Flower Witch

Dill had to escape.

 She wished beyond hope that the Goddess would turn her into a goose right now so that she could flap her wings and fly far away, preferably to a place where Kristina couldn't catch her.

Mrs. Lester was very happy to hear that Rosalie had had a good night's sleep. So she graciously gave Kristina to Dill as her maid of honor, and invited her to join her at today's dinner.

 And so it came to pass that Dill was being chased all over the house by Kristina, who was holding a silver comb and a basket of all kinds of perfumed creams she'd never seen before, and who was looking at Dill like a puppy dog would look at a whole bone dripping with gravy.

"My dear lady, that's how all the famous ladies of Juniper River dress, so try it on." Kristina looked at her with glowing eyes, as if she were looking at a dream she had once had.

 Dill still gives in.

 Mrs. Lester gave her a lot of jewelry and clothes, from which Cristina picked out Rosalie's old dress, the style of which was light and simple, with long satin sleeves of bright green draped and rolled up in delicate waves, lined with cream lace underneath, and tied at the waist with a sash of squirrel hair dyed lavender, which was extremely elegant and lovely to look at. This was the attire of a young Lester girl, and it meant that Dill was under the patronage of the Lesters and warned off any casual behavior.

 Kristina brushed her hair with a floral balm from the Green Valley River, smoothing her dark locks until they fell to her waist. She said in an envious tone, "Though I'm not even close, you look like a pure saint; a holy priest would be mesmerized by you."

 Dill barely rolled her eyes; she hated it when no one paid any attention to her, let alone the Sacred Taoist.

"Lift your chest; you are a guest of honor and a beautiful moon witch." Kristina straightened her dress.

"You too." Dill suddenly took her hand in hers, and when she wasn't looking, she dabbed a bit of balm from the end of her hair on her nose, and the two of them frolicked for a while longer.

Dill puts a green ribbon around the turnip's neck to make it look like a nobleman's house pet.

"A peasant girl would have a fat, white, well-behaved goose too," Kristina took the opportunity to be wildly sour on Oslo. "You see them everywhere, no one would suspect an animal that sweet and quiet; a foul-mouthed, colorful parrot could probably learn more."

Dill wasn't sure if she should tell her that Turnip loved the smell of the floral balm and was now full of ideas about eating her owner bald.

When they arrived, the Hundred Flowers Hall, where Green Fei City treated its guests, was already crowded with people. Satin and ermine intertwined into an opulent scene, hundreds of beeswaxes reflecting off the bronze mirrors on the walls, the room was as bright as day, and the jewels and gold cups rubbed an even harsher light as they crisscrossed between the hands of the guests.

Dill caught a glimpse of Lord Lester, who, as the neighborhood said, had a belly so wide as a wine barrel that he could only lift his jeweled belt up so far that it was almost a breast band.

Dill saw his face as white, fat, and amiable. From time to time, Mrs. Lester had a laugh, and from time to time, he also raised a glass to toast to the guests. The whole hall echoed his mellow laughter, calling people to unconsciously follow the corners of their mouths.

What really called Dill's amazement, however, was an exquisite and stunning painting of the three frolicking sisters of the Goddess of Nature behind the main seat: a treasure of ceramics, colored glazes, and collages of glass, lapis lazuli, and other rarities; the goddesses' faces radiantly lifelike in the candlelight; and the brightly enameled flowers blooming all over their feet as if they were about to come out of their paintings at any moment to descend upon the gods and goddesses.

If the creed of the Most High God was the sunrise and sunset on which people depended for their livelihood, then the faith of the witches was the soft moonlight that brightened up depleted souls.

According to Kristina, the value of this old antique can be worth more than half a city. The people there in the Holy Church have been trying to tear down this painting. Lord Lester is dead set against it and can only say to the public that this painting is of the stunning princess of the Blue Agate Islands. He started off by pulling a hard line and saying that it was depicting the Holy Sisters' Great Chorus, but the goddess on it was dressed in light clothing, exposing her white skin, and the persuasive power was too weak, so he could only change his story.

Still, it was quite a rarity for Dill and the others to see a long-lost statue of the goddess in the light of day. Dill peeked at the three nature goddesses; all of them had bright red hair, turquoise pupils, colorful butterfly wings, and feathered spikes on both sleeves. They were the symbols of all prosperity and beauty, and the Hundred Flowers Hall in Green Fei City was once a sacred temple for the goddesses, and it still flourishes today.

The goddess on the left is wearing a robe of flowers and a crown of pearls, so she is the goddess of spring flowers; the goddess in the center, whose bright green dress is embroidered with gold threads of grapes, dances around a tall green staff of vines, her posture plump and pretty, and is the goddess of summer greenery; and the last one, who is clad in a peacock cloak and holding a golden pike in her hand, teasing a mockingbird, is the golden goddess of harvests.

Dill couldn't help but think of Oya and quickly lost interest in the painting.

They were seated in the center row, with mostly underage noble children to their left and right, so they didn't have to watch what they said or did at all times.