Chapter 5

Azaleas

“It has not been that long ago since you last visited,” Zhang Weimin said as he pours tea into two teacups, “What caused you to miss this old man so much Your Highness?” he placed one of them in front of the person sitting across from him.

Yixing picks up the teacup and sips from it. He place it back on the table and takes in a deep breath. “I’ve only visited your house twice and I have to say that I like your garden more than the Imperial Garden or the garden in my palace.” He commented as he takes in another deep breath and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere the garden brings.

“How could my little garden be compare to yours and the Imperial Garden?”

“It just have a very different feeling to it.” He thought for a bit as he looks around the garden, “It’s...more personalized...hmm and everything just compliments each other very well to bring about a nice harmony.”

“I’m starting to think you came to visit the garden and not me.”

Yixing smiles and said “Zhang laoshi, you’re still the same humorous old man as always”

“The Emperor don’t always thinks so.”

“You’re probably one of the few that could even make Royal Father laugh out loud.”

Weimin take a sip from his teacup, “You still haven’t answered me, what brought you here today?”

“My siblings and I was at a restaurant outside the palace and we happened to overhear a commotion about your family, so I just thought of dropping by to visit you.” Yixing said as a house worker place a Chess board on the table for the two of them.

Weimin raised his eyebrows in question, “Your siblings and you at a restaurant outside of the palace? Which siblings?”

“We weren’t found out and we returned safely.” Yixing stated as he makes the first move on the Chess board. He doesn’t need to explain much because he knows his teacher can already tell which siblings were involved. Since it’s not super uncommon for some Princes to be outside of the Imperial Palace, as long as their identities were concealed. There could only be one type of royal sibling that could brought about trouble if they were found sneaking outside.

“You sneaked the Princess outside of the Palace?” Weimin asked, not sounding as alarmed as he should be.

“It was a birthday request so I couldn’t turn it down.”

“You kids are just as mischievous as your father when he was younger.” Weimin sigh as he places his piece on the Chess board.

“Are we really talking about the same man?” Yixing takes his turn, beginning his strategic attack.

Weimin didn’t reply and focus on the Chess board instead. He went a different route instead of defending against Yixing’s attack. Truthfully, Weimin doesn’t know what to say. He knows that Emperor Taizao has always been strict and cold towards his children. The Emperor doesn’t want to show favoritism amongst his children in fear that it will cause the royal siblings to kill one another for the throne. He wants his children to be more mature than other children their age, because they need to understand the heavy burden they must bear as royalties. When Empress Yinhua was still alive, she was the only one able to soften his heavy-burdened heart. However, since her passing, Emperor Taizao has grew colder to things around him and even to his own children. He dived into work and barely paying any attention to his inner courts, which cause the Consorts and their sons to become more unease in regards to their inheritance.

Weimin was a mentor to all of Taizao’s sons when they were still little boys. He had retired from the position when the Princes were older and is capable of handling their Princes duties. Amongst Taizao’s sons, the first three Princes were the ones that stood out the most to Weimin. The three of them were Weimin’s favored students, but after his retirement as their mentor there was less chance to meet with them as officials were not allowed in the inner courts without special permissions. They only greet Weimin when they see him in the main courtroom or when the court meeting is over. Overtime, the interaction became less and less as the Princes grew busier with their own responsibilities. The Princes also aren’t always required to attend the court meetings or is task with other assignments by the Emperor and cannot make it to the meeting.

Weimin observes Yixing as the Prince contemplates his own strategy to see where he should place his next Chess piece. Although, Weimin and the other Princes has grew distant with each other but this Third Prince had been the only one insisting on staying in touch. Yixing was actually the only one left who was always checking up on his mentor. He always make sure to get in some tea time or Chess time with Weimin every now and then when Weimin finish his court duties and not hurrying home. What Weimin found strange at first was that Yixing always make sure that these visits with Weimin were kept secret, especially from his brothers. Weimin understood later on that Yixing doesn’t want to have people thinking he’s scheming to win the fight for the throne - this is partly due to Weimin’s reputation as a famous strategist.

The two of them continues to make their moves back and forth on the Chess board until the winner was clear. “I am still unable to defeat you laoshi.” Yixing smile, admitting defeat as he carefully studies the details of the battle they just fought on the wooden board.

“Don’t be too discourage Third Prince, I’m sure one day you will catch up to this old me.” Weimin laugh, happy to see clear improvements in Yixing’s strategies from the game they played. “It was a good game.” He said as he stood up to stretch.

“Although I lost...” Yixing said as he also stood up from his seat “Can I still ask for a favor?”

Weimin raised his eyebrows “Since when did we play for prizes? and why would the losing one be asking for a favor?”

Yixing smile shyly and a little embarrassed. He points to a flower pot by the entrance of the pavilion they were sitting in, “Those flowers has been attracting my attention, I’ve not seen that type before. I was wondering if you could tell me the name of it and its origins?”

