After his first failure in the imperial examinations, Shen Han was ashamed and didn’t dare go to Yuezhou to seek marriage with Baose. Although Baose and her mother had previously expressed that they wouldn’t despise him regardless of the results, and that if he couldn’t achieve scholarly success, he could still return to take over the shop, he had studied diligently for many years in poverty and was unwilling to abandon poetry and books for the rest of his life, mixing among merchants and traders. Every time he remembered Baose, her charming, radiant smile appeared in his mind, and he secretly vowed to one day give her phoenix crown and bridal robes to complement her beauty – how could he bear to let her prime years continue to be worn away by kitchen smoke and mundane dust?

So he resolved to rally his spirits and prepare for the next imperial examination, determined to achieve high honors as a jinshi before having the face to return and marry Baose. Also, because of his failure, he was mocked and bullied by local wealthy families. Knowing that the Pei family would surely come to Mingzhou to look for him after not seeing him return for so long, and fearing they would be implicated by association with him, he moved with his mother to the countryside, both to temporarily avoid being sought and to study quietly.

After years of arduous study – hanging his head from a beam, pricking his thigh with an awl – he finally achieved his wish and had his name inscribed on the golden roll. He excitedly returned to Yuezhou to see Baose, only to receive news that she had entered the palace as a palace lady… But he still held hope, working hard to advance, striving to reach Lin’an as an official as soon as possible and seek opportunities to meet her. He always believed that though Pengshan was far, as long as their hearts remained unchanged, there would be a day of reunion.

Indeed, as he expected, in Lin’an they met repeatedly on various occasions, and knew that both remained faithful to each other. They agreed to seek a good opportunity to declare their feelings to His Majesty and beg for his blessing. Finally, one night when he was on duty at the Hanlin Academy, an inner attendant came to convey His Majesty’s decree, commanding him to have an audience at Funing Hall. This was the opportunity he had long awaited – in the deep of night, with ruler and subject facing each other after discussing official business, perhaps the emperor would be interested in hearing the story of him and Baose.

But when he arrived at Funing Hall, he saw a young palace lady hurriedly emerge from the hall, turning back to close the door with a somewhat panicked expression. He approached and bowed, requesting to see His Majesty. The palace lady returned his bow, saying His Majesty was still drinking and asking Scholar Shen to wait a moment, then hurried away.

This wait lasted a very long time. He paced alone in the bleak cold wind of the endless night, seeing candlelight flickering red within Funing Hall, occasionally catching glimpses of women’s hairpin shadows flitting past the window lattice, while that door remained tightly shut.

He asked the inner attendants waiting outside the hall to go in and inquire whether His Majesty could grant him an audience. The attendant went in as requested, emerging shortly after – also not forgetting to close the door like the palace lady – then bowed to him and said: “His Majesty is somewhat intoxicated, and palace ladies are still attending to him. After the palace ladies finish their duties, they will naturally invite the Scholar inside.”

He recalled the somewhat familiar silhouette of the woman at the window lattice, and the few threads of doubt arising in his heart grew like the bare branches of the sycamore tree in the courtyard after its leaves had fallen, their stark limbs casting ink-black shadows on the ground that seemed to stretch along the moonlight.

“Could the honored attendant tell me who the palace lady serving in the hall is…” he finally couldn’t help asking, his seemingly composed tone still carrying a tremor.

“Food Service Pei Shi,” the attendant replied.

Upon receiving this answer he had guessed but didn’t want to confirm, he couldn’t help but freeze. After a long time without getting his response, the attendant respectfully bowed again, then withdrew to continue his vigil outside the hall door.

He stood silently in the midnight courtyard, feeling as if two selves were conversing in his heart:

“If attending to an intoxicated emperor, wouldn’t two palace ladies be better? Why did the young palace lady leave, leaving only Baose inside?”

“Perhaps the young palace lady’s actions didn’t please His Majesty, so he wouldn’t let her serve?”

“Then why was she hurrying away with a panicked expression, not forgetting to close the door? Every time scholars on duty have audiences, the hall doors are always left open.”

“…Tonight is cold and windy, what harm is there in closing the door?”

