Chapter 25

Flower Viewing

After the ambassadors left, the imperial palace is once again busy with preparing for the Empress' Flower Viewing event. Ever since her ascension to the Empress throne, Ziyi had not hosted a flower viewing event till now.

The Flower Viewing event is usually hosted by the Empress when all the flowers in the Imperial Garden bloomed in spring time. In older times, it is but a simple flower viewing event where people would gather to enjoy tea and the beauty of the flowers. Overtime, this event had become one of the biggest social gathering for royals and nobles alike. Aside from enjoying teas, the attending young ladies are also welcome to offer up their talents like singing and dancing to make the event more lively. These young ladies also hope to catch the Empress' eyes so that they could be chosen to become the Crown Prince's wife. Although not often, but the Emperor and the Princes are welcome to attend the event to socialize or to pick out any girls they are interested in. Therefore, most of the nobles' daughters that attend this event are of marriageable age. The noble men are not allowed to join in this event as it is hosted within the inner court of the palace where non-eunuch men are not allowed access unless summoned.

Wu Jinhai, the Fifth Prince of China, was staring at all the maids, eunuchs and guards running around trying to set up for the event. He was standing by the Imperial Garden's entrance, waiting for one of them to finally notice his presence. He was about to give these servants hell when someone spoke up behind him.

"Isn't this my Fifth Royal Brother? What are you doing here?"

Jinhai didn't even bother to turn around as he recognized who the voice belongs to. Wu Geming, the Sixth Prince of China, stops beside his brother and take a quick look around the imperial garden. "Ah, you're pissed off that you're not important enough for Royal Mother to throw a flower viewing event on your behalf, to help you look for a good match," Geming commented, smirking with satisfaction when Jinhai threw him a death glare.

"You can only blame your mother for not being as good of a seductress as our Royal Mother," Geming continues.

Jinhai wanted to throw a punch at Geming but decided to held back. He knows that Geming is trying to rile him up, "You sure understand that feeling well don't you?"

"Don't compare yourself to me, brother. At least Royal Father still look my mother's way."

Royal children's fate are often tied with how favored their mother are by the Emperor. Jinhai's mother, Consort Wen, had angered Emperor Taizao for trying to get involved in politics and sway his opinions on changing the first born law. She had been punished by being restricted to her own palace and the emperor haven't visited her since then. Now that she had fell out of favored, Jinhai also wasn't doing too well himself. Some of the servants doesn't give him face and sometimes even acted rude towards him. Most however, still treat him well as a prince should be treated for fear one day his mother might bounce back into favor.

"We'll see how long you'll be able to wear that smug expression around!" Jinhai said angrily then left.

"Still as hot headed as ever," Geming commented, amused with his brother's temper, as he watches Jinhai disappear from sight.

"Your Highness, why did you rile the Fifth Prince? Your mother, Consort Zhu, had told you to act well in front of the other princes and get them on your side," one of the two eunuchs spoke up. This eunuch was a loyal servant of his mother and had been sent over to Geming's palace to help him. The other eunuch is Geming's personal eunuch that carry out most of his deeds.

Geming laugh out loud in amusement at the eunuch's comment, "What would mother know? She should just stick to her duties of keeping the Emperor in her bed. Do you honestly think that any of the royal princes will be on each other's side? Such idiotic thinking can only be from women."

"Your Highness, please don't speak that way about the Consort," the eunuch reprimanded him.

Geming glared at the eunuch, "Remember that you are here to be my servant. Not here to nag me on my mother's behalf. You can go crying back to her if you can't stand it here, but if you think she'll choose a lowly dog like you over me then you better think again." He spread out his fan and smirk, "I am not stupid like my other brothers. I do not depend on my mother for power. In this battle, it is better to depend on yourself."

The eunuch got on his knees and bow down low, not daring to utter another word.

"Now, stop ruining my mood any further. I want that cute little maid over there and I expect to see her in my room tonight," Geming said, pointing to the maid that was helping to drape the tables.

---

On the day of the Flower Viewing event, many carriages were lining up outside of the Imperial Palace's gate. Each of these carriages carry the wives and daughters of all the noble families that received an invitation. They are being checked in one by one to ensure that they have the invitation, and that they do not carry any form of weapons into the palace.

Meiyin pokes her head out of the carriage's window to see how much longer they have to wait. "Jie, it looks like we still have a long wait. There are so many carriages in front of us," Meiyin said.

Yueyin reaches out and pull her sister back into the carriage, "Don't poke your head outside, it is improper. We are representing the Zhang clan this time so we must be on our best behaviors."

Meiyin pouted. She wants to whine to her sister why they have to attend this event but she couldn't because their aunt is also sitting in the same carriage. She glance at her aunt and the woman smiled back at her. Meiyin shiver internally. How crazy or scary their aunt is, one moment she was assaulting their father and the next she's smiling at them as if nothing happened. Uncle Ziyuan must have given her one hell of a talk or she's just really good at putting up a front for appearance's sake.