Weimin looks over at the flowers Yixing was pointing at, “How is telling you the name of it a favor Your Highness? Let me think for a second…” Weimin mumbled to himself, “What was it called?”

Yixing makes his way over to the flower pot to observe it in more details. “It also has a nice fragrance.”

“I think it’s called Azaleas, or a type of it.” Weimin said as he finally recalled the name of it. “My daughter bought it from a Guizhou Province trader. If you like it, you can have it.”

“I couldn’t possibly just take it, especially when it’s something your daughter bought herself.”

“Just take it, I’m sure my daughter wouldn’t mind.” Weimin waves away Yixing’s politeness. “She can easily buy another when the trader comes again. You don’t get to be outside the palace as often as compare to us who lives out here.”

Yixing thought for a bit then thank Weimin. He picks up the Azaleas flower pot and started heading towards the Zhang residence’s back door. Before he could take his third step, Weimin asks him “You didn’t tell me, what was the commotion about my family?”

“It was about your daughters.” Yixing answered then make his way out of the residence and back to the palace.

---

Yueyin return home to see her father reading in the garden pavilion. She makes her way over to greet him. As she near the pavilion she noticed that the Azaleas flower pot she just bought a couple days ago is missing.

“Father?” she calls out to get Weimin’s attention. When he looks up at her she asks “Have you been out here the whole morning? Do you know what happened to my Azaleas?” Her eyes scan the garden, thinking that the maids might have moved it.

Weimin smiles guiltily at his daughter, “Yueyin, have a seat” He watch as she makes her way over and sat down in the seat next to him. He place the book he was still holding down on the table “I hope you won’t be angry but I uh...gifted the Azaleas to a friend of mine.”

“You gave away my Azaleas?!” her eyes widen at his confession. “Father, that was a rare type to come by and the trader only had one pot.”

“Can I make it up to you with something else?” Weimin ask, sincerely hoping to make it up to his daughter as he didn’t know those Azaleas were a rare type that she put in a lot of effort to find. Everything in this garden was grown and taken care of by his wife and Yueyin. After his wife passed on, Yueyin had put in extra effort to maintain this beautiful garden. She would always look for beautiful plants and flowers to grow the garden that she and her mother dreamed of. Although it was not the first time Weimin gifted plants to his friends, but they were usually herbs or the common plants that Yueyin had grown with the intention of gifting them to others so she didn’t mind it.

She let out a sigh. How could she blame her father when he doesn’t know the Azaleas was rare. It was partly her fault for not informing him. “Was it an important friend?” she asks as her brain goes through the list of her father’s friends. But she couldn’t think of anyone that could possibly cause her father to so easily gift away something that he knew she bought.

Weimin thought for a bit and nodded.

“I hope this friend of yours will take good care of the Azaleas.”

Weimin smile at his daughter, knowing from the beginning that there was no way she would be angry with him. “I can assure you he will take very good care of it. He has a very good affinity with plants and nature.”

Hearing her father said that, Yueyin tried to go through her father’s list of friends again mentally to see if anyone amongst them fits the description. None of the ones she knew did.

“How are the preparations for the charity event coming along?” Weimin asks, pulling Yueyin from her thoughts.

“It’s coming along well. I’ve managed to pre-ordered everything this morning.” The Zhang family is preparing for their quarterly charity event, where they give out free food and summer/winter supplies to the poor and homeless people of the city. Since Weimin was always busy with his court official duties, the Zhang sisters was in charge of planning and executing this charity. Yueyin was always good at negotiating and making deals with the suppliers. Meiyin was task with staffing and setting up. The two of them had plan to accompany the house workers tomorrow to go pick up the supplies.

Weimin looks at his beautiful daughter and suddenly remembers about the commotion that Yixing mentioned earlier, “Yueyin.”

“Yes father?”

“You and Meiyin should stay in tomorrow. Don’t accompany the supplies pick up, just let the house workers take care of it.”

Surprised, Yueyin asks “Why father? We’ve always accompany the pick up to ensure the quantity ordered is correct.”

“You can assign that task to the house workers.” Weimin pinch the bridge of his nose feeling like an idiot for not knowing there being a commotion about his daughters. How much more of a failure as a father can he be when he did not thought of protecting the reputation of his daughters. “The two of you are still young and unmarried ladies, it will not be good for your reputations to continue to freely roam the city streets.”  

Yueyin observes her father and can see that he’s starting to blame himself again for his incompetence at parenting. “I understand father, we will be more careful from now on.” Weimin had never raise his daughters with any gender restrictions. He let them grew up with a free and joyful childhood. However, since the passing of his wife he became a bit stricter in hopes of raising his daughters to become wonderful women like their mother. Single parenting was never easy, and Yueyin knew her father was always doing his best. It’s at moments like these that she wish she was born a boy instead, so that she could help her father shoulder the burden of this household.

Author's Notes:

laoshi - teacher or mentor

The story is progressing slowly, please bear it with me >.<