Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Jade Bamboo in Layered Green 

Chapter 113: Jade Bamboo, Layers of Deep Green

Steward Qin had long since watched Wei Yi, Yun Chun, and the others change into their garments and wait in the front courtyard. Seeing Mu Yunyao arrive, he hurried forward and led her inside. “Miss, have a look. Are they suitable?”

“Greetings, Miss.”

The fifty bowed in unison. Clad in white robes and skirts, their spirits bright and clear, they carried an indescribable vitality.

Mu Yunyao’s eyes passed over them, and approval settled quietly within them. These people had clearly worked hard. Their bearing alone was many times better than before. “Good. Follow me to the entrance and prepare to welcome the esteemed lords.”

Su Qingwu and Xu Li rode in the same carriage. Both served in the palace, and both were favored before His Majesty, so there was some acquaintance between them. Their conversation was therefore somewhat more casual.

Su Qingwu was the first to speak. “Eunuch Xu seems to appreciate that Miss Mu especially.”

Xu Li glanced at Su Qingwu with a smile. “Does Lord Su not also think highly of her? Yesterday, had you not asked about Buxian Tower, we would not have become interested enough to come and see it.”

Su Qingwu’s expression did not change. “Miss Mu’s heart is pure and kind. For her to spread such precious embroidery stitches so openly, it is only right to support her a little.”

“That is precisely what I thought as well. It seems Lord Su and I have thought of the same thing.”

The two looked at each other and smiled. Their smiles seemed gentle, but what lay beneath them was likely understood only by themselves.

As they spoke, Jinxiu Garden appeared before them in the blink of an eye. The carriage came to a steady stop, and the driver set down the footstool. The two men descended one after another. The moment they stood firm, the scene before them gave them pause.

Mu Yunyao stood at the front, with a crowd behind her. At a rough glance, there were forty or fifty people. Men and women stood on separate sides, all dressed in white. Their waists were neatly cinched, while their sleeves and hems were slightly wide. Each bowed or curtsied in greeting, white garments fluttering lightly, their presence clear and detached from worldly dust.

“Greetings, esteemed lords.”

Su Qingwu studied Mu Yunyao. The dress she wore today was particularly elegant in its simplicity: white above, while the skirt below gradually shifted from white to pale moon-white. At first glance, she was not as eye-catching as the people behind her, but the longer one looked, the more difficult it became to look away.

Especially with the fresh magnolia tucked into her hair. Its petals were slender and tender, its white brighter than snow, making her appear all the more delicate, lovely, and spirited.

“Miss Mu need not stand on ceremony.”

Governor Zhang and Cao Yunnian had naturally come as well. However, both took Su Qingwu and Xu Li as the center of attention, smiling as they stood to the side without speaking first.

Mu Yunyao rose and led them into Jinxiu Garden. Wei Yi, Yun Chun, and the others remained bowed in place until everyone had entered. Only then did they straighten and follow behind.

Upon entering Jinxiu Garden, a cluster of fresh green filled the eye. Tall stalks of bamboo stood upright and flourished, branches and leaves interweaving in a soft rustle. The speckled marks upon the bamboo seemed almost like traces of tears.

Governor Zhang could not help praising, “Is this Xiangfei bamboo? It is rare to see it in Jingling City.”

“‘Through frost it keeps its integrity unseen; all day, with hollow heart, it awaits the phoenix’s arrival.’ Today, being able to welcome all esteemed lords, even this Xiangfei bamboo seems more pleasing to the eye. Does it not answer the meaning within the poem?” Mu Yunyao’s eyes carried a smile.

Governor Zhang shook his head again and again. “Miss Mu, what words are these? It is your scenery here that is fine, allowing us common, worldly men to enjoy it without merit.”

“If Governor Zhang calls himself a worldly man, then my tea house may as well close its doors later.”

Governor Zhang did not react for a moment. “Why is that?”

“If even you call yourself a worldly man, then who else in Jingling City would still be qualified to come here and drink tea? If I did not close the doors, what else could I do?” Mu Yunyao’s smile was sincere, and when the words left her lips, they carried a natural flavor of earnestness. “Who does not know that during Governor Zhang’s tenure, you have done many practical things for Jingling and Jiangnan? Even now, children in Jingling City still sing: ‘The waters of Jingling River rise three chi high, no less than Qiantang’s roaring tide. Governor and prefect issue commands together, daring even the waves to bow.’”

