Chapter 85

Preparing a congratulatory gift is truly a matter that requires much thought, especially when the recipient is someone so wealthy he could rival a nation.

Rare treasures are commonplace in his household, and his concubines are as many as the clouds.

What could such a person possibly be lacking?

After Nie Qinglin returned to Fengchu Palace, she looked at the items that Nanny Shan had brought out and began tugging at her hair in frustration.

These things, though valuable enough to be pawned, were all private tributes from overseas belonging to the Grand Tutor.

If she were to sell them and then use them as a gift, it would be nothing but borrowing flowers to offer to the Buddha, truly a disgrace to the royal family’s dignity.

After thinking back and forth, Nie Qinglin could only give up.

Just then, Empress Xiao Shen came to spend some time with her, and the maid beside her carried a sewing basket filled with an embroidery piece half-finished.

When Nie Qinglin saw Empress Xiao Shen threading her needle, her eyes lit up.

She thought that if she could personally create an embroidery, pouring her time and effort into it, it would be quite a good gift.

With that thought, she ordered Nanny Shan to fetch a piece of silk.

After Empress Xiao Shen drew a pattern upon it, Nie Qinglin imitated it and began to learn.

Unfortunately, the Fourteenth Prince of Great Wei had never excelled in the Six Arts since childhood, and in needlework she had not put in the slightest effort.

The bold stitching she once used to mend the “divine shoes” had not been spoken of in vain.

After just a few stitches, Empress Xiao Shen was startled, yet unwilling to hurt the princess’s pride.

She could only murmur, “This needle tip is sharp like a weapon… is it that temples forbid the use of needle and thread?”

Princess Yong’an gave an awkward smile, lowered her head to look at her own work, then glanced at Empress Xiao Shen’s.

Indeed, though both followed the same floral pattern, they had somehow produced two entirely different animals, leaving her a little discouraged.

Empress Xiao Shen believed that as a daughter one must be skilled in women’s crafts, sitting in the hall sewing with needle and thread to give a sense of virtuous wifehood.

Seeing her little sister-in-law, because of her complicated background, lacking this essential skill for displaying a woman’s virtue, she secretly grew anxious.

So she changed the design to a simpler one, guiding Nie Qinglin to practice embroidery again.

During those days, the Grand Tutor seemed occupied with something, not coming to her chambers to spend the night for several days.

This gave her the chance to finish the belt at her own pace.

Concentrating with all her focus, Nie Qinglin finally lifted her head, stretched her stiff shoulders, and examined her masterpiece.

After several days and nights of effort, she had actually managed to embroider a belt with a neat pattern.

Paired with six pearls the size of a fingernail, it looked quite resplendent.

Nie Qinglin placed the belt on the small table, tilting her head this way and that to examine it from different angles.

If one did not look too closely at the loose stitches, the dragon upon it looked like a majestic “shedding-scales” flood dragon.

After admiring it enough, Nie Qinglin lay back onto the soft couch, crossed her legs, and popped a sweet date into her mouth, chewing away.

Rolling about in contentment, she suddenly recalled something, sat up again, took out an exquisite brocade box from the golden nanmu bookshelf, placed the belt inside, and shut it with satisfaction.

However, the Grand Tutor had been scarce even in the daytime these few days.

Nie Qinglin, curious, asked Eunuch Ruan, and the reply she received was: it seemed that someone had come to visit the Grand Tutor’s household, and he was busy entertaining guests.

The Grand Tutor’s birthday fell on the last day of late autumn.

Soon it would be another year’s winter, and upon rising in the morning one could already feel the biting chill outdoors.

Princess Yong’an lingered lazily under her warm quilt for quite some time before getting up with Nanny Shan’s assistance.

Her thin padded jacket had been pressed with a small iron beforehand, warm and comfortable against her skin.

What should she wear today? The princess spent half the morning deciding before finally settling on a flowing skirt embroidered with twin butterflies and cloud motifs in golden thread.

When she walked, the hem rippled like waves of water, mesmerizing to behold.

Then came the delightful time of dressing before the mirror.

A thin layer of snow outside made her already rosy cheeks glow with a pearly sheen.

She dusted a light touch of rouge, dabbed a little floral jelly balm of pale pink, and arranged her exquisite palace hairstyle.

In the mirror appeared a lively and charming beauty.

