This courtyard was located near the Imperial Academy and included a bamboo grove, a garden, and a three-story main building, as well as two separate courtyards. Li Kuan opened the wide, pale turquoise wooden gate and slowly pushed it, revealing the lush garden before his eyes.
"What are all these plants?"
As Li Kuan walked into the garden and looked around at the strangely-shaped plants, each unique in their own way, Zhang Suohao frowned, pointing to a huge purple flower, and asked, "How can this thing be so ugly?"
"Don't judge it by its looks; it has quite the reputation."
Li Kuan, with a smile, quickly said:
"This is called the Ackerman Flower, a prized bloom purchased by the Libationer of the Imperial Academy from foreigners. This flower can capture mosquitoes, absorb toxic gases, and the old Libationer spent five hundred taels of silver on seeds. He tended to it day and night, couldn't bear to part with it."
