesty’s thoughts?” Zhao Ai studied Feng Xian and asked slowly.

Feng Xian immediately realized her mistake and quickly bowed to beg forgiveness.

Zhao Ai said: “You needn’t ask for my forgiveness. I can’t afford a servant so skilled at scheming. After returning to the palace, pack your things and go back to the Royal Kitchen. I wish you success in finding another good branch and a promising future. I’ll also fully reimburse you for the money your father spent buying peonies.”

Having said this, he resolutely left Feng Xian behind. Feng Xian chased a few steps and called “Your Highness” twice, but seeing he didn’t look back, she thought of all the compromises and efforts she’d made for him these past two years, everything she’d done for his sake, only to find he’d never appreciated any of it. Overcome with bitter feelings, tears poured down like rain as she began sobbing.

At this moment, someone emerged from behind the flower trees at the back of the pavilion and slowly walked to Feng Xian, extending a silk handkerchief.

Feng Xian looked up, started in shock, and immediately bowed low: “Lady Liu, blessed be!”

She didn’t know how much of her conversation with Zhao Ai had been overheard. Feng Xian’s heart pounded as she was too frightened to shed more tears.

Seeing she wouldn’t take the handkerchief, Liu Luo Wei smiled and wiped Feng Xian’s tears herself, then took her hand and consoled her with a girl’s soft voice: “Men can’t be spoiled. If he doesn’t want your service, immediately put him out of your mind. You’re such a clever person – surely you can survive without him?” She paused, then chuckled: “If he doesn’t think of me, are there no other men? How foolish his arrogance!”

Feng Xian stared at her in bewilderment, repeatedly pondering her final words: “If he doesn’t think of me, are there no other men…”

At the fifth round of wine, eunuchs removed the latticed windows around Yaojin West Pavilion, instantly opening the western view. Cool breezes swept in, immediately relieving the summer heat. Pei Shangshi stepped forward to invite the Empress Dowager to view the lake scenery outside the pavilion. The Empress Dowager looked out to see a eunuch poling a small boat toward the depths of the lotus flowers, with Lin Hong standing at the bow, his wide sleeves flowing, playing a clear and melodious lotus-picking tune on a bamboo flute. Zhenzhen sat in the center of the boat. When the boat reached where lotus flowers were newly blooming, she lifted her pole to part the layers of flowers and leaves, found the lotus leaves that had been wrapped and tied beforehand, still standing upright in the water, cut them down one by one, placed them in the boat, then signaled the eunuch to turn around and continue poling through the lotus pond, returning along the same path.

At this point, Lin Hong had played through two verses, paused briefly, then changed to a new tune. The music was melodious and flowing, but listening carefully, one could detect traces of sadness. Hearing the music, Zhenzhen unconsciously began singing the corresponding song: “Crossing the river to pick lotus flowers, the orchid marsh has much fragrant grass. For whom do I pick them? My beloved is far away…”

The boat returned to the front of the hall. Lin Hong and Zhenzhen came ashore and arrived at Yaojin West Pavilion to unfold the lotus leaves. Only then did the Empress Dowager discover that some lotus leaves wrapped fine wine while others contained pickled fish.

“We poled over yesterday to wrap this wine and fish in lotus leaves,” Zhenzhen explained. “Today with the wind’s warmth and blazing sun, the wine is fragrant and fish cooked, perfect for eating now.”

The Empress Dowager tasted a little and felt lotus fragrance wafting up, merged into the wine and fish flesh, softening the wine’s harshness while removing the fish’s fishy smell, emphasizing the subtle sweet fragrance of fish meat that bloomed after the salty taste.

“This final dish not only provides fragrant wine and cooked fish but also showed me an extremely beautiful scene. Such ingenuity is truly amazing,” the Empress Dowager smiled. “This was Scholar Xuanyi’s idea, wasn’t it?”

Lin Hong stepped forward to bow and answered “Yes.”

The Empress Dowager continued: “Last time I promised to arrange your marriage when Jujing Garden was completed. Have you now decided which young lady you want to marry?”

Lin Hong lowered his gaze and remained silent for a moment.

The Empress assumed he was shy and embarrassed to speak directly, so she smiled at the Empress Dowager: “Your Majesty, seeing today’s situation, it shouldn’t be hard to guess which lady Scholar Xuanyi admires, should it?”

“Oh…” The Empress Dowager immediately turned to look at Zhenzhen, studying her up and down for a long time before smiling faintly: “Not bad. This little girl is fortunate – marrying Scholar Xuanyi is a blessing cultivated over three lifetimes.”