After applying the flower-yellow before the mirror, the day went on as usual.

The red bean egg pastry and coconut rolls in the morning were so sweet and rich they made it hard to open one’s mouth.

At lunch, the jade-pillar old duck soup was warming to the stomach.

In the afternoon she read half a book of leisure tales, and time passed quietly, unhurried, as the sun’s shadow moved across the sky.

Yet until dusk fell, that tall figure did not appear at the palace gates.

“Princess, it is far too chilly outside. If you feel the air in the room is stifling, this servant will open a small window in a while, but you must not sit in the cold wind like this!”

Nanny Shan, looking at the princess seated on the bamboo chair in the courtyard, spoke with worry.

Nie Qinglin held her soft warm cat close in her arms, her half-lowered delicate lashes trembling lightly.

“After dinner I felt rather stuffed, so walking about in the courtyard is comfortable. Nanny Shan, prepare the bedding. I feel a little tired today and wish to sleep early.”

Lying beneath the warm brocade quilt, Nie Qinglin suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

What was with her today? She had actually taken the Grand Tutor’s casual words about spending his birthday together seriously.

Even if the Grand Tutor said there would be no birthday banquet, the visits of close friends could not be refused one by one.

The frequency of comings and goings for someone of his high position was not something a woman of the inner palace could imagine.

What was more, with family guests in his household, naturally he would spend the day with his kin.

And besides, he had so many concubines.

How could a husband possibly turn away all of their wishes to express their hearts on his birthday?

She had once thought her mother, standing long in the courtyard, waiting hopefully in the lonely night, looked so foolish.

Yet in the end she too was playing out the same scene.

So this was the grinding torment of it.

She was truly deserving of blame, what was she even expecting?

Having troubled herself foolishly all day, Nie Qinglin decided to sleep early, so that she could sleep away her silliness as cleanly as possible.

She ordered Nanny Shan to bring warm water for washing, cleansed her face and hands, then turned about in the bedding for a while before drowsiness finally overtook her.

With her breathing long and even, without realizing it she suddenly rose and found the space within the bedchamber strangely joyous.

Everywhere was filled with fluttering red, just like the wedding hall at the Ge residence.

But before long it turned into a red as dark as blood, like the thick stains that seeped into the floors during the palace coup.

The foul scent of blood made her hold her breath, yet as she stumbled forward in confusion, she discovered she was standing upon a lone boat.

Around her, it was like that day when the floodgates opened, waves of water roaring in every direction.

The surging torrents tossed the little boat up and down as if it might be overturned at any moment.

She stood helplessly in the boat, tossed with the waves, when suddenly she saw a huge shadow moving beneath the water.

A man-eating monster seemed to be lurking below the raging waves, letting out a shrill and hideous laugh.

“You cannot escape. In the end, you will return to my embrace…”

She wanted to call for help, to call for her mother, to call for An Qiao’er, but what burst from her lips at the last moment was a hoarse, desperate cry of—

“Grand Tutor!”

But after that hollow cry, it seemed as if some force was dragging her, trying to pull her into a bottomless whirlpool.

“No! Let go… Grand Tutor, save me… ah!”

A sudden panic made her struggle fiercely, yet all her efforts were firmly locked by a pair of iron arms.

“Wake up… Guo’er, wake up!”

A large hand gently patted her cheek.

Only then did she forcefully open her tear-filled eyes, discovering herself tightly held in the embrace of that man with thick brows and phoenix eyes.

Seeing her open her eyes, the man finally let out a breath of relief, kissed her slightly damp cheek, and said, “What kind of nightmare was that? You could not be woken at all.”

After asking this, he watched the little one in his arms blink in a daze before slowly closing her eyes again.

She did not speak, only rubbed her small face against the fabric of his chest a few times.

Her damp lashes no longer trembled so violently, yet she showed no intention of speaking.

This little Guo’er was one with a hard shell, Wei Lenghou knew.

When she slept, she often dreamt, and most of them were unpleasant dreams.

Each time, she would move about restlessly beside him, lips pressed tightly shut, but never uttering a single word of dream talk.

Tonight was rare.

She had actually opened her mouth to call for him.

While he felt secretly overjoyed, he also ached with heartache.

Poor little thing, what had she dreamt of to be so frightened?