Suddenly, he felt some contempt for himself, judging a gentleman’s heart with a petty person’s mind: His Majesty was diligent in governance and didn’t favor pleasures – how could there be any reason for him to summon himself only to leave him outside while seeking pleasure with palace ladies? Moreover, Baose’s feelings for him ran deep – how could she willingly accept imperial favor?

Having thought this through, he immediately rallied his spirits, quickly pacing in the courtyard, cupping his hands and breathing on them for warmth, his tightly knitted brows gradually relaxing.

The gatekeeper attendant, hearing movement, looked back at him and said kindly: “If the Scholar feels cold, you might temporarily return to the Hanlin Academy to add a layer of clothing before coming back.”

He shook his head: “No need. His Majesty should summon me for an audience very soon, and I absolutely cannot leave.”

However, he waited and waited, but the hall door never opened. When he discovered that the candles inside the hall had been extinguished by someone, he instantly felt as if falling into an abyss, feeling that the little hope he had carefully maintained was also quietly snuffed out like those candles.

“Perhaps it’s just that His Majesty is drunk, and Baose let him rest…” he explained to himself.

Another voice within him replied coldly: “If that were the case, wouldn’t Baose come out to explain the situation to you?”

“Perhaps Baose is serving His Majesty outside his bed curtains and cannot leave without permission…”

“Baose’s duty is only to attend to His Majesty’s meals. For nighttime rest, there are specialized palace ladies – she has no reason to remain in His Majesty’s bedchamber.”

As if pierced by ice shards, it was both painful and cold. He stopped pacing and stood rigidly staring at the window lattice that no longer showed any light or shadows.

“Scholar Shen, His Majesty seems to have retired. Why don’t you return first, and if His Majesty awakens, I’ll go to the Hanlin Academy to summon you?” The attendant, seeing his strange expression, asked carefully.

He acted as if he hadn’t heard and didn’t respond.

The attendant asked again, and seeing him remain silent, said no more, letting him continue standing in the wind and dew.

He held his breath and concentrated, listening intently for sounds from within the hall. He heard the night wind rustling the curtains under the corridors, heard fallen leaves rolling across the jade steps before the hall, heard the distant sound of the night watch, and even heard the sound of dewdrops sliding down leaf veins from the small grass growing in the cracks between the blue bricks at his feet, but he heard no movement from within the hall.

She wouldn’t be willing, he thought. She would speak out in resistance, or cry in grievance.

But there was nothing, nothing at all.

“She’s just a weak woman facing the supreme emperor – what could she do?” he consoled himself again. “Whatever happens, even if it’s not her wish, she can only silently accept it. It’s the trick of fate, not her fault, not her fault…”

He began to wonder whether, when he next saw her, he should comfort her and declare his feelings again, or remain silent and pretend complete ignorance. But his heart was bleeding, unable to suppress wave after wave of surging pain. He tremblingly walked to the steps before the hall door and sat down dejectedly with his back to the door.

He forced himself to stop thinking about related matters, looking up and trying to distract himself by counting the leaves falling from the sycamore trees.

One, two, three… sixty-nine, ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two… one hundred and one, one hundred and two, one hundred and twenty… Ah, how is she?

At dawn, the bedchamber door opened from within, and Baose, whom he had worried about all night, finally emerged.

He practically leaped to his feet, immediately straightening his clothes, and bowed deeply when she looked toward him.

She silently walked slowly to his side, and before her skirts entered his downcast field of vision, he first smelled a fragrance of cypress wood, borneol, and sandalwood mingled together.

When she came before him, this fragrance became even more distinct, clearly emanating from her person.

However, this fragrance was steady and cold, mostly used by men, not the scent of women’s quarters. Moreover, as Food Service palace lady, to prevent disturbing food aromas, she never used fragrant herbs to perfume her clothes.

So this fragrance was… He looked up sorrowfully, expecting to meet her tearful eyes, but what entered his vision was her face bearing a smile that was half joy, half shyness.

Meeting his gaze for an instant, rosy clouds rushed to her face, making her even more bashful. She lowered her head, her lips moving as if wanting to say something.

She wants to explain, he thought, or perhaps to cover up? Shen Han’s heart ached, and he thought desolately that actually nothing needed to be said – he would explain for her in his heart, cover up for her.

