Chapter 23: Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion Part 1

At the Empress Dowager’s “It depends on your performance,” Shen Yuezhuang’s fawning that day was nothing short of relentless!

When the Empress Dowager sat down, she wiped the stool. When she ate, Shen Yuezhuang held her soup. When she wrote, Shen Yuezhuang pressed the paper. When she discussed sutras, Shen Yuezhuang sat in meditation…

Shen Yuezhuang stuck to Liu Yun like glue, like the steed of an immortal in Journey to the West—though everything she did seemed useless and was in fact useless, the main point was her attitude and companionship!

Shen Yuezhuang was a step ahead, too; she also had the task of warming the bed.

That night, Shen Yuezhuang vacated the spot she had warmed to a toasty temperature, rolled to the inside of the bed, and looked at Liu Yun with eyes that sparkled.

Liu Yun had just finished her medicated bath. Her skin was a thin, delicate pink, clinging to the warmth and moisture of the steam, making her look like a lotus blossom just emerging from the water.

The lotus blossom seemed to find Shen Yuezhuang’s blatant stare a bit hard to take.

Though last night had been their first time sharing a bed, her mind hadn’t been clear. But tonight…

Liu Yun, with an unusual touch of awkwardness, avoided Shen Yuezhuang’s gaze, her ears burning as she got into bed.

As the blanket was lifted, a mixed floral scent rushed forth, instantly dissolving the bitter herbs of the medicine. Liu Yun paused. Shen Yuezhuang immediately leaned in, her face full of pride. “Your Highness, I had A Sang go down the mountain this afternoon to buy a sachet. Is it fragrant enough?”

Liu Yun silently withdrew the foot she had just placed under the covers, casting a cautious glance at the bed. “What else have you prepared?”

Shen Yuezhuang sat up with a “thump,” pointing at a pile of odds and ends on the headboard, introducing them with enthusiasm. “Peanuts, sunflower seeds, mountain spring water. Fruits, pastries, story scripts! Whether you’re thirsty, hungry, or bored, we’ve got everything!”

Liu Yun swept a glance over them, looking skeptical. “Nothing else?”

Shen Yuezhuang immediately clarified. “If there’s anything missing, just tell me. I’ll get it later!” Having said that, Shen Yuezhuang smiled ingratiatingly, shamelessly leaning in. “So, what do you think? I did a good job, didn’t I?”

“…” Liu Yun poked Shen Yuezhuang’s forehead, pushing her back a bit. “I have only one hope for you.”

“Stop trying so hard. Just stop with all the tricks!”

But wishes are called wishes precisely because they aren’t so easily fulfilled.

That night, clouds outside the window obscured the moonlight. The moonlight was ambiguous. In the profound silence, Shen Yuezhuang tossed and turned, finally inching close to Liu Yun’s head.

“Your Highness? Liu Yun? Yun! Are you asleep?”

Liu Yun, who had just fallen asleep and was now jolted awake: “???”

“Great, I can’t sleep either.” Shen Yuezhuang breathed a sigh of relief. “My eyelids are so heavy I can barely keep them open, but just thinking about going out on the fifteenth gets me so excited I can’t stand it.”

She rambled on and on, giving Liu Yun a headache. Finally, she sidled up to Liu Yun and said, her tone generous, “But that’s okay. I heard that rhythmic patting can help you fall asleep.”

Shen Yuezhuang very thoughtfully draped Liu Yun’s arm behind herself and found a comfortable spot to curl up.

“Go ahead, I’m ready.”

Liu Yun: “…”

A soft, fragrant body was in her arms, but Liu Yun only felt her temples throb with pain. She reached out and grabbed Shen Yuezhuang’s nape, her voice hoarse with barely restrained fury.

“I really want to strangle you right now.”

Shen Yuezhuang only tilted her chin higher, exposing more of her neck to Liu Yun’s hand.

She looked like an innocent sacrificial beast, her lashes fluttering, her crimson lips slightly parted, carrying a hint of pure ignorance and the simple willingness to let the other do whatever they wanted.

“Just don’t stop with the other hand.”

Liu Yun: “…”

After a few breaths, Liu Yun resignedly rubbed her brow. Without a good grace, she gripped Shen Yuezhuang by the back of the neck and pulled her close against her body, her tone arrogant and domineering.

