Chapter 2 – Is Embroidery Fun?

Zhan Changfeng fell gravely ill and began to recover when the plum blossoms were in full bloom. The old emperor, worried that her body could not bear the strain, temporarily suspended her lessons and allowed her to rest properly.

In the past, out of twelve two-hour periods in a day, eight of them kept her occupied without respite — either accompanying the old emperor to court and reviewing memorials, or studying and consulting with her teachers.

Now that she was suddenly free, she did not know what to do with herself.

The head eunuch kept his eyes on the tip of his nose and his nose pointed at his heart, desperately hoping that this little ancestral figure would stay quietly in the bedchamber. The illness had only just passed — if she went out and caught a draft and relapsed, even ten of his heads would not be enough to pay for it.

Just then, a maidservant came in, her fair and delicate hands cradling a tall-necked celadon vase with a single branch of vivid red plum blossoms inserted at an angle.

Zhan Changfeng said, “Have all the flowers in the plum garden bloomed?”

The head eunuch had no choice but to order the palace servants to prepare a soft-sedan, with emphatic instructions that it be sealed airtight against the wind.

Wrapped in a thick and luxurious silver fox cloak and holding a hand warmer, Zhan Changfeng stepped slowly out the door and boarded the soft-sedan. The omnipresent sandalwood incense made her feel somewhat stifled, so she lifted the curtain a little — which immediately sent the head eunuch into a flurry of alarmed cries.

Hmph.

The curtain was pulled tightly shut once more.

During her illness, the old emperor had summoned Buddhist monks and Taoist priests who chanted sutras and performed rituals. This sandalwood incense, purportedly good for clearing the mind and warding off evil spirits and ghosts, was a remnant of that time.

Zhan Changfeng had a cleanliness obsession. Never mind how stringent her standards were regarding food, clothing, shelter, and travel — even a foreign smell lingering in the air made her feel uncomfortable inside. Fortunately, it had not reached an incurable degree; she could endure it with effort, though it put her in a foul mood.

When they arrived at the plum garden and the crisp winter wind swept over her, she felt considerably more at ease.

Looking out, ten li of white snow and red plum blossoms stretched before her eyes, resembling ice and fire — dazzling, pure, and searing to the soul.

“Your Highness, look at this scene of plum blossoms defying the snow — how beautiful it is.” The head eunuch lifted aside a branch that had drooped across the white stone path. The snow-dusted buds trembled twice and then, unexpectedly, bloomed open.

This sudden and wondrous moment greatly lifted Zhan Changfeng’s spirits. “You stay and accompany me on a casual stroll. Everyone else, wait outside.”

“Yes.” The guards and maidservants bowed and withdrew.

The head eunuch, believing his words had pleased His Highness the Crown Prince, racked his brains even harder to compose flowery phrases, hoping to weave the scenery into a magnificent tapestry of words.

Fortunately, the head eunuch’s language was passably appropriate, and Zhan Changfeng let him carry on.

Zhan Changfeng picked up a fallen plum blossom from the ground and turned it over in her fingers, half-listening and half-looking. Her gaze passed over the blazing color that spread into the distance and dissolved into a white expanse, where mountains stood.

They were still there.

Zhan Changfeng grew cold and detached once more. Not a single aspect of this magnificent scenery entered her eyes.

“Your Highness, there is a pavilion over there — shall we rest there?” The head eunuch read her expression and offered a timely suggestion.

The pavilion lay deep within the plum garden, half-hidden among white snow and red blossoms.

At that moment, the pavilion had curtains hung around it, a brazier sending up wisps of smoke, and a young girl of seventeen or eighteen sitting inside, embroidering plum blossoms.

The head eunuch hesitated, inwardly annoyed with himself. He should have cleared the area first.

Zhan Changfeng did not particularly mind and walked in.

The girl must have been there for quite some time — a hill-censer had already warmed the pavilion through.

The girl had an oval face and willow-leaf brows, with a tiny cinnabar mark between her brows, blazing like a spark of fire. She asked with guileless warmth, “Little one, which family are you from? Oh, it’s cold outside — come in quickly and sit down.”

The head eunuch’s eyes went wide, and the words “How bold!” nearly burst out of him.

Zhan Changfeng fixed her with a cold, sidelong glance, but seeing that her expression was cheerful and her eyes were clear and unaffected, clearly not feigning anything, she did not take it to heart. She waved a hand at the head eunuch and sat down on a stone stool.

“Embroidering?”

“Mm. Today the red plum blossoms are dusted with snow, the sky has just cleared, and it is very beautiful.”

The girl gave a gentle nod and looked out toward the plum grove, unable to conceal the smile in her eyes. “So lovely. I had never seen anything like it before.”

First “beautiful,” then “lovely” — even Zhan Changfeng felt that the surrounding scenery seemed a few shades brighter.

Palace servants brought tea and small refreshments, arranging them one by one. The girl glanced at them curiously a few times, then quietly lowered her head and returned to her embroidery — the very picture of an innocent and gentle beauty from the misty rain country of Jiangnan.

Zhan Changfeng watched the needle and thread dart back and forth as buds bloomed on a graceful branch, and felt a genuine sense of wonder.

She had never learned needlework. She had only heard the concubines of the inner palace say that it was a required skill for women — a woman who did not learn needlework could not be considered a proper woman.

The concubines of the inner palace had all grown older, their half-lifetime of jostling for favor now extinguished. They would pick a quiet, comfortable spot, gather together, chat, and embroider, content and at ease.

