A month had already passed since the new emperor’s enthronement. The late emperor now rested in peace in the imperial mausoleum, and the turmoil in the capital had been buried along with him.
After a rainfall, summer passed and autumn’s coolness enveloped the capital.
Chu Garden seemed to have changed overnight, like a beauty shedding her fresh summer attire and donning brilliant autumn garments.
The pavilions and towers were surrounded by golden yellow and deep red leaves.
“So beautiful.” Qi Leyun picked up a fallen leaf from her skirt, held it before her eyes to look at it, then pointed to another area. “It’s even more beautiful over by Floating Cloud Pavilion.”
As she spoke, she lifted her skirt and led the way briskly.
“Everyone follow me.”
She also instructed the maidservants beside her.
“Move all the tea and refreshments over there.”
The girls, however, didn’t follow joyfully. One girl even pouted: “Qi Leyun, this isn’t your home.”
Qi Leyun heard this and snorted: “I’m staying here temporarily, so at this very moment, I am the host.”
The Qi family was still living in Chu Garden. Rebuilding the Qi family’s house would take time. Although they learned that Chu Zhao had been made empress, after some discussion, the Qi family still shamelessly continued living in Chu Garden—such a rare opportunity to grow closer to the empress certainly couldn’t be missed.
It was said that in the middle of the night when no one was around, Lady Qi told Lord Qi that their house being burned might have been Heaven’s will, allowing them to form a connection with the empress.
Lord Qi rebuked his wife for her foolish words, saying this should be called “fortune and misfortune depend on each other.”
In any case, the husband and wife swept away their sadness over losing their manor and happily stayed at the Chu residence, refusing to leave. When relatives and friends reminded Lord Qi that this might not be appropriate, Lord Qi instead rebuked those who reminded him: “This is Her Majesty the Empress’s magnanimity and benevolence. Besides my family, many other people have also received shelter in Chu Garden.”
Qi Leyun didn’t think there was anything wrong with this either.
“What kind of person is Chu Zhao?” she said.
Before she finished speaking, she saw the girls’ expressions were strange. What kind of person Chu Zhao was—everyone knew very clearly, right? She had hit people, cursed at people, was arrogant and domineering—
Qi Leyun snorted again: “Chu Zhao is exactly this kind of person—righteous, hating evil like an enemy, punishing the strong and helping the weak.”
The girls couldn’t help but laugh heartily.
“Alright, Qi Leyun.” One girl said with mock reproach. “Stop saying ‘Chu Zhao’ with every breath. She’s the empress now.”
Although they hadn’t seen her for only a short time, Chu Zhao was no longer their companion, but the most noble empress.
“Chu Tang—” a girl asked in a small voice, pointing to another area. “Still no sign of anyone?”
Since the turmoil, the Chu family’s main gate had been tightly closed. During the late emperor’s funeral and the enthronement ceremony, arrangements were made outside the Chu family gate according to protocol, but the main gate had never opened. Many who came to visit were turned away at the door.
Because of the late emperor’s passing and the crown prince’s death, the Chu couple had fallen ill from excessive grief. They couldn’t sit with guests sharing tears and sorrow, nor could they accept everyone’s congratulations.
……
……
A ladder was propped against the wall. Qi Leyun climbed up. Although the girls were somewhat uneasy, they were ultimately young and couldn’t hide their curiosity, watching Qi Leyun nervously yet excitedly.
“Chu Tang, Chu Tang.” Qi Leyun called out several times.
Before long, light footsteps could indeed be heard from the other side, and Chu Tang’s voice came: “Qi Leyun, why are you climbing the wall again?”
She came out! The girls below were excited, and someone softly called out to Chu Tang.
Qi Leyun leaned on top of the wall and said to the girl on the other side: “Everyone is worried about you and came to see you.”
Chu Tang smiled: “What ‘worried about me’—you came to gather information, didn’t you?”
Though separated by a wall and unable to see each other, this familiar tone, these coquettish words—the familiar Chu Tang had appeared before everyone again. The girls called Chu Tang’s name even louder.
Some girls also wanted to find ladders to climb up.
“No need to climb ladders, and no need to ask me,” Chu Tang said from the other side. “Everyone will meet very soon.”
What did this mean? Qi Leyun asked curiously from atop the wall: “Meet what?”
Chu Tang looked up with a smile: “Her Majesty the Empress is hosting a banquet, summoning the noble ladies, and they may bring their children.”
A banquet!
Summoned!
Qi Leyun raised her hand and excitedly shouted “Wonderful!”, nearly falling off the ladder, causing another round of laughter and commotion among the girls.
……
……
The imperial city was hosting a banquet again, indicating that the imperial court had returned to normal.
Before the imperial city, there was a constant flow of carriages and horses. Imperial Guards, eunuchs, and officials stood everywhere, guiding and maintaining order. Despite this, it was still inevitably noisy.
Qi Leyun walked through the crowd, unable to help looking around. She had heard the imperial palace had suffered even worse than their home, but looking at it now, there was no sign of it at all—
“Don’t look around.” Lady Qi kept her daughter in the corner of her eye and immediately rebuked her in a low voice.
Qi Leyun quickly withdrew her gaze, but her eyes still rolled around, looking at who was here, who was there, what they wore, what they carried.
Lady Qi could only reach out to pull her, gritting her teeth and saying in a low voice: “This is the imperial city. If you don’t behave properly again, I’ll send you back.”
In the past, these words could frighten someone, but not now. Qi Leyun even became spirited: “Her Majesty the Empress specifically wants to see us.”