Wu Zetian and the Peonies · chapter 4 of 4
April in Luoyang
四月的洛阳
April comes to Luoyang and the burned hillside wakes up. Will the empress ever admit she was wrong?
Read what you hear
- Narrator 四月到了。洛阳的春天，终于来了。
Sìyuè dào le. Luòyáng de chūntiān, zhōngyú lái le.
April came. At last, spring arrived in Luoyang.
- Old Fu 天啊！牡丹开了！牡丹真的开了！
Tiān a! Mǔdan kāi le! Mǔdan zhēn de kāi le!
Heavens! The peonies are open! They really are open!
- Old Fu 红的，白的，黄的！这么大的花！
Hóng de, bái de, huáng de! Zhème dà de huā!
Red ones, white ones, yellow ones! Such huge flowers!
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Wu Zetian and the Peonies is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Peony 福伯，我说过，我会开的。我没有骗你。
Fúbó, wǒ shuō guò, wǒ huì kāi de. Wǒ méiyǒu piàn nǐ.
Old Fu, I said I would bloom. I didn't trick you.
- Old Fu 黑黑的树枝上，开出这么大的花！我不是在做梦吧？
Hēihēi de shùzhī shàng, kāichū zhème dà de huā! Wǒ bú shì zài zuòmèng ba?
Such enormous flowers on those black branches! I'm not dreaming, am I?
- Old Fu 那个小芽，现在开成了大花。我等了这么久！
Nàge xiǎoyá, xiànzài kāichéng le dà huā. Wǒ děng le zhème jiǔ!
That little bud has become a big flower. And I waited so long!
- Peony 火没有烧死我们。我们比以前更好看了。
Huǒ méiyǒu shāosǐ wǒmen. Wǒmen bǐ yǐqián gènghǎo kàn le.
The fire didn't finish us. We're even prettier than before.
- Old Fu 我要马上写信，告诉陛下这件事！
Wǒ yào mǎshàng xiěxìn, gàosu bìxià zhè jiàn shì!
I must write to Her Majesty right now and tell her!
- Peony 不用写信。她会自己来看的。
Búyòng xiěxìn. Tā huì zìjǐ lái kàn de.
No need to write. She'll come and see for herself.
- Old Fu 为什么？陛下不是很生气吗？
Wèishénme? Bìxià bú shì hěn shēngqì ma?
Why? Wasn't Her Majesty very angry?
- Peony 洛阳的春天这么美，谁都想来看一看。
Luòyáng de chūntiān zhème měi, shéi dōu xiǎng lái kàn yí kàn.
Spring in Luoyang is so beautiful, everyone wants to come and see.
- Narrator 消息很快传到了长安。女皇听了，坐了很久，没有说话。
Xiāoxi hěn kuài chuándào le Cháng'ān. Nǚhuáng tīng le, zuò le hěn jiǔ, méiyǒu shuōhuà.
The news soon reached Chang'an. The empress listened, and sat silent for a long time.
- Xiao Yue 陛下，我们到了！您看，洛阳的牡丹开得多好！
Bìxià, wǒmen dào le! Nín kàn, Luòyáng de mǔdan kāi de duō hǎo!
Your Majesty, we're here! Look how well the peonies of Luoyang are blooming!
- Wu Zetian 这就是我叫人烧过的牡丹吗？
Zhè jiùshì wǒ jiào rén shāo guò de mǔdan ma?
Are these the peonies I had burned?
- Wu Zetian 这么多，这么红！比我的花园还要美。
Zhème duō, zhème hóng! Bǐ wǒ de huāyuán háiyào měi.
So many, and so red! Even prettier than my own garden.
- Xiao Yue 陛下，最大的那朵，像不像您的红衣服？
Bìxià, zuìdà de nà duǒ, xiàng bu xiàng nín de hóng yīfu?
Your Majesty, doesn't the biggest one look like your red robe?
- Peony 陛下，好久不见。您还记得我吗？
Bìxià, hǎojiǔ bújiàn. Nín hái jìde wǒ ma?
Your Majesty, it's been a long time. Do you remember me?
- Wu Zetian 记得。你不怕我吗？我烧了你们。
Jìde. Nǐ bú pà wǒ ma? Wǒ shāo le nǐmen.
I do. Aren't you afraid of me? I burned you.
- Peony 怕过。可是我更爱春天，所以我又开了。
Pà guò. Kěshì wǒ gèng ài chūntiān, suǒyǐ wǒ yòu kāi le.
I was. But I love spring more, so I bloomed again.
- Wu Zetian 我叫花在冬天开，你不听。现在我明白了。
Wǒ jiào huā zài dōngtiān kāi, nǐ bù tīng. Xiànzài wǒ míngbai le.
I told the flowers to bloom in winter, and you refused. Now I understand.
- Xiao Yue 陛下，您真的不生气了吗？
Bìxià, nín zhēn de bù shēngqì le ma?
Your Majesty, are you really not angry anymore?
- Wu Zetian 生气？我该谢谢她。花有花的时间。有些事，皇帝也不能命令。
Shēngqì? Wǒ gāi xièxie tā. Huā yǒu huā de shíjiān. Yǒuxiē shì, huángdì yě bù néng mìnglìng.
Angry? I should thank her. Flowers have their own time. Some things even an emperor cannot command.
- Wu Zetian 牡丹，你就留在洛阳吧。这里的春天是你的。
Mǔdan, nǐ jiù liúzài Luòyáng ba. Zhèlǐ de chūntiān shì nǐ de.
Peony, stay here in Luoyang. The spring here is yours.
- Peony 谢谢陛下。明年的花会更多，更大。我会年年开花给您看。
Xièxie bìxià. Míngnián de huā huì gèng duō, gèng dà. Wǒ huì nián nián kāihuā gěi nín kàn.
Thank you, Your Majesty. Next year there will be even more flowers, and bigger ones. I will bloom for you every year.
- Xiao Yue 那明年四月，我们还来看牡丹吗？
Nà míngnián sìyuè, wǒmen hái lái kàn mǔdan ma?
Then next April, will we come to see the peonies again?
- Wu Zetian 当然来！每年四月，我都要来洛阳看你们。
Dāngrán lái! Měinián sìyuè, wǒ dōu yào lái Luòyáng kàn nǐmen.
Of course! Every April I will come to Luoyang to see you.
- Wu Zetian 洛阳的牡丹，是天下最好看的花！
Luòyáng de mǔdan, shì tiānxià zuì hǎokàn de huā!
The peonies of Luoyang are the most beautiful flowers under heaven!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Lao Fu see in April?
“黑黑的树枝上，开出这么大的花！”
- What does the peony say about the fire?
“火没有烧死我们。我们比以前更好看了。”
- Why does the peony say the empress will come herself?
“洛阳的春天这么美，谁都想来看一看。”
- What does the empress finally understand?
“有些事，皇帝也不能命令。”
- What does the empress promise at the end?
“每年四月，我都要来洛阳看你们。”