The Zhou Mansion.

  Zhou Qinghe returned to her room, tossed off a cup of tea, and clenched her hands.

  Zhou Shihui asked Zhou Qinghe in a low voice, “Mother, what’s the matter with you?”


  Zhou Qinghe took a deep breath and said, “I’m fine. Hui’er, go back and take a rest.”


  Zhou Shihui kept looking back, somehow feeling that her mother didn’t look right. Looking at the crescent moon in the sky, she couldn’t help thinking, is Mother missing His Majesty in the imperial palace?

  Now everyone said that my mother should be the empress…


  Then was her father really His Majesty?

  Zhou Shihui never believed that her father was that obscure literati from Yin County, but whenever she asked about her father’s whereabouts, her mother didn’t answer her……

  It was July and the sun was scorching. If there were no ice cubes in the imperial palace, everyone would have been soaking in sweat.

  Not long after Qiao Jinniang woke up, she heard the imperial maids report that Princess Jinghua had come to visit her. She casually groomed and went outside.

  Princess Jinghua said, “It’s getting hotter and hotter. Luoyang is hotter than Chang’an. If only there was rain to cool us off.”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “Yes, I didn’t know the summer in Luoyang would be so hot. Luckily, I already ordered the imperial maids to make mung bean porridge. Would you want some, Sister Jinghua?”


  Jinghua took the mung bean porridge handed over by an imperial maid and said to Qiao Jinniang, “Your Highness, I guess you’ve found there is something wrong with Zhou Qinghe’s poems too, right?”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “Even Fulu has discovered it. Most poems are inspired by emotion and in accordance to the occasions the poets were on, but all her poems are sad.”


  Jinghua said, “Exactly. Her poems are good, but full of doubtful points. Have you read her poem ‘Spring In Peach Blossom Land’?”


  Qiao Jinniang nodded. “Tired, I won’t comb my hair, though it is late. Things are the same, but he’s no more. Before I speak, how can my tears not pour?

  “It’s said at Twin Creek, spring is not yet gone. In a light boat I long to float thereon. But I’m afraid the grief-o’erladen boat upon Twin Creek can’t keep afloat.

  “The wording is concise and implicit, which shows Zhou Qinghe’s skill in refining the words and making sentences. The beauty of the poem’s artistic conception stuns me. Using a boat to carry grief, such an ingenious thought, and such artistic conception is simply amazing.

  “I can empathize with the sadness of the poet through the beautiful lines.

  “It’s no surprise that her poems are so popular all over the country.”


  Princess Jinghua said, “Yes, it’s a very beautiful poem, but there has never been a place called ‘Twin Creek’ in Luoyang.

  “Besides, this poem was written by Zhou Qinghe five days ago when it was during the hot summer, but this poem is obviously describing a scene in spring. How could Zhou Qinghe write a poem about spring at the height of summer?

  “The girls are all enchanted by this line ‘Things are the same, but he’s no more. Before I speak, how can my tears not pour’ and didn’t notice the suspicious part about the poem.

  “And her ‘A Twig Of Mume Blossoms’ that was very popular among the women in Luoyang was written by her at a poetry meeting three days ago, when the lotus flowers were in full bloom.

  “But look what she wrote, ‘When autumn chills my mat, the fragrant lotus fades.’


  “Similarly, she wrote ‘Things are the same, but he’s no more’ in the poem ‘Spring In Peach Blossom Land’, yet in ‘A Twig Of Mume Blossoms’, she wrote ‘I am longing for thee just as thou art for me’. So does her lover love her or not?

  “Let alone the strange part about her ‘Thought in A Boudoir’.”


  Qiao Jinniang felt what Jinghua said made sense. “Yes, Sister Huang, but it’s said that she wrote ‘Things are the same, but he’s no more’ because she was disheartened when she returned to Chang’an and found His Majesty had fallen in love with her substitute, the Empress.

  “After she wrote this poem, His Majesty wrote to her, so she wrote the line ‘I am longing for thee just as thou art for me’, and the ‘bower’s gate’ in this line ‘When wild geese come, I’ll wait at moonlit bower’s gate’ refers to the Ziwei City in the west of Luoyang.”


  Jinghua said, “It may sound reasonable, but there are many inconsistencies in time and scenery. I feel that she may have stolen someone else’s poems.”


  Qiao Jinniang looked straight into Jinghua’s eyes and asked, “Sister Huang, do you have a grudge with Zhou Qinghe?”


  Jinghua had never taken the initiative to cause trouble. The last time she fell from the horse was just to protect herself.

  After that accident, Jinghua had been living in seclusion at home.

  Fulu even said that even a god wouldn’t be able to invite Jinghua to leave her Princess Mansion.

  This time, Princess Jinghua came to Luoyang from Chang’an only after Zhou Qinghe showed up, but Jinghua and Zhou Qinghe shouldn’t have any grudges.

  After all, when Zhou Qinghe left Chang’an, Jinghua was probably just a baby.

  Jinghua smiled awkwardly. “No, I just feel Zhou Qinghe’s poems seem to be ghostwritten. Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness. I’ll take my leave.”


  As soon as Jinghua left, Lu Chen came in.

  “What did Sister Jinghua come to you for?” Lu Chen asked.

  Qiao Jinniang said, “Do you know if there is any grudge between her and Zhou Qinghe? I somehow feel that she seems to hate Zhou Qinghe.”


  Lu Chen thought for a while and said, “Yes, Sister Jinghua’s mother was a female official in the Shanggong Bureau, and she died not long after giving birth to Sister Jinghua, because she mistakenly ate the tonic soup that was supposed to be given to Zhou Qinghe at a palace banquet.”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “No wonder. After all, Sister Jinghua has never been nosy.”


  Lu Chen just said, “Stay away from Sister Jinghua. You are not allowed to go to her princess mansion, remember?”


  Qiao Jinniang laughed. “Don’t worry. Even if I go to her princess mansion, I won’t take a second look at her gigolos.”


  Lu Chen didn’t believe Qiao Jinniang at all. He still remembered how her eyes were glued to those gigolos last time.

  Qiao Jinniang changed the subject and said, “But I think what Sister Jinghua said somewhat makes sense. Zhou Qinghe’s poems seem to be ghostwritten.”


  Lu Chen said, “If so, why is that person willing to do that? Doesn’t he want to be famous himself?”


  Qiao Jinniang thought what Lu Chen said made sense. Those poems were classics like the Book of Songs, and should have been able to be passed down for thousands of years.

  No one would be willing to surrender such excellent poems to Zhou Qinghe and make Zhou Qinghe famous.

  The Luoyang branch of Myriad Taste was finally opened. Firecrackers were set off, all the dignitaries and officials came to attend the opening ceremony, and it was very lively.

  Permitted by the Empress, Qiao Jinniang took Lu Xi out of the imperial palace to the Myriad Taste.

  When Nuomi saw Qiao Jinniang from afar, she trotted over, and when she saw the guards beside Qiao Jinniang, she respectfully saluted her.

  Qiao Jinniang motioned the guards to leave, hugged Nuomi, and patted her head. “Thank you for your hard work, little Nuomi.”


  “Aunt Nuomi.” Lu Xi raised his head and called Nuomi.

  Nuomi said, “Tuan’er, you’ve grown a little taller since the last time I saw you.”


  “Aunt Nuomi has become more beautiful and Brother Huixiang has become more handsome since the last time I saw you,” Little Lu Xi said sweetly.

  In the distance, amidst the compliments of others, Zhou Qinghe and Zhou Shihui came to Myriad Taste to have fun. When Zhou Qinghe saw Nuomi, she frowned nervously.

  This girl looked so much like the man who betrayed her!