Chapter 12: Flower Appreciation Banquet

Lan Wu pondered when Chu Mingheng would come to see her, but given his temperament, it was more likely he wouldn’t visit her at all and would instead wait for her to take the initiative to approach him.

During her recovery period, she didn’t have to worry about any imperial concubines causing trouble for her. After all, Chu Mingheng had just put on that display, clearly meant to be seen by others.

But once she recovered, how was she supposed to meet Chu Mingheng?

Now she was merely a dancer from the Music Bureau—how could it be so easy to have an audience with the emperor?

Lan Wu lay in bed reading a book, but she couldn’t focus at all. Her mind was entirely preoccupied with thoughts, leaving no room for the words on the page.

At first, after genuinely being strangled to death, the resentment in her heart had nearly burst through the heavens.

She hated Consort Shu and Consort Rou for always tripping her up, hated not knowing who had killed her, and hated Chu Mingheng for refusing to take her to Changyong Mountain for the sacrificial rites. If Chu Mingheng had taken her along, she surely wouldn’t have died.

But she also hated herself for underestimating others’ jealousy, falling into someone else’s trap, and ultimately dying so helplessly.

After hating for so long, when she opened her eyes again, the world spun, and she had returned to the very beginning. She thought it was all a dream, but the familiar scenes couldn’t be dismissed as merely a dream.

She didn’t want to walk that old path again, but she truly wasn’t clever. Wandering in circles, whether led by Chu Mingheng or stumbling on her own mistakes, she now had no choice but to follow this path.

And Chu Mingheng… seemed to have changed somewhat.

In her previous life, right up until Consort Li sent her to dance at Taichen Palace, Chu Mingheng had always appeared largely indifferent to her. Yet later, she could sense that he didn’t dislike her as much as he seemed on the surface.

This life, however, was strange. From the start, Chu Mingheng had taken her side, publicly humiliating Consort Shu in front of everyone.

How could she smoothly get in front of Chu Mingheng?

If Chu Mingheng didn’t come, how could she, on her own, reach the Imperial Presence?

Lan Wu thought carefully, nearly racking her brains, until she finally remembered something.

Her recovery would take at most half a month. Coincidentally, half a month later would be mid-April, when Princess Yizhen would enter the palace to host a flower appreciation banquet. Perhaps she could see Chu Mingheng then.

As long as she could see him, everything else would be manageable.

As she expected, during these two weeks, aside from the court physician who regularly came to change her bandages, no one from the Imperial Presence or from the entourages of the various palace concubines approached her.

Lan Wu spent this time in excessive comfort, undisturbed by anyone.

Yet the more peaceful it was, the more it signaled the urgency of time.

In Consort Shu’s Yifang Hall, several people sat below the main seat. The incense in the hall was faint, and tea and pastries were served on the tables beside them, the aroma of tea slowly drifting through the air.

“Your Highness, in a few days, Princess Yizhen will host the flower appreciation banquet. You could simply give orders for the arrangements to be handled below. Why trouble yourself to oversee it personally, exhausting your mind and spirit?”

Zhaoyi Wen hadn’t gone to the Imperial Garden to witness the scene last time and had only heard about the incident from others later. She felt the palace servants’ accounts were embellished and couldn’t be taken entirely seriously, so she didn’t pay it much mind.

Though she didn’t dwell on it, she could clearly sense Consort Shu’s foul mood and had wisely avoided her presence. Today, Xiuyi Bai had come to her palace, and they had come together to pay their respects to Consort Shu.

Consort Shu’s lips curved slightly into a smile. “Last time, when Consort Rou handled the Longevity Festival, it was nothing but one mishap after another. She herself was thoroughly embarrassed. Now, with Princess Yizhen organizing the flower-viewing banquet, it still falls to me to oversee it. Naturally, I should keep a close watch to avoid any further blunders.”

That dancer named Lan Wu alone was a major joke. At His Majesty’s Longevity Festival, a mere dancer had so brazenly captured His Majesty’s attention, and Consort Rou seemed completely unaware of it.

Then there was Consort Li’s deceased personal maid, Yuzhu. It was only by His Majesty’s mercy that no blame was assigned; otherwise, Consort Rou should have been demoted.

Zhaoyi Wen and Xiuyi Bai exchanged a subtle glance before lowering their heads and murmuring in agreement.

“But, Your Ladyship, the Music Bureau dancers will likely perform again this time. Should we be cautious about that one… named Lan Wu?”

Consort Shu appeared unconcerned, letting out a light, dismissive laugh. “Why bother? If she wants to dance, let her. If she doesn’t come, I’d even force her to. If her dancing can attract His Majesty’s attention, then that’s her own skill.”

After all, His Majesty was hardly eager to attend such trivial flower-viewing banquets.

Xiuyi Bai frowned slightly. “But what if something happens? In my opinion, that Lan Wu doesn’t seem like an honest sort.”

“How so?” Zhaoyi Wen, unaware of the details, asked curiously.

“After the incident in the Imperial Garden last time, once Your Ladyship had left, I had a palace maid escort her back to the Music Bureau. Everything was fine along the way, but right at the entrance, with so many people around, the girl suddenly fell, making a spectacle of herself.”

“A fall is just a fall, but she had to go and say things that only made her seem more suspicious… It really didn’t seem accidental.”

Xiuyi Bai felt a headache coming on. This matter wasn’t particularly significant now, as Lan Wu was merely a lowly dancer. But if she were later promoted to become an imperial concubine and gained His Majesty’s favor, she might very well use this incident to cause trouble. By then, it would be unclear who would come out on top.

Hearing this, Consort Shu’s expression twisted with disgust, though she forcibly suppressed it. “If she’s not honest, all the better. There will be plenty of people to deal with her. Perhaps I won’t even need to lift a finger.”

“Your Ladyship, there’s also the matter of Beauty Rong. I’ve heard she’s been frequenting Bì Wēi Lake these past few days and has encountered His Majesty several times. His Majesty even admired calligraphy and paintings with her.”

Zhaoyi Wen found this amusing. “Beauty Rong puts on such an air of aloofness, yet she’s not above using such forward methods. If she could maintain that aloofness to the end, I might actually think more highly of her.”

“Among the newly entered imperial concubines, she’s the only one who has gained a bit of favor. But with His Majesty not entering the rear palace for a month now, what choice does a mere Beauty have but to be forward?” Consort Shu also looked down on Beauty Rong. In fact, she looked down on every imperial concubine in the entire palace—there wasn’t a single one she held in esteem.

“Your Ladyship speaks wisely.”

The stage was set; all that remained was to sit back and enjoy the show.

On the seventeenth day of the fourth month, after several days of overcast skies, the weather finally cleared. The day before, the servants from the Linheng Office had already arranged the prepared flowers throughout the Imperial Garden.

Consort Shu had chosen a particularly clever location—near Liuyuan, where Lan Wu had danced last time. This garden was named Xu Garden, featuring a winding stream created by channeling live water for the “floating wine cups” tradition. The imperial concubines would be seated comfortably along the corridor, with the meandering stream flowing gently before them.

In her previous life, Lan Wu only celebrated one birthday, which she had obtained by whispering in Chu Mingheng’s ear for over ten days.

The birthday celebration was held with great fanfare, also at Xu Garden, where imperial concubines from every palace came to offer their congratulations. That day, Lan Wu felt incomparably joyful, as if she had never experienced such happiness in her entire life.

Standing once again beneath the corridor of Xu Garden, Lan Wu forced herself to snap back to reality.

Dwelling on those memories was pointless—only focusing on the present moment and the tasks at hand would serve any purpose.