Zhu Junyang currently had a position at court that didn’t have much required of him. Thus, on most days, when there wasn’t anything special going on, he didn’t have to go to court. In order to compensate his mother for making her worry for more than a year, he decided to stay in Tanggu Town for now. Other than practicing his martial arts, he mostly spent his days playing chess with his mother and amusing her in the garden with flowers.

In the garden, there were a few rare and famous camellia plants currently blooming. The brilliant red camellia had just opened a few buds, and the flowers resembled tiny little bells at court. The dark red flowers had sparkling drops of dew clinging to the edges of the petals, and, under the sun, the buds seemed much more lovely and charming. The one that amazed people the most was the scarlet red camellia that was especially bred and called ‘auspicious crowned phoenix’. Its flowers were beautiful and plump, dignified and elegant, soft and flexible, and had layers of blush red petals surrounding the center. This flower resembled the red halo of clouds around the sun as it set in the horizon. Although it wasn’t very showy, it looked very noble and gorgeous.

When Princess Consort Jing saw that her son’s attention had been taken up by her favorite camellias, she revealed a joyful expression, “Aren’t my camellias beautiful? Hmph! Lady Feng only recently got a...