9. Flower contract

  Returning to the palace, I saw a group of eunuchs and palace maids busy watering and loosening the soil for the flower trees. I couldn't help but smile and say: "The pear blossoms have just begun to bud, and you're already hurrying them to bloom."

  Miss, is there good news today? The two peach blossoms in front of the hall have bloomed with several buds.

  I exclaimed with delight: "Really? I was just walking in and didn't take a closer look, we should go see it together." The palace people were all young, and when I mentioned this, who wouldn't love the excitement? They all crowded around me to walk out into the hall. Indeed, among the green leaves and branches, there were several flower buds that were bright red, like rouge dots lightly stained, looking elegant and refined like a maiden. Although they had not yet bloomed, they emitted a subtle fragrance that tickled my nose. I smiled and said: "According to the 'Collection of Fragrant Flowers' by our predecessors, there are four types of crabapple flowers. Namely, the Western Palace Crabapple, the Hanging Silk Crabapple, the Wooden Melon Crabapple, and the Stuck Stem Crabapple. Although crabapple flowers are beautiful and moving when they bloom, generally speaking, most crabapple flowers have no fragrance. Only this Western Palace Crabapple is both fragrant and beautiful, making it the best among all crabapples."

  Xiao Yuanzi immediately replied: "The young master is erudite and talented, we slaves have learned a lot from him. If we were to speak in front of other slaves, it would be a great honor."

  I smiled and poked a finger on his forehead, causing everyone to laugh. Flowing Vermilion smiled and said: "It's just that Xiao Yuzi is eloquent and can make Miss happy, making us seem even more clumsy and unlovable."

  Xiao Yu'zi looked up at her and smiled, saying: "If Flowing Sister is clumsy with words, then I'm just a toothless wonder, how could I dare to speak in front of my sister?"

  Hongyu was pleased with his coaxing and said, "You're so good at coaxing me into a good mood, I'll reward you by making a pair of insoles for you tomorrow."

  Xiao Yu'zi made a curtsy, bowed her head and said: "Thank you so much, sister. I don't dare wear the shoes you made for me, but I will put them on my bed every day to think of your kindness."

  She couldn't help but laugh and spat at him, "You've made me do it, I can see that I won't be able to slack off, I'll definitely make a good pair for you."

  "I said: 'Since we've already done it, let's also make a pair for Little Lianzi.'"

  The two of them bowed together in gratitude, and the crowd watched for a while before gradually dispersing.

  As night fell, I sat in front of the red-lacquered five-bat longevity table, flipping through the Book of Songs. The moonlight outside was soft and gentle, the wind and dew condensed into fragrance, making it a very quiet and peaceful night. The white paper and black ink on the Book of Songs usually filled my mouth with fragrance when I read it before, but today, for some reason, my mind kept wandering. The moonlight was like silk, the trees in front of the window were blown by the wind, their shadows swaying gently on the window paper, as if someone's tall figure was standing there. As my thoughts wandered, the words on the book seemed to turn into black pupils, entwined with the sparse shadows of apricot blossoms, swirling before my eyes in a cool and calm manner. Suddenly, I remembered something that happened during the day, and my heart became as soft as silk. The candlelight in front of me was shining brightly, reflecting the luster of the embroidery on my clothes, reminding me that I was actually sitting in the Quiet Heart Hall, and gradually calming down. But I didn't know what was wrong with me, my face felt hot and dry, and I randomly flipped to a page in the book, which happened to be "The Soft Silk" (1): The soft silk is tied up with firewood, three stars are in the sky. What night is this tonight? Seeing this good person, how can it be? Ah, such a good person, how can it be?

  Softly blows the east wind, three stars are in the corner. Tonight is what night, to see this chance encounter? Oh, my child, oh my child, why such a chance encounter?

  Silk threads intertwined, three stars at the door. Tonight, what night is it? Seeing this radiant one? Ah, child, ah, child, what a radiant one you are!

