One time, an old monk's vanity got the better of him, and he couldn't resist showing off the peony to others. Once word got out, the powerful and privileged all sought it.
The old monk was powerless to resist and could only watch helplessly as his beloved peony fell into the hands of Xue Ji, the current Minister of the Secretariat and brother of Empress Xue.
For this, the Minister of the Secretariat even ostentatiously threw a grand banquet to celebrate acquiring the rare peony.
It was no exaggeration to say that if a student in the Agricultural Science course at the Academic Palace could cultivate a new and attractive variety of flower, they could not only become rich overnight but might also be excused from future Agricultural Science classes altogether.
"Uh..."
