Organising thoughts

It turns out that the New Emperor is - was - Fighter's cousin. The fierce man in beetle armour, General Huo, is - was - Fighter's uncle and is still the commander-in-chief of the overall Imperial Army. It was he who put the New Emperor on the throne. I overhear Fluttering Bird and Swaying Blossoms explaining it to the confused Little Swallow and Deep Waves not long after we have moved into the Apricot Side Palace. From what I hear, the New Emperor has been surprisingly just and fair, even to people who were supporters of the Former Emperor. At this point in time, winter has not yet set in. These two little ones have officially been given positions as my attendants. They get paid a monthly salary which I can see them counting together in excitement at the end of every month. In order to prove that their 'exorbitant' salary (as Swaying Blossoms calls it) is warranted, they attend to me half the day and study hard the other half.

While the winter is cold, it is not as cold as it was on the mountain. Here, I am so wrapped in furs and so taken care of that I only get sick twice. During this time, with imperial visits and chats over tea, I come to become more familiar with the imperial family. With our improved acquaintance, the imperial family learn the reasons behind the names I have given to those around me and beg me to give them new names. His Imperial Majesty becomes Far Sight for his ability to plan and her Imperial Serenity becomes Serenity because nothing seems to shake her composure. General Huo becomes Fierce Flames because of his face and fiery temper, meanwhile the lady who had worn indigo and pink blossoms, turns out to be the Emperor's youngest sister. The only sibling of the same generation who survived the war. For the snowy jade she likes to play with, I call her Princess Snow Jade.

Little Swallow and Deep Waves start up a little charity for children after they observe the difficult life of the poorer city people. They haven't forgotten how we had struggled to live in the mountain before we came here and want to help give other struggling families and children a chance. They discuss with me how we might convince their parents to help these children. After much planning, they take the plans to the adults - namely their parents. I'm not counted as one of the adults. Once the Empress catches wind of their charity efforts, her support and refining of these plans allows an unusual charity organisation to be opened. She organises the initial charity drive to fund the centre, the people and the work that the charity needs.

Half of the centre is run by rich or noble children for the street children, where the children help each other to find odd jobs to supplement the income of their parents. At the same time, the children can learn skills from each other under the guidance of professionals within a relatively warm place. It gives the richer children a chance to consolidate their learning and come in contact with those less fortunate so that they learn more about the world. It runs more like a school where the children's work can be used or sold for money or barter. Masters of trades and crafts can also come to see if they can find any talents to apprentice here, since children are trained according to their abilities. Little Swallow and Deep Waves take great pride at being the main overseers of this part of the centre under the guidance of the Empress' people. The true aim is to find and train up loyal servants for the imperial family. Many of our young workers in the Apricot Side Palace are young people undergoing practical work experience and training.

The other half of the centre is more like a normal employment agency for adults, however can also act as a training centre. Here, only a cursory criminal check is performed, and people from almost any background can pick up work that nobles or anyone else needs done. Keen Eyes recruits some city doctors and opens a clinic for the poor. Teacher recruits scholars who have been unable to obtain positions in the government to teach or provide reading and writing services for the illiterate. Prince White Fur has one of his people open a nearby workshop for people with injuries and disabilities to work in.

By the end of winter, the centre has needed to be expanded and split up into various departments. The money the nobles initially funneled in to start up the centre begins to show profit under clever management. The Empress gains a reputation for her good charity work and when she showcases some of the centre managers, including my two young attendants, the city people are amazed. People who work in the centre become something like mini celebrities among the poorer people of the city who rely on the centre for money and work.

I don't visit the centre. I stay in the Apricot Side Palace and listen to Little Swallow and Deep Waves when they return with a report. Fluttering Bird is a bit put out that the Empress got all the glory for the charity but agrees that it is probably a good thing for our Apricot Side Palace to maintain a low profile. There are still some people who are unhappy with my existence and think I am a shrewd con woman that is leeching off imperial favour.

The Apricot Side Palace contains an avenue of apricot trees that blooms yellow in spring. In the small apricot orchard to one side, the apricot trees there bloom white. The apricot trees on the other side of the side palace bloom pink. During spring, the children often collect the different coloured petals to make various kinds of blossom cakes, or to give me a colourful shower of blossoms when they find me. Blossoms, fruits and kernels are collected by Gentle Whiskers and Keen Eyes' medical staff to make various kinds of medicines and wines that become famous through the empire. As for me, I enjoy walking or sitting beneath the blooming trees, smelling their fragrance and imagining the coming bountiful harvest of fruit.

My apricot trees in the mountain did not have very much fruit. I wonder what these fruit will look like and whether they will be sweet or sour.