Out of the east gate, they went along the highway all the way. A few miles later, they passed a fork road which was slanted to the south. Although they had left the highway, this path was also neatly repaired because there were many tourists who were going to Spring Grass Lake, and many among them were high officials and noble lords.

The roadside was planted with mulberries and elms. Signs of pruning were seen between the branches.

It was midsummer at this time and the green shade was everywhere. Looking out through a corner of the carriage curtain, they could see that it was green all around, either dark green or light green. Sometimes the sound of orioles came from the top of the head, and there were also grunts like turtledoves under the tree, giving a sense of tranquility.

Wei Changying looked out curiously, then she turned to her husband and said, "This road is quiet."

"At present, only those who go to see the lotus flowers will pass by." Holding his luminous jade cup, Shen Cangfeng slowly sipped the wine and said, "Most people came to Spring Grass Lake in spring. At that time, carriages on this road often lined all the way to the city gate." The carriage was equipped with utensils containing ice. It was a box held by a beast with a copper ring on its cover. Ice cubes were put in it. A pot of wine was iced when they went out. At this moment, half of the ice cubes in the wine had melted and it was the right time to drink it.

Shen Cangfeng found it good after drinking it. He let Qin'ge fill the cup and handed it to Wei Changying's lips.

"Many people?" Wei Changying was quite surprised and took a sip of wine in his hand. Then she praised it and said, "Well, It is Spring Grass Lake. The best days of it ought to be in spring, then it is called Spring Grass Lake."

Shen Cangfeng saw that she didn’t seem to like the wine very much, so he picked the cup and finished drinking it, then he laughed and said, “It’s also nice to enjoy the lotus flowers now.”

"Remember your words. If they're not good-looking, I will beat you." Wei Changying pushed him with a smile.

Shen Cangfeng handed the luminous jade cup to Qin'ge and said meaningfully, "If they look good, how will you thank me?"

"They had to look good. You coaxed me out of the house in such a hot day. Of course, it should be a better place. Otherwise, why should I endure the bumpiness all the way?" Wei Changying's eyes were bright. She covered her cheeks with a round silk fan and laughed, "In short, if they look good, I won't punish you. If you make me dissatisfied, then you will be punished severely." Saying so, she tapped him on the shoulder with the round silk fan.

Shen Cangfeng couldn't help laughing and made a look of fear, then he said, "I am afraid to say anything in front of such a fierce young madam."

"Yes, I am fierce!" Wei Changying smiled in her eyes, but she pretended to be fierce. Then she nodded and said, "You need to be careful and don't annoy me. Now we come out, and we're in the middle of nowhere. What can you do?"

Shen Cangfeng sighed, "I really fall into the hands of a bandit!" Then he grabbed her hands and said helplessly, "Now I have carelessly fallen into your hands, my queen. Could you show mercy to me and treat me gently?"

He sang and shouted, imitating the actors to prolong his tone, but it sounded weird because he hadn't practiced it yet, so he couldn't do it well—Not only Wei Changying but also the maidservants served in the carriage suddenly laughed out loud. Wei Changying was helpless with laughter and leaned on his shoulder for a while, then she wiped her tears and asked, "My queen...Well, am I that fierce?"

Shen Cangfeng said with a smile, "I'm such a handsome man. The ordinary queen will refuse to hit me when she sees me, but you show no mercy to me, my queen surnamed Wei. In my opinion, you are much fiercer than the ordinary queen. You really don't know how to show compassion for me, but I am reconciled to fall into your hands!"

Wei Changying pretended to be angry and pinched him, then she said, "Had you been snatched by many queens? Otherwise, how could you separate me from other ordinary queens? Tell me the truth quickly or I'll...Humph!" She held the round silk fan and made a show of fighting him.

"Ah, I just imagined that." Shen Cangfeng hadn't been fooled. He just smiled and took her hand, then he said, "See, are there any lotus flowers along the road ahead?"

In the direction he had pointed to, there were indeed lotus flowers.

It seemed that the deep green lotus leaves, which grew in the ditch beside the road flourishing with vegetation, were very insignificant because of the trees and grass. However, the pink and white lotus flowers swayed in the wind within a sheet of bluish green, which was particularly eye-catching.

Wei Changying leaned over the window and looked out for a moment, then she asked, "Why can't we see the lake in front of us?"

"This ditch is three miles long." Shen Cangfeng touched her temple hair with a smile, and said, "Shall we go to the yard to put things first before visiting the lake, or shall we go directly to the boat?"

Wei Changying said, "Is the courtyard far?"