The Grand Tutor knew well that this hard shell of little Guo’er could not be pried open with force, so he shifted the subject and said, “Did the princess not promise to celebrate my birthday together with me? How is it that the lamps have only just been lit, yet you went to bed so early? Could it be that you forgot?”

Nie Qinglin steadied herself and finally came to her senses.

In a hoarse voice she said, “How could I dare forget? I only thought the Grand Tutor’s household must be so busy that you could not spare time, so with the cold weather today I went to bed earlier.”

Wei Lenghou stroked her long, smooth hair and then turned to call for Nanny Shan.

“Tonight the autumn frost has fallen, and the chill is heavy. Bring the white mink-fur cloak I had sent a few days ago, and choose some thick clothing for the princess to change into.”

Hearing this, Nie Qinglin blinked.

Did the Grand Tutor mean for her to get up and change clothes? So late at night, where was he planning to take her?

Nanny Shan worked quickly and soon brought all the clothing.

The Grand Tutor did not let anyone else help.

He personally dressed Princess Yong’an, put the cloak over her shoulders, and then slipped her shoes onto her feet.

Only then did he lead her out of Fengchu Palace.

At the palace gates a carriage with thickened walls had long been prepared.

Once the Grand Tutor and the princess boarded, the crisp sound of hooves soon carried them away.

The journey was not far.

After turning for a while, they arrived at their destination.

When the young eunuch lifted the curtain of the carriage, Nie Qinglin curiously looked around and realized this was actually the vegetable garden at the back of the deep palace, a place that should have long been abandoned.

Back when Great Wei was first founded, the ancestors of the Wei dynasty had deliberately opened this vegetable garden to remind their descendants not to forget the downfall of the previous dynasty, where Duke Yun of the former reign indulged in pleasure and extravagance, bringing disaster to the state.

Whenever there was leisure, the emperor would bring the empress, princes, and princesses here to grow vegetables.

The fruits and vegetables for the palace meals all came from here.

However, the soil here was never truly suitable.

The vegetables grown lacked sweetness.

When a new emperor ascended the throne, he ordered that fruits and vegetables be supplied from outside the palace instead.

From then on, this place gradually became a desolate and abandoned garden.

But at some unknown time, the land here had been leveled, and a vast flower conservatory had been built.

Its construction materials were extraordinary, using refined iron as the framework, covered with crystalline gems as clear as crystal.

During the day, sunlight could stream inside.

Within, the conservatory was divided into small rooms using ironwood that grew only on the highest peak of the ancient Lian Mountains in the heartland of Wei.

This ironwood resisted heat, cold, and dampness, and was an exceedingly rare material.

Each section adjusted its temperature according to the needs of the flowers.

Some were as warm as early summer, while others were stiflingly hot.

The air of the entire conservatory was moist, and a hot spring, drawn from some unknown source, flowed gently beneath the ironwood walkway that ran through the center.

The vast conservatory had no lamps, yet everywhere faint violet light drifted, casting its glow over seas of blossoms, creating a vision that seemed possible only in the realms of immortals.

“The princess loves flowers, yet winter is fast approaching,” the Grand Tutor’s deep, magnetic voice sounded by her ear.

“So I commissioned craftsmen to build this conservatory. When the snow falls, it will not prevent Your Highness from enjoying blossoms of every season.”

Nie Qinglin had no time to voice her thanks.

Several fireflies glowing violet drifted toward her, fluttering around her white mink cloak, their shining tails adorning the fur like sparkling jewels.

At this season, fireflies could no longer be found anywhere in Wei.

The insects here, along with many of the flowers, had been purchased from overseas at great expense and brought back by the Grand Tutor’s younger brother.

Watching Nie Qinglin’s face lit with excitement, Wei Lenghou felt that the efforts of the past few days had not been in vain.

Those gaudy tales and vulgar romances were truly nothing but cheap tricks of impoverished scholars.

As the Marquis of Dingguo, if he wished to delight the woman he cherished, how could he stoop to such petty means? Thinking back, he realized he had strayed down the wrong path before.

Indeed, the ancients did not deceive him.

Those worthless books did great harm.

“Grand Tutor… was this not supposed to be your birthday celebration? Why is it instead that you have built me a conservatory?”

Nie Qinglin finally pulled herself away from the dreamlike mists, the clusters of flowers, and the drifting lights, and asked with some embarrassment.