But he seemed to have overthought it. In the end, she said nothing. She curtsied to him, then brushed past him and hurried away, not knowing what she was thinking, even forgetting to notify him to enter the hall for an imperial audience. In the end, it was the gatekeeper attendant who reported on her behalf, and only then did His Majesty summon him inside.

There was no court session that day, so His Majesty remained in his bedchamber that morning. Apart from slightly dark circles under his eyes, His Majesty seemed in good spirits, still maintaining his usual calm and composed manner. After Shen Han paid his respects, he granted him a seat and chatted with him casually, not mentioning drafting edicts for quite a while.

Unable to contain himself, Shen Han bowed and inquired: “Your Majesty summoned this subject for an audience last night – was there a topic you wished to assign to this subject?”

“Oh, I originally wanted to ask you to draft an edict, but then I thought about it – the details of this matter still need consideration, and there’s no rush to announce it in a day or two. We must also wait for an auspicious date to be calculated…” His Majesty explained casually, but Shen Han’s heart sank upon hearing this, and he forced a smile: “It seems what Your Majesty wishes to announce to the world is a joyous occasion.”

“Mm.” His Majesty gave a simple, expressionless affirmation.

His Majesty didn’t say much more, but a middle-aged woman entered at that moment carrying a box of celebration cakes, requesting His Majesty to sample and choose, further showing that there would be a celebration in the palace.

From the inner attendant’s announcement outside the door, Shen Han learned this woman was Lady Liu, the trusted Royal Kitchen Official deeply favored by His Majesty.

Royal Kitchen Official Liu took out the celebration cakes from the food box one by one, displaying them to His Majesty: “These are what this subject just finished making. Please Your Majesty look and taste them to see if the patterns and flavors are suitable. Once Your Majesty has chosen, this subject will teach the imperial kitchen to make them for Your Majesty to bestow upon the officials.”

Those celebration cakes were all pastries with auspicious patterns like dragons and phoenixes, peonies, and ruyi cloud designs impressed on their surfaces. His Majesty picked a few to examine and said: “They’re all quite good. Why not also use Chinese crabapples, glutinous rice flour, and sugar to make some round happiness cakes, wrapped in syrup and sprinkled with dried osmanthus flowers – red and yellow, festive colors, appropriate names, good taste, and she loves to eat them too.”

Royal Kitchen Official Liu bowed and accepted the command. His Majesty glanced at Shen Han, who was still silently listening at the side, and explained with a smile: “The palace hasn’t had joyous occasions for a long time. This one should be handled with particular care.”

She loves to eat them too, she loves to eat them too… Shen Han repeatedly murmured this phrase in his heart, thinking privately that these round happiness cakes seemed to be delicacies from the capital. He had never seen her eat them in Yuezhou in the past, so she must have developed a taste for them after entering the palace and serving His Majesty’s meals, following his preferences.

He couldn’t help feeling inexplicably bitter, and in his dazed state, a presumptuous question slipped out: “Is she… willing?”

His Majesty looked at him with surprise, as if he had asked the most incredible question in the world. After a long while, he lowered his eyes and said: “Willing. How could she not be willing for such a beautiful thing?”

Shen Han couldn’t help but smile bitterly at himself: Yes, what woman in the world would refuse to become an empress or consort? Moreover, His Majesty himself was also an elegant, handsome young man in his twenties.

He stole glances at His Majesty, and the more he looked, the more he felt he was extraordinarily handsome with excellent bearing throughout, incomparable to himself.

“You’ve waited through the night, working hard. Go home early to rest,” His Majesty said kindly.

“Does Your Majesty have any other decrees requiring this subject to draft?” Shen Han bowed and asked.

His Majesty shook his head: “No more. Even if there are any later, I’ll have the next scholar on duty draft them. You look haggard – you should go back and rest well.”

Before Shen Han took his leave, His Majesty beckoned him closer and personally handed him the celebration cakes that Royal Kitchen Official Liu had just presented: “These pastries taste quite good. Take them home to eat.”

In His Majesty’s every gesture, Shen Han clearly smelled the fragrance of cypress wood, borneol, and sandalwood emanating from his clothes.