Imperial Hall of Harmony – The Spring Banquet of Noble Wives

Every cushion was embroidered. Every dish, gilded. Every smile, sharpened.

This was not a feast.
This was war in silk.

The annual Spring Banquet gathered every titled wife, concubine, and daughter of influence under one golden roof—a polite battlefield where favors were won and futures were quietly destroyed.

And this year, at the head of the hall, Shen Lianhua sat beside the Empress herself.

“As future Empress,” the Empress announced, her voice carrying over the hush, “Lady Shen will preside over this banquet as a test of her grace.”

Whispers spread like ink in water.

At the far end, Zhou Mei sat poised in pale green, lips curved in a demure smile. Her gown shimmered like innocence. But her eyes burned with calculation.

Lianhua rose, smiling gently.

“It is an honor,” she said, “to serve the noble women of the empire today.”

She lifted her fan and clapped once.

Servants entered, carrying trays covered in red silk.

“Today’s first game is one of memory and meaning,” she announced. “Each tray holds a gift—an item that must be matched to the values we claim to embody as women of the court.”

Politeness. Dignity. Loyalty. Discretion.

The game began.

One by one, the wives approached, lifting silks to reveal objects—hairpins, tea leaves, scrolls—and guessed aloud which virtue they represented.

Until one tray was left.

The final item: a jade bracelet shaped like a plum blossom.

“And this?” Lianhua asked, her eyes sweeping the room. “Which value does this represent?”

Silence.

Until Zhou Mei rose, ever the dutiful guest.

“Plum blossoms bloom in the cold,” she said sweetly. “So they must represent endurance. A woman's quiet suffering, perhaps.”

Lianhua smiled.

“A fair guess,” she said. “But wrong.”

She turned to the Empress.

“In the ancient texts, plum blossoms also signify warning—a reminder that beneath beauty lies danger when provoked.”

She turned back to Zhou Mei, voice gentle as ever.

“Endurance is noble, Lady Zhou. But some of us have stopped enduring. We bloom differently now.”

The message was clear.

And the Empress smirked behind her fan.

Later – Garden Pavilion

As the guests scattered, Zhou Mei approached Lianhua in private.

“Is it revenge you want?” she whispered. “Or power?”

Lianhua leaned in.

“You mistook me for a flower, Mei.”

“But I’ve always been the frost.”