After admiring the autumn chrysanthemums, Concubine Zhao decided to visit the ailing matriarch, Lady Wu. Before heading to Lady Wu’s residence, she deliberately changed into plain, understated clothing and removed the gold and jade ornaments from her hair.
She put on a worried expression and went to Lady Wu’s quarters with her maidservant in tow.
Lady Wu’s bedchamber was thick with the scent of medicine. Her face was deathly pale, her cheeks so hollow that they seemed nothing but skin stretched over bone. She lay weakly on the bed as an elderly nurse prepared to prop her up and administer her medicine.
“Let me take care of Sister,” Concubine Zhao offered, stepping forward to take the medicine bowl from the nurse.
With a cushion supporting her lower back, Lady Wu leaned weakly against the bedframe, her eyes filled with gratitude. “Little Sister, my health worsens by the day… It’s so kind of you to care for me daily… cough…”
Concubine Zhao’s eyes reddened. She clasped Lady Wu’s hand and said softly, “Sister, if not for you saving me back then, I might still be singing in some tavern. I regard you as my own sister—caring for you is my duty.”
Her words were heartfelt.
Moved by emotion, tears fell like broken strings of pearls.
After drinking the bitter medicine, Lady Wu grew drowsy and sank back into a dazed slumber. Her mind foggy, she instinctively asked Concubine Zhao, “Little Sister… has Fanglan written to me?”
Concubine Zhao tucked the blankets around Lady Wu and answered gently, “Fanglan is neither favored in the palace nor well-regarded by the Empress Dowager. She has no means to send letters. But don’t worry, Sister—Fanglan is the Xie Family’s legitimate daughter. No one in the palace would dare mistreat her.”
Lady Wu sighed deeply, murmuring to herself, “That child is too naive… I never should have let her enter the palace…”
Soon, she drifted into a heavy sleep.
Concubine Zhao wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, assumed a troubled expression, and left Lady Wu’s chambers.
The courtyard was quiet in the afternoon. Servants moved about softly, trimming the chrysanthemum branches. Inside the room, Lady Wu, who had seemed to be asleep, slowly opened her eyes.
The elderly nurse hurried over and handed her a medicinal pill. After swallowing it, the color gradually returned to Lady Wu’s pallid face. Her voice hoarse, she asked, “When will my elder brother return to Yanjing?”
The main branch of the Wu Family was rooted in the southern Jiangnan region, far from the capital. In this generation, the Wu lineage consisted only of Lady Wu and her brother, who shared a deep bond.
The nurse replied, “Madam, the head of the Wu Family received your letter and is already on his way to Yanjing. He should arrive in about half a month.”
Lady Wu closed her eyes, tears streaming down.
Her voice cracked as she clenched the blankets with her bony hands, hatred simmering in her words. “I was blind—deceived by Xie Ji and that vile Concubine Zhao! My poor Fanglan, thrown into the dragon’s den that is the imperial palace…”
When she first married into the Xie Family, she had believed her marriage harmonious. For years, she had upheld her duties as the matriarch, maintaining mutual respect with her husband.
But no secret remains hidden forever. Time reveals a person’s true nature.
In recent years, as Lady Wu suddenly fell gravely ill, she began to sense something amiss. Reflecting on the past affection she had shared with her husband, she tore away his facade of kindness—only to find it filled with filthy, despicable schemes.
The nurse said sympathetically, “Madam, appearances deceive. Who could have guessed the Xie Family would stoop so low? Don’t fret. Once the Wu Family head arrives in Yanjing, your troubles will be resolved.”
Lady Wu gazed out the window, where the clear afternoon sunlight streamed in, casting a glaring brightness that stung her eyes.
She coughed violently, clutching her chest. “I pray it will be so.”
---
Five days later, Shen Wei summoned the imperial concubines to announce the revised palace regulations.
From then on, concubines holding the rank of Noble Lady or higher could apply twice a year for their closest female relatives to visit them in the palace.
Naturally, the Empress Dowager approved of Shen Wei’s proposal, and the Emperor raised no objections. However, a few conservative officials from the Ministry of Rites submitted memorials opposing the change, claiming it violated ancestral customs.
This posed no challenge for Shen Wei.
Several concubines had fathers or relatives serving in the Ministry of Rites. Stubborn old men might resist, but their wives, driven by maternal love, could be relentless. After some persuasion—and perhaps a few domestic quarrels—the conservative officials were forced to relent.
The new regulations were smoothly implemented.
Concubine Lan was overjoyed. Since entering the palace, she had missed her mother dearly. As soon as the new rules were announced, she eagerly petitioned Shen Wei for permission to summon Lady Wu for a visit.
Shen Wei granted her request without hesitation.
Concubine Lan returned to Huayang Palace in high spirits, ordering the servants to thoroughly clean every corner. Withered flowers in the courtyard were replaced with fresh chrysanthemums in full bloom.
No longer listless, Concubine Lan seemed to glow with renewed vitality.
Two days later, the Xie Family submitted a request to Shen Wei, seeking entry to the palace to visit Concubine Lan.
“Tong’er, how do I look in this dress?” In Huayang Palace, Concubine Lan wore an elegant pink-blue brocade gown, her ears adorned with moonstone pendants.
Her personal maid praised, “Your beauty is peerless, Mistress. Your mother will surely be delighted.”
Concubine Lan sighed, sitting back before the mirror. She touched her still-lovely face and murmured wistfully, “Alas, the palace is never short of beauties… Tong’er, go check the palace gates again. When will my mother arrive?”
The maid smiled. “Don’t be impatient, Mistress. I checked just an incense stick’s time ago—the Xie Family’s carriage is already waiting at the gates. Lady Wu must first pay respects to Consort Chen before she can see you.”
As was customary, noblewomen entering the palace had to first greet the Empress.
But with the Empress confined in Kunning Palace, Consort Chen now presided over the imperial harem. Thus, the Xie Family’s women had to visit her first.
Concubine Lan rested her chin on her hand, tapping the table with slender fingers. “Mother… please hurry.”
---
Yongning Palace.
It was a day of rest, and Shen Wei, finding herself idle, gathered a small basket of chrysanthemums from the garden to make tea.
Li Yuanjing watched with a twitching eyelid. He plucked a vibrant golden bloom and said, “Do you know how rare this ‘West Lake Willow Moon’ variety is?”
Seated in the pavilion, Shen Wei peeled away the wilted petals from the flowers and replied, “They’ll wither soon anyway. Better to turn them into tea than let them rot in the mud.”
She set the basket on the table and beckoned to Li Yuanjing. “Your Majesty, don’t just stand there—help me sort the petals. Otherwise, when the tea’s ready, I’ll drink it all myself and leave none for you.”
Li Yuanjing raised a brow but eventually sat beside her. Mimicking her movements, he began plucking the best petals from the center of each flower.
A cool autumn breeze stirred the pavilion’s silk curtains, their figures flickering in and out of view.
As he handled the delicate blossoms, Li Yuanjing was reminded of years past—when he and Shen Wei had taken refuge in Liu Family Village. He would skin his hunt in the yard while she bustled about the kitchen.
Carefree days, simple and sweet.
The busier the court affairs became, the more he longed for the tranquility of pastoral life.
"Your Majesty, Master, the women of the Xie Family have come to pay their respects," Cai Lian announced respectfully from outside the waterside pavilion.