The Empress Dowager wasn’t very familiar with Zhenzhen, but since she was someone close to His Majesty, there were naturally people who reported her daily activities. She disliked Zhenzhen’s directness, feeling her actions often exceeded what was proper for a palace servant, though she couldn’t say she detested her. Now seeing the Empress indicate that Lin Hong wanted to marry Zhenzhen, though not entirely satisfied, she wouldn’t oppose it.

Hearing the Empress Dowager say this, Zhenzhen understood she had approved her marriage to Lin Hong. Joy filled her heart as she lowered her head with flushed cheeks.

Lin Hong still kept his eyes lowered with no particular expression, making it impossible to tell his mood.

Liu Luo Wei had been coldly observing their demeanor. She suddenly put on a smile and gently called: “Food Supervisor Wu, please come here. I have something to tell you.”

Zhenzhen walked to her as requested and bowed in greeting.

Liu Luo Wei had Zhenzhen come to her side, took out the jade bracelet Lin Hong had given her earlier, and said: “No wonder we felt such immediate kinship when we first met – it turns out we’re destined to be relatives. This bracelet was given to me by my natal family. I’ve always been reluctant to wear it, but today I’ll give it to you as a meeting gift for my sister-in-law.”

She then took Zhenzhen’s left hand and pushed the bracelet onto her wrist.

The bracelet stuck slightly at the widest part of Zhenzhen’s palm, but with a little force from Liu Luo Wei, it slipped onto her wrist, showing the size was quite suitable.

Liu Luo Wei was momentarily distracted, then smiled again: “Perfect. Your wrist is slender and fair – this jade bracelet looks very beautiful on you.”

Zhenzhen stared at the bracelet, speechless and stunned: from the jade’s color and quality, she could tell this was very likely carved from the green stone Lin Hong often held at Wen Qiao Inn. Hearing Consort Liu say it was from her “natal family,” this guess was almost certainly confirmed. So… Lin Hong had spent years of effort polishing this bracelet, then carried it with him all the way to Lin’an to give to her?

Uncontrollably remembering how Lin Hong looked when he held this stone while gazing at the Luo River Goddess painting on the wall, Zhenzhen suddenly felt her heart pierced by a sharp instrument. The acute pain spread from inside out, forcing cold sweat from her.

But this pain was only the beginning. Soon after, she heard Lin Hong answer the Empress Dowager’s question.

“There are many plum trees in Jujing Garden. I request Your Majesty to grant me eighteen ancient plum trees,” Lin Hong bowed to the Empress Dowager and clearly requested. “I wish to emulate Master Hejing from Emperor Renzong’s reign, taking plum as wife and crane as children, never again marrying worldly women.”

These words shocked everyone present. The Empress Dowager didn’t respond for a long time, while the Emperor frowned and warned Lin Hong: “Scholar Xuanyi, don’t jest before the Empress Dowager.”

“I’m not jesting,” Lin Hong turned to the Emperor, kowtowed, and said: “I have long lived in the wilderness, already accustomed to sleeping alone among green shade and enjoying rain in thatched huts. I truly need no female companionship. With plum wife and crane children, this life is sufficient.”

His tone held unshakeable resolution. Zhenzhen instantly realized that this time she truly couldn’t hold onto him. Cold sweat continued seeping out as she felt chilled throughout her body despite the blazing sun’s heat. She heard rustling whispers gradually rising in the hall and knew without looking that everyone was now observing her. Many jealous people wanting to see her humiliated and kick her while she was down were pointing and laughing at her – the woman publicly abandoned by Lin Hong. Liu Luo Wei still held her left hand, staring at her without blinking, her lips silently curling into a meaningful smile.

“It seems I misunderstood – I’m not fortunate enough to be Food Supervisor Wu’s sister-in-law,” Liu Luo Wei said with a smile, then used her other hand to gently pat Zhenzhen’s left hand that she held. “But it doesn’t matter. Since I’ve already given you this bracelet, keep it – no need to return it to me.”

Zhenzhen coldly freed her hand, removed the bracelet, placed it back on Liu Luo Wei’s table, and stared at her: “I don’t want it.”

Without any false courtesy or the humility her position originally required, she spoke these three words so directly. This made Liu Luo Wei’s smile fade, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Zhenzhen stepped back several paces into the hall, pale-faced and unsteady, her ears ringing, her body swaying as if about to collapse. For a moment she didn’t know where to go, only trying to control herself so she wouldn’t fall under everyone’s burning gazes.

Just then, the Crown Prince suddenly stood up, bowed deeply to his father, and said in a voice not loud but clear enough for everyone in the hall to hear: “I dare ask Father – yesterday’s arrangement for Food Supervisor Wu to manage the Eastern Palace’s meals, has Father not yet announced it to everyone? So Mother and Lady Liu had such a misunderstanding.”