After several days of overcast skies and drizzling rain, the weather finally cleared on the day of the Lotus Appreciation Banquet.
Ling Jingyan put on her new clothes, then adorned herself with all six pieces of jewelry she had selected two days prior. Feeling immensely pleased with herself, she twirled in a circle in front of Ling Jingshu. “A’Shu, how do I look? Is it beautiful?”
Ling Jingshu suppressed her laughter and kept a perfectly straight face as she gave her assessment. “Of course it’s beautiful. From a distance, all you can see is a dazzling head full of pearls and jewels, so bright and glittering it makes one dizzy.”
Wait — was that a compliment or a jest?
Ling Jingyan thought it over seriously for a moment, then lunged forward with arms outstretched. “How dare you make fun of me — just you wait and see what I do to you.”
The two of them laughed and tussled for a while.
Then Ling Jingshu reached out and removed one pearl hairpin and one decorative comb from Ling Jingyan’s hair, and took off the gemstone necklace from around her neck as well. She then steered her over to the mirror. “Now look — isn’t it much cleaner and fresher than before?”
At the bloom of youth, the greatest beauty a young girl possessed was her youth itself. Too much jewelry only made one look garish and overdone.
Ling Jingyan studied her reflection for a moment and had to concede that Ling Jingshu was right. “Oh, fine, fine — I’ll do as you say.” Then she turned to Ling Jingshu and said, “What about you? Are you really not going to wear a single new outfit today?”
Ling Jingshu replied with casual ease, “Princess Changping has gone to such special effort to host this banquet — if I dressed too carelessly, it would be disrespectful to Her Highness the Princess. Of course I’ll be wearing a new outfit. Wait just a moment while I change, and I’ll be right out.”
Ling Jingyan nodded, yet a vague sense of puzzlement stirred quietly in her heart.
A’Shu had never had any prior dealings with Princess Changping before her arrival — and yet, every time the Princess was mentioned, her tone always carried some inexplicable undercurrent…
After a short wait, Ling Jingshu came out having changed into her new outfit.
“How do I look? Is it beautiful?” Ling Jingshu mimicked Ling Jingyan’s earlier pose and twirled in a circle.
Ling Jingyan looked at Ling Jingshu with an expression that was distinctly odd, as though she was holding back something difficult to say but couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Ling Jingshu read the situation at once and deliberately arched an eyebrow at her with a teasing smile. “What’s the matter? Have you been so stunned by my breathtaking beauty that you’re speechless?”
“A’Shu, stop joking around.” Ling Jingyan let out a long breath, her face clouded with bewilderment. “You’re naturally beautiful and captivating — even without deliberately dressing up, you’re a true beauty through and through. And yet you’ve deliberately put on this sallow-yellow outfit. You’re trying to look older and more understated so as not to draw attention, aren’t you?”
Ling Jingyan’s expression was entirely serious, and Ling Jingshu set aside all playfulness in turn. She nodded and admitted it without any concealment. “Yes, that is indeed my intention.”
“The last time at Huichun Hall, Commandery Princess Fumin made things difficult for me at every turn — all because of this face of mine. The Crown Princess’s first impression of me was also unfavorable — again, because of this face. And the first time Princess Changping laid eyes on me, she showed no warmth either — still because of this face.”
“A woman’s beauty is a gift from heaven, and one ought not to complain about it. Yet I truly hope that this face will stop drawing attention and bringing trouble my way.”
What a complicated, bittersweet feeling — the urge to feel sorry for her and the urge to give her a good thump, all at once!
Ling Jingyan looked at Ling Jingshu with a conflicted and contradictory gaze and said honestly, “The sallow-yellow color does look a bit matronly. Very few young girls wear that shade. And yet on you, and contrary to all expectation, it looks beautiful.”
So much for being inconspicuous — that was simply never going to happen.
Ling Jingshu let out a long sigh. “Yes — when I looked in the mirror just now, I realized that grim truth as well. But if I changed into something brighter and more vivid, wouldn’t that draw even more attention?”