  My heart was both ashamed and confused, as if someone had uncovered my secrets. I hastily closed the book and became annoyed again. He and I are of different status, how can there be talk of "good man", let alone "three stars"? For some reason, I thought of Wen Shi's phrase "once entering the palace gates, it's like being in a deep sea". With a "slap" sound, I threw the book onto the couch. Xian Qi heard the noise and was startled, then quickly brought over a bowl of cherry blossom honey and said: "Young master must be tired from reading, have a bowl of honey to rest for a while."

  I took a sip, still feeling restless and bored. I glanced at the red lacquer five-bat longevity table and saw that the paint was peeling off in patches. I casually asked: "The paint on this table is not good, why hasn't anyone from the Imperial Household Department come to repair it and apply another coat?"

  Her face slightly revealed a difficult expression, "Xiao Yuanzi has already gone, and will probably come over in the next few days."

  I nodded, "The affairs in the palace are complicated, they can't keep up with it even if they're late for a few days."

  I let out a "hmm" and sat quietly. Coincidentally, Pei'er was whispering to Xiao Yanzu outside the window: "Why did Little Lianzi return this afternoon with such an unhappy face?"

  Her face changed slightly, just as she was about to speak out to stop me, I immediately turned my head to stare at her, and she had no choice but to remain silent.

  Xiao Yuanzi said with a "hey", "It's not like I didn't go to the Imperial Household Department, and I didn't get scolded with cold words when I came back."

  "Isn't it just because of that table needing some varnish that you've been running back and forth like this several times without any result?"

  "Do you know what?" Xiaoyanzi's voice was even lower, and she said indignantly: "Those guys who look down on people with dog eyes, it's okay to scold Xiao Lianzi a few times, but they also bullied our young master and said many dirty things!"

  Her face looked terrible, she only frowned and wanted to go out. Seeing that I was calm, she could only endure it.

  "Those scoundrels in the Imperial Household Department don't put our young master in their eyes, do they? In winter, they even deducted the charcoal allowance for our young master. If it weren't for Concubine Hui sending some silver and charcoal, we would have been suffocated by the smoke from those inferior charcoals! Now they're becoming more and more lawless, even squeezing people to make up for a table!"

  Xiao Yu's urgent voice: "Speak softly, Master is still inside, and if he hears it, he will be heartbroken."

  Pei'er's voice was suppressed, and she said sorrowfully: "How can it be good? The days ahead are still long, and we slaves will just make do. But the young master... is already ill, and yet he has to suffer from these trivial matters." After speaking, she hated to say: "That Huang Guizong, relying on being a distant relative of Master Hua, is simply arrogant and unaware of the height of heaven and earth!"

  "Alright, good auntie, just bear with it for now! For fear that young master would know and feel uncomfortable in his heart, when Xia Lianzi is serving in front of him, she can pretend as if nothing's wrong, you'd better keep up the act too."

  The two of them chatted for a while before going their separate ways. I felt a slight pang in my heart, both moved and distressed, but on the surface, I pretended as if I had never heard anything, calmly saying: "Since the Imperial Household Department is busy, it's fine to just make do with what we have; it's not like it's a big deal."

  He nodded and said in a low voice: "Yes."

  I looked up at her and said, "Tonight's words, I've never heard before, you haven't either, don't mention it outside, not a single word." Ling Su nodded. I sighed and said, "Following such a young master like me has indeed caused you all a lot of inconvenience."

  Qing Yu hastily knelt down, her expression urgent as she said: "Young Master, why must you say such things, it's too cruel to us servants. I've followed Young Master and not felt the slightest bit aggrieved."

  I let her get up, and sighed: "In the harem, people follow the trend, flattering those in power and bullying those out of favor is just a common thing. Why do they need to put this small master who has been ill for a long time and has no imperial favor in their eyes? Let's just live our days peacefully."