“Then at least let me find a comfortable position!”

~~~

After Shen Yuezhuang had earnestly made the Empress Dowager comfortable for a few nights, she finally got her wish and climbed aboard the carriage to the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion.

The carriage stopped in a back alley. The curtain was lifted, and a bright, lovely face poked out for just a moment before being roughly pulled back in. When the face reappeared, it was completely hidden by the draped veil of a conical hat.

Shen Yuezhuang awkwardly lifted the half-drooping veil to see where she was walking. She bowed her head and muttered, “Wearing this getup is just asking for attention, isn’t it?”

The customs of Great Liang were far more open than those of Chu. In the most bustling years of the Hundred Flowers Banquet, the ones buying tickets and backing the Flower Queens weren’t just princes and nobles of the imperial house. Many princesses were also quite generous.

The most famous instance was in the Fifth Year of Xuanwu, with the illustrious Grand Princess, Linglong!

Rumor had it that Princess Linglong spent half the silver from her princess mansion to support a courtesan named Luo Niang to win the Flower Queen title!

Half the silver of a princess mansion—the amount was naturally shocking. But spending so much wasn’t because the competition was close. In fact, with the Grand Princess’s power at the time, if she declared her support for someone, no one dared compete. It was the Grand Princess who expressly stated, “Luo Niang’s talent and beauty are worth half a mansion,” ensuring Luo Niang won the title by an unassailable margin!

After that, betting on the Flower Queen became a fashionable pursuit in the capital. The Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion even completely sealed off the passage from the main hall to the north wing, opening a separate entrance from the outside so that noble ladies and misses could come to watch the competition.

Shen Yuezhuang’s tactic of wearing a conical hat to watch the show was like walking around in broad daylight in a ninja’s night-suit. It was truly too conspicuous.

Too conspicuous was one thing. The real problem was that this thing was a real obstacle!

As Shen Yuezhuang got down from the carriage, she stumbled and fell squarely into Liu Yun’s arms.

Liu Yun had disguised herself as A Sang to leave the temple. She wore a dark blue, close-fitting uniform, her long hair tied back. Standing there, she looked like a slender, straight, and tenacious pine tree.

When Shen Yuezhuang bumped into her, Liu Yun swayed slightly but quickly steadied herself. She propped Shen Yuezhuang up by the shoulders, her tone resigned.

“At this point, everyone in the Capital knows I took you to the Precious Flower Temple. Did you want to show up here in broad daylight? Are you afraid people won’t guess who I am?”

Shen Yuezhuang looked unconvinced. “You’re the one worried about being recognized. So why am I the one wearing the conical hat?”

“Tough luck. You have too many acquaintances here in the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion!” Liu Yun took half a step back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “No one knows me here. If you find it too stifling, why don’t you just go back to the temple? Wait for me to finish watching, and I’ll come back and tell you who won or lost!”

Shen Yuezhuang instantly looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, every hair on her body bristling as she glared at Liu Yun. At that moment, the brothel madam’s exaggerated laughter rang out.

“Eunuch Huang! We haven’t seen you in a while!”

Both of their expressions changed almost simultaneously.

Shen Yuezhuang had no idea who Eunuch Huang or Eunuch Green from the palace was. She was inwardly amazed, wondering why an eunuch would come to a brothel. Was it just to watch the show?

She craned her neck to see who it was, but Liu Yun’s expression suggested she had a pretty good idea. Liu Yun grabbed Shen Yuezhuang’s chin and turned her head back, her brow sternly raised.

Don’t move!

So Shen Yuezhuang could only listen. The voice of Eunuch Huang sounded drunk; she could tell he’d had a few. He was quite drunk, but he still lowered his voice. “The Mistress… is too strict. All these years, who among us would dare to take a single wrong step? It’s only now, ah, with Her out of the city, that us underlings can finally relax a little!”

Shen Yuezhuang and Liu Yun were in the shadows of a corner, some distance away from Eunuch Huang. But they could still hear every word—he didn’t seem afraid of being overheard. Lowering his voice was just to make it sound less shrill.

“Tell me about it! The other day, when Eunuch Liu came by, he said he’d almost forgotten which way the door to the Thousand Gold Workshop faced!”

“Old Liu loves gambling. But I, your humble servant, only have a fondness for beautiful women.”

The tone made Shen Yuezhuang feel an oily, snake-like slither over her skin.

She felt instinctively uncomfortable and frowned. The brothel madam cheerfully responded to the words. “I wouldn’t dare promise anything else, but here at the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion, beautiful women are what we have in abundance!”

“Please, Eunuch Huang, come in. Your private room has been prepared!”

Under the bright lanterns, the two of them exchanged pleasantries and moved away. Shen Yuezhuang, hiding in the dark, silently took off her conical hat and handed it to Liu Yun.

It seemed that hat was a better fit for Liu Yun right now.

~~~

A quarter of an hour later, Shen Yuezhuang sat in the dimly lit carriage, bored to death, listening to the clamor of the crowd outside the alley.

Occasionally, the sounds of music and song drifted in, making her itch with restlessness.

Several times, Shen Yuezhuang was drawn to look back, but she only saw Liu Yun sitting with her eyes closed, as still as if in meditation.

Ever since she heard that Eunuch Huang had arrived, Liu Yun wouldn’t let her into the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion, nor would she let her go back to the Precious Flower Temple. She had sent her Secret Guard to find out information, while she herself sat in this carriage with a long face, waiting.

Shen Yuezhuang couldn’t sit still. Soon enough, she sidled up to Liu Yun. “Just who is this Eunuch Huang? Why does his visit to the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion make you so angry?”

There were so many eunuchs in the palace. For the Empress Dowager to identify someone just by his voice, he had to be more than just an ordinary eunuch. Shen Yuezhuang looked curious. “Is he from your palace?”

Liu Yun snorted coldly, her eyes half-open, a chilly light flickering in her gaze. “If he were from my palace, he would have died eight hundred times by now.”

Shen Yuezhuang naturally knew that Liu Yun couldn’t stand things spiraling out of control. To minimize the chance of her plans going awry, she set extremely high standards for the people around her.

Someone who would swagger into a whorehouse to have fun just two days after the Empress Dowager left the palace didn’t seem like the type Liu Yun would rely on.

Shen Yuezhuang suddenly looked surprised. “Don’t tell me he’s one of the Emperor’s men?”

“Nonsense!” Liu Yun shot her a look. “How could the Emperor keep someone like that around!”