Plucking Blossoms from the Branches

Flowers cannot bloom all year round, but there will always be flowers in bloom in every season.

The young master of the Flower Realm was doted on by the Flower Goddess. Sheltered in the inner quarters for years, he was fair and delicate, beautiful, and the most dazzling of the Six Realms. So many immortals came to ask for his hand that they wore a path through the Flower Realm's gates.

The Flower Goddess was delighted, bragging to everyone about how sought-after her darling was.

But the heavens are fickle, and the world is unpredictable. One dark and stormy night (not really), the little cabbage had his virtue stolen by a flower thief, and lost his heart, too.

The little cabbage clutched his quilt, sobbing, looking utterly aggrieved at being abandoned.

The Flower Goddess ground her teeth in exasperation and asked, "Couldn't you beat her?"

The little cabbage shook his head, tears in his eyes.

The Flower Goddess asked again, "Then why did you let her take advantage of you?"

The little cabbage sniffled, blushed, and muttered softly, "She was pretty."

"..."

The Flower Goddess was so furious she nearly spat blood. She ordered that the flower thief be captured at all costs and killed on sight.

When the flower thief's identity came to light, all the flowers were stunned.

Zhezhi, the mighty God of the Four Seasons, should have been overseeing the changing of the twenty-four solar terms. Why had she sneaked in and bullied her precious son?

The Flower Goddess shut herself away for the entire day. When she emerged, she was full of energy.

She had figured it out.

The Flower Realm depended on the changing seasons to survive, and Zhezhi was the High God who ruled their fate. This marriage was, in the end, a match above the Flower Realm's station.

As expected of her son. He might not sleep around, but when he did, he landed himself a wealthy wife.

The next day, she sent her son straight to Zhezhi's palace.

Zhezhi froze. "If I told you that night I was merely taken by the beauty of the moment and kissed the pretty boy, and did nothing else, would anyone believe me?"

The Flower Goddess said, "I'm the first one who wouldn't."

She shoved her son into Zhezhi's arms and slipped away.

Zhezhi looked down at the person in her arms, whose big, dewy eyes kept blinking, and sighed helplessly.

Ah, beauty is a blade above the head.

"From now on, you will be my final disciple. When you ascend to High Godhood, I will marry you."

Zhezhi had never liked getting close to others. Over the centuries, more than a few male immortals had tried to win her favor, only to be coolly turned away.

The gods thought the young master of the Flower Realm throwing himself at her would end just as fruitlessly.

This farcical, ill-matched affair was known throughout the Six Realms.

Their love was passionate and tumultuous, but also full of bumps along the way. In the end, they found their happy ending.

The story of the God of the Four Seasons and the Flower Goddess's son.

A flower that depended on the changing seasons fell in love with the god who ruled his fate.

Theme: Companionship