"When we reach the lakeside, we still have to walk for four or five miles." Shen Cangfeng calculated and answered, "If we go directly by boat, I'll call someone to prepare the boat by the lake. If we go to the courtyard, I'll ask someone to row the boat to the entrance of the yard first and wait for us."

"It will be better to go by boat directly." Hearing that there were still four or five miles before they reached the yard, she answered immediately. In summer, although the ice was put in the carriage, it was also stuffy. Besides, no matter how flat the path was, she still needed to endure the bumpiness in the carriage. It was not as interesting as riding a boat—Because Old Madam Song and Madam Song had paid much attention to her and Wei Changfeng. Since her childhood, she could only stand in the backyard of Ruiyu Hall and watch other people get on the boat to play. She could only bend willow branches on the shore or hit the lotus leaves and flowers to vent her anger...

Wei Changying had never taken a boat, so it was natural that she was still curious.

Shen Cangfeng smiled and said, "It's all up to you."

Three miles. Although the carriage did not travel fast, it soon arrived. The thriving trees standing beside the road suddenly disappeared. At the end of the road, there was a vast expanse of water in the midsummer.

Seeing from the lifted curtain, Wei Changying was moved and said, "There is such a big lake outside the capital!"

"The ‘Spring Grass Lake Ode’ written by our ancestor has a sentence—"Smoky waves like the sea", which describes the lake's vastness; there are also sentences like ‘Deer cries when the spring grass begins to grow, it'll be comfortable to see the spring water flowing' depicting the scene." Shen Cangfeng said with a smile, "Otherwise, how could Spring Grass Lake become a place which had been competed for by all people, regardless of their high or low birth from all over the capital?"

At this moment, the wind of the lake suddenly came to them, blowing the curtain of carriage upside down. Wei Changying only felt that her sleeves were flying up and her whole body seemed to be raised up by the wind. The hair clasps and strings of beads knocked against each other between her temples, generating crisp sounds—The cool breeze was really the relief in the hot summer. Wei Changying felt refreshed and smoothed the flying skirt, then she praised, "It is really a good place."

The carriage stopped by the lake. Wei Changying couldn't wait to get out of the carriage and looked over to the lake. The water was bluish-green, which was as bright as an emerald. The breeze swept across the lake. Now and then the waves of the lake lapped against the dam beneath their feet.

The white spray lapped on the dam, which was splashing like small pieces of jade, and came back again after dispersing—In such a repetition, Wei Changying was standing by the lake. In addition to the cool wind, the lake waves also brought a sense of coolness. A willow was planted at intervals of ten paces on the dam. In the mist under the willow trees, birds were chirping merrily, which was quite mild and sweet.

Wei Changying looked at the lake for a moment, and suddenly remembered something. She turned back to ask Shen Cangfeng, who was sending someone to carry their luggage to the courtyard, "Where are the lotus flowers?"

Didn't Shen Cangfeng say... that the lotus flowers were the most beautiful scene at this moment in Spring Grass Lake? Why couldn't she find them after such a long time? But far away in the middle of the lake, she could see the outline of clusters of reeds.

After telling Shen Die just a few words, Shen Cangfeng walked over to her and said, "The water here is too deep, and it is hard for the lotus flowers to grow. Look at there." Then he pointed to the direction of the reeds. Wei Changying was surprised, "Aren't they reeds?"

"The reeds are growing on the sand shoal there and the lotus flowers were nearby. It's just that we can't see them because of the deep water here." Shen Cangfeng took her hand and smiled, "Come on, let's get on the boat and go over there. Then you will know the truth after seeing it."

Wei Changying was pulled by him before she saw that a black-awning boat was already waiting under the dam. This boat was clearly designed for enjoying the scenery, and it was especially made for having fun in the summer. It was different from the ordinary boat—The head of the boat was the same as the tail of the boat, but the black-awning was not an arched one, instead, columns were set at the four corners of the awning like that of a showboat. A bamboo slat canopy was draped over it to keep out the rain, and curtains woven with fine grass hung all round it could block the scorching sun.

Now, the curtains on the two sides among the four where the sunshine couldn't reach were rolled up. The interior furnishings were exposed. It was very simple. There were several seats facing each other.

Wearing a short upper shirt and a short skirt, a woman in her thirties was holding the pole at the tail of the boat. Her head was covered with a blue cloth. Her skirt only reached the ankles, which was perhaps for convenience. Her dress showed that she was smart and capable.

Though the woman's skin was slightly dark, she looked decent and attractive. When she saw Wei Changying looking at her, she let go of the pole and gracefully made a salute. Then she said, "Young master and young madam, nice to see you. I'm Cao Yingmei."