The Grand Tutor’s expression did not change as he asked, “So the princess does remember that today is my birthday. Have you prepared a gift?”

Nie Qinglin was about to answer, but her eyes involuntarily fell on the belt at his waist.

Earlier, when he wore his cloak, she had not noticed it.

But after they had both removed their outer garments in the warmth of the conservatory, she saw it clearly.

It was a black belt embroidered with gold threads and inlaid with jade plaques.

The vivid embroidery made it stand out strikingly.

At the end of the entwined dragons was a delicate raised stitch in the shape of a pattern.

Nie Qinglin would not have understood such details before, but after being instructed by Empress Xiao Shen, she knew this was a fashionable new style among the capital’s skillful embroiderers: leaving the embroiderer’s name or character hidden in reverse stitching upon the piece. Most men would not notice, yet it meant that the woman’s heartfelt devotion was carried with him at all times.

The reverse-stitch on the Grand Tutor’s belt appeared to be the character “Wan,” likely the handiwork of Madam Wan, the third concubine of the Wei household.

Nie Qinglin had once overheard gossip when sewing the “divine shoes” together with the other wives, that Madam Wan’s embroidery was unrivaled, and many of the Grand Tutor’s embroidered garments came from her delicate hands.

The noblewomen of the capital all strove to imitate this clever fashion.

The belt’s bright, fresh colors showed it had not yet been washed, meaning it had only recently been completed.

She had labored for several nights to stitch her own dragon, with its missing scales and crooked threads.

Yet compared to this flawless belt, a hundred or thousand times finer, how much time and effort must have gone into it?

Thinking of this, the words she had almost spoken turned into self-reproach and were swallowed back down.

At last, she said softly, “This princess thought and thought again, but the Grand Tutor lacks nothing. I truly did not know what I could prepare…”

A shadow of gloom flickered across Wei Lenghou’s handsome face, but it quickly disappeared.

“The conservatory I designed pleased the princess, and that smile you just showed me was the best birthday gift I could have received.”

Saying this, he took Nie Qinglin’s small hand and accompanied her to admire the rare flowers within the conservatory.

Because Nie Qinglin had been weighed down with worries that night, she had not eaten much earlier.

Soon her stomach began rumbling loudly, the sound echoing awkwardly through this earthly paradise, making her cheeks flush as though she had applied rouge unevenly.

The Grand Tutor laughed.

“The ministers of the court are not frugal anymore, so why is the princess still economizing? Come, accompany me to have some supper.”

Earlier, because it had been hot inside the conservatory, she had removed her fur cloak.

When they left, the Grand Tutor, worried she might catch a chill from the sudden change in temperature, wrapped her in his own black robe and carried her onto the carriage.

By the time they returned to Fengchu Palace, Nanny Shan had already prepared wine and dishes, waiting only for the two to take their seats.

Since it was a late meal, the plates were filled with exquisite little dishes.

The Grand Tutor barely touched his chopsticks, and when he did, it was only to pick food for Nie Qinglin.

Though he was the one whose birthday it was, he spent the whole evening attending to her, which made Nie Qinglin feel her thin skin could hardly bear the shame.

She resolved that by tomorrow she must think carefully about preparing a proper gift in return.

The Grand Tutor, however, was not so tangled in such thoughts.

Having been entangled with many affairs recently, he had not visited his little Guo’ er here in some time.

A carefully prepared gift from a maiden could not compare to the warmth of sharing one night beneath the hibiscus canopy.

When his little Guo’ er finally finished her supper in small bites and rinsed her mouth, it was then the Grand Tutor’s true feast began.

Since she had been carried straight from her bed to the conservatory, she had been spared the fuss of washing up.

Even after her clothes were loosened, the fragrance of flowers from the conservatory still clung faintly to her.

Perhaps because she had not prepared a gift and instead received from him such a rare and extraordinary offering, guilt lingered in the princess’s heart.

Normally, with just a change of mood, she would blush, pout her lips, and put up a little resistance.

But tonight, she was nothing but quietly submissive, her face and neck flushed red, saying not a word.

Such sweetness and soft yielding beauty, what hot-blooded man could resist?

In the end, he forgot all those practiced methods of teasing a woman and simply gave himself over to fierce battle upon her tender form.

Breathless gasps and the man’s heavy breathing intertwined, spilling out from the inner chamber from time to time.

