Not only were there no flowers, but even the branches and leaves of the peonies were drooping, looking as if they were about to die.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang could not believe her eyes; she quickly walked over.
The peonies in this garden were grown from seedlings that the Prince of Pingyang had personally ordered people to transport all the way from the capital, thousands of miles away.
They had been cultivated in a greenhouse for a long time before being transplanted into the courtyard.
This year, the flowers had bloomed so beautifully for the first time.
She had only been away from the estate for a few days; how could the flowers have withered?
Looking at the flowerbed full of dying peonies, the Princess Consort of Pingyang felt her heart ache terribly.
"Sangju, go and call the steward over!"
"Yes, milady."
Sangju hurried away.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang crouched down and picked up a fallen flower bud.
As soon as the bud touched her hand, it crumbled into individual petals.
The heart of the Princess Consort of Pingyang shattered, just like those petals.
Clutching the petals tightly, she stood up.
The steward came jogging over, his forehead covered in sweat.
As soon as he drew near, he dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Forgive me, Your Highness! The gardener who originally tended this flowerbed said he had a family emergency and asked for a few days off."
"Yesterday, when I noticed something was wrong with the flowers here, I immediately sent someone to look for him."
"However, the person I sent returned and said that the gardener never went home at all; he has disappeared."
"I have already sent people to find a new gardener, and we should be able to find one today."
After finishing his report, the steward remained prostrate on the ground, not daring to rise.
"Disappeared? He didn't go home?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at the steward suspiciously.
The steward lowered his body even further.
"That is what his family said."
"Didn't the gardener of the estate sign a deed of indenture?" the Princess Consort of Pingyang suddenly recalled.
"To answer Your Highness, back then, because the Prince of Pingyang and Your Highness returned in such a hurry..."
"...I was the one who went out to find a gardener."
"He is a veteran gardener, quite famous in Xianyang City."
The steward's words suddenly drew the Princess Consort of Pingyang's attention to a detail she had overlooked.
Because her health had been poor in the past, many affairs within the princely estate had been entrusted to the steward.
This steward had been managing affairs in Xianyang and had followed the Prince of Pingyang for many years.
Therefore, the Princess Consort of Pingyang trusted him deeply and handed all the estate's affairs over to him.
Originally, the Pingyang princely estate only had two masters—her and the Prince of Pingyang—so the estate's affairs were relatively simple.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang would simply listen to the steward's reports on the estate's matters every once in a while.
There had never been any major blunders in the estate's affairs.
Thus, the Princess Consort of Pingyang had never asked too many questions.
Only now did she realize that the estate's gardener was not actually bound to the princely estate.
However, she happened to have a very good memory.
She remembered clearly that the gardener's name was on the list of servants provided by the steward.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang silently watched the steward, who was kneeling properly on the ground.
"Rise. Go quickly and ask if anyone can come and see what is wrong with these flowers."
"These flowers were specially transplanted from the capital by the Prince of Pingyang."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at the flowerbed with a pained expression.
"Yes, I will go find someone personally right away."
The steward bowed and hurried away.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang tightly gripped the petals in her palm, her mind racing.
According to custom, today was the day the steward was supposed to come over to check the accounts.
Every time they checked the accounts, the steward would submit the ledger in advance.
After the Princess Consort of Pingyang had reconciled the accounts, she would summon him to inquire about the details.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
Seeing the Princess Consort of Pingyang looking as if she might collapse, Sangju, who was standing to the side, hurriedly supported her.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang leaned against Sangju to catch her breath.
This body of hers was truly too weak.
Even getting angry made her dizzy.
"Sangju, support me. Let's take a few walks around the garden."
"Yes."
Sangju carefully supported the Princess Consort of Pingyang as they took small steps through the garden.
Gradually, the Princess Consort of Pingyang recovered her strength and let go of Sangju's hand.
She walked around the garden, observing it closely.
Normally, she rarely left her room, and she hardly ever strolled through the garden.
It was her first time truly seeing what the princely estate's garden looked like.
There were many flowers in the garden.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang saw that many precious flowers were actually planted in the flowerbeds.
These flowers were very delicate.
In other words, if they were not tended to perfectly, the money spent on buying them would just be thrown down the drain.
The more the Princess Consort of Pingyang looked, the more stifled she felt in her chest.
"Mother!"
Hearing Duoduo's cheerful voice, the Princess Consort of Pingyang quickly composed her expression.
By the time she turned around, her face had returned to normal.
"Duoduo, have you finished your exercises?"
Duoduo skipped over to the Princess Consort of Pingyang's side.
She nodded, "Yep!"
"Why did Mother come to the garden too? Did you come specifically to pick me up?"
Duoduo felt that her mother's expression was a bit strange.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang smiled gently.
"Yes, Mother thought the morning air was fresh, so I came out for a stroll and to meet you along the way."
Duoduo tilted her head, "Mother, I'm going back to wash up. Will you come with me?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang nodded.
"Alright."
Duoduo felt strange inside. What was wrong with her mother?
Golden words began to scroll before Duoduo's eyes.
[This Princess Consort of Pingyang is only lamenting the death of her peonies. She really is simple-minded.]
[The Princess Consort of Pingyang is the lady of the house, yet she can't even manage the inner courtyard properly. No wonder the Prince of Pingyang was framed by others!]
[The Prince of Pingyang actually thought he had cleared out all the spies in the princely estate.]
[Little does he know, sigh...]
Duoduo blinked and stared at the sky above.
The golden words scrolled to this point and suddenly stopped.
Duoduo was very anxious.
She closed her eyes and opened them again.
The golden words were still stuck at "sigh".
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was walking with a mind full of thoughts when she accidentally caught sight of Duoduo's expression out of the corner of her eye.
She looked up at the sky, but there was nothing there.
"What's wrong, Duoduo?"
Duoduo snapped back to reality and looked at the sky.
"Mother, it's going to rain!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at the gathering dark clouds in the sky and nodded absentmindedly.
"Indeed, it's going to rain soon. You must not run around in the garden today."
Soon, they were about to pass the flowerbed where the peonies were planted.
Duoduo found it a bit strange; normally, this flowerbed was full of blooming flowers.
When she got closer, she saw that the branches and leaves of the peonies were all drooping.
Many peony buds had fallen to the ground.
"Mother, why have all these flowers fallen?"
Duoduo asked in surprise.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang tightened her grip on Duoduo's hand, "Let's go. Didn't you want to go back and wash up?"
Duoduo followed the Princess Consort of Pingyang away, looking back over her shoulder with every step.
She remembered the information revealed by the golden words just now.
Was Mother very sad because the flowers had withered?
She had to think of a way to make Mother happy!
Suddenly, she thought of a great idea.
"Mother, after the rain, the peonies will bloom beautifully!"
