After the beginning of summer, each day grew hotter than the last. The cicadas chirped intermittently. In the summer heat, people became lazy and increasingly stayed indoors, reluctant to go out.
After her afternoon nap, Lady Lu was informed by her maid Lüyao that Princess Ningping had come to visit. The maid stood by with a fan, creating a gentle breeze. Lady Lu reclined on her couch, lacking energy for a while, and asked the servants to fetch the third young mistress. Her intention was naturally to have the third young mistress receive the guest in her place.
Maid Lüyao hesitantly said, “Madam, have you forgotten? These past two days are court holidays, and Lu Yun is at home. The third young mistress sent word earlier that she wanted to rest for two days to accompany him.”
Lady Lu’s hand, which had been rubbing her temple, paused as she remembered this matter.
When a husband was on holiday, the wife should stay home to accompany him… When Luo Lingyu had been in charge of household affairs, Lady Lu worried about her daughter-in-law’s future. Now that Luo Lingyu was no longer in charge, Lady Lu couldn’t understand what was so important about accompanying a man. Would managing servants and doing accounts really interfere with Luo Lingyu’s conversations with Lu Yun? When the master was home, wasn’t it just those few matters? Why would she need to specifically take leave?
However, clearly, in the third young mistress’s view, her husband needed companionship.
The proper and traditional Lady Lu was quite different from Luo Lingyu, so she naturally couldn’t understand the newlywed couple’s way of doing things. Since Luo Lingyu wouldn’t come to entertain Princess Ningping, Lady Lu was afraid that other junior female relatives wouldn’t be familiar enough with the princess, yet also worried that not receiving guests would frighten her timid daughter-in-law… In the end, Lady Lu had no choice but to go out and accompany the princess herself.
Before leaving, she asked about Lu Xian’s whereabouts. The answer was that he was at the government office.
Lady Lu immediately became annoyed: “…Both are on holiday, Lu Yun comes home, but my son doesn’t know to return. Does he still want to get married?”
Lüyao gently consoled her: “The second young master hasn’t awakened to such matters yet.”
Lady Lu said impatiently: “Quickly tell him to get back home and accompany his fiancée!”
Liu Tang anxiously welcomed her future mother-in-law in the guest hall. After arriving, she asked about Luo Lingyu, and upon learning that Luo Lingyu wouldn’t come, she became even more uneasy, worried that she had come at the wrong time.
Lady Lu was quite gentle with her future daughter-in-law, chatting with her for a while. However, Lady Lu clearly didn’t have much charm, speaking stiffly as if giving a lecture. Seeing the princess becoming increasingly silent, Lady Lu forced herself to suggest—
“Tang’er hasn’t toured our family garden yet, shall I take you for a walk?”
Liu Tang spoke in a soft voice: “Yes. Won’t it trouble you, madam?”
Thus, a large group of people accompanied Lady Lu and Princess Ningping to tour the garden.
Halfway through, Lady Lu finally thought of a topic and made an effort to discuss “household management” with Liu Tang. Liu Tang carefully accompanied her future mother-in-law, but when she heard hints in her mother-in-law’s words about learning to manage household affairs once she married in, the little princess felt somewhat intimidated.
Passing through pavilions and halls, lofty buildings, the group walked along the double-sided corridor on the stone bridge. The carved railings curved, and the lake water was clear and blue. The tall trees and fragrant plants on both banks, lotus flowers and banana trees, together with layers of ripples and sunlight, swayed beneath everyone’s feet.
As Lady Lu was about to speak to Liu Tang, she heard the little princess exclaim in surprise. Liu Tang had climbed onto the railing, leaned down to look, and called out: “Madam, look!”
Below the corridor, the lake’s blue waves rippled, and the lotus pond gave off fragrance, with flowers spreading like red clouds. The large lake in the Lu family’s back garden connected to the Qinhuai River, and hundred-year-old lotus flowers were planted in the lake. Every summer when the lotus flowers bloomed, it was a rare sight at the Lu residence.
However, Liu Tang’s exclamation wasn’t because of the blooming flowers in the lake, but because she saw Lu Yun and his wife in a small boat on the lotus pond, along with the young lady Luo Yunhuan.
The lotus leaves were as large as plates, with green and pink colors reflecting each other, stretching as far as the eye could see. The small boat stopped among the lotus leaves, held back by leaves and flowers unable to move forward. The oar simply rested against the boat’s side, letting the small boat drift with the water.
Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu sat close together, sleeves rolled up as they reached into the water to pick lotus. Many lotus pods were placed at the bow, with Lu Yun picking lotus and Luo Lingyu peeling lotus seeds, though all seemed to benefit the young lady Luo Yunhuan at the other end of the boat.
Luo Yunhuan’s voice was like an oriole’s as she swayed her head reciting ancient poems—
“Green lotus covers emerald waters, hibiscus reveals fresh red.”
“Golden oar on a magnolia boat, playfully picking Southern lotus.”
“Blue lotus grows in hidden springs, morning sun makes them bright and fresh.”
Having wracked her brains to recite all she could remember, Luo Yunhuan pleaded: “That’s all, that’s all I remember… Sister, Brother-in-law, give me lotus seeds to eat!”
Hearing her sister’s urging, Luo Lingyu hummed: “We’re busy, no time. You want to eat after reciting just a few lines, you’re really too greedy.”
However, when she said she was busy, she wasn’t busy with other things, but rather placing a peeled lotus seed into her husband’s mouth. Lu Yun lowered his eyes, giving her a playful glance, and Luo Lingyu’s eyes sparkled with laughter before she had time for her sister. Luo Yunhuan pouted and glared at her sister.
Lu Yun laughed faintly from the side: “How old is Huan’er now?”
Luo Lingyu was startled, looking up to meet his eyes, secretly wondering if Lu Yun meant to arrange a marriage for her sister now. She was delighted at the thought, naturally hoping her sister’s marriage would be smoother than her own. Just as Luo Lingyu was about to cozy up to Lu Yun, he gave her a teasing look and turned away.
Luo Lingyu: …Was this man just toying with her?
As Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu were leading the little sister to play in the lotus pond, they suddenly heard Liu Tang’s call from above: “Third Brother, Sister Luo, Huan’er, what are you doing?”
They looked up against the sunlight and saw the group on the corridor, led by Lady Lu with her inscrutable expression and Princess Ningping with her curious and delighted face.
Lu Yun, being naturally dignified, merely sat in the boat and gave a distant nod as greeting. The young lady Luo Yunhuan was lively, standing up to wave hello to everyone. Luo Lingyu, her sash floating in the wind, rose gracefully and answered the question from the shore with a smile: “Madam, Your Highness, my husband and I wanted to make lotus flower tea, and since the home’s lotus flowers are all blooming, we came to try it.”
Lotus flower tea?
The people on shore were stunned, having never heard of it. Though from the name, they could roughly guess what this tea might be.
Liu Tang’s eyes sparkled as she admiringly looked at the handsome man and beautiful woman in the boat: Third Brother Lu and Sister Luo were truly remarkable, seeming able to experiment with anything.
Lady Lu looked at the lotus pods placed at the bow, neither approving nor disapproving. But lotus flower tea… Lady Lu thought of the lotus flowers being picked from the lake, leaving it bare, and couldn’t help but remind them: “Ahem, you two can pick a couple of flowers, but don’t pick them all. Even if you want to make some ‘lotus flower tea,’ don’t forget about the flower viewing banquet in a few days. If all the flowers are gone, what will there be to view?”
Lady Lu could visibly see that when the handsome young man sitting casually with one leg bent heard this, his long eyebrows raised slightly. Lu Yun was noble and aloof, but his lips curled in what seemed like a smile, though he said nothing.
Luo Lingyu pressed her lips together, also smiling slightly. Seeing the confused looks on Lady Lu’s group’s faces, she explained in a soft voice: “Lotus flower tea isn’t made by steeping lotus flowers. My husband and I looked through ancient books to try to recreate the tea described there—it says to take a small amount of tea leaves, wrap them in gauze, and place them inside a blooming lotus flower. The flower’s center opens in the morning and closes at night. At night, dew falls into the flower and seeps into the tea leaves wrapped in gauze. In the early morning, the tea leaves are retrieved from the flower that has been closed all night, and then the tea is brewed. This is ‘lotus flower tea.’”
Liu Tang’s eyes widened, hearing this novel explanation for the first time, and she softly exclaimed “Wow”: “You… read so many books, to even know such obscure things.”
Luo Lingyu smiled brightly, modestly saying: “I just learned about it too. My husband found it while looking through books… Since we had nothing to do this afternoon, we wanted to try it out.”
