After washing up, Lanyun changed into a plain, knee-length light grey robe and dark green trousers made from a sturdy, wool-like material that he had never seen before. Lanyun wondered if it was from a mystical animal or plant that only existed in the realm of the celestials. Exiting the bathhouse, he came across a familiar blue-haired, purple-robed figure waiting outside for him. Lanyun let out a small sigh of relief when he saw that Riri wasn’t around and unclutched the hem of his shirt that he had unconsciously gripped.

“Erluan?” Lanyun called out. However, when the child-like figure turned around, Lanyun noticed that the ends of the eyes were more downturned than before.

“I’m Wuluan,” he said, introducing himself. “Erluan is my brother.”

“Nice to meet you, Wuluan,” Lanyun said. “I’m Ren Lanyun.”

“I know,” Wuluan said. “Renwu told me to take you to the Imperial Gardens, where your community service will be carried out.”

“Right, lead the way,” Lanyun said.

The Imperial Gardens was located only half an hour away from the Winter Palace when traveling on foot. Halfway through, Wuluan and Lanyun passed by the Spring Palace. There were multiple servants bustling around outside as the scent of sawdust and flowers drifted out into the street from the opened doors of the palace. 

There were a group of young ladies watching the construction work with flower baskets in their hands. They giggled into their pastel pink sleeves as they watched Wuluan and Lanyun approach.

“Wuluan, who’s that handsome boy with you?” one of the ladies with a basket of yellow flowers called out.

“This is Ren Lanyun,” Wuluan answered. “He’s the human who was on trial earlier today in the Heavenly Court. I’m taking him to fulfill his community service hours as punishment for his crimes.”

“Aw he’s a bad boy,” a lady with purple flowers cooed. “It’s even more adorable with how he blushes at our words.”

“I didn’t know humans could be so cute,” another lady with red flowers remarked. “Don’t be a stranger now and be sure to come visit us in the Spring Palace, okay?” 

“We’ll be waiting!” the yellow flower lady called out as Lanyun walked away.

“What horrid foxes,” Wuluan said, shuddering. 

“Are they always…like that?” Lanyun asked tentatively.

Wuluan nodded. “Honestly, the residents of the Spring Palace don’t know a thing about decency. It’s all because Mudan spoils them rotten. Just walk fast and don’t acknowledge them. We’re almost at the gardens.” 

The Imperial Gardens was a large expanse of land filled with a variety of vegetation. In addition to ornamental flowers and shrubs, there were also medicinal herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Looking around him in awe as he followed Wuluan through the garden, Lanyun was surprised to find so many plants that he didn’t recognize. There appeared to be every single type of plant imaginable in the Imperial Gardens. Lanyun wondered if he could ask to take some back to his grandmother after he completed his punishment and the three celestials’ requests.

Wuluan and Lanyun approached an old woman kneeling down in the dirt, picking red berries off of a shrub. She stood up when they were right beside her. Despite her grey hairs and wrinkles, the woman’s brown eyes were bright and energetic. 

“Good afternoon, Taofu, this is Ren Lanyun, a human who will be helping you tend to the gardens as part of his community service,” Wuluan explained, introducing the two. “Lanyun, meet the imperial gardener, Taofu.”

“What a young lad,” the old woman remarked with a cheerful smile. “You can just call me ‘Granny Tao’.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Granny Tao,” Lanyun said politely, returning the smile. She reminded him of his own grandmother. Lanyun turned towards Wuluan curiously. “Why don’t you also refer to her as ‘Granny’?”

“Why should I refer to someone younger than me as ‘Granny’?” Wuluan asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Lanyun looked at Wuluan in shock while Granny Tao laughed heartily. Wuluan’s child-like appearance had been too deceiving, and Lanyun had forgotten the warnings of his grandmother to not trust the appearances of celestial beings.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to refer to you as ‘Grandpa’,” Lanyun said. It felt dishonest to call someone that when they looked half his age. 

“No one is asking you to,” Wuluan said, looking at Lanyun like he was the strange one. “I’m going to go now. You remember the way back, correct?”

Lanyun nodded. Even if he didn’t, he felt that Wuluan wouldn’t wait to escort him back.

“Good,” Wuluan said simply and left the garden.

“Do you have any experience with caring for plants?” Granny Tao asked, peering at Lanyun.

“My grandmother has a garden with vegetables, fruits, and other medicinal herbs,” Lanyun answered. “I help her tend to it. I also know how to harvest rice, soybeans, barley, and various fruit trees.”

“Very nice,” Granny Tao said approvingly. She then reached down into her woven basket and held out a violet fruit that covered half of her palm. “Do you know what this is?”

“It’s a prune plum?” Lanyun said quizzically, recognizing the fruit instantly. There was a tree in his grandmother’s garden, and she would often make prunes and preserves using the fruit. However, being so obviously the correct answer, he wasn’t sure if the celestial was actually asking a trick question and the fruit was not what it appeared to be.

“So you’re an overthinker,” Granny Tao said observingly. She then pointed to a row of trees filled with the same purple and red fruits. “The plum trees are ready to be harvested now, so that will be your first task. I’ll be with you since this is the first task. For a tall young man like yourself, you can pick the ones on top while I’ll grab the ones on the bottom.”

Opening his mouth, Lanyun was about to agree when his stomach let out the loudest grumbling he had ever heard. Instantly, his face flushed red. 

“How are they treating criminals these days,” Granny Tao criticized. “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

“I think it’s been at least two days,” Lanyun said, unsure of how long he had spent unconscious in the jail cell. “I haven’t had the opportunity to eat anything yet since I woke up this morning. To be fair, I had to go to court immediately, and then I had to go where I’ll be staying while I’m completing my community service. And right after I had to wash up, I got taken here.”