Sometimes, as she rushed past on her way to the study hall or the court, she would catch a glimpse of these concubines by the willow-lined shore, at the waterside pavilion, or beneath the covered walkway — focused and serene, as though they had stitched their entire lives into silk and golden cloth.

“Not bad. Let me try?”

The trailing lift of the final syllable, so rare an inquiring tone — even the head eunuch’s eyelid twitched.

The girl covered her mouth and laughed. “It’s quite difficult, and besides, what does a boy like you want to learn it for?”

She cast a light glance at the plum blossom in Zhan Changfeng’s hand. “Look how carelessly you’re holding it — even the petals are falling off.”

“It was already damaged to begin with.”

The girl said, “Then why did you pick it?”

“I merely picked it up,” said Zhan Changfeng, a kind of resolute cruelty in her eyes. “Fallen flowers turn to mud — as it should be.”

She repeated herself once more. “Let me try.”

The imperial family’s authority was not to be refused.

The girl faltered, growing restrained in that moment, as though the one sitting across from her was not a young child at all.

She handed over the unfinished embroidery along with the needle, and demonstrated two simple stitching techniques.

She still wanted to emphasize it once more, but the needle was already moving. The child’s expression was calm yet focused, and her hands were precise to the last thread — she had the appearance of someone who knew exactly what she was doing.

Zhan Changfeng’s capacity for learning had always been extraordinary. From watching the girl embroider, she had already seen through all her techniques.

A plum blossom fell from its branch, its petals drifting away on the breeze.

Lifelike.

The girl marveled, “Amazing — is this really your first time embroidering?”

“I am naturally the finest at everything.” Zhan Changfeng set down the embroidery and took a sip of tea.

The girl overlooked her manner of self-address and said excitedly, “Let me teach you to embroider something else — you could definitely develop a master’s skill.”

Zhan Changfeng looked somewhere between surprised and speechless. She shook her head, turned, and left. Reviewing memorials was still more challenging.

Once they had moved some distance from the pavilion, the head eunuch bowed and said, “That young lady is the newly arrived Miss Zhao.”

“The Zhao family of Linshui Commandery?”

“Yes.”

“How pitiful that the Imperial Grandfather, at his age, still has to rely on marriage alliances to keep the Zhao family’s army in line.”

She pulled her cloak tighter. The soft, warm fur collar brushed against her cheek, faintly itchy.

The head eunuch trailed behind with a long face, not daring to say that this was the bride being prepared for her. Moreover, he could not fathom what His Majesty the Emperor was thinking — choosing this Miss Zhao, who seemed to be missing a soul, ignorant of the ways of the world, with the heart of a child. How would she ever survive in the imperial palace?

Zhan Changfeng’s thoughts turned to the war in the three southern provinces, and any remaining desire to enjoy the garden vanished. She changed course and headed for the Hall of Statecraft.

The Hall of Statecraft was the emperor’s study. The old emperor was there discussing the war with several grand military ministers.

The Yi Dynasty’s foundations had already been hollowed out by rot. The common people had many grievances, and with the cold descending, every region was gripped in a cold wave — those who had frozen or starved to death were too numerous to count.

Heaven forces us to rebel — we have no choice but to rebel!

Rebel armies raised all manner of banners, burning, killing, pillaging, and seizing cities and territories. Even the feudal lords beyond the five degrees of kinship had set their eyes on the imperial capital. The Yi family’s realm was in peril.

The irony of it all was that, among the entire court of civil and military officials, the one who had gone out to quell the unrest was the reigning Imperial Princess — Yi Shang.

She was still young after all, and her experience was lacking. She listened quietly as the old emperor and the ministers discussed.

The Right Chancellor said, “The turmoil in the south is more or less settled, and now that the Zhao family’s army stands guard there, it is time to summon Her Highness the Imperial Princess back to the capital.”

The others agreed.

The old emperor deliberated several times and issued a decree recalling Yi Shang, who was stationed in the three southern provinces.

Once only the old emperor and Zhan Changfeng remained in the Hall of Statecraft, she said, “The stability of the three southern provinces rests entirely on the fearsome reputation that the Imperial Princess has carved out over many years. If she leaves, trouble will likely brew.”

The old emperor shook his head. “You are still young and naive — you do not understand the reasoning behind this.”

“Please, Grandfather, enlighten me.” Zhan Changfeng asked with genuine humility.

The old emperor stroked his beard. “You also said that the stability of the three southern provinces rests entirely on your Imperial Aunt — that is precisely what worries me. I fear they only recognize her.”

“Her merit has grown too great. That is not a good thing.”

Zhan Changfeng now understood — it was not the Right Chancellor who wanted the Imperial Princess recalled. It was the Imperial Grandfather who wanted her back.

The Crown Prince lowered her gaze and asked further, “Surely you do not fear that the Imperial Princess’s merit will overshadow the throne?”

Since ancient times, the reason emperors feared ministers whose merit overshadowed the throne was, naturally, the fear of being overthrown.

The old emperor had previously regarded this daughter as a sharpened blade — half because of her exceptional ability, and half because of her status as a woman.

A woman was destined never to become emperor, and so the old emperor had entrusted her with the great army dispatched to the south without a second thought.

But this daughter had done far too well. The common people knew only of General Yi Shang who had conquered the south, not of the sovereign in the imperial court. The old emperor feared that she might suddenly don the yellow robe herself and wheel around to attack the palace.

Zhan Changfeng read his expression clearly and spoke bluntly, “If the Imperial Princess can save the world, why not give her the throne?”

The old emperor, who had always been gentle and kind toward her, rebuked her with sudden severity: “Nonsense! How can a woman be emperor? Where would that leave the ancestral laws and family codes!”

(End of Chapter)