Su Qingwu kept a smile on his face. Xu Li, however, listened with a touch of curiosity. “‘Governor and prefect issue commands together, daring even the waves to bow’? In past years, the Jingling River nearly burst its banks several times, yet it later passed through safely. Even His Majesty once praised the matter. Governor Zhang’s contribution was indeed not small. As for the prefect mentioned, that should be Lord Cao, yes? I remember that before Lord Cao was promoted to Salt Transport Commissioner, he was the Prefectural Magistrate of Jingling City.”

Cao Yunnian quickly nodded. “Yes. Eunuch Xu has an excellent memory.”

“For the children to know of your achievements, both lords must be sincerely supported by the people.”

Governor Zhang and Cao Yunnian flushed with visible excitement. This Eunuch Xu was a favored figure before His Majesty. If he could say even one favorable word before the Emperor, it would be a heaven-sent opportunity for them. They truly had to thank Mu Yunyao properly. Later, they would certainly prepare a generous opening gift for her.

Mu Yunyao naturally understood the principle that excess was as bad as insufficiency. After seemingly praising the two officials unintentionally, she led them around the bamboo grove and farther inside.

The deeper they went, the more distinct Jinxiu Garden’s scenery appeared. Especially when they passed the nine-bend corridor bridge: the lake lay calm, reflecting the willows drooping along the bank; gulls and birds played in clusters around the lotus blooms, some seeming to retreat, others to welcome them. The beauty looked almost as though it had stepped out of a landscape painting.

The group paused upon the bridge. For a moment, they looked silently upon the painted scene before them, their hearts cleansed, as though the dust of the mortal world had been forgotten.

For some reason, Su Qingwu turned his head slightly and saw Mu Yunyao standing beside him.

One of her hands rested upon the white marble railing of the bridge, her gaze falling upon the lake full of lotus flowers. A tranquil smile rested on her lips. It was not the bright, pure radiance she wore when speaking, yet inexplicably, it made Su Qingwu’s heart tremble.

A slanting breeze swept past, stirring the hem of her skirt and lifting the hair scattered behind her. One strand brushed across his side, grazing the back of his hand like a feather. That faint itch seemed to travel all the way to the depths of his heart.

His arm stiffened, yet his heart seemed to sway. He had seen many women before: imperial princesses, daughters of noble families; some pursued him eagerly, others dismissed him with indifference. Yet never had anyone made him feel as complicated as Mu Yunyao did.

Mu Yunyao did not notice Su Qingwu’s abnormality. After allowing everyone to admire the scenery for a while, she spoke. “Esteemed lords, just ahead is the place I prepared for serving tea. To taste fragrant tea while admiring such scenery—would that not be delightful?”

Xu Li could not help sighing softly. “The tea has yet to be drunk, and already the heart is three parts intoxicated. The scenery in Miss’s tea house is truly distinctive.”

“Many thanks for Your Excellency’s praise.”

Not far away stood the six-story tower Mu Yunyao intended to name Buxian Tower. However, Xu Li preferred the beauty by the lake and suggested drinking tea beside the water instead.

Everything had already been prepared. It was merely a matter of moving the place, so Mu Yunyao immediately asked Steward Qin to handle it.

When Steward Qin returned, he took advantage of a moment when no one was nearby to tell Mu Yunyao, “Miss, Madam Jin sent Yin Hong to say that you should focus on receiving the esteemed lords for now. She and the other madams will come in the afternoon.”

Warmth rose quietly in Mu Yunyao’s heart. “Good. Since it is only these esteemed lords, there is no need to have Wei Yi, Yun Chun, and the others display their tea art. I will receive them myself.”

“Yes.”

The group took their seats in the pavilion. The tea table was low, and the seats were soft cushions embroidered with lotus patterns. Once everyone sat down, their hearts seemed to loosen somewhat, and the atmosphere grew even more relaxed.

* The poem from Zhang Bi in the Tang Dynasty is titled Yongzhu (Wing Bamboo). The whole of the article is as follows: 

The trees are full of color and clouds, and the king and his grandson are full of court. 

Ling Shuang has no one to see and treats Feng modestly all day. 

Who let the wind add to the singing, the self-pity dashing out of the dust. 

Zhu Men has many leisure areas throughout. 

It’s just time to move the clouds and the green moss.

Edited by Little Kitty on 17/06/20

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