  She was silent for a moment, her eyes shining with tears. "If you weren't ill, young master," she said, "with your looks and talent, you wouldn't be inferior to the Empress." As soon as she spoke, her expression changed slightly, realizing that she had misspoken.

  "I calmly said: 'Everyone's life has a predetermined number of years, what is the use of forcing it?'"

  Seeing me like this, he hastily changed the subject and said: "Young Master is tired from reading, how about some embroidery?"

  "Staring at the needlework for too long, my eyes are sore."

  The slave girl brought a zither to serve the young master playing the qin.

  "Feeling suffocated, and don't even want to play."

  "Master is bored with the long night, why not invite Concubine Hui, Young Master An and Young Master Chun to come and play a game of drawing lots?"

  It's a good idea, and it's the only good idea. "You go prepare some snacks to eat, and have the young ladies invite the young masters over." The little palace maidens were eager for excitement, and immediately took the lanterns and went off together.

  After half an hour, the sound of footsteps was heard, and when I went to the hall to welcome her, I already heard Chun's giggles: "Sister Juan loves to come up with new ideas. I didn't know how to spend this time."

  I laughed and said: "You're not sleepy, that's fine, but you've been hiding in your own room sleeping all day, you'll soon turn into a cat."

  Chun often smiled and pulled my hand: "Sister loves to tease me, I don't agree."

  Meizhuang smiled as she walked in with Caiyue's hand: "I heard Chun'er throwing a tantrum from far away." She then asked, "Why hasn't Lingrong arrived yet?"

  I smiled at her: "It's not easy to invite you, and I have to let my palace maid take a look so as not to startle the holy carriage."

  Meizhuang scolded with a smile, "This hoof's mouth is getting more and more arrogant!" while reaching out to pinch my face. I laughed and dodged, repeatedly begging for mercy.

  Just then, Ling Rong had brought in Ju Qing slowly, and Ju Qing was still holding a bunch of rhododendrons. Ling Rong pointed to the flowers in her hand and said: "There are many rhododendrons blooming in my palace, I saw that the color is good, so I let people pick some to let Sister Guan insert bottles."

  I busied myself letting them in, and had Jingqing bring over a vase to put the flowers in. Jingqing and Jucqing have always gotten along well, after putting the flowers in the vase they said their goodbyes and then went off together hand in hand to chat privately downstairs. I smiled at Lingrong and said: "Thanks for thinking of me and my love of these flowers. The narcissus you brought on New Year's Eve is lovely, it's helped to dissipate the medicinal smell in my room, otherwise with all the medicine smells in here, how could anyone live here?"

  Mei Zhuang said: "What's more? I think that medicine smells nice, better than those sachets and incense cakes of mine."

  Entering the warm pavilion and sitting down, a table of food had already been laid out: honey peanuts, walnut paste, apple soft candy, emerald bean cake, chestnut pastry, and two-colored bean cake.

  Chun Chang said on his way: "The dishes passed down from the imperial kitchen are really tasteless, and they're always bland in their mouths."

  Meizhuang said: "Their big dishes for the celebration are not bad, but if you really talk about good ones, they're not as fresh and appetizing as those from our small kitchen."

  My brother Chun often says: "It's hard to please everyone. Didn't you come here to taste the freshness?"

  Chun usually had a piece of emerald bean cake stuffed in his mouth, and he was still holding a piece of apple soft candy in his hand. His eyes were fixed on the plate of honey peanuts as he mumbled: "If it weren't for all the delicious food here at Guan's place, I'd really be starving."

  Meizhuang gently handed her a cup of fresh milk tea, and I patted her back: "Eat slowly, and if you choke, go back and cry."

  Liuzhu brought a yellow poplar wooden sign tube, inside which was placed a green bamboo flower nameplate. She shook it and put it in the middle. Meizhuang smiled and said: "I'll go first, but this is just a playful thing in the boudoir, don't take it seriously."

