Schemes Of A Flower

The butler did not dare to delay. He trotted all the way from the study room to the north gate. Having reached the north gate, he squatted down, clutching his stomach, heaving great breaths.

For how many years had it been? He had never run like this before.

Hua Yan listened to his footsteps, growing closer from afar. As he approached, she barely able to catch her breath, she moved her sleeve aside and watched him with amusement, "Chief Steward, why the rush? I'm not afraid of waiting."

The butler hastily stood up and gave a respectful bow to Hua Yan, "Although the Crown Princess Consort isn't afraid of waiting, this old servant doesn't dare to keep you waiting long." With that said, he relayed Yun Chi's message without missing a word.

Hua Yan knew that Yun Chi was not an easy person to deal with. Even if she obtained a Marriage Destiny Fortune Stick indicating great misfortune, he wouldn't spit out a single word of reneging on the marriage to exchange for another Crown Princess Consort. She had never been hopeful to begin with, so there was no disappointment to speak of. Thus, after listening to the butler, she nodded her head, "Since the Crown Prince is high and mighty, and I am far beneath him, if he doesn't care, there's nothing for me to fuss about. If in the future we come to detest each other, facing mutual grievances without a happy ending, it's because he didn't believe; he can't blame me then. Be a witness to this."

The butler felt ashamed, wiping the sweat from his forehead hurriedly, he said, "That won't happen. Your Highness and the Crown Prince are a match made in heaven. When the Empress Dowager had people prepare the register of names, she double-checked the birth charts of each one."

Hua Yan smiled as she stood up, "Speaking of this matter, when the royal painter went to the Hua family in Lin'an City, it was my great-grandmother who reported my birth time and date. She's quite old and often muddle-headed, sometimes even calling out my name wrong. Whether she reported my birth time correctly is not certain."

The sweat the butler had just wiped away started to bead up again. He did not dare to continue the conversation and respectfully said, "Crown Princess Consort, this old servant shall take you to your lodgings. Your courtyard was tidied up two months ago."

Hua Yan nodded and shouted outside, "Qiuyue, roll in here! You have water to drink now."

Qiuyue quickly ran in from outside and gave the butler a deep curtsey, "Greetings, Chief Steward. This servant, Qiuyue, belongs to the young mistress."

The butler was taken aback, inspecting Qiuyue carefully, his face breaking into a smile, he said genially, "Lady Qiuyue, though the Crown Princess Consort is here in the Eastern Palace as a guest, in the future you shall be its mistress. From today onwards, as you stay by the Crown Princess Consort's side here in the Eastern Palace, if there's anything you need, just instruct this old servant."

Qiuyue nodded again and again, "This servant understands, and will rely on the chief steward's support from now on."

The butler said with a chuckle, "Support I dare not claim. There are many more rules in the Eastern Palace compared to the Hua Residence in Lin'an City, but as the attendant to the Crown Princess Consort, as long as you don't make a major mistake, you'll have an easy life."

Qiuyue nodded, stealing a glance at Hua Yan, and thought to herself that she could only pray that her mistress would stop her mischief, and accept marrying the Crown Prince peacefully. Otherwise, she was truly afraid that they would both lose their lives here due to her mistress's self-destructive behavior.

The butler led the two into the Eastern Palace.

The Eastern Palace was vast beyond measure, with countless courtyards, multiple layered pavilions and palace buildings, and deep gardens that stretched out of sight.

Although the Hua family occupied much of Lin'an City, Hua Yan still felt that their estates paled in comparison to the Eastern Palace in terms of grandeur—it was like comparing a witch to a grand sorceress.

Walking along, the butler respectfully said to Hua Yan, "The residence arranged for you by His Highness is Phoenix Court, which consists of two palaces situated next to each other. One is Phoenix Eastern Garden, and the other is Phoenix West Garden. His Highness resides in the Eastern Garden, and you'll be in the West Garden."

Hua Yan raised an eyebrow, "Who used to live in the Phoenix West Garden before?"

The butler shook his head, "It was initially built for the future Crown Princess Consort. Before His Highness had a consort, it was vacant and uninhabited. Now that you have come to the Capital City, His Highness ordered it to be arranged for your use."

Hua Yan nodded. She hadn't yet married Yun Chi and she was already moving into the Phoenix West Garden—her position was truly secure.

After crossing over the covered bridges and waterside pavilions, circling around several rocky mountains and Emerald Lake, it took about the time of drinking three cups of tea to arrive in front of a courtyard. The signboard over the door read Phoenix West Garden.

Hua Yan examined the signboard and followed the butler into the West Garden.

A group of people waited inside the courtyard. As Hua Yan approached, they all kneeled down, "Greetings to the Crown Princess Consort."

Hua Yan glanced around; there were about forty to fifty people.

The butler stopped and respectfully said, "Crown Princess Consort, these are the servants I've carefully selected to attend to you. Are they sufficient? If not, I will assign more."

