The sun was beginning to set when Lanyun arrived at the wooden cabin. Under Granny Tao’s directions, he set down his two baskets onto a wooden table before emptying his pockets of the seeds from all the fruits he had consumed. Embarrassed by the exorbitant amount, Lanyun thought the gardening celestial would be disgusted by him. However, she merely nodded in approval, appearing delighted in seeing someone enjoy the fruits she had painstakingly raised.
“You can make a variety of dishes using these plums,” Granny Tao said while slowly stirring a large iron pot. “Can you help me with the fire?”
Lanyun bent down and picked up a log from the pile of chopped wood by the door. He then added it into the stove, watching the flames jump and crackle, releasing a scent of burning pine into the air.
“You have a large variety of beautiful plants here,” Lanyun remarked. “There’s so many that I’ve never seen before.”
“Well the celestials have accepted many offerings,” Granny Tao said, adding a block of crystallized sugar into the pot.
“Have you ever heard of a ghost flower before?” Lanyun asked.
Granny Tao paused, thinking carefully. “I don’t believe I have actually. Is that one of the items you’ve been asked to present?”
Lanyun nodded glumly. “Baili wants it.”
“It’s probably solely medicinal related,” Granny Tao said. “I specialize in edible and ornamental plants. I can ask around with the celestials who oversee the medicinal gardens.”
“Would you really?” Lanyun said with a hopeful look.
“I am partial towards the downtrodden,” Granny Tao said with a mischievous smile. “I think it’d be quite entertaining if you were to succeed with your contract.”
“Thank you,” Lanyun said gratefully.
Granny Tao waved her hand dismissively. “It’s getting late. You should return to the Winter Palace before you miss the evening meal. You still have approximately 76 more hours left of your community service, so I assume you’ll be coming back tomorrow to continue?”
“Yes,” Lanyun agreed.
“Good,” Granny Tao said. “We’ll be planting kale.”
When Lanyun returned to the Winter Palace, the two shishi standing guard reluctantly let him pass through. Entering his tiny room, Lanyun found a tray with three clay bowls on the table. The items inside had long gone cold, but he quickly sat down to eat. Leaving the door open, he observed the vegetarian meal in the glow of the fading twilight. The largest bowl held plain, cornmeal congee while the two smaller bowls had pickled radish and silken tofu in chili oil.
Pairing the bland congee with the cold and pickled sides, Lanyun finished the simple meal as the moon began to creep up over the horizon. Through the open door, he watched solemn silence settle over the Winter Palace’s courtyard. Tiny snowflakes drifted through the air, coating everything in a fresh layer of white before the new day began.
Not wanting to settle in for the night just yet, Lanyun decided to explore his new temporary residence. After all, it would have been a waste to let such an opportunity pass. There were few humans who lived among the celestials and survived to tell the tale. Lanyun wanted to document all of his experiences here for his grandmother. Since she cannot make the journey up the mountain herself, he’ll be the one to provide her with enough details to tell these tales for a half a century more.
As he exited his room with the tray containing his empty bowls, Lanyun’s first destination was a kitchen to return the dirty dishes. While searching for a building that resembled a kitchen, Lanyun thought that he had caught the scent of smoke from a cooking fire, so he followed the trail of burning wood to a building on the side of the palace grounds. There was a woman leaning against the earthen wall, smoking from a long pipe.
Upon closer inspection, Lanyun realized that the woman’s lower half resembled that of a bird’s. She had a long feathery tail poking out from the back of her skirt and long, scaly talons in place of feet.
“Why are you sneaking around like a rat, human?” the half-avian woman asked, languidly blowing out a puff of smoke.
“I’m just looking for a place to return this,” Lanyun said, lifting up the tray demonstratively.
The woman sighed and held out a hand. “I’ll take it. You should return to your quarters immediately. The Princess doesn’t like it when criminals wander around the palace as they please.”
“Right, thanks,” Lanyun said, handing the tray over to the woman. While walking back to his room, he paused as he came across a moon gate. Lanyun looked through the circular opening in the white earthen wall and noticed what appeared to be foliage and blooming flowers. Curious about the possibility of real plants in the cold, lifeless palace, he passed through the gate.