This was getting more and more aggravating by the second.
Ling Jingyan also let out a long sigh. “A’Shu, for the sake of our kinship as cousins, I will very reluctantly forgive you for the unintentional harm you’ve caused me.”
In accordance with the customs of the Great Zhou dynasty, princes and princesses left the palace to establish their own residences after reaching the age of ten. Princess Changping was exceptionally favored by His Majesty the Emperor, and when her princess’s residence was being built, there were areas that “slightly” exceeded the prescribed regulations for a princess — yet the Imperial Household Department said nothing, and His Majesty acted as though it was simply not an issue.
As a result, Princess Changping’s residence covered a ground area that even surpassed those of her elder brothers, Prince An and Prince Kang, and fell only slightly short of the Eastern Palace where the Crown Prince resided. Throughout the estate, carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers rose up in every direction — everywhere one looked was lavish and exquisite, enough to take one’s breath away.
The rear garden alone spanned a full hundred mu. In the heart of Luoyang, where land was worth its weight in gold, this was extravagance carried to an absolute extreme.
Princess Changping adored peonies, and a large section of the garden had been specially enclosed as a peony garden. Unfortunately the peonies had already finished blooming by now, so there were no flowers to admire — only the lotus leaves and lotus blossoms on the lake.
The lake was not particularly large, covering roughly a dozen or so mu. Situated in the northwestern corner of the garden, a stream of fresh water had been specially diverted into it, keeping the lake water clear and clean. Inside swam a great many rare and valuable species of fish.
The banks were shaded with lush green trees, and at the very center of the lake stood a three-tiered viewing pavilion.
The Lotus Appreciation Banquet had been set up in this viewing pavilion.
To reach the viewing pavilion, one could either walk across the wooden bridge spanning the lake, or board a light boat and have the beautiful palace maids or handsome eunuchs row across — a charming experience in its own right.
By the time Ling Jingshu and her party were led to the lakeside by the estate steward, someone had just stepped onto a light boat at the shore.
Ling Jingshu asked casually with a smile, “Cousin Yan, would you like to take the boat?”
Knowing Ling Jingyan’s fun-loving and novelty-seeking nature, there was a nine-in-ten chance she would want to ride the boat.
Yet this time, Ling Jingshu guessed wrong.
Ling Jingyan shook her head repeatedly. “Never mind, let’s just walk across the wooden bridge.” Without waiting for Ling Jingshu to ask, she came clean of her own accord. “Ever since that night we were on a boat and encountered the bandits, I had nightmares for many days afterward. I’ve developed a kind of psychological aversion to boats. So let’s just walk.”
Ling Jingshu was left momentarily speechless with laughter — however she tried to imagine it, this was not the explanation she had expected.
And yet…
“Cousin Yan, that night it was I who was seized by the bandits — I who nearly lost my life. If anyone ought to have developed a phobia, it should be me.” Ling Jingshu said, half in jest and half in teasing. “I’m perfectly fine with no lingering fears, so how is it that you’re the one who ended up afraid of boats?”
Ling Jingyan admitted her weakness without any pretense. “Don’t let this bold-and-brash act of mine fool you — deep down, I have the smallest heart of anyone. I simply cannot bring myself to get on a boat again.”
So be it — no boat then!
Ling Jingshu raised her voice toward the eunuch walking ahead. “We won’t be taking a boat after all. We’ll walk across the bridge.”
The eunuch looked rather surprised. “Are you quite certain, young misses? It is the early days of summer right now — seated on a boat as the oars dip into the water and part the layers of lotus leaves, the view is quite a special one.”
All the young ladies of noble birth who had come to the Princess’s residence for the banquet had ridden the boat to the viewing pavilion. Who would be willing to walk across a wooden bridge out in the open sun?
Ling Jingshu replied with a smile, “Thank you for the suggestion, but we are unaccustomed to boats, so we will walk instead.”
The eunuch offered no further persuasion and led Ling Jingshu and her party onto the wooden bridge.