Chapter 3

The Wei residence’s flower gathering was spectacularly eventful. One young lady won the poetry contest. One fell into a pond. One ate a pastry, suffered an allergic reaction, and fainted. Another soiled her skirt, went to change, and was later discovered in a side room locked in passionate congress.

The young ladies of the imperial capital truly lived in a hostile environment.

Unfortunately, the one who fell into the pond was Princess Qingyun. Prince Li stood right beside her and refused to jump in, so a notorious young wastrel rescued her instead.

It happened in full view of the crowd, which meant she had no choice but to marry him.

I thought everyone had lost their minds. Why should pulling someone out of the water mean you had to marry them? Why did none of these men marry the maids who helped them bathe every day?

And who decided the man who watched his cousin drown was respectable, while the man who saved her was a wastrel?

Princess Qingyun wept as she prepared to move out. Before she left, I ran into her at the residence.

“Le Yao, have you come to laugh at me?”

I was literally just walking down the road!

“I clung to this place for so many years and still failed to become Princess Li. By now, I must be the laughingstock of the entire capital.”

“But who knows who’ll have the last laugh?”

Her cold metal nail guard settled over my hand. “Le Yao, stay here and watch for me.”

We had gossiped about Wei Qingzhi together exactly once. Were we this close now?

I wanted to tell her that her cousin was truly no prize, while the young wastrel could swim, shared no blood with her, and could give her perfectly healthy children. But I could not say that.

Instead, I said, “Your Highness, you’ll have to pay this servant for the work.”

The capable get more work. The capable get more work. I needed to copy those words ten thousand times as a warning to myself.

Although Wei Qingzhi’s flower gathering had been a disaster, the flowers themselves were a success. The only blemish was that someone mentioned an exceedingly rare peony she had failed to grow.

Prince Li said, “I wish to surprise Qingzhi.”

With an aching heart, I carried more wine to Old Liu on East Street. Old Liu said, “You may have some talent, but even I have only seen this flower in books.”

My vision darkened. In that instant, I calculated the exact value of my estate.

Perhaps the wine was better this time, because Old Liu grew drunk very quickly.

“Forty years ago,” he said, “the late emperor had a sudden whim. He wanted a marvelous flower grown for his favorite consort.”

“Every petal on that one flower had to be a different color.”

Old Liu laughed. “It would’ve been hideous.”

“Did you grow it?” I asked.

“No. Nobody did. The masters ahead of me were beheaded one after another. Head after head rolled across the ground. I was terrified! In the end, only a green boy like me remained.”

“I was younger than you are now.”

Old Liu took another enormous drink.

“Guess what happened in the end?”

“I found a large white peony and dyed it with juices from other flowers and vegetables.”

“I presented it with my knees shaking, terrified the consort would see through it. She praised it a few times, then had someone set it aside.”

“I couldn’t sleep, day or night. I was afraid the flower would grow, or wilt, or fade. Afraid someone would discover the truth and my head would roll too!”

“But it never happened. Guess why? Nobody cared.”

Old Liu looked at me gravely. “You’re still young. You don’t understand that they don’t care.”

As he spoke, he poured wine onto the ground and staggered. I could not help reaching out to steady him.

He murmured, “Master… this wine has a kick. I brought it for you.”