Shen Cangfeng said, "She is the daughter-in-law of the manager of the courtyard. She had been born and raised near Spring Grass Lake, so she was good at swimming and rowing."

Wei Changying smiled and said, "I was not surprised by the fact that a woman was rowing for us. I thought that we would take a showboat for such a big lake! Who expected that it was a small boat?"

"We also have showboats." Shen Cangfeng said, "It's just that it will be more convenient if we take a small one to see the lotus flowers—The lotus flowers grew in the shallow water. In the past years, some showboats had been stranded because they were unsuitable for the flowers. Furthermore, showboats couldn't get into the places where the lotus flowers and leaves were too dense. Now we'd better take a small boat first and change to the showboat at night."

Wei Changying agreed. She also saw that a piece of cane shoots was growing under the dam. The small boat surely won't be stranded. The head of the boat passed through the cane shoots and went all the way to the shore. However, there was no wharf. So she asked, "Are we going aboard here?"

"Changying, don't worry. If you feel embarrassed, I can help you." Shen Cangfeng teased Wei Changying in her ears.

Wei Changying raised the round silk fan in her hand and showed a faint smile. Then she said, "How could it be difficult? Be careful of yourself!"

The two embarked on the boat one after the other. After all, Wei Changying couldn't swim. When she was on the bank, she wanted the freedom of rowing on the lake. However, when she really got to a place which was surrounded by water and the platform was shaking, she was still a little panic. She couldn't help but grasp Shen Cangfeng's sleeves. After he comforted her for a long time, she finally calmed down.

The two helped each other into the boat. After sitting down, they found a basket beside the table. The basket was filled with some lotus leaves, which were still green under the sun and were wet with a few drops of dew. Apparently, they were picked not long before. There was a wine pot, small wine cups, some fruits, and the like in the basket. It seemed that the woman was afraid that those things would fall on the ground when she was rowing, so she put them into the basket. She was also afraid that they might be broken in the basket. Therefore, she used the lotus leaves to fill the gaps.

Judging from the preparation, Cao Yingmei was also a careful person.

Shen Cangfeng took them out one by one, filled the cup with the Agarwood drink for his wife, and said with a smile, "Could you peel me the lotus seeds later?"

"You're really good at calculating." Wei Changying derided him, "How easy it was to fill the cup with the Agarwood drink! How hard it is to peel the lotus seeds! It's unfair that you trade this with me."

When Shen Cangfeng was about to reply, Cao Yingmei at the boat's tail raised her sound to ask them, "Young master and young madam, are we going to the Furong Islet?" Her voice passed through the grass curtain which cut off the boat's tail from its main body.

Shen Cangfeng said, "Exactly." Then he asked Cao Yingmei, "Will the tavern of the Xie Family of Furong Islet be opening right now?"

Cao Yingmei smiled and said, "Originally, there were few people these days, so Uncle Xie closed the door to live a cozy life. When he heard that young master would go there with young madam, he specifically opened the door today." Then she added, "In the early morning, Brother Xie and his wife had gone to the north to net the fish. They said that they should exert all their efforts since it was the first time young madam had came here."

Shen Cangfeng smiled and said to Wei Changying, "You're lucky! Uncle Xie was famous for making the lake fish all over the capital. Normally, there were only fish heads, fish soup and steamed cake in his tavern. If he did his best, he could make dishes with everything that came out of the lake."

Wei Changying was born into a wealthy family. Although she wouldn't be arrogant to the common people, she also wouldn't pay much attention to them. Originally, when she heard that Shen Cangfeng specifically asked for the tavern of the Xie Family on Furong Islet, she thought that it was the only tavern there and she was worried they would have nowhere to go if it was closed. She didn't expect that Shen Cangfeng would recommend Uncle Xie's skills so much. Thinking that her husband had the same background with her, Uncle Xie's craftsmanship couldn't be bad as Shen Cangfeng had attached great importance to it.

Then Wei Changying said with a smile, "See? You really gain some advantage from me."

Shen Cangfeng froze for a moment, and then he laughed out and said, "Yes, yes, I'm benefiting from you."

Cao Yingmei changed the paddle at the stern of the boat. Listening to their words and laughter behind the curtains, she couldn't help smiling, thinking that the young couple was really lively. There were only two of them, but the lake was full of laughter.

Moreover, in the midsummer, they were still energetic and got out of their way to happily come here from the capital, just for staying for one night—Thinking about the season now...She suddenly burst into laughter and thought to herself, "After a while, we'll arrive at Furong Islet. If we meet those people who are ignorant, I wonder how young madam will deal with them. "