The young palace maids keeping night watch at the door blushed furiously as their hearts raced.

By the next morning, when she awoke, Nie Qinglin was so sore and weak that she refused to rise, curling herself in the blankets.

The Grand Tutor, needing to attend morning court, kissed his drowsy little cat several times before finally leaving the bed.

While serving the Grand Tutor as he dressed in the outer chamber, Nanny Shan casually asked, “Will the Grand Tutor not wear the belt the princess embroidered herself?”

The Grand Tutor’s hands froze mid-motion.

He raised his brows and asked, “The princess embroidered a belt?”

Nanny Shan frowned in annoyance, realizing she had spoken too much.

If the princess had not mentioned it, perhaps she had wanted to give the Grand Tutor a surprise.

Following Nanny Shan’s directions, the Grand Tutor quickly found the brocade box.

Opening it, he saw a white belt inside, fragrant as though sprinkled with floral dew.

When he picked it up lightly, his nail accidentally caught on some loose thread.

As he unfolded it, the Grand Tutor sighed inwardly.

The embroidery was quite well done.

It was a complete dragon from head to tail.

At the very tip of the tail was a cluster of red threads, which upon closer inspection seemed to be an unripe fruit.

His thin lips could not help but curve into a faint smile.

He removed the belt he was wearing and tossed it aside, then tied this one around his court robe.

He examined himself repeatedly in the mirror, then slipped quietly into the inner chamber.

There, he gently took a small hand from beneath the blanket and opened her fingers.

At once he saw clusters of tiny needle marks that pricked his heart with pain.

The Grand Tutor frowned deeply.

He resolved that in the future the princess must be kept away from such needlework.

It wasted her energy and was harmful to her.

Yet when he thought of the beauty sitting beneath a lamp, sewing a birthday gift for him, his heart relaxed in quiet joy.

Like an immortal, the Grand Tutor sat by the bed, holding the sleeping kitten’s hand, smiling to himself in a daze for a long while.

If not for urgent matters awaiting in the morning court, he truly would have been tempted to shirk government affairs.

But the burdens of state could not be ignored, and so he had to leave.

The heavy wooden doors of the palace slowly swung open.

Ministers lined up in two rows and filed into the great hall.

The emperor, still unwell, left his throne empty, and once the officials were seated, the Grand Tutor himself sat on the dragon-carved chair.

This time, however, his attire was unusual.

He wore an elegant black court robe embroidered with gold thread.

It was less luxurious than his casual dress, but it emphasized his refinement and poise.

Yet… what was with that white belt? Normally, the Grand Tutor’s belts matched his clothing seamlessly, blending in perfectly.

But today, he wore a stark white belt in complete contrast.

To appear charming, one dressed in mourning.

White was not a poor choice, and in fact, the black-and-white pairing was striking, though a little distracting.

Still, it could be accepted.

But the belt was crookedly embroidered with a dragon.

The dragon was stretching its head toward a pearl… except pearls were supposed to be round.

This one was lopsided and even missing a corner.

Without the dragon next to it, no one would have guessed it was meant to be a pearl at all.

The dragon’s upper body was embroidered in gold thread, cluttered with random pearls, while the lower half was completely bare.

That white belt stood out on the Grand Tutor like a black smudge on a lady’s painted face.

It was impossible to believe such a refined man would wear such a mismatched accessory.

The Grand Tutor, however, ignored the astonished looks of the ministers.

Instead, he looked rather pleased with himself, even reaching from time to time to touch the belt.

Prime minister Qiu Mingyan stiffly averted his gaze, calming his expression as he began to report to the Grand Tutor and the emperor.

He had not finished his memorial when a sudden crisp clattering sound broke out.

Following the noise, Qiu Mingyan and the other ministers saw that when the Grand Tutor stretched his waist, several pearls had come loose from their threads and fallen to the ground.

The Grand Tutor, distressed, touched the belt with a darkened face and ordered all civil and military officials to bend down and search.

At last, the wayward pearls were all retrieved.

Some who were skilled at guessing the ruler’s intentions suddenly felt uneasy.

Could the Grand Tutor’s action be a hidden message to the ministers? Yes, it must carry such meaning.

Tighten your belts and do not dream of extravagance, or else you will end up like those pearls, with your head rolling to the ground and your whole family donning mourning clothes and tying white belts to see you off.