Chapter 50

At 5:45 p.m., the nine-turn bridge in Shujing Garden at the Duke of Ying's Estate wound like a ribbon through the twilight. Tuberose grew in snowy waves along the railings, their sweet fragrance mingling with the crisp scent of the lotus pond, lightly dampening the silver lotus embroidery on Jiang Wanyue’s white skirts. She avoided the clamor of strings and woodwinds in the reception hall, leaning alone against the white marble railing and watching the reflection of the moon in the water, shattered and then gathered by the swimming fish. Suddenly, she recalled the sound of Jiang Rou’s fingertips crinkling her handkerchief when Su Mingyue mentioned earlier that the Crown Prince had invited her to assist in editing the *Taiping Guangji*. "Miss Jiang has a fine mood." The low, husky female voice sounded like a night breeze passing through a bamboo grove, startling a kingfisher near the railing. When Jiang Wanyue turned, the jade pendant at her waist swayed; she saw a young woman dressed in a dark cyan patterned dress standing amidst the tuberose. A veil half-concealed her features, but the two Eastern pearls on her earrings glinted coldly in the twilight—a style that had belonged to the late Princess Duanning, a treasure not even the current Empress possessed.