  The crowd shouted: "Who took it seriously? It's just a joke, why are you in such a hurry?"

  Meizhuang's face turned slightly red: "I just casually mentioned it."

  Everyone compared their ages, Mei Zhuang was the oldest, I was next, then Ling Rong and Chun'er. Mei Zhuang shook a tube and took out a flower stick, saying: "I'll go first, just looking at the bad luck, lost the fun." She drew it out and looked at it herself, then smiled and said: "It's really just for fun." She handed it to us to look at, on the bamboo stick was painted a cluster of golden flowers, below which were carved small characters writing a line of Tang poetry: "Tao Ling's hedge color, Luo Han's house fragrance".

  Ling Rong smiled and said, "You are like a chrysanthemum, living in a place called 'Cui Ju Tang', now you have received the emperor's favor, isn't it 'a fragrant house with a lovely lady'? It's really not wrong."

  "Look at Ling Rong, she's so used to it. I just say one sentence and she has ten sentences ready to retort back at me."

  Chun Chang said on the way: "Hui sister originally liked chrysanthemum most."

  Ling Rong covered her mouth and smiled: "See, I told you so? Chun's sister thinks so too."

  Meizhuang interrupted and said: "I'm fine, it's your turn." He then pushed the dice cup in front of me.

  I smiled and said, "Whatever." I carelessly picked one at random, but when I took a closer look, it was a pale pink apricot flower with the four characters "Hao Dang Feng Guang" (Vast and Grand Scenic Beauty) engraved on it, along with a line from a Tang poem: "The young lady carefully plucks the flowers, saying they are the first to be touched by spring breeze." As soon as I saw the apricot flower pattern, memories of past events flooded my mind, and even my face turned red like flying clouds.

  Chun Chang asked in surprise: "Elder sister Juan hasn't drunk wine, how come she's drunk?"

  Ling Rong snatched a glance and smiled, "Congratulations! The apricot is also auspicious, and it's the master of noble sons-in-law. Is the apricot blossom a sign of being favored?"

  Meizhuang walked over to take a look and also had a delighted expression: "Really? Zhang Zhuo's illness has been cured, it seems your illness will be cured soon too. After being bedridden for so long, now that the weather is warm, you should be recovering."

  Chun Chang held a piece of chestnut pastry and said, "Isn't it written on the contract that 'spring breeze brings first place'? But sister wants to take the imperial examination for women, does sister want to eat champion cake?"

  Ling Rong couldn't help but laugh and hugged her, saying: "You're always thinking about food, 'Spring Breeze Plus' is talking about your sister's spring arrival."

  I raised my hand to cover Rong Yu's mouth: "Don't talk about these indecent village rumors, and teach Chun'er not to learn well." And then said to Mei Zhuang: "This doesn't count, I'm just testing my luck."

  "You've seen a lot of shameless people, but never one as shameless as this." Mei Zhuang smiled: "Who made you the host? Let you get away with it once more. But after this time, you can't be shameless again."

  I said "thank you" and lifted the tube, shook it gently, and then pulled out a stick: "This time should be good." I looked up to see that it was a peach branch, still with four characters written on it, "Peach Blossom Explains the Language", and also a small poem "East wind floats and shines with reverence" (4) as an explanation. I smiled and said: "It's indeed correct. I live in Tongli Palace, and this morning the two peach blossoms in front of the hall had just bloomed."

  Meizhuang smiled after taking a glance: "Indeed, you're right. Haitang is also known as 'the flower that understands words'. Aren't you just a charming 'flower that understands words'?"

  Ling Rong had already handed me a cup of wine and brought it to my lips: "Come on, drink this cup as a toast."

  I raised my cup and drank it all in one gulp, suddenly feeling invigorated. I called for Flowing Vermilion and Emerald Green to come over, laughing as I said: "The second half of Su Dongpo's poem is 'Only fear that the flowers will sleep when night deepens, so burn high candles to illuminate the red makeup.' Go get two large red lanterns and use them to light up the sea of peach blossoms in front of the hall, don't let it fall asleep." The two of them chimed in unison as they went off to take care of it.