Lady Lu’s face suddenly reddened as she finally understood why Lu Yun had that ambiguous smile earlier—the proud Lu Yun was probably laughing at people in his heart again. If not for Luo Lingyu’s explanation, Lady Lu might have been ridiculed in Lu Yun’s heart for a long time without knowing what he was laughing about.
…This third son!
Seeing Lady Lu’s uncomfortable expression and apparent embarrassment, Luo Lingyu immediately feigned ignorance and added with a smile: “When my husband and I perfect this tea, we’ll definitely send some for Mother to try.”
Lady Lu’s expression improved somewhat, and she nodded. But when she glanced sideways at Princess Liu Tang’s envious expression, her heart skipped a beat. Liu Tang looked at the couple on the lake with admiration and reverence, and despite Lady Lu’s several coughs, the little princess was reluctant to leave. Lady Lu felt extremely helpless and once again felt resentful towards her son who rarely came home—
How could the difference between people be so great?
Their third son was not only a scholar but also knew how to please his wife with interesting things from ancient books, sharing joy with her. Even in the height of summer, he had the leisure to research tea.
Her son was like a block of wood, completely unaware of how to please his future wife.
…No wonder when staying at the Lu family, a beauty like Luo Lingyu fell in love with Lu Yun rather than Lu Xian.
When Lu Xian returned home, he was naturally scolded harshly by his mother, and feeling quite guilty, he claimed he would definitely make it up to the princess. However, Lu Xian didn’t have much time to develop his relationship with his fiancée before marriage, because soon, the Lu family and the royal family set the wedding date for Lu Xian and Princess Ningping for next month. Somewhat dazed, Lu Xian was accepting everyone’s congratulations when he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have forgotten about Liu Mu, the Prince of Hengyang.
He had promised to use the wedding celebrations as an opportunity to get the Emperor’s permission for Liu Mu to return to Jianye.
On a summer evening with a light drizzle, Lu Xian paced in his study, pondering how to write this memorial. The rain was persistent, and there came two knocks on the door from outside. Lu Xian opened the door and, in the darkness, surprisingly saw Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu standing together at the doorway.
The rain dripped steadily, and the couple wore rain capes and bamboo hats, beautiful as jade. Without any maids accompanying them, Luo Lingyu held a lantern while Lu Yun carried a basket. To Lu Xian’s surprise, Lu Yun extended the basket, delivering the so-called “lotus flower tea.” Luo Lingyu explained from the side: “The lotus flower tea we promised to Mother a few days ago. Second Brother, please try it, and if it’s good, we’ll bring more.”
Lu Xian: “You…”
Before Lu Xian could finish, Lu Yun calmly interrupted: “Lingyu and I won’t stay, we need to deliver the remaining tea to other elders.”
Lu Yun looked down at Luo Lingyu, his eyes full of warmth. Since Luo Lingyu was so good at maintaining relationships, and he happened to be at home, he naturally should accompany her on this special visit. He couldn’t let the Lu family truly think that Lu Yun didn’t value his wife, could he?
When Lu Yun lowered his head to glance at her, Luo Lingyu covered her face with a smile, her eyes like water, lightly brushing over Lu Yun. Their eyes met briefly before casually moving away. As Lu Yun bent down to adjust Luo Lingyu’s rain cape, his sleeve gently brushed against the young woman’s damp cheek. In the misty air and continuous rain, Luo Lingyu’s eyes moved away but returned again, falling on Lu Yun.
Lu Yun suddenly raised his eyes to look at her, and she pressed her lips together in a smile, just watching how he adjusted her rain cape, completely motionless and not helping at all.
Walking together in wind and rain was indeed heaven’s blessing. Lu Xian watched as the couple braved the rain together to come, and then slowly departed into the rain.
The rain dripped steadily, flowing like a stream, falling on the green moss and splashing like lotus petals.
The silhouettes of the young man and woman departing in the night were surrounded by a hazy mist, like immortals.
The night rain was cold and endless. Lu Xian smiled slightly, closed the door, returned to his desk, and continued writing his memorial. He wrote and revised, constantly refining, all to create a memorial that could secure an opportunity for Liu Mu to come and go. When he grew tired from revising, he fell asleep at his desk.
In the night, the rain pattered outside the window, drowsily, and he continued the half-finished dream he had been having.
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