Apparently, when their uncle requested to have a private chat with their father last time, it had been about this event. The Empress had invited their aunt to the flower viewing event but uncle Ziyuan didn't have any daughters so he extended the invitation to them. Ziyuan had reasoned that all the daughters of every powerful clan will be attending the event, so he doesn't want the Zhang clan to not have any representation. Why the Empress didn't send the invitation directly to their father, the head of the Zhang clan, Meiyin doesn't care enough to know. She only know that her sister is too mature for her age, always jumping at a chance to help their father strengthen his position within the clan. Personally, Meiyin doesn't think her father needs to prove anything to anyone. It's not good to be picked on but if he doesn't want to bother with the other annoying clan members then he shouldn't have to.

She let out a sigh and pulled off her face veil. When their father asked if they wanted to go or not, she was about to reject. But in these matters she's always one step slower than Yueyin. Since Yueyin accepted the offer, Meiyin couldn't reject and let her sister go alone. So she ended up here feeling suffocated next to an aunt who obviously hates them, and wishing that she could have been at the cancelled training session with Tao instead.

---

Each family are announced by an eunuch as they bow and greet the Empress. Then they greeted the Consorts and the Princess before settling into their assigned seats. The maids serves up tea and food as the young misses from each of the family offer up their talent. Some would sing while other dance. Some would paint while other recite poetries. After each performance, the Empress would praised and rewarded them with a gold flower hairpin if she likes the performance, or a gold bar if she wasn't impressed by it.

Liufei was bored to death. If she wasn't interested in scouting for her brother's wife candidate she wouldn't have attended this boring event. So far, no one has really caught her attention yet. The ones with their face unveiled were indeed beautiful, but Liufei thinks they don't have anything special about them. She can't tell if the ones with their face veiled are beautiful or not and it irks her that they didn't take off their veil. Liufei wants her future sister-in-law to be a beauty that can match her brother. Qin qi shu hua is expected of most noble ladies so unless they really excel at something, they don't stand out to Liufei. She thinks that even she can perform better than they do, but she knows it's unfair to judge by her standards because as the princess she had received the best education there is to offer.

Liufei's eyes started to droop. She would have nodded off if one of her personal maid didn't tab her awake. She let out a yawn as the eldest young miss from the Zhang family was announced. When she saw the veil-faced girl setting up her guzheng she let out a sigh, thinking it's another boring guzheng player. Liufei look towards the Zhang family's table and became more interested in the girl that was dipping her finger into the teacup and draw on the table when she thinks no one is watching. Liufei wanted to go over and see what it was that the second young miss Zhang was doodling on the table. Liufei thought to herself that she finally found someone interesting. The second young miss Zhang seems to have the making of a rule breaker and in Liufei's definition, rule breakers are great. After the lady marries into the royal family, she can be Liufei's best friend!

As she was about to get up from her seat to make her way over to the Zhang's table, the sound of the guzheng caught her attention. Before she knew it, she was so drawn to the music that she totally forgot her goal. It wasn't like any guzheng pieces that Liufei have heard before. It draws the listener in and make them feel as if they can see spring fairies dancing in the flower garden. The music seems to have harmonized itself with the spring breeze, caressing and uplifting the listeners' spirit. When the music ended, everyone was left speechless. It took them a few seconds before they even realized that it was over. Everyone claps in amazement at the eldest young miss Zhang's skill. They all murmured compliments and expects the Empress to award the talented young lady with a gold flower hairpin. However, to everyone's surprised, Empress Ziyi made no compliment and simply rewarded Yueyin with a gold bar.

Liufei stares in disbelief at her royal mother and wonders if there's something wrong with the empress' ears. She felt so bad for the eldest young miss Zhang and observe as the girl return to her seat. She wonder if the poor girl will start crying like some of the others before her when they received the gold bar. To Liufei's pleasant surprised, Yueyin simply and calmly settles down in her seat, looking as if a storm wouldn't even bother her.

However, her younger sister wasn't as calm. When the eunuch announce it's her turn to perform, Meiyin stood up and bow to the empress, "Your Majesty, I am currently not feeling too well so please excuse and allow me to withdraw my offer of performance for the event."

Everyone gasps at her boldness, never in the history of a flower viewing event had anyone dared to withdraw themselves from the performances. Even if someone was dying they would still drag themselves onto the stage and perform. This is a matter of personal and clan's reputation, also, no one would dare to risk angering the royalties by refusing to perform for them. Was she so angry that her sister's performance wasn't recognized that she purposefully refuse to perform for the empress to see?

Madame Zhang's eyes widen in disbelief and immediately got out of her seat and got on her knees, bowing deeply to the empress. "Your Majesty, please forgive my niece's rudeness. She's still but a child and doesn't know any better! Please forgive us! Our family will educate her better!" Madame Zhang pleaded.

Yueyin sigh internally, wondering when this little sister of hers will mature. She stood up from her seat and bow to the empress, "Your Majesty, please forgive my sister for her inability to deliver her meaning in better words."

Empress Ziyi narrowed her eyes at Yueyin. Some of the Consorts smile in satisfaction internally, they have never seen anyone dared to act this way in the presence of the empress.

