Schemes Of A Flower

Lin'an was a thousand miles away from the Capital City, half of which was mountain road. Even riding a fast horse would take three days and nights of travel. If one were to slowly drive a carriage or walk, the number of days it would take could not even be calculated.

After Qiuyue had written a letter on behalf of Hua Yan, she too climbed the tall, hundred-year-old apricot tree with its lower half pruned smooth, scaled the high wall to the west, and, using the ladder Zheng Erhu provided, she left the Hua Residence without disturbing anyone.

Zheng Erhu had received 35,000 taels of silver from Hua Yan. He used 30,000 to pay off his father's gambling debts and kept 5,000 as expenses for his trip to the Capital City to deliver the message ahead of time.

With a spring in his step and a joyous heart, Zheng Erhu set out on the road first, holding the branch of apricot flowers, without even considering that, even if he arrived at the Capital City smoothly and successfully managed to meet the Crown Prince at the Eastern Palace, by the time the days passed, it would be hard to say what state the fresh and tender apricot flowers would be in. In his eyes, Hua Yan taking the initiative to go to the Eastern Palace was a good thing, and compared to the crime of assisting her escape, a few minor flaws were negligible.

As for the symbolic meaning behind Hua Yan sending the apricot branch to the Crown Prince, he cared even less about it, convinced it was a much better task than spending ten years in prison.

When Qiuyue saw Zheng Erhu setting off with an apricot branch tucked away, her mouth twitched several times. Seeing Hua Yan humming a Jiangnan tune, looking carefree and oblivious, she planned to leisurely make her way to the Capital. After holding back for a long while, Qiuyue finally spoke, "Miss, if you wish to send flowers to the Crown Prince, you should send peach blossoms, not pluck apricot flowers!"

Holding a blade of grass in her mouth, Hua Yan, while admiring the scenery along the road, replied, "A branch of red apricot blooms beyond the wall, I am telling him I ran away secretly."

Qiuyue's mouth twitched again, speechless for a moment. To run away boldly and even use this method to send a message was truly unprecedented.

Curiosity overcame her as she looked at Hua Yan, "What do you think the Crown Prince's expression will be when he sees the apricot branch that Zheng Erhu has delivered on your behalf?"

Hua Yan couldn't be bothered to speculate, "Who cares? As long as the message is delivered."

Once again at a loss for words, Qiuyue thought about how unafraid her mistress was of having her "broken pot" smashed in front of the Crown Prince. So many people in the world wanted to marry into the Eastern Palace; not to mention becoming the Crown Princess Consort, even to be a mere concubine was something many would fight tooth and nail for. Yet her own mistress, upon hearing of the arranged marriage, was so angry she nearly tore down the walls of the Eastern Palace, and later thought of countless ways to ruin the marriage. If it weren't for the Crown Prince and the Hua Family elders forcefully suppressing the situation, the whole world would have been abuzz by now.

All the gentleness, dignified conduct, virtuous morality, and boudoir demeanor that a woman should possess, she had not a bit of it.

Since she was young, the young miss didn't care about her reputation, and had done many significant and scandalous things. It was only because the Hua Family elders kept a lid on them that these incidents didn't spread. If they had, the Empress Dowager would probably not have even let the imperial portrait painter come to the Hua Residence.

Now that a year had passed since the imperial decree for the arranged marriage, the wedding plans were proceeding, and the young miss couldn't get the Crown Prince to call off the engagement. Instead, she was now heading to the Eastern Palace to familiarize herself with the environment and customs ahead of time.

Sometimes, Qiuyue couldn't understand why the Crown Prince had taken a fancy to her young mistress. If he hadn't known what she was like before and had simply chosen her based on her reputation, her mistress's outrageous behaviors were forgivable. But over the past year, the trouble caused by her mistress was so great that not even the Hua Family elders could suppress it, yet the Crown Prince stepped in to help quell the matters. It seemed he was firmly determined to ensure the marriage would not be disrupted.

In terms of family background, the Hua Family was not the most prominent among the many great families of the world, but it was still a mid-tier family. As for the young miss's character, Qiuyue who had served her for many years didn't even want to speak about it.

Ah, in short, it was all very perplexing!

"Why have you stopped talking?" asked Hua Yan to Qiuyue.

Looking at her, Qiuyue expressed her worries, "Although the Eastern Palace is not a major concern, the Empress Dowager at the Imperial Palace might deal with you harshly. When the imperial portrait painter came to Lin'an to have you painted into the gallery of beauties, you were unwilling to be included and covered your face with a book, which greatly displeased the Empress Dowager. Then there was the incident with the scandal involving the son of the King of Anyang, which nearly destroyed the gallery. Although the Crown Prince managed to resolve the issue with a few words, after the Empress Dowager reluctantly yielded to the Crown Prince's decision on your marriage, she fell ill. Over the past year, although the Hua Family and the Crown Prince have tightly concealed the matters you've caused, they probably couldn't keep them from the Empress Dowager completely. Now that the Crown Prince is bringing you into the palace to familiarize yourself with the rules of the Eastern Palace and the Royal Family, the Empress Dowager will undoubtedly make things difficult for you once you enter the Capital."

Hua Yan was nonchalant, "Good, I hope she does make it difficult."

Qiuyue looked at Hua Yan, "You should still think ahead about how to handle it. Otherwise, you will suffer losses."

"Suffer losses?" Hua Yan let out a laugh, reached out, and tapped Qiuyue on the head, "You're overthinking it."

