The emperor was not a man who easily believed what others said.
But this flower—he had seen it with his own eyes, clear and true.
Duoduo’s words, moreover, had pleased him greatly.
He was the emperor, master of life and death over all beneath heaven.
Even flowers, upon seeing him, vied to bloom in competition.
Did that not mean he was the equal of the Heavenly Emperor himself?
“Hahaha! Good! Very good!” The emperor stroked his chin, immensely delighted.
Not far away, Eunuch Li silently marked the position of the Princess of Changle a little higher in his mind.
When the emperor was pleased, it was his habit to bestow gifts.
“Xiao Li, reward…”
The emperor stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that this flower—unlike a person—could not be so easily rewarded.
Eunuch Li hurried forward, his mind racing to find a way to save the emperor from embarrassment.
A reward?
What could one give a flower?
Gold and silver were useless; wealth and status were irrelevant!
Oh heavens, think, you fool, think!
Though it was only three or four steps, Eunuch Li felt as though he were walking on a blade.
Just then, the emperor’s sleeve was tugged.
“Imperial Uncle, this flower bloomed for you. It must want you to come and see it more often.”
“A person dresses up to please the one they love—so too does a flower.”
The emperor, now given a graceful way out, was very pleased.
“Well said! Xiao Li, issue the order.”
“No one else is to enter Kunning Palace, so as not to disturb these… flowers.”
Eunuch Li paused for a moment, then replied with a broad smile.
“As you command!”
Duoduo grew anxious. “Imperial Grandfather, can my father and I still come here?”
The emperor nodded.
“Of course you can. I believe it… wishes the same.”
Duoduo heard this and felt that something was off, though she couldn’t say what.
Just then, Lüdou approached, carrying freshly made osmanthus rice cakes.
The newly steamed cakes carried a faint, ethereal scent of osmanthus, drifting through the air.
The emperor caught the fragrance and seemed to pause, as if struck by a sudden thought.
“Oh! The smell of osmanthus cake!” Duoduo turned joyfully.
“Lüdou, you made osmanthus cake today!”
Lüdou smiled as she curtsied.
“Your servant heard from Eunuch Li that there were osmanthus preserves and osmanthus honey in the palace, so I made these.”
“When the osmanthus blooms this year, I’ll store some myself, so I can make them for you in winter too.”
Duoduo nodded happily.
“Good! Osmanthus is the best!”
As the emperor listened to Duoduo and Lüdou’s conversation, he seemed to see others through them.
“Imperial Grandfather, these osmanthus cakes taste best while they’re hot!”
Duoduo said this as she turned around.
She saw the emperor looking at her with a very strange expression.
“Imperial Grandfather?” Duoduo called out cautiously, a trace of unease in her voice.
Beside her, Eunuch Li gripped his horsetail whisk tighter, bending his waist even lower.
After a long while, the emperor finally reached out and took a piece of osmanthus cake.
He raised it to his lips and took a small bite, chewing it very, very slowly.
When he had finished the cake, the emperor slowly wiped his hands clean with his handkerchief.
“Xiao Li, a reward.”
“As you command.” Eunuch Li took a pouch from his side and handed it to Lüdou.
Lüdou knelt and kowtowed to the emperor.
“Your servant thanks the Emperor for his generosity!”
The emperor waved his hand, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked away.
“Farewell, Imperial Grandfather!” Duoduo curtsied.
Only after the emperor’s figure had disappeared into the distance did Lüdou dare to rise from the ground.
She helped Duoduo to her feet, her face full of worry.
“Your Highness, I made those cakes just as I always do.”
“Could it be that His Majesty did not like the taste?”
The emperor had seemed so delighted just moments before.
But after eating Lüdou’s osmanthus cake, his smile had vanished, and he had left without a word.
Lüdou feared that her cooking had caused trouble for Duoduo.
Duoduo, too, was puzzled about what had happened.
She took a piece of osmanthus cake and nibbled at it.
The flavor was the same as she was used to, though the osmanthus tasted different from what she had at home.
Could it be that Imperial Grandfather simply didn’t like osmanthus?
After finishing her bite, Duoduo patted Lüdou’s hand.
“The taste is excellent. Perhaps Imperial Grandfather was just reminded of some state affairs.”
“Come, let’s go rest for the afternoon.”
Duoduo’s words made Lüdou’s eyes light up.
“Your Highness, you’re right!”
“Could His Majesty be worried about the drought?”
“By your servant’s reckoning, if this dry spell continues, I don’t know if the osmanthus trees will even survive to bloom.”
A glint flashed through Duoduo’s eyes.
She remembered what Nurse Li had told her about the emperor preparing to pray for rain at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
“You’re right! Imperial Grandfather must be worried about that.”
Lüdou helped Duoduo toward the palace chambers, muttering softly.
“Didn’t you say that rain comes from clouds?”
“But the sky has been clear for days without a single cloud—how can it rain?”
Duoduo’s mood grew heavy.
At that moment, in Yonghe Palace, Consort Shu angrily crumpled the paper on her desk into a ball and flung it to the floor.
“Your Highness, please don’t be angry!” Her personal maid quickly bent to retrieve the paper.
“Not be angry? How can I not be angry!”
“I could tolerate the Noble Consort Li, but now even a child has outmaneuvered me?”
“This insult—I cannot swallow it!”
The more Consort Shu thought, the angrier she became.
Not only had the emperor confined her to her palace, but he had also ordered her to copy the Dao De Jing a hundred times!
Would that take her years to finish?
A hundred copies of the Dao De Jing!
Her hands would cramp and break!
The emperor had shown her no mercy at all!
The more Consort Shu fumed, the less she could bring herself to write another word.
She threw down her brush and stood up to leave.
Suddenly, she felt an itch on her neck.
Consort Shu scratched at it gently.
But the more she scratched, the worse it itched.
The worse it itched, the more she scratched!
Within moments, she had clawed several bloody lines into her neck.
“Your Highness!”
Her maid rushed over and grabbed Consort Shu’s hands.
Consort Shu, irritated by the interruption, slapped her.
“How dare you!”
The maid collapsed to the floor but dared not cry. She scrambled up.
From the dressing table, she fetched a bronze mirror and held it before Consort Shu.
“Your Highness, you must not scratch! It’s already bleeding!”
Only then did Consort Shu see the several bloody welts on her neck.
She was terrified.
How had she not felt any pain?
Instead, the scratching had seemed to soothe her?
Consort Shu quickly gripped her own hands, struggling to stop herself from scratching again.
But the itch seemed to spread from her neck to her entire body.
She resisted for a moment, but couldn’t hold out.
She scratched at her hand.
Instantly, a bloody trace appeared.
Seeing it, Consort Shu’s face turned pale with fright.
“Quick! Summon the imperial physician!” Her voice cracked in panic.
The maid rushed out to fetch the doctor.
Consort Shu twisted and writhed like a worm.
She felt as though countless insects were crawling through her body.
She wanted to scratch but had to hold back.
Yet the more she held back, the more intense the itching became.
When the imperial physician finally arrived in haste, he found Consort Shu with her hand already slipping inside her robes.
