Red Peonies by the Bridge

Please add my new story, Beyond the Heavens, to your collection!

"...Though the verses are exquisite and the brothel dreams sweet, they cannot express deep feeling. The Twenty-Four Bridges still stand; the water ripples beneath them, while the cold moon makes no sound. I think of the red peonies by the bridge. Year after year, for whom do they bloom?"

Excerpt from Yangzhou Slow: Famous City on the Huai's Left by Jiang Kui of the Song Dynasty

Hongyao first met that handsome young immortal with his graceful bearing and springlike smile during a severe drought in Yangzhou.

At the time, she was only a peony by the Twenty-Four Bridges, not yet able to take human form, and was about to die from the drought.

The immortal took pity on her and kindly gave her a drop of immortal dew, then breathed a little immortal energy into her.

Saved by him, Hongyao survived and from then on kept the immortal in her thoughts and heart, never able to forget him.

Five hundred years later, she finally took human form. For some reason, the immortal had become a poor scholar in the mortal realm, making a living by selling paintings and calligraphy beside the Twenty-Four Bridges.

Hongyao went to buy his paintings every day, hoping to lure him home and marry him while she was at it.

She did marry him in the end, but before long, the scholar died again. Hongyao was heartbroken for a long time and was just about to go join him...

But she didn't die. He saved her again.

Seeing him once more, Hongyao was delighted and excited, but the immortal seemed not to recognize her.

It was all right, Hongyao thought. As long as he was still alive, that was enough.

So she followed him around every day, clinging to him.

The immortal was so overwhelmed by her that at last, one day, he managed to shake off the little flower demon and fly up to the heavens.

But after just one day apart, the lofty immortal began seeing things. Before his eyes appeared the little flower demon in red, dancing and trying to seduce him.

He waved his hands wildly in front of his eyes, furious, and muttered to himself, "This little enchantress really won't leave me alone. I absolutely refuse to admit that I've fallen for her. Hmph! She's just a little flower demon, and I'm a dignified immortal of the Ninth Heaven. How could I let her turn me into a lovesick fool...?"

He waved the illusion away, but then the real thing appeared.

Hongyao hugged the young immortal from behind and burst into laughter. "I heard every word you just said. So you've been in love with me all this time!"

In this life, the immortal was a stubborn, slightly haughty fellow. He shook his head frantically. "I haven't! I'm not! I..."

Before he could finish, the red peony pressed her lips to his.

The immortal was forced to taste a mouthful of flower, then took a deep breath and exclaimed, "Tsk! This flower smells wonderful!"

This is a story about someone who eventually came around.

Written on April 24, 2021

Theme: Everyone is responsible for loving flowers and trees and protecting the natural environment.