"You don't know? The seclusive Lady Florist has put up an invitation, welcoming all cultivators to her mansion up in the hills for a poetry competition. Any cultivator who is worthy -- who is especially elegant and versed in poetry, has the opportunity to be greeted by the Lady Florist in person!"

"Lady Florist..." she muses, trying to remember anything about such a person. 

"Hmm, I remember that I read about her in 'Lady Florist and the Flower Phantom'," he muses, fanning himself. "In a beautiful garden in Tanzhou lives a lady florist, who often recites poems by moonlight. Anyone whose poems move her will be granted a magical flower. The flower lasts three years, and its aroma lasts forever..."

That sounds vaguely familiar. A cultivator, then, and a powerful one. Surely her magical gardens will be a place of great spiritual power? And long seclusion could even be explained by the task of guarding the Yin Iron shard. It's an encouraging lead, at least.

"Ah, Nie-gongxi, it's true that how well you remember something is directly proportional to how aesthetic it is," she teases. 

“Ah, Wen-guniang, things are worth remembering in direct proportion to how aesthetic they are!”

Suddenly, gasps and awed murmurs rise from the crowd. Flower petals of all colors drift down overhead, blown down from the direction of the treetops.

Ooh! 

The flower petals against the blue sky are gorgeous. 

And Lan Zhan amidst a flurry of petals is even more gorgeous than regular Lan Zhan, which Wen Ying had not previously been confident was possible. 

Lan Zhan, gazing up in peaceful awe at the beautiful petal shower, does not notice Wei Ying staring. 

But Wen Qing does. “Nice flowers, hm?”

"Yep. Gorgeous flowers." 

Something passes overhead that is not a gorgeous flower and is, in fact, an ominous spooky bird. The Yin Iron pulses colder in its pouch, grabbing Lan Zhan’s attention away from the flower show.

"Let's get to the Flower Lady's house now." 

They definitely should. Wen Qing quickly asks someone for directions; the house is just up those hills right over there.

Lan Zhan leads the way, Yin Iron pouch clenched tight in her fist.

A servant greets them when they arrive. 

"Are these ones here for the poetry reading?"

"No," Wei Ying says firmly. (Alas) "We need to speak to the Flower Lady urgently about the Yin Iron." 

The servant blinks. "I...will inquire of her." 

A few minutes later a slightly older woman comes to the door, eyeing their group critically. 

"You all seem a bit young to be sect leaders," she observes. 

Deep bow. "It is an honor, Lady Florist. Are we supposed to be sect leaders?"

"That's who was supposed to know about the Yin Iron, last I heard." 

"We were sent by Sect Leader Lan."

"Master Lan Yi's protection over the piece in Cloud Recesses weakened. Sect Leader Wen seeks the other fragments."

"We are trying to collect the remaining two pieces before Wen Ruohan can."

"And yet three of you are Wens." 

"We're double-agenting. I'm planning a coup." 

She laughs. "Well, alright then. Come inside and we can talk." 

A coup???????

Nie Huaisang doesn't have the necessary context for any of this, but it all seems quite exciting to hear about and he really wants to see the pretty gardens, so of course he'll stick with them for now.