  Mei Zhuang stroked my cheek and said, "This little girl has gone mad today."

  Ling Rong said, "Why don't you have one too?"

  Ling Rong smiled and replied "yes", took a look, glanced at herself, but her hand loosened and the sign fell to the ground. Her cheeks were flushed with a drunken redness as she said: "This thing is no good, it's said to be a game for women in their chambers, but there are many ambiguous words on it."

  Everyone was puzzled, Chun'er quickly picked it up, but it was a tree with a note attached to the bottom that read: "Weak branches can be broken, tender feelings want to be poured out, several layers of faint shadows are sparse, good wind is like a bath" (5). Mei Zhuang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled: "I don't understand the rest, but I do understand 'tender feelings want to be poured out', but I don't know who Ling Rong's sister wants to pour out these tender feelings to."

  I suddenly recalled the past, and on the eve of entering the palace, the suppressed crying sound of Ling Rong seemed to echo in my ears again. My heart trembled, but I still smiled on my face, pretending to be unintentional, and said to Browning: "This tenderness is naturally the tenderness towards the emperor, could it be someone else? As we are imperial concubines, our hearts naturally have no other men besides the emperor."

  Although I was facing Mei Zhuang, my eyes were always watching Ling Rong's reaction. When she heard this, she lost her composure for only a very short moment. Her gaze quickly swept over my expression, and soon she smiled brightly at us: "Ling Rong is still young, how could she understand the 'tender feelings' that sisters like us talk about?" I smiled silently, having already said what needed to be said, and Ling Rong naturally should have understood too.

  Meizhuang said: "Ling Rong dropped her flower fan for no reason, she should be punished. Let's punish her with three cups instead."

  Ling Rong hastily begged for mercy: "I have a small capacity, one cup and I'm dizzy, how can I handle three cups? No way, no way."

  I saw the red candle flame on the table was a bit dim, so I pulled out a silver hairpin from my head to trim it. Unexpectedly, the wick "cracked" and burst into flames, and a big sparkler lit up. Mei Zhuang said: "What day is today? So many auspicious signs are all in your palace?"

  Ling Rong was also beaming with joy: "It seems that sister's body is indeed going to get better. Why don't you sing a song to congratulate your sister?"

  "This is indeed refreshing and elegant. I've never heard Sister Rong sing before. Please, Sister, sing a song for us to listen."

  The lady adjusted her clothes, and sang a gentle tune of "Good Things Are Near": The flowers are in bloom on the two mountains in spring, and the greenery surrounds the season. The rain swells up to the lake's surface at dawn, and the sky is clear and bright.

  The majestic orchid boat presses down on the deep waves, and the singing flute is cut off from the dust. It should face the thick and thin clouds, and see the true color of the lake and mountains.

  For a moment, there was complete silence. After Ling Rong finished singing, Chun'er said foolishly: "An Jie, your singing is really nice to listen to, I don't even think about eating my favorite walnut candies."

  I exclaimed in surprise: "What a hidden talent! Indeed, you have been hiding your skills from us. I had no idea you could sing so well. It's truly 'This melody should only exist in heaven, how rare it is to hear it in the mortal world'!"

  Meizhuang listened with rapt attention, saying: "If I had heard her sing earlier, what would 'Miaoyin' be? The two characters 'Miaoyin' should belong to you alone."

  Ling Rong's face turned red as she humbly said: "It's just a trivial skill, and it would be laughable to sisters."

  "What's so funny? After listening to this song, I didn't know the taste of meat for three months."

  They chatted and laughed for a while, then urged Chun to take out the flower card to show me. She put it in my hand and said: "Sister Juan, please help me see, I don't understand." I helped her look at it, and it was painted with a small jasmine branch, next to which was written: "Although there is no stunning beauty to astonish the crowd, fortunately there is a fragrance that surpasses all of autumn" (6), and in smaller characters: "The heavenly king's weaving girl's hairpin flower".

  A chill ran through my heart, and I suddenly felt a bad omen. But immediately, I smiled at her and said, "This is good talk." And then I advised her, "If you like to eat something else, take some more, there are still some left in the small kitchen, go pick out what you like and I'll have Xia Gongnu pack it for you to bring back." She listened and happily skipped off to the kitchen.

  "What? Did you draw a bad one?"

  I smiled: "Nothing much, just that it's not as good as our two." After thinking for a moment, I said: "The flowers are nice, but those words are piercing to the heart."

  "What did you say?"

  "The heavenly king weaves a flower hairpin. Legend has it that during the Eastern Jin dynasty, women would wear flowers on Heavenly King's Festival to... mourn the Weaving Maiden."

  Ling Rong's face changed slightly, and she forced a smile: "It was just a joke in the boudoir, don't take it seriously."

  Just then, Mei Zhuang's maid Cai Yue came in and said: "Reporting to the young master, the emperor rested at Hongniu Pavilion today."

  "Alright, you can go down first."

  Seeing her leave, Cai Man said: "Good girl Yu Niangzi, she has turned things around so quickly!"

  Ling Rong looked puzzled: "Didn't you just come out from your closed-door reflection?"

  Meizhuang picked up a peanut in her hand, not eating it, but pinching it back and forth between her fingers. The red skin on the surface of the peanut floated down lightly into the crevices of her white fingers, falling off in tiny fragments of red dust. Meizhuang patted her hand and said: "This is someone else's skill now. It's already the third night, and it's only been a few days since it was released, but it has acknowledged its debt three times..." Meizhuang clenched her teeth slightly, but didn't continue speaking.

  "How did you turn over so quickly?" I asked.

  It is said that she knelt outside the Yuanyuan Palace and sang for a whole night, her voice hoarse, before the emperor showed mercy once again.

  Her expression was hidden between her eyebrows, and she twisted the handkerchief in her hand, saying: "That one has always been at odds with Sister Hui. Although her status is low, she is very arrogant. Now it seems that the emperor is likely to promote her status again." As she spoke, she secretly looked at Mei Zhuang's expression.

  I stood up, brushed off the peanut crumbs on my collar and said: "Since even you are wary of her, others will be too. If she doesn't change that arrogant attitude of hers, I'm afraid it won't take long before someone else can't stand it anymore."

  "Unless absolutely necessary, I will never take action lightly."

  I smiled and said, "It's just a trivial matter, why bother being so worked up about it."

  Everyone was silent, sitting upright and listening to the sound of the clepsydra "drip drip" echoing. Mei Zhuang smiled and said: "It's not early anymore, let's take our leave first."

  I saw them out of the palace gate, and then returned to the back hall to rest. In my midnight dream, I vaguely heard the watch drum beating again and again, and I always felt that there was a smiling shadow like a bright sunlight breaking through the heavy apricot flower shadows, shining in front of me.

  Note: (1), "Gu Feng Tang Feng Chou Miao": This is a song sung when making noise in the new room. The three chapters of the poem have the same meaning, the first two sentences are exciting, creating a lingering atmosphere, and pointing out the time; The next four sentences use playful words to tease this newlyweds: ask him (her) how to enjoy this happy love in this beautiful night scene.

  (2) "The color of the Tao's fence, the fragrance of Luo's house." from Tang Dynasty Li Shangyin's "Chrysanthemum"

  (3) "The maiden picked it with great care, saying it was the spring breeze and the first flower" from Tang Dynasty Zheng Gu's "Qujiang Red Apricot"

  (4) From Song Dynasty Su Dongpo's "Sea Buckthorn"

  (5) From "Midnight Joy - Ode to Tuberose"

  (6) From Song Dynasty Jiang Kui