The girl wasn't even apologizing for her sister's rudeness, but apologizing instead for an inability to deliver the rudeness in better words!

"My sister had meant well when she wished to withdraw her performance. She was afraid that her current unhealthy state will affect her performance and in turn negatively impact the mood of Your Majesty, the Consorts and the Princess. Everyone's performance had help to liven up the event so much that she felt she should not ruin the current cheerful atmosphere. Although she had meant well but is still at fault for not conveying her message properly. Your Majesty, we seek your benevolence and hope that you can overlook this little incident. If she must be punish, please give her judgement after the event as to not ruin the atmosphere," Yueyin explains.

Most people took what Yueyin said and see it at face value. They would nodded in understanding. Some smarter people, however, understand this a bit deeper. The eldest young miss Zhang is clearly telling the empress that her sister's rudeness wasn't a big deal, especially when she had meant well. If the empress decides to punish Meiyin, then the empress is admitting that not only she's petty but she's also not benevolent as the mother of the empire should be. She was also placing the blame of ruining everyone's mood on the empress instead of her sister if the empress doesn't let the incident go.

Liufei look at Yueyin in awe. This girl could talk a dead horse into an immortal one! Liufei jump with excitement inside and can't wait to befriend the Zhang sisters. She wonder why they've never attended any of the other social event before. If she had met them earlier, her brothers might have been saved from a lot of her boredom. "Royal Mother, let's move on to the next performance. I'm really looking forward to young miss Qin's dance," Liufei said cheerfully, pulling everyone's attention back to the event, hoping to save both her mother's face and the Zhang sisters' life. Liufei knew that Qin Chunhua was one of the candidates that her mother had preselected. She had met this young miss Qin before through other social events, but she can't say that she had a very good impression of the person. Although she doesn't like the person very much, but she can't deny Qin Chunhua's beauty and popularity. That's why Liufei thinks that Chunhua will be a good distraction away from the Zhang sisters.

Everyone gulps nervously while waiting for the empress' response. Well-spoken as Yueyin might be, but Ziyi's reputation as an unforgiving empress was also pretty well known. Princess Liufei's intention were obvious but most of them felt that it wasn't enough for the empress to let this go. This was, after all, the very first Flower Viewing event that Ziyi had ever hosted. To be disrespected like this in front of so many nobles, how can anyone expect her to swallow it down.

However, to everyone's surprised, Ziyi turns away from the Zhang's table and wave her hand at the eunuch, signaling for him to continue on with the event. They all look puzzling at one another, wondering if this was how it is going to end. Will there be no punishment? Did the empress just want to save her own face? Won't this undermine the empress' power? Was this passive judgment due to the relationship between the Zhang family and the royals?

So many questions were raised silently in everyone's mind. Before the event even ended, rumors and gossips about the incident were already spreading like a wildfire.

Qin Chunhua can't help but smirk in satisfaction at what happened. This will surely bring down the reputation of the Zhang sisters. Chunhua step onto the stage in her extravagant dance outfit, pulling everyone's attention back on her shining beauty. Her body flow gracefully to the music and her dance was mesmerizing to watch. With each hand movement and each body twirls, she draws the viewer's attention in like a vortex, none are able to look away. When her performance ended, everyone claps loudly. The empress awarded her a gold flower hairpin and she walk back to her own seats in another round of applause. She smile to herself knowing she succeeded in remaining the top candidate for the Princess Consort position.

After all the performances, tea and food, it was finally time for everyone to socialize as they make their way around the garden to view and enjoy the flowers. The lower rank families flock to the higher ones to make connections, while some other high ranking ones just keep to their own circle. Everyone was obviously avoiding the Zhang sisters. Even their aunt abandoned them to join up with her own group of friends.

"What were you thinking? Causing such trouble?" Yueyin reprimanded her sister when they were finally alone.

Meiyin shrugs, "I just thought that it'll be a waste of my time. If the empress can't even be impressed with your performance, mine will just be a laughing stock to her. Knowing that, why then must I condemn myself to such judgement."

Yueyin let out a sigh at her sister's response, "I understand your feelings, but there's a time and place for everything. That wasn't the time for you to act out. You almost cause trouble for our family."

"Sorry…but not really…" Meiyin mumbled and Yueyin gave up. She know her little sister's personality too well, there's no point in saying anything more. 

Author's Notes:

Qin qi shu hua - (Music/Chinese zither or guzheng, Chinese Chess/Go, Poetry/calligraphy, Painting) is the four amusements or accomplishments of a noble intellectual. These four skills are consider virtuous skills, especially for a woman. Most noble household would have their daughters educated and train in these 4 skill set to help their daughters rise to a higher standing than other ladies in their age range who are not as well verse in these skills. The ladies who are good in these 4 skills will be more eligible or more likely to be pick for marriage by rich nobles or nobles with high court rankings or family with honorable names. Usually these ladies came from well-off family or family of mediocre background because only those with money can hire the best teachers to train their daughters. The poor/lower class people cannot afford such luxurious education for their children. These 4 skills are not only reserved for women, even men can be well educated in these. But usually it is more prefer for women to know it. It really is just a way to show that you are well educated.