Hua Yan felt it was more than sufficient—it was too many. At the Hua Residence in Lin'an City, she only had Qiuyue in her service. But the Eastern Palace had different norms than the Hua residence. Living according to the rules was stifling to think about. It was perhaps better to have more attendants to make life a little more lively. She nodded, "It's enough."

The butler saw that Hua Yan had no objections, and immediately instructed those present, "The Crown Princess Consort has traveled from afar and is undoubtedly weary. Everyone should fulfill their duties and attend to her promptly, with no room for mistakes."

All responded in unison.

The butler led Hua Yan into the inner palace and, after introducing her to the environment, said respectfully, "Crown Princess Consort, please take a bath, have a meal, and rest for a while. This old servant will go and report to His Highness. If you need anything, just instruct the servants."

Hua Yan nodded with a smile, "Thank you, Chief Steward, you can go about your duties."

After leaving the Phoenix Court in the West Garden, and before departing, he gave some instructions to the maid in charge of the West Garden. Once she had nodded in acknowledgment, he felt at ease and went to relay the message to Yun Chi.

On his way, he thought to himself that the Crown Princess Consort seemed easygoing and not as difficult as the rumors suggested. How could she have caused so many issues last year that the Crown Prince had to split his time between court affairs and dealing with her? Knowing that she was coming to the Eastern Palace, he had been extremely cautious and attentive, not daring to be negligent or careless.

After Hua Yan had bathed, changed clothes, tidied up, and eaten, two hours had passed.

She had arrived when it was still early, not long past midday. By the time she lay down on her bed, the afternoon sun had started to wane.

Qiuyue had witnessed the excessive rules and grandeur of the Eastern Palace, where four or five people surrounded Hua Yan just to style her hair. Although she had mentally prepared herself beforehand, living there alongside Hua Yan still made her realize she needed to be extremely cautious. Any mistakes could make her role as the only maid Hua Yan brought with her very difficult.

Hua Yan, on the other hand, felt perfectly at ease and soon fell onto the bed, heavily fatigued from being waited on.

Qiuyue stayed by her side, and once everyone had left, she whispered, "Miss, I didn't see Zheng Erhu. Is he not in the Eastern Palace?"

Hua Yan yawned, "He's probably squatting in some prison cell."

Qiuyue was shocked, "Did the Crown Prince punish him?"

Hua Yan closed her eyes, finding a comfortable position to sleep, and said, "I think he'd prefer the prison cell to the Eastern Palace." With that, she patted Qiuyue's cheek, "Aren't you tired? Go get some rest. Instead of worrying about him, why don't we think about where to go sightseeing in Capital City tomorrow?"

Qiuyue's mouth twitched, "Miss, we've traveled for a month and a half to get here, and now that we've just entered the Eastern Palace, everything is unfamiliar. We should stay here tomorrow to get to know the place. You should settle in for a few days before stirring things up."

Hua Yan humphed, "You didn't use to fret so much before. Why have you become so naggy?"

Feeling wronged, Qiuyue reluctantly helped her drop the bed curtain and left the inner palace.

Being new to the place, Qiuyue couldn't just fall asleep like Hua Yan. No matter how tired or sleepy she was, she needed to muster the energy to chat with the servants who attended the West Garden to understand the affairs of the Eastern Palace better.

The servants, each as taciturn as a gourd, answered whenever she asked and respectfully responded to her, the only maid brought by the Crown Princess Consort, which made interactions somewhat easier.

After settling Hua Yan in, the butler went to Yun Chi's study to report. He relayed Hua Yan's exact words in response to Yun Chi's interpretation of the Marriage Destiny Fortune Stick without omitting a single detail.

Yun Chi listened, nodded, and remained silent.

Seeing no instructions from him, the butler bowed and retired from the study. Just as he was about to step out of the room, Yun Chi suddenly said, "Tomorrow morning, tell her about the preparations needed for Zhao Zaipu's birthday gift; let her handle it. See what gift she decides to send to Zhao Zaipu. Advise her to neither under- nor overdo it."

The butler's step halted abruptly, his heart racing at the thought that the Crown Prince was entrusting the Crown Princess Consort with such a significant responsibility on her very first day. Not daring to speculate on the Crown Prince's intentions, he quickly responded, "Yes, this old servant will inform the Crown Princess Consort first thing tomorrow morning."

Yun Chi nodded, then gave another order, "Let all the stewards and servants come to greet her tomorrow morning. Bring her all the account books from the treasury; from tomorrow on, she will have control over the household affairs of the Eastern Palace. She will take charge."

The butler's eyes widened in shock, his mind thunderstruck. It took him a moment to recover from the astonishment, wondering if it was too unfair to give her control over household affairs when she had just arrived and was still unfamiliar with the environment and rules. This seemed too much of a burden, especially considering the vastness of the Crown Prince's Residence.

Seeing Yun Chi's serious demeanor and realizing he was not joking, the butler opened his mouth, then wisely refrained from any further queries. He bowed his head, confirmed the order, and, seeing no further instructions, slowly retreated from the study. The breeze of early summer blew as he stepped out, and only then did he notice the cold sweat covering his back.