Hugo once described the Notre-Dame de Paris as a vast symphony in stone, that architecture in general was frozen music, and every carefully laid stone is a beautiful note because every combination is different and would compose a unique piece of music. Ah Luo had been to the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Shenyang Imperial Palace, The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, and the Musée du Louvre in France. She had seen the Han and Qin Palace film production sets, yet when she saw the Ning Palace that had been built according to the mountain terrain, she was lost in wonder. Looking up from the city square at the base of the mountain, she craned her neck back until it couldn’t be bent any further and yet it still seemed like she couldn’t view the entire palace on the mountain.
Ah Luo thought, wouldn’t the people who lived on the mountain be tired of going up and down? She asked Eldest Mistress, “Elder Madam, how tall is this palace? Won’t the people living on the mountain be tired?”
Eldest Mistress stared at her and said, “The highest area is the Cold Palace, those inside need not come down the mountain. I’ll explain it properly to you all now to avoid having you wandering astray in the palace. The Emperor’s Audience Hall is at the foot of the mountain and just above that is a valley where the various quarters of the Back Palace are spread out. They are located a little higher only. Further above that is the Imperial Library, the Laundry Courtyard and the like. Situated at the highest point is the Ancestral Hall and the Cold Palace. The Imperial Garden lies southwest of the valley, where the Empress is hosting the banquet today. The Imperial Garden is very large and there are various broken jade-like streams flowing through. You must not wander around or you’ll get lost and cause trouble. Understand?”
The three of them hurriedly answered, “Understood.”
After passing through the palace gate, they changed their form of transport to light sedan chairs. Ah Luo secretly lifted up a corner of the curtain to look out. The colour of the sky was a gray-blue and it would be night time soon. All kinds of lamps had been hung up in the palace, making it as bright as day. At the entrance of the Imperial Garden, everyone dismounted from the sedan chairs and Ah Luo was surprised to find that the road was shining and glowing. It looked just like the streetlights that had reflected on the modern roads. She slowly fell back behind the others, glanced left and right to ensure nobody noticed, and quickly squatted down to touch it, finding that it was stone. She thought that it was likely to contain minerals with a phosphor chemical composition. For it to glow yet not be dazzlingly bright, she sighed and felt that the Emperor Ning really knew how to enjoy life. From a distance, the entire Imperial Garden was surrounded by various lines.
Ah Luo squinted at the lines and suddenly discovered that the lines created a bird motif. When she neared it, she was led to a seat and sat down. Thinking of the bird design, she found that she was sitting right at the head. Just now, they had entered from the position of the bird’s claw. So then the east and west directions would naturally be the bird’s outstretched wings. The bird’s head was already so large and for the wings to be stretched out, the Imperial Garden was truly massive.
Watching the palace maids scuttling back and forth, Ah Luo thought back to when they were on their way, she noticed that Eldest Mistress had changed her maid, it wasn’t Juan’er. She hadn’t seen Juan’er for a long time, and didn’t know if she was still in the Eldest Mistress’ courtyard or had been sent elsewhere. This was out of her control and she had no choice but to watch Juan’er’s fate play out.
At this moment, the invited family members arrived one after another. The table opposite Ah Luo should be the Gu Family’s. At the table next to her sat a teenage girl, alone, with a calm expression and a beautiful side profile. Ah Luo wondered, could this be the legendary Wang Yan Hui?
As though she felt that she was being watched, the girl turned her face and smiled slightly at Ah Luo. Her eyes were bright like autumn water. Ah Luo also responded with a sweet smile. She had a good opinion of this girl.
Hearing Qing Lei give a light hum, the girl turned her head and looked over. Ah Luo also turned her head and saw Gu Tian Lin helping her mother sit down. Ah Luo wanted to laugh, Qing Lei and Gu Tian Lin were really well matched against each other. Qing Lei was very dignified and noble today, was Gu Tian Lin not the same? The two of them were dressed similarly, except that Gu Tian Lin’s clothes were lighter in colour and Qing Lei’s was darker. One had plum blossoms embroidered on their outfit which sparkled with lustre under the light of the lamps, matching the radiance of the accessories. She looked at Gu Tian Lin. The embroidery thread that had been used seemed a bit special, reflecting light like the phosphorous stones in the garden, and just as eye-catching. Then she looked at Wang Yan Hui, whose outfit was not particularly unique, although there was a string of pearls on her neck that reflected a soft light onto her face.
Ah Luo thought that it would be great if each of them had a spotlight on their heads, like a halo of light on a stage. She suddenly thought of Saint Virgin Mary and lowered her head in laughter.
The inner court official shouted, “The Emperor and Empress have arrived!”
All the invited family members hurriedly left their seats and knelt down. They called out the three greeting phrases and waited until they sat down. Ah Luo secretly stole a glance. Emperor Ning was around 50 years old and his face was very similar to the Crown Prince’s, he must have been a handsome man when he was young. The Empress wore a large phoenix crown and was around 40 years old, she looked magnanimous, a beauty among people.
The Crown Prince stood beside Emperor Ning. He was gazing over here and Ah Luo looked sideways to see that Qing Luo’s face was red as she lowered her head. Then she lifted it up again and quickly sent a shy glance towards the prince. Ah Luo saw a smile form on the corner of the Crown Prince’s mouth.
Emperor Ning said, “Today, the Empress is hosting this banquet and I, the sovereign, have also been invited. May the Empress preside over this.”
The Empress didn’t decline and thanked him, saying, “The moon in mid-autumn is full, it’s perfect for viewing. Today is just for fun, nothing else. I’d like to extend an invite to all the young ladies to prepare to show your talents, so as not to waste such an enchanting sight on a beautiful day.”
Hearing this, Ah Luo thought that the two of them must have discussed this beforehand. The Empress acted well as if in a play and set a theme, while the Emperor was an onlooker to balance it out.
The female official next to the Empress stepped forward and said loudly, “Many beautiful girls have gathered here today, each family should designate a person to come and draw lots for a subject. The Empress had decreed that regardless of how well the performance is, there will be a reward. Every table has a flower marker and you can use it to indicate the most talented performer and the top three will be chosen.”
Ah Luo thought that the super girls had arrived. They were all public judges.
Emperor Ning laughed and said, “Both I and the Empress, as well as all other imperial relatives have a flower marker, which also counts as a vote. Vote carefully!” The shadow behind him laughed, “As your Imperial Majesty wishes.”
Ah Luo looked around carefully, only to find that there were a few more tables located at the bird’s beak that had been hidden from sight by a few flowering trees. She couldn’t clearly see who sat there and only the Crown Prince sat in front of the Emperor Ning and Empress.
After a moment, a palace maid brought around a drawing bucket to each table for them to draw lots. Eldest Mistress stretched out her hand and picked out a stick. The palace maid busily recorded the number on the stick.
Eldest Mistress carefully unfolded the paper and saw that a tongue twister was written on it. Eldest Mistress was stunned, what kind of subject was this? She frowned and said, “Qing Lei, you’ll have to think carefully about this.”
Ah Luo thought that the simplicity of this all depended on how well Qing Lei enunciated her speech. She looked around and saw various kinds of expressions, some were joyful, others were gloomy.
After a while, she heard the Empress whisper to the female officer, and the female officer said loudly, “The two people who drew the third and seventh lots, please come forward.”
Gu Tian Lin slowly walked to where the Emperor sat and curtsied. The female official spoke again, “The third lot is Minister Gu’s daughter, the subject is dance and painting. The seventh lot is Minister Gao’s daughter, and the subject is zither. The title of the song is <Rain Falling on Banana Leaves>. It is requested that Miss Gu’s dance should match the rhythm of the music while painting at the same time. For Miss Gao, it is requested that her zither notes should harmonise with Miss Gu’s painting. When the zither’s melody ends, Miss Gu’s painting must also be finished.”
The audience was in an uproar, if they didn’t cooperate well, it would be disastrous. It was clearly a ploy to make fun of the ladies.
They could only see Miss Gao’s fingers waving in flourish, the melody sounded like endless strings of pearls. Gu Tian Lin was dazed, then flung out her sleeve and began to dance extremely slowly. She waved her sleeve again, yet it still didn’t match the music. Her body began to turn sharply and with one hand, she began to paint quickly on the paper. Helplessly, the tune of the song sounded more and more urgent, Gu Tian Lin brushed a few strokes and her dance steps quickened. Her skirt raised up into a flower, glittering beautifully from the embroidery.
On the other side, Miss Gao’s hands continued ceaselessly. She saw that Miss Gu’s painting was not yet finished, however, she realised that the song was almost at its end, so she could only slow down the pace. Rain falling on banana leaves became raindrops on banana leaves. Chuckling could be heard all around.
Gu Tian Lin also slowed down due to this, gently swishing her sleeves, twisting her waist and slowly finishing her painting. She glanced at Miss Gao, smiled lightly and painted her final brushstroke. Miss Gao hurriedly flicked her fingers, like rain falling hard on the leaves, and the song ended.
The two of them returned to their seats and sat back down. Ah Luo took a look at Gu Tian Lin’s painting, she had painted a banana leaf in the rain. They were disorderly from the rain, yet it was still a masterpiece. She secretly praised her intelligence and superb talent.
The female official said, “The two people who drew the fourth and sixth lots, please come forward.”
This time, it was Qing Lei and Minister Chen’s daughter. Miss Chen read the tongue twister, from one sentence to five sentences and Qing Lei would recite after her. After reading it all, Miss Chen then had to recite the entire tongue twister from the beginning to the end.
Both the daughters performed well this time and Ah Luo thought that Qing Lei was surprisingly eloquent.
In the next round, Wang Yan Hui stepped forward, yet she was alone. The subject that she had drawn was to create a game that everyone could participate in. Wang Yan Hui smiled and said, “Could the female official please come and listen to my plan?”
The Empress nodded and the female official walked up to Wang Yan Hui. After listening to her whispers for a while, she left. Wang Yan Hui spoke loudly, “The Imperial Garden at night is as bright as it is in daytime, yet the paths have many twists and turns. They all lead back here eventually. I asked the female official to set up riddles at the intersections, those who guess the right answer will be able to proceed. The final destination is here, if you can’t guess it, then you can return while enjoying the scenery. The one who advances by answering the most riddles wins. On one hand, you can enjoy the scenery, on the other hand, there are riddles to solve, adding to the fun. What does the Empress think?”
Before the Empress could speak, Emperor Ning was already overjoyed, “Good, this game is designed well. Is the Empress willing to accompany me?”
The Empress smiled and replied, “I wonder if we will be the ones who solve the least riddles?”
The Emperor and Empress went first, and everyone else stood up to follow them into the garden.
Eldest Mistress smiled and said, “There are four of us, we must all work hard, it won’t be too difficult.” Then she walked slowly into the garden with Qing Lei, Qing Fei, and Qing Luo.
Ah Luo secretly thought to herself that this time she wouldn’t speak even if she was beaten to death.