On the other side, Lanyun was met with the stunning sight of over a hundred pink, lotus flowers. He had unknowingly discovered a lotus pond, hidden in the back of the Winter Palace. The pond was fairly large with a pavilion in the center and wooden walkways all around. Silver moonlight shimmered along the water’s tranquil surface and enveloped the blooming flowers in a soft glow. Though there appeared to be nothing to protect the flowers from the outside elements, there was no snow falling within the area of the pond, and the air felt more humid and warmer against Lanyun’s skin.
Approaching the edge of the pond, Lanyun crouched down and dipped his hand into the water. The warm water lapped gently against his wrist. Contrary to the rest of the frozen palace, it was the ideal temperature for growing lotus flowers. It was obvious to Lanyun that this section of the palace grounds had been cared for to an exceptional degree.
Withdrawing his hand, Lanyun noticed that the round leaf nearest him had small dark spots with a yellow halo dotting the surface. He frowned, recognizing the fungal disease. Perhaps the pond had not been as well-maintained as appeared at first glance. Walking along the wooden walkway, Lanyun noticed many more traces of the fungal infection. Though he didn’t know who was responsible for the pond’s maintenance, Lanyun also knew that he couldn’t just turn a blind eye. With a new goal in mind, he returned to his room, planning to ask Granny Tao for something to cure the infection the following day.
After closing and locking the creaky door to his room, there was only a small sliver of light from the crack in the doorway to illuminate Lanyun’s short walk to his bed. He closed eyes as he laid on the scratchy bed and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of his sister’s return.
Lanyun was awoken by the sound of knocks on his door and stumbled out of his bed. He unlatched the lock and opened the door, squinting against the bright light of the rising sun.
“I brought breakfast,” a familiar voice cheerfully announced. “Honestly, I can’t think of another place that takes such care of their criminals.”
“Thanks, Riri,” Lanyun said, accepting the tray of food from the white-haired lady. It was the same cornmeal congee, picked radishes, and chili oil tofu as last night’s dinner. The only difference was that the congee was still warm.
While eating the simple meal, Lanyun couldn’t help but think longingly about his grandmother’s pork and tomato noodle soup. She would always make enough for him and his sister to each have at least five bowls. Not to mention the bland taste, Lanyun’s stomach was also dissatisfied with the amount that the celestials gave him. He couldn’t help but wonder if all celestials ate such vegetarian diets, or if it was only the case in the Winter Palace. Considering how nothing grew in the winter, he could only be grateful for the fact that they would spare him any food at all.
“I wonder if the Autumn Palace would have more food,” Lanyun muttered aloud to himself.
“Do you want to go to the Autumn Palace?” a curious voice asked from his room’s doorway. “Unfortunately, that’s not allowed.”
Startled by the sudden company, Lanyun instinctively threw his empty ceramic bowl at the sound in self-defense.
“Please don’t throw anything,” Riri said, catching the flying bowl with ease. She placed it back onto the tray. “You’ll have to pay for anything you break. Since you seem poor, it’ll be a hassle for me to find something else you could do to repay your debt.”
“You scared me,” Lanyun gasped. “I thought you left after handing me the food. How long have you been there?”
Riri nodded. “I did leave for a brief moment. But you looked sad, so I decided to sit outside and watch you eat.”
“Why would you do that?” Lanyun looked at Riri warily.
“To provide comfort for you in your time of need,” Riri said, blinking as if she didn’t understand his confusion. “Were you not comforted?”
“Not really?” Lanyun said.
Riri wrinkled her brows. “Hmm how peculiar.”
“Well excuse me, I’m going to return this to the kitchen before continuing my community service,” Lanyun said, holding the tray.
“Ah yes, I’ve been informed about that,” Riri said. “You may leave your dirty dishes outside. A servant will come by and collect it later. The Princess doesn’t like it when humans skulk around her palace.”
Lanyun placed the tray of empty bowls onto the snow-covered ground. The dirty dishes with stains of chili oil seemed to desecrate the beauty of the surrounding pure white snow.
“I guess I’ll just head out then,” Lanyun said, making his way across the courtyard. Once he arrived at the front gate, however, he turned around to see Riri still following him the entire time. “Are you going to follow me all the way to the Imperial Gardens? I’m not going to run away from my community service if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“No, but you look better than before,” Riri said with a satisfied smile. “I’ll take my leave here. I must tend to the Princess’s sadness now.”
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