Qiuyue rubbed her forehead in resignation, "Miss, the Empress passed away early, and the Crown Prince was raised by the Empress Dowager, who he respects a great deal. If you don't want to suffer losses, you will inevitably have to offend the Empress Dowager. Although you haven't made the Crown Prince sick of you enough to cancel the marriage over the past year, if it concerns the Empress Dowager, the Crown Prince might not side with you again. Wouldn't that spell the end?"

Gazing at the sky, Hua Yan said, "Wouldn't that be exactly what I'm hoping for?"

Qiuyue was utterly without words.

The two of them leisurely enjoyed the landscapes, taking their time on the journey. After more than half a month, they still hadn't reached the Capital City.

Zheng Erhu, remembering Hua Yan's instructions, bought a fine horse. He rode hard day and night, and on the fourth day, he arrived at the Capital City.

Getting to the Capital City was easy, finding the Eastern Palace was easy, but managing to see the Crown Prince and personally hand him the apricot branch was difficult.

If the Crown Prince were so easy to meet, there wouldn't be so many common folk going to great lengths just to catch a glimpse of his countenance.

Zheng Erhu loitered outside the gates of the Eastern Palace for three days. The Eastern Palace was too vast, occupying countless acres, and he had no idea which gate the Crown Prince used daily. As he noticed the Apricot Flower Branch withering to only a few dried blossoms, he belatedly realized that what Hua Yan had given him was perishable and had a shelf-life. Seeing it about to turn into a dry twig, he really panicked. Consequently, he ran to Ronghua Street, the road one must take to the Imperial Palace, and lay in wait there.

After guarding the spot for an entire day, he finally caught a glimpse of a carriage bearing the Eastern Palace's emblem as the sun was setting.

He could no longer contain himself and immediately blocked the carriage, shouting loudly, "The Crown Princess Consort has ordered me to deliver a message to the Crown Prince! Crown Prince, please stop the carriage, stop the carriage!"

His hoarse voice rang out, instantly alerting everyone on the street.

The guards of the Eastern Palace were taken aback as the mansion guards swiftly approached, pressing their sword blades to Zheng Erhu's neck and shouting in unison, "Who goes there?"

Zheng Erhu, startled, trembled a few times, feeling the ice-cold blade against his neck and realizing it could behead him in the blink of an eye, mustered his courage and stammered, "The Crown… your servant… has brought a message from the Crown Princess Consort."

The guards of the Eastern Palace, who had clearly heard him earlier, now looked at his brawny, simple-minded appearance with suspicion.

At that moment, a slender and fair hand like jade parted the carriage curtain, revealing a visage of clear, gentle refinement. With eyebrows as if painted with ink, eyes as deep as springs, and lips of a pale hue, a clear and melodious voice, tinged with a hint of coolness, asked Zheng Erhu, "Are you sent by the Crown Princess Consort? From Lin'an's Hua Yan?"

Zheng Erhu looked at the figure leaning halfway out of the carriage, clad in a light aqua robe, the full extent of their appearance obscured, yet he found himself momentarily transfixed. Could this be the reputed Crown Prince?

There he was, an elegant figure purified by the troubled times, like a cloud from the edge of the sky descending into the mundane opulence of the world.

This was the Crown Prince!

The Crown Prince!

Dumbstruck, his face flickered with shock, yet his heart was wildly exhilarated—he had finally met the Crown Prince.

The guards on either side, seeing him speechless, shouted in anger, "Audacious rogue, having seen the Crown Prince, will you not kneel and reply!"

Zheng Erhu, jolted back to reality, quickly knelt down and raised the Apricot Flower Branch, his voice trembling as he almost burst into tears, "Your Highness, I have finally met you. I have guarded outside the Eastern Palace for three days and here for one day… This is the Apricot Flower Branch the Crown Princess Consort entrusted me to deliver to you from the Capital City."

Yun Chi regarded Zheng Erhu, his gaze falling on the withered flower branch held aloft as he rambled on, and with a slight movement of his brow and a cool voice, he inquired, "Apricot Flower Branch?"

Zheng Erhu hastily nodded, "Yes, yes, exactly the Apricot Flower Branch."

Yun Chi raised an eyebrow. "From Hua Yan?"

Zheng Erhu nodded again and again.

Yun Chi looked at the withered Apricot Flower Branch in silence for a moment before saying, "Hand it over."

Zheng Erhu quickly stood up, attempting to pass the Apricot Flower Branch to him.

However, a guard pressed a blade against Zheng's neck and ordered sternly, "You stay still. Give me the Apricot Flower Branch."

Zheng Erhu had no choice but to kneel back down obediently and pass the Apricot Flower Branch to the guard.

The guard took the withered Apricot Flower Branch, inspected it for anything out of the ordinary, and then stepped forward to deliver it to Yun Chi.

Yun Chi took the Apricot Flower Branch and after examining it for a while asked Zheng Erhu, "Did she instruct you to convey anything else besides delivering an Apricot Flower Branch?"

Zheng Erhu eagerly nodded, "She told me to give the Apricot Flower Branch to you and also to tell you that you need not send anyone to fetch her, as she will come herself."

Yun Chi toyed with the dry branch. A few wilted apricot blossoms fell to the ground as he took the branch into his hands. He glanced at them and suddenly smiled, "She is indeed thoughtful."

Zheng Erhu didn't understand the meaning of these words and looked at Yun Chi.

Yun Chi, with a wave of his hand, lowered the curtain and in a cool tone commanded, "Let's move on. Take him back to the Eastern Palace."