Moreover, there were no mountains nearby the palace. How come there were both mountains and trees? Lian Hua was confused.
Concubine Fang Pin was acting melancholic and delicate, forgetting that she wasn't in her own court, and got startled when she heard that remark. She looked outside, indeed there were no trees.
Oh dear, she had used the wrong metaphor...
Seeing that Lian Hua seemed to still be waiting for her explanation, she fell silent, suddenly unsure of what to say.
Even though there were no trees outside, wasn't it just a metaphor? The most important thing was to grasp the artistic conception and emotional state conveyed; whether there were trees or not was beside the point.
She was merely using an abstract example, the focus was not on whether there were trees outside, but on expressing her heartfelt sorrow whenever and wherever, even if it meant speaking poetically about a lump of cow dung, to make oneself stand out. This was the realm of true talent.
