Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, plumes of ambergris rose from the gilded bronze crane incense burner. Bright yellow curtains draped from the ceiling, framing the imperial throne as a cloud-like wonderland. The emperor reclined on a carved red sandalwood dragon throne, a memorial with imperial seals tucked between his fingers. He couldn't stop glancing down the stairs, a barely concealed smile on his lips. Below, the Minister of Justice wiped a cold sweat from his forehead, his dragon robe deeply wrinkled from his grip. Kneeling behind him, Liu, her hair disheveled, her coarse prison uniform still stained with the filth she'd rubbed against the Imperial Hospital the day before, cast a disfigured shadow on the golden brick floor.
"Your Majesty," the Minister of Justice exhaled white air towards his tablet as he bowed, "Liu poisoned her niece and attempted to escape from prison. According to the Dasheng Code, she should be beheaded..."
"Behead her?" The emperor suddenly slammed the memorial onto the dragon table, his jade ring clacking against his fingers. "It would be a shame to behead such an interesting 'Fairy Croton'. I wanted to keep her to entertain the Seventh Consort."
Liu suddenly raised her head, a light of hope flashing in her cloudy eyes, and the scattered hair from her bun stuck to her sweaty cheeks: "Your Majesty, please understand! I was framed by that little bitch Shen Weiwan!"
"Framed?" The emperor raised his eyebrows, the gold and jade tassels on his crown shone with tiny glitters. He turned to look at Shen Weiwan who was standing beside him, "Weiwan, your aunt said that you put laxatives in her soup. Is that true?"
Chen Weiwan took a half step forward and bowed, her light yellow skirt brushing against the gold bricks. A pure and harmless smile hung on her face. "Your Majesty, the story of Auntie turning the outhouse in the Imperial Hospital into a 'fountain' has even been told by storytellers in the West Market. When Imperial Physician Wang examined her pulse, he said she had been poisoned by a strong croton foetus. I have a guess—" She deliberately drew out her words, her eyes glancing at Liu's pale face, "It must be that Auntie loved croton foetus too much and took too much of the laxative as a tonic~"
"Puff!" The Imperial Censor below the stairs couldn't help but cover his mouth with his tablet, his fingers trembling with laughter beneath his dragon robe. The Emperor was even more amused, the golden dragon on his robe swaying with laughter: "You girl, always trying to find a way out for others."
Liu was so angry that she was shaking all over, her knees knocking against the gold bricks with a dull sound: "Your Majesty! Chen Weiwan is slandering you! She was the one who replaced the laxative with the arsenic bottle..."
"Oh?" the emperor twirled his beard in mock surprise. "You were planning to poison your own niece, weren't you? Why did you drink a laxative?" He turned to the troubled Minister of Justice. "It seems this Liu is not only vicious, but also a bit brainless. She can't even tell the difference between a poison and a laxative."
The Minister of Justice secretly groaned. The evidence against Liu was irrefutable, but His Majesty had clearly been misled by the Seventh Imperial Concubine. He carefully considered his words: "Your Majesty, although Liu's crimes are extremely serious, please consider that she is the former General's sister-in-law..."
"Affection?" the emperor interrupted, his crown tassels shaking violently. "How could she not have a sense of affection when she brought disgrace upon the General's Mansion? I see she has a special fondness for croton seeds. How about—" He deliberately dragged out his words, his gaze fixed on Shen Weiwan's shining eyes, "Proclaim my decree: Liu has repeatedly committed crimes. In consideration of her 'love' for croton seeds, I grant her a hundred acres of croton seed farmland in Lingnan. She is sent there to work there for the rest of her life and is not allowed to return to the capital!"
"Puff—" This time, even the eunuch holding the whisk couldn't hold it in, and quickly lowered his head to cover his mouth and nose with the whisk. Liu collapsed to the ground as if struck by lightning, and her prison uniform scraped against the gold bricks, making a harsh sound: "Your Majesty! Lingnan is full of miasma, and the croton fields..."
"What?" The emperor frowned, his dragon throne armrests vibrating from his slaps. "Weren't you quite good at 'digesting' croton seeds when you were in the Imperial Hospital? Now, it would be wonderful for you to watch them blossom and bear fruit every day, and study their 'medicinal properties' at the same time."
Chen Weiwan immediately added insult to injury, her voice sweet as honey: "Your Majesty is wise! My aunt's work in the Croton fields can not only atone for the sins of the General's Mansion, but also make her the 'first person to grow Croton in Lingnan'. It will be recorded in agricultural books in the future. How glorious it is!"
The emperor laughed so hard that the cinnabar pen on the dragon table rolled over: "It's settled! As for Shen Ruoruo..." He looked at Shen Ruoruo who was huddled in a ball beside him. She was so scared that her face turned pale, and the silver hairpin in her bun was crooked and about to fall off.
"Chen Ruorou assisted her mother in embezzling the family fortune and framing her elder sister," the emperor said, stroking his beard slowly. "Considering she is a woman, send her to the laundry department and let her learn how to 'wash' away her sins."
"No! Your Majesty!" Shen Ruorou suddenly screamed, kicking her gold-embroidered shoes on the gold bricks. "The laundry department is a place for low-class people. I won't go there!"
"Inferior?" the emperor sneered, his gaze razor-like across her delicate makeup. "How could you not feel inferior when you sewed itchy grass into your own sister's clothes? I see you're very skillful, so I'll just ask you to wash a hundred pieces of clothing a day at the laundry department to cure your 'itchy hands'."
Chen Weiwan rolled her eyes and took a step forward: "Your Majesty, I heard that the sisters in the laundry department are the best at making up rhymes. Why not let them make up a 'Song of Itchy Grass' for Sister Ruorou, and sing it every day while working. It will not only relieve boredom but also serve as a warning to future generations. How wonderful!"
"Excellent idea!" the emperor clapped his hands in approval, the pearls on his crown tassels jingling. "Let's do it! Come, draft an order immediately!"
As the court was dismissed, Shen Weiwan and Xiao Yu walked side by side out of the Meridian Gate. The late spring sunlight dyed the white marble railings a honey-colored hue. Shen Weiwan's shoulders shook with laughter, and the coral bead hairpin in her hair shone red. "Your Highness, look at His Majesty. He's even better than me at 'sand sculpture operations' now!"
Xiao Yu brushed the fallen petals from her shoulders, the sleeve of his dark brocade robe brushing her temples. "Isn't it because you've been 'influenced' by it in the palace? Now even father knows to give prisoners 'croton fields.'"
"That's right!" Chen Weiwan raised her chin and kicked the stones on the ground with the tip of her embroidered shoes. "But to be honest, I'm afraid my aunt will have to spend her whole life with Badou in Lingnan."
"What else do you want?" Xiao Yu raised his eyebrows, with a doting smile in his eyes.
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