“Where are you residing?” Granny Tao asked.

“The Winter Palace,” Lanyun said.

“You’re staying with the Ice Princess?” Granny Tao said in surprise. “I’m surprised she agreed. Lianbing’s notorious for loathing humans.”

“Well it wasn’t entirely her choice,” Lanyun admitted. “This other man with dark hair and purple eyes volunteered her into the role.”

“Ah yes, the Flower Prince,” Granny Tao said. “He always tries to make things difficult for his sister since the Emperor favors her the most amongst his children.”

“I didn’t know they were siblings,” Lanyun said in astonishment. Their antagonistic relationship felt so foreign to him. He could never imagine interacting like that with his sister. Although, he was also fairly sure that she would immediately throttle him if he even attempted to act like how Mudan talked to Lianbing.

“Emperor Yushen has four children, who oversee the seasons. Mudan, the Flower Prince of Spring. Xialing, the Fire Prince of Summer. Yinxing, the Moon Princess of Autumn. And Lianbing, the Ice Princess of Winter.” Granny Tao tossed Lanyun the plum and motioned for him to follow her. “You may eat that for now, and I’ll tell you a little bit about our realm while we work.”

Biting into the tart fruit while walking, Lanyun finished it in two bites. He subtly licked the sweet juice that had dripped onto the side of his hand, not wanting Granny Tao to view him as a mannerless vagrant. Although, his grandmother would already have been disappointed by his behavior. Lanyun held onto the stone-like seed, not wanting to throw it onto the ground and ruin the carefully cultivated garden with a stray plum tree.

“There’s a bin for the seeds back in the cabin,” Granny Tao said, noticing Lanyun’s predicament. “Hold onto the seed  until we fill our baskets with enough fruit to garner a trip to it.” 

Lanyun dropped the seed into his trouser’s pocket and glanced at the four large wicker baskets in her hands. “Would you like me to hold that for you?” 

“Well it certainly would’ve been more helpful had you offered before we arrived,” Granny Tao said with a wry grin. She handed him a basket and placed the other two on the ground. “You can start with this. Once all of them are filled, we’ll head back.”

Lanyun accepted the basket just as his stomach let out another grumble.

“And I suppose you can eat some more while you pick,” Granny Tao sighed. “I don’t want anyone thinking that I mistreat the criminals assigned to my gardens.”

“Thank you,” Lanyun said with a flushed face and popped the next ripe prune plum into his mouth. 

“So what grave crime did you commit to sentence you to community service?” Granny Tao asked while they worked.

“I had made a bit of a racket outside the front gates,” Lanyun admitted. “And then I called Yu—” He cleared his throat. “I mean, I called Emperor Yushen a…coward.” He said the last word in a softer voice, appearing repentant over his previous actions.

Granny Tao burst out laughing. “Well that’s certainly not something you see everyday. What did you even come here for if you were going to disrespect the Emperor of the celestials?” 

“I sort of panicked and thought I had missed my last chance to save my sister,” Lanyun said sheepishly. “The emperor of my homeland had signed a contract with three celestials, and without her consent, my sister was taken by the imperial guards as part of the offerings. I came here hoping to find a way to change the contract’s terms and get her back.”

“And were you able to?” Granny Tao asked.

Lanyun shrugged. “I had to make a new contract for her in exchange. I have the next three moons to complete it.”

“And I’m sure the items Baili, Yingliu, and Wenzhu asked were difficult,” Granny Tao remarked. 

“How did you know it was them?” Lanyun looked at her in surprise. 

“I like gossip,” Granny Tao said. “I know everything about everyone here.”

For an inexplicable reason, Lanyun’s mind flickered back to the celestial lawyer with golden eyes. “Can I ask you something about this realm?”

“You can try, but I may also choose not to answer,” Granny Tao said with an impish grin. 

“What determines whether a celestial becomes a lawyer or an executor?” Lanyun examined a plum carefully for impurities before putting it into his basket.

There was a moment of silence before Granny Tao answered. “You may not know this already, but all celestials are given a purpose from the moment we’re born. Emperor Yushen rules our realm, his children govern the seasons, and I tend to these gardens. We are the Executors of Heaven’s Will and use our powers to fulfill contracts with beings from the realms below.”

She had already finished filling her basket and picked up the next one as they continued moving down the rows of plum trees. “Our powers are intrinsically connected to light, but sometimes, a few of us fall to darkness and become corrupt.”

“How does that happen?” Lanyun hadn’t heard about this corruption from his grandmother’s tales. 

“I never sought that information in case it taints me,” Granny Tao said. “It’s a grave sin for a celestial to commit. As punishment, they’re demoted from their status as Executor, forced to wear their hair short, stripped of their given name, and ordered to serve as a lawyer for the remainder of their days.”

“Remainder of their days?” Lanyun repeated, confused. “I thought all celestials are born immortal?”

Granny Tao shook her head. “Not if one becomes corrupted. It’ll eat at our souls, withering away our light until we cease to exist.”

“Do you know about the lawyer, Renwu?” Lanyun asked, attempting to appear casual. 

“Yes,” Granny Tao said. “What a shame. He had such a bright future.” She then stood up with both of her baskets already filled. Glancing at Lanyun’s half-filled one, she tutted in disappointment. “You’re not very fast. I’ll just have to return to the cabin first, and you will join me there once you’re finished.” She then turned and began walking towards a wooden house in the